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?

"Take Courage...and Work!"

In today's first reading, Haggai 2: 1-9, Haggai recalls the memory of the Temple built by Solomon and destroyed by the Babylonians and the Lord  asked the people through the prophet Haggai: 

Who is left among you 
that saw this house in its former glory?
And how do you see it now?
Does  it not seem like nothing in your eyes? 
But now take courage...and work!"

Haggai then recalls the covenant God made with the people when they left Egypt and began their journey to the promised land. Through the prophet, God said to the Israelites: "I am with you...This is the pact I made with you when you came out of Egypt. And my spirit continues in your midst; do not fear!"

God says the very same things to you and me on our journey of faith to the Promised Land of eternal life. Number 1: Do not fear! Continue to work in building the Lord's Temple that each of us is.  Do our lives, our choices, we might ask ourselves, radiate God's glory, as in the lives of those who have gone before us?  Number 2: God's spirit continues in our midst by the way each of us follows God's Son Jesus the Christ!

In today's Gospel, Luke 9: 18-22, Jesus asked the disciples who people are saying he is. The disciples tell Jesus that some people believe that he is John the Baptist come back from the dead, others believe that he is Elijah, while still others believe that he is some ancient  prophet.  "'But who do you say that I am?'  Peter said in reply, 'The Christ of God.'"  You and I need to answer Jesus' question, as well!  Who do you (who do I) say Jesus is?

For me, Jesus is God who dwells in our midst and who dwells in the very core of my being. Jesus is the Son of God Incarnate whom I receive in Holy Communion at every Catholic Mass or Liturgy. Because God dwells among us in the Eucharist, in all of creation, and in the core of our beings, for that reason, you and I are able to reflect God's glory here on earth.

What covenant has God made with you?

God's Call: "Whom Shall I Send"?

In today's first reading, Isaiah 6: 1-2a, 3-9, Isaiah shares a vision he was given of "the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the  temple. Seraphim were stationed above. they cried out one to the other, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hours! All the earth is filled with his glory!'"  Isaiah tells us that at the sound of the angels praising the Lord, the  "frame of the door shook and rage  house was filled with smoke."  Isaiah is fearful that he is doomed, for, he says: I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yearly eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" An  angel flew to him and touched his lips with an ember, saying: "See, now that this has touched your lips,  your wickedness is removed, your sin purged."  A voice then says ask Isaiah: "'Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?' 'Here I am,' Isaiah said, 'send me!'"

That Scripture passage is about us. We may not, with out naked eyes, see the Lord of hosts, but we do with eyes of faith.  We know by faith that God is a holy God and we are men and women inclined to sin. Our lips are unclean when we engage in acts of selfishness, greed and, yes, sometimes wickedness against one another!  Yes, too, to the fact that we have been purged of our wickedness, our sins, by the Blood of Jesus poured out for us on the cross and given to us in Holy Communion and in our repentance of our sins on a daily basis when we acknowledge our sinfulness in prayer, in regular  confession and at every liturgy!  Like with Isaiah, we, too, hear God's voice, asking "Whom shall I send? wobble will for us [the Blessed Trinity]? In word and deed, how do we answer?

The Glory of God's Voice within our Hearts

In the Entrance Antiphon to today's liturgy, we are reminded that "the Lord will make the glory of his voice heard in the joy of [our] heart[s]."  Am I hearing that voice? And, if not, what is blocking me from hearing it? Am I keeping myself too busy? Are my thoughts clouded with the noise of anger, jealousy, or worry?  Have I shut God out in my pursuit of security in material things? Have I hardened by heart by a lack of gratitude, by pride, by hatred and prejudice?  Have I chosen people, possessions and power as my gods?

It is never too late to turn back to the Lord, to seek the Lord above all else, to repent and be saved! If we have gone astray, God, like the father of the prodigal son  (Luke  15: 11-32), waits for our return with arms open in mercy!  His love for us never wavers! God who, as St. Paul says to us in today's second reading, Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11,   "began a good work in you [and me on the day that we were baptized and He] will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."  Yes, it is God's will that we enter into His glory when we die, that is, that we accept the free gift of salvation!  Is that your will/my will? Let us prove it by living lives of integrity, honesty, purity, love, mercy and justice.

