faith

“When the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”

Pilgrims numbering two to four million would ascend to Jerusalem to participate in the annual observance of Passover. During this time the Jewish officials were on edge because their primary concern was to keep order and peace for fear that the Roman military occupation also in presence would step in if need be. If the centurions asserted their enforcement, it would be swift and brutal. Even the slightest infraction of civil unrest would be dealt with harshly.

Jesus whirling a whip made out of chords, driving out the merchants, turning over tables, sending coins flying would have been quite the scene! The disruption certainly would not have gone unnoticed and some biblical scholars believe this was the main incident leading to his crucifixion. In this act of cleansing the Temple, Jesus gave a visual display to his sometimes figurative teachings. Jesus came to shake things up, to wake people up from their spiritual slumber, to bring people back to right worship and praise.

Let us enter the scene of today’s gospel. We are those among the vast crowd in the temple precincts, shoulder to shoulder amidst the hustle and bustle of the day. A cacophony of words echoes about, haggling of prices for animals being purchased for sacrifice mingle with arguments over unjust money exchanges. Then we experience a lull in the crowd, we look over our shoulders and see people stepping aside, parting, and opening. Then Jesus, rope chords in hand, his face hard, and eyes set on the tables ahead of him, strides by us. We can feel the electricity of a gathering thunderstorm, and then he lets loose like a lightning bolt. The first table goes over, coins launch into the air and jingle as they scatter across the stone amidst a chorus of the money changer’s cries of outrage.

The scene shifts. A knock is heard at the door of our own home as we are in the midst of what we do on any given Sunday. We walk to the entrance and spy the same Jesus we just experienced in the temple precincts standing outside. We feel the drop in pressure of a gathering storm, we witness the same hard expression on his face, and in his hand are the same chords. If we do let Jesus in, where does his stride take him, what does he overturn and toss aside? We are invited to allow Jesus full reign and access to every nook and cranny of our home, as well as our heart, mind, and soul.

In both cases, these are not acts of Jesus having a temper tantrum or bad day. They are acts of love and purification. “For when the perfect comes, the partial passes away” (I Corinthians 13:10). Jesus, the perfect, knows what does not and what does belong in the temple as well as our homes and in our hearts. He knows what is preventing us from receiving the fullness of his and his Father’s love. Are we willing to know, to purge, and allow that which is partial to pass away, so that we may enter into a deeper life of authentic prayer, worship, intimacy of relationship with God, and service to each other?

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Painting: Rosary walk last Fall, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, March 3, 2024

It is wonderful to be found. It is wonderful to be reconciled.

Those who edited the lectionary readings for the day chose to present the parable of the lost son and skip the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin. This trilogy of parables is all found in Luke chapter 15. Reading the three together allows us to get a better sense of what Jesus is revealing to us. There is great joy in finding what has been lost, there is great joy in being found! Maybe we can recall something or someone that had been lost and then found, or have we ever experienced a time where we have been lost or separated, or a time when we have experienced a time of reconciliation from someone that we have been estranged?

I was somewhere in the age range from about six to eight when I came to the realization that I was separated from my parents in the Enfield Mall. I believe it was close to Christmas and we were in the toy store. I must have become distracted by something interesting, and stayed to investigate, while my parents and sister continued on. At some point, I became aware of that fact. It did not take long for the anxiety and fear to rise within me and the tears to well up. I walked through a few isles with no success in finding my family and then I headed toward the entrance that led out into the main mall.

Before continuing, I remembered my mother telling me that if I ever got lost, that I was to stay where I was, and she would find me. As I stood indecisively and wondering what to do, a woman noticed my predicament and led me to a stone bench outside the store. We sat and she stayed with me until my parents returned. I am sure the time of separation seemed a lot longer to me than the actual time, and much of the memory is fuzzy, but the anxiety of separation had an impact on me as did the relief and joy of reconciliation!

