Desiring the Magnification of Christ

 In today's first reading, Philippians 1: 18b-26, St. Paul's states that he rejoices as long as Christ is being proclaimed, whether that proclamation is genuine or in pretense.  For Paul and for all of us, Christ is our deliverance.  Paul's "eager expectation and hope is that [he] shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death."  That is, I pray, your hope and mine as well.  Living from this kind of faith can be a challenge, especially when we seem to be dealing with "death" to our heartfelt desires, when a loved one is at the door of eternity and we are being asked to let go, when forces of evil seems to be  thriving and forces of good retrieving from the nation.  

Whatever kind of death we may be facing, bodily death or the death of our hopes for our nation, our families, our community,  or for another human being or for ourselves, may we, as with St. Paul in his day, "continue in the service of [others] for [their] progress and joy in the faith, so that...boasting in Christ Jesus may abound on account [of us]..."

God Is Doing a Good Work in Us

 In today's first reading, Philippians 1: 1-11, St. Paul reminds us that "the one who began a good work in [us] will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus! He then tells us that he is praying for us   "that [our] love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that  [we] may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of  righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God."

What is the good work that God has begun in us at our baptisms? In baptism we were clothed with righteousness and wrapped in a mantle of justice!  God continues that work of salvation, transforming us into the person of Christ day by day! Moment by moment, we grow in "knowledge and every kind of perception," and make progress in developing the gift "to discern what is of value!"  Because of Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the dead for our sakes, we already stand before God  "pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God."  However, we are growing into that state of righteousness! We are in the process of becoming "pure and blameless for the day of Christ!"

The process is not an easy one, as it involves going to Calvary, dying, as it were! Dying in what way? Dying  to selfishness and sin, to our own will and submitting to God's will. That submission involves living the Gospel in a radical way, submitting our wills to the will of others here on earth. Our ego does not want to do that and will resist such submission, having a tantrum, if you will, like a toddler!

I am reminded, as friends and fellow Sisters submit to "Sister Death," in the words of our holy father, St. Francis of Assisi, of this kind of submission! As we approach death, we become totally dependent on caregivers to do everything for us that, when well, we could do for ourselves. God nails us, if you will, to the cross of dying and then raises us with Him! We can practice "dying" ahead of time by letting go of doing it "my way", letting others do for us what we are capable of doing for ourselves!

The Kingdom of God Is Like a Mustard Seed Growing to Full Stature

 In today's Gospel, Luke 13: 18-21, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed that a person plants in one's garden. When the seed is was fully grown, it becomes a large bush in which birds are able to take shelter. The Kingdom of God, I believe,  is Love.  A little bit of love grows into a lots of love: marriage love, love between parents and their children, between siblings, between friends. Marriage love expands into parents bringing children into the world, nurturing, sheltering, enabling and affirming their growth. Love provides children with the solid foundation upon which to become their own person, choose independence and develop interdependence. In married love, a husband and wife's love and respect for one another leads then to become mutually submissive to one another. In that growing love for one another, they become one person, reflecting Christ's love for the church and Christ being one with us and loving us unconditionally.

In the responsorial psalm, Psalm 128, of today's liturgy, we pray:  "Blessed are those who fear [reverence] the Lord, who walk in his ways! For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home; your children like olive plants around your table. Behold, thus is the man blessed who [reverences] the Lord. The Lord bless you from Zion: may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life."   We could reflect upon  this whole psalm in terms of marriage.  It might then read: "Blessed are those in marriage who reverence one another, who walk in each other's ways of righteousness! For you shall enjoy the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home; your children like olive plants around your table. Behold, thus is the man  and woman blessed who [reverence] each other. The Lord bless you;  may you experience prosperity in its various forms all the days of your life."

Above all, may love prosper in our lives--Christ's love and our own love for our spouses, family and community members!

Following the Light and being a Light to Others Today

 In today's responsorial psalm, we pray: "Blessed the [one] who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night."