The Glory of God in our Midst

In the first reading, Ezekiel 43: 1-7b, the prophet shares the vision with us in which "the angel led [Ezekiel] to the gate which faces the east, and there [Ezekiel] saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east....I, [Ezekiel tells us], fell prone as the glory of the Lord entered by way of the waste which faces the east but the spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court....The voice said to me: Son of man, this is where my throne shall be, this is where I will set the soles of my feet; here I will dwell among there children of Israel forever."

May God open our eyes to the glory of God, to God Himself, dwelling in our Churches, in our Tabernacles, in the Holy of Holies in synagogues, in the depth of each person's being, in the innocence of babies and children, in the love and justice, joy and peace which we bring to each other; in the universe itself: in sunrises and sunsets, in flowers and all created things.

"The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land," we pray in today's  responsorial psalm, Psalm 85.  Furthermore, the psalmist prays: Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land. Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. The Lord himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before [God who dwells in our land], and salvation along the way of his steps."

Am I, are you, in step with the Lord? Are we aware of the glory of God being revealed to us?

The Death and Life of Jesus in Us

"...[W]e who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal bodies." We know "that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you his presence.  Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God."  Truly, "we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us"  (2 Cor 4: -15).

Dying with Jesus and rising with Jesus--all for the sake of others in order that "thanksgiving" will
overflow for the glory of God!  What a treasure and what a gift to be  an instrument in God's hands for "abundance" to be outpoured upon others, to be the "cause" of "thanksgiving" to gush forth from others in glory of God's holy name!

What a sacred mission! And as difficult as it is to be "given up to death for the sake of Jesus," what a grace to rise with Christ to new life in the dying to selfishness, to impatience, to pride, to fear, to avarice and greed and whatever blocks grace from flowing through us!  May we, each day, see patience, humility, courage, love, generosity, wisdom and all the gifts of the Spirit rise in us to the glory of God forever and ever. Amen!  

To God Be Glory Given

In today's first reading, Acts 14:5-18, Paul and Barnabas, through their faith in Jesus and the faith of the man needing healing, restore a man to health, saying to him: "Stand up straight on your feet," and he does.  The crowd immediately proclaimed:  "The gods have come down to us in human form," and prepare to "to offer sacrifice" to Paul and Barnabas.  Appalled, the apostles "rushed out into the crowd, shouting, "Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you human beings?"

How easy to get lured into being worshipped! How easy to want the glory and the honor that belong to God! How easy, in fact, to expect privileges that belong to God alone and only to God, not to ourselves.  In today's responsorial psalm we pray:  "Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory because of your mercy, because of your truth....Our God is in heaven' whatever he wills, he does. their idols are silver and gold, the handiwork of men [human beings]."

Lord, I ask for forgiveness for the times that I worshipped "the handiwork" that the Holy Spirit  created using my hands, my intelligence, my creativity. Forgive me for the times I wanted to be glorified and did not give the credit for the good I accomplished through You.  "Not to [me], Lord, but to your name give the glory."  May I learn this lesson, Lord!  Thank you!

A Prayer for Deliverance

In today’s first reading, Daniel3: 25, 34-43, “Azariah stood up in the fire and prayed aloud: ‘For your name’s sake, O Lord, do not deliver us up forever, or make void your covenant. Do not take away your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, your beloved, Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one, to whom you promised to multiply their offspring like the stars of heaven, or the sand on the shore of the sea….So let our sacrifice be in your presence today as we follow you unreservedly; for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame. And now we follow you with our whole heart, we fear you and we pray to you. Do not let us be put to shame, but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy. Deliver us by your wonders, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.”

