September 23 , 2007 I – We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating! R – Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor. II – …I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life…for God wills everyone to be saved. G – No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon. If we start out with the premise that we are nothing, and we have nothing – then everything makes sense. In fact we are nothing, and we have nothing – which means that everything which we are and have is gift – everything comes from God – everything is lent by God to us to be used as we find our way back to him where he “resides,” which is our true home! And one day we will have to return what we have been lent! Mankind has always had a propensity to cheat! Ever since the hours and minutes that began to exist after the Gates of the Garden of Paradise were slammed shut behind fig-leaf clad Adam and Eve – man was in the business of trying to get-away with whatever he could get away with. This propensity is just part of the array of deficiencies and disorders that came into the world as the result of Original Sin. And so it is not surprising that in the first reading from the book of the prophet Amos we witness a typical hypocritical scene between supposed “religious businessmen” and their unsuspecting or maybe not so unsuspecting “consumer-clients.” This two-faced collection of crafty conspirators is seen carefully observing the “rites of the new moon” and the “sabbath restrictions” – but can’t wait for them to be over so they can gouge their clients by manipulating the weights and measures used in trading! But not to fear – it is God who promises not to forget what they have done to the lowly and the poor! Our second reading from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy also has to do with “the sacred mixing with the secular!” Obviously the new Christian communities were not to join with the secular practices of giving civic worship to the gods of the Roman Empire – but this reading makes it clear that the Christians at their Sunday celebrations wereto pray for everyone – with their “supplications, prayers, petitions and thanksgivings” - and that this “everyone” was to include the emperor and all who hold public office. Does this not resemble our general intercessions that we pray at this and every Mass? One petition should always be for those who hold public office! But today St. Paul reminds Timothy that we pray for them not just to have the civil authorities look favorably on us and to keep the peace, but also in order for them to come to the knowledge of the truth: which resides in Christ, which entails the salvation of the whole world – including them. The cities and countries of the world are lent to those in public office to administer policy in accord with God’s will – God’s justice – God’s peace – and God’s love! Any other use is misuse – and will be dealt with accordingly at the end times. If only civil authorities would respond to the grace of God which ever calls them – by means of our prayer for them - to the depths of this amazing understanding. Finally, the gospel passage is an elaborate parable about the proper use of something very potentially dangerous that is lent by God to us for our use. And that potentially dangerous thing is: money! Money is to be used to make life better for those in our charge, and to help the poor! It is to be used to make a better global society. It is to be used to create a world of justice and equality, balance and harmony! It is also to be used to provide for ourselves only what we truly need to be an instrument of God in the world! Any other use is misuse. And how misused it is in our modern society! Jesus tells us all in the gospel passage that there is only one master – and he is God. If money is our master we are sadly mistaken. If we think we can serve “God and money” as two masters we are again sadly and even pathetically mistaken. The story of how the steward in the gospel passage cushions his own future in a dishonest way by manipulating his master’s bookkeeping – brings home the point that though he was decisive and clever – he was so in an immoral and inappropriate way! What is surprising is that the master in the story commends him for his actions! Can this be a mistake? How can the master praise such conduct precipitated against his self and not have the rascal punished? Can the “master” in the story refer to Jesus?” Are “normal” standards of justice being denied in the Kingdom of Jesus? Yes! In Jesus’ Kingdom of justice and power, masters do not get even. They forgive. They love those who do them wrong. This principle applies to all! And so, in this regard Jesus is like the master in the story – but Jesus would not commend anyone ever for doing anything that is immoral or inappropriate. And so the comparison ends here. The bottom line of the parable is that if disciples do not decisively and lovingly share their possessions – share what was lent to them, because of themselves they are and have nothing – share their money – share their time and their talents – they will not be entrusted with the true heavenly reality – the beatific vision – and life forever with our brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of our Father! Jesus wants his disciples to be decisive and creative in picking up their crosses and following him into eternity – but always in moral and appropriate ways – because he truly is our Master! Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor! He lifts them up to be given a treasure that has been prepared for them from the beginning of time! The price is not to be obtained by spending money, but by spending love! September 16 , 2007 I – I see how stiff-necked this people is…let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them…But Moses implored the Lord, his God [on behalf of the people, reminding him of the promises the made to them], so the Lord relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people R – I will rise and go to my father. II – I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I have been mercifully treated…so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life. G – This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. Today our gospel passage gives us three parables about what it means for the lost to be found! To order them by means of a logical sequence we see first a woman who loses one of her ten coins. She turns the house upside down until she finds her coin – then she rejoices heartily with her neighbors about her good fortune! She does this though her coin is but an inanimate object – albeit a valuable one – since money in her day was just as precious, if not more so, than it is in our own day! The second “lost and found” story is about a living being, though not with a rational soul! It is a sheep, one sheep, who wanders away from the fold of ninety-nine others. This story illustrates how the determined shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes in search of the stray – and when he finds it he rejoices, lifts if gently, places it on his shoulders and carries to back to the center of the fold. The third parable is about an animate object who was very much one with a rational soul, and a confused and tormented heart as well! It was a son who declared his independence from his father – took his inheritance – squandered it in immoral and illicit ways – but then “comes to his senses” – has a “change of heart” – and wishes to return to his father, to beg for mercy and forgiveness. This is also the story of a father who had an amazing heart of his own – a heart full of grief (for his wayward son), forgiveness (at the first sign of repentance) and generosity (to restore his son fully to his place in the family)! A heart that had so much love ready to give his prodigal son that he wanted to hear no confession, but thought only of throwing a party for his son where he could “dance for joy” that his son who had been lost and dead, is now found, and very much alive! Unlike inanimate objects and even animate objects with animal souls, there is the MOST REJOICING IN HEAVEN for a human being who finally “gets the message of redemption” – from first hand experience – from the only source that can give it: the Most Blessed Trinity of Love and Mercy! God the Father always was a God of Mercy and Forgiveness – welcoming back the lost – from the time of Moses through to Saul – down through the ages to any and all of us who somehow in the complexity and unpredictability of modern life get lost, truly lost, really lost – and cannot find our way home! As he did for the Israelites, as he did for Saul, as he did for our fellow Christians throughout the centuries – he will do so for us and for our loved ones – if we and they but “rise and return to him.” That’s all he asks of us! That we “come to our senses” and “rise and head back towards him” – taking the hand of those whom he sends to show us the way if we choose – as was the case with Saul who was persecuting Jesus, the one who accomplished redemption for us all! But the final decision is always ours! He cannot force us to “come to our senses,” although he can allow some pretty intense “trials and tribulations” to come our way to try to wake us up (again as he did in the case of Paul)– but the “coming-to” and “coming to our senses” has to be of our own doing – as a response to his grace, as a response to the activity of the Holy Spirit within – but nevertheless of our own free-will and choice to cooperate! Yes, Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them! He loves them! He loves everyone! Does this mean that he doesn’t have any taste? Not at all! It means that the blood that he poured out on Calvary was for everyone – absolutely everyone, everywhere – all sinners, including us! St. John tells us that if we think we have no sin – we are liars! Sin resides to some degree in all of us – even though original sin has been destroyed. Because of original sin our human nature has been weakened, and it is easy to fall back into a variety of lesser or even more serious personal sins. But the blood of Christ – which we celebrate and make present at this and every Mass – is very much effective in removing that sin – if we but ask, if we but avail ourselves of the means provided by Jesus in the Church – which is Jesus – still present, still here, still active, but in a Mystical and spiritual way! Miserere nobis, Deum, secundum misericordiam tuam! September 9 , 2007 I – Who can know God’s counsel, or who can conceive that the Lord intends?...except you had given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high…and thus were the paths of those on earth made straight. R – In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.II – So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him [Onesimus] as you would me. G – If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple….This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish…while he is still far away he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. Our readings today ask us to focus on a fundamental question: do I really want to follow Jesus – into eternal beatitude and fullness of life – or not? If not – then, you would not be interested in anything further that is being said here today; but if so, then it might be worthwhile to pay close attention to what Jesus is saying to those who want to make the amazing journey with him! – for it is Jesus who speaks in all of scripture! The first thing that he would have us reflect upon is the whole process of reflecting upon what it is we perceive we are undertaking – in other words, he asks usto be sure, very sure, that we think before we act – in committing ourselves to his discipleship. The first fact to consider is this: discipleship – meaning: following Jesus - is God’s choosing, and not ours! We cannot and do not simply decide to go and follow Jesus. Discipleship is God’s gift, God’s calling, God’s initiative. All we can do is RESPOND to the call – “Yes, I will follow!” “No thank you, I would rather not follow!” There is no other kind of “discipleship!” The second fact to consider is the starkness which the act of discipleship entails: the stark reality of placing Jesus squarely, concretely and absolutely in the center of our lives – period - which, in the light of our “human way of looking at things” puts us in direct opposition to every single one of our “relationships” – including our own relationship with our own selves. NO ONE at all – can come between this disciple and this Master! NO ONE! The third fact is that the very wisdom of God which tells us that all of this is really correct, really true, really so, really right – is a pure gift from God – the gift of the holy spirit (from book of Wisdom from our first reading today) which becomes the great gift of the Holy Spirit after the ascension of Jesus into heaven. When we count on, and pray for and use this gift of the presence of God’s own Divine Light – then it all makes sense – it is all clear – and it is something that we definitely want to give our all to and for – this discipleship with the Lord Jesus. And so, we are faced today with the question: am I willing to focus entirely on Jesus, am I willing to use all the gifts he gave so that I could be successful at it, am I willing to consider the fact that even though it may be like building a magnificent house, or engaging in battle like a king – that if I trust in God completely and be a real disciple and do as he says - then I shall not come up short, as a builder who miscalculated his project and didn’t have enough resources to finish, or as a conquered king who didn’t know when to quit fighting a much larger opponent? I will have followed through the project to the end – and the reward will be eternal life in the kingdom where there are many mansions, already built and prepared for us, with a king reigning who is Lord and Savior of all! And so, we are encouraged this day to be foresighted, be resourceful, be prudent, be wise, be willing to