friend

Sirach 6:5-17; Mark 10:1-12

Today's first reading is truly a beautiful portrait of what a friend is suppose to be.

The writer really paints a particular impressive picture of friendship.

"a faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds finds a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum canbalance his worth. a faithful friend is a lfe saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds; for he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself."


Wow!

What is even more amazing is that this reading is coupled with Jesus' discourse on marriage, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Therefore what God has joined let no man separate."

Marriage and friendship go hand in hand. In fact, couples who drift apart lose sight of their friendship; they lose sight of what they have in each other.

They forget the bond of friendship welded by the grace of God. They let everything trump the gift of each other to themselves. They get busy being parents or being wife and husband or they try to make each other like the other or they seek to change the other and forget that it was their differences as well as their similiaities that enabled the bond of friendship to form.

They forget they are called to be a sturdy shelter, a life savig remedy for one another.

closer look at friendship.

Most languages have words for "friend" such as the following, amigo in spanish, rafiki in swahili, droog in Russian, tomodachi in japanese, homey, chum, mate and the list goes on.

In greek the word achates is used for friend and it literally means Armor-bearer. The one who goes before the other and protects and prepares the way.

Think about that. How many of us, who are friends, consider ourselves the armor-bearer or protector of the other. Certainly we are companions but yet we are so much more.

No wonder Jesus on the night he dies looks at his disicples and says I no longer call you servants but friends. He is the one who goes before us protecting us and freeing us moursleves with the gift of his self on the cross.

Friendship is the one bond that remains eternal.
Pray to be a good friend, one that fears God and is faithful. More friends like this will slowly change the world for the better.

Hagah or mental floss

Sirach 5:1-8; Psalm 1 Blessed are they who hope in the Lord; Mark 9:41-50

We read from the very first Psalm today in the response. It is a beautiful psalm that details the path of the righteous and the path of the wicked.

It is like the famous quote from Frost, about two paths diverging in the roads and he chose the one less traveled.

Certainly this could be said of the path of righteousness and the path of the wicked.

The popular path, the one that is well traveled is certainly not the path of righteousness though it is gaining ground.
So let us look at this beautiful psalm that is the gateway to the psalter.

One thing to note is that Psalm one begins with an invitation to obedience, in following the path of God and if we do this faithfully and daily then we embark on a journey that gradually turns into a journey of praise. Gradually the psalter itself moves from an invitation to obedience in Psalm 1 toward an invitation to full praise in Psalm 150.

Obedience leads to praise, unadulterated praise of God. IT is certainly the path worth taking.

Psalm 1 today as this to offer, "Blessed the man who follows not the counsel wicked, who stands in the way of sinners, nor sots in the company of the insolent, But delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night."

First we look at the of the wicked; these are the ones that walk in counsel wicked, stand in the way of sinners, and sits in the company of the insolent.

Notice the progression of the verbs used to describe the state of the of the one who follows this path. He walks, then stands, then sits. Eventually He becomes immobilized or paralyzed, unable to move, frozen and cold by the choosing to linger in the path of wickedness.

This is the same methodology used by Dante to describe the descent into Hell. The closer you get to the center the less movement there is. In fact, Satan is frozen in ice, there is no movement because there is no love of the other. Self enclosed loved leads to isolation, coldness and zero movement.

This is the state of the one who choses the path of the wicked.

But what of the other. He is the one who delights in the Law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night.

the word delight already suggest warmth. The word meditate in Hebrew is worth looking at. The word meditate is Hagah. This word is used to describe an action. The action is that of a Lion eating his pray and the sound he makes as he fills himself with nourishment. Or it can be used to describe the noise and action produced when a Dog is enjoying a good bone.

To meditate means to chew on, to get every ounce of goodness and nourishment from this thing before you.

Meditating isn't about emptying your mind but rather about filling it. As G.K. Chesterton says, An open mind is like opening your mouth, you do so only to close on something solid.

This is what it means to meditate on the law of the Lord day and night, continually being fed by Goodness.

Most of us only chew on mental junk food. The Psalmist invites us to do a little mental flossing by allowing the law of God to replace the junk.