In my story as well as each of these parables, there is a great joy for that which has been lost and found. How many of us are not even aware of our separation from God or each other? While I was in my own world of material wonder, I was left behind. The son who had squandered every bit of the inheritance he asked of his father before his death, realized not so much that he had really messed up, but that he was in a dire situation, and he made the right decision to come back home. His father never stopped looking for him, he actually saw his son returning “while he was still a long way off” and “filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him” (Lk 15:20).

This father is not seeking his son to bow before him and prove his repentance, his loyalty, and allegiance. The father runs to his son without hesitation. This act is no small thing, for an elder to run to a younger family member was unheard of and simply not done. He was breaking this social taboo, most likely to redirect the focus away from his returning son; the one who had betrayed his father, the son who would receive glares and snide remarks. Instead, the father rushed out with a reckless abandonment of love to embrace his son. The jaw-dropping, followed by echoes of gossip surely rose in chorus about the father’s present actions, not his son’s past actions.

God is watching and waiting, seeking opportunities to run to us with compassion and love to welcome us home as the father did in the parable of the prodigal son. God is also like the shepherd who does the absurd in his outpouring act of love, leaving the ninety-nine sheep to go and find the one stray. God seeks for each and every one of us just like that shepherd. God is represented by the woman who rejoices over finding one seemingly insignificant coin, for God rejoices in our turning back to him because not one of us is insignificant to him. We are all precious to God, each in our own unique way, and he loves us more than we can ever imagine.

No matter the reason that we have strayed, no matter the temptations and distractions we have fallen for, and/or how far we have wandered away, God loves us more than we can ever mess up. Lent is a season to open our eyes and recognize where we are in our relationship with God and with each other, to recognize the separation our choices have caused. To say, “I am sorry.” “Please forgive me.” and “I forgive you.” are powerful words of healing. This is how we can turn back to God and those we are estranged from within our lives. There is indeed great joy in the healing of relationships and reconciliation! Lent is a time to be found, Lent is a time to come home.

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Photo: St. Joseph with Jesus in his arms, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, March 2, 2024

Peace comes when we align our will with our Father’s will.

Look at me, serve me, I want, are attitudes and dispositions that tempt us. Fame, honor, power, prestige may be another way of making the same point, which is that we often have a hyper-focus on self and self-promotion. Social media offers more of a platform to fuel this temptation. If we think this is something new with the advent of modern technology, we can look at today’s Gospel of Matthew to see that we have been operating from this posture for a very long time.

Jesus, for the third time, was attempting to prepare his disciples for his passion. He said: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day” (Mt 20:18-19).

The response of the mother of James and John (the two brothers make the request themselves in the Gospel of Mark) is actually not that surprising if we spend any time with people. She disregards what Jesus just mentioned about his imminent death and requests that when Jesus assumes his seat of power that her two sons will be number one and number two. The other disciples were quite indignant, and I can imagine what followed was not a pretty sight.

Jesus shares directly with the brothers that to give them a place at his right and left “is for those for whom it has been prepared for by my Father” (Mt 20:23). He addresses them all by letting them know that the preeminent place in his kingdom, whoever is to be first, is the one who serves his brother and sister.

Jesus is encouraging us this Lent to take the focus off ourselves and get out of our heads. To let go of I, me, and mine. Even when we let go a little, we will feel more peace. We will be able to take a few more deep breaths. We can experience this as well when we get outside, look up, and see the expanse of the sky. We’re no longer thinking about ourselves but touching the gift of our eternal nature and call to be one with God. Instead of feeling contraction, we can experience a sense of expansion.

When we allow ourselves to take a breath, we can then let go of the stress and the strain and the needless energy we expend following the distractions, diversions, and temptations that keep us on a treadmill pace. We can then instead spend a few moments with Jesus, and he can, as he did today with the apostles, correct any ways in which our mindset is not aligned with his Father’s will. We can then place God’s priorities for our life first, properly order our own, or let go of any that are not of his will.

When we are able to breathe, receive, and abide in God’s love, discern and make decisions from his guidance, we are changed and transformed. We will experience healing and renewal. We will begin to experience the fruit of the spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). In this way we can let go of being first or best, sitting at the right or left of Jesus, and instead, rest in being who we are as loved by God. As we experience more of the love of God, it is easy to let go of the need to be served and be more willing to serve and share the love we have received.

