The Holy Cross is Our Hope

“With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses.” (Numbers 21:4b-9) I can relate to this.  The life of faith often seems like a long trip in the desert.  At times it can seem to bring very little reward, and in the midst of the struggle, the memory of slavery in our own “Egypt” can seem more attractive than God’s promise of freedom.  All who walk the path of discipleship will pass through this desert.  Indeed, the experience of wandering in a desert bereft of God’s presence is so common in the Christian life that our tradition has a name for it.  St. Mother Teresa and St. John of the Cross called it “the dark night of the soul”.  The desert fathers called it the “noon-day demon.”  The demon was not so much a little devil with horns as it was a description of the powerful temptation to leave the path to holiness.  The temptation can take many forms, and if we yield to it, we risk becoming bitter and alienated from God.  How odd it is that following God can lead to bitterness and alienation, but it can. 

The only real response to the noon-day demon and dark night of the soul is prayer and patience.  We must focus our gaze upon Jesus and what He has done.  We need to remember the cross and the resurrection and resist becoming dulled to its power and promise.

The words of St. Paul to the Philippians (Philippians 2:6-11) and of Jesus to Nicodemus (John 3:13-17) are also meant for us today. They tell us that God loves us all. That includes those who are suffering.  In spite of what other people do to add to their suffering, God loves them.  And because God loves them, there is hope.  Suffering people who believe in God and appreciate His love have the great hope of salvation.  Human suffering is just that, it is human or finite.  Human suffering will come to an end as our lives here on earth come to an end.  But God’s bright promise of eternal life is for all who believe in Him. That includes those who are suffering.  Today as we work to relieve the suffering of those around us, let us also thank God for His love for all of us.

Blind Guides

In our very flawed, very human way, we are all too ready to look upon the failings of others than we are to look in the mirror and see our own.  And we’re quicker still to let them know it and guide them to the path of righteousness.  Talk about the blind leading the blind!

One of the things Jesus tells us in Luke (6:39-42) is to purify ourselves, to see ourselves for what we really are. It is only by knowing ourselves thoroughly that we can begin to know and understand others. We have so much bombarding our senses in our culture today. Our thoughts go outward in response to these auditory and visual stimuli. We ponder the news, listen to music, read and watch too much television; don’t even get me started talking about social media! While these activities are worthwhile to a limited degree, they can cut into our time for quiet self-reflection. We might not be in touch with our innermost thoughts. We might not realize our tendencies to react inappropriately, such as by judging others.

We should evaluate how much time we are setting aside from the noises and harmonies of life to set our own house in order. For example, I have tried, over the last year or so, to curtail most of my television watching. I have replaced it with reading the Scriptures, writing my reflections in my blog, and trying to attend daily Mass.  And I’m still a long way off from where I should be in my spiritual life!

One of the reasons we are so willing to accuse others is that we know so little about ourselves. More often than not what enrages or irritates us about another is our own flaws that we know about and do nothing to correct; we’d rather deflect attention away from ourselves.  Jesus offers the remedy for this—self-awareness.  And it is in this self-awareness that empathy and sympathy for the sinner grows. It is in understanding our own sinfulness that we become aware of the splendor of the love and mercy of God. By looking in the mirror and seeing our sins, we learn the compassion of Jesus.  Frequent examination of my conscience and the great Sacrament of Confession has been a great source of comfort to me in these trying times.

We open the hardened heart of a sinner by sitting and listening without judging, without trying to fix all the problems we are hearing.

In short, the solution begins with unconditional love, prayer and compassion. And this awareness of our own sinfulness teaches us compassion and unconditional love.

"Easy" Instructions

When I heard the readings at Mass this morning, my first thought was “It sounds like the assembly instructions to Ikea furniture…simple, but you know it’s not going to be that easy!”

There are two very different ways of addressing people and events in our lives—we can either react or we can respond—each with dramatically different results.

God calls us to love; “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you!” (Luke 6:27)—but at the same time, He reminds us that it takes an enormous amount of strength and courage to fully answer this call to love—As Paul says, “to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient and forgiving to all” (Colossians 3:12-13).

There is nothing extraordinary about loving those who are caring and generous toward us. At some point in our lives we will encounter people who are deceitful, unkind and selfish. When this happens our natural tendency is to retaliate and defend oneself against them.

But the words and deeds of Christ teach a path that is different to that of violence, hatred or revenge—it is a path that demands us to face the injustice of our world with the courage and strength that come from trusting that our ultimate victory will be with God if we obey His command to love anyway.

So when we look back at our lives and the major influences that brought us to where we are today, do we find that we are passively reacting to the people and events we find along the way or are we responding with love, as Jesus taught us?

Is anyone worthy to unfasten the sandals of Christ?