follow instructions and be willing to THERE IS NO OTHER WAY! TOO MUCH HAS GONE IN TO MAKING THIS THE ABSOLUTELY MOST PERFECT AND EXCELLENT WAY! We are so privileged to be called by God the Fatherto be a part of it all – we are so privileged to be called for discipleship with Jesus – we are so privileged to have the gift and gifts of the Holy Spirit to help us every step of the way - yet, what we do with the privilege is our own choice! May we experience the true and lasting freedom, joy and happiness that comes from saying: “Yes” to God’s lovingly sent invitation – to discipleship with Jesus! September 2 , 2007 I – My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts…What is too sublime for you, seek not, into things beyond your strength search not. R – God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor. II – …you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering. G – When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor…everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted…..When you hold a lunch or dinner…invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind…you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. We continue our image of “festal gathering” in our scripture readings today. The second reading tells of the gathering on Mount Zion at the city of the living God – the heavenly Jerusalem…this ties in with last Sunday’s reading about the banquet to which all peoples of the earth are invited. This gathering we hear today will not only include the beloved children of God, but also angels and the whole court of heaven! It will be a wonderful feast. But again – this week we look more carefully at who will be in attendance at this banquet. This week the emphasis is on the humble and the lowly! Our first reading from Sirach tells us to conduct our affairs with humility, and thus find favor with God – what is too sublime for you, seek not; into things beyond your strength, search not! The ability to know the difference is the beginning of humility! Humility is seeing ourselves as we truly are in the sight of God – and among our brothers and sisters on the earth. We are beloved creatures and children of God – who are totally dependent upon our Father in heaven for all that we receive both as individuals and as a community of brothers and sisters. We humbly receive all that he wants to give us: our daily bread, forgiveness for our sins, and protection from all that could harm us. Being humble can be a full time job at first. But practice makes it easier. Being human, prone to the effects of Original Sin we tend to want to usurp God’s position in many aspects of our lives. This is very dangerous ground to be standing on because it can lead to eternal separation from God and everyone else. A truly humble person – a truly open and receptive person – seeks not his own will but only God’s will – and finds the steps leading to humility going down – instead of up! At the bottom comes humility, says St. Benedict. Jesus in the gospel passage said it first: when you go to a wedding or any kind of a public event take the last place, and then your host can invite you higher, if it is to be. This is better than taking a higher place first and then having to be escorted to a lower place. Taking the last place in the kingdom will get you at the head of the line when it is going to really count. And when you yourself host the party, Jesus tells us – do not invite all kinds of rich people who can pay you back with invitations to their houses – instead invite those who can’t repay you – the poor and the lame and the blind - so that God can reward you when it counts the most! The most humble human being of all was Jesus Christ – who left everything that had to do with his Godhead in heaven – and took the form of a lowly servant by becoming a human being like us in all things – but sinning! But then, at the end of his life, he completely turned his humanity inside out because he was the God-Man and he could do it, and he then truly became sin – we can’t even imagine what that must have been like for him to assume and feel each and every sin that had ever been or would be committed in the entire history of the world - so that his voluntary death and resurrection could forgive all these sins and restore eternal life where now there was nothing but eternal death at the conclusion of human existence! All of this he did out of obedience to his Father who wanted to express the depths of his love for his creatures who had disappointed him so, and sinned against him, and threw away everything that he had given them. And this was the ONLY way possible for it to all be made right! What an incomprehensible love God has for each and every one of us! Humility then leads to obedience which leads to fullness of joy and life ever lasting – for those who imitate Jesus in his humility and obedience – and who strive to live a life worthy of a place at the heavenly nuptial banquet! We can do this! We can find our place at that banquet – even if it is the last place at first! We have the gift of the Father and the Son – the Holy Spirit – to empower us and move us and make it all happen! Our peace this day is to accept his presence and his activity – which we experience very powerfully at this and every mass. At this mass we affirm our faith in the Word of God, we celebrate our lives as God’s redeemed family, and we are sent forth, full of the Holy Spirit, to increase and bring the presence of the Risen Christ and his Church to all we meet! The just rejoice and exult before God; they are glad and rejoice! August 26 , 2007 I – Thus says the Lord: I know their works and their thoughts. and I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory. II – You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children: “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges. A – I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, except through me. G – Jesus passed through town and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem…”Strive to enter through the narrow gate…We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets. I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers….People will come from east and west and north and south…Some are last who are first, and some are first who will be last. Jesus made it very clear that he was the door to God, He was the gate. He was the path. He was the Way. He was also everything there is about the Truth of God, and the fullness of Life which would be restored by his death and resurrection (so we could enjoy God’s presence in fullness again!) Our gospel passage today finds Jesus on his way to Jerusalem to embrace his death, and so to later experience his resurrection. The end was near – and he was doing some last minute teaching to any who would listen along the way. On this journey one person asked Jesus who he is doing all this for. Who will be saved? Jesus answers this question by telling him and all that in effect there is a banquet being prepared – actually it is a nuptial banquet – actually it is the wedding banquet of the Lamb of God, who is he, himself - and his bride, the Church (of the future) - to which guests are invited. To get into the banquet there are certain conditions that must be met:
