Choosing Virtue and Rejecting Wickedness

In today's first reading, Ezekiel 19: 21-28, God reminds us, through the prophet, that, "if a wicked [person] turns away from all the sins he/[she] has committed, if [this person] keeps all my statues and does what is right and just, he/[she] shall surely live, ...not die. None of the crimes he/[she] committed shall be remembered...; [this person] shall live become of the virtue he/[she] practiced." And the opposite is true of the person who abandons living a virtuous life and resorts to a life of wickedness. None of the good that person has done shall be remembered and such a person shall die as a consequence of turning to evil and abandoning the good.

Those are strong words that speaks of God's justice. Good leads to an abundance of life while evil leads to death, the absence of life!  Abandoning doing what is right grieves God, who does not rejoice in any one of His sons or daughters walking away from a life of virtue.  God, I believe, weeps when we turn toward evil, lured to such by Satan's lies that such is rewarding, wise,  pleasurable and a producer of  happiness and security. Satan could not be further from the truth that Jesus teaches when He says: Those who save their lives will lose it and those who lose their lives in goodness, in virtue, in denial of self and in self-sacrificing love will save it! At another place in the Gospels, Jesus reminds us that when we  pour out their lives in full measure, we will receive the same in return.  In another passage, Jesus says to us: Do unto others as you would have them do to you!

May you and I heed Jesus' words and trust His promises of fullness of life to those who follow His way!

Holiness: What is it?

In the first reading, 1 Thes 4: 1-8, St. Paul exhorts the Thessalonians in the the name of Jesus to conduct themselves in ways that please the Lord. "For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.  This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from  immorality, that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion as do [those] who do mot know God; not to take advantage of or exploit a brother or sister in this matter..."

You and I also know that God's will for us is our holiness, nothing less than that!  What does holiness look like? It may be a father playing basketball with his teenage son, a mother coloring with her seven-year old daughter, a husband helping his wife prepare the evening meal, a wife tending to her paralyzed husband, grandparents babysitting their grandchildren, an adult being a faithful, dependable employer; a family attending Sunday worship services,  persons making choices that improve their physical, mental and spiritual well-being (choices that lead to wholeness or holiness), and on and on!

What is holiness for you? What, obviously, would you not describe as holiness?

Smartness or Stupidity: Which Is it for Me/You?

In today's first reading, Galatians 3: 1-5, St. Paul is frustrated with the Galatians who have turned to the flesh and away from the Spirit. "Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?"   Paul is having a hard time comprehending how people can turn away from a God who poured out His love them upon the cross, surrendering to the Trinity's plan of salvation even unto death.   Jesus held nothing back to redeem us from the law, which condemns us, and from the cruel deceitfulness and wickedness of the devil who will go to any length to get us to deny Christ and turn away from our salvation, to deny Truth and Justice, Love and Mercy.  Satan seems to be having a hay day in the world of today. Evil seems to be triumphing over good, as on that first Good Friday.  However, we know that, as black as Good Friday was with the Savior of the world being put to death as a criminal that day, death--evil--was destroyed on that day and resurrection followed.  Good is going to triumph over evil. The wicked will not have the last word. Jesus will! Good people will!

On whose side will I be that day? the side of evil or the side of good? the side of justice or the side of injustice? the side of honesty or the side of deceitfulness? the side of love and mercy or the side of hatred and mercilessness? the side of humility or the side of pride? the side of forgiveness or the side of revenge?

Where do I stand today?  The choice is mine to make in cooperation with Jesus, who comes daily to save us, not condemn us!

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?

Rescued from "the power of the Wicked"

In today's first reading, Jeremiah 20: 10-13, Jeremiah says to the Lord: "I hear the whisperings of many: 'Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!' All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. 'Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.' But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. O Lord of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked." 

Many of the just, I  believe, are being tested by today's administration. Evil will not triumph. Good will, as it did in Jesus' day. Those who put Jesus to death did not triumph; Jesus did in the resurrection to new life. Those unjustly treated by persons in power will also triumph. Those involved in evil will, I believe,  "in their failure...be put to utter shame" in time unless they change their evil ways.

The questions you and I need to answer are: Are we engaged in behaviors to trip up others, to bring them down and raise ourselves up?  Are we on "watch for any misstep" of another person, hoping that that person "will be trapped"  so that we "can prevail, and take our vengeance" out on them?  How easily in the political environment in which we live it is to take sides and hope that the side we oppose "will be trapped."  God have mercy on us. And God help all of those in public office to be awakened to God's will for justice for all and be given the power they need to engage in just practices and in legislation that promotes the common good for all peoples.  And may the efforts to bring other people down by false advertisements and slanderous statements cease!

