Come, Follow Me; Trust Me

In today's Gospel, Matthew 4: 18-22, Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee. He sees two brothers, Andrew and his brother Peter, and calls out to them: "Come after me!"  A little further down the shore Jesus sees two other brothers, James and his brother John. They, too, are called by Jesus and, like Andrew and Peter, immediately leave their fishing business and families and follow Jesus. These four men never look back!  Their lives are changed forever.  We have that same example in Mary, the Mother of Jesus! She says "yes" to the angel Gabriel. Her life, too, is changed forever. Other women, once they heard the words of Jesus, follow Him all the way to the cross.

You and I also have been called to follow Jesus' Way. If we are being true to our call, our lives, too, are being transformed by grace. Walking in the footprints of Jesus is not easy and certainly was not easy for Mary or for any of the apostles or any other men/women who believed in Jesus. As with Jesus and Mary and the apostles and other disciples of the Lord, we, too, are often blindsided by "Herods" and challenged by "Pharisees". At times we have needed to change course along the way, sometimes becoming "refugees" in strange territories--that territory could be in our own family situations.  Nor are we spared sudden storms along the way, as did the apostles when out to sea in the middle of the night, about to drown, they wondered whether Jesus, who was actually sleeping through the storm, cared about the danger they were facing that stormy night.  We learn throughout our lives, that, though the terrain might be very difficult to navigate at times, God is always there.

Called to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb

Today's first reading, Revelation 18: 1-2, 21-23; 19: 1-3, 9a, clearly describes what will happen, at the end of time when God comes to judge the world, to harvest the earth, separating good from evil, and opening the heavens to all those invited to "the wedding feast of the Lamb." John tells us that he saw an "angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth became illumined by his splendor. He cried out in a mighty voice:  'Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. She has become a haunt for demons. She is a cage for every unclean spirit...a cage for every unclean and disgusting beast....With...force will Babylon the great city be thrown down, and will never be found again....Because your merchants were the great ones of the world, all nations were led astray by your magic potion.' After this, [John tells us, he]  heard what sounded like the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying: 'Alleluia! Salvation, glory, and might belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her harlotry...."  Then the angel said to me, "Write this:  Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb."

You and I have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb! May we be ready when our last day here on earth arrives to accept Jesus' invitation to the Eternal Banquet. We prepare for that final hour every day by putting God, family and community first in our lives, by self-sacrificing love for others, by living honest and moral lives or lives of integrity, by respecting others and ourselves and by keeping our focus on Jesus, the Lamb of God who saves us from being corrupted by the unprincipled and immoral persons of this world! Truly "Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb" and whose knowledge and actions reflect that truth!

Giving Witness to God's Power

In today's first reading, Revelation 15: 1-4, John "saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire. On the sea of glass were standing those who had won the victory over the beast and its image...."  In today's Gospel, Luke 21: 12-19, Jesus alludes to the fact that we will give "testimony". Testimony to what? God's power at work in us.  That we are victorious over the beast is God at work in us. The "victory over the beast" is the victory over temptations to lie, cheat, seek places of honor, lord it over others, lust for possessions or honors which others enjoy and other temptations which we overcome by God's power.  All of us, every day, witness to God's power at work in us, that is we become martyrs (a martyr is one who witnesses). We are witnesses, "martyrs," when we are honest, when we refrain from grabbing other people's attention when such is had by another. We "suffer" the martyrdom of humility, generosity, goodness, kindness, mercy, many times in secret--no one knows but ourselves.

The author of the reflections in Word Among Us for the liturgical readings for Nov. 28th reminds us   "[t]hat every time [we] make a choice for someone else over [ourselves, we] have won a victory. Every time [we] cooperate with God's grace instead of giving in to temptation, [we] have won a victory. [We] may not see it but God is shaping [our] character. He is making [us witnesses] to His power."

What an awesome God, who is always at work within us!

