Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. (Luke 4:1-2). Jesus experiences the temptations of Satan, the one who tempted Adam and Eve, the father of lies, the accuser, the slanderer. Satan is one who seeks division, disunity, and we dismiss the reality of his presence at great risk. On the other hand we often give him more power than he deserves. Jesus is tempted, but unlike Adam and Eve, he does not give in. Jesus remains grounded in the will of his Father and so Satan has no power over him.

Jesus could have dismissed Satan, yet he endured his temptation to teach us “how to triumph over temptation” (St Augustine 1976, 87). Jesus not only teaches us how, but empowers us to overcome Satan. The weakest Christian is more powerful than Satan himself, because we can call on the name of Jesus. This is not some magical incantation, but when we call on the name of Jesus, he, in the fullness of his humanity and his divinity, is present with us. God has given Jesus the name above every other name, so that as his word is spoken, every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth (cf. Philippians 2:9-10). Just as a floodlight shines in the darkness, the darkness gives way to the light. This is even more true with Jesus. Where Jesus is present there is love, such that no fear or evil can remain.

Jesus came to deify us. As St. Irenaeus wrote, and I am paraphrasing, Jesus became one with us in our humanity so that we can become one with him in his divinity. When we give our life to Jesus, we become more like God and our image and likeness is restored as God created his in his image and likeness. We do so by committing daily to reading and meditating upon, praying with, and contemplating the Word of God shared in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, practicing acts of love through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, participating in the Mass and the sacraments as often as possible, and reading the lives of the saints and other enriching and empowering writings.

The more we are engaged in these practices, the more we are healed, transformed, and conformed from within to the love of God. As we continue to turn to God through the love of the Holy Spirit and the presence of his Son, there is no room for the devil in our lives, we will be better able to recognize and resist his temptations, and come to trust in Jesus all the more. Jesus was willing to suffer and die for us so that we may find a pathway that leads us away from sin, so that we don’t need to merely survive, and to be free to live life and live it to the full, now and into the fullness of the glory to God for eternity to come.

I had a dream some time ago, I am not sure how long now, but it is still just as vivid. I was sitting on a couch in the first floor of a house. The scene shifted so that I was seeing myself sitting on the couch from above and then my view was redirected to the attic. I witnessed a misshapen, dark figure rummaging through old boxes and newspapers. He embodied pure evil. I was then back in my body, and knew this creature was moving out of the attic and coming down the stairs to the room I was sitting in. My heart was pounding and I felt petrified as I heard his steps drawing closer. I was frozen in fear. In a few more moments, he came into view. What I saw was not the figure in the attic, but a handsome man, but I knew it was him. As he continued closer my fear increased, fearing that he would touch me. I felt frozen in place as I sat on the couch and he continued to walk closer. Then a hymn came to mind. He stopped the moment I began to sing, my fear began to dissipate and I woke up.

Evil tends to present itself at first as an apparent good, as attractive, as normal, otherwise we would reject it outright. Satan and his demons are active through whispers and nudges, they look for our weaknesses and through the same tactics as peer pressure, seek to inject their poison and manipulate our actions. I am not talking about possession here, I am just talking about their divisive influence. The most dangerous evil is the one masked in faith. Someone who can speak the verses of a Bible and quote chapter and verse does not a Christian make. The devil can do the same thing as we saw in today’s Gospel from Luke.

Each day we need to examine our conscience and assess honestly who we are serving. As with the Parable of the Talents, we cannot sit on our hands and do nothing like the wicked servant. That is the most effective tool Satan has, that he can influence us to do nothing, to be indifferent in the face of the dehumanization of the person in all of its forms. Another horror is when we rationalize what we know is unacceptable in ourselves as well as others, such as giving into the temptations of gossip, prejudicial, racist, and/or divisive talk, that lead to actions, such as the centurions who placed a robe and crown of thorns on the bloody, scourged body of Jesus and mocked him.

