God's Dwelling among Us

In today's first reading, 1 Kings 8: 1-7, 9-13, "the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple....When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the Lord's glory had filled the temple of the Lord. Then Solomon said, 'The Lord intends to dwell in the dark cloud; I  have truly built you a princely house, a dwelling where you made you may abide forever."

I look outside at the beautiful freshly fallen snow--8 inches of it covering the ground. The snow sparkles outside my window!  God's glory radiates from all of creation, just as God's glory shone forth in the temple. The Chosen people recognized God's presence in the cloud. Do you, do I? Or do we recognize God only in that which shines brightly, only in the glorious events of our lives and the lives of others? Do you, do I  realize that God is also present in the "clouds" of our lives, in the dark moments that we encounter in life?

A Light Shines in the Darkness of our World

"What came to be through him [Jesus] was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it"  (John 1: 3). For more than 2000 years the light of Christ has not been dimmed but continues to shine brightly in the hearts of all who believe and are saved from the Evil One, the author of all sin that darkens the heart and the mind of sinners deceived by Satan, are unrepentant and do not acknowledge their sinfulness, however great or small ones sins may be!


Lord, come and enter into the dark areas of my mind, and soul and heart. May I turn to you, my Savior and my God.  I ask, Lord, God, that You turn the mind, the hearts and the souls of all men and women to Your Light.  In particular, may the Light of Christ penetrate the darkness of those who cling to deception, who vehemently and violently deny truth, and spread darkness by the corruption of their lives and the lives of those who defend them.  I ask this in Jesus' name!

"Seeing the Bounty of the Lord in the Land of the Living" (Psalm 27)

In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 27, we acknowledge our belief that "the Lord is  [our] light and our salvation,...[our] life' s refuge."  We ask the Lord for the the favor to "dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of [our lives and to]...gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple."  We then, at the close of the psalm, express our belief that we "shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living."  In order to experience any of the graces expressed in this psalm, however, the psalmist tells us that we  need to "wait for the Lord with courage....[B]e stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!"

"The Lord is our light." In order to know the Lord as our light, we need to experience darkness, as did the man in today's Gospel, Luke 4: 31-37. Think of the joy he experienced when Jesus, His Savior,  delivered  him from the power of an unclean spirit that had taken possession of him. To truly know joy, as this man did,  we need to experience the darkness of  sorrow. To deeply know the strength of our faith, we need to go through the darkness of doubt! To bask in the joy of being healthy we need to live through the dark times of an illness!  The man in today's Gospel, I believe, would have gone through all of these experiences! Even Jesus as a human being was not exempt from experiencing darkness, the most awful of which was His crucifixion and death upon the cross! He passed through death, however, to the glory of the resurrection!  We will, as well!

In Psalm 27, we pray to "gaze upon the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple."  How might that happen? I believe that the loveliness of the Lord resides in every human being and that all people and all of creation are God's temple. God, I believe, lives in each one of us and in creation itself. As temples of God and dwelling places of God's loveliness, we are called to make known God's loveliness and to build God's temple by co-operating with God's grace.  We have examples of this in creation. Everything in the universe reveals God's brilliance, God's loveliness, God's beauty, God's love for us!  As persons with free will, we may or may not cooperate with grace in revealing the loveliness, the beauty, the brilliance of God, the love of God within us and supporting and nurturing the God-life in others. 

The choice to live in the Light or in darkness is ours to make each day, as is the choice to move through "death" to resurrection or to new life each day!  If we choose life and reject death each day, we truly "shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living."

Jesus: A Refuge in the Storms of Life

In today's Gospel, Mark 6: 45-52, Jesus asked his disciples to get into a boat and "precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd" of 5000 plus people they had just fed with five loaves of bread and two fish.  The disciples are far our on the sea when a treacherous storm arises. Jesus, on shore, "saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea." The disciples are terrified not only of the storm but because they thought that a  ghost was approaching them. "But at once he spoke with them, 'Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!'   He got into the boat with them, and the wind died down."

