Keeping Advent

 

After spending Thanksgiving weekend with the family up at the cabin, I find myself battling a cold that I must have picked up from my middle grandchild.  It’s a mystery to me how I caught it because ever since Covid hit in 2020, I’ve been very careful (some might say compulsive) about the basic preventions to illness, i.e., washing my hands frequently, social distancing when necessary, and watching out for others who may have something to spread.  It’s been relatively hard to keep my focus on these things, to be honest.  And, in turn, when I get a cold, it’s hard to reflect on Advent as much as I like.

For others, the temptations to “lose” Advent can come in a lot of different ways:  planning holiday parties, doing holiday shopping, and so forth. 

It may be hard to "keep" Advent, but if we make the effort, the Lord will bless us.  In the midst of what can be a hectic season, why not set aside a time of quiet just for Jesus and you?  It will take some effort but take whatever time you can manage - even 15 minutes - and it will help you to center your heart on the real "reason for the season."  That "reason," of course, is Jesus!

Spend some time with Him! Come to Him in a simple, childlike way, and He will reveal to you the mysteries of heaven.  As Jesus prays to His Father in Luke’s gospel, "Although you have hidden these things from the wise and learned you have revealed them to the childlike." (Luke 10:21-24)

Patient Endurance

 

As a rule, the patience of virtue is not one of the strong points of people in today’s world.  We want things to be done quickly and efficiently.  Promises and appointments should be kept as accurately as they were made; otherwise an outburst of impatience may follow.  We have all experienced the impatient and impulsive driver in front of or behind us who takes unreasonable chances and causes disaster quite often.  Patients in a hospital or nursing home obviously must practice the virtue of patience.  They have to wait for recovery patiently and when they’re old or sick for a long time they often have to wait for company or friends with even more patience.

A classic example of impatience is that of the Jews at Mount Sinai.  In waiting for Moses’ return from the mountain, they lost patience and constructed the golden calf.  They said to Aaron, “Come, make us a god who will be our leader” (Exodus 32:1).

Advent is a time of waiting for the coming of Christ.  Promises have been made to us about a way out of our distress.  Salvation will come, but when?  We pray, but does God listen?  Jeremiah (33:14-16), St. Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians (3:12-4:2), and Jesus (Luke 21:25-38) deal with this problem.  Waiting for somebody to come, i.e., Jesus Christ, supposes patience.  We must accept the human condition of “not yet” with the patient hope for better things to come.

Just the beginning

 

I’ll bet we’ve all seen pictures of hooded and robed people walking with signs that warn, “Repent, the end is near!”  Or, how about, “The world is going to end soon”?  Well, while their timing may be off, they’re not entirely wrong, as a matter of fact.  Several passages in the Bible remind us of something that we almost never pay attention to that, one day, the world as we know and experience it will one day cease to exist.  There’s an end time awaiting us all in one way or another, and the question is, are we ready for it?  Are we prepared to face this second coming of Jesus, whether that be in the world itself or even in our own lives?

In Luke’s Gospel (Luke 17:26-37), Jesus is sitting with His disciples and talking with them about what is called “the end times,” i.e. the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus as the victorious and risen Lord.  It will be a time not only of vindication and the revelation of the glory of the Lord, but it will also be a time of judgment and accounting.  Jesus shares this truth with His disciples, there’s no question about it.  He will come again and there will be a reckoning of how we, His disciples, have served the Lord and lived out His Gospel mandate.  In addition, we know neither the day nor the hour when this will take place.  But there is little doubt to be sure, it will happen!  And what matters is that we’re ready for the moment and are not found wanting.

There are other stories similar to the one we find in Luke.  For example, Matthew, chapter 25, uses the image of a bridegroom returning home and the warning that we must be ready for his return and not be caught foolishly without enough oil for our lamps to greet him.  These are reminders that we’re all called to be prepared to meet the Lord and to give an account of ourselves and how we’ve lived out the teaching of Jesus.  How do we do this?  Clearly, we’re called to pay attention to the Lord and not to the foolish distractions of the world.  But there’s a gift in all of this, and that gift is that, if we choose day by day, to live as Jesus has taught us, to love our neighbor, to love everyone in fact, and to love God above all else, then we’ll be prepared for whatever is to come and need not live in doubt, worry, or fear.  I find great assurance that all will be well and that there’s nothing to fear.  This is truly good news for us today, isn’t it?  We’re all called to live in the joy of the Lord and not in fear of what’s certainly to come. 

Remember

 

"All Souls Day."  It’s a day to celebrate, reverence and remember those who have gone before us.  We remember our loved ones – family, friends, colleagues, co-workers, neighbors and significant strangers.  We remember those alive in our hearts, and those forgotten in history.  We remember all who have gone before.

For me, it’s a day to sit in silence and prayerfully reflect on my family.  I reflect on my ancestors as far back as I can go, and when I do, I experience a deep sense of connectedness.  I experience a rich fullness. I delight in the stories of my adventurous great and grand fathers who left home and family to sail the high seas, or travel across the country in search of,,, what?  I’m amazed at the courage of my great and grand mothers who with children left their families and accompanied their husbands across oceans, fields and the Great Plains.  I am fascinated by the unknown circumstances that drew them on and dictated when they would arrive.  What kept them going in the face of overwhelming hardships?  I’m inspired by the rich diversity of religions, faith traditions and beliefs that color my story.  I’m in awe of the accomplishments, of the endless giving, and selflessness of friends, of family, and of significant strangers.  I embrace those whose lives were filled with pain, anger, tragedy and apparent failure. I’m filled with gratitude for this ever-expanding community of blessed and redeemed humanity, the community of saints.  And I’m equally grateful for the gift of the pain, suffering, and vulnerability they have shared and passed down via stories, diaries and letters.