All of this was NEW to Jesus’ Jewish audience near the city of Jerusalem that day. For they had understood that they alone were God’s special and chosen people; and yet in their own scriptures of the Old Testament it reads (as we read in the first reading today): “I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory.” (They shall all come to the banquet). What we need to concern ourselves with is ourselves personally, our communities of faith to which we are associated and to the Church as a whole to which we belong – we need to stay a disciplined course – keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, praying for the help of the Holy Spirit and we will arrive at the nuptial banquet feast of heaven one day in our Father’s house! All will be all in Christ. And the joy and the love will last forever! August 19 , 2007 I – They took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Prince Malchiah…there was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud…Then the king ordered Ebed-melech to take three men along with him and draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he should die. R – Lord, come to my aid! II – For the same of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame… G – I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished.” “He endured the cross, despising its shame.” “Lord, come to my aid!” “They took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern – and Jeremiah sank in the mud.” Contrary to what one might think – these readings and responses today are actually all about JOY! They are all about DIVINE FAVOR! They are all about VICTORY! They are all about HEALING, RECONCILIATION AND PEACE! They are all about looking at the circumstances that we might find ourselves in, our families in, our communities in, our world in – and seeing something more, seeing something greater, seeing something positive and promising and life-giving! The key phrase in all of the readings that unlocks the meaning of all of them is this (from the second reading to the Hebrews): “For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and (he) has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” This sentence shows the depths of God’s love for us! and the transformation that occurred to Jesus, which is now, because of his free gift, available to us! This is why in the gospel passage Jesus said: Let’s get on with it! “How I wish the fire was already ignited!” I want to light a fire of love! I want to light a fire of peace! I want to light a fire of reconciliation and healing! I want to light a fire of purification, redemption and salvation! But this fire could only be lighted as the blood and water gushed out of his pierced Sacred Heart as he hung dead upon the cross! He knew this and so he yearned joyfully for it to happen – he loved us so! The ensuing “division” that he was talking about was this: if God devised and carried out such a marvelous and almost beyond belief plan of salvation for Fallen Sinful Mankind – then this God is deserving of all of our love FIRST in response and in return – how could we not love God above all things – and Jesus Christ whom he sent – and the Spirit of them both which empowers us and makes it all work and work out! Jesus said that this love comes even before that of family members – any family members! This was a difficult thing for the Jewish community to understand at the time because “family was all” for them! Their family relationship is what they lived and died for! It seemed that Jesus was overriding this principle: but actually he wasn’t. They were and we are first of all members of God’s family! and in loving him FIRST – we also quickly come to see that at the same time, we must love others, as even we love ourselves! It is just the priority that Jesus is clarifying! GOD is ALWAYS FIRST! – but the second and third aspect cannot be separated in any way: others and ourselves. It is our joy now, to participate in the family life of God – especially as members of the New People of God – the Church – fed and nourished as we are by God’s Word and Sacrament! May we today believe that just as God watched out for Jeremiah and let no harm come to him (who prefigured Jesus who also needed protection) – may he protect us, and our families, and our communities and our world this day – and either restore or give us joy - as we all journey so many steps closer to being with Jesus who is seated now at the right hand of the throne of God – and will be so forever! August 12 , 2007 I – Your people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes. R – Blessed are the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. II – Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith Abraham…had descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands of the seashore. G – Be ready to open immediately when [the master returns from a wedding]…[so that the house] will not be broken into. The readings today are about being ready – for the fulfillment of our faith! The gospel passage tells us about “being ready” as a servant is ready and awake in the very late hours of night and early morning - waiting for the master’s return from a wedding. The master will then reverse the roles and wait on the servant – and provide a banquet for him – if he finds him watching and waiting. The gospel passage also tells about “being ready” so that something intrusive does not happen – so that the “thief does not break into the house” if it looks quiet and unguarded. In either case – waiting for something positive to happen – or being alert so that something negative does not happen – the message is BE READY! Of course, what our other two readings tell us about is what we are actually to be ready and waiting for: the fulfillment of our hopes, through the activation and activity of our faith! It is the faith of Abraham that we are talking about: the very specific faith which is a leap from the foundation of reason – to the realm of God himself – God in and as himself. The only way we could HOPE to communicate with God, the real God is by his free gift of the ability to do it! This is the gift of FAITH! Abraham was the first to accept and use the gift! And our second reading tells us that he and his descendants obeyed the God that they were put into contact with by faith – and became a community of believers so vast that it includes all parts of the world! It has come down throughout the centuries and ages – it is the foundation of the very faith that we have – we who are members of the New People of God – the Church. The history of the Old People of God always seemed to be a history of a people who needed rescuing and delivering by God – who alone was equipped to accomplish it. He saved them from slavery in Egypt. He kept saving them in the desert. He kept saving them