May we see in this icon of Jesus, scourged, bloody, wearing a crown of thorns, and mocked in our minds eye whenever we are tempted to or justify anyone who would, even in the smallest of ways, belittle, demean or degrade the dignity of another person, through thoughts, words, and/or actions, because what we do to the least among us, we do it to Jesus (cf. Mt 25:35-45). We also need to also resist the temptation of beating ourselves up when we have sinned, that is another trap, another lie, because we are still focused on ourselves, still caved in within ourselves, instead of opening up ourselves to the love of God and one another. When we are tempted, we can also remember and visualize whenJesus was tempted by Satan and resisted. We can experience the presence of Jesus, experience his love and his courage so to also recognize, resist, and triumph over the wiles of the devil.

It is helpful to assess our day, our thoughts, actions, and words with honesty and humility, thank God where we have said yes to his will and followed through on acting where he has led us, where we have loved, and ask for forgiveness for the part we have played in spreading the darkness of the father of lies. We leave less room for the allurements of Satan when we keep ourselves grounded not in ourselves, but in the will and love of God, just as Jesus did in the desert. When tempted, we can call on his name, “Jesus, I trust in you”, or sing his name! As St Augustine wrote, the one who sings prays twice.

“Trust in Jesus, my great Deliverer, my strong Defender, the Son of God. I trust in Jesus
Blessed Redeemer, my Lord forever, the Holy One, the Holy One” (Chorus from Third Day’s song, “I Trust in Jesus”).

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Photo:”Temptation of Christ” (1872) by Vasily Surikov

Quote from St. Augustine in The Liturgy of the Hours. New York: The Catholic Publishing Co., 1976.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, March 5, 2022

Think about how good we feel after coming to be on the other side of healing from a bad cold or the flu, recovering from a twisted ankle, a broken collar bone, or other health conditions. We experience a feeling of wholeness that was missing during the midst of our suffering where we may have pondered a time or two whether or not we would ever get better.

The same can be said for estranged relationships. There is a distance of separation that can be agonizing, an inner gut-wrenching experience that gnaws away at us. We wonder if there can ever be a coming back together. When there is reconciliation, forgiveness, and amending of the brokenness of relationships, we can experience such a relief, lightness and joy, that we never imagined possible while in the midst of the gut wrenching angst, conflict and separation.

Sin separates us from one another, and unchecked sin can build and multiply like cancerous cells. The Pharisees and the scribes questioned why Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners, and Jesus replied: “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners” (Lk 5:32).

Jesus is truly a light in the darkness. For Levi and his friends, who just settled for the path they were on, thinking and feeling, this is the best it was going to get, were given a choice, an invitation, a new way. A great celebration of fellowship ensued in Levi’s home because these men and women, who had been outcasts, who were separated from the greater community were forgiven, welcomed, and embraced. They were loved by Jesus as they were. They did not have to change first for Jesus to call Levi and gather with them.

They were welcomed into the kingdom and reign of God. Their ticket to reconciliation and healing was accepting the invitation of Jesus, to receive and experience his love and welcome. Levi and the other sinners did not run from the light of Jesus, but were willing to recognize their need for healing, were willing to repent, to turn away from their prior ways of life and so were reborn!

They were divinized because of their willingness to participate in the life of Jesus. Levi would continue to follow Jesus such that it was no longer he who lived, but Christ who lived in him (cf. Galatians 2:20)!

Jesus invites us each day, as he invited Levi in today’s Gospel, to follow him. We are given the same invitation and opportunity for healing and for discipleship. Will we resist rationalizing and justifying our sinful thoughts, actions, and habits, welcome the light of Jesus that reveals our venial and mortal sins, admit our need of healing, and repent so to be forgiven and released from all the energy we have expended in protecting and hiding from ourselves and our God who loves us more than we can ever mess up?

Quietly spending time daily, especially in the evening and recalling our day, by asking Jesus to reveal to us those ways in which we have not lived according to his will is a wonderful practice. Those venial sins we call to mind we can confess on the spot and Jesus will forgive us. As we recognize recurring actions or more grave sins, we will need a more direct human encounter by embracing the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Reconciliation is a gift of mercy and healing where we can experience firsthand the healing grace of Jesus.

