Faith and Love

In today's first reading,  James 1: 1-11, St. James reminds us that God gives "generously and ungrudgingly."   Therefore, James says to us, "if you lack wisdom, ...ask [and it] will be given [to  you]...[A]sk in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a [person] of two minds, unstable in all  his ways."

Am I a unstable person, a person "of two minds," one moment believing and the next moment doubting?  Or am I strongly rooted in Christ Jesus, my God and Savior? Knowing who Jesus is, I will stand firm in my faith!

In today's Gospel, Jesus is upset with the Pharisees who begin an argument with Him and want a sign from heaven to test him. "Why," Jesus asks, "does this generation seek a sign?"  Imagine the frustration Jesus is experiencing!  Why a sign? Perhaps we will understand this passage better by likening it to a family situation.  Imagine a family member--spouses and/or children--constantly demanding a sign of love. No matter what the other does or does not do, the demands keep coming! Such demands, such doubts in each other and in God can destroy faith and poison marriage and family relationships!  On the other hand, if I am working at deepening my love for God, others and self--if I am doing all that it takes to deepen love for others, God, and self-- then  I do not need a sign! And for sure, I do not need to test others by arguing with them about who they are, from whence they have come and whether or not their love and intentions are pure, as did the  Pharisees repeatedly challenge Jesus!

Praising God in all of the Vicissitudes of life

Today's praises in place of the responsorial psalm are from Daniel 3: 52, 53, 54, 55, 56. One of the blessings is:  Blessed are you who look into the depth from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."

As I encountered the difficulties of this day and lost my "cool," I did not, for sure, pray a blessing or praise God.  I felt anything but blessed nor did I feel like blessing the person who "got under my skin."  I do know, however, that God sees into the depth of this person. He sees what I do not see and He loves her unconditionally.  He reads her heart--a heart that overflows with love for all and for whom she will go to any length to show her love.

The other lesson that God may be trying to teach us when "turbulence" appears is that it is important to praise God in both the pleasant or unpleasant situations of any given day! Truly we need to say: Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.  
  

Some Challenging, End-of-the-year Questions

In today’s first reading from 1 John 2: 18-21, we are told that “it is the last hour; and just as [we] hear that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared” (1 John 2: 18). In 1951, Fulton J. Sheen, a Roman Catholic bishop, wrote ^[51][52]  that “the Antichrist will not be so called; otherwise he would have no followers...he will come disguised as the Great Humanitarian; he will talk peace, prosperity and plenty not as means to lead us to God, but as ends in themselves...He will tempt Christians with the same three temptations with which he tempted Christ... (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

Are we being tempted?

St. John says to us in 1 John 2: 20-21: …[Y]ou have the anointing that comes from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth.”

Are we being lied to?

If we are going to discern wisely and skillfully, we need to ask ourselves those questions always and do so in prayer.

The Feast of the Holy Innocents

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents, those little boys two years and younger who Herod slaughtered in hopes of killing Jesus. Herod was a jealous, ambitious man, narcissistically pursuing power and control at other people’s expense.  Deceptively, he asked the Magi, on their return from worshiping the new born King, to let him know where to find him so he, too, could worship him. That was not his intent. He wanted Jesus killed so that his position of power and prestige would not be in jeopardy.  He would do whatever he heeded to do to remove the threat!

There are many reasons, even today, that infants and children are at risk, whether they are slaughtered in their mother’s womb,  disposed of by being sold to human traffickers, handed over for a profit to those who are seeking body parts or looking for children to sacrifice to Satan, or, in fact,  being used and abused by adults wanting to produce products  cheaply  to guarantee their factories’  billions of dollars in profit.  Children are also at risk of being victims of physical, emotional, sexual abuse within the confines of their homes and, in some cases, in their schools.

 God weeps for children of today as much as he wept for the children Herod killed in Bethlehem. God also mourns today for those who engage in deceptive activities, as Herod did, in order to, presumably, secure a powerful position in the world or in order to profit personally in some way and not be thwarted in achieving narcissistic dreams of greatness. Not only children but adults also, especially women, become victims of the “Herods” of today.

So, what is our challenge personally? What am I/what are you doing to remain cognizant of ways in which powerful figures in our societies are being deceptive?  Am I/are you aware that what someone says he/she is going to do to promote rightful relationships,  and which sounds terrific, could,  in fact,  be laced with evil intent?  What about my/your own intentions? Are they rooted in selfishness, narcissism, pride, greed or do they stem from humility, generosity, a willingness to sacrifice for the good of all?

