He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” (Mt 15:23-24).

I would encourage you to read in full Matthew 15:21-28 to get the full feel of this Gospel account. (If needed, see the link below).

Jesus’ reaction in this scene does not appear to be consistent with how he has acted toward others who have approached him in the past. Is he just having a bad day and taking it out on this woman? Is his reaction because she is a woman and a Gentile at that? I don’t believe either case to be true.

Jesus has seen his disciples time and again attempting to turn people away, just as recently when the five thousand were hungry and they were ready to send them to the nearby villages, knowing the hour was late to get their food. Jesus was also tired that day too, all but spent, yet, even so, I am sure that he did not check to see who were the card-carrying Jews among those gathered, but instead fed all that were present.

In today’s recording of Matthew, I wonder if Jesus was not so much testing the woman’s faith, as much as he was testing the faith and the response of his disciples. The woman was calling for help. Would the disciples offer to provide her support, following the lead of Jesus who they have observed so many times before? Jesus remained silent to her initial plea for help. What did the disciples do? They asked Jesus to send her away. Jesus appeared to support their indifference when he justified his non-response by stating that he was sent to the lost sheep of Israel, clearly, she was of another fold.

Again, the disciples did not step up to defend the woman in need. Maybe they even egged Jesus on. The woman persisted. She came forward and knelt before Jesus imploring him to help her and Jesus met her with a degrading slur, referring to the woman as a dog. The disciples would now certainly appeal to Jesus for mercy, right? Nothing. Nada. His apostles stayed silent, or worse they may have even started to have a good laugh at her expense.

The woman did not back down, she remained resilient in her effort because her daughter needed her help and she would not be turned away. She did not react or get defensive, but returned with her own retort, by stating, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters”  (Mt 15:27). Jesus then upended the whole scene and shared that the woman was the one who had great faith! A woman, a Gentile, not his disciples.

Those who have great faith are the ones who believe and act on that belief. Coming up with excuses to support our own indifference or rationalizing turning away people in need is not faith. Those who are aware of the need of another, even and especially when the task seems beyond them and is willing to take the risk, to make the effort to reach out and help, are those who show great faith. How would we have acted in this same scenario? I invite you to read Matthew’s account again in full a few times and imagine yourself in the scene.

With honesty, let us assess where we find ourselves in the scene? Are we aghast at Jesus’ initial responses, do we stay silent or speak up for the woman? Do we add our own insults? If we are going through a trial as did the woman, do we have her persistence, determination, and resilience, resisting to be turned away or lose our cool, but remaining laser-focused on our goal, not willing to give up?

Can we recall times when we did not recognize the need of others or respect the dignity of others because we perceived them as different or other than us? Were there times when we have or supported others who have loosed derogatory or dehumanizing speech or actions behind people’s backs or directly? Have we defended, justified, or rationalized our gossip, prejudices, or hurtful behavior?

If so, may we seek God’s forgiveness, and if possible reach out to apologize to those we have directly or indirectly hurt. May we commit today to follow the guidance that St. Paul offered to the members of his Church at Ephesus: “No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:29-32).

Jesus, please fill us with your love and grace. Guide us and give us the courage to resist hurting others with our thoughts, faces, words, actions or inactions. Help us to be your light in the midst of the darkness of hate by being more aware, understanding, patient, present, kind, encouraging, empowering, and loving today and each day. Help us to reach out to respect the dignity of all we encounter, especially, those we have considered different or have in the past kept at a distance, so that one day we too may hear the words you spoke to the Canaanite woman, “Great is your faith!”
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Picture: Jesus and the Woman of Canaan by Micahel Angelo Immenraet, 1673-1678

Mass readings for today, Wednesday, August 7, 2019 

Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. (Mt 17:1-2).

Peter, James, and John certainly experienced Jesus’ profound teachings, his powerful signs, his wonders, and they also witnessed his healings, casting out demons, and forgiving of sins, which, alluded to the reality that he was the Son of God. I imagine Peter, James, and John, though acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, still pretty much looking at Jesus as a human being. In the encounter of Jesus transfigured, Jesus revealed to his inner circle of Apostles not only a foretaste of what was to come in heaven but a glimpse of his actual divinity.

