Sanctified in Christ Jesus and Clothed in Holiness

In today's first reading, 1 Cor 1: 1-9, St. Paul refers to the people of Corinth and us,  as persons who "have been sanctified in Christ Jesus," persons "called to be holy with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Grace to you," Paul prays, "and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."  Paul tells the people that he always thanks God "for the grace bestowed [upon them] in Christ Jesus, that in him [they] were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ." In today's Gospel,Matthew 24: 42-51, Jesus asks us to "stay awake" for Jesus' coming, be that our personal dying to this world and returning home to heaven  with Jesus or Jesus' second coming at the end of this world as we now know it!

What blessing is Paul, perhaps, talking about?  First of all, God's grace and  peace, a peace the world cannot give and what is ours when we seek God in solitude, in prayer, in being true to our call as children of the Most High. Furthermore, Paul speaks about our being enriched in every way and not lacking in any spiritual gifts! What might those be?  The opportunities, I believe,  for discourse of things that matter concerning our faith, our growth in love and in trust; all knowledge necessary for 1) walking with the Lord God through this world in which we now exist and 2) for growing in love!  WOW!  For what else can we ask?

A Heart that Overflows with Love

Today we celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a heart overflowing with love for all humankind. The Gospel of today's Mass, John 19: 31-37, recalls  the depth of God's love, the death of Jesus on the cross.  The Gospel passage notes that the time is fast approaching when the Jews need to remove the bodies from the cross, so that they do not violate Passover customs! So, executioners break the legs of those being crucified, depriving them of the means to lift themselves up to get any air into their lungs. Jesus is already dead so, instead of breaking His legs, they thrust a lance into His side, from whence flows blood and water. I immediately think of the priest pouring a drop of water into the wine prior to the consecration of the Mass when the Bread and Wine become the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus and is offered to the Father in atonement of our sins and the sins of the whole world.  What a moment! Though Jesus does not ever die again, His sacrifice of love, I believe, is always before the Father.  Day and night, Jesus intercedes for us at the throne of God!  He awaits that day when you and I enter eternal life, a gift secured for us on the cross! Will you and I accept this gift in faith and love? Or have we already chosen our own gods, gods that cannot save us?

Righteousness and Eternal Life

In today's first reading, Romans 6: 19-23, St. Paul expands on yesterday's Scriptures. As "slaves of sin," Paul tells us, we "were free from righteousness. But what profit did you get...?For the end of those things [which are offensive to God and separate you from Love] is death.  But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit that you have leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life."

All of us are on a journey that leads to eternal life.  We will be given an option when we die, I believe,  as we are now given: choose life or choose death, eternal death that is!  Just as now we are asked whether or not we want to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, so, too, in death, I believe, we will be asked that same question.  On this side of the grave, all things work for the sanctification of those who believe. And even when I am in a period of unbelief, even when I have turned away from God, God waits for us to come back to Him. And when we do, He opens His arms to receive us into His heart.  He welcomes us in the same way as the Father of the prodigal son welcomed his wayward son, rejoicing, throwing a welcome-home party, giving us the best of what He has: sanctification and salvation!

God's Inheritance

In today’s first reading, 1 Cor. 1: 25-31, St. Paul reminds us that we “are in Christ Jesus” and that Jesus, through a gift from God the Father, became for us “wisdom,…righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.”  Those of us chosen, called to become Jesus’ disciples, to live “in Christ Jesus,”  St. Paul reminds us, were not “powerful.” We were not “of noble birth.” No! God “chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those  who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. [In fact, it] is due to [God] that you [and I] are in Christ Jesus.”

How difficult it may be to absorb the truth that before being  and living “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from  God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,” you and I were  weak, foolish,   lowly and the despised of the world, counting for nothing and that there is nothing you and I can boast about, nothing!   Then turn this around and realize that Christ Jesus is your strength and mine, your wisdom and mine, your righteousness and mine, your sanctification and mine, your redemption and mine.   Furthermore, the author of Psalm 33, today’s responsorial psalm , tells us that God has “chosen [us] for his own inheritance.” God’s inheritance! What? You and I are “God’s inheritance”?  WOW!

HAPPY PENTECOST!

O, the greatness, the goodness, the love of our God, who, in creation made the world and all that is in it in God's image and to image God on earth.

O, the love of our God expressed for us in the total obedience of His Son, who gave His life for our ransom.

O, the fidelity and humility of our God, who sent the Holy Spirit to us on Pentecost to guide us to all truth, to sanctify us and to strengthen us to follow God's lead in all the events of our lives until we become totally one with God and take our places with Jesus in heaven.

God's gift of imperishability

"God formed [you, Dorothy Ann (insert your name),] to be imperishable" (Wis 2: 23).  That means that this earthly life will come to an end at a time chosen by our Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.  At the moment that our sanctification here on earth is complete, the angel of death will come and we will be born into eternal life, where we will live forever with all of the redeemed.  God has ordained it so in Christ Jesus.  He loves us unconditionally to the point of His son being obedient to the Father unto death in order that the death of sin would have no lasting power over us.  Satan's ability to lure us into choosing our will over the will of God has been completely obliterated by Jesus' obedience to the Father's will--we are in the process of discovering this gift during our sojourn here on earth. We are on a journey to discover that where sin abounded in us, grace will abound even more through the power of Jesus' resurrection and the power of the Spirit interceding on our behalf  24/7. Our warrior God fights beside us, within us, ahead of us, behind us as God takes on Satan.  God wins ultimately in our battle with our disobedience, that is, our choosing our will over God's will.  And when our purification here on earth is complete, when we are ready to pass through death into eternal life, I believe that God comes to walk before us as we pass through the door of death into eternal life--a life prepared for us from the beginning of time.  God is faithful even in our unfaithfulness and His will will not be denied.