Why celebrate the Annunciation at the beginning of the third week of Lent? Simple math. If we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25, it is logical to celebrate his conception nine months earlier on March 25.

Gabriel, an angel, a messenger of God, a spiritual being, interacts with a human being; though Mary is not the first one to experience such an encounter. There are personal encounters with God and his messengers throughout the Bible. This is how the God of Israel, the God of Jesus Christ acts, person to person, through invitation, either directly himself or indirectly through one of his angels.

We can read such encounters going back to Genesis. God invited Abraham to be the father of a people that God would call to be his own. This reality would come to be with the birth of Isaac, while Sarah was well past child bearing years. Jacob would wrestle all night with an angel and become the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, during the time of the Judges the mother of Sampson and Hannah, the mother of Samuel, both barren women would encounter angels bearing the message of men born unto them that would lead the people Israel in their time of need. Moses, the judges, David, and the prophets all would hear and answer God’s invitation. Zechariah had an encounter in the temple and his wife Elizabeth, also barren and older, would give birth to John the Baptist. God has communicated and reached out to his created beings in history, in time, and place.

With Mary this announcement and encounter was different, for at this appointed time, the Son of God himself would become, while remaining fully divine, a human being in the womb of Mary. The God who is. Period. Full stop. He is not a being, not a human, or even a supreme being. He is Infinite Act of Existence who took on flesh and dwelt among his created beings. This is the message that Mary receives, and we can understand why she might be troubled. Yet Mary, the model of discipleship, pondered what this might mean as Gabriel said to her:

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (Lk 1:30).

Mary, who knew the arch of salvation history as briefly sketched above, knew of the encounters God had with his people, her ancestors, knew of the promised coming of the Messiah, would now be the bridge between heaven and earth, the bridge between the old and the new covenant, the bridge between a people lost and a people found. Mary in her fiat, her yes, would become Theotokos, the God bearer.

This is why we celebrate this feast each year: The Son of God has been born to us because Mary said yes. Yet, her yes is not in isolation. It is made possible by so many who had gone before her. Joachim and Anna, Mary’s parents who provided care and guidance, as well as the many named above and not named through out the Biblical tradition who said yes to God and played a part in making this moment possible. Mary is not alone in the Annunciation, not alone in this definitive moment. This is the distinctive feature of Judaism and Christianity: We cannot save ourselves. We are not God. Our very life as created beings is a gift from God and we are in need of constant help and support from God and one another (cf. Lohfink, 254).

God invites us, not just today as we celebrate the feast day of the Annunciation, but every day. Each day is a day to ponder, to wonder, to be still, to be in awe. The Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, loved us so much, more than we can ever imagine, more than we can ever even begin to conceive, that he became one with us so that we can become one with him. Us, you reading this, me writing this, and each unique person taking a breath on this earth.

No matter how much we have messed up, no matter how distant we feel we may be from him, no matter how confused, overwhelmed, disillusioned, he is present for and with us. The question is not whether we are worthy, for none of us are worthy, the question is, “Are we willing?”

We are invited to play our part in the ongoing drama of salvation history. Mary’s answer to this invitation was: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). This is her definitive yes. We too are called and sent by God. What will our response be?
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Painting: Henry Oswana Tanner, The Annunciation, 1898

Lohfink, Gerhard. No Irrelevant Jesus: On Jesus and the Church Today. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014.

Link for today’s readings for Monday, March 25, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032519.cfm

In today’s Gospel, Jesus presented the importance of repentance, of changing our mind and heart. This means we need to acknowledge anything that we put before God. Anything that keeps us from allowing God into any part of our life will prevent us the sufficient sustenance to grow, mature, and bear fruit.

Jesus provides for help the parable of a man who has some concern about one of his fig trees that did not bear fruit for three years. The owner of the orchard debates with the gardener about whether this tree ought to be uprooted and another one planted in its place. The gardener responds: “Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down” (Lk 13:8-9).

