"This is how you are to pray...."

“Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”  (Matthew 6:8)

It takes quite a bit of reflection to realize that despite the words we’re saying when we say the Lord’s Prayer, in our hearts often we’re not really asking God to do anything.  ‘Ask’ is the operative word here.  It’s important to recall that, in the New Testament, the word we translate ‘pray’ almost always means ‘ask’.  Prayer isn’t just a pious act; it’s a request.  When Jesus says, “this is how you are to pray”, the words might be better translated as “this is what you are to ask God for.”  So it makes particularly good sense to note that Matthew introduces the Lord’s Prayer by quoting Jesus on what not to ask for; food, clothing, shelter (Matthew 6:5-15).  God knows we need those things and has provided a world that, if we tend it right and help one another, meets those needs.  No, Jesus says, ask God to do what only God can do; “But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33), a kingdom characterized by forgiveness.  

Jesus tells us that “our” Father will fulfill our heart's deepest desires if we ask Him.  There’s one ‘catch’ in His promise, we are to ask for something good.  We earthbound creatures often define ‘good’ to be health, wealth, beauty, fame, talent, intelligence, esteem, and power.  But God sees our greatest ‘good’ to be the forgiveness of sin and the renewal of our minds and hearts in His love and truth.  If we first ask for and accept this gift, we’ll then ask ‘rightly’, because our desires will be centered on our love for God rather than our love for self and this world's ‘goods’.  God's omniscience sees the larger picture and answers prayers in ways assuring the greatest good to all.  Psalm 34 reminds us “I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”

Calling God “our” Father reveals the union we share with one another.  All who call God their Father in this intimate way are brothers and sisters in Christ.  We, therefore, are not only deeply connected together; we also are enabled to worship God together.  In this case, individualism and racism and all other ‘isms’ are left behind in exchange for fraternal unity.  We’re members of this one divine family as a glorious gift of God.  It’s a message we’re sorely forgetting in this Covid-19 ravaged and racially divided country of ours.

Nobody likes a showoff

This Covid-19 “new normal” remains deeply disorienting for me; I miss attending Mass in person and regular sacramental practice.  I want to be out and about, eating in restaurants, grocery shopping, visiting my relatives, or even protesting without fear of crowd contagion.  And I grapple with the creeping realization that the “way I used to know” is permanently consigned to the dustbin of history. Our medium-term future appears to be one of public masks, social distancing, and lots of time in our “inner rooms”.   As much as I am comforted by my knowledge that “We can find Jesus anywhere!” – I find myself wanting to seek Jesus outside my living room.  

And this desire in itself is good.  Jesus isn’t calling us to consign our prayer and practice to the domestic sphere.  This would make no sense for disciples called earlier in the Sermon on the Mount to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-14).  Rather, the deeper challenge, as I reflect on today’s gospel (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18) is the demand to reevaluate our motives.  Why do we pray, fast, give alms, or perform other righteous deeds?  Public affirmation?  Religious obligation?  Therapeutic sentimentalism?  Proving something to ourselves?  Communion with God?  Love of neighbor?  The only honest answer is likely a combination of these and many other factors.

Nobody likes a showoff.  But all of us, at least occasionally, enjoy being one, and that’s not surprising. We human beings hunger for recognition; we long to be noticed and, despite our protests, often like being the center of attention.  In an age of social media, the craving to be seen and celebrated—to be in the spotlight—seems stronger than ever.  But some desires are dangerous, and this is certainly one of them.  That’s why vanity, an inordinate desire for praise and recognition, is one of the seven deadly sins.  And if we let this desire get the best of us, it will deeply damage us and never give us the satisfaction and fulfillment we anticipate.

Jesus knows this, and so it’s no surprise that He warns us to “be on guard” against people who do things only to be seen.  We could call them “spiritual showoffs.”  These are people who do good things—giving alms, praying, fasting—but for the wrong reasons.  Even if their acts achieve good (such as helping the poor), they’re not genuinely good acts because with spiritual showoffs their intention is not to do good, but solely to draw attention to themselves.  That’s why Jesus dismisses them as nothing more than “hypocrites looking for applause.”  But he’s also telling us that if we strive to find happiness and meaning in our lives by seeking praise and glory for ourselves, we’ll be sorely disappointed.  With each example of spiritual hypocrisy He lists in today’s gospel, Jesus says, “they are already repaid.” He contrasts this with being repaid by God to stress the sheer emptiness and futility of a life whose dominant purpose is to make ourselves the center of attention; in other words, “they who are already repaid” end up with nothing at all.

We’re called to give glory and praise not to ourselves, but to God.  If we do so, day by day, through our thoughts, words, intentions, and actions, we’ll experience a happiness and fulfillment, an honor and glory, that we could never have given ourselves.  A good example is the prophet Elijah.  At the end of a life devoted wholly in service to God, Elijah was whisked up to heaven in a flaming chariot drawn by flaming horses (2 Kings 2:1, 6-14).  Our own life’s ending may not be so unforgettable, but we can be absolutely sure that God will glorify lives that were spent in glorifying God.  After all, that’s why we’re given life in the first place.

