scripture doc

Nehemiah 2:1-8; Psalm 137 Let my tongue be silent if i forget you; Luke 9:57-62

"I will follow you wherever you Go."

The response that Jesus desires from the human heart is placed before us today in the gospel. 

The will of man engaged in the footsteps of Christ, "I will follow where you go."

What is Jesus' response to such a word spoken from the human heart, such a desire expressed. 

"No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."  There is no room for indecisiveness.  We must mean what we say and say what we mean and recognize that the kingdom before us is worth all we leave behind. 

Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Jerome, a scripture scholar, a hermit, a papal secretary, a guide for souls, and a hot-tempered man of God, not to mention a doctor of the church. 

St. JErome dedicated his life to living the sacred scriptures.  He translated sacred scripture into Latin, learning on his own both Greek and Hebrew.  It is from him we have the "Vulgate" bible, the official bible of the Church, the Latin translation, with a few minor corrections along the way. 

St. Jerome asked the question, "How could one live without knowledge of Scripture, through which one learns to know Christ, who is life of believers?"  The Bible is an instrument "by which God speaks ever day to the faithful," thus it becomes a source of Christian life for all situations and for each person.

He says, "if you pray you speak with the spouse; if you read it is he who speaks with you."

Following on the footsteps of St. Jerome Pope Benedict reminds all that the "privileged place for reading and listening to the Word of God is the liturgy, in which celebrating the Word and making Christ's Body present in the Sacrament, we actualize the Word in our lives and make it present among us...thus, by caring the Word of God within us, we therefore carry within us eternity, eternal life."

"Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ," so coined St. Jerome.  As we avail ourselves to the personal encounter with scripture we avail ourselves to the footsteps of Christ and thus we learn to follow wherever He goes.

theophany

Haggai 2:1-9; Psalm 43 Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God; Lk 9:18-22

Theophany is a wonderful word with a truly deep meaning.  It simply means a visible manifestation of God to mankind.  

In the Old Testament these theophanies of God were described with great picturesque detail of earth shaking, fire falling, smoke gathering and mountains quaking.  They leave a lasting imprint on the human mind, in the human memory so much so that they could be easily recalled and not so easily forgotten. 

God wanted to get our attention, hold our attention, and fix our attention so that we might live differently.   Theophanies got man's attention  so that God could then more readily give us something to think about and lead us to change our mind and even our way of life.

The Prophet Haggai describes this reality today for us, "I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.  I will shake the nations and the treasure of the nations will come in, and I will fill this house with glory."

And the people wait with great expectation for the Glory of God to fall upon man in one moment, yet a little while.

The temple became the "place of peace" that was an encounter with God's presence, a meeting place, a gathering place.

Then Jesus describes of course the ultimate theophany, the ultimate shaking of creation, shaking of mankind: "the son of man must suffer greatly and be rejected, and be killed an don the  third day be raised."

In the crucified face of Christ God reveals his presence most perfectly; a visible manifestation of God's glory shown to man. The silence of the cross becomes the great theophany of God's love made sensible to us all. 

The cross and resurrection now become the place of peace for "God reconciled the world through the blood of the cross."

This paschal mystery is the great theophany, a theophany that is revealed each time we celebrate the mass.  The Eucharist becomes that new place of peace, the new shaking of the world, that new theophany each and every time.  And we are invited to enter into this meeting place and allow the glory of God to fill us and transform us.

Do you feel the earth shake, the heavens tremble, the nations creek when you look and enter into the mass.

You should!

Of course it all depends on how you answer the question, "who do you say that Jesus is?"

 

glory

Haggai 1:1-8; Psalm 149 The Lord takes delight in his people; Luke 9:7-9

In the first reading God commands the prophet to tell the people, "consider your ways! Go up into the hill country; bring timber, and build the house that I may take pleasure in it and receive my glory, says the Lord."

God wants to receive his glory.

St. Irenaeus tells us that the "glory of God is man alive; man alive is the vision of God."

Glory of God consist of the devotion and praise of his creation.  Both of these are untied in worship of the human heart before God.

In building the house the people begin living a life of devotion and praise to God.  They are building that space which is set apart to bring about devotion and praise.  A space that will invoke memories of God's deeds, memories that bring forth a life of thanksgiving. They are building that space that will bring forth communion with God.  In the temple through the sacrifice God communicates is goodness, his desire for reconciliation, his acceptance of man's offering.  Thus, God receives his glory.

Only when God receives his glory from man in true worship, does man become glorified by God.

This of course is realized most perfectly in the Eucharist, the true worship, where we are invited to enter into true communion with God.  In the eucharist, we worship fully, we give devotion and praise, we enter into the thanksgiving of Christ to the Father and God receives his glory.

As we pray in the Eucharist, "May we praise you in union with them, and give you glory through your son, Jesus Christ.  Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen."