Beginnings and Endings

Today’s readings, Revelation 14: 14-19 and Luke 21: 5-11, speak of the end time and what will precede that time. We are warned not to be deceived into thinking that the end time is now. Rather, believe that, yes, the end times will come but preceding such a time, there will be wars and threats of war. There will be natural as well as man-made disasters,  chaos and disorders of every kind.  We have a choice of focusing either on the darkness or the Light, on the disasters or ways to help those who are victims of a disaster. We can choose to be people of the Light or of the darkness, people of hopefulness or hopelessness, people filled with love or hatred of any of its forms . 

As we approach the end of the Church year and begin Advent this coming Sunday, we are challenged to take stock of our lives.  Are we personally ready to begin anew? All of life, as we know it,  is about endings and beginnings. Every morning the Lord gives us another day to begin anew in making the world a better place, in bringing light into darkness, hope into despair, love into hate-filled situations.  Each day we have new opportunities to right wrongs we may have done or to forgive wrongs others may have done against us. Each day  we are given opportunities to have our eyes and ears and hearts and minds and wills open to the Lord at work in the midst of our lives and the lives of others and to use us as His instrument of doing good in our world.

What choices will you and I make today?  What will be our focus? In what ways are we being challenged to begin anew?

God's Immeasurable Riches

Today, in Ephesians 2:1-10, we are blessed with another one of St. Paul’s messages of God’s awesome generosity, mercy and love.  Bluntly, St. Paul tells the followers of Christ, that is, each one of us: “You, [Dorothy Ann,] were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you once lived following the age of this world,… the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.”  [Dorothy Ann] you “…once lived among them in the desires of [your]flesh [and of your ego], following the wishes of the flesh [and of your ego] and [your] impulses, were by nature [a child] of wrath, like the rest.” 

St. Paul puts it on the line, so to speak.  Nothing in that passage is something of which to be boastful or proud. Without redemption, you and I were a mess and in deep trouble, resistant to following the will of God and cooperating with grace. No way, however, would God allow you or me, masterpieces of His hand, His possessions, to perish, to remain “dead.”  No, says St. Paul. “God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved), raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus….[Y]ou have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works,…For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.”

How awesome! We live on this earth doing good that God has prepared for us do to ahead of time: everything we need to live a good life has been secured for us by a loving, caring, faithful God! Why has God done this? So that “he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

Today, Lord, may my eyes, and yours, be opened to the “immeasurable riches” of God’s grace bestowed upon me “in Christ Jesus” and may I not choose death by following “the age of this world,…the [evil] spirit that is…[always] at work in the disobedient”:  the arrogant, the deceitful, the corrupt, the greedy, the unjust, the proud, the abusive  persons of our societies. And, Lord, when I do fall into Satan’s snares, may I recognize and acknowledge my failures, my sinful ways, and come to you and those I offended, asking for pardon and forgiveness.  

Challenges, Choices and Consequences

The incredible presence, nearness, and power of our God is always at work in our lives, as testimony in today’s Scripture readings provide.  In the first reading, Daniel 13: 1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 we have the story of Susanna,  who is falsely accused by wicked judges.   Condemned to die, Susanna cried out aloud: O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be: you know that…[these judges] have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me.”  As Susanna is led away to be executed, Daniel, inspired by the Holy Spirit, refused to go along with the court’s decision and asked the people to return to court.  Questioning the two accusers separately, Daniel exposed their lies and, according to Mosaic law, they were put to death in her place.

Both Susanna and Daniel are God-fearing persons. Both are attuned to the Spirit within them as they faced challenging situations in their lives. The two evil judges, however, do not rely upon the Spirit’s power available to them but followed the lustful, wicked voices within human nature.  We all have evil and good residing within us, a voice in tune with God’s will and a voice opposing God’s will.  We always have choices to make, as did Susanna, Daniel and the wicked judges! So, too, did the people of the court, who could have ignored Daniel or responded to him. Fortunately, they chose the latter. 

What kind of choices am I making in my life? To which voices am I paying attention? Remember, God is always present. His power is always available to us, especially when we face evil knocking at our doors!

