A Shining Light in the World of our Day

In today's Gospel,  Mark : 21-25, Jesus asks us:  "Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light."

As I hear, read and reflect upon those words, I think of such people as King David, his son Solomon and other great men and women of the Old Testament, as well as Mary and Joseph, Joachim and Anna, Jesus, the apostles--both men apostles  and such women as Mary of Magdala, considered an apostle to the apostles and all those who followed Jesus during his times here on earth and to the cross on Calvary. Their light has been placed on the lampstand of the world for all to see. I think, too, of men and women beyond Old and  New Testament times--recognized and unrecognized saints in heaven and on earth, great men and women who have made their mark on the world and in our families.  Like all of them, you and I are called upon to be "lamps" for all to see. The good we do, the truth we proclaim, the mercy and compassion that we reveal in the choices we make, the voices we respond to when a person asks for and needs our help, beginning with an infant in the womb, a toddler learning to walk or talk or read, a child of any age and adults as well dependent upon us to grow in grace and wisdom, an elderly parent needing our support and on and on!

With David, in the first reading of today's liturgy, 2 Sam 7: 18-19, 24-29, we can ask the Lord: "Who am I, Lord God, and who are the members of my house [my family and my relatives] that you have brought me [and them]  to this point? Yet even this you see as too little, Lord God; you have also spoken of the house of your servant for a long time to come: this too you have shown to [us], Lord God....The Lord of hosts is God of Israel [of our household], and the house of your servant David  [add your name and the name of your family] stands firm before you."

Lord God, with Mary, we sing the Magnificat in  honor of your name and gratitude for all you have done and are doing to help us and our families and loved ones grow in grace and wisdom and be a beacon of light in the world in which we live.

God's Faithfulness

In today's first reading, Amos 2: 6-10, 13-16, the prophet Amos is speaking, I believe, directly to us today in the following message:  Thus says the Lord: for three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because they sell the just man for silver,  and the poor man for a pair of sandals. They trample the head of the weak into the dust of the earth, and force the lowly out of the way....Upon garments taken in pledge they decline beside any altar; And the wine of those who have been fined they drink in the house of their god."  Some world leaders, including the U.S., I believe, are doing exactly what Amos states.  Just men and women are being sold for drugs, for sex, for loading the pockets of billionaires. Poor men and women are being sold for whatever some of the rich covet. By lowering taxes on billionaires and easing re taxes of the poor, profiteers "drink in the house of their god," that is unearned wealth, abused power and control. The "head of the weak" are being trampled "into the dust of the earth" and "the lowly" are forced "out of the way," put into cages, detained in detention centers, returned to a country where their lives and the lives of their children are in danger. 

Amos tells us that God "will not revoke" his word. Even though you and I are unfaithful, God remains faithful to His promises. We are told in the Gospels, that Jesus has come, not to condemn the world but to save it.  God does not go back on that promise.  Salvation is ours if we claim it by living in the the Light and in the Truth, cooperating with God's grace, living up to our baptismal promises. Salvation is ours by the choices we make to do good, act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with our God (see Micah 6:8). Salvation is ours when we respect each person's right to freedom and to a just wage; when we help all peoples experience liberty, justice and happiness; when we reach out to the needy and oppressed, the sick and deprived of this world; when, in short, we return evil with good.

What kind of choices am I, are you making? Am I, are you, living in the Light or have we chosen to live in the dark and spread darkness into other people's lives?  One comes leads to an eternity of darkness--not God' choice for you or me. The other choices leads to an eternity of light and love--God's choice for all of us.

A Merciful, Forgiving God

In today's first reading, Isaiah 49: 8-15, the Lord says to us through the prophet Isaiah: "Along the ways [you] shall find pasture, on every bare height shall [your] pastures be. [You] shall not hunger or thirst, nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike [you]; for he who pities [you] leads [you] and guides [you] beside springs of water. I will cut a road through all my mountains, and make  my highways level...." 

