Trying to keep up

I’m not sure just how I would feel had I been one of the disciples power-walking behind Jesus.  As I did yesterday, let’s put ourselves there today. (Mark 9:30-37)

I feel like I’m walking with Marilyn and the girls; I’m just trying to keep up! Jesus almost sprints from village to village. Once in the midst of the people, He heals the sick with a gentle touch, softens hearts with an encouraging insightful word. The minds of others are enraged and tangled by His truths.

Today Jesus began by telling us that the “Son of Man would die and then three days later rise.” So what can that mean? I’m not asking. At times it is best just to keep quiet. But, I do think that my loyalty and longtime friendship should count for something in the end. Not sure why I bothered to mention it. It just led to an argument among the fellas.  Each of us thinks he is the “greatest!”  We should have known better than to let Jesus hear that discussion! “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Just when it gets really confusing being with Jesus, He does something that I can understand and then I sort of get what He is all about.

A little later today, Jesus gathered a child into His arms. The child was dirty and tired and seemed to be wandering all alone. There did not seem to be a parent or grandparent or anyone around who even knew him. His hair had not been washed in days and most likely he had not eaten recently. Jesus gently coaxed him into His arms and lifted him onto His lap. He spoke quietly, gently to him. Gradually the fear softened from his eyes and the strain lifted from his tear-stained face.  I was some distance away, so could not hear what He was saying to him. But what I did hear were the words spoken to me by my parents when I was about that age. My heart heard the loving words of long ago. Words that told me I was loved and would be protected and had nothing to fear. I heard the funny stories my uncle told. I heard the laughter that filled our home. I heard the family stories my grandmother and grandfather told and retold over the years. I felt the warmth of my mother’s arms and the strength of my father’s. I knew I was loved and was lovable. Echoing in the wind were other words – slurred, harsh and cruel. Guttural sounds blanketing the whimpering and sobbing of an abused, fearful child and the maternal pleadings of a distraught mother.

Jesus invites us into the truth of Who He is, but lures me into the experience of Who He is. Intimacy and vulnerability; hope and fear; comfort and struggle, healing. Jesus is present. Am I the loved child or the lost, lonely, bedraggled and forgotten child? Am I the abused child or the cherished child? Where do I experience that comfort and love? Who in my life speaks the healing words of love and acceptance, of affirmation and encouragement?  What about the child? Do I notice the lost, lonely, hungry, laughing, or crying child? What about the soldier child, the homeless, sick or abused child? To whom do I speak the loving words of joy, love, comfort and encouragement?

You know what?  It is not about me, it’s about us. Jesus and me, and you and me. Sometimes I get it and sometimes I don’t.  Interesting how often the image of the child appears in scripture. At any age I am God’s child.

Help my unbelief!

I read recently that one of the easiest ways for us to meditate on the Gospels and make an examination of conscience is to place ourselves in the Gospel with Jesus and the Apostles.  Let's give it a try. 

Peter, James and John had just come from the vision of Jesus transfigured before them.  Moses and Elijah had appeared. A voice from the cloud spoke lovingly about Jesus.   It had to be the most powerful religious experience of their lives and they were euphoric and felt so close to Jesus as they came down the mountain with Him. (Mark 9:14-29)

But immediately they ran into a crowd of disciples who had been unable to heal a boy. It was chaos. Perhaps the father stood in the throng pleading desperately for a cure.  His possessed son may have been thrown to the ground again in a violent agony. Jesus' followers argued with scribes, who were probably quite happy that the disciples of this upstart preacher could not heal in His name.  Such a public failure for the disciples of Jesus!  Peter, James and John felt the peace and happiness drain out of them as they confronted the scene with Jesus.

Isn't this like us?  We can be feeling great in our relationship with the Lord, everything going well.  We might even be going to Mass every day, doing devotions. Life feels balanced until - boom! - we are confronted with a challenge to our faith, to our peace. We might ask for help from God but we are timid: "If You can, heal us."  We don't really trust.  We don't really believe.

If You can?  We picture Jesus, hearing the emptiness in our prayers, shaking His head.  "O faithless generation," He sighs.  It's good for us to hear Jesus' sigh - almost in exasperation.   How much more relevant is this for our generation!

We ask for favors, for fixes, for healing for many things.  But how much do we really want them answered?  How much are we willing to lay our faith on the line?  So many demons possess us each day.  Envy over what others have; depressions and disappointments in our lives; selfishness about the way we see our marriage or a tightness of our hearts when it comes to the child who disappoints us the most.

If You can, heal us.  We don't really believe.

Jesus lifts His hand to heal us but we call out, "Wait!  First heal him - that guy over there who drives me crazy at work!"  Or we offer Him the brother or sister who makes us angry, the friend with whom we have fallen out, the spouse who is distant.  "Fix that person.  Heal her.  Make him better," we urge.  We cling to our familiar demons.  What would it cost us to let them go?