Perfect love

My reflection on Matthew (5:43-48) today centered on “perfect love” and “gratitude”.

Jesus says: "Love your enemies."  Who is our enemy?  An enemy is anyone whose will, desires, or agenda is conflicting with ours.  There’s a lot of that going on these days, isn’t there?

It's easy to love those who aren’t in conflict with us, but when we have to deal with someone who's causing a problem, the genuineness of our love is tested: Are we really concerned about them, or only about ourselves?

The more costly the conflict, the harder it is to love our opponents.  Love is a choice more than a feeling.  We choose to love, not because our enemies deserve our love, but because Jesus loves them so much that He died for them.  If we don't respond to our enemies with love, compassion, and forgiveness, we’re choosing to turn away from Jesus, because God is love.

Loving unconditionally means to "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."  Perfection doesn’t mean committing no sins and making no mistakes.  Spiritual perfection means to love whole-heartedly, under all conditions.

"Under all conditions" doesn’t mean putting up with evil.  Healthy boundaries are also a part of unconditional love.  People who cross the line by sinning against us need to experience consequences that will give them an opportunity to learn and grow.  They might think that we're unloving, but we know our motives, we know how much we love them, and God surely knows.

We don't have to like everyone, but to be united to Jesus we do have to love everyone.  We shouldn’t unite ourselves to abusers by remaining with them, nor should we ignore a situation that needs to be corrected, but we are called to do good to all, just as our Father “causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.”

If we trust God to make good come from the bad that happens as we deal with our enemies, we’re living in His love.  If we do good instead of retaliating or perpetuating the bad, we’re remaining in His love.  If we deal with others the way Jesus taught by example, we’re united to His love.

Our enemies help us discover the limits of our love.  When we react to their sins in un-Christ-like ways, we learn of our own need to seek forgiveness.  We realize that we have to rely on the Holy Spirit for supernatural love.  We're perfected.  

Gratitude is the happiness we’ve been given.  It’s the echo of joy.  To be grateful is to share.  There are high moments of ‘aliveness’ in our lives.  These moments of the heart are a deep all-pervading, overflowing sense of gratitude.  When we reach our innermost heart.   When we’re at home with ourselves when we’re intimately united with others.  We experience gratitude.

Genesis tells us God created us by breathing life into us (Genesis 2:7).  The heart is where we meet God.  But meeting God is prayer.  Prayer is the very heart of religion.   Hearts are restless until we find rest.  We find rest when we find meaning.  We find meaning when we find God.  God is the source of all meaning.  Gratitude strengthens our faith and makes it grow.  We grow in gratitude when we grow in love.  Praise God for our enemies!  We owe them our gratitude!

A difficut teaching in these troubling times

The world seems so confusing and upside down now!  The Corona virus seems to be spiking again, and the economic and mental impact is far from over: systemic racism has once again caught our national attention and protests and riots rage throughout the country.  Psalm 5 gives us words we can read daily in these troubled times and find comfort and solace. “Heed my call for help, my king and my God! For you, O God, delight not in wickedness; no evil man remains with you; the arrogant may not stand in your sight.”  God always is the constant and we must rely on Him in these tumultuous times.

Sadly, we’ve become a divided nation over every issue, whether life-and-death like Covid-19 and social injustices or trivial, petty personality clashes.  Happily, Jesus has given us some good advice to deal with this nonsense.

“If someone strikes you, turn your face and let him strike the other cheek” (Matthew 5:38-42).  As I reflect on this teaching from Jesus a little more, I think we’re not being asked to just take injustices and evil.  When Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, what He’s really saying is to face our accuser.  If someone strikes, say, a slave, backhand, the striker doesn’t see whom he strikes.  But if that person turns and faces him to present the other cheek for a slap, the striker must look his victim in the face and recognize his humanity.  Turning the other check is not just a call to passive submission to injustices.  Jesus was never passive when it came to evil.  There was nothing cowardly about the way He engaged with opposition.  What Jesus does provide, however, is another way to resist evil that’s not violent.   We are to refuse to oppose evil on its own terms by defying it, not submitting to it.  The challenge to us to stand up for ourselves and what’s right without using violence is difficult for us because we’re called to unmask the behaviors of those who wrong us as unjust.  Jesus tells us how to take on not just individual evil doers but entire systems of cruelty and injustice.  But we’re to maintain our human dignity and humanity by responding to oppression from the rules of God, not the rules of the oppressors, over which they hold all the power.

