The Transforming Power of Prayer

In today's first reading, Exodus 34: 29-35, Moses comes down from the mountain where he was conversing with the Lord.  In the process of this encounter, Moses' face became radiant, so much so that the people were afraid to approach him.  The change that took place in Moses because of his conversations with the Lord had become obvious! 

You and I are also changed by prayer when our minds and hearts and entire beings are receptive to the Lord. We are changed from the inside out! The change might not be as obvious as it was in the case with Moses. But, nevertheless, honest conversation with the Lord, time spent with God, transforms us into the person God calls us to become: men and women of integrity, men and women who are honest with one another, are just and loving, compassionate and caring, forgiven and forgiving, willing to make any sacrifice that improves the lives of others. As with Jesus, who spoke with His Father on a daily basis, doing only what the Father asked of Him, we bring new life and hope to the world in which we live when we want what the Father wants and allow the Lord to work through us to make the world a better place.

Thank you, Lord, for your readiness to communicate with us on a daily basis.  Thanks, also for the graces you pour into our hearts to make us one with you and the Father and the Spirit.  May our lives glorify you!

Parable of the Weeds Explained

In today's Gospel, Matthew 13: 36-43, Jesus explains the parable of the weeds in the field. The one who sows good seeds, of course,  is Jesus. The "field is the world". The good seed [is] the children of God's Kingdom. The weeds, or bad seeds, are "the children of the Evil One and the enemy who sows them is the Devil." At the end of time, the angels will "collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers--[the bad seeds or the weeds]." These individuals will be cast out of God's sight forever and will live in everlasting torment. They will be thrown "into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."  The righteous, on the other hand, will be led by the angels into God's eternal Kingdom. They will see God face to face and live with God forever in unspeakable love, joy and peace which this world cannot give!

Lord, thank you for securing entrance into the Everlasting Kingdom by your death and resurrection for those who cling to You, seek You with all their heart, and serve you and others by their loving service. Thank you also, Lord, for being there when we get caught by Satan's lies, fall into sin, and, through grace, repent of our wrongdoing and turn back to You. Thank you for everyone who is a good seed that you have sown in the garden of my life and who, by grace, continue to bear good fruit. Have mercy, Lord, on the "weeds" among us, on those who, knowingly or unknowingly, are "children of the Evil One" and who are sown by the Devil.

Lord, have mercy on those who cause others to sin!  Have mercy on evildoers--human traffickers, sexual predators, corrupt, depraved individuals who, as children of the Evil One, go about treating others cruelly, act unjustly, hatefully without compassion and without love and thus deprive others and Mother Earth of their basic human rights. Have mercy on all who deceive others and vent venomous, hate-filled actions upon them!  Show mercy to anyone who has become a plaything of Satan and who, being lied to by the Devil, the Father of Lies, is thus caught in Satan's trap.  May these people, and all of us, look to You, Lord, for help, admit when we become entangled in Satan's lies.  When we fall into sin, may we seek Your forgiveness of our wrongdoing! I ask this in Jesus' name.

Let God be God!

In today's first reading, Exodus 32: 15-24, 30-34, Moses comes down from the mountain after an extended period of time in prayer--so long that the people believed  that they would  never see Moses again. They lost faith in the true God and made a God-substitute, a golden calf which they worshipped as God. When Moses returns from prayer carrying the two tablets of the commandments, "tablets that were made by God," and hears the people "cries of revelry," he is incensed with anger. He throws down the two tablets, shattering them into pieces.  Moses says to the people: "You have committed a gave sin. I will go up to the Lord, then; perhaps I may be able to make atonement for you sins."   Moses returns to the mountain of God and says to the Lord: "Ah, this people has indeed committed a grave sin in  making a god of gold for themselves. If you would only forgive their sin!  If you will not, then strike me out of the book that you  have written."  The Lord answers, "Him only who has sinned against me will I strike out of my book. Now, go and lead the people to the place I  have told  you. My angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."

Let God be God is the lesson God teaches Moses.  God asserts His authority in no uncertain terms when he says to Moses:  Him only who has sinned against me will I strike out of my book. Now, go and lead the people to the place I have told you. My angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."  