Today Jesus invites us to examine our demons with our whole hearts.  What kind of demons do we want to drive out of our lives? What addictions cripple us, throwing us to the ground each day?  We sometimes feel the most powerless over the patterns that have been in our life for a long time, perhaps all our lives. Why could we not drive that spirit out?  Why do we feel like saying "Well, I've tried and I just can't do it!"?  These demons are powerful, but they can be healed. Jesus can heal us.  It takes more effort on our part, more prayer; more faith.  We have to ask Jesus to help us open our whole hearts to Him, our whole lives.  Jesus, we believe. Forgive our unbelief!

"He said to them, 'This kind can only come out through prayer and through fasting.’"  Jesus reminds us that the most troubling, difficult, evil problems we face take serious prayer, and maybe even fasting.  To break the bond, the hold that some things just have on us, it takes strong medicine.  Complete trust in God is a desire we need to ask for, and we have to prepare a place for it in our hearts.  We prepare our lives and our hearts for Lent by praying for our deepest desires and with a new awareness of the fasting we will do in Lent.  We beg for help.

It is in this moment that Jesus will take us by the hand and raise us from the hard, cold ground onto which we have fallen.   We feel His love and His embrace. We really can be healed.

 

Visitations

First things first:

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

I know that you complain (tongue-in-cheek) about this being the “Big 3-0” and you have spent the last year “mourning” your twenties, but to me you’re still just a baby.  I wonder where the years have gone, too, but I don’t lament their passing.  Rather, I rejoice in your accomplishments.  Your Mom and I are so proud of you!  I thank God every day for bringing you into our lives.

VISITATIONS I:

One of the downsides of my job is that (for the past year or so) I have had to spend time away from the family for a week at a time.  I usually attend the early Mass on Sunday. Then I head over to Mom’s apartment where we have a Communion Service and she can receive our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.  We will spend some time discussing the readings for the day and catch up on the family “gossip” for the previous week before I go get any groceries she may need. 

Last week, she said “You know, it isn’t necessary for you to come every week—you’re running yourself ragged.”  I’ve thought about that all week.  In fact, I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t visit her every week. Knowing the joy she gets out of the Eucharist is the first and foremost reason I visit.  The 2^nd—and equally important—reason is the 4^th Commandment; Honor thy father and thy mother.  I can’t think of any better way to honor her than by following the example she has set for me my entire life.

VISITATIONS II:

The other downside to my work schedule is that sometimes my family has made weekend plans that are pretty much impossible for me to participate in.  Many times I have to work five-and-a-half days a week, so I don’t get home until late afternoon on Saturday.  So I usually get about 3 or 4 hours with them before we go to bed, then my Sunday (above) begins. 

Depending on weather and my exhaustion level, I will head back to my work location anywhere from 2pm to 6pm.  I’m blessed for whatever time I do get with them.  I would never expect them to put their plans on hold for my erratic work schedule.

So I wasn't upset that this weekend will be a little different.  While I will still see Mom on Sunday, I won’t see Marilyn, Alicia or Lily at all this weekend because they all went up to the family cabin to help Sarah celebrate her thirtieth birthday (see above).

Instead, I was inspired by the Holy Spirit to use the time I would normally take to rush home to see them and took the long way home to do some spiritual works of mercy that I have been neglecting.

My first stop was the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery to visit and pray at the graves of my father-in-law, an uncle and aunt and a friend from our parish who died a little over a year ago.

It was a beautiful day at the site.  The sun was shining, the weather was temperate, and the mood was almost idyllic.  I visited each of the gravesites, said some prayers for each of them in particular then a general prayer for all of the souls buried there.  I was actually a little sad to leave, quite adifference in attitude from when I was a child.

I still had a couple of hours of daylight left—certainly enough time to cross the valley again and stop at the cemetery where my brother Tom and his son Tommy are buried and pray for them. 

I’m so glad that I listened to the Holy Spirit today. It’s hard to explain why I feel so confident of Jesus’ Divine Mercy when I visit the departed in cemeteries—so I won’t try—but the feeling is so very strong I had to share it today.

Simple meaning

One of the last things Mom and I talked about during my visit with her last week was the Transfiguration of Christ.  She was telling me that she never really understood the “meaning” of the event.  It’s that way for me, too.  I read St. Mark’s version earlier this week and I’ve pondered the meaning again.  Sometimes we think so much we miss the obvious explanations.  I decided to just read the passage again without trying to find a deep meaning and look for a simple message.   

Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.   And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.  (Wow.  Peter, James, and John got in on all the good stuff!—but that can’t be the simple message.)

 Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.  (Mmmm, Elijah representing the Prophecy, and Moses representing the Law. –Deep, but I’m looking for the simple, remember?)

Oy, vey!  Even the Pope has those moments!

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents:  one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."   He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.  (I’ve been there; so terrified that I don’t know what to think or how to act, so I act instinctively and usually stupidly—This shows that Peter was a just a simple, humble human being overcome by the circumstances. An "oy, vey" moment. I don’t think there’s a hidden message there, either.)

Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."  Suddenly, looking around, the disciples no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.  (Bingo!  There it is!)

I think the message of this gospel reading is to take the words of God the Father from the Transfiguration as addressed to ourselves.  Just as He called the apostles long ago, God is calling us today to listen to the words of Jesus.  He is asking us not merely to hear the words of Jesus, but to really and truly listen to them.  He is calling us to imitate the apostles in our devotion to the following of Jesus.  God wants us to listen very carefully to the words of Jesus that we hear in sacred scripture and in the teachings of the Church—ALL of the teachings of the church, whether we agree with them or not; even if they aren’t “politically correct”.  There’s an old saying (and if there isn’t there should be!):  There’s no room for the Truth in politics.  We’re seeing plenty of proof of that in today’s society (legalized abortion, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, contraceptives, etc. etc. etc.) 

Step up to the plate

Faith without works is useless. Dead. (James 2:20)

Our lives rest in balance. On one side is our faith and on the other are our works. They rest upon and are supported by how Jesus our Lord dwells in our hearts.

This equilibrium must be maintained whether we are at work or at rest, in church or in public.

Without Jesus being in our hearts, both are useless and also impossible. No good can be done except through the Holy Spirit animating and guiding us.

This balance cannot be turned on and off to help our image in different situations. If we are going to follow Jesus as they say in the Gospel (of Mark), we need to deny the wants of ourselves and pick up the cross of works, deeds and needs of others.

We need to wake up, step up to the plate and put on our Lord fulltime no matter what, for if we are "ashamed of Him or His words" in this material world, "He will be ashamed of us" (see Mark 8:38) when we stand before the Father in Judgment.

The Lord hears the cry of the poor

James reminds us that "God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom."(James 2:1-9) He reminds us that we can dishonor the poor. This epistle fits nicely with Psalm 34 and the powerful refrain, "The Lord hears the cry of the poor." That is a refrain of good news for us who are poor. It is a challenge for us who fail to hear the cry of the poor.

Jesus asks His disciples - and He asks us - "Who do YOU say that I am?" (Mark 8:27-33) The question can be addressed to us: "Who am I for you? What place do I have in your life? Are you ready to follow Me, unreservedly?" Apparently, it isn't enough for us to say, "You are the Christ, the anointed one, the promised one who is to come." He tells his disciples not to tell that to anyone. They aren't ready for the full implications of that message.

Sometimes, I'm not ready, either. I hold back. There is still too much self-protective care in me. And, the "calculation" about what is best for me, who is better to be with, is still too much a part of my heart. Jesus invites me to say, "You are my savior. You are the one who died for my sins - to take away the power of sin and death - for me and for us all. I am so grateful, that all my anxieties and self-absorbed concerns just melt away.  I so want to be with You in your mission of announcing this good news to others. I want to lay down my life with You.  I want to love the way You love"

Instead, too often, we respond the way Peter did. We fight Jesus' acceptance of His mission. We don't want to let Him suffer and die for us, because we know - perhaps we fear - that to let that happen would transform us and draw us into the pattern of His life, death and resurrection. We become guilty of thinking the way the world thinks, rather than the way God thinks.

The invitation for me - for us - today is three-fold. To re-accept His love and saving mercy with deep gratitude; to respond with a growing desire to be with Him in His mission from the Father; and to love others the way He has loved us - in a dying-to-self way.  And, if we do this today, the people close to us will experience the difference in our spirit and in our care today.  And, ultimately, the poor will know that we hear their cry.

Go deep!

The Letter of James is probably best known for its call to make the Christian life a life of depth and not of superficiality.  He finds many ways to point to a life which is not merely a collection of good thoughts and kind wishes, but a life rich in actions.  From this letter we receive the often-quoted reminder that “Faith without works is dead.” 

There is a variety of ways in which James envisions faith being expressed in actions, in which the Christian life is to be one of depth.  (Jas 1: 19-27) The passage’s reminder that true faith consists in “looking after orphans and widows” sounds just like the James we know.  But slipped into his reminders are James’ injunctions to “control the tongue” and to “keep oneself unspotted by the world.” 

Most surprising is the lead off line which James sends our way, commanding us to “be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”  If ever there was a call to depth and not superficiality, this is it.  But could we think of three things that our contemporary society finds more difficult? 

“Quick to hear.”  Sounds roar around us without interruption.  Sounds “out front” are not enough; we need “background sound.”  To really hear what someone else is saying, demands that we stop and receive from another, that we allow the other’s words to “go deep.”  Are we anxious to “receive from another?”

“Slow to speak.”  From chat rooms and Facebook to talk shows and “reality shows” we’re not very slow to speak.  Talking “off the top of our heads” without much depth comes easily to us.  Yet we delight when we hear someone who speaks “from the heart.”  Do we speak “from the heart?”   When we do, we are usually ridiculed or suspected of ulterior motives.

“Slow to anger.”  I doubt that James would mind good anger at injustices and other things that “should not be.”  What he would find hard to handle would be our society’s tendency to blame others first before looking at our own responsibility, the tendency to “react” rather than to “respond.”  When difficult words come our way, do we “react” or do we “respond?” 

Quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.  James encourages us to let these actions flow from our faith.  What a life of depth that demands!

He sighed from the depth of His spirit.....

Many times in our lives we turn to God when we are in need of something.  Maybe we need guidance in making an important decision or we are looking for comfort in times of pain.  God will always be there to answer us as long as we ask in the proper way.  Don’t let doubt guide your conversation with God.  If you believe that He will not answer or you wish to challenge His love, He will not respond.  But if you instead ask with an open mind and love from your heart, God will always answer your prayers and guide you on your way.  (James 1: 1-11)

Often in our lives we can feel as though God is burdening us with too much.  We may feel overwhelmed or hampered by the load He has put on our back; a load we don't feel we deserve.  We may even feel as though God is punishing us for something and His love for us has dwindled. This is absolutely not true!  I’m sure many of us have heard the old saying, “God puts the biggest burdens on those whom He believes can handle it the most.”  We should take this completely to heart and use it to motivate ourselves to overcome any obstacle we face.  It is never too late to rise up and overcome the burdens in our lives; to let our story be one of success.

It saddens me to hear in the gospel that Christ "sighed from the depth of His spirit" when the people were asking for signs. (Mark 8:11) It makes me wonder if my own actions cause Christ frustration and/or sadness.

We have an advantage over the people who lived in the time of Christ in that they had not experienced the reality of His horrendous death for our redemption and they had no way of realizing about His resurrection. We have that history, and yet even with it there are those seeking other evidence that Christ is God. Their search for signs continues.

Baptized Christians are to live as a "resurrection people," full of love, hope and faith, ready to pass the Good News on to others. We are to be the signs for others. How are we doing with that tremendous responsibility? We must remember that we don't do it on our own. We are to let Christ work in and through us.

They began to argue with Jesus. . . .(again, Mark 8:11)

Sadly, there are still Pharisees in the modern day. In fact, most of us become a little bit pharisaical if what we want isn't in conformity with what God requires as taught by the Holy Catholic Church.

How many Catholics practice birth control? How many turn their heads away when the politician they wish to elect is a strident supporter of abortion?  Unfortunately, when we are not guided by Christ, we are guided by ourselves.  And we are very poor guides indeed.  Jesus warns us in Matthew 15, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  Let them alone; they are blind guides (of the blind). If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit."

But we have a sure and reliable guide to the truth, one that is not bound by mere human considerations, but looks to eternity and to the good of each person in eternity.  Our Guide, the ancient and venerable teachings of the Holy Catholic Church, is a sure one. Jesus tells us that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). And this is certain, both because of the protection of the Holy Spirit and because of the Apostolic guides who continue to help us understand what God desires from us. The Pope and the Bishops guide us in all matters of faith, and while sometimes, regrettably, they may fail as people, the truth they teach, if they teach with the deposit of faith, is absolutely reliable.

So, the next time you find yourself asking questions about what the Church may teach or require (it's always good to ask questions and seek to understand), also look to see if the incomprehension or irritation that is experienced might not be a result of what we desire conflicting with what we know to be right.  Ask yourself instead if your desires are for the greater glory of God, or for yourself.  If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll know the answer instinctively.

The helping hand of God

So many times I miss seeing God because I focus on worldly things, or I have to search in order to find Him in a certain situation.    We probably all have those times when we feel as if God is hiding from us, but if we only open the eyes of our heart, we would see Him at work in every aspect of our lives.  God gives us the opportunity to see Him in our lives multiple times each day.  Some people call them coincidences, but I believe that those times are the hand of God guiding us along the right path. 

It may come when strangers smile at us as we are walking along the street, or when someone holds the door open as we walk through.  It’s like the people in Mark’s Gospel for Monday this week: “As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him” -Mark 6:54.  People immediately recognized Jesus.  There was no hesitation.  Why?  Jesus didn’t look any different.  He was called a great teacher, even a wise prophet, but why did they immediately recognize Him?  I think it’s because they were looking with the eyes of faith.  The people heard stories of this man named Jesus, who cured lepers and gave sight to the blind.  They believed He could cure their sick and because of their faith, many were cured.