We are created with an intrinsic emptiness, an unquenchable thirst, a driving hunger, a holy longing which only God can satisfy.  This ineffable holy longing speaks to my innermost being and draws me to God.  The path may be slippery, rocky and convoluted, but the attraction is more than of tidal proportion.  The path of my vocation, of my gospel story, like that of all who have gone before, is embedded in the holy yearning within.  It is the will of the Father that I, we, none of us be lost.  It is His Will that I have eternal life.  This holy longing, holy yearning for “Something” connects us and keeps us moving singly, in family and in community toward the source of our longing – God.

The Good News is that it is the desire of the Father that I, and that all souls, rest in the eternal peace of the Father in the community of All Souls.

Lord, help me to see

 

There is much symbolism connected with sight, and the encounter between Jesus and Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) has so much to teach us. To state the obvious, Bartimaeus can’t help but know he’s physically blind.  But he has faith enough to see that Jesus can help him.  And what he is yearning for is to see.

When it comes to the commandment to love God and to love our neighbor, are we humble enough to recognize that we may be blind with respect to other persons or groups of people, or even to the rest of creation?  When I get in my car, I have enough sense and humility to know that I can have blind spots when I’m driving.  The car has a rearview mirror, and side mirrors, and in some of the newer cars, a system that has a light that blinks when there’s another vehicle coming up on one side of me or the other.  I also have the sense to follow the training I received in Driver’s Ed and look to the side and a little behind when I want to change lanes. But can I have enough humility to recognize that I may have a blind spot when it comes to certain people or groups of people?  And am I willing to ask God to let me see?

When we have trouble seeing others as God sees them: as those beloveds of God, there is blindness there.  It can be comfortable to stay in our blindness.  We may be more apt to jump to conclusions than to be like Bartimaeus and jump up to be healed of our blindness.

Does this mean we should turn a blind eye, so to speak, to evil and injustice?  No, we have an obligation to speak up for what is right and just.  We are to work for justice and peace and the common good as our way of helping build up the kingdom and following the commandment to love.  But does that have to involve being blind to the humanity of the “other?”  Does it mean we try to take God’s place in condemning others?  I think not.

Bartimaeus reminds us to ask for God’s grace to see clearly; to see others and all of creation as we are meant to see them.

Help and Certainty and the power of prayer

Every month for the last 20 years I was working I had to attend a “manager’s meeting.”  A key phrase the CEO made sure we heard and learned each month was “Our families are looking to us for help and certainty”. He was reminding us that we had to be confident in our ability to deliver on what we promised—clean, safe, well-maintained equipment and peripheral services at a cost our neighbors and loved ones could afford. And to convey that confidence to the families who were depending on us to help improve their lives.  

Those two words; “help” and “certainty” have been rattling around in my brain the last few days for a couple of reasons.  The first was a story I came across on the internet that I had never heard of before, and the second was Sunday’s Gospel reading at Mass.

At 3:00 am on January 15, 1978, notorious serial killer Ted Bundy entered the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University and murdered two girls before heading off to search for more victims. When he entered a third girl’s room with a bat for a weapon, he saw a rosary clutched in her hand, dropped the bat and fled.

Later the girl told authorities that before she left for college, she had promised her grandmother that she would pray the rosary every night for protection, even if she fell asleep in the process. This is what she had done that night, and she was still holding the rosary when the murderer entered her room. She refused to speak to anyone but a priest. 

A monsignor was summoned, and she recounted her promise to him. Bundy later confessed to over thirty murders.  Years later, as Bundy awaited execution on death row, he requested to speak to a priest. By a twist of fate, the same monsignor who had comforted the young woman visited Bundy. During their conversation, Bundy confessed his bewilderment about that night. He described how an unseen force had overpowered him, preventing him from committing another murder.

In Mark’s Gospel (Mark 4:35-41), Jesus is with His disciples in a boat.  A “violent squall” comes up, and the waves are crashing over the boat, filling it up. While this is going on, Jesus is asleep. The disciples, afraid for their lives, come to wake Jesus up, saying, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Then Jesus says to the wind and the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then everything is calm. But Jesus is not done. He says to the disciples, “Why are you terrified? Do you not have faith?”

There have been times when I’ve felt the same as the disciples felt. We may be going through a crisis, or we may feel overwhelmed by what is going on in our world, and God doesn’t seem to be found. God hasn’t seen fit to intervene. And in our lament, we may ask, “God, don’t you care about what’s happening?”

One of the benefits of being closer to the end of my life rather than the beginning is that through many personal experiences, I believe that God does care, even though we may not feel anything.  For me, the miracle Jesus was trying to do was not so much calming the storm, but also calming the fears of His disciples. I can imagine Him saying, “Why are you terrified? Don’t you know I am with you?  Do you not have faith in me?”

Can we put our trust in Jesus, even when storms are raging, and chaos seems to reign?  It’s seldom easy to have that kind of trust. But we are called to trust in the love of God in Jesus Christ.  And in the midst of storms and chaos, we are called to share that love with others.

St. Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 5:14-17), writes: “The love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all.”  The word “impels” in this case means something like being in the grips of; being caught up in, something.  Maybe another way to put it is, “The love of Christ consumes us.”

