The Transforming Power of Prayer

In today's first reading, Exodus 34: 29-35, Moses comes down from the mountain where he was conversing with the Lord.  In the process of this encounter, Moses' face became radiant, so much so that the people were afraid to approach him.  The change that took place in Moses because of his conversations with the Lord had become obvious! 

You and I are also changed by prayer when our minds and hearts and entire beings are receptive to the Lord. We are changed from the inside out! The change might not be as obvious as it was in the case with Moses. But, nevertheless, honest conversation with the Lord, time spent with God, transforms us into the person God calls us to become: men and women of integrity, men and women who are honest with one another, are just and loving, compassionate and caring, forgiven and forgiving, willing to make any sacrifice that improves the lives of others. As with Jesus, who spoke with His Father on a daily basis, doing only what the Father asked of Him, we bring new life and hope to the world in which we live when we want what the Father wants and allow the Lord to work through us to make the world a better place.

Thank you, Lord, for your readiness to communicate with us on a daily basis.  Thanks, also for the graces you pour into our hearts to make us one with you and the Father and the Spirit.  May our lives glorify you!

Transformation through Emmanuel with Us

In today's first reading, Isaiah 41: 13-20, the Lord speaks through the prophet, saying to us:  "I am the Lord, your God, who grasp your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.' Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel; I will help you, says the Lord; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and double-edged, to thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the hills like chaff. When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off and the storm shall scatter them. But you shall rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel."

Reading this, I am, at first, offended by the Lord describing Jacob and Israel as worms and maggots. What? a worm? a maggot?  Then the thought came to me of the transformation of each of us when, as Isaiah says later in this passage, we are made "a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and doubled-edged, to thresh the mountains [of sin] and crush them, to make the hills chaff."   What are we, in Christ Jesus, threshing and turning into chaff which the wind blows away?  Mountains of pride and selfishness, of deceitfulness and corruption; in short, sin in us is transformed, by grace, into holiness! All of this leads us to "rejoice  in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel."

Through the shedding of His blood on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, Jesus clothed us with a mantle of justice and put a robe of salvation on us. In our baptism we died with Christ and rose with Him; hence the "mountains" are crushed and the "hills"turned to chaff, rough ways are made smooth and the heavens are opened for the redeemed!

That is why God became human!

Learning from the Scriptures

Today's Gospel, John 1:45-51, presents the calling of Nathaniel (St. Bartholomew) to become an apostle of the Lord.  God uses Philip to alert Nathaniel to his calling. Philip find Nathaniel under a fig tree and tells him that he and others "have found the one about whom Moses were in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth."  Nathaniel sarcastically asks: "Can anything good come from Nazareth?"  Philip does not get sucked into Nathaniel's sarcasm or dismissal but says to Nathaniel: "Come and see!"

Am I, in this passage, Nathaniel, one who does not mince words, who speaks his mind, who is forthright in speaking to others? Jesus sees the depth of Nathaniel's heart and introduces him as "a true child of Israel," one in whom there is "no duplicity."  How would Jesus describe you/me?  Nathaniel is amazed and says to Jesus: "How do you know me?"  Jesus responds: "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."  Jesus sees you and me wherever we are and  in whatever we are doing!  He knows us more than we know ourselves. As God, Jesus knows what we are thinking before we do and what we might say before we have said it!  God knows us through and through. We are a book, so to speak, in the process of being written and Jesus knows us cover to cover!  Are you/am I aware of this fact?

As with Nathaniel, Jesus uses other people to communicate God's will to us, or uses us to bring truths to other people's attention, truths which He wants people to know and to which He wants their response. Are we listening for God's messages sent to us through others and, also, do we allow God to use us to bring His message to other people?

Another very important fact to note in this Scripture passage is how Nathaniel is changed by His encounter with Jesus!  Immediately, he recognizes and acknowledges who Jesus is! His sarcastic, critical attitude is changed from "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" to a stance of appreciation and  awe: "Wow, look at the good coming from Nazareth!"  How am I, are you, changed in the presence of Jesus?