The last few weeks have been crammed with many wonderful opportunities and challenges, but I’m drowning in a sea of obligations. I feel as if I am rushing from one to the other, not able to breathe before the next obligation is upon me.  The Gospel made me think of how it must have been the same for Jesus.  The disciples had barely tied up the boat and people were scurrying to bring sick people for Him to cure.  I’ll bet it would have been at times overwhelming.  But Jesus must have been nourished by the faith of those people, who only wanted to touch the tassel of His cloak, just as my faith should nourish me even in the busiest of times.  I can feed that faith by taking time even when life is hectic and I have no time, by praying, by taking time to rest in God.

That rest can be as simple as taking a deep breath and quieting my anxiousness down so the noise of the outside dims and the busy gears turning in my brain slow down.  That rest and quiet can help me to really focus on what’s important, to ask God for the strength to do my best and the strength when life becomes overwhelming to ask for His help and help from others.  Sometimes we have to ask God for the strength to say no to more obligations and to be serene in that decision.  Without a doubt in my mind, the easiest way to do this is to set aside at least an hour a week to visit Jesus in an adoration chapel.  Nothing, other than Mass, gives me more peace of mind than simply sitting (or kneeling) in front of Him and telling Him my frustrations.  I recently wrote this advice for someone else…I just didn’t have the sense (or conviction of faith) to follow it myself. 

Praying for the right direction for our country--and the world

Those of us who have chosen to try to follow the teaching of Jesus do so because we have found in Him the Shepherd who has healed us and gives us a sense of direction.  Most of us have found in many Christian leaders—popes, bishops, priests, parents, teachers—people who somehow mirror and mediate the servant leadership of Jesus.  But we are not only members of a church; we are citizens of a country.  

In the US we are entering a season of presidential and congressional campaigns. It may seem like an unreasonable leap to go from the topic of spiritual leadership to the domain of electoral politics.  But it is a fact that, even in the secular realm of public office, we seek leaders who will look to the needs of the people and for whom the prayer of Solomon—“an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong”—and the compassion of Jesus (Mk 6:30-34) would not be out of place.

That’s why our U.S. Catholic bishops have reissued the message they published four years ago, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” They tell us, once again, to look for candidates who themselves demonstrate consciences attentive to the common good and whose sense of right and wrong hold up well when measured against the full spectrum of Catholic social teaching. The bishops remind us: “Unfortunately, politics in our country often can be a context of powerful interests, partisan attacks, sound bites and media hype. The Church calls for a different kind of political engagement: one shaped by the moral convictions of well-formed consciences and focused on the dignity of every human being, the pursuit of the common good, and the protection of the weak and the vulnerable.”

Just quoting that last sentence is enough to remind us that the current talk of campaigners and their TV ads generally strike another tone than the prayer of Solomon and the words of Jesus.  It is time to read the bishops’ letter again.

Bright lights

We all have a light within us and this light is a gift from God. The lights within us are wonderful and unique, and it’s our job to let these lights within us shine for others to see. Our lights can be anything from having compassion or the gift of humor or even just having the ability to be a good friend and listener to others in need. The lights within us shouldn’t be covered or placed “under a bushel basket” (Mk 4:21-25); instead we should let these gifts that God gave us shine so brightly that all those we come in contact with feel the worth of our love and the love of God.

Think of the Word of God as light.  Just by hearing God’s Word we have a light within us.  We’ve all heard that we are loved and saved by Jesus and we are called to spread this message to everyone we meet, especially those who are stuck in a dark time. We need to be the light in their lives giving them the courage and strength to let their own lights shine bright. Even though we may be faced with dark times and obstacles we need to make sure that our lights are still shining brightly.  Jesus’ words turn the darkness to light and fill our lives and the world with light and hope.  We cannot just take God’s love and mercy for granted; we need to make sure that we are spreading His love to everyone. Today, let us be challenged to let our lights shine and help all those we encounter find their light.

Doin' the One-eighty

Last week I wrote about choices.  Sometimes we make them after a lot of prayer and thought and other times they are thrust upon us.  I’m thinking about the conversion of Saul, and his ensuing encounter with Ananias.

Everyone remembers Saul.  He passionately hates Christians. He even has permission to round them up to kill them. In fact, he's on his way to Damascus to do exactly that, when Jesus Himself appears to Saul in a flash of light so bright it literally blinds him.  He tells Saul, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Saul tries to see, but fades to black, thinking, "Uh oh."  Talk about drama!

