Col 3: 1-11
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life.
But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
What is holding you down?
Imagine you are suspended in the air. In one hand, a balloon is gently pulling you up to heaven. Wrapped around your feet are a number of vines, securely rooted in the earth. Each of those vines has a name. One might be “Anger”, one “Lust”, and another “Resentment.” Today, Paul teaches us that if we are to live in Christ, we have to kill these vines. Saint Ignatius teaches us to detach ourselves from those things which keep us from our ultimate purpose. When we do, we experience the freedom to follow Christ wherever he leads and to see him in all things. Fortunately, Christ, through his death and resurrection, provides us the pruning shears to cut these oppressive vines out of our lives. What vines are holding you down? Ask Jesus for the loving grace to know their names and to rid them from your life.
—Sam Mauck is the Director of Youth, Campus, and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Memphis, which is a member of the Charis Ministries partner program.
Prayer
Prayer for Detachment
I beg of you, my Lord,
to remove anything which separates
me from you, and you from me.
Remove anything that makes me unworthy
of your sight, your control, your reprehension;
of your speech and conversation,
of your benevolence and love.
Cast from me every evil
that stands in the way of my seeing you,
hearing, tasting, savoring, and touching you;
fearing and being mindful of you;
knowing, trusting, loving, and possessing you;
being conscious of your presence
and, as far as may be, enjoying you.
This is what I ask for myself
and earnestly desire from you. Amen.
—St. Peter Faber, SJ