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!

Weeping, Repenting, Acknowledging our Need for Mercy

In today's second reading, James 5: 1-6, St. James challenges those who have become wealthy by corrupt, deceitful ways:  "Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvest your fields....[you who] have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure [at the expense of the poor]...[who] have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have  murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance."

This passage brings to my mind those who, to this very day, have accumulated wealth unjustly or illegally: in the sex trade industry, in dealing in illegal drugs, or who have coerced young boys and girls into forced labor; those who, in fact, have withheld wages from their employees, filed bankruptcy and left those to whom money was owned without being paid for their labors and who have engaged in other corrupt practises.

James goes on to invite those who have gained wealth by engaging in unjust practises to grieve:  "Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away,  your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire."

We know from the Gospels that God does not rejoice in those who choose evil over good and who, for that reason, risk eternal damnation. No, God rejoices more over the one sinner who repents than over 99 persons who are in right relations with their God.  Let us pray for that one person whom we know is making millions and billions of dollars in unjust, illegal, deceptive ways. Because of your prayers and mine, my this one person weep and wail over the miseries he/she has caused and return to the Lord repentant of their sins. And may you and I recognize that for which we, too, need to weep and wail in repentance! God knows that for which we need to repent. May we be open to knowing what God knows about us!

Guidance from the Author of Proverbs

Today's first reading,  Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13, again instructs us, clearly stating what God expects of us as His sons and daughters, that is, what gives God pleasure. "Like a stream is the king's heart in the hand of the Lord; wherever it pleases [God], God directs it."  My prayer is that my heart and your heart are like streams in the Lord's hands, in that we allow the love of God, God's compassion and forgiveness, God's justice and truth to flow out of us into the hearts of others.  "To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice," the author of Proverbs tells us.  I may think that I need to do this penance or that penance, treat myself harshly, endure strict fasts, and/or, for instance, sacrifice needed sleep to spend hours and hours in prayer in order to be "acceptable to the Lord."  No, Proverbs tells us!  What God wants is that we act justly and do what is right, as also emphasized by the prophet Micah (cf. Micah 6:8).

This passage of Proverbs also clearly speaks of what displeases God:  "Haughty eyes and a proud heart--the tillage of the wicked is sin....Whoever makes a fortune by a lying tongue is chasing a bubble over deadly snares. The soul of the wicked...desires evil; his [her] neighbor finds no pity in his  [her] eyes....A [person] who shuts his [her] ear to the cry of the poor will himself [herself] also call and not be heard."

Some questions that I need to honestly ask myself are:  Would I describe my behaviors as haughty or deceitful? Am I chasing bubbles or desiring evil?  Do neighbors wait in vain for me to show compassion and have pity on them when they are in a crisis situation? Have I shut my ears to the cry of the poor?

God's Justice

Today's liturgy opens with the following antiphon:  Give me justice, O God, and plead my cause against a nation that is faithless. From the deceitful and cunning rescue me, for you, O God, are my strength (cf. Ps 43 (42): 1-2).  In light of those who have recently been stripped of their jobs , I paraphrase this antiphon as follows:  "Give them justice, O God, and plead their causes against faithless leaders. From the deceitful and cunning rescue them, for you, O God, are their strength."

In today's responsorial psalm, we pray to God as follows:  "Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.  Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sins cleanse me. A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me...."

May God have mercy on those unjustly firing their employees. May God have mercy on the "deceitful and cunning" and "in the greatness of [His] compassion wipe out [the offenses of those doing the unjust firing]."  It is more difficult to apply the rest of the psalm to the persons who dominate our news today, yet we know that Jesus forgave the good thief on Calvary when he turned to Him and asked to be remembered. "Remember me, Jesus, when You get to Your kingdom" and Jesus responded: "This very day you shall be with me in my Kingdom."  Jesus does not rejoice in even one sinner, you or me or anyone else, being lost. All sin was destroyed on the cross and all sinners saved. I pray for this salvation and for God's saving graces to transform the evil we are seeing in our own lives and in the world of today!  God, have mercy on  us all!

