Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.

 – From Psalm 1

Placing our hope in the Lord is no mere positive outlook on life. When we place our trust and hope in Jesus this is an organic reality as much in line with a tree that is planted by running water where its roots can drink of its steady supply. Connected to Jesus we are nourished and transformed.

No matter how small or big a challenge or issue we may be facing, each time we turn to Jesus and seek his help our faith grows. When life is going well and we turn to him in thanksgiving, our faith grows. Our relationship with him who is alive and well in our lives expands. Jesus is an infinite source, an eternal running stream of love for us that never runs out!

We can face any situation because we have an open hand always extended to lead and guide us. Let us take the hand of Jesus this morning and allow him to lead us into all the events and experiences of our day and continue to draw deep breaths from his love and living water.

Photo: Where I find my source each evening. Rosary walk, St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, October 12, 2023

“I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loath to punish.” Jonah said these words not in an exclamation of joy but of exasperation. Although Jonah preached that the people of Nineveh would be destroyed because of their wicked ways, when they all repented, God did not destroy the city but forgave them all.

Jonah wanted God to enact his vengeance on them and to destroy the city. I am glad that we will not be judged by Jonah or any man at the last day but instead by God, who as Jonah and the Psalmist say is a merciful and gracious God (cf. Psalm 86). God shows Jonah the same mercy that he showed Job in his willingness to come close to dialogue with him.

God brought up how upset Jonah got with the death of the plant that only provided him shade for a day was gone. God then masterfully shifted to how much more he should care for the many citizens of Nineveh, not to mention all the animals. Perspective is important.

Just a few weeks ago we heard about how James and John wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans who refused Jesus’ hospitality and Jesus rebuked them.

In today’s gospel, one of his disciples asks Jesus to teach them how to pray, and Jesus offers a continuation of the lesson God was teaching Jonah: “forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us” (Luke 11:4).

Luke’s translation is a bit different than Matthew’s version that we are used to reciting. God is a merciful and gracious God. He loves us more than we can ever mess up nor does not define us by our sins. God loves us as we are right now at this moment. Was Jonah willing to be to be loved by God and change his heart toward the Ninevites? We do know that John was willing to do so for the Samaritans.

For the one who wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan town would later write in his letter, “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (I John 16).

The best way to remain in God’s love is to forgive.

Are we willing to ask our gracious, merciful, and loving God for forgiveness and be transformed by his love? Are we willing to forgive as he forgives us?

Photo: The light, love, and forgiveness of Jesus keeps us on the path to holiness. St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Hospitality was of paramount importance for the people of ancient Israel, then and for many cultures still today. Many of us can instantly relate to Martha. She is doing what she is supposed to do to honor her guests by taking care to serve her them. Yet, when she calls on Jesus to tell Mary to join Martha in the serving, she has overstepped an accepted social norm. In this setting, the guest is not one to be brought in to settle a family issue.

There are shades of the parable of the prodigal son here also. Mary is inside while Martha is outside dutifully attending to the cooking and serving and not too happy about it like the elder son who is seething that the younger son has returned and is receiving a party. Jesus does not admonish her serving and hospitality, nor that she broke social etiquette, but says, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.”

What could Martha be worried about? Probably appropriate concerns, such as making sure the food is prepared, everybody has what they need, and when they need it. Also, she may be feeling harried and stressed thinking she has to do it all. Another point, which may be eating Martha up inside more than these other points, is that Mary is sitting at the foot of the teacher with the men, women are not supposed to do that! Maybe Martha would like to do the same but is afraid to step out of her comfort zone of what she believes is expected of her.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.” There may be many other issues beyond just these mentioned stirring up in Martha’s mental storm.

Jesus’ response to Martha’s request is not to ask Mary to get up and help Martha, but to the surprise of all sitting who may have been just as scandalized as Martha, Jesus says, “Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

A thunder clap? A lightning strike to the heart of Martha? A response so in her face that Martha, and maybe for the first time in her life was anxiety free? Stunned for an instant, could she let go of her anxiety, break free of what she felt she should be doing and instead recognize that the Messiah is here in her home and join Mary and sit at his feet as well?