Lord, today, I stand up in the “fire” of a cancer ravishing the body of a loved one.  I cry aloud to You, O Lord: “For your name’s sake, do not deliver this young woman to the cancer within her that is aggressively taking possession of so many areas in her body. For the sake of her parents, her siblings, her grandparents and great grandparents—living and deceased—and all of her relatives, both living and deceased, show her your mercy.  “Let the sacrifices [she and her family have made in dealing with this uncaring disease] be in your presence today, as [she has, throughout her short lifetime] followed you with her whole heart, [as has each of her family members].  [She and her family] reverences you and prays to you. Do not let [her] be put to shame, but deal with [her] in your kindness and great mercy. Deliver [her from this cancer, according to God’s will] by your wonders, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.”

God Comes with Divine Recompense as Savior

In today's first reading, Is. 35:; 1-6, 10,  we read that "[t]he desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom....[T]hey will see the glory of the Lord, they will see the splendor of the our God." "Feeble hands" will be strengthened." "Weak knees" will be made firm. Those strong according to human standards, whose faith, for instance, lies, not in the Lord, but in being or becoming billionaires will crumble in the dust.  Drug dealers and users whose faith rests in deals made and drugs used will be brought low. Human traffickers and pimps whose delight is in the number of girls/women they "own" will be humbled! Criminals who boasts of the many crimes they have committed or plan to commit shall crash in defeat eventually.

Yes, Satan will eventually lose all power over humankind. "Here is your God," Isaiah tells us,  "he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you."  When the Lord comes and is accepted as Savior, as Messiah, in any one's life, that person's "eyes...will be opened, [their] deaf ears "be cleared"; "then the lame will leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing."

When the Lord returns,  those who have repented of their wrongdoing, those who recognize their sinful ways and fall on their knees before the one true God in repentance will have their blindness and deafness removed--no longer will they be worshipping idols, false gods or god-substitutes.  Yes, when the Lord comes, "those whom   the Lord has ransomed," Isaiah tells us, "will return and enter Zion singing crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee."

May you and I be among the throng of people following the Lord on that last day of our lives!

The Lord's Glory is our Shelter and Protection

In hope, today’s first reading, Is 4: 2-6, speaks about the Lord’s coming.  Isaiah makes the following proclamation: When the Lord washes away the filth of the daughters [and sons] of Zion, and purges Jerusalem’s blood from her midst with a blast of searing judgment, then will the Lord create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her place of assembly, a smoking cloud by day and a light of flaming fire by night. For over all, the Lord’s glory will be shelter and protection: shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover from storm and rain.”

Our faith tells us that God will destroy all that is evil in the world, not just in the middle East or anywhere else in the world but in the U.S., as well.  The wickedness that brought down Jerusalem (it was destroyed in 70 A.D. because of the evil within it) will also bring down any other city or country in the world of today. Our courtship with idolatry, adultery, greed, jealousy, hatred, misogyny, sexism, racism, violence and corruption, deceitfulness and gluttony, pride and selfishness invites the “searing judgment” of our God.  The blood that has been poured out upon the earth will be purged as “a smoking cloud by day and a light of flaming fire by night” envelops the world. When that time comes, “the Lord’s glory will be shelter and protection: shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover from storm and rain” that is the result of humankind’s sinful choices, whether those choices are personal, familial, social, civic, ecclesial or corporate.

 In less than a month, we will celebrate the Incarnation of the Son of God, who left the glory of heaven to come to earth. During His earthly pilgrimage, the-Son-of-God-made-man encountered everything that any human being encounters. In fact, as St. Paul reminds us in 2 Cor. 5:21, God "made the sinless one a victim for sin, so that in him we might become the uprightness of God." Yes, through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, where sin was destroyed, we have been reconciled to God. Truly, Jesus came, not to condemn the world but to save it and, for that reason, out of that love, “the Lord’s glory will be shelter and protection,”  especially when the “blast of [God’s] searing judgment” purges the world of sin and the gates of heaven are opened for all of those cleansed in the blood of the Lamb and who recognize Jesus as their Savior. As John the Baptist says to us: "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand" (Mt. 3: 2).

Come, Lord Jesus, come and save us!

