God heard the cry of his people who were suffering their enslavement in Egypt. God called and sent Moses to free them. Pharoah did not accept the request of Moses to let his people go and instead put more pressure on his slaves to fulfill their daily quota of bricks as before, though now without providing the straw that they needed to accomplish the task (cf. Exodus 5). The Hebrew slaves did not take out their frustrations on their oppressor, but on Moses. This pattern of complaint continued time and again, even after their freedom was assured and they wandered in the desert. They complained regularly when things got tough, and stated that they were better off in their slavery and dependency on the Pharaoh instead of placing their trust and dependency on God.

God in like manner sent his Son to free us from our slavery to sin, just as he sent Moses to free the Hebrews enslaved under Pharaoh. How many times do we, like our ancestors, also complain, preferring our life of sin, a life of mere existence, over embracing the gift of a life lived to the full. Even worse there are too often those in positions of spiritual leadership who abuse their power, look out for their own interests, instead of guiding and serving the people entrusted to their care.

Jesus is recorded in today’s Gospel addressing those who are missing, “how God has made his will known to the people, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.” God the Father has sent his Son to reveal his will but too many do not have eyes to see or ears to hear.

Those who are learned “search the Scriptures, because [they] think [they] have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But [they] do not want to come to me to have life.” What is hidden in the Hebrew Scriptures is revealed in the New Testament: the New Covenant made with Jesus and all of creation. The prophesies of old testify that the Messiah will come as a suffering servant, he will unify the nations, cleanse the Temple, and the enemies of God will be placed at his feet. These affirmations are presented and known by those who study the sacred texts, yet they still do not recognize the signs that the Messiah is in the very midst of them.

Even Moses testified of Jesus when he said: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kindred, and will put my words into the mouth of the prophet; the prophet shall tell them all that I command” (Deuteronomy 18:18). Yet the successors of Moses would not even believe in his writings, so Jesus said how would they believe in his words?

Jesus shows us in our Gospel reading today how the people of his time could have known he was who he claimed to be. This is true for us today as well. If we are sincerely seeking God who has and continues to make his will known, we will find him in philosophy, mathematics, the sciences, literature, his creation, in our service to each other, in truths of other faith traditions, but the fullness of the Father is revealed in our encounter of him through his Son, “whom he has sent”, or will we miss God’s invitation because we do not believe in “the one whom he has sent”?

Jesus is also revealed in Scripture, the Old and New Testaments. To understand the New Testament we must understand the Old, for Moses and the prophets testify to his coming and Jesus came not to abolish but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Do we leave the Bible on the shelf like any other book? If we do read it, do we do so as if it were a dead letter, or do we read and hear it as it is truly meant to be read and heard, as the Word of God proclaimed?

The Father makes himself known to us through the presence of his Son and the love of the Holy Spirit. To experience the truth of this reality we need to do accept his invitation of relationship. As we reach out to God, we come to realize that he is already present and reaching out to us through his Son. We do not need to run to God, because he is already running to meet us, awaiting to hold us in his arms, now and forevermore!

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Photo: St Edwards, Palm Beach, FL, the apse, semi circular area behind the altar

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, April 4, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040419.cfm

The words of today’s Gospel from John is an answer to Jesus’ healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda. The issue at hand for those who are incensed by Jesus’ healing is that he has done so on the Sabbath. Jesus does not help his case with his critics for he says he healed on the Sabbath because he was directed to do so by his Father: “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes” (Jn 5:21). Jesus does not make concessions with those who oppose his actions of healing. He clearly states the truth about who he is, the Lord of the Sabbath. For those not believing Jesus is who he says he is, this is blasphemy of the highest order. This is why they plot to kill him.

