1 corinthians 1:17-25; Ps 33 The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord; Mt 25:1-13
Shakespeare in one of his plays has this to say, "Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends."
Defer not time, delays have dangerous ends.
Jesus puts it this way,
"the foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, 'Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise replied, 'No. for there may not be enough for you and us.'
While the foolish ones went off to but oil, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. The door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' But he said in reply, Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.'
Therefore stay awake, for you know neither the day nor hour."
Often times I hear people speak in regards to this particular passage and condemn procrastination. Now, my ears often prick up since I can procrastinate with the best of them.
But I disagree. This is not about procrastination, rather this is about the inability to plan ahead.
How often we trust our own judgment more than we should?
I often wonder about the 5 foolish virgins. When they arrived at the site of waiting for the bridegroom and they noticed the other virgins with extra oil, what were they thinking.
Perhaps they were snickering. Perhaps they were blowing it off as being overly prepared. Perhaps they trusted their own judgment a little too much. Maybe they thought the other virgins with the extra oil looked a little foolish.
I wonder what would have happened if they would have asked, "Do yo think he might be delayed?" "I wonder if I a have enough oil?"
What if they would have trusted the judgment of the other five who seemed to anticipate delay.
The wise virgins may have looked foolish but in the end the feast was theirs.
I wonder about us sometimes, we who follow Christ. I wonder about our judgment. How many people snicker at us because we go to church on Sunday, because we don't move in with the person we are dating but wait until marriage, we don't use contraception in our marital unions but practice discipline, we stand up for life in the womb, we dress modestly, we practice celibacy as priest, we have monogamous relationships with our spouses.
To the world we look foolish. We are snickered at. But I wonder what they will say in the end when the bridegroom arrives and our wicks are trimmed and lamps are shining, what then will they say.
Just a thought for today.
One of the greatest delays we experience is the delay in asking questions. How often we do not want to look the fool so we play it cool and pretend we know what we are doing?
A simple question and little seeking advice might not have been a bad way to go for the foolish virgins.
The thing about being foolish is it can always be corrected.
Defer not time, delays have dangerous ends.
The words of St. Paul, "but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the JEws and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Gentiles alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of GOd is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of GOd is stronger than human strength."
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
St fiacre
1 Corinthians 1:1-9; ps 145 I will praise your name forever; Mt 24:42-51
Jesus says to his disciples, "Stay Awake!". You do not know the day your Lord will come.
Urgency. this is the necessary quality of the Christian life.
How often are we complacent!
How often do we find ourselves thinking or even saying we always have tomorrow?
Urgency and attentiveness to details for the day that is given is necessary for us.
Sometimes we don't have tomorrow. There will be a moment in which today will be the only day left. should we gamble on tomorrow or truly make today count for all of its worth; it is worth all for us who have been given this day to rise.
there are some of us who did not make it to today. Through the night our fellow human beings were called back and it could have been us.
Perhaps this is why the saints would often meditate on death. This is why we often see depicted next to a painting of a saint a skull.
Urgency is what the saints teach us. today is a gift that may not be given tomorrow.
Stay awake, be attentive.
st fiacre pray for us.
Jesus says to his disciples, "Stay Awake!". You do not know the day your Lord will come.
Urgency. this is the necessary quality of the Christian life.
How often are we complacent!
How often do we find ourselves thinking or even saying we always have tomorrow?
Urgency and attentiveness to details for the day that is given is necessary for us.
Sometimes we don't have tomorrow. There will be a moment in which today will be the only day left. should we gamble on tomorrow or truly make today count for all of its worth; it is worth all for us who have been given this day to rise.
there are some of us who did not make it to today. Through the night our fellow human beings were called back and it could have been us.
Perhaps this is why the saints would often meditate on death. This is why we often see depicted next to a painting of a saint a skull.
Urgency is what the saints teach us. today is a gift that may not be given tomorrow.
Stay awake, be attentive.
st fiacre pray for us.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Doctor of grace
2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; Ps 96 The Lord comes to judge the earth; Mt 23:23-26
Today is the feast of St Augustine. He lived mostly in the 4th and 5th century. HE was raised by a devout mother and given a christian education, only to give in to the excess of his age and time.
Given over to his passion his moral life degenerated.
His mother prayed and wept for him continuously. When going to a bishop to seek consolation over her sons, the bishop responded to Augustine mother in these words, "a son of so many tears would never be lost."
In his conversion he became a great leader of the soul and bishop in the church. He is considered the doctor of grace.
