Ascension of the Lord: the standard of Hope is raised

Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47 Alleluia; Ephesians 1:17-23; Mark 16:15-20; 

"God is rich in mercy; because of his great love for us he brought us to life with Christ Jesus when we were dead in sin.  By this favor you are save.  Both with and in Christ Jesus he raised us up and gave us a place in the heavens."  Ephesians 2:4-6

Hope has arisen.  The Christmas celebration has reached its climax.  What Christ was born to accomplish, what took his suffering and death to bring about, his ascension reveals.  Our destiny is forever laid before us.  Our destination is made clear. 

The hope of our faith shines forth from above as the cloud rises.  We forever live beneath the blessing arms of Christ who intercedes for us forever. 

Often time the polish in Warsaw during the War would stop at the many gateways of the many buildings where altars  would be present and the tenets of the buildings would sing this song seeking hope in the midst of the german occupation: "Listen, Jesus, how your people plead/ Listen, listen, and intercede."

The faith in the ascension could not be denied. 

So we join our hearts and minds in this moment of hope for all: listen, listen and intercede.

Previous post on the Ascension: click here

Mary continued

As the month of May continues forth, we continue our own pilgrimage walking with our heavenly mother.  Here are a few words from St. Peter Chrysologus about the Blessed Virgin Mary:

"Even before the angel announced God's plan, the Virgin's dignity was announced by her name; for the Hebrew word Mary rendered in Latin is Domina [lady].  Hence the angel calls her Lady, so that fear proper to servitude might leave her, the Mother of the Master.  For her Son's authority decreed and brought it about that she should be born and named Lady."

"Blessed are you among women.  The Virgin is truly Blessed, for she possessed the splendor of virginity and achieved the dignity of motherhood.  She is truly Blessed, for she merited the grace of heavenly conception and wore the crown of integrity.  She is truly blessed, for she received the glory of the divine Son and is queen of all chastity."

Our Lady Pray for us.

Cornelius

Acts 10:25-48; Psalm 98 The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17

Today we encounter the story of Cornelius the centurion.  It is a pretty neat story with many things happening.  

Cornelius was a Roman centurion who was a pagan.  Yet, the Acts of the Apostles describe him as "a religious and God-fearing man, along with his whole household.  He was in the habit of giving generously  to the people and praying constantly."  

What a description!

Here is a man that was held  in high esteem yet in all his good attributes: religious, God-fearing, generous, praying, he was still lacking something.  He was missing an essential ingredient so that he might be fulfilled and complete.  He was good but not good enough.

This is why God sends a message to him to tell him to send for Peter. 

What was he missing?

The answer is simple and straight forward. 

He was missing Jesus.  

His faith as strong as it was, was lacking direction, was lacking true power and force.  He needed his faith to go from being anonymous to being personal and real. 

Only then does he truly become who he was made to be; only then does his attributes become holy and life giving. 

In the gospel Jesus paints the picture with even strokes.  He points out six things that he wants to give to his disciples to enrich their life, to give them direction, to personalize their faith journey: "If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love...my joy will be in you...you are my friends...I have told you everything I have heard from my Father...ask in my name." 

We are introduced to the "my" of Jesus so that our life can be fulfilled.

The guess work has ended; the anonymity of faith gives way to positive direction.  The anonymity of joy and love now have direction and a pattern to follow.  Friendship becomes heavenly and truly intimate.  God now becomes personal and real.  We are given the name by which our prayer becomes forceful and powerful.  

This is what Cornelius was missing.  This is what brings fulfillment.  Cornelius doesn't have to settle for anonymity he now knows personally.  Faith is now personal, not because it comes from the believer, but because it finds a resting place in the person of Jesus, in his "my" our faith has strength to carry us to through life into eternal joy touched with glory.

This is the gift for all of us.  May we spread so others may experience that power as well and no long reside in anonymity but now be personalized, real, and true. 

pruned

acts 15:1-6; Psalm 122 Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord; John 15:1-8

"And everyone who does he prunes so that it bears more fruit."

The Good Lord is never satisifed with the fruit that is produced. He wants more. He doesn't want more for the sake of having more; he wants more so that we can reach our full potential and be who we were made to be.

So he prunes us.

How does this pruning take place.

It is a practical matter of everyday living and breathing.

