In today's Gospel Luke 13: 22-30, Jesus speaks about those who will gather around the banquet table in His kingdom, those who strove, here on earth, "to enter [eternal life] through the narrow gate." Jesus reminds us that many will not enter that narrow gate because they will not be strong enough to do so! Strength comes from the Lord, the creator and redeemer of all! Strength comes to those who recognize Jesus as their Savior, as the one who alone can take them through that "narrow gate".
The narrow gate is the gate through which Jesus journeyed while here on earth--obedient to a Higher Power. Obeying the Father's will led to Jesus' death by people who were jealous of Him and who were concerned that others were listening to His teachings and worried that so many were following His way of humility, honesty, righteousness, justice and love for all persons and especially for sinners, the oppressed, the poor, and the outcasts of His culture!
Choosing the "narrow gate" of holiness, as Jesus showed us, will lead to conflict with those who choose the broader gate. "Everyone is doing it," is the reason so many choose to follow the crowd through the broader gate. It's easier! No sweat! No sacrifice! "You'll be like God," Satan told Eve and Adam in the Garden! How many people act as though they are a God, the Higher Power others are to emulate! As with Adam and Eve in the Garden, many fall for Satan's lies and reject the "narrow way."
What choices are you and I making?
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Reverencing the Lord and One Another
In today's first reading, Ephesians 5: 21-33, St. Paul talks about marriage and the need for love and respect for each other. In Genesis, the message is that a man is to leave his mother and father and become one with his spouse. Both are to grow in mutual love for one another, become united in mind and heart toward a common goal: that their children grow in their relationship with the Lord, come to know the Lord and embrace their faith and call to become spiritually mature individuals. That maturity needs to be modeled by parents. Spiritual maturity, a call to self-sacrificial love, is the same for persons in religious life and/or priesthood. We are here to become one with others in our goal to be one with the Lord Jesus and His will for us. God wills that we grow to greater unity with God and with one another, that we are fruitful and multiply goodness--the goodness of bearing children in our image and likeness and who grow in their image and likeness of God! How do we do that? by personally living humbly in our relating to each other, in being reverent of one another, in forgiving one another, and in being compassionate and understanding of one another!
In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 128, those are declared "blessed" who fear the Lord, that is, reverence the Lord. Reverencing the Lord begins with reverencing ourselves and one another. Those who "fear the Lord, who walk in his ways,...shall eat the fruit of [their] handiwork; [they] shall be blessed...and favored."
May you and I grow in reverence!
In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 128, those are declared "blessed" who fear the Lord, that is, reverence the Lord. Reverencing the Lord begins with reverencing ourselves and one another. Those who "fear the Lord, who walk in his ways,...shall eat the fruit of [their] handiwork; [they] shall be blessed...and favored."
May you and I grow in reverence!
Monday, October 29, 2018
Bent Over as the Woman in Luke 13: 10-17
In today's first reading, Ephesians 4: 32-5:8, St. Paul admonishes us "to be kind to one another compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. Be imitators of God, Paul says to us, "as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God..." Tonight, after praying my experience of being disappointed, frustrated and angry, I realized how much I need help to assume attitudes of humility and submission to the will of God as being revealed in the circumstances of my life. What was I actually doing? Trying to control circumstances and have them go my way, not the way of another person. I was assuming a position of domination, not submission, as Jesus did in His sufferings, death and resurrection.
When I came to reflecting on today's Gospel, Luke 13: 10-17, I realized that I was the crippled woman that Jesus healed--crippled, bent over as she was. From what? my need to be in control or to have others submit to my wishes and not me to theirs! I spelled out the situation to the Lord, baring my soul to the Lord and asking for help. And help was given me as it was to the woman who, "for eighteen eyes had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect." When I asked Jesus to set me free, He said to me: "...[Y]ou are set free by my sacrificial love. When you fall into a trap that Satan sets for you, I will always set you free when you recognize the trap, acknowledge it, and ask to be set free. I am always there with you ready to help!"
From time to time, we all fall into traps that Satan sets for us. Share with Jesus a trap into which you may have fallen and ask to be freed! Jesus will respond as compassionately as He responded to the woman in today's Gospel!
When I came to reflecting on today's Gospel, Luke 13: 10-17, I realized that I was the crippled woman that Jesus healed--crippled, bent over as she was. From what? my need to be in control or to have others submit to my wishes and not me to theirs! I spelled out the situation to the Lord, baring my soul to the Lord and asking for help. And help was given me as it was to the woman who, "for eighteen eyes had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect." When I asked Jesus to set me free, He said to me: "...[Y]ou are set free by my sacrificial love. When you fall into a trap that Satan sets for you, I will always set you free when you recognize the trap, acknowledge it, and ask to be set free. I am always there with you ready to help!"
From time to time, we all fall into traps that Satan sets for us. Share with Jesus a trap into which you may have fallen and ask to be freed! Jesus will respond as compassionately as He responded to the woman in today's Gospel!
