“Do not be afraid of this executioner, but be worthy of your brothers and accept death, so that in the time of mercy I may receive you again with them” (2 Maccabees 7:29).

This unnamed mother speaking to her youngest son even as she had already witnessed the death of her other six sons is not pleading for his life but encouraging him to “accept death.” Did she do so because she saw or experienced something from God that assured her that this life is not all there is. Her confidence shows as she says to her son that “I may receive you again with them.”

As we read about Eleazar yesterday, we witness again today with this family, that death did not have the same hold on them that it has on most of us. We have an innate desire in our humanity to want to preserve our lives which God imparted within us as he himself is not the author of death but of life.

Maybe there is something for us to ponder in facing our own death. Not the most pleasant topic but in doing so we might live our lives a little better because we may be less apt to take the precious life that we do have for granted.

In reflecting upon our death, we realize that we are mortal, and that this life will come to an end. Acknowledging that our days are numbered instead of living with the illusion we have unlimited time, we might make some different decisions.

Dr. Leo Buscaglia, used to give an assignment to his college students at USC. He said, “Imagine you found out you had one week to live. Make a list of what you would do this week.” When the students turned in their assignments the following class, he gathered the papers together, held them up, and said, “Don’t wait until it is too late, do the items on your list now!”

Knowing that our time is limited, we can appreciate those in our lives more. JoAnn’s diagnosis came sometime in March of 2019 and she was gone September 2 of the same year. I appreciated every second of those six months with her. I have been blessed by our twenty-three years together. If I had known we would only have twenty-three years at the beginning, I would still ask her to marry me again in a heartbeat, but might have made some different decisions. We can’t go back but we can learn from our mistakes.

Thanksgiving as well as holiday get togethers can be bumpy sometimes. If we imagine this might be our last one together, might we do it a bit different? Might we resist some arguments, and instead spend more time appreciating and enjoying each other and our time together? Might we thank God for the gift of the life he has given us and those we are blessed to share it with and let those we love know that we love them?

You could be reading this knowing this will be the last Thanksgiving with someone or as it was with me and JoAnn, you will not know. All of us will at some point face that holiday that will be our’s or another’s last, may we draw strength from Eleazar, the mother and her seven sons, and St. Cecilia, whose memorial it is today, who saw that this life is not the end, but that with God there is another one promised for us where we will all be together again. As JoAnn, told us, “I am just changing my address.”

Photo: Our last Thanksgiving together. A wonderful day!

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, November 22, 2023

“At our age it would be unbecoming to make such a pretense; many young people would think the ninety-year-old Eleazar had gone over to an alien religion” (Maccabees 6:24).

Eleazar made this announcement to those who were attempting to save his life by giving him meat acceptable for him to eat so that he could pretend that he was eating the pork that he refused. Eleazar’s faithfulness to God and witness to the youth meant more to him than even saving his own life.

This was no mere boast of Eleazar either, he was not looking for attention or his fifteen minutes of fame. He showed himself to be a man of integrity and courage in the face of oppression. Many of his own people gave in to the pressures of Greek culture and religion either outright or under the same pretense. He did not want to be remembered that way and he wanted to inspire those following him.

We may not be called to give our lives for our faith as Eleazar did. But we can still ask ourselves, is there anything or anyone we are willing to give our lives for, are we willing to be a witness for our faith, do we believe and practice our faith in such a way that what we believe distinguishes us from anybody else in society, and/or does the culture or the gospel shape us? Put another way, if we were brought to court and charged with being a Catholic, could the prosecutor bring forward sufficient evidence to convict us?

If we are willing to be a witness, are we doing so for our own benefit? Are we putting ourselves first instead of God? Are we promoting an agenda or ideology and just cloaking it in a Christian disguise?

Zacchaeus must have wondered about his life up to the point where he found himself sitting up in a tree just so he could get a look at Jesus. He received more than a look and his encounter with Jesus changed everything. Eleazar and Zacchaeus had an encounter with the living God and that made a difference in their lives. Joachim and Anna, the parents of Mary, did too. God promised Anna that, although she was barren, she would deliver a child.

Today we also celebrate the presentation of Mary. Though not canonical or historically provable, from the Protoevangelium of James, we learn that Mary, at three years old, was dedicated to God by her parents. God was faithful to them in giving them a daughter and they in turn returned Mary to God.