Today I scorched others by my impatience and anger. The "sun" of my hot temper "burned" others, as I found myself in a position of powerlessness and helplessness.  I reacted like a child having a temper tantrum when not getting his/her way. When I entered into prayer this afternoon and told God how frustrated I was with myself, God made my "highway  level."  God "took pity on me and [led me to] springs of water."  He "cut a road through...my mountains" of pride.  The Scripture passage  "Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart" came to my mind.  The Lord also reminded me that He does not condemn me and asked me not to condemn myself either.

What a grace this was for me, as I usually "beat" myself up mercilessly when I do wrong, as my need for perfection rears its head!  Over and over again, I need to come to the "springs of water" and let God smooth out my mountains of pride!  What about you?

God, our Protector, our Rock of Salvation

In today's first reading, James 1: 12-18, St.James clearly informs us that God does not lead us into temptation. Our desires do. "Each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire. Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death."  That is why in today's Entrance Antiphon we pray:  "Be my protector, O God, a mighty stronghold to save me.  For you are my rock, my stronghold!  Lead me, guide me, for the sake of your name. (Cf. Ps. 31 (30): 3-4). In the responsorial psalm of today's liturgy, Psalm 94, we proclaim "blessed" the person whom God instructs: "Blessed the man [woman] whom you instruct, O Lord, whom by your law you teach, giving him [her] rest from evil days.  For the Lord will not cast off his people, nor abandon his inheritance; but judgment shall again be with justice and all the  upright of heart shall follow it. When I say, 'My foot is slipping,' your mercy O Lord, sustains me; when cares abound with  me, your comfort gladdens my soul."

O, the greatness, the love, the care, the compassion of our God!  God be praised, thanked, glorified, honored and worshipped by you and me every day of our lives.

Champions and Warriors

In today's responsorial psalm, God says to us about David:  "On a champion I have placed a crown; over the people I have set a youth.  I  have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, that my hand may be always with him, and that my arm may make him strong. My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him." 

God has also found you and me, His servants and His handmaidens!  To God, we, too, are champions upon whom has been placed the crown of redemption. Like David, we have been singled out and anointed for God's purposes. When? at our Baptism and in the sacrament of Confirmation. Many of us have also been anointed in the Sacrament of the sick. Why has God anointed us? For the same reason that He anointed King David: to assure us that His hand is always with us and that His arm is making us strong and, most importantly, because His faithfulness and His mercy is always with us!

David grew as a military leader and king.  How? by co-operating with God, following God's instructions!  On our way to God's Kingdom, we, like King David, are also warriors,  fighting a war against Satan, who wants to keep us out of "the Promised Land" of heaven. Like David who, in  his journey to the Promised Land, encountered Israel's enemies,  we will encounter enemies.  We will win our battles over Satan if we listen to the Lord, seek the Lord, let the Lord lead us, acknowledge our need for guidance and wisdom, recognize our pitfalls, and trust the Lord to lead us through the darkness and around the traps set for us.

We will be champions, as was David, or is any athlete, if we practice and practice and practice the skills needed to become successful spiritual warriors!  Practice what? what is needed to win our battles: humility, repentance, honesty, forgiveness, spending time at the feet of the Lord on a daily basis, acknowledging where we are weak and seeking reinforcements from the Lord on a regular basis,  and praying for courage and wisdom!

God is God; There Is No Other

In today's first reading, Isaiah 41: 13-20, we are reminded that God is our God, a God "who grasp[s us by our] right hand" and that God says to us: "Fear not, I will help you."  There are, no doubt, times in our lives when God's help seems wanting. In faith we know that it is not!  We cry out in pain, in frustration, in helplessness and powerlessness and God seems silent. How often than not, God chooses silence in which to work in the core of our being.  It is in the silence of nature in the spring time of the year that all of creation comes to life and new growth appears. It is in the silence of the womb that every human being takes shape.  We do not see the growth that is taking place beneath the surface of the earth or in the darkness of the womb, but it is so. So, too, when we call upon the Lord and nothing seems to be happening.

Help us, Lord, when you seem silent or distant to cling to you in faith and hope, not letting a sense of helplessness  or powerlessness to drag us into a depression.  Remind us, through Isaiah that when we "seek water in vain," and when our "tongues are parched with thirst," that you will, in truth, answer us. Deepen our belief in what you, O God, say to use through Isaiah:  "I, the Lord, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I open  up rivers on the bare heights and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water....That all may  see and know, observe and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel..."

