There is so much more to mercy than just forgiveness

Prayer for the Day

Almighty, true and incomparable God, You are present in all things, yet in no way limited by them.

You remain unaffected by place, untouched by time, unperturbed by years, and undeceived by words.

You are not subject to birth and in no need of protection.

You are beyond all corruption, above all change, immutable by nature.

You live in unapproachable light and are invisible, yet You are known to all those who seek You with hope and love.

You are the God of Israel, and of all who hope in Christ.

Amen.

Reflection

The lector at Mass this morning got so carried away with the story of Paul and the commander of the army that he read all the way to the end of the chapter!  But he is the man  whose oratorical talents are the best I've ever heard at Mass, so it was a pleasant surprise!  I really would like to listen to this guy read the entire Bible someday (I know it will never happen, but it’s a good dream, anyway!). He must have been an actor or on radio for a long time—I just can’t overstate his talent!  He has the ability to put me “in the moment” that he is reading about, and that really helps my meditations.

Another great surprise was that the Mass was celebrated by the newest priest in the Fresno Diocese (he was ordained last week!) who was evidently assigned to Bakersfield.  I have never seen him in person (I did see a picture of him in the diocesan newsletter with a story about his upcoming ordination) or heard him preach, but if today is any indication, he is a very blessed and gifted young man.
Rather than speak about the first reading (that had “gone on long enough”, he probably thought) or the Gospel, he gave a homily on the entrance antiphon and the endless mercy that Jesus shows every one of us.

He began by saying that to most of us, mercy is a leniency—a forgiveness—or a remittance of punishment for sins, a fresh start.  And that’s where most of us stop the definition.  He went on to say that while that definition is certainly true and would be more than enough for a lot of folks, Jesus goes so much further!  Not only does He “pick us up” time and time again when we fall, but He will stay with us to help prevent us from falling again!  But He won’t run interference for us against temptation unless we ask Him to.  He does send us gentle reminders, but it’s up to us whether we listen or not.
I don’t know if Father planned his homily this way, knowing what tomorrow’s Gospel would be, but it seems to me that Jesus’ mercy is explained very well in John 21. 

There are just two charcoal fires in the whole Bible, and they are both 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 (the Sea of Galilee, renamed for the current emperor), apparently prepared by the risen Lord Jesus (21:9), where the same Peter is questioned three times 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.

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 this errant sheep in the Master’s 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 is 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 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.
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To my readers:  Sorry for the quality of the layouts lately.  I've got a relatively new laptop with Windows 7 that allows the fonts to carry over into the blog, but I'm having trouble controlling paragraphs and spacing.  What I normally do is compose my reflections in Microsoft Word, then cut and paste to the blog.  Maybe I will still do that, but I will use fonts I'm familiar with. I hope the messages continue to be what you're looking for, though.  I think I'll just go back to "plain ol' Arial", large font.  I think the message is what is important, not the "decor".

While we are unique, we are each a piece of the puzzle that is God's plan for us

Prayer for the Day Lord Jesus, help me to recognize the gifts that You have given me that are specific to the Father’s plan for my salvation and the salvation of all mankind.  Show me, through the Holy Spirit, how to use them to do Your will, and give me the courage to act accordingly.  Amen.

Reflection

Being in the right place at the right time is one of those mysteries of life we may never fully understand.  But as I read Acts 22 and 23 this evening, I thought, “Paul was sure in the wrong place at the wrong time!”  And to make matters worse, he starts an argument among them!  What was he thinking?  I don’t think he was thinking—at least not for himself.  He was simply placing all of his trust in Jesus that he would be protected, and he was!

"Wishing to determine the truth about why Paul was being accused by the Jews, the commander freed him."  These words indicate that the commander of the Roman troops in Jerusalem wanted to get to the bottom of why Paul had started such a ruckus among the Jews. He wanted "to determine the truth."

It was not his quarrel, but it was his job to find out what was going on and deal with it.  As the Roman troop commander, he was charged with keeping peace in Jerusalem, which was no easy task.
So he went to pains to protect Paul from both the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were arguing among themselves so violently that the commander was "afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them." (Acts 23:10) The commander also did his best to uphold Roman law, and earlier he had freed Paul from impending torture as soon as he learned Paul was a Roman citizen (Acts 22:24-29).

God used this Roman military commander to protect His servant Paul, and used his sense of duty and justice to eventually send Paul to Rome for a trial. You see, God wanted Paul to spread the good news to Rome, and this was the set of circumstances He used to get him to Rome.

And so it is with each of us.  Just as Paul's place of birth, his background and religion, his knowledge of various languages and his legal status as a Roman citizen all came together to accomplish God's will, so we all have characteristics that make us unique to God’s plan for our salvation.

Salvation isn't impersonal, vague or general. It always takes place person to person, with all the specific details each human being has that are unique to him or her. Simply speaking a particular language may open a door, or having a certain citizenship. 

Never take for granted who you are. Never take for granted the unique set of circumstances of your life, even if they seem to be a disadvantage: a lack of education for instance, or a background of addiction or abuse.  It could even be a shattered or rocky relationship.  God can use any of these things for good.  God can use all aspects of your life in surprising ways, if you are open to Him.