But Jesus isn’t done yet.  He appears to Ananias and tells him to go see Saul. Ananias, being a Christian who values his life, is pretty leery of this idea. Then Jesus tells him that Saul (of all people!) is His "chosen instrument" to spread the good news! Ananias must have thought, "Huh? Saul?!" I’m sure he questioned whether or not he heard Jesus correctly.  Anyway, to his credit, Ananias obeys.

Because both men do as Jesus instructed, Saul regains his sight and does a complete 180! He is baptized, goes from Saul to Paul, and goes from Number One Christian Opponent to Number One Christian Proponent.  

This just shows us that, with the Lord, we can expect the occasional huge surprise. His astounding ways are so much bigger than ours! Even when we don't understand what He's doing and naturally hesitate to obey Him, we can trust in His directives and go forward without fear. When we do, the Lord and His Spirit will do the rest.

The unforgivable sin

Who among us has not shown contempt for the Holy Spirit?  Oh, we didn’t think of it as contempt, but we didn’t do as we were called, nudged, or pushed.  Have you ever sensed that the Spirit wanted you to love someone you found unlovable?  Or felt the Spirit nudging you to go a direction that wasn’t the one you wanted to take?  What did you do?  And, me?  I wish I could claim otherwise but…

Does that mean that you and I are beyond forgiveness?  Is that what Jesus is saying in Mark 3:22-30?  I think not.  So, what sets our “contempt” apart from that of the Pharisees’ behavior?   As I reflect on this gospel, I think contempt or irreverence becomes blasphemy when it is deliberate and public slander.  To blaspheme the Holy Spirit—we are not “merely” disregarding the Holy Spirit, we are publicly and knowingly reviling the Holy Spirit, as when the Pharisees defined Jesus’ behavior as Satanic.

Whew!  That was close…but wait, before you go…let me leave you with a question that keeps popping into my head.  While we may not knowingly revile the Holy Spirit, do you and I always recognize the Holy Spirit among us?  Can I hear the Spirit when He speaks to me in the voice of my enemy?  Or, do I only “hear” evil?  Can I feel the Spirit when He comes in the eyes of the homeless man I see every day when I drive to work?   Or, do I only feel contempt?  Hmmm…no, maybe not blasphemy…but certainly not worthy of one who knows the good news?   I wonder….

Almighty Father, direct every thought and every effort that we make in our daily lives. May we draw ever so closely to You, that we may never give You offense. Amen

You've got questions? He's got answers!

Have I made the right decision?  What do I do now?  What about those others, whose lives may also be affected by my decision?  Is this God’s plan for me at this point in my life?  How do I know?  I’ve made some tough decisions in my life (some right and some wrong), and these are the questions I’ve asked, even if I made the decision after many, many hours of prayer and feeling confident that it was the right one.

As I grow older (not necessarily wiser), I’m inclined to just take my concerns to our Blessed Mother through the recitation of her rosary and ask her to intercede for me to her Son.  She hasn’t ever let me down.  Praying the rosary and meditating on the life of Christ is the surest way to remind us that our troubles and worries and doubts are nowhere near what our Savior went through to take away our sins.

Who needs answers, when you know someone who knows Someone who has them?  After all, it’s not what you know, but Who you know!  And it helps to remember that He Who Knows All loves us regardless of the choices we make.

I haven't been paying attention!

I haven’t been writing much lately.  At first, I thought it was because I was sicker than the proverbial dog.  Then I thought it was because I’ve been opening the center in the morning and closing it at night, working 15 to 16 hours a day. 

Today, the thought crossed my mind a couple of times that I wasn’t writing because I haven’t been able to “meet” with Jesus on a regular basis through daily Mass or frequent visits to the adoration chapel.  But that can’t be it—the Gospel of Mark brought that home to me when I read it this evening.  I have been seeing Jesus.  I just haven’t recognized Him! 

He was that woman who was having trouble paying for all of the groceries she needed—not wanted—and I failed to step up and help her pay for them.  He was that man that I went out of my way to avoid simply because he was holding a sign that said “HOMELESS FAMILY OF FOUR NEEDS GROCERIES OR MONEY”.   He was in that small child I was irritated with simply because he wouldn’t stop crying due to the fact that he was obviously undernourished.  And my ignorance of the presence of my Lord goes on, and on and on. 

If the evil spirits could do it, why can’t I? They saw Him and recognized Him for who He is. (Mark 3:7-12) But do we do as much? Do we see Christ where He is now? That's the difficult question. Where is Jesus?

One of my favorite games with Lily is when she sits on my lap, right in front of me.  I will put my hands over my eyes, or cover them with a book or newspaper and ask in a playful voice, “Wheeeerrrrrre’s Lillllly??” over and over again.  Then I’ll make a big production of removing the obstruction to my vision and say, “Oh!  There she is!”,  then we’ll both start giggling.  It’s obvious we both know where she is, but it’s a great joy to look one another in the eye and know the love we share.  So I ask again-- “Where is Jesus?”