Here are few of his insights:
Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.
God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.
It is pride that changed angels into devils. It is humility that makes men into angels.
God had one son on earth without sin; never one without suffering.
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Love is the beauty of the soul.
Look upon the altar, see what you and receive what you shall become.
Today is the feast of St Augustine. He lived mostly in the 4th and 5th century. HE was raised by a devout mother and given a christian education, only to give in to the excess of his age and time.
Given over to his passion his moral life degenerated.
His mother prayed and wept for him continuously. When going to a bishop to seek consolation over her sons, the bishop responded to Augustine mother in these words, "a son of so many tears would never be lost."
In his conversion he became a great leader of the soul and bishop in the church. He is considered the doctor of grace.
Here are few of his insights:
Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.
God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.
It is pride that changed angels into devils. It is humility that makes men into angels.
God had one son on earth without sin; never one without suffering.
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Love is the beauty of the soul.
Look upon the altar, see what you and receive what you shall become.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
promise keeper
Joshua 24:1-18; Ps 34 Taste and see the goodness of the Lord; Ephesians 5:21-32; John 6:60-69
I have been thinking over the past week or so about what makes the world go around. What sustains us and holds us together? What makes it possible for us to coexist?
My mind has kept coming back to one reality: the ability to make a promise and keep a promise.
Making and keeping promises is at the heart of every human relation from marriage and friendship to our economy and political life.
We ask judges swear an oath to guard the justice. We ask Politicians to up hold the constitution. We ask doctors to make an oath to first do no harm. Our soldiers make oath to protect the country. We ask couples to promise to be true no matter the circumstance. As a priest I was asked to be celibate and to pray for the people of God.
Our world is balanced on promises made and kept. Harmony rest on the power of the word spoken.
To make a promise is to lift oneself above the change ability of time. I say now what I will do tomorrow for no other reason than because I said it.
It is this that creates an environment that is reliable and where reliability lives so does love and the willingness to give oneself and thus become vulnerable.
Nothing disrupts human coexistence more than breaking a promise or being unfaithful to a pledge, going back on one's word.
Harmony is brought about by promises made and promises kept.
This reality is at the very heart of the first reading for this weekend. Joshua gathers the people together at Shechem and asks them to choose who they will serve: The Lord God or other gods.
Unfortunately our english translation loses a bit of the importance of what Joshua is saying. Joshua is using two distinct words in hebrew for "god." As you read the text and you come across the word "god" in lower case, the hebrew is Elohim. When you come across the word "LORD God" then that herbrew word is YHWH, the tetragram that is the very name of God himself.
Elohim is a word used to describe a generic god with no name. Where as YHWH is reserved for the God's own revelation of his name to Moses in the burning bush. YHWH means "I am who am or I prove to be who I prove to be."
At the burning bush God reveals is personal name to Moses as the God of Abraham, ISaac, JAcob. God was no longer bound to a particular place but rather he now binds himself to a particular people. The destiny of a people now sits firmly on the shoulders of God himself.
IT was this God who saw the affliction of his people, who heard their cries, who would rescue them, who would send Moses and would be with him every step of the way.
When YHWH reveals his name in the same moment he invokes a promise to bind himself to the destiny of these people forever. He surrenders his name so that he might engender trust and thus create a relationship of reliability.
God, YHWH, the one who is, would be true, be near, would not waver.
As Joshua gathers the people in Shechem, instantly the people would recall that is was in that very spot that Abraham had built an altar to God (Genesis 12:7) and it was there that God revealed to Abraham that this land would be given to his descendants.
These very descendants were now gathered in that very place destined to be theirs 400 years earlier by God himself.
God indeed had proven to be who he said he was. God's word and promise were the same.
God had made a promise and kept it. This is why the people are so eager to voice their loyalty to him, YHWH and not the other gods, elohim.
Harmony in the spiritual realm also revolves around promises made and kept. God keeps his promises.
His word is true and reliable.
This is what Peter realizes int he gospel when he saids those words, "Lord whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced you are the Holy One of God."
The doctrine of the Eucharist, the real presence of Christ in the consecrated bread and wine is trustworthy and reliable because of the word of Him who makes it so.
Peter understood this.
The one who claims to give his flesh for the life of the world. The who tells us unless we eat the flesh and drink the blood we will have no life within us. The one who tells us his flesh is true food and blood true drink, this is the one whose words are eternal life.