in their exiles. He prepared them for the ultimate saving – the saving from sin and eternal death by the death and resurrection of his own Son – that would be effective not only for them – but any in the whole world who would simply accept and believe in such a wondrous gift. Our responsorial psalm today declares: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own! Those people are all people! Those people are us! Those people are our neighbors and friends – they are those we do not like, and our enemies! If we begin – today - by seriously believing in our own blessedness and holiness that comes from our own assent of faith – and then live like it’s true – then perhaps more and more people in the world will believe in their own blessedness and holiness – and the world will become a better place – in preparation for that day when a new world will replace the old – and all of the blessed and holy ones will be called home to be with God forever! August 5 , 2007 I – Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another who has not labored over it, he must leave property. R – If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. II – If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God…For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God…Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly. G – Guard against all greed…one’s life does not consist of possessions…The things you have prepared, to whom will they belong? Thus it will be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God. Where is your treasure? It is very easy to be seduced, by the worldly value systems that have such a strong hold in our day in age, into thinking that our treasure is what we work for, and strive for, and purchase, and maintain, and upgrade! We can be duped into thinking that our treasure is our good name, our position in the community, the power we have over others. We can be deceived into thinking that our treasure is the amount of money that we can pile up in our checking accounts, our savings accounts and our financial portfolios! If this resembles the first thing that comes to mind when we hear the word “treasure” – then we are most likely a very unsatisfied, reaching, grasping, sad sort of person. If the “location” of our treasure is anywhere on this planet – then, we are missing out on something of incredible value – a real treasure. Jesus tells us quite pointedly in the gospel passage today that “one’s life does not consist of possessions” – earthly “treasures.” Stockpiling goods and gadgets and trinkets; power, position and pleasures of all kinds will literally get us no where. They will either disintegrate into nothing, or all go to someone else when we die – or to the state! Qoheleth arrives at the same conclusion in the First Reading today. “Laboring even with wise knowledge and skill (albeit human wisdom and skill) will get the grasper, and the mongerer only a pile of possessions that someone else – who did not even cleverly plot and scheme – will get in the end. “What’s the use?” Qoheleth bemoans. In the second reading today St. Paul gives us a tremendous insight as to how to deal with this situation that most of us at one time or another find ourselves in:
If today we hear the voice of God concerning this matter of treasure – let us not harden our hearts! One day we will appear with Christ in glory – if the treasure of this vision NEVER leaves us – not even for a moment! It is possible to do that – with a little discipline, with a little practice, with a little persistence! – and with a lot of help from the Holy Spirit of God which is available at this and every Mass – and in each and every prayer we utter! July 29 , 2007 I – “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.” R – Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me. II – You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. G – Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins…and do not subject us to the final test. Pope John Paul II and now his successor, Pope Benedict XVI have returned to a fundamental emphasis that must not and cannot be diminished in any way without serious consequences: and that is the enormous transformation that place when we become baptized into Christ Jesus. St. Paul in the second reading today tells the Colossians that they were buried with him in baptism…and also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. This burying and rising has a multi-layered effect: it includes the forgiveness of original sin and all personal sins, birth into the new life by which we become adoptive children of the Father, becoming a member of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit – and by this fact the baptized person is incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ, and made a sharer in the priestly, prophetic, kingly roles of Christ. Our point of departure today is the fact that we become God’s children and he our Father – and that as Jesus instructs in the gospel passage – we are to pray using the power of the Holy Spirit that is at our disposal – but not only that – we are to pray as the Spirit himself wills. Therefore, the prayer that Jesus and the Holy Spirit teach the disciples boldly and confidently gives us not only permission but encouragement to call God, Father. (It is only in the Holy Spirit that we can cry out: Abba! Father! ) Luke’s shorter version of this prayer simply guides us to ask for three things: daily bread (that is, exactly what we need for each new day to lead full and complete temporal and spiritual lives); forgiveness (because not one of us who is a disciple of Jesus is perfect – we all make mistakes – we offend one another and we offend God – and so we pray in the Spirit for forgiveness just as we forgive others – this is a very necessary component!); lastly we are to pray that the final test be not a dreadful thing for us (because we have sincerely and truly tried to live according to the Spirit – to move always forward towards our salvation through our life in the Church, helping others along the way!) The story that Jesus tells after relating this prayer is interesting: persistence in prayer pays off – asking, seeking, knocking will bring results so long as we ask FIRST always for the Holy Spirit, and then have that Spirit direct our petitioning. We are fallible human beings – and most of the time we have no idea what we really should be asking from God – and what we decide to ask for sometimes is not the best thing – and “if there was only a way to get better results!” There is: trust in the Holy Spirit of God who can pray for us with groanings that only God can understand. Our Father – knows EXACTLY what we need and he will GIVE US only what is EXACTLY BEST for us – the sooner we come to understand this and pray thusly – the sooner life in the family of God will take on amazing and unimagined dimensions! Since God wrote the manual on human life (which became a person named Jesus) – it just makes sense to trust in him so that help can come when we need it! So many