I usually attend daily mass at 8AM at our neighborhood church, but I was running late this morning, so I decided to go to my old parish (St. Luke’s) at 8:30 instead.  In front of the altar was an icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.  My mom had a similar, yet smaller, version hanging on one of the walls in our homes since I can remember.  She told me once that popular legends claim that the icon is a true copy of a painting that was painted by Saint Luke using the meal table of the Holy Family in Nazareth.  Mary is pictured holding the baby Jesus in her arms. One of His tiny feet is bare, while the other has a dangling sandal that has been unfastened but not quite removed from His little foot.  

She was specially prepared by God, through her immaculate conception, to be sinless, and therefore worthy to bear God's Son. Although she was without sin, at the same time, Mary was completely human. So, like any human mother, she cared for her little baby.  If anyone is worthy to unfasten the sandals of the feet of the Son of God, it is Mary, his mother.

Think about that! Mary put on and took off Jesus' little sandals. She probably unfastened them every day. God had prepared her to be worthy of that little task, and so many others.  She did all the things a mother does for her baby; Like preparing His meals, giving Him baths, changing His diapers, kissing His “boo-boos”, and tucking Him in at night.  Except this baby was God—The Son of God, as well as her own human son.

Meditating on Jesus' tiny sandal pictured with Our Lady of Perpetual Help and furthering our understanding of Mary is well worth doing.  Because when Mary's role is clear, Christ's role is clear also. Mary always points us to her Son.

And on this day that we commemorate the senseless loss of so many lives on that fateful day 18 years ago, she reminds us that through the sacrifice of her Son, there is perpetual help and hope for all of us.

Am I a "Perfect Fit"?

“He spent the night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12)

This verse isn’t one most people remember, but it speaks volumes about Jesus. Before He made the crucial decision about whom He would choose as His apostles, He prayed. It shows how completely dependent Jesus was on His heavenly Father. He never made a move without asking which way He should go. And when the decision was important, He didn’t just offer a quick “Our Father”!  As in this case, He went to a place with few distractions and spent long hours listening in prayer.  It’s not unlike personnel departments and managers who spend hours poring over resumes and letters of recommendation, looking for the “right” person to hire.  The needs of a position matched with an applicant’s adequate credentials are needed for the perfect “fit.”

Whatever happened that night when Jesus spent hours “in communion with God” we don’t know for sure, but most of us who are or have been in positions to interview and hire would be amazed at “the Twelve” whom He selected from the disciples to be His most intimate followers and co-laborers.  Of the twelve, here is a sampling of their “job performance”:  one denied knowing Him when questioned about their relationship (Matt. 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62; and John 18:15-27), two others were hot-tempered and rash (“Call down fire from heaven to destroy them!”[Luke 9:54]), one wouldn’t believe without seeing (John 20:25), and one, finally, betrayed Him, handing Him over to those who would put Him to death (Luke 22:48).  So much for careful screening!

But then again, with the exception of the last, all underwent remarkable transformations—conversions—leading them to become fearless proclaimers of the Name, even to their own deaths.  I guess it’s true what I read somewhere: if it is true that God often calls those who are qualified, it is also true that He “qualifies” those whom He calls. 

There is encouragement here for all those who “have been called.”  God often provides “on the job training,” drawing out of us what we did not know was there and transforming us into His instruments in ways we could not possibly imagine.  When faced with their inadequacies, all—with one exception—acknowledged their weakness and professed their faith anew.  Therein is found the seed of conversion and deeper witness.  Peter’s “Lord, you know that I love you” (John 21:15) and Thomas’ “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28) show us how to respond in the face of our own inadequacies and failures. 

If we’re serious about doing what Jesus did, we have to pray too. Of course, if you’re new to prayer, you won’t begin by staying up all night on a mountaintop! Your starting point can be just knowing that God wants to speak to you personally and recognizing that you want to hear His voice. It all begins when you trust in God’s promise: “When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

The fact is, there is no magical secret to prayer. We simply have to turn to Him, and God will answer us. So in part, it really is up to us. We have to take the time and effort to listen. We have to decide whether we will follow God’s plans or our own—and we have to discern how we’re going to implement them. We may even need the help of a trusted friend to help us along the way. But through it all, God will be right beside us!

If you haven’t done so before, why not start today to ask God about the decisions you are facing? You can begin by making small steps at listening and trying to put into practice what you hear. Tell the Lord about your schedule and ask Him to direct your steps.  Read the Scriptures and see if the Spirit gives you some sense about what you should do in a situation. Like anything else, prayer takes practice.  And the better you get at hearing the Lord, the more confident you will become—and the more effective you will be at building His kingdom!