Let your Yes be Yes

Over two thousand years ago, Aristotle suggested to his followers what living out the virtue of integrity looked like; integrity is not what someone does but who they are.  We can all resonate with this kind of thinking which Jesus first proposed on the Mount of Beatitudes (Matthew 5).  This Gospel is timely for our contemporary society especially in recent weeks following the senseless death of George Floyd at the hands of a former Minneapolis police officer.  When we celebrate freedom for all in our just society, how well have we been doing?  Is it time to open our eyes to the truth and reality of the suffering of our Black American sisters and brothers?  To have the courage to say Yes, we need to hear their stories of unjust suffering.  Yes, we need to strongly hold our politicians accountable to enact real change.  

Christ in His contemporary passion has been suffering mostly out of our sight.  Jesus, the living Word of God still speaks to us.  He still continues to invite us to live in the kingdom of heaven today.  His Yes brought us the truth and taught us to value everyone. We believe that He died for every single life on this planet.  So that “a stone of hope may rise out of the mountain of despair” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).

May we rise to this moment and fill it with our collective, Yes!   In fact, the world is rising now.  Once awakened to this tragedy, we must never rest until we have routed out the sin of racism in our society.  Just like the prophet Elisha, who left his old life and embraced the Yes of the new call (1 Kings 19:19-21).  May we keep walking forward in hope and leave the past behind.

Root causes

As I continued to reflect on the Gospel of Matthew today (Matthew 5:27-32), Jesus was preaching to His disciples about moral teachings in Jewish Law.  This section of the Gospel according to Matthew is known as the “antitheses”, where Jesus names a biblical teaching and not only does He express agreement with it but He also goes a step further and invites His disciples to go deeper into the spirit of that moral teaching: “You have heard that it was said…, But I say to you…”  These “antitheses”, aren’t really so, since Jesus doesn’t express an opposition to the Jewish Law, like the word antithesis suggests, but an invitation to go further into the spirit of that Law, which had been given by God as a covenant with God’s people, Israel. 

Jesus in the particular passage I reflected on today brings up adultery, an issue that was probably very relevant and imminent for the community around Matthew.  Jesus explores the relationship between adultery and divorce and lust and basically tells His disciples that there’s no need for a physical act to sin, but a mere lustful look or thought is adulterous.  Jesus invites us not to get caught up in the letter of the law, but to go a step further, a step deeper into the spirit of the law and reflect on which is the root of adultery.  Jesus suggests it is lust.

Earlier in this chapter of Matthew, Jesus talks about murder being rooted in anger, and in verses following this passage, Jesus talks about swearing falsely being rooted in engaging in oaths altogether.  Sin isn’t just the external, the physical, what other people see, but our own internal driving forces, our motivations.  Jesus invites us to go to the root of our sin, to go into ourselves and pray for the grace of being able to find out what the root or roots of our shortcomings, weaknesses, and sins are.  

And in thanksgiving and humility, knowing that we’re deeply and unconditionally loved by our Creator God, to pray and put the means necessary towards being more loving, since, like Saint Augustine puts it “…from this root (love) can nothing spring but what is good”.

Reconcile in humility and with mercy

“Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”  (Matthew 5: 23-24)

It isn’t news to anyone that COVID-19 has burrowed into the consciousness of our society, bringing out the best and worst in people.  I was taught early in life that a healthy society is founded on agreeing to exercise one’s freedom in such a way that no harm is brought to another member of society.  Our freedom extends broadly, but it ends when one person can cause another harm or put them in a position where they are less safe than before.  I wear a mask in public to guard against harming you in case there is something wrong with me, not necessarily to protect me from you. 

On top of the stress of combating the pandemic through forced stay-at-home and social distancing rules and directives, we now have another situation where members of a police force have caused the death of a black man while in their custody.  In a lot of cities across the nation what started out as peaceful protests and marches have unfortunately led to more deaths, violence, and looting.  Law enforcement officers have at times reacted to protect with compassion and solidarity, but also to control and enforce order with gasses and clubs.

As I reflected on the Gospel for today (Matthew 5:20-26) my mind kept turning to these competing social situations.  There are news stories of religious leaders who have expressed a variety of opinions and words of guidance to their congregations on both the pandemic and the latest racial violence.  One pastor famously insisted that “God’s rule” transcended public authority in this area and that his congregation would meet in violation of social distancing rules; he contracted COVID-19 and died of the disease.  Some religious leaders have expressed more support for law and order than for the racial intolerance that results in the deaths of innocent men and women.

As He so many times does, Jesus reminds us to not be like the scribes and Pharisees.  He refuses to exalt process and false piety above real compassion and empathy.  For Jesus, following ritual while one’s heart is troubled by strained human relationships is hypocrisy.  He admonishes His followers to fix their human problems before they attempt to meaningfully interact with the divine. 

I think Jesus is telling us to give up our fear of the unknown.  He’s asking us (rather, teaching us) to calm our anger at the changed economic and life security circumstances that are beyond our personal control.  I think He’s absolutely condemning our hatred and prejudice for those who we think of as the “other”.