The Harvest of the Earth

Many of the readings for the recent liturgies speak of end times.  Today's first reading, Revelation 14: 14-19, speaks about the "earth's harvest [being] fully ripe. So the one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth and the earth was harvested....[A]nother angel came out of the temple in heaven who also had a sharp sickle...'Use your sharp sickle and cut the clusters from the earth's vines, for its grapes are ripe.' So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and cut the earth's vintage. He threw it into the great wine press of God's fury."

This passage is full of symbolism!  The "grapes" of the earth are obviously evil deeds that will meet "God's fury".  There is a harvest of good  deeds, however, that is "fully ripe."   May you and I be part of "the fully ripe" harvest,  the harvest of those whose lives are being transformed every day by our relationship with Christ and one another. May we be among those whose being, washed in the blood of Christ, is being poured out every day by our self-sacrificing love for the sake of others. May you and I be men and women who follow the Lamb in seeking those who are lost, who shield those under our care from Satan's snares, who teach others the way to being Eucharistic people broken and poured out for the sake of others' well-being.  If we seek to live this way and keep our focus on Jesus we will not be afraid when the "fully ripe" earth is, in fact, harvested and its "grapes" thrown "into the great wine press of God's fury."

"Two Small Coins" (Luke 21: 1-4)

In today's Gospel, Luke 21: 1-4, Jesus shares with us his watching people put their offering into the treasury.  He notices, among the wealthy persons contributing, "a poor widow putting in two small coins". Jesus says to us: "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."  I couldn't help but think of persons at the end of their day giving God the gifts of their service to others that day and then the elderly sitting in nursing  homes or assisted living facilities, grieving the fact that they have so little to give, no energy, falling asleep as soon as they sit in their recliners and not "being useful" to anyone anymore. "How come I am so tired," an elderly woman in her nineties complained to me today. I suggested that maybe her body is simply worn out from all of the years of her services to others when she was active and that today all she has to offer God are "two small coins."  

There are days for all of us, young and old, who come to the close of a day and believe that all we have to offer are "two small coins." Those "two small coins" offered humbly to our God are worth as much as, if not more that the 8 hours of hard, exhausting teaching hours in a classroom, or doing whatever,  when the ego proudly proclaims how hard it worked on a given day that we proclaim successful!

Sometimes, all you and I may have to give the Lord at the close of a day is what seems like failure and weakness with no accomplishments of which our egos can boast. Will Jesus not then say to us: "I tell you truly, you put more in the treasury today than on days when your egos were able to boast of all they accomplished because from [your] poverty, [you] offered [your] whole livelihood."  What we deem failure is in fact, spiritually speaking, a huge success from Jesus' perspective.  Let us offer to God our all, our livelihood, however meager it seems to us!

Christ: King of Heaven and Earth

Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, whose Kingdom is not of this world and, in fact, functions totally opposite of earthly kingdoms.  Jesus' kingdom is not a dictatorship, not one where power is wielded to the point of killing those in one's way to their "throne" of power and control and lording power over others. No!  Jesus' kingdom is one of being servant to all, sacrificing everything, even life itself, for the good of others, to reconcile all to God, to reveal to us God's eternal love, mercy, justice and kindness and secure God's gift of eternal life for all! The reflections from Word Among Us for November 25, 2018 reconfirms that "Jesus' kingship is unlike any we have ever seen. Instead of exerting power over his people, [Jesus] submitted himself to [our]power--even if it meant lettering [s] put him to death. And because he refused the temptation to lord it over his people, God raised him up and established him as the one true King over all of creation."

Jesus' kingdom here on earth is a kingdom that converts all to being men and women of mercy, of forgiveness, of servanthood. Those under Jesus' reign bring peace and justice to our world, are persons who live lives of humility and love, generosity and sacrifice for the good of the other.  Models of Jesus' servanthood abound among us and many are parents, who, 24/7, sacrifice for the good of their children, teaching them, in turn, to live a life of justice, respect, love, generosity and merciful forgiveness. Such children learn how to say "I'm sorry; forgive me."  These children learn how to share from both their abundance and their scarcity to those in need! They do not build walls of division or isolation, whereby those who have lord it over those who do not have their basic human needs met!  These children learn who Jesus is, how to listen to His voice and follow His ways!

