The Sacred Heart of Jesus: A Heart on Fire with Love for Us

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Heart inflamed and burning with love for you and me!  Lord, may my heart burn with love for you and for my fellow human beings, men and women of all races, of all cultures, of all  nationalities!  I give you my heart, Lord, when it is "hot" and when it is "cold" or "lukewarm."  I give you my heart, not because I feel like it but because I will it. I will that my heart be engulfed in  yours, embraced in your love and mercy.    I pray with the psalmist of today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 103:  "Bless the Lord, O my soul; all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul; and forget not all his benefits."   Right now, burdened by the oppression of the coronavirus and the restrictions put upon us to keep us safe from contracting this lethal disease, it is easy, Lord, to forget all of your benefits!  They exist even when I do not acknowledge them or even when I am totally unaware of them, like the sun behind clouds or shining on the opposite side of the world, where it is daylight hours right now!

Lord, in today's Gospel, Matthew 11: 25-30, you say to all of us: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."  We do come to you, Lord.  We place all of our burdens in the center of your Heart aflame with love for us.  Teach us your meekness and humility, Lord, especially when we want to rebel against the reality of this day's world: its being ravaged by the coronavirus, its people of color being gunned down even when the life of a law enforcement officer is not in danger, a world in which violence is erupting during peaceful demonstrations and encouraged by leaders of our country.

Let us remember what Jesus also tells us in  today's Gospel, namely, that all "things have been handed over to me by my Father." The world is in Jesus' hands and that truth gives us reason to not lose hope in the good things to come!

Maintaining the Strength of our Faith, Hope and Love

In today's Gospel, Matthew 5: 13-16, Jesus reminds us that we "are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?"  Jesus also reminds us that we "are the light of the world."  Our light is to be set on a lamp-stand where everyone can see it:  "Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father."   

Salt brings out the flavor in foods! We, too, are to bring out the "flavor," if you will, of the gifts of faith, trust and love of our God and others. Knowing us, if our salt has not lost its flavor, others taste how good the Lord is and how strong our love for another!  However, if our salt has lost its flavor, that is, if our faith is "dead," our love has wilted, and our trust has been smothered  by distrust and anxious worries, then there is no way that we are able to enhance or strengthen the faith, hope and love of others.  

Regarding being the light of the world around us, the same is true.  If our light is dim, that is, smothered by worries and cares of the world or weakened by unresolved grief and anger and hatred, we are unable to bring light to the lives of others.  If we do not "charge" the "batteries" of our faith, hope and love by good works, by holy reading, by reception of the sacraments, by times of solitude, by drinking in the beauty of the earth and  by being faithful to our vocational commitments, the light we are called to be could burn out or become so dim that we are ineffective in radiating God's love and presence in our marriage, our religious lives, our priesthood or our lives as single men and women. 

What are you, what am I, doing that  "charges" and maintains the vitality of our faith, hope and love?Is yours or my salt flavored and our lamps burning brightly?

"Sharing in the Glorious Freedom of the Children of God" (See Romans 8: 18-250

In today's first reading, Romans 8: 18-25, St. Paul asks us "to consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed  for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We  know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies."

Each of us lives in hope of a future glory, the redemption of our bodies.  We know not the day nor the hour when we will be set free of our physical  bodies and be clothed with immortality, entering eternal life with the Lord and all those who have gone before us. When anyone of us is sick unto death, Jesus says to us what he said about Lazarus:  "This sickness will not end in death but in God's glory and through it the son of God will be glorified" ((Jn 11: 4).  Jesus himself said to those who were upset with him when he spoke of his upcoming death,  "Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell  you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest."  In faith and hope, we know that our loved ones in heaven are at work and yielding a rich harvest in accord with God's will for humankind.  As St. Paul says in today's first reading, "we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance," for that time, when, we, too, will, in eternity, continue to yield a rich harvest with all of the angels and saints before the throne of God.

Until that time, let us use the moments when we are called to die to whatever hinders God's will from being realized in our personal lives or in the lives of others.