The gardener sees the potential of the fig tree and that it needs some care. Jesus, as he did with his disciples, sees the same potential in us. Jesus does not define us by our worst mistakes, yet he also recognizes that we cannot just go along and do whatever we want on our own terms. Jesus has come that we may be one with him and his Father. This means Jesus meets us where we are, loves us as we are, and then cares for us and empowers us to become who we are called to be. Are we willing to receive his love, his nourishment, and his pruning?

Jesus is not only willing to prune those aspects which separate us from God, but he will also cultivate the soil of our soul and fertilize us with his divine life. Jesus will not leave us alone in our growing and maturation, but we need to repent from our self centered reality. We need to repent, surrender our control, and trust totally in Jesus, to allow him to shape and conform our will to his.

Jesus, help us to recognize that your grace is sufficient and builds upon our nature. May we trust in you as our Divine Gardener to: prune our pride, that we may bear the fruit of love; our despair, that we may bear the fruit of joy; our anger, that we may bear the fruit of peace; our impatience, that we may bear the fruit of patience; our cruelty, that we may bear the fruit of kindness; our meanness, that we may bear the fruit of goodness; our cruelty, that we may bear the fruit of gentleness; and our impulsiveness, that we may bear the fruit of self control.

Photo by Kaboompics.com from Pexels

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, March 24, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032419-yearc.cfm

Those who edited the lectionary readings for the day chose to present the parable of the lost son and skip the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin. This trilogy of parables are all found in Luke chapter 15. Reading the three together allows us to get a better sense of what Jesus is showing. There is great joy in finding what has been lost, there is great joy in being found! Maybe we can recall something or someone that had been lost and then found, or have we ever experienced a time where we have been lost or separated, have we experienced a time of reconciliation?

I was somewhere in the age range from about six to eight when I came to the realization that I was separated from my parents in the Enfield Mall. I believe it was close to Christmas and we were in the toy store. I must have become distracted by something interesting, and stayed to observe, while my parents and sister continued on. At some point I became aware of that fact. It did not take long for the anxiety and fear to rise within me and the tears to well up. I walked through a few isles with no success of finding my family and then I headed toward the entrance that led out into the main mall.

Before continuing on I remembered my mother telling me that if I ever got lost, that I was to stay where I was and she would find me. As I stood indecisively, tears still rolling down my cheek, a woman noticed my predicament, and led me to a stone bench outside the store. We sat and she stayed with me until my parents returned. I am sure the time of separation seemed a lot longer to me than the actual time, and much of the memory is fuzzy, but the anxiety of separation had an impact on me as did the relief and joy of reconciliation!

In my story as well as each of these parables, there is great joy for that which has been lost and found. How many of us are not even aware of our separation from God or each other? While I was in my own world of material wonder, I was left behind. The son who had squandered every bit of the inheritance he asked of his father before his death, realized not so much that he had really messed up, but that he was in a dire situation, and he made the right decision to come back home. His father never stopped looking for him, he actually saw his son returning “while he was still a long way off” and “filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him” (Lk 15:20).

This father is not seeking his son to bow before him and prove his repentance, his loyalty, and allegiance, he runs to his son without hesitation. This act is no small thing, for an elder to run to a younger family member was not done. He was breaking this social taboo, most likely to redirect the focus off his returning son; the one who had betrayed his father, the son who would receive glares and snide remarks. Instead the father rushed out in a reckless abandonment of love to embrace his son. The jaw dropping and echoes of gossip would rise in chorus about the father’s actions not the son’s past actions.

God is watching and waiting, seeking opportunities to run to us with compassion and love to welcome us home. God is the shepherd who does the absurd in his outpouring of love, leaving the ninety nine sheep to go and the find the one stray, for we are the one he seeks; God is the woman who rejoices over finding one seemingly insignificant coin, for God rejoices in our turning back to him, because not one of us is insignificant to him. We are all precious to God, each in our own unique way, and he loves us more than we can ever imagine.

