Which path will we follow? Judas’s or Peter’s?

The Gospel reading for today from John is painful on two fronts. First, Jesus said to Judas, “What you are going to do, do quickly” (Jn 13:27). Did their eyes meet at that moment, was there an unspoken appeal from Jesus to Judas, or had that already been settled in Jesus’ full surrender in the Garden of Gethsemane? Judas aligned himself with Satan and set his course, and removed himself from Jesus and his companions and it was night.

The second front appears at the end of today’s reading. Despite Peter’s apparent full endorsement of Jesus and promise to even lay his life down for him, Jesus predicted that “the cock will not crow until” Peter will deny him “three times” (Jn 13:38). The momentum of utter betrayal builds. Judas will agree to turn Jesus over for thirty pieces of silver. He will betray the Son of God, yet in so doing, Judas will play his part in salvation history.

Judas will set in motion Jesus’ arrest that will culminate in his crucifixion. Peter will come to deny Jesus three times as Jesus predicted. I cannot think of any experience worse than the pain of betrayal. And yet, if we read these passages closely, they ought to convict us to the heart. How have we betrayed Jesus? This is an important question to ask, and what is even more important is that we not only answer it honestly but seek forgiveness and resist the temptation of isolating ourselves in our sin and pride when we come to admit where we fall short.

Judas separated himself, cut himself off from Jesus and his companions. He came to realize his sin, though he did not seek forgiveness, but isolated himself further and in his despair took his life. Peter, also regretted his sin, his cowardice, he wept when he heard the cock crow, but he also trusted, and later affirmed his love for Jesus three times, atoning for his three denials and was forgiven.

This Holy Week we can choose to walk the path of Judas or Peter. With each humble step, may we come to see how our spirits are often willing but our bodies are weak, that we have been wounded by others and acted in kind. We have also fallen short of who God has called us to be in what we have done and what we have failed to do.

Awareness of our unworthiness is a good thing. We must resist isolating and beating ourselves up though. The confessional is not a place of condemnation but a place of healing. With each confession, we don’t go back to the beginning and start all over, the grace of each confession builds on the past one, and strengthens us to resist temptations going forward.

Jesus has not come for those who are worthy, he has not come to call the righteous, but he has come to call us sinners to repentance (cf. Luke 5:32), and this is good news! Jesus will receive us when we are humble enough to admit our sins and willing to be forgiven and so healed. In this way, we can learn from Peter. Even if we have betrayed Jesus and each other, Jesus is willing to forgive us too so that we will become wounded healers as well!

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Painting: I have experienced many blessings these past two years, one being walking down this ramp each evening for a Rosary walk! St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass reading for Tuesday, March 26, 2024

We are to give all like Mary, without counting the cost.

“Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil” (Jn 12:3). This is indeed some gift that Mary shares with Jesus, though Judas’ critical response showed that he missed the point of her offering, which went well beyond the material cost of the perfume. Mary even exceeded the gesture of hospitality by going beyond washing Jesus’ feet and anointing them as well. This act of caring could have been a bestowal of appreciation and gratefulness toward Jesus who brought Lazarus, her brother, back to life, but it was even more than that.

In Jesus’ correction of Judas, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial” (Jn 12:7), he shows us that Mary comprehended better than the Apostles that Jesus’ death was imminent. Mary’s washing the feet of Jesus, anointing them, and drying them with her hair was a gift of love, of giving herself in service to the Son of God. This exchange mirrors the communion between God the Father, God the Son, and the love shared between them, God the Holy Spirit. Mary follows the will of the Father and plays her part in salvation history.

We do not know how Mary came to possess this precious oil, but what we do know is much more important. She did not grasp or cling to the oil, she did not count the cost and just pour out a little bit. When she felt moved to pour the costly nard and anoint the feet of Jesus, she freely poured all the perfume out in an act of love to serve the need of Jesus by anointing him for his death and burial.

What is something that we may hold as precious that God may be calling us to give up, not just for the sake of doing so, but in service to Jesus? The path to holiness is coming to a place in our lives in which we can surrender all to Jesus, so to clearly hear the will of God, know what is required of us, and give freely in love and service without counting the cost, without holding anything back, to be as St. Mother Teresa has said, just a pencil in God’s hand.

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Picture: The gift God continues to give, the beauty of his creation! SVDP Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass reading for Monday, March 25, 2024

Holy Week invitation, unplug for a bit and be still with God.