The Kingdom of God Right Here Right Now

In today's Gospel, Luke 17: 20-25, the Pharisees ask Jesus when the Kingdom of God will come.  Jesus responds: The "Kingdom of God is among you."  The Kingdom of God is not a future but an everyday event brought forth when we are kind to another person, when we smile at someone, when we forgive others, show compassion and are loving toward others.  The Kingdom of God is revealed when others are helpful, useful, caring,  and honest; when persons refrain from gossiping or from hurting  others or themselves in any way. Yes, "the Kingdom of God is among" us, as Jesus told the Pharisees, and those who live by faith and hope and love--those who give "birth" to Jesus in this world--experience it and make it a reality for others and themselves!  A light shines in our darkness when we transform a little bit of earth into "paradise," into the Kingdom of God on earth!

Jesus tells us to not run off looking for Him when people say, "'Look, there he is,' or 'Look, here he is.'  For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation."  We, too, will suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation before entering our eternal glory. In the meantime, it is our challenge to make God's Kingdom a reality right where we are by our love, our honesty, our faith and hope in the Lord Jesus and in following His Way and His Truth, and being His Life here on earth.

The Feast of All Souls

Today we celebrate the feast of All Souls--those women and men who have returned to their eternal home before us. For many of us, that means that we have said good-bye to our grandparents, parents, some of our siblings, Aunts and Uncles, some of our cousins, nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews. All have been "brought to life" in Christ Jesus, we are told in the entrance antiphon of today's liturgy.  The first reading, Wisdom 3:1-9, reminds us that the "souls of the just [our loved ones] are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.....[T]hey are in peace.....[C]hastised a little, they... [are] greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;... the Lord...[is] their King forever."

We do not know the day nor the hour that you and I will be born into eternal life nor do we know the circumstances of our death. God knows! And God will be at our side when we die. God will come to us at that moment and be the light in the darkness of our death. God will take us by the hand and guide us through death's door into eternity, saying to us:  "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Mt. 25:34)! 

God Gives Strength to the Weary

In today's first reading, Isaiah 40: 25-31, the prophet reminds us that "[t]he Lord is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.  He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound...They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint."

Think of the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land. To "the fainting" God gave strength. To the  weak, God made "vigor abound."   Those who hoped in the Lord, renewed their strength. In some cases, they soared "as with eagles' wings; they [ran and did] to grow weary," walked and did not grow faint.  Think of Mary on her way to visit Elizabeth, of Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem. Think of Jesus on His way to Calvary--how did He ever make it to the top of that hill where He was crucified. God provided the strength and the hope and the help He needed along the way. The same with you and me!  As long as we hope in the Lord, our strength is renewed!  I recall my mother saying often: "I don't know how we would make it without our faith!"  For me to this day, my strength is always renewed in prayer, in the times when I set time aside to soak in the light of God's Presence in contemplative silence. What about you?

The gift of Imperishability Awaiting Us

In today's first reading, Wisdom 2: 23-3:9, we are reminded that we have been formed "to be imperishable" and that we were created in God's "own nature"."Our souls, when we die, we are told will be "in the hand of God and no torment shall touch" us.  When we leave this world, some people may think that we are dead. However, we will, very much so, be alive, living with God, our King, forever in His love.  Those of us who live life from this faith-filled perspective possess the "hope of full immortality." Yes, here on earth we will have been chastised a little, yet we "shall be greatly  blessed, because God tried [us] and found [us] worthy of himself, because in Christ Jesus and through Jesus' death and resurrection we are clothed with a robe of salvation. As gold in the furnace, [God] proved [us[ and as sacrificial offerings he [will take us] to himself [as we pass through the door of death into eternal life]."

May we be grateful to God for this incredible gift of mercy and love!

"Your deed of hope will never be forgotten" (Judith 13: 19)

In today’s liturgy, the responsorial is from Judith 13: 18bcde, 19, which gives praise to God for the Blessed Virgin Mary, who conceived in her womb the Son of God, who took on human nature to save us from sin. We pray: “Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women of earth; and blessed be the Lord God, the creator of heaven and earth [who assumed human nature through you].  Your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who tell of the might of God.”

