Gold or Hay

Unfortunately after mass on Sunday I was not feeling well and Monday was terribly, horribly busy, which is why my post did not make it up sooner, sincerest apologies!

My RCIA binder

In RCIA we learned about the meanings of the various names attributed to Jesus (Messiah, Christ, etc.) and their significance. I must admit that I recalled much of this from my theology classes in junior year, so I was not as intrigued as I was the week before. That's alright though because next week we get to learn about Mary, which is a totally new topic for me! #excitement

My post today is about a moment I had during mass. Because of the fact that Sunday was All Souls Day, we spent a lot of time talking about the souls in purgatory, the purpose of purgatory, and sin. Father gave the following example: A person who feels anger, makes poor relationship decisions, struggles with anxiety, is impatient, etc. - at this point I mumbled that he had to be talking about me because I am notorious for having a bit of a temper, making bad decisions in the realm of romance, consistently anxious, and I'm always impatient, so I instantly hung my head in a wave of shame. But my shame was cut short by the end of his statement. A person who feels and does all of these things, but still strives with their whole heart to not do those things and prays about those concerns is usually the person who is receiving the most grace. Why? Because they persevere through the difficulties and maintain their relationship with God.

These vibrant leaves reminded me of fire

This is where the title of this post comes in. Gold or Hay is a reference to the homily, which was a reference to 1 Corinthians 3:11-13 that states: "No one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire and the fire itself will test the quality of each one's work."

Jesus is meant to be the foundation for everything we do and a foundation in Him will clearly be demonstrated in our lives. We cannot be good outwardly but feel hate inwardly. If we struggle with anger or if we continually make bad decisions and we do so with a feigned regret, then our regret is not genuine and our "work" will be burned in the fire that is testing the quality of our "work" - aka our

More fiery leaves

actions in life. If, however, we commit these acts, ask for forgiveness and continue to strive for a life without these mistakes, our actions will not be burned in the fire because we are persevering and doing our best to live a life with a solid foundation in Jesus Christ.

When it is time for our work to be judged, will it survive the fire? Will it be gold or hay?

No one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely Jesus Christ
~1 Corinthians 3:11

Pax,
Kay