Acts 25:13-21; PS 103 The Lord has established his throne in heaven; John 21:15-19
First things first.
Today in the first reading in Acts, we encounter some intriguing figures.
King Agrippa and Bernice arrive to visit Festus.
King Agrippa was the great grandson of Herod the Great, the one who tried to kill the infant Jesus and who killed many children, thus the feast of the Holy Innocents in December following Christmas. He was a ruthless man, tyrant of longed for power, prestige, wealth, control and the list goes on.
His son Agrippa the I was the one who beheaded the apostle James and put Peter in Prison.
Again, not a very kind and caring person.
Wich brings us to King Agrippa II of today's readings, who was in an incestuous relationship with his sister Bernice. HE sold out the Jews for the sake of being known as a friendly to the Roman Empire.
Festus was the governor of the region of Judea and eventually got Paul's case to be heard in Rome, since Paul was a Roman citizen.
These are the elites of the society; they are gathered to make a judgment on St. Paul and his religious convictions.
IT sounds familiar. This reality is unfolding even today. The Elite of our Society are trying to make a judgment on the religious convictions of the church, especially in light of the HHS mandate.
Religious liberty is never what it seems. It sounds good on paper but in reality there is always some one who wants to hinder or stymie the reality of liberty, giving it conditions and or restrictions.
This is why the church is asking us to pray for our government.
What does Paul do in the face of the elite that have come to make their presence known. If you keep reading Acts then you will discover that paul simply remains true to himself and to his convictions and lets them have it full throttle.
Paul tells his story of faith and his encounter with the Risen Lord and how he is sent to proclaim the message of faith no matter what.
Toward the end, Paul wraps up his comments with these words, "...this was not done in a corner...I would pray to God that sooner or later not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am except for these chains."
"This was not done in a corner." In other words the faith cannot be lived only behind closed doors. It must be broadcast wide and far.
Paul did not let the status of his onlookers or spectators to interfere with the message. He gives it clear and full as it was meant to be, without changing or alteration.
May we too be like him unchained, free to express and to deliver the message.
Friday, May 17, 2013
The new golden calf
From Pope Francis
"Ladies and Gentlemen, our human family is presently experiencing something of a turning point in its own history, if we consider the advances made in various areas. We can only praise the positive achievements which contribute to the authentic welfare of mankind, in fields such as those of health, education and communications.
At the same time, we must also acknowledge that the majority of the men and women of our time continue to live daily in situations of insecurity, with dire consequences. Certain pathologies are increasing, with their psychological consequences; fear and desperation grip the hearts of many people, even in the so-called rich countries; the joy of life is diminishing; indecency and violence are on the rise; poverty is becoming more and more evident. People have to struggle to live and, frequently, to live in an undignified way. One cause of this situation, in my opinion, is in the our relationship with money, and our acceptance of its power over ourselves and our society. Consequently the financial crisis which we are experiencing makes us forget that its ultimate origin is to be found in a profound human crisis.
In the denial of the primacy of human beings! We have created new idols. The worship of the golden calf of old (cf. Ex 32:15-34) has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal."
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Asylums, writers, and St Isidore the farmer
acts 20:28-38; Ps 68 Sing to God, O kingdom of the earth; John 17:11-19
"If I didn't know the ending of a story, I wouldn't begin. I always write my last lines, my last paragraph first, and then I go back and work towards it. I know where I'm going. I know what my goal is. And how I get there is God's grace" so wrote Katherine Ann Porter .
We know the ending. We know the story. We know where it leads regardless if we know or not know the details of the journey completely, the end is always on our mind.
We can pretend we don't know and there are those who do this and thus they justify their selfish existence.
We can let ourselves forget and go through life with self impose amnesia, but in the end our soon willour memory be jarred.
We can try t avoid the end; we can zig and zag and get caught up in that hide & seek reality; but in the end, the lights will be turned on there will be no escape, no hiding.
Or we can embrace the end, keep it in mind, and let it determine the story of our lives, day by day, moment by moment.
"And I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated." These are the words of st. Paul in today's first reading as he bids farewell to the presbyters of Ephesus, perhaps on his way to Rome where eventually he will give his life.