people in the world today are trying to do it alone and the results are quite disastrous. We wonder how long God will withhold his just wrath – but in the first reading today we see the amazing fact that if only a few (if only 10) are living good and godly lives – he will withhold his anger! May we always be among those 10! July 22 , 2007 I – One of them said: “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah, you shall have a son.” R – He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord. II – …in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, they mystery hidden from ages and from generations past…it is Christ in you, the hope of glory. G – There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her. The message of our readings today is that God is present in the lives of his people - and he speaks, and he acts. The story of Abraham and Sarah and their progeny is unfolding in the first reading. It is God who interacts with Abraham – initiating a gathering of people – who would be more numerous than the grains of sand on the seashore – or the stars in the sky. So that Isaac could be born of Abraham and Sarah – there is a miraculous conception – Sarah was an old woman when she conceived Isaac. And the announcement – the prophecy of this was foretold by one of the three mysterious “guests” that visited the couple at Abraham’s urgent invitation. Most likely Abraham did not know that his hospitality would end in the prediction that a years’ time hence – he would be the father of a son by Sarah. God also speaks. He speaks constantly – for life is his word – and it continues unceasingly! He speaks most eloquently in his Word that became a flesh-and-blood human being – Jesus! The words that came out of Jesus’ mouth – as St. Peter recognized – are Spirit and Life – there was “no where else to go” to get what really mattered in life! In the gospel passage today Mary – who sits at Jesus’ feet has chosen the better part – in that particular situation. Martha was all concerned about the duties of hostess! But, Mary knew that when you have Jesus right in your house – that you spend all your time with him – listening to every word that he had to say – and enjoying and interchange of conversation with him. We then, can find God in activity – in offering hospitality as Abraham did; we can also find him – as Mary did – waiting for us in our own house – in our own prayer rooms, in our own churches and chapels, in our own Bibles, in our own spiritual reading, in our own silent meditations, in our own holy conversations with others! When he meets us in these situations – they take precedence over the activity of hospitality! That we know the difference – that we know what God is saying to us – that we can learn how to be better disciples is what St. Paul is talking about in the second reading. The great mystery of our salvation – that is 5000 years old – is not unlearnable, not unteachable – in fact, Paul said that it was his job – and the job of all called to join the ministry of preaching and teaching - to explain the mystery. It is very explainable! It is very understandable – so long as faith is involved! This is the mission of the Church – resulting in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost – the Spirit would teach the teachers – and the teachers would take the message to the world – who, hopefully would not be too busy to listen FIRST to the words of Christ, and then put into practice what they hear! This is the workable dynamic – in quiet, silent listening, one hears the voice of God speaking, so that the action of loving help and service can follow! We all have a yearning and a desire to live in the presence of the Lord in fullness – we all know that there is more to life than what we can see here and now – when we “do justice” to God, to ourselves and to others – then we can be assured of living forever in the presence of the Lord. Let us be open to being taught about God’s justice! July 15 , 2007 I – Moses said to the people: “If only you would heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and keep his commandments and statues…the command I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you…it is not up in the sky…or across the sea…it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out. R – Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life. II – Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God…He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn of the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent…for he has made peace by the blood of his cross. G – And who is my neighbor?... Which was neighbor to the robbers’ victim? …”The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise.” The Law of God is now in our hearts! We do not have to go “out” and “look up and away for it!” The law is the Law of Love! It is the New Law! The new Law brought about by the loving life, and self-sacrificial death of Jesus on the Cross. There is no greater love – than the love the God-Man demonstrated for humanity! And for us who are baptized into his Body – the Body of Christ – we know this: in our hearts! We simply know it! And yet, it needs to be explained always more fully and deeply to us! That is why the words of God, that are Spirit and life – are so important for us. The words of the Scripture – which are all about Christ Jesus! The words of the Sacraments – which are all about Christ Jesus! The words of comfort, care and consolation that we give one another– which too are all about Christ Jesus! Our neighbor is anyone, everyone who is as in need of hearing the voice of God speaking – just as we are! We are to be instruments in the delivery of that word, and in the accompanying actions of helping service! We need to go out of our way to help one another – for love of Christ Jesus! The ones who treat others with compassion and mercy are the ones who are favored in the sight of God – and they are also favored in the sight of men and women! May we do what God asks, so that we may live – live more fully now – and live most fully in eternity – when we will have our reward for all the effort we put into living a godly, Catholic, Christian way of life! July 8 , 2007 I – Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her… I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river…As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; in Jerusalem you will find comfort. R – Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. II – May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ - G – Behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves…Eat what is set before you, cure the sick…and say to them, “The kingdom of God is at hand for you.” Our readings today, on this Summer Sunday, speak to us about the “grand restoration” which is centered in Jesus. Fallen human nature needed to be “restored.” Jesus is the only human being who could accomplish it – because he was also at the same time God. God was offended by sin; only God could make complete and proper satisfaction – but