Unlike the sinners who are frozen and immobile the righteous who meditate on the law flourish like a Tree planted by streams of water bearing fruit and whose leaves never fade.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

wise simply

Sirch 4:11-19; Psalm 119 O Lord, great peace have they who love your law; MArk 9:38-40

In today's first reading we encounter the beautiful imagery of Lady Wisdom who "breathes life into her children and admonishes those who seek her. He who loves her loves life; those who seek her will be embraced by the Lord. He who holds her fast inherits glory..."

Wisdom, the gift of wisdom imparted to the soul, is that which enables and empowers the soul to understand the highest causes of things and to order his life accordingly. The one who is wise simply is the one that sees more clearly and thus chooses most perfectly the path that leads to the Highest Cause, God, in all that unfolds in life. HE is the one that taste things as they really her.

Wisdom enables us to direct our life according to God's plan and thus the first fruit of wisdom in the soul is Charity, responding in love to the one who is Love and thus we become wise simply.


Today in the church we celebrate the memorial of St. Polycarp. He was a student at the feet of St. John the Evangelist, the guy who wrote the gospel of John and other things.

Polycarp knew the man who the Man, Jesus Christ. So he got first hand experience of what JEsus was like through St. John. Imagine what that would have been like. Talk about a "rock" star.

Polycarp eventually becomes a bishop in the church and he served in Smryna, which is in modern day Turkey. At the age of 86 years he was arrested by the Roman Pro-counsel and was asked to die or renounce his faith in christ.

Polycarps response was the following, "For 86 years I have served Him and He has never wronged me. How Can I renounce the one who has saved me."

Thus, Polycarp was led to the amphitheater where he was put to death.

Polycarp was wise simply...He knew the Highest Cause of things and thus he was empowered to order his life accordingly. Martyrs like Polycarp don't choose death but rather they choose life, they choose to live for Him from whom all life comes and all life returns.

Here is man who was filled with wisdom and nothing could deter him from returning the favor to the One who favored Him.
His words to the Po-counsel are filled with wisdom, "For 86 years I have served Him and He has never wronged me. How can I renounce the one who has saved me!"

St. Polycarp pray for us!

Lady Wisdom "comes back to bring him happiness and reveal her secrets to them and she will heap upon him treasures of knowledge and an understanding of justice..."

Chair of Peter: a seat at the table for all

1 peter 5:1-4; Psalm 23 The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want; Matthew 16:13-19


Today we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of Peter.


This an intriguing feast dedicated not so much to a piece of furniture but to the office it represents: The cathedra of Peter, is the office of teaching in faith and morals given to Peter and his successors.


When in St. Peter's Basilica, by the final altar in the apse, we encounter the Chair of Peter, which is a beautiful Artistic rendition by Bernini.


What is most striking about the Chair is that the apostle Peter is missing; he is not present. The Chair floats above , supported by great teachers of the east and West and yet remains empty.


What is also striking is at the center of the chair is a window that is flooded with light depicting a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit.


The dove reminds us that God is the source of light and illumination. The Church itself becomes a place of encounter, a window, where the world is permeated by his radiance, his light.


The Church becomes a meeting place, where God meets us and we find God. All this is empowered by the gift of himself. This meeting place, this authentic place of encoutner is guaranteed by christ who makes Peter the rock upon which the church is built, the one the Father speaks to.


The chair, the empty throne also reveals much. It reveals the abiding presence of the apostle, who as teacher remains present in his successors. It is the throne of truth and faith that recalls the words of Jesus in today's gospel,


"Blessed are you Simon, Son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father...You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, the gates of the nether world shall not prevail. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven...what you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. What you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."


The empty space of the chair recalls the authority Jesus gives to Peter and his successors, illumined by the Spirit and light from above, to lead the flock and to gather them to Christ the Good Shepherd.


The chair of Peter is not about Peter, primarily it is about Peter and his successors leading us to Christ and then back to God himself, who started it all.


In faith in God we allow Peter, the one Jesus chooses, to lead us to Christ himself so that Christ can lead us to the Father of lights.