An angel of the Lord, Luke tells us in today’s Gospel, Luke 1: 26-38, “was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betroth to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.”  The angel greets Mary, saying: “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you….Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” Mary asks how this will come about because she has not had sexual relations with a man. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, [Mary,] and the power of the Most high will overshadow you….[T]he child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”  The angel adds: “And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing is impossible for God.” Mary’s response: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

As with Mary, you and I are created to fulfill God’s purposes for our lives and to be beacons of hope. Mary’s purpose was to bring into this world Jesus, the Son of God, and care and support Him from birth to His death and spread His kingdom via good works:  works of justice and mercy, works of love and forgiveness. In short, she was to be an instrument in God’s hands, sharing the Good News of our salvation. Mary knew who she was: God’s handmaiden.   Who are you? And what is God’s purpose for your life? Have you asked the Lord or are you simply pursuing a purpose apart from what God may want of you? 

At your death, will people say: “Your deed of hope  (your trust)  will never be forgotten by those who tell of the might of God” (Judith 13:19).

Beginnings and Endings

Today’s readings, Revelation 14: 14-19 and Luke 21: 5-11, speak of the end time and what will precede that time. We are warned not to be deceived into thinking that the end time is now. Rather, believe that, yes, the end times will come but preceding such a time, there will be wars and threats of war. There will be natural as well as man-made disasters,  chaos and disorders of every kind.  We have a choice of focusing either on the darkness or the Light, on the disasters or ways to help those who are victims of a disaster. We can choose to be people of the Light or of the darkness, people of hopefulness or hopelessness, people filled with love or hatred of any of its forms . 

As we approach the end of the Church year and begin Advent this coming Sunday, we are challenged to take stock of our lives.  Are we personally ready to begin anew? All of life, as we know it,  is about endings and beginnings. Every morning the Lord gives us another day to begin anew in making the world a better place, in bringing light into darkness, hope into despair, love into hate-filled situations.  Each day we have new opportunities to right wrongs we may have done or to forgive wrongs others may have done against us. Each day  we are given opportunities to have our eyes and ears and hearts and minds and wills open to the Lord at work in the midst of our lives and the lives of others and to use us as His instrument of doing good in our world.

What choices will you and I make today?  What will be our focus? In what ways are we being challenged to begin anew?

Direct Us, Lord, and Deliver Us

My prayer today is that of the author of Psalm 25: 1-8,  entitled “Prayer in danger”:

Adoration I offer, Yahweh,

to you, my God.

But in my trust in you do not put me to shame,

let not my enemies gloat over me.

Calling to you, none shall ever be put to shame,

but shame is theirs who groundlessly break faith.

Direct me in your ways, Yahweh,

and teach me your paths.

Encourage me to walk in your truth and teach me

since you are the God who saves me.

For my hope is in you all day long—

Such is your generosity, Yahweh.

Goodness and faithful love have been yours for ever,

Yahweh, do not forget them.

Hold not my…sins against me,

But remember me as your faithful love dictates.

Integrity and generosity are marks of Yahweh

for he brings sinners back to the path.”

I offer this prayer for the U.S.A. I am afraid that we have abandoned integrity, goodness, and faithful love. We have left the path, I am afraid, of truth and need God to save us: “Direct [us] in your ways, Yahweh, and teach [us] your paths.”  Also, Lord, “let not [our] enemies gloat over [us]. Be with us, Lord, as we pass through the darkness and chaos that is likely to lie ahead. I ask this in Jesus’ name.

From Lowliness to Glorification

In today’s first reading, Phil 3: 17-4:1, St. Paul reminds us that Jesus  “will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified Body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.”   This lowly body of mine, and yours as well, will be glorified, that is exalted, deified, elevated!  We have all been made in God’s image and that image will shine forth in a way that will reveal Christ in us!  Our glorified bodies will shine like the stars in the sky, brilliant like our Savior’s!  Sin will no longer have any power over us! The veil will be removed that now hides our true self created in the image and likeness of our God. 