Jesus lives, here and now. He is often right in front of us, as obvious as the daylight.  He is among us in the form of our brothers and sisters. Indeed, He told us as much. ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40) This is what we must bear in mind as we pass through each day. All of those people we meet and see, and most especially those we make an effort not to see - those who, if we saw them, would make us uncomfortable or call us to an action we do not choose at this time - all of those people are Jesus for us, if we only let them be.

And there is another way in which we can look at each of the people around us and say, "You are the Son of God."  Indeed, we are all sons and daughters of God. Jesus is our brother and He is indeed the only begotten Son of God, but we all share in sonship, in spirit.

So, remember as you go through your day - each person you meet, and each person you greet - that person is, for you, for that time, Jesus. Do unto that person what you would do for Jesus.  I know I’ll try harder from now on.  Maybe He’ll say to me, “Oh!  Here I am!” and we’ll both start giggling over the joy of our closeness.

Feeling better, learning new things

Finally!  I’m feeling much better today!  Thank God!  I know it’s because of the prayers said on my behalf (and the TLC I received from Marilyn and Alicia, who are blessings in my life!)  So I’m able to spend a little time today trying to get back in the swing of things and trying also to create a halfway decent blog entry.  I hope I succeeded. =================================================================================   

Although He speaks in other places of continuity with and fulfillment of what has come before, Jesus announces the “newness” that He brings, making use of two images.  The practice of fasting has no place at a wedding, Jesus points out, clearly announcing that He is the Bridegroom, the Messiah who inaugurates the “new times.”  As if to underscore His point, Jesus likewise points out the foolishness of an old wine skin put to use with new wine—it just won’t work!  The new wine likewise announces the “new times.” (Mark 2:18-22)

Having left behind the Christmas season only a week ago, we might ask ourselves today whether we have also left behind the “newness of life” experienced in those days.  Jesus, born into our world, continues to pursue us with a divine passion, even greater than that of the most loving bridegroom.  And, thanks to the gift of baptism, the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5, 5).  Are we allowing ourselves to be pursued by Love, or have we reverted once again to living life on our own terms?  Are we drinking the new wine of the Holy Spirit, experiencing the “sober intoxication” of that divine gift, or are we “running on our own steam” once again?

All this “newness” which Jesus proclaims today precludes any “business as usual,” and invites us to step fully into a new time, living in a new way as we march through a new year.

Browsing through the Book of Samuel today, it struck me that we can learn a great lesson from King Saul. Saul disobeyed God by taking the spoils from the Amalekites, an act which God had forbidden. Then, to justify his actions, he tells the prophet Samuel that he intended to use the prime sheep and oxen taken from the Amalekites as a burnt offering to God. Samuel quickly points out to him that God does not want sacrifices, but rather complete obedience to His word. (1 Samuel 15:16-23)

The same is true for us - we are to always obey His word. Put another way, it’s never right to do a wrong thing, no matter how good one's intentions. Or, we can say it is always right to do the right thing, regardless of any outcomes we may face. This is the wish of our God: to obey His word which is always perfectly right in any circumstance.

Speaking of “newness” and “lessons learned”, I learned something new yesterday.  I consider myself pretty good at trivia—I always win those types of games and I’m pretty adept at crossword puzzles and games, so I was surprised I had never heard the phrase “the Silver Rule” before!  When I asked Mom this morning if she had ever heard of it (after all, I got my passion for word games and trivia from her), she replied that she knew of the “Golden Rule”, but not the “Silver Rule.”  So we both learned something new!  Pretty good for a woman in her 90’s and her son pushing 60! 

Basically, the “Silver Rule” is “Don’t do unto others what you would not have them do unto you.”  Jesus put a “positive spin” on it when He said, "Do unto others as you would have them do to you." (Matthew 7:12).  Our Lord’s approach exhorts positive action to love one another, whereas the “Silver Rule” promotes no action at all, unless it is wanted.  So I love you whether you want me to or not (Lol), because that’s what our Lord commanded me to do.   

Tempus fugit

Has it really been a whole week since I last wrote?  Wow.  I truly had no idea!  I got caught in the clutches of my chronic bronchitis with its attending coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath that made it difficult to work (which I had to), much less think!  When I got home this past Sunday, Marilyn and Alicia fixed me up with some breathing treatments (thanks to Lily's breathing machine when she was really congested last year), some heavy-duty cough syrup and a "z-pac" of antibiotics that GPat happened to be hanging onto from one of her recent ailments.
I'm still not 100%, but I am well enough to at least take a deep breath now and then without coughing!  Thank God for the women in my life.  And I'm not talking only about Marilyn, Alicia, and Lily.  I'm talking about Sarah.  I'm talking about Mom.  And GPat (Marilyn's mom).  And my sisters-in-law, who have been there recently for Mom and me.  And of course, I'm talking about OUR Mother, Mary, the Mother of God.  She's put in more than a couple of good words to her Son for me lately. 