Jesus is not 50% God and 50% human. He is fully God and fully man. This is the Mystery of the Incarnation; the reality that the second Person of the Trinity took on flesh and became human. This is an important reality, because in this very act of Infinite Grace, the Son of God assuming humanity, Jesus, the Godman, opened up heaven for us in the humanity he assumed. The Son of God became one with us in our fallen and sinful state so that we can become one with him. Through participation in the life of Jesus Christ, we can restore and/or deepen our relationship with his Father, and we too can be transformed.

“By revealing himself God wishes to make [us] capable of responding to him, and of knowing him, and of loving him far beyond [our] own natural capacity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1997, 52). This reality of the invitation of communion with the Loving God and Father of all creation is for all. Authentic joy and fulfillment are achieved through developing a relationship with the God of Jesus Christ.

Many may say they are happy and living a good life without having a relationship with Jesus Christ or apart from God or his Church, and I would not disagree with them. I would only add that if we are honest with ourselves, there is more to life than the mere material and finite reality we see and experience with our senses. When we slow down enough, when we are actually still enough, we can experience a deeper yearning for more, and begin to see what is keeping us from the deeper reality offered to us.

Even with great achievement, mastery, honor, and accumulation, there is still a lingering question, “Is this all there is?” We experience consciously or unconsciously a restlessness, we continually search to fill this unease, feeling satisfied for the moment, but eventually in short order, we are left empty, time and time again. This unease is our soul’s yearning, our transcendent nature longing for more, and that longing is for the infinite that the finite cannot provide. St Augustine of Hippo (354-430) articulated this desire and yearning so well in the opening chapter of his autobiography, Confessions: “You move us to delight in praising You; for You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.”

The Feast of the Transfiguration is an invitation, not to reject our humanity, but to embrace the fullness of what it means to be human, as the Son of God did through the Mystery of his becoming one with us, all of us, all of humanity, not just a select few. We are invited to embrace the fullness and rich diversity of our humanity; the reality that we are physical, emotional, intellectual, while at the same time, spiritual beings. Our fulfillment and joy come from a balance of nurturing the reality that each and every one of us has been created in the image and likeness of God.

Peter, James, and John, and each of the saints embraced the invitation of Jesus and that has made all the difference. God also invites each one of us to experience the wonder and to explore the full breadth, depth, and width of all that our reason and faith can open for us, so to embrace the deepest yearning of our souls, such that our intimacy and loving relationship with God, ourselves, and each other expands.

Today, tomorrow, and each day going forward may we, through our participation in the life of Jesus the Christ who is fully human and fully divine, be willing to open our hearts and minds and souls to be transformed so to experience the fullness of our humanity and our divinity and begin to better embrace our common dignity. We need to refuse to belittle, demean and dehumanize, and instead see each other through God’s eyes, as his children. Once we recognize that we are all interconnected and embrace the richness of our diversity, we will then begin to heal, and the tide of violence will begin to recede.
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Photo: Just a small portion of the many students through the years that I have been blessed with as we have learned together to embrace our dignity.

Mass Readings for today, Tuesday, August 6, 2019

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself (Mt 14:13).

This is not the first time nor the last time that Jesus withdrew to a deserted place. Unfortunately, his effort for some alone time ended abruptly, for when he got off the boat he was immediately met by people seeking him.

Making time for quiet may seem like a waste of time, just a simple act, but it is one that is very necessary. As busy a Jesus was, Jesus would make time to pray. Though the “deserted place” was full of people by the time his boat reached the shore, he did have some quiet, alone time on the boat before he disembarked. Jesus showed no frustration for having his plans interrupted, instead, his “heart was moved with pity for them” (Mt 13:14).

Often we lose our patience when we are interrupted. When we are cut off or cut short by someone else we may react in a negative way internally or externally. Most of the times our hearts are not moved with pity nor do we show compassion for those who may consciously or unconsciously come to us in need.