Jesus is challenging us to look inward, to reflect on our attitudes and dispositions, to understand how we may hold unfair expectations of entitlement and privilege.  He’s inviting us to open our hearts and arms, to unclench our fists, and to join in His love for those who are hurting from the pandemic, for those who are victims of senseless racial violence, for those who oppress and persecute these innocents, and for those in authority who act as unthinking bullies.  If we’re humble enough to ask Him, He will join us in dialogue with victims and their families, with communities and businesses, with police and other government security forces, in searching for paths to a more just future for us all.     

And so, our prayer today should be for the grace to be ever mindful of how we have unknowingly treated others with prejudice, how we have failed to be sensitive to our positions of privilege, and for the strength to open our arms and unclench our fists in solidarity with Jesus and all our sisters and brothers.

The ulitmate Law of God

The Gospel of Matthew I reflected on today is nestled in with some especially important teachings of Jesus when He addressed the crowds of people who followed Him.  As His reputation grew, He traveled throughout Galilee teaching in synagogues and curing people’s illnesses.  In His ‘Sermon on the Mount’ (Matthew 5: 1-12), Jesus taught the beautiful Beatitudes.  Not only did He teach them, He lived them, and His life put flesh on the commandments. 

Those who didn’t trust or believe in Jesus thought He was breaking the law.  He reassured them that not only did He believe in the commandments but even more, He was inviting people to be mindful of how they lived the commandments.  He reassured them: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to fulfill…And …whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest…in…heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19)

Jesus told the crowds who followed Him (and us) “Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place”  (Matthew 5:18).

The ultimate law of God, as brought to fulfillment in Christ Jesus, is love.  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and with all your strength.”  And “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22: 34-40) This is the ultimate fulfillment of the law of God.

In light of the perfection of the law of love, we can hear Jesus saying that the details of love, even the smallest detail, is of grave importance.  In fact, the details are what makes love grow exponentially.  The smaller the detail one is attentive to in love of God and love of neighbor, the greater is the fulfillment of the law of love to the greatest degree.  

How do we put flesh on the commandments during the pandemic and the necessary focus on dealing with racism in our world?  What are the Beatitudes of Covid-19 and equal justice under the law?  Love is in the details and the details magnify this glorious fulfillment of God’s law of love.  The answers are modeled by Jesus, his disciples, and all who we witness each day working in healthcare and essential services; by those who courageously speak out against any injustice to a brother or sister created in the image and likeness of God.  May our prayer and our lives be inspired by them.  Our actions should be infused with a sense of love; our hearts should not be hardened.  We must always aim for reconciliation because love of God and love of neighbor are inextricable.  Blessed are those...

Every seed is given a lunchbox

“You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world.”  (Matthew 5:13-14)

Have you ever thought about what it means to be salt or light in this world?

Imagine you cook some wonderful vegetable soup with all the best ingredients.  It slowly simmers for hours and the broth looks very tasty.  But the one thing you’re out of is salt and other spices.  So, you just let the soup simmer and hope for the best.  Once it’s fully cooked you try a taste and, to your disappointment, it’s somewhat tasteless.  So, you search until you find the missing ingredient, salt, and you add just the right amount.  After another half hour of simmering you try a sample and it’s the best soup you’ve ever made.   It’s amazing what salt can do! 

Or imagine going for a walk in the forest and getting lost.  As you search for your way out, the sun sets, and it slowly becomes dark.  It’s overcast so there are no stars or moon.  About a half hour after sunset you find yourself in complete darkness in the middle of the forest.  As you sit there, you suddenly see the bright moon peek through the clouds.  It’s a full moon and the overcast skies are clearing up.  Suddenly, the full moon sheds so much light your way that you’re able to navigate the dark forest again.

These two images provide us with the importance of just a little salt and a little light.  Just a little bit of both changes everything! 

So it is with us in our faith.  The world we live in is dark in so many ways.  The “flavor” of love and mercy is also quite void.  God is calling us to add that little flavor and produce that little light so that others can find their way. 

Like the moon, we’re not the source of light.  We only reflect the light.  God wants to shine through us, and He wants us to reflect His light.  If we’re open to this, He’ll move the clouds at the right time so as to use us in the way He’s chosen.  Our responsibility is to simply be open.

I read an article one time that gave an image of how in nature every seed is given a lunch box as it goes off to begin its growth. The avocado, for example, gets a large lunch box, opens it immediately to gobble up nutrients so it can quickly put down a root and push up leaves.  Its life begins in a competitive world. Other seeds may wait months or years for the right moment, then they’ll nibble their modest lunch and leisurely begin the work of growing.

In Scripture, the Books of Kings are about the Word of God.  With the history of the Kings of Israel and Judea as background, we see that God’s Word is more powerful than the political choices that shape the world.