How about you and I? To whose Kingdom do we belong?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all who visit this blog!  It's a day to be grateful to the Lord for all of His goodness to us:

• The gift of life itself
• The gift of our parents who gave us life here on earth
• The gift of eternal life that awaits us
• The gift of our faith, our hope, our love
• The gift of our families: our mom and dad and our siblings and all of our relatives
• The gift of our friends
• The gift of our education: grade school, high school, college--undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate work
• The gift of our teachers, school counselors, teacher assistants, deans, janitors, coaches
• The gift of the universe and all of the galaxies
• The gift of the sun and moon and stars and all of the planets
• The gift of air, of chemicals, minerals, atoms, molecules 
• The gift of sand and pebbles, mountains and hills, valleys, deserts and fertile lands
• The gift of intelligence, imagination and contemplation
• The gift of all of the sacraments Eucharist and of  the Scriptures
• The gift of male and female in all species
• The gift of freedom
• The gift of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• The gift of redemption, of repentance, of reconciliation and forgiveness
• The gift of Mary and Joseph and all disciples who have handed down the faith to us
• The gift of all religions
• The gift of all countries, nations, nationalities, races and cultures
• The gift of friends
• The gift of the seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter
• The gift of farmers and all professions
• The gift of food-bearing plants
• The gift of all plants and all animals and all of the fishes in our lakes, seas, rivers, oceans
• Our creative abilities
• And so much more! 

THANK YOU, LORD!

For what are you grateful?

Holy, Holy, Holy

In today's first reading, Revelation 4: 1-11, John shares with us a vision he was given of heaven:  I John had a vision of an open door to heaven, and I heard the trumpetlike voice that has spoken to me before, saying, 'Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards.' At once I was caught up in spirit. A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat one whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian. Around the throne was a hero as brilliant as an emerald. Surrounding  the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones on which twenty-four elders sat, dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads....In the center and around the throne, there were four living creatures....Day and night they do not stop exclaiming: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.'"

That door to heaven opens at every Sacrifice of the Mass, a prayer of thanksgiving offered to God by all Catholics every single day.  During the Mass, memorializing Jesus' death and resurrection, the door to heaven opens and we acclaim with all the saints and angels in heaven: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!'  Shortly following that prayer, the priest consecrates the bread and wine, calling upon the Holy Spirit to come down from heaven, as the Spirit did upon Mary, and sanctify the ordinary bread and wine. Now present on the altar is Jesus in His body and blood, soul and divinity. Following Jesus' command to "do this in memorial of Him, we offer God the body and blood, the soul and divinity of His Son Jesus, as Jesus once offered His life for us on Calvary, showing us the length, the depth, the height and the breadth of God's love for us. With all the angels and saints of God present with us at this memorial of Jesus' death and resurrection, we acclaim: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty who was, and who is and who is to come!"

Can any greater prayer of thanksgiving be offered to our God!

Jesus Comes to Your "House" Today

In today's Gospel, Luke 19: 1-10, Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who gained his wealth by cheating people, learns that Jesus is passing by his house.  He is a short man so he climbs a sycamore tree to get a glimpse of Him.  Jesus looks up and says: "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."  Quickly, Zacchaeus comes down and joyfully receives Jesus into his house, and vows to make restitution to those he has cheated: "'Behold, half of my possessions [and he is a wealthy man], Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.'  And Jesus said to  him, 'Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."

Jesus sees and knows who is seeking Him even when the person him/herself does not realize that one's frantic engagement in this and that, running here and there, switching jobs and relationships feverishly is actually a search for the Divine, for the Reconciler, for the One who really brings salvation to one's "house."  And as urgent as a person's search for that which he/she believes is the answer to his/her problems, just as urgent is Jesus' invitation:  "Come down quickly," Jesus says to Zacchaeus.  He says the same to us: "Come quickly; salvation has come to your house today"!  Jesus does not want us to delay our coming to Him or letting Him come to us with the gift of salvation!