Then as to bring home to point he quotes Jesus himself, "keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said,'It is more blessed to give than to receive."
Of all the words of Jesus, it is worth pausing to think as to why Paul chose these words as he departed.
These are the words that help reframe the journey so that we can keep the end in mind. It is more blessed to give than to receive because because heaven is for those who give, only then do we receive.
-----
Today in the US history is the day in which first Asylum was opened. It was on this day in 1817 that the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason was founded in Philadelphia. It was the first private mental health hospital in the United States.
Asylum for the relief of persons deprived of the use of their reason, what a interesting way of describing mental illness. IT changes things a bit if the reality of mental illness is seen in this light.
___
Lastly, today we honor St. Isidore, patron of farmers.
He is known not just for his ability to turn over fields with a plow but more importantly turning ordinary days into special joyful times.
St Isidore was canonized at the same time as St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, St. Teresa Avila, St. Philip Neri. Not bad company to keep.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Replacement
Acts 1:15,20-26; Ps 113 The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people; John 15:9-17
Today is the feast of St. Matthais, the one chosen to take the place of Judas.
It is often said that it is hard to follow in the footsteps of a good man; one who follows a good man, has big shoes to fill.
But what is it like to walk in the footsteps of a Judas the betrayer?
Many of us can answer that question for ourselves.
Why did Judas turn? Peter states it clearly in today's first reading, "Judas turned away to go his own way."
To go his own way. How often have we done it our way? How often have we chosen to go our own way rather than let Christ own the way we were going?
It is a temptation all of us must face. Unlike Sinatra, doing it our way is the way back to the father.
Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Here are a few words from Pope Benedict concerning Matthais and Judas: "While there is no lack of unworthy and traitorous Christians in the Church, it is up to each of us to counterbalance the evil done by them with our clear witness to Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Today is the feast of St. Matthais, the one chosen to take the place of Judas.
It is often said that it is hard to follow in the footsteps of a good man; one who follows a good man, has big shoes to fill.
But what is it like to walk in the footsteps of a Judas the betrayer?
Many of us can answer that question for ourselves.
Why did Judas turn? Peter states it clearly in today's first reading, "Judas turned away to go his own way."
To go his own way. How often have we done it our way? How often have we chosen to go our own way rather than let Christ own the way we were going?
It is a temptation all of us must face. Unlike Sinatra, doing it our way is the way back to the father.
Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Here are a few words from Pope Benedict concerning Matthais and Judas: "While there is no lack of unworthy and traitorous Christians in the Church, it is up to each of us to counterbalance the evil done by them with our clear witness to Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
on the ascension: what will happen next
Acts 1:1-11; PS 47 God mounts his throne to shouts of joy; a blare of trumpets for the Lord; Luke 24:46-53
"A man's way through life has been well accomplished, not if he has been successful, become famous, or made a lot of money, but only if he had not failed to reach his eternal goal." Cardinal Schonborn
The Feast of the ascension points us to the way home. JEsus returns to the Father. JEsu sis both sign post and path. St. Augustine mentions that Jesus Ascension isn our way home, "he does not hide himself behind the clouds but he has installed heaven in the hearts of his friends.
We now know what is our aim.
___________________________________
A story:
Recently I was listening to a couple tell the story of their child. They struggled to get pregnant. In fact they tried many means in order to be pregnant. Nothing seemed to work. Until eventually after countless doctor appointments they conceived.
Half way through the pregnancy, something began to happen. Bleeding began to occur and labor began to happen. The mother was taken to the hospital, where her life as well as the life of the child was threatened.
after a few days of drugs, trying to postpone the premature delivery, the doctors could do nothing more.
They informed the couple, they there was a 53% chance the baby would die no matter what they did. They were asking a couple to make a decision on what to do when the child was delivered: when did they want to stop trying.
The reality was that at 23 weeks the viability of the child was not very stable. Full term is 40 weeks.
After discussion with doctors and nurses, the parents decided to let the child decide. If the child came out fighting then they would do what was necessary.
The baby was born and quickly taken to the NICU unit. The parents described the NICU as something out of a science fiction film with beeping and humming and bright lights and tubes every where.