Jesus loves us as we are. Yet holding on to our sin, keeps us at a distance from experiencing the greater breadth, depth, and width of his love. When we are willing to be contrite, to embrace sorrow for the harm we have inflicted with our personal sins, and go to the Divine Physician we receive his forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation. Once absolved, the heavy weight is lifted. We are then better able to engage in penance to atone for our sins committed, better able to forgive others as we have been forgiven, and better able to love as we have been loved!

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Photo: The Calling of St. Matthew (also known as Levi) by Carravagio, 1599-1600. Wonderful work to meditate upon for Lent!

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, March 5, 2022

Today is March 4, 2022 A.D. The letters, AD, stand not for after death or analog to digital, but Anno Domini. This is a Latin phrase that means in the year of our Lord. We are living in the age of the Church, as well as in between the time when Jesus experienced his life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven until he will come again.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read today about the account of Jesus comparing himself to a bridegroom: “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Mt 9:15). In a sense, the bridegroom has been taken from us, in another sense, he is closer to us now than he was when he was with his disciples when he walked the earth. The fullness of his reign though will not be consummated until Jesus comes again, but while we wait, when we are willing to set aside other distractions and be still, we can hear and feel the beating of his Sacred Heart.

We need food for our survival, but we don’t need as much as we think we do! Fasting from food is not the only focus of our Lenten fast though. The discipline of fasting provides an opportunity to keep our passions in check. By resisting the impulse of instant gratification, we are able to better discern between apparent goods and the actual Good in our lives. When we are able to navigate through the maze of distractions, temptations, and allurements on a physical level, we can begin to go deeper into the spiritual reality to begin to expose some of the demons that we feed, such as “distrust, apathy, and resignation” that Pope Francis talked about in his Ash Wednesday homily a few years ago.

Pope Francis mentioned that these three demons “deaden and paralyze the soul of a believing people.” He continued by stating that: “Lent is the ideal time to unmask these and other temptations, to allow our hearts to beat once more in tune with the vibrant heart of Jesus.”

When we are willing to discipline our impulsiveness, to slow down, to take a breath, to be more mindful, we can begin to see more clearly our complacency, contempt, and indifference. We can then be more open to God’s invitation to enter into a relationship with him and each other. We can then better assume the posture of John the Apostle by resting our head on the chest of Jesus (cf John 13:25), such that our hearts will beat in the same rhythm as his Sacred Heart.

This is the gift of contemplation that drives us to service. This is the same rhythm that beat in the prophet Isaiah who reminds us in today’s first reading what true fasting is all about:  “releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own” (Isaiah 58:6-7).

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Photo: Sacred Heart of Jesus, lit up as I was leaving after our 5:30 pm Ash Wednesday Mass.

Link for Pope Francis homily:
https://aleteia.org/2018/02/14/pope-francis-offers-a-worksheet-for-lent-check-it-out/

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, March 4, 2022

Jesus said to his disciples and all who could hear him: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23). We can best take up our cross daily by putting into practice the three pillars of Lent offered yesterday, which are almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. These disciplines aid us in resisting the temptations of pride, power, pleasure, honor, and wealth.

Giving ourselves some time to be still and to breathe deeply is a good way to begin Lent. From this place of letting go and just stopping from everything else, we can then pray about how we can put these pillars of Lent into practice for these next forty days. If forty days are too much, think about the next week, or even just today.

As we make steps to slow down and be still, it is also wise to be aware of our own resistance to doing so. Are we willing to see and acknowledge our own sinful inclinations? Are we indifferent or fearful of being present to those in need within our reach? Praying and seeking the help of God and being open to his guidance in all areas of our life will provide the stepping stones that will lead to our healing.

Returning to prayer throughout the day will help to establish a habit and rhythm of prayer. This often is accomplished best when we schedule set times to meditate on the readings of Lent, to be still and rest in the Lord before the Eucharist in adoration or present in the tabernacle, pray the rosary, walk or sit among the beauty of God’s creation, and/or spend some quiet time reading a spiritual book, or the life of a saint. It is also good to just be silent and still. While at work, it can be as simple as stopping for a few moments at set times, say every three hours, to take a breath, and repeat a verse or short prayer, such as, “God come to my assistance, Lord make haste to help me.”