What if we remembered that every day as we walk through this valley of tears, as we Catholics pray in the “Hail, Holy Queen.”  Our hope would soar! Nothing would bring us down or lower our spirits! It is mind-bottling, also, to realize that Jesus, at every moment, is bringing “all things into subjection to himself.” He is doing that now. Everything, in my life and yours, Jesus uses to transform us into Himself, to purify us, to make us holy, to exalt us as THE redeemed!

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of redemption! Thank you, Jesus, for sending us the Holy Spirit to bring us to the Truth, to open our minds and hearts to know you, the one true God! May every  breath I take give you thanks. May every step I take praise you!

The Power of Faith and Trust

In today's readings, Daniel 1: 1-6, 8-20 and Luke 21: 1-4, we are introduced to people in the Old and New Testament who placed all their hope in the Lord, their God and Savior.  Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,  and Azariah choose to obey their God rather than defile themselves and abandon their faith.  Rather than eating the food and drink from the king's table, they are given vegetables only at their request. The other men also being trained for high positions in the king's court are served from the table of the king . At the close the the three-year training period, Daniel and his companions are found to be healthier than the others. Also, "[i]n any question of wisdom or prudence which the king put to them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom."

In the Gospel, the widow puts two small coins in the church treasury, giving her entire livelihood to the Lord, trusting God's Providence to care for her and meet her daily needs.  Others give only of their surplus! In this reading, the Lord challenged me regarding my willingness to give of my poverty, whether that be financial or otherwise--my time, my energy, my generosity, my giftedness.

Last night I retired with an bombardment of negative thoughts concerning some challenges I face. Obviously, my sleep was disturbed, my trust shaken.  The strength of my faith was tried and did not, in any way match the disciples of the Lord portrayed in today's liturgical readings.  I opened my Office Book and began Morning Praise.The following words "jumped off" the page and penetrated my heart:

"Why are you sad, O my soul?
Why groan within me?
Hope in the Lord; praise God still,  
My Savior and my God!"

The depression, the anxiety, the sadness was dissipated and I was at peace again, renewing my trust in the Lord, my Savior and my God!God

The truth spoken

A friend of mind sent me the following email. I am sharing it with all of you, as Minister Joe Wright did not water down the truth that needs to be told!

This is absolutely great ! ! ! There might be hope yet! A Pastor with GUTS! Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people... When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask
your forgiveness and to seek your direction and
guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those
who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we
have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed
our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it
the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it
welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it
choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it
justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our
children and called it building self-esteem..

We have abused power and called it
politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions
and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and
pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values
of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts
today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Amen!

----------------------

The response was immediate. A number of
legislators walked out during the prayer in
protest.

In 6 short weeks, Central Christian
Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than
5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls
responding negatively.. The church is now receiving
international requests for copies of this prayer
from India , Africa and Korea .

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep
over our nation and wholeheartedly become our
desire so that we again can be called

'one nation under God.'

Keeping Hope Alive

In today’s first reading, Elijah is certain that God will break the long famine that has descended upon the land.  Like us when our earth is scorched  weeks on end with no rain in sight, Elijah keeps hoping.   Seven times the Lord directs Elijah to climb to the top of Carmel and look out to the sea. Every time, except the seventh, he reports nothing.  How often does it not seem as though “the parched deserts” our lives  are not going to receive the needed “rain,” yet we keep looking, hoping, believing that  the desired change will come, that things will get better, that God will not let us down. And we know that, even in the midst of the worst of droughts. Maybe a child is into drugs or is abusing alcohol, bad choices are being made again and again and again. And the Lord keeps  nudging us, as He did Elijah: “Look again.”  “Don’t give up hope.”  

The seventh time, Elijah reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.”  The rains did come--in torrents. Something as small as that cloud rises on the horizon of our lives. Our hope is sparked and we say to our  family members, our friends, the members of our religious communities: Don’t give up! Things are going to change. I can see it. I feel it.  I know it even though I  cannot explain it. I just know that God is at work in that situation, as bleak as it might look right now!”  Beyond a doubt, that “sealed stone”  will be removed and the “dead” will be raised. Beyond a doubt, the “chains” that bind that person will be broken, the deaf ears will be restored to hearing, the blindness to sight, the hardness to softness. We just know it because that is the way our God works.