Am I, are you, willing to step off the speeding "train"of distractions and spend time with Jesus? will you, will I , accept Jesus' invitation today? He truly wants to bring salvation to our "houses."

Jesus Wants to Know What You Want from Him

Today's Gospel reading, Luke 18: 35-43, presents the story of a blind man.  He heard a lots of noise and asked the crowd what was happening. When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by,  the blind man cried out:  "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me."  The more the crowd told him to be quiet, the louder he became. Jesus stopped and ordered that the blind man be brought to him. Jesus asked him: "'What do you want me to do for you?' He replied, 'Lord, please let me see.' Jesus told him, 'Have sight; your faith has saved you."

Just as Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted Him to do for him, so, too, He asks each one of us the same question. I encourage you to take the time to tell Jesus what you want Him to do for you, for our loved ones, your spouse, your children.  Tell Him!

Jesus,  I want You to open my eyes to Your presence every day. I want You to draw me ever closer to You, so close that You and I become one heart, one mind, one soul! I want to know you, love you, trust you and rely on You all of the time.  I want to obey the promptings of your Spirit, even in the smallest things you ask of me!  Please, Lord, soften the soil of my heart, remove the "cataracts" from my eyes that prevent me from seeing you and the "wax" from my ears that block me from hearing your voice!  I ask this in Your name, Jesus! Amen!

Setting God before our Eyes

Today's first reading, Daniel 12: 1-3, speaks of the second coming of Jesus, our Savior. "At that time," the prophet Daniel tells us, "there shall arise Michael the great prince, guardian of your people; it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until  that time. At that time....the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever."  For the wicked this event will be a time of "everlasting horror and disgrace," but not so for those who have clung to Christ, lived according to the Gospels and followed the directions of the Holy Spirit day by day--the Holy Spirit sent to us by Jesus upon His return to the Father in His resurrection from the dead.

My heart is saddened when I think of the many people who do not lead people to justice--people who close their eyes to injustice, who, out of fear, do not confront unjust legislature and executive orders, who close their eyes and ears to evil being perpetuated for fleeting gains of glory and accumulation of wealth for the wealthiest people in our nation.

Our inheritance, the psalmist tells us in today's responsorial psalm, (Psalm 16) is the Lord, not material gain! Those who realize that the Lord is their "allotted portion and [their] cup, [that it is the Lord ] who hold[s] fast [their] lot" are not afraid to lose their seats of honor in this world. Why? Because they  "set the Lord ever before [their eyes]; with [God] at  [their] right hand [they] shall not be disturbed." The heart of a person who stands up for justice and does what is  right "is glad and [his/her] soul rejoices." Such a person "abides in confidence; because [God] will not abandon [this person's] soul to the netherworld, nor will [God] suffer [His] faithful one to undergo corruption!"

May you and I be among those who seek justice in all we do and not be colluders with those who deny others their basic human rights for whatever reason or for whatever gain!

Hearing the Cries of the Oppressed

Today's Gospel, Luke 18: 1-8, tells the story of a judge who care about no one, not God nor any human being. A woman persistently approaches him for a just decision and he delivers it to her, saying: "'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'"  His response to her is to avoid negative consequences to himself if he continue to ignore her. He wants her off his back--he is, basically, thinking only about himself and does not really care about the woman.

Our God is not like that judge.  St. Luke says to us in this passage: "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.  Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

God sees our affliction. God hears our cries for help. God knows what we are going through. God cares and comes to help  us, as He did for the Israelites when He appeared to Moses in the burning  bush. God cared that the Israelites had become slaves of the Egyptians. It took time to free them but He held nothing back to bring them out of slavery into a land of freedom. Jesus, the Son of God, held nothing back either in securing our freedom from slavery to anything to which we have become slaves: hatred, bigotry, misogyny, prejudice, revengeful feelings and thoughts, promiscuity, jealousy, envy, selfishness, deceitfulness, corruption and any other evil trap into which were may have fallen. God is on our side in the darkest of moments and will not abandon us when the going gets rough and we know not how we will survive or get back on the right track! God knows when we need help--do we know that we need help? Are we calling for God's help. He is right there beside us waiting for us to turn to Him. He also sends people to help us just as He sent Moses to help his fellow Israelites!  Many times, we may be the one God is asking to help a neighbor in distress.  Are we listening?