“Lord, I ask for Your guidance today. Help me to hear Your voice and to know Your will, even in the small decisions I’m facing. Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening!”

May we, in discovering our shortcomings, allow the Lord to “qualify” us for the task to which He has called us.

Owe nothing to anyone except love.....

Every now and then I am surprised at how the Holy Spirit guides me to my reflections.  It’s usually the readings from Mass or a homily.  But tonight, He decided to use a movie I just happened across while channel surfing.  The movie is “The Fifth Element”.  The story's premise is that every five thousand years, in conjunction with a planetary arrangement, a 'Great Evil' appears whose purpose is to destroy life. The only thing that can save life is to get all 5 “elements” working in unison to destroy the evil.  One of the final lines is “What on Earth is worth saving?”  To which the hero replies “Love”.  It brought to my mind one of the great passages from Paul’s letter to the Romans. (Romans 13:8)

“Owe nothing to anyone except love . . .”

Love is the fulfillment of the law.  It is the fulfillment in a great many intricate ways.  Jesus said, “I come not to do away with the law but to fulfill it.” (Matthew 5:17).  And what is Jesus but incarnate Love?

Love does no harm. It wishes no ill. It does not flatter or puff itself up.  Love is selfless and love is joining with incarnate love in the desire for the salvation of the entire world.

Love cannot be outdone or undone.  Love speaks to us in our hearts and tells us what we should do. Love serves all and rejoices when there are more to serve.  Love is Jesus Christ entering for a moment into our lives.  Jesus Christ is Love incarnate, redeeming, protecting, and calling all to salvation.

Love is the fulfillment of the law and the first duty of all Christians. So let the world know we are Christians by the love we display each day.  Let love be our evangelization.

The Purpose of the Sabbath is to Keep Christ Present in Our Lives

Most of us are quite willing to recognize that God is there for us; that God saves our causes and sustains our lives day after day. In fact, as we grow older, we usually become more mindful that without God, we wouldn’t get through the scrapes we get ourselves into. Nor would we be able to get through the increasingly greater demands of this life. And in response, most of us grow more willing to offer our sacrifices to God, to bring our offerings. We are more likely to keep the Sabbath and to appreciate that God has reconciled us through the sacrifice of Christ’s death. As we grow older, we are more likely to persevere in the faith and to hold out hope in the Gospel message.

That describes a lot of Christians. But that brings a problem. What kind of sacrifice can we offer? What offering should we bring? Jesus tells us that retreating into obedience to rules isn’t it (Luke 6:1-5).  It isn’t about how perfect we are. Keeping the Sabbath and offering a sacrifice has more to do with finding Christ present in all that we do. It is about living our lives in faith and openness to what God calls us to do in the midst of our imperfections. We are called to offer what we can toward what is needed.

I think it’s important for us always to bring a heart that is at peace, intent on true re-creation of the whole person. It should always include Eucharist, but a spirit of outreach to our neighbor and time with our families as well. Whatever we do, should be done in the spirit of charity, inclusiveness, and true Christian joy. Joy comes from gratitude to God who has graced us with a beautiful world and opportunities for praise and reflection, activity as well as total relaxation. If we keep all this in mind, then Jesus will be truly the center and Lord of our Sabbath.

What is the purpose of the Sabbath?   The creation of the Sabbath followed on the heels of the creation of the world.  God took the time to step back and take satisfaction in what had just transpired.  In effect, He was setting a pattern for our lives to follow.   He knew that people needed a Sabbath in their lives to create rest and balance, a time to spend in worship of God and a preparation for the challenges of life ahead.   The purpose of the Sabbath is to help us:

*Relax:  In our harried and busy lives, we need a day set apart to take a deep breath, rest a little and take the time to be in the present and appreciative of the many blessings God has given us.

*Reflect:  We need the time to reflect on how God is working in our lives, as those moments are difficult to create during the busy week.

*Reconnect:  It is easy to lose sight of those who mean the most to us---our family, friends, and God.  We need to set apart time to invest in those important relationships.

*Refresh:  As we spend time in worship, we breathe in deeply God’s spirit, giving us life and energy for the upcoming week.

*Regroup:  As we look forward to the challenges of the week, a Sabbath can give us balance, centeredness and clarity.

*Renew:   Exhaustion and lethargy disappear as all of the disparate pieces of our life fall into place when a Sabbath is experienced.

New vs Old

Old skins, new skins, old cloth, new cloth, old wine, new wine . . . . (Luke 5:33-39)

Is this a commentary, of sorts, on the value of new things? Or is it rather a lesson on the importance of having some "order of precedence" in our lives: that is, doing what is most important and fundamental before charging ahead with things that are not?

One would think that something that is new would be better—new skins, new cloth, new wine, but then in the end the Gospel says, "The old wine is better."