After a few days the baby was living, then the child blew a hole in its intestine and things began to look grim. The baby's belly turn black and distended. There was a tube put in the belly in order to drain the fecal matter and bile from the child.
No one knew whether the baby was going to make it or not. THe parents were trying to figure out where should they draw the line, at one point was enough enough.
The parents feeling absolutely powerless and helpless decided to read to the child. The Dad began to read Harry Potter: the boy who lived. What dad and mom noticed was that when they would read to the child, instantly the baby's SAT level would increase (oxygen level in the blood, high the level, better for the child); when they would stop reading the SAT would drop. As they kept reading, dad would get into the the parts and change his voice, as he changed his voice, the baby's SAT would react to the change.
He was astonished. It seemed to him that the baby was following, engaged in the story. At this point he came to the recognition what it meant to want to live. They baby's response suggested she wanted to see what would happen next. She was intrigued by the story and her SAT would change with each chapter.
He realized that this was what it meant to want to be alive: to what to see what would happen next.
The baby pulled thorough and is 2 years old.
But i want you to focus on that statement: This is what it means to want to live: to want to see what would happen next.
This is what the Ascension offers us: it empowers us to get busy telling the story so that every one can encounter what will happen next. As JEsus tells the apostles, "you will receive power from on high and be my witnesses."
Each of us will be empowered to tell the story, the story of salvation, how we experience it and how God works in and through us.
We are not simply to look upward but rather get busy with letting the story of salvation be told through our lives, "why are you standing there looking up at the sky?"
Indeed, we can;t just sit around, we need get busy telling the story so that others may see what happens next and then desire to live.
"A man's way through life has been well accomplished, not if he has been successful, become famous, or made a lot of money, but only if he had not failed to reach his eternal goal." Cardinal Schonborn
The Feast of the ascension points us to the way home. JEsus returns to the Father. JEsu sis both sign post and path. St. Augustine mentions that Jesus Ascension isn our way home, "he does not hide himself behind the clouds but he has installed heaven in the hearts of his friends.
We now know what is our aim.
___________________________________
A story:
Recently I was listening to a couple tell the story of their child. They struggled to get pregnant. In fact they tried many means in order to be pregnant. Nothing seemed to work. Until eventually after countless doctor appointments they conceived.
Half way through the pregnancy, something began to happen. Bleeding began to occur and labor began to happen. The mother was taken to the hospital, where her life as well as the life of the child was threatened.
after a few days of drugs, trying to postpone the premature delivery, the doctors could do nothing more.
They informed the couple, they there was a 53% chance the baby would die no matter what they did. They were asking a couple to make a decision on what to do when the child was delivered: when did they want to stop trying.
The reality was that at 23 weeks the viability of the child was not very stable. Full term is 40 weeks.
After discussion with doctors and nurses, the parents decided to let the child decide. If the child came out fighting then they would do what was necessary.
The baby was born and quickly taken to the NICU unit. The parents described the NICU as something out of a science fiction film with beeping and humming and bright lights and tubes every where.
After a few days the baby was living, then the child blew a hole in its intestine and things began to look grim. The baby's belly turn black and distended. There was a tube put in the belly in order to drain the fecal matter and bile from the child.
No one knew whether the baby was going to make it or not. THe parents were trying to figure out where should they draw the line, at one point was enough enough.
The parents feeling absolutely powerless and helpless decided to read to the child. The Dad began to read Harry Potter: the boy who lived. What dad and mom noticed was that when they would read to the child, instantly the baby's SAT level would increase (oxygen level in the blood, high the level, better for the child); when they would stop reading the SAT would drop. As they kept reading, dad would get into the the parts and change his voice, as he changed his voice, the baby's SAT would react to the change.
He was astonished. It seemed to him that the baby was following, engaged in the story. At this point he came to the recognition what it meant to want to live. They baby's response suggested she wanted to see what would happen next. She was intrigued by the story and her SAT would change with each chapter.
He realized that this was what it meant to want to be alive: to what to see what would happen next.
The baby pulled thorough and is 2 years old.
But i want you to focus on that statement: This is what it means to want to live: to want to see what would happen next.
