Two groups who are generally opposed to one another, the Herodians and the Pharisees, appear to have formed an alliance. The Herodians, most likely supporters of the Galilean tetrarch Herod Antipas, have acquiesced and allied themselves with the Roman occupation so that their “party” can be in leadership. The Pharisees, are opposed to Roman occupation and certainly do not support Caesar’s self-imposed status as a god. Mark indicates that representatives of each group are sent to Jesus to “ensnare him in his speech.” They are seeking to gain evidence to bring charges against him.

They come up with an elaborate plan that seems foolproof. A representative from these groups asks Jesus, “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay” (Mk 12:14). If Jesus answers that they ought to pay, then the Pharisees can bring charges against him for idolatry. If Jesus refuses to pay, the Herodians can then bring charges against him for disobeying Caesar’s tax. Jesus asks for a denarius, a Roman coin, and asks what image is on the coin, the response is Caesar. So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” They were utterly amazed at him (Mk 12:17).

Jesus bested them at their own game, in thinking outside of the limitations that were imposed on him by his questioners. Our faith is built on Jesus’ response. Not in the modern distinction of church and state, but more often than not we are to follow Jesus’ model and guidance of how we are to live in the world but not be of it. In most cases, we are to embrace not an either/or response, but a both/and response. Ultimately, the final determiner is God.

One example of such a false dichotomy which is often displayed is whereby one is placed in a position to choose either faith or reason. One could approach Jesus today, as did the representative for the Herodians and the Pharisees, and ask, “Rabbi, should we follow faith or reason?” We are more authentic in actualizing and pursuing the greater breadth, depth, and width of understanding who we are as human beings and our place in the cosmos when we embrace both faith and reason. Our science and intellect are spurred on by our sense of wonder and awe in that we seek to understand our world around us. Using our ability to reason, to hypothesize, and ask why have lead humanity to some wonderful discoveries. Reason and science though can only take us so far.

God’s grace builds upon nature. The gift of faith helps us to go beyond the ability to solve problems in the sensory or physical realm alone and to enter into the ground of Mystery by entering into a relationship with God and the spiritual realities of his creation that transcend our physical world and capacity to measure it. God has created all things visible and invisible.

Just a few of the many examples of practicing Catholics from our past who have shown this both/and approach are Copernicus (1473-1543), who developed the theory of heliocentrism, meaning that the earth is not the center of the universe but instead revolves around the sun; Nicolas Steno (1638-1686), who excelled in the study of anatomy, geology and is considered the founder of the study of fossils; Laura Bassi (1711-1778), first female professor of physics; Gregor Mendel (1822-1844), who was an Augustinian friar and is considered to be the father of genetics; and Fr. Georges Lemaitre (1894-1966), who is considered the father of the Big Bang Theory.

The Catholic Church is not opposed to science but discourages the concept of a hyper-scientism, which states that we can only believe something to be real or to exist if it can be measured by the senses or experimentation alone. This is a limitation to the gift of wonder. As St. Pope John Paul II wrote in his encyclical Fides et Ratio: “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.” We need to continue to embrace the gift of wonder and rise to meet its invitation by soaring aloft with both wings of faith and reason.

Photo: of Nicholas Copernicus, considered to be the father of modern astronomy from all posters.com

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, June 1, 2021

The following link lists an article by Shaun Mcafee regarding 11 Catholic scientists through the ages: https://epicpew.com/11-amazing-catholic-scientists-you-should-know/

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Mary “traveled to the hill country in haste” (Lk 1:39) and as she drew close and called out to announce her arrival: Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, [and] the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Lk 1:41-42). This is an encounter of joy. Elizabeth’s response is a confirmation to Mary’s yes to the angel Gabriel, that she has indeed conceived in her womb the Son of God who was taking on flesh and becoming one of us, a human being, as she traveled to the hill country. Elizabeth’s son recognized him, and in leaping with joy, helped to get the celebration started!