How many times have we found ourselves running on overdrive for unhealthy reasons because we are not dealing with our own issues and subconsciously believe, if we just work hard enough, those challenges will just go away, or at least we will be so tired we can sleep even if our rattling thoughts try to keep us awake? Doing good things but overdoing it because we receive validation and compliments instead of being satisfied with who we are as we are? We really don’t have to be on the go all the time, we can be, just be.

We too can stop and sit at the feet of Jesus. To be still and make time to follow his guidance about the best way to move forward in our sometimes harried lives can seem counterintuitive in the moment when there is another bill to pay, an unexpected illness, two or three papers are due, midterms on the horizon, the phone rings, a text dings, and an another email hums to make itself known, the tea kettle whistles, the baby cries… Time to hit silent mode, to press do not disturb, to shut the door, pick up and hold baby close, and just for five, breathe, and sit at the feet of Jesus and let him hold us close.

Over the long term, slowing down regularly is a more balanced approach. Allowing ourselves to be still, to breathe, to listen to the voice of Jesus speak in the silence of our hearts, can help us when life becomes too much. When we catch ourselves reacting or over-reacting to situations as Martha did instead of feeling at peace and acting, this is a hint that we may need to take a step back.

It is important to make time each day and at key times when an issue or issues warrant, to stop, breathe, and be still, to allow our hearts and minds to open to receive and abide in God’s love and ask for his guidance. Instead of reacting, we can instead seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, ask for the strength to receive some more energy, and the clarity of how best to move forward. Jesus will let us know as he did with Martha what is the better part in each given moment.

If we are worried and anxious about many or even some things, are we willing to let go and choose the better part? Even for five or ten?

Photo: Anxious thoughts can gather like an evening storm but when we trust in Jesus, he will see us through to the other side!

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, October 10, 2023

I was walking with my parents in a toy store. I was about six or seven. Something, I no longer remember what, caught my eye. I stayed to look at it and not only lost track of time but my parents. After putting the item back, I walked around and my family was nowhere in sight. I walked out of the store and into the mall and looked left and right watching people going by and not recognizing anyone. I began to feel nervous and teared up.

My mother’s voice came to my mind which said if I was ever lost to stay where I was, and she would find me. I walked across from the entrance and sat down on a bench. After a few minutes, a woman walked by, and not only did she take the time to notice me, she was willing to make the time to come close, see that I was upset, and sat with me until my parents returned.

I wonder if she knew today’s gospel because she lived it out.

A scholar of the law challenged Jesus about what he could do to inherit eternal life. Jesus responded with his own question, “What is written in the law?”

Most likely a scribe, the man quoted Deuteronomy and Leviticus about loving God and neighbor. Jesus commended him and said, “do this and you will live.” He would have eternal life if he followed the precepts he just laid out, yet he missed it. He pushed the matter further by asking Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus welcomed the opportunity to answer him by following up with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The key point is that the Pharisee and the Levite both refused to come close to their fellow Jewish brother who was badly injured on the side of the road. The one who did come close, was not one of the injured man’s own, but a Samaritan. Not only was he willing to come close and see this man’s condition, he took care of him.

St. Mother Teresa shared a story of when she brought a cup of rice to a family because they had no food. The Hindu woman received the rice, immediately cut the portion in half and left. When she returned, Mother Teresa asked her, “What did you do?”

The woman said, “They were hungry too.” Mother was not surprised by her generosity, but that she was aware that her neighbors, a Muslim family, were hungry too.

Are we aware? Like this Hindu woman, aware of the need of those around us even if they are not like us? Like the Good Samaritan, who risked his life for an enemy? Like the woman who was willing to set aside her schedule, sit with and comfort me, until my parents returned?

Are we willing to resist the temptation to look away and be indifferent to the needs of others, or instead are we willing to be aware, to come close enough to encounter another no matter who they are, and to be moved with compassion, to love as we have been loved by Jesus, who was willing to come close, to become human, to bandage up our wounds and comfort us at our worst?

Henri Nouwen wrote, “Real care means the willingness to help each other in making the gateway of our brokenness into our joy.”