Are you, am I telling God what to do, who to strike down, who to punish, who to strike "out of the book [God] has written?  God says to us very sternly:  "Mind your own business!  Go do what I am asking of you--lead people to Me, to the heavenly Kingdom, by just and righteous deeds, by your love and service of others. Go and do as I ask of you! Stop concerning yourself about those whom you think deserve My justice!  I am God; there is no other. I am judge, not you!" If you or I  judge others, St. James tells us, we are no observer of the Law but it's judge. That position belongs only to God and not to  you or me (See James 4:11).
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Communicating with God Honestly, Intimately and Confidently

In today's first reading, Gen 18: 20-32,  God tells the people that He must come down and check out the information he is hearing about Sodom and Gomorrah.   Are the people as evil as He is hearing that they are.  "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them, that comes to me. I mean to find out." As Abraham and companions are approaching Sodom, the Lord stands next to him. So Abraham asks the Lord whether He will spare the city if he find 50 innocent people there and God says yes. Abraham goes on until he asks God if He will spare the city if he find just 10 innocent people there and, again, God says yes.

Abraham is not afraid to approach the Lord and to be honest with Him. God welcomes Abraham's requests and is pleased that Abraham speaks honestly and shares intimately and confidently with Him his concerns about Sodom and Gomorrah.

In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us to also approach God confidently, to be intimate with the Lord, calling God Father, praising the Lord, seeking what, daily, we need and desire of Him as well as asking for protection and forgiveness for ourselves and others. In Abraham's sake, he is asking for protection of the innocent people who live amidst evildoers in Sodom.

I think of the world in which we live today. It, too, is filled with evildoers, as was Sodom and Gomorrah, a world filled with people engaged in wicked deeds--human traffickers, sexual predators, those involved in slave labor camps--world leaders who are violating basic human rights of its citizens, exerting control and power over others in a variety of devious, oppressive, deceptive ways; those bent on making billions at the expense of the poor, at the cost of lives, jeopardizing even Mother Earth; those seeking revenge, who take other people's lives as they vent their built-up anger and jealousy upon others, sometimes total strangers.

Lord, have mercy on the innocent while you bring justice to evildoers.  Lord, as we pray in today's responsorial psalm, "the lowly you see, and the proud you know from afar"--[evildoers will be brought to justice]. And, we thank you,  Lord, that, "though [we] walk amid distress, you preserve us; against the anger of our enemies you raise your hand.  Your right hand saves us. You will complete what you have done for us; your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands" (Psalm 138).  Let us not succumb to the evil that we see others doing but cling to what is good and just and admirable in your sight!

The New Covenant Sealed by Jesus' Total Gift of Self on the Cross

In today's first reading, Exodus 24:3-8, after Moses gave the people the ten commandments, the people promised that they would "do everything that the Lord told us."  Moses ratified the people's covenant by sprinkling them with the blood of young bulls that were sacrificed to the Lord. As he sprinkled the blood upon the people, Moses said:  "This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words of his."

At every Catholic Mass, the priest says, at the consecration,  may "..the Holy Spirit graciously sanctify these offerings (bread and wine) that they may become the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the celebration of this great mystery, which he left us as an eternal covenant."   Each of us, then, in Holy Communion, consume the Body and Blood of Jesus. Jesus' blood mingles with our blood in our body. We are not simply sprinkled with Jesus' blood. No, we consume it and say, in the Memorial Acclamation:  "When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come."  We acknowledge the New Covenant sealed for us in Jesus' death and resurrection and, ultimately, ours as well!  God offers us the free gift of salvation--He held nothing back that we would come to know our union and God and embrace being disciples of the Lord according to His Word. In Holy Communion, we gratefully accept God's total gift of Himself for our salvation. Likewise, we promise to "do everything that the Lord told us" in the sacred reading of the Liturgy of the Word, which precedes the Liturgy of the Eucharist at every Catholic Mass.

Let us, with Mary, Jesus' Mother, pray, as she did in the Magnificat: 

"My being proclaims your greatness,
and my spirit finds joy in you, God my Savior.

For you have looked upon me, your servant, in my lowliness;
all ages to come shall call me blessed.

God, you who are mighty, have done great things for me," in sharing your Body and Blood with me as the New Covenant. "Holy is your name."