The encounter and interaction between Mary and Elizabeth, Jesus and John, at the Visitation is a model for us of discipleship. Touched by the Holy Spirit we are to go out to share the Good News that God our Father loved us so much that he sent his Son to be one with us. He was willing to enter into our humanity. Some of the earliest heresies in the Church, which are still perpetuated today, were birthed because of an unwillingness to accept this gift, that God entered into and embraced our humanity, that God would become human was and is still for too many inconceivable.

Yes, we have been wounded by sin, but we have not been destroyed. The coming of the Son of God as one of us is an opportunity to be healed, to be born again from above, and this can happen through the same love of the Holy Spirit that inspired John to leap and Elizabeth to rejoice.

Resist the mind noise from within, and without from other people who tell us overtly and/or covertly that we are worthless or nothing. Not true! Through our very being, we are created in the image and likeness of God, we have been created by Love, to receive and to share love. We are a living craving hunger and desire to be in communion with God and one another. This is true for the atheist and the believer alike. We are called to will the good of the other as other as they are, unconditionally. If we have fallen short, a little or a lot, in the way we have been treating ourselves or others lately, today is a new day to take Jesus’ hand and begin anew. Let us celebrate with Jesus, Mary, Elizabeth and John.

We are celebrating that Jesus was born for us, he lived that we might not only be shown a better way, but know that he is the Way. Jesus became vulnerable for us, a key ingredient in unconditional love: to be willing to risk being authentic to who God called him to be, even to being willing to be rejected, even if that meant that all might walk away from him. May we be willing to be vulnerable, to risk, to share with others who we are, free of masks and pretense. May we be present to, and also walk and accompany one another. Being there for our family and friends is important, and if we take our Christianity seriously, we must come to acknowledge, in concrete ways, person to person, that we are all brothers and sisters, that in Christ we are all related.

Just as the sun shines on the good and the bad alike, Jesus died for each and every human being, all of us. After his Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit, the Love shared between the Father and the Son, to empower us to live as he did, in communion with his Father, so to better actualize our communion with one another.

An invitation for the transformation of all humanity and creation happened at the Galilean hill side when two simple women said yes to God and embraced with joy. They came to embrace not only each other, but their vocation. May we join them in saying yes to God, follow his will with joy as Mary and Elizabeth did and with them, celebrate the gift of life, because as each of these mothers would experience all too soon, life can be taken quicker than they could or we can ever imagine.

Today is Memorial Day. We remember the men and women who have given their lives to defend our freedom. They sacrificed their lives as did Jesus and John. Each answered their call in their own way such that we all could have life and live it to the full. Let us resist the temptation to take this life, any moment that we have been given, for granted. The life we have may not be perfect, many suffer, many grieve, and many are in pain. Our life is fragile but it is a precious gift. That is why we have much work to do to help to provide better care and access to so many who are in need. Each of us have a unique way to do so. We can begin with the guidance of J.R.R. Tolkien who put these words into the mouth of his character Gandalf, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

We do not know the time or the hour, so let us like Mary go in haste to tell those we care about that we love them. Let us make that call, send that card, email, or text, and/or invite that person for a walk, to sit down and visit. Especially amidst the rising tide of divisive and polarizing darkness, may we be a light to all we encounter. Empowered by the love and joy of Jesus, may we encourage, empower, and lift one another up so as to treat each other with dignity, respect, kindness and understanding. The easiest way to start is when you catch the eye of another, smile. In that simple gesture, we say to the other person that we care enough about them to make the time for them, to acknowledge their dignity, their worth, and to let them know that they exist and have meaning.

On this feast day of the Visitation and Memorial Day, may Mary and Elizabeth intercede on our behalf that we may honor those lives given by better appreciating and respecting the dignity of each other a bit more today than we did yesterday.