I believe in Your Providence, Your Presence and Your Power, Lord, even when I do not feel such! And you?

God's Faithfulness

In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 100, we are reminded that God's "kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations."  I entered prayer this morning after a discussion about our president and "mean-spirited" members of Congress bent on repealing the Affordable Care Act, depriving millions of healthcare and eventually, over time, eliminating Medicare as well.  I hear the words of  our president during his campaigning for the office of presidency: What we need in America are more billionnaires. His resolve to make the wealthy wealthier is abominable to me, is cruel to the poor and oppressed who have everything to lose, especially if he succeeds in his efforts to destroy ACA and DACA and other executive orders, including those that will bring destruction to Mother Earth!

Frustrated by how to make a difference so  what looks like evil will not triumph,  I turned to God and complained about what is happening as the result of the efforts of the president and members of Congress to "make America great again" according to their efforts to increase their personal wealth and that of corporations from which they seem to personally benefit.  I was reminded in the responsorial psalm that God is faithful "to all generations."  I thought of Moses when the Israelites were fighting the Amalekites. "As long as Moses kept his arms raised [in prayer] Israel had the advantage; when he let his arms fall, the advantage went to Amalek." Let's paraphrase that statement: "As long as you and I keep our arms raised in prayer, evil will not triumph!" That does not mean that evil will disappear but it will not have the upper hand! Prayer is powerful!    God does care about  the poor and oppressed. God cares about immigrants and the so-called Dream children. God cares that the sick have healthcare coverage and do not have to choose between getting the medication they need and putting food on the table. God cares about those with pre-existing conditions who may lose coverage, and so on.  God cares about you and me. Let us care about our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus--all of them!

Given the situations we face in the U.S. and in the world today, we need, I believe, to get on our knees and pray for God's intervention to stop the evil being sought by Congress and world leaders bent on flexing their nuclear muscles or muscles that lead to war and violence.  We need God's intervention now!

God's Faithfulness

In today's first reading, Tobiah and Raphael and  his new bride Sarah visit Tobiah's parents, Tobit, who is blind, and his mother Anna.  Before arriving, Raphael says to Tobiah:  "I am certain that his [Tobiah's father's] eyes will be opened." And instructs him on what to do to restore his father's sight. Following the Archangel's instructions, Tobiah smears fish fall on his father's eyes and peals off the cataracts. Tobit is delighted and sings out a song of praise to God for the ability to see again.  Not only is Tobiah blessed immensely by the Lord God, so, too, are his parents.  And the entire family does not hold back in praising God and sharing their joy with others.

Today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 146, is a song of praise to our God, who "keeps faith forever, secures justice of he oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets captives free,...gives sight to the blind. The Lord," the psalmist reminds us, "raises up those who are bowed down;...loves the just. The Lord protects strangers. The fatherless and the widow he sustains, but the way of the wicked he thwarts. The Lord shall reign forever, your God , O Zion, through all generations."

We need to remember that the Lord "keeps faith forever," as we listen to the daily news. My faith tells us that the way of those crippled by Satan's lies and who are worshiping wealth, securing it by unjust means, will be thwarted, brought low and "the fatherless and the widow" who have been made so by unjust wars and violent crimes to secure riches "will be sustained" by grace and helped by those giving them shelter and welcoming them into a secure place.

God's Instructions of Being Holy/Whole in His Sight

Today’s first reading, Leviticus 19: 1-2, 11-18, begins with the Lord asking us to “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy” and then spells out ways in which we are not holy, namely, when we:

·         Steal, rob others of their rights, engage in fraudulent behaviors

·         Lie in any way, swear falsely, spread slanderous statements against anyone

·         Use God’s name disrespectfully

·         Curse the deaf and put stumbling blocks in front of the blind

·         Render unjust , dishonest judgments towards anyone

·         Show partiality toward the rich and famous as well as toward the weak and vulnerable

·         Do nothing when another’s life is in danger

·         Bear hatred in our hearts  towards anyone

·         Seek revenge and hold grudges

Lord, how unholy am I, how much in need of your mercy and forgiveness from you and others.

