Chosen to be in Christ Jesus

 In today's first reading, 1 Cor 1:26-31, St. Paul reminds us that we are "in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord."  We enjoy this privilege because God chose us to be " in Christ Jesus."

Why have we been chosen? Not because, Paul reminds us, of our noble birth, our wisdom, our strength but because of our lack of nobility, wisdom, and strength.  We have been chosen because of our weakness, our foolishness, and our lowly birth.  All we have to boast about is Christ Jesus, who is our savior, sanctifier and wisdom. Apart from Christ, all we would have or be is a person lacking wisdom, lacking strength, and lacking nobility.

Let us not focus on who we would be outside of Christ because you and I, because of our baptism, are in Christ Jesus. We live in Christ Jesus through the grace of our baptism, a grace given to  most of us as infants!  We are part of the royalty of the Trinity. We belong to the family of God and are citizens of heaven. 

Why did God give us lowly, weak, foolish persons this grace? St. Paul says that God choose "the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God."

God alone is wise and we are wise in God and in no other and especially not in oneself. God alone is righteous and we are so in God, in Christ Jesus. God alone is holy and we are holy in God. God alone is our redeemer, no one else or nothing else and definitely not ourselves!

Praise the God who saves us, sanctifies us, and makes us righteous before Him through Christ Jesus, His only begotten Son!

"The Temple Filled with the Glory of the Lord" (Ezekiel 43: 1-7ab)

 In today's first reading, Ezekiel 43: 1-7ab, the prophet shares a vision  he has of "the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east."   Every  morning, the sun rises from the east. Is God not hidden in the sun, as He is hidden in the consecrated host, I wonder!  Ezekiel goes on to share more of the vision, saying:   "I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the Lord."  In our baptism, we died and rose with Christ and were transformed into the Temple  of  God.  The Spirit of God dwells within our very beings and, yes,  we are "filled with the glory of the Lord."  Our eyes are veiled so we do not see that glory but it is no less real, as real as the sun shining but not seen because it is hidden by clouds!
In the last lines of today's first reading, Ezekiel hears a voice saying to him:  This "is where my throne shall be, this is where I will set the soles of my feet; here I will dwell among the children of Israel forever." Yes! God dwells here on earth with us forever, as He promises His disciples right before He is ascended into heaven: Behold,  "I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Matthew 28: 20).
Where is God? Right here, standing before you and beside you. Right here, closer to you and me than our breath! Right here, living within your very being! "Where am I when you suffer," God asks? "I am suffering with you! That is where I am! Where am I in this coronavirus pandemic?  I am in it with you, struggling, as you do, to eradicate this plague from the earth! I am suffering, crying, weeping, struggling with you do! We are one!"
Why don't you, God, take it away?  You are God!  "I am not a magic wand that you can wave over the pandemic and it is gone.  No, I am God Incarnate, God-with-you, God-in-you! I am your Strength and your Light, your Wisdom that guides you in how you cope with this plague and what you do to limit its spread!Trust Me! Rely upon Me! Know your dependence, your vulnerability, your need of me and live wisely, humbly and lovingly!" 

Jesus' Teaching of Inclusion

 In today's gospel, Matthew 15: 21-28, a Canaanite woman, a non-Jew, approaches Jesus and begs Him to heal her daughter who is possessed by a demon. Jesus ignores her. When she persists, He  says to her: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  Again, she approached Him and says: "Lord, help me." He replies: "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."  the woman is not deterred by that remark and says to Jesus:  "Please, lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."  Even Jesus' disciples were against this woman and asked Jesus to "send her away; for she keeps calling after us.  However, Jesus is amazed by the faith of this foreigner and says to her:  "O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish." And Matthew tells us that "the woman's daughter was healed from that hour."

O my God! I probably would have walked again dejected and hurt and angry.  Not this woman! No way was she going to take a "no"!  Her daughter was suffering tremendously at the hands of Satan.  "No, you are not one of us," was unacceptable to this Canaanite mother.

Jesus was well aware of the Jews attitude toward strangers and, in fact, their animosity toward Canaanites!  Was He actually teaching His disciples how to treat strangers, namely, that they, too, were part of the redemptive process and recipients of  God's generosity, compassion and love, just as they were!  Is it possible that, all along, Jesus actually intended to respond positively to this woman's request but led her along as a way of breaking through his disciples' belief that they alone were privy to God's merciful love?

Do you, do I, think that we are better than others, more deserving of God's mercy and that there are people who deserve to be sent away from "the Table of the Lord"? Do you, do I, believe that it is right for us to exclude others, to be indifferent toward others, to ignore their needs for help?

Mary: A Model of One Who Surrenders to God, her Savior and Lord

 Today we celebrate the Assumption of our Blessed Mother into heaven!  Mary is the Immaculate Conception, that is the one person conceived without sin, the mother of God Incarnate, Jesus, the Son of God man.  Mary, before her birth, was fully redeemed, that is without the wound of sin that we all inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve.  Mary is the new Eve, as Jesus is the new Adam. In today's second reading, Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15: 20-27, Paul reminds the Corinthians and us, that "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man. [And,] just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life...."  Mary was assumed into heaven body and soul.  Her immaculate body was not subject to corruption and did not return to dust, as ours will after we die! 

