st patrick

St. Patrick prayer:

I arise today, through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the threeness, through confession of the oneness, of the creator of creation.

I arise today, through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism, through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial, through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension, through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today, through the strength of the love of the Cherubim, in obedience of angels, in the service of archangels, in the hope of the resurrection to meet with reward, in the prayers of patriarchs, in prediction of prophets, in preaching of apostles, in faith of confessors, in innocence of holy virgins, in deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through the strength of heaven; light of sun, radiance of moon, splendor of fire, speed of lightning, swiftness of wind, depth of sea, stability of earth, firmness of rock.

I arise today, through God's strength to pilot me" God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak to me, God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me, God's host to save me, from the snares of the devil, from temptations form vices, from every one who shall wish me ill, afar and near, alone and in multitude.

I summon today, all these powers between me and those evils, against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul, against incantations of false prophets, against black laws of pagandom, against false laws of heretics, against craft of idolatry, against spells of women and smiths and wizards, against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today, against poisoning, against burning, against drowning, against wounding, so there come to me abundance of reward.  

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me, Christ in the eye of every one that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. 

I arise today, through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the threeness, through confession of the oneness, of the Creator of creation.

unless

Daniel 3:25, 34-43; Psalm 25 Remember your mercies, O Lord; Matthew 18:21-35

"unless each of you forgive your brother from your heart."

The gospel today on this feast of St. Patrick is quite lengthy.  It consists of 14 verses and details the story of forgiveness.

Of all the words that are contained within this passage, I believe the most striking is the word "unless."

Jesus tells us, his disciples, that "unless" we forgive our brother from the heart we will be handed over to the tortures until we pay the last debt. 

This is true. 

The inability or refusal to forgive leads to a tortuous life.  Those who hold on to grudges and refuse to give the gift of forgiveness betray themselves into the hands of torturers.  They spend their life eaten up on the inside, racked and in pain, imprisoned by their own devices. 

As long as the forgiveness is withheld, the torture continues even it to the beyond.

Jesus' words are words not just of warning, they are not words of threat, they are words of insight to help us embrace freedom by seeking to always give the gift of forgiveness.  Jesus invites us to allow our life to mirror his, "while we were sinners Jesus died for us and offered the forgiveness and thus reconciled us tot he Father by his blood."

Jesus forgave with his whole heart.  As the spear pierced his side and water and blood flowed forth, his heart was exposed and forgiveness reigned.  

Lent is a season of meditating on the passion of Jesus.  As we meditate, may we always reach into the side of Christ and hold firmly his heart and pray that Our heart may be conformed to his.  

Thus, from His heart to ours, forgiveness might be given and the torture may end.

Go wash in the jordan

2 kings 5:1-15; Psalm 42-43 A thirst is my soul for the living God.  When shall I go  and behold the face of God; Luke 4:24-30

Today in the readings we encounter the cure of a leper, Naaman.  It was an unlikely cure, according to Naaman, whose faith was weak.  But through the faith of those around him and their insistence, Naaman listened and followed through and thus something beautiful before God and man occurred.

The hero of the story isn't Naaman or Elisha but rather the servants.  They were the ones who understood want needed to be done.  It was their friendship and service to Naaman that made the healing possible.  

The servants were true servants, not just in material welfare, but in understanding the spiritual reality before them and guiding their master to the proper place and proper spiritual mind set.

May we all be like the servants in today's reading and truly become instruments worthy of the many miracles God is desiring to bestow daily; all we must do is be a positive force that helps over come stubbornness and pride of those around us.

on a second note:  Elisha's command was for Naaman to go and wash in the Jordan.  Today the Jordan is hardly a river.  Due to human interference, the river has become nothing more than a trickle and in many places it is contaminated and the ecosystem is all but destroyed. To wash in the Jordan today would be a very dangerous thing and hazardous to our health.

We are commanded to be steward's of God' creation, however, time and time again we have exploited the created world and neglected the commission God has given us.  Much of the world and the environment has been mistreated through our hands.  