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Photo: Los Angeles National Cemetery, Getty Images

Link for today’s Mass reading for Monday, May 31, 2021

Before the pandemic, when we entered a Catholic church to pray or participate in the celebration of the Mass we would stop by a holy water font, dip our finger in the holy water and make the sign of the Cross. We may also say orally or silently the words that go along with the gesture, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” When we do this mindfully, we are recalling our Baptism, we are recommitting ourselves to our baptismal vows which is to live our lives as followers of the God of Jesus Christ. This God is one God, subsisting in three Persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We also affirm this reality in the Creed we say each Sunday, where we affirm individually, while at the same time in communion with one another, that I believe in one God the Father Almighty, I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son who is consubstantial with the Father, I believe in the Holy Spirit the Lord the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

We also may bring this sacramental practice into our everyday lives. This gesture we can also make when driving past a Catholic church out of reverence for the true presence of Jesus in the tabernacle. We can also make this gesture and say the accompanying words, at the beginning and end of prayers, before and after we eat, in private as well as in public. We can see this movement of crossing one’s self at sporting events, before taking tests, when passing an accident, or when some one cuts us off in traffic. This gesture being a much better choice than a few others we might otherwise be tempted to use.

This hand gesture and accompanying words are one of the most basic prayers we learn and when we practice it consciously, we call to mind the very foundation of our existence. God within himself is a communion of three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is a reality that always has been, is, and always will be. God the Father loves his Son eternally and fully, he is the Lover; God the Son receives the Love offered from the Father, he is the Beloved, and the Holy Spirit is the infinite breath, expression, and mutual sharing of the infinite love between the Father and the Son. This is why we can say without hesitation that God is Love because of this eternal self giving, receiving, and willing the good of the other.

The Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, coming from beyond time and space, has entered into our three dimensional realm, our temporal time and reality, to become a human being, while remaining fully divine. He came close to us in person so we could draw close to him and become partakers in the same communal exchange of love that he shares with his Father. Having spent thirty-three years on earth, before he would Ascend back to the Father, he then commissioned the eleven Apostles: “All power in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:18-20). The followers of Jesus did just that and we have the invitation and opportunity to continue that rich Tradition today.

We who have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, are called to be partakers in the life of the Trinity. We are to be participants in the love of God through our thoughts, words, and actions. As we have been loved into existence, so we are to love others, “of all nations.” We need to resist the urge to withhold our love from, those closest to us, yes, but also those we consider as other, those we fear, and those we would judge as lesser and/or label as an enemy.

When we withdraw into ourselves, keep others outside, when we build up walls, we go against how God has made us. We separate and isolate ourselves from one another. We wound our interconnectedness and become less than human when we dehumanize, degrade, and belittle. By actually being engaged with and willing to interact with one another, by willing each other’s good, through participation in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, the external labels, judgments, and prejudices may begin to fall away. We can begin to see each other as human beings again. We can then experience the love of God flowing back and forth between one another and grow as brothers and sisters.

Pope Francis tweeted on September 12, 2015, that “Every time we make the sign of the Cross, we draw closer to the great mystery of the Trinity.” May we ponder the mystery of God today, ponder and so enter into the mystery of his Trinitarian Love. Each encounter with a person is to be a mirroring of Trinitarian communion in that having been loved by God we are to love and so experience the love that is shared between us. This is when we are at our best as Church. May we live the deep reality of what making the Sign of the Cross means in our lives. If you are not sure where to start, begin with a smile, a simple hello, and/or a kind word. We are all interconnected with a Trinitarian Love that surpasses all understanding. As we engage in sharing the love of God, we remember who we are and whose we are.

Photo: May the Cardinal Newman graduating class of 2021 be bearers of God’s love.

Mass readings for Sunday, May 30, 2021

Jesus had not only created a scene when he turned over the tables literally in the Temple, but since the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus had been figuratively turning the tables on the religious leadership regarding how to worship and live out their faith. The conflicts between Jesus and those in leadership were not subsiding but only growing, especially now that Jesus was present at the Jewish spiritual center of the Temple, the very seat of God. The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders, are becoming more concerned about the teachings and actions of this itinerant preacher, and believe him to be a false prophet. They approach him when he returns to the Temple and ask, “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?” (Mark 11:28)?

