September - St. Augustine Catholic
September - St. Augustine Catholic
September - St. Augustine Catholic
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spiritual fitness<br />
In a chat room with God<br />
prayer is our “instant message”<br />
with Jesus<br />
by Father Bill Ashbaugh<br />
<strong>Augustine</strong> realized that his own<br />
immoral behavior was creating the<br />
block. He would pray, “Lord give<br />
me chastity and temperance,<br />
but not yet.” It was kind of a joke,<br />
but also a real expression of his<br />
inner struggle.<br />
Iremember the first time I experienced IM (For those who may<br />
be computer illiterate, that stands for “instant messaging”). It<br />
was strange to know that a friend on another computer far<br />
away was communicating with me through the Internet in real<br />
time. I would type something, then a minute or so later, a response<br />
would show up on the screen. Not so long ago, I witnessed the first<br />
marriage of two people who met over the Internet in a Christian<br />
chat room. They fell in love. It led to a face-to-face meeting and<br />
then to a lifelong commitment before God.<br />
It is wonderful to see relationships grow.<br />
Love deepens. People begin to connect<br />
emotionally and spiritually. We can feel<br />
very close to another person. God wants<br />
this for all of us, for where there is true<br />
love, there is the kingdom and there is<br />
God! Even more wonderful is that God<br />
wants this close connection to happen<br />
between us and God. Jesus said “Whoever<br />
loves me will keep my word, and my<br />
Father will love him, and we will come<br />
to him and make our dwelling with him.”<br />
(John 14:23) One of the great mysteries of<br />
our faith is that God dwells within us.<br />
Deep within us is the ideal “chat room”<br />
where we meet God. Modern technology<br />
can connect us with people all around the<br />
world, but it cannot connect us to God.<br />
Fortunately, God has ‘wired us’ for<br />
God.<br />
Our relationship with God is the most<br />
important relationship of our lives,<br />
for it is the one that saves us. Many<br />
people have struggles as they build this<br />
relationship – hang in there! God is<br />
pursuing us and meets us where we are.<br />
There is a great saint I have grown to<br />
14 <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>September</strong> 2006<br />
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