a God who was also man – because man had been the offender! All of scripture is about this restoration project – all of scripture is about this central figure of the restoration – Jesus – all of scripture is useful in coming to understand how it all played out. Getting to know the story and its characters – leads us to love them – and loving them leads us to our own participation in the story! The Old Testament points to Jesus. Even today’s story of the people of Israel going home to Jerusalem after years in exile – is about “restoration” in Jesus. God comforts his people! God restores! As a mother comforts her child, so God comforts his people in Jerusalem! In the second reading, St. Paul reveals his modus operandi – his mode of operation – the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says that the central moment in the restoration process was the moment of the death of Christ on the cross – therefore – this event is the most astounding in all of human history – and he will boast of absolutely nothing more. To keep this very much in the forefront of our minds and hearts all of the time is the secret of a peaceful, hopeful, joyful life both here and hereafter. Studying, praying before, sitting in silence in front of the image of Christ Crucified is meant to be a life-long adventure. Even if we spent every moment of our lives there – it would not be enough to extract the entire meaning of what we are looking at and contemplating! GOD LOVES US BEYOND OUR IMAGINING! The gospel passage is about the transmission of the restoration story to all the world – beginning in local neighborhoods. Jesus sent out his disciples to prepare the way for his own visitation to the neighborhoods in which he lived – they were to cure the sick (as a sign that they were ambassadors of God) and then simply announce: “The kingdom of God is at hand for you!” Jesus is in our midst! We have been waiting for him for thousands of years! He is the Christ! He is the Messiah! The fulfillment of God’s kingdom is dawning on earth! The long night of darkness and sin is coming to an end! For those who accepted the announcement there was a birth of real peace, real hope, and real joy! The Light of God began to shine in their lives for the first time. For those who did not accept – the darkness remained, the enslavement to sin remained, the chaos, the despair, the sadness remained! The same message still goes out today! The bishops and priests – the church – is still proclaiming very clearly, very loudly, very comfortingly – “The kingdom of God is at hand for you!” – for all of you – for all the world! JESUS IS HERE! Let our belief and our celebration find expression in the love we share after the Mass is ended – and we go to love and serve the Lord, loving and serving each other! The Lord’s power is known to his servants – July 1 , 2007 I – Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant. R – You are my inheritance, O Lord. II – For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery…I say then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. G – Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God…No one who sets a hand to the plow and look to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God. The watchword for today’s readings is resolute focus and determination. Jesus resolutely and with a completely focused attitude proceeds towards Jerusalem knowing that once arriving there he would not leave again alive with the physical kind of life that he was now experiencing. While he moved toward his Cross – he told those who wanted to “follow him” that they too must move towards their own crosses – with resolute focus and determination! Being the Christ was serious business – the salvation of souls. Being a Christian is serious business – cooperating in the salvation of our own souls and the souls of others - which was merited by Christ. Both require a cross – both require commitment – both require dedication – and a great deal of love! Jesus did these things because he loved us! When we follow Christ – we need to do so because we love him back – and we love one another because of him! The second reading tells us that the freedom that Christ won for us by his death and resurrection is an amazing freedom! It gives us every opportunity and occasion that we need to live a truly Christian / Spirit-guided life. Christ freed us for this very purpose: so we can voluntarily and of our own accord choose him, choose his Father, choose life eternal in heaven. This is all accomplished by the working of the Holy Spirit – the Spirit frees us! the flesh enslaves us! The two are constantly warring with one another – but they are not on equal footing: the Spirit always has the advantage, the Spirit provides the real Truth of the matter, the Spirit provides the real peace and joy that comes from true freedom! In the first reading today, Elisha did not immediately follow Elijah at his invitation. But eventually he did follow him – after he did what he thought he had to do – after doing what was more important in his own estimation -than what a prophet of God was asking him to do immediately! Today – we pray that our response to God’s invitation to follow him might be immediate, genuine, sincere, free and loving! God himself is doing the inviting! How could we possibly go wrong following his bidding – at the time, and in the circumstances of his choosing for us? And so, cross in hand, with a mind and heart focused on Jesus – strengthened by the Eucharistic food he provides for us at this Mass – we resolutely live our days helping to make this world a better place, as he, through us, continues his mission to draw all men and women throughout the whole world to himself! You are my inheritance, O Lord. You are our inheritance, all of us! June 24 , 2007 I – The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. R – I praise you, for I am wonderfully made. II – From [David’s] descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel;; and as John was completing his course, he would say, “What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet. G – When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” ….They made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a table and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God…”What then will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. What I love about St. John the Baptist is that he knew exactly who he wasn’t, and exactly who he was! He was not the Messiah! But he was the last prophet of the Old Testament who would literally point out the real Messiah when he showed up on the banks of the Jordan River to be baptized. John knew that he was meant to be inferior, to Jesus, his cousin, who was the most superior of all human beings! John knew that everything pointed away from him – to Jesus! John was very satisfied to be the herald of the greatest figure in human history! John was the preparer – by his preaching and baptism – he was to clear the way for Jesus to begin his own ministry – one of