The Message from Jonah

In today’s first reading, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah enters the city of Nineveh.  He delivers God’s message to this city, telling the residents that “[f]orty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”  The people took heed of Jonah’s message, believing that, in truth, God would destroy their city because of its wickedness. A fast was proclaimed.  The “great and small put on sackcloth.” The king and his nobles issued a decree, saying: “Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water. Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand. Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not parish.” And God “repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.”

The U.S.A. is Nineveh!   Do we, as a nation, not need to repent of and turn away from “evil…and from the violence” being leveled upon immigrants, refugees,  the unborn, and persons who are victims of human traffickers, drug traffickers, and of the slave industry?  Do we not need to rethink government proposals to line the pockets of the rich, to create more billionaires and to perpetuate the arms race? Is it possible that millions of people may be without health insurance and millions of immigrants may be deported (a deportation that may separate children from their parents) all because of the high probability of false information upon which many legislative actions are being promulgated? Are we citizens of the U.S. not in danger of believing lies that are broadcasted over and over again and which will likely bring disaster to ourselves and our neighbors?

Is it possible that unless we sincerely repent of our wrongdoing, cry out to the Lord for mercy and forgiveness and right our wrongs, that we, like Nineveh, could be destroyed?

God Sends His Messenger

In today’s first reading the Lord shares the following promise with us through the prophet Malachi: “Lo,” the Lord says, “I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; and suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming,…but who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye….He…will purify the sons Levi….”

That messenger is Jesus!  Suddenly, without fanfare, quietly, the Lord will appear in each of our lives.  God may visit us in the beauty of creation, in the sun and moon and stars; in the warmth of spring or the heat of summer and fall, in the smile of a child or the unconditional love of a pet.  God may also appear in the call from a friend or a family member, in a letter or an email that brings good news.  God may also come, Malachi tells us, “like the refiner’s fires, or like the fuller’s lye…He will purify” us.  That kinds of visitation may be in the form of an earthquake or in another violent way. God then comes to us hidden in the storm that could easily shatter our confidence, weaken our knees, bring a tremble to our voices.  God’s visitation may be in news of a serious illness, our own or that of a loved one.  Those kinds of visitations reinforce our dependence upon God, our need of God.  Acknowledging such, we are purified of pride and arrogance. 

Am I looking for God, as God searches for me?  In those situations that frighten me, God is there as anchor, as rock, as Savior, Comforter, and Confidante.  “Come to Me,” Jesus says to us in Matthew 11: 28, “all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

The Coming of Our God and Savior

In today’s first reading, Zephaniah 3: 1-2, 9-13, the prophet Zephaniah issues a warning to us, saying: “Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted, to the tyrannical city!  She hears no voice, accepts no correction;  in the Lord she has not trusted, to...God she has not drawn near.  A time is coming when God "will...change and purify the lips of the peoples, that...all may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve [God] with one accord; from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia and as far as the recesses of the North, they shall bring [the true God] offerings.”  We could insert the following: "From north to south, from east to west, from one end of the world to the other, "they shall bring [the true God] offerings" and give up their "rebellious and polluted," in short their idolatrous, ways.

Zephaniah is speaking to each one of us. In what ways have I been rebellious, refusing correction? In what ways have I polluted myself with selfishness, narcissistic pursuits, pride-filled resistances, deceptive ways and other means of saying “no” to God? To whose voice am I listening:  God’s voice, the voice of the Holy Spirit, the voice of truth, justice, mercy, understanding, compassion and love? Or am I responding to voices that promote hatred, judgment, condemnation, hopelessness, faithlessness, mercilessness, and violence (spiritual, physical, emotional, verbal) that pollutes the blossoming spirits of the young, of children and the poor?

Zephaniah says to us that on the day  “that the Lord will change and purify  the lips of the people, that they may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one accord…you  need not be ashamed of all  your deeds, your  rebellious actions against me; for then will I remove from your midst the proud braggarts, and you shall no longer exalt yourself on my holy mountain. But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord...”

Zephaniah gives us hope, as we face a violent world, a world of hatred, sexism, misogynism, racism, and bigotry; as we face a world of injustice, a world where narcissistic, boastful  men and women seek power and control and wealth at the expense of the poor, willing to destroy anyone in their path to what they define as greatness, publishing false stories, alluring and deceiving  people by their outward charm and preposterous promises.  God is warning us, through the prophet Zephaniah, that He will “remove from your midst… proud braggarts, and you shall no longer exalt yourself on my holy mountain, but I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge [in My name], the remnant of Israel. They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue...."