Dorothy Ann,   (your name), as “the height of heaven above earth, so strong is [God’s] faithful love for… [you] who [reverence the Lord].  As the distance of east from west, so far from [you] does [God] put [your] faults. As tenderly as a [loving, caring, forgiving] father treats his children, so Yahweh treats [you, his daughter/son]; [God] knows of what [you] are made, [God] remembers that [you] are dust."

Thank you, Lord, for your merciful, caring restorative justice, loving me into eternity, loving me into right relationships with you, others and myself.  Thank you for being merciful and understanding of my human nature, its downfalls and weaknesses, its sinfulness and efforts to do what is right before you, to “be holy as You are holy.”

A Marriage with God

“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus asks the Pharisees, who complained that Jesus’ disciples did not fast like those of the Pharisees or of John the Baptist’s (today’s Gospel, Mark 2: 18-22). Is Jesus not saying that a marriage is in process between God and human kind?  God’s love for us and His marriage to us, so to speak, is being formalized through Christ Jesus.  And just as a human bridegroom will do anything to protect his spouse and children, so, too, will God sacrifice everything to protect us, nurture us, enhance our lives and provide for our needs.

God is committed to us 100 %. How committed are you/am I to the Lord? Am I/are you giving 100% to this marriage? Or are we dragging our feet? Have we divorced God and chosen other partners? If so,  for what reasons do we pursue a different path or choose other partners?

Lord God, may we choose You as our bridegroom, as You have chosen us as Your Bride.  May we remain faithful to You, as You are to each of us!  Never do You walk away from us, Lord, not even when we seriously breach our relationship with You when, for instance, our actions are supported by pride, selfishness, greed, narcissism, racism, prejudice and other attitudes that violate our call to act in love and justice.  When we separate ourselves from You, Lord,  in these ways, we have walked away from You, not You from us. Have mercy on each of us when we pursue selfish ambitions, engage in that which is wrong, having been deceived by Satan, and/or court other gods for the same reason!  Bring us back to You, O God, especially now when “the world” is promised to us by persons who acts as gods!

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.  

God's Compassion and Mercy

In today’s first reading, Micah 7: 14-15, 18-20, the prophet Micah prays to God as follows: 

Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance.…, as in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs. Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, and will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins; You will show faithfulness to Jacob,[Leah and Rachel], and grace to Abraham[and Sarah], as you have sworn to our fathers/[mothers] from days of old.

That message is given to us today as well as to the people of old.  We are “the flock” of God’s “inheritance.”  The land of Egypt symbolizes the places and times when we, like the Israelites, were/are victims of, or perpetrators of, sin:   selfishness, abuse of power and control, the sins of oppression and injustice, the exploitation of the poor and oppressed, persons engaging in deceitful behaviors and so on.  In today’s world slavery abounds, as it did in Egypt when God rescued His people. Today’s slavery includes  slave labor, making children and women slaves of the sex industry, of  drug trafficking, of those abusing their power, and so on.

Micah reminds us that when we lower ourselves to evil schemes and sin against others and against ourselves,  God “will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt.”  God does not condone our sinful behaviors but He does pardon us, has compassion on us, and, yes, “cast into the depths of the sea all of sins.”  This does not mean that we will not suffer the consequences of our sinful, selfish actions whereby the rights of others are trampled upon.  It does mean that, when we turn to God in repentance, God is merciful and forgiving!

With the psalmist in today’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 85,  we pray: “Restore us, O God our savior, and abandon your displeasure against us….Show us, O Lord, your kindness, and grant us your salvation.”

