God: the Center of All We Do

In today's first reading, 1 Peter 4: 7-13, Peter admonishes us as follows: "[L]et your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining."  Each of us, he says, "has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace. Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

Am I, are you, a good steward of the gifts God has given to us, that is, do we use our gifts for the good of another?  Are we "hospitable...without complaining"?  Note Peter's comment that however we serve others,  however we make the world in which we live, be that our family or community living space, we do so "with the strength that God supplies"!  Without God's strength, we would not be building up God's kingdom of love here on earth!  Furthermore, Peter tells us, the purpose of what we do here on earth, as father/mother, parent/child, priest/religious women/men,  is "that in all things God be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever."

O the Love of our God

A reflection on today's reading from Isaiah 50: 4-7.  In this passage, Jesus says to you and me:

Because I love you, (insert your name), I did not flee  from my persecutors.  I deliberately, willingly and courageously entered Jerusalem this day. I knew what lay ahead for me, even though palm branches were strewn on my path and people shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."  I went to Jerusalem for you,  (insert your name). I have not rebelled against suffering. I have not grumbled against my persecutors.  I gave my beard willingly to  those who plucked it. I gave my face to those who spit upon  me, mocking me, making fun of me: "Look at him. Spit running down his his face. How disgusting is this man."  I gave my head to those who pushed a crown of thorns upon it, mockingly saying "Behold the King of the Jews." I gave my back to those who viciously beat me with whips laced with razor blades. I cried out in pain but not in curses toward those torturing me.

My Father was there helping me and I felt no shame. I did not feel disgraced, though I took on the shame and disgrace of all sinned against and those abusively sinning against others.  I took all your shame upon me, insert your name, to free you from its burdens!

O Lord, our God, have mercy on us!
O Lord, our God, thank you for your love.

O the Love of our God!
O the tenderness of our God!
O the courage of our God!
O the compassion of our God!
O the strength of our God!

God, be praised!
God be glorified!
God be thanked!

Keeping Priorities Straight

In today's Gospel, Luke 21: 34-36, Jesus says to us:  Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day (the final coming of the Lord Jesus) catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth.  Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and stand before the Son of Man."

Lord, help me keep my priorities straight. It is so easy to get caught up in the daily events of the day, to run frantically from one thing to another (and accomplish nothing of significance).  Help me focus on You versus being riveted to repetitive thoughts that deprive me of the peace which You,  Lord, want to give me.  Show me the way to Your peace! Redirect me when I lose that peace so that I have the strength to carry out your will in the small and not-so-small tasks or issues that you want me to address or accomplish today!  I ask this in Jesus' name!  Thank you, Jesus!

God, our Refuge and our Strength

The Entrance Antiphon of today's liturgy reads:  "The Lord is the strength of His people, a saving refuge for the one he has anointed."  We then pray: "Save your people, Lord, and bless your heritage, and govern them for ever."

Let us put that in personal terms:  "The Lord is my strength, a saving refuge for me, His anointed one." Let us pray:  "Save me, Lord, and bless me, your heritage and govern me for ever."

When were you and I anointed? When we were baptized and confirmed. Some of us have also been anointed with the anointing of the sick.  We became God's heritage at our baptism. We were adopted by God as God's daughters/sons; our adoption was finalized at our baptism!

From what do we want God to save us? From Satan's snares, power, and deceitfulness. Where there are lies, Satan is working. The person who lies has fallen into Satan's trap. In that trap, Satan has power over the person who is lying.  That is why we pray in today's responsorial psalm, Ps.69:  I pray to you, O Lord, for the time of your favor, O God!  In your great kindness answer me with your constant help."  We need God's constant help because Satan is always roaming the world seeking someone to devour by his lying ways.  We pray to God:  "Answer me, O Lord, for bounteous is your kindness; in your great mercy turn toward me."   

We pray also for those who serve our country, as they seem to be functioning from Satan's trap, lying to the people frequently.  Corruption seems to surround them and seems to have taken possession of them. May God have mercy and open their eyes to Satan's lies.

"Be Not Afraid"--God is with You

In today’s Gospel, some Pharisees approach Jesus and say to Him: “Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”  Jesus replies:  “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose. Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow , and the following day, for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem.”  Jesus then addresses Jerusalem, saying: “…Behold, your house will be abandoned. But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

In the thick of a dangerous world, Jesus trusts His Father. He knows that people are plotting to kill Him. His faith in His Father does not waver. He does not flinch in the midst of threats on His life.  He continues doing the work that His Father has given Him to do as He approaches Jerusalem where He will be put to death but rise again in triumph to secure our salvation.

The world today is no different than in Jesus’ times. People are plotting to kill other people, to put Christians to death, to kill those they disdain or whose beliefs differ from their own.  To people whose lives are in danger, Jesus says:  “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Mt 10: 28-31).

  We live in a dangerous world. That is true! But it is no more dangerous than the world in which Jesus lived. In faith, let us, like Jesus, continue “today, tomorrow, and the following day” performing the works God has given us to do in building God's Kingdom of love, justice, truth, mercy and forgiveness. And no matter what danger approaches the horizon of our lives, may we anchor our faith in the Lord, who alone will save us and give us the strength we need to continue trusting God, our Father.  May we walk in the Light, seek the Light and be the Light in the darkness that surrounds us!

Reading Signs of Our Need for God

In today’s first reading, Ephesians 4: 1-6, Paul addresses us from his prison cell, urging us “to live in a manner worthy of the call” we have received, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another [and ourselves] through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit though the bond of peace….”  Sometimes the most difficult person toward whom to be patient and gentle is ourselves. We make good intentions and break them. We pledge to do better and break that pledge. We get up in the morning determined to accomplish far more than we may be capable to accomplish  that day and, sure enough, the physical energy or emotional stamina is lacking.  We promised to not be obnoxious or demanding or controlling and, guess what, we are obnoxious, demanding and controlling when we do not want to be. Or we desire to be assertive and to stand up for ourselves and we slide right into being submissive and demeaning of self when we need to be strong on our own behalf. 

The challenge? To realize that our weaknesses are God’s strength, that our failings are a reminder of our dependence upon God, and that, when our fallen nature raises its head, we are to remember that God’s grace is sufficient for us. God, in fact, uses all of the circumstances of our lives to bring us salvation.

May we be graced to read human nature in the light of how God sees us and may we become as proficient in reading human nature as we are in reading the conditions of the weather.  As Jesus says to us in today’s Gospel, Luke 12: 54-59:  “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain—and it does,”  so when you see how weak and fickle you can be, may you say immediately: “My weakness, O Lord, is your strength!  I need your help, O Lord!”

Fulfilling God's Purpose

Today’s  first reading, Isaiah 55:10-11, speaks about God’s word going forth from God’s mouth never returning  to Him void, but always doing the will for which the word was sent.  You and I are small words—Jesus is The Word of God--sent forth by the mouth of God to accomplish the purpose for which God put us here on earth.  We will not return to the Lord until we have accomplished that purpose. How  mind-boggling  to realize that God  not only sent us here to accomplish His purpose but also did so in a way that  we possess all of the “tools” needed to accomplish God’s will. Furthermore, God did not send us alone; He has sent His Spirit to direct us, strengthen us, and enlighten us along the way. He also sent His Son to destroy Satan’s power over us.    And, as noted in the liturgy’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 34, as we go through life striving to accomplish God’s will by doing the good we were sent to do, the Lord rescues us from all of our distress, that is, from that which would hamper us from doing the good we are challenged to bring about in God’s name and overcoming the evil that we encounter. Furthermore, the Lord stays close to us when our hearts are broken (Psalm 34) and saves us when we “are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34).