In this holy sacrament of the Eucharist, you have "raised the lowly to high places."

Thank you, Lord, for having handed down this faith to me from my parents! I pray that my faith in the Eucharist grows ever more stronger!  Thank you!

The Seed of God's Word Sown in my Heart: Is It Bearing Fruit

In today's Gospel, Matthew 13:18-23, Jesus explains the parable of the sower.  Jesus is basically asking me the following questions:  Am I the "seed sown on the path," that is one who does not understand the Word of God and thus Satan "comes and steals away what was sown" in my heart? Or am I the one who gets all excited when I hear the word of God but in whom the word does not take root and thus when hardship hits I "immediately fall away" and thus the seed bears no fruit? Or, yet still,  is the soil of my heart so flooded with thorns, "worldly anxiety and the lure of riches [that] choke the word"  and thus no fruit is born either?

To understand the Word of God, I need to call upon the Holy Spirit to open my mind and heart and grace me with the strength to practice the discipline approach of spending regular time reflecting upon the Word of God in personal and familial prayer time as well in Liturgical, communal celebrations. If I engage in these substantive practises of seeking God in the Scriptures and praying for the grace to understand Jesus' message, my faith will be strengthened. My grip on God's Word will not a superficial, weak grip whereby when hardships occur I "immediately fall away," or abandon by faith journey but a hold that sustains me when "storms" strike!

Furthermore, I prepare the soil of my heart to be receptive to the seed of God's Word when I do not choke off this seed by "worldly anxieties and the lure of riches," by compulsive accumulation of unneeded material things and worldly pleasures, by excessive gluttonous eating and out-of-control drinking and drugging myself (my drug of choice may be sex or running from one relationship to another and another or seeking this and that and another thing to distract myself from the difficulties, the pain, the challenges of what may be going on in my life.

Lord, help me make choices that will deepen my relationship with You, increase my faithfulness to the vows I have made, whether marriage, religious life or priesthood, and become the best person you intend me to become.

Dying and Rising with Jesus

In today's first reading, 2 Corinthians 4: 7-15,  St. Paul reminds us that we "hold [a] treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing  power may be of God and not from us...[that we are] carrying about in [our] body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body."  St.  Paul further reminds us that "the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us...in his presence."

Jesus says to you and to me:

Dorothy Ann (insert your name), you carry within you, as does everyone and all of creation, my dying and my rising.  A dying is at work in you all of the time so that a resurrection to new life here on earth and eventually in heaven can take place.  All of this is of God, a treasure from above planted within each person and every other living thing, plant and animal.  Why? To give glory to each one's Creator God from whom and for whom each exists!

My response:  Lord, may I honor and respect this reality.  May I die to all that is not of You so as to rise to the fullness of life that You have promised us in Christ Jesus!  May I, and every human being, die to sin--to selfishness, bigotry, misogyny, hatred, promiscuity, gluttonous attitudes, idolatry, abusive behaviors of any sort--and rise to holiness: to loving and serving others generously,  compassionately and unselfishly, to sharing of this earth's goods and wealth so that all thrive and become the persons God intends them to be. May we enhance life for all, not destroy it!  May we create unity, not promote divisiveness in Jesus' name.  Amen!

God Fights for Us against Satan

God Fights for Us against Satan

In yesterday's reading from  Exodus 14: 21-15:1, "the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the Lord was fighting for them against the Egyptians."  The same is true for us. Enemies may be pursuing us on every side and especially from within our own beings: pride, selfishness, gluttony, idolatry (God substitutes such as compulsive use of alcohol, drugs, food,  pleasure, relationships,  sex or whatever we use to distract ourselves or as sole means to meet insatiable needs, calm excessive fears, and avoid feeling whatever pain is beckoning us to look at the truth of what is going on in our lives). As with the Israelites, God fights for us as well.

By our use of God substitutes, we are likely to deafen ourselves to God's voice and develop a  blindness to God's presence and action in our lives.  How do we keep our ears and eyes open?  How do we maintain our focus on God, realizing and discovering that God is on our side and that God is enough for us? By calling upon the Holy Spirit or reverently uttering Jesus' name, asking God to help us.  It is at those times that Satan sounds his "retreat" from us,  because he knows then that the Lord is fighting for us against him in the same way as the Lord fought for the Israelites, His Chosen People.