Because of the precautions we’re taking due to Covid-19, many of us still can’t share the Eucharist yet, so we watch mass on on-line or on TV.  The Word of God is with us.  We may not be dining at the Lord’s table, but we have a lunch box. That’s enough for the seed to grow.  The Word of Matthew tells us we’re salt and light.  These are essentials, but they don’t stand alone.  Salt is a seasoning.  It accompanies, it doesn’t make a meal; light gives itself for another.  My hope is that we be ministered to by the Word in this moment of our history.  Words are calling for justice and equality from our brothers and sisters.  Words that speak of the values of Jesus are challenging the values of other kingdoms.  May the words of our brothers and sisters be salt and light.  Our God gives growth to the seed in ways we don’t understand, but the vine He tends with love, He makes healthy, so that it’ll bear fruit abundantly.

Jesus is the Secret to holiness

We’re all called to holiness.  Jesus taught us how to do it, so that we could receive the full love of God and share this love with others. And then He gave us His Holy Spirit to help us live it out.

All of Christ's teachings are summed up in the Sermon on the Mount.  The Beatitudes are a key text of Christian faith and life.  There’s a “secret” to understanding the Beatitudes that I was taught through a conversation with someone I respect and admire.  This isn’t some exaggerated or unreal moral lecture that seems completely impractical.  We need grace, but we need not depend totally on grace.  We have a part to play in this, too.  We have free will.  It’s all in how you look at it.  This isn’t a contrast between moralism and the theory of pure grace.  Christ is the means that unites these two.  It is only discovering Christ in the text that it opens the beatitudes up for us to become a beacon of hope for the human race.  If we get to the bottom of the Beatitudes, the secret subject, Jesus, appears everywhere.  It is He, who is the example of what it means to be poor in spirit; it is He who mourns, who is meek, who hungers and thirsts for righteousness, who is merciful.  It is He who is pure in heart; He is the peacemaker; He is persecuted for righteousness’ sake.

As He was giving His sermon on the mount, I wonder if Jesus was thinking all along, “I’m talking about myself.  I’m an example.  Follow me. I am the way the truth and the life.  If the world rejects me, they will also reject you, my disciples.  Your eyes will open when you realize that I’m referring to myself. When I say these words, and if you look at my examples, you’ll understand.  The secret is in your perception. The secret is Me, Jesus.”

The Beatitudes are the basic outline or stepping-stones for having a more love-filled life.  The first four deal with our relationship with God; the last four deal with our relationships with others.

We’re "poor in spirit" when we depend on God (the kingdom of heaven) instead of material security (the world's kingdom).  We're enriched by His faithfulness, mercy, and love.

We "mourn" or feel sorrowful when we realize that we've fallen short of the glory of God by relying on the world's ways instead of God's ways.  He comforts us and supports us in our efforts to detach from the world and become more like Him.

We’re "meek" or "lowly" when we submit to the Father's will.  Inheriting the land means that we’re God's children and belong to His kingdom with all of its benefits.

We "hunger and thirst for righteousness" when we desire to live morally or to put an end to the injustices we witness.  This hunger will be satisfied because God helps us achieve righteousness.

The second half of the Beatitudes is a list of fruits that are produced by the spiritual growth that we gain in the first half.

When we're poor in spirit and place our trust in God's mercy, we gain the spiritual maturity to be merciful to others, which results in the blessing of receiving even more of God's mercy.

Our sins hurt others, and when we mourn the damage we've done, we desire to be "pure" or "clean" in our hearts, which leads us to greater holiness, and then we see God working through us to help others.

By being meek we become peacemakers, because as we submit ourselves to the Father's will, we handle conflicts the way Jesus did, asserting boundaries against the sins of others without being unforgiving or retaliatory.

We’re like Christ when we live as He lived, and for this reason others persecute us.  They don't want to learn from our example of holiness, so they insult us and try to stop us.  This is a tremendous blessing, because it lets us know that we are indeed living the Beatitudes.

May our journey of faith be a successful climb through all of the beatitudes!

Three Distincts Persons, One God

Because of the lockdowns and stay-at-home directives we have endured the last few months, I have a new routine that has improved my health and my prayer life, in my opinion.   My old routine was to try to attend a daily Mass, then sit on my keister most of the day either watching TV, messing around on the computer or other electronic devices, and to pray one Rosary just before going to bed at night, hoping to finish before falling asleep.  Now though, since Masses are still not required or even ‘recommended’ (per my Bishop) for people my age, and the only ‘outside activity’ I can enjoy because of the lockdown is ‘hiking’, I have been trying to walk 3 miles per day, when I can.  Why 3 miles?  Primarily, it’s because that’s how far I can generally walk before I’m completely exhausted.  But what I’ve also found out is that in the time it takes me to walk one mile (about half an hour), I can say a complete Rosary, so I’m praying 3 Rosaries a day now.  My first Rosary is said for my wife, my kids, and my grandkids; for their well-being and happiness and freedom from fear in today’s world.  The second is for my parents, my brothers and sisters-in-law, my nephews and nieces, and anyone else the Lord sees fit to bless.  The third is for faith, hope and love to flourish among all people on earth.