In yesterday’s reading, Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin plot to bring about the death of Jesus. The results of their planning will be on full display today in the Gospel account of Mark. Though long, these verses are well worth the time and effort to read (cf. Mark 11:1-10, 14:1-15:47).

The scene from the Passion account that I would like to reflect upon is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mk 14:32-42). Jesus invited Peter, James, and John, the same three apostles that witnessed the raising of Jairus’ daughter and the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mt. Tabor to be with him again, this time in his hour of dire need. As Jesus entered the garden, he expressed to them that he felt “sorrowful even unto death”, reflecting the full weight of what was about to take place. Jesus asked the closest of his inner circle to watch and pray while he went off at a distance. Through Mark’s account we are given a glimpse of Jesus’ humanity and divinity.

The most primal of our human instincts is the preservation of our life. Jesus, faced with his imminent death, acknowledged this primal urge by requesting, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me”. The agony is palpable. Jesus has done all that the Father has asked of him, he has preached, taught, healed, exorcised demons, followed his Father’s will, and now finds himself on death’s door. He can probably sense Judas and the Temple guards drawing close. He will be turned over to those who have turned their back on his Father. All appeared to be hopeless.

Yet, Jesus was not done, he continued, “but not what I will but what you will.” These are not words of despair. In Jesus’ surrender of his human will to the Father, he surrenders in hope. The same hope that we see in Psalms 42 and 43: “Hope in God, I will praise him still, my savior and my God.” Even faced with his imminent and brutal death, Jesus accepted the will of his Father, his Abba. He trusted that there would be a greater good to transpire through his death, through the giving of his life.

With those words, Jesus surrendered his human will to that of his divine will. With each and every yes to his Father’s will through his life, his human nature was more and more conformed to his divine nature. In this account, we see that Jesus is one divine person, the Son of God, while at the same time having two natures and two wills, the human and divine.

As Jesus arose, he came to Peter, James, and John and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Jesus returned to prayer and returned two more times to find his three closest disciples asleep each time. Jesus was ready to face the cross even if they were not. As with the apostles, Jesus commands us to watch and pray this Holy Week. How will we do?

Often, this Lent we may have felt the desire to pray, but the business of life has worn us down – “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” In the evenings, we just want to be numb and zone out. Sometimes this is necessary to recharge. What we choose to do during our winding down time though may not be renewing or restful, but even more draining. Scrolling through social media, surfing through TV channels can lead to 20 – 30 minutes to a couple of hours. Passive activities like these can also affect our attentiveness and bleed into the decisions we make each day and can create a rhythm and pattern of tiredness and fatigue that continues and is perpetuated. We may find ourselves creating a cycle that we have less energy to exercise, to pray, and to take care of our basic needs.

We are invited this next week to follow Jesus. He who certainly did not want to die, was willing to let go of his life to follow his Father’s will. He also did so for each of us. May we be willing to take the same approach. With each choice we make this Holy Week, may we take a moment to breathe and say, “Not my will but yours, Father.” And then wait a moment for a response. Maybe we can fast a little more this Holy Week, from food and diversions that we know are not healthy. When we feel the pangs of hunger and diversions calling and tempting, let us pray for someone we know is in need. Instead of an automatic reaching for the remote or the phone, find a quiet spot and be still, breathe, and review the day in quiet and call to mind what and who we are grateful for. Read a few verses from one of the gospels and see what God might be saying to us. Then ask Jesus how best you might spend the rest of your evening.

Sometimes, just taking five minutes to unplug, stop, breathe and be sit still or to go for a quiet walk with Jesus can be renewing and life changing. We can feel better about ourselves, closer to God, and better able to be present for others.

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Photo: Some quiet time during our 40 Hours of Devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament last week, SVDP chapel, SVDP Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass reading for Sunday, March 24, 2024

The sun is setting on Lent as we begin Holy Week.

A core group within the leadership of Israel has decided. They will not deny themselves their power, prestige, and their place. They will not take up their cross and follow Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life. They will not allow the teaching and momentum of the growing number of those following Jesus to continue unchecked. As Passover drew nearer, thousands of people were coming up to Jerusalem to purify themselves for the great feast.

This meant the Romans would have many more centurions in place to keep the peace. The division and commotion that Jesus was causing could cause conflict and unrest and then swift and violent retribution from the Roman presence. The Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council, followed the lead of the high priest, Caiaphas, who said, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish” (Jn 11:49-50). With these words, they began to plan how to put to death the carpenter of Nazareth.