"What You See is Not What You Think"

In today's first reading, Jeremiah 23: 5-8, the prophet prophesies that The Lord will "raise up a righteous  shoot to David."   The royal dynasty has deteriorated.  Israel's king sunk into a cycle of corruption, murdering Uriah and committing adultery with his widow.  The royal dynasty also included apostates like King Ahaz (2 Kgs 15) and weaklings like King Zedekiah (Jer 38: 5, 19, 24-26).  The royal house itself had become corrupt.  God promises, however, that out of the stump of Jesse a righteous King shall be be born.  The prophets held on to their belief in God's promises in the most wretched of times, in times of upheaval and darkness.

In the Gospel of today, Mt 1: 18-35, Joseph, who is betrothed to Mary, discovers that she is pregnant and not with his child.  From human appearances it looks as though she has also become corrupt and committed adultery, as did King David.  Joseph agonizes over what he sees and decides to divorce Mary quietly when God intervenes. In a dream an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph and says to him: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will  bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins"

The prophets, Mary and Joseph, are righteous people living in a world that is corrupt, that is immersed in sin. They cling to God's promises and listen to the Spirit's Voice, directing them to make right choices, even if those choices could be misinterpreted, misunderstood, and/or ridiculed or even could lead to death. Their faith and trust in God was unshakable. Their "house" was built on Rock, the Rock of the Scriptures, the Word of God!

We might ask ourselves:  Upon what is my "house" built? Whose voice do I follow? When I face dilemmas similar to or as baffling as Joseph's, how do I handle them? In what ways does God confront my ways of thinking when they are contrary to what God is asking of me?

Discipleship: Its Challenges, Hopes, and Fears

In today’s Gospel, Mark 6: 7-13, Jesus sends his disciples out in twos to spread the Good News, to heal the sick and cast out demons.  Sometimes they succeeded. At other times they did not.  On the Lake of Geneserath, when they encountered a storm, they  doubted that Jesus cared that they could have drowned, as He was soundly asleep in the stern of the boat. Awakened by their frightened call, Jesus quieted the raging waters and confronted them on their lack of faith.

The apostle’s faith and trust in the Lord would continue to be tested.  One of them denied Jesus; another betrayed Him.  All of the apostles doubted the resurrection and, except for John, ran away in the heat of the battle. No one but John stood beneath the cross on Calvary. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the three apostles that Jesus took with Him fell asleep during His agony. 

Sound familiar?   We, too, walk that same journey of faith. At times, we do not succeed. Our efforts leave no results that we can see. We fall asleep, inattentive to that which calls out for our love, our caring, our encouragement!  Doubts assail us. Our faith is shattered from time and time as we encounter setbacks, failures, and challenges that baffle us. When I fail in these ways, I wonder what I would ever do if I faced persecution, martyrdom, torture for the sake of Christ. Some of our fellow Christians do and are being tortured, persecuted, martyred as I write this. Lord, I know, you stand at their side. You also stand at my side through the daily experiences of every day. When I am weak, You are strong.  I believe that even when my faith seems buried beneath the “rubble” of life. I believe that, Lord, even when, like the apostle in that terrifying storm, I cry out to You:  “Don’t you see I am about to die in some way, that I am desperately in need of your intervention”. Even when I say: “You have abandoned me, Lord,” I still, deep down somewhere in my being, I believe.

Motivations, Challenges, Difficulties on the Way

In today’s first reading, Acts 13: 44-52, St. Luke talks about the success and the difficulties Paul and Barnabas encountered when  proclaiming the word of God. “The whole city gathered”  to hear them. The Jews reacted “with jealousy and with violent abuse,” contradicting Paul and Barnabas’  teachings.  “Women of prominence” and “leading men of the city” incited a “persecution” against Paul and Barnabas, expelling  them from the region.   “Armed” with the Scripture that says  “I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth” (Is 49:6), Paul and Barnabas shake “the dust from their feet” and move on.

As I reflect upon Acts 13: 44-52, I might ask myself whether or not, like the Jews,  have I been motivated by jealousy when another person or persons align, not with me, but with others? Am I roused to anger when I am not succeeding and another is? Do I violently, or not so violently, contradict those who are succeeding in ways in which  I want to succeed? Do I incite others to “persecute” those with whom I disagree or  who are more popular than I and of whom I am   jealous  (even when I am unaware of my hidden motivation)?  How important it is that you and I take the time to examine the energy compelling us to spout off against our “neighbor”.  We need to know from whence our behaviors flow: are we reacting from a positive force or a negative one, from a good spirit or an evil spirit?  The inability to rejoice at the good another does or others are doing could easily indicate that my motivation is linked to that within me that is not of God. 