Just give Him permission to work in and through you. And when you do, be ready: amazing things may happen. Good things. Wondrous things.  And don’t be afraid!  As Psalm 16 exhorts, “Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.”

Sing to God, Praise God!

Prayer for the Day

O Lord, we ask for a boundless confidence and trust in Your divine mercy, and the courage to accept the crosses and sufferings which bring immense goodness to our souls and that of Your Church.

Help us to love You with a pure and contrite heart, and to humble ourselves beneath Your cross, as we climb the mountain of holiness, carrying our cross that leads to heavenly glory.

May we receive You with great faith and love in Holy Communion, and allow You to act in us, as You desire, for Your greater glory.

O Jesus, most adorable heart and eternal fountain of Divine Love, may our prayer find favor before the Divine Majesty of Your Heavenly Father. Amen (St. Padre Pio)

 Reflection

In Acts 20: 28-38, Paul reminds the church at Ephesus to watch over each other and protect each other from those who would pervert the truth they had come to know in the words of Jesus.  Paul’s letters to the churches are instructive to us today.  We are reminded that the Holy Spirit appoints us to oversee the Church of God.  This message to be vigilant in keeping the truths of the Church is not at all about maintaining rules.  The instructions are clear.  Help the weak and keep in mind that it is more blessed to give than receive.  (It’s even more blessed when you give freely and not involuntarily—but we’ll get to that in a moment.)

In John’s Gospel (John 17:11-19), Jesus prays that God will protect and guard all those given to Him in the Father’s name.  How can we go wrong, knowing that Jesus continues to pray on our behalf and that God continues to give us strength and power?  We shouldn’t think about our lives, then, in terms of our weaknesses, but in terms of our strengths.  But that is not so easy to do all of the time, especially as we grow older and have to acknowledge that we are physically weaker and our health is often challenged.  I have come to think, however, that during those times, God is even more with us.  It is during these times when we draw closer to God for strength that we are even more protected from evil.  While we may be weak in some ways, we can become stronger in truth in the Word.

Psalm 68 reminds us that God gives power and strength to His people.  We are to confess that power, sing to God, and praise the Lord for the power and strength we receive from God.  If we connect these words to the lessons Paul was teaching to the Ephesians in Acts and the words of Jesus in John’s Gospel, we should apply that power and strength to helping the weak before we help ourselves.  God gives us enough power to both, care for ourselves and care for others.

"As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world."-John 17:18

This world we live in is one that places high emphasis on interaction: our connections with others and the world itself.  While this can be seen as a nice utopia, the phrase “too much of a good thing can be a bad thing” could not be more appropriate.  We over evaluate our connections to the extent that our basis of being human is dependent solely on our standings in society, compared to those of our fellow brothers and sisters.  We have ventured away from demonstrating a level of love…we have instead become every man and woman for themselves.  

A sad but true fact is that this world we live in is not as constantly beautiful as we wish it were.  It is filled with lust, hatred, violence, greed, and any other act associated with the devaluing of God’s creation; I cannot turn on the evening news without seeing some mention of murder, acts of terrorism, etc.  All too often, it directly involves us personally or someone we love.   Marilyn and I woke up this morning to find that someone had found a way to use our ATM card number to make a large purchase!   A couple of phone calls and quite a bit of explaining got the charges reversed, but we shouldn’t have had to go through all of this.

This whole episode really put a damper on my day until I realized that as sad as the world is, it is every bit as promising and glorious.  And the glory lies within you and me through the power of the Holy Spirit and the promise of Jesus Christ that He will never leave us.

We will not get out of this life without a full realization of our weaknesses but that shouldn’t make us vulnerable to evil.  John says that Jesus didn’t ask for us to be taken out of the world, but rather to be protected from the evil one.  We are fully in God’s love and grace in the midst of this world’s challenges.  Our job on this earth is to keep watch over ourselves and others, especially the weak and the poor because this is what Jesus asked us to do.  To do this, God gives us power, the Holy Spirit calls us, and Jesus prays for us.  Following His example, we should pray for one another, as well.

Perhaps the hardest of challenges that are placed on our shoulders the instant we call ourselves Christians is the challenge of choosing God in public.   If we truly carry the cross as we claim we do, then it is inevitable for us to show the world our faith.  Our purpose on this Earth is simply not our purpose, but rather God’s.  It is pretty difficult at times to live a life of faith, but that is what faith is.

Psalm 19 : “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.”



Psalm 19 verse 1: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.”

Prayer for the Day

“Come, Holy Spirit! I surrender. Take my hand and lead me.”

Reflection

Fear of death or fear of suffering often slows us down and makes us timid to take on the work of serving one another in Jesus’ name.  Fear of shame or being made a fool of; fear of poverty or the inability to take care of ourselves; fear of being alone or outcast by those we value; fear that if someone disagrees with our ideology we might be wrong; fear that God does not really love us and so we have to earn that love . . . all these and other self-centered fears are essentially the work of  the enemy of God who attempts to stop the work of Christ in us to bring the whole world to the Father.

