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MASS CARDS ST. ANTHONY NOVENA RETREATS PRAY WITH FR. BOB DISCERN DONATE

Greetings from Father Bob ... A young man in his twenties recently wrote to ask, “How can I become more Christ-like? I have a feeling there is more to life than what I have experienced so far.” I thought to myself that a whole book could be written to answer that question. Then I realized that the answer to this question could very well be the answer to almost all of the letters I receive. To become more like Christ, one needs to try to imitate Christ, to follow Him. This does not mean to copy His every action. After all, there is a great deal that Jesus never experienced. He was a man, not a woman. As far as we know He never experienced serious illness or old age or Alzheimer’s disease. Becoming more Christ-like means that you become motivated by the same principle that motivated Him: “I seek not My will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 5:30). As a point of fact, most of us say this every day and at every Mass – “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” If you want to become more Christ-like, you must accept unconditionally that sometimes God’s will for us is not our will. Do not feel guilty. Take some time to try to obtain a deeper understanding and realize that Christ Himself experienced that in the Garden of Gethsemane. His prayer there reads so poetically on the printed page: “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup from Me, yet, not My will but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42) He knew His Father’s will and it traumatized Him so much that He sweated blood. What the human nature of Jesus was saying at that moment was, “God, do not let Me die.” He was in anguish so much that God sent an angel to strengthen Him, to help Him to do God’s will. Remember when Jesus found His disciples asleep? He told them to wake up and pray. He would say the same to us. You want to be My disciple? Then wake up and pray. Pray that you come to know God, not just know about Him. Ask Him to show you the way. You may have to ask and ask, but through this, I assure you, God’s grace is taking root in you. In the very asking, you are building a relationship, and day by day, becoming more Christ-like. The Church has a word for listening to how we are called to be more Christ-like: it is called discernment. In this issue of eNews, we invite you to learn more about how the Friars are helping young people discern God’s call to become Christ-like in service of the Church and the world in the article, “The Friars are Planting Seeds.”

Yours in Christ, Father Bob Warren, SA