November 1, 2015

November 1, 2015

Feast of All Saints

Revelation 7: 2-4, 9-14; 1 John 3: 1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12

Today is the feast of All Saints. It’s a time to reflect on the saints who have passed through my life. Some questions: Was I named after a particular saint? Was I named after a relative or friend of the family? What were the attributes of these people that were admired and treasured that our parents wanted them remembered in me? When I received the sacrament of Confirmation I received a name: did I choose the name or was it chosen for me? If I choose it, why did I pick out this name? Was it the name of a particular saint that I admired? What was there that attracted me to this particular saint? Did I do research on this ‘special saint? Why? Why not?

The bottom line is that Heaven is where God is. Heaven is where the Saints are. Jesus said that each person He created has a special place in heaven prepared for them? Heaven is about Love. God is love. Every person has been called to love, always, under all circumstances. To inherit heaven each person must be a person of love. How am I doing?

So the reflective question arises: Am I living my life today with heaven as my goal? Am I trying to be a saint TODAY? Am I a loving person?

So what holds me back from a wholehearted response to the call of Jesus to be with Him in Heaven…to be a saint. It can’t be that I don’t consider myself worthy…because it’s not about ‘worthy’, it’s about responding to God’s grace each day and living more in love. This is what holiness is—responding to the call of love. Jesus constantly said that ‘Now is the acceptable time…’ The very things that I view are obstacles to love are the very means God is giving me and all to draw us to depend more deeply on Him. Ralph Martin in his wonderful book The Fulfillment of all Desire, a Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints shares these wonderful points. “It is true that sometimes we don’t hit the goal we’re aiming at, and it’s good to have a backup. If we aim for heaven at the moment of our death,, and indeed die in friendship with Christ but haven’t been transformed enough to be ready for the sight of God purgatory is a wonderful blessing. But if we aim for purgatory and miss, there really isn’t a good backup available. The source of all our unhappiness and misery is sin and it effects, and the sooner the purification of sin and its effects can take place inner life, the happier we will be and the better able to truly love others.”

The saints knew this and worked on being loving people. When St. Francis of Assisi was moved to stop what he was doing to pray, he started praying immediately. St. Catherine of Siena also was prompt in responding to God’s inspirations whenever they camel St. Francis de Sales’ famous book Introduction to the Devout Life shows how frequent, careful and prompt responses to the will of God helped one live a deeper life of love. St. Teresa of Avila said this, “A soul to whom God grants such pledges has a sign that He wants to give it a great deal; if not impeded through its own fault, it will advance very far. But if the Lord sees that after He places the kingdom of heaven in the souls house this should turns to earthly things, He will not only fail to show it the secrets there are in His kingdom but will seldom grant it this favor, and then for just a short space of time.”

Heaven is the goal: St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, in her life story published after her death under the title of The Story of a Soul said that if heaven existed, all people had to be evaluated accordingly. Life on earth is passing and life in heaven is eternal. This has definite consequences for how each person believes and makes choices now. Therese saw with astounding logic that the greatest good anyone could wish for any human being we love is to wish them heaven. DO I DO THIS? What is hindering me?

Do I seek heaven? St. Paul says how few there are who can say, “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as thought reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” the saints speak frequently of the two main obstacles that hold people back from making progress on their spiritual journey: a lack of knowledge and a lack of desire. My lack of knowledge is my self knowledge and my knowledge of God. Ralph Martin shares that “Self knowledge involves both knowledge of the great dignity and beauty of the human soul in its exalted destiny as well as a profound understanding of the wounds and darkness that sin inflicts.

These individual quotes from Ralph Martin’s book help me to keep my eyes focused on my journey to the Lord.

From St. Bernard:

“My opinion is that all those who lack knowledge God are those who refuse to turn to Him.

From St. John of the Cross

“While we are on this earth, nothing is more important to us than humility….In my opinion we shall never completely know ourselves if we don’t strive to know God. By gazing at His grandeur, we get in touch with our own lowliness; b looking at His purity, we shall see our own filth; by pondering His humility, we shall see how far we are from being humble.”

From St. Teresa of Avila,

“Well now, it is foolish to think that we will enter heaven without entering into ourselves, coming to know ourselves, reflecting on our misery and what we owe God, and begging Him often for mercy.”

St. Catherine of Siena frequently insisted in her writings on the need for our desire and thirst for God to grow. “If you would make progress, then you must be thirsty, because only those who are thirsty are called: ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink.” Those who are not thirsty will never persevere in their journey Either weariness or pleasure will make them stop.”