For all of us, there are times when we encounter wickedness within ourselves;  that is, we may be deceitful, impure, immoral, obscene, idolatrous, envious, jealous, greedy, selfish, slothful, lustful, covetous, imprudent, impious, judgmental, unforgiving, uncaring, unkind and whatever other sinful ways the devil dreams up!  On the other hand,  we will also encounter and act out of the sacred within us: humility, compassion, mercy, gratitude, purity, altruism, self-sacrificing love,  patience, prudence, forgiveness, truthfulness and so much more originating from the spirit within us.

St. Paul emphatically says to us: "You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light!"   May  you and I live in the light today, being light to others and experiencing others as light as well!  May we let the light of the Spirit shine through us by the good we choose this day, by our "thank you's," by our being receptive to the help others offer us this day, and/or by our reaching out to our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors by phone or by a note sent out in the mail this day.

Several Faces of God: A Tender God, a Merciful God, a Loving God, and a Protective God

 In today's first reading, Exodus 22: 20-26, God is shown to us as one who cares about the way that we treat our neighbor, especially orphaned children, widows and aliens! God asks that the people be cognizant of orphans and widows, as they are most in need of being cared for. If you hurt them, God says,  my "wrath will flare up, and I will kill  you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans." And finally, in this same passage, God says to the people: If you borrow a cloak from someone, return it at night because that is all the person has to sleep in and do not charge that person interest for using it.

We are presented an image of God, who, like a lioness with its cubs, will, in no way, tolerate the wicked, the deceitful, the narcissistic, greedy person treating children or widows or anyone in need with disdain, neglect or abuse, harming them in any way. We are shown a tender God, who is concerned that a person has coverings at night so as to stay warm during sleep!  Jesus shows us God's tenderness in His healing of the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead to life, feeding thousands so they would not faint on the way home from hours clinging to His every word, and rebuking the disciples who wanted him to get rid of the children and stop letting them bother Him!  Jesus showed us a merciful God in His forgiving those who sinned, such as the woman caught in adultery and those wanting her stoned to death, the good thief on the cross, Peter in his denials, John and James wanting first places in His Kingdom, disciples who wanted to exclude those who were  not Jesus' followers but were healing the sick and casting out demons and so on!

 May you and I imitate God in his tenderness, his protectiveness of "orphans" and "widows," and his determination to hold the wicked accountable for their crimes against humanity, not enabling their wicked ways by making excuses for them and applauding their ways. May we also be tender toward ourselves, protect and keep ourselves safe, and hold ourselves accountable for the sins we commit, not making excuses for ourselves or applauding our bad behaviors.

Growing into Christ Jesus!

 In today's first reading, Ephesians 4: 7-16, St. Paul reminds us that "grace [has been] given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift,...that he...descended...[and] ascended...that he might fill all things...[H]e gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,"  [and so on,] "to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry"--whatever ministry to which each of us has been called-- for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood/ [womanhhood] to the extent of the full stature of  Christ,....[that] living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ...."

Grow to full stature in Christ Jesus! Become mature men and women, that is become Christ, be Christ, through Christ and for Christ!  Nothing less! Nothing short of attaining that goal. We are called to live the truth of who we really are in this world!  Jesus is not the exception of who each man/woman is but, on the other hand,  the example of who each of us is in Christ, through Christ and for Christ.  In Ephesians 4: 1-6, Paul says to us: "...live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace; one Body and one Spirit...." That Body is the Body of Christ!

In 2 Cor 5: 21, St. Paul reminds us that for "our sakes God made Jesus who did not know sin, to be sin, so that in him we might become the very holiness of God, "  that is the Body of Christ, Christ Himself!  That is why St. Paul said of Himself: It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.  

The Earth Is Full of the Goodness of God

 In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 33, we praise the Lord for the fact that the "earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." God's goodness resides within every human being, within each of us.   We see God's goodness manifested by parents, grandparents, husbands and wives, by children of all ages,  by persons in all professions--lawyers, police officers, scientists of all kinds, psychologists and psychiatrists, journalists, musicians, meteorologists, geologists, foresters, administrators, domestic workers, constructionists, mechanics of all kinds, authors in all fields, and so much more!  We see the goodness of the Lord in all states of life: marriage, single, priesthood, consecrated religious life of women and men. God's goodness is manifested in the universe itself, in plant life and animal life, in the fishes of the sea and birds of the air and all insects, in all minerals, molecules and atoms; in short, in all of creation!