Wow! Jesus is miles from the disciples but knows that they are in trouble and need his help, so he goes out to sea and approaches their wind-tossed boat.  First, he calms their fears, assuring them that it is he coming toward them on the turbulent waters. But does more than that. He gets into the boat with them.

You and I are those disciples journeying on the "turbulent waters" of our lives. Jesus knows when we are in trouble and approaches us. He is always near ready to help!  He is one with us in our troubles and in our sufferings. He does not stand on the outside of our lives, out of our "boats". No, He gets in the "boat" and suffers with us. It is Jesus who calms our fears, fills us with peace and gives us the strength we need to deal with "the storm," just as He helped his disciples in the middle of the dark night and stormy sea that was threatening their lives.

Do we recognize Jesus? Or is He, to us, some kind of ghost, someone we are afraid of and what to avoid?

The Bounty of the Lord in our Lives

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

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

Born to be God's Servants

In today's first reading, Isaiah 49: 1-6,  Isaiah speaks of his call: "The Lord called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name.  He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory....[T]he Lord has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord, and my God is now my strength!....I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth!"

Today, I believe, we need an "Isaiah" and a "John the Baptist"--"sharp-edged swords" and "polished arrows" to bring our country back to the Lord's ways.  We need an "Isaiah" and a "John the Baptist" to prepare the way for justice to thrive and injustices to be destroyed. We need an "Isaiah" and a "John the Baptist", true servants of the Lord, to challenge those desiring to be treated as gods themselves above all others or those making gods of absolute wealth, absolute power and absolute control at the expense of the poor, of immigrants, of minorities and of the environment itself.

However, let us not forget that God has called each one of us at birth to be His servants, to be persons through whom His glory shines by the choices we make to bring forth a just world, a world of righteousness and truth, a world governed with love! We are called to be a light in the darkness of this world, not persons who darken the world by our selfishness, domination and control of others for our own benefit!

What kind of choices am I, are you, making?

Heeding the Voice of our God

In today's first reading, Isaiah 58: 9b-14, the Lord says to us through the prophet Isaiah:  "If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness and the gloom shall become for  you like midday; then the Lord will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land. He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails...."  In the responsorial psalm we acknowledge our human situation, saying to the Lord: "I am afflicted and poor....Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call upon you all the day....[Y]ou are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you...[A]ttend to the sound of my pleading" for all enslaved by sin, selfishness, greed, lust, leveling false accusations at others, engaging in malicious speech, and oppressing the poor and needy of this land --all who are enslaved in Satan's lies, who have fallen into his traps!

In the Gospel Acclamation, God says to us through the prophet Ezekiel, "I take  no pleasure in the death of the wicked,...but rather in his [her] conversion, that he [she] may live!"  May each of us be open to being converted by God's grace to abandon evil and do good and to know when we are being deceived by Satan and embrace the truth.

God's Marvels and Those He Works through Us

I today's first reading, Ezra 1: 1-6, the Israelites are being prepared to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple.  Cyrus, king of Persia, says to the Israelites:  "'[God] has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Therefore, whoever among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!  Let everyone who  has survived [the exile] in whatever place he may have dwelt, be assisted by the people of that place with silver, gold, goods, and cattle, together with farewell offerings of the house of God  in Jerusalem.'"

What marvels the Lord has done for Israel throughout their entire history to the very moment they were released from exile in Babylon.  Imagine the elation of the Israelites when Cyrus king of Persia, released them to return to their holy city Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord.

You and I, with the Israelites and the author of today's responsorial psalm, can, when things are going well for us, truly pray:  "The Lord has done marvels for us."  However, when darkness prevails, when we are exiled from our "homes," praising God for His marvels may be more difficult. In those  moments of darkness or "exile", may you and I recognize our need for the light and for  release.  If, however, we experience being in the light and are comfortably, joyfully and peacefully at "home," may we have the wisdom and the courage to reach out to others in need. Let us be "Cyrus," recognizing that we have been charged to build God's Temple here on earth, that is, to further God's Kingdom of love, peace, joy and forgiveness to all those who feel "exiled" in some way.