The promise is given and kept every time we celebrate the Eucharist and gather at the table. We remember that though our word may waiver, his word is true and reliable.
I have been thinking over the past week or so about what makes the world go around. What sustains us and holds us together? What makes it possible for us to coexist?
My mind has kept coming back to one reality: the ability to make a promise and keep a promise.
Making and keeping promises is at the heart of every human relation from marriage and friendship to our economy and political life.
We ask judges swear an oath to guard the justice. We ask Politicians to up hold the constitution. We ask doctors to make an oath to first do no harm. Our soldiers make oath to protect the country. We ask couples to promise to be true no matter the circumstance. As a priest I was asked to be celibate and to pray for the people of God.
Our world is balanced on promises made and kept. Harmony rest on the power of the word spoken.
To make a promise is to lift oneself above the change ability of time. I say now what I will do tomorrow for no other reason than because I said it.
It is this that creates an environment that is reliable and where reliability lives so does love and the willingness to give oneself and thus become vulnerable.
Nothing disrupts human coexistence more than breaking a promise or being unfaithful to a pledge, going back on one's word.
Harmony is brought about by promises made and promises kept.
This reality is at the very heart of the first reading for this weekend. Joshua gathers the people together at Shechem and asks them to choose who they will serve: The Lord God or other gods.
Unfortunately our english translation loses a bit of the importance of what Joshua is saying. Joshua is using two distinct words in hebrew for "god." As you read the text and you come across the word "god" in lower case, the hebrew is Elohim. When you come across the word "LORD God" then that herbrew word is YHWH, the tetragram that is the very name of God himself.
Elohim is a word used to describe a generic god with no name. Where as YHWH is reserved for the God's own revelation of his name to Moses in the burning bush. YHWH means "I am who am or I prove to be who I prove to be."
At the burning bush God reveals is personal name to Moses as the God of Abraham, ISaac, JAcob. God was no longer bound to a particular place but rather he now binds himself to a particular people. The destiny of a people now sits firmly on the shoulders of God himself.
IT was this God who saw the affliction of his people, who heard their cries, who would rescue them, who would send Moses and would be with him every step of the way.
When YHWH reveals his name in the same moment he invokes a promise to bind himself to the destiny of these people forever. He surrenders his name so that he might engender trust and thus create a relationship of reliability.
God, YHWH, the one who is, would be true, be near, would not waver.
As Joshua gathers the people in Shechem, instantly the people would recall that is was in that very spot that Abraham had built an altar to God (Genesis 12:7) and it was there that God revealed to Abraham that this land would be given to his descendants.
These very descendants were now gathered in that very place destined to be theirs 400 years earlier by God himself.
God indeed had proven to be who he said he was. God's word and promise were the same.
God had made a promise and kept it. This is why the people are so eager to voice their loyalty to him, YHWH and not the other gods, elohim.
Harmony in the spiritual realm also revolves around promises made and kept. God keeps his promises.
His word is true and reliable.
This is what Peter realizes int he gospel when he saids those words, "Lord whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced you are the Holy One of God."
The doctrine of the Eucharist, the real presence of Christ in the consecrated bread and wine is trustworthy and reliable because of the word of Him who makes it so.
Peter understood this.
The one who claims to give his flesh for the life of the world. The who tells us unless we eat the flesh and drink the blood we will have no life within us. The one who tells us his flesh is true food and blood true drink, this is the one whose words are eternal life.
The promise is given and kept every time we celebrate the Eucharist and gather at the table. We remember that though our word may waiver, his word is true and reliable.
Friday, August 24, 2012
borrowed time
Rev 21:9-14; Ps 145 Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom; John 1:45-51
A poem
Debtors by jim harrison
A poem
Debtors by jim harrison
They used to say we're living on borrowed
time but even when young I wondered
who loaned it to us? In 1948 one grandpa
died stretched tight in a misty oxygen tent,
his four sons gathered, his papery hand
grasping mine. Only a week before, we were fishing.
Now the four sons have all run out of borrowed time
while I'm alive wondering whom I owe
for this indisputable gift of existence.
Of course time is running out. It always
has been a creek heading east, the freight
of water with its surprising heaviness
following the slant of the land, its destiny.
What is lovelier than a creek or riverine thicket?
Say it is an unknown benefactor who gave us
birds and Mozart, the mystery of trees and water
and all living things borrowing time.
time but even when young I wondered
who loaned it to us? In 1948 one grandpa
died stretched tight in a misty oxygen tent,
his four sons gathered, his papery hand
grasping mine. Only a week before, we were fishing.