Jesus deftly turns the table on them again. In doing so, they reveal that they do not believe that John or Jesus are operating under the authority of God, but they fear the reaction of the people gathering around their discussion. This is the time of the Passover, and many pilgrims have come to Jerusalem to celebrate. The area is teeming with people. The last thing that the Jewish leaders want is another scene as Jesus had staged from his turning over the tables the day before. The last thing they wanted was for the Roman centurions to get involved.

They refuse to answer Jesus’ question. Jesus follows like fashion then and does not answer theirs. This episode and exchange, as with the other conflicts with Jesus leaves them frustrated and even angrier at Jesus. They believe Jesus to be a false prophet, yet they are not willing to call him out publicly, so their indecisiveness fuels their resentment. Jesus is at peace because he knows that he is following the will of his Father and so he has nothing to prove.

How do we do with conflict? Are we as surefooted and confident as Jesus? If not, there can be many reasons, but foundationally, are we following the will of the Father in all that we do? The peace that surpasses all understanding that Jesus promises comes from the assurance that he is with us, he has our back, and supports us. It also comes with the confidence that we have a clear conscience. The challenge is to be clear in our discernment that we know the difference between God’s and our own will, as well as when our decisions are in accord with or opposed to God’s.

From time to time we may receive absolute clarity. Many other times we are indecisive. The answer to knowing God’s will is knowing God intimately. We encounter and develop a relationship with God as we would with any other person. Though until we develop a deeper faith life, that is easier said than done. As many of the saints attest, the closer they grew in relationship the more distant he appears. This is true because God invites us to go deeper, so we come to the point that we resist relying on our emotions, inspirations, our capacity to make sense of what we are asked. God wants us to come to the point to where he leads and we follow without hesitation. Just as the sheep knows the voice of the shepherd, we strive to recognize and hear the voice of God speaking to us in the silence of our hearts.

Photo: Starting to return to taking a quiet walk in the early evening. Ten minutes, still need to take things slow.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, May 29, 2021

Upon a first reading of today’s Gospel from Mark it appears that Jesus woke up on the wrong side of the bed. He and the disciples were heading to Jerusalem, he was hungry, so spying a fig tree in leaf, he walked up to it and when he saw that there were no figs growing, he unleashed the words, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again” (Mk 11:14)!

In the next scene, we find Jesus returning to the Temple. He witnessed the money changers in the outer court, and he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves (Mk 11:15). Good thing for the doves that Jesus only went for the seats!

There was a series of commercials which ran a while back in which a character was very hungry and acting out of sorts until they are able to eat the particular candy bar being promoted. Once they do so, the character is transformed back into themselves. Is this what is going on with Jesus? Is he just hangry? Has his blood-glucose level taken a nose dive? Or is there something deeper going on?

Remembering that Jesus fasted for forty days in the Judean desert, I would speculate that there is something else going on here. What is more likely is that Jesus is asserting his prophetic role. As with other prophets recorded in the Old Testament, like Jeremiah, who gathered the elders of the people, then smashed a potter’s flask, then shared that this is what God would do to them for being unfaithful (cf. Jeremiah 19), Jesus is most likely going with a hyperbolic display to make a dramatic point.

The fig tree is often a sign for Israel and is recorded as such in Hosea and Jeremiah. When Jesus comes to the fig tree, his reaction is an expression of the unfaithfulness of Israel not so much at the fig tree. The chosen people are to be faithful to God in and out of season. When the disciples and Jesus passed by the fig tree the next morning, Peter exlaimed that the fig tree Jesus had cursed had withered to the roots. Jesus, not missing a step, mentions to his disciples that they are to: “Have faith in God” (Mk 11:22). By doing so, they will not whither and fade as those not being faithful to the covenant.

Jesus assumes his role as a prophet again when he is casting out the money changers in the temple precincts. It is no minor detail that the tables with caged doves were spared. If Jesus was going off in some kind of rage, he would not have thought twice about turning over the tables on them as well. Jesus is making a spectacle that people would take notice. “Is it not written: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples? But you have made it a den of thieves” (Mk 11:17). 