Each day it is helpful to evaluate what we consume, what time and energy we expend, and discern, what we can fast from. Define the types of food that really aren’t healthy for us, what activities that we can let go of so we can devote more time to practices that empower, encourage, and lift up others as well as ourselves. We can fast from thinking, speaking, or acting in any way that is unkind, belittling, or demeaning.

When we put something in place that will help build a foundation for a closer walk with Jesus we are taking something out of our life that could lead us astray. Jesus guides us in today’s Gospel to take up our cross and follow him, meaning we are to discipline ourselves so as to free ourselves from that which enslaves us.

We can take up our cross today when we make time to pray, to be still, and follow God’s will. We can take up our cross when we fast from any negative, demeaning, or derogatory thoughts, words, or actions and instead be encouraging, hopeful, and loving. We can take up our cross when we embrace opportunities to give of our time, talent, and treasure to build up and provide access to those around us. We can take up our cross today and each day during this season of Lent so that we may know better the One who died on the cross for us, the One who gave his life for us that we might have life and have it to the full!

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Photo: Jesus with the Cross, Mission San Luis del Rey de Francia, Oceanside, CA

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, March 3, 2022

In our Gospel reading from Matthew today, Jesus presents us with the three pillars of Lent: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. With each pillar, he cautions his disciples to resist the temptation of engaging in these spiritual practices such that the focus is placed on us, such that we believe we ought to receive accolades for our efforts. The purpose of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting is to grow in true humility, which is placing ourselves in a posture of surrendering our will to God, to come to a place within our being that we can love as Jesus loves us, to will the good of the other as other for their own sake, not seeking anything in return.

We give to others not “to win the praise of others”, not even to receive thanks, but specifically because another is in need of our help. We pray, not “that others may see” us, to puff ourselves up, but to empty ourselves into the arms of our Father, recognizing how dependent on him we really are. We fast not “to look gloomy like the hypocrites”, so to draw attention to ourselves, but we fast to discipline ourselves such that we are not enslaved to our passions. We discipline ourselves, so as to walk on the path of freedom for excellence and engage in the fullness of the life God made us for.

Today as you receive your ashes, and even if there are those reading who may not be able to do so, we are reminded that from dust we have come and to dust, we will return. We are created, finite beings, that are given a limited time to live our life on this earth. This is important to acknowledge so that we resist the temptation of taking our life, the gift of our time on this earth, for granted.

We are also reminded to repent and believe in the Gospel. Jesus, please help us to recognize and to be contrite for our sinful thoughts, words, and actions and reveal to us the empty promises of our distractions and temptations. Through our participation in almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, help us to experience our restlessness, and seek not to appease it with finite, material things that will not last, but to come to recognize that our fulfillment will come only when we find our rest in the One who has made us for himself, our loving God and Father, who awaits us with arms wide open.

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Photo credit: https://www.cathopic.com/arito

Link for the Mass readings for Ash Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Jesus continued his teaching about the entrance into the kingdom of God as the rich man walked away sad by stating, “Children how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Mk 10:24-25). The disciples are stymied, primarily because present Jewish belief was that those who had amassed wealth and riches did so because they were blessed by God. If someone who had followed the commandments of God, appeared to be blessed by God, would he or she not be a part of God’s kingdom, what then was one to do?

Yesterday’s reading ended with Jesus responding to the disciples astonishment. First by stating that “For human beings it is impossible.” Jesus said this because there is nothing that we can do to earn or buy our way into heaven. It is not through perseverance, dogged determination, or will power that we are saved. Our security also is not to be placed in the things of this world, our happiness and fulfillment is not to be placed in the apparent goods and glitter of the finite things that offer comfort and pleasure. For if we place our hope in the things of this world, in our own belief that we can control our own destiny, we will be building our foundation on sand. Jesus continued, “For human beings, it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God” (Mk 10:27).

There is only one way to enter the kingdom of God. Say yes to his invitation. The rich man refused the invitation, because he chose his possessions over the kingdom. The Apostles chose differently. The opening line of today’s Gospel reading is given by Peter, speaking up for those, who like him, did what the rich man did not do, when he said “We have given up everything and followed you” (Mk 10:28). Jesus affirmed Peter and the other disciple’s acceptance of the invitation to come and follow him, as well as to assure those who would willingly sacrifice and voluntarily give up, house, family, or land, to follow him. He insisted that they would receive back “a hundred times more in this present age… and eternal life to come” (Mk 10:30).

