Nothing is Impossible with God

In today's first  reading, Judges 13: 2-7, 24-25, an angel appears to the wife of Manoah, who was barren. The angel says to  her: "'Though you are barren and have had no children, yet you will conceive and bear a son....It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines....[T]he boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb, until the day of his death'....The boy grew up and the Lord blessed him; the Spirit of the Lord  stirred him."

Nothing is impossible with God then or now! Like with the son of the woman in today's Scriptures, you and I are God's handmaidens/sons.  We have been sent to this world with a mission that no one else will carry out. If you and I do not carry out the mission for which we were sent, that mission remains unfulfilled.  We may not have been consecrated to God from the womb, but we were consecrated to God in our baptisms. That anointing remains firm until our deaths.  We, like the son of this woman, are blessed. The Spirit of the Lord stirs us. Do we listen? Do we do what the Spirit of the Lord is nudging us to do?

Lord, have mercy on us when we fail to heed the Spirit's stirrings!

God Has Done Great Things for Mary and for Us!

Today we celebrate Mary's assumption into heaven!  God does not allow her body to return to dust or to rot in the grave! God's  purest mother "stands at [Jesus'] right hand, arrayed in gold!," we [pray in the responsorial psalm of today's liturgy!  In 1 Cor 15: 20, St. Paul reminds us that "Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."  Mary, too, is one of those firstrfruits who have fallen asleep.

Elizabeth, Mary's elderly cousin whom Mary visited immediately after being impregnated by the Holy Spirit with the Son of God taking on human nature in her womb, recognized Mary as " the mother of [her] Lord."  As Mary entered her house, Elizabeth, "filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice," saying "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb...[T]he moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."

Mary also recognizes her blessedness and the great things the Lord was doing in  her life and, I believe, in the life of all of us.  She says to Elizabeth  in her Magnificat: 

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: 
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name."

Those great things culminate in Mary's Assumption into heaven, where God has prepared a great and a safe place for His Mother.  God has also prepared a safe place for you and me, saving us in the same way that Mary was saved from the one described in today's first reading from Revelation: A dragon "stood before the woman about to give girth, to devour her child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God."  That place was heaven for her when she completed her mission here on earth and will be for us, as well, when we, likewise, complete the work God has given us to do here on earth!

May you and I , like Mary, give birth to that which brings healing, love, joy and peace to that part of the world which we temporarily inhabit!  May we grow in confidence that the one who wants to snatch "the child" from us will and has been defeated by Jesus, our Savior and God-with-us.

Blessed by God with an Abundance

Today's first reading calls us to "fear [reverence] the Lord, [our] God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the Lord, [our] God, with all [our] heart and all [our] soul, to keep the commandments and statues of the Lord...for [our] own good."

Yesterday, August 11, I had the privilege of celebrating my 60th jubilee as a vowed member of the Sister of the Sorrowful Mother!  Sixty years of being blessed by God with an abundance!  Truly God gives a hundredfold to those who follow Jesus in their respective vocations: consecrated life,  priesthood, marriage or the single life.  God is never outdone in generosity to those who reverence Him and strive to "follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the Lord, our god, with all our heart and all our love, to keep the commandments and statues of the Lord."  The majority of us can thank our parents for this gift of reverence of our God!

The gifts I received are truly that: gifts freely given and which found their way into my life because of my parents. Mom and dad passed the faith on to me and my siblings and modeled living their faith in God, in one another, and in themselves.. What gifts they were in their faithfulness to one another, their love of their children and their willingness to sacrifice for us!  Nothing was too much for them! I am grateful to them for all of this and especially for teaching us children that "if there is a will, then, there is a way."   Self-pity was not in the bag, so to speak!  "Just do it" was a motto we were taught long before Niki ever existed!

