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.

Mary, Mother of Sorrows

Mary, Mother of Sorrows:  This week we are reflecting on the second sorrow of Mary, the flight into Egypt to protect her infant Son from harm.  Mary listened to Joseph when he told her that they needed to leave the placed they called home and flee into Egypt, a foreign country, unknown territory, separate from friends and family and that which felt familiar to her.  Her heart must have been heavy with grief. Displacement, under any circumstances, is discombobulating, painful and difficult.

Mary, like Jesus, knows and understands our pain when we are displaced, feel abandoned, misunderstood, isolated and left alone to fend for ourselves with no tangible support. She is an advocate for refugees, persons dislocated because of civil unrest, war, violence of any kind, natural disasters, transfers to new locations by virtue of marriage, job promotions, or, as a member of a religious community, transferred to a new mission, a new ministry, a new local community, a foreign mission. Mary goes with us! Mary knows the way through this maze of unknowing, of reaching out to strangers, of making our way in unfamiliar territory, “swimming” in uncharted waters (uncharted for us, that is). Let us tap her as a resource, as someone who can help us when we are unsure, scared, and anxious.

With her, may we have the faith to believe in others whom God provides as protectors, as persons who will lead “our donkeys through the wilderness,” will find us a place to take root and help us tap into our inner strength and creative energies to, not only survive, but thrive and discover opportunities we never would have had if we had refused to “relocate” physically, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically.