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

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

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

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

When Pope Francis was asked in an interview, “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” he answered, “I am a sinner, but I trust in the infinite mercy and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I accept in a spirit of penance.” We are all sinners because of the fact that we all in some form or fashion place idols before God. This is not a negative or defeatist attitude, quite the contrary. When we call out our sin in truth, we can be free from it. When we think our life is about us first and foremost, and ignore or rationalize our sin then we are enslaved, such that it chokes and threatens to undo us. Then we experience its debilitating effects and succumb or attempt to free ourselves, yet the process becomes likened to a Chinese finger trap. The more we pull to escape, the tighter the grasp.

We become free from our sins by acknowledging that we are sinners. This does mean we are awful people. It just means that we have fallen for an apparent good instead of the true Good that God wants for us. We also cannot ultimately be freed by our efforts alone. We need to work in collaboration with the mercy of Jesus. We need a savior. Jesus accepts us as sinners, as we are. We do not have to be perfect or have our house in order for him to come to be present with us, for he is already waiting for us. We do not need to be worthy, we just need to be willing to open the door when he knocks, and invite him into the chaos of our lives so he can heal us with his grace, love, and mercy. “So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.” Let Jesus in today, and each day so to be free for excellence!

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Photo: Crucifix in the sanctuary of the cathedral, St Ignatius of Loyola, PBG, FL

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

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Jesus seeks again to help the Pharisees understand who he is. In the preceding section of today’s Gospel of John, the Pharisees do not believe in his claim of being “the light of the world” because he testifies on his “own behalf, so [his] testimony cannot be verified” (Jn 8:13). The point being made here is that for verification there must be support given by two or three valid witnesses (cf. Deuteronomy 19:15). Jesus states that he testifies on his own behalf as does his Father who sent him (cf. Jn 8:19). His witness in this matter is God.

Jesus continues in today’s Gospel account to attempt to help the Pharisees and those gathered around them to understand who he is and what is about to transpire regarding his crucifixion. Jesus shared that God his Father sent him and continues to be with him. He has not left Jesus alone because Jesus maintains the intimacy of their relationship as he follows the will of his Father and will continue to do so all the way to being lifted up on the Cross.

Those listening to Jesus do not understand. They asked if he was talking about killing himself. Often throughout the ministry of Jesus many, even his Apostles, do not understand what Jesus taught, and that was because they were trying to make sense of what he said from this purely material and finite reality. Jesus invited them to seek a deeper understanding by sharing that he is from above and they were from below. They were needing to be born from above, to open their minds and hearts to him, as Simon Peter did when he came to realize that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus gave those he taught a choice. They could die in their own sin or repent and choose to live in participation with him.

Discipleship is a journey. We will not come to understand Jesus from one instance or encounter. Even Saul, who had an amazing experience and encounter with Jesus and changed his name to Paul, would take about three years to digest the significance of what happened to him that day on the road to Damascus. It will be so with us as well. We need to resist the world’s craving for instant gratification, especially regarding the growth of our discipleship and spiritual maturity.

We will develop on our faith journey as we acknowledge and repent from our sin, hear his call, believe in Jesus, remain committed to him, and walk with Jesus day by day and follow the will of his Father as he did. The gift of the liturgical seasons is that as we walk each year with Jesus and assess our growth, we will, like a finger making an upward spiral motion, come again and again to the same point each year, and hopefully, we are higher up that spiral each time.

Sometimes it is hard to see our changes in our day to day reality, but over time with the gift of hindsight, we can discover that we indeed have made a closer walk with Jesus a reality. When we can honestly assess that this is not so, it is not too late to begin again, to repent from that which keeps us bound to this world and turn our gaze to that which is above. Jesus made his choice to follow the will of his Father, to be lifted up, and to die on the cross for us. We too have been given a choice. We can hold tight to our selfish nature and curve in upon ourselves or we can open our heart to the cross and be free.