Hopefully you and I will be part of the “remnant” of people who have been purified of our pride, cleansed of our deceitfulness, and humbled and brought low before God; yes, people who have learned to “take refuge in the name of the Lord,” repentant of our rebellious ways!

The Transformation of the World and All within It

In today’s first reading, Isaiah 29: 17-24,  the prophet Isaiah gives us the following message of hope: in “a very little while, …Lebanon (insert any city anywhere in the world) shall be changed into an orchard, and the orchard be regarded as a forest! On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; and out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. The lowly will ever find joy in the Lord, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel (Jesus, our Savior). …[T]he tyrant will be no more and the arrogant will have gone; all who are alert to evil will be cut off, those whose mere word condemns a man (a person], who ensnare his defender at the gate, and leave the just man with an empty claim.”

May the tyrant, the arrogant, those courting evil, those whose words condemn others  and who make empty claims beware of the prophet’s warning. May those doing good in the world, acting justly and loving tenderly (compare Micah 6:8)  rejoice in this hopeful message  and call upon the name of the Lord in mercy. May Jesus, our Savior, purify all of us of any tyrannical intentions,  arrogant pursuits, evil motivations, condemnatory thoughts and empty claims—sin within us now and those we have committed in our past. Like the two blind men in today’s Gospel, Matthew 9: 27-31, may we approach Jesus in humble prayer, asking to be healed and freed of our infirmities, spiritual, physical\, or psychological. 

Life's Lessons

Today’s first reading, Revelation 11: 4-12, is difficult to get one’s arms around.  John  is asked to pay attention to two of the Lord’s witnesses: two olive trees and two lampstands which “stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone,”  the Lord says, “wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and devours their enemies.”  These witnesses give testimony on the Lord’s behalf. “When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will wage war against them and conquer them and kill them….The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and be glad and exchange gifts because these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of the earth. But after the three and a half days [think also of Jesus in the tomb for three and a half days], a breath of life from God entered them….[A] loud voice from heaven [says] to them, ‘Come up here.’ So they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies looked on.”

We live in a world filled with wars and violence against God’s people.  Messengers of the Lord are seen as tormentors, as persons with whom we want nothing to do.  Many times we do not pay attention to “prophets” in our midst, to men and women of our own or of other religions speaking to us of the importance of justice, peace and love, of reconciling with our enemies, with those whom we do not understand, with those we judge as “unfits for the kingdom.”  We may turn our eyes and ears away from life’s tragedies and episodes of pain, not wanting to see the qualities those experiences contain for our redemption, for the transformation of our attitudes, bringing our way of thinking into the way God thinks about the persons involved.

As I was dealing with a painful episode in my life, the thought of the Foundress of my religious community suddenly came to mind. She went through periods in her life where she took refuge at the foot of the cross, pouring out her complaints to the Lord. At one of those times she said to herself as she complained to the Lord: “Enough of this. God is preparing me for something I do not yet understand.”  At another time, having difficulty with relationships, she says:  “I learnt to pray again as a child and came to realize that I have the most to improve.” As I was dealing with a challenging situation, I also, in prayer,  came to realize that I have more to improve within myself than another person. The obsession of needing to be right with this person vanished and peace returned!

What do you do when you encounter the little “wars”  that are part of the realities of learning to live in harmony and respect of one another and self?

The Kingdom of God Within

In today’s Gospel, Luke 13: 18-21, Jesus speaks to us about the Kingdom of God being like a mustard seed, which if planted in rich soil, fed appropriate nutrients, and cultivated produces a huge tree that reaches high into the heavens, providing shelter for many a bird and other animals and could be used by humankind to provide shelter from inclement weather as well. The oak tree could also be carved into beautiful furnishings that bring delight to the eye of its beholders.  How is the Kingdom of God like this mustard seed? God’s Kingdom is planted within us at baptism. It  needs to be nurtured, cultivated, shared in ways that give life and comfort and shelter to others in the storms of life.  The Kingdom of God within us is our faith and hope and love that expands throughout our life time, if nourished,  and is transformed as we grow into adulthood and mature into an another Christ:  Jesus made flesh in our flesh and made known through our  faith, hope and love.