The Righteous and the Unrighteous

Today’s first reading,, 1 John 3: 7-10,  gives a clear description of those who choose good, following Jesus’ example  and those who choose evil, following and being deceived by Satan, the Father of Lies:  “Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he {Jesus] is righteous. Whoever sins belongs to the Devil, because the Devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the Devil. No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God’s seed remains in him [or her]….[N]o one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his [or her] brother [or sister].”

Those are strong words and could be very confusing.  All of us sin! Does that mean that all of us belong to the Devil?  We need to read further, realizing that “the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the Devil.”  By our baptism, we have become children of God, begotten by God. Through our baptism we belong to Jesus and through our baptism and the other sacraments, the works of the Devil in us have been destroyed and the seeds of holiness planted.  Therefore, within us is the power to grow in holiness, in goodness, and in grace.  We are not doomed to be slaves of Satan, to act dishonestly, unjustly, or immorally nor out of hatred, prejudice, or bigotry. No!  We will, through grace and in Christ Jesus, become free of sin, free of Satan, free to act justly, honestly, and morally and to love tenderly (cf. Micah 6:8). Through the overpowering of the Holy Spirit in baptism and confirmation and any other sacrament, Jesus in given birth in us.  Through this birth, by Jesus dwelling within us, by our faith in Christ Jesus, sin has no more power over us. Hatred,  bigotry, prejudice, greediness, slothfulness, deceitfulness, or other immorality within  us is deprived of its power  by God’s Presence.

I believe this!  What is your belief? Does your life, and mine,  reflect our belief in Christ Jesus as redeemer and sanctifier

Jesus' Endurance for Our Sake's

In today's first reading, Hebrews 12: 1-4, St. Paul speaks about Jesus' endurance of the cross, "despising its shame," and then taking his seat at the right hand of the Father in eternity.  Many times, much suffering accompanies our following of Jesus, our obedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit directing us throughout the day. We may be called upon to walk away from gossip or to refrain from gossiping or, even, to confront such behavior among our co-workers, family members or friends. The Spirit  may challenge us to be honest, humble, kind, outgoing and solicitous for the good of another when we want to promote ourselves.  Or the temptation to sin may be even greater: committing adultery, stealing from our employee in some way, not really doing a full day's work, for instance, or abusing a child, a spouse, an elderly person, physically striking them, or verbally or emotionally abusing their spirit, killing their initiative or spontaneity, crushing their self-esteem, crippling their self-confidence.

Jesus confronts sin. His challenges of the evils of His day led to His crucifixion and His dying a shameful death on the cross, being obedience to the Father's will that Satan be overpowered by Good. Jesus destroyed sin by doing good and by His obedience.  He was restored to life in the resurrection and now sits at the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for us, as we, too, struggle with evil.  It is through Jesus' intercession to the Father on the cross itself--"Father, forgive them; they know not what they are doing" when cooperating with evil, when following Satan's lies--and in heaven that we, too, triumph over evil in our world and in our personal lives. 

Walk the Talk

In today’s first reading, Micah 6: 1-4, 6-8, we continue to hear, through the prophet, how the people of God had gone astray and then proceeded to offer “burnt offerings, with calves a year old,….thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil….” In the responsorial psalm of today’s liturgy, Ps. 50,  we are given the same message:   “Why do you recite my statues, and profess my covenant with your mouth, though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?”  You have been told,” Micah says to the people, “what is good, and what the Lord requires of you:  Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”   How saddened God must be today when, looking down upon the earth, God sees the many ways in which we have forgotten this message and tossed discipline out of the window, the discipline, that is, of doing “the right,” loving “goodness,” and walking “humbly” with our God! If we did that, would planes be shut down anywhere in the world, would nations war against one another,  would children, youth and young adults be sold into the labor slave markets or into human trafficking, drug trafficking? Would parents be contemplating killing the child in its mother’s womb? Would corrupt politicians or corrupt anyone be considering ways to cheat the poor and oppressed, the marginalized and peoples of so-called minority cultures?