If we find that we are constantly impatient, short with others, one reason could be that we do not give ourselves time to stop and be still, we do not make time to pray, we do not sit for a few moments and breath. We just keep moving ahead, on the phone, on our apps, on the computer, working, studying, interacting with others, completing this activity believing that once we finish we will be all caught up. Hyped up on caffeine to keep up the pace we have set, we then wonder why we are consistently anxious or on edge, if we are even aware!

Jesus needed some downtime, and in today’s Gospel, we read that he did not get the amount of time he set out to have, yet he did get a brief respite on the boat before he reached the shore. When he saw the people he did not whisper to himself, “Oh no, here they come again.” He instead was moved in his heart with compassion to serve their needs.

We need to follow the lead of Jesus today and each day to create some time to withdraw and be still. I often remember a period of a week during the first year after I graduated from college. I was working for the National Audubon Society and lived on a 680-acre sanctuary in northwest Connecticut. It was summer and each night as the sun began to set, I would take out my Bible, read a few passages and then just sit quietly and meditate on what I had read. As the natural light ended, I went to sleep with the sun.

The peace and calm I felt for that week period of time, I can still remember vividly some thirty years later. We need to follow the lead of Jesus and make time to be still and pray daily. The time that we commit to need not be a long period, five to ten minutes a day can work wonders, but we must be consistent. Make some time to withdraw today and each day this week to pray and be still. Then see how you feel within yourself and toward others.

Photo from Sharon Audubon Center

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, August 5, 2019

Jesus said to the crowds, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions” (Lk 12:15). Jesus is responding to the man in the crowd who asked him to be an arbitrator between him and his brother. The brother was concerned that he would not get his fair share, or any share, from the inheritance.

Jesus is offering the man a healthier orientation and perspective, which is to help him to see what is most important in life. Jesus knows the scriptural stories of conflicts between brothers, such as Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob, Joseph and his eleven brothers. Jesus knew his own culture and interactions of the people of his time. He knew that conflicts over inheritance could quickly escalate into blood feuds and even deaths.

Jesus is helping the man in today’s Gospel and us today to see that what is primary and important is relationships, not wealth. One’s life does not consist in possessions, and this ought not to be our pursuit and primary focus in life. Wealth and material goods are fleeting, they do not last. We will always seek the newest, updated model of this or that, we will become bored quickly and want more and more. Ultimately, we will not be fulfilled, because we have been created for so much more.

We have been created to be in relationship with God and each other. We have been made to worship, and if we do not worship God, we will worship something, and too many of us as Christians, idolize wealth. Dr. Matt Nelson, author and assistant director of the Word on Fire Institute has written that: “Sanity begins with the realization that God does not need us to worship him, we need to worship God. Worship cultivates peace in the soul of the deepest and most lasting kind. When we worship we rest. It is thus the essential human activity, the first of all first things and the secret to real and lasting happiness.”

Let us meditate on the words that Jesus offers us today, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” What is more important to us, our things or God and the people in our lives? Do we place our security in wealth or God? Do we want apparent, temporary happiness or real and lasting meaning and fulfillment? All that we have is a gift from God. What prevents us from sharing with others in need from that which we have received? How we ponder and answer these questions will have an impact on the peace and happiness in our lives.

Painting: Jesus displayed in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, Los Angeles, CA

Nelson, Matt. Just Whatever: How To Help the Spiritually Indifferent Find Beliefs That Really Matter. El Cajon, CA: Catholic Answers, 2018.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, August 4, 2019

Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” (Mt 14:1-2).

After the death of Herod the Great (4 BC), one of his sons, Herod Antipas, was given a portion of his father’s kingdom by the Roman Emperor Augustus. Thus, Herod Antipas was the tetrarch, or prince, of Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to 39 AD. Herod, like, Pontius Pilate, held power as long as he was a faithful servant to Rome.