John 17:1-11a is the first section of a long prayer that Jesus makes to the Father, commonly called the High Priestly Prayer. It is the longest of the recorded prayers of the Lord in scripture. In this first portion of this long prayer, our Lord uses the words "glory" or "glorify" six different times. In asking the Father to glorify Him, Jesus is offering His soon-to-come sacrifice to the Father in complete knowledge that He will be resurrected and will conquer death.

 In the middle of Christ's offering to the Father, He shares with us that His sacrifice will result in eternal life for us all and that eternal life is to know "the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ." Christ will be glorified in His resurrected body and we too will one day be glorified in the same way, due to the complete and holy sacrifice He made for all of us.

Take courage!

Prayer for the Day

“Lord Jesus, your compassion for us is beyond our understanding! I bring the needs of all my loved ones before you. Please draw them close and heal them.”

Reflection

“In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”         

(John 16:33) is particularly encouraging and reminds us of two things people often forget.

 The first is that life in this world is normally accompanied by problems. To expect otherwise is unrealistic and can tend toward sadness and disappointment.  

The second is Jesus' exhortation to "take courage," because He has "conquered the world."

Christ begins with a comforting note: “the Father is with me.”  We are never ever left alone to confront our troubles by ourselves because the Father is with us.  The Father does not abandon us to find his plan for us alone.  The question then follows, however, 'do we trust him enough to get us to where we need to go?

By unequivocally declaring victory over the world and all its trouble, Jesus provides us with a remedy from everything that can disturb us. It is this: faith in Him and hope.

Armed with these virtues, problems don't disappear, but take their proper place and we are empowered to respond to all that surrounds us, with Love.

Christ follows this up with an explanation: “I have told you this so that you may have peace in me.”  Christ wants us to be peaceful and to have peace.  He actually offers it to us today in this Gospel.  Do we have peace?  Are we offering the very best peaceful and joyful life lived to God?  Are we enjoying the enormous gift of life that we’ve been given?  Are we allowing God to comfort us and bring us peace?

Christ’s final statement is perhaps the most jarring: “In the world you will have trouble.”  He begins with comforting talk about the Father and peacefulness—almost as if to prepare us for this final statement and soften the blow.  Have we accepted God’s plan for us or are we just waiting for our own plans to begin?  Whose schedule are we following?  The world encourages us to believe in ourselves and to trust in ourselves the most.  The parallel worldly outline to John’s gospel is to have a goal, work really hard for it, and if I am in any way, shape, or form a good person, I will succeed.  If I don't succeed, it means I am a failure and the Self-Pity Monster finds a new home.

We are made for peace and love.  Until we embrace God’s love, (and his plan for us) we will only ever find trouble in the world.

It's an honor to love You, Lord Jesus!

Prayer for the Day

“Jesus, it is an honor to be called your disciple. I want to see you exalted today as I proclaim your gospel with my lips and with my actions.”

Reflection

As the days passed after the Resurrection of Jesus, the Apostles were getting used to their fleeting glimpses of the Risen Christ, appearing here and there so dramatically. He had pretty much cured their depression following the horrible crucifixion on Calvary by finally convincing them that He was alive!

 They never knew when He would appear next, with new commands to preach the Good News everywhere. Then, He suddenly ascended into the air before their eyes, and was lost to sight in the clouds. They must have thought in dismay, "He's left us again!"

 So what did they do? It was one thing to label themselves followers of the Christ when He was not too far away. It was quite another to think of facing the Jewish leaders without His earthly presence. Still shaken at His seeming abandonment, they withdrew together to that upper room to pray and ponder what He had taught them. Wisely, they kept near His mother, Mary, in those nine days of waiting for the Holy Spirit.

 They must have remembered what Jesus had said to them: "If you really love me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father." In other words, I have a better way to remain with you. I will live in you and in the Church through My Spirit and in My Vicar.  And did they remember His wonderful farewell address in that same upper room just a few weeks before at that strange, sacred meal the night before He died? Did they now understand the reason for His institution of the Eucharist that He might remain with them always?

When we think ourselves alone and abandoned, when the contrary spirit of the world depresses us, Christ is there! When we are tempted to give up, to feel far from God, Christ is there through the Spirit!

I think that what Christ really wants of us modern-day followers, is concrete, lasting action. We must not act as though He were present. He is present! His being present in the Spirit is far more powerful than His earthly presence would have been.

We must go simply and deliberately into our souls daily - into the core of our being - and there listen to Him in silence. If you need reassurance that He is truly present, go spend some time in front of the Blessed Sacrament or—better yet—in a chapel where He is exposed for adoration. Then, strengthened by His grace, we can confidently go about our Mission. We need that grace more than ever in these days of rebuilding our nation and our world.

It takes all kinds to make a world, and God loves them all

I have time to write a bonus entry for today.......It's not much, but I can't stop thinking about something I heard on tv this morning:

Unique, precious, unrepeatable.  I heard these three words today on TV, and immediately thoughts of my family came to mind.  That’s the father in me.  After I pondered it a bit, I was overwhelmed by the fact it pertains to me, also, as well as the rest of humanity.   The Father's love for you is particular.  

It is a love for you, because you believe in the Son, "for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from the Father." (John 16:27)

To assure that you are aided by the divine love, the Spirit is given to you. The Spirit is the companion, the advocate and the source of inspiration. The love of the Father and the Son enable the Holy Spirit to dwell with you. The Father's particular love for you has a point - that you bear fruit. The Father will tend to the vines and where the fruit does not endure; those vines will be cut away and thrown out into the fire.