The result of these walks is that I am losing weight, I feel better physically, and I enjoy the time I spend with the Blessed Mother in prayer each day, meditating on the life of her Son.  I use an app on my phone that ‘prays’ with me and keeps me focused. 

Another benefit to this new routine is that I can spend the time at night I used to say the Rosary to pray and reflect on the following day’s suggested Scripture readings. 

As I pray tonight on the readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the number of Rosaries I say each day came to mind, and I wonder if my new ‘routine’ is influenced by my devotion to the Holy Trinity.  

The foundation of our faith that God as three persons in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, is a great comfort while being simultaneously accessible and hard to completely understand.  But the readings for this Solemnity give us some insight.

In Exodus, God stands with Moses and proclaims: “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity” (Exodus 34:4-9).  The Lord’s proclamation is my image of a loving God.  The dialogue between Moses and the Lord is quite powerful.  I admire the courage of Moses and his leadership.   It reminds me to look for opportunities in my life to trust in my faith so I can embody courage and leadership in service to others.

St. Paul reminds us that we can bring out the best in one another by living peacefully in community.  While these instructions sound easy, but we know—through current world events—how extremely complex living these words can be: “Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.  Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the holy ones greet you” (2 Corinthians 13:11-13).  When we’re spending time with people who we can easily love and with whom we agree we can easily embrace this guidance.  It’s much more difficult when we’re not our best self and fail to ask God for the grace to have a happy, peaceful heart.

How can we do what God is simply asking us to do to mend our ways and encourage others when we disagree with them?  God isn’t asking us to abandon our values and our beliefs but to show every person the compassion and love we experience.

John’s familiar Gospel brings us the number one Scriptural ‘greatest hit’:  “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16-18).  This is the foundation of our faith and the touchstone we need especially when times are challenging.  Our Baptism is a gift to allow us to be born again for eternal life.

The love that God shows us in the amazing gift of Jesus is overwhelming.  Love is what the Most Holy Trinity is all about.  Out of love God sends His son.  Jesus shows His love through His ministry on earth and by His death and resurrection.  And the death and resurrection bring us the love of the Holy Spirit.  How could we ever feel condemned when we know we’re embraced with this love? 

A challenging message

“I charge you ... proclaim the word; be persistent ... convince, reprimand, encourage. ... For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth.” (2 Timothy 4:1-8)

Paul's encouragement and challenge to Timothy to be an evangelist, without fear, and full of courage, gave me some encouragement to not be afraid of the message in the gospel I’m reflecting on today.

“Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.” (Mark 12:38-44)

I get a kick out of Jesus being really hard on the religious leaders of His day.  The long robes, the honors they receive so willingly, really clashed in Jesus' heart with the way the same religious leaders "devour the houses of widows," and at the same time, "as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers."  Jesus is so clear throughout the gospels: being "religious" ought to make us nice people, kind people, compassionate people.  Why doesn't it?  What goes wrong?  What is the temptation to self-righteousness and the externals of religious practice, over and against a heart like His which is rich in mercy and hearing the cry of the poor?

When the story moves to Jesus sitting across from the temple treasury, He becomes the teacher who gives us an image to remember for life.  Jesus observes that, "Many rich people put in large sums." Then, "A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents."  Jesus contrasts those who "contributed from their surplus wealth" and the widow who "from her poverty, has contributed all she had."

That’s the honest, challenging, liberating message of Jesus.  As people of God, we’re called to lives of justice, honesty, and love.  Our lives must have no room for exploiting the sick, the weak or workers.  Racism, classism, sexism, or any form of domination of people or natural resources is evil.

As I pray over this Gospel and examine my conscience, I need to discern areas of my life where prejudices blind me to reaching out to the frail, the powerless, the exploited, the mentally ill and addicted, the frightened and the poor.

Do I stand in solidarity with workers struggling with poverty wages?  Do I give generously, not just from my surplus, but from my essential resources?  Do I respect and love, in my heart, the ones who are different from me in color, in language, in heritage, in income?

In my reflections today, I think these questions are the ones Jesus wants us to ask ourselves.  The answers will determine how closely we’re walking with Jesus.

Crazy times, huh?

Small talk has never been my strong suit.  I usually wait to be invited into a conversation before giving an opinion, and hardly ever initiate a conversation.  It may be a character flaw, or maybe I’m just shy.  I’m OK with expressing myself in writing, but I find it difficult to start a conversation when I don’t know the other person’s interest in what I may have to say.  I’m finding that this is not the case lately, though.  I can now get a good conversation going simply by exhaling a sigh, rolling my eyes, and saying, “Crazy times, huh?”