Jesus is cleansing and restoring the Temple to its proper place as a house of prayer, but he is also showing that the temple tax that has been paid and the sacrifices that have been offered will no longer be needed. Jesus is foreshadowing how he will replace the brick and mortar and he himself will become the New Temple. Jesus will be scourged and crucified, he will be the sacrifice offered and the price paid for our sins. The altar will be the new table where his sacrifice will be memorialized and re-presented.

Jesus’ message at the fig tree and the cleansing of the Temple are just as important for us today. As his followers, we are to bear fruit in and out of season, this means that we are to live out his teachings in all areas of our lives, individually and in communion with one another. Jesus has given us all a gift to offer, something that no one else can or ever will quite do in the way we can. This is how we are to bear fruit. Jesus in cleansing the Temple, shows that he is the new Temple. We too are to be a part of this Temple. We are to resist the corrosive and corruptive temptations that assail us, and remain steadfast and true to our calling and faithful to God’s will as members of the living Temple. We are precious stones, to be polished and refined, that we might radiate the light of Christ to those in our midst.

Painting: El Greco, Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, May 28, 2021

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.  (Mk 10:47-48).

Though Bartimaeus is blind, he seems to “see” better and know who Jesus is. He does not just call out the name of Jesus, but “Jesus, Son of David.” This is not merely a genetic marker, but a Messianic title. Bartimaeus may have physical blindness, but he is one of the few in the Gospel of Mark to recognize Jesus is the Messiah. The disciples and crowd walking with him, the many who “rebuked him” showed their spiritual blindness, in that they prevented the blind man from coming to Jesus.

When we take time to read and meditate on this scriptural account, which part do we play? Are we like those in the crowd who follow and identify with Jesus, yet rebuke others seeking to come to Jesus? Do we foster a posture of other, embrace tribalism, nationalism, and contribute to division and polarization? If we do, we then are suffering from the very spiritual blindness that Jesus has come to heal.

Each thought we ponder and action we take ripples out from us and touches everyone. In what ways do we contribute to the rampant violence in our world? Do we gossip, spread false reports knowingly about others only to degrade and belittle? Do we pass dehumanizing images and memes on social media? Do we talk over or at people, do we impose our views not even willing to listen to another? The smallest act of indignity shown to another, whether it be a snide remark, a racial, ethnic, or sexist epithet, or any manner of disrespect contributes to the horrific reports that plague the news far too often.

In allowing Jesus to convict us by examining our conscience, we are better able to recognize our own blindness so as to recognize the impulses we have within us to build walls that promote division, separation, and violence. By opening ourselves up to the love of the Holy Spirit, we can instead work with him to build bridges of forgiveness, unity, and love. As we allow the light of Jesus to shine within us, our present darkness will dissipate and then we will be more willing to be a light for others by embracing one another as human beings. In assuming a posture of understanding, compassion, and empathy we can begin to see each other as brothers and sisters.

Darkness only remains if we embrace it and become the darkness. Let us be light. Hate only wins if we feed the hate. Let us promote love. We can come from the shadows and begin to see with new eyes when we have the humility of Bartimaeus and ask Jesus, “Master, I want to see.”

Photo by Johannes Plenio from Pexels

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, May 27, 2021

Some people will deny the divinity of Jesus on account of the differences between the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, which all follow a similar outline and similar accounting of the life of Jesus, and the Gospel of John, which is very different in regard to how much of the divinity of Jesus is expressed in its theological presentation. Those who would deny the divinity of Jesus following this proposal, state that the author of John is adding to Jesus that which was not there and that in the synoptic Gospels there are no accounts of the divinity of Jesus.