In your life and my life, in the life of all of creation,  "the plan of the Lord stands forever; the design of his heart, through all generations."  What is that plan? That plan, I believe, is that we experience the fullness of life that we are capable of experiencing and of bringing about to the best of our ability. Jesus says to us in the Gospel: I have come that you might have life and have it to the full!  A "full"  life, for me,  is a life in which I discern and accomplish God's will for me, that I grow in love for others, God and self. A "full" life for me means  making life better for those with whom I live and work, developing the talents God has given me and using those talents to make the world a better place.  Living life to the full, for me, means fully enjoying all of creation and co-creating with God, using the opportunities God gives me to bring fuller life to others!  It means accomplishing "far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us" (Eph 3: 21).  It means experiencing being  "strengthened with power through [God's] Spirit in [my] inner self, " and knowing, beyond a doubt, "that Christ [dwells] in [my] heart through faith; that [I am] rooted and ground in love" (Eph 3: 14-21).

God's Indwelling in the Core of our Being

 In today's first reading, Ephesians 2: 12-22, St. Paul speaks about being strangers to the two covenants. We might think of those two covenants as the one given on Mt. Sinai and the other given on Calvary in Jesus' death and resurrection! As with the Jewish people, there was a time when you and I were alienated from the community of faith, times when we were strangers to the Body of Christ, persons, in the words of Paul, "without hope and without God."  Now, in Christ Jesus, we are of one mind and heart and soul; we partake of the One Bread and the One Cup of Jesus' body and blood, soul and divinity in the Holy Eucharist. We share the one faith, faith in the Lord Jesus. 

"So then," St. Paul  says to the Ephesians and to us, "we are no longer strangers and sojourners, but we are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the  foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

You and I are growing into a sacred temple where God in the Spirit dwells! That person  whom, perhaps, you or I, have a difficult time loving, is growing into God's sacred temple just as  you and I are.   In the deepest core of that person's being and our own, God has taken up a residence! We say that we live and move and have our being in God. The truth is, also, that God lives and moves and has His being in us!  In our true selves, we are one with God and God  is one with us! We are not strangers to God or God to us!

So why, do we ask, do we at times feel like strangers to one another? Is it that we are not perceiving persons from a faith perspective  or living life based on the faith handed on to us at our baptisms? Have we, perhaps, alienated ourselves from God, choosing God substitutes--our work, pleasure, power, prestige, wealth, technology, relationships, sex--as distractions from using our time to grow in our relationship with God and in a committed relationship with our marriage partner and family or community members? Have we neglected making choices that nurture our spirit self and that of others?

Armed by God to Serve God and God Alone!

Today's Scriptures are filled with awesome messages and come to us "in power and in the Holy Spirit" (1 Thes 1:5b).  In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah reminds us that we "are called...by...name, [given] a title, though [we] knew [God] not."  Through Isaiah, God says to us: "I am the Lord and there is no other, there is no God besides me. It is I who arm you, though you know me not, so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun people may know that there is none besides me. I am the Lord, there is no other."

"I...arm you,"  to resist Satan, to fight against him!  "I...arm you" against temptation to sin against Me, your God. "I...arm you" against the coronavirus though others around you have contracted the disease! "I...arm you"  against the temptation to abandon your faith and trust in Me, your Creator, Redeemer and Savior God.  "I...arm you" against giving up on yourself and your ability to stand strong in your service to others day in and day out, especially your service to those who are cognitively impaired, mentally ill, intellectually challenged, physically handicapped and/or terminally ill!  "I...arm you"  to stand with the truth, to discern untruths, half truths and downright lies.  "I am the Lord, there is no other."