Jesus, in today and yesterday’s Gospel accounts, is not a preaching a kind of prosperity gospel or free reigning capitalism, nor is he a proponent of socialism or communism. Each of these are human socio-political, economic constructs. Jesus instead is painting a picture of the reign of God as a new family. One that exists, not of the world’s making, but of God’s design. A kingdom not of this world, though still present in it, and the good news is that all are invited to be a part of it.

Those who are a part of this kingdom are not connected through bloodline, tribe, political party, or nation, but are united through a transformation of heart and mind and spirit. The followers of Jesus become brothers and sisters. They care for one another, provide hospitality, charity, support, access, means, and encouragement for one another. Together, they meet the challenges and persecutions that would come from those who oppose the kingdom.

Jesus offers us the same invitation that he offered the rich man and his disciples. Jesus is inviting us to follow him by letting go of that which distracts us and diverts us from giving our life more fully over to him and building up his kingdom. We need to assess our lives, to divest ourselves from anything that we place before God. In this way, we can become less attached and resist looking to our material goods for our security and pleasure, and instead build our foundation on the solid rock of our relationship with Jesus, his Father, and the love of the Holy Spirit.

What or who are you going to follow today, the allure of wealth, power, pleasure, and/or honor, or Jesus?

Painting: Ariel Agemian, “The Face of Christ” 1935

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, March 1, 2022

A man approached Jesus seeking to know what he must, “do to inherit eternal life” (Mk 10:17). Jesus shared that following the commandments, such as: do not kill, commit adultery, steal or bear false witness; do not defraud, but do honor his father and mother (cf. Mk 10:19), would be a good place to start. The man affirmed that he had followed them all. I can imagine the eyebrows of Jesus raise and his mouth curl into a smile as he realizes the sincerity of the man kneeling before him. The disciples recognized that look and held their breath.

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You are lacking one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me” (Mk 10:21).

The man was crushed. He had followed the prescriptions of Torah all his life, he was blessed by God with the gift of having many material goods, but in the end it was those possessions that still enslaved him. He genuinely came seeking eternal life, and Jesus gave him just what he sought, and more, by giving him the opportunity to be one of his disciples, but he could not give up the one thing he was lacking.

The heart of the commandments is to help us to be freed from that which enslaves us, so that we can put God and each other first and foremost in our lives. This is what we all have been created for, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you” (St Augustine, Confessions).

The man in today’s Gospel account knew what he needed to do, but was too attached to his wealth and material things to let them go. He walked away sad, because he clung to the false substitute of wealth that would not ultimately satisfy him. The man turned away from that which would fulfill him, give his life meaning, as well as the promise of eternal life. This was the path of love, to give and share, and to become a follower of Jesus.

I invite you to return to this scene in Mark 10:17-31, read it slowly, and prayerfully. Then set your Bible aside. Next, visualize each of the details of this account of Jesus and the man. Place yourself in this scene also, standing a few paces behind Jesus and the disciples as the rich man walks away with his head bowed. Their backs are to you, but then, slowly, they turn to face you.

A bit hesitant, your eyes focus on the eyes of Jesus. You feel his invitation without a word spoken between you, and you ask, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus holds your gaze in his, and you feel his acceptance and love as he speaks, “You are lacking one thing…” What does Jesus say next? What is your response? What are you holding onto that is keeping you from giving yourself completely to Jesus? Are you willing to let it go and journey with him in this life and into the next?
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Painting “Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler”, 1889, by Heinrich Hofmann

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, February 28, 2022

As Christians we are often called, along with Jews and Muslims, the people of the Book. This is in reference to our sacred texts, the Torah, the Qu’ran, and the Bible. In actuality, Christians are not a people of the Book, nor is Christianity an idea, philosophy, even a theology, or series of practices. Christianity and being a Christian is about an encounter with a person. That person is Jesus the Christ.