In the Collect of today's Mass, we pray:  "Almighty ever-living God, who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of your Son, body and soul into heavenly glory, grant, we pray, that, always attentive to the things that are above, we may merit to be sharers of her glory."  Mary was always attentive to the things that are above, that is, to carrying out God's will for her, nurturing, caring, supporting her son Jesus, the Incarnate God! She taught Jesus  how to surrender to God's will, as she did, when, at the Annunciation, she said: "Nothing is impossible for God; let it be done to me according to your word." And Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit overshadowed her and the child that she was to conceive in  her womb was the Son of God, the One of whom it says in today's first reading, Revelation 11: 10ab: "Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One."

Jesus, like His mother, carried out the will of His Father in all things, even saying in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Not my will but yours be done," as He agonized over His impending death following Judas' betrayal of Him to his enemies.

How attentive are you, am I, to God's will as it reveals itself in the events and the people in our lives?  How aware are we that the Holy Spirit, as in the case of Mary, overshadows us and brings God's gifts to us, making us fruitful and givers of life to others?

God Is an Imminent God, an Approachable God, a Caring God

In today's gospel, Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus asked the the disciples to precede him to the other side of the sea, while he stayed behind to dismiss the crowd of over 5000 people that had just been fed with a miraculous multiplication of five loaves and two fish.  Several miles out on the sea a treacherous storm hits the boat with waves powerful enough to sink it.  Struggling to stay upright, the disciples notice someone walking on the waters and coming toward the boat. They are terrified.  Could it get worse than it is, they must have wondered. Then, Jesus says to them: "Fear not, it is I". Peter immediately says to Jesus: "If it is you, Lord, bid me come to you on the waters".  And Jesus says: "Come." Peter bravely gets out of the boat and walks on the water toward Jesus. The winds are strong and Peter, overcome with fear, takes his eyes off Jesus. Focusing on his fear, Peter begins to sink and cries out: "Lord, save me". Jesus stretches forth his hand and pulls Peter up, saving him from drowning.

You and I are like Peter at times. It is so easy to focus on our fears, to take our eyes off of Jesus. We can then get tangled up in our problems and, as our frenzy increases, we sink further and further into the "churning waters."  Waters are certainly churning in our world today and the storms are predicted to intensify: the storms of the coronavirus, the political storms, the protests against wearing masks, the stormy debates about returning to person-to-person learning, opening more and more businesses, the  avoiding large crowds and on and on! Storms may be raging in our families, our communities, our churches around any one of these issues or others causing fear among us.

I believe that whatever is happening in our world is a means of learning. What lessons do I need to learn from the chaos around me and within me? What steps do I need to take to regain a sense of balance in my life, to deepen my faith, to strengthen my trust in an imminent God, a caring God, an approachable God, a God who draws near to me on the stormy seas of my life this day?

"Fear not," Jesus says to me. "It is I; come to me!"

"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" (Mt 17: 1-9)

Today's Gospel, Matthew 17: 1-9, relates the story of the Transfiguration. "Jesus took Peter, James and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them;  his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him."  Peter says to the Lord: "'Lord, it is good that we are here.  If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' While he was still speaking, behold, a  bright cloud cast a shadow over them,then from the cloud came a voice that said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

Scripture scholars tells us that Jesus, Moses and Elijah were talking about Jesus' impending death. Jesus was being prepared for His crucifixion and passion. Was that "the shadow" that broke up the brightness of the transfiguration?  Not only was Jesus being prepared for going up to Jerusalem, so, too, I believe, were Peter, James and John, by being told: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."  None of us will escape going to our "Jerusalems," our "crucifixions and death but, like for Jesus, death will not have a last word but is only the gateway to eternal life!  Like with Peter, James and John, we, too, need to keep our eyes on Jesus, walk up the "mountain" with Jesus and "listen to him."

Peter was not particularly into listening to Jesus, however. Here on this mountaintop, Peter wanted to "make three tents": one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah!  Peter saw himself as the one in control. But no way was Peter in charge. It was not God's plan that Peter stay on the mountaintop. He had to come down to real life, face the turmoil within Israel, the threats against his master's life, and Jesus' determination to go to Jerusalem, where He knew the leaders of the nation were on the lookout for Him. They wanted Jesus put to death, as they were jealous of Him and perceived Him as a threat to their power. Jesus knew that but that knowledge did not deter Him from going to the city to celebrate the Passover, a holy feast for the Jews, remembering the night death passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and Moses led them through the Red Sea and through the desert to the Promised Land. The Passover Jesus would celebrate was His triumph over death via His resurrection on Easter morn and our future passing through death via our resurrection into heaven, as we, too, are God's beloved sons and daughters, in whom God is well pleased.