Liberation from Slavery to Oppressive Behaviors, that is from Sin

Liberation from Slavery to Oppressive Behaviors, that is from Sin

In today's first reading, Exodus 14: 21-15:1, we are given the story of the Israelites being freed from the oppression of the Egyptians.  God divides the waters of the sea, "with the water like a wall to their right and to their left," the Israelites are able to cross the sea on dry land.  Once safely across, God instructs Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea, "that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians."   None of them survive.  "When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore and beheld the great power that the Lord had shown against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses."

This story is not only about the Israelites. It is about you and me, as well!  God also frees us from our oppressors: the oppression of selfishness, prejudice and hatred that holds us back from being a true disciple of Jesus.  It is about the ways, through baptism and the other sacraments that Jesus frees us from the oppressing blindness and deafness that deprives us of the ability to recognize Jesus in others and from hearing the voice of the Spirit guiding us to do good and avoid evil.

The story of God freeing the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt is a precursor of Jesus freeing us from sin as He offered His life for our salvation and rose from the dead, death and sin having absolutely no power over Jesus.  In baptism we died with Christ and rose with Him to new life, a life in which we are empowered to live as brothers and sisters and mothers of Jesus, that is as persons doing what the Father wills of us (see today's gospel, Matthew 12: 46-50).

Freed from slavery!

In today's first reading, Exodus 12: 37-42, we are told about the night that the Israelites rushed out of Egypt.  To this very day, this night is remembered by the Israelites as "a night of vigil for the Lord".  God kept watch over His people and, at the right time, freed them from the slavery of the Egyptians.  God also keep vigil for us. He knows the chaos or the slavery into which we have fallen or could fall each day. He watches. His timing of freedom for us is the perfect timing.  God is not turned back by what He sees. The turmoil, the chaos, the sinfulness, the divisiveness, the deficits in our lives do not cause God to distance Himself from us. No!  On the contrary, God draws near to us.  God is always near, watching and waiting for the right moment to set us free, to draw us closer and closer to Himself and to others in love.

For 430 years, the Israelites stayed in Egypt! That certainly is a long time!  Where was God, you may ask? God was at their side, empowering them to rise up to the occasion and do what had to be done as slaves.  Was God pleased that they were slaves? Of course not!  God, in no way, wishes us evil or rejoices when life is difficult for us.  God is the liberator, the One who reconciles us with those who  bring us harm or frees us from those who hurt us!  Our freedom may come in a variety of ways. Sometimes as dramatic as with the Israelites' passage out of Egypt. Most times, in less dramatic ways and sometimes we are not even immediately aware that we are being led to freedom.  We simply start making choices by which we let go of attitudes that enslave us to others or that allow others to abuse us.  We begin making choices that give us peace or we keep company with persons who are supportive of us and give us the courage to be our true selves, not another person's slave!

Am I, are you, choosing ways that limit our authentic freedom to be the best person we can be? What behavioral changes do I, do you, need to make to experience greater freedom to serve God with joy and in peace?  What attitudes do I, do you, need to change that will lead us more deeply into the truth of who we are, who God is and how to become our better selves?

I AM Sent Moses to Lead His people to Freedom; I AM Sends You and Me into our World!

In today's first reading, Exodus 3: 13-20, Moses asks the Lord what he is to tell the Israelites if they ask him what is His name. "I am who am," God tells Moses. God is the I AM!  God amplifies his answer by saying to Moses:  "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you."   God is existence, the existence of who I am, who you are, who all living beings are!  "I AM"  put me, and you, here, in this place, at this time and sustains you and me in existence for His divine purposes!  Our lives are no accident. We are not here by chance! We are one with God in the very essence of our being!

God's being, the I AM, is purity, love, justice, holiness, peace!  In our essence, so are we! When we do not obstruct grace, we radiate these virtues; we radiate God, though we are not God!  As children naturally are created in the image and likeness of their biological parents, so, too, are we reflections of God, created in the image and likeness of God, to do the works of God as God empowers us to do!

WOW!  My Lord and my God!  What an incredible reality concerning who God is and who we are!  How blessed are we and how awesome is our God!