St. Paul tells us that all creation groans for salvation through the freedom of God's children.  It is exactly the abuse of our freedom that has led to the destruction of our rain forest, our rivers, our coastlands, our farm land, our skies above and earth below.  

Today we pray for a better understanding of stewardship and the courage to fight for the redemption of our created world.  May we embrace the grace to stop the abuse so that we may once again "go wash" not only in the jordan but in all our rivers and streams and truly experience redemption of all.

 

the last penny

Ezekiel 18:21-28; Psalm 130 If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand? Matthew 5:20-26

The psalm today repeats, "If you, O Lord, mark our iniquities, who can stand?"

Who can stand?

As we ponder our sinfulness and weakness and frailty, at times we can be inundated with doubt and fear and uncertainty about whether our efforts are even worth it.  

Is lent really going to benefit us?  

Will this frailty ever be strengthen?  

Must we drag this weak fledgling flesh and heart and mind through this life, with out any hope of experiencing redemption?  

Must we wait till heaven to experience heavenly goodness and strength on our journey?

Jesus tells us, unless our righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Great! Now we have more pressure to perform.  

We must remember that righteousness isn't something that we do, rather it is what we receive.  It isn't about pulling ourselves up from our bootstraps and muscling forward.  Righteousness is about letting God have his way with us.  It is always a step toward God before it is a step toward our neighbor.

This is why Jesus tells us to leave our gift at the altar, then go and be reconciled, then come offer the gift.  At the altar we encounter what righteousness is, what it looks like, how to receive it.  

At the altar,  we trade our pain and sorrow and weakness and fear, for the strength of Christ, the one who has already paid the last penny.  By bringing our gift to the altar we are participating in a sacred exchange, and truly allowing Christ to take over.    

We can not forgive on our own, but only in union with Christ is forgiveness possible.

At the altar, we are brought into the intimate reality of Jesus' love for his enemies.  As Jesus is being crucified, upon the altar of the cross, he shows us righteousness, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."

Not only does Jesus seek to forgive them, but he also makes an excuse for them.  "Forgive them for they know not what they do."  

Is this not the invitation of Jesus in today's gospel.  We must remember that when one is in sin, their ability to think clearly and act righteously is hindered. Rather then dwell on our hurt and pain, should we not recognize the great tragedy of the human soul who has fallen short of being who they were meant to be.  Should we not lament their current state, rather then focus on ourselves and our suffering. 

Is this not what Jesus does on the altar of the cross.  He leaves his gift at the altar and he seeks to be reconciled.  It is his gift of his life that brings about reconciliation, "by the blood of the cross he has reconciled the world to himself."

The last penny has been paid with the last drop of blood shed upon the cross.  Jesus shows us that true righteousness is where ones words and actions are identical.  Here we receive the gift of righteousness, at the foot of the cross, at the altar of the cross, we bring our gift, the gift of our self and we experience redemption and thus our weakness becomes strength, our frailty becomes zeal, and we begin to have the "mind of Christ" and perfect love cast our all fear.

Who can stand?  The answer we find in the prayer of the Mass.  In Eucharistic prayer II, we pray, "Lord, we thank you for having made us worthy to stand in you presence and serve you."

Who can stand?  

We can stand!  And we stand not our own but in the shadow of the cross, the altar of our redemption, and our weak knees no longer tremble at our guilt and frailty for we encounter the one who makes us righteous.  God has marked our iniquities, and through the humility of the cross, Jesus gives his life, forgives us and makes excuses for us, so that  we might stand.

prayer

Esther c:12,14-16, 23-25; Psalm 138 Lord, on the day i called for help, you answered me;

Matthew 7:7-12

Today Jesus gives us a catechesis on prayer. 

He helps us realize that prayer is more than just asking for what we want and getting it.  Prayer is deeper than an invitation to petition but rather it is an invitation to conversion.  This is why it is one of the tenants of Lent: prayer, fasting, almsgiving.

We all can relate to Esther in her prayer in the first reading, "Help me!" is the resounding theme of her request.  She has found that she is in complete dependence on God, "Help me who am alone and have no help but you, O Lord, my God."