I never realized as a child that Jesus''determination to do whatever the Father asked of Him was what guided my parents, though this was not put in words.   They followed Jesus' way "as exactly"  as a human being is capable.  They knew their dependence upon God, as evidenced by their faithfulness to weekly worship with a community of believers, their involvement in their parish, weekly confession and daily prayer at home, especially the daily praying of the rosary.  They carried "the cross," as life was not easy for them, by any stretch of the imagination. Nor has life been easy for any of my siblings. Following the example of our parents, all of us persevered  through the tough times of our lives.  We are who we are, strong Christians, as a result of the way we coped with the "Calvaries" of  our lives over time.

God be praised and thanked and glorified!

The Cunning Ways of Fallen Angels

Today's first reading, Genesis 3: 1-8, we are given the story of the temptation both Eve and Adam faced in the Garden of Eden. Both failed the test!  Satan is a fallen angel, an intelligent being bent on turning us away from God and believing that we ourselves are gods. When deceived by fallen angels, we act as a god, totally independent of any authority outside of ourselves. We then boast of our independence and believe that we are truly wise.  "God knows well," Satan tells us, that the moment [we choose independence from God or others, we will be wise, like God and, Satan says to us:] "your eyes we be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil [--you need surrender to no one] and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loinclothes for themselves. When they heard the sound of the Lord moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, [they] hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden."


When you and I are being tempted do what is wrong, that is, to walk away from God, rejecting God's will and choosing your own in any circumstance, we know in the core of our beings what we are doing.  Adam and Eve knew. As soon as they gave in to the temptation to "be like gods," their eyes "were opened, and they realized that they were naked."  What do you and I do when we act like gods and do what we know is not right or just, we, like Adam and Eve, try to hide the truth. The closer another comes to what is really true in confronting us, the louder we protest--we erect bigger trees, speak bigger lies,  build bigger walls behind which we hide!

In the responsorial psalm of today's liturgy, Psalm 32, we pray:  "Blessed [are those] whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered. Blessed [are those] to whom the Lord imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile [because they have] acknowledged [their] sin..., [their] guilt they] covered not."

May you and I not cover our guilt when we are acting as gods or seeking to be a god and not servants of the Living God, our Master!  Lord, our our eyes when we are turning away from you and erecting ourselves as an idol!

"Planted Near Running Water"

In today's responsorial psalm, we pray: "Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life. Blessed [are those] who....[delight] in the law of the Lord and [meditate] on his law day and night. [They are] like [trees] planted near running water that [yield their] fruit in due season and whose leaves never fade. Whatever [they] do prospers"  (Psalm 1).

Sounds peaceful, serene, without problems or setbacks or suffering.  Not so, however. Even trees planted near running water battle strong winds, severe storms, and unexpected difficulties throughout any season of the year.  What sustains them? being near running waters--their roots are constantly watered and nourished.   You and I are, not only planted near running waters, but "live and move and have our being in God" (Acts 17: 28), as fish live in water.  Moreover, as we stay close to the Lord and take advantage of the Eucharist on a regular, if not daily basis; as we spend time reading the Scriptures, reaching out in serving others' needs, loving and being loved by others, we are like "a tree planted near running water that yield its fruit in due seasons and whose leaves never fade."

May you and I take seriously our call to be nourished in these ways, reach other to others in ways that nourish them and allow ourselves to be nourished by others, as well!  We will then be among those "who delight in the law of the Lord." And, truly, our lives will bear "fruit in due season."

God's Creation of Us and the Purpose for Which God Created Us

In today’s first reading, Ephesians 1: 1-10, St. Paul praises God as follows:  ”Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.”

To understand the impact of this statement, we might think of something that we have created or purchased to serve us in a particular need.  We possess that purchase or created object. It is to meet our need, to fulfill our purpose. It exists for no other reason. The object is ours, no one else’s possession. God created us for His purpose, not for our own purpose or for the purpose others dream up for us. We are God’s, “blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as [God] chose us in [God], before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before him.”

We have been created to live a life of holiness, to accomplish the good for which we have been created. In living according to God’s design, we will receive, in abundance, “the fruit of the Spirit,” which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (See: Galatians 5: 18-25).  The other choice, living according to the flesh, leads to the following consequences:  “immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like” (See Galatians 5: 18-25). 