If we can let the love of Christ overtake us, we can let go of fear, and not only fear, but despair and bitterness and prejudice and, on the other end of the spectrum, so to speak, greed and apathy and indifference. There are implications from this in regard to how we treat others. St. Paul writes, “Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.” For me, that means we regard no one according to appearances or prejudice or conventional wisdom. Following the ways of the world, we’re tempted to either see others as enemies, or as things to be exploited for our benefit.  Jesus calls us to something different.  He calls us to see others as He sees them: as beloved of God.

May we let the love of Jesus for us calm our fears and impel us to love and serve each other and the world.

A solid mission statement/business plan

Any business consultant will advise having a mission behind a company, a vision for where you’re going, and strategies to help make that happen.  When you create that vision, mission, and strategic plan, you aren’t there yet.   But you believe with all your heart that it’s possible and you’re dedicated to acting in whatever ways you can to get there, keeping your eyes on the end result and adjusting what you do along the way as you work toward it.  A good mission statement should remind you of why your business exists and why it’s important to society.  I am a proud retiree of one of the most successful companies of the last eighty years…U-Haul.  U-Haul’s mission statement is actually a “Management Bulletin” that I often heard referred to as “the U-Haul Bible”, because it is that important to their success.   One of the objectives stated in the very first paragraph is “to improve human lives.”   That one single objective was the reason I was able to stay focused on providing the best customer service I could for over 25 years, despite the many aggravations and obstacles—sometimes self-imposed—that popped up during my career.  Every time I felt discouraged or tempted to quit, I would go back and read MB197 and be reminded that we existed to “improve human lives.”  

As I reflect on Jesus’ recitation of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12), it sounds like a business statement, but one that seems totally unrealistic in today’s world.  The meek are inheriting the land?  Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are satisfied?  The merciful are shown mercy?  Peacemakers are called children of God?  And on it goes.  Sometimes people interpret the entirety of the beatitudes as referring to our “great reward” in heaven.  Yet didn’t Jesus tell us that the reign of God is among us right now (Matthew 4:17)?  Don’t we pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:5-15)?  So what’s the deal?

Just as with business, perhaps this is a case of “already but not yet”.  Jesus does indeed paint an ideal picture.  But it isn’t simply an explanation of what heaven will be like.  Instead, it’s our mission and vision statement, and we are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, who dedicated His life to doing everything possible to enact it in this world.

So just as in business, we have to pause often and see how we’re doing.  In what ways do I fall short of God’s vision and mission for me and for this world?  When do I fail to notice and uphold the meek ones who can fade into the background otherwise?  When do I allow myself to become so disheartened and discouraged in my thirst for righteousness that I give up or sink into apathy?  When do I fail to show mercy to others?  In what ways do I feed divisions and animosity or cling to my own position instead of truly listening to another in a quest to find common ground, compromise, and go forward for the good of all?  And on it goes.

Make no mistake about it: This is a demanding vision, and it involves real costs.  For Jesus, it cost Him His life.  Our call is not to water it down or interpret it as merely God’s ultimate reward to us in heaven after we die.  Working individually and together as disciples of Christ, what steps can each of us take today or this week to bring God’s vision to fruition?  

We are an Easter people, full of hope!

Something I like to do, especially around Palm Sunday through Pentecost, is to read the accounts of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus in all four Gospels.  They are all exactly the same in the final message—the message of hope—but different details are emphasized by the different writers because they were speaking to different audiences.

After my brother Tom passed away, I found a couple of journals he was writing to help him (in his own words) improve the long-term and short-term memory loss he sustained because of the length of time he was under anesthesia during his transplant surgery.  To help cope with my sadness at losing my ‘little’ brother, I used his journals as the inspiration to write a short (80 pages!) book about the special relationship we had and the memories we shared.  I’ve mentioned the book in this blog before and excerpted parts of it, in particular the titular entry that Tom wrote with no title, but that I named “The Man in the Boat”.

When I was through writing the account, I passed out copies to all of our remaining siblings and asked them for their opinions.  Like the four different gospels, each of my brothers shared their memories of the same stories, but with different little details.  Of course, each brother was quick to point out that while my tribute to Tom was spot on, I was dead wrong on some of the smaller details.  I don’t think so.  I just remembered them differently.

In the resurrection account described by John, Mary only needed to hear Jesus call her by name and she recognized that He was standing in front of her (John 20:11-18).  How is Jesus calling out to us? The answer requires us to look beyond ourselves.

When I put myself into the sandals of Mary Magdalene, the woman at Jesus’ tomb in John’s Gospel, I can relate to how she feels.  I too have wept because I couldn’t find Jesus at various times in my life; after my brother Tom passed away, when I lost jobs, when I lost friends, when I got worried about all of the violence and hatred in the world.  At those times I would question, “Where are You, Jesus?”  To which He would often reply to me in my meditations, “Where are you, Steve?”   

While ‘we are an Easter people’ (Pope Saint John Paul II), we are also a post-Pentecost people, which means that Jesus is calling all of us to continue the ministry He began.  Only after we recognize His call to ministry are we able to see what Jesus has been doing right there in front of us.  We’re healed of our pain, misery and loneliness not by sitting on our couches and complaining, but by doing something with our pain that helps others heal. (This seems to be a secret that too few people know, but it should be a normal part of Christian living.)