The Kingdom of God Right Here Right Now

In today's Gospel, Luke 17: 20-25, the Pharisees ask Jesus when the Kingdom of God will come.  Jesus responds: The "Kingdom of God is among you."  The Kingdom of God is not a future but an everyday event brought forth when we are kind to another person, when we smile at someone, when we forgive others, show compassion and are loving toward others.  The Kingdom of God is revealed when others are helpful, useful, caring,  and honest; when persons refrain from gossiping or from hurting  others or themselves in any way. Yes, "the Kingdom of God is among" us, as Jesus told the Pharisees, and those who live by faith and hope and love--those who give "birth" to Jesus in this world--experience it and make it a reality for others and themselves!  A light shines in our darkness when we transform a little bit of earth into "paradise," into the Kingdom of God on earth!

Jesus tells us to not run off looking for Him when people say, "'Look, there he is,' or 'Look, here he is.'  For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation."  We, too, will suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation before entering our eternal glory. In the meantime, it is our challenge to make God's Kingdom a reality right where we are by our love, our honesty, our faith and hope in the Lord Jesus and in following His Way and His Truth, and being His Life here on earth.

Open to Goodness or Maliciousness?

In today's first reading, Titus 3: 1-7, St. Paul asks Titus to remind the people "to be obedient, to be open to every good enterprise. They are," he says to Titus, "to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, exercising all graciousness toward everyone. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another." 

As I view the news each night, I begin to wonder what happened to righteous living. I ask myself: "How deluded and foolish have we become, "slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another"?  In faith, I know, and I hope you do, too,  a God who is generous and kind. God comes to save us, not to condemn us, we are told in the Gospels. Though I do not see it now, in the majority of the nightly news broadcasts, I know in faith that we will be saved from our foolishness, our disobedience, our delusions, our slavery to "various desires and pleasures, [from] living in malice and envy, [from]  hating ourselves and hating one another."  However, God has promised salvation to those who believe and who turn to Him in truth and in repentance, recognizing one's wickedness and sinful deeds!  Any one of us will be, or have been, given the graces which were given to the good thief on the cross when he acknowledged who Jesus was and turned to Him, begging to be remembered by Jesus when He entered the glory of the Father!  That grace is available to all who believe!  I do!  what about you?

Living as God Intends for Us to Live

In today's first reading, Titus 2: 1-8, 11-14, St. Paul enumerates the virtues practiced by those who are faithful to their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Such persons, men or women, are consistently true to their faith and to their marriage and religious vows.  They are men and women of integrity, "sound in faith, love, and endurance....reverent in their behavior, ....showing [themselves] as [models] of good deeds in every respect."  Living in this way is possible for all of us, "[f]or the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires, [enabling and empowering us] to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good."

What a grace to be elevated to this kind of exalted living by the grace of God within us!  God not only invites us to do what is right and reverent, He also equips us to live in this way.  Furthermore, God implants an eagerness within our deepest being "to do what is good".  By walking beside us, taking us by the hand, God guides us to complete the good we intend to do. God never leaves our side and, when we call upon Him, He answers us in our weakness, making us strong in weak places!  Praise and thanks to our God!

Things that Cause Sin Are Inevitable But So Is Grace

In today's Gospel, Luke 17: 1-6, Jesus tells the disciples that "[t]hings that cause sin will inevitably occur but woe to the one through whom they occur."   Children watch adults intently, especially their parents, but others as well. Children imitate the good and the bad we do! A child is proud that he/she is like mom or dad.  Adults themselves will engage in evil because a leader--the president, a sport's star, a popular actor/actress--does so. A popular argument is that  "everyone does it."