News of the ministry of Jesus got back to Herod and he believed Jesus to be John the Baptist raised from the dead. What followed in today’s Gospel were some reasons why Herod arrested and unjustly beheaded John the Baptist. John was killed for speaking truth to power, as happened often in the long line of prophets before him. Jesus would continue John’s ministry of calling for repentance, for a return to follow the will of God. He too would also suffer capital punishment, at the hands of Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate. The Apostles and martyrs of the early Church followed John and Jesus, lived the truth publicly and courageously, and were bold witnesses of their faith.

How are we living our faith today? Are we faithful to the Gospel values that Jesus and the Apostles taught and were willing to die for? Do we serve Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate or Jesus the Christ? Do we serve fear or love? Are we putting our identity first or our integrity of living and holding others accountable for living the Gospel?

It is important to stop and reflect on questions such as these, to examine our conscience and determine who it is that we are truly serving. It is not easy living the teachings of Jesus. We will fall short, but we must remember that God loves us more than we can ever mess up. We experience the fullness of his forgiveness, light, love, and mercy when we are continually willing to follow the call of John the Baptist and Jesus, which is to acknowledge that we have put something or someone else first before God. When we repent, turn back to God, we are strengthening the union of relationship we were created for.

When we are willing to allow the Holy Spirit to shine upon the darkness of our mistakes, failures, and sins, we will experience his forgiveness and mercy, we will become more open to truly knowing his will and how best to serve our loving God and Father. Embraced by and participating in the Trinitarian Communion of his love, let us recommit ourselves today to living as Jesus’ disciples, to growing in courage to better follow his path, so to better live and speak his truth in and out of season.
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Photo: A quiet spot I stopped to pray at while in Chinatown walking back from the post office yesterday.

Link for the Mass readings for, Saturday, August 3, 2019

“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son?” (Mt 13:54-55).

Many people wonder what Jesus did from the age of twelve until he began his ministry around the age of thirty. Today’s reading gives us some insight into that question. Most likely, Jesus did nothing extraordinary, he was just as ordinary as any other first century Palestinian Jew living in the small town of Nazareth, with a population of about 250 to 500 people.

Jesus most likely worked as a carpenter. This was rough, menial work, and as a day laborer, a position that was looked down upon. We can even see evidence of this in the Gospel accounts. Mark describes Jesus as the carpenter, the son of Mary, Matthew in today’s account portrays Jesus as the carpenter’s son, and Luke and John just refer to Jesus as Joseph’s son, leaving out any reference to carpenter altogether. Most scripture scholars believe Mark was written first, so we can see a progression in the biblical tradition moving quickly away from identifying Jesus as a carpenter.

Jesus’ return to his hometown and his teaching was first met with wonder. The question arose, “Where did he get such wisdom and how did he work such mighty deeds?” But wonder soon turned to judgment. Who is he? Isn’t he just the carpenter of Nazareth, no better than any of us. In effect, “Who does he think he is?” Not only does this show that Jesus probably lived a very simple peasant life, but that Jesus’ social status was set in stone.

The people’s hearts and minds were closed to Jesus. THEY KNEW who he was and there was no way someone like him could do what they had heard, so they “took offense at him… And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith” (Mt 13:57-58).

How many times have we judged someone? Have we said to ourselves, “I know who he or she is.” We box them in, not as they are, but as WE see them, as we define them. We look at another individual not as a person with dignity, but as a two-dimensional caricature to satisfy our own prejudgments. We also do this to ourselves by limiting our potential when we say we can’t do this or that.

Maybe we have had a similar experience as Jesus did in returning to his hometown, in that we have sought or are seeking to move beyond our particular social status, or follow a dream or career out of the norm of familial or community expectations. No matter our age, through no fault of our own, by pursuing this path we threaten those who are not willing to accept our vision, those who are not willing to grow beyond what they have always known.

Jesus rebukes limiting perspectives. His Father has a plan for our lives and so he invites us to open our minds and hearts, to rest in the depths of our soul where we can touch the love and power of the Holy Spirit, repent from limiting ourselves and others through our judgmental and prejudicial dispositions, so to be healed from the finite limitations of our brokenness and sin. We need to resist the temptation to limit Jesus, others, and ourselves.