For instance, we will have opportunities to practice patience today, either on the highway or in our families, dealing with our parents or siblings; maybe in the grocery market or at the hair salon or even on the basketball court. That opportunity where ever it shows its face is a pruning.

We will have opportunity today to reachout to those who are different, those who rub us wrong, those who annoy us in some form or fashion. Again, where ever this takes palce, this too is a pruning.

We will have opportunity to be warm and giving, whether it is as simple as getting the mail, taking out the trash, picking up after ourselves; this too is pruning.

Our personality is always being challenged to improve in those small ways; this is the pruning that Jesus desires so that our potential can finally be actual.

What does that fruit look like?

Pope Benedict in a homily in the Holy Land spoke these words in regards to the vocation and calling of the dignity of women in our society, but I believe it is the vocation and dignity of every person who allows himself to be pruned so that he may blossom anew a fruit of everlasting sweetness, one that savors eternal delight:

we are called to be "bearers of love, teachers of mercy, artisans of peace bringing warmth and humanity to a world that too often judges value of a person by the cold criteria of usefulness and profit."


We are called to bear love, teach mercy, and be artisans of peace so that warmth might be felt in our world. This is the product of pruning, this is how we "bear much fruit and become[his] disicples."

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, let us remember her message to the world: pray the rosary daily, pray for the Pope, and make reparation for sinners, offering sacrifices, so that all might be converted and come to know and serve our Heavenly Father.

Peace I leave

Acts 14:19-28; Psalm 145 Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom; John 14:27-31

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  Not as the world gives do I give it to you."

What peace is given?

The world offers peace in material well fare that depends on the circumstances.  Peace is present as long as we have all that we want.  Or peace comes in the form of material possessions that never stay as long as we desire and are always in need of upgrades.  The world also offers a peace of escape as it convinces us to remove ourselves from reality.  How often do we seek peace in escape and fantasy knowing that it is fleeting and passing?  How many times have men and women lost themselves in fantasy only to destroy their lives and the lives of those around them?  The world offers a peace of false security, a security you have to pay for in monthly installments.    The world offers peace in the form of loans so you can get what you want right now though you have to deal with finance charges or mounting debt that you can not afford.  The world offers the peace of medicine and advanced treatments or promises of future cures yet in all the advancement death still comes and decay will find our bones. 

The world's peace is always complicated and never as peaceful as it seems.

Jesus offers peace.  It is a different kind of peace.  It is a peace that is not bound by circumstances or medical advancements or finance charges or fantasy land.  Jesus offers a peace that is lasting, a peace that comes from above and enters into our earth.  It is a peace that began with his birth and is shown more perfectly on the cross and resurrection.  It is a peace that disturbs, shakes us up; it is a peace that delivers on the promises it makes.  There is no empty hope, no earthly gain, but there is a heavenly reward.  It is a peace that gives us strength to keep our heads held high no matter the circumstances; a peace that calms the storms and chaos in our life; a peace that enables us to embrace death as an entrance into fulfillment of life.  It is a peace that conquers, one heart at a time.      

It is a peace that offers reality: "I am going away but I will come back to you."  It is a peace that holds out someone to believe in, someone to hope in, someone who loves even until the end.

excerpt from St. Athanasius:

"O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness.  For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word?  To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin?  You are greater than them all.  O Ark of the New Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold!  You are the Ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which divinity resides.  Should I compare you to the fertile earth and its fruits?  You surpass them, for it is written: "The earth is my footstool" (Is 66:1).  But you carry within you the feet , the head, and the entire body of the perfect God."

eyes wide open

Acts 14:5-18; Psalm 115 Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory; John 14:21-26

"Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him."

These are the words of Jesus today in the gospel.  They are pertinent words to all of us each and every day.  

We live in an age of great spiritual malaise. People are trying many things to awaken their spiritual fervor, to be connected to the divine, or to tap into their inner strength. 

Many people search for the presence of God, hoping to catch a glimpse as they squint through the lenses of 'new age' spirituality.  What remains is a lot of people walking around squinting only to discover it hasn't sharpen their vision one bit.  Their fervor only last a little while.

Or we have people who convince themselves that they have to feel a certain way in order to have that connection.  They thrive on the 'high' they get from retreats only to discover their addictive personality, they like the 'high' more than reality.  It also leaves them with a spiritual hang over. 

So what are we to do.  