The Body of Christ

Today's first reading, Romans 12: 5-16b, speaks to us about being "one Body in Christ and individually parts of one another."  As in our own physical bodies we are many parts and each part needs the other in order to survive and thrive, so, too, the Body of Christ. We all serve a significant part to the healthiness of the one Body of Christ and to the full functioning of the Body according to God's holy will.  Members of the one Body of Christ are each given certain gifts/talents to contribute to the wholeness and spiritual well-being of the whole Body.  If one member fails to contribute his/her gifts or chooses to "digest poison" in the form of wrongdoing, the entire Body of Christ suffers.   Our growth in holiness, in goodness, in love, in humility, in faith, in caring and compassion is effected by the choices each person makes.  If any one person makes right choices, the entire Body is enhanced. If any one person make poor choices, those choices diminish the "wealth" of the Body of Christ. We are made poorer or richer spiritually by each other's choices.

What kind of a member of the Body of Christ am I? What kind of choices am I making?

The Power of the Gospel That Is Ours Each Day

In today's first reading, 1 Thes 1: 1-5, 8b-10, St. Paul, praises the Thessalonians for their "work of faith and labor of love, and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,...knowing...how [they] are loved by God, how [they] were chosen."  The Gospel, Paul says to them, has come to them "in power and in the Holy Spirit."  He thanks God that they have "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven,...Jesus, who deliver[ed them] from the coming wrath" of Satan and Satan's followers.

May you and l also praise and thank God for the "work of faith and labor of love, and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ"  that has been given to us through our parents and so many other faith-filled men and women, who to this very day, lead us to Jesus.  Like the Thessalonians, we, too, have been given the "Gospel...in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction." That conviction grows as we stand in awe of God each day,  pondering the readings of each liturgy or seeking God in the events of our lives as they unfold each day.  Through grace, as with the Thessalonians,  we are given the choices each day to turn "to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven,...Jesus, who delivers [us] from the coming wrath" of Satan and his followers!  Every day, God is at work in  our lives, delivering us from Satan's lies. How aware are we of this gift of God's love, this concern on God's part, to redirect us to the right path--the path that Jesus modeled for us while here on earth and to this very day.

THANK YOU, JESUS!

In today's liturgy, Matthew presents us with the genealogy of Jesus' historical existence.  The list includes both men and women of heroic pasts and those whose past lives include murder, rape, idolatrous and other destructive behaviors; in short those dominated by selfish, narcissistic, greedy  violent pursuits. All persons  listed in Jesus' genealogy were part of our salvation history, then and now!  Each of us, now as well, has a role to play in bringing about our own salvation and the salvation of the world. Sometimes, our choices are those by which others are appalled or simply embarrassed and which bring people, including our self,  to their knees. At other times, our behaviors are inspiring and bring people to the Light.  Our salvation history, in 2016, as prior to Jesus' birth,  includes leaders of reputable characters who inspire us and leaders whose behaviors are deceptive, repulsive and morally questionable.  God uses the good and the bad within us  and others to show us the way to the Father--choices that lead us to eternal life with Christ and those which could lead us to an eternity that excludes Christ and thus is an eternity of suffering!

What choices am I making each day?  What appalls me? What inspires me?

All of God's Creation

In today’s first reading, Sirach 42: 15-25, Sirach is filled with awe at God’s creation:  “At God’s word were his works brought into being; they do his will as he has ordained for them.” As I meditated on the phrase , I thought of humankind. Of all of God’s creation, we are the ones to whom God gave freedom. We can choose to do the will of God or to follow our own will. As I grappled with the reality that I often choose my own will over God’s and then thought of the disasters in the world because of our ability to make choices contrary to God’ will, the Lord broke into my musings and said to me through His Spirit within me:

My will is that you have free will. I delight in that creation of you. Yes, I know that you choose your will over mine many times. In that, you learn to be obedient to my will. The suffering that follows your refusal to love sacrificially, to live the life of a disciple, teaches you to follow your Master. I built that dynamic within you. Grace will ultimately triumph over nature. I made it that way. Am I sad to see you, or anyone else,  choose your will over mine? Yes, but I love you unconditionally and will not take away your freedom. It is in learning to  choose  rightly that you will become truly free.  I cherish that dynamic in my creation of humankind.

Jesus, you delight in each member of Isis, in those perpetuating human trafficking, drug trafficking, slave labor, abortion and so many other corrupt practices?  I delight in every  person I created.  Each is my son/daughter. I gave each free will, as I did you. Each who chooses as Isis does or any other person making poor or sinful choices saddens me, especially if they choose to go their own way as Judas did. I don’t delight in anyone making choices that lead to perdition but I delight in the person I created, even when their potential of becoming the person I intended them to become is thwarted. So, too, when the person I intended you to become is thwarted when you choose pride over humility, selfishness over generosity, deceit over truth, prejudice over openness, nastiness over kindness, I am saddened but my love for you remains unconditional. I always delight in you. And ultimately grace will triumph over evil in you!