Now the four sons have all run out of borrowed time
while I'm alive wondering whom I owe
for this indisputable gift of existence.
Of course time is running out. It always
has been a creek heading east, the freight
of water with its surprising heaviness
following the slant of the land, its destiny.
What is lovelier than a creek or riverine thicket?
Say it is an unknown benefactor who gave us
birds and Mozart, the mystery of trees and water
and all living things borrowing time.
Would I still love the creek if I lasted forever?
Borrowed time we say we all are living.
The first reading today reminds us of the destiny that awaits when time gives way to eternity. There will no more time.
St. John describes the descent of the bride of the lamb, "He took me in spirit to a great high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like the of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal. It has a massive high wall, with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed an don which was inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel...the wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundations, on which were inscribed the twelve Apostles of the lamb."
Heaven is a bustling city filled with life teaming and diverse.
Many say that when they arrive in heaven they will have questions for God. I know have put a way few for the journey so that when I arrive i too may stand i line with my bag of questions waiting for the answers.
I am sure we all have questions, one or two or more.
But what of the questions God will ask? But what of the questions God has in store for us?
Rather than thinking about our questions and the answers we will be wanting to get our hands and mind around, perhaps we should begin to think of the questions God's gaze will ask us in the silence uproar of love that waits.
He might ask, "why did not love your neighbor?" "Why did you not forgive?" Was your cross any different than my son's?" "Why did you reject my church?" "You say you were spiritual and not religious, what does that mean anyway?" "So, life doesn't begin at conception, really?" "Where were you when I was in prison, or sick, or lonely, o hungry, or thirsty...?
These are the questions we should ponder while we have this borrowed time!
"Let us love God, but with the strength of our arms, in the sweat of our brow." St. Vincent de Paul
Thursday, August 23, 2012
refusal
Mt 22:1-14
In today's gospel we hear the parable of the wedding feast. A banquet is prepared and yet the guest refuse to come. The king invites whomever they find.
An open invitation to the "good and bad" alike. The hall is filled with the lowest and meanest and brightest and best. All are united.
The king arrives to inspect the guest and he spies one who is not dressed for the occasion.
What begins as a party and a banquet of celebration turns into a judgment scene.
The king has an eye for the one who does not belong.
What always moves me about this parable is the address of the King to the guest who does not have a wedding garment, "My friend how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?"
There is a presupposition that a wedding garment was either offered and refused or the man's own hard heart refused to dress up for the occasion knowing full well the importance of the feast.
Either way the silence of the man speaks volumes. In a moment of a glance, the man's soul was laid bare and was found wanting.
What is striking is that the king does not talk down to him. He addresses him as friend. The invitation itself should inspire the man to change his heart and to seek forgiveness, to beg for pardon and yet he remains like stone, hard in his pride and obstinate in his determination to be his own man, choose his own way.
Simple humility perhaps could have changed everything. A simple apology or request for mercy could have been the difference between feasting, drinking, laughing and wailing and grinding of teeth.
A few words from the Pope
"God has made himself visible; in Jesus we are able to see the Father...he encounters us anew, in the men and women who reflect his presence, in his word, in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. In the church's liturgy, in her prayer, in the living community of believers, we experience the love of God, we perceive his presence, and we thus learn to recognize that presence in our daily lives..."
In today's gospel we hear the parable of the wedding feast. A banquet is prepared and yet the guest refuse to come. The king invites whomever they find.
An open invitation to the "good and bad" alike. The hall is filled with the lowest and meanest and brightest and best. All are united.
The king arrives to inspect the guest and he spies one who is not dressed for the occasion.
What begins as a party and a banquet of celebration turns into a judgment scene.
The king has an eye for the one who does not belong.
What always moves me about this parable is the address of the King to the guest who does not have a wedding garment, "My friend how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?"
There is a presupposition that a wedding garment was either offered and refused or the man's own hard heart refused to dress up for the occasion knowing full well the importance of the feast.
Either way the silence of the man speaks volumes. In a moment of a glance, the man's soul was laid bare and was found wanting.
What is striking is that the king does not talk down to him. He addresses him as friend. The invitation itself should inspire the man to change his heart and to seek forgiveness, to beg for pardon and yet he remains like stone, hard in his pride and obstinate in his determination to be his own man, choose his own way.
Simple humility perhaps could have changed everything. A simple apology or request for mercy could have been the difference between feasting, drinking, laughing and wailing and grinding of teeth.