Jesus also likens the Kingdom of God to yeast which affects the dough into which it is kneaded.  The dough expands, is baked and becomes a delicious loaf of bread. In this imagery, the Kingdom of God within us effects all that we do, transforms it, delights others who experience God’s Kingdom at work in our lives in ways that make a difference in their lives as well. To flourish, this “yeast” needs to be kneaded—the sufferings and difficulties of life are part of bringing the Kingdom of God to fruition in our lives. The “yeast” needs to be subordinated, so to speak, to the flour into which it is kneaded and in which it makes the bread rise. The Kingdom of God within us is the rising of Christ, who triumphs over death, and in our lives empowers us to triumph as well!

How healthy is “the mustard seed” and the “yeast”—God’s Kingdom--within me?  How is my life being changed as is a mustard seed properly planted and nurtured? How effective is God’s Kingdom within me as is yeast kneaded in dough? Am I maturing into Christ? Is my faith, hope and love expanding?   Am I making a difference as Jesus did while walking through villages in the Far East 2000+ years ago and as Jesus does now walking beside us each day?

God's Expectations

In today’s first reading, Jeremiah 7: 1-11, we are asked to not put our “trust in…deceitful words: This is the temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord!’ Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with his/[her] neighbor;  if you no longer  oppress the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood…, or follow strange gods to your own harm, will I remain with you in this place, in the land I gave our fathers/[mothers] long ago and forever.”

That I raise a bible in the air repeatedly and am able to quote myriad of or write eloquently about Scripture passages does not mean necessarily  that I have reformed my ways or my deeds, that I am dealing justly with my neighbor and no longer oppressing the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow.  Nor does it mean that I am not following strange gods to my own harm and the harm of others!

Honestly, how have I reformed my sinful, selfish, arrogant, pride-filled, deceitful attitudes and behaviors this past week? How have I reached out to my neighbor, to the person I do not like, to whom I do not want to listen, to the person who thinks and believes differently than I do, who does not share my enthusiasm about a significant person in my world or a recent book I read and enjoyed? What am I doing to lessen the oppression of the resident alien, the orphan, the widow?  What strange gods am I worshiping. How surprised I was this past week to discover that I was seeking to be honored, glorified, appreciated—yes, to be the center of other people’s lives? Is that not what is due to our God?

Fullness of Redemption

Isaiah, in today's first reading, Is 29:17-24, gives us a glimpse of what awaits those who accept God's gift of redemption:

"On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; and out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. The lowly will ever find joy in the Lord, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.  For the tyrant will be no more and the arrogant will have gone; all who are alert to do evil will be cut off, those whose mere word condemns a [person], who ensnare his defender at the gate, and leave the just [person] with an empty claim...."

You and I are those  redeemed by the Lord's blood poured out on the cross,  where Jesus became sin for us!  Imagine that day when you and I have passed through the doors of death into eternal life. On that day we will have left the gloom and darkness in this world. Our blindness and deafness will be removed. As lowly ones, as the poor of the Lord,  as those in need of God's infinite mercy, will see with new eyes and hear with new ears.  The tyrant and the arrogant within and outside of us will be no more.  Those bent on doing us evil or that within ourselves bent on evil will be cut off. Empty will be the claims of those whose mere words condemn us and that within us that condemns us or others, as well.

Because I believe that, I am filled with joy! What about you?

Seeing Others as Beloved, as Brother or Sister in the Lord

In today’s first reading, Paul writes to Philemon, asking that, in his name, he receive a runaway slave, Onesimus, as a brother, not as a slave. “Perhaps,” Paul says, “he ran away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved, especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord.”  Paul’s perception of Onesimus has been transformed from  looking down upon him as a slave, as less than non-slaves,  to a brother,  to a man and to one committed to Christ Jesus. 

Think of the "Onesimus’es" in our world--those lured into the sex trade by human traffickers, those lured into the labor force as slaves, those who are slaves in any way and being violated  and treated unjustly by others.  Think of how pimps treat their victims, human traffickers their “slaves”, laborers those forced into service with them.  Think of those who, like Onesimus, have managed to run away from those who were enslaving them.