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Sent on Mission to Proclaim the Kingdom of the Lord
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Luke, the evangelist, who worked along side St. Paul in making Jesus known to the Gentiles. Both Luke and Paul, friends of Jesus, did what the responsorial psalm, Psalm145, proclaims: "Your friends make known O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom." The psalmist goes on to say to followers of Jesus: "Let them discourse of the glory of [God's] Kingdom," a kingdom of peace and justice and love. As disciples of Jesus, we are to make "known [God's] might and the glorious splendor of [God's] kingdom, [a] Kingdom...for all ages." We are to let people know that God's "dominion endures through all generations," not just Jesus' generation. We are also to reveal the truth that "the Lord is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. [And furthermore,]...is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth."
In today's Gospel, Luke 10, 1-9, Luke tells the story of when Jesus appointed 72 disciples to proclaim the Kingdom and thus precede him to places which He Himself "intended to visit....[B]ehold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.....In whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in [that] house."
In order to do God's work, we need to, first ourselves, be at peace. If the persons we are sent to assist, be that family or community members, members of our parish, or our fellow employees, are not at peace with our presence or message, we need to move on to other places/persons, as Jesus counseled the 72. When the Lord send us out on mission, we also need to be prepared to encounter "wolves." Not everyone wants to hear about the Gospel way of life and not everyone lives a life that brings them to knowledge Jesus, the Lord who, as identified by the psalmist as one who "is just in all his ways and holy in all his works." As with Jesus, we will encounter opposition in living the Christian way of life and being true to ourselves!
Are you/am I ready? If we keep our focus on Jesus as we journey through any given day, or come back to the Lord when we lose our focus, we will always be ready!
In today's Gospel, Luke 10, 1-9, Luke tells the story of when Jesus appointed 72 disciples to proclaim the Kingdom and thus precede him to places which He Himself "intended to visit....[B]ehold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.....In whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in [that] house."
In order to do God's work, we need to, first ourselves, be at peace. If the persons we are sent to assist, be that family or community members, members of our parish, or our fellow employees, are not at peace with our presence or message, we need to move on to other places/persons, as Jesus counseled the 72. When the Lord send us out on mission, we also need to be prepared to encounter "wolves." Not everyone wants to hear about the Gospel way of life and not everyone lives a life that brings them to knowledge Jesus, the Lord who, as identified by the psalmist as one who "is just in all his ways and holy in all his works." As with Jesus, we will encounter opposition in living the Christian way of life and being true to ourselves!
Are you/am I ready? If we keep our focus on Jesus as we journey through any given day, or come back to the Lord when we lose our focus, we will always be ready!
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Discernment of Spirits
In today's first reading, Galatians 5: 18-25, Paul clearly describes when we are allowing ourselves to be guided by the spirit or by the flesh. When guided by the spirit, we are generous, gentle, self-controlled and faithful to the Gospel. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, patience, kindness and the like. On the other hand, when we are slaves to the flesh, we are out of control, throwing fits of fury, engaging in orgies or bouts of drinking, being licentious, impure, idolatrous, envious, divisive and the like. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus, Paul reminds us, "have crucified their flesh with it passions and desires."
In today's Gospel, Luke 11: 42-46, Jesus further clarifies the difference of living according the spirit or according to the flesh. When we are following the ways of the flesh, we "pay no attention to judgment and to love of God." Our focus is rather on externals: gaining places of honors, being "greeted in...marketplaces," being recognized by the phylacteries or other devotionals we wear, the number of prayers we recite, and which others notice we recite, and so on. In short, we become our own god! On the other hand, those who focus on the ways of the Gospel, go about doing good for the sake of the Kingdom, to give praise and glory to God's name, "washing other people's feet," as Jesus did, being servant to others in ways that do not draw attention to oneself and, with God's assistance, dying to sin and rising to new life.
In today's Gospel, Luke 11: 42-46, Jesus further clarifies the difference of living according the spirit or according to the flesh. When we are following the ways of the flesh, we "pay no attention to judgment and to love of God." Our focus is rather on externals: gaining places of honors, being "greeted in...marketplaces," being recognized by the phylacteries or other devotionals we wear, the number of prayers we recite, and which others notice we recite, and so on. In short, we become our own god! On the other hand, those who focus on the ways of the Gospel, go about doing good for the sake of the Kingdom, to give praise and glory to God's name, "washing other people's feet," as Jesus did, being servant to others in ways that do not draw attention to oneself and, with God's assistance, dying to sin and rising to new life.
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
The Unsurpassing Love of Christ
In today's opening prayer, the Collect of the Liturgy, we ask God to "pour out on us...the spirit with which [God] so remarkably endowed Saint Margaret Mary, so that [like her] we may come to know that love of Christ that surpassed all understanding and be utterly filled with [the Lord's] fullness."