Lord, never let me lose hope no matter how bleak a situation may appear within or outside of myself. You are always at work beneath the surface, in the core of my being and in the depths of any situation. Help me always believe in your power to right wrongs, to transform parched deserts, to make parched hearts fertile, and to bring me or anyone else back from wayward directions one might be choosing.  I ask this in Jesus’ name.

The Promise of the Spirit

In today's second reading, Eph 1: 17-23, St. Paul prays that the "God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give...[us] a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of...[our] hearts be enlightened," Paul prays.

 Note the words "the eyes of our hearts."  Those eyes are different from the eyes on our faces, so to speak.  The "eyes of our hearts" are inward eyes, eyes from the depth of our beings, eyes of faith whereby we grow in our knowledge of Jesus  and of "the hope that belongs to...[God's] call, what are the riches of glory in ...[God's] inheritance"  (Eph. 1: 17-23). Functioning from that depth of faith is the gift of the Spirit promised to the apostles, and to us, by Jesus when He said: "...the Spirit of truth ... will guide you to all truth....", truth of all that He taught while on earth and is contained for us in the Scriptures, is communicated to us by the Spirit living within us and others and which is hidden in all of the events of our lives.  As Jesus tells us in today's Gospel, Mt. 28: 16-20, "I am with you always" and as prophesied by Isaiah: "I have not spoken to you in secret, in a dark place of the earth I did not say to the seed of Jacob 'Seek me in vain'; I, the Lord,...declare things that are right."  And so did Jesus, the Son of God!

The Indwelling God

In today's first reading, Acts 17: 15, 22-18:1, Paul admires the Greek's exquisite marble statues of the human body and other man-made monuments. He even notices the inscription on an altar that reads: To an Unknown God."  Paul then proceeds to proclaim to them that the "God who made the world and all that  is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made my human hands,  nor is he served by human hands  because he needs anything" from us.  God dwells in the sanctuary that each of us is, a sanctuary of life made holy by Christ Jesus.  We live and move and have our being in God and God in us. 

This God--the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit--dwells within each one of us, making us one with the Trinity and transforming us in such ways that we become one with one another, relating to each other as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit relate to one another.  In the Trinity all are one. No one dominates the other. No one is deprived of the fullness of life that is the Trinity. All share equally in the Godhead. All give equally to one another. All render complete service to one another in order to accomplish one mission: the salvation of all humankind.

The perfection to which we are called is not of human origin. It is divine. We  are in the process of realizing that perfection from birth until death, a perfection being accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate that Jesus, in returning to the Father, sent to us to "guide us to all truth" (today's Gospel, John 16" 12-15). What a gift! What a  hope that make all things worth giving one's life to the point of dying. It's the essence of martyrdom. It's the essence of giving one's life in marriage to another. It's the essence of religious life and of priesthood. It's the essence of the single life lived for God!

Thriving, Striving, Serving

In today’s first reading, Jeremiah 17: 5-10, the prophet states: Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord. They are like trees planted beside the waters that stretch out their roots to the stream: they fear not the heat when it comes, their leaves stay green; in the year of drought they show no distress, but still bear fruit” (translated into the plural to include both men and women, as Jesus did). 

Before Jesus suffered His death and triumphed over evil in His resurrection, He left us His body and blood in the Eucharist, food to nourish us, to keep us alive in famine, to feed us during times of drought so that, at those times, we can continue to bear fruit.  Those who hope in the Lord, who put their trust in God, will never be disappointed.  We have been given rich soil in which to root our lives: the sacraments, the Scriptures, communal worship, loving and helping our neighbors, and forgiving both ourselves and others when wronged.  During difficult times, we will be able to bear the heat of the day, rejuvenated at the springs of everlasting water.  God has given us the law of love, a law that, not only delights those who practice it but also transforms their whole being into the person of Christ. We become Christlike, bringing good news to the poor, unlike Dives in today’s Gospel, Luke 16: 19-31, who feasted without sharing his food with Lazarus, a poor man lying at the gate of his home, a poor man “covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.”