A few words from the Pope
"God has made himself visible; in Jesus we are able to see the Father...he encounters us anew, in the men and women who reflect his presence, in his word, in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. In the church's liturgy, in her prayer, in the living community of believers, we experience the love of God, we perceive his presence, and we thus learn to recognize that presence in our daily lives..."
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Her royal highness
Ezekiel 34:1-11; PS 23 THe Lord is my Shepherd there is nothing I shall want; Mt 20:1-16
Today we look upon Mary, the mother of God, an donor here as Queen of Heaven.
Of all the title fit for a queen in the earthly realm, her royal highness, is by far the most fitting.
Last wednesday we celebrated the Assumption of Mary body and soul in to heaven and this wednesday, we acknowledge arrayed in the glory of God bestowed upon her for role in salvation history.
Her Royal Highness indeed.
The Queen Mother now reigns with her Son.
Here is a tidbit from Pius IX, "More than all the angels and all the saints has God ineffable freely endowed Mary with the fullness of the heavenly gifts that abound in the divine treasury; and she, preserving herself ever immaculately clean from the slightest taint of sin, attained a fullness of innocence and holiness so great as to be unthinkable apart from God Himself, a fullness that no one other than God will ever possess."
Here is a bit from the Pius XII instituting the feast of the Queenship of Mary in 1954,
"From early times Christians have believed, and not without reason, that she of whom was born the Son of the Most High received privileges of grace above all other beings created by God. He "will reign in the house of Jacob forever,"[5] "the Prince of Peace,"[6] the "King of Kings and Lord of Lords."[7] And when Christians reflected upon the intimate connection that obtains between a mother and a son, they readily acknowledged the supreme royal dignity of the Mother of God.
Often times Mary is depicted with the Child JEsus in her arms. She holds the one who bestows blessing and thus she becomes a blessing as well.
Today we look upon Mary, the mother of God, an donor here as Queen of Heaven.
Of all the title fit for a queen in the earthly realm, her royal highness, is by far the most fitting.
Last wednesday we celebrated the Assumption of Mary body and soul in to heaven and this wednesday, we acknowledge arrayed in the glory of God bestowed upon her for role in salvation history.
Her Royal Highness indeed.
The Queen Mother now reigns with her Son.
Here is a tidbit from Pius IX, "More than all the angels and all the saints has God ineffable freely endowed Mary with the fullness of the heavenly gifts that abound in the divine treasury; and she, preserving herself ever immaculately clean from the slightest taint of sin, attained a fullness of innocence and holiness so great as to be unthinkable apart from God Himself, a fullness that no one other than God will ever possess."
Here is a bit from the Pius XII instituting the feast of the Queenship of Mary in 1954,
"From early times Christians have believed, and not without reason, that she of whom was born the Son of the Most High received privileges of grace above all other beings created by God. He "will reign in the house of Jacob forever,"[5] "the Prince of Peace,"[6] the "King of Kings and Lord of Lords."[7] And when Christians reflected upon the intimate connection that obtains between a mother and a son, they readily acknowledged the supreme royal dignity of the Mother of God.
Hence it is not surprising that the early writers of the Church called Mary "the Mother of the King" and "the Mother of the Lord," basing their stand on the words of St. Gabriel the archangel, who foretold that the Son of Mary would reign forever,[8] and on the words of Elizabeth who greeted her with reverence and called her "the Mother of my Lord."[9] Thereby they clearly signified that she derived a certain eminence and exalted station from the royal dignity of her Son....
Certainly, in the full and strict meaning of the term, only Jesus Christ, the God-Man, is King; but Mary, too, as Mother of the divine Christ, as His associate in the redemption, in his struggle with His enemies and His final victory over them, has a share, though in a limited and analogous way, in His royal dignity. For from her union with Christ she attains a radiant eminence transcending that of any other creature; from her union with Christ she receives the royal right to dispose of the treasures of the Divine Redeemer's Kingdom; from her union with Christ finally is derived the inexhaustible efficacy of her maternal intercession before the Son and His Father."
MAry stands ready to intercede of us as we honor her, giving her what is due.
IF she is the mother of Christ the King, and we are children of God through Christ, then she stands as the Queen Mother of all creation for in Christ all things were made.
The power afforded Mary is none other than that of service. With her response to the Angel, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thou word" MAry sets the theme of her life as one of service to God and creation.
Her power is Goodness because her power is service and here in lies her royal dignity.