In the responsorial psalm of today's liturgy, Psalm 96, we pray:  ...[G]reat is the Lord and highly to be praised; awesome is he, beyond all gods. For all the gods of the nations (power, wealth, material things, pleasure, sex, control over others, self-idolatry)  are things of nought, but the Lord, made the heavens. Give to the Lord, you families of nations, give to the Lord glory and praise, give to the Lord the glory due his name! Brings gifts, and enter his courts. Worship the Lord, in holy attire (in grace--faith, hope and love; in repentance, purity and humility); tremble before him, all the earth; say among the nations: The Lord is king (there is no other), he  (and no one else) governs the people with equity."

In the Gospel, Jesus challenges us to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. Let's not cheat God of what belongs to God--our love, our faith, our trust, our repentance, our service to others, especially to the poor and needy!

Created for "the Praise of God's Glory"

In today's first reading, Ephesians 1: 11-14, we are reminded of the purpose for which we were created, namely "for the praise of [God's] glory."  Without exception, we exist to praise, to reveal, to point to and to experience God's glory! Obviously, we praise God by the good works we do or, more accurately,  allow God to do through us. We are the hands, the feet, the mouth, the heart of God in this world, going about our work of praising, being and experiencing the glory of God in our fellow men and women who exist for the same exalted reason!  It is, not only in each other, but also in the universe that we experience God's glory. Each sunrise and sunset reflect God's glory. The incredible fall colors manifest how glorious our God is! Each season brings forth God's awesome beauty!

In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 33,  the psalmist tells us that the earth is full of the kindness of the Lord. You and I are God's kindness.  We exist because of the kindness of the Lord and to reveal God's kindness to all persons! Furthermore, as Paul tells  us in the first reading, we have been chosen for God's own inheritance. Just as parents are proud of the inheritance that they are able to give their children, so, too, is God proud to give each one of us to our parents, to each other, to the world itself  as His inheritance--an inheritance ransomed from Satan by Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead!  God is delighted to give us to our parents as royalty, clothed in a robe of salvation, crowned with a crown of  righteousness, and with a banner of love over us, shielding us from the "burning heat" that we will encounter during our sojourn here on earth!

Truly, God is proud of His creation of us, His redemption of us and His gift of us to the world in which we exist "for the praise of God's glory!"

Every Spiritual Blessing in the Heavens

 Today's first reading, Ephesians 1: 1-10, is filled with praise and gratitude to our God for the following: 

• For giving us "every spiritual blessing in the heavens"
• For choosing us, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him"
• For destining "us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ"
• For destining us " for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved, [Christ]"
• For the gift of  "redemption by His Blood"
• For the gift of "the forgiveness of transgressions"
• For "the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us"
• For making "known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth."

Wow! Every spiritual blessing in the heaven!  Every! Not just some!  And then St. Paul enumerates those spiritual blessings: holiness, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, grace and much more!  What else do we need? Nothing, in my mind! Notice that God does not say to us: "Would you like?" God gives all of these blessings to us out of His love, His generosity, His mercy, His compassion! God is a Generous Giver, a God who loves us infinitely and showers infinite mercy upon us day in and day out, whether we are deserving or undeserving, worthy or unworthy and especially when we are undeserving and unworthy!  

Horizontal and Vertical Relationships and the Fruits of the Spirit

 In today's first reading, Galatians 5: 18-25, St. Paul identifies the works of the flesh as being:  "immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies and the like."  The fruits of the spirit, on the other hand, are "joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."   The fruits of the spirit are gifts that come to us in our reaching out to persons in need, that is, when we assist others in lifting their burdens and when we love our neighbor as we love ourselves and God. Growing in love of neighbor is growing in love with our Creator God and vice versa!  It is relating horizontally and vertically.  Where the horizontal and vertical lines meet a cross is formed and the fruits of the Holy Spirit are poured forth in our souls!  

Those who do not reach up vertically to God on a regular basis are extremely vulnerable to engaging in works of the flesh: "immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies and the like."  Those who engage in these behaviors of lawlessness alienate themselves from God and from their fellow human beings!

How strong is my relationship with God? to what extent am I developing intimacy with the Lord? And, as important, am I growing in love with my fellow human beings?  