“When you do these things,” God asks through Psalm 50, “shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself? I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.…[Those who] offer praise [the praise of doing “the right” and loving “goodness” and walking “humbly” with God] as a sacrifice glorif[ies] God; and to…[those who go] the right way I will show the salvation of God.”

Spirit-directed or ego-directed Motivations

Today’s Gospel, Mt 6: 1-1, 16-18, opens with “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise,  you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.”  As I think of that statement, the thought that rises in my mind is “what about the proclamation of saints?” Do we not hold up the saints for people to emulate? Do we not need people here on earth whose actions motivate us to do likewise: forgive others, do good to others, do not fuel discontent, confront injustices, reach out to the poor and the destitute?  So why does Jesus say to us: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them”?  Obviously there is a difference. In the one, I am seeking to be seen. I am seeking accolades. I am being ostentatious. In the latter, others are holding up the person and encouraging me to follow that person’s example of goodness.  So I need to be aware of my motives. Why am I doing what I am doing? Is it to give glory to God, to help the person in need, to live the Gospel message and imitate Christ in the way that He lived among us?  Such motivation flows from the Spirit within me.  Behaving ostentatiously flows from the ego within me that wants to be on its throne and “worshipped.”  I then become an idol, usurping the glory that belongs to God and God alone. Pride is fueling my actions in those cases whereas, in the other, grace is empowering me to do good for God’s sake and the sake of the other.

The Source of all that is Good

In today’s first reading, Acts 14: 5-18, Paul and Barnabas leave Iconium to escape being put to death and go to Lystra.  In Lystra Jesus heals a crippled man through their intercession and are believed to be gods. The people prepare to worship them, to their dismay! “…W]hy are you doing this. We are of the same nature as you, human beings.  We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from…[your] idols to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.”  Then, Paul and Barnabas, make a powerful statement:  “In past generations…[God] allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways; yet, in bestowing his goodness, he did not leave himself without witnesses, for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts.”

Hear God say to you through Paul and Barnabas: “I, your Creator and Redeemer, bestow goodness upon you. I plant it within you and around you, within others and within all of creation." The good we do, Jesus reminds us in today's Gospel, comes from God, as it did when Paul and Barnabas healed the man crippled since birth.  Anyone who keeps God's commandments  and believes in Jesus, in God alone,  does good here on earth. That good flows from the Trinity dwelling within them and at work in the world through them.  "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him[her], and we will come to...[that person] and make our dwelling with him[her]," we read in today's Gospel.  Yes,  those who follow God's ways, who do  not create false gods as the people of Lystra wanted to do,  will become one with the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. Good blossoms  from  Goodness!  And that Goodness is God Himself.  God alone is good, Jesus tells the rich young man in Mark 10; 18.

God's Plan Hidden in the Events of Our Lives

Today’s first reading, Gen. 37: 3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a, presents the story of Joseph, whose brothers sold him for 20 pieces of silver to Ishmaelites.  In Egypt, as stated in today’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 105, Joseph is “weighed down with fetters, and he was bound with chains, till his prediction came to pass and the word of the Lord proved him true….[He was] made lord over…[the king’s] house and ruler of all his possessions.”  In God’s plan, Joseph is destined to be the one who saved the Israelites from starvation. When his brothers come down to Egypt for food, Joseph says to them: “Have no fear. Can I take the place of God? Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve his present end, the survival of many people” (Gen 50:  19-20).

Many times, without us realizing it, God’s plan for our salvation and for a good unforeseen by us is accomplished  through the convoluted, ill-intentioned, inhumane actions of one person or many persons toward other human beings, of family members toward other members of the family, though God never wills evil on anyone. Joseph recognizes that God used misfortune  and the evil actions of his brothers to bring about a greater good for all those involved in selling him to the Ishmaelites instead of killing him.

