Food for thought--I

C----Could this pandemic be a wake-up call?
O----O, let us turn back to God with our whole               heart, our whole soul and all our strength!
R----Return to the Lord, your God and Savior!
O----O, let us not delay!
N----No--turn back to God now
A----And repent of your blindness and deafness              to doing what is right!
V----Vain are your pursuits away from the Truth!
I-----In vain do you seek security in humankind!    R----Remember: you are nothing without God!
U----Useless is the help of humans
S-----Since God alone saves!

Call to Conversion

In today's first reading, Jonah 3: 1-10, God asked Jonah to "'set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you' so Jonah [after being asked a second time] made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord's bidding....Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day's walk. announcing,  'Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,' when the people of Nineveh believed God; they  proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth....When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he relented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them.

Several things of which to take note: Number one, that Jonah did God's bidding and what was being asked of him was no small task. Nineveh was a large city and it would take three days to get through it. Number two, the message Jonah was asked to deliver was a harsh one: "Nineveh, in 40 days you will be destroyed if you do not turn from your evil ways." Number three, the people listened and repented of their evil ways.  Number four, God changed His mind and showed the people mercy once they repented of their sinful ways!

What would you or I do if God sent us a messenger to let  us know that, in forty days,
we will be destroyed if we do not turn from our evil ways?  Would we listen? Would we do penance, admit our wrongdoing and turn from our mediocrity, our selfishness, our divisiveness, our prejudicial and judgmental ways of relating to people who are different from us, smarter than us, more successful than us? Would we turn from our lazy and undisciplined ways of living our faith, from the lackadaisical attitudes that "anything goes these days"?  Would we stop idolizing those who are brazenly wicked, covering up the truth of corruption in high places,lying for ourselves and others so as to avoid the price of discipleship?

 Finally, would you or I simply, vehemently and boastfully dismiss the messenger, saying: "What foolishness!" "This person does not know what he/she is talking about!"  "I can't be bothered with persons who think they are better than most of us!"  "I'm doing nothing wrong but only following what everyone else is doing. So why should I change my thinking or choosing?"

Recognize Wrong Paths and Turn Around as did the Ninevites!

What an incredible God! Today's first reading, Jonah 3:1-10, tells the story of how God saw the wickedness of the Ninevites and did not allow them to continue without being confronted and given a chance to repent.  He cared! He acted by sending Jonah to warn them that they were gong down a path that would lead to their destruction. The Ninevites listened, repented and changed their lives for the better!

God does the same for us, sending us warnings and inviting us to repent of our wrongdoing and change our lives for the better. He does so for individuals,  communities, municipalities, families, churches, nations , countries,  businesses, governments, and so on.  God is at work when creation groans against us as the result of being abused or sinned against. Other persons rise up to confront us when we harm them. Nations confront one another. God uses whatever instrument is available and whoever accepts his/her responsibility to be the eyes and ears of Christ to call for repentance, just as God used Jonah.

Am I listening? What in my life do I need to change to become the person God calls me to become in Christ Jesus?  What attitudes need changing? Which of my behaviors do I need to challenge as not being in conformity with Gospel teachings?  Is pride, gluttony, avarice, greediness, selfishness, hatred, prejudice, judgmentalism, sexism, envy, jealousy dominating my behaviors? Or am I following the Spirit's Wisdom and cooperating with grace to act as Jesus acted: generously, humbly,  lovingly, compassionately, patiently, honestly, caringly, mercifully? Do I , like Jesus, pray for my persecutors: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing"? Do I conform my will to the will of my Creator God? Or am I following evil spirits whom St. Michael and the good angels  cast out of God's presence and who, now, are determined to keep us out of heaven as well?

God's Mercy to Repentants

In today's first reading, Jonah 3:1-5, 10, Jonah goes to Nineveh and begins a three-day journey through the city sharing God's message: "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed."  At the end of the first day, the people of Nineveh "believed God...proclaimed a fast and...put on sackcloth".
In the Gospel, "Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: 'This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel'".   In  the first reading, we are told that "[w]hen God  saw by their actions how they [the Ninevites] turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out."