"NO Sign Will Be Given...Except the Sign of Jonah" (Luke 11: 29)

 In today's first reading Galatians 4: 22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1, St. Paul speaks about two kinds of births: natural and spiritual, of the flesh and through faith in God, in Christ Jesus! We could speak about having a natural mother and a spiritual mother, being born of the law and being born of the Spirit! The law binds us, enslaves us, condemns us; the spirit sets us free. In St. Paul's words: "For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery."

In the Gospel of today, Luke 11: 29-32, Jesus confronts the crowd that is asking him for signs. Jesus had already healed many people, raised the dead to life, cast out demons and fed thousands from a few loaves of bread and a few fish. So why continue to beg for signs? They were doing so out of malicious suspicions and stubbornness, wanting information about who He really was. If He claimed to be God, then they could accuse Him, from their perspective, of blasphemy and that would validate their desire to put Him to death. Knowing their motivations, Jesus says of them:   "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.  Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation...At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn  it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here."

In  Matthew 16:13-17, Jesus Himself asks His disciples: "Who do  people say the Son of Man is? And they said, 'Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 'But you,' he said, 'who do you say I am?' Then Simon Peter spoke  up, 'You are the Christ,...the Son of God.'"

Jesus asks you and me that same question!  Are we ready to respond or are we still looking for signs or, on the other hand, are we still taunting those whose faith in Christ Jesus is unshakable?

Invited to the Banquet: To the Eucharist, to Sit at Jesus' Feet, to Follow Jesus' Way

 In today's first reading, Isaiah 25: 6-10a, Isaiah prophesizes about the heavenly banquet to which all are invited:  "On this mountain the Lord of host will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. On this mountain he will destroy the veil  [the masks] that veils [the masks] all peoples, the web [Covid-19] that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every face; the reproach of his people he will remove from the  whole earth; for the Lord has spoken."  The prophet is speaking of the heavenly banquet to which all of us are called once we leave this earthly life. This banquet now is the Eucharist, which we celebrate at every Catholic Mass.

In today's Gospel, Matthew 22: 1-10, Jesus shares the following parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those invited: 'Behold, I  have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are filled, and everything is ready; come to the feast.' Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to the business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them and killed them."

The king is the heavenly Father. The Son is Jesus! We are the invited guests!  What excuse do we make when invited to the feast, to dine with Jesus, to sit at His feet and listen to His words, His teachings, and to follow His Way?  Are we too busy? Busy with what? What prompts us to ignore the invitation? And do we, God forbid, beat the persons inviting us? Do we kill them? Put them in cages? Throw them out of our presence? Berate them? Encourage others to harm them in some way?

Our Identity as Believers in Christ Jesus

 In today's first reading, Galatians 3: 22-29, St. Paul reminds us that there was a time when "Scripture confined all things under the power of sin, that through faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe."   He goes on to explain:  "Before faith came, we were held in custody under law, confined for the faith that was to be revealed....[T]he law," he says, "was our disciplinarian for Christ, that we might be justified by faith."  And  "now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian. For through faith [we] are all children of God in Christ Jesus."  As children of God, Paul says, there "is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free persons, there is not male and female; for you are one in Christ Jesus,...heirs according to the promise."

WOW! We are no longer slaves of Satan, of sin! We are slaves of Christ Jesus, of holiness, truthfulness, integrity, humility, honor, mercy, compassion, self-sacrificing love! We are one with Christ Jesus, having put on Christ Jesus in our baptism, having been clothed with a mantle of justice, a robe of righteousness. In our baptism, we died to sin and rose with Christ!  As one with Christ, there are no distinctions among us: there is neither male nor female, neither Jew nor Greek (Gentile), neither slave nor free persons. All are one in Christ Jesus, beyond labels. No one is greater than the other, more qualified than another, better than another, smarter than another, more worthy than another. We are ONE in Christ Jesus!

May each of us, Lord, become more and more aware of our unity, our oneness in You--our Redeemer, our Master, our God--and with Mary, Your Mother and ours. May we rejoice in who we are in You, through You and with You and for You!  May all divisions cease!