Who are the "Onesimus’es" in our lives, the “runaways,” those we disdain, think little of, perhaps? Who do you and I treat as slaves, as less than human, as beneath us?  Who does the world treat as less than a man/a woman  who have been created in the image and likeness of God, one with Christ Jesus--redeemed, sanctified , made righteous by the Lord and equal in dignity to ourselves, worthy of all of the blessings we have been given, worthy of being treated with respect, as one who is our brother and sister in Christ Jesus, loved and cherished by the Lord, chosen as His own to achieve God's purposes in their lives just as we have been chosen? 

In what way does our perception of another need to be changed by grace, as was Paul’s?

A Life Transformed by Christ

In today's Gospel, Luke 5: 1-11, Jesus, seeing Simon's boat abandoned, as the fishermen had left it to mend their nets, Jesus entered it to continue preaching to the crowd that had pressed around him on shore.  When he finished preaching, he asked Simon to go out into the deep and lower their nets for a catch.  A bit taken aback, he says to Jesus, "we have been fishing all night and have come up empty. But at  your command, we will try again, moving further into the deep."  They caught so many fish that two boats were needed to haul in the catch. Peter was astounded, overcome with fear and asked Jesus to leave him. "For I am a sinful man." Jesus responds: "Fear not, Peter. From now on you will be fishers of men and women." Jesus means, although at this point does not state it, you will, hence forward, be luring men and women into a closer relationship with me, teaching them the Good News of the Kingdom of God in their midst.Though still a fisherman and referred to as such, Simon, from that moment on, puts his eyes on the Lord, walks with Him, sits at His feet being taught about the Kingdom of God here on earth and the role he will assume as a leader of Jesus' disciples.

When we put Christ at the center of our lives and not our  "fishing business," we, too,  become new persons, as Simon, now known as Peter,  did.  Once our lives are turned to the Lord, we then allow the Spirit to lead us into the Light, into Truth, into repentance, into humility, into love that knows no bounds. Our only concern, in any state in life--marriage, religious life, single life or the priesthood-- is that we  serve the Lord above all, that we "put out into the deep water and lower...[our] nets." Though we may have caught nothing in our previous efforts, we say, with Peter, "at your command," Lord, I will do it. I will not give up."

A Devastating Discovery Transformed by a Personal Encounter

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the apostle to the apostles,  the one Jesus sent to tell the apostles that He had risen from the dead. We pray in the “Collect” of the Mass, “O God, whose Only Begotten Son entrusted Mary Magdalene before all others   (emphasis mine) with announcing the great joy of the Resurrection, grant, we pray, that through her intercession and example we may proclaim the living Christ and come to see him reigning in your glory.”

The Gospel recounts that  first Easter morning. Mary is desperately eager to go to the tomb to give Jesus’ body the proper anointing that was not possible when they took His body off the cross. There was not time before the Passover restrictions would have been applied. So she rushes to the tomb that Easter morn. It is still dark. She finds the stone removed from the entrance of the tomb and the tomb empty.  She stands outside the tomb, occasionally bending in peering into the darkness of the tomb, hoping his body is really there. She sees “two angels in white sitting… one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been.  ‘Woman, why are you weeping?”  Where, O where, have they taken my Lord, she cries out.  The risen Jesus is standing right behind her. She turns and sees him but does not recognize him. “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” “Mary,” He says, and she immediately recognizes Him.

Crucifixion! Darkness! Empty tombs!  Only  gardeners! Nobodies!  The scene repeated over and over again in the history of the world! Crucifixions, scourging, “crownings” with thorns, empty “tombs,” no bodies to be found, the “living” not even recognized they are so downtrodden, beaten, left for dead, unrecognized.  We pass the homeless and hardly steal a glance! Children are in unsafe situations and we hardly notice!  Women and men are being “whipped into submission” and we hardly notice. “Tombs”—no life worth living in neighborhoods and refugee camps across the globe! “Mary,” Jesus says, and the devastingly, dark emptiness of the tomb experience is transformed by a personal encounter! Do I realize that I have the same power among "the tombs" of today?