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Photo: Looking up and outward, and breathing deep! St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Jesus sets a high bar, but will also give us the strength we need to reach it.

There are many polls, surveys, and discussions about why fewer people participate in formal faith traditions, while at the same time many people are still hungry for God. Some people still profess to be spiritual but identify less with organized religion. There are a handful of causes why, but Jesus may be shedding light on two possible ones. Jesus discusses in today’s Gospel from Matthew: “For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them” (Mt 23:3-4).

We have an innate sense that alerts us to hypocrisy and when many seek something deeper in their life and they get slapped in the face with leaders and practitioners in faith traditions preaching one way in public while living another, it is damaging. The Catholic Church is still reeling from not only those clergy who have abused children, but those bishops who have covered up the abuse. This certainly is the height of hypocrisy in that those entrusted to shepherd the people of God were preying on their own flock.

As horrific as these acts are, there are so many other ways we are not practicing what we preach. It is easy to give up and walk away and say this is not my problem, to point fingers and justify our own acts of hypocrisy by saying well at least I am not that bad. Yet even this evil within the Church does not change the truth that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the source of our being and fulfillment.

We are followers of Jesus, and that means the standard we strive for is how he lived his life. Jesus always pointed the way to the Father. We as human beings are finite and so are going to make mistakes and sin. While Jesus is our model, even more, he is the source for our living faithfully to his teachings. When we open our hearts and minds to him, his love will work through and transform us. He will reach others through us as well when we are willing to stand up for the dignity of those entrusted to us within our realm of influence.

If we want to guide someone it is not enough to say this is what you need to do and live accordingly. We need to practice and live what we are guiding others to do, be willing to accompany, assist, and walk with someone along the way. As a Christian, just giving someone the Bible and say there you go, that’s all you need, and quote a couple of scripture passages is not enough. If we are sharing a principle to put into practice and we are not willing to lift a finger to help them, or worse do the opposite, we do more damage than if we said nothing.

Jesus calls us to resist judging and condemning, to love our enemies, to be forgiving, and merciful. Powerful actions to live up to, heavy burdens to lift indeed. To say that the bar Jesus sets is high is an understatement, but he lived them out. We not only learn how to act from reading about the life and teachings of Jesus but even more importantly, he still gives us the power and assists us to live them out too.

Jesus challenges us even more than the scribes and Pharisees, but he is willing to help us carry the load. When we are willing to see where we fall short of the goals that he sets for us, ask for his forgiveness, and accept his help, we will grow. From our own experiences of falling down and getting back up, we are better able to help others to be disciples, by guiding, modeling, and walking with them. The most important guidance we can give anyone is to lead people in such a way that they have an encounter and experience of Jesus for themselves, so even when we fall, they will still have Jesus as their ultimate guide and they can then help us up and we can continue to journey together, side by side.

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Photo: Attending Mass at St. Luke Catholic Church, Ellington, CT over Christmas break. Nice to experience Mass in different parishes each day while away!

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Jesus invites us to share in his divinity.

“Here I am” (Genesis 22:1)!

Abraham said this twice in today’s account from the book of Genesis. The first time was when God called Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, up as a sacrifice and the second time was when God’s angel called out to Abraham asking him to not offer his son as a sacrifice.

Hopefully, we have not become dulled by hearing this story before. This is a horrific act that God is requesting of Abraham. This would not be a natural response from our place of time and experience. Yet, for Abraham, he would have known of those who would have killed their children by offering them to the gods of the people of the land of Canaan. God meets Abraham in his own history of time and place.

God reached out to Abraham in a way that he would understand, but that still did not lessen the sacrifice that Abraham was willing to make. He and his wife Sarah were childless for decades, and God promised to give them a son way beyond child bearing years. God followed through on his promise and now God was asking Abraham to give Isaac back as a “holocaust”, a full burnt offering. Despite the anxiety and trepidation that Abraham must have experienced, he heard God’s call clearly and followed without hesitation. He left the next morning.