The good news for us is that we are invited today to encounter the living God and dedicate our lives to him as well. Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Mary, comes to each of us in each Mass through his word proclaimed and his Body and Blood offered. When we are willing to open our minds and hearts to him in prayer, as well as in our daily activities and encounters, and when we follow his guidance, then our decisions, lives, and we ourselves will change. We become better, we become more human.

St. Mother Teresa put it very well in a talk she gave in 1978:

“Our vocation is to belong to Jesus so completely that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. What you and I must do is nothing less than putting our love for Christ into practice. The important thing is not how much we accomplish, but how much love we put into our deeds everyday. That is the measure of our love for God.”

Eleazar, Zacchaeus, Joachim, Anna, and Mary, made a choice about who they were going to surrender their lives to. Who are we going to live for? How much love are we going to put into what we are going to do today and who we are going to serve?

Photo: Mary leads us to experience the light of Christ. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, November 21, 2023

I opened the door of the aviary pen and closed it behind me, then looked up at the red tail hawk perched above. My perception changed, and the bird appeared to grow to three times its size. I realized the power and majesty of this bird of prey in that moment. After a few months of going in and out to clean the pen and inspect his health, I lost a bit of that wonder and became too comfortable.

One day, I no longer kept at least one eye on the hawk. My head was down as I raked and before I could get out of the way it flew by me and clipped my forehead with one of its sharp talons. Becoming too complacent got me a few stitches.

We have to be careful in our relationship with God as well. It is not that God is looking for a chance to swoop down and get us, but when we lose our sense of awe and wonder for God, we can slip into complacency and forget that God is God and we are not.

The author of Proverbs affirms the opposite when he writes, “the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” and the Psalmist writes, “Blessed are those who fear the Lord.” The fear they are talking about is the awe and wonder toward the infinite transcendence and power of God. God is so vast and beyond our comprehension that we can’t even comprehend him.

Yet, in Jesus Christ, he comes so close that it is the incredible intimacy of his love that we fear. He sees into the depths of our souls, and we cringe because we are afraid that if he sees those darkest corners of our lives that he will either reject us or squash us like a bug. Neither will happen because Jesus loves us more than we can ever imagine or than we can ever mess up. We need to trust him and grant him access into to every corner of our lives.

The problem comes when we become like the “wicked, lazy servant” who buried his talent out of fear for his master. We act similarly when we buy into the lies of the enemy that God won’t forgive us, he can’t love someone like me, and we then assume a defensive posture. We try to protect what we have, forgetting that everyone and all that we have received comes from God who is the unlimited source.

When we buy into the lies that we are not good enough, we are not worthy enough, that our prayers don’t make a difference, we are listening and trusting the wrong voice. God asks, “Are we willing?” Are we willing to be loved and to love in return? Are we willing to receive what he gives us and share it, even if it is just one smile directed at someone with whom we happen to catch the eyes of. Just starting there can make such a difference in that person’s life because in that moment of acknowledgement we say to the other, you matter, you exist, I see you, and love you as you are.

Even something so small is easier said than done, but, when we trust Jesus, when we are willing to risk when God is investing in and encouraging us to reach out to acknowledge another, he will happen whether we see the fruit or not. And with each step we take, we get a little stronger, a little more light shines in our dark world, and a little more love pushes back the momentum of hate and division. With each kind thought, word, and deed, we become a little more human.

When we become complacent and retreat into our comfort zones, and forget that God is God and we are not, we create a space between us and God that was never intended. Again, he is not looking for a moment to zap us when we sin, but he also gives us the freedom to choose, and to receive the consequences of our choices.

Healthier choices begin when we fear the Lord, when we allow ourselves to experience the awe and wonder of a God who is so vast from anything we can ever comprehend while at the same time willing to come so close, closer than we even know ourselves, and to allow him to love us more than we can ever imagine.

It is this expectation that is helpful to have when we approach the altar at Mass where Jesus is made present again for us. Jesus, in the fullness of his divinity is willing to come close to us in the simple elements of bread and wine. So simple that we can miss him. Yet he comes to us so that we can receive him and be transformed by the very love of his being that we consume. As we receive Jesus in his word proclaimed, in the music, in his Body and Blood, we can then bear him to those we meet today in so many ways. If you are not sure where to begin, begin with a smile.

Give yourself a moment today to be still, take a few, slow, deep breaths, and imagine God loving you as you are right now in this moment for that is what he is waiting to do. Savor and rest in the gift of his love. Feel the joy of the Holy Spirit rise in your heart, thank him for his love that he offers no matter what, and share what you have received.

