An Abundance of Graces for Every Good Work

In today's first reading, 2 Cor 9: 6-10, St. Paul confidently says to you: "God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work....The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply our seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness."

We see this fulfilled and prophesied for us through Christ Jesus: in the life of His Mother, in whom and through whom "every grace [was made] abundant";  in the first miracle of the loaves (Mark 6: 30-44), the second miracle of the loaves (Mark 8: 1-10), in His sending of the disciples out in twos to preach the Good News and having all they needed to do so;  in the many, many miracles performed by Jesus in healing the sick and raising the dead to life,  in Jesus' sufferings and death and resurrection ("the harvest of our righteousness"); in the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2: 1-13).

Let us reflect for a moment on the statement: "God is able to make every grace abundant for you."  
"Every grace"! Not just a grace but "every grace!"  For you, for me, might that not mean, in part,  the following:

• The grace of existence itself and multiplying good works as a human being with intelligence
• The grace of being one's unique self and developing that uniqueness
• The grace of being faithful to our vows (marriage, religious, priestly)
• The grace of strengthening our faith
• The grace of doing what is right and good and just and loving and caring and helpful
• The grace of helping the poor in need
• The grace of parenting with patience, wisdom, understanding and compassion
• The grace of growing in holiness
• The grace of deepening our intimacy--at-oneness, union--with the Lord, with our spouse/fellow religious, with others with whom we share life on this planet; growing in sacrificial self-giving and loving of others for God's sake and also growing in intimacy with oneself, that is, growing in self-knowledge and self-reflection 
• The grace of seeing God in all things created:  all human beings living on planet Earth, the plant and animal kingdom, the universe itself

And much more because "the one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply our seed..."--in particular, seeds of good works for the sake of the Kingdom!

Knowing that God is God and There Is No Other

In today's first reading, Deuteronomy 4: 32-40, God asks Moses:  "Did anything so great ever happen before?  Was it ever heard of? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live? Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with his strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the Lord, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes.  All of this you were allowed to see that you might know the Lord is God and there is no other."

God, undoubtedly, did great things for the people of Israel, the people of the Old Covenant!   Why? So that they would  "might know the Lord is God and there is no other."  He has also done great things for the people of the New Covenant, for you and I, so that we, too, "might know the Lord is God and there is no other!"  What are those things?  Conceiving Mary without sin. Sending the second person of the Blessed Trinity to take on human nature in Mary's womb, Mary, who was chosen to be the mother of God Incarnate. Showing us, through Jesus, the way to the Father, the way to live holy lives, ways to grow in holiness and grace!  Showing us, through Jesus, how to deal with the effects of sin: conflicts, rejections, persecutions, condemnation, "crucifixions," death itself! As people looked upon Jesus on the cross and witnessed His death, they said: Truly, He is the Son of God!"  In that moment the people knew that "the Lord is God and there is no other."

That we "might know the Lord is God and there is no other,"  we, too, experience what  the Israelites experienced:  God rescuing us "by his strong hand and outstretched arm."   By "testings, signs and wonders, by war,"  within ourselves, our families, nations, religions, cultures, races, and so on,
 we come to believe that "the Lord is God and there is no other."  Only with God's help, with God being our warrior, do we overcome the hatred, the prejudice and the resentments that lead us, individually, nationally and internationally to commit violence acts against others.

In what ways have you,  have I, "heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire"; or what "testings,...signs and wonders,...great terrors" did God do for you or me that we "might know the Lord is God and there is no other"?

Jesus' Transfiguration: Do I Get it?

Today we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord on Mount Tabor! On this Mount, Jesus spoke to Moses and Elijah about his impending death, His agony on the cross, His crucifixion.  How difficult it must of have been for Jesus. He tried to share his pain with this apostles. But they simply did not get it!  It was important for Jesus to be able to talk to someone who would understand what he was going through. His Father knew that and arranged for this meeting with Moses and Elijah!

Jesus takes Peter, James and John with Him up to Mount Tabor. As Jesus begins to pray, His face "changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem."    The three apostles fall fast asleep! Only when they became fully awake did they see Jesus' "glory and the two men standing with him." Baffled and not knowing what to say, Peter blurts out a request: Jesus, let us build three tents here--one for you, one for Elijah and one for Moses. As he was speaking a "cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, 'This is my chosen Son; listen to him.'"  Then, all of a sudden Peter, James and John are alone with Jesus and "[t]hey fell silent"!

Even on Mount Tabor, the three apostles do not get it, as obvious from Peter wanting to build three tents there for Jesus, Moses and Elijah!  They sleep!  How often do you and I not get it and are truly asleep to what is going on spiritually.  How often are not our eyes closed to God at work in our world, in our lives, in the lives of others, in our church, our society, our families.  How often are we not living in a fog, so to speak, or simply are too busy focused on our desires, whatever they may be--building tents or doing whatever, babbling anything because we don't know what to say. Yes, we easily miss the point of what God wants and how ordinary reality, every day,  is being transfigured into a reality of God's Presence and God's power at work!

"Be still and know that I am God,"   the psalmist tells us in Psalm 46:10!

The Compassion of our God!