With the words of Caiaphas, the sun began to set on the life of Jesus. These words affect us even today as they usher in the sunset of our Lenten observance. The gift of our liturgical readings allows us to relive the story of our faith. Lent has given us a time to reflect and to meditate upon who Jesus is. Is he just a carpenter, another teacher, a holy man from the past, or is he each of these, but someone so much more. Is he the Son of God who became one with us in his humanity so that we can become one with him in his divinity?

Do we see his teachings and life as a threat as did the Sanhedrin? Do we like our life the way it is, such that we do not want Jesus to come into our home and start turning over the tables and disrupting our order and comfort? Or do the Gospels cut us to the heart and inspire us to shake off our complacency, our indifference, our cynicism, our comfort, our routine.

Jesus evades the centurions, because his hour is not yet, but when his Father willed it, Jesus was willing to give his life, not just in an abstract way, but very personally: for each and every one of us. Does that mean anything? Jesus gave everything for us. Does this truth spark a desire to acknowledge our sins, to repent, and to begin anew? Are we willing to open our hearts and minds to his love that transforms, are we willing to spend some time in quiet and allow Jesus to speak in the silence of our hearts, are we willing to be encouraged to fast, to pray, meditate, and to be moved with compassion to help those in need?

As Holy Week begins with the Vigil Mass for Passion Sunday may we meditate on the words of Caiaphas, “consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish” (Jn 11:49-50). Caiaphas did not know that what he proclaimed would be so true, that the One, Jesus, would die, not only so the nation would not perish, but that all humanity could be saved.

Jesus died for each and every one of us that we might have life and have it to the full. As the sun sets this Saturday evening, may it not be just another rotation of the earth on its axis, but an opportunity to commit once again to die to our false selves, our egos, our self-centered postures, to be forgiven, and healed, and take up our cross and follow Jesus into Holy Week.
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Photo: From Rosary walk last fall, SVDP Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, March 23, 2022

Jesus, blasphemer or human and divine?

Two groups of Jews emerged in today’s Gospel account. There were those about to stone Jesus for blasphemy and those who began to believe. The first group did not recognize the good works that Jesus did as coming from God, nor his reasoning that “even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (Jn 10:38). They listened to the claim that Jesus was making but they refused to accept the fulfillment of the assertion: Jesus did the works of his Father because he was then and still is today the Son of God.

The more that Jesus sought to help them to understand that he was who he says he is, the more they dug in their heels. They left the stones on the ground but then moved to have him arrested. Jesus evaded their grasp and moved on to the region across the Jordan where John first baptized. John did not preach in the Temple precincts either, even though he was the son of a priest. John followed the lead of God to prepare the way for Jesus and his eternal priesthood. The Temple had not been the seat of God for some time. Jesus would become the new and living Temple.

Jesus returned to the place of his baptism, where he joined in solidarity with sinful humanity. This visible image of consecration revealed what happened silently in his conception and birth: the Son of God took on flesh and paraphrasing St. Irenaeus, became man to open up heaven for us in the humanity he assumed. As people came to John in the Jordanian wilderness, so too, people came to Jesus. Not all rejected his message. Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” And many there began to believe in him (Jn 10:41-42).

The question that arises for us as our steps take us closer to Palm Sunday and Holy Week is, will we label Jesus as a blasphemer or accept that Jesus is the Son of God? Today’s scriptural account does not reveal indifference as an option. There is no room for Jesus being only human; a good teacher, a wise man, or a revolutionary radical.

We either accept Jesus is fully human and fully divine or we don’t. If he isn’t who he claimed to be: God, then Christianity is just another philosophical, theological pursuit and in the words of St. Paul, our faith is in vain. Yet, when we accept that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, then our lives are to be aligned with his. Our thoughts, words, actions, and even our faces need to reflect that truth. This does not mean we, or our lives are going to be perfect. We and our lives aren’t, but as we surrender our lives to Jesus, repent when we fall, seek his guidance, and invite him to be at the core and center of our lives, we will be perfected, slowly and surely by his love.

A good way to begin each day is affirming this fact by stating with an attitude of prayer, “Jesus I believe in you, you are my God and my all, and I need you.” Ask him what works of the Father he would have us offer in his name this day. In what ways can we be of help and support to another? May we have the openness of mind and heart to hear his words and the courage to act upon his guidance, so to be the precious, living stones we are, reflecting the light from our source, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

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Photo: As the moon reflects the light from the sun, so are we to reflect the light of Jesus.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, March 22, 2024

Jesus is the Son of God? Yeap.