What a prayer! I, you, are asking God to fill us with Jesus' love, nothing else! Full of love! God's love! Look at what Jesus, full of love, did for us, for all! Saved us from the slavery of sin! Purified us white as freshly fallen snow! Opened the gates of heaven for us! Secured us an eternal inheritance! Shows us the way to the Father! Dines with us every day in the Eucharist! Never leaves our side!
Look at what Mary, full of grace, full of God's love, did for us! First of all, said 'yes' to God's plan for our salvation, and hers! Conceived in her womb the Son of God, giving birth to God Incarnate! Second of all, taught Jesus to surrender to the will of His Father, called Him forth at Cana to reveal God's compassion to the bride and bridegroom! Noticed the need of the newly weds and brought that need to Jesus' attention, as she continues to do day in and day out for you and me, letting Jesus know our unmet needs. Teaches us, also, to pay attention to each other's needs! She stood beneath the cross, supporting and comforting her Son in His sufferings and does so for us! She witnessed, I believe, her Son's resurrection and ascension and was present at Pentecost. Finally, she guided the apostles and early members of the Church to spread the Good News, and is at our side also urging us to be faithful to our calling!
Yes, like Mary, may we be filled with the love of Christ and let that love pour forth from us into others! May we know the fullness of life that Jesus promises us, as did Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque and Mary our Mother.
What a prayer! I, you, are asking God to fill us with Jesus' love, nothing else! Full of love! God's love! Look at what Jesus, full of love, did for us, for all! Saved us from the slavery of sin! Purified us white as freshly fallen snow! Opened the gates of heaven for us! Secured us an eternal inheritance! Shows us the way to the Father! Dines with us every day in the Eucharist! Never leaves our side!
Look at what Mary, full of grace, full of God's love, did for us! First of all, said 'yes' to God's plan for our salvation, and hers! Conceived in her womb the Son of God, giving birth to God Incarnate! Second of all, taught Jesus to surrender to the will of His Father, called Him forth at Cana to reveal God's compassion to the bride and bridegroom! Noticed the need of the newly weds and brought that need to Jesus' attention, as she continues to do day in and day out for you and me, letting Jesus know our unmet needs. Teaches us, also, to pay attention to each other's needs! She stood beneath the cross, supporting and comforting her Son in His sufferings and does so for us! She witnessed, I believe, her Son's resurrection and ascension and was present at Pentecost. Finally, she guided the apostles and early members of the Church to spread the Good News, and is at our side also urging us to be faithful to our calling!
Yes, like Mary, may we be filled with the love of Christ and let that love pour forth from us into others! May we know the fullness of life that Jesus promises us, as did Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque and Mary our Mother.
Monday, October 15, 2018
Jesus' Call to Repentance
In today's Gospel, Luke 11: 29-32, Jesus says to the crowd: "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah," that is, the preaching of Jonah and the subsequent repentance of the Ninevites.
The generation of Jesus' time and our current generation are no different from one another. There is an abundance of evil in both generations. In Jesus' generation, people plotted for Jesus' death and, out of jealousy, murdered him on Calvary between two thieves. In our generation, people also plot to kill others who get in their way. People may be killed because they are about to expose evil or because they are blocking others from fulfilling their lustful desires or from acquiring properties by illegal, unjust schemes.
Where evil abounds, grace abounds as well. Jesus' death and resurrection brought about our redemption and, for that reason, it is possible for evil to be transformed into a good. People committing evil are offered the grace to repent of their wrongdoing. Eyes of men and women in actual or virtual prisons are opened. Hope is restored. Hatred destroyed. Evil does not triumph ultimately!
However, if people do not heed Jesus' call to repentance and, thus, do not follow the example of the Ninevites, they will remain in the pit that Satan sets for those who follow the ways of evil spirits.
Where am I/where are you in this scenario? Are we following good spirit or bad ones? Are we even aware of sin in our lives and our need for Jesus?
The generation of Jesus' time and our current generation are no different from one another. There is an abundance of evil in both generations. In Jesus' generation, people plotted for Jesus' death and, out of jealousy, murdered him on Calvary between two thieves. In our generation, people also plot to kill others who get in their way. People may be killed because they are about to expose evil or because they are blocking others from fulfilling their lustful desires or from acquiring properties by illegal, unjust schemes.
Where evil abounds, grace abounds as well. Jesus' death and resurrection brought about our redemption and, for that reason, it is possible for evil to be transformed into a good. People committing evil are offered the grace to repent of their wrongdoing. Eyes of men and women in actual or virtual prisons are opened. Hope is restored. Hatred destroyed. Evil does not triumph ultimately!
However, if people do not heed Jesus' call to repentance and, thus, do not follow the example of the Ninevites, they will remain in the pit that Satan sets for those who follow the ways of evil spirits.
Where am I/where are you in this scenario? Are we following good spirit or bad ones? Are we even aware of sin in our lives and our need for Jesus?
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