The chair is not about who Lords over the people but it is the hard chair of service, primacy of faith and the primacy of love reign in service to mankind, in service to Christ.


Only where faith leads to love can we truly encounter hope and the three gather together around the chair upon which the church is built as a meeting place between God and man and back to God.


Here truth is made known in loving service to all.


Simon, son of Jonah...you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.


The church is the Father' s gift to the world. What a gift!

view pictures of the chair of Peter Here

It is not fair

Leveticus 19:1-2,17-18; Matthew 5:38-48

Just a few soundbites from the gospel on sunday:
"you have heard that it was said an eye for an eye and tooth for tooth but I say resist no evil"

"someone strikes you on the cheek turn and offer them the other"

"someone takes you to court over your tunic, give them your cloak"

"someone presses you to go 1 mile then go with them two"

"you have heard it was said love your neighbor hate your enemies but I say love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you might be children of your heavenly Father who let's the sun shine on good and wicked and rain fall on just and unjust"

"be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect"

So what's the deal. Doesn't sound fair does it.
Someone hits on your cheek give them the other; go the extra mile; they want the shirt off your back then give them your cloak and stand naked before them; to your enemies give your love and prayers.

What about restitution? What about compensation for injury and hurt? What about redeeming our honor? What about getting even or getting back? Where is the fairness?

Here is the deal! Jesus does not come to teach us how to play fair! Jesus comes to show us how to be like God!

Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect! Be holy for I am the lord your God is holy!

God is not about getting even or getting back He is always from all eternity the one who gives!

Even Jesus stands naked giving everything as he is stripped before the crowd as he is crucified. When people want to make themselves his enemies he prays for them: Father forgive them they know not what they do.

Give! Godlike! Is this not how we encounter true life: glory of God is man alive!

true grit

Words from Pope Benedict


"First of all, we must be aware that the truth which we long to share does not derive its worth from its "popularity" or from the amount of attention it receives. We must make it known in its integrity, instead of seeking to make it acceptable or diluting it. It must become daily nourishment and not a fleeting attraction. The truth of the Gospel is not something to be consumed or used superficially; rather it is a gift that calls for a free response."

Now for the words of Jesus in today's gospel, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it

What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?

What could one give in exchange for his life?

Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

It takes a lot of grit to hear the words ofd Christ and follow them. JEsus needs disciples that are gritty, willing to get their hands and knees dirty. Those that let nothing stand in their way.

A disciple should have the mentality of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood in the Westerns. We walk with swagger and ride high in the saddle unafraid of the high noon challenge knowing that we all get called out in the end.

True Grit...rugged and worn from bring love to the world. Nothing should stand our way; no obstacle should interfere. We gather our possse, the communion of believers, living and deceased, Church triumph, church militant and church suffering and we ride out full speed ahead.

We may not be popular, we may get bad press, people will scoff and even spit in our direction but in the end being unashamed him will make all the difference.

return to innocence

Today we continue our reading of the creation account and we pick up where Noah gets out of the ark and embraces this new beginning.

In some sense the new beginning parallels the original beginning. We hear similar words of commissioning. Just like Adam and Eve, Noah and his family is given the commission to "Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth."

However there is a difference. Adam and Eve were told to subdue the earth and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on it."

Noah and his family were not given this proclamation. Different words are used. The sacred writer uses the words that we encounter into today's reading, "dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about the ground and all the fishes of the sea."

Interesting!

It is a new beginning but it is not the same. Things can never be the same. Something of the innocence of the original experience of Adam and eve in paradise is lost.

The tragedy of sin.

Yet it isn't lost for ever only for a time. That innocence can be ours but it comes at a price. His blood must be shed, our life must be lived in faith in the power of the cross, purification must take hold, and only then can we truly return to innocence.

Is this not why we hear those words in the gospel, "He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, be killed, and rise after three days."

The price of innocence!

Until then we must deal with fear and only perfect love cast out fear as St. JOhn tells us in his letters. Love of Him whom conquerors, this love alone can destroy fear and bring about a return to innocence.

Here is a little pick me up song