If we do not know Jesus, then the words of our Bible just become dead letters, our philosophy and theology are just intellectual exercises, and our religious observances provide little meaning or relevance for our life. Our presence in Mass or Church can just be something we do.

This could be why for every one person who joins the Catholic Church today six to eight people are leaving. People leave for their own reasons, but the underlying cause could be that in their experience of Church they are not encountering Jesus, they are not feeling welcomed or a part of a community that cares about them, and/or maybe in their daily lives they are not building, nor are they aware of how to build and sustain a relationship with Jesus.

Each of us hunger and thirst to experience and know the living God. Each of us seek meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in our lives. We have been created to be loved and to love, we have been created to belong, to be a part of, to be in relationship. We live, crave, and desire to be in relationship with God and one another, and this is true for the atheist and the mystic alike.

In our Gospel reading from Luke today, Jesus is speaking to his disciples, those who have encountered him and said yes to following him. Jesus teaches them and us important lessons of discipleship.

One we hear or read today is that a blind person cannot lead a blind person, otherwise both will fall into the pit. Jesus is speaking about more than physical sight, but spiritual sight. We all have some level of spiritual blindness. We do not see those thoughts, behaviors, and desires within ourselves that keep us from deepening our relationship with Jesus or even those that will help us to develop and sustain a relationship with him. Jesus invites us to experience his love, to receive his healing touch, to bask in the light of his grace so as to reveal to us our sin.

Jesus meets us where we are and loves us as we are. When we receive his love, we experience that he loves us, as we are, with all of our faults, mistakes, sins, wounds, and our brokenness. We then receive his healing touch when we let our guard down and lower our defenses. As we heal, we can see our sinful actions and patterns and the reality that they are apparent goods, empty promises that will leave us unfulfilled.

As we experience the love of Jesus, the knots of our sins are loosed, and we feel more comfortable to let God into all the areas of our life. Then our lives begin to change. We are transformed from only focusing on ourselves and our own needs, to  begin to be aware of the needs of others, even those who have looked down at us or hurt us with their prejudicial and abusive looks and words.

How then do we come to know, build, and sustain a relationship with Jesus?

We do so by spending time each day reading and praying God’s word. I remember reading from the Gospel of Luke 12:22 when I was about seventeen. The passage talked about not worrying about your life. I then felt God speak to me. He said that I would never win the lotto, but he would always provide work for me. My wife and I read the daily readings of the Mass each evening together and then I read a reflection that I post online each day. In this way, this is no ordinary book, but the living word of God. Through this daily practice, JoAnn and I drew closer to God and each other.

We can spend five to ten minutes a day in quiet prayer, meditating on the Gospel, sharing our concerns with Jesus, thanking him for our blessings, and just being still to be led by him. We can ask Jesus to reveal to us our sin, we can ask him to help us to remove the log in our own eye, so that we can see more clearly to help another to remove the splinter in their eye. I meditate and pray when I first get up before I head to school and spending this time with Jesus has provided a firm foundation for me to meet the challenges of the day.

We encounter Jesus by learning about our faith through reading and praying with the Bible, studying the Catechism and the lives of the saints, as well as other spiritual reading, videos, podcasts and the like. On my way to and from work, I listen to different podcasts that I find enriching and empowering.

JoAnn and I, though resisting at first because of our busy schedules and enjoying winding down in the evenings, joined a small group at church which has been a wonderful gift. We were and I continue to blessed by our weekly time of fellowship, learning, and growing in our relationship with Jesus and each other.

We can also encounter Jesus in our negative thoughts. When a judgmental thought, urge to gossip, to say something that is negative arises, we can seek Jesus at the first moment this poison arises and ask him to help us to instead think and say the good things that people need to hear, things that will be instructive, empowering, and hopeful. We can do the same with our temptations.

We can encounter Jesus by allowing our hearts and minds to be open to respond when he moves us to reach out to be present to someone with our words and actions, even in simple ways such as sharing a smile, making the time to listen, or offering support or assistance in the moment of another’s need, even when it is not convenient, or the best time for an interruption.