In Matthew’s account (Matthew 28:1-10), the women were fearful until an angel said, “Don’t be afraid!” and Jesus repeated the message.  Fear keeps us from seeing Jesus and from realizing the plan of redemption that God’s trying to reveal to us.  Like He did for Jesus, the Father wants to redeem our crosses and destructions by transforming them into new lives that will reveal Jesus to others.

In Luke’s account (Luke 24:1-8), angels said to the women, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?”   We fail to see Jesus whenever we focus on what’s going wrong.  Only when we stop clinging to our limited and self-centered perceptions can we notice that God is leading us into a victorious future.

Listen! Jesus is calling your name. Your resurrection has already begun!

It's impossible!

 

Every now and then, when reflecting on the Gospels, I try to put myself in the scene.  I like to think that I’m a pretty faithful person who believes in his heart, mind, and soul that Jesus is God. Even though I hear the story every year at this time, I still find myself not that much different from the “OG” followers.  I know intellectually and historically about the Resurrection, but there’s something that still surprises me.

On that “first day of the week” two thousand years ago, there was a lot of scurrying around and excitement and hearing reports of some amazing news that no one yet understood.  Even though Jesus had given them advance notice that He would rise again after being put to death, God’s plans took them by surprise.  They didn’t expect a resurrection. They didn’t understand that it was a necessary part of the Messiah’s mission. (John 20:1-9)

God’s plans often take us by surprise.  In so many situations of our lives, we don’t understand that hard times are going to produce wonderful victories.  We fail to realize that the empty tombs in our lives (the losses that we grieve) are beginnings of important new growth.  We can’t imagine how Jesus is going to redeem bad times into great blessings.

We suffer through the hardships, just trying to cope, waiting for an opportunity to finally walk away from our crosses.  Meanwhile, Jesus wants to give us an Easter morning because of the crosses.

Talk about rough!  How can we recognize the glory of God when we’re depressed?  How can we realize our own resurrections when we’re cursing our crosses?  It’s impossible!

To be the Easter people that we’re supposed to be, we have to learn how to see the hope of resurrection in the pain of the cross.  We have to trust that Jesus is always there, working a plan to redeem bad into good.  We have to allow ourselves to be surprised by God.

Christ is Risen!  He is risen, indeed!

Happy Easter!

Mary found favor with God...

 

There are several resources available online that inform us of the “Saint of the Day”.  These are short biographies of canonized (“sainted”) and beatified (“blessed”) men and women who are recognized by the Church to have lived their lives in ‘heroic virtue’, and whose lives we would do well to imitate.  These are called ‘Feast Days’.  Often when I feel down or caught in discouragement, I like to read the lives of the saints, because every one of them can be considered “God’s messengers.”

Sometimes the Feast days honor significant events in the life of Christ, His mother, or the Church.  For instance, today, March 25, is the Feast of the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel announces to Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”  (Luke 1:26-38)  As I prayed with this gospel account today, I reflected on what it means to ‘find favor with God’.

The favor of God can be described as “tangible evidence that a person has the approval of the Lord.”  When we favor someone, we want to be with him or her.  We delight in him.  We connect with her in a way we don’t connect with everyone.  We usually favor people who also favor us.  In the same way, God shows favor to the ones who delight in, connect with, and give honor to Him.  Isaiah 66:2 says, “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”  Second Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”  To be “perfect” toward Him means we seek His favor more than we seek the favor of anyone else, even ourselves.

Favor is closely related to grace in the Bible.  Those who have received Jesus as their Savior are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9).  They know the favor of God.  Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), but those who have saving faith in God’s Son are declared righteous (Romans 4:5; Philippians 3:9) and live in God’s favor.  The most basic answer to “how can I get God’s favor” is “believe in the Lord Jesus.”

God seeks out those who love Him and love His commands so that He can bless, guide, and protect them (Psalm 37:23; Proverbs 3:5–6). This doesn’t mean that everyone who is prosperous or healthy has found favor with God (Jeremiah 12:1; Psalm 37:7; 73:16). Nor does it mean that those whom the Lord favors will never suffer difficulties. Many people in the Bible had the Lord’s favor but also suffered hardship (2 Corinthians 6:4; Acts 14:22; 20:23; 1 Peter 2:19).

Abel found favor with God, and his brother killed him (Genesis 4:9).

Abraham found favor with God, and was told by God to sacrifice his son (Genesis 22:2).

Hebrew children found favor with God, and wandered for 40 years in loneliness and thirst (Numbers 21:5).

Moses found favor with God, listened to the daily complaints of his people, and never saw the promised land  (Numbers 20:12).

David found favor with God, and suffered bitterly the death of his son (2 Samuel 19:1).

Job found favor with God, and lost fortune, family, wealth & health  (Job 1:13).

Elijah found favor with God, and waited under a juniper tree, pondering suicide (1 Kings:19).

Joseph found favor with God, and he was sold by his bothers into slavery  (Genesis 37:36).

Daniel found favor with God, and ended up in a lion’s den  (Daniel 6:10).

Jeremiah found favor with God, and felt the quiver of God’s arrows in his flesh (Jeremiah 5:16).

John the Baptist found favor with God, and he was violently decapitated  (Matthew 14:10).

Stephen found favor with God, and he was stoned (Acts 7:59).

Paul found favor with God, and was shipwrecked, starved and in prison (Acts).

Jesus found favor with God, and was beaten, spat upon, crucified.

Noah found favor with God, and was subjected to a great flood (Genesis 6:8).