May we instead accept the invitation of our loving God and Father to embrace the infinite possibilities that will arise when we participate in his Life and Love. This invitation is for each and every one of us, no matter our race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religious, political, economic, social, immigrant, or migrant status. The Holy Spirit seeks to free us from the shackles that bind us, the limitations imposed upon us, and those we impose on ourselves and others.

Let us follow Jesus the carpenter today, for he knows our potential, and seeks to impart upon us his love and encouragement, so that we will actualize the vision of who he calls us to be. In this way, we will better be able to empower others in our realm of influence to do the same.
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Picture credit: Darrel Tank/GoodSalt.com used with permission

Parallel Gospel accounts: Mark 6:3, Matthew 13:55, Luke 4:22, and John 6:42

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, August 2, 2019

Jesus said to the disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind.” (Mt 13:47).

The invitation of God is universal and we are all lured by his invitation of love and intimacy. We long to belong, our very substance and essence as human beings is the reality that our ultimate fulfillment can only be reached in communion with the God who created us. Yet, though drawn, we resist being caught.

St Augustine (354-430), bishop of Hippo, came to a point in his life where he realized that the flame of his desire for wealth, fame and pleasure was dimming. He clearly felt moved toward “one reality that cannot decay, from which all other realities are derived.” Though he was caught in God’s net and being pulled in, Augustine still sought to wriggle free, for: “Though drawn to the Path, who is my savior, I shied from its hard traveling” (Augustine 2008, 161).

How many of us could echo Augustine’s dilemma? We have experienced God in our lives and feel the invitation to go deeper, yet, we still seek to wriggle free. We are attracted to God but our attraction to fame, pleasure, power, or wealth still has a stronger hold. At a baser level, we may believe that the minimalist approach is easier. God’s path is too hard.
Hard yes, but if we look at anything that has been worthwhile in our life, haven’t we received it through discipline, effort, and hard work?

Often it is more effort to work against God’s will, just read the Book of Jonah! May we instead surrender to the current of the Father’s Love and allow ourselves to be caught in the net of his Grace. At first, anxiety and fear will arise, because the pull, we may feel, may appear too strong, his love too pure. Yet, when we align our discipline and effort with his will, the anxiety will wane, and we will indeed be free to swim again. This time with more exhilaration and joy than we had ever experienced before.

Lord we submit to your will, draw us close to you!
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Photo by Orest Sv from Pexels

St Augustine. Confessions. Translated by Gary Wills. NY: Penguin Books, 2008.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, August 1, 2019

Jesus said to his disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Mt 13:44).

God is hiding in plain sight. He is in our midst, present to all of us, a wonderful treasure just waiting to be found. God’s eternal love and grace is ever reaching out to us. Our soul hungers, yearns, and seeks for that love, whether we know it or not. It is when we seek satisfaction, filling this deepest of our desires in material and finite pursuits alone, that we miss the mark. When we sin, create idols, seek the allure of apparent goods, we block our access to the very union we seek, we are not satisfied and our desire increases all the more. God acts in the everyday events of our lives, but we limit those experiences by waving them off as mere coincidences. In doing so, we have missed the opportunity to find a great treasure.

The saints and the mystics are those who have found the treasure of God’s will in their lives, they have experienced his love and mercy. They have encountered the living God in the midst of their everyday and given all to be immersed in his communion. They “are amplifiers of every person’s more hidden life of faith, hope, and love. Their lives help us to hear the interior whispers and see the faint flickers of divine truth and love in ourselves and others. The Christian mystics point the way to fully authentic human life by illustrating what it means to be a human being, what life means: eternal union (which begins here) with the God of love” (Egan 1996, ix-xx).