We also encounter Jesus in the sacraments, especially the Mass, through the word proclaimed, the music, in our fellowship together, and especially, in the Eucharist, Jesus’ Body and Blood that we will receive. This is a sacred moment of encounter with Jesus and his Body coming together as one.

Each of these examples are small, practical ways that we all can encounter Jesus in our daily lives. Jesus is already reaching out to us, inviting us to be in relationship with him and his Father. Being willing to encounter and build our relationship with him is not only for ourselves but as we come to experience, develop and deepen our relationship with Jesus, experience his love and mercy and how his grace builds on our nature, we are to share Jesus with others.

As Jesus becomes more present in our lives, we are healed of our blindness and begin to see and share, that which is truly good, true, and beautiful. As we see our sin, and through our participation in the life of Jesus are healed so to remove the log in our eye, we can then lead others to remove the splinter in their eyes.

Jesus, please help us to pray for each other, support and be present to one another in our everyday experiences, as well as to open our hearts and minds to receive the loving embrace of God our Father. And may the flame of the Holy Spirit catch fire and rise within each of us such that we may go forth and set the world on fire with God’s love.

Photo by Mathew Thomas from Pexels

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, February 27, 2022

In today’s pericope, or scene from the Gospel,people are bringing their children to Jesus to receive a blessing. The disciples step in to prevent this process from happening. The reason for their actions is not offered, but what is shared is the indignance of Jesus. Jesus rebuked his disciples: “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it” (Mk 10:14-15).

Jesus consistently offered grace to those who might otherwise be prevented from receiving it. Jesus provided healings for the possessed, lepers, women, the blind, the lame, tax collectors and sinners. The very fact that this short account mentioning children is even included in an ancient near Eastern text says something profound. Jesus recognized the dignity of children as was also recorded in Mark 9:36-37 when he stated that whoever receives a child in his name, receives him.

Children in the ancient Near East had no recognized social status. Orphans were at risk and needed to be taken care of. Children up to two years old were vulnerable in many ways and as such, experienced a high rate of infant mortality. Because of this reality, many parents may have developed an unconscious, defensive posture that they did not become too attached to their children until after they were two years of age. This harsh reality could also be a reason why these children were being brought to Jesus for a blessing.

Jesus, in his reaching out to the children, impresses the point that he takes the life of children seriously and so encourages others to do so. There are historical accounts that Christians continued to take this teaching seriously. In ancient Roman society, if parents did not want a child, one recourse was to leave them in a local dump to die. Christians would retrieve the infants and bring them into their homes and raise them as their own.

Jesus also used this opportunity as a teachable moment when he shared that “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Jesus is recorded as using the image of God as a Father one hundred seventy five times in the Gospels. From the historical context of infants and young children during the time of Jesus and Jesus equating that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as them, he could be leading his followers and us to the understanding that we are to depend totally and place all our trust in God as our Father.

God has created us to be in relationship with him and one another. We need him as an infant does for his or her own very survival. This also means that we do not buy or earn our way into the kingdom of Heaven because God and his realm is so transcendent, so beyond us, that we cannot possibly get there on our own effort and merit. We enter the kingdom of God through the door of his Son, who is the way, the truth and the life.

Just as Jesus opens his arms to embrace the children in today’s Gospel, to receive and bless them in his arms, so he does so with us. In our willingness to enter into and receive his embrace, we enter into the kingdom of our Father. It is relationship with God who we are wired for, he is our hope, our meaning, and our fulfillment.

Thank you Jesus for the gift of loving us and revealing to us our dignity, value, and worth. Help us to accept and embrace this gift of your love so that we may love each other as brothers and sisters. Help us to promote a culture of life that recognizes and acknowledges the dignity and value of each and every person without exception from the moment of their conception, birth, throughout the ups and downs of daily life, up to and including our elder years until natural death.

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Photo: First grade class I assisted with during my time in the pre-novitiate with the Franciscans of Holy Name in the Bronx, around 1990.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, February 25, 2022

Jesus addresses the challenge of divorce in today’s Gospel as some Pharisees approach him about the issue. Jesus acknowledges the stance of Moses in that he did allow for “the husband to write a bill of divorce” because the people were not able to live up to the prescriptions of the Torah. Jesus then sites Genesis, stating that, “from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate” (Mk 10:6-9).