The last few months, and in particular the last week, has been difficult for many of us.  We still aren’t even close to comfortable dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic shut down when now violence, looting, murder, and demonstrations have erupted in our cities and our neighborhoods.  There’s a tremendous amount of pent up emotion, prejudice, and anger festering in our brothers and sisters, and it’s being expressed very loudly.  As I’ve been reading the Gospel of Mark this week, I can’t help but draw a parallel of what’s going on in the world with the anger and hostility the religious leaders had toward Jesus.  His way of life didn’t fit with their vision.  And instead of listening to His message, it was easier to just get rid of Him.  Mark lays out three confrontational stories back to back “to catch him in his speech.”   First the Herodians and Pharisees were sent to set a trap Him in a cleverly planned situation (Mark 12:13-17).  It failed.  Then, the proud Sadducees challenged Him, and Jesus corrected their theology, calling these experts, “misled” (Mark 12:18-27).  Third a scribe, recognizing Jesus’ skill approached Him with a question of the greatest commandment.  Mark concludes this section with by stating, “And no one had the courage to ask him any more questions” (Mark 12:28-34).  Now Jesus gets to speak.  And those gathered round, having been silenced can do nothing but listen.

Jesus is speaking to a group of people who believe they are the authentic interpreter of scripture, especially the messianic texts.  They also believe that King David was under divine inspiration when he wrote Psalm 110.   So Jesus uses this knowledge.  Throughout the gospel Jesus doesn’t refer to Himself as the messiah.  But it’s a mystery for those who believe to ponder.  Jesus points out that Psalm 110 says, “The Lord said to my lord….”  In other words, the one who is God said to the one who is Messiah, “sit at my right hand…”  So, how is this Messiah supposed to be David’s son?  So when Jesus asked, “If David himself addresses him as ‘Lord’ in what sense can he be his son?”, they couldn’t answer His question.  Nor could they see the messiah when He was staring them in the face (Mark 12:35-37).

In all these confrontational encounters Jesus created something new.  The old categories were too small to hold what was emerging.  And perhaps that’s where we are in society today.  For many of us the world has become smaller as it has become more global.  International exchange happens instantaneously.  A murder in Minnesota leads to demonstrations in Europe and Japan.  Something different is emerging.  For many people of the earth, the old categories are too small.  Personally, I don’t believe we can solve our conflictual challenges merely with human achievements or politics.  I think human beings on their own accord are too selfish.  But I also agree with St. Paul when he says we can get there only if and when we allow Jesus to stretch us, which requires faith and trust in the person of Jesus, and the teachings and Sacraments of His Holy Church: “But you, remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2Timothy 3:14-17)

Good advice for crazy times, huh?

Love, pure and simple

Much of the world, it seems, need a reminder of the core of our Christian faith:  Love.  Pure and simple:  Love.  Love received…love lived…love shared.

“Teach me your ways, O Lord” (Psalm 25:4) This prayerful request should be on our lips these days as we face the challenge of COVID-19 and the tension and destructive violence resulting from the recent racially related human tragedies.  We prayerfully call upon Jesus Crucified to help us love as He loves, in both word and deed, in good times and tragic times.  Our love for God intimately involves a down-to-earth love for neighbor and self, as imperfect as we each are.

In the Gospel I’m reflecting on today (Mark 12:28-34), one of the Scribes comes to Jesus and asks Him the truly basic question: “Which is the first of all the commandments?”  No doubt this is the question which goes to the heart of Jesus’ life and ministry.  It’s interesting that Jesus’ response cites the command from the Book of Deuteronomy (6:4-5):  “Love God with your whole being”…and then He joins to it the corresponding command from the Book of Leviticus (19:18):  “Love your neighbor as yourself”.   Jesus combines the two commandments into one:  the love of God, neighbor, and self, go hand in hand.

In St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:8-15) we see St. Paul putting the words of Jesus into practice.  Love is unselfish.  Love involves sacrifice, a dying to self, a genuine living witness in both word and deed.  Love is about life, a sharing of God’s life; a positive spirit of energy and vitality that transforms both people and situations, even suffering and death!

Courage is doing what's right...

In February of this year, the world was blissfully unaware that by March, people around the world would be afraid to do simple social activities like getting haircuts or attending church services or going out to dinner at a restaurant.  And that the fear would last for who knows how long.  And that by May, a black man would be murdered senselessly and cold-bloodedly by a white policeman for no apparent reason other than the color of his skin.  And that the murder would set into motion peaceful protests about systemic racism.  And that some hooligans and troublemakers would turn those peaceful protests into rioting and mayhem in a lot of cities in the country.  It’s enough to make us all afraid for the future.  But have courage!

Courage isn’t about having no fear.  It’s about being afraid and doing what needs to be done anyway. We all have fears.  We can fear loss or failure.  We can fear death.  We can fear rejection or criticism. We can fear uncertainty.  We can fear heights.  We can fear others because of the color of their skin.  We can fear many things about life.  Paul reminds us that our task is to acknowledge the fears, and then to run past them with the courage of the Holy Spirit and do what needs to be done.  How timely Paul’s message to Timothy is for us today!