God speaks in the silence of the heart. We need to set aside time to be still so to hear his whisperings. We need to open our hearts and minds to recognize his presence, the faint flickers, the God-incidents present in our daily experiences and those we encounter today. We can experience Christ by reading and meditating on his Word, as well as reading the lives of the mystics and the saints, those who have found the treasure of Jesus’ presence and want to share it with us: St Francis of Assisi, St Teresa of Avila, St John of the Cross, St Therese of Lisieux; and/or St Mother Teresa, so many leading us and urging us on to experience the rich encounter of the loving God of Jesus Christ.

One who found this great treasure was St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), whose memorial we celebrate today. He found great consolation in reading the lives of the saints.  “While reading the life of Christ our Lord or the lives of the saints, he would reflect and reason with himself: ‘What if I should do what St. Francis or St. Dominic did?'” (Luis Gonzalez, The Liturgy of the Hours, vol III, 1975, 1566).  May we ask this same question so to find the great treasure in our midst which is to experience the love of God in the depths of our soul, and love as Jesus loves us, so to become saints. St. Ignatius, Pray for us!
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Photo: Hiking in California a few years back.

Egan, Harvey D. An Anthology of Christian Mysticism, Second Edition. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1996.

Link for the Mass Readings for, Wednesday, July 31, 2019

“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.” (Mt 13:36-39).

In this parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus is addressing the ancient question of why does God allow evil and how are we to deal with it? Why do bad things happen to good people? As a starting point, we need to recognize that God is God and we are not; meaning we are not capable of reading the mind of God. Any answer to justify how and why God allows suffering then will be insufficient. A second reality is that the Devil exists, though he is a created being. An angelic being, yes, but not equal in any way to God.

God is not a being. At best we can say he is Infinite Act of Existence, he is, or as God told Moses, “I am who am” (Exodus 3:14). God did not create evil, he only created good. “God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good” (Genesis 1:31). The Devil, Satan, the one who opposes, was created good also, as a high arch angel, Lucifer, yet he chose to turn away from the will of God, and those angels who followed him are demons. God is greater than the Devil and his demons, and his good is greater than evil they sow.

Evil is not so much a created thing, but a deprivation, or distortion of the good. God does not create evil, but he does allow it, and even though we cannot understand the reasons why God allows or permits evil or suffering, it is not a sufficient reason to say that God does not exist. This is especially true if we are seeking to grasp spiritual realities and truths from purely physical and rational means alone. We are indeed rational beings, who seek to know and to understand, but we are so much more. As human beings, we are physical AND spiritual, so need not limit ourselves to the merely sensate and empirical realm alone.

To better be guided by God, to hear his voice in the silence of our soul, to be fulfilled, our hearts and minds need to be open to the will of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are called to be people of prayer. As we mature spiritually and deepen our relationship with God we will come to experience God as did Job: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful to me, which I cannot know” (Job 42: 2-3). In essence, Job acknowledged and accepted that God was in control and he was not, and though he could not grasp everything, he trusted in the will of God for his ultimate good.

How do we deal with evil then? We need to surrender our pride and control over to God and acknowledge that he is in control and knows what is best for us. We need to choose to put God first above ourselves and everything. Our fundamental option, our telos, our end goal, is to be above all an embrace of the reality that we are striving to be in relationship with him. From the moment of our conception, we are a living, craving, hunger, and desire to be one with God and one another. This is true of the atheist and the mystic alike, whether we believe it or not. As we embrace this reality, put God first and focus on him, no matter what arises, we will begin to experience his presence in not only our everyday lives, but begin to feel his presence with us in the midst of our suffering. We will come to know that he is stronger than any pain or evil, and he will guide us through and give us what we need to endure.

Our loving God and Father has given us the means to understand suffering and evil especially in sending his Son to enter into our humanity, to suffer with us, even unto his unjust death on the cross. Our deepest prayer is when we willingly offer up our suffering, and enter into the Mystery of the Passion of Jesus. Jesus, the pure and innocent one, beaten and crucified, understands our pain and agony, our cry for the horrors of injustice, and he understands the presence of evil. Jesus himself, asked not to be crucified, though he relinquished in saying, “Not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42).