Jesus’ listeners “picked up stones to throw at him” (Jn 8:59). Though less violent, this interaction has some similarities found in Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse (cf. John chapter 6), where Jesus made the statement, that, “I am the bread of life” (Jn 6:48). In both cases, the people do not understand what Jesus is sharing and yet Jesus resists softening his approach and instead doubles down.

In John 6, Jesus holds firm to the truth that his followers will consume him and in today’s Gospel Jesus does not equate himself as being just a representative of God, a prophet or a rabbi, but that he is, in fact, God when he states: “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM” (Jn 8:58). With these words, Jesus has just done the unthinkable, the unimaginable for the people of his time. He not only has spoken God’s sacred name, which is not to be uttered because it is considered to holy to do so, he equates this sacred name, “I AM”, with himself. Jesus is making his point very clear. Jesus is God. During the Bread of Life discourse, people walked away from him because they were repulsed and most likely considered him mad, here they may also think he is mad, but the issue is that to them he is speaking blasphemy. The reactions would be appropriate in both cases, unless of course, Jesus is who he said he is.

As his listeners then, we too have a choice to disbelieve or believe in the words of Jesus. One option that is off the table, if we give the Gospel accounts any rational reading, is that Jesus presented himself as just another teacher, philosopher, or prophet. Jesus, during his public ministry, is consistently embroiled in conflict, which is evident in all four Gospels because Jesus presents himself as God incarnate. Jesus heals on the Sabbath because he is the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus is the Bread of Life, Jesus is: “I AM.”

The Apostles struggled time and again to make sense of the words and actions of Jesus and we may also struggle as well. We may have doubts, concerns, and unanswered prayers and/or questions. To walk the path of discipleship is not to walk with constant assurance, for we walk by faith and not by sight (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:7). Walking by faith though does not mean that we just throw up our hands, toss out all reason, and believe blindly. Dr. Holly Ordway defined faith as, “trust based on a reasoned knowledge of the evidence.” We trust that Jesus is who he claimed himself to be based on the scriptural evidence, our own experiences with the truth based on these claims, and our encounters with him in our everyday interactions and times of prayer.

We are to follow the apostles in that, even though we don’t fully understand, when Jesus calls, we also trust him and follow where he leads. He does not give us the full picture all at once, but as we step out with each faithful step, he will reveal a little more light and truth. He will be present with and work through us as we continue to turn our life over to him and one another more and more each day.

When doubts arise, we can lean on Peter’s claim, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (Jn 6:68). Peter made this claim based on his experience and trust in his relationship with Jesus. Our relationship and belief in Jesus will also grow more deeply and intimately, moment by moment, with each yes to the invitation of Jesus, the Holy One of God.

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Photo: Rembrandt’s Christ With Arm’s Folded

Holly Ordway’s quote comes from Lesson 2: Bridging the Meaning Gap in her course: Imaginative Apologetics which can be accessed by registering for the Word on Fire Institute, the home page of which can be accessed: https://wordonfire.institute/

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, March 21, 2024

Jesus took our sin upon himself to forgive and free us.

It is interesting to note that in today’s Gospel reading from John, Jesus spoke to those who “believed in him” (Jn 8:31). But the more he talked, the less they seemed to understand who he was: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” His listeners balked at the word, “free”, asserting that because they were ancestors of Abraham they have never been enslaved by anybody.

In the United States of America, freedom is also highly valued. Many of us would probably react very much in the same way. We may have different ways of expressing why we feel that we are free, but we would certainly assert that we are not enslaved to anybody or anything.

Jesus’ words ring just as true then as they do today: “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.” Jesus shined his light on the truth that many of us do not see, which is our enslavement to sin. If we truly seek to be free, then we need to acknowledge this point. What many of us claim to be freedom, doing whatever we want to do, when we want to and how we want to do it, is not true freedom. We cannot even hear the clanking of the chains or feel the weight of the shackles chaffing at our skin as we raise and shake our fists to assert our freedom of indifference!

Our response to Jesus’ statement: “who commits sin is a slave of sin” ought not to be one of hiding, denying, rationalizing, attacking, or fleeing. It is better to embrace the truth that Jesus is placing before us. In this way, we allow his light to expose the darkness in our hearts where sin speaks, and we realize that we have said yes. Becoming aware of our fault for those things we have done and have failed to do is the first step in becoming truly free. Recognizing with St. Paul that we do what we don’t want to do and do what we don’t want to do, is another step.