We, in this day, I believe, are being called to repentance of both social and personal sins, of evils being committed against women, against immigrants, against children by eliminating the CHIP program, against the poor by the "tax reform" program that will steal millions from the poor to line the pockets of the rich and that will deprive millions of health insurance.  "Repent and believe in the gospels."  

In what ways am I violating the rights of others? In what ways am I being deceitful, greedy, using more of this world's goods and thus depriving others of basic needs (wasting food or water, polluting the air)? In what ways am I lining my pockets at the expense of others less fortunate than I?

"Repent and believe in the gospel," living as Jesus lived!

Am I a repentant?

The Message from Jonah

In today’s first reading, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah enters the city of Nineveh.  He delivers God’s message to this city, telling the residents that “[f]orty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”  The people took heed of Jonah’s message, believing that, in truth, God would destroy their city because of its wickedness. A fast was proclaimed.  The “great and small put on sackcloth.” The king and his nobles issued a decree, saying: “Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water. Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand. Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not parish.” And God “repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.”

The U.S.A. is Nineveh!   Do we, as a nation, not need to repent of and turn away from “evil…and from the violence” being leveled upon immigrants, refugees,  the unborn, and persons who are victims of human traffickers, drug traffickers, and of the slave industry?  Do we not need to rethink government proposals to line the pockets of the rich, to create more billionaires and to perpetuate the arms race? Is it possible that millions of people may be without health insurance and millions of immigrants may be deported (a deportation that may separate children from their parents) all because of the high probability of false information upon which many legislative actions are being promulgated? Are we citizens of the U.S. not in danger of believing lies that are broadcasted over and over again and which will likely bring disaster to ourselves and our neighbors?

Is it possible that unless we sincerely repent of our wrongdoing, cry out to the Lord for mercy and forgiveness and right our wrongs, that we, like Nineveh, could be destroyed?

How Will We/You/I Be Saved?

In today's first reading, Hosea 14:2-10, the prophet says to Israel: "Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God."  We, too, burdened with guilt are asked to seek God's forgiveness and receive from God the goodness in which we have been created. The Israelites are warned that "Assyria will not save...[them] nor shall...[they] have horses to mount; [...They] shall say no more, 'Our god,' to the work of [their] hands...."

To what have we said "Our god"? To which works of our hands have we attributed divine qualities, qualities to save us from ourselves, from our selfishness, our sinfulness, our pride, our avarice, our envy and jealousy?  When stumbling, to what do I look for help? What success do I think will save me this time?  To what  project  do I turn to as a means to be lifted out of my prideful self?  What accolades am I seeking as a means to be "transformed"?

Hosea, speaking in the name of the Lord, tells the Israelites that only the Lord "will heal their defection." Only the Lord "will love them freely; for [God's] wrath is turned away from them." So, too with us--we are the Israelites stumbling around in the desert of life,  falling into sin over and over again, erecting idols for our salvation. Let us repent and turn to the Lord for our salvation. God alone can save us, save you and save me!  No one else. Nothing else. No political leader or successful business person. No prestigious job or degree, no work of our hands, no human being: Only God!

I am learning that! What about you?

Being Made Glorious in the Sight of God

Today is the feast of St. John the Baptist. We read in the first reading, Isaiah 49: 1-6, that God created John the Baptist, and all of us, in order that God’s glory would shine through us.  From the beginning of our conception, through birth and until death, God is at work in us, making us “a light”  to others, an instrument in God’s hands whereby God’s “salvation reach[es] to the ends of the earth”. We are,  the prophet Isaiah  tells us, “made glorious in the sight of the Lord”.   By Jesus’  becoming sin for us and destroying sin’s power by his death and resurrection, we are made glorious in the sight of the Lord.

Like King David, “a man after…[God’s] own heart,” (Acts 13:22), we, too,  are being transformed day by day into a person after God’s own heart.” That is the free gift of redemption.  John is the one who calls us to repentance in order that we will be prepared for this God-gift, a gift of love and forgiveness.    Like John, we are growing and becoming “strong in spirit” (cf. Luke 1: 57-66, 80) as we traverse the desert earth until the “day of [God’s] manifestation”  to us. That manifestation comes to us through the Scriptures, the Eucharist, the sacrament of reconciliation, and the God revelations in the events and encounters of each day to those who live by faith and not by sight.

