faith

We are invited to participate in a dance of love.

Jesus recognized that the scribe, who asked him about which commandment was the greatest, “answered with understanding,” and then he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God” (Mk 12:34). What is it that the scribe understood?

The scribe understood that God “is One and that there is no other”. God is the true source of our being, our very existence. We have been created with an innate desire to be one with him. This is the longing we all feel in the depths of our soul, this is why nothing that is finite or material will ever fully satisfy us, why we are always wanting more. This is as true for the mystic as it is for the atheist and everyone in between.

God is “One and no other” also means that we are not God, we are his created beings. God is not just one being among many, not even the supreme being. This orientation is important for we can only see from our limited perspective. What we think or believe we might need, may in fact not be truly good or beneficial for us, the shimmer may be an apparent good, a distraction, a temptation, that will lead us away from the authentic fulfillment and meaning of life that we seek. God will guide us away from any unhealthy want, he will lead us away from any temptation when we are willing to seek his guidance over and above our own. God will give us what we truly need, he will lead us to that which is, in reality, true, good, and beautiful.

Once we come to believe that God is God and we are his created beings, then we can take the next step and surrender: “to love him with all [our] heart, with all [our] understanding, with all [our] strength”. In our surrender to God and his will, we become capable of receiving his love and so are better able to love him in return. We all long to be loved and to love. Experiencing the love of God helps us to unconditionally love “our neighbor as our self”. Through our surrender to his will we allow God to love others through us.

God invites us to open our minds and hearts to receive his love, to love him in return, and to love others as he has loved us. To love God is like any other relationship. We need to spend quality time with God in stillness, be present One on one, as well as come to an awareness of God’s nearness in our daily activities. We are to resist compartmentalizing God and instead seek his presence in everything we do. The sacrifice he seeks is our willingness to allow him to love others through us, especially those for whom we do not have a warm and fuzzy feeling, as this is not the unconditional love God loves with. We are to will the good of the other as they are.

Each of us is prone to sin. We are wounded but not destroyed. God loves us as we are, and when we are willing to receive his forgiveness and confess, are sorry for our sins, willing to do penance, he forgives us, he heals our wounds, and he transforms us. We need to stop running away from him and start running to him. One way we can do this is to love our neighbor as our self, for if we cannot love those that we can see, how can we love God who we can’t?

There is a wonderful dance of love that Jesus invites us to engage in. As we answer God’s invitation to spend time with him in prayer, we will see him in each other as well as in all things. As we love one another, by being there, listening, supporting, and empowering one another, we will experience more of God’s love and each other’s love. Our lives will expand, we will experience more healing, and be free from those lies and temptations that limit us and we will love ourselves more.

Jesus’ arms are wide open before us in our time of prayer, our own struggles and challenges, and in our neighbors. May we surrender all our heart, soul, mind, and strength into his loving embrace, to receive his love and love him in return, and be willing to love our neighbors and ourselves in the same way. When we get this commandment of loving God, our neighbor and ourselves right, the other commandments will be something we will do naturally. As we put this commandment into practice, we too will hear Jesus say to us, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

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Photo: Many ways we can see God’s hand at work. Rosary walk, last Fall. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, March 8, 2024

Jesus seeks to heal and free us from our labels.

In the Gospel reading today, Jesus is accused of being an agent of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, because he was exorcising a demon from a man that was mute. Jesus addressed the critique and showed the polarizing nature of the onlookers who were unwilling to see the healing before them for what it was. Jesus then stated the obvious: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house” (Lk 11:17).

Satan seeks to sow discord and division. Jesus seeks to bring about unity. Now it is true, that five verses later in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is recorded as saying: “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” (Lk 12:51). Anyone feeling a bit confused? Welcome to the wonderful world of the Bible!

To understand Scripture, we need to understand the context of the whole of Scripture, not just isolated verses. Throughout the ministry of Jesus, he seeks the unity that all may be one as he and the Father are one (cf. John 17:21), yet he has consistently experienced those that rejected his message and healings as witnessed in today’s Gospel account.

Jesus demands a choice. We need to decide if we are either going to be for him or against him (cf. Lk 11:23). The division Jesus is talking about results from those who choose not to recognize that Jesus is who he says he is and reject him and those who accept him for who he is. This choice continues to cause division within households, families, and friends even today.

The greater take away from today’s Gospel and Jesus’ teachings as a whole, is that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life (see John 14:6). Jesus is the Son of God made man. Some will reject this truth. Some will accept only parts of the truth that Jesus teaches, while others will say there is not objective truth. We who identify with this truth and give our lives to him as his disciples, then like Jesus, we are to embrace the gift of our diversity.

We are more united rather than divided when we resist limiting ourselves by mere labels. In our modern context, labels, such as liberal and conservative are not helpful. It is certainly easier to cast labels, but interactions with people and developing relationships are much more nuanced. We are not mere cardboard cut outs, or caricatures.