Those who are favored of God know that God is with them and that nothing can happen to them apart from His good purpose (Romans 8:28).  They have His ear as they walk through dark valleys (Psalm 34:15) and know that their struggle to remain true to Him won’t go unrewarded (Matthew 10:42; Revelation 2:10).  In addition to outward evidence, God’s favor can be felt in the spirit.  When we have the favor of the Lord, we rest in quiet confidence that our sins are forgiven (Romans 4:7), we are within the plan of God (Psalm 86:11), and that He’s there for us at all times (Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 28:20).  We walk with God as with our closest friend.  We begin to see and appreciate the little blessings that God provides for our enjoyment—blessings that we once took for granted.

The Lord invites us to seek His favor (Psalm 119:58, 135; 2 Kings 13:4; Jeremiah 26:19; Zephaniah 2:3).  When we seek His favor, we humble our hearts before Him (2 Kings 22:19); seek Him for Himself, not just for the blessings He gives (Jeremiah 29:13); and arrange our lives around loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27).  We seek first His kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

One way to obtain favor from the Lord is to seek wisdom.  Proverbs 8:35 says, “For those who find me [wisdom] find life and receive favor from the LORD.”  Psalm 5:12 says, “Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”  Finding favor with the Lord keeps our lives and thoughts pure because we desire to please Him more than we desire to please ourselves.  Hebrews 11:25 says of Moses, “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.”  When the same can be said of us, we’ll know we’ve found favor with God.  His delight in us will be demonstrated.

Two choices: worry or trust God

 

The word righteous today commonly carries with it a negative connotation, because we often tacitly attach the word “self” to it.  The self-righteous person considers himself to be the measure of what is good and holy.  He’s the Pharisee who looks at the penitent tax collector and thinks he is blessed not to be like him.  Jesus tells us that such a man will not be justified. (Luke 18:9-14)

On this beautiful Solemnity of St. Joseph, the Church calls us to ponder the powerful witness of the foster father of Christ and spouse of Mary. He is a man we don’t know by his words but rather by his actions.  However, Scripture does supply us with one word to describe him…righteous.  This is a word that is also used by St. Paul to describe Abraham (Romans 4:13-22).

One who is truly righteous understands that only God can judge a person’s soul, even one’s own soul.  Thus, a righteous heart is also a humble and merciful heart.  Even the complete name of today’s Solemnity underscores this; “The Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of Mary”.  Joseph appears to get “top billing”, but does he?   When righteous, one also acknowledges the right order of reality where God is the both the source of all things and our ultimate goal.  Jesus has promised that those who hunger and thirst for this understanding will be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6) Abraham’s righteousness was satisfied through many sons.  Joseph’s was satisfied through one, the Son of God.

In a couple of Gospel readings, we see Joseph growing in his ability to trust God. How difficult it must have been to believe Mary’s story!  So, since he didn’t trust her version of the story about her pregnancy, God sent him an angel in a dream (Matthew 1:16-24).

Now, Joseph had to trust that his dream wasn’t a product of his own imagination.  Wouldn’t it have been more convincing if the angel had appeared to him in person, the way Mary had been visited by an angel (Luke 1:26-38)?

And yet, something about the dream triggered Joseph’s faith.  He believed what he heard in his sleep.  I suspect, though, that a new doubt flooded him as soon as he believed the message of the dream.  He might have wondered: “Who am I to raise the Messiah! I can’t do this! I’m not worthy of this responsibility, and I will make mistakes!”

Maybe the questions lingered only a second, or maybe he had to get down on his knees and go deep into prayer before he could feel God’s assurance.  Either way, he chose to trust God, which gave him the freedom to feel assured that God would help him take care of Mary and the child.

Years later, when Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph’s trust was again stretched.  He lost the child for three days!  He had to choose repeatedly, moment by moment, to trust God no matter how long the boy was missing (Luke 2:41-51).  You and I have to trust God the same way.  We can either look at the evidence that says how bad things are — and live in worry — or we can look at God and remember that he cares with infinite love and is worthy of our trust.

David chose to trust that God would protect his throne forever (2 Samuel 7:4-16).  Paul reminds us that Abraham “hoped against hope” (which is the meaning of trust) that although he and his wife were well past their child-bearing years, he would become the father of a great nation as promised.

And Jesus had to trust that His death upon the cross — and all of its excruciating pain and the tortures before it — would lead to the glory of resurrection and the redemption of the world.

To journey through the cross to resurrection, to move from pain to glory, trust is necessary.  In each problem you face today — especially the long-standing ones — stop and think about the choice you have: You can worry and be afraid or you can trust God.  Ask St. Joseph to help you!

Trust God. Your resurrection glory has already been planned.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

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It occurs to me that today is the last of my meditations on The Highs and Lows and Ups and Downs of the Most Holy Rosary.  How fitting that the fifth and final Glorious mystery has us pondering Jesus’ mother, as she is crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.

The Glorious Mysteries

V.  The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth

Brief meditation:

The Coronation of Mary as the Queen of All Creation is something to celebrate—a joyous event. Mary shows us that, through the grace of God, all things are possible.  Mary could rest on her accomplishment.  She could rejoice in the presence of God for the rest of eternity.  But she is our mother, and she understands God’s will for us. He doesn’t want any one of us to be left behind.  So, Mary like the perfect mother she is, accepts her position in heaven humbly, but immediately sets out once again to serve God in shepherding us to Him.  Like the Visitation, Mary comes to us to help us; to lead us to God through Christ.  She won’t rest as Queen of Creation until all of God’s children are with Him in heaven.