John Vianney when he came to Ars, he made it is his work to restore the church building.  It was falling down and in ruins.  He replaced the altar, he painted the wood, he brought in new decor and new vestments.  The house of God needed to be that special place that moved the faithful to devotion and praise. 

He wanted to give the people a space they could truly enter into and keep the Lord's day. Sanctification of the Lord's days was essential for without there was no christian life. 

In that sacred space not only would the people gather to worship so that God would receive his glory.  Also, John Vianney would spend countless hours prostrating in prayer for the conversion of his parish.  He would pray and fast so that their hearts would be burst asunder and they would return to God and God's glory would be returned to Him.

We too should pray for the conversion of our parishes that hearts would return so that God would receive his glory. 

quote of the day

"One communion acts on the soul like bellows on a fire which has begun to go out, but where there are yet plenty of embers; w blow, and the hearth is lit up...when you have received our Lord, you feel your soul purified, bathed in the love of God."  St. John Vianney 

stigma

Ezra 9:5-9; Blessed be God who lives forever; Luke 9:1-6

Today in the Church we celebrate the memorial of St. Padre Pio.

Born 1887 and died in 1968, Padre Pio lived a life of dedication and service to Christ crucified.

He was ordained a priest at the age of 23 and received the stigmata at the age of 31.  He bore the stigmata for 50 years until his death at the age of 81.  He was canonized in 2002.

He, a capuchin friar, like St. Francis before him, was given the gift of bearing the wounds of Christ in his body.  He lived the words of St. Paul, "it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me...I am crucified in the flesh."

Pope Benedict in a  visit to St. Giovanni Rotondo, the place of ministry of Padre Pio, preached that Padre Pio was a simple and humble man who was seized by Christ.  Because he allowed himself to be seized by Christ he was able to spend himself for the victory of love and life witnessed by the crucifixion.

He spent himself for the victory of love. 

IS this not what it means to be a saint?  A saint is one who knows how to spend the gift of his life. 

Whether he was hearing confessions, giving guidance to souls, caring for the sick or receiving visitors, PAdre Pio's life and ministry was a commentary on the cross, radiating the victory of love and life of Christ to others.

Padre Pio pray for us that we to may be crucified in the flesh so that the victory of love may be seen in us.  May we all bear the marks of the crucifixion in our life and from those marks may God's mercy flow outward to all.

hearing aid

Ezra 6:7-8, 12, 14-20; Psalm 122 Let us go to the house of the Lord; Luke 8:19-21

We have a very short gospel today.

"The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd.  He was told, "your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you."  He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it."

Jesus invites us into the household of God; he invites us to be part of his most intimate circle, his family.  The door open and all are welcomed.  All we need to do is hear the word of God and act on it.

Here are few hear aids for embracing the reality of the gospel and truly living as a member of the household of God.

There are three things necessary for fully hearing:

1) we must listen attentively

We need to foster time for silence and solitude.  Noise pollution is all around us.  There are a thousand noises and voices seeking entrance into our life.

The surgeon general once said, "calling noise a nuisance is like calling smog an inconvenience; noise must be considered Hazard to the health of people everywhere."

We need quiet time so that the word of God can truly enter in, find a home, take root, dwell richly in our heart.

2) We must seek to comprehend

It is not enough to listen attentively we must seek to understand the word spoken.  

Children in school are encouraged to participate in class, by raising their hands and asking questions especially when they do not understand.  This is important for us as well.  We must not be afraid to raise our hand and ask God to clarify what was spoken.

We do this by studying scripture and studying the teachings of the Church.  Christ founded the Church to guide us and educate us.  Her teachings through the centuries are beautiful ways of clarifying the word God has spoken in Christ. 

3) we must trust the one who speaks

Trusting is necessary when it comes to hearing.  If we do not trust the one who is speaking regardless we will not hear. 

we must foster a deep confidence in God in guiding us.  We do this by developing a life of prayer and devotion.  We do this by actively participating in the gift of the sacraments.  We do this by spending quality time before the Blessed Sacrament.  We do this in meditating on the mysteries of Christ through the Rosary.  

Surrender and trust are essential to increasing our ability to hear what is being spoken.  God knows what is best and he will not lead us astray.  His word in sacred scripture and the teachings of the Church are the foundation we stand firm on and will lead us to Him most perfectly.  The Holy Spirit is active in the Church allowing us to hear again for the first time the beauty of the gospel and live it fruitfully.

In the quiet we listen attentively, in seeking to understand we grow in comprehension, in deepening our devotion we grow in trust and together we truly are empowered to act on the word spoken and enter fully into the household of God.

he rose

Eph 4:1-7, 11-13; Psalm 19 their message goes out through all the earth; Mt 9:9-13

Today we celebrate the feast of the apostle Matthew. 

In the gospel we see Jesus encounter Matthew at work, "sitting at the custom post." 

In the gospel, many of the apostles are called while at work.  Jesus takes any and every opportunity to get our attention.  He calls us out at work to spend our lives working differently.