God's Mercy and Graciousness

 In today's first reading, Galatians 3: 7-14, St. Paul challenges the people concerning their beliefs, namely that they are saved by their observance of the law. Not true!  We are saved by our faith in Christ Jesus. The law condemns! Jesus saves!  "For all,"  St. Paul tells  us, "who depend on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not persevere in doing all the things written in the book of the law.  And that no one is justified before God by the law is clear, for the one who is righteous by faith will live, [as did Abraham]. But the law does not depend on faith; rather, the one who does these things will live by them.  Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written. Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree."

God's love for us is unconditional and so, too, is the gift of salvation. You and I do not earn salvation or God's love. It is freely given out of God's incredible and infinite love for us, a love for us before we were even born!

Many of us, perhaps, grew up with being told that God was watching our every deed, meaning that He kept track of our wrongdoing and would hold such against us! Being "good," that is always being obedient, truthful, caring, loving and forgiving--keeping all of the commandments to the letter of the law--was the only way God would love us, it seems was the message some of us received as children! We would, in short, be denied heaven by our misdeeds and God would not, in any way, love us when we did wrong! Yes, many of us may have been taught, inadvertently, that God's love had conditions!  Not true! 

Lord, open our eyes and hearts to know your unconditional love, a love that led you to being hung on the tree of the cross, "that the blessing of Abraham [his faith] might be extended to the Gentiles--[to us]-- through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith"  and know God's "wondrous deeds [and how] gracious and merciful is the Lord" (Psalm 111)--a graciousness and mercy  not dependent on our good deeds!  I ask this in Jesus' name!

Persistency in Prayer

 In today's Gospel, Luke 11: 5-13, Jesus shares the following story with his disciples: A man approaches his friend in the middle of the night asking for a loaf of bread. His fried refuses, saying that he and his children are in bed. It's kind of like saying: "Stop bothering me. It is midnight! You expect me to get up, disturb my children, to give you a loaf of bread. Go away!" Jesus suggests, though, that if the friend persists, the friend will, because of his persistence, get up and give him what he needs. Jesus then asks us to be persistent in our requests of the Father, as well: "...[A]sk and you will receive; seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives, and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."   Jesus then asks his disciples: "What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand  him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good  gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

God doesn't/won't ever say to us: "Stop bothering me! It's midnight! For heaven's sake, let me sleep!" It may seem as though God is asleep. And if it seems that way, Jesus says: "Keep bothering His Father and ours! Be persistent!"  Jesus also reminds us of who God is in relationship to us: "If we know how to give good things to those who ask, wouldn't God be far more likely to do so?  Furthermore, Jesus reminds us that His Father, and ours, certainly will be kind in responding to our needs and not give us something that is dangerous to our well-being,   "What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?" Our requests will certainly be answered with the good that we need. And at times, we have to live with the mystery of not knowing why our prayer was not answered as we would have liked. Our response then: surrendering to God's will in faith!

The "Our Father"

 In today's Gospel, Luke 11: 1-4, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, just as John taught his disciples of pray.  Jesus teaches them to address God as Father, Abba, Daddy!  He wants them to go to God as they would go to their Abba/Daddy and to respect God, saying "Hallowed be your name"  and to desire that God's  Kingdom come upon the earth--a Kingdom of love and justice, a Kingdom of peace and safety, a Kingdom of glory and honor.  Jesus also wants us to ask for what we need on a daily basis: "Give us this day our daily bread"--realizing that, as small children depend upon their Abbbas/their Daddys,  for daily food, so, too, do we depend upon God for such.   Furthermore, Jesus says, ask for God's forgiveness, saying, "Abba, Father, Daddy God, "forgive us our sins," just as "we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us." And finally, "Abba, Father, Daddy God, spare us the  final test--keep us from the evil on who will do anything to keep us from entering Your Kingdom. Don't let us be tested by the Evil one's final efforts to keep us from You, as we would not be able on our own to withstand Satan (my interpretation of that "final test").

Hear,  in Jesus' teaching the disciples how to pray,  His intimacy with His Father.  Jesus wants us to be as intimate with God as He is, as trusting of God as He is. God, for Jesus,  is an  Abba, Daddy God, a loving, caring, protective  Father,  a "wanna-be-with-You Abba, Daddy God.