So too in our own age, there are many ways to express our understanding and belief about who Jesus was then and is today. If you haven’t thought about Jesus beyond his name in a while, about who he really is and why he is relevant to our lives, then allow St. Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, who lived from 297 to 373 AD, to offer a point to ponder today. Athanasius held firmly to and taught with conviction that Jesus, “the Son of God became man so that we might become God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 480). This statement is an acknowledgment that we cannot be saved on our own merits, through our own will power and discipline alone. We become the fullness, we actualize who we are created to be, through our participation in the divinity of Jesus the Christ.

The reality that Jesus, fully human, is at the same time the second Person of the Holy Trinity, became one with us in our humanity so that we can become one with him in his divinity is something worth thinking about. There is much writing and discussion about how many people are leaving the Church, while at the same time still hungry, I would say starving, for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. This is true for those who leave as well as those who remain whether either could or would articulate it in that way. Could it be that we have forgotten the foundation not only of our faith, but of who we are, that we are followers of Jesus Christ, yes, but have we forgotten this fact of who he is, who and whose we are?

May we spend some time meditating on and returning periodically to the words of St. Athanasius throughout today, this week, this Lent, and into Easter: “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.”

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Photo accessed: https://www.cathopic.com/search/candles

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, April 3, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040319.cfm

Has there ever been a time when you were picked last for the team, whether on the playground, P.E., or gym class? I remember being on both sides, being picked and being picked last, and picking others to join. I much more preferred being chosen last than having to be in the situation to choose a classmate last because someone had to be in that position at some point, and it was often an agonizing situation to be in to have to make those determinations. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus comes upon a man who has experienced an even worse situation.

A man who is in need of healing has been coming to the pool of Bethesda for quite some time, he has been ill for thirty-eight years. Apparently, there was a limited time to get into the waters of the pool to experience the healing properties that it afforded, for each time the water stirred, while the man moved to get closer to and enter the water, “someone else gets down there before” him. This is worse than getting picked last, as he doesn’t in a sense even make the team!

But with Jesus the last shall become first. Key ingredients are belief, faith, and a willingness to be healed. Jesus does not impose, even in the case of healing, Jesus invites: he asks the sick man, “Do you want to be well?” When the man in need of healing explains the limitations he has experienced in the past regarding getting to the pool, Jesus does not hesitate. Jesus commands him to rise, pick up his mat and walk. The man is no longer the one picked over, the one ignored, the one unseen. The sick man encounters Jesus and is healed by his word.

Jesus meets us in the same way that he met the sick man. Jesus meets us in our need, where we are, no matter our station in life. He does not leave us on the outside looking in, he does not leave us wondering if we are loved, and he not only comes to us to encounter us, but to empower us to be about the mission given to us by his Father. Jesus gives meaning and purpose to our life. Each and everyone of us are a gift from God made in his image and likeness, and we have a gift to contribute to others and are given a unique offer to help make the kingdom of God a reality.

I invite you to enter a place of silence and stillness, without and within. Breathe in deep and exhale a few times, then close your eyes. See your self as you are in your present seated position, breathing, experiencing your shoulders relaxing, and just being still. Then notice Jesus walking toward you as he did with the man at the pool of Bethesda. Does Jesus remain standing, does he sit beside you, or kneel before you? As he assumes whatever posture, allow your thoughts to reflect on what you need from Jesus, or does Jesus ask you a question? What does he ask or what does he say?

Jesus is present, right here and right now, for you. There are no boundaries, no limitations, only those you impose on your self. Share with Jesus your need. You are no longer misunderstood, left out, or picked last. Jesus is present. Embrace the moment.

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Photo: Painting, close up of Christ Blessing by Italian artist Antonello da Messina, 1465

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, April 2, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040219.cfm

We hear often in the Gospels how those who believed in Jesus received healings, exorcisms, and were forgiven of their sins. We also have read accounts such as from the author of Matthew that he “did not work many mighty deeds” in Nazareth “because of their lack of faith” (Mt 13:58).