The examples of fruit are manifold, in the teaching of Jesus and His example, in the Acts of the Apostles and teaching in the Epistles. While the divine love and inspiration of the Holy Spirit console us and fill us, the fruit that endures is our loving actions.

Lord, perfect my prayer

Prayer for the Day

“Thank you, Holy Spirit, for helping me to pray as I ought. Come and perfect my prayer before the throne of grace!”

Reflection

When we want something, all we have to do is ask, right? Yet so often it seems like God doesn’t hear all of our requests. Our desires, for the most part, are with good intentions and reasoning behind them. They’re things we genuinely think will bring our lives happiness. Jesus wants nothing more than for our hearts to be joyful… so why doesn’t he make it happen right when we ask him to?

Do you remember when you were little, and there would be times that you saw a toy or some fun activity that just made your eyes light up and you wanted it with all your heart? You insisted to Mom and Dad that you would be the happiest kid ever if only you had it.

And then your parents told you 'maybe later,' or 'don’t count on it.' That answer was crushing to hear, because your little heart was so sincere in thinking it would bring all the happiness you need; that it was the best idea ever. The funny thing is, as time goes by and we grow older, we realize that our parents were right to not fulfill that request that we once held onto so tightly. They saw how it wasn’t something that would bring us true joy.

God knows what’s best for us even better than a parent could know. Matthew 6:8 beautifully expresses how “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him". We ask and plead for these desires on our hearts, and it’s upsetting when God doesn’t seem to follow through. But it’s in these moments that we have to ask ourselves, 'Am I expecting and wanting something to happen that’s my will, or God’s?' If we’re constantly asking God to simply fill in the needs and gaps of our ideal plan for ourselves, are our hearts truly being open to the ultimate happiness that God has planned for each of us?

But we can’t let the fear of being told 'no, that’s not for you right now,' hold us back from asking our Heavenly Father for what’s on our hearts. Don’t be afraid to tell him that you need him. He cherishes when you share the innermost desires of your heart with him. But God is a gentleman: he won’t barge in and take over without your consent. He patiently and sweetly waits for the softest whisper from you asking for him.

Good things come to those who wait....

Prayer for the Day
Blessed Mary, Mother of Consolation, pray with me for the virtue of patience. There are so many times when my lack of patience keeps me from becoming the kind of person God wants me to be.
Guide my thoughts to you and the example we have in your own life. Help me to become patient, as you were patient. Through your guidance, may I become more accepting of others around me. Assist me to welcome difficult times with a patient heart.

May I be patient, Mary, as was your beloved husband, Joseph. His quiet acceptance of the will of Our Loving Father should be an example for me always. His patience was most wonderful in the eyes of God.

Pray for me, dear Mother of God, that I will allow the Father to come into my heart and help me grow in patience. Amen.

Reflection

Ever since I was a small child, I’ve heard the expression, “Good things come to those who wait.”  I understood that meant that if I would stop nagging Mom and Dad, I just might someday get that new bicycle or some other treasure.  Nowadays, I know that what it really means is that if we truly have trust in God and the Truth He gave us through His Son and Spirit as related in the Scriptures and in sacred Tradition, that the “best” good we can ever hope for—Heaven—awaits us.

How many times a day do we give up on a task because it is too difficult, or because it is taking too long? Or maybe it seems tedious and unrewarding?  How often do we become frustrated when we aren’t achieving the results we want? How often do we petition God to speed up His plan a bit, to let us see the rewards of faithfully following Him now, rather than later?

Our society, as a whole, is not patient. We have cell phones with which we can instantly access anyone, we have entertainment at the touch of a button, and we can travel halfway around the world in a day. Many of us wish God would work hastily too.

But He doesn’t. And He never will. Our Father has His own timeframe, which humans (no matter how hard we try) can never influence. God dances to the beat of His own drum. And He invites us all to join in.

The lack of results we sometimes see from prayer can be frustrating, the painfully slow progress we make in our relationships with others can seem unbearable, and the knowledge that if we could instantly affect others’ hearts each person would personally know God can make us wonder why He refuses to work at our pace. And yet, when we wait patiently for God’s timing, the results are beautiful; more magnificent than anything that could be accomplished by humans.

Though God can sometimes seem like a slow learner, He is the Teacher—the Master—and we are called to simply follow His lead, not to set the pace. And hopefully, with this acknowledgement, we will each be filled with peace, as we follow the Lord of the Dance.

As an example, look at Paul. (Acts 18:9-18)  He “remained for quite some time” with a people who had tried to have him put to death. Wow. That takes faith. But more strikingly, it takes patience.

The Lord told Paul to continue speaking and as a result we have the Christianity we live and believe today. Your voice may bring others to Christ.  Do not be afraid to speak the truth of the faith in love. Love cannot fail.

But how do you speak the truth in love? First, God is the Father of the truth. We should never speak unless we have first prepared ourselves by speaking to Him. More, we should avoid speaking until we have heard Him speak in the scripture and in the Word who is Jesus. Speaking the truth in love and in faith means that we must start from love.