Isaac also had a part to play. We do not know his age, most likely a young teenager, but we know he is old and strong enough to carry the wood for the burnt offering on his back. Isaac was carrying the wood upon which he would be offered up. Isaac allowed himself to be bound with no account of his resistance to his binding and placed on the wood where he would give his life. He was clearly strong enough to stop his elder father and get away but accepted that he would be the sacrifice. God, through his angel, stopped Abraham from doing what God himself would do with his own Son.

God sent, his only begotten Son to become human and live the fullness of a human life. Jesus, like Isaac, would carry the wood of his sacrifice, most likely the cross beam of his cross. He also passively submitted to those nailing him to the cross. As St. Paul wrote, “He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all” (Romans 8:32) was no generic or abstract sacrifice. God our Father sent his Son to die as a sacrifice by taking upon himself the full weight of each of our individual sins. Jesus was willing to follow the will of God all the way to his death.

How often have we taken the time to ponder this reality, that God was willing to give his only begotten Son for us and that Jesus was willing to give his life for us? Not in some abstract way, but personally. Jesus died for you and for me. Jesus seeks an intimate relationship with us, just as he did with Peter, James, and John.

In today’s gospel account, Jesus took these three up the mountain and revealed his divine personhood to them. This, as his miracles, was to reveal a foretaste of the fullness of the coming kingdom. The transfiguration was also an opportunity to empower and strengthen Peter, James, and John for the trial to come in which Jesus would willingly, like Isaac, go to be sacrificed. The only difference is that Jesus would not be spared, he would give his life on the Cross for us all. Jesus has given us everything of himself, holding nothing back.

The willingness of Jesus to give his life, expresses the fullness of our theological virtues: faith, hope, and love. He had faith in his Father, he trusted his Father. Even though he did not fully understand in his humanity the fullness of what his death meant, he had faith and so said, not my will but yours. From that faith in his Father, he had hope and could continue with allowing himself to be arrested, beaten, tortured, and crucified. Even on the Cross when he felt the separation between himself and his Father, he still had hope that God would bring about a greater good.

That greater good would become our salvation and the salvation of the world. Jesus gained for us access to the trinitarian communion of Love. God was willing to sacrifice his only Son, his Son was willing to be sacrificed, so that we human beings made in our Father’s image and likeness could be restored to our original glory by the love shared between them, God the Holy Spirit. The glory of the Lord, that Jesus revealed to Peter, James, and John is now available to us because Jesus became one with us in our humanity, to suffer and die for us so that we can experience his divinity.

We participate in the transfiguration of Jesus and enter into the trinitarian communion of love that each of the three persons of the Trinity share when we are willing die to our fallen and selfish nature and choose to love one another as God loves us.

The three pillars of Lent, prayer, fasting, and alms giving, all help us with this process. As we choose to make time to pray, we are putting God first by answering his invitation to do so and spend time with him. When we fast from food and activities, we come to see that there is more to us than just the physical. The physical is good, but without temperance and restraint we can slip into attachment and addiction. Fasting can free us from both. As we give alms, we choose to see other’s needs above our own, and are willing to provide for them. We are also better able to discern between our needs and wants. In doing so, our sacrifice becomes tangible, and we are putting our love into action.

We participate in these three acts of penance so we can better see the temptations and diversions of this world that are leading us away from God and who he calls us to be. As we are able to repent from and remove those obstacles, we can, like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, better hear the word of our Father and act upon it. Hopefully then, each Lent we grow more in the gifts that God has given us at our Baptism: faith, hope, and love for God, ourselves, and each other. In this way, throughout the year, we will better be able to hear God call us, and we can say without hesitation, “Hear I am!” And then do his will.

Photo: Taste of the transfiguration during evening prayer Saturday evening, St. Vincent de Paul Chapel, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, February, 25, 2024

Love our enemies? Yeap.

“You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father” (Mt 5:43-45). With these words, Jesus continues to raise the bar of discipleship and outlines what the pursuit of love truly is.

