Day 156                                1 hr                        245 to go

Monday’s second reading from the OOR was from a treatise by Saint Gregory of Nyssa about Christian Perfection – “No one has known Christ better than Paul, nor surpassed him in the careful example he gave of what anyone should be who bears Christ’s name.  So precisely did he mirror his Master that he became his very image.  By a painstaking imitation, he was transformed into His model and it seemed to be no longer Paul who lived and spoke, but Christ himself.  He shows his keen awareness of this grace when he refers to the Corinthians’ desire for proof that Christ was speaking in him; as he says: It is no longer I that live: it is Christ who lives in me.” – this is a higher calling – is it a calling that everyone has? – is this something that Mike Olock should strive for? – is this a mission for all who call themselves Christian? – St. Gregory answered these questions with his closing sentence, “If we are not to lie when we call ourselves Christians, we must bear witness to it by our way of living.” – The title of this treatise is The Christian is another Christ.  I pray that I may one day be Christ to others in all I do, not just in those few hours I spend in service and in prayer, but all the time, in all I do – got lots of work to do to get there!!!

As I thought about this I felt bad that I was so far from the goal but then the reading from Morning Prayer filled me with hope again – Judith 8: 25 Besides all this, we should be grateful to the Lord our God, for putting us to the test, as he did our forefathers. 26 Recall how he dealt with Abraham, and how he tried Isaac, and all that happened to Jacob in Syrian Mesopotamia while he was tending the flocks of Laban, his mother's brother. 27 Not for vengeance did the Lord put them in the crucible to try their hearts, nor has he done so with us. It is by way of admonition that He chastises those who are close to Him."

I accept my chastisement and am happy that I am close to Him

My chaplet was for the victims of the Chilean earthquake.