Photo: End my days with the mother of compassion, Mary – Rosary walk St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, October 9, 2023

A deer is drinking water in a stream. It is calm and being refreshed from the cool water. Then it hears the snap of a twig. She freezes, her entire body tenses, endorphins kick in, breathing slows, the heart begins to race, it is hyper alert and ready to run. Her nose twitches and smells another known deer and, in a few moments, sees it coming closer. Not a predator, her mind and body begin to relax and within a few minutes she has returned to her natural, calm state.

The natural ways of God’s creation can help us in our modern, fast-paced, and technological world. God created us as human beings, as Aristotle identified us, rational animals. As human beings we too have emotions, and they are good. Anxiety is healthy as an emotion, can protect and keep us out of harm’s way as it does with the deer. It can also help us to get moving, enhance our performance, and is a sign that we care about what we do and have concern for those that we hold close to our hearts.

The problem arises when we still feel a heightened sense of anxiety after the stimulus passes, and we do not, like the deer, return to our original calm state. This is what we can glean from Paul in our second reading from today.

“Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

To be anxiety free is not possible nor is it healthy. Having our anxiety aligned in the proper order is the key. We face many stressors in our lives. The challenge for us is to resist the temptation to get into our minds and create false scenarios based on real or perceived threats and not only keep playing them in endless thought loops but create worse case scenarios to then increase our anxiety even more.

When faced with something distressing or anxiety producing we are to turn to God in prayer, do our part, and trust that he will guide, provide, and take care of us. We may have traumas from our past that make this more of a challenge, and here it is important to talk to someone to help bring those issues out of our minds and into the light where they have less potential and power to be debilitating.

In the case of chemical imbalances or actual anxiety disorders which are inhibiting someone from functioning, falling into serious distress, or seriously hampering their relationships, medication and therapy in conjunction with prayer and spiritual direction will be helpful.

In most cases of anxiety though, we can manage our levels with a proper balance of conscious deep breaths, physical exercise, proper rest and diet, including enough water, as well as foundational spiritual practices of Mass, the sacraments, reading, praying, and meditating with the Bible and the Rosary, and making time to just be still and present with God.

Turning to God and others we trust with our anxious thoughts also will help to defuse the mental assaults of the enemy who throws darts of temptation, accusation, condemnation, shame, half-truths, and outright lies at us in the attempt to isolate us from God and one another and lead us into desolation. Spending time each day thinking about what we are grateful for is a good counter move and will help us to feel more consolation.

Breathing, receiving, resting, and abiding in God’s love as often as we can, will lead us to experience the affirmation that he loves us no matter what we have done, receive his guidance that will lead us through any trial, conflict, or trauma, and his truth that we are not defined by our emotions. It is good to experience our emotions but be sure to make the distinction that we are not defined by them.

When anxious thoughts arise while in a stressful situation and definitely after it has passed, as soon as we notice those thoughts, we need to turn to and allow ourselves to trust in Jesus. The more we do so, we will experience his love, be reminded of who and whose we truly are, and know that we are not alone in anything we are going through. With each affirming experience, we will be grounded in “the peace that surpasses all understanding which will guard our hearts and minds” from any and all mental attacks.

Photo: My evening routine to decompress: Rosary walk around the lake, breathing and taking in the wonder of God’s evening displays of wonder! St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, October 8, 2023

“As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, turn now ten times the more to seek him”(Baruch 4:28).

The poetic imagery in our first reading today is coming from the personification of Jerusalem, speaking as a mother to her children. Those who have been in exile “for sacrificing to demons instead of God” (Baruch 4:7) and she is calling them to repent, to turn back, and to come home.

We may not see any relevance in our own lives as we are not making any sacrifices to demons nor are we in exile. And yet, there is much to learn. Our world offers many diversions and distractions that are not a part of what God has planned for our lives.

He not only has our best interests in mind, but he also knows what will lead us into isolation, desolation, and exile from our authentic selves. God knows what will fulfill and satisfy us at the core of our being. He wants nothing more than to reveal to us the truth of who we are and who he is calling us to be. To see his guiding light though, we need to be able to cut through the clouds of lies, half-truths, apparent goods, and our own sins.