For many people, as Bob Dylan wrote and Joan Baez has sung, “love is just a four-letter word.” But the love that Jesus calls us to is not merely romantic, emotional, or mere sentimentality. There is nothing wrong with feelings of infatuation because in experiencing falling in love, we are drawn out from ourselves to another. This experience of love has no depth though and when it is channeled and disciplined, it can mature to the wonderful gift of friendship.

The bond of friendship and family goes beyond mere attraction and is built through shared interests and experiences. Through sharing our lives with others, working through conflicts, trust is built, and relationships will hopefully grow and deepen. Jesus, though, is calling us to mature in our growth of loving even beyond friendship or familial ties. If we love those who willingly love us in return, greet only our brothers and sisters, only those in our clique, group, tribe, or political party, what is the recompense or satisfaction in that? Agape, in Greek, loving without conditions, with little or no chance of mutual exchange, is what Jesus is calling us to strive for.

How can Jesus ask us to love an enemy or pray for someone who persecutes us? St. Thomas Aquinas can be of help. He defines the love that Jesus describes as willing the good of the other as other. We make an act of the will, a free choice to accept the person as they are, to see them, not from our limited, finite perspective but as God sees them, as a person with dignity. Jesus does not teach that we condone violence or abuse or dehumanization. We just don’t act in kind and meet hate with hate. Jesus is calling us higher so we can help to end cycles of violence and not continue to fuel the fire of hatred and division with retaliation.

On our own, we may not even conceive of the possibility, but we can be assured that if Jesus has asked us to strive for this height and depth of love, he will provide the means and support. We love others unconditionally by allowing Jesus to love others through us. We love one person at a time and strive to reach the summit of loving our enemy. Even when we fall short, how much better would our country and the world be if we sought this as our goal? To counter divisiveness, fear, and hatred, we need to choose to engage in an act of the will to love one another as Jesus loves us.

As St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna in the second century who was martyred at 86 years old, was a disciple of John the Apostle who was a disciple of Jesus, taught, “True love desires not only one’s own salvation, but the salvation of all our brothers.” He put his words into practice. As Roman soldiers came to arrest him, he welcomed them and offered them food and drink before they led him to his death.

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Photo: Rosary walk and praying with Jesus, Mary, John, and Polycarp. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, February 24, 2024

“Who do you say that I am?”

Jesus asked, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is” (Mt. 16:13)?

Peter answers Jesus by saying that Jesus is: “The Messiah, the Son of the Living God” (Mt: 16:16).

What does Peter’s response have to do with our lives? Does he really care about our everyday challenges, struggles, and tensions? Yes, he does because Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus is one with us. The infinite reality of God is present within each human being that exists because Jesus became one with us in our humanity so that we can be one with him in his divinity.

We have been created in God’s image and likeness and this is true from the moment of our conception through each stage of life until natural death. The unfortunate effects of Orignal sin are that our image has been distorted and our likeness to God has been lost. We have not been totally corrupted but we have been wounded and we need to be healed and restored.

Jesus experiences our suffering personally. Whatever we may be going through, whether it be a temporary or chronic illness, loss of job, conflict and tensions with family, friends, colleagues, and/or classmates, as well as experiencing feelings anxiety, confusion, and/or lack of direction, mourning and grieving over the death of those we hold close to our hearts: Jesus feels our pain and suffering.

The suffering of humanity is not something abstract for Jesus because Jesus knows each and every one of us intimately and uniquely. He knows us better than we know ourselves and is the one who cares about us and what we are experiencing. Also, he is no stranger to suffering.

Jesus not only cares, he loves us and will walk with us no matter what we may be facing right now. Jesus is inviting us this morning and this Lent to trust in him, to allow his light to shine in those places of darkness, those places where anxiety and fear have a hold, and those places where we need to let go because we give them more priority in our lives than we do God.

A good question to ponder and meditate on this morning is: Who is Jesus for us and are we willing to invite him into our situations and allow God to happen in our lives?

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Photo: Closeup of a 6th century icon of Jesus from St Catherine’s Monastery.

Link for Mass readings for Monday, February 22, 2024

In stillness, there can be the beginning of healing.