Jesus issues a warning to us in today's Gospel:  "It would be better for [those who lure others into wrongdoing] if a millstone were put around his [her] neck and [that person] be thrown into the sea than for [one] to cause [another] to sin, [especially a child]."  Am I luring others into sin? Am I being lured into sin by others?  All of a sudden, do I find myself joining group gossip or am I the one being joined?  Am I teaching others to tell "white lies'? Am I cheating and teaching others to cut corners, as well! What example am I giving to others? Let me remember that where sin abounds grace more abounds, because Jesus comes to my aid always!  May I call upon Jesus' name when I am being lured into temptation.

Living for God Alone!

In today's first reading, Philippians 4: 10-19, St. Paul is grateful to the Lord and to the Philippians for being their for him, in good times and bad, in times of abundance and "famine."  Through the strength of the Spirit within him, St. Paul had learned to survive in any circumstance in which he found himself. Out of his abundance and his poverty, he served the people and they helped him. It was a receiving and a giving. Sometimes, Paul  needed the people to give to him out of their abundance and at other times Paul had to give from his abundance.

Like Paul, we are both needy and rich.  At times, out of our richness,  we are able to give and, at other times, in our poverty,  we are the ones who need others to share their riches with us.  We are to learn independence and interdependence, both materially and spiritually! When we learn to take care of ourselves in good times and in "bad," we are then able more efficiently and generously to give to others in their need.

In the Gospel, Luke 16: 9-15, Jesus warns us that, if we are serving "two masters", we will "either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot," Jesus says to us, "serve God and mammon."  We are here on earth to glorify God and to do good to and for others as a means to give glory to our God.  If we divide our attention to glorifying oneself or money, for instance, we will resent the single-minded and single hearted call to give glory to God alone!  As we journey through this life, we are on the way to the realization of our deepest union with God and to become more and more united with others in God!  Our ultimate goal is union with God for all eternity and living in the Kingdom of Eternal Love.

The Bounty of the Lord in our Lives

In the first reading, Philippians 2: 12-18, St. Paul is writing from his prison cell, filled with joy as he anticipates being martyred for the faith.  He is encouraging the Philippians to continue working out their salvation in the Lord Jesus. He asked them to do God's work without "grumbling or questioning."  Recall a time in your life when nothing was too much for those you love--nothing was too much for the Lord! May you and I have the courage to continue doing what we are called to do, as husbands/wives, parents/grandparents, employers or employees, members of a parish, a civic community  or a religious community.  "[B]e blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you  hold onto the word of life [Jesus Christ].... ...[E]ven if I am poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial service of your faith [martyred], I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me [and with each other]."

As in the case of the Philippians, we, too, live "in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation."  Living honestly and morally,  doing what is right for all peoples, I believe, is at an all-time low in the U.S. and likely throughout the world of the 21st century.  Do you, do I, "shine like lights" in this world or are we part of the darkness?  Are we colluders with those spreading darkness in the world of asylum seekers, persons fleeing corrupt and violent dictators in their own native countries? Are we in collusion with those hating others because of their skin color or their sexual orientation or because they practice a faith  other than our own?  Are we among those spreading messages of hopelessness or do we, in the words of the responsorial psalm, "believe that we shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. [Are we waiting] for the Lord with courage...; [are we] stouthearted"?  Are we ourselves persons whose goodness, honesty, love, and faith bring others to proclaim: I have seen/experienced  "the bounty o the Lord" today? If not, why not? And if not, what behaviors/attitudes do I, do you need to change?

Putting on the Attitude of Jesus

In today's first reading, Phil 2: 5-11, S.Paul users us to put on the attitude of Jesus, who, "though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in  human likeness; and  found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross."