Which way of life have I chosen? Whose purpose am I fulfilling?

Destined to be Loved Forever

In the first reading of today’s liturgy, Ephesians 1: 1-10, St. Paul reminds us that we are blessed-- "blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessings in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.”

“Every spiritual  blessing!” Do I  realize, I asked myself,  what that truly means? Every blessing, not just some, but all! Every blessing “in the heavens”, not “every blessing in or from the earth,” though, of course, I receive those heavenly blessings here!  Every blessing in the heavens—that means union with the Lord God, God’s love, abundant love; reconciliation with the Lord, the forgiveness of sin.  In Psalm 103, the psalmist proclaims: “….he takes our sins farther away than the east is from the west.”

Paul also reminds us about being adopted by God: “….[God] destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ.”  Jesus is the one who removed the consequences of our disobedience and restored us to right relationship with God the Father as an adopted daughter, an adopted son of God.   

  

How awesome! How deep the love of our God for each one of us “destined…for adoption”!

And there is so much more in this reading. I encourage each of you to open your Bibles to Ephesians 1: 1-10. You will be filled with grace as you ponder this passage and make appropriate applications as given you by the Spirit of God speaking within you.

Blessed with Every Spiritual Blessing in Heaven

The second reading of today’s liturgy is from Eph. 1: 3-6, 11-12.  I invite you to read it, addressing the Lord and reading it in the first person, inserting  your name. I did and it reads as follows:

“Lord, God, You have blessed me in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heaven, as You chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before You.”  You “clothe me with a robe of salvation” (Is 61:10).  The price You paid for that robe was the death of Your Son on Calvary.  “In love You destined me for adoption to Yourself through Christ Jesus in accord with the favor of Your will for the praise of the glory of Your grace that You granted me in the beloved.”

“In Christ [you, Dorothy Ann, were]… chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplished all things according to the intention of his will, so that you might exist for the praise of God’s glory.”

Wow, what a loving God! What generosity! What a gift!

I thank you and praise you, Lord, God.  May my awareness of Your love deepen. May I not take the gift of salvation for granted!  You sacrificed your Son that I might have life and have it eternally!

And this Christmas we celebrate your birthday—the day your entered into our way of life to transform it, to redeem it, to bring us back to God by your death upon the cross, when you were crucified on Calvary, being obedient to the Father unto death to undo our disobedience, our choosing our own wills in place of Yours.  O God, have mercy upon us each time we rebel and go our own ways.

Redeemed, Restored, Resurrected to Glory

In today’s first reading,  Ezra 9: 5-9, the prophet is bowed down in grief as he considers the ways in which the Chosen People have sinned against the Lord, our God.  “From the time of our fathers even to this day great has been our guilt, and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered up, we and our kings and our priests, to the will of the kings of foreign lands, to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace, as is the case today.”   How true all of this is in our day as well. Our country, our families, our society, our church and the world at largehave been delivered up to sin, to the slavery of selfishness, to the lust for power,  control, for pleasures of all sorts at other people’s expense.  Our lands are pillaged by earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, fires, tornadoes, tsunamis.  The lives of our children are ruined by human traffickers, drug traffickers, perpetrators of domestic violence and wars within and between nations, violators of human rights, especially those of the poor and even those of the unborn.  We are brought low on all sides.   

Ezra, not only acknowledges his peoples’ sins but also recognizes God’s incredible mercy, saying:  “And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the Lord, our God, who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place; thus our God has brightened our eyes and given us relief in our servitude.” Do you and I  realize that, in our day, Jesus has given us “a stake in his holy place,” by His death and resurrection, by the Eucharist and the Word of God in our midst, by each of the sacraments that restore us to right relationships with each other, with our deepest self--our God-self-- and with the world around us? By God’s mercy, you and I are being transformed every day into vessels of His grace and mercy as we carry the Good News and are “Good News” people to those we encounter! Oh, may that be so in an abundance today, as God blesses our efforts to experience our redemption and relate as the redeemed!