The point is not about something new vs. something old, but about appropriateness of things old and new. In other words the substance of our choices must suit the requirements of the moment and yet be able to stand the test and stress of time.

It is likewise with forms of worship and praise. Be they old or new, they must be fitting praise to the Omnipotent God. They may for a time seem appropriate, but as needs and circumstances change, so too do our prayer forms. It doesn't mean necessarily that one is better than the other, but that one currently seems more suitable. You don't want to say the Grace Before Meals as you're going into surgery, or the prayers of the sick before dinner [unless the chef is a terrible cook!]. Likewise, you may not have the time to say a complete rosary, or even one of the longer prayers, like the Apostle's Creed. You may only have time to say one decade of the rosary.  There might even be times, as Mom taught me years ago, that we are sometimes in situations where a formal prayer can't come to mind. In this case, a simple and sincere "God, I believe!" or "Jesus, help me!" are the most potent prayers one can say.

Anyone who knows me well knows I love praying the rosary.  You can never go wrong by asking Our Blessed Mother to pray FOR you. You have to believe that she knows just the right words to say!

Prayer must be the preeminent activity in our life, lest we damage the cloak given for our salvation or have an old tired-out heart unprepared to receive the ever-new love of God.

Perhaps in the end we might say, "The old is better,"—like the first prayers we learned to say with all the love, praise and sincerity of innocent hearts: (The Sign of the Cross) "In the Name of the Father . . . . ", "Glory Be to the Father . . . . ", "Our Father who art in heaven . . . .", "Hail Mary full of grace . . . . ", "O my God I am heartily sorry . . . . "

Good Fruit

For most of the Universal Catholic Church, this morning’s Gospel was from Luke.  But since it was a special school Mass that honored grandparents and “special friends”, we heard from the Gospel of John (Jn 15:1-8), which presents a familiar image of Jesus as the vine, and we are the branches, and we must remain connected to Him if we desire to bear fruit.  One of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is what sort of fruit we are bearing.

First, there are those branches which bear good fruit.  These are the ones that remain in Christ and draw near to Him in times of trouble.  Second, there are the branches that bear bad fruit.  These branches represent those individuals who are following things other than God in life.  They pursue worldly power, glory, riches, and fame.  They surround themselves with things that are passing by, and in doing so, they are cut off from a personal relationship with Christ Jesus.  Finally, there are branches that produce no fruit at all.  These branches are those people who dedicate themselves to nothing and who pursue nothing in life.  They feel apathetic towards God and have no desire to unite with Him, and neither do they associate themselves with worldly things.  I think this is a good definition of agnostics or skeptics, and that perhaps Jesus is addressing them in this beautiful image.

In the battle between good and evil, there is no “middle ground.”  We are either fighting on the side of Christ or against Him.  Picture man in the middle between God and nothingness; he must choose between the two.  If we do not choose God, we are no better off than those who choose nothing.  We can’t remain in the middle and still follow God because turning towards Jesus is turning away from something else.  We must either produce good fruit or bad fruit.  We must either be for God or else we are against Him.  Many of us don’t like to make commitments and we pray, “God, I will follow You, as long as You don’t ask too much of me,” or “Jesus, I love You, but don’t ask me to do something I am uncomfortable with.”

Christ is not calling us to live ordinary lives, but rather extraordinary ones.  He is calling us to be uncomfortable because in our discomfort, we will depend on Him even more.  I think that is what it means to be holy and a hero.  The saints and all the holy men and women who have gone before us are the heroes of our Faith.  They each overcame their discomfort.  Mother Teresa moved halfway around the world and began caring for the sick and dying in the poorest area of the world, but we don’t need to move to Calcutta, India to be uncomfortable.  We need only to examine those areas in our own lives that we fear.   Perhaps we fear standing up for our faith because others might see.  Perhaps we fear talking about our faith because we don’t think we know it well enough.  Perhaps we fear praying grace before eating our meals in the restaurant or at our desk simply because no one else is. 

As Monsignor Silva said during his homily this morning, we need to ask Jesus to give us the strength to follow where He leads, to overcome our fears, and to learn to bear good fruit so, one day, we will live forever with Him.

It's Demon Hunting Season Year 'round!

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?  The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?” Psalms 27

Paul calls us “children of the light”.  (1Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11) How do we know that we are children of the light? 

The only truthful answer is we don’t, not with absolute certainty.  Yet, even without certitude, we can have confidence in the authority of Jesus who has the power to deliver us from darkness.  Like the man in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 4:31-37), we all suffer with “unclean spirits” of various kinds.  As Father John Peter said at Mass this morning, “Doubt, fear, hate, jealousy, envy, greed; anything that is negative in our life is a demon.”