Do not be afraid. That also is important. Just as God gave Moses the words he was to say to Pharaoh and indeed, even gave him a spokesman when his own voice failed - so God will do for each of us. But only if what we speak comes from love of the other - not from what we want, but from what God wants for each of us - a home with Him.

Wow. I may hold a record, here!

I found this on another blog as I was “surfing” tonight.  In looking the list over, I find that I’m an overachiever!  I feel like “Steve Urkel”—“Did I do that?”

Guide To Essay Writing
1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid clichés like the plague.
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren’t necessary.
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
12. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
13. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
14. Be more or less specific.
15. Understatement is always best.
16. One word sentences? Eliminate.
17. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
18. The passive voice is to be avoided.
19. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
20. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
21. Who needs rhetorical questions?
22. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

“Behold, I am with you always. . . .”

Prayer for the Day
Dear God,
May we continue to open our hearts and minds to be filled by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and continue to give thanks to the One who will never leave us. Thank you for this blessed day and may we see you everywhere we go and in everyone we meet.
In Your Name,
Amen

Reflection

In the Gospel for Ascension Thursday (Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus gives His followers what is known as “The Great Commission”:
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Many parents make it a point to have their children baptized. But it doesn't end there: "teach them," Jesus says, "to observe all that I have commanded you."

This teaching, this learning to observe what Jesus commands us, in turn leads to forming us as true, mature disciples, not just nominal Catholics. And that's crucial. To be a disciple means to be "disciplined" or well- formed in our faith. A disciple is a follower or "pupil" of Christ, our Teacher. That means an ongoing process throughout our growing-up years and right through adulthood.

The beauty of it is that there's always something new to learn about God. The fascinating relationship we as disciples can have with Him can continue to unfold and develop through our whole lives.  I know this is true in my own life.  It seems just about every time I'm feeling smug about what I know, I'll hear a priest give a sermon or an apologist on TV or radio discuss a topic that encourages me to dig even deeper into the Mystery.

So, rather than be discouraged that we may become overwhelmed and will never fully master the practice of our Faith, we can be excited about the ongoing deepening of our faith as Jesus' disciples. Starting today, let's ask Our Lord to deepen our faith and help us better observe all His commands.

From an Ascension Thursday homily by Blessed John Paul II on June 10, 1979:  “You must be strong, dear brothers and sisters. You must be strong with the strength that comes from faith. You must be strong with the strength of faith. You must be faithful. Today, more than in any other age, you need this strength. You must be strong with the strength of hope, the hope that brings perfect joy in life and which prevents us from ever grieving the Holy Spirit.  You must be strong with love, the love which is stronger than death … You must be strong with the strength of faith, hope and charity, a charity that is conscious, mature and responsible, and which can help us at this moment of our history to carry on the great dialogue with man and the world, a dialogue rooted in dialogue with God Himself, with the Father, through the Son in the Holy Spirit, the dialogue of salvation.”

Strengthened by the Holy Spirit, the Feast of the Ascension thus invites us to devote ourselves to consolidating Our Lord’s  Kingdom on earth, a Kingdom of goodness, justice, solidarity and mercy. It challenges us to give courageous witness to the Gospel before today’s world, bringing hope to the poor, the suffering, the lost and abandoned, the desperate and those yearning for freedom, truth and peace.  It inspires us to be good to those we live and work with, to love them, and by doing so to show our love for God, who in all things loves us.  

The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord does not mean the Lord has left us behind, or that He has departed to some faraway place, far from people and far from our world.  It means He no longer belongs to the world.  He belongs to God.  In His Ascension, Jesus takes our human existence into the presence of God.  He takes with Him our flesh and our blood, so that you and I and every human being who desires to do so can now abide in God, and God will abide in us.  The mystery of the Ascension, therefore, introduces us into the very life of God.  The Ascension means that Christ had not departed from us.  It only seemed so. In fact, He is close to each one of us forever. On intimate terms with Him now, each of us and all of us together can work with Our Lord as He shares His strength with us to bring His own mission to conclusion.

Bad things happen to the good and the bad alike

Prayer for the Day

Father, through the folly of the cross you taught Saint Justin the sublime wisdom of Jesus Christ. May we too reject falsehood and remain loyal to the faith.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.– Amen.

Reflection

We all experience the death of friends and family members. Sometimes we are the victims of storms, crime, layoffs from work, and the list goes on. How do we endure it all? I read or heard somewhere that we should not question ourselves about what we may have done to offend God when bad things happen because there is the 'grace of the moment.' I’m not sure I understand completely, but my faith in the risen Jesus Christ helps me to understand what I need. And I like it that way.  I appreciate being on a “need to know” basis.  It keeps my stress down.

At one point, as we hear in John’s gospel, Christ said, "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now." (John 16:12) Christ had difficulty Himself enduring some of life's realities, such as the death of His friend Lazarus. We recall that He wept about His loss. (John 11: 1-45) Lastly we see how difficult it was to anticipate the sufferings He was to endure.

Acceptance of difficulties takes working through our emotions as a human. Christ embraced His own humanity; do we? What have we had to endure thus far? How have we succeeded in working through our own human reactions? Do we trust that we will be able to endure life's losses with the grace of God?