Today is the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary established by St. Pope Pius V that commemorates the naval victory of the alliance of Genoa, Spain, and the Papal States against the more powerful Turkish navy at the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Pope Saint Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of Mary as the sailors before the battle and people throughout Europe prayed the Rosary for victory.

Mary is encouraging us to rise up and win the battle for our souls. Just as the children of Judah were called back from their mother Jerusalem to come home to God, our loving mother Mary calls us to do the same. She is gently challenging us to let go of our fears that keep us crouched in a defensive posture of selfishness; to let down our defenses so we will allow others to see who we truly are; to have the humility to admit where we are weak and in need of healing; and to trust her Son who loves us more than we can ever imagine. He loves us in our imperfection, in our suffering, in our sin, and even defiance.

Though we have strayed, as we are willing to repent and open our whole hearts to Mary, she will lead us through the clouds that separate us back to her Son, where we can rest and abide in his love. In trusting in Mary and Jesus, we will be freed from that which binds us and restore the glory of our relationship with our loving God and Father, for “God’s love is absolutely free: we don’t have to merit it or win it, we only have to receive and welcome it by faith” (Jacques Philippe, Interior Freedom).

Photo: Where I start my evening Rosary walk each evening, with Mary, St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, October 7, 2023

“Is God indeed to dwell on earth” (I Kings 8:27)?

Solomon dedicates the temple with the hymn of praise that we see in today’s first reading. He is appealing to God to remember the promise that he made to his father, David. He is not only offering this hymn and the prayer that follows to God but also addressing the people gathered. Solomon is requesting that the focal point for God and his children going forward is to be the Temple. He adds a prayer that goes beyond our reading today, but ends with an appeal to God: “May the Lord, our God, be with us as he was with our ancestors and may he not forsake us nor cast us off. May he draw our hearts to himself, that we may walk in his ways and keep the commands, statutes, and ordinances that he enjoined on our ancestors” (1 Kings 8:57-58).

Solomon is calling his people to give their hearts and minds to God. He is putting into words the invitation that God has given humanity from the time of creation, that all humanity is to be one with God. God has been ever faithful, but his children fell before, during, and after the reign of Solomon. Solomon himself started off very well but did not end very well.

God has not ever given up on us. In the fullness of time, he sent his Son into the world. He “has come to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). In today’s gospel account, that would be Zacchaeus. This tax collector was excited to see Jesus and was shut out from doing so by the people, so he climbed a tree and Jesus came to him and dined with him. Zacchaeus was found and blessed to have Jesus come into his home.

This encounter is an echo of Solomon’s words that we read earlier: “May he draw our hearts to himself, that we may walk in his ways and keep the commands, statutes, and ordinances.” Zacchaeus sought to restore what he had taken because his heart was drawn to experience the love and forgiveness of Jesus’ heart.

We are given the same opportunity today. May we dedicate ourselves to God this morning as we pray together, “Loving God and Father, draw our hearts to you that we may experience your love. Show us the way in which to walk, lead us to practice your truth by putting into practice your commands, and help us to follow your will in our thoughts, words, and actions.”

In our surrender to the love of God we become free of that which binds us and will experience the reality and truth that our heart, mind, and soul is meant to be the dwelling place for God. We are to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus has come to share with us. We are lost when we walk on our own way apart from our Father, but we are found when we return to rest and abide in his love. May we trust in Jesus and slow our breath so that our hearts beat in the same rhythm as his Sacred Heart. May we carry Jesus with us in all that we do and share his love with all those we meet!

———

Photo: In a special way, let us pray for our Diocese of Palm Beach as we celebrate our cathedral of St. Ignatius of Loyola which was dedicated on October 6, 1984, where I was also ordained a permanent deacon in 2013, and hope to be ordained a priest in 2024. I can still feel Bishop Barbarito’s hands on my head!

Readings for the Mass today: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30; Psalm 84; and Luke 19:1-10 optional readings from the Common of the Dedication of a Church.

Years ago, my wife, JoAnn and I, went to a free dinner talk. I don’t remember what the speaker was selling but the one thing I do remember while he was giving his presentation was, “Wouldn’t it be great if he was talking about Jesus?” This was years before I thought about becoming a deacon, let alone study for the priesthood.

Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit (Luke 10.1).

Jesus called and appointed me as well. Looking back, I can see the dots that he has been connecting along the way. I have not regretted my saying, “Yes” to any step on this journey that has led me to the point of writing to you this morning. It has not been easy. Yet, God has remained faithful to his promise to be there, provide, and take care of me. He has brought healing, fulfillment, and inspiration to grow beyond my comfort zones, to rebuke the lies I have believed, and to not settle for anything less than his will.

If you have made the time to read this reflection, God is calling you as well. Does not matter your age or station in life. As I shared yesterday, Jesus is not just a historical figure from the past. He is present right now as I am typing and as you are reading. As he appointed the seventy-two, he is appointing you as well. Appointing you to, in your own unique way, to be loved and to love in return. To be willing to encounter those who cross your path today and allow God to happen.

Growing as a disciple of Jesus is not so much about what we do but about what we are willing to allow the Holy Spirit to do in and through us. Whatever your schedule of events today, invite Jesus to accompany you and he will let you know how you can prepare the way for others to receive him. It could be as simple as a smile, a warm hello, making time to listen when you sense someone needs to talk. Be open. Jesus will let you know. You don’t have to sell Jesus to anyone, just be open to allow him to work through you.

Photo: Rainbow over St. Vincent De Paul chapel, St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, October 5, 2023

God has created everything that exists. All that God has created is good and depends on him. In God’s creative design, he has also created a richness and vastness of diversity that is amazing and beyond our comprehension. Just taking a walk each evening around the lake here at the seminary, I have experienced in each evening such beauty and wonder, especially with the cloud formations at play while the sun is setting.

On our planet, God has brought forth a richness and diversity of natural wonders, animals, and peoples as well. In the natural order that God has created, there is such a range of uniqueness while at the same interconnectedness. And yet, with the fall of our first parents and humanity, sin, and suffering has entered the world and not only disordered but set off kilter God’s natural order and brought about dis unity.

Pope St. John Paul II highlights our fallen nature in his encyclical, The Gospel of Life, line 36 in which he writes: “man not only deforms the image of God in his own person, but is tempted to offenses against it in others as well, replacing relationships of communion by attitudes of distrust, indifference, hostility and murderous hatred. When God is not acknowledged as God, the profound meaning of man is betrayed and communion between people is compromised.”

Our Gospel today from Luke briefly touches on this compromised nature and falling for the temptation toward division and Jesus’ response. Most Samaritans and Judeans were not seeking inroads regarding how to bridge their divides. They at best tolerated from a distance and at worst killed each other.

This lack of compassion toward one another is displayed when the Samaritans refused to provide hospitality toward Jesus when they found out he and his disciples were going to Jerusalem, the city of the Temple for the Judeans. The Samaritans worshipped not at Mt. Zion, but Mt. Gerizim.

Each group also believed that they were the true Israelites. There were other causes to fuel the division as well and James and John seemed to have them on the front of their minds when they responded by asking Jesus “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” The brothers were recalling how Elijah did just that (see 2 Kings 1:10 and 12) and seeking permission from Jesus to do the same. Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village (Luke 9:54-56).

Jesus would have none of it. His face was set toward Jerusalem where he would not call down fire or a legion of angels to destroy the Romans or the Jewish high council. He was heading to the holy city to give his life for them, for the Samaritans, and for all of humanity, past, present, and future. Jesus, the Son of God, became man to save humanity, to save you and me. He came close to unite those places in our human hearts that divides us.

Jesus rebukes the Sons of Thunder, impulsive and self-seeking, James and John while at the same time trusting in them and seeing their promise, which they both would fulfill.

Jesus sees our promise as well. In what ways are we resisting Jesus’ invitation to work toward building up the kingdom of God, even in small ways, by keeping others who we may deem as different at arm’s length? May we ask the same Holy Spirit, who touched and transformed James and John’s hearts at Pentecost, to move our hearts and bring about greater healing within so that we may not only embrace the wonder of God’s beautiful gift of diversity in creation and humanity but to also think, speak, and act in ways that help bring about better unity where there may be division in our places of influence.

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

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, October 3, 2023