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, our God

Today’s first reading,  Revelation 4: 1-11, concludes with the following proclamation: “Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created.”

Every one—each of our family members and all of our relatives, every citizen of our country and all countries throughout the world, our president elect and his family members, each of the persons he is choosing for his cabinet, every member of the Senate and the House of Representatives, everyone in public service, all of our clergy from the Pope down to our parish priests and ministers in any religion, persons  we like and those we dislike—has come into being because of God’s will.  Each of us is here to carry out a special mission given to us by our Creator God. Will we carry out God’s purpose for us today or decide to carry our own will apart from God?

In heaven, day and night, God is proclaimed holy:  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is and who is to come” (Revelation 4: 8).    May  we, day and night, in good times and bad times, in each season of our lives here on earth—spring, summer, fall and winter-- worship God, praise God and give God thanks for our existence and that of all of creation. And  may all that we do and say give glory to our God and carry out the purpose for which God brought us into being!

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.

The Stewardship of God's Grace

Paul begins today’s first reading, Eph. 3: 2-12,  with the statement: “Brothers and sisters: You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for your benefit…”  Each of us, also, has been given “the stewardship of God’s grace” for others’ benefit, not for our own.  Earlier in this same letter,  Chapter 1, verses 1-11, Paul says to us: “In Christ…[you] were…chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory.” We “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,…the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession,to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1: 1-11).

Do I realize that I am not my own, that I belong to God? Do I realize that today God has a purpose for me or am I so intent on the goals I have set for myself that this underlying, foundational goal set by God is lost to me?  Does “this is what I am going to do today, in this meeting, in this encounter,” shut me out of waiting upon the Lord, allowing the Lord to show me His glory in “what I am going to do today, in this meeting, in this encounter”? Am I do noisy that I do not hear God at work?  If God’s grace is given to me for other people’s benefit, in what way do I allow “God’s grace” to reveal itself without my interference in  how that will happen in the events, the relationships, the opportunities given to me today to experience the “inheritance toward redemption”  (Ephesians 1: 11-14)that God wants to show me?

In Utmost for His Highest, the spiritual writer for today’s meditation, Oct. 22, challenges me with the words: “…abandon yourself to Him in total surrender….abandon your own reasoning and arguing” and then God will witness “to what He has done.” “The Spirit of God,” this spiritual author states, “witnesses to the redemption of our Lord, and to nothing else….We are inclined,” he says, “to mistake the simplicity that comes from our natural commonsense decisions for the witness of the Spirit, but the Spirit witnesses only to His own nature, and to the work of redemption, never to our reason[ing].”

All I can say is “Lord, have mercy!”

An ever-present God

In today's first reading, Ezekiel 1: 2-5, 24-28c. Ezekiel,  who was among the exiles  deported to Babylon and are miles from their beloved Temple, has a vision of the heavenly kingdom. "The hand of the Lord came upon me. As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire enveloped in brightness, from the midst of which (the midst of the fire) something gleamed like electrum.  Within it were figures resembling four living creatures that looked...human....Above the firmament over their heads something like a throne could be seen, looking like sapphire. Upon it was seated, up above, one who had the appearance of a man. Upward from what resembled his waist I saw what gleamed like electrum; downward from what resembled his waist I saw what looked like fire; he was surrounded with splendor. Like the bow which appears in the clouds on a rainy day was the splendor that surrounded him. Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord."

God appears in the least likely of places: in a foreign land, away from the Temple amidst a people who are exiled from their homeland, like so many refugees today fleeing for their lives, at the mercy of their captors, fleeing those who have taken their land by force.  In the midst of darkness and despair, Ezekiel carries the message of a glorious God who stoops down from heaven to enter our darkness, to bring comfort to us in our most destitute of experiences.  When we think all is lost, God appears wherever He wills and speaks to whomever He pleases.God is sovereign. God is in charge, especially at times when we think God has abandoned us, as Jesus thought had happened to Him on the cross. "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me."  God identifies with us in every event of our lives, as He did with the Israelites.