So how does one continue growing closer to the Lord. Growing in prayer is simply another dimension of growing in love. Am I praying the right way? Yes….the way I’m praying right now is the way that I should be praying. God shows us the way. Teresa of Avila insisted that the essence of prayer, either it is vocal or mental, kids paying attention to God…speaking and listening to Him. At the beginning it might seem that we are doing all the work, but as we progress we can see God’s hand and love leading us.

I have used this often in my retreats and heard this myself on retreat: the five most important sentences of all time are in Scripture and are said by God.

I Know you.

I love you.

I forgive you.

I understand you.

Do you know Me?

So I reflect on:

• How do I perceive heaven? What experience on earth do I think gives the bet picture of the life of the saints in heaven?

• What is the particular form of holiness that God is calling me to in my life?

Sacred Space 2015 says:

“Today and always, Jesus is ‘sitting down’ in the sacred space of my heart. I listen to Him and His words of life. Which Beatitude do I find most affirming? Which gives me most encouragement for my life journey right now?

Which of these Beatitudes challenges me the most? Whichever one I feel drawn to indicates my next step forward in my life’s journey.”

October 25, 2015

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time B

Jeremiah 31: 7-9; Hebrews 5: 1-6; Mark 10: 46-52

It is an interesting journey that Jesus is on. He is traveling to Jerusalem. In the synoptic gospels, Matthew,Mark and Luke, Jesus only goes to Jerusalem once…it is suffer and die and then rise.

Mark is placing different events along the way in this final journey that tell his listeners a message on how to remain faithful. How can they and how can each one of us not be fooled or become discouraged or give in to the trials of life?

Jesus today encounters Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus. Evidently, Bartimaeus was known in the Markan community because Mark recounted that he was the son of Timaeus. He comes to be healed, this is the final healing miracle in Mark’s gospel. Is there more to the healing that can help us in our spiritual journey? Blindness is a symbol not only of a physical condition but also is the symbol of ignorance, unseeing and being visionless. How often I can remain comfortable in my own little world and am afraid to change my attitude or conceptions about people. How often do I stay in my own little world of faith and beliefs and not see where Jesus’ demands of love are leading me? How often do I want to stay in my own little world with all of its prejudice and misconceptions about people that I have never met, yet I give all sorts of conclusions of how they should be living and how society should treat them and others like them? How often do I have my own vision of the Church and feel that my way is the best way to interpret when the Spirit of God is leading Christians today?

An important questions for me to bring to my reflection times is am I sensitive to the people God has place in my life? Am I caring? Do I show compassion? Do I help or do I share my ideas? Bartimaeus on hearing that it was Jesus walking through Jericho on the way to Jerusalem shouted out, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” Others wanted him to be quiet…why? What is wrong with a person wanting to be healed? Since he was blind, he would have also been a beggar to come up with help to support himself and maybe his family. He certainly would have more resembled the ‘street people’ that seems so often to be an embarrassment to us. In his plight, why wouldn’t they, why wouldn’t I want him to be healed? AND he shouted out more loudly, “Son of David, have pity on me.” The disciples came and said, “Take courage, get up, Jesus is calling you.” Simple words that can be overlooked. Courage…Pope Francis used this word a number of times to people who were struggling and hurting. Be brave…ask God…nothing is impossible for Him….DO I BELIEVE THIS…Do I live this?

And he came to Jesus who asked, ‘What do you want me to do for you? ‘ What a question? Scripture scholars, in quoting this passage, say that this is one of those universal questions that Jesus is always asking of each person….What do you want me to do for you?’ Am I important enough to ask this of Jesus….YES! Is this a once in a life time question or should is this constantly on Jesus’ lips? This is a daily question…even hourly…do I realize that I am that important to Jesus?

Dr Bonnie Bowman Thurston, a Markan scholar in Preaching Mark reflects: “Bartimaeus is not the first person to be discouraged from approaching Jesus. It is unclear whether the ‘many’ who ‘sternly ordered him to be quiet’ (v. 48) are Jesus’ disciples (v. 46). If so, their attempt may be to prevent the trouble for Jesus that accepting a messianic title would entail, or perhaps they are simply persons embarrassed by the blind beggar’s unruly behavior (or, as we so often are, uncomfortable in the face of a severe handicap). But like the Syrophoenician woman in chapter 7, Bartimaeus is not to be silenced; he sees more than the sighted and cries out ‘even more loudly) (v. 48). Jesus responds to the cry, stops, and summons Bartimaeus. Verse 50, which describes Bartimaeus’s approach, is fascinating. Certainly his leaving behind the cloak (the himation or outer garment that was often the only night covering the poor had—which is why the Torah forbade it to be taken in pledge) and springing up is an image of his eagerness to get to Jesus. But it also symbolizes the renunciation that following Jesus requires. If his occupation is begging, and generous people put their offerings on the cloak, then it represents leaving behind the symbol of his occupation just as James, John, and Levi did (1:18, 20; 2:14). Perhaps most generally, leaving behind the cloak, represents abandoning what hinders approach to Jesus. Ironically the one who has noting finds this easier than the one who has ‘many possessions” (10:17-22).