Scriptural meditations:

1.  Who is this that comes forth like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, as resplendent as the sun?  (Song of Solomon 6:10)- Hail Mary…

2.  Like the rainbow appearing in the cloudy sky; like the blossoms on the branches in springtime. (Sirach 50:8-9)- Hail Mary…

3.  I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. (Sirach 24:24)- Hail Mary…

4.  In me is all grace of the way and of truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. (Sirach 24:25)- Hail Mary…

5.  Come to me, all you that yearn for me, and be filled with my fruits.  (Sirach 24:26)- Hail Mary…

6.  You will remember me as sweeter than honey, better to have than the honeycomb. (Sirach 24:27)- Hail Mary…

7.  So now, children, listen to me; instruction and wisdom do not reject!  (Proverbs 8:32-33)- Hail Mary…

8.  Happy are those who keep my ways, watching daily at my gates.  (Proverbs 8:33-34)- Hail Mary…

9.  For he who finds me.....wins favor from the Lord.  (Proverbs 8:35)- Hail Mary…

10.  Hail, O Queen of Mercy, protect us from the enemy, and receive us at the hour of death. (Queenship of the B.V.M., Gradual)- Glory Be…

Their wickedness blinded them

 

The seventh chapter of John’s Gospel (7:1-30) begins by saying that Jesus didn’t travel to Judea because there was a group of people trying to kill Him.  This is one of several instances where the gospels reveal how a group of people are out to get Jesus.  The attitude among Jesus’ enemies suggested that if Jesus could just be bumped off, life could be more predictable, and they could get back to business as usual.  Jesus’ words and teachings highly influenced the common people.  Yet at the same time these same words confronted the dishonesty of the religious leaders, who had grown very comfortable with their untruthfulness.  Impressive to me, as the gospel continues, is Jesus’ testimony to His Father even with the thoughts of death becoming a reality.

On a personal level, I’m left wondering about the times of past attitudes where I pondered fantasies of the grandiose lifestyle I would be living if I didn’t believe in Jesus or didn’t have a desire to follow His teachings.  If Jesus wasn’t part of my life, I know I would be justifying actions to get ahead, to make money, to push the envelope even at the expense of others.  At a simplistic level, if Jesus isn’t in the picture, then why I should return my neighbor’s property I borrowed last fall?

On the level of humanity, I see this attitude flowing into weekly events in the news.  When I hear stories of price gouging or genocide, human experimentation where greed has taken over and the person being interviewed simply says that they, “didn’t do anything illegal.”  While it may not have violated a specific code of law, it was far from a moral code that thinks beyond one’s selfishness.  They may have not done anything illegal, but their actions have rippled waves of destruction even into future generations.   The bottom line is how easy it is to justify our actions and behaviors if we get Jesus out of the picture.

It certainly isn’t a new idea.  The book of Wisdom reminds us that this mode of thinking has been going on for centuries even before Jesus’ birth.  “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings.” (Wisdom 2:1-22) If we don’t have to act out of justice, if we govern our lives by the things we personally desire to give us personal fulfillment, temporary happiness, or false security, and we selfishly make these decisions without any consideration of others, then we are probably in pretty sinful place as we justify our behaviors.  When we are in a good place, we know how erroneous this thinking can become.  But when we're in that self-centered place it's truly difficult to see our blindness.  Wisdom concludes, “These were their thoughts, but they erred; for their wickedness blinded them.”

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The Highs and Lows and Ups and Downs of the Most Holy Rosary

The Glorious Mysteries

IV.  The Assumption of Mary into Heaven

Brief meditation:

“But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet…Then they heard a loud voice from Heaven saying to them, ‘Come up hither!’ And in the sight of their foes they went up to Heaven in a cloud.” – Revelation 11:11-12

Our Lady didn’t ascend as Jesus did, because she was never God and could never condescend into her humanity as He did.  Instead, by way of her Immaculate Conception, since she was created guileless, her gift was to be taken up by God to Heaven.

That’s where our hope lies, too – that, in spite of our humanity, we have the potential for perfection by way of holy purification. God’s expansive mercy is limitless in the ways He reaches down from Heaven to uplift us every day, when we’re despondent, when we’re lonely, when we’re addicted, when we’re suffering, when we’re in pain.

The Assumption of Mary serves as a goal or guidepost for us, our hope as we strive to attain heaven or accept it anew as God continues to present it to us as a gratuitous gift.

Scriptural meditations:

1.  Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women on earth. (Judith 13:23)- Hail Mary…

2.  For He has so magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of the mouths of men. (Judith 13:25)- Hail Mary…

3.  In every nation which shall hear thy name, the God of Israel shall be magnified on occasion of thee. (Judith 13:31)- Hail Mary…

4.  Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honor of our people. (Judith 15:10)- Hail Mary…

5.  Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear, for the king shall desire your beauty. (Psalms 44:11-12)- Hail Mary…

6.  And the temple of God in heaven was opened, and there came flashes of lightning, and peals of thunder. (Revelation 11:19)- Hail Mary…

7.  And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun. (Revelation 12:1)- Hail Mary…

8.  And the moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. (Revelation 12:1)- Hail Mary…

9.  All glorious is the king's daughter as she enters; her raiment is threaded with spun gold. (Psalms  44:14)- Hail Mary…

10.  Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wondrous deeds. (Psalms 97:1)- Hail Mary…

Break down the barriers

 

After reading passages from Exodus and the Gospel of John today, I saw that people were looking for God in the wrong places.  In Exodus, the people turn to their human-made God in the molten calf (Exodus 32:7-14).  In the Gospel, Jesus responds to people who have refused to believe God can show up in the ways He is teaching and, in His actions (John 5:31-47).  It can be easy to dismiss the groups these messages are directed at as just not getting it ― we’re thousands of years removed and therefore have a better grasp and don’t make the same mistakes.  But the reality is that we are still doing the same things.  We too can turn towards false gods and fail to see how God shows up in our daily lives.