In that acknowledgement, Jesus faced the utter evil, horror, betrayal, and injustice of humanity, his crucifixion. In taking upon himself the sin of the world on the Cross, he even felt his separation from the Father. Through his complete surrender into God forsakenness, into his death, and descent into hell, his willingness to die for us, Jesus made the Resurrection possible. He conquered suffering, evil, and death forever, he brought about a greater good, through the evil of the crucifixion. No matter what trials we face, the Father has the last word over sin, suffering and even our death.

We can deal with suffering and evil in our lives with our hope intact because we can trust that God hears our prayers and is present in our trials and tribulations. For our part, we need to be willing to be honest with him, even if we are angry, afraid, or doubtful. We will not find Jesus when we deny or run from our challenges, but we will find him with his arms wide open and waiting for us when we are willing to enter into and face our suffering and pain.  “Suffering is never the last word. Life is stronger than death, love is stronger that hatred, hope is stronger than despair, nothing is impossible with God” (Fr. James Martin, S.J.).

When we struggle or suffer, we are not alone. Let us resist running from our pain and instead bring our challenges to Jesus on the Cross. The strength of our faith is that we can trust in the knowledge that Jesus is present in the midst of our suffering. Jesus understands our pain because he experienced it on the Cross and experiences it with us now. Our hope is assured in that Jesus has already won the battle and he will give us the strength to endure.

May we call on the Love of the Holy Spirit who will be a light for us that shines in the darkness. No darkness can or will overcome his Love. God the Father has the last word on the matter and aligned with him, and willing to call on the name of his Son, Jesus, we will be victorious even in the face of the purest evil. Let us face whatever storm rises before us today with confidence and courage, as did Jesus, when he set his face toward Jerusalem. Hand in hand with Jesus, we shall overcome.
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Photo by Johannes Plenio from Pexels

The quote above, inspiration, and key points I shared regarding dealing with suffering come from Fr. James Martin, S.J. who answered a question on how we deal with suffering. You may access his answer on the You Tube video On Pilgrimage With James Martin SJ Fordham University. His response on dealing with suffering begins around the 1:30:00 mark. The whole video is well worth watching!

Mass Readings for Tuesday, July 30, 2019

As with the Gospel reading from Luke on July twenty-first, we again in today’s Gospel reading from John read about Martha. Martha approaches Jesus with the same boldness as she had done in the last encounter when she questioned Mary sitting at his feet and allowing her to work all alone in the kitchen. This time the stakes are higher. Martha’s brother, Lazarus has died and Jesus was not present to help her and Mary in their time of need.

How many times have we been in Martha’s position? We felt that Jesus was not there when we needed him. Why does God allow suffering? Especially the suffering of the innocent, is an age old question. Part of the answer is that we live in a fallen world of sin. God does not bring about suffering but he does allow it because he loves us so much he is willing to give us the free will to reject him. The cost of our freedom means that there are consequences to our choices. Part of the consequences is that our sinful and hurtful choices do not just effect us, they affect not only those around us, but everyone.

The good news is that we are not alone in our suffering. Jesus with God, as God, sees not just the moment but the fuller context of God’s plan. In the midst of our suffering, Jesus helps to not only bring about a greater good, though it may take time to come to understand and see that greater good, he accompanies us in our suffering. This is true even in death.

Jesus came not only to comfort his friends Martha and Mary when he heard of the death of Lazarus, Jesus came to restore him to life, which would also be a foreshadowing of his own Resurrection, when he would not only be resuscitated as Lazarus, but conquer death and become the first born of the new creation. We need not fear even death, our own or our loved ones. Jesus has conquered death.

From the moment of the Wednesday of Holy Week, when my wife, JoAnn, and I heard the news that she had pancreatic cancer, we have been blessed with so much love, prayers and support from so many and above all, to feel the closeness of Jesus that Martha and Mary felt. We do not know the day or hour for JoAnn, but we believe with Martha, that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that has made all the difference for us (cf. Jn 11:25-27).

JoAnn and me at Echo Park a few weeks ago.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, July 29, 2019