Photo: A smile from JoAnn and me visiting red tail hawk at the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, November 19, 2023

“He will provide the way and the means, such that you could never have imagined. Leave it all to Him, let go of yourself, lose yourself on the Cross, and you will find yourself entirely.”

– St. Catherine of Siena

God is so incredible and his love for us so amazing. What he is doing in our lives is greater than we could ever imagine or hope for. He gives us the strength to endure, the invitation to experience his peace in the moment, and the hope in knowing he is with us and we are never alone.

May we continue to trust in Jesus, let go of the old that is no longer or never was needed and embrace the new that he is calling us to be, spend time in prayer and thanking him for his love and presence in our lives, rest, renew, and abide in his love, and enjoy the gift of today!!!

Photo: Rosary walk St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

“When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we are obliged to do” (See Luke 17:1-10).

Ouch. The servant has come in from working all day and is now expected to prepare his master’s dinner, wait on him, and only then get to eat after his master has finished. What will help us to relate to Jesus’ teaching is to remember who Jesus is.

He is the Son of God who was sent by his Father. As St. Paul put it in his Letter to the Philippians: “Jesus did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather, he emptied himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6). Jesus accepted the role he was given to play every step of the way even unto accepting that he would die on the cross to save us.

He expects no less from us. I would much rather be a slave to Jesus than Satan or my own fallen nature. During my retreat this past summer, I imagined the scene in which Jesus went back to his hometown and was rejected. I imagined myself in that scene as it got violent to the point where they attempted to throw him headlong down the hill, but he escaped. I followed. And as I caught up to him, his face seemed to radiate joy.

I questioned him about it, and he shared that he wasn’t happy about his own hometown crowd rejecting his message, but he said his joy came from doing the will of his Father no matter the cost. That had an impact on me and my own relationship with God which has been more often on my terms than his. I have been surrendering more of my will to his since then.

The image of the servant working for his master in today’s reading works because Jesus preached what he lived. He did not grasp at his own divinity, he fully assumed his humanity with all the finite limitations and sufferings that went along with it, as Paul said, “he took the form of a slave.” Even when he suffered, he did so with joy in knowing that he was following his Father’s will.

Jesus is helping us to remember that God is God, and we are not, and we need to resist the temptation of mixing that up. There is so much grace and blessing that God wants to share with us, but we can only do so with our hands empty and open to receive. If we are grasping at and clinging to what we want, we are not able to receive. We have to let go and trust.

We can share what we seek with God as Jesus did in Gethsemane, but we also need to be willing to say with Jesus, “not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). For God is the master and we are his servants. When we do what he asks us to do, we will find healing, fulfillment, meaning, and the same joy that Jesus experienced in following his will.

Photo: St. Vincent De Paul Chapel, St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, November 14, 2023

‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you’(Matthew 25:11-12).

They were refused entrance into the wedding feast because they were not ready when the Lord had come and what’s more, he did not know them.

Upon the first reading of Jesus’ parable, it has a bite to it when the bride groom says to the, “I do not know you.” Another interpretation is even harsher, “I don’t want to have anything to do with you.” Even before their being locked out, when they asked the five wise virgins for a share in their oil and they were refused.

The attitudes of both the bridegroom and the five wise virgins do not seem to be aligned with what Jesus teaches us about being faithful disciples. This does not appear to be loving God and neighbor as self. The interpretive key may be in the words, “I do not know you.”

There is a similar response in another parable just a few verses later when those being judged by the king asked, “Lord, when did we see you hungry?” and he responded, “what you did not do for one of the least ones, you did not do for me.” (cf Matthew 25:31-46).

The core of our faith is not so much a philosophical or theological system, it is about relationship. The core of Christianity is knowing not just about Jesus but knowing him as a person. As we come to know him, we begin to better know ourselves and are better able to know each other because in growing in our relationship with Jesus, we are healed and freed from that which keeps us isolated or at a distance.

We come to know Jesus and build a relationship with him when we pray. When we make time to be with him in quiet moments in each day so that we can experience, receive, rest, and abide in his love. When we make time to see how he has helped us, guided us, and healed us and show our gratitude in prayer. When we bring to him our challenges, and trust him with everything even when we don’t see the immediate responses we seek and so grow in hope and patience.

Spend time in the Bible, especially the Gospels each day and linger there in what we read, meditating, and contemplating on what we are reading we experience Jesus in a powerful way in our imagination and in the depth of our souls.

