Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church
1948 The Alameda
San Jose, CA 95126
San Jose, CA 95126
I recently re-read (for the 24th time!) a short book by Robin Sharma: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. It was recommended to me about 8 years ago by a friend in Mexico, and after reading it the first time I decided to make it a regular part of my life and faith growth. I pulled it out as I was preparing for the class on The Marks of Discipleship. What Sharma offers in his simple self-help book and what our Lord calls into when we are beckoned into discipleship seem to go well together.
In an outline form what Sharma says is as follows:
If you are struggling with your faith journey, you could do worse than trying to live out some of the wisdom imparted by Sharma as you build toward a firmer foundation. If you aren’t struggling then you have no need of a physician.
[This year I am reading “The Violence of Love” as a meditation resource. These words of Archbishop Oscar Romero were compiled and translated by James R. Brockman, S.J.]
Three short years transformed Archbishop Oscar Romero from a conservative defender of the status quo into one of the church’s most outspoken voices on behalf of the oppressed. Though silenced by an assassin’s bullet, his spirit – and the vital challenge of his life – lives on.
I offer his words to you for your meditation, as well.
I would not want to live the life of many of today’s powerful, who don’t live a real life. They live under guard, they live with uneasy conscience, they live in anxiety. That is not life.
If you obey God’s law, you will live. Although they kill me, I have no need.
If I die with a good conscience, with a clean heart that has produced only works of goodness – what can death do to me?
Thank God, we have these models, our beloved pastoral workers who shared the dangers of our pastoral work, even to the risk of being killed. When I celebrate the eucharist with you, I feel them present. Each priest killed is for me a new concelebrant in the eucharist of our archdiocese. I know that they are here giving us encouragement by having known how to die without fear, because of each one’s conscience was committed to this law of the Lord: the preferential option for the poor.
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The evening of June 5, 1968 – it’s one of those dates that most people know where they were. It is the date that Robert Kennedy was shot, in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles), just after speaking to his supporters about winning the California Presidential Primary.
With an all-star cast featuring Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore and Lindsay Lohan, "Bobby" tells the story of 22 fictional characters whose lives intersect at the assassination of then-presidential candidate Robert Kennedy on June 5, 1968. The film is the vision of director, writer and star Emilio Estevez, who has come a long way in a career that has spanned more than 20 years.
Estevez said he had wanted to make a movie about Bobby Kennedy for a long time. As a child, he visited the site of the assassination, the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, with his father. "I remember my father telling me, this was where the music died," he said.
"I believe that the death of Bobby Kennedy was, in many ways, the death of decency in America, the death of formality and manners, and the death of poetry," he said. "We need to reignite, and we need to reconnect to our humanity."
In my opinion, Bobby is not a great movie, but it does give a perspective on one tragic evening in a hotel in Los Angeles. An evening that might cause one to ask many “What if …” questions and certainly an evening that gives one pause as we enter another period of presidential primaries in the midst of an unpopular war and a divided nation. If only for the questions that it might engender, I recommend that people view this movie and then discuss it with others.
This inspiring tale provides a step by step approach to living with greater courage, balance, abundance and joy. A wonderfully crafted fable, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari tells the extraordinary story of Julian Mantle, a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crisis of his out of balance life. On a life changing odyssey to an ancient culture, he discovers powerful, wise, and practical lessons that teach us to:
Enormous amount of wisdom is covered here. I finished this thinking that this is one of the best books I've ever read on how to live in this world. I was shocked at the amount of principles covered in this story. I just wasn't expecting what I got from this.
I initially refrained from underlining and marking up my book because I thought I might want to loan it out. So, I took notes. I've since decided that I'm gonna read it again and underline the great parts I want to revisit. Just when I thought this guy had covered most everything, he pulled out even more! This is an awesome book.
Okay, the other nice thing about this is each chapter ends with an action summary. I liked how this wraps up each chapter. So, you get the chance to think about what happened in the story, the points being made, and the great thing is it gives you the techniques.
I loved this book! This is one that I think can definitely make a difference in your life. The thing about books like this is, usually people read it once, decide that there is something to it and maybe even make a few changes in their life and a little while later they slide right back into living the way they always have. Reread it, absorb it, and make lasting changes.