Like Barnabas and Paul, we Christians  are called to be “a light” and “an instrument of salvation to the whole world and, in particular, in the world in which we live, work and pray. To do that we need to leave the negativity within ourselves and outside of ourselves and move on to “greener pastures”, to working in “soil” receptive to the word of God, as did Paul and Barnabas.

Feast of St. Stephen, the first Martyr

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Stephen, the first person to give his life for his faith in Christ Jesus.

In the Gospel, Mt. 10: 17-22, Jesus tells us not to worry about what we might say when confronted for our faith, when we are challenged by pagans, non-believers, and/or oppressors because “[y]ou will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”  Stephen, filled with the wisdom of the Spirit, was no match for his debaters, St. Luke tells us in the first reading of today’s liturgy, Acts 6: 8-10; 7: 54-59.  Stephen “was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freemen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.”

The Spirit that willed Stephen is also within our very beings. We, too, have access to the Wisdom of God, who comes to us in Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy Eucharist and through grace available to all who call upon the name of the Lord.  May you and I, today, experience that power at work within us and around us and within and around others as well. May our eyes be opened to the wonders of the Lord worked by others, by the signs God’s gives of His love’s transforming power.

The infant Jesus, God among us, continues to this day to come in disguises and in ways that, many times, pass us unawares. Our efforts to seek the Lord each day make it more likely that we will recognize Him in the daily events of the day: in our children, our young people, the elderly, our own family members and relatives, our priests and deacons, in the signs of the times (the disasters around us that invite us to call upon the Lord and put our faith in God, not in material things or even in humankind. God alone saves!

 

Aspirants to holiness

In today’s first reading, 1 Tim 3: 1-13, Paul addresses bishops, deacons and women.  As I reflected upon his message, I applied it to all Christians, to disciples of Christ, to all of us aspiring for holiness.  It then reads something like this:

“Beloved, this saying is trustworthy: whoever aspires…[to be a disciple of Christ] must be irreproachable,…temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money.  …[One who aspires to holiness] must manage…[one’s own person] well, keeping…[oneself] under control with perfect dignity; for if…[a person] does not know how to manage…[oneself], how can…[such a person] take care of the Church of God  [the people of God]?   ….[Such a person] must also have a good reputation among outsiders, so…[as not to] fall into disgrace, the Devil’s trap.”

Furthermore, all who aspire to holiness, “must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, holding fast to the mystery of faith with a clear conscience….Thus those who serve well…gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.”

Wow!  We know that none of us acquires this dignity on our own. We all need Christ and the Holy Spirit working within us. We all need the sacraments and the Word of God instructing and transforming us on a daily basis.   Without God, we will not attain this stature of being Christ’s disciples or being serious aspirants to holiness.

Dying and Rising with Christ

Yesterday we had the Gospel of the sower going out to sow some seeds (Mt 13: 1-9).  In today’s first reading we have Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, 4: 7-15, in which he speaks to us about “carrying about in…[our bodies] the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested…” Both readings are significantly linked.  Most seeds, to bear fruit, need to be buried, need to die to one form of being and rise to another, lest they return to the dust of the earth without bearing the fruit it contains within it.  That is true of many of the seeds planted in our souls by the Word of God or by God speaking and acting in the events and relationships of a given day.  To rise to new life in Jesus, a dying often needs to occur. What do I mean?  In 2 Cor: 4: 7-15, St. Paul speaks about experiences that afflict us.  Perhaps our pride is stressed. Possibly, we strain to be kind when treated unkindly.  When I reflected upon the parable of the sower, I wrote the following prayer, which you might find helpful in your struggles to die and rise with Christ when “life throws you a curve ball,” so to speak:

 Lord, may I, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, not let the “birds” of anger, selfishness and pride eat the Word You are sowing on the soil of my heart.  May my heart be porous, not hardened by hatred, selfishness and pride, by cynicism and hopelessness, by narcissistic behaviors and judgmental attitudes.   May the seed not be scorched by these weaknesses either.  Rather, may the seed fall on rich soil, soil made fertile by humility and faith in You.

What is your prayer and hopes as you battle with life’s difficult moments?