May you and I approach God as a child approaches a loving, protective, caring, compassionate, understanding, affectionate father; in short, a father who has everything we need to become a loving, caring, forgiving person who reflects God's image!

Called by God to be His Ambassador, His Present-day Apostle, as was St. Paul

 In today's first reading,  Galatians 1: 13-24, St. Paul reminds his listener of his past effort murderous behaviors, saying to them: "You heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it,...since I was...a zealot for my ancestral traditions. But...he, who from my mother's womb...set me apart and called me through his grace,...to reveal his son to me, so that I might proclaim  him to the Gentiles...."  God called a persecutor of the Church, one who was determined to destroy the Church, to have Christians imprisoned and put to death,  to be an apostle proclaiming Jesus to Gentiles!

Only by the grace of God do you, do I, become a believer, one who stands up for the Church, proclaiming Jesus to others!  Only by the grace of God, do you, do I, turn from evil, misguided, self-centered, narcissistic, sinful ways to following the Way of Christ Jesus! Let us , also, realize that there is nothing  you or I have done in our past or present that prevents God from calling us, today or whenever, to a particular mission, to be His ambassador, an apostle of the Lord, one who spreads the word, builds up the Kingdom and gives birth to Christ each day!  As God sent an angel to Mary to encourage her to not be afraid and to tell her that she had found favor with the Lord, so, too, does God send angels to us each day, saying to us: Be not afraid; you have found favor with the Lord.  Or, God sends us into someone's life to give them positive messages and to affirm that they have also found favor with the Lord God!

With the psalmist, in today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 139, we pray: "Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way."  And we thank the Lord that we are "fearfully, wonderfully made".

Psalm 71: Adapted to Today's Reality

As we think of all those suffering from Covid-19--those on ventilators fighting for their lives, those in quarantine with the symptoms or quarantined simply because they have been exposed to the virus,  those family members who are terrified of losing loved one to this virus--let us pray parts of Psalm 71 together adapted to our situation:

In you, Yahweh, we take shelter during this pandemic;

...In your mercy, rescue us from being victims of the virus, deliver us,

turn your ear to us and save us from the illness itself

or from the depressing atmosphere of  being in isolation or quarantined!

Be a sheltering rock for us,

a walled fortress to save us!

For you are our rock, our fortress.

O God, rescue us...

For you alone are our hope, Lord, 

Yahweh, we have trusted you since our youths,

We have relied on you since we were born,

you have been our portion from our mother's womb,

and the constant theme of our praise.

....Do not reject us now, Lord,

nor desert us when our strength is failing,

as the coronavirus threatens our loved ones or our own lives,

as isolation surrounds us, suffocating the very air we breathe, 

and keeping us from being with those we love so dearly.

....O God, do not desert us;

let us live, strong in our faith and our trust,  to tell the rising generation

about your strength and power in our lowest hour

about your infinite power to save us in our neediest hour!

You have done great things;

who, God is comparable to you?

You have sent us misery and hardship

but you will give us life again,

you will pull us up again from the depths of the earth, and once more comfort us.

We praise you and we trust you,

our ever-faithful God,

We call upon you in this time of stress, 

O Holy One of Israel!

God's Ways Are Above Our Ways

 In today's first reading, Job 42: 1-3, 5-6, 12-17, Job says to God in the opening lines:  "I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes."

God, we know, can do all things and that no purpose of God's can be hindered.  We may not understand God's purposes but we know, beyond a doubt, that you and I cannot thwart those purposes! What is the purpose of the Covid-19 virus? We do not really know. God does! What is the purpose of so many people being struck down by the virus, incapacitated temporarily by the virus? We do not really know. God does.

May God's will be accomplished in all of the circumstances of our lives! We know that God wills good for all of us.   We also know that God can bring good about in every circumstance, including bringing good out of evil!  May God do so in the current circumstances of this country's life!  May God do so in those who pose a danger to the U.S., whether individuals or communities or other nations!  May God do so in the great and in the small, in the rich and in the poor, in all races, all nationalities, all genders. May God do so in those who are mentally and/or physically ill, in the lame, the blind, and the deaf.