No matter the reason that we have strayed, no matter the temptation and distraction, and/or how far we have wandered away, God loves us more than we can ever mess up. Lent is a season to open our eyes and recognize where we are in our relationship with God and with each other, to recognize the separation our choices have caused, and begin to turn back to God and those we are estranged within our lives. There is indeed great joy in the healing of relationships and reconciliation! Lent is a time to be found, Lent is a time to come home.

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Painting: Rembrandt’s – The Return of the Prodigal Son

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, March 23, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032319.cfm

A foundational quality of a good leader, whether he or she be a political or religious leader, would be that they are seeking the best interest in those they serve, they seek to be good stewards. Unfortunately, self interest is a tremendous temptation. For how long are they willing to approach the position as one who is willing to serve instead of be served? Another important attribute in a leader is are they open to critique and guidance when they are in need to hear it?

Jesus in today’s parable, presents a landowner who turns his vineyard over to tenant farmers. They are to oversee the crops to bring about a productive yield of grapes come harvest time. Unfortunately: “When vintage time drew near, he [the owner] sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned” (Mt 21:34-35). Eventually, the owner sends his own son, and the tenants kill him.

Jesus offered this parable as a mirror to the tenants of his time, the chief priests and Pharisees, of Israel. The vineyard is an image used to represent Israel. Clearly the owner is God, and the tenant farmers are those in leadership positions overseeing the care of Israel. We do not know which leaders hearing this parable took it to heart and changed their minds, repented from their self centered focus. We do know that there were those who carried out exactly what Jesus laid out in the parable. There were those, who following political and religious leaders of the past, persecuted, beat, and killed the prophets, and would do the same to Jesus.

Jesus called for the people of Israel in his time to rise up and actualize the potential of their covenant relationship and faithfulness in serving God. He still does so today. We are a part of this heritage. We who bear the name of Christian are “spiritual Semites” as Pope Paul VI has stated. We have an intimate relationship with our brothers and sisters in the faith of Abraham and are also given the responsibility of being good stewards.

Pope Francis offers us a prescription that we can aspire to from one of our brothers in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Bartholomew, the Patriarch of Constantinople: “He [Bartholomew] asks us to replace consumption with sacrifice, greed with generosity, wastefulness with a spirit of sharing, an asceticism which ‘entails learning to give, and not simply to give up. It is a way of loving, of moving gradually away from what I want to what God’s world needs. It is liberation from fear, greed and compulsion'” (Laudato Si, 9).

This is a way we are to follow and to model. All of us on this earth are stewards awaiting the return of the Son of the Land Owner, whether people of faith or no faith, and we need to resist the temptation of the tenants from today’s parable who sought to grasp at what was not theirs and embraced the deadly sin of envy and greed. Instead may we be open to receive what we have been entrusted with and care for the gift of the earth, all life upon it, and one another.

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Photo: View from Griffith Observatory, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, CA

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, March 22, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032219.cfm

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus that is offered for us today from the Gospel of Luke 16:19-31 is well worth the read. Jesus challenges us through parables such as these. For the people of his time, those who had wealth and status in society did so, for the most part it was believed, because they were blessed by God. When the rich man and the beggar, Lazarus, die, I am sure Jesus paused to allow his listeners to imagine what would happen to these two men. Many would not have predicted what happened next.

Lazarus was taken up “by angels to the bosom of Abraham” (Lk 16:22). The rich man found himself suffering from the torment of flames, such that he was parched, begging just for a drop of water from Lazarus (cf. Lk 16:23-24). Abraham, the model of faith and father of Judaism, was not sitting with the rich man, who must have always been seated at the highest places in his day, but now that seat, at the bosom of Abraham, was offered to Lazarus. There was no hope at this moment for the rich man to cross over because of the wide chasm that separated them. An ironic subtlety was afoot as well in Jesus’ telling of the parable to the Pharisees. Lazarus the poor beggar is named, where as the rich man is not.