What have I done, what have you done today, to be a light in other's darkness, to bring others to a sense of being freed from  a "foreign" place.

Committing our Ways to the Lord

In today’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 37, we pray: “Commit to the Lord your way; trust in him, And he will act.”

Lord,  I commit the following realities to you, trusting that you will act:

• The leaders of all nations who push forward  executive actions or legislation that will oppress the poor and line the pockets of the wealthy with privileges they do not need
• Immigrants threatened with deportation and persons not allowed refuge in the U.S. because of persons judging them as evil and as a detriment to our country without due process
• The poor, the underprivileged, the unemployed or underemployed whose right for a fair wage is being denied
• Our nations and nations throughout the world who will be harmed by those who deny climate change and refuse to do what is in our power to reverse damages to the environment
• Persons insisting on building walls and not bridges whereby we work together for the common good and engage in fair trade practices

Lord, as we pray in Psalm 37, I believe that you will “make justice dawn…like the light” and that “bright as the noonday shall be…[the] vindication”  of those oppressed by  any decision or legislation that violates human rights of any person, born or unborn.  I believe that “the salvation of the just is from [You,] Lord; [that You] are their refuge in time of distress.” I believe, that it is the Lord who”helps them and delivers them; [that it is You, O Lord, who] delivers them from [those engaged in wicked practices] and saves them, because they take refuge in you.”

The Baptism and Mission of Jesus and Ours

Today we celebrate the baptism of our Lord. Jesus arrives at the place where John is baptizing, as told to us in today’s Gospel, Matthew 3: 13-17.  He approaches John and asks for baptism.  John resists, saying to Jesus: I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?”  Jesus says to him: “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”  So John allows the baptism. As Jesus exits the Jordan, “the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending, like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
 

The first reading of today’s liturgy, Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7,  presents the prophesy concerning Jesus’ mission. God says to us through the prophet Isaiah that Jesus is God’s “servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, …A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching….”  Jesus, Isaiah tells us,  is “a covenant of the people, a light for the nations.” He is “to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”

That prophesy holds  true in 2017 as it did 2,017 years ago.  To this very day, Jesus continues the work for which He was sent until “justice” has been brought forth to the nations,” until “the blind” see, until “prisoners” of Satan’s snares are set free, and until “those who live in darkness” are brought into, and live by, the Light!

As disciples of Jesus, you and I are either among those who, with Jesus set prisoners free, radiate the light of justice, truth, humility, love, reconciliation, and forgiveness, thus being a light in the darkness of our world; or we are among those needing to be set free and brought into the light of living justly, humbly, lovingly, mercifully, and compassionately. As human beings, we can easily vacillate between being true to our baptismal vows or violating them to a lesser or greater degree, repenting and coming back into good graces!

What will I choose today?

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?

The Lamp Stand: Will it Stay or Be Removed

In today’s first reading, Revelation 1: 1-4,; 2: 1-5, John commends the church of Ephesus for its good works, its labor, its endurance, its intolerance of wickedness, and  its testing of self-proclaimed apostles. “You have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary.”  But, then, the people of the church of Ephesus are confronted for having lost their first love, their initial commitment to Christ. “Repent,” the Lord says to them through John, “and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent;” in other words, you will live in darkness.

What is happening in the U.S. may be that our lamp stands are being taken away from us and given to others who adhere to truth and justice, to what is right for everyone, that is, for the rich and the poor, immigrants and natives, Blacks and Whites, Mexicans and Hispanics, Asians and Africans—all cultures—as well as  heterosexuals and homosexuals, men and women—all who make up the fabric of the U.S. and of the world.

Repent,” the Lord says  to the church of Ephesus and to us, “and do the works you did at first. He says to the American people, repent and do the works you did at first when you, as members of your civic, ecclesial, familial and religious communities, worked together for the common good, to accomplish agreed-upon goals that made your world a better place for everyone; when you as a nation, as a government crossed party lines and enacted legislation that benefited all peoples.  Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” In other words, you will live in darkness. Is it possible that we are moving into a very dark period of our history as Americans, a darkness that will effect the whole world?