In today’s Gospel account from the author of John, Jesus speaks to a royal official whose son is close to death. Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left (Jn 4:50). The man on his way home to his son is met by the slaves from his household and they told him that his son would live and when they compared notes, they realized the healing occurred at the moment Jesus spoke and the man believed.

What does faith and belief have to do with Jesus being active in our lives? The way of the Gospel, the good news, is all about invitation and acceptance. Jesus enters our world, our reality, gently and humbly. He came as a poor infant, completely dependent on Mary and Joseph for his very survival. He would live the majority of his life in the obscure village of Nazareth most likely working as a day laborer. When he begins his public ministry he does so by inviting people to be a part of his life, to be in relationship with him and his Father. People are free to say no or to say yes to that invitation.

Faith is trusting that what Jesus says is true, trusting that he is who he says he is. Belief is the act of our will that aligns with our faith, our trust in him. Jesus invited the man to believe that his son was healed and the man believed and walked away with full confidence that his son would be healed. Belief is followed by an affirmative act of the will. I can believe my car will run, but unless I get in it and turn the key, I am not going anywhere.

Just as the sun rose this morning, Jesus is present to each and everyone of us. Just as Jesus invited Zacchaeus to come down out of the tree because he wanted to have dinner with him in his home, Jesus is offering his invitation to us to be a part of our lives. Just as Jesus invited Andrew and Peter, James and John to follow him. Jesus invites us also to follow him.

If you have an opportunity to wake up with the sun or early morning while the sun is still rising this week, I invite you to do so. Find a quiet place inside or outside, call to mind any struggles, confusion, sinful patterns, need for healing, or forgiveness. As the light of the sun pierces the darkness, allow it to be an icon of Jesus’ invitation to enter into your life.

“From the east comes the one whose name is Dayspring, he who is mediator between God and men. You are invited then to look always to the east: it is there that the sun of righteousness rises for you, it is there that the light is always being born for you… So that you may always enjoy the light of knowledge, keep always in the daylight of faith, hold fast always to the light of love and peace” (Excerpt from a homily on Leviticus by Church father, Origen, 184-253).

Embrace the light of Christ who comes to you today to guide you through your struggles and confusion, to hear the deepest prayers of your heart, to offer confidence that you can believe in his power to heal you and those you love, to invite you to embrace the gift of repentance, and be forgiven. As the warmth of the sun touches your face, breath in deep the mercy and grace of Jesus, believe Jesus is the Son of the Living God and have faith, trusting that he will be with you today in all you do. When you are ready, arise to face the day and walk on with the confidence and assurance, with the faith and belief that you are loved more than you can ever imagine.

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Photo: Early morning sunrise

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, April 1, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040119.cfm

In today’s Gospel from Luke we encounter the well known parable of the Prodigal Son. With the parables it is important not to skip over who Jesus is talking to, just so we can dive into the parable itself. Jesus is speaking to tax collectors and sinners. They are drawn to him. The Pharisees and scribes are also present. They are drawn to him also, but are complaining.

With these two groups now focused on Jesus, he shares his parable. Three main characters are present in the telling, the younger son, the father and the older son. The younger son represents the tax collectors and sinners. They have embraced the sin of Adam and Eve in taking for themselves that which God would have freely given to them. They have squandered their inheritance and separated themselves from the relationship and love of God. Yet, as the son realized, the tax collectors and sinners are coming to see, that all that the material life offers is limited, and it does not fully satisfy. They, like the younger son who returned from the “distant country”, are prepared to come home.

The wonderful light and joy of the parable is that: “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.” The father then did the unthinkable as: “He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him” (Lk 15:20). The father never held a grudge, but also never gave up or stopped looking for a sign that his son would return. His racing to meet his son showed the outpouring of love and mercy that this father had for his son. This uncharacteristic action would also certainly draw attention to himself, to ease any ridicule that might be directed toward his son.