Do we really believe Christ when He told us that He would be with us always, until the end of time?

As I grow older, I recognize that the world is not a place made for simple answers to all of these questions.   There is no worldly or logical answer that can satisfy the mind’s need for understanding.  That realization can be horribly frustrating and easier to deny than accept.  But as St. Paul tells us, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect”. (Romans 12:2)  If we can discern the Will of God, Christ provides us with the answer, offering us freedom from the weight of the questions.  He does not ask us to stop considering them, or to stop seeking wisdom, he is simply offering us respite from the impossible task of trying to reconcile the world with how we want it to be.  And even though there are no simple answers for us, all answers are simple for Jesus.

That answer is love.

We are loved and we are called to love.  If we accept the security that comes with such a profound revelation we can rise up as free men and women, open to face the challenges of the world, seeking wisdom with open minds and yearning hearts.

Something to do

Loyola Press has a fun (at least it was for me!) website where you find out who the saint is that shares some traits with you (if you're honest in answering).  I came up with St Therese of Lisieux!  Imagine that!  Another one of these quizzes I took a couple of years ago told me I was more a St Justine Martyr type of individual.  I guess it takes all kinds to make a world!  And apparently God loves them all!

An empty vessel of God holds more of the Holy Spirit

Prayer for the Day
Show me how to be like you, Mary. Some days I simply have no humility in my life. I don't want help and I don't trust that it will be there even if I ask. Your life and words are filled with such joy. You have the fears but have learned to trust in God. It's what I long for but never ask for.

Dear Lord, give me the grace to surrender to you. Let me trust that you are there for me. Hold me as close to you as a newborn is held by a parent. Teach me how to be humble so that with the same joy as Mary and Elizabeth, I can serve in the way you want me to.

Reflection

Each of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary offers us a wonderful opportunity to meditate upon the life of Jesus and His Blessed Mother.
May 31^st is the Feast of the Visitation, the second Joyful Mystery.   It’s a good day to recall how very quickly the presence of Jesus in the world became manifested. We see Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, showing us the perfect example of how a person filled with the body and blood of Christ will respond. She dismissed her own needs and concerns and instead quickly rushed off to be a comfort to her elderly kinswoman, Elizabeth.

“When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.” (Luke 1: 41-44)

My meditation on this Mystery tonight brought my thoughts to those who think the unborn child in its mother’s womb is nothing but tissue, without a soul.  The words, “the sound of your greeting reached my ears” got my attention.  A pregnant woman does not “hear” on behalf of the child.  The baby has its own ears and sense of hearing.  Think of all of those soon-to-be parents that talk or read to their babies or sing to them or play music for them while they are still in their mothers’ wombs in the hope they will excel in one of those activities!  When John the Baptist was still in Elizabeth’s womb, he heard the Mother of God’s voice and leapt with joy!  Doesn’t sound like the actions of “soul-less tissue” to me, but those of a soul filled with the Holy Spirit, just as all baptized Christians are. 

How full of the Holy Spirit are we?  It depends on us.  The Lord wants us to be vessels. In Acts 9:15 God refers to Paul as a "chosen vessel" unto Him, to bear His name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. We, too, are chosen vessels designed to be used and filled by God.

God chooses us to be His vessels, yet He will never force us to be used. Our God loves us so much that He gave us the thing called choice. We can even choose whether or not to believe in Him—the One who made us! We can choose to allow Him to use us. Once you make the decision to be used by God, then hang on because you are in for the ride of your life!  How quickly those filled with the Holy Spirit respond and know one another. What a great story the Visitation is!  What a great joy for those of us who sometimes seemingly travel alone in this world! Filled with the Holy Spirit we will never be alone, we will know and seek out those who need us and in finding them we will find God.

A simple(?) candle

Prayer for the Day

“Jesus, I believe that you care about every circumstance of my life, including the difficult ones. Help me to experience your love and reassuring presence as I face them today.”

Reflection

I just got back from St. Mary’s chapel at St. Francis of Assisi church here in Bakersfield where they have perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance.  I went there after dinner tonight to spend some time and say the rosary because I’m finding it harder and harder to concentrate on my prayers ‘out in the world’.  There are so many distractions!  The internet, television, cell phones, traffic—you name it, it’s distracting.  It’s a recent phenomenon, because there have been times I’ve been so engrossed in prayer while driving the long stretches of freeway between work and home that I wonder when I walk in the door at home how I got there!  Maybe I’m just becoming more sensitive to it as I try to grow closer to Jesus.  Could it be that I’m just getting older and grumpier?  Maybe it’s both.  Again, I’ve gotten off the topic I wanted to write about.   See?  I’m already distracted!