In today's Gospel, Matthew 14: 13-21,  when Jesus returns from a deserted place where he had been grieving the murder of his cousin John the Baptist, Jesus meets a crowd of people, about 5000 men plus women and children. "When...he saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them."
Jesus is likewise moved with pity for you and me and vast crowds of people that assemble for political rallies, for sport's events or any other kind of entertainment, for religious gatherings or family reunions, weddings, or funerals; those gathered at our borders and in modern-day concentration cams, those detained in cages and locked up in overcrowded prisons!

Jesus, I believe, weeps for all of us and especially for those suffering at our hands. Imagine Jesus looking on when a person faces violence--physical, verbal, emotional abuse--at the hands of an out-of-control policeman/woman, a jealous lover, a clergy person, a corrupt politician, a gun-wielding mentally ill person, an out of-control family member or co-worker. Jesus, I believe, weeps when he witnesses these scenes and especially when a person loses his/her life because of our violent behavior.

In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 81, the Lord says to us:  "If only my people would hear me, and Israel (you and me and all people) walk in my ways, quickly would I humble their enemies  (especially those within us); against  their foes I would turn my hand."  Each one of us depends totally upon the Lord to "humble our enemies"  and "to turn his hand against our foes". We need God's help, always, to do good and avoid evil. And when we fall into sin, we need to ask God, the other person against whom we have sinned and ourselves for forgiveness.

God forgives us. Do we forgive ourselves and one another?

Being Wise or Foolish?

Today's liturgy readings, Ecclesiastes 1: 2; 2: 21-23, Col 3: 1-5, 9-11, Luke 12:  13-21, as well as the responsorial psalm, Psalm 90, all speak to us of what is important to God, what matters and what life here on earth is all about.

Ecclesiastes speaks about vanity. One person labors strenuously, applying all of one's energy and skills to productivity and, when he/she leaves this earth, leaves the results of that work to one who has not labored at all.  In the Gospel, a rich person is thinking of building larger barns to contain all of the possessions accumulated over the years--this person has been very productive and needs more storage space. This individual's plan is, then, to enjoy life, saying to oneself: Now you "...have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink and be merry."  God says to such a one:  "You fool, this night  your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom shall they belong?  Thus shall it be for all who who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich in the things that matter to God."

Am I storing up material things, renting more storage space for all that I have accumulated while neglecting the things of God, ignoring the needs of my neighbor for love and kindness, for understanding and compassionate caring, for honesty and forgiveness? Am I scrambling each day to store up things which the world says is important or am I growing "rich in the things that matter to God"?

The responsorial psalm of today's liturgy reminds me that I will return to dust and that I need to remember that, to God, "a thousand years...are like...a watch in the night." The psalmist reminds me that God makes "an end of [us] in [our] sleep; the next morning [we] are like the changing grass, which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades."  With the psalmist let us pray:  "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart....Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days."  May we share that joy and gladness with others.  May we make a difference in the lives of others today by the love we give to them, by our honesty and compassion. May we spend time with others today in a way that brings them joy, relieves their pain or suffering and glories God.

Fear and Pride: Opposition to the Spirit Guiding our Conscience

In today's Gospel, Matthew 14: 1-12, we are confronted with how much fear can interfere with our faithfulness to God and lead us to ignore our conscience and the Holy Spirit's guidance in doing what is right. In Herod's case, out of fear of the people who have grown to highly respect John the Baptist as a prophet, Herod refrains from killing him. He considered doing so because John the Baptist confronted him on marrying his brother's wife Herodias (he killed his brother Philip for that reason).

Fear also is the basis of his decision to grant his daughter's request, when, on his birthday, he is so delighted with a dance she performed for him that he promises her anything she asks of him. She consults her mother who asked for the head of John the Baptist to be brought to her on a platter. Afraid to not keep the oaths he made and also afraid of his guests' reactions to going back on his promises, Herod ordered John the Baptist's head brought to his wife Herodias, who also wanted John the Baptist dead because of his disapproval of their marriage.

Oh, my God, what fear and pride will prompt us to do! Help us, Lord, recognize the "Herods" within us. Help us recognize how fear and pride can and does interfere with our faithfulness to You, to others, and to our true selves in doing what is right and just.  Help us be honest with ourselves and others when it is fear or pride directing us to act contrary to our conscience and to Your holy will for us.  Help us, also to realize that when we protest too much about another person's challenges that such protestations may very well indicate that fear and pride are at work within us.

God's Presence

In today's first reading,Exodus 40: 16-21, 34-38,  Moses, following God's commands, erects a Dwelling for the Lord. A "cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling...Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling, the children of Israel would set out on their journey. But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward;only when it lifted did they go forward. In the daytime the cloud of the Lord was seen over the Dwelling; whereas at night, fire was seen in the cloud by the whole house of Israel in all the stages of their journey."

God is also with us "in all the stages of [our] journey"--sometimes as a Cloud and sometimes as Fire, even when our eyes are veiled from seeing God clearly or not at all!  We could learn from the Israelites to not go forward when "a cloud" hangs over our life but to wait until the cloud lifts. "Wait upon the Lord" and we shall be saved, we are told in the Scriptures.

Let us pray for the grace to learn to wait for the Lord's directions. Let us call upon the Lord to show us the way when "the cloud or clouds" fog our vision, making impossible for us to see which way to turn, or what decision to make.  May we have the humility to know when we don't know and to avoid pretending that we do know when in fact we do not have a clue!