January 2017
January 2017
3500 AMES BLVD . MARRERO , LA 70072 504.347.2203
Good Stewards Break the Rules if They Don ’ t Lead to Love
I hear lots and lots of confessions . What I hear most is a person telling me that he or she broke one of the Church ’ s rules . “ Father , I didn ’ t go to Mass on a Holy Day .” What I rarely hear is someone confessing that he or she didn ’ t love . Jesus tells us the Great Commandment of Love is essential . We are told that if we love the way Jesus defines love , everything else is , at best , secondary . We are told by no less an authority than St . Augustine that if we live a life of Christian love , we really don ’ t need to do anything else , including worrying about the rules . If Christian love permeates our lives , St . Augustine says we ’ ll just naturally do the right thing .
So , does what I say above mean that we don ’ t need to follow Church rules ? Well , not really . But , we should print the following on the back of our eyelids . Rules are only tools to help us to build love . Properly used , Church rules will discipline us to get the graces we need to love others , including our enemies . But , and this is an important “ but ,” if the rules get in the way of love , set the rules aside . Who says so ? Well , I say so , but I ’ m only a reporter . I ’ m reporting what Jesus says .
Jesus was constantly telling the Scribes and Pharisees to get their priorities straight . They had more than 600 rules , and they insisted everyone follow them scrupulously . So much so that they criticized Jesus for not washing his hands in the “ proper ” way . There was a rule on how to do it . The Scribes and the Pharisees even went so far as to tell Jesus that he should not cure desperately ill people on the Sabbath because there was a rule that no work should be performed on the Sabbath . And the Scribes and Pharisees considered curing the sick on the Sabbath , even raising
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Inside
2 ~ Having Trouble Giving Things Up For Lent ? Here Are Some Alternatives
~ VOL School Names Emmit Scobel as Student of the Year
3 ~ Cajun Fest 2017
4 ~ Former VOL Student Serves As Military Police for Presidential Inauguration
5 ~ VOL Open House
6 ~ VOL Students Show Love of Reading
7 ~ 100th Day of School ~ King Cake Social
8
~ West Bank Youth Day
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