We can create false gods out of our money, status, politics, and sometimes even our religious beliefs.  We might put our trust in these items because it helps us feel more in control.  If we get this amount of money or career, everything will be okay.  A politician or leader believes what we believe, therefore, we believe they’re the ones who will improve things.  When we do this, we may miss the invitations from God to grow or to see things in new ways.

Also, like the audience Jesus speaks to, we can fail to see God right in front of us. The situation isn’t ideal or what we would like it to be, therefore, we believe God must be absent.  Or a hard truth is presented to us, and instead of going deeper to see what it has to teach us, we may reject it and perhaps even diminish its source, because we can’t believe God would condone this.

As we near the end of the fourth week of Lent, we’re invited to continue reflecting on those barriers that prevent us from encountering God.  The hard truth is that sometimes, we're the barriers.  It’s our attitudes, our beliefs, and our resistances that can be the primary barriers.  We’re called to be a discerning people who go deep within―sometimes to uncomfortable spaces―to distinguish what comes from our false notions of how things should be and where the invitations to see things anew surface.

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The Highs and Lows and Ups and Downs in the mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary

The Glorious Mysteries

III.  The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles

Brief meditation:

The disciples were afraid.  Most of us have probably never experienced fear like the fear they were gripped with. They were afraid they would be killed for being Jesus' followers.  But if they weren't killed, what were they to do; now that Jesus was gone?  Then the Holy Spirit descended upon them and transformed them.  Their fear was banished, and they were filled with courage.  This is the greatest before-and-after sequence the world has ever seen.

Scriptural meditations:

1.  When the days of Pentecost were drawing to a close, they were all together in one place. (Acts 2:1)- Hail Mary…

2.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind blowing. (Acts 2:2)- Hail Mary…

3.  And there appeared to them parted tongues as of fire, which settled upon each of them.  (Acts 2:3)- Hail Mary…

4.  And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak of the wonderful works of God. (Acts 2:4, 11)- Hail Mary…

5.  Now there were staying in Jerusalem devout Jews from every nation under heaven. (Acts 2:5)- Hail Mary…

6.  And Peter, standing up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke to them.  (Acts 2:14)- Hail Mary…

7.  "Repent and be baptized; and you will receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)- Hail Mary…

8.  Now they who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:41)- Hail Mary…

9.  Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created; and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.  (Psalms 103:30)- Hail Mary…

10.  Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful; and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.  (Pentecost Alleluia)- Hail Mary…

Can you imagine?

 

I would bet good money on the proposition that everyone who believes in God has tried to imagine what He looks like, what He sees when He looks at His creatures, and the depth of His love for all of His creation.  No image of God will ever capture the full complexity of the Ultimate Reality, but some images are better than others.  Some worked better when I was young while others work better now as I age.

I recall a prayer that was shared with me years ago. The prayer goes something like this: The fact that my mom and dad met and loved each other, whatever the circumstances, is just a small part of the miracle of my existence.  Indeed, our parents play an important part in our lives and my scripture reading today gives me opportunity to reflect on them.  For most of us, it’s our biological parents who lead, carry, teach and sustain us from our beginnings.  As we grow, others also assist in this process, but it’s our parents who are there to bring us through these tender stages to the point where we can take care of ourselves—and even take on the process of having and raising our own children.

My own parents made a great home for myself and my siblings, which included being welcomed and reverenced from the beginning of life.  We were nurtured with the food we needed to grow, and with the education we needed to be successful.  We were also raised in the practice of the faith…and taught how to be good people!

I have, of course, become painfully aware that this good upbringing that my siblings and I enjoyed is not always the case.  And so, the metaphors and language of mother and father in my readings today can also cast a shadow of darkness and fear.  Some even seek other metaphors or examples for the care and concern of the Lord.

Isaiah and Jesus provide two different (but are they, really?) images of God.  Isaiah offers the image of a mother who can never forget her child (Isaiah 49:8-15).  And so, we may imagine God looking at us with the tenderness of a nursing mother.  Jesus offers a second image: God the Father (John 5:17-30).  As used by Jesus, this image suggests a deep and intimate relationship.  We may be comfortable with both images.  Or we may prefer one over the other.  Or we may have our own favorite image of God.

The Gospel gives us another way to understand God.  Recall that Jesus is the Word made Flesh, the incarnate God (John 1:1-5).  Jesus tells us that He is uniquely qualified to represent God.  Jesus is doing and saying what God sent Him to do.  We’ll never fully understand the nature of God.  We’ll never fully understand the Trinity.  We’ll never fully understand exactly how Jesus can be both different from and united to God.  This Ultimate Reality will elude our understanding.  Our images of God will always fall short.  But we do have Jesus who is God incarnate.  We are invited to know Jesus more intimately and so, enter into a deeper relationship with Ultimate Reality.