Personally, are you, am I, ready to repent and turn away from our idols—from anything that blinds us to God’s Holy Will? Am I, are you, ready to turn away from anything that blocks us from doing that which needs to be done to promote justice and peace, that deepens our love for God, self and others and that leads us to repentance of the wrongs we have done? Like Bartimaeus in today's Gospel, Luke 18: 35-43, am I, are you, asking Jesus to remove our blindness that we are able to see Jesus in all that is happening and follow His ways?

Serving Christ Sincerely

In today’s first reading, Ephesians 6: 1-9, St. Paul exhorts us to stop provoking our children to anger. Rather “bring them up with the training and the instruction of the Lord.”  Paul challenges us  to give service   to others “in sincerity of heart, as to Christ.”  We are asked to do “the will of God from the heart, willingly serving the Lord and not [humans], knowing that each will be requited from the Lord for whatever good he [or she] does…”  “Masters,” Paul emphatically states, “…stop bullying, knowing that both [those who serve you in your businesses—ecclesial or civil, corporate or governmental, familial or social-- or as heads of families] they and you have a Master in heaven and that with …[God] there is no partiality.”

How frightening it is to see how low we have fallen. We have listened to bullying for the past year as persons campaigned to become the next president of the U.S.A. We read reports of members of Congress having bullied the president for the past eight years and then complain that he has done nothing good.  Every evening, the nightly news also contains reports of bullying. We see bullying from sexual predators, home invaders,  corrupt politicians, corrupt CEOs of pharmaceutical companies and in the banking industry, on Wall Street and so many other corporations. We hear of drug lords, persons engaged in criminal activity or planning to harm others, to riot and revolutionize the country and on and on! The people doing good in the world—and there are millions--go unnoticed,  for the most part!

 The question is: am I contributing to this world’s darkness or am I among those striving to bring the light of Christ into  the darkness around me? What am I doing to make the world a place where “training and instruction of the Lord” prevails, where persons are taught to give service to others “in sincerity of heart, as to Christ”? Am I “willingly serving the Lord and not [humans]”?

Lord, have mercy on us and help look at ways to make the world a better place, to collaborate with others for the sake of the common good and to resolve problems that need to be addressed. May we sincerely do Your will from hearts turned to You and relying upon You!

Claiming our Royalty at the Foot of the Cross

One of the meditations I reflected upon today stated “The world is under the bondage  of sin and evil” (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, p. 153).  In today’s first reading, 1 Peter 2: 2-5, 9-12, St. Peter says    “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of [God’s] own, so that you may announce the praises s of [God] who called you out of darkness into [God’s] wonderful light.” One statement describes why we needed redemption and the other the effect of redemption!   O, the greatness, the generosity and the mercy of our God, as described by Peter: “Once you were no people  but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy  but now you have received mercy.”

Being God’s people, Peter invites us to “long for pure spiritual milk so that through it [we] may grow into salvation…”  May we grow into the salvation that is ours: being “a chosen race, a royal priesthood,  a holy nation, a people of {God’s] own.”  Yes, we will, in fact,  grow “out of darkness into {God’s] wonderful light.”  We might not realize that God is always at work in the world, transforming its darkness into light, its sinfulness and evil into holiness  and goodness anymore than persons watching the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross realized that the world was being freed from its bondage to sin and evil or that the Crucified Jesus truly was the One sent by God to save us, not condemn us.

 As we listen to the news every night and are fed “food” poisoned by ways in which people are “under the bondage of sin and evil” may we thirst and hunger more and more for God’s righteousness, for “pure spiritual milk” that St. Peter talks about in today’s first reading!  May we also, at times when we are faced with this world’s sinfulness, recall Jesus’ words: “Be not afraid. I have conquered the world.”  Jesus, who resides within us, will conquer the world of evil that we face and or experience within or with-out ourselves.

This is my belief! What is yours?

Darkness or Light: A Choice!