God alone Saves

When I opened today’s Scriptures, what jumped out at me was the first sentence of Hosea 14: 2-10: “Thus says the Lord:  Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt.”  How often I collapse through my guilt.  My ego is quickly deflated when the Spirit alerts me to my sinful behaviors and/or attitudes.  This is an invitation to “return, …[Dorothy Ann] to the Lord, your God.”  You need to repent, acknowledge your selfishness, your pride, your deceptiveness, your envy and/or jealousy, your resentments and anger. You need to ask yourself: “What is going on here?” 

The Lord then says to me, further on in this reading: “…[R]eceive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.” “Offering bullocks [or any other animal for sacrifice] was Israel’s way of saying “I’m sorry, Lord. Forgive us our sinfulness, our worship of idols [how often the self, the ego is our idol] and make us right with You, the only true God.   Translating this in terms of the New Covenant, it might read:  [R]eceive what is good, [Dorothy Ann, that is, receive God’s forgiveness, become reconciled with Me, your God, in the sacrament of Reconciliation], that we [the Trinity] may render the offering [of Jesus’ body and blood] in the celebration of the Mass. 

Even more powerful are the next words in this reading: “Assyria will not save us, nor shall we have horses to mount; we shall say no more, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands….” The “Assyrias”, that is,  whatever source that is not God  to which  I look to rescue me from my shame--will not save me. Nothing, other than God, has the strength to whisk me away from evil. I have no “horse” to mount other than the mountain of the Lord.

Help me, Lord, to live by this decree, so that in the words of today’s Gospel, Mark 12: 28-34, I will realize that “He is the One and there is no other than he.”

Jesus, the Strong One, who Walks beside Us

In today’s Gospel, Mark 3: 22-30, Jesus, the Son of God Incarnate, is accused by the Scribes that he casts out Satan by the prince of demons, Satan himself.   They refuse to recognize that Jesus’ power over Satan is of divine origin and does not, in any way, originate from Satan.  Satan delights in causing division upon the earth. He is permanently cast out of heaven and will not re-enter the reign of God. Neither does he want us to be one with Christ and certainly not for all eternity.
Jesus tells the Scribes that “…[N]o one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man.” Jesus is that strong man who ties up Satan, not allowing him to “plunder” the property that belongs to God.  Oh, the   greatness and the love of our God, who comes to this earth to take on Satan, a force too powerful for us, on our own, to overcome.  Left to our own weaknesses, we easily fall into the traps Satan sets for us.  God will not allow it. Through Jesus’ obedience to the Father to the point of death on the cross, Satan is rendered powerless over those who seek the Lord above all, who recognize their sinfulness, repent and believe in the Gospel. With Jesus, in Jesus, and through Jesus, we are one with our God and destined to enter His reign for all eternity.
The Lord says to us in the responsorial psalm of today’s liturgy, Ps. 89:   “I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, that my hand may be always with him, and that my arm may make him strong. My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him, and through my name shall his horn be exalted….”   This can be reread as follows:  “I have found you (insert your name), my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed you, that my hand may be always with you, and that my arm may make you strong.  My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with you, and through my name shall your horn be exalted….”

Thank you, Lord, for your mercy and compassion. Thank you for your companionship, for always being at my side to make me strong!

"Repent and believe in the Gospel" (Mk 1:14)

“This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” As I was at prayer this morning, I shared with the Lord how frustrated I was with myself, as I  had fallen into Satan’s trap of looking at the weaknesses of another. Luckily the person with whom I was about to unload my story challenged me,  stating her belief that everyone does the best he/she can do given the circumstances with which he/she is dealing.

I asked the Lord for His counsel and He reminded me that I was looking into a mirror. The weakness I was about to complain about in the other reflected that weakness in me.  The other was a mirror image of myself. The fact that I was perturbed by the other’s behavior indicated that that inclination existed within me as well.   Jesus “caught” me, just as He invited Simon and Andrew  (see today’s Gospel, Mark  1: 14-20) to “come after me; I will make you fishers of men [women].”

How important it is that  we allow Jesus to cast His net over us, pull us in and away from the net of the evil  into which Satan so insistently wants to lure us. Yes,  as stated in the opening lines of today’s Gospel, “this is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”