This is what the Ascension offers us: it empowers us to get busy telling the story so that every one can encounter what will happen next. As JEsus tells the apostles, "you will receive power from on high and be my witnesses."
Each of us will be empowered to tell the story, the story of salvation, how we experience it and how God works in and through us.
We are not simply to look upward but rather get busy with letting the story of salvation be told through our lives, "why are you standing there looking up at the sky?"
Indeed, we can;t just sit around, we need get busy telling the story so that others may see what happens next and then desire to live.
sourpuss
Acts 18:23-28; PS 47 God is king of all the earth; John 16:23-28
Yesterday at the morning mass, Pope Francis made the comment that "sourpuss" christians who do not communicate the joy of being loved by God do harm to the witness of the church.
Sourpuss christians....
We find St. Paul doing just the opposite today, "After staying in Antioch some time, Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country and Phrygia, bringing strenght to all the disciples."
He traveled bringing strength to all the disciples.
What about us? What do we bring? What witness do we offer?
JEsus tells us in the gospel, "ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete."
Jesus comes to bring strength to us by giving us his joy and making our joy complete; it is this joy that offers true strength to those we encounter.
We must check the "sour puss" look at home and bear the radiance of Christ.
Yesterday at the morning mass, Pope Francis made the comment that "sourpuss" christians who do not communicate the joy of being loved by God do harm to the witness of the church.
Sourpuss christians....
We find St. Paul doing just the opposite today, "After staying in Antioch some time, Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country and Phrygia, bringing strenght to all the disciples."
He traveled bringing strength to all the disciples.
What about us? What do we bring? What witness do we offer?
JEsus tells us in the gospel, "ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete."
Jesus comes to bring strength to us by giving us his joy and making our joy complete; it is this joy that offers true strength to those we encounter.
We must check the "sour puss" look at home and bear the radiance of Christ.
Friday, May 10, 2013
follow the tracks of the flock
Acts 18:9-18; Ps 47 God is king of all the earth; John 16:20-23
Today we pause to remember Blessed Damien, a belgium priest, who decided he was called to minister to people isolated on a small island in the pacific called Molokai, a leper colony.
He spent a majority of his life being their shepherd. Here are few excerpts form letters he had written back to his homeland while ministering to the people of Molokai.
First letter:
"Here I am in the midst of my dear lepers. They are so frightful to see, it is true, but they have souls redeemed at the price of the precious blood of our Divine Savior. He also in his divine charity consoled lepers. If I can not cure them as he did, at least I can console them and by the holy ministry which in his goodnees he has entrusted to me, I hope that many among them, purified from the leprosy of the soul, will present themselves before his tribunal prepared to enter the communion of the blessed."
They are so frightful to see but they have souls redeemed at the price of the precious blood of our Divine Savior...If I cannot cure them at least i can console them...i hope them many of them, purified from leprosy of the soul, will present themselves before his tribunal prepared to enter the communion of the blessed.
How often we run from those who are not attractive? How often we put distance between ourselves and those who repulse us for whatever reason:social status, hygiene, physical looks, emotional instability? Yet, here Blessed Damien becomes like Christ who reaches out to those who are hideous on the outside yet his eyes penetrate to the interior and his loving gaze focuses on the state of the soul of each he embraces.
BLEssed Damien shows us another way; the way of Christ whose gaze always penetrates the surface of things and goes deeper.
Second letter:
"As you know, it has been already quite a while that Divine Providence chose me to become a victim of this repugnant disease of ours. I hope to remain eternally grateful for this grace. It seems to me that this disease will shorten and narrow the way that will lead me to our dear homeland. In that hope accepted this disease as my particular cross; I try to bear it as did Simon of Cyrene, following in the footsteps of our Divine Master. Please assist me with your good prayers, so as to obtain for me the strength of perseverance, until I reach the summit of Calvary."
it seems to me that this disease will shorten and narrow the way that will lead me to our dear homeland. In that hope I accepted this disease as my particular cross; i try to bear it as did Simon of Cyrene, following the footsteps of our Divine Master.
How often we gripe about sufferings or trials? How often we complain about this injury or that sickness? How many times have we refused to embrace the particular cross God has chosen for us on our journey home?
