杏MAP导航

By Linda Bordoni

Reflecting on the reading from the Book of Haggai, 杏MAP导航 Francis spoke of how the Lord urges His people to reflect on their behavior and to change it by working to rebuild the House of God.

Procrastinating conversion

The prophet Haggai, the 杏MAP导航 explained, was trying to move the heart of the lazy people who had resigned themselves to a life of defeat. The Temple had been destroyed by enemies, all was in ruin, but those people let the years go by without taking any action.

Then, he said, the Lord sent the prophet to 鈥渞ebuild the Temple,鈥� but the hearts of the people were bitter and they had no wish to take risks and to work.

Those people, the 杏MAP导航 continued, 鈥渄id not want to pick themselves up, to start again. They would not let the Lord help them to do so鈥�, and their excuse was that the time had not yet come.

This, he continued, is the same drama of so many lukewarm Christians who say 鈥淵es, yes, Lord, it's fine ... but slowly, slowly, Lord, let's leave it like this ...  I鈥檒l do it tomorrow!鈥�

Lukewarm spirituality leads to 鈥渁 graveyard-like peace鈥�

Lukewarm faith, the 杏MAP导航 said, leads so many to find excuses in uncertainty and fuels the tendency to procrastinate.

It causes so many people to waste their lives and end up 鈥渋n tatters because they have done nothing except nurture sentiments of peace and calm within themselves鈥�. But that, he said, 鈥渋s the peace of graveyards鈥�.

杏MAP导航 Francis warned the faithful that when we become "spiritually lukewarm", we become half-Christians, without substance. Instead, he said, the Lord wants conversion, today.

He described that tepid spirituality as something that transforms our lives into a graveyard: a place where there is no life.

Let us ask the Lord for the grace not to fall into that 鈥渉alf-Christian鈥� spirit which makes us Christians without substance 鈥� 鈥淩ose water Christians鈥� as some would say - the 杏MAP导航 said, Christians who perhaps 鈥漵owed a lot but reaped very little, lives that promised so much, and in the end did nothing鈥�.

May the Lord help us, he concluded, to "wake-up from a tepid spirit鈥� and fight 鈥渢his gentle anesthesia of spiritual life鈥�.