In the words of today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 119, may "the face of the Lord shine" upon all persons.  May each of us, in the words of this same psalmist, be taught "wisdom and knowledge" for the sake of Jesus' name. May each of us realize that it "is good for [us] that [we] have been afflicted, that [we] may learn [God's] statues."  May we "know...that [God's] ordinances are just....[That] all things serve [God].  [We] are your servants; give [us] discernment that [we] may know your decrees. The revelation of your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple."

Please, Lord, give each of us, an understanding heart, a heart of love, a heart open to Your Word in all of creation, in all of the circumstances of our lives, in the words of others, in our own thoughts and actions. May we, by your grace, become "little ones" to whom "the mysteries of the Kingdom" are revealed (See the Gospel Acclamation of today's liturgy).

God's Questions to Us and Ours to God

 In today's first reading, Job 38: 1, 12-21, 40: 3-5. God confronts Job, asking him:  "Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place for taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface?...Have you ever entered into the sources of the sea or walked about in the depths of the abyss? Have the gates of death been shown you, or have you see the gates of darkness? ...Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness?" And then, what may sound like sarcasm to us, says to Job: "You know, because you were born before them, and the number of your years is great!"

God asks you and me those same questions!  Who are we to question God? to rise up against Him?  We stand before an Almighty God, an all-knowing God, an all-merciful God, a God of infinite compassion and infinite wisdom, an all-loving God, a God whose love is always creating something new and restoring that which, perhaps with age,  has grown wicked.  Who are we to question God, who, in His creative love,  is always at work bringing new life to that which has begun to fade and wilt and rot, so to speak!  Who am I, who are you, to ever question God's ways, His love, His wisdom, His mercy, His patience?

Let us remember that every morn God takes "hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface"! Every morn God enters "into the sources of the sea" and walks "about in the depths of the abyss"!  Every day God sees "the gates of death" and "the gates of darkness".  Every day, God knows "the way to the dwelling place of light and where "the abode of darkness" resides!

In the responsorial psalm of today's liturgy,  we  ask questions of God:"Where can I go from your spirit? From your presence where can I flee? if I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I sink to the nether world,  you are present there. if I take the wings of the dawn, if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there you hand shall guide me, and your right hand hold me fast!"

God is God and you and I are a part of His creation, created out of love!

Being Led and Taught by the Lord

 Today's liturgy opens with the following antiphon:  "The Lord led her and taught her, and kept her as the apple of his eye.  Like an eagle spreading its wings he took her up and bore her on his shoulders. The Lord alone was her guide" (Cf.  Dt 32: 10-12).

May the Lord lead each of us--every member of our families, every one of our relatives, each person in public office, all of our healthcare professionals, all educational personnel, all students, all parents, all children and adolescents, all persons involved in human services of any kind, persons involved in any kind of outreach to the poor and oppressed, persons in law enforcement, in the judicial system, in governmental agencies, in agencies helping those in financial straits, all members of the banking system.  

May the Lord teach us His ways, His truth, transforming anything within us that is evil, any thoughts bent on doing harm to others in any way!  May persons who are out of control behaviorally and/or emotionally---persons controlled by anger, jealousy, lust, covetousness, greed, avarice, sloth or any other kind of negativity (persons who are Satan's puppets) be taken up and borne on God's shoulders, guided only by God, the Almighty One, the Just One, the Merciful One. 

With Job, in today's first reading, Job 19: 21-27, we beg You, Lord, to have pity on us, for your hand has struck us: struck us in the raging fires, the flood waters,  the hurricanes, the tornadoes, the violence and hatred and prejudicial forces strangling our hearts, the out-of-control deadly viruses throughout the world. Take pity on us, Lord, Take pity! 

Lord, in spite of evil seemingly blanketing the earth and Satan wildly prowling the world to seek the ruin of souls and, in some cases, seemingly succeeding, I trust You.  With Job let each one of  us say: "I know that my Vindicator lives, and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust; whom I myself shall see: my own eyes, not another's, shall behold him, and from my flesh I shall see God; my inmost being is consumed with longing" (Job 19:27).