There is something greater here. Something greater than the wisdom of Solomon and something greater than the preaching of Jonah. Following the way of Jesus is a faith we are called to live daily. Following Jesus is not a part-time vocation. We all have a unique gift in the dignity we have been conceived and born with. We have a unique way to express and live out our dignity as well. Unfortunately, what happens with most of us is that we are tempted, misdirected, distracted, and diverted as to what God would have us do and as a result we are often unplugged from the very source of our existence.

As Jesus taught, often in his parables, the kingdom of Heaven on earth starts small, like a mustard seed, like yeast, and develops slowly when nurtured. Lent is a good time to slow down, step back, take a retreat even while in the midst of our everyday activities. We just need to insert some dedicated time to God each day so as to better be able to acknowledge his presence in our activities.

If you are feeling a bit restless, on edge, or out of sync, I invite you to make some time to be still and breathe, this can be while in the shower, during breakfast, a morning walk, taking a sip of coffee or tea, during the car ride to and from work, or school. During this time ask God for some guidance. We can ask him to help us see those areas that we need to repent from and let go of, those thoughts, words, and actions that keep us distracted, redirected, and unsettled because we aren’t being truly who we are and who God is calling us to be. We can then confess to him and receive his forgiveness and reconciliation.

God invites us to come to the silence to also be able to sit in and experience the tensions, wounds, and traumas waiting for us there. Many of us would say a quick, “No, thank you,” to that invitation because who wants to experience those unresolved issues, hurts, and/or pain. We may even believe in the lie that if we open up those areas that we will be completely undone. Yet, it is only through experiencing the pain that we will experience the healing. Also, we will come to realize that the initial hurt is not as bad as the effects of it being left unresolved and the energy expended to keep it at bay is exhausting.

Jesus is present and waiting, to receive us and lead us through. He is inviting us to experience his acceptance and love as we are, to feel safe, to let go and be honest. With humility in seeking the help of and trusting in Jesus, we begin with simple steps that will lead us on the path to our freedom.

Jesus said in today’s Gospel that, “There is something greater here.” Christianity is not a secret sect. We are called to share the joy, the forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation we experience from God with others, even with, as Jonah found out, our enemies. We are to look for opportunities to offer a smile, an encouraging word, to reach out to someone we have been meaning to connect with for a while, in person or far away, and/or someone that we may sense just needs a listening ear. We can also react less by asking for God’s patience to be more understanding with those who may get under our skin or stretch us out of our comfort zones.

Lent can be a joyful time when we enter into the season with the intent to deepen our walk with the One who is wiser than Solomon and preached repentance and reconciliation. With our hearts and minds turned back and open to God, Lent will not so much be a drudgery to endure, but a joyful embrace of the opportunity for experiencing healing from those areas we have kept buried for far too long. Lent is a season that we are invited to change our minds such that we are more open to dialogue, forgiveness, healing, sharing the joy, reconciliation, and contributing to building up the kingdom of God one healing at a time!

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Photo: Some quiet time with Mary – St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, February, 21, 2024

“You did it to me.”

How we treat each other matters. How we speak to each other or about each other matters. Even how we think about each other matters because most of our actions come from our thoughts and/or our reactions. When we are in the present then we can better see our options and better choose our actions. We really do not have or need to immediately react. We can think before we act. We can discern how what we are about to think, say, or do will affect the person before us.

One way to put this into practice is to follow the psychologist, Dr. John Gottman’s 5:1 principle. When a negative thought arises about someone and before texting or emailing, think and write down five affirming thoughts about that person. If we are engaging with another person, before reacting and speaking, think five affirming thoughts. Many times, we will find that by the time that we get to the fifth compliment we will have forgotten the original negative response we were ready to unleash.

Jesus is very clear in today’s Gospel from Matthew, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:45). All of us are interconnected. What we do to one another affects everyone. When we throw a stone into the middle of a pond, the ripples of the water circle out to touch the bank and go even beyond the bank. This same ripple effect happens with our thoughts, words, and actions. Our inaction also matters.

