Grief Turned into Joy

In today's Gospel, John 16: 16-20, the disciples are trying to figure out what Jesus meant when he said to them:  "A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.....Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, 'Are you discussing with one another what I said,...Amen, amen, I say to  you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.'" 

Jesus gives us the same message.  Our life here on earth is short--eighty years if we are strong, the psalmist says to us.  Our time here on earth is brief. And, from time to time,  it is filled with weeping and mourning, while the world around us rejoices.  We will grieve for a time but our sorrow will be turned into joy, just as Jesus' was!  Much of Jesus' life was filled with grief: the grief of the loss of His foster father, the grief of being rejected by many, by having chief priests and leaders of His people plotting to kill Him, the grief of others walking away from Him when He spoke of the Eucharist, that is, of eating His Body and drinking His blood. That was too much for many of His disciples.  He endured being accused of blasphemy when He spoke of being one with His Father. Jealous of His growing popularity and of the crowds following Him, the chief priests and leaders found a way to destroy Him, that is to have Him crucified as a criminal to the State of Israel. Yes, Jesus wept and mourned over Jerusalem while the world around Him rejoiced. His grief was turned into joy at the resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday. Our grief will also be turned into joy when we, too, like Jesus, return to our Father in heaven!  May we have the courage to endure until the end of our lives, believing in Jesus, trusting Jesus and loving Jesus beyond all else that is!

Jesus' Unconditional Love

Holy Thursday

Imagine Jesus sharing with you what it was like to gather for the Last Supper with His friends. He says to you:

            (Insert your name)            ,  I knew that my hour had come to return to My Father.  I also knew that Judas Iscariot would betray me, turn me over to the authorities who would condemn me to death.  I knew all of this.  My heart was heavy with sorrow as I watched Satan take possession of Judas' heart. To this very day, those times when Satan deceptively, secretively, and cunningly possesses anyone, I am deeply saddened.  I never stop loving anyone to the very end, hoping that each troubled person will turn to me for help.  Judas had no idea tat I loved him unconditionally. I did not will his destruction. 

My greatest happiness that day would have been Judas' repentance. With the other apostles, I washed his feet. I also shared bread and wine with him at the Passover Supper and addressed him as friend in the Garden. I did not sever the friendship bond; he did.  The  same is true of my feelings toward all humankind, male and female. Our friendship--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--is unconditional with every person, with you and your loved ones, with you and any of your enemies, with you in good times and bad, in times of darkness and light, when you walk away from me and when you draw close. I love you always, in every place and in every circumstance of your life. I am Your God and there is no other. If you have strayed from Me and My Ways and My Truth and My Life, please return to me. I am waiting to embrace you with love and I will wait as long as it takes. I love you unconditionally. Nothing you have done or will do will change that fact!

Bye, now, my betrayer has arrived. I must leave you for awhile. Remember that I love you!