I was thinking about my Aunt Barbara today.  I don’t know why.  She must be thinking about me! Or maybe it’s a result of my conversation the other day with “Joe” about praying for the “living” who have already passed on.  Whatever the reason, I recalled a conversation I had with Aunt Barbara just before she passed away.  She was concerned that she wasn’t able to concentrate on her prayers because of all the distractions. She asked me if I could help her.  I had to ask myself, “Who am I? What makes her think I am knowledgeable or spiritual enough to give her that sort of advice?  I’m looking for a spiritual advisor of my own!”  But, she is my aunt, and I love her, so I asked her what was distracting her.  She said that she sometimes—probably most of the time—said several Rosaries and Divine Mercy Chaplets each day along with whoever was leading those devotions on EWTN television.  I said that maybe it was the TV distracting her.  Many of us need something to focus our eyes on so we can let our hearts loose in prayer, but oftentimes I get so caught up with the different accents or inflections of others’ voices that even they become a distraction.  She said no, that wasn’t it.  “In fact,” she said, “having someone else to pray with helps me concentrate more on the mysteries, because then I don’t have to worry about keeping track of where I am in my prayers.”

As we continued to talk, it was apparent to me that what she really wanted was to get to the next “step” in her prayer life.  We’re talking “saintly stuff” here.  You know.  The whole “ecstasy-float –above-the-floor, Jesus is standing right in front of me” stuff.  Now I KNEW I was out  of my league!  And I told her so.  But she persisted, so I came up with a suggestion that sometimes helps me get focused on my own prayers.  I don’t know if she ever tried it, but she sounded interested in any case.  At least she continued to speak to me, so I know she didn’t think I was crazy!  Here is what I told her:

First of all, I have to be in a place that is absolutely silent.   For me, that’s the adoration chapel or the main church if a chapel is not available.  Then I look for “THE” candle (the Sanctuary candle)—the one that is to be lit and placed next to the Tabernacle where our Lord is reposed. [Can. 940 'A special lamp is to burn continuously before the tabernacle in which the blessed Eucharist is reserved, to indicate and to honor the presence of Christ' (1983 Code of Canon Law.)] If I can’t be in a church, I have to use my imagination—that makes it a little harder, but not impossible.  Before I begin my prayers, I meditate on the Holy Trinity.  I use the candle and the tabernacle (or monstrance) to help me.  The candle that “protects” the tabernacle represents God the Father.  The flame that proceeds from the candle and “lights the way” represents Jesus, God the Son.   The warmth and peaceful feelings that emanate from the candle represent God the Holy Spirit.  It’s important to the meditation that I use only the candle that “lights” the way to the Tabernacle, because it’s a perpetual flame—in theory one that is never extinguished.  A new candle is supposed to be lit with the flame from the old one.  Hence, the perpetual flame, and in my meditation, the very symbol of the everlasting Love, Warmth, Light, and Protection earned for each of us by Jesus through His life, death and resurrection.  What about the tabernacle?  I did say I used it in my meditation as well, didn’t I?  Four words—The Blessed Virgin Mary! I thank her for saying “Yes” to the Father’s plan for our salvation, and giving birth to the Son who fulfilled the Scriptures.

This short (15 minute) preparation puts me in the proper frame of mind to pray the Rosary and meditate on Jesus' life and the promises of the Good News.  After all, it is all about Him, isn’t it?

Oh, and thanks for the memory, Aunt Barbara!

Focus! All you need is love! Really!

Prayer for the Day

“Jesus, I love you. I give my life to you, not as a slave dedicates himself to his master but as someone who opens his heart to a friend. Help me to see myself through your eyes.”

Reflection

It’s the Memorial Day holiday this weekend.  At my job, that means it is one of the busiest—and one of the most stress filled—weekends of the year (Independence Day and Labor Day are the other 2 ‘biggies’).  Every year, we are asked to do the “impossible”.  I say “asked”.  Actually, the impossible is expected, if we want to stay in business!  And every year, it seems, we succeed.  In the beginning, it’s our own mindset that tells us it’s impossible.  We succeed because we just do it “by the numbers”.  Unfortunately, sometimes we get so focused on following ‘the numbers’ we forget why we were given the policies and procedures in the first place—to make us successful.  If something appears to be in the way of our success, we have the ability to call for help in thinking through the problem.  Someone is always standing by to help us remember our primary service objective.

My immediate supervisor also happens to be my best friend, someone I can speak to plainly about my frustrations and concerns, so that makes it even easier to get back on track when I get lost. The friendship we share is the single biggest reason I get through this stress—Todd is one of those individuals who makes work “fun”.  We have found out so many times that it’s better to just get out of the way and let whatever is going to happen, happen—as long as we follow the rules.  And if someone isn’t helped in the manner they should have been in the first place, we’ll make it right.  I joke about this every busy holiday weekend.  “It’s one of the ‘Ten Commandments’ of U-Haul”, I’ll say, “Thou shalt not say ‘No’ to a customer!” (Even if logic tells you that you ought to).

Speaking of commandments, God gave us ten of them through Moses.  The first thing we need to understand about a commandment is that it is possible to do. It may seem impossible, but it is possible.  The second thing we need to understand is that a commandment comes from one in authority, one who has the power to see it through and make it happen.

Maybe the reason we have so much trouble following the Ten Commandments is because we get lost; there are ‘too many rules’ to remember.  Thanks to Jesus, He broke them down to Two (although he didn’t abolish the Ten, he simply ‘condensed’ them)—to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength and to "Love one another as I love you." (John 15)  Remember, if it is a commandment, then it is possible.  And it comes from the One in authority, the One who has the power to see it through and to make it happen.