We come to know Jesus in the Mass in the readings and the prayers, in the singing, in praying together in community, and in an intimate way in the Eucharist. Jesus comes to us in such a simple way. The gifts of bread and wine become through the words of the priest and the power and love the Holy Spirit the Body and Blood of Jesus. We consume him and become one with him.

Once we receive him, we are given the opportunity to meditate and contemplate, to ponder as did Mary when she received Jesus in her womb. We who have received Jesus are then dismissed to share him with others. It is in loving and serving others that we also come to know Jesus. As we come to know Jesus within us, we can recognize Jesus in each other, and then we can love, serve, and care for one another as Jesus has done for us and leads us on in our own unique ways.

Getting to know and build a relationship with Jesus is an incredible grace and experience. We cannot do this for another. No matter how much we would like to, we can’t give another our oil. We can though share the joy and love of our relationship with Jesus. We can be the peace we experience even in our suffering, express the gratefulness for his guidance, and radiate the hope and trust we place in Jesus. We can invite others to share in our experiences and practices, but each person must freely choose to receive Jesus. Each person must fill their lamps with their own oil.

When we consistently pray, read, meditate, and contemplate with holy Scripture, participate in Mass, and serve one another, we keep our lamps filled with oil and so the light of Christ continues to burn brightly in and through us. When Jesus comes again, he will not only find us ready, but he will also know us and invite us into the wedding feast.

Photo: View from holy hour Saturday afternoon, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, November 12, 2023

In our first reading Paul is writing again to the churches in Rome: “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another” (Romans 13:8).

And then in the gospel of Luke, we read: “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

Paul could write what he wrote to the Romans because he received, understood, and embraced Jesus’ teaching that he shared with the crowds. Even more importantly, he received Jesus’ love and acceptance even when he, Saul, before he became Paul, was persecuting Jesus. What first appears to be opposed and opposite are saying the same thing. 

The point of both readings is the cost we pay to be disciples of Jesus. But to understand the cost, we need to understand the terms of agreement that Jesus requires. 

When he is saying that we must hate the members of our family, and even ourselves, he is speaking clearly as a prophet in hyperbolic speech to get the crowd’s and our attention. At the same time, this is not just hyperbolic. 

When Jesus uses the term, hate, he is not doing so in the way we might think of it as a violent, emotional reaction. He is presenting hate as a detached choice. To be his disciple, we must make Jesus to be first, and primary before anyone and anything else. We must make this choice freely. We can trust Jesus and put him first because he knows what we need to be healed and made whole, better than we do, better than our family and friends.

As we come to know Jesus, we come to know ourselves and we can better come to know each other. We come to know Jesus when we trust him and allow him to love us. As we let go of our inordinate attachments and crawl out of our comfort zones in trust, receive his love and experience his love, we experience what we have been created for – to be loved and to love in return. 

This love of Jesus is unconditional. It is no mere emotion or sentiment. When we love the way Jesus loves us, without conditions, and choose to renounce our inordinate attachments, we will experience his love as a free gift. We can then love by willing the good of another as they are as Jesus loves us. 

Jesus is our stable foundation not only when we have trusted in him but it is just as important to know that he is our foundation in those times when when we may not have thought to reach out to him, or when when we did, not have felt that he was even present. He is present when lies attempt to divert us away from our relationship with him. Jesus has been, is now, and will always be with us. We have never nor will we ever be alone.

Whenever we open your hearts and minds to Jesus, God our loving Father happens in our lives. He loves us as we are and where we are as the starting point, even in our worst moments. Then we begin each time from that moment to the level we are open to following his will. May we continue to trust and take Jesus’ hand today as both of us did yesterday morning and walk with him as he leads us.

Photo: St. Vincent De Paul Chapel, St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, November 8, 2023

“Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

Each of these three points are interconnected and rely on the other. When we persevere in prayer, we will have the inner strength to endure our afflictions, and we will rejoice in hope. When we endure in affliction, we realize God is helping us and we will continue to turn to him in prayer, and rejoice in hope. When we rejoice in hope even in times of affliction, we will endure with joy and be fueled by our prayer.

The enemy will tempt us to turn away from our prayer when afflicted, telling us that it doesn’t matter, that God does not hear our prayers. We need to resist and persist in our time of prayer and trust God is with us because he is. The enemy will tempt us with despair and direct us to focus on the problems we face and so be overwhelmed. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and retain our hope, trusting in his providence. The enemy will tempt us to give up and tell us we don’t have what it takes to continue. God will not allow anything to happen to us that he won’t give us the strength to overcome.