G K Chesterton once wrote, “Christianity has not failed; it has not even been tried.”  This is kind of what Paul was saying when he wrote to Timothy and told him to “stir into flame” the gift of the Spirit which had been given to him when Paul laid his hands on him.  Maybe Timothy, hearing that Paul was imprisoned because of his preaching, hesitated to be a public witness, and wanted to withdraw from ministry because he didn’t want to be ridiculed or end up in prison because of his faith in Christ.  Timothy probably needed Paul’s encouragement to be bold rather than allowing fears to control his life.  Avoiding ridicule is a strong temptation we all face.  Who wants to be embarrassed or humiliated in front of others?  Paul told Timothy to overcome this fear by reminding him of the gifts of power, love, and self-control that the Holy Spirit had implanted in his heart.  The gifts of the Spirit can lie dormant unless we exercise them regularly and make them an active element in our lives.  Paul knew that Timothy would be an effective witness to the Resurrection of Christ if he would just move through his fears.  Notice, Paul didn’t tell Timothy to deny his fears, but to move courageously through them. (2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12)

Maya Angelou likens the process of developing courage to exercising and strengthening a muscle: “I don’t believe anyone is born with courage. You develop it in small ways.”  The gifts of the Spirit can lie dormant unless we exercise them regularly and make them an active dynamic in our lives. 

You gotta start somewhere

After Pentecost Sunday, we return to ‘Ordinary’ Time in the Church for our Scripture readings and reflections.  This means we leave the Gospel of John for a while (until Advent) and continue where we left off before Lent with the Gospel of Mark (12:13-17).  In this time of Covid-19 and the racial unrest and rioting we’re in, these days are nothing close to ‘ordinary’.  Yet somehow, the Holy Spirit, through my reflection on His Holy Scriptures, has once again allowed me to search my conscience and try to improve myself.  I hope I live up to His expectations.  

“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.”  Mark 12:14

This statement was made by some of the Pharisees and Herodians who were sent to “ensnare” Jesus in His speech.  They acted in a sneaky and cunning way to draw Jesus in.  They were trying to get Him to speak in opposition to Caesar so that they could get Him in trouble with the Roman authorities.  But interestingly, what they said of Jesus is quite true and is a great virtue. 

They say two things that highlight Jesus’ virtues of humility and sincerity: 1) “You are not concerned with anyone’s opinion;” 2) “You do not regard a person’s status.”   Of course they went on to then try to trick Him into breaking Roman law.  Jesus didn’t not fall for their trick and outsmarted them in the end.

However, these virtues are good for us to reflect upon because we should strive to have them alive in our own lives.  First, we should not be concerned with others’ opinions.  But this simple statement isn’t so simple; it must be properly understood.  Sure, it’s important to listen to others and to consult them and to be open minded.  Other people’s insights can be crucial to making good decisions in life.  But what we should avoid is the danger of allowing others to dictate our actions out of fear.  Sometimes the “opinions” of others are negative and wrong.  We can all experience peer pressure in various ways.  Jesus never gave in to the false opinions of others nor did He allow the pressure of those opinions to change how He acted.

Secondly, they point out that Jesus does not allow the “status” of another to influence Him.  Again, this is a virtue.  What we have to know is that all people are equal in the mind of God.  A position of power or influence does not necessarily make one person more correct than another.  What’s important is the sincerity, integrity, and truthfulness of each person.  Jesus exercised this virtue perfectly.

I reflected today upon whether these words could also be said about me; Do I strive to live a life of integrity and humility?  I thought I do.  But if I do, why do I struggle with coming to terms with the fact that I am the recipient of ‘white privilege’ and somewhat blind to systemic racism in our country and in our world? 

Yesterday I posed the following question in one of the comment boxes on a social media post to someone who described herself as a ‘black Catholic millennial’:  “As a ‘privileged white male’, what can I do to help end racism?”   I received my reply today.  Her answer was something I believe I have done my entire life.  But upon deeper reflection today, maybe I haven’t been ‘loud’ enough.

Her reply: “I think the best thing that white people can do for us minorities is to teach their children to LOVE ALL RACES just as Christ does.  Racism is something that is passed down from generation to generation, and we need to stop the cycle.  We minorities cannot do this on our own.  So thank you for asking.  If you ever catch your family members or friends engaging in racist words and/or behaviors, speak up and shut it down.  God Bless.”

I admit I haven’t spoken up loudly enough when I’ve seen racist acts or heard racial slurs in the past.  I’ve tended to just ignore them, hoping they will go away.  I’m beginning to understand that it’s not enough.  I also understand that I may offend some of my friends and relatives by pointing out their racism when I see it in the future, but for the sake of my soul and those of my children and grandchildren, and out of love for my neighbor, I will be silent no more.  It may not be much, but it’s a start.