Hopefully none of us is as debilitated by them as the person in this Gospel was by his.  Still, these spirits, whatever they are, are a form of darkness that can threaten to overwhelm us.  Laxity of our belief in the Holy Trinity of God is the way demons find their way into our life.  To these demons, we must respond with the words of Jesus, “Be quiet!” and trust in the power of Christ to transform us. The easiest way to tell the demons in our life to leave us alone is to say the Creed with true conviction and sincerity. 

As any athletic coach will tell you, the best defense is a good offense.  Identifying and taking the demons out before they “score” on us is to go “demon hunting”.  Right before sleep is a good time for this.  A good examination of conscience will help us find those demons that have kept us from the Light.  Praying the rosary to ask for our Blessed Mother’s intercession, we can call on Jesus to help rid us of them. After that, at our earliest convenience, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance will give us the grace we need to keep them at bay!

What we need is Jesus' example of trust in God.  Often our world seems more dominated by evil forces destructive of human life and dignity than by forces supporting human life.  We may even wonder whether the power of evil is stronger than the power of good.

That’s when we need to remember that Jesus was not naive about the presence of evil in the world.   He was continually assaulted by evil forces and evil spirits; forces which eventually led to His crucifixion.  Despite this He never yielded to despair, always remaining confident in the Father's love and care.  His anguished cry on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me," (Matthew 27:45-46, Psalms 22:1) reveals the depth of His anguish; but His final sigh uncovers the depth of His trust, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." (Luke 23:44-46)

Our challenge is the same as Jesus': to live in communion with God, our most dear Father.   The Father is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.  The world is in God's hands!  As we allow ourselves to be aligned more and more with God's power we become increasingly convinced with St. Paul that "nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord," (Romans 8:35-39) and that the power of good in us is stronger than the power of evil.

"Fill 'er up!" to stay 'lit' for Jesus"!

To "carry a torch" for a friend means that we have a warm spot in our heart for him or her, and we won't let it dim. We might even say we love that person.  By “human love” we mean an emotion, feeling, attraction, etc.  We can feel this way toward another person, toward some activity or toward many things in life.  We can “love” to play sports, or watch movies, etc.

We all carry torches for someone.  For many of us, that’s a lot of torches; Family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, pets, etc.  That requires a lot of fuel.  That fuel is known as charity.

Charity is more than just simple human love.  Charity means we love with the heart of Christ.  It means that Jesus has placed in our hearts His own merciful heart and we love with His love.  Charity is a gift from God that enables us to reach out to and care for others in ways that are far beyond our own abilities.  Charity is divine action in our lives; and it is necessary if we want to be welcomed to the feast of Heaven.

In Matthew (25:1-13), Jesus warns us not to run out of fuel or we run the risk of our flames extinguishing and our invitation to “attend the wedding feast” of Heaven being rescinded.  So how do we keep our fuel replenished?

Perhaps your torch is lit by your prayer life and you keep it lit by taking time every day to quietly connect with God, asking for spiritual strength. Maybe it’s taking time to seek hope and guidance from Scripture.  Maybe it’s putting in a little extra effort studying the teachings of Christ to receive more wisdom from the Holy Spirit. Or maybe it's the suffering you've endured for the sake of unconditionally loving someone who doesn't love you back equally, and you've offered your heartbreaks to Jesus as a sacrifice that unites you to His cross. Or it's the joy of using your gifts and talents in the Church. 

Whatever it is, don’t be caught without your torch lit when Jesus comes for you!

" "

The expression “to lose one’s head” means to become confused or overly emotional about someone or something.  It’s the expression that came to my mind first today after reading the Scriptures for Mass assigned to the Martyrdom of John the Baptist.

We live in a nasty world today. We are bitterly divided on almost any issue, to such a degree that some “lose their heads” over trivial matters, like wearing a MAGA hat automatically makes one a racist or wanting to treat undocumented immigrants like human beings defines one as a socialist.  Some life is too often seen as less valuable.  It is difficult to imagine that God is happy with how this world has turned out - the tremendous injustices everywhere, and the degradation of our planet in ways that are threatening human life all over the world.

We have been called by God to love, and St. Paul says we must exercise this love to create a climate of peace within our communities and develop a sense of fellowship.  (1 Thessalonians 4:9-11)

To stand in solidarity with those who are the most rejected and marginalized in our culture, to work hard to act against the many ways we are hurting our planet and all those who are the first and worst to suffer, to act publicly and try to witness to a life of mercy and compassion, will put us at odds with very powerful forces. The forces which profit mightily to sustain systemic injustice will not surrender their power easily or kindly. We may not end up being beheaded, like John, but the backlash to living the way of Jesus will be strong and powerful. John's courage and integrity can be a great grace for us, individually, and as a faith community, as we meditate upon the message of his martyrdom today.