Jesus took on humanity, our humanity!  Jesus left heaven, emptying Himself and becoming our slave.  He worked Himself to the bone, so to speak, taking on and destroying death for our sakes.  Nothing was too much for Jesus to show us the depth, the breadth, the height and the length of God's love for us.  As St. Paul says to the Philippians, Jesus, the second person of the Blessed Trinity,  did "not regard equality with God" something to which He had to cling! He chooses humility. He chooses littleness. He chooses total dependence, as any infant, upon His mother and foster father Joseph! God, the Creator of heaven and earth, totally dependent for all of His needs upon a teenage mother, whom He Himself created and sustained in her existence!  He did not bulk. He did not sulk! He did not rebel! He humbly submitted to Mary and Joseph! Not only that! At the age of 33, He humbly submitted to those who rebelled against Him and had Him crucified like a notorious, despised criminal!

St. Paul begins this passage to the Philippians by asking each of us to have "the same attitude" that is ours "in Christ Jesus."  What attitude? A humble, obedient one by which we do not consider it necessary to cling to glory or significant positions of honor and power, being above others! We are asked to let go of entitlements, as Jesus did, and assume positions of humility, submission, and obedience to a High Power at work within our lives!

Jesus Showing Us How to Put Other's Interests ahead of One's Own

In today's first reading, Phil 2: 1-4, St. Paul asks us to do "nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his [or her] own interests, but also everyone for those of others." Imagine a world in which everyone acts out of altruistic motives, not ever "out of selfishness,"  a world where no one's ultimate goal is  one's own glory at the expense of truth or justice!   Furthermore, imagine a world in which every one would be more concerned that the interests and needs of others were met over and above one's own!  Such a world, obviously, exists only in heaven.   However, let's get personal. What if I and you did "nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory"?  How would my world, or yours,  be different from what it now is? Looking back on today, what would I/would you have done differently if, in every circumstance, we had "humbly regarded others as more important" than ourselves?

Jesus lived this way! Never did He do things out of selfishness or vainglory! Any clues there of how you and I need to change our way of thinking and acting?  Jesus, the Son of God, "humbly [regarded] others as more important than [Himself] to the point of dying on the cross to show us the depth of God's love for us--He would hold nothing back to reveal how much God loves us, looking out for us totally!

The Feast of All Souls

Today we celebrate the feast of All Souls--those women and men who have returned to their eternal home before us. For many of us, that means that we have said good-bye to our grandparents, parents, some of our siblings, Aunts and Uncles, some of our cousins, nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews. All have been "brought to life" in Christ Jesus, we are told in the entrance antiphon of today's liturgy.  The first reading, Wisdom 3:1-9, reminds us that the "souls of the just [our loved ones] are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.....[T]hey are in peace.....[C]hastised a little, they... [are] greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;... the Lord...[is] their King forever."

We do not know the day nor the hour that you and I will be born into eternal life nor do we know the circumstances of our death. God knows! And God will be at our side when we die. God will come to us at that moment and be the light in the darkness of our death. God will take us by the hand and guide us through death's door into eternity, saying to us:  "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Mt. 25:34)! 

Being Children of God

In today's first reading, 1 John 3: 1-3, St. John reminds us that we are children of God.  I am a child of God now, St. John states, and what I "shall be has not yet been revealed. [I] do not know that when it is revealed [I] shall be like [God], for [I] shall see [God] as [God] is. Everyone who has this hope based on [God] makes [him/herself] pure as [God] is pure."

Wow!  Do I, do you, really grasp the depth of St. John's statement. First of all, do we really understand the reality of being God's child?  We know what it means to be the child of Mr. and Mrs. so-and-so! But do we grasp what it means to be a child of God. And if we are God's children, and we are, then we are also God's heirs!   The  inheritance that God has stored away for us, so to speak, is life with God for all eternity in the Kingdom from which Jesus came down to earth and to which He returned following His resurrection.   Second of all, St. John states, that "when it is revealed we shall be like [God], for we shall see [God] as [God] is."  We know that, in His creation of each one of us, we are made in God's image and likeness. From St. John's statement, our being made in the image and likeness of God, it seems,  is amplified/magnified, or could we say, glorified in eternity, when we are given new glorified bodies. And there is no way now to fathom that reality here on earth.  Thirdly, John states that anyone "who has this hope based on [God] makes [him/herself] pure as [God] is pure!"  My prayer is that we do just that with the grace of God at work within us!