God Comes with Power

In today’s first reading, Isaiah 40: 1-11, Isaiah reminds us that our God comes with power; that he “rules by his strong arm.”  We are about to celebrate Christmas, the birth of our Savior. God came to us as a powerless infant, was subject to Mary and Joseph as a child, assumed his public ministry at around the age of 30, clashed with authorities of his day and was put to death.  Where is the power, we may wonder.  Our God rules very differently than the kings of this world. God does not use power in the same way we do. Jesus’ power  is His humility and his obedience to the Father’s will.   The mounds of evil were leveled on Calvary, where Jesus, in His obedience to the Father’s will unto death, destroyed Satan, crushed His head.

 God continues to enter our lives humbly in the Eucharist and through the quiet voice of the Spirit speaking and working in the depths of our being and in the depths of the hearts of others as well. We don’t see God at work most of the time because we are looking with eyes other than those of our deepest God-self.  We see as the world sees, not as God sees.  Most of the time, like Peter,  who rebuked Jesus for making it clear “that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day” (Mt. 16: 21),  we think, “not as God thinks but as human beings do” (Mt. 16: 23).
Yes, the “Lord Yahweh [is] coming with power, his arm maintains his authority,” (Is. 40: 10), the authority that put Satan to death on the cross, that put Satan to death by His obedience to the Father unto death, that put Satan to death by His humility.

By whose power to I overcome evil? By whose power do I triumph? Certainly not my own but God’s grace quietly transforming me from within and empowering me to “love tenderly,  act with justice and walk humbly with our God” (compare Micah 6:8).  God is transforming the world one person at a time by our cooperation in His work of redemption. 

God's Kingdom: The "Yeast" within Human Nature

In today’s Gospel, Luke 13: 18-21, Jesus asks the question: ‘What is the kingdom of God like?  What shall I compare it with?  It is like a mustard seed which a man took and threw into his garden: it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air sheltered in its branches.’ Again he said, ‘What shall I compare the kingdom of God with? It is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it leavened all through.’

The seed of the Kingdom is a powerfully creative seed planted within us at our baptism, sealed within us at our confirmation, nurtured within us in the reception of the Eucharist, and transformed within us by all of the sacraments. As the entire dough is effected by  yeast, so, too, the whole of human nature is transformed by the “yeast” of God’s grace until each of us becomes the very image of God, until we become an alter Christus in this world, until, with St. Paul, each of us can say:  “I have been crucified with Christ…it is no longer I, but Christ living in me” (Galatians 2:20).  Think of the fact that everything we do and say and long for reflects this longing to be one with Christ, even when we, or others,  fall miserably short of reaching that goal.  Why? Because Christ has won the victory of our transformation into the very likeness of God. Good will triumph, no longer how long it takes and evil will be overcome by the seed of Goodness within each one of us!

Wow!

Dying and Rising with Christ

Yesterday we had the Gospel of the sower going out to sow some seeds (Mt 13: 1-9).  In today’s first reading we have Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, 4: 7-15, in which he speaks to us about “carrying about in…[our bodies] the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested…” Both readings are significantly linked.  Most seeds, to bear fruit, need to be buried, need to die to one form of being and rise to another, lest they return to the dust of the earth without bearing the fruit it contains within it.  That is true of many of the seeds planted in our souls by the Word of God or by God speaking and acting in the events and relationships of a given day.  To rise to new life in Jesus, a dying often needs to occur. What do I mean?  In 2 Cor: 4: 7-15, St. Paul speaks about experiences that afflict us.  Perhaps our pride is stressed. Possibly, we strain to be kind when treated unkindly.  When I reflected upon the parable of the sower, I wrote the following prayer, which you might find helpful in your struggles to die and rise with Christ when “life throws you a curve ball,” so to speak:

 Lord, may I, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, not let the “birds” of anger, selfishness and pride eat the Word You are sowing on the soil of my heart.  May my heart be porous, not hardened by hatred, selfishness and pride, by cynicism and hopelessness, by narcissistic behaviors and judgmental attitudes.   May the seed not be scorched by these weaknesses either.  Rather, may the seed fall on rich soil, soil made fertile by humility and faith in You.