To better understand the essence of who we are as human beings demands greater time and experience with each other than an outward appearance or isolated statement may portray. Many times, once we have cast a label, we believe that we have “defined” the person. They are classified in their box and tied up in a neat and pretty bow, and woe to the person who resists being boxed and bowed.

I remember reading from one of the books from the tracker, Tom Brown, Jr., in which he described how many people when seeing a bird, such as a blue jay, robin, or crow, are often satisfied with the label, the naming of it, and move on from that sighting self-satisfied. They think that in that simple identification they now have come to understand all that there is to know about that species. So much of the essence of one of God’s amazing creatures is missed by such a simplistic and limiting classification!

Unfortunately, we do the same with each other. We make a prejudgment on a person or group of people because of a word, statement, stance on a particular issue, or particular belief. We then falsely believe we know everything there is to know about that person or group. This is a limiting and divisive approach. Jesus invites us to encounter, accompany, spend time, and break bread with people. In spending time with one another, dialoguing, and respecting each other, the caricatures can be filled in with some substance and we can come to know a little better the person beyond the prejudgment. Maybe, just maybe, someone who we have been keeping at arm’s length, we can actually grow closer to, despite our differences.

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Photo: During 30-Day silent retreat, St. Joseph and Mary Retreat House, Mundelein, IL.

Link for the Mass reading for Thursday, March 7, 2024

Growing in faith is a life-long journey.

Jesus not only tells his disciples that he has not come to abolish but to fulfill the law, he constantly teaches how this is true, models how to put his teachings into practice, and empowers his followers to do so. In his Sermon on the Mount and Sermon on the Plain alone, we can see the development of his teaching and building on the foundation of the Torah. With his Beatitudes, such as, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, and his Six Antithesis including, “You have heard that it was said ‘an eye for an eye,’ but I say to you offer no resistance to one who is evil”, we can see the further development of Jewish teaching on full display.

If we seriously take the time to read through Jesus’ teachings, we will see quickly how challenging they are. Jesus is not lowering the bar of discipline for his followers, but in fact, raising it. Jesus does so not to place heavy burdens on us for burden’s sake, not just to give us busy working, but he seeks to make us holy. He himself lives what he preaches, but Jesus is no ordinary teacher or mentor. The principles that he teaches, forgiving seventy-seven times, loving our enemy, giving up all to follow him, these seemed impossible to his disciples then and to us today as well.

At face value, we may think that many of Jesus’ teachings are not possible to put into practice or very practical in our day and age. Attempting to do so with our own willpower alone may lead to coming up short each time, and feeling more frustrated. Jesus does not expect nor desire us to accomplish living as his followers on our own efforts. We are to yolk ourselves with him and be open to the transforming power and love of the Holy Spirit acting through us. This happens when we daily invite Jesus into our lives and are humble enough to follow his lead.

We become disciples of Jesus when we are willing to study his life, learn and put his teachings into practice, and surrender ourselves to his will through prayer, discipline, worship, service, and participation in the sacraments. We do so by first being willing to receive his guidance, open our hearts and minds to and allowing Jesus to live his life in and through us. In this way, we are transformed by his love and conformed to his life such that we can say with Paul, it is no longer I who live but Jesus who lives in me (cf. Galatians 2:20).

The path of faith is not a sprint or a one-time event, but an ongoing journey. Each one of us can be assured that Jesus is with us for the long haul, every step of the way and with each temptation that arises. Even when we fall, Jesus remains with us, to forgive and heal us. When we receive and rest in God’s love, we will experience his peace, and will better be able to make decisions free from fearful or reactive responses. By leaning on Jesus and each other, we will resist temptations, make healthier decisions, rise again after we fall, and make it through each day together, with more joy, love, and peace, no matter what arises.

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Photo: On retreat last January, Marywood Retreat Center. Prayed morning and evening prayer on this dock each day at sunrise and sunset.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Forgiveness is possible. We just need to be willing to ask Jesus to help us.

Forgiveness is a wonderful gift of grace and mercy. If we asked many people if they would like to receive forgiveness most would say yes. The number would most likely be less if we were to ask them how many would be willing to forgive others. If we were asked to forgive someone seven times, that number would shrink significantly, and if we were invited to forgive someone seventy-seven times, is there any among us who would say yes, any among us willing to consider doing so?

Why is forgiveness so hard for most of us? I do say most because there are those who have an openness to being forgiving. One reason could be that we have few role models. I would imagine those that are more forgiving have not only experienced positive role models but have received forgiveness themselves.