In today’s Gospel, John 3: 16-21, the evangelist reminds us that “the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his [or her] works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his [or her] works may be clearly seen as done in God.”

Let’s write that as though John were addressing us personally. It would read as follows:  “When you prefer darkness to light, you do so because your works were evil.  When you do what is wrong, you hate the light and avoid coming toward the light, so that ‘ your works might not be exposed.’  But when you live the truth, you come to the light, so that your ‘works may be clearly seen as done in God.’”

How true John is! When I have done wrong, the last thing I want is to have my wrongdoing exposed, so what do I do? Avoid the light, that is, avoid the person who will confront my deceitfulness or sinfulness.  When I have done wrong, I shudder at being found out. If  I have grown spiritually, however,  and realize that Jesus, the Light of the world, comes into my darkness, not to scold me or condemn me, but to “put on the light,” so to speak, and lead me to safety, then I do not succumb to fear.  In my maturity, I realize that confronting my wrongdoing is a grace that leads to my freedom, to intimacy with the Lord, to wholeness and holiness.  When spiritually mature, I do not shun truth but seek it. Spiritually mature persons know the value of acknowledging the truth, facing the truth and being brought into the Light.  Easy? No! But worth the sacrifice made possible for us by Jesus’ death and resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit, who overshadows us so that we are able to give birth to truth and welcome the freedom won for us on the Cross!

Chaos, Woe and Darkness: Invitations to be Creative or to Accept Help

In today's first reading, Isaiah 45: 6b-8, 18, 21b-25, Isaiah makes the statement that God forms "the light" and creates "the darkness", that God makes "well-being" and creates "woe."  My response to the Lord was: "Lord, I have a difficult time believing that darkness and woe (the woes of illness, of war, of violence, and so on) come from You. The Lord's response may sound something like this:

Dorothy Ann (or your name), chaos, woe, and darkness are all part of life, as is order, blessing/joy, and light.  Chaos, woe and darkness are not such for Me. They are opportunities, challenges, and obstacles which, overcome, lead to life anew.  They are opportunities that call for your creativity, that invite you to collaborate with others.  Nothing is really awful or a failure but are temporary blockages to something more profound like discovering My help, My strength within you and others to make things better or to right wrongs.  Your depleted energy, for example, which indicates that your brain is healing, is a blessing that teaches you to respect an injured part of your body and to be attentive to need, your own and others.  Human need, weakness--yours or others--is a time when I, your God, rain down strength and healing from My storehouse of gifts.  It is also when I inspire you to offer help or, if  you withhold what you could do, to realize your stinginess and sinfulness.

Being a Presence in our World that Radiates Holiness

Today we celebrate the birthday of Mary, Mother of God, our blessed Mother!  In the office for today, the second antiphon reads:  "When the most holy Virgin was born, the whole world was made radiant; blessed is the branch and blessed the stem which bore such holy fruit."

The world was made radiant!  Mary's "yes" brought salvation to a fallen world, a sinful world, a world that frequently, to this day, says "no" to God!  Every  "yes" to God's will and every "no" to God's will effects every human being on the face of the earth. When you and I cooperate with grace, we radiate the world within us, around us and beyond us. When we say "no" to God's will, we bring darkness into the world and that darkness effects, not only  us, but others as well.

"Your birth, O Virgin Mother of God, proclaims joy to the whole world, for from  you arose the glorious  Sun of Justice, Christ our God; he freed us from the age-old curse and filled us with holiness; he destroyed death and gave us eternal life" (Antiphon for the Canticle of Zechariah).

St. Paul reminds us that God did not give us a spirit of cowardliness but of power--the power of holiness poured into us by the Holy Spirit at our baptism and confirmation and re-enforced, renewed, in our reception of every sacrament, in our sitting at the feet of our Lord as we ponder the Scriptures of old and the Scriptures of our lives.  May people know by our lives that Jesus "destroyed death" and"freed us from the age-old curse" of saying "no" to God's will. With Mary, today and every day, may our lives be a resounding "yes" to the Lord.