What is your prayer and hopes as you battle with life’s difficult moments?

Love the Unlovable

In today’s Gospel, Mt 5: 43-48, Jesus  says to us:  You  have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.  But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun to rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.”

“Love your enemies.”   We might tell ourselves to love that which we despise, first in ourselves, and then in others.  Are we having trouble loving our enemies? Is it, I wonder, because we are rejecting ourselves? Perhaps, we need to stop the self-rejection.  Is there something in ourselves that we disdain?  If so,  do we need to, first,  become a friend to the distained parts of ourselves, sob over those parts, if we must; grieve that which we dislike about ourselves . Grieving brings healing and opens the compassionate side of ourselves.  The effect is the same as hugging a hurting child.  That child’s energy is restored, a confidence rebuilt, and he/she finds a way to make choices that rebuild his/her sense of well-being. 

We might want to listen to the Lord say to us: “Seek, insert your name, to love the unlovable in yourself and in others, in this day’s happenings! Seek to love that which appears repulsive to you and notice its transformation into that which is palatable. I did it on Calvary, insert your name,  and Easter followed! I rose to new life and took you with me.

Dealing with Painful Eruptions

In today’s first reading, Acts 22:30; 23: 6-11, Paul is brought into court. When he explains his situation—‘My brothers,…I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead”—a dispute erupts. Ever been in a situation where you described what was/is going on for you, or you shared a dream of yours concerning something new and exciting,  and strong emotions exploded? My reaction, in those situations, is one of disbelief that I am not understood, not supported, not affirmed.  I feel hurt, discombobulated, confused. “What’s happened here,”  I wonder. “Where did I go wrong,” I question.  “Why are people reacting so angrily at what I said or did?”  In my hurt, I either flee or fight. It takes me time to come back and discuss the situation calmly and when I do and am able to apologize, then the door is open to move toward reconciliation. My point of view may still not be understood or supported or affirmed but the relationship has changed from antagonism, hostility, and rejection to acceptance.  The possibility of moving to even deeper levels of understanding  and reconciliation now exists.  A significant part of coming to this place of forgiveness includes waiting upon the Lord. Restoring of relationships and asking forgiveness (even though I may not see where I went wrong, so to speak) depends on grace. It happens in God’s time and in God’s place.  “Wait upon the Lord and be saved,” the psalmist tells us. And in Isaiah 30:15, the prophet says to us:  “By waiting and by calm, you shall be saved; in quiet and in trust your strength lies.”

Living a Gospel-centered life

Ever struggle with mouthing off and then regretting it?  Ever find it difficult to remain silent when your “truth” is being questioned, challenged, rejected and you think you are right? Ever insist on your opinion and then discover afterwards discover that you were wrong in the first place?   And unintentionally, your sharp,  piercing words have left your lips soaring into the air and into the hearts of others like bullets piercing a physical body, wounding the other in the deepest level of the self, leaving the other bleeding in one’s deepest core self.   

Today’s first reading reminds us that “Jesus endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Consider,” St. Paul asks us, “how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggles against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood” (Heb. 12: 1-4).  The martyrdom of remaining silent when “mouthing  off”  is the easier choice and the one that would injure another, would not be helpful, would not be kind,  would not even be true in some cases, is something we are capable of when we call upon the Holy Spirit whose  power is always at work within us.  If we keep our focus on Jesus, “the leader and perfecter of faith”, as Paul also counsels us in Heb. 12: 1-4, we will “rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us…”

Today’s Gospel contains the story of Jairus asking Jesus to come down and heal his little girl who is sick.  People from Jairus’ house, before Jesus arrives, meets Jairus and says: “Stop bothering Jesus. Your daughter is dead.”  Ever been told: “Drop it. It’s no use,” or worse still, “You’re useless; you’re worth nothing,” or “Don’t bother with so-and-so; he/she is not worth your effort. You are wasting your time.”   Jesus doesn’t believe the people who give up hope, who discourage belief in Jesus’ power to save, in your power and my power to be healed, to repent, to change our lives, to make a difference in the life of another; in short, to believe, as Jairus did, that Jesus and you and I, in cooperation with Jesus, make the difference.  “Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb. 12: 14).