How often do we seek forgiveness from others when we have done something wrong, inappropriate, or made a mistake? We often seek to explain first, make excuses, justify, or ignore our behavior altogether. When we resist being humble, confronting our offenses, and do not seek reconciliation, we do not experience the healing balm of forgiveness. We are then less likely to be willing to offer forgiveness and more likely to hold a grudge or to seek revenge.

Yet, even if we receive the gifts of mercy and forgiveness, as the servant did in today’s parable (Mt 18:21-35), we may still choose to be unforgiving toward others. We may resist forgiveness because we have already created patterns of distancing ourselves, making someone else as other, somehow justifying the hurt and pain we feel. We think that by holding a grudge or offering another the cold shoulder, we are giving them just what they deserve.

Unfortunately, patterns of not seeking forgiveness, not willing to forgive others, allowing ourselves to bear grudges, to distance ourselves, or project negative feelings on others to cover up our own inadequacies, not only perpetuate a climate of isolation and divisiveness, but continues to multiply mistrust and further distance. When allowed to left unchecked leads to violence in too many forms.

Even in a case when someone has truly wronged us in some way, Jesus is guiding us to forgive, to make an attempt to understand why someone might act in such a way, and to shift the momentum away from the perpetual cycle of hurt and to seek to bring about healing and reconciliation.

Jesus is clear that if we are not willing to forgive, we will not be forgiven. This is true because when we are unwilling to forgive, we cut ourselves off from the love of God. We choose the hurt and pain inflicted upon us over the healing balm that God offers. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a gift of healing, and a pattern of regular confession helps us to receive the healing and forgiveness of our loving God and Father. As we develop a regular practice of examining our conscience, experiencing contrition – true sorrow for our sins, confess, and are willing to complete our acts of penance, we are absolved and forgiven from our sins, and we will experience healing.

Forgiveness does not mean we condone another’s inappropriate actions. It means we choose to no longer participate in the cycle of hurt. Even when we feel forgiveness is impossible, are we willing? That is all Jesus requires. We forgive in the beginning when we are willing to ask Jesus to forgive through us until we can learn to forgive ourselves, like Doha Sabah Abdallah.

Doha lost her son during the bombing of her city in 2014. Doha shared her story with Pope Francis while he visited Iraq back in 2021. She said: “By imitating him [Jesus] in our sufferings, we testify that love is stronger than everything,”

Pope Francis shared how touched he was by Doha’s story of forgiveness. On his plane trip back home, Pope Francis said, “I forgive. This is a word we have lost. We know how to insult big time. We know how to condemn in a big way… But to forgive, to forgive one’s enemies. This is the pure Gospel. This hit me in Qaraqosh.”

Let us take up the mantle that Jesus holds out to us today and this Lent, seek forgiveness, be healed, and willing to forgive.

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Photo: Statue of St. Vincent de Paul our patron saint. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Are we willing to embrace the humility of Naaman?

Naaman, is an interesting character that comes to life, not only in the first reading, but Jesus refers to him as well. Naaman is a successful commander in the Aramean army and well favored by the king. The conflict that arises for him is that he suffers with what appears to be the beginning of leprosy.

Naaman shows his humility in his willingness to listen to the advice his wife’s servant girl. Someone who had no voice or status in society. He follows her guidance, goes to Israel and leaves from his encounter with Elisha angry because the prophet does not meet with Naaman’s expectation. Before all is lost, Naaman’s willingness to listen to the reasoning of another of his servants will lead Naaman to be completely healed and praising the God of Israel.

Jesus in the Gospel has returned to Nazareth and although the hometown crowd is initially moved by his powerful teaching, things turn ugly fast when he shared about how God worked through the faith of the widow of Zarephath, who saved Elijah, and Naaman’s story. Both the widow and Naaman were foreigners, they were others, they were Gentiles, and not Jewish. Jesus is echoing the prophet Isaiah and sharing that God’s offer of salvation is not only for the chosen people of the house of Israel, but it is to be for all nations.

The offer of universal salvation filled Jesus’ hometown crowd with fury, and they rose as one to “hurl him head long” over the hill and out of Nazareth. At first reading, we might wonder how this invitation could be so unnerving.

What if we spent a few moments of placing ourselves in the synagogue at Nazareth and imagine ourselves sitting and receiving his same message? The only difference this time is when Jesus reaches out his healing hand and offers his invitation of salvation, he offers it to… let us fill in the blank. With whom or with what group of people might we bristle? Would we embrace his message or begin to cross our arms and seethe? Would we too want to rise and reject Jesus and throw him head long over the hill?

Or can we be humble like Naaman, and admit our own biases, and be healed of our own limitations and prejudgments? Are we willing to support the idea of salvation for only a select few or for all? Will we be an obstacle to Jesus’ healing or be humble enough to admit where we need healing, be healed, and share Jesus’ message and healing with others?

Photo: Beginning of Rosary walk last night. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, March 4, 2024

“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