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Picture: Mosaic of Crucifixion from Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center, Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, March 23, 2021

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

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

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

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

Jesus does not define us by our worst mistakes, but he does not want us to remain in our sin. By doing so, we are separating ourselves from a more real and intimate relationship with God and one another. Jesus is about healing those aspects of our choices, behaviors, habits, prejudices, and vices that keep us separated. Lent is a more intense period where we make the time to become more aware of that which separates us and in humility admit to and confess these patterns of behavior so that through the love and mercy of God and in collaboration with him, we can be transformed.

May we examine our conscience, call to mind those areas in which we have fallen short of the glory of God in our lives, where we have sinned, and with humility share them with Jesus. In this way, we with the woman caught in adultery may also hear his words, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more” (Jn 8:11). As we find healing and come to a better place of wholeness, we need to resist the urge to look at others as scapegoats. We are all interconnected and need to stand up for and speak on behalf of the dignity of one other.

The recent escalation in negative rhetoric, violence, hate crimes, and deaths committed against Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders is wrong. Those perpetrating these acts must be held accountable but we also must pray and work to transform hearts and minds to help those with hatred in their hearts to experience the dignity of those they would seek to harm. As Bruce Lee said in an interview, “under the sky, under the heavens, there is but one family.” Isolation can be a poison that breeds contempt and indifference. We need to be willing to encounter one another in our differences, engage in dialogue with each other, and then we will begin to see each other as human, begin to build relationships, and recognize each other as family.

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Photo: After Thomas Merton and HH Dalai Lama met after one of their three meetings in November 1968.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, March 22, 2021

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

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

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

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

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

Any act of the will that we place before God must be rejected, must die. To the extent that we can surrender our whole mind, heart, soul, and strength to Jesus, is the extent to which we will participate in his life and divinity. Jesus died for us so that he can also be with us always. We are not orphans, for he continues to be with us in the Mass. We come to receive him, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, during each liturgical celebration. We consume him and so continue to be nourished, to be transformed into his Body. We participate in this reality as well spiritually, when we are not able to attend Mass in person. We are dismissed from our time of worship and communion as bearers of Christ. We are sent to bring him to those we encounter in our realm of influence through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. At the very least we are to respect the dignity of each person we interact with.

By participating in the Sacraments of Initiation; Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist, we become the grain of wheat that dies, germinates in the ground, then sends forth roots and shoots. As we continue in our daily surrender to God and participate in the disciplines of prayer, fasting, worship, study, service, and almsgiving we begin to bear fruit. For whoever serves Jesus, must follow him, and wherever he is, there his servants will be. The Father will honor whoever serves his Son (cf. Jn 12:26). Surrendering our lives in this way to Jesus we can say with St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “Each time anyone comes into contact with us, they must become different and better people because of having met us. We must radiate God’s love” (Mother Teresa, pp. 18-19). Let us, like the grain of wheat, die to our false self, allow the shell of our ego to be cracked open, so as to rise with Christ in his glory of being fully alive in him, to actualize who he calls us to be, and to bear the fruit of his mercy and love with others!

Photo: Twelfth Station of the Cross on the grounds of Cardinal Newman HS.

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

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, March 21, 2021

Jesus is recorded, a few verses before (cf. 7:37-39) today’s Gospel,  speaking about quenching the thirst of those gathered around to listen to him. The thirst he is talking about fulfilling is spiritual thirst, that thirst which we all desire to be refreshed by, that which we have been created to receive; the thirst to belong, to be in communion, to be loved and to love in return. Jesus speaks of coming to those who thirst to be refreshed with: “Rivers of living water [that] will flow from within” (Jn 7:38). Jesus spoke of the day when he would send the Holy Spirit to well up from within the soul of each person who would follow him. All who participate in the life of Jesus would come to experience also the love shared between God the Father and God the Son, who is God the Holy Spirit.

Some who heard Jesus speaking in this way were deeply moved, they believed him to be the Prophet, others believed him to be the Messiah. Yet, there were those who could not see past their own preconceived notions. They heard his teaching, may have even been moved as well but said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he” (Jn 7:41)? Remember Nathaniel’s first reaction when Philip had told him that they had found the Messiah? Nathaniel asked if anything good could come out of Nazareth (cf. Jn 43-47). Jesus was also rejected because he was looked down upon because of his trade as a tekton, a carpenter or a day laborer.