God is with us today. So let us rejoice in his love for us and be hopeful, endure through any challenges, and continue to persevere in prayer!

Photo: Persevering in prayer each evening! St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL

Link to the Mass readings for Tuesday, November 7, 2023

In the closing verses of our first reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans, we see his poetic agility. He has constructed in verses 33-36 a beautiful triadic formula. This is more than wonderful linguistics. Paul is summarizing not only the lines that went before, but he is also summarizing the entirety of his letter up to this point.

Paul has outlined in detail how many of his brother and sister Jews have rejected Jesus, and although Jesus is the Messiah, and he came to his own first, in their rejection of him the gospel has now been proclaimed to the Gentiles as well. This has been God’s plan from the beginning, that all might be saved and come to experience his love and intimacy.

Paul has come to realize and is sharing his great wonder at the riches, the wisdom, and the knowledge of God. “For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given him anything
that he may be repaid” (Romans 11:34-35). In these words, he echoes Job when Job asks God to explain why he had to suffer. Job does not get a direct answer from God but instead receives a brief glimpse of the wonder, glory, and vastness of God and is struck with awe and wonder.

God is so beyond us that we will never come to fully comprehend him, or fully understand his ways. Yet he loves us so much that he has come close to us by sending his Son. Jesus reveals to us that, all we have comes “from him” for he is our creator, “through him” all of humanity and creation has been redeemed, and “for him all things are” to be made right again. All of humanity and all of creation will be saved through God’s righteousness and justice.

This is good news for us this Monday morning. For it means that God has an answer, and he will bring about a greater good in all circumstances and in our suffering, we do not suffer alone. God has sent his Son to accompany and guide us. Even in our struggles, even when we don’t understand, God will provide a path, a way forward. May we continue to trust in Jesus, in his Father who cares and knows what is best for us, and so rest and abide in the love of the Holy Spirit as we take each step into this day and this week.

Photo: Each evening walk has been a wonder and joy experiencing the beauty of God’s creation at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, November 6, 2023

Fame… Pleasure… Power… Wealth

In and of themselves, none of these four are bad. Yet, when we place them as idols before God, they become a disorder that can lead to attachment and addiction. The reason is we believe the attainment of one or all will bring meaning, fulfillment, and happiness to our lives. They can bring moments of happiness, although each are finite and will not last and no matter how much fame, pleasure, power, or wealth we attain it will never be enough.

This is because we have a deeper hunger in the depths of our souls. We are a living, craving, hunger, and desire to be one with God and each other. Nothing else will satisfy that deep hunger for love and intimacy and when we substitute it with anything else we will be left wanting.

This could be what the prophet Malachi is driving at when he asks, “Have we not all the one father?
Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with one another, violating the covenant of our fathers.”

The priests of Malachi’s time are looking to their power and prestige, their pride of place instead of leading the people into deeper relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God not of the dead but of the living.

Jesus echoes Malachi in his charge against the scribes and Pharisees. They profess the law of Moses, but they do not put what they preach into action. And instead of helping the people they are to serve to experience the love of and deepen their relationship with God, they place upon them heavy burdens that instead creates a barrier to relationship.

Jesus invites those gathered around him and us today to set aside apparent goods and substitutes for God’s love that will fade and to open our hearts and minds to our loving God and Father who will fulfill, give meaning, and joy to our lives.

Happiness is based on the external and finite. When the sensation ends, so does, except for a memory, happiness, and we find we need more of what makes us happy. Joy wells up within us, not from something external, but from the love of God within us as we experience our communion with him. God is eternal and his love not only never ends but expands. As the psalmist sings: “In you, Lord, I have found my peace.” This can be true even when we are going through challenges and trials.

If you would like to experience more meaning, fulfillment, peace, joy, and authentic love in your life, I invite you to ask God to help you to identify who or what substitutes, attachments, and/or apparent goods you are placing before your relationship with God. Let them go into the perfect fire of his love that will purify that which is partial, that which is not leading you into deeper relationship with him.

Those relationships and pursuits that remain do so because they have been purified. We will enjoy our relationships and engagement with the things of the world more because in placing God first, all else will be in their proper balance and order. We are no longer looking for them to feed us because we are satisfied with the love of God.

Photo: Enjoying God’s creation in making time to pray the Rosary each evening, St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, November 5, 2023