So many interesting avenues to go and reflect on. Do I feel that I am important to God? Do I feel that I have to be a person of position or importance to ‘get an audience’ with God? I have talked with a number of people who went to see Pope Francis or who followed him in the medias. They all remark on how open and comfortable he was to be with all peoples. No one was too unimportant or important for him…he instilled on each person a value, God’s value and specialness for all His creation. Have been created in love…I am loved and continue to be loved every moment…to God, I am His special creation. This is the same for each person. And God is asking me each day and is asking each person each day, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The common response is to fade into the background and not respond…but Jesus is asking this question…each person is that important to Jesus. In asking the question Jesus wants to respond to each person and show them uniquely how they can follow Him more completely. Do I really want to do this? The Devil certainly doesn’t want me to..but God is constantly leading each person closer to Himself. Why do I shy away from this? Am I so caught up in my world and its allurements and its comforts that I don’t want to follow Jesus?

This miracle is about faith…it asks me where my faith is at…is it strong…am I struggling…where do I need help? There is an old saying, I don’t know where it is from that says, ‘seeing is believing’. Today’s gospel brings this out but it also echoes its opposite, ‘Believing is seeing!’ Msgr Eugene Lauer said in Sunday morning Insights, “Faith is that power within human beings that allows them to see meaning in the incomprehensible situation, to be sure that there is divine direction in the most difficult trial. People of faith can see the divine hand in situations even when they do not fully understand. Faith gives a sight and vision that go far beyond the physical power to see.

If the above is true, then the phrase ‘blind faith’ doesn’t make must sense. If there is one thing in this life that isn’t blind, its faith. It is true that

Faith doesn’t always give us immediate answers, but it always gives us meaning. It never leaves us in a ‘blind alley.’ Without faith, we are often blind to the deeper meaning of what is happening right before our eyes(Perhaps ‘blind faith’ is most often used to describe impulsive tendencies that are not part of a genuine divine faith.”

The Apostle Thomas saw and then was able to believe. There’s a certain value in that process. But there is something far more appealing int he experience of dear old Bartimaeus. He believed and then was able to see.”

God always takes the first step..He loves each of us first…He gifts us…it is He who saves. AND WE RESPOND. Now our response is important but it is not generated from ourselves. God graces us. FAITH is a gift of God. It was the gift of faith that Bartimaeus was given that led him cry out to Jesus. It was this grace that led him to persist in the face of all the opposition. It was this grace the enabled him to come to Jesus when He called. His faith opened him up to the work of the Spirit within him and this is an important message for each of us. Jesus is always leading us closer to Himself and heaven. Is this my goal?

So I reflect on:

• What are my disabilities and limitations?

• What challenges do people with disabilities face that might make them feel exiled from human companionship? What role might I have in healing this exile?

• In what ways is Bartimaeus a model of faith for me?

• In moments when I cannot see the way ahead, I can join myself with Bartimaeus and ask for Christ’s saving help.

• In the second reading from Hebrews I can imagine myself with Jesus as the priest who deals patiently with the ‘ignorant and the erring.’

Sacred Space 2015 shares:

“People who live with disabilities such as blindness often show great courage, resourcefulness, and strength of character. Do I truly appreciate my own God-given ability to see and my other natural senses and abilities? Do I ever express gratitude for these wonderful gifts? And do I ever humbly ask God to help me to live well with my own disabilities and limitations?

Bartimaeus becomes a joyous disciple. What difference does my own faith make in my life?”

October 18, 2015

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time B

Isaiah 53: 10-11; Hebrews 4: 14-16; Mark 10: 35-45

The opening lines of Mac Davis’ popular song says so much. “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way. I can’t wait to look in the mirror cause I get better looking’ each day.” My dad used this saying to keep us kids in line, ‘Some people use this expressions to explain who they think they are: ‘I use to be proud, but now I don’t have any faults.’ Today’s readings ask us about ourselves…Am I living my life because of me and for the greater glory and honor of me…or am I living my life as a person who