Why the region of Galilee, the town of Nazareth itself, would be disparaged is a matter of speculation. The fact was that there were those, unlike Nathaniel, that could not see past their initial prejudices. Even though Jesus spoke and taught with authority, though as the Temple guards who were sent to arrest him said, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man” (Jn 7:46), and even when Nicodemus spoke out rationally, requesting they hear Jesus out and give him the opportunity to make his case, there were those in authority and among the people who could or would not hear Jesus. They closed themselves off to the invitation to receive the gift of the love of God. Their charge was that he was not from Bethlehem, he was not of the line of David, case closed.

We must come to terms with our ingrained, prejudicial attitudes and our limitations of thought that prevent us from seeing as God sees, otherwise, we will become like a stagnant pool and, as did those in today’s Gospel account from John, close ourselves off from the invitation of Jesus. Many of our daily routines, habits, livelihoods, health, and very lives have been shaken and threatened by this pandemic. We can react out of fear or to the other extreme, react as if nothing has changed putting our lives and others at risk. Aristotle wrote that virtue is the means between two extremes. Courage is the means between being paralyzed with fear and excessive reckless abandon.

There are sensible precautions we can take that we are all now well aware of to keep ourselves and those around us safe. From my time in the hospital I learned, the most important is to wash our hands often and not touch our faces, especially, eyes, noses and mouths. Wearing masks, social distancing and receiving the vaccine are also ways to protect ourselves and prevent the spread of and hopefully bring about an end to this outbreak. By doing so, we can be engaged in our lives while keeping ourselves and others safe.

A more reasonable and rational approach is true for us spiritually as well. We can give in to fear and say that Jesus has left us, that he doesn’t care, or that he does not exist, for what kind of Lord would put us through this? Or we can follow the lead of Pope Francis who shared in his Ubi et Orbi message around this same time last year that Jesus, “more than anyone, cares about us.” Jesus cares. His hand is held out before us. We can reject it or grasp it, the choice is ours. Jesus is the source of living water, he is the eye in the midst of any storm, he is the light leading us through the darkness. When we choose to breathe more and react less, we will be more likely to recognize and accept the offer of Jesus. By taking his hand and allowing him to lead us, we will act with more prudence, be more present and mindful, and better prepared to support one another each day going forward.

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Photo: Pope Francis delivering his reflection before his Urbi et Orbi blessing for the world – Vatican Media accessed from zenit.org

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, March 20, 2021

Who do we want to be? It is so easy to get caught up in being busy, taking care of children, the home, school assignments, work, as well as a myriad of other activities that each of us, experiencing our unique vocation in life, can add to the list. These can all be good things, but we can lose ourselves in our busyness and responsibilities such that we slip into a state of survival mode or merely existing. One day can move into one week, into one month, into one year, and then we wake up one morning and wonder where the last ten years went!

We can fall into the trap of being defined by what we do instead of who we are and who God is calling us to be. God has a plan for us with the end result being eternal communion with him in heaven. Living a life of holiness and becoming saints is our call. We need to remind ourselves of this from time to time, by assessing where we are now and listening to the guidance of God.

Our Gospel account from Matthew today gives us an opportunity to see this holiness in action. Joseph has become aware that Mary, his betrothed, is with child and he is not the Father. Joseph, “a righteous man” follows the law, but is “unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly” (Mt 1:19). Joseph’s life of righteousness pulls him to follow the law, yet he shows that discernment in matters of the dignity of the person is just as important. Joseph not only was unwilling to make Mary into a public spectacle but was also unwilling to allow the possibility of her to be stoned to death.

Joseph pondered the idea of divorcing her quietly. Before he made his final decision, Joseph slept on the matter, which is often a good course of action when weighing such a heavy issue. How many times do we rush into decisions only to regret them later? Joseph receives God’s direction through the angel of the Lord in a dream.