Rather than carry it, we throw it down and have ourselves a tantrum and begin to pity ourselves.
Blessed Damien sees in his affliction, his suffering and trial, his disease that will disfigure him, an opportunity to embrace the short and narrow path back home: "this disease will shorten and narrow the way."
What a beautiful perspective!
Yet, all he ask for are prayers for strength and perseverance that he may reach the summit.
He doesn't look for a way out. He embraces his cross and merely implores that with assistance of prayer, good prayers, that he might travel on the narrow path laid before him.
Godo prayers are requested.
How often are our prayers superficial and pretty lame? He wants prayers that matter, prayers that do not seek to eliminate the cross but give strength and encouragement while carrying it.
Good prayers that are not self centered, but always turned toward the will of God and our journey home.
Blessed Damien teaches us much. MAy we pray for the strength to follow in his footsteps and thus follow in the steps of Christ.
As The Song of Songs in the OLd Testament remind us, "follow the tracks of the flock" they will lead us to the shepherd.
Today we pause to remember Blessed Damien, a belgium priest, who decided he was called to minister to people isolated on a small island in the pacific called Molokai, a leper colony.
He spent a majority of his life being their shepherd. Here are few excerpts form letters he had written back to his homeland while ministering to the people of Molokai.
First letter:
"Here I am in the midst of my dear lepers. They are so frightful to see, it is true, but they have souls redeemed at the price of the precious blood of our Divine Savior. He also in his divine charity consoled lepers. If I can not cure them as he did, at least I can console them and by the holy ministry which in his goodnees he has entrusted to me, I hope that many among them, purified from the leprosy of the soul, will present themselves before his tribunal prepared to enter the communion of the blessed."
They are so frightful to see but they have souls redeemed at the price of the precious blood of our Divine Savior...If I cannot cure them at least i can console them...i hope them many of them, purified from leprosy of the soul, will present themselves before his tribunal prepared to enter the communion of the blessed.
How often we run from those who are not attractive? How often we put distance between ourselves and those who repulse us for whatever reason:social status, hygiene, physical looks, emotional instability? Yet, here Blessed Damien becomes like Christ who reaches out to those who are hideous on the outside yet his eyes penetrate to the interior and his loving gaze focuses on the state of the soul of each he embraces.
BLEssed Damien shows us another way; the way of Christ whose gaze always penetrates the surface of things and goes deeper.
Second letter:
"As you know, it has been already quite a while that Divine Providence chose me to become a victim of this repugnant disease of ours. I hope to remain eternally grateful for this grace. It seems to me that this disease will shorten and narrow the way that will lead me to our dear homeland. In that hope accepted this disease as my particular cross; I try to bear it as did Simon of Cyrene, following in the footsteps of our Divine Master. Please assist me with your good prayers, so as to obtain for me the strength of perseverance, until I reach the summit of Calvary."
it seems to me that this disease will shorten and narrow the way that will lead me to our dear homeland. In that hope I accepted this disease as my particular cross; i try to bear it as did Simon of Cyrene, following the footsteps of our Divine Master.
How often we gripe about sufferings or trials? How often we complain about this injury or that sickness? How many times have we refused to embrace the particular cross God has chosen for us on our journey home?
Rather than carry it, we throw it down and have ourselves a tantrum and begin to pity ourselves.
Blessed Damien sees in his affliction, his suffering and trial, his disease that will disfigure him, an opportunity to embrace the short and narrow path back home: "this disease will shorten and narrow the way."
What a beautiful perspective!
Yet, all he ask for are prayers for strength and perseverance that he may reach the summit.
He doesn't look for a way out. He embraces his cross and merely implores that with assistance of prayer, good prayers, that he might travel on the narrow path laid before him.
Godo prayers are requested.
How often are our prayers superficial and pretty lame? He wants prayers that matter, prayers that do not seek to eliminate the cross but give strength and encouragement while carrying it.
Good prayers that are not self centered, but always turned toward the will of God and our journey home.
Blessed Damien teaches us much. MAy we pray for the strength to follow in his footsteps and thus follow in the steps of Christ.
As The Song of Songs in the OLd Testament remind us, "follow the tracks of the flock" they will lead us to the shepherd.
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