Jesus, in quoting from Genesis 1:27 and 2:24, reaffirmed God’s intent, that marriage is to be a union that is to be indissoluble. The reason for this is that God intended marriage to be a covenant, not a contract. Contracts can be signed or broken. Covenants are sacred bonds for life. Marriage is also a natural ordering that mirrors on earth the reality of God who is a communion of Three Persons in heaven. Jesus building on this natural order bestowed his grace upon marriage thus elevating it to a sacrament in which there is a sacred bond between the husband, the wife and Jesus himself: “Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate” is interpreted by the Church to mean that a valid, sacramental marriage cannot be undone.

The unfortunate reality is that many who marry within the Church have not been sufficiently catechized to understand the reality of the sacrament of marriage, and Pope Francis acknowledged this in June of 2016 when he stated that, “the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null”. The Pope referred to those who have entered into and have celebrated the Sacrament of Matrimony did so invalidly, meaning that the marriage certainly did happen, but it has not been elevated to the sacramental bond of a covenant.

Pope Francis recognized two things with this statement, that those who seek to marry in the Church do so with a good intent, but are grounded in a culture that is more provisional than seeking permanence. We are losing our sense of indissolubility. We live in a culture in which the acquisition of material goods that are produced and purchased are done so with the understanding that our economy has been built to thrive, not on what will last, but that which will be quickly replaced through innovation, updates, and newer models. Our consumer culture is being translated to the person and to our relationships with horrific consequences.

Jesus has set the bar and ideal for marriage high for the reason that marriage and the family is the closest mirroring on earth to the divine communion in heaven of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The infinite outpouring of love, of sacrifice and willing the good of the other, is the foundation for any relationship, but even more so for marriage. For this union is meant to be open to a third, the child. For the family to be stable, they must be present to one another, to sacrifice, to give of themselves to each other, and to encourage and support one another on their mutual path to heaven.

Sadly, there are those who enter marriage with good intentions, but not fully aware of what they are getting into, not fully aware of the truth of love being more of a sacrifice and less of a feeling, and not fully comprehending that marriage is not a trial process but a sacred bond. In addition there are many factors that work against the couple such as, the relationship meets a crossroad, a better model comes along, there is a lack of the proper social and conflict resolution skills, the realization of a false premise unknown before the marriage surfaces, domestic abuse, self centeredness of one or both, and then the choice for separation, and regrettably a dissolution.

From this choice, whether made by one or both, there is deep pain, trauma and wounds that need to be healed. Jesus does not seek disunity but unity. He does not lessen the bar as did Moses, but is present to those affected by the wounds of the separation and dissolution of the union. He is and calls us to be willing to accompany our brothers and sisters who are in need of healing from the trauma of the ending of a relationship for those involved.

Marriage is a wonderful gift, and as with anything that is going to last, those seeking to be married need to be prepared and committed to one another at each stage. Certainly, no one can prepare for everything, nor can we foresee the unannounced surprises that life can bring, but we will be on firmer ground when in the beginning there is a mutual willingness to put in the effort, the sacrifice, the support, and to love, not the lust for each other. There needs to be an openness to the possibility of children, a genuine caring and commitment to willing each other’s good through the ups and downs of life’s journey together, for better and for worse, as well as a willingness to acknowledge Jesus’ presence when all goes well and to seek his help when life gets bumpy.

Pope Francis has offered some advice as well: the first is to end every day with forgiveness, the second is to ask permission, the third is to show gratitude, the forth is to help your spouse reach his or her highest potential, the fifth is to keep alive the romance, and the sixth is to refuse to give up so easily.

Please, please, please, remember that we are not commodities, we are created in the image and likeness of God. We are not to use one another for our own gain or just as a means of pleasure, that is objectification. Each of us are sacred, human beings endowed with dignity, value, and worth. We are loved more than we can ever imagine by God and we are to mirror that same love on earth as it is in heaven.

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Photo: Date night!

Article with more information on Pope Francis’ six marriage tips:
https://www.liveabout.com/marriage-tips-from-pope-francis-2492126

The link for the Mass readings for Friday, February 25, 2022