When Joseph arises in the morning, he does not dig in his heels feeling he knows best and return to his original decision, he does not let fear or anxiety about the possible scenarios that could play out in his mind regarding what others may say or think sway him, nor do the possible and real difficulties he can envision deter him. Joseph trusts God. With confidence and assurance of who he is and what God calls him to do, Joseph acts on the guidance he has received.

St. Joseph is a model for us. When faced with decisions to make, we need to remember who we are, whose we are, and who we are called to be. We are children of God, and that means we belong to God, a God who loves and cares for us. He has a plan for each of our lives. Every decision and action is a step in fulfilling that plan.

When we are discerning, no matter how large or small, we are invited to gather information, look at the reasonable options available, all the while, continuing to seek God’s guidance. God will guide us through many means and ways such as a thought, a family member or friend sharing an insight at an opportune time, as well as through our dreams. Joseph followed these steps and God granted him not only the guidance he sought but the support to fulfill the commission he received. We can be assured that God will do the same as we discern his direction too.

St. Joseph, pray for us!

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Painting: “The Dream of St Joseph” by Anton Raphael Mengs about 1774

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, March 19, 2021

God heard the cry of his people who were suffering from enslavement in Egypt. God called and sent Moses to free them. Pharoah did not accept the request of Moses to let his people go and instead put more pressure on his slaves to fulfill their daily quota of bricks as before, though now without providing the straw that they needed to accomplish the task (cf. Exodus 5). The Hebrew slaves did not take out their frustrations on their oppressors but on Moses. This pattern of complaint continued time and again, even after their freedom was assured and they wandered in the desert. Even thought they were free, they complained regularly when things got tough, and stated that they were better off in their slavery and dependency on the Pharaoh instead of placing their trust and dependency on God.

God the Father sent his Son to free us from our slavery to sin, just as he sent Moses to free the Hebrews enslaved under Pharaoh. How many times do we, like our ancestors, also complain, preferring our life of sin, a life of mere existence, over embracing the gift of a life lived to the full because it is what we know. Even worse there are too often those in positions of spiritual leadership who abuse their power, look out for their own interests, instead of guiding and serving the people entrusted to their care.

Jesus is recorded in today’s Gospel addressing those who are missing, “how God has made his will known to the people, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent” (Jn 5:37-38). God the Father has sent his Son to reveal his will but too many do not have eyes to see or ears to hear.

Those who are learned “search the Scriptures, because [they] think [they] have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But [they] do not want to come to me to have life” (Jn 5:39-40). What is hidden in the Hebrew Scriptures is revealed in the New Testament: the New Covenant made with Jesus and all of creation. The prophecies of old testify that the Messiah will come as a suffering servant, he will unify the nations, cleanse the Temple, and the enemies of God will be placed at his feet. These affirmations are presented and known by those who study the sacred texts, yet they still do not recognize the signs that the Messiah is in the very midst of them.

Even Moses testified of Jesus when he said: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kindred, and will put my words into the mouth of the prophet; the prophet shall tell them all that I command” (Deuteronomy 18:18). Yet the successors of Moses would not even believe in his writings, so Jesus said how would they believe in his words?

Jesus shows us in our Gospel reading today how the people of his time could have known he was who he claimed to be. This is true for us today as well. If we are sincerely seeking God who has and continues to make his will known, we will find him in philosophy, mathematics, the sciences, literature, his creation, in our service to each other, in truths of other faith traditions, but the fullness of the Father is revealed in our encounter of him through his Son, “whom he has sent”. Do we have eyes to see or will we miss God’s invitation because we do not believe in “the one whom he has sent”?

Jesus is also revealed in Scripture, the Old and New Testaments. To understand the New Testament we must understand the Old, for Moses and the prophets testify to his coming and Jesus came not to abolish but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Do we leave the Bible on the shelf like any other book? If we do read it, do we do so as if it were a dead letter, or do we read and hear it as it is truly meant to be read and heard, as the living Word of God proclaimed? We are more than a people of the book. We are a people of encounter.

