jesus-christ

Knowing we are cared about and loved makes a big difference.

“I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and I am confident lives also in you” (I Timothy 1:3-5).

St. Paul writes these words to Timothy and what struck me was not only the affection he had for Timothy and that he knew his mother and grandmother’s names, but also that he knew the depth of the faith of each.

We are at our best when we make relationship with God and one another a priority. Christianity is not so much a philosophy or even a theology, as much as it is a relationship with a person, the God made man, Jesus the Christ. This faith in and willingness to enter into a relationship with God was lived by Lois and then passed on to Eunice, who then both passed it on to Timothy.

They knew and loved God and one another, they cared for and supported each other, and they welcomed Paul into their family such that he knew them well enough to refer to them by name in this letter. Do we know each other by name in our places of worship, in our communities, our neighborhoods?

Dr. Leo Buscaglia, a professor at USC shared a story about how he noticed that one of his students had missed class for a few days. When she did not return the following week, he asked her classmates about her whereabouts, and no one knew where she was. He then reached out to the dean of students, and she broke the sad news to Dr. Buscaglia that she had taken her life.

He was horrified not only by her death but even more by the fact that no one in the class knew anything about her. He then began to teach a course simply titled, “Love Class 101” in which his students came together to learn about building relationships with one another. He was doing what Lois, Eunice, Timothy, and Paul were doing, what the faith communities and families are called to do, what we as human beings are called to do.

We can help to shift the tide of growing anxiety, confusion, isolation, and loneliness, when we make a commitment to care, to be more present, communicate and listen, be more understanding and patient, support, empower and lift one another up. In other words, when we are willing to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves.

Photo: I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the education shed, nor the best teacher, but I cared. Let us love and care for those in our realm of influence so that they know that they matter and they are loved.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, January 26, 2024

Acknowledge and ponder that you are a beloved daughter or son of God.

On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:10-11).

Jesus was not baptized because he needed to repent. He did so as a foreshadowing of his taking upon himself our sins on the Cross. Just as the heavens were torn open and the Holy Spirit comes down and God the Father speaks, we are on sacred ground ourselves in experiencing the presence of the Holy Trinity.

Jesus in coming to earth “opened up heaven for us in the humanity he assumed” (St. Irenaeus). This imagery of the heavens being torn open is similar to the veil separating the deepest part of the temple, the Holy of Holies, where God was believed to dwell, being torn open when Jesus was crucified.

Because of and through Jesus there is no longer any separation between us and the Father other than what we allow to stand between us and separate ourselves from him. Jesus, being called the Father’s beloved Son, is a reminder to us that we are his beloved children. This is a truth we need to stop and ponder regularly so that we remember who and whose we are.

And when we are dealing with the challenges that arise, John’s words from today’s first reading are for you, “Beloved: Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (John 5:5).

When we truly believe in Jesus, we can experience the truth that we are the Father’s beloved daughter and son, and we are victorious. Victorious! We need to continue to remember that. The challenge is when we let the whisperings of the enemy rest anywhere near us. As we notice them, we are not to argue or dialogue with the enemy, get down on ourselves, but instead just renounce him and his lies, and open our hearts and minds again and again to Jesus our savior, our healer, defender, and friend.

As we breathe deeply regularly and invite the love of Jesus to fill us, not only does our lung capacity increase, but our faith will also increase. We will also experience and know that we are loved and redeemed! When we rest, receive, and abide in God’s love, acknowledge and accept that we are his beloved children with whom he is well pleased, we will live lives experiencing freedom, peace, and joy.

Photo: Jesus wants to share his love and joy with us, and we will experience these gifts when we are willing to slow down enough to receive them! One of Egret Landing’s residents sharing the light and joy of the Christmas Season, seen while on my Rosary walk a few nights ago.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, January 6, 2024

Spend some time with Jesus.

In our gospel readings, over the past few days we have experienced Jesus’ initial encounters with who will become his apostles. Andrew encountered Jesus and was moved by his experience during their time together and then went to tell his brother Peter about Jesus.

Today, Philip is found by Jesus, and Jesus asks Philip to follow him. Apparently, he does, and something happens because in the next scene Philip has found Nathaniel and shared with him: “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

Nathanael hesitates as he first hears this news. What pulls him up short, even though Philip has just shared with him that Jesus is the one who is to fulfill the promise of Moses, is where Jesus is from as revealed when he asks, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

The Pharisees also resisted believing in Jesus because of where he was from. Despite Nathanael’s hesitancy, he trusted Philip enough to “come and see.” Unlike many of the Pharisees, when Nathanael heard Jesus say that he had already seen him under the fig tree before they met, Nathanael let go of his prejudgment and believed.

Through the Apostles who came, saw, and believed, Jesus began his Church. As they came to know Jesus, like Nathanael, each had to let go of preconceptions that limited their understandings of Jesus. Also, their limitations as finite human beings held them back. Through their trust and belief, and commitment, they deepened their relationship with Jesus, and they were transformed, made new.

Jesus met them where they were in those first encounters, and slowly but surely, with fits and starts, missteps and misunderstandings, they grew and matured. Jesus has found and calls us as well.

Like his Apostles and those who continued and continue to follow Jesus through each generation since then, we too can come and see. We can see and experience him in his word alive in Sacred Scripture, personally in our time of daily prayer and meditation, as well as proclaimed during the Mass. We can encounter him intimately and are transformed by him in the Eucharist and the sacraments. We encounter him in our serving and love of one another and in our sharing of the experiences we had with him as Andrew and Philip did.

Jesus has come to be with you right now in this moment. He has found you just as he found Philip. I invite you to read today’s gospel passage slowly (John 1:43-51). You can read once or a few times, and then slow and deepen your breath, close your eyes, and allow yourself to enter the scene you just read.

Allow yourself to enter Jesus’ memory, invite him to lead you as you walk up to stand by Philip and Nathanael. Spend some time in silence with Jesus now. See Jesus turn his face from them and look to you. Is there anything or any thoughts that may be causing you to hesitate as did Nathanael? What does Jesus say to you? How do you respond? What happens next? Do you stay with Philip and Nathanael, or does Jesus lead you off to the side to talk? This time is for you and him to spend together, to get to know one another better. These questions are only guides to get you going. You can use some or all, or disregard some or all. Trust in Jesus, he will lead you. Enjoy!

Photo: Last night’s Rosary walk, Egret Landing, Jupiter, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, January 5, 2023