New Vocations to religious life

Today was a day in which I presented a workshop to my Sisters on how we might promote new vocations to religious life and in particular to the congregation of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother. After all, each of us has experienced unbelievable blessings as women religious and, in particular, as members of this community. That does not mean that life has not, at times, been challenging or difficult. That is live in any vocation, be it marriage, the single life, priesthood or religious life. Following the workshop, I was looking at “New Vocations” and created the following reflection:

 

Nearly all who are attracted to religious life are inspired by joy of present members,

Every authentic vocation originates from God.

When God calls, those who hear His call and response are truly blessed!

 

Victorious are those who say “yes” to God’s will.

Openness to God’s will brings peace.

Come and see the fruit of giving one’s whole heart, soul and mind to Christ.

Always trust God’s Spirit to guide you on the right path.

Truly, growing in intimacy with God and with others in Christ is the essence of religious life.

Inviting others to religious life can spark a vocation waiting to be called forth by another.

Only those of strong faith and a deep trust say “yes” to God’s call and continue that “yes”

         every day of their lives as women and men religious.

Never doubt that God will not see you through to the end.

See, “I am with you always.”

Enriched in every way

In today’s first reading, 1 Cor 1: 1-9, St. Paul recalls the graces God gave him as an apostle of Christ Jesus, as willed by God, to serve the Church of Corinth, as well as the graces given to the members of the church, to us disciples of Christ.  All of us have been “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy.”  He reminds us that we have been “enriched in every way,” that we “are not lacking in any spiritual gift as we wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

The challenge is the waiting for and the making visible, by our actions, this revelation of the Lord in our personal lives.  This challenge to be one with the will of God is made difficult by the fact that we are vulnerable to Satan’s deceptive ways. We may think we are in sync with God and not be.  Our efforts  to be faithful to God’s way of being in this world are also challenged by the fact that we live in a nation that strives to be a god unto its own making. All around us, people seem to be carving “golden calves”  out of power, prestige, pleasure, popularity,  money, domination,  weapons of war, and the pursuit of ambitions that oppress the poor of this world. These ambitions can even lead to killing others (physically or  psychologically/spiritually crushing one inner spirit of hope, love and faith in oneself, in others, in God).    Our faithfulness to the graces Jesus wants to pour out upon us is tested in this crucible of “evil.” Will I allow the forces of evil or the grace of God to win out in my life? When the Son of Man comes, will I be distributing the food that supports life, that nurtures live, that sanctifies life? Will I be among the blessed that Jesus speaks about in today’s  Gospel, Mt 24: 42-51?

Jubilees: Celebrating the call to grow in charity,in serving others and in intimacy with the Lord

Yesterday, in the U.S./Caribbean Province of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, we celebrated our Sisters’ jubilees, that is, in lay terms, the anniversaries of the day they vowed to consecrate their lives to the Lord and live a life of poverty, chastity and obedience and, in the words of our vow formula:  “Through the grace of the Holy Spirit and with the help of Mary, Mother of Sorrows,…seek perfect charity, placing.. [themselves] in the service of God and of the Church…”   Three of our sisters celebrated 75 years of living religious life, yes, of seeking “perfect charity…in the service of God and of the Church.”  Imagine, those of you who have been called to seek perfect charity in marriage or in the single life and who have grown in love  and in loving over the years, deeply committed to one another and to serving others!  In religious life that means growing in the virtue of loving as Jesus loved and in developing a profound relationship with the Lord.  Some of our sisters succeed in that goal in ways that lead many of us to look upon their saintly lives in admiration of what God has accomplished in them, through them and with them.  I say to anyone whom God is calling to consecrate their lives to Him as women religious, what God has in store for you is astoundingly beautiful as you resolve to allow Christ to increase in your life, as John the Baptist did, as the Foundresses and Founders of religious life have done, including the Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, who is a candidate for beatification and sanctification.