When we are moved by the Holy Spirit to reach out to help someone in need, to be more understanding, kind, and to be willing to move beyond our prejudices and biases, we build up the Body of Christ. When we don’t, we are cutting ourselves off from Jesus and wound his Body. When we listen to our conscience and the urging of the Holy Spirit, when we are willing to risk, and move out toward another in love, we put Jesus’ teaching into practice, we begin the healing of our relationship with God, ourselves, and each other.

St. Mother Teresa called this verse her five finger gospel. She taught each person in her order and each person she had the opportunity to pass it on to that each finger on her hand represented the words: you – did – it – to – me.

When we entertain a thought today, are about to form a word, and are about to follow through on an action, may we first look at the five fingers of our hand before following through. Would we continue to think the thought, say the word, or follow through on the action if Jesus was in front of us? Because he is. For what we do to each other we do to Jesus.

Give somebody a Gospel five today!

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Photo: From Mother Teresa exhibit, Ave Maria University, July 10, 2022.

Link for St Mother Teresa sharing her five finger gospel starts about 30 seconds in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL2aQWeWAmE

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, February 19, 2024

 

 

 

 

May we bear the light and love of Jesus to dispel any darkness or evil in our midst.

“The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan” (Mark 1:12-13).

Jesus experienced 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, and we dismiss the reality of his presence at great risk. On the other hand, we give him more credit 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.

We need to remember that the weakest Christian is more powerful than Satan himself because we can call on the name of Jesus. This is not some magic incantation, but when we call on the name of Jesus, we acknowledge his presence with us, the fullness of his humanity and his divinity. God has given Jesus the name above every other name so that when his name 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 truer with Jesus. Where he is, no evil can remain.

I had a dream some eight to ten years ago now, I am not sure of the exact time, but it is still just as vivid. I was sitting on a couch on 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 just a man, but I knew it was him. As he continued closer my fear increased 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 and destructive 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 (See the parallel accounts today’s Gospel of Mark – Mt. 4:1-11 and Lk 4:1-13).

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 in the face of the dehumanization of the person in all of its forms. We rationalize different reasons why we might support what we know is unacceptable in ourselves as well as others, we can easily slide into gossip, prejudicial, and/or divisive talk. If left unchecked, our thoughts and words can lead to actions or the withholding of actions.

Even in the smallest of ways, when we give into the temptations to belittle, demean and/or degrade others in our thoughts, words, and/or actions, we do so to Jesus (cf. Mt 25:35-45). Let us seek God’s forgiveness for the part we have played in spreading the darkness of the father of lies.

The devil wants us divided, undermining, and talking at or over each other, because as long as we are divided, we will not solve the smallest challenge, let alone the big issues facing us. There are no quick fixes, and it will take a unified effort to be able to listen to each other and work together to find solutions to the many problems in our communities, countries, and world. Jesus calls us to recognize the dignity of each person. He encourages the unity of all through the magnificent diversity of all. From the moment of conception until natural death and at each stage in between, we are called to empower each person we encounter, and seek to bring about reconciliation and unity in our realm of influence.

Do we fall short? Yes, all of us do every day. We need to resist beating ourselves up though because that is another trap, another lie. Also, temptations are not sins. Yes, falling for them weakens us, but with Jesus’ help, resisting them strengthens us. We need to examine and review our thoughts, actions, and words with humility. Thank God where we have said yes to his will, resisted temptations, and followed through on acting where he has led us, and where we have loved. Where we have fallen simply and contritely, ask for forgiveness.

May we make time to be still, breathe, rest, and abide in God’s love. The more we remember to do so, the less room we leave available for the temptations of the enemy. When tempted, call on the name of Jesus and he will empower us. When we fall, repent, and return to Jesus and be forgiven. God never tires of forgiving us. May we never tire of seeking his forgiveness, forgiving one another, receiving, and spreading the light and love Jesus gives us to dispel any darkness or evil in our midst.

Photo: The last line of the plaque below the statue of Mary reads: “You are also bearers of my Son.” Like the moon reflecting the light of the sun, Mary reflects the light of her Son. May we do the same.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, February 18, 2024.