Often times Mary is depicted with the Child JEsus in her arms. She holds the one who bestows blessing and thus she becomes a blessing as well.
May we follow Her royal highness's lead.
largeness of being small
Jesus said, "it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. it is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than of done who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
The disciples, "Who then can be saved?"
JEsus, "For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."
We can't buy salvation.
But we can receive it as a gift and to receive a gift we must become small.
Smallness is necessary to realize just how big this gift is that is offered.
Jesus invites us to become small in our own estimation so that we can truly embrace the largeness of our worth in his estimation.
The ultimate question isn't how we esteem ourselves but rather do we truly get God's estimation of us.
For the rich the world has become small for everything is at their fingertips. But this can never do.
The one who think he holds the world in his/her hands no longer needs the assistance of the creator's hands.
This is why Ezekiel in the first reading condemns haughtiness.
This is why I love being around the children at school. To them, everything is big. When i walk into the room with my lanky 6 ft 3 frame, they all look up and go he is tall.
Of course if I were to walk on the NBA court every one would do just the opposite and say what is that short dude doing out there.
To a child, they see the largeness of life.
Before God, we must practice bing small so we can stand tall and erect and ride the camel through the eye of the needle.
The disciples, "Who then can be saved?"
JEsus, "For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."
We can't buy salvation.
But we can receive it as a gift and to receive a gift we must become small.
Smallness is necessary to realize just how big this gift is that is offered.
Jesus invites us to become small in our own estimation so that we can truly embrace the largeness of our worth in his estimation.
The ultimate question isn't how we esteem ourselves but rather do we truly get God's estimation of us.
For the rich the world has become small for everything is at their fingertips. But this can never do.
The one who think he holds the world in his/her hands no longer needs the assistance of the creator's hands.
This is why Ezekiel in the first reading condemns haughtiness.
This is why I love being around the children at school. To them, everything is big. When i walk into the room with my lanky 6 ft 3 frame, they all look up and go he is tall.
Of course if I were to walk on the NBA court every one would do just the opposite and say what is that short dude doing out there.
To a child, they see the largeness of life.
Before God, we must practice bing small so we can stand tall and erect and ride the camel through the eye of the needle.
Monday, August 20, 2012
St Bernard the man not the dog
Ezekiel 24:15-23; Dt 32 YOu have forgotten God who gave yo birth; Mt 19:16-22
"A young man approached JEsus and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"
Now here is the question of all questions.
We spend our life asking many futile questions. We worry about many things and anxiety fills our life day in and day put about questions about the future and what life may hold or how we may move through life that lies ahead.
When is the last time we asked questions that truly matter.
This young man certainly knew how to get to the heart of the matter. Do we?
IT is a rabbi who put it best, "the questions we ask are just as important as the answers we seek."
The rabbi often said that he would pray for the strength to ask God the real questions.
"What good must I do to gain eternal life."
As important a question as this in our life, the answer Jesus gives is just as important, "If you wish to be perfect, go sell what yo have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me."
Many of us are fine with being mediocre. Many of us are fine with just getting by and getting on with life. But this is not what JEsus expects nor commands.
What matters most in the answer is the last statement, "then come follow me."
Only in following Christ will we garner the strength to do as he did, to give it all away.
What do you hold on to in life; what do you cling to in life, what do you refuse to let go in order to move forward in following Christ?
Possessions posses and often hold us hostage.
How often have I have heard people make decisions about their life or their family size because they are afraid they may not be able to have everything they want in life.
How sad it is when we will trade things for the treasure that last.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Bernard. Here are a few of his words to get us moving int he direction of Christ,
"Love is sufficient of itself, it gives pleasure by itself and because of itself. It is its own merit, its own reward. Love looks for no cause outside of itself, no effect beyond itself. Its profit lies in its practice. I love because I love, I love that I may love. Love is a great thing so long as it continually returns to its fountain head, flows back to its source, always drawing from the water which constantly replenishes it....it is true that the creature loves less because she is lee. But if she loves with her whole being, nothing is lacking where everything is given."
Is this not what Jesus invites us to when he invites us to leave it all behind, to love with our whole being and thus nothing will be lacking.
"A young man approached JEsus and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"
Now here is the question of all questions.
We spend our life asking many futile questions. We worry about many things and anxiety fills our life day in and day put about questions about the future and what life may hold or how we may move through life that lies ahead.
When is the last time we asked questions that truly matter.
This young man certainly knew how to get to the heart of the matter. Do we?