The assumption that there is no accounting of the divinity of Jesus in the synoptic Gospels does not present a true assessment of these texts. This view is just not supported with a careful reading of the text. The very first line of the Gospel of Mark states: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ [the Son of God]” (Mk 1:1). This verse may often be read as merely an introductory device, and even if we drop the words the Son of God, bracketed because there are some manuscripts that do not include them, Mark was saying something very clear and very subversive when he used the word gospel. The Greek rendering of the word gospel is, euangelion, which we interpret as good news. This is still pretty much, “Ho, hum,” unless we understand the context of how euangelion was used during the time of Jesus.

This word was used by the Roman emperor who would send his emissaries to proclaim the good news throughout the empire announcing his birthday, or an imperial victory. No one else dared to use these words in a public forum as Mark is doing with the very first line of his Gospel, as this was the prerogative of the emperor. Mark was stating that Caesar is not Lord, but Jesus is.

Jesus only fourteen verses later would claim: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). The kingdom of God is at hand in the presence of Jesus. This is the euangelion that we believe. The gospel, the good news, is that the Son of God has become one with us in the flesh, to dwell among us.

In today’s opening verse from Mark, we have read or heard; The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid (Mk 10:32). Again, this verse may be read over quickly as a literary device so we can get to the good stuff, yet again, Mark is saying a lot. We may miss the context, but the readers and hearers of his time would not have. They would have recognized that amazed and afraid were words used in their sacred texts to describe the reactions to God, his messengers the angels, and/or the work of God.

The Good News, proclaimed to us through the tome of salvation history, hidden in the Old and revealed in the New Testament, is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He is our Lord, he is our Savior and Redeemer. He became a human being, he became one with us in all things except sin, and dwelt among us. Jesus did so that we might become divinized, become God through our participation in his life. May we too, like the disciples, be amazed and in awe of the magnitude of this reality. How many times have we heard this Good News, yet have just gone about our business, as if nothing significant was said?

We need to resist that temptation to do that here. We can become so busy, so caught up in just getting through all that we have to do, that we forget what is really important and who is really important. We can take for granted those that are near to us, not out of any malice or lack of care, but just because life happens and we get caught up in doing and completing that which needs to be done. May we spend some time slowing down and appreciating our life in communion with God and one another. May we fully appreciate the gift that Jesus has offered us, which is a relationship with him and his Father through the love of the Holy Spirit. In so embracing and developing the gift of our relationship with God, we can better experience the dignity of our humanity, and helpfully begin to recognize again the same dignity that is present in each and every other human being.

Photo: Being willing to encounter and dialogue with one another increases the chance that we will respect each other’s human dignity!

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

For our reading today, we need to go back a few verses. The rich man was given the answer to what he asked for regarding how he could inherit eternal life. He walked away sad because he was not willing to let go of his possessions and follow Jesus. Jesus then said, “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 were undoubtedly stymied, primarily because common Jewish belief of that time followed the belief 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, was blessed by God, would not be a part of God’s kingdom, what then was one to do?

As Jesus responded to the rich man, he also addressed 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, our 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 destiny, we will be building our foundation on sand. “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 and that is to accept the invitation Jesus offers. The rich man refused the invitation, because he chose his possessions over the kingdom. The disciples of Jesus 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. Jesus insists that they would receive back “a hundred times more in this present age… and eternal life to come” (Mk 10:30).

In today’s Gospel account from Mark, Jesus is not preaching a prosperity gospel or free reigning capitalism, nor is he being a proponent of socialism or communism. For each of these are human social constructs. Jesus instead is painting a picture of the reign of God as a new family. One that exists, not of the world, but of God’s design. A kingdom not of this world, but still present in it. Those who are a part of this kingdom are not connected through bloodline, tribe, political party, or nation, but through a transformation of heart, mind and spirit. The followers of Jesus are brothers and sisters to one another. They will provide hospitality, charity, support, and encouragement to one another, as well as to the poor, the marginalized, and those on the peripheries. For they too are our brothers and sisters.