God also uses everything in our lives to bring about unforeseen good, to save us from death, to rebuild our lives, to make His Presence known, to reveal  the ultimate compassion and love of God, our Father, Redeemer and Comforter,  whose plan to redeem us is hidden in every event of our lives.

Learning to do Good

In today’s first reading, Isaiah 1:10, 16-20, the prophet spells out the fast God desires of us; namely, that we “cease doing evil; learn to do good.  Make justice…[our] aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.”    In today’s Gospel, Mt. 23: 1-12,  Jesus challenges us to, not just teach others to do these things, but to do them ourselves as followers of Christ.  We are not in this world to place burdens on others , as the Pharisees did (see today’s Gospel, Mt. 23: 1-12) but to lift them ourselves.  Neither are we, as did the Pharisees, to “widen …[our] phylacteries and lengthen…[our] tassles,”—wearing our religion, so to speak, on our sleeves. We are not here to simply and ostentatiously assume places of honor, to be addressed as “Father,” “Sister,” “Brother,” “Mother”.  We are here to  become like our Father in heaven and like Jesus, to whom we are brother , sister, and mother when we do the will of our heavenly Father  (compare Luke 8: 21); that is, we are called to wash the feet of our tired, crippled neighbors,  our overly burdened family members, in short, to be servant of all, to humble ourselves and “raise” others up, as Jesus rose us up on the cross. We are here to learn to forgive others as Jesus forgave his persecutors. Like Jesus, we are  here  to be “poured-out wine” and “broken bread” for the sake of others  who are weighed down by the difficulties of life, those who may be suffering persecution, enduring injustices or  “withering”  under the  violence of war, domestic abuse, slave labor, human trafficking or any other  criminal activity. “Come, now,” God says to us in Isaiah 1: 10, 16-20, “let us set things right….”

How will be able to what God is asking of us? God, as promised in Ez. 18: 31, “will give…[each of us] a new heart, and a new spirit…[God] will put within…[us.]  …[God] will remove the heart of stone from…[our] flesh and give…[us] a heart of flesh.”

 

Rooted in Christ Jesus

In today’s first reading, Colossians 2: 6-15, St. Paul reminds us that in Christ “dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily,” and that you and I share in this fullness.   Through baptism, we  “are rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith.”   “See to it,” Paul says to us, “that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy” according to human tradition, “according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ.”   By being “rooted in Him”  we are rooted in the richest of soils,  soil that leads to sharing “in this fullness in him, who is the head of every principality and power.”

I am rooted in the ultimate Source of goodness.  Therefore,  I am  capable of all that is good! And so are you!  I believe it! Do you?

God's humble and generous response to our grumbling

In today’s first reading, Exodus 16: 1-5, 9-15, the Israelites are complaining to Moses that he brought them out into the desert to die of famine. God hears their grumbling—how quickly they forgot that God was delivering them from slavery—and responds with raining “down bread from heaven.”  He instructs Moses to give the people the following message:  “Present yourselves before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.”  He also instructs Moses to “[t]ell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread, so that you  may know that I, the Lord, am your God.”

When people grumble against me, treat me scornfully, turn against me, the last thing I want to do is “rain down bread from heaven” upon them.  How unlike God I can be! God teaches me in this passage that there is another way that leads to freedom and grace: that of generosity, humility, and understanding.  Humans can be cantankerous individuals. God knew that but does not stoop down to their level.  I pray that I, too, will rise up to the occasion and, in humility, respond to others as the Spirit in me wants to respond, not in accord with the ego’s desire for revenge. May I also have the humility to “present myself to the Lord,” for He knows that when I am in grumpy mood and need “refueling.”

How about you?

The Hand of the Lord Was upon Them

In today's first reading, Acts 11: 19-26, we learn that the disciples of Christ fled the region where followers of Christ were being persecuted and moved on to places far away as Pheonicia, Cyprus and Antioch, proclaiming the Lord Jesus "to no one but Jews."  Non-Jews were among their listeners and these persons, in turn, made Jesus known to Greeks as well.  "The hand of the Lord was upon them and a great number who believe turned to the Lord." 