Saved by Faith in Christ Jesus

In the first reading of today's liturgy, Romans 3: 21-30, St. Paul reminds us that we--Jews and Gentiles alike-- are saved by our faith in Christ Jesus, not by faith in laws or by the works we do.  Jesus is our Savior.  "God," St. Paul proclaims, "...will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith."  Without exception, "all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God."  However, all have been restored to "the glory of God" by Jesus' death and resurrection, when sin was destroyed and Satan's power crushed.  God belongs to all of us--the power of the resurrection is now at work in all believers because, as today's responsorial psalm proclaims, "[w]ith the Lord, there is mercy, and fullness of redemption."  God has been victorious and all of us--Jew and Gentile, peoples of all nationalities and cultures--await the victory that will be ours, in Christ Jesus, for all eternity and that is ours, here and now,  when, on a daily basis, by grace, we overcome sin, dying to our selfishness, our pride, our hopelessness, our lust for power and control; in short our efforts to be like God, as Adam and Eve did in original sin.

May each of us know the power of the resurrection at work within our lives.  May we have the courage and the wisdom to stop long enough from frantic activity to listen in the stillness of our hearts to God quietly at work in our personal, familial, communal, civic, political, and ecclesial dimensions of the world in which we live.

God's Presence Among Us Always

In today’s first reading, Exodus 40: 16-21, 34-38, we are given information of how the Israelites knew God’s will for them.  A “cloud covered the meeting tent and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling….Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling, the children of Israel would set out on their journey. But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward; only when it lifted did they go forward.” A cloud was seen during the day and “fire was seen in the cloud at night…by the whole house of Israel in all stages of their journey.”  This was the presence of God in their midst. God also gave them the Ten Commandments and wrote the Law in their memories:  “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts” (Jer. 31:33).

Reflect for a moment on the fact that the whole house of Israel in all stages of their journey was privy to this reality of God’s direction. That means that children, adolescents, young adults, middle-age adults, adults in their declining years—everyone—sees God at work in their midst and within them, knows God’s Directives and recognizes when  to move forward (even when they refuse to do so).  The  Israelites did not go forward unless the cloud lifted.  Imagine you and I heeding the clouds in our lives as a message from God not to make major decisions at that time, not to go forward when our minds are foggy, when we feel confused, when we really don’t know what to do or what to think.  That is the time to recall Isaiah’s advice:  “By waiting and by calm, you shall be saved; in quiet and in trust your strength lies” (Is. 30: 15).  Also, then, imagine us following the directives of the Lord when “the cloud is lifted,” knowing that it is time to move forward , to implement a decision about which we are clear.

Like the Israelites, God dwells in our midst, in fact, God dwells in the very core of our beings. We are Temples of the Holy Spirit.  God’s law is also written on our hearts and inscribed in our minds.  The Holy Spirit lives within us “to infuse our knowledge with divine grace and guide us with divine creativity and wisdom” so that we, too, are able to stay on the right track on our journey to the Promised Land of Eternal Life with God (See The Word Among Us,  July/August 2013, p. 51).

The Glory of God

In the first reading of today’s liturgy, Ez 1: 2-5, 24-28, Ezekiel describes a vision of God’s glory—a brilliance he describes as a “flashing fire enveloped in brightness,  from the midst of which…something gleamed like electrum.  Within it were figures resembling four living creatures that looked like this: their form was human.”

 We know that we have been created in God’s image but probably never consider the glory of God that shines forth from us, or another,  when we are one with the Spirit in our ways of thinking, acting and choosing; when we are loving and caring for another; when we are reconciling, understanding, and forgiving of others, when we are patience and compassionate as God is compassionate.  Each of us has probably seen the glory of God radiating through the beauty of nature—sometimes taking our breath away! At others times we have stood in awe of a child who reflects God to us. What about our perception of God’s glory in the mundane realities of our lives, of ourselves?  At times, like Ezekiel in exile, we may actually wonder whether God has abandoned us when, suddenly, as it seems in Ezekiel's case, God reveals His presence. 

When has God suddenly shown His glory in your life?