In covering the son with a robe and placing a ring on his finger, the father shows his forgiveness, and restored the bond and covenant that was broken. The party that began was a celebration of this fact. As the festivities begin, the parable turns to the older son, and again, the father goes out to meet him. The elder son meets his father with anger, filled with not only self righteousness, but also revealing that even though he remained with the father he did so with no joy. He too was looking for more from the father than the greatest gift he offered him, which was his relationship, his love.

The parable of the Prodigal Son ends with an invitation to all those who had gathered around to listen to Jesus. The tax collectors and sinners were invited to come home to their father, to turn away from their pursuit of the empty and false substitutes of wealth, power, pleasure, and honor. They were invited to be born again from their life of death, to be embraced as the children of God that they were and embrace their relationship and restore their covenant with him.

The Pharisees and scribes also were invited as was the elder son. They were invited to turn away from judging and instead celebrate the return of those who were seeking to come home, those who had been lost, but now been found. In doing so, they would realize that they too were lost. They were enslaved by the law and also separated from the loving relationship of God.

We are invited today too. Who do we identify with in this parable? Are we willing to recognize that the God of Jesus Christ has always been watching for us, always reaching out for us, always running out to meet us where we are, welcoming us as we are, and urging us to come home to be with him? God is running to meet us and embrace us. Will we run away from him or run to him?

Painting: The Return of the Prodigal Son, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1667/1670

The Mass readings for Sunday, March 31, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/033119-yearc.cfm

It is much easier to find fault in others, and in some cases the act of doing so has become entertainment in the private as well as the public sector. Gossip has a seductive allure, and can be consuming. Judging others is also a way to justify and or project our own in appropriate behavior onto others. We may even place ourselves in a false sense of exalted pride. Have we ever, not just stated, but, thought or prayed something along the same lines as the Pharisee in today’s Gospel? “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income” (Lk 18:11-12).

To pray any part of this prayer stunts the growth in our spiritual life because we are focused on ourselves instead of emptying ourselves before God. Anytime we rationalize, cover over, or deny our sinful behavior we support and create habits of selfishness. Left unchecked, we can become enslaved to them. Lent is a time for healing and transformation. To be able to heal from sinful attitudes and actions that have become habits, we first must be able to acknowledge and identify them.

Over time, reading more and more lives of the saints, I have come to understand that their recognition and their confession of their sinfulness was not just some pious platitude, but a true presentation that they were growing closer in their relationship with Jesus. A simple example can help express where they are coming from.

When we drive our car while it is dark we don’t give much thought to the cleanliness of our windshield, because we can see fine. Yet as the headlights from an oncoming car illuminate our windshield we can see how dirty in actuality it is. This can be evident in our spiritual life as well. The more we remain in our own darkness of denial, we feel we are fine, all is right with the world. The closer we grow in our relationship with Jesus, the more his light shines in our darkness, and he reveals to us our sin.

Jesus invites us to resist the prayer of the Pharisee who prays comparing himself to someone else, instead of acknowledging his own sinful actions, and instead emphasizes that we are to follow the honest humility of the tax collector, who did “not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner’” (Lk 18:13). Now, Jesus is not saying this is the only way we pray. We have the opportunity to worship and praise the Lord joyfully, we can seek his help in praying for others through intercessory prayer or for ourselves in petitionary prayer, we can also sit in quiet meditation during adoration or out among God’s wonder of creation. Each prayer has its time and place and each type of experience of prayer helps us to grow and deepen our relationship with Jesus and each other.

True humility is brought about by being willing to see who we are from God’s eyes. If we are to set a standard to live up to, if we are to compare ourselves to anyone, let it be Jesus. A daily examination of conscience is a healthy practice and discipline. We just need to be willing to invite Jesus to shine his light of love into the darkness of our fear and anxiety. When we do so, we are embracing our vulnerability by taking the risk to confess our sin, to experience the sorrow for the hurt we caused. With a willingness to seek atonement for our sin, to seek God’s forgiveness, we will receive his love and mercy that we have separated ourselves from when we justified and rationalized our sin.