The Church in Jerusalem heard the good news and sent Barnabas to the region.  Barnabas "saw the grace of God,...rejoiced and encouraged...all to remain faithful to the Lord in the firmness of heart, for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith."
When I walk i8nto a situation, what do I see? God's grace at work? Or do my prejudices, anxieties and preconceived ideas block my vision?

Followed by Kindness and Goodness

In today’s first  reading, Daniel  13: 1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 and Sunday’s Gospel, John 8: 1-11, we meet God’s justice, forgiveness, and compassionate intervention in the lives of two women: one unjustly accused of adultery and the other guilty of adultery.  Both, according to the Mosaic Law, faced being stoned to death if found guilty.  Injustice exists in both instances: the one accused falsely by two wicked judges and the other accused of this sin without the male partner also being made to accept responsibility for his role.

In the case of Susanna, God inspires Daniel to speak up on her behalf and confront the wicked judges. In the case of the woman in the Gospel, Jesus intervenes and challenges those who confront her and who are using her to trap Jesus. Jesus asks those without sin to cast the first stone and all walk away.

You and I, had we been among her accusers, would also have had to walk away, as we, too, are not without sin.  Jesus is our mediator, the One who intervenes for us, as Daniel intervened for Susanna. Yahweh says to us through the prophet Isaiah, “though our sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Is. 1: 18). That theme is re-echoed in the responsorial psalm of today’s Mass in the words:  “Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life.”  Why? Because we are redeemed, called to and empowered to conversion every moment of every day! Like the good thief on the cross, God says to us: “This day you shall be with be in Paradise.” For you and me, that does not only refer to the day we die, it refers to today.  “Salvation is now,” Paul tells us in 2 Cor 6:2.

Begotten of God

The first reading for today’s liturgy begins with the statement: “If you consider that God is righteous [good, just, truth and love], you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness [goodness, holiness, justice, and truth] is begotten by God."  If I am begotten of God, I originate from God. If my choices flow out of justice, goodness, righteousness, holiness, truth and/or love, they originate from the Holy Spirit working within and through me.  If my works are of God, I, too, am of God. Christ came into the world in obedience to the Father to take sin away, to destroy sin, so that we are no longer its slaves but free to act through the Spirit.  Sin in the world and sin in human nature has been nailed to the cross. Anyone who believes and looks upon the cross of Christ for mercy each day and each moment, especially when tempted by Satan, will know Christ as Christ knows him/her and is set free to reject Satan by the One who knew no sin.  Christ triumphed over sin through His death and resurrection  in obedience to the Father’s will  and so, too, will you and I in Christ Jesus, who, as St. John tells us in today’s Gospel,  baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. That is my hope. What is yours?

The goodness and the mystery of our God

August 30, 2011:  The responsorial psalm of today’s liturgy challenges us to look for “the  bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.” I found that yesterday when searching the internet about the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother. I came upon an audio done by the “Voices of Oklahoma,” featuring Sister Theresa Gottschalk, SSM, former CEO of St. John’s Medical Center.  Her story is now available on the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother Facebook.  It is an incredible story of a sister’s faith journey. Truly, as we read in the liturgy of this day, Sister Theresa is a “child of the light, ” to thousands of people in Oklahoma and beyond.  She truly is one of the “lights” of our religious congregation and the church of today. 

Denville has been experiencing the wrath of Hurricane Irene, as the Rockaway River has overflowed its banks in a myriad of places.  St. Clare’s Hospital literally was hemmed in by the flood waters!  God’s goodness to us here at Our Lady of Sorrows Convent and St. Francis Residential Community could not have burned more brightly, however, as we are safely protected from such fury. O, the greatness  and the mystery of our God, as not far from here a man clung to life yesterday as he fell into the raging waters. All that was found, as of this moment, were his boots and trousers!  We are hoping he surfaces safely somewhere downstream from where he slipped into the river!