Today's Lesson: Cup Washing 101

Cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean. (Matthew 23:26)

You reach for a coffee mug. It sure looks clean, but then you discover that it hasn’t been washed properly. There are stains and specks of leftover coffee grounds inside. It’s not the clean mug you thought it was going to be!

There are a few reasons why the cup wasn’t cleaned properly.  There’s a process to cleaning a coffee cup, as any coffee drinker knows. 

The cup must first be empty

As Christians, as human beings, we must empty ourselves. We must empty ourselves of self-absorption, of vanity, of self-serving, of the desire for praise – for recognition. Only when we do this can we orient ourselves to the service and care of others. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. (MT 20:28)

The cup should be rinsed

The Pharisees in today’s Gospel passage were like that coffee mug: clean on the outside but in need of a more careful cleansing on the inside. By keeping up with their tithes and the other details of the Law of Moses, they were doing what they thought holy men of God ought to be doing. And yet Jesus said they were neglecting “the weightier things of the law,” such as “mercy and fidelity” (Matthew 23:23).

Some “elbow grease”, soap, and a cloth or sponge need to be used

Sometimes we may need cleaning up on the inside as well. We may exert all our energy in doing godly things, but we do them with the wrong attitude or disposition. For example, you might be serving the poor at a homeless shelter, but you find yourself judging how some of the people there got to such a low point. Or maybe you are attending daily Mass, but instead of listening to the readings, you find yourself criticizing the way the lector speaks. You don’t mean for these thoughts to rise up in you, but they sneak in anyway!

Rinse the cup, and verify that it’s clean before using it again

Of course, Jesus is always pleased when you serve the poor or spend time worshipping Him. He also knows that none of us can control every thought that comes into our minds. But you can do something. Whenever you realize that your attitude has wandered out of line, stop right away and ask the Lord for forgiveness. He knows you well, and He knows that you’re trying to please Him. He will be merciful and help you the next time you are tempted by judgmental, critical, or resentful thoughts. He may even flood your heart at that moment with love for the person you are judging!

You too, can be clean both on the inside and outside. Turn to Jesus and trust that He can—and will—change your heart to become more like His.

I pray today that I may empty myself in such a way that I may be filled with the Spirit of God.

Service without love is merely a duty fulfilled

Service without love is merely a duty fulfilled, the minimum requirement of obedience. Love is what makes any good deed a sacred deed.

What's the real motive behind anything and everything we do? Service that's not motivated by love—love for God and for all whom He loves (which is everyone!)—can do more harm than good.

I am reminded of the time my family and I went to New York for a few days.  As we were walking along 5th Avenue in the morning on the way to Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, we passed by a young man who was obviously cold. I thought, “Dear God, if this guy is still out here when we pass this way again, I’m going to give him my gloves.”  By the time Mass was over, I had already forgotten to look for him on the way back to the hotel. Talk is cheap. Strike one.

Later in the day, we were walking back to the hotel for the evening after a long day of sightseeing, and I saw a woman bundled up against the cold, looking almost dead lying on the sidewalk.  Many people were walking by very quickly, appearing not to notice her. It was like she was just part of the landscape. But did I do anything? For a fleeting moment, I thought I should see if she was all right and maybe buy her a cup of soup or something. But did I? No, I picked up my pace to try to catch up to the girls, who were crossing the street about 50 feet in front of me. Strike two.

For all my noble thoughts of loving my neighbor as myself, I showed a complete disdain for what Christ calls the Greatest Commandment.  I think that both of those unfortunate people were placed in my path for me to recognize as Jesus, and I failed our Lord’s test.

We prove our faith by laboring in love. Anyone can do good works, even atheists. Anyone can claim to be doing good deeds for God, even those who are far from God. Good deeds are sacred—Godly—only   when they are works of love done in cooperation with God's divine plans of love.

Fig Trees

I don’t know how a fig tree came to grow in my back yard, but it did.  It got so large this year that Marilyn and I trimmed it up to provide good shade over the swing set that the grandkids play on.  The tree was so out of control it took 2 weekends to make it manageable, and to fit the trimmings in the yard waste bin!  

The fig tree has rather large, broad leaves and long, droopy branches when left unattended.  The tree would make a good place to hide, if one was so inclined.  I thought about this fact while reading today’s Gospel (John 1: 45-51).

When Philip tells Nathaniel 

"We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law,

and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth”, 

Nathaniel replies, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?"

To me, it sounds like Nathaniel is a bit skeptical.  He wonders if Philip is just a bit naive.  

Then, Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him."  Remember, the two men have never met—Philip wants to introduce them to one another. So when Jesus describes Nathanael’s innermost character before even hearing his name, he asks Jesus, "How do you know me?" 