preaching, teaching, healing, challenging, confronting and ultimately taking upon himself the sins of all humanity in order to redeem all of humanity by means of an excessive period of Passion and a brutal death by Crucifixion! And so today we celebrate the birth of one who was dedicated to God from even before his birth – whose name was determined by God – whose mission was fashioned by all of salvation history that came before him! We celebrate the birth of him who is the greatest born of woman – as Jesus himself said of John – but not as great as the least born into the Kingdom of God. The tiniest baby who is baptized and received into God’s family – is greater than John was – as an historical figure – because for John the Redemption had not yet occurred – there was no forgiveness from sin and removal of death – and so he could not enjoy – in his life-time these effects. But certainly – by his heroic martyr’s death – which we will celebrate later this summer – now – he is fully incorporated into the fullness of Redemption and a full member of the family of God! Just as John knew who he wasn’t and who he was – so too are we called to know who we are not, and who we are! For us it is a matter of keeping our place in the family of God. When we fall prey to the presence of the “spirit of the world” that is ever active and ever seeking our souls – and give in to the temptation of becoming who we are meant to be: gods in our own right – the center of the universe – the masters of our own destinies – the ruler of our own kingdoms, according to our own rules, and system of justice – then we become who we are not meant to be! When on the other hand we let God be God, when we let him provide for all our needs – in cooperation with us, who freely choose to partner with him – then we can see ourselves as we truly are – his beloved creations, his own children, who are his joy and his happiness. Then salvation and redemption can be for us what they are meant to be! Then we can become who we are called to be! On this feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist – let us listen to his voice once again crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord! The Lord is coming again - we need to be ready! He could come at any time! One thing we need to keep in mind is that he came the first time to save us – he is coming this time to judge us! The cry of the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan is still very pertinent! The time for repentance is NOW - before our death – for after we die, all there is, is the judging and the sorting: June 17 , 2007 I – Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife…Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan answered David: “the Lord on his part has forgiven your sin, you shall not die.” R – Lord, forgive the wrong I have done. II – We who know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. G – So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven because she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others at table said to themselves “Who is this who even forgives sins?” But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Just a few days ago – on Friday – the Church celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. On that day we focused on the enormous amount and quality of love that Jesus has for us – and for all of humanity! Just as the Father’s love gushed forth as he created with great enthusiasm and excitement, all of creation – with mankind as its highest and most exalted form – so too did that same love rush into the human scene when it was in need of a Savior, after humanity had gotten itself in irreparable trouble – and the name of that “love-become-flesh” was Jesus. Jesus poured forth his love all the days of his life on earth up to his very last breath - when he died to set us free from sin and death! And then a Roman soldier pierced his heart causing blood and water to gush forth. THIS IS HOW MUCH JESUS LOVED US! THIS IS THE QUALITY OF THE LOVE THAT GOD HAS FOR HIS MOST PRECIOUS CREATIONS – HUMANKIND – which includes you and me! It was all-inclusive! It was sin-destroying! It was life-restoring! It was the gushing forth of a New Creation! Jesus gave us two explicitly direct applications of this totally awesome gift of himself by death - and both have to do with the forgiveness of sins! The first is the Mass – where we are most privileged to be present once again at Calvary where the greatest of all acts of love which produced the forgiveness of sins happened once and for all time and for all people! This forgiveness is celebrated as we assemble each Sunday – and even each day of the week in our various churches and chapels throughout the world. The other application is the Sacrament of Reconciliation – Confession. The readings for today’s Mass are all about sin / confession / resolution and celebration! They are all about PEACE – where to find it – how to get it – how to keep it alive! People in the Old Testament were quite aware of and in fact quite good at sinning – even King David himself. But once he was confronted with his sin by Nathan (the prophet) – David owned up to his transgressions - his heart was moved, and David did not try to “put the brakes” on the process – and he confessed to Nathan “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan answered “The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin; you shall not die.” Then David found peace and celebrated by making some necessary changes in his life! This Old Testament story from the first reading prefigures that process by which forgiveness would be distributed by Jesus – after he had won the necessary battle which made the forgiveness efficacious. He would in fact reorganize the entire process. Salvation – would not come from following the law (of Moses) – it would come from faith in him – who was the fulfillment of the Law of Moses. Justification – in the legal Hebrew sense – would come from faith in Jesus, and not by works of the law. Faith is essential – but faith without works is dead faith! The living out of the law of love – the law of loving service – the New Law of Jesus – went hand in hand with faith in him! Being baptized into him – meant being connected by faith – and works of charity! Deviating in varying degrees is what sin is all about! And the way to remedy sin after baptism is confession! Confession restores us to our original baptismal state of pure openness to God’s gifts – and all of the graces and powers that were given then and revitalized and renewed so that we can go out and live a much better life than we did before this special encounter with Jesus! The woman in the gospel passage made her confession to Jesus and he forgave her – because of her faith – and because she desired to change her ways; we can have the same forgiveness – and as she was sent away in peace – we too can be sent away in peace to better love and serve the Lord. As we prayed in the Responsorial Refrain:
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