Truly, “blessed are they who hope in the Lord” (Ps.1) and serve those in need, especially within one’s own family but also beyond.

God: the glory in our midst restoring dashed hopes

In today's first reading, Zachariah 2: 5-9, 14-15, Zachariah is communicating a message of hope to a remnant of Israelites who return to Jerusalem from forty years of exile in Babylon.  They are devastating. Jerusalem lies in ruins.  The beautiful Temple built by Solomon is no more. In the midst of this devastation, angels appeal to Zachariah with the message: "People will live in Jerusalem as in an open country because of a multitude of people ...[and of herds of cattle and other animals] in her midst.  But I [the Lord] will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the Lord, and I will  be the glory in her midst."

Hear the Lord saying that to us as we face the devastating effects of hurricanes, fires, floods,  tornadoes, tsunamis, wars, domestic violence; violence in our streets, schools, shopping malls, theaters; political wranglings and "wars" to maintain power over the other party.   In the rash of disasters, family members may be lost.  And, out of nowhere, an "angel" appears with a message of hope, reminding you that lost properties can be rebuilt, that life will get better, that there is work to be done and that you are all capable of doing that work.  Or, you yourself are the angel sent to areas of devastation to brighten their lives, bring hope, assist in the recovery efforts.  Yes, you yourself, God chooses to "be the glory in her midst." 

The Gift of Faith, Hope and Love

“…[B]ecause of the hope reserved for you” is the reason St. Paul ascribes to the Colossians’ faith in Jesus and their “love for the holy ones” ((Colossians 1: 1-8).  This is the same hope and faith in Christ Jesus that motivated Simon and his companions, in today’s Gospel, Lk 4: 38-44, to ask Jesus to intercede for Simon’s mother-in-law, who was afflicted with a severe fever. Jesus “stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.”  It was faith, hope, and love in the hearts of people who, that day at sunset, came to Peter’s house bringing “people sick with various diseases.” Jesus “laid hands on each of them and cured them. And demons also came out from many, shouting ‘You are the Son of God.’ But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.”  Jesus worked all night, healing the people who were brought to him. “At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.”

Like the people in today’s Gospel, we, too, need to present our “diseases” and “demons” to Jesus. As He  walked the earth in Palestine, Galilee, Capernaum and other mid-East cities, towns, and villages, healing all who came to Him, so, too, today does He walk among us, healing us and casting out our demons, working in the darkness of our lives.  You may object, saying “I’ve begged Jesus to heal my mother, mother-in-law, son, daughter, my wife/husband, my friend and nothing’s happened!  He doesn’t pay any attention to me.”  It may seem that way. However, Jesus sees the whole picture—He sees what healing really needs to occur and which needs to be withheld for a deepening of our faith, hope and love to which  our physical seeing may be blind. And when we are left in the darkness of our “nights,” God is always at our side.  Darkness is not dark to Him, so He will lead us by the hand and secure our wobbly, doubting steps.

"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief" (Mk 9:24).

Jesus: God's servant

In today's Gospel, Mt 12: 14-21,   Jesus withdraws from the area where He had been doing ministry because the Pharisees were plotting "to put him to death."  He continues elsewhere quietly going about the work His Father had given Him to do.  "I have come, not to condemn the world, but to save it,"  Jesus tells us in Jn 12:47.  As quoted by Matthew in today's Gospel, Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah, saying that He "will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.  A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench,  until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope."

Jesus comes as our servant, showing God's love, compassion and mercy as we see in His response to the woman caught in adultery, in the parable of the prodigal son, from His first words on the Cross ("Father, forgive them"), and his response to the good thief ("This day you will be with me in Paradise") as well as through His total ministry here on earth.

You are I are called to follow Jesus, to do as Jesus did, to serve others, to show others God's compassion, mercy, love and forgiveness; in short, to carry on His mission of reconciliation.  Do I protect the "bruised reed," the "smoldering wick," show mercy to the sinner (including myself), welcome back a prodigal son/daughter (including being welcoming to myself when I make a mistake), bring "justice to victory," and hope to the situation in which I live?