How does the rich man come to this hopeless state of suffering and separation? This is the life he lived prior to his death. He walked over or by Lazarus day after day not giving him even a second look. Lazarus would have been grateful even for the mere scraps that fell from the rich man’s table, just as the rich man now sought just a drop of water from the finger of Lazarus. The rich man committed the root offense from which sprouts much of our sin; he failed to bother, to care, to love his brother, to will his good.

Jesus’ parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, echoes very closely Matthew 25:40, “whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.” How we treat others matters. Failing to care, to reach out to those in need around is sinful. We, like those who first heard this parable, experience time and again, a wicked mind storm that swirls with reasons that attempts to justify why we do not reach out to help others. They are not valid for a follower of Jesus. We are invited to give and to love joyfully.

This Lent, may we start to care by starting small. The first step is to be aware of those who are in need. This can be in our own home! Second, when we see someone in need and we feel the wind and the waves of our mind surging with reasons of why not to help, call on Jesus to calm the storm of our minds. Third, may we take a breath and stop. Let our eyes adjust so we can see the person before us as a sister or a brother with dignity, value, and worth. Everyone wants to belong, to be a part of, to be loved. Finally, in that moment, seek the guidance of Jesus, allow him to work through us so that we may be present and allow God to happen.

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Photo credit: Christy McKee from her visit to the Keys in 2011

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, March 21, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032119.cfm

Look at me, serve me, I want, are attitudes and dispositions that tempt us to varying degrees. Fame, honor, power, prestige may be another way of making the same point, which is that we often have a hyper focus on self and self promotion. Social media offers more of a platform to fuel this temptation. If we think this is something new with the advent of modern technology, we can look at today’s reading from the writer of Matthew to see that we have been operating from this posture for a very long time.

Jesus, for the third time, was attempting to prepare his disciples for his passion. He said: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day” (Mt 20:18-19).

The response of the mother of James and John (the two brothers make the request themselves in the Gospel of Mark) is actually not that surprising if we spend any time with people. She disregards what Jesus just mentioned about his imminent death and requests that when Jesus assumes his seat of power that her two sons will be given the prestigious place of sitting to his right and left. James and John will be Jesus’ number one and number two (This request has echoed up to this day in the most recent university/celebrity parent scandal!). Not to be outdone, the other disciples are indignant and I am sure quite the scene ensued!

Jesus shares directly with the brothers that to give them a place at his right and left “is for those for whom it has been prepared for my Father” (Mt 20:23). He addresses them all by letting them know that the preeminent place in his kingdom, whoever is to be first, is the one who serves his brother and sister.

Jesus is encouraging us this Lent to resist the temptations of power, honor, seeking praise for ourselves, and/or seeking to be front and center. He is also guiding us to contemplate about: the subtle ways in which we believe that participating in certain activities are beneath us, the slight prejudices which we allow to guide us such that we feel we are better than others, why we don’t associate with certain people because we consider them as other, and/or believing that someone owes us.

From this honest assessment, we can then adjust our perspective and follow the lead of Jesus by seeking out opportunities to give of our time, talent, and treasure, to serve our brothers and sisters. What talents and gifts has Jesus given us and how can we put them into use to help others? Can we treat each person we interact with today with respect, such that, we act in ways that honor the dignity of each person? We can make an extra effort to be more patient, understanding, and present to others, especially with those who in the past we have kept at arm’s length.

We can take the suggestion of Pope Francis to heart: “Yet I would also hope that, even in our daily encounters with those who beg for our assistance, we would see such requests as coming from God himself.” In this way we can live as Jesus who came, “not to be served but to serve” (Mt 20:28).

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Photo: My classmate Deacon Henry and me during our ordination. Prostration during the rite symbolizes our unworthiness for the office to be assumed and our dependence upon God and the prayers of the Christian community.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, March 20, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032019.cfm

Who do we want to be? It is so easy to get caught up in being busy, taking care of children, the home, school assignments, work, as well as a myriad of other activities that each of us, experiencing our unique vocation in life, can add to the list. These can all be good things, but we can lose ourselves in our busyness and responsibilities such that we slip into a state of survival mode or merely existing. We can fall into the trap of being defined by what we do instead of who we are and who God is calling us to be.