Jesus offers us the same invitation that he offered the rich man and his disciples. We are being invited to follow him by letting go of that which distracts and diverts us, holds us attached and bound from giving our life more fully over to following the will of God. The best way we can do this is to make an assessment of our lives, to divest ourselves of those things that are not necessary, to let them go, so as to live more simply. In this way, we will be less tempted to look to our material goods for our security and pleasure, thus be less attached to them, and instead build our foundation on the solid rock foundation of our relationship with Jesus, his Father, and the love of the Holy Spirit. We are constantly offered invitations. Will we accept the allure of wealth, power, pleasure, and/or honor, or will we follow Jesus?

Painting: “The Face of Christ” by Ariel Agemian, based on the Shroud of Turin

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Today’s memorial, Mary the Mother of the Church, only began three years ago with the decree released on February 11, 2018, by Cardinal Robert Sarah while he was still the head of the Congregation of Divine Worship. Pope Francis called for the Church to celebrate this memorial on the Monday after Pentecost. Not only is Mary the Mother of Jesus, but since we as the People of God participate in the life of Jesus as members of the Body of Christ, she is our mother too.

The New Testament records time and again how Mary reveals by word and action that she is the model of discipleship.

Mary answered Gabriel’s request to conceive and bear Jesus, with her response, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). Mary then went with haste to share the good news with Elizabeth and to assist her in her pregnancy of John the Baptist. Mary, after the birth of Jesus, is visited by the shepherds and upon hearing their news from the angelic host, she “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Lk 2:19). Mary and Joseph care for, protect, and guide Jesus in the Jewish faith as he matures and grows into a young man.

Mary was also present at the beginning of his ministry when she says to the servants at the wedding at Cana, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). Mary was present at the crucifixion, as recorded in today’s reading from the Gospel of John: When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home (Jn 19:26-27). Mary was pierced with sorrow when the lance was thrust through the side of Jesus, her son, as blood and water flowed. Mary was then present as the Church was birthed at Pentecost at the coming of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14).

Mary is the mother of Jesus, the Mother of the Church, and so she is also our mother. We do not worship Mary but seek her intercession and guidance as we would our own mothers. We also look to her as a model for living as disciples of Jesus as outlined in the examples above. We too are to ponder the wonders and mysteries of God working in our lives. May we resist the temptation of living in denial, running from our humanity and suffering, but instead face and embrace the sorrow and pain experienced in this fallen world so to receive her Son, Jesus, whose arms are wide open to receive us in the midst of our pain, so that he may bestow upon us his consolation and healing.

But may we not stop there. May we open ourselves to the love and empowerment of the Holy Spirit such that we may say yes to bearing Christ and going with haste to share the Good News of his life with others. May we resist the temptation of indifference and uncaring and instead help and support those we come into contact with who are in need. May we follow the last words of Mary recorded in Scripture and do whatever Jesus tells us to do to make his Church relevant and vibrant in our time, to speak out and stand up to hatred, injustice, racism, sexism, and violence in all its forms. As we honor Mary, may we also learn to honor and respect the women in our lives.

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us now and at the hour of our death!

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Photo: Statue of Jesus and Mary outside Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, Oceanside, CA, Christmas 2017

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, May 24, 2021

There is a list of seven deadly or capital sins. They are pride, lust, greed, envy, wrath, gluttony, and sloth or acedia. Acedia may be the least recognized on the list but it is the most dangerous because it is the most subtle. If it is recognized at all, it is often compared to laziness, but that does not quite grasp the depth of it. The word, from its literal meaning, means a lack of care. This can manifest in our life as cynicism, finding no meaning, a minimalist approach, a resistance to discipline, disengagement with the world around us, and ultimately a “lack of care given to one’s own spiritual life, a lack of concern for one’s own salvation” (Nault 2015, 28).

Marc Cardinal Ouellet, in his foreword to Jean-Charles Nault’s, The Noonday Devil, describes the effects of acedia on us today this way: “Left to his own devices, man ultimately despairs of ever being able to find a meaning for his existence and runs the risk of sinking into mediocrity that is just the symptom of his rejection of his own greatness as an adopted son [and daughter] of God” (Nault, 2015, 11).