Walking in the Light

“I am the light of the world,” says the Lord; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”  That is the Communion Antiphon of today’s Mass or Liturgy.  How, we might ask ourselves, do people survive the disasters of their lives: the loss of loved ones, the despair of serious mental illnesses that throw them into a pit of darkness for weeks and months and even years?  How do people survive the loss of jobs that deprive them of means to support their families, to provide shelter and food, to save for their children’s future education?  How do people survive wars, their cities and homes and landscape being destroyed by bombs while terrorists hide in burned out buildings aimed to kill or maim anyone within range? How do Christians remain hopeful when fleeing persecution?  How to people of color stay hopeful when injustices abound and the lives of their children hang in a balance, should law enforcement brutally deprive them of their lives? How do children of immigrant families maintain faith when they face deportation because their  parents, undocumented,  have worked  long hours in our factories and on our farmlands faithfully doing work that their employers  seek them out to do and for which minimum wage is paid?

“Come to me all you who are burdened and I will refresh you,” says Jesus, the One who is their light in the darkness of their lives.  That same Person, the Son of God, whom, in faith, trust, and love we follow each day, is also the light in our lives.   This Jesus  knows what it is life to live with one’s life in the balance, as Scribes and Pharisees followed Him, seeking a way destroy Him. Unjustly, He was crucified by those who felt threatened by His way of living and who were fearful of who He really was. How many men and women and children are the victims of violence by those who are jealous of them, fearful of them, hating the very sight of them, not wanting them in their neighborhoods or living next door. Jesus knows the feeling!

“Come to me all you who are burdened and I will refresh you, says the Lord.”  “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life,” even in the darkest of days.

Night Transformed by the Light

“Hear me, …listen….You are my servant,…through whom I show my glory….I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth , “ we read in today’s first reading, Isaiah 49: 1-6.  In the Gospel of today, John 13: 21-33, 36-38, after Judas, in the darkness of the night,  leaves to betray Him,  Jesus says: “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once….”  Through the Cross, you and I, the redeemed of Christ, are  glorified in Christ Jesus here and now and will be for all eternity.   We are more than His servants, the Lord tells us in Isaiah,  and are called to more than raising others up and restoring each other and ourselves  to right relationships with the Lord. We are “a light to the nations," a light in the darkness of our world.  It is when it is most dark that the light shines most brightly for all to see.  In those dark moments, it may seem as though “the light” has gone out, as it seemed so in that upper room and on Calvary. Calvary, however, is our brightest moment, the moment of salvation for all those who put their faith in Christ Jesus. In whom do I put my faith, especially  in those situations that shakes it?

Open my eyes, Lord, to You during the Calvary moments of my life, in life’s darkest moments  when all around me and within me seems like night.

A Light Shining in the Darkness

In today’s Gospel, Mt. 4: 12-17, 23-25, Jesus leaves Nazareth and goes to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, the “Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness,…those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death…”  That is us here in the U.S., in Syria, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Africa, China, Russia, Europe; in fact, the entire world.   Over us, within us, among us a “light has arisen.”  That Light is the Son of God come into the world as an infant, present among us through each one of us who believes in the Incarnate God, God incarnate in each one of us who believes in and are instruments of God’s love and mercy given to us personally in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, Eucharist and Reconciliation, as well as in all of the other sacraments.  The Light of God shines forth in the world through our acts of kindness and forgiveness, our standing up for the Truth, our acting justly and loving tenderly—the tender love parents shown to their children, the love expressed to adolescents having a difficult time growing up, the love expressed to those who are mentally, physically, emotionally challenged, to those who are different from us in race, creed,  and sexual orientation; to the homeless, the alcoholic, the men and women sitting in our prisons, those desperately needy in some way.

Jesus enters our darkness with the message “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” People will know that truth when we reach out to heal all diseases and bridge the gap that separates us from that  and  from those with whom we are ill at ease.   May we welcome Jesus into our thinking and believing so that we do not hold back from the invitation to make the difference that will bring healing to those we meet today.