The Father makes himself known to us through the presence of his Son and the love of the Holy Spirit. To experience the truth of this reality we need to do accept his invitation to relationship. As we reach out to God, we come to realize that he is already present and reaching out to us through his Son. We do not need to run to God, because he is already running to meet us, waiting to hold us in his loving embrace, now and forevermore!

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Photo of the apse, the semi-circular area behind the altar of St Edwards, Palm Beach, FL

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, March 18, 2021

The words of today’s Gospel from John is an answer to Jesus’ healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda we read yesterday. The issue at hand for those who are incensed by Jesus’ healing is that he has done so on the Sabbath. Jesus does not help his case with his critics for he says he healed on the Sabbath because he was directed to do so by his Father: “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes” (Jn 5:21). Jesus does not make concessions with those who oppose his actions of healing. He clearly states the truth about who he is, the Lord of the Sabbath. For those not believing Jesus is who he says he is, this is blasphemy of the highest order. This is why they plot to kill him.

So too in our own age, there are many ways to express our understanding and belief about who Jesus was in his time and is today. If you haven’t thought about Jesus beyond his name in a while, about who he really is and why he is relevant to our lives, then allow St. Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, who lived from 297 to 373 AD, to offer a point to ponder today. Athanasius held firmly to and taught with conviction that Jesus is, “the Son of God [who] became man so that we might become God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 480). This statement is an acknowledgment that we cannot be saved on our own merits, through our own will power and discipline alone. We become the fullness, we actualize who we are created to be, through our participation in the divinity of Jesus the Christ.

The reality that Jesus, fully human, is at the same time the second Person of the Holy Trinity, became one with us in our humanity so that we can become one with him in his divinity is something worth thinking and praying about. There is much writing and discussion about how many people are leaving the Church, while at the same time still hungry, I would say starving, for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. This is true for those who leave as well as those who remain whether either could or would articulate it in that way. Could it be that we have forgotten the foundation not only of our faith, but that we are followers of Jesus Christ?

By meditating upon and returning periodically to the words of St. Athanasius we just might remember who and whose we are. In this way, we will not have to face what lies before us alone as St. Patrick, whose feast day we celebrate today, came to realize. As we begin or continue our day may the words of St. Patrick become our shield as well: “Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me.”

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Photo accessed: https://www.cathopic.com/search/candles

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Has there ever been a time when you were picked last for the team, whether on the playground, P.E., or gym class? I remember being on both sides, being picked last, and picking others to join and having to pick someone last. I much more preferred being chosen last than having to be in the situation to choose a classmate last because someone had to be in that position at some point, and it was often an agonizing situation. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus comes upon a man who has experienced an even worse situation.

This person has been in need of healing for thirty-eight years. Apparently, there was a limited time to get into the waters of the pool to experience the healing properties that it afforded, for each time the water stirred, while the man moved to get closer to and enter the water, “someone else gets down there before” him. This is worse than getting picked last, as he doesn’t in a sense even make the team!

But with Jesus, the last shall become first. Key ingredients are belief, faith, and a willingness to be healed. Jesus does not impose, even in the case of healing, Jesus invites. He asks the sick man, “Do you want to be well?” When the man in need of healing explains the limitations he has experienced in the past regarding getting to the pool, Jesus does not hesitate. Jesus commands him to rise, pick up his mat and walk. The man is no longer the one picked over, the one ignored, the one unseen. The sick man encounters Jesus and is healed by his word.

Jesus approaches us in the same way that he encountered the sick man by the pool of Bethesda in today’s Gospel. Jesus meets us in our need, where we are, no matter our station in life. He does not leave us on the outside looking in, he does not leave us wondering if we are loved or if we belong. He does not only come to encounter us but if we are willing, to empower us to be about the mission given to us by his Father. Jesus gives meaning and purpose to our lives. Each and every one of us is a gift from God and has been graced with something to contribute to others, something unique to help make the kingdom of God a reality.