Thanks to all of you, ladies!  I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate all of you!  Well, I can BEGIN, I just can't finish!

I'll try to begin putting up meditations again tomorrow night and get back on schedule.  Thanks for your patience with me.

Walk the walk

Love is manifested in service. Our faith calls us to love each other as Jesus loved us. In his letter, John reminds us that Jesus loved us so much, he laid down his life for us (1 Jn 3:11-21). So too we must be willing to lay our lives down for others.

Not too long ago, we celebrated light coming into the world, God loving us so much that he took on the flesh of a tiny infant. God came to us, not in a roaring fire or a rushing wind, but a whisper. As the Christmas season closes, let’s remember, it doesn’t matter where our walk takes us, as long as we are walking.

A week of pondering

Today is the beginning of the New Year and it is only right and proper that we should begin this and every new year by celebrating the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.

As Mary and her husband Joseph kept care of the infant Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem, it must have seemed an odd situation for the birth of a king - the Son of God. But as bizarre as the setting must have seemed, Mary greatly treasured all these wonderful things and reflected on them in the depths of her heart. (Luke 2: 16-21)

But what's more important is that Mary, even after being told that she had been chosen in the divine plan and was in good favor with God, continued to follow the commands of the Lord and had Jesus circumcised and presented to the Lord just as the law commanded. Mary obediently followed the wishes of God without question.

On this last day of the Christmas Octave, I find myself sorry I didn’t feel much like writing this last week. Fighting a cold and starting up a new location is small potatoes, when I stopped to ponder the previous week and what each day could have brought me spiritually, if I wasn’t thinking so much about myself.  There is a lot about each of the feast days that the Church has wisely placed in this octave. 

1

Of course there is Christmas Day, when the Second Person of the Holy Trinity became fully man!  And for the next 33 years He emptied Himself to our Father in non-compromising obedient fashion, even up to His death on the cross!

2

The second day of the octave is the Feast of St. Stephen the martyr.  We don’t know how soon after the Crucifixion he was stoned to death, but the important thing to remember is that he gave his life to God out of true love to Jesus Christ and obedience to God through Jesus’ teaching.

3

The third day this last week we remembered St. John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  Doesn’t that sound presumptuous and somewhat conceited?  Not if you stop to realize that what John is doing is inviting us to take his place at the events where he says this; (John 13, John 20, John 21 et al).  He wants us to be running alongside Peter towards the empty tomb.  He invites us to place our head upon Jesus’ chest at the Last Supper.  He exhorts us to recognize the man standing on the shore of the lake as the Lord and point this out to Peter as we are fishing after the Resurrection. 

4

On the fourth day after Christmas, through remembering the Holy Innocents, the Church reminds us that though some may not even know or be aware of Christ, God still loves us.  While Stephen is remembered as the first martyr for the new Church, I think it’s worth noting that these very young boys didn’t even know Christ was among them, as Stephen did.  But God found them worthy enough to be sacrificed for His Church to come into existence and He rewarded them by bringing them Home.

5

The fifth day of the octave is set aside for St. Thomas Moore.  Here was the king’s best friend who is elevated to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury solely to fight the Pope on the king’s behalf so the king can commit adultery.  Well, there’s friendship—then there’s obedience to God.  St. Thomas made the better choice, lost his earthly life, but gained eternal happiness.  Not a bad trade.

6

Six days after Christmas we celebrate the Holy Family.  Having a baby in a family is full of new experiences, joys and fears.  I can’t imagine the intensity of those feelings when your child is the Son of God.  How did Mary and Joseph cope?  Oh, yeah!  They were FILLED with the Holy Spirit, and the graces that follow from that!

7

On the seventh day, we celebrate a relatively obscure (compared to the rest of the previous week) saint—St. Sylvester.  But when you consider that he was one of the main authors of the Nicene Creed wherein we state our belief that Jesus Christ is both True God and True Man, he becomes not so obscure.  His obedience to the Church and his faith in Jesus Christ as both human and Divine helped him to persuade the Council at Nicea that the Aryan heresy should not and could not continue.

8

On this, the eighth day after Christmas and the first day of 2012, as we reflect on the life of the Mother of God, let us reflect awhile on our own lives. Do we follow God's wishes without question? Do we rejoice and reflect on even the strange situations in which we find ourselves? If the answer is no, then there is no better time than now to take the steps to get on God's straight path which leads to life everlasting.  God help us all.