When Pope Francis was asked in an interview, “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” he answered, “I am a sinner, but I trust in the infinite mercy and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I accept in a spirit of penance.” We are all sinners because we all in some form or fashion place idols before God. When we think our life is about us first and foremost and ignore or rationalize our sin then we are enslaved, such that it chokes and threatens to undo us. Then we experience its debilitating effects and succumb or attempt to free ourselves, yet the process becomes likened to a Chinese finger trap. The more we pull to escape, the tighter the grasp.

This is not a negative or defeatist attitude, quite the contrary. We are children of God, created in his image and likeness. We have just forgotten who and whose we are. When we call out our sin in truth, we can be freed from it. Jesus became human, and took our sin upon himself to free us from death and sin.

We become free from our sins by acknowledging that we are sinners. This does mean we are awful people. We are good. It just means that we have fallen for an apparent good instead of the true Good that God wants for us. We also cannot ultimately be freed by our efforts alone. We need to work in collaboration with the mercy of Jesus. We need a savior. Jesus accepts us as sinners, as we are. He loves us as we are and wants the best for us.

We do not have to be perfect or have our house for him to come to be present with us, for he is already waiting for us. We do not need to be worthy, we just need to be willing to open the door when he knocks and invite him into the chaos of our lives so he can forgive and heal us with his grace, love, and mercy. “So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.” 

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Photo: Crucifix in the sanctuary of SVDP chapel, SVDP Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the interview with Pope Francis from America Magazine, September 30, 2013

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, March 20, 2024

When making decisions, prayer and reason are a good place to start.

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 own unique station in life, can add to this 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. One day can move into one week, into one month, into one year, and then we wake up one morning and wonder where the last ten years went!

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 him in heaven. Living a life of holiness and becoming saints is our call. We need to remind ourselves of this from time to time, more often rather than less actually, by assessing where we are now and being more open to the guidance of God.

In today’s Gospel, Joseph has become aware that Mary, his betrothed, is with child and he is not the father. We can forget about the humanity of the moment, reading now from so many years removed. I am sure there was some serious anguish that Joseph dealt with even as we read that he is “a righteous man” who 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 but was also unwilling to allow the possibility of her to be stoned to death.

Joseph pondered the idea of divorcing her quietly and again no mention of the mental maelstrom, intestinal upheaval, or emotional roller coaster as he pondered. Yet, a very good piece of guidance we can glean from this account. 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? Because Joseph is willing to wait a bit, he receives God’s direction through the angel of the Lord in a dream.

When Joseph arose that morning, he did not dig in his heels feeling he knew best and then return to his original decision, he did not let fear or anxiety or whatever emotions he may have experienced about the possible scenarios that played out in his mind sway him, nor did the very possible and reality of the difficulties he could envision deter him. Joseph trusted God. With the confidence and assurance of who he was and who God called him to do, Joseph acted on the guidance he had received.

This is why St. Joseph is a model for us. When faced with decisions, we need to remember who we are, whose we are, and who we are called to be. We are children of God. 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, we are invited to gather information, look at the reasonable options available, all the while, continuing to seek God’s guidance. God will guide and accompany us through many means and ways such as a thought, a family member or friend sharing an insight at an opportune time, experiences, through our dreams, as well as many other ways, including angelic support. God granted Joseph 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 discern his direction as well.

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, 2024

Cast the first stone or confess?

“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7).

As these words came forth from the mouth of Jesus, there must have been a deafening stillness. A mob had gathered around a woman seeking to stone her for being caught in the act of adultery. Had this woman actually been caught in the “very act”? Were there those that were scheming so scrupulously that they would spy on her at that moment, or like our first reading from the Book of Daniel was this a false accusation because the woman refused the advancement of someone who wanted to commit adultery with her, and she refused? Either way, Jesus helped to restore the dignity of this woman by showing the common shortcoming of our fallen humanity.

Today’s Gospel account from John helps us to come to terms with the reality that we are all unified in the reality that we all fall short of the glory of God that we were originally created for. Fortunately, there was no one present who thought himself so self-righteous that he had not committed any sin. All left and only Jesus and the woman remained. It was only then that he spoke to her.

Jesus’ goal for each person he encounters is that we come to terms with our own sin, repent, and believe in the Gospel. Yet, he does so not by condemning us but by showing us how we are off the mark and bestowing his mercy and love upon us. In this way, he guides us to the path that will lead to what is truly good, not the false allures of apparent goods that may glitter in the moment, but then fade.

Jesus does not define us by our worst mistakes, but he does not want us to remain in our sin either. By doing so, we are separating ourselves from a more real and intimate relationship with God and one another. Jesus reveals to us those choices, behaviors, habits, prejudices, and vices that separate us from him and each other.