A God of Infinite Love, Mercy and Compassion toward All

In today's Gospel, Matthew 15: 21-28, a Canaanite woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon approached Jesus, calling out to Him: "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon."

Initially, it looked as though Jesus ignored her, as He does not respond to her request at first., so it seems.  Jesus' disciples are annoyed by this foreigner and say to Jesus: "Send her away,  for she keeps calling out after us."  In Jesus' times foreigners were referred to as "dogs." Jesus uses this expression and says to her: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel....It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."  The woman is not taken aback. She says to Jesus: "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."  Jesus, amazed at this foreigner's expression of faith, says to her: "'O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.' And her daughter was healed from that hour."

What a lesson for Jesus' disciples! No one is excluded from God's infinite love, compassion, and mercy. Those considered "dogs" by the Jews would be treated as compassionately as the Jews themselves! Gentiles as well as the Jews have equal access to Jesus' healing power!

Redemption is for all men and women in our day as well. Those toward whom you and I might not want to show mercy are shown mercy by God. Those excluded by society, put down by the powers that be in our world, those scorned and treated like "dogs" are treated lovingly, compassionately, and mercifully by God. His love, compassion and mercy are abundant toward all of His creation: men and woman alike, the rich and the poor alike, blacks and whites and all colors alike, criminals and noncriminals alike, young and old alike, the universe itself and all that dwells therein. 

Jesus Is In Our Boats

In today's Gospel, Matthew 14: 22-36, the disciples were asked to "get into a boat and precede [Jesus] to the other side of the sea, while [Jesus] dismissed the crowds."  A violent storm plummeted the boat  in the early morning hours and the disciples feared drowning. Jesus, aware of what was happening, approached the boat, walking toward it on the waters! Seeing Jesus, but not recognizing him, they cry out in fear: 
"It is a ghost...At once Jesus spoke to them, 'Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.' Peter said to  him in reply, 'Lord, if it is you command me to come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' Peter go t out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him."

Peter is you, is me!  At times it feels as if our "boat" is being tossed about by violent storms, winds too strong for our weak faith and shallow trust!  Jesus notices and approaches us upon the stormy sea of our lives but we do not recognize Him.  Jesus is not deterred but continues to approach us. He says to us: "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."  "Really," we say in our hearts.  "Could Jesus really be in the events of our lives: in the disasters of the covid-19 virus? in the terror of death? in the loss of our jobs? in the hurricanes and fires ravaging our country?"  Or, we ask: "Where is Jesus? Is He a ghost?" Or, we may complain: "I don't see God in any of this chaos. He's abandoned us. He lets evil thrive in our midst. Every day there is more violence, more lies, more corruption, more injustice. Every day more and more of our poor are left to suffer, are denied benefits needed to take care of their families, their loved ones, their children!"

Drowning by the huge waves of turmoil around us, we become frightened, as did Peter, and begin to sink. Like Peter, may we cry out: "Lord, save me. Save us, Lord."  As with Peter, Jesus immediately stretches out his hand and catches us. As with the disciples in the sinking boat who cry out "It is a ghost," Jesus at once says: "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.  I am in this boat with you!"

God is our Shepherd, who Pastures Us, Protects Us and Commissions Us to Do Likewise

In today's Entrance antiphon, we pray:  "I will look after my sheep, says the Lord, and I will appoint a shepherd to pasture them, and I, the Lord, will be their God."  In the second alternative  we pray:  "This is the steward, faithful and prudent, [St. Alphonsus Liguori, today's saint] whom the Lord set over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time."

The sheep over whom God watches include all of God's creatures: human beings, animals, fishes of the sea, birds of the air, all of the galaxies, each element of the universe.  No one  and no thing is excluded!  Every one and every thing that exists is here by God's creative will and love.  And all of creation reflects God's nature, God's beauty, God's strength, God's initiative, God's creativity, God's love, God's life! All we need to do is look and listen, contemplative and meditate upon what is and God will reveal Himself to open minds, open hearts, open wills!  How open am I to God's revelation in all that He brought into being and all with whom I  share this universe?

God's message from the trees might be: Look! You have the same strength we have to weather storms, to shelter those in need of protection, to bring about a balance in the universe, to create, to be of use in a way that no other can be! The animals that roam the face of the earth, the birds that fly in our sky, the fishes that swim in our bodies of water may say to us:  Look! You have the same agility that we have, the same strength to find and share food as we do, the same compassion and love for your own as we do, the same "wisdom" to ward off danger as we do for ourselves and our offspring!  Plants and animals, birds of the air and fishes of the sea may remind us that the same God that cares for them cares for us!

Truly, God looks after his "sheep"--all of them! He "pastures" all of us! He is God of all!

Let us, like St. Alphonsus Liguori, give other "their allowance" of food, both spiritual and physical, emotional and psychological that is need to thrive, to be creative and effective stewards of God's many graces!