The Value of Heroic Acceptance of Difficult Challenges

The difficulties that Paul and Barnabas encountered may seem overwhelming to us (see today’s first reading, Acts 14: 19-28).  If I had been stoned in one place, or even if I had gotten an inkling that the “Jews” were coming to the cities in order to attack not only my ministry but also attempt to kill me, would I have hung around or returned to those cities?  Paul and Barnabas, in fact, do leave for what probably was safer ground, but returned.  In each place they proclaimed “the good news,” made “a considerable number of disciples,” “strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith,” reminding them that “it is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.”  Sometimes I forget that living the Gospel life entails hardship. In fact, many times, I attempt to avoid that which is difficult—that is the ego in me. My spirit self follows a different path, namely becoming one with the Lord in living life to the full, including dealing with life’s difficulties in ways that leads to my transformation into Christ and making decisions that are not always pleasant to my ego self.  Jesus does not promise that life in Him will be easy. He only promises that He will give me peace. “Not as the world gives do I give it to you,” He says in today’s Gospel, Jn 14: 27-31a.

I learned that recently in that I was out of control in something as mundane as snacking.  I’d have a snack when I was bored. I’d have a snack to reward myself after accomplishing a task.  I’d have a snack to celebrate another person’s success.  Excuses abounded! I denied myself nothing in this regard.  The path from my office to the refrigerator was becoming thin bare.  I put on 5 lbs in one month and that would have added up to being close to 200 lbs by the end of this year.  I resolved to stop the downward spiral and to discipline myself, after all it was Holy Week when I made that decision.  I have not snacked between meals since and have relearned the value of discipline, of saying “no” to self-indulgence and “yes” to an ascetical practice.  This sacrifice, the result of grace at work within my true self,  has not only effected by physical well-being but has affected me spiritually.  Perhaps I will deal differently when difficulties arise in other areas of my life, now that I am relearning the positive effects of self-discipline and have strengthened a spiritual “muscle” that I had allowed to atrophy.

More miracles! More revelations! More challenges!

Yesterday we reflected on the test Elijah put to the prophets of Baal.  Through Elijah, Yahweh revealed that the only true God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God who created heaven and earth, the God who freed the people from slavery in Egypt, and who covenanted with Israel, His Chosen Ones: “…of all the peoples on earth, you have been chosen by Yahweh, your God, to be his own people “(Dt. 7:6).  Yahweh alone is [your] guide; no alien god for him” (Dt. 32: 11). 

The miracle on Mt. Carmel—Yahweh sent down fire to consume Elijah’s sacrifice whereas the prayer of the god of the 450 prophets of Baal did not respond to their same request—is followed by the miracle revealed in today’s first reading:  the drought is lifted over the land and its fertility restored. In the N. T., we meet Jesus giving the sermon on the Mount and sharing with us ways in which each of us will be transformed and made more fertile: don’t even use abusive language with others, don’t enter into communion with the Lord in the Eucharist when your communion with others is severed by anger, resentment, and/or revenge. Go first to your brothers or sisters to seek reconciliation and forgiveness. Then return to the altar of God. 

Jesus raises the bar for His followers and challenges us to be compassionate, understanding, and forgiving; in short, to love others in the way the Father loves us.

Do my behaviors, I need to ask myself, reflect this covenant? Is my life being transformed by the sacrifices I am giving to God through the way I relate to others and to myself? Do others see this transformation taking place in me, as they witness the way I love and respect others and myself, forgiving myself and others when we offend each other? Do others say: look how that family loves one another? Look how those women/men religious respect one another and seek reconciliation with each other?

Mother Frances Streitel: Conflict with her parents, becoming one's own person

Amalia Frances Rose Streitel aka Mother Frances Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother—Following the hiding-in-the-attic incident when Amalia’s parents threw a “coming out” party for their 21-year-old daughter to meet her future husband, Amalia’s parents came to the realization that their daughter’s call to consecrate her life to the Lord was not an adolescent whim that she thought up at the age of 17.  Developing independence from one’s parents—becoming one’s own person--while simultaneously respecting and honoring one’s parents is a challenging developmental task and can, at times, lead to tremendous conflicts. We don’t know exactly how Amalia handled the four years of her parents’ opposition to her vocational choice but we do know that prayer was important to her and that she lived a reflective life. So we can guess that she probably took her concerns to the Lord and confided her feelings to Him, thus drawing closer to the Lord during those tumultuous years.