Lent is an intense season when we make the time to become more aware of that which divides and in humility admit to and confess these behaviors so that through the love and mercy of God and in collaboration with him, we can be transformed.

Jesus does not forgive us so that we will then call out another’s sins publicly to condemn them. If we truly care about saving another, we are to do so as Jesus did and has guided. We are to meet them one on one, convict and correct with tender chords of love that they may be more able to see their sin and willing to confess. We are better able to do so when we have the humility to see our own sins, be contrite, and go to Jesus through the priest, confess them, and receive absolution, healing, and forgiveness.

May we examine our conscience, call to mind those areas in which we have fallen short of the glory of God in our lives, where we have sinned, and with humility share them with Jesus. In this way, we with the woman caught in adultery may also hear his words, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore” (Jn 8:11).

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Photo: From the stone moat around St. Vincent de Paul Chapel, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, March 18, 2024

Surrender all to Jesus.

We are now beginning the fifth week of Lent. We are coming closer to the cross, to remembering the suffering, crucifixion, and death of Jesus. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is sharing with those in his midst that he will lose his life in fulfillment of his Father’s will: “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (Jn 12:27-28). Jesus has come among us, to be one with us and to experience the fullness of being human. In becoming human, he is opening the door for us to experience his divinity.

To be able to experience the divinity of Jesus, we have to die to our self. Death is not a partial thing, it is a total surrender. As Christians, our first experience of this death is Baptism. In Baptism we die with Christ, and we rise to new life with him. We are purified from the condition of Original Sin as we are born again in water and Spirit. We are conformed and indelibly marked to Jesus and incorporated into the living organism of the Church, the Body of Christ. We become a part of his new creation.

In Confirmation, we continue the path of giving more of our life to Jesus. We are sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered through the imposition of the laying on of hands and the anointing with chrism. We join in the apostolic mission of those who were and continue to be sent by Jesus to proclaim the Gospel, the Good News, that Jesus has become one with us so that we can be one with him. Jesus has given his life and returned to the Father in the fullness of his humanity, so to unleash the power and fullness of the love that he shares with his Father.

This is possible because what one human being experiences, sin or grace, all people experience. Each one of us are distinct and unique, one of a kind, while at the same time in communion with God and one another and all of creation. The Son of God, in becoming human, and in his willingness to experience our suffering and death, has risen from that experience and returned to the Father in the fullness of his humanity. What Jesus experiences with the Father, we have access to, in the degree that we are willing to accept our humanity and his invitation to participate in his life and divinity.

When we reject our humanity, reject the fact that we are created beings, not self-sufficient within ourselves; when we assume, grasp at, and appropriate for ourselves, self-autonomy, and stand firm that we need no help from God, we assume that we are the center of the universe and all revolves us instead of God, we separate ourselves from the source of the very communion we live, crave, and hunger for.

Any disordered affections or attachments toward anyone or anything that we place before God must be renounced, let go of. To the extent that we can surrender our whole mind, heart, soul, and strength to Jesus, is the extent to which we will participate in his life and divinity. Jesus died for us so that he can also be with us always. We are abandoned and not left as orphans, for he continues to be with us in the Mass. We come to receive him, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, during each liturgical celebration. We consume him and so continue to be nourished, to be transformed into his Body. When we are dismissed from our time of worship and communion, we are sent to be bearers of Christ. We are sent to bring him to those we encounter in our realm of influence through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. At the very least we are to respect the dignity of each person we interact with.

By participating in the Sacraments of Initiation; Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist, we become the grain of wheat that dies, germinates in the ground, then sends forth roots and shoots. As we continue in our daily surrender to God and participate in the disciplines of prayer, fasting, worship, study, service, and almsgiving those shoots will become stalks and eventually bear fruit. For whoever serves Jesus, must follow him, and wherever he is, there his servants will be. The Father will honor whoever serves his Son (cf. Jn 12:26). Surrendering our lives in this way to Jesus we can say with St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “Each time anyone comes into contact with us, they must become different and better people because of having met us. We must radiate God’s love” (Mother Teresa, pp. 18-19).

Let us, like the grain of wheat, die to our false self, allow the shell of our ego to be cracked open, so to rise with Christ in his glory of being fully alive in him, to actualize who he calls us to be, and to bear the fruit of his mercy and love with others!

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Photo: Sun setting as I began my Rosary walk, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Mother Teresa and Devananda, Brother Angelo, ed. Total Surrender. Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Publications, 1985.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, March 14, 2024