Power, Divinity, Wisdom and Strength

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and divinity, and wisdom and strength and honor” (Rev. 5:12).  Jesus, the Lamb of God who was slain, is  God’s wisdom, divinity, power, strength and honor.  Jesus is God, one with the Father and the Spirit. “Out of His fullness  we have all received grace upon grace “( Jn 1:16).   His giving and loving is without end and was planned from the beginning of the world. In His creation of humankind love was shown. In our rebellion and disobedience, love was shown, as God covenanted with us to save us from sin and death by sending a Savior: Jesus, the Christ.  “No  one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” we read in today’s Gospel, John 15: 12-17.  In verses 34-35  of Chapter 15, Jesus says to us:  “A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Jesus does not only command us to love one another as He loves us, He  also gives us , in the sacraments, in the Scriptures, in the indwelling of the Trinity within us, the ability, the power, the support, the love, the wisdom we need to love as He loved. Truly, as we pray in the responsorial psalm of today’s liturgy: “…[Y]our mercy towers to the heavens, and your faithfulness to the skies. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; above all the earth be your glory” (Psalm57)!

Lord, today, may each one of us, by the way we love as you loved, reveal your faithfulness and your glory working within us. May we allow your power, divinity, wisdom, strength and honor bestowed on us through the Word and sacraments,  become stronger by the choices we make today to love when we are most inclined to walk away from the challenge. I ask this in Jesus’ name.

God's Faithful: Never Deserted by God

The Entrance Antiphons of today’s liturgy reads:   “Perpetual light will shine on your Saints, O Lord, and life without end forever, alleluia.” And: “This is the one who was not deserted by God on the day of struggle and now wears a crown of victory for faithfulness to the Lord’s commands, alleluia.”

Today we Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother grieve the loss of one of our own, Sister Leonilda Niberle, who passed from us suddenly following a head injury resulting from a fall Wednesday evening.  Perpetual light now shines on her and she possesses life without end forever with her God and Savior, her confidante and dearest friend Jesus. In her retirement, Sister Leonilda spend hours in prayer every day (and probably during the night as well).  She was always interceding for the persons whose needs were recorded in our Chapel Book of Prayers.  This was a woman who remained faithful to the Lord’s commands and was never deserted by God on the day of any struggle, and especially yesterday as she breathe her last breath on this earth!  She now wears a crown of victory for her faithfulness to the Lord and His faithfulness to her.

It’s hard to imagine the glory that awaits a person who, his or her entire life, sought the Lord and found Him in all of the vicissitudes or ups and downs of life. Sister Leonilda was such a woman. She was  one of 8 children, all girls.  Four of the 8 children answered the call to consecrate their lives to the Lord as Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother.  She came to America in 1951 and six months later, after and intensive English course, she was missioned to one of our schools.  She enumerated her  ministry experiences as follows:

·         1952—St. Francis Borgia School, Cedarburg, WI: Housekeeping, cooking & washing

·         1953--Bakerville, WI (another elementary school). People, she says, loved me at the church.

·         1953-1970—St. Clare’s Hospital, Denville, NJ. “I was in charge of the Diet Kitchen.”

·         1970-2002—In charge of food service at Our Lady of Sorrows Convent where "I prepared the meals and took care of the kitchen and dining room."

Sister Leonilda described her retirement in terms of volunteer ministry and its impact as follows:

•  Ministry of prayer at SSM Franciscan Courts 
•    “My most important ministry” 
•    “I like to pray in chapel a lot.”
  

•    “Prayer is a blessing and help for others. I benefit spiritually as well.”   
• Watering  plants. “Plants are an enjoyment for me.”
•   Visiting students
•    Knitting scarves and caps and giving knitted items to friends and SSM craft sales. (The proceeds of these sales support SSM Missions in the Dominican Republic , Brazil and Tanzania

"This is the one who was not deserted by God on the day of struggle and now wears a crown of victory for faithfulness to the Lord’s commands, alleluia.”

 

How faithful am I? How faithful are you?

God's Faithfulness in our Fickleness

In today’s first reading, 2 Chronicles 24: 17-25,  we learn of King Joash’s abandonment of Yahweh’s covenant with the Chosen People.  He led the Chosen People in forsaking the temple of the Lord and in beginning to serve idols.  Because of their crimes, wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.  Through Zachariah, the prophet, God confronted Joash, asking him: “Why are you transgressing the Lord’s commands, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.”   