In deed the primary movement of conversion through prayer is growing in our own awareness of being dependent.  God does not want us to be autonomous, the rugged individual who is far to independent for him, but rather he wants us to be those who have the heart of child, who is aware of their need and dependence on him.

Jesus in the gospel flushes this out, "ask and it will be given; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open; for everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened...how much more will your heavenly Father give good things those who ask."

Three things:

Jesus helps us understand, above all, that God is one who hears and speaks.  He is person, not some distant entity in the clouds.  He longs to hear us ask, seek, and knock.  He desires a relationship with each of us.  He is not just a father figure, but in reality from all eternity He is Our Father.

Secondly,Jesus also wants us to recognize God is powerful.  He can grant everything.  He is not limited.  Prayer is the concrete recognition of God's immense power and glory.  When we pray, we open up to this eternal reality of supreme do-ability, "with God all things are possible."

 Thirdly, Jesus points to the fact that God though unlimited in his power confines himself to giving "good things."  It is the Father's power and goodness that holds the world and all together.  God is love and it is this good love that finds a way to answer the hopes of those that He loves.   If we meditate on God's goodness, we discover that God can give everything but he will not just give anything.  There is purpose and meaning behind the gift God disposes upon those who ask, seek, and knock.

Prayer is not just about getting what we want, but it is about wanting what God gives and seeking to find the "goodness" that often times is disguised in the answer bestowed.  We pray in the Eucharistic prayer III, "to God from whom all good things come."

As we ponder the cross, we should be humbled by the goodness of such a gift, such an answer to our souls' deepest longing, a longing of true communion, a long for real prayer and dialogue. Gazing upon the cross our understanding of prayer is blown wide open, the fragments of our limited  and self-centered expectations lie shattered on the floor.  At the cross, we begin to understand the deep and profound and all powerful goodness that the Father wields so that love can find a way so that love can bring forth the answer.

In the midst of prayer as we spend time with goodness itself, we slowly become transformed to be like the goodness we ponder.  Here begins our true conversion, here is why we must pray as part of our Lent journey, for conversion is about goodness transforming us. 

 

What if?

Leviticus 19:1-2,11-18; Psalm 19 Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; Mt 25:31-46

The response in today's liturgy is: Your words, Lord, are spirit and life

Mt 25 reads:

I was hungry and you gave me some food.

Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.

I was thirsty and you gave drink.

Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.

I was a stranger and you welcomed me.

Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.

I was naked and you clothed me.

Your words,Lord, are spirit and life.

I was ill and you cared for me. 

Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.

I was in prison and you visited me.

Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.

Amen, I say to you whatever you did for one of  the least brothers of mine, you did for me.

Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.

"The poor anywhere in the world are Christ who suffers.  In them, the son of God lives and dies.  Through them, God shows his face." Mother Teresa

1st Sunday of Lent

Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25 Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant; Mark 1:12-15

  As we read the gospel, we encounter Jesus in the desert among wild beast. 

Instantly, we should all go back to advent when we read this in the gospel.  In advent, as we began our journey of expectation f the birth of Christ, we read the prophecy from Isaiah: 

"The wolf shall be guest of the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them; the cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox, the baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child shall lay his hand on the adders lair; their shall be no harm or ruin on all of my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of  Lord, as water covers the sea."  (Isaiah 11:6-9)

Mark is telling us that the Messianic hope is being fulfilled in Christ, the beloved child of God, who sits with beast in the desert and leads them. 

Jesus is the fulfillment of the messianic kingdom.  Advent gives way to lent and the hope we thought we received in the manger is being realized in the desert in the person of Jesus Christ. 

This is why the first words of Jesus in his ministry are, "This the time of fulfillment.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent and believe the gospel."

The kingdom of God is not some distant place.  The kingdom God is not some territory with particular boundaries and borders.  Th kingdom of God is not even a noun.  It is a verb.  It is a way of living.  It is the way of life.  

Mark is telling us to watch Christ move in the gospel and we will discover how the kingdom is meant to be a living breathing reality in all of us.  We discover that the greatest territory which the kingdom comes to claim is the human heart.  It is from the heart that the Kingdom truly reigns.