One prayer I have found helpful over the last few years is the Jesus Prayer. It is very simple. Sit in a comfortable space, take a few deep breaths and exhalations, then as you take the next breath in recite, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God,” and then as you breath out say, “Have mercy on me a sinner.” You are breathing in the light of Christ and you are breathing out your sin. I use my rosary and pray an Our Father for each isolated bead and then the Jesus Prayer on each of the beads of each decade.

Traditional prayer ropes exist from the Eastern Orthodox tradition. They are made of wool, usually black, and have ten decades of ten beads. The bottom also has a fringe representing the mercy of God wiping away our tears of sorrow. If you have neither a rosary or a prayer rope, you have your fingers. Start with a set of ten Jesus Prayer recitations each day so to set up a time to embrace the light of Jesus, that he may dispel our darkness, so we can see our sin, and be forgiven.

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Photo: Examining my conscience before the altar at St Augustine parish in Culver City last Saturday night before the 7pm Spanish Mass.

Mass readings for Saturday, March 30, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/033019.cfm

Jesus recognized that the scribe, who asked him about which commandment was the greatest, “answered with understanding,” and then he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God” (Mk 12:34). What is it that the scribe understood?

The scribe understood that God “is One and that there is no other”. God is the true source of our being, our very existence. We have been created with an innate desire to be one with him. This is the longing we all feel in the depths of our soul, this is why nothing that is finite or material will ever fully satisfy us, why we are always wanting more. This is as true for the mystic as it is for the atheist and everyone in between.

God is “One and no other” also means that we are not God, we are his created beings. God is not just one being among many, not even the supreme being. This orientation is important for we can only see from our limited perspective. What we think or believe we might need, may in fact not be a true good or benefit for us, the shimmer may be an apparent good, a distraction, a temptation, that will lead us away from the authentic fulfillment and meaning in life that we seek. God will guide us away from any unhealthy want, he will lead us away from temptation, if we are willing to seek his guidance over and above our own. God will give us what we truly need, he will lead us to that which is in reality true, good, and beautiful.

Once we come to believe that God is God and we are his created beings, then we can take the next step and surrender: “to love him with all [our] heart, with all [our] understanding, with all [our] strength”. In our surrender to God and his will we become capable of receiving his love and so are able to love him in return. We all long to be loved and to love. Experiencing the love of God helps us to unconditionally love “our neighbor as our self” because, through our surrender to his will we allow God to love others through us.

God invites us to open our minds and hearts to receive his love, to love him in return, and to love others as he has loved us. To love God then is like any other relationship, we need to spend quality time with God in stillness, to be present One on one, as well as in our everyday activities. We are to resist compartmentalizing God and instead seek his presence in everything we do. The sacrifice he seeks is that we are willing to allow him to love others through us, especially those for whom we do not have a warm and fuzzy feeling for, as this is not the unconditional love God loves with. We are to will the good of the other as they are.

Each of us are prone to sin, are wounded, and are broken. God loves us as we are, he forgives our sins, he heals our wounds, and he transforms us, if we allow him to. We need to stop running away from him and start running to him. The quickest way we can do this is to love our neighbor as our self. Going out of our self and giving to another breaks down the walls of separation we build up around ourselves because of our fears.

Jesus’ arms are wide open before us in our neighbor. May we surrender all our heart, soul, mind, and strength into his loving embrace, to receive his love and love him in return, and to embrace loving our neighbor and our self in the same way. As we do so we too will hear Jesus say to us, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

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Photo: Side altar of St Augustine Parish, Culver City, CA, taken last week.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, March 29, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032919.cfm

In the Gospel reading today, Jesus is accused of being an agent of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, because he was exorcising a demon from a man that was mute. Jesus addressed the critique and showed the polarizing nature of the onlookers who were unwilling to see the healing before them for what it was. Jesus then stated the obvious: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house” (Lk 11:17).