The cycle of sin and redemption repeats itself over and over again with the Chosen People and with us.  We choose to go our own way at times, abandoning the ways of God. Sin always leads to suffering of some kind. When things get bad enough, we beg God for help: save us, O God, from the misery  that surrounds and invades us, even into our very being as we feel depressed, empty and lost. That plea for help may seem to fall on deaf ears; silence can become oppressive.  In sincerely repenting, God shows his mercy and love for His wayward children. No matter how far we might have strayed, God brings us back to righteousness and right ways.  For a time, we remain faithful and then fall again.

O,  the mercy and the love of God, who,  in today’s responsorial psalm, says to us: “Forever I will maintain my love for [you,]  my servant….Forever I will maintain my kindness toward…[you]….my mercy I will not take from…[you], nor will I belie my faithfulness” (Psalm 89).

Jesus, the Strong One, who Walks beside Us

In today’s Gospel, Mark 3: 22-30, Jesus, the Son of God Incarnate, is accused by the Scribes that he casts out Satan by the prince of demons, Satan himself.   They refuse to recognize that Jesus’ power over Satan is of divine origin and does not, in any way, originate from Satan.  Satan delights in causing division upon the earth. He is permanently cast out of heaven and will not re-enter the reign of God. Neither does he want us to be one with Christ and certainly not for all eternity.
Jesus tells the Scribes that “…[N]o one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man.” Jesus is that strong man who ties up Satan, not allowing him to “plunder” the property that belongs to God.  Oh, the   greatness and the love of our God, who comes to this earth to take on Satan, a force too powerful for us, on our own, to overcome.  Left to our own weaknesses, we easily fall into the traps Satan sets for us.  God will not allow it. Through Jesus’ obedience to the Father to the point of death on the cross, Satan is rendered powerless over those who seek the Lord above all, who recognize their sinfulness, repent and believe in the Gospel. With Jesus, in Jesus, and through Jesus, we are one with our God and destined to enter His reign for all eternity.
The Lord says to us in the responsorial psalm of today’s liturgy, Ps. 89:   “I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, that my hand may be always with him, and that my arm may make him strong. My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him, and through my name shall his horn be exalted….”   This can be reread as follows:  “I have found you (insert your name), my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed you, that my hand may be always with you, and that my arm may make you strong.  My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with you, and through my name shall your horn be exalted….”

Thank you, Lord, for your mercy and compassion. Thank you for your companionship, for always being at my side to make me strong!

The Earth Filled with the Knowledge of God

"There shall be no harm or ruin on all of  my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea, " we are told in today's first reading, Is. 11: 1-10.

What a promise, especially given the fact that the family of Jesse, David's father, has been reduced to "a stump," and appears dead.  How possibly will God's promise of an everlasting Kingdom, where "there shall be no harm or ruin," come about from David's royal lineage?  And happen, it does in Jesus' birth!  The Son of God comes into this world to remind us that God's Kingdom is rooted in human nature, will survive death and last eternally. That Kingdom, through the Spirit at work in the world, at work in each one of us, is removing the obstacles that appear to thwart God's plan of salvation, that seems to be delaying the time when the earth will "be filled with the knowledge of God." 

Blessed, Jesus says in today's Gospel, Luke 10: 22-24, are those who see God's plan coming to fruition, who believe in God's promises and know, in faith, that God's faithfulness has no limitations and no end.  Yes, the day is fast approaching when "justice" will be granted to "the poor," and "the ruthless" will be crushed "with the rod of...[God's] mouth" and the wicked will be slain "with the breath of...[God's] lips" (See Is. ll: 1-10).

O, the greatness and the power and the love and the justice of our God!  Blessed are those who believe when they do not see. Blessed are those who wait and trust in God's coming and acting on behalf of the poor and distraught, the marginalized and the oppressed of this world, of our governmental, societal, ecclesial, familial, and legal systems, for "nothing is impossible for our God" (Luke 1: 37).  Mary believed  and got involved in this Plan in the face of risking her life by stoning.  To what point do you and I believe in God's plan and to what point are we willing to say "yes" to the Lord and assume the mission God has entrusted to us to work along side of and with God, until the time comes when "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea"?

