gospels

We give alms, pray, and fast to grow in our relationship with God and one another.

The teachings of the Beatitudes as well as the six antitheses are powerful lessons that can transform our lives when we put them into action. As we continue to hear or read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount today, Jesus presents not only common practices of living a devout life of faith. As before, Jesus raised the standard practice of these three pillars to a higher level. The key point he is making though has again to do with our end goal. Jesus continued to show his disciples how to be “perfect just as [our] heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). The perfection to be attained is oneness with God. Jesus disciple’s then and we today are to strive to become holy, to be saints, for the purpose of deepening our bond and relationship with God and each other.

Our being perfected in Jesus is a process whereby we become less and Jesus becomes more. What decreases is our focus on self, especially the ego-self, our sense of self-centeredness. Jesus provides for us three ways in which we can practice drawing closer into communion with God and one another. We are to give alms, pray, and fast. We may remember that these practices are the three pillars of Lent that we put extra emphasis on during that penitential season.

When we give alms, pray, and fast, our intent must be properly ordered. If we give alms with the intention to “win the praise of others” (Mt 6:2), pray in a public display “so that others may see” us (Mt 6:5), and in our fasting “look gloomy” and “neglect [our] appearance, so [we] may appear to others to be fasting” (Mt 6:16), then we are seeking to do so in such a way that the focal point is on us. We think to ourselves, how holy and pious we are. In fact, if we act in this way, how hypocritical we are because, in each of these actions, we are not seeking to improve our relationship with God, build up his kingdom, or give glory to God but to build up our own pride and ego by seeking affirmation and adulation for ourselves.

Jesus calls us to give and serve out of love for others, so that others may be healed, have their basic needs met, become empowered, and strengthened in their relationship with God. We seek Jesus in prayer not to conform his will to ours, but to surrender to his will and allow the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit to purge us from the dross of our accumulated sin, selfishness, and that which we are attached. In our time of prayer and examination of conscience, Jesus will reveal to us those apparent goods and disordered affections that lead us astray. From these areas we can fast from, turn back to God, and in doing so, we will find rest for our souls.

In our prayer today, let us ask Jesus to reveal to us one way that we are putting ourselves before God, one habitual vice that keeps us bound, and/or something that we are attached to that we can fast from. What is one way we can reach out and give ourselves to someone else? Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not only for Lent. Following Jesus’ guidance in each of these three practices will help us to grow closer to God and recognize the needs of others. We become the hands and feet of Jesus when we are willing to allow him to lead us to serve others with the love of the Holy Spirit.

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“Do you wish your prayer to fly toward God? Make for it two wings: fasting and almsgiving.” St. Augustine Painting by Fra Angelico, “The Conversion of St. Augustine”

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Just as seeds sown grow into wonderful trees, so does God’s kingdom grow through us.

Two parables are presented by Jesus today in the Gospel of Mark. Both are presenting what the kingdom of God is like. The first presents a man who sows seeds, and the second is a mustard seed that is planted. In both cases, the seeds germinate, sprout, and go through the process of growth, and becoming mature plants. The kingdom of God is like these plants in that God works through the smallest of and many times, unnoticed beginnings. Also, God’s timing is not our timing. In our rapid-paced world of instant access, we would do well to slow down.

God not only begins small, and on his own timetable, but he is often working beyond the realm of our awareness. This is evident in the first parable offered by Jesus: “This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how” (Mk 4:26-27). This is not to say that God has set everything in motion and is indifferent or despondent to his creation. Quite the opposite. God has a plan and has been and continues to be intimately engaged in guiding his creation and in each of our lives as well. He revealed this truth to Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you” (Jeremiah 1:5). God is present to us, invites us to be in relationship, and seeks our relationship to grow, whether we know it or not. As we get to know him, he quietly invites us to participate in his plan.

The beauty is that even though God has no need for us, he invites us to know him and to participate in the spreading of his kingdom. Just think of someone who you have, for the longest time, wanted to meet. If the opportunity arose to spend time with that person, how excited would you be? How much more then if they also did not want to just meet you but to grow in a relationship with you! We have the opportunity to do so with the Creator of all that exists, and not just today, or tomorrow, but for all of eternity.