So many of us, especially over the past year of this pandemic, struggle with just getting by, feeling tired, worn down, and worn out, seeing on some far horizon the possibility for our potential but wondering if we can ever fully achieve it. We can come to deny the very gift of our humanity, we retreat into a stance that accepts the unthinkable, as long as it does not directly affect us. We grow in our indifference toward the needs of others we consider not like us. This happens when we listen to the father of lies instead of our Father in heaven.

Today we celebrate the antidote to acedia as well as all those temptations that grasp at our throat to choke out the divine life from growing within us. Today we celebrate the feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and the Apostles to empower them with divine Love.

From our Gospel reading today we read how: The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (Jn 20:21). Jesus, who embraced our humanity, took upon himself our sin on the Cross, then conquered death, rose again, and freed us from our slavery to sin. The Risen One comes to us as he came to his disciples in the locked room and invites us to participate in his divine life, to share in the love he shares with the Father, who is the Holy Spirit. So when temptations arise in our minds and hearts, we are to, in the words of St Benedict of Nursia, “dash them against Christ immediately” (Nault, 2015, 41).

We are able through the prompting of the Holy Spirit through prayers, songs, and words of Scripture to counteract the lies and temptations that seek to lure us away from the truth of our relationship with Jesus, ourselves, and each other. One simple but powerful prayer to use is reciting the words from Psalm 70:2 “God, come to my assistance. Lord make haste to help me.” Another is “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth.” Just saying, Veni, Sancte Spiritus, or the English equivalent, Come, Holy Spirit, reciting the Jesus Prayer or simply the words, Come, Lord Jesus, and/or our own spontaneous words of prayer are all ways to immediately turn away from the temptations that arise and draw on the infinite power and love of God.

We are like diamonds in the ruff. We are unique and special gifts to this world, though wounded and marred by our own sin. We may feel adrift, without direction; we may feel cynical and without hope; we may feel beaten, worn out, and worn down; we may feel anxious and afraid, but let us not despair or lose our ability to care, especially for each other. We need to realize that we are not overcome or outdone. We may be wounded by indifference and complacency, but we are not defined or set in stone. We can change. We can learn to love, to will the good of each other, even those that are different than ourselves.

Today, on the Solemnity of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, let us call on the same Holy Spirit that empowered Mary and the Apostles to give us the guidance and strength from our God and Father who loves us and desires for all of us to fully actualize who we are and who he calls us to be: People of love. Love is the antidote to the sickness of fear and hate. Love helps us to resist the defensive posture of turning in upon ourselves and instead moves us out beyond ourselves to will the good of each other.

God does not want us to settle for a minimalist approach or to live a life of mediocrity that is bogged down by apathy, but instead, he urges us to call on the name of his Son, Jesus, who will break the bonds of our enslavement to sin, and through our participation in his life become empowered by the Holy Spirit so to be free to live the life we have been created for; a life of meaning, fulfillment, joy, love, and unity with God and one another. This is a promise made, not just for a select few, but for all people, no matter their ethnicity, race, or creed.

Holy Spirit set us aflame with the fire of your love and burn off the dross of our covert or overt biases, prejudices and racism so that we may be like precious stones radiating your light and love in such a way that we keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking deceit, that we turn aside from evil and do good, that we seek and strive after the peace of God, that peace that surpasses all understanding and that we become more present, more understanding, and more loving, so to see each other as you see us, as precious children in your sight. Help us to respect the gifts of our diversity and differences while at the same time embrace the dignity of each human person.

The gift of Pentecost is the universal invitation to enter into relationships with those that are different than us so to come close and embrace our common humanity. Help us to see each other as brothers and sisters, as fellow human beings, as people with dignity. Help us to love one another as you love us.

Veni Sancte Spiritus! Come Holy Spirit!

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Photo from the Basilica of St Peter accessed from A Window Panes a Thousand Words

Nault, O.S.B., Jean-Charles. The Noonday Devil: Acedia Unnamed Evil of Our Times. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2015. If you are looking for a transformative book for summer reading, I highly recommend it!

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, May 23, 20201