Matthew is sitting at the custom post, which reminds us that he was a tax collector.  A tax collector was considered the worst of public sinners.  They were despised as despicable characters who worked for a greedy authority, the Romans, who handled money from unclean people, the foreigners, who fixed their own tax rate and thus were looked upon as extortioners. 

The calling of this tax collector reminds us that those who seem the farthest from holiness can become the models of holiness.  Those who are the farthest reveal to us most perfectly the effects of God's mercy in and through their lives. 

Jesus did not exclude anyone.  He came for the sinners.  His friendship is available to all. 

Lastly, upon the call we see that Matthew, simply put, "rose and followed."

The brevity of the statement shows forth Matthew's readiness to respond almost instantly to the call.  He rose, stood up,  he took a stand.  He left his notorious ways behind and began something new in Christ. 

Matthew detached himself from a sinful lifestyle and made a conscious decision to attach himself to a new way, a new life in communion with Jesus. 

While at work, may we readily respond to the call of Jesus and take a stand for a new life in Christ. 

finally, Matthew threw a party.  He celebrated the feast of friendship he found in Christ and he wanted all to experience this feast with him.  Conversion is a feast of friendship that reaches out to others and desires to celebrate such a gift with all.  On this feast on Matthew may we celebrate boldly the feast of friendship we have received in the call of Christ.

hymn:

the tax collector left the gold of Rome for gold of Christ

who offered words  both new and old that haunted and enticed

a man of worldly means to give all that he had to write

those words for all who yet would live to ponder day and night

The tax collector left to us the story eh had learned

that we might rise from ash and dust to treasure what he earned

a life beyond what gold can buy a pearl that has no price

a wealth that folly passes by the love of Jesus Christ

covet

Wisdom  2:12, 17-20; Psalm 54 The Lord upholds my life; James 3:16-4:3; Mk 9:30-37

James poses a question in today's second reading that has been on the heart of every human heart since the beginning of humanity: "Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?"

Certainly this remains a poignant question for our time. 

Last century is considered by many to be the bloodiest century of all time, though many centuries rival it in blood spilled.  But last century began with WWI then followed it up with WWII, Vietnam, Korean conflict, Desert Storm which led into Iraq and Afghanistan.  It contained numerous genocide including eastern Europe and African, Rwanda, just to name one.  

It has contained too many acts of terrorist, the most notable for us 9/11.

I dare not go into detail of the terror of abortion that has swept across our land, 50 million plus.

The land cries out for the blood that has been shed. Humanity's heart is heavy with the question where does these wars and conflict come from?

James after posing the question follows it up with an answer.  "It is from your passions that make war within your members?  You covet..."

It all stems from the desires of the heart that have gone awry.  At the very heart of this James diagnosis the problem as relating to "coveting."

Can all the wars really be reduced to coveting?  

The word covet should automatically get us to think of the ten commandments. We are familiar with the commandments.  For the most part we can even name few of the big ones: don't kill, don't commit adultery, don't lie, don't steal, keep holy the sabbath, don't take the name of the Lord in vain .  

But how many of us have ever thought to stop and ponder the last two, number 9 and number 10: thou shall not covet your neighbor's house, thou shall not covet your neighbor's wife or possessions. 

What is the big deal about coveting anyway?

In order to understand coveting, we have to understand the first commandment.

The first commandment begins not with "thou shall not" as we might assume but rather it begins with a positive affirmation of reality, "I am the Lord your God."

God invites us to understand reality perfectly; He invites us to enter into a relationship of life and love with this reality.  In some sense god is saying, "I am yours and you are mine and we belong together."  He is telling us that only in this communion can we truly begin to live and love as it was meant to be; only in this communion can the world begin to experience transformation.  

after this God gives us the template for this relationship of life and love.  The commandments that follow speak of our external actions that is all except the last two. 

Number 9 and 10 do not speak of what we do on the outside but what we do on the inside.  The last two commandments speak on the desires of our heart.  God tells us it is not enough to regulate our external behavior we must examine our heart because he is jealous he wants all of us to belong to all of him, to love him with our whole heart, mind and strength.

When we covet, when we direct our desire to what others have we are actually doubting God's love for us.  We are telling God that what he has done for us, what he has given us is insufficient.   We are telling  God we can do better on our own.  We choose to take matters in our own hands.  We fail to recognize the good of what God has given us personally.  We begin to formulate plans by which we grow more and more independent and move away form God.  We start to become our own God, set our own standards, determine our own way.

This certainly sounds like the cause of wars and conflicts. 

Beware of covetous eyes!

St. Augustine tells us that the entire life of a good christian is in fact an exercise of holy desire.  We must desire to do and live according to God's plan.  We must foster a desire to rejoice in the goodness we have received.  We must desire to be grateful for the good God has done.  We must desire to be satisfied by God alone.

This way we guard our heart from coveting and guide it by way of dependence and gratitude.