God has a plan for us with the end result being eternal communion with his Father in heaven. Living a life of holiness and becoming saints is then our call. We need to remind ourselves of this from time to time, by assessing where we are now, and listening to the guidance of God.

Our Gospel account from Matthew today gives us an opportunity to see this holiness in action. Joseph, has become aware that Mary, his betrothed, is with child and he is not the Father. Joseph, “a righteous man” follows the law, but is “unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly” (Mt 1:19). Joseph’s life of righteousness pulls him to follow the law, yet he shows that discernment in matters of the dignity of the person is just as important. Joseph not only was unwilling to make Mary into a public spectacle, was also unwilling to allow the possibility of her to be stoned to death.

Joseph pondered the idea of divorcing her quietly. Before he made his final decision, Joseph slept on the matter, which is often a good course of action when weighing such a heavy issue. How many times do we rush into decisions only to regret them later? Joseph receives God’s direction through the angel of the Lord in a dream.

When Joseph arises in the morning, he does not dig in his heels feeling he knows best and return to his original decision, he does not let fear or anxiety about the possible scenarios that could play out in his mind regarding what others may say or think sway him, nor do the possible and real difficulties he can envision deter him. Joseph trusts God. With confidence and assurance of who he is and what God calls him to do, Joseph acts on the guidance he has received.

St. Joseph is a model for us. When faced with decisions to make, we need to remember who we are, whose we are, and who we are called to be. We are children of God, and that means we belong to God, a God who loves and cares for us. He has a plan for each of our lives. Every decision and action is a step in fulfilling that plan.

When we are discerning, no matter how large or small the decision, we are invited to gather information, look at the reasonable options available to us, all the while, continuing to seek God’s guidance. God will guide us through many means and ways such as a thought, a family member or friend sharing an insight at an opportune time, as well as through our dreams. Joseph followed these steps and God granted him not only the guidance he sought, but the support to fulfill the commission he received. We can be assured that God will do the same as we seek his direction too.

St. Joseph, pray for us!

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Painting: “The Dream of St Joseph” by Anton Raphael Mengs about 1774

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, March 19, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031919.cfm

Polarization, division, and finger pointing seem to be the order of the day on the national level. Unfortunately, it is taking a firmer hold at the community and familial level as well. Instead of looking for someone to blame for the cause of this situation, we need to look in the mirror and honestly assess how we are contributing to division instead of seeking to uphold the motto of the United States of America – E Pluribus Unum – Out of Many One; or instead of upholding the motto of our faith – “That they may all be one” (John 17:21).

We need to take a step back, take a breath, and examine our conscience and honestly acknowledge how we are contributing to divisiveness and polarization in our own thoughts, words, and actions. Then we will be in a better position to act instead of react. We can disagree and offer different points of view, seek different approaches to solve problems, but we can do so with an openness to work together when we begin by respecting the dignity of the person we encounter.

A beginning place for us this Lent can be to understand and put into practice what Jesus said in the opening of today’s Gospel:

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36)

Mercy, from the Hebrew word chesed, meaning to show tender compassion, can help us to turn the momentum away from disunity and polarization toward respecting the gift of our diversity while at the same time embracing our unity.  Fr. James Keenan, S.J. defines mercy as the willingness to enter into the chaos of another. Instead of imposing our point of view on another, mercy is the willingness to accompany, to come to know, and make an effort to understand another.

Instead of prejudging someone, mercy is a willingness to hear first and assess thoughtfully what has been said, even when the message conveyed is heated, derogatory, and inflammatory. There may be some truth in the maelstrom of what has been spewed.
Jesus also guides us to stop judging and condemning each other. We are limited by our own finite natures as it is. We are not God and are not capable of fully reading another person.

In most cases we do not know another’s struggles, anxieties, fears, traumas, and experiences. When encountering one another we need to resist the knee jerk reaction, and listen first, allow someone to vent without taking offense, and without seeking a way to “fix” them or the problem.

