{"id":6503,"date":"2014-05-31T18:45:26","date_gmt":"2014-05-31T17:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/?p=6503"},"modified":"2014-05-31T18:45:26","modified_gmt":"2014-05-31T17:45:26","slug":"6th-sunday-of-easter-25-05-14-spiritual-dehydration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/?p=6503","title":{"rendered":"6th Sunday of Easter (25.05.14) Spiritual Dehydration"},"content":{"rendered":"

6th Sunday of Easter (25.05.14)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Spiritual Dehydration<\/strong><\/p>\n

The carrying of bottled water has become, for some, a fashion statement. Is the climate change debate garnering attention? Human dehydration can occur slowly. A partially dehydrated state may be more dangerous as it can be less obvious, especially in children. Dehydration can cause cerebral and physical malfunction with corresponding damage to vital organs.<\/p>\n

Alarmingly, there\u2019s no comparable attention being given to another \u2018killer\u2019 that can be named \u2018spiritual dehydration\u2019 which ravages the soul. The symptoms are familiar. Personal prayer and Sacramental life wain, work and social pressures plus the relentless media undermine us. Before long you find you have traded faith, devotion, service and worship for a lifestyle no longer open to a real relationship with Jesus.<\/p>\n

Then, you attend Mass! But the expected transformation doesn\u2019t happen. Why? Well, if you have ever attempted watering a very dry pot plant you may know. Water poured too enthusiastically on the hardened soil stays on the surface or runs off and spills! The compacted soil is impervious! Patience is required. The secret is to apply less water and slowly. With perseverance, the hardened surface will soften, open up and begin to absorb the life\u2013giving fluid that is then able to reach the parched roots. In time the plant returns to health.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s Word for us this 6th<\/sup>\u00a0Sunday of Easter highlights the vital, continuous interplay between God and us that is necessary for the health of soul and body. Read it for yourself in both the Acts of the Apostles (1st<\/sup>. Reading 8:5-8,14-17) and John\u2019s Gospel (14:15-21).<\/p>\n

81 years ago, in 1933, a much loved and respected US Archbishop, Fulton J. Sheen, wrote \u201cSeven Last Words and the Seven Virtues\u201d. The book could be describing with uncanny accuracy our civilisation, now, in the 21st<\/sup>.century. Sheen wrote,<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are at the end of a tradition and a civilization which believed we could preserve Christianity without Christ, religion without a creed, meditation without sacrifice, family life without moral responsibility, sex without purity and economics without ethics. We have completed our experiment of living without God\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Sheen was enormously farsighted. In 1933 Christian traditions and society and family values appeared stable. Yet Sheen could see the writing on the wall. \u00a0Even he would have been staggered at the speed with which his prophesy has been realised: changes in the definition and meaning of marriage; routine and widespread abortion; increasing pressure to legalise euthanasia \u2013 are only some of the more obvious features of modern life taken for granted in the western world.<\/p>\n

Human spiritual dehydration is now at an epidemic level. Pope Francis is aware and working tirelessly to reconnect God\u2019s people to God. It was the murdered Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador who said: \u201cI have experienced God, because I have experienced my people.\u201d Pope Francis talks about pastors having \u2018the smell of the sheep\u2019, words which accord with the outlook of The Good Shepherd.<\/p>\n

Just as the bottle of water can be a fashion statement so, too, has the symbol of our redemption, Christ\u2019s Cross. Cast in all manner of precious metals it hangs from equally precious chains around the necks of so many for whom He died but who, now, would struggle to name him. In Western Europe we live among nations of people whose baptismal water has reached a dangerously low level, if not disappeared from view.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s extract from St. John\u2019s Gospel, Jesus says:\u00a0\u201cI will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0The truth is, many have allowed themselves to be duped into a state of being spiritual orphans through duplicitously induced spiritual dehydration which leaves empty symbols, like church buildings conserved only for their historical value, across the landscape. Their continued appearance deceitfully calms the latent fears of many about our Godless society. Daytime TV programs often feed us palatable, clever, parodies of what perhaps should be a cause for alarm. Church buildings redeveloped as designer homes marketed much like a barn-conversion!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s equally true to say that resuscitation is only possible when people voluntarily choose to go to the Cross for the Sacramental water of life. It was from the Crucified Christ\u2019s spear-opened side that the Sacramental blood and water flowed. Wearing a cross and chain, without a conscious daily shouldering of Christ\u2019s Cross, becomes a fashion statement or a talisman. Jesus tells us not to be afraid of shouldering his Cross –\u00a0 \u201cFor My yoke is easy and My burden is light and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt.11: 29-30).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

6th Sunday of Easter (25.05.14) Spiritual Dehydration The carrying of bottled water has become, for some, a fashion statement. Is the climate change debate garnering attention? Human dehydration can occur slowly. A partially dehydrated state may be more dangerous as … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archdiocese-of-liverpool"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6504,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6503\/revisions\/6504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}