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."

At this, Nathanael no longer needs any convincing from Philip!   “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!”

When Jesus said He saw Nathaniel under the fig tree, He probably did actually see him under a fig tree.  But I think the fig tree could also represent the cloud of doubt and pessimism Nathaniel showed when he dismissed the man from Nazareth so disdainfully.  When Nathaniel realizes he can’t hide his heart or his mind from God, he determines Jesus to be, in fact, the Son of God.

I think there’s a lesson in this Gospel for all of us.  We can try to hide our sins, our doubts, and our fears from God under the fig trees in our hearts and minds, but Jesus still sees us!  And when we trim away all the useless and harmful leaves and branches to realize He only wants us to love Him and one another without fear or shame or boundaries, we will see more beauty and peace than our limited minds can handle in this life.

Up to the task?

I struggle constantly with the fear that I’m not capable of living up to the ideal that Jesus lays out for us in today’s Gospel (Matthew 22: 34-40), especially the “neighbor” part.

God will never ask of us to do something He hasn’t already done.  Jesus loves us with all His heart, all His soul, all His mind. This ideal is meant to melt those most interior places within us where such defeatism lies, where we are leveled by the absolute, complete, selfless, sacrificial love of God that Jesus has demonstrated in His Life, and in His death.  The ideal which we grasp and consume as we take and eat His Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

Like every true love story, we can only respond by somehow, someway reciprocating. To strive to love that same way, as imperfectly as it is.  Jesus sees that imperfect effort and, in His love for us, that is somehow enough to calm my fears of inadequacy.

"Generosity is the Flower of Justice"--Nathaniel Hawthorne

Today’s Gospel parable (Matthew 20: 1-16) causes me angst. I want to say to Jesus “It’s not right nor fair to pay the last workers hired the same as those who slaved all day long in the hot sun!”. 

In America, we insist that justice has to do with equality. Of course, it’s not fair.  Jesus is teaching us that a God who is “just” is inclined to show special generosity to the poor and outcast.  Who spends the whole day waiting to be hired until the end of the day?  In Jesus’ time, this would have been the weak, infirm, disabled and elderly. In today’s world, we can add the immigrant, the drug addict, and anyone else who is maliciously labeled as “worthless”.

Jesus tells us to be careful about taking things for granted; that we watch out and not put too much emphasis on ourselves and miss the most important part of our existence: the graciousness of God. The whole point is God’s generosity and bounteous love that He lavishes on saint and sinner alike.

In other words it's not up to the amount of work that is done or how much "heat of the day" is endured, or even how well the work is done. It all depends on God's call and invitation, and our acceptance of the invitation. Eternal happiness in the presence of our God is the ultimate wage. That's where we need to focus ourselves--not on grumbling against those we think don't deserve the wages for which we contracted.

In God's vineyard, the last is put first, because the one who is last is the one who's not competing with others to earn first position. This is the person who knows that God's love is always available simply because God is love. We don't have to climb any ladder of heavenly success; we're instantly on the top rung the moment we discover that God already loves us fully. The only reason we serve Him and work hard for Him, giving Him our best, unwilling to be mediocre, is simply because we love Him so very much.

What happens next is so awesome; it's saintly. We lose the selfishness that has kept us from putting others first. We find joy in helping our brothers and sisters receive the Father's assistance ahead of us, happily praying for them more than we pray for ourselves. And we get excited when the "lazy bums" in the family, the ones who've been rebelling against God all their lives, finally join the Christian workforce and benefit from God's love as much as we do.

Charcoal Fires--A Reflection on Mercy and Mission

As I sat at the kitchen table staring into the backyard at the extinguished ashes in the grill from a BBQ the other night, I noticed a couple of unburned charcoal briquettes.  Leave it to the Holy Spirit to prod me into a reflection on charcoal!!!

There are two charcoal fires in the Gospel of John. The first is mentioned at John 18:18, the charcoal fire in the high priest’s courtyard around which the slaves and guards warmed themselves when the gatekeeper says to Peter, “You are not one of this man’s disciples are you?” and Peter says, “I am not.” Questioned like that two more times, Peter, now warming himself at the same fire, denies being a disciple of Jesus two more times.

The second charcoal fire is the one on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius*, apparently prepared by the risen Lord Jesus (21:9), where Peter is again questioned three times.  But this time he is questioned by Jesus, “Do you love me?” and the disciple now affirms his allegiance three times.

So in one place a charcoal fire is the setting for a threefold denial of discipleship, and in the other place a charcoal fire is the setting for a threefold affirmation of discipleship. Was this a coincidence?  I think not. The evangelist John uses that detail to help us link those episodes together. And who is to say that the association does not go back to Jesus Himself, helping Peter to realize that the denier is being given a fresh start in his relationship to the Lord.