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The Highs and Lows and Ups and Downs of the Most Holy Rosary

The Glorious Mysteries

II.  Jesus is Ascended into Heaven

Brief meditation:

For forty days Jesus remained among His disciples.  They saw His pierced hands, feet and side, He ate with them and walked with them.  He bestowed on them the power to forgive sins saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit, for those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” (John 21:22-23)  Jesus’ mission on earth was complete so He took His disciples to the outskirts of Bethany, blessed them and as He did so, He was carried up to Heaven.

Scriptural meditations:

1.  “But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.” (John 16:5-6)- Hail Mary…

2.  “But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.  For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.  But if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7)- Hail Mary…

3.  Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. (Luke 24:50)- Hail Mary…

4.  When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)- Hail Mary…

5.  He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7)- Hail Mary…

6.  “But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)- Hail Mary…

7.  When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. (Acts 1:9)- Hail Mary…

8.  So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19)- Hail Mary…

9.  While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11)- Hail Mary…

10.  They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God. (Luke 24:52-53)- Hail Mary…

Just keep on swimming!

 

As I read the scriptures today, I reflected on the life-giving and healing attributes of water as symbols of God’s countless blessings and abundant mercy.

In Ezekiel, the angel shows Ezekiel the river “flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple”.  Ezekiel first experiences the water as a small stream which is “ankle deep”.  As he moves on further the water becomes a larger stream which is “knee deep”.  Thereafter, it becomes a rivulet which is “waist deep”.  Finally, the water accumulates as a river “through which I could not wade; it had become a river that could not be crossed except by swimming” (Ezekiel 47:1-12).  The life-giving and transformative power of this water sustains every kind of living creature that can multiply, including abundant fish, fruit trees of every kind which will bear fruit every month.  The abundant fruit serves as food and the leaves as medicine.  Keep in mind that this life-giving water is represented as flowing from the holy temple of Jerusalem.

Six centuries after Ezekiel’s encounter with the angel, John’s gospel portrays a purportedly healing pool of water in Jerusalem called Bethesda with five porticoes (roof-covered porches).  Herein lay a large number of ill, blind, lame and crippled, including one man who had been ill for thirty-eight years.  Jesus goes up to Jerusalem on a feast of the Jews where He encounters and heals the man.  When Jesus asks the man “Do you want to be well?”, the man replies “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me”.  Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat and walk.”  The man did so.

Note that Jesus didn’t ask the man to bathe in the pool to be healed as was the tradition at the Pool of Bethesda.  Jesus demonstrated that His healing power surpassed anything that could be expected from the pool, including not only the man’s physical infirmities, but his spiritual ones as well.  Later Jesus finds the same man in the temple area and says to him “Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse will happen to you.”  (John 5:1-16) 

So here we are on our own faith journey through the river of life.  We’ve received the healing and forgiving power of God’s water at our baptism where we waded through the stream of God’s love and kindness.  As children, we learned that God’s life-giving and healing powers were more abundant and necessary than we appreciated as children, carrying us along the stream up to our knees.  Then, as young adults, if we remain faithful, we’re waist-deep in God’s countless blessings and abundant mercy.  Finally, as adults, we’ve had to learn to swim to cross the river that we all one day hope to cross.  Of course, our coach is there for each stroke that we take: “Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse will happen to you.”  So keep on swimming.  Remember that the surface of the earth is covered by 71% water, so we still have a long way to swim.  Yet all of that water is a “drop in the bucket” compared to God’s countless blessings and abundant mercy which we can count on to finish our journey.

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The Highs and Lows and Ups and Downs of the Most Holy Rosary

The Glorious Mysteries

The Sorrowful Mysteries ended with the Crucifixion on Good Friday; the Glorious Mysteries pick up with Easter Sunday and the Resurrection and cover the establishment of the Church at Pentecost Sunday and the unique respect showed by God to the Mother of His Son at the end of her earthly life.

I.  The Resurrection

Brief meditation:

"Why seek you the living with the dead?  He is not here, but is risen" (Luke 24:5-6). With those words, the angels greeted the women who had come to Christ's tomb with spices and ointments, to care for His body. They had found the stone rolled back, and the tomb empty, and they did not know what to make of it.

But now the angels continue: "Remember how he spoke unto you, when he was in Galilee, Saying: The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again" (Luke 24:6-7). And Saint Luke simply says, "And they remembered his words."

Unless Christ rose from the dead, Saint Paul tells us, our faith is in vain. But He did rise from the dead, and faith—the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen—is not vain, but a virtue (Hebrews).  We know that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross accomplished our salvation, not because we know that He died, but because we know that He lives.  And in living, He brings new life to all who have faith in Him.

Scriptural meditations:

1.  "Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." (John 16:20)- Hail Mary…

2.  "For I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one shall take from you."  (John 16:22)- Hail Mary…

3.  At early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.  (Luke 24:1)- Hail Mary…

4.  And behold, an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and drawing near rolled back the stone. (Matthew 28:2)- Hail Mary…

5.  "Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified." (Matthew 28:5)- Hail Mary…

6.  "He is not here, but has risen. Behold the place where they laid Him."  (Luke 24:6; Mark 16:6)- Hail Mary…

7.  "And behold, He goes before you into Galilee; there you shall see Him." (Matthew 28:7)- Hail Mary…

8.  And they departed quickly from the tomb in fear and great joy.  (Matthew 28:8)- Hail Mary…

9.  "I am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in Me, even if he die, shall live." (John 11:25)- Hail Mary…

10.  "And whoever believes in Me shall never die." (John 11:26)- Hail Mary…