IT is a rabbi who put it best, "the questions we ask are just as important as the answers we seek."
The rabbi often said that he would pray for the strength to ask God the real questions.
"What good must I do to gain eternal life."
As important a question as this in our life, the answer Jesus gives is just as important, "If you wish to be perfect, go sell what yo have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me."
Many of us are fine with being mediocre. Many of us are fine with just getting by and getting on with life. But this is not what JEsus expects nor commands.
What matters most in the answer is the last statement, "then come follow me."
Only in following Christ will we garner the strength to do as he did, to give it all away.
What do you hold on to in life; what do you cling to in life, what do you refuse to let go in order to move forward in following Christ?
Possessions posses and often hold us hostage.
How often have I have heard people make decisions about their life or their family size because they are afraid they may not be able to have everything they want in life.
How sad it is when we will trade things for the treasure that last.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Bernard. Here are a few of his words to get us moving int he direction of Christ,
"Love is sufficient of itself, it gives pleasure by itself and because of itself. It is its own merit, its own reward. Love looks for no cause outside of itself, no effect beyond itself. Its profit lies in its practice. I love because I love, I love that I may love. Love is a great thing so long as it continually returns to its fountain head, flows back to its source, always drawing from the water which constantly replenishes it....it is true that the creature loves less because she is lee. But if she loves with her whole being, nothing is lacking where everything is given."
Is this not what Jesus invites us to when he invites us to leave it all behind, to love with our whole being and thus nothing will be lacking.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
no mere mortals
Proverbs 9:1-6; Ps 34 taste and see the goodness of the Lord; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58
THese are the words from St. Paul this weekend, "watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord..."
Be alert and attentive to your surroundings. Take notice as to what is happening. How do you participate fully in life? Are yo engaged or disengaged with the people you meet on a regular basis?
Here is a few words from C.S. Lewis. Ponder them in light of St. Paul's exhortation
THese are the words from St. Paul this weekend, "watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord..."
Be alert and attentive to your surroundings. Take notice as to what is happening. How do you participate fully in life? Are yo engaged or disengaged with the people you meet on a regular basis?
Here is a few words from C.S. Lewis. Ponder them in light of St. Paul's exhortation
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may, one day, be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities [indeed one or the other is an eventuality], it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another… all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.
There are no “ordinary” people.
You have never talked to a mere mortal.
Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.
This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind), which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.
And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling {that is, heartbreak} for the sins, in spite of which, we love the sinner—no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love, as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to {God Himself}, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ “vere latitat”(truly hidden)—the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden."
watch carefully how yo live, making the most of the opportunity!
Friday, August 17, 2012
Mary the greatest olympian
Rev 11:19-12:6; ps the queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold; 1 Corinthians 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56
There has been a lot of debate over the past few weeks as to who is the greatest Olympic champion or the greatest Olympian of all times.
The names of phelps and bolt were mentioned along with the dynamic duo of beach volleyball. There seems to arise this constant chattering every fours years or so when the international community gets together to show off it athletic prowess so that they may boast before the world.
Well the church likes to show off as well. Throughout the year we boast of God's grace alive in the hearts of men and women through the ages. Before the international community the spiritual olympians rise to the front and there is none greater than the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ.
On the feast of the assumption we acknowledge her renown; she is the one whose yes and who's surrender to God's invitation brought forth redemption in Christ.
Mary's assumption reminds us that the willingness to follow God no matter where he leads is not in vain but rather ends in glory:body and soul in heaven united to God himself.
We boast of the marvels of grace as we honor the mother of Christ. What else is there to boast!
There has been a lot of debate over the past few weeks as to who is the greatest Olympic champion or the greatest Olympian of all times.
The names of phelps and bolt were mentioned along with the dynamic duo of beach volleyball. There seems to arise this constant chattering every fours years or so when the international community gets together to show off it athletic prowess so that they may boast before the world.
Well the church likes to show off as well. Throughout the year we boast of God's grace alive in the hearts of men and women through the ages. Before the international community the spiritual olympians rise to the front and there is none greater than the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ.
On the feast of the assumption we acknowledge her renown; she is the one whose yes and who's surrender to God's invitation brought forth redemption in Christ.
Mary's assumption reminds us that the willingness to follow God no matter where he leads is not in vain but rather ends in glory:body and soul in heaven united to God himself.
We boast of the marvels of grace as we honor the mother of Christ. What else is there to boast!
Friday, August 10, 2012
cheerful giver: written on your face
Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, a deacon in the early church.