Jesus also reminds us to forgive. As God forgives us we also are invited to forgive others, to let go of grudges. Not to do so means allowing the poison injected into us to spread instead of seeking the healing antidote of forgiveness. The one who has wounded us has walked away and if we are not willing to forgive we continue to do harm to ourselves as we allow that wound to fester.

It is much easier to stay in our shell or bubble. We feel protected and safe so no one can hurt us, but that is not the posture Jesus would have us assume, for we are focused on our self. Staying in our bubble suffocates us, stunts our growth, and limits our potential as human beings created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus calls us, not to cave in upon ourselves, but to go out from ourselves, to be agents of love and mercy.

Each day we have a choice. We can with withdraw and remain indifferent seeking to protect ourselves; we can choose to promote disunity and polarization, or we can seek to be merciful. We can follow the lead of Jesus so to be more willing to encounter others as they are and accompany them. We can resist the temptation to judge and condemn, but instead seek to understand and listen. We can be willing to forgive, to heal, and to lead others to forgiveness. Let us choose today to be merciful just as our heavenly Father is merciful.

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Image: Painting of Divine Mercy by Robert Skemp, 1982

Link for Mass readings for Monday, March 17, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031819.cfm

Our life can be an experience both of desolation and consolation. There is an ebb and flow where we suffer from trials and also celebrate joys. The key to living a life of faith is to see God in both experiences. Jesus today provides an opportunity for Peter, James, and John, the inner circle of the Twelve, to experience an expression of his divinity for: While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white (Lk 9:29). Jesus revealed his divine nature to his disciples in a powerful display to prepare them for the Passion that he was about to endure. The experience is also a foreshadowing of his Resurrection.

Jesus invites us to experience the Transfiguration, the Passion, and the Resurrection in our own lives. We can miss a transfigured moment, when we assume a posture of pride, not acknowledging God’s leading by believing we achieved or arrived at our present station in life on our merits alone. We can experience moments of transfiguration when we acknowledge that God breaks into our lives at that moment when we needed him the most and recognize the assistance he has given us, and/or when he has revealed to us the path and direction we were to take. The natural response is to offer prayers of thanksgiving, recognizing that we don’t go it alone, that God and those he sends to help us are a tremendous support.

Jesus is also present in our desolations. Many of us run from our suffering, we are afraid of the Cross. But it is through the cross that we come to experience the Resurrection. We may not be aware, but when we run away from our suffering, we are running away from Jesus who awaits us with arms wide open to embrace us in our suffering; to comfort us, heal us, and transform us. But to embrace Jesus, we need to be willing to embrace our suffering.

The older I get, the crucifix becomes more and more a consolation for me; this icon of Jesus, his body broken emptied out for us on the cross. It represents how he entered the full range of our human condition, he assumed our sin, our anxiety, fear, and selfishness, and transformed the worst of our fallen nature through his love such that we are redeemed. The crucifix is not a sign of despair, but of hope and transfiguration, for it reminds us that no matter what we go through, what trial that we may be in the midst of at this very moment, Jesus has experienced it, and is now, and will be present with us.

Looking and meditating upon Jesus on the Cross has provided me moments of transfiguration, granting me the courage that I did not have to face various conflicts, challenges and trials so to grow and mature as Jesus calls me to. As he looks down from the cross he continues to love me despite my sin, my weakness, and failures, and is willing to lead and accompany me through the ups and downs of my life, so that I too may be not only renewed but transformed.

Jesus invites us to spend some time with him today, to immerse ourselves in his ever-present love. Here is a picture for us to meditate on. May we spend some time looking at Jesus while he looks at us. Receive the love of Jesus the Christ, who conquered death on the Cross, transfigured death into life, so that we may transormed to love ourselves and others, into and through our times of consolations and desolations.
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Photo: Crucifix in main sanctuary of Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Retreat Center, Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, March 17, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031719.cfm