Nothing is Impossible with God

In today's first reading, Zachariah  8: 1-8, a small remnant of the Chosen People, those who survived the Babylonian exile, will be returning to Jerusalem, their sacred city that is now in shambles, completely ruined. Israel, a once world power, has been reduced to a small remnant of people.  Through the prophet Zachariah, God says to them:  I will return to Zion, and I will dwell within Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city [God allowed the Israelites to be conquered by other nations whenever they abandoned the covenant]...God also promises, through the prophet Zachariah, that  the elderly, once again, shall "sit in the streets of Jerusalem and  that this city shall again "be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets." God says to the people: "Even if this should seem impossible in the eyes of the remnant of the people, shall it in those days be impossible in my eyes also...?"

God is a warrior who goes to battle for us to rescue us from those places where we have been exiled or exiled ourselves from the Truth. No matter how far away from the Lord you and I may have drifted, no matter how unfaithful we may have been, God is always faithful to His covenant to be our God, our Savior, our Helper in need.  He says to us,  as He said to the remnant of His Chosen People, "Lo, I will rescue my people from the land of the rising sun, and from the land of the setting sun. I will bring them back to dwell within Jerusalem. They shall be my people, and I will be their God, with faithfulness and justice."

We are on our way to the New Jerusalem, our Eternal City, where justice and peace and love prevail, where there will be no more tears, no more war, no more devastation, a place where all will live in harmony with God, others and self.  This Victory, already won on the Cross by Jesus' obedience to the Father unto death, will be our victory as well, through Christ Jesus. The Victory begins here in our everyday life when we embrace God's holy will for us and for others, when we act in accordance with God's holy Will, when we seek God above all else and put God at the center of our lives, or more correctly, accept the fact that God already exists in the center of our very being, in our deepest core self, that is, our  God-self or our True Self.

This is my belief? What is yours?

"How" Lord will your will be accomplished in me?

In today’s first reading, Gen. 15: 1-12, 17-18, we reflect upon Abram’s questioning of God: how is it ever possible that my descendants will be as numerous as the sands on the seashore when “I keep being childless….See, you have given me no offspring.”

Our complaint will vary: “Lord, how can_____________ be; you have not given me _______.”  Abram follows God’s instructions to offer sacrifice and praise.  Not trusting that his offering of sacrificial animals is safe on the altar, Abram stays with them throughout the evening, falls into “a trance” and is enveloped by a “deep, terrifying darkness.”  It was at this occasion that God makes His covenant with Abram. 

At our worst, life, too, at times, becomes this terrifying darkness.  Hopelessness can set in and seem to take a forever hold on our lives.  God seems to have abandoned us to our worst fears.  However, God is faithful even when our hopes seem dead.  God is with us in our despair, just as much as He was with Abram in his agonies.  God triumphs even when we have no inkling how His plans for our well-being or that of our families, our societies, our communities, our church, our world will be realized. In our darkest moments, as with Abram, God makes and/or renews His covenant with us in and through and with Christ Jesus, our God and Savior.

Lord, I pray for the faith of Abram. May I have the courage to "stay with" that of which I am afraid, knowing that you will come through for me.  May I cling to You and your promises in the deepest darkest moments of my life.  You are God and there is no other!

God as King

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of Christ, our King.  This morning in prayer I imagined the following conversation with the Lord. It went like this:

 

I am King.

You are a King’s daughter.

You are royalty!

You are the recipient of my inheritance,

eternal  life in my Kingdom.

I secured that inheritance for you

by my obedience as Son of Man to My Father’s will

—your salvation and the salvation of the whole world.

When I was nailed to a cross,

when I crushed the head of Satan,

all nations, all kingdoms of the earth, all languages (cf. Daniel 7: 13-14)

were brought under My rule and reconciled to My Father.

As Daniel prophesied, “all peoples, all nations and languages

serve [God].

[M]y dominion is an everlasting dominion

that shall not be taken away.” 

[M]y kingdom shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7: 13-14)

Look, Lord, at the world!

The world as you know it is passing away!

God shall reign forever. 

God reigns now and has reigned before this world ever came into existence

and will reign eternally.