Nothing happens without God's help. If God tells us to love one another as He loves us, then He stands by ready to make it happen. Loving is not as hard as it might seem. All we need to do is let God love through us by the grace of the Holy Spirit.  In other words, we need to get out of the way. We need to take all of our dislikes, prejudices, notions, and ideas and put them aside. We need to let Jesus be present in us for others.

Next time you are faced with a situation in which love is called for but is too hard for you - step out of the way and ask Jesus to come in and do the loving.  Let Jesus within you be a light for this person whom you find it hard to love. With God, all things are possible. You'll find as well that you will be able to give this person exactly what they need to lead them to the same light and joy.

Like the light from the Easter Candle at Easter vigil, the solitary flame will spread throughout the darkness and make of it a beautiful light. One person at a time, we illuminate the world when we allow God's love to shine through us. Let's make it our first priority - to light today one candle, one life, one more person to share the light.

Trying a little bit of apologia

Mary, with the Child Jesus and the Saints (Boccelli)

Prayer for the Day

“Lord, I don’t want to do anything to separate myself from you! May my obedience be inspired by love, and may my relationship with you bring me greater and greater joy!”

Reflection

The Scriptures at Mass this week continue the account of the Acts of the Apostles, in which Peter confronts the Apostles with the truth that Gentiles also have the right to salvation under Christ! It seems a bit silly now to us that there would have been any doubt.

The Gospel reading Thursday is a small excerpt of the fifteenth chapter of St. John. Nice as this segment is, there are even juicer words if one reads farther. For example, “You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall not call you servants anymore, because a servant does not know his master’s business, because I have made known to you everything I have learned from my Father.”  And even farther, “What I command you is to love one another.”

This morning one of my friends, a co-worker, wanted to borrow my car so that he could go to the bank (His transportation was a pick-up truck that had a specially built trailer for hauling more trailers and it was loaded to the max).   I told him, “Sure, if you don’t mind that it has no air conditioning and the radio is tuned to a Catholic station!”  That statement was the start of a conversation about the recent ‘rapture’ nonsense.  I mentioned that Harold Camping was, in my opinion, one in a long line of false prophets that are scattered throughout the Bible, even in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 28).

My friend (I’ll call him “Joe”) said—I think (or at least I hope) he had tongue-in-cheek—“He has it all figured out mathematically.  Don’t you think we (meaning mankind) have become more sophisticated in our knowledge than we were 2000 years ago and so are able to ‘find’ things in Scripture that may have been hidden to early Christians?”  I took a deep breath and asked the Holy Spirit to be with me as I tried to give him an answer, because I’m not an apologist and often have to use the “I don’t know but I’ll get back to you” approach in defending my faith.

I told him I believe in John 15—“I have made known to you everything I have learned from my Father.”  I further stated that I’m wary of anyone who interprets Scripture to suit his own needs and that I believe Jesus gave the authority to speak for the Church to the Apostles and their successors (Matthew 16: 13-23);  in other words, the Catholic Church.  To which he replied, “That’s one crazy bunch of people, those Catholics”.  I asked him what he meant.  He said “they have some funny and strange teachings.”  I told him it amazes me how much people THINK they know about Catholic teachings, and to give me an example of a funny or strange teaching. 

He said, “They pray to Mary and Saints and all that!”   I countered by telling him that the Scripture exhorts us to pray for one another, even for the dead, and that we don’t stop praying even when (if) we get to Heaven!  He said, “They can’t hear you.  They are DEAD!”  I said, “Haven’t you read where Jesus said, ‘Faith in the resurrection rests on faith in God who "is not God of the dead, but of the living."' (Mark 12:27)?

He said, “Only Jesus came back from the dead”.  I said, “Yes, that’s true.  Jesus is the only One who has a Resurrected body in Heaven.”  (And as a Catholic I believe that the mother of God was assumed into Heaven body and soul and as such holds a unique distinction from the rest of us [she didn’t “die”, she “fell asleep”]—Although I didn’t include this bit of information when speaking with Joe.  I don’t know why not—I probably wasn’t inspired to do so at that time!)  “But the souls of the Saints and His Mother are there and who better to ask to pray for you and those you love?”  He just kept arguing that everybody except Jesus is DEAD until Judgment Day, and that the only way to the Father is through Jesus!  Not through Mary or the saints or anyone else!  I agreed that we are to go to Jesus for all of our needs and I do, but I personally feel I need all the additional help I can get from those who are closest to Him right now! 

I felt I had put up a pretty good defense of the faith but I could see there was still a lot of confusion in his mind (fueled by an un-spoken anti-Catholicism and perhaps a bit of a closed mind) and we were supposed to be working anyway.  I told him I would be more than happy to spend as much time as he wanted off company time if he wanted to continue the conversation, because I love speaking about my faith with others.  Another friend who was with us listening to the whole conversation finally chimed in and said, “That shows!” with a tone of respect in his voice that told me he was somewhat interested in and possibly swayed by my (the Holy Spirit's--Praise be to God!) responses to Joe’s questions.  It really made my day and all I could think about the rest of this afternoon was my Prayer for the Day last Thursday.  God listens and answers.  And helps you when you feel you can’t do it alone (Mark 13:11, Matthew 10:19).  Praised be Jesus Christ! Alleluia!