I can’t help but to put myself in Peter’s shoes.  There have been times (probably more than 3!) when I’ve denied Christ, and just as many times when Christ—through the Sacrament of Reconciliation—has forgiven me. 

And this seaside scenario is not only a matter of astounding forgiveness and mercy; it is also a commissioning: “Feed my lambs; feed my sheep.” The Good Shepherd is enlisting His errant sheep in His own work of shepherding.  Peter is given an opportunity to demonstrate the love he professed by sharing in the mission of the risen Lord.  Ultimately, it’s going to be a matter of being led where he does not want to go. Loving the head shepherd will entail following Him even to a death like His.  But he need not fear. The Lord stands there full of risen life, a life Peter (and we) can also share already in the act of following.

In our own small way, each of us who claims to be a disciple of Jesus is invited into that same act of trust with mercy, as people forgiven and assigned our particular task.

*The Sea of Tiberias went by a few other names in the New Testament, as well: Lake Gennesaret, and the Sea of Galilee.  In the Old Testament, it was called the Sea of Chinneroth.

God Leaves the Color Up To Us

“The tapestry of life”.  “God writes straight with crooked lines”.  “God draws us to salvation”.  These are a few of the phrases that have helped me in my search to understand who I am, why I am here, and where am I destined to be. 

I formed an image of God and His guidance in my life when I was about 8 years old that I find myself going back to more and more in these days as I fret over the future of our children, our country, and our world.  It is an image I shared only once with my Mom when I was going through a particularly tough decision in my life.  I’m not sure she understood my description because she laughed.  

I think she may have thought I saw God as an eternal Bob Ross.  But as we “fleshed out” my image a bit more, she helped me understand what I was really seeing.  In hindsight, my mom was a great catechist and spiritual director for me.  Here is the image I see, and the interpretation Mom and I came up with:

I see God standing in front of His already finished painting of His creation (each and EVERY person) from the beginning of time until the end.  Although the painting is finished (since God is outside of time and space) it is also ever-changing because of Man’s free will.  God already knows what choices we’ll make in life, but He refuses, out of love for us, to interfere with those choices.  Instead, He “edits” the painting each time we make a wrong decision, a wrong decision by another affects us, or a natural disaster hits us, to provide us another chance to be where He wants us to be; with Him forever in Paradise.

These “edits” are the Grace of the Sacraments He gives to us through Jesus Christ and the Gifts of Holy Spirit.  We only need to recognize, accept, and use these graces and gifts to allow the tapestry of God’s creation to include us in the end.

As I said, the image is much easier to see in my mind than it is to describe it in words.  The bottom line is that we are all drawn into temptation, doubt, and despair many times in our lives.  It is up to us to recognize that God’s hand is still in control of the paintbrush that colors our future.  He leaves the color of the paint up to us.

Lighting the Fire of Truth

What does it mean when Jesus says that He came to set the world on fire (Luke 12:49)? Fire is a powerful image.  First, fire consumes.  So it is with Christ.  He came to consume us.  He came to transform our little lives into blazing fires.  This reveals that there is much potential in each one of our lives.  We have potential to become something totally new if we allow the spark of grace to ignite our souls.

Fire also has the potential to make a difference.  Its heat keeps us warm.  Its light allows us to see in darkness and its energy produces power in various ways to help us in our daily lives.  So it is with grace.  God’s grace transforms our cold hearts, leads us through the darkness of life and provides us with all we need to live productive lives.   

In my 45-plus years of management I had to “light a fire” under a lot of my subordinates to get them all working together toward a common goal.  It worked on some, not on others.  Some were receptive to the spark I tried to provide, but others were so dampened by their stubbornness and ego that the kindling of their work ethic wouldn’t catch fire.  That’s when I needed to have what is colloquially known as ‘Come to Jesus Meetings’, and throw some hard truths at them to recognize their weaknesses to the team effort.

Truth is hard – hard on individuals, hard on families, communities, nations and the world.  Truth takes courage – courage to face truth, to speak truth, to live truth.  Truth often means change and we all know that change is never easy, never without challenges, and almost never welcomed.

When families stop pretending that Billy’s drinking is not really a problem and Sally’s perpetual lying is not something she will simply outgrow, there is likely going to be struggle.  When a community acknowledges its ethnic or racial biases, there is going to be defensive kick-back.  When nations begin to address the inequities among peoples, there will be challenges and struggles.  Truth can lead to division and denial.  Truth can result in defensiveness and polarity.

But truth, if embraced, even when difficult and challenging, can also bring about peace – the peace Jesus spoke of – the peace that is the result of being immerged in God’s Word, God’s truth.