Jesus tells us plainly in the gospel, "Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.  Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him."

The mystical life meets the proverbial road only in the daily grind of ready obedience and love in fulfilling the commandments of Jesus.  We waste our time looking for God unless we fortify our vision by loving those around us.  Only in the dirty job of loving in the little ways do we give ourselves a chance to see what our hearts have longed to see because only then do we truly live with our eyes wide open and see the face of God. 

We cannot wait for Jesus to show himself to us; we must seek to love only then will we see more clearly.  Thus, every Christian will be a mystic or nothing at all as they tread the narrow road.

Excerpt from St. John Vianney

"The Father takes pleasure in looking upon the heart of the most holy Virgin Mary, as the masterpiece of his hands...The Son takes pleasure in it as the heart of his Mother, the source from which he drew the blood that ransomed us."  

fear of the Lord

Acts 9:26-31; Psalm 22 I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people; 1 John 3:18-24; John 15:1-10

 

In the first reading we get a picture of the earlier church, "The church throughout Judea, Galilee, Samaria was at peace.  It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers."

What does it mean to walk in the fear of the Lord?

It doesn't mean to be filled with anxiety and terror.

Fear of the Lord is a gift of the Holy Spirit.  It is one of the seven fold gifts: fear of the Lord, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, wisdom, piety.

It is the foundational gift.  It is the beginning of perfection.  Fear of the Lord teaches us how to keep it real, how to live in reality and to escape make believe. 

There are two aspects of "fear of the lord."

1) fear of the Lord means to fear punishment.  Hell is a real possibility.  It enables us to ask the question, "What is at stake for me?"  We recognize reality in light of our selfishness.  We love God for our sake.   God will often get us to look at ourself so that he might draw us closer to him.  Here God invites us to learn to live with great expectations.  The one who expects nothing can no longer live.

2) fear of the Lord teaches us to move beyond ourself.  It deepens our sensitivity to love.  Thus, we begin to fear offending the one who loves us; we do not want to hurt the one who loves.  

We ask the question, "what is at stake for the other?"  We love God for the sake of God.

This is the most essential aspect of the gift to "fear the Lord."  Here God invites us to live with great appreciation.  Appreciation becomes the fuel in living with love and seeking to never betray the love that is offered.

This is why Jesus tells us he is the vine and we are the branches and that we must remain in him.  The closer we are to Him the more we will grow in our awareness and sensitivity to the cost of love.  We recognize reality.  We then shall grow in perfection seeking not to offend the one who has loved us so.

Fear of the Lord is everything.

In May we honor the Blessed virgin Mary.  It is important to have Mary moments in our life. 

St. Paul tells us we should direct our thoughts to all that is "true, deserving of respect, honest, pure, admirable, decent, virtuous, and worthy of praise.'

We should ponder the blessed mother.  She teaches us perfectly what it means to live a life that is rooted in proper fear of the Lord.  She always said 'yes' to God and her love never knew sin.  

We as Catholics do not worship her, we do not pray to her, but we do ask her to intercede for us, to pray for us.  We do what God the Father did.  God asked her to intercede for humanity so that Jesus might come into the world, "you shall conceive a son whose kingdom will have no end."  Mary said 'yes' and God raised a fallen world.  We invite her to take us by the hand and lead us ever closer to the vine, her Son, so that we might bear much fruit.

We should set aside Mary moments throughout our day and reflect on the beauty of such a woman, of such a mother, walk in her stead, fearing the lord and growing in perfection daily.

We also honor our mother the Church.  She has cared for us through out our life.  She teaches us right from wrong.  She helps us understand what is offensive to God, she also teaches us about the love of God.   She gives us the gift of faith in the waters of baptism, directs us toward eternal life, gives us the experience of forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation, she feeds us from her table with the Eucharist, she heals us in the sacrament of the sick, she strengthens us with confirmation, allows us to grow with the sacrament of marriage, she guides us with the priesthood, and she gathers us together as the people of God.  She has been ever faithful to her mission, we should honor her well. 

We honor our earthly mothers.  This day is set aside for  'public expression of love and reverence for the mothers of our country."  Where would we be without our mothers.  Our belly button alone reminds us we are forever indebted, our life is not our own.  May we pause today to embrace our mothers, to thank them, and to love them properly by walking in the fear of the Lord and live with great expectations and great appreciation.