If Jesus was an agent of the prince of demons, he was not a very good one. Satan seeks to sow discord and division. Jesus seeks to bring about unity. Now it is true, that five verses later in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is recorded as saying: “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” (Lk 12:51). Anyone feeling a bit confused? Welcome to the wonderful world of the Bible!

To understand Scripture, we need to understand the context of the whole of Scripture, not just isolated verses. Throughout the ministry of Jesus, he seeks the unity that all may be one as he and the Father are one (cf. John 17:21), yet he has consistently experienced those that rejected his message and healings as witnessed in today’s Gospel account.

Jesus demands a choice, we need to decide if we are either going to be for him or against him (cf. Lk 11:23). The division Jesus is talking about results from those who choose not to recognize that Jesus is who he says he is and reject him and those who accept him for who he is. This choice continues to cause division within households, families, and friends even today.

The greater take away from this verse and Jesus’ teachings as a whole, is that when we are unified, embracing the gift of our diversity, we are stronger than when we are divided by limiting ourselves to mere labels. In our modern context, labels, such as liberal and conservative are not helpful, whether they are being used in a political or religious context. Life is not as black and white as many would like it to be. It is certainly easier to cast labels, but interactions with people and developing relationships are much more nuanced. We are not mere cardboard cut outs, or caricatures.

To better understand the essence of who we are as human beings demands greater time and experience of each other than an outward appearance or isolated statement may portray. Many more of us, if we shake off any label for a moment, could honestly admit to believing in and supporting issues that are important to us from both sides of the so called left or right.

Many times, once we have cast a label, we believe that we have “defined” the person. They are classified in their box and tied up in a neat and pretty bow, and woe to the person who resists being boxed and bowed. I remember reading from one of the books from the tracker, Tom Brown, Jr., in which he described how many people when seeing a bird, such as a blue jay, robin, or crow, are often satisfied with the label, the naming of it, and move on from that sighting self-satisfied. They think that in that simple identification they now have come to understand all that there is to know about that particular species of bird. So much of the essence of one of God’s amazing creatures is missed by such a simplistic and limiting classification!

Unfortunately, we do the same with each other. We make a prejudgment on a person or group of people because of a word, statement, stance on a particular issue, or particular belief. We then falsely believe we know everything there is to know about that person or group. This is a very limiting and divisive approach. Jesus invites us to encounter the person, to accompany, spend time, and break bread with people. In spending time with one another and being open to dialogue, the caricatures can be filled in with some substance and we can come to know a little better the person beyond the prejudgment.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it may very well be a duck, but it is also so much more than its classification. This is so much truer for us as human beings as well.

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Photo: One of the visiting ducks at Cardinal Newman as I was getting into my car to go home, reminding me to spend some quiet time enjoying the wonders of God’s creation.

Link for the Mass reading for Thursday, March 28, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032819.cfm

Jesus not only tells his disciples that he has not come to abolish but to fulfill the law, he constantly teaches how this is true, models how to put his teachings into practice, and empowers them to do so. In his Sermon on the Mount and Sermon on the Plain alone, we can see the development of his teaching and building on the foundation of Torah. With his Beatitudes, such as, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, and his Six Antithesis including, “You have heard that it was said ‘an eye for an eye,’ but I say to you offer no resistance to one who is evil”, we can see the further development of Jewish teaching on full display.

If we seriously take the time to read through Jesus’ teachings, we will see quickly how challenging they are. Jesus is not lowering the bar of discipline for his followers, but in fact raising it. Jesus is not putting heavy burdens on us for burden sake, he seeks to make us holy. He himself lives what he preaches, but Jesus is no ordinary teacher or mentor. The principles that he teaches, forgiving seventy-seven times, loving our enemy, giving up all to follow him, these seemed impossible to his disciples and so do to us as well.