In early August 258, the emperor Valerian issued an edict that order all bishops, priests, and deacons to be immediately executed. On the 6th of August, Pope Sixtus II was executed in the catacombs. Three days later, St. Lawrence, the last of seven deacons, was executed.
Now, when we look at the martyrs, most of the time we focus on the manner they were killed. Some were beheaded, some were crucified up side down, some were skinned alive, some were staked to death, some were shot with arrows, some we burned, and St. Lawrence was basically grilled up a gridiron.
When approaching the witness of the martyr we must remember that it isn't important how they died but rather how they die that speaks volumes that is what is their attitude when they breathed their last.
The manner of their physical death is a small detail, it is how they embrace it that speaks the truth of their witness.
when we look at those martyred for the faith, there is one thing they all have in common: they were all cheerful givers. Each of them cheerfully gave their life.
The were cheerfully disposed to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Joy emanates from every saint and it is an essential characteristic of those who follow Jesus.
Mother Teresa when she would meet a prospective sister, she would always check to see if they had a cheerful disposition. In fact, to be cheerful, was the fourth vow the sisters would take when they become a Sister of charity for as St. Paul says, "God loves a cheerful giver."
A cheerful giver is a great giver. Mother Teresa would exhort her sisters with these words, "Let us greet each other with a smile, for a smile is the beginning of love."
We must embrace the difficulties of life with a smile, not one that is fake, but one that truly understands the depth of reality; God takes delight in the death of his faithful, the death to self and life on high in Christ.
cheerfulness is a power of the will. It has its origin never in the circumstances of life but always in the deep understanding of God's love for all, "For the Lord takes delight in his people," (Psalm 149)
The root of the word "cheer" comes from the Latin "face" and the greek "head"; thus, the deep joy of faith is written all over the face.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Teresa benedicta of the cross
Let us live in the light knowing that the light of heaven's love has restored us to life
"To suffer and to be happy although suffering,
to have one's feet on the earth,
To walk on the dirty and rough paths of this earth and yet
To be enthroned with Christ at the Father's right hand,
To laugh and cry with the children of this world
And ceaselessly sing the praises of God with the choirs of angels
This is the life of the Christian until the morning of eternity breaks forth."- E.S.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
st dominic
Jeremiah 31:1-7; The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock; Mt 15:21-28
Here are a few words from St. Dominic whose feast we celebrate today
Arm yourself with prayer rather than a sword;
wear humility rather than fine clothes."
wear humility rather than fine clothes."
"I kept on digging the hole deeper and deeper looking for the treasure chest until I finally lifted my head, looked up and realized that I had dug my own grave."
A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.
A few did bits about Dominic:
1)He spoke only when needed. In fact he lived out the words of St. Paul, "say only the good things men need to hear."
Now, that takes discipline and great devotion of faith to practice our tongue in such a manner.
2) He always carried the gospel of matthew so that the words of Christ would be ready at hand.
Think about the many things we carry with us when we leave the house. Think about how much stuff is in a purse or wallet: lip stick, make up, money, chains and bracelets and rings and other unmentionables. Think about all that we carry in our vehicles.
Do we create space for a bible or a copy of the new testament or even just a copy of one of the gospels. Today with these new smart phones, there are apps for the bible. PErhaps we can follow St. Dominic's lead and in our down time rather than turning on the radio or watching TV we can open the bible a read a little each day so that the word of God and the lessons of Christ are always ready at hand.
3)He also helped spread the devotion to the rosary. He his honored at the one who spurred the devotion to meditating on the life of Christ through the beads. How often our life would benefit form a simple pause in our routine to think on the life of Christ. How often would others benefit if they read the life of CHrist written in our life.
We can follow in his footsteps and thus grow our spiritual lives in such a manner that we too might be enrolled in the call of saints.
Saint Dominic pray for us
Monday, August 6, 2012
Transfiguration
Rev 21. For the glory of God is its light...
this is how St John describes heaven in the book of Revelation, the glory of God gives it light.
think about that in light of the feast of the transfiguration when Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain and reveals his majesty, all glowing in light.
the glory of God gives it light.
think about your own life. How do you allow the glory of God to give light through you.
this is how St John describes heaven in the book of Revelation, the glory of God gives it light.
think about that in light of the feast of the transfiguration when Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain and reveals his majesty, all glowing in light.
the glory of God gives it light.
think about your own life. How do you allow the glory of God to give light through you.
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