I invite you to enter a place of silence and stillness, without and within. Settle into a place with no or little distractions, breathe in deep and exhale a few times, then close your eyes. See your self as you are in your present seated position, breathing, experiencing your shoulders relaxing, and just being still. Then notice Jesus walking toward you as he did with the man at the pool of Bethesda. Does Jesus remain standing, does he sit beside you, or kneel before you? As he assumes whatever posture, allow your thoughts to reflect on what you need. As you are pondering, does Jesus ask you a question? What does he ask or what does he say?

Jesus is present, right here and right now, for you. There are no boundaries, no limitations, only those you impose on your self. Share with Jesus your need. You are no longer misunderstood, left out, or picked last. Jesus is present. Embrace the moment of knowing you are loved, heard, and that you belong in the kingdom of God.

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Painting: close up of Head of Christ by Rembrandt

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, March 16, 2021

We hear often in the Gospels how those who believed in Jesus received healings, exorcisms, and were forgiven of their sins. We have also read accounts such as from the Gospel of Matthew that he “did not work many mighty deeds” in Nazareth “because of their lack of faith” (Mt 13:58).

In today’s Gospel account from John, Jesus speaks to a royal official whose son is close to death. Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left (Jn 4:50). On his way home to his son the man is met by the slaves from his household and they told him that his son would live and when they compared notes, they realized the healing occurred at the moment Jesus spoke and the man believed.

What do faith and belief have to do with Jesus being active in our lives? The way of the Gospel, the good news, is all about invitation and acceptance. Jesus enters our world, our reality, gently and humbly. He came as a poor infant, completely dependent on Mary and Joseph for his very survival. He would live the majority of his life in the obscure village of Nazareth most likely working as a day laborer. When he begins his public ministry he does so by inviting people to be a part of his life, to enter into a relationship with him and his Father. People are free to say no or to say yes to that invitation.

Faith is trusting that what Jesus says is true and that he is who he says he is. Belief is the act of our will that aligns with our faith, our trust in him. Jesus invited the man to believe that his son was healed and the man believed and walked away with full confidence that his son would be healed. Belief is followed by an affirmative act of the will. I can believe my car will run, but unless I get in it and turn the key, I am not going anywhere.

Just as the sun rose this morning, Jesus is present to each and every one of us. Just as Jesus invited Zacchaeus to come down out of the tree because he wanted to have dinner with him in his home, Jesus is offering his invitation to us to be a part of our lives. Just as Jesus invited Andrew and Peter, James and John to follow him, Jesus invites us to follow him as well.

If your schedule affords you the opportunity to wake up with the sun or early in the morning while the sun is still rising this week, I invite you to do so. Find a quiet place inside or outside, call to mind anything that you are grateful for, ponder your hopes and dreams, allow any struggles, confusion, sinful patterns, needs for healing and/or forgiveness for yourselves or others to arise. As the light of the sun pierces the darkness, allow it to be an icon of Jesus’ invitation to enter into your life and share with him what came up for you.

“From the east comes the one whose name is Dayspring, he who is mediator between God and men. You are invited then to look always to the east: it is there that the sun of righteousness rises for you, it is there that the light is always being born for you… So that you may always enjoy the light of knowledge, keep always in the daylight of faith, hold fast always to the light of love and peace” (Excerpt from a homily on Leviticus by Church father, Origen, 184-253).

Embrace and be grateful for the light of Christ who comes to you today to guide you through your struggles and confusion, to hear the deepest prayers of your heart, to offer you the confidence that you can believe in his power to heal you and those you love, to invite you to embrace the gift of repentance, and be forgiven. As the warmth of the sun touches your face, breath in deep the mercy and grace of Jesus, believe Jesus is the Son of the Living God and have faith, trusting that he will be with you today in all you do. When you are ready, arise to face the day and walk on in the confidence and assurance, with the faith and belief that you are loved more than you can ever imagine and more than you can ever mess up, and that God will be with you every step of the way today.

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Photo: Sun rising in our back yard.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, March 15, 2021