On face value, we may think these and many of Jesus’ teachings are not possible to put into practice. Attempting to do so with our will power alone is not a strategy for long term success, for we will come up short each time. Jesus does not expect nor desire for us to accomplish living as a follower of his on our own efforts. We are to yolk ourselves with him and be open to the transforming power and love of the Holy Spirit acting through us. This happens when we daily invite Jesus into our life.

To be a follower of Jesus is to learn his teaching, study his life, and surrender our self to his will through prayer, discipline, worship, service, and participation in the sacraments. Ultimately though, it is nothing we do, other than putting ourselves in a position of being open to and allowing Jesus to live his life in and through us and direct that which we receive outward toward others. In this way, we are transformed by his love and conformed by his life.

The path of faith is not a sprint or a one time event, but a marathon, a journey. Each of us can be assured that Jesus is with us for the long haul. We are habitual creatures, may we, in collaboration with Jesus and infused by his grace, create some habits of holiness this Lent, with the intent that Jesus will make us holy as he is holy!

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Photo: Torrey Pines State Park, La Jolla, CA 2014

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, March 27, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032719.cfm

Forgiveness is a wonderful gift of grace and mercy. If many were asked if they would like to receive forgiveness most would say yes. The number would lessen when we were invited to forgive others. If we were asked to forgive someone seven times, that number would shrink significantly, and if we were invited to forgive someone seventy-seven times, is there any among us who would say yes, any among us willing to consider doing so?

Why is forgiveness hard for most of us? I do say most because there are those who have an openness to be forgiving. One reason could be that we have few role models. I would imagine those that are more forgiving have not only positive role models who they have not only witnessed practicing forgiveness, but they have received forgiveness themselves.

How often do we seek forgiveness from others when we have done something wrong, inappropriate, or made a mistake? We often seek to explain first, make excuses, or ignore our behavior altogether. When we resist being humble, confronting our offenses, and do not seek reconciliation, we do not experience the healing balm of forgiveness. We are then less likely to be willing to offer forgiveness and more likely to hold a grudge or to seek revenge.

Yet, even if we receive the gifts of mercy and forgiveness, as the servant did in today’s parable (Mt 18:21-35), we may still choose to be unforgiving toward others. We may resist forgiveness because we have already created patterns of distancing ourselves, making someone else as other, somehow justifying the hurt and pain we feel. We think that by holding a grudge or offering another the cold shoulder, we are giving them just what they deserve.

Unfortunately, these patterns of not seeking forgiveness for ourselves, not willing to forgive others, allowing ourselves to bear grudges, to distance ourselves, or project negative feelings on others to cover up our own inadequacies, not only perpetuate a climate of isolation and divisiveness, but we continue to fuel a fire of mistrust, division, that if continues unchecked metastasizes into hatred and violence. Even in a case where someone has truly wronged us in some way, we are still invited to forgive, to make an attempt to understand why someone might act in such a way, and to shift the momentum away from the perpetual cycle of hurt and to seek to bring about healing.

Jesus is very clear, if we are not willing to forgive we will not be forgiven. This is true because we are closing ourselves off from the healing invitation of God’s grace and mercy. When we separate ourselves from one another, we are also separating ourselves from God. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a gift of healing, and a pattern of regular confession helps us to receive the healing and forgiveness of our loving God and Father. As we develop a regular practice of examining our conscience, experiencing contrition, true sorrow for our sin, confessing our sin and are absolved and forgiven, we are healed. We then will come to the realization that we need to put God first, instead of ourselves.

From this awareness, we can go forward to model forgiveness in our lives with others, we can encounter one another with understanding and a willingness to forgive. Jesus invites us to resist the temptation of building walls of separation to keep others out and instead invites us to forgive, yes even seventy-seven times. We can do so by asking Jesus to forgive through us, one person, one handshake, one hug at a time. In so doing we will be builders of bridges of forgiveness!

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Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, March 26, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032619.cfm