God has created us to know, love, and to serve him. He invites us to be in communion with him, and to participate in his work of salvation history in simple and subtle ways. Are we aware of his invitation, are we willing to watch and pray? Are we willing to place ourselves in a posture so better to receive his word as well as his silence? Just as an acorn that is sown matures and grows over time into the mightiest of oak trees, so may our relationship with our Loving God and Father also grow and mature that we become one with him in this life and into the next for eternity.

Photo: Some of the oaks here on our campus of Holy Cross Catholic Church before the storm.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, January 31, 2025

When we trust in the will of God and persevere, we will be saved.

“You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved” (Mt 10:22).

Why are we talking about being hated the day after Christmas? One reason could be that Jesus, this baby whose birth we just celebrated is “the light that shines in the darkness” (Jn 1:5). The very reality of Jesus is that he is the light that exposes darkness, he is the very embodiment of Love that exposes evil and hatred.

St. Stephen, whose feast we celebrate today, and whose death we read about in the first reading from Acts, experiences his words personally. For he is killed for the sole purpose of speaking the Gospel. While during his persecution he sees and communicates how even the heavens open for him. The reaction to those who hear his words are infuriation and they then throw him out of the city and “stone him” (cf. Acts 7:54-59).

Stephen radiated the light, love, and wisdom of Jesus and like Jesus he was put to death. His persecutors felt threatened by the light instead of welcomed to let go of the darkness that held them bound. Jesus exposes the truth of those dark places within our own hearts, minds, and the very depth of our being as well. What is our response? Will we also reject the light, not aware that it is an invitation to healing and to wholeness?

We may wince at the luminous brightness of Jesus’ light and resist the intimacy of the love he seeks to share. We may unconsciously do so, because we have so often faced so much of the opposite; hurt, pain, betrayal, and lack of understanding or acceptance, that we assume a defensive crouch is best to protect our false sense of self, when in fact that is just what we are invited to let go of. As time passes and we keep to the shadows, we risk becoming ingrained in our fear and pride and our posture of protecting our ego.

Yet, to be fully alive, we need to embrace the light, not hide from it. When we are open to the healing touch of Jesus and receive the gift of his light in our lives, we begin to die to our false self and the lies that we have believed. Allowing ourselves to breathe and rest in God’s loving presence helps us to heal, indentify, and allow Jesus to transform our vice to virtue. Once we allow ourselves to be loved by Jesus, we begin to recognize that we are turned in upon ourselves, and then we can adjust our posture and begin to open ourselves to him. We also begin to recognize that we are not the center of the universe.

As we follow the model of John the Baptist, St. Stephen, the other saints, we become less so that Jesus becomes more in our lives. We too will face the same rejection that Jesus faced. We will be labeled crazy, out of step, simple-minded, irrational, and worse. Yet we are to resist returning to a defensive posture, to refuse to react in kind, but instead, to be present, call upon and trust in the Holy Spirit to give us the words to speak, and allow God to happen. We are to remain open, accepting of the person where they are and as they are, and share the same transformative mercy, love, and forgiveness of Jesus that we have received from our attacker.

Change, maturation, and growth are not easy. As disciples, we are to be disciplined and persevere, while at the same time remember that our redemption does not come from our own doing or willing it to be so on our efforts alone. Our healing, restoration, and transformation come first and foremost from a willingness to accept the invitation to experience a deepening of our relationship with Jesus. When we accept his invitation to walk with him, and trust him, we will receive the healing salve of his love, mercy, and forgiveness. We will then heal from and let go of our biases, prejudices, hatred, and selfishness.

Transformation is not a one-time event. Christmas is not just a day, it is not just a season. Christmas is a time when we can recommit to allowing Jesus to enter into and to transform our lives each and every day, each and every moment, with each and every decision. When we are tempted in any way, let us call on the name of Jesus, trust in him, take a few deep breaths, and we will better be able to resist that which seeks to divert us.

In becoming human, Jesus lived showing us that this life was not all there is. The fullness of our lives are to be lived in and for God his Father. When we, like, Jesus, Stephen, and the saints, trust and obey God’s will, no matter where that will lead, we will be transformed, whole, and more alive than we can ever imagine, in this life and the next.

Spiritual Stepping Stones