Rejoicing in Knowing that What We Endure Brings about a Good for Others

In today's first reading, Colossians 1: 24-2:3, St. Paul tells the Colossians that he is rejoicing  in the sufferings that he is undergoing for their sake.  Sounds like parents who are  filled with joy that the sufferings that they are enduring will result in their children growing up in the faith, will empower their children to make good choices and, in turn, become good parents and good providers for their own children,.  Nothing, then, is too much for a parent to endure! 

That is God for us! Nothing, absolutely nothing, is or was too much for Jesus to endure for our sake. That was true for the Son of Man, God incarnate, who as a man lived in Capernaum for a time and is true for Jesus now.  Christ lives in us--that is the mystery Paul is talking about in this passage to the Colossians.  The fact that Christ lives in us means that whatever suffering we are going through Christ also is enduring for our sake and the sake of the Church yet to be borne into eternal life.

"[W]hat is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of ...the Church" is what Paul states he is filling up in his flesh.  That suffering Jesus in filling up by His dwelling within us and suffering what we are suffering, thus transforming such into redemptive graces for ourselves and the whole Church.

Furthermore, St. Paul says "I am a minister in accordance with God's stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God."  The word of God is sent to us to bring about the purpose for which God sent it, our salvation.  Paul worked slavishly for the Colossians, and all to whom God sent him, so that they would come to Jesus, believe in Jesus and carry out Jesus' plan of salvation for them.  So, too, does Christ come to us in the sacraments, in the Scriptures and in the good works we do--all meant to bring about our salvation and open the gates of heaven for us in Christ Jesus and through Christ Jesus and for Christ Jesus, who loves us unconditionally and acts continuously for us to know and accomplish His Father's will!

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!

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.

The mighty works of God

We open today's liturgy with the prayer: "O Chosen people, proclaim the mighty works of God, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light, alleluia."  God has called each one of us out of the darkness of sin and selfishness, fear and hatred, including hatred toward oneself that can be learned from those in our lives who are jealous of us, put us down, reject us, a hatred we can easily internalize.  We have been called into the marvelous world of light, of God's unconditional love, God's justice and peace, God's mercy and forgiveness.  In faith, we know that God waits for the moment that His free gift of redemption is fully realized in each one of us. In faith we also know that Jesus will return to take us up into heaven to reside where He and the Father reign, where there is no more pain and sadness, no more chaos and confusion, no more put downs or rejections, no more self-criticism or harsh rebukes from others whose self-disdain can easily be projected onto us.  O how God longs for that day when we will occupy that special  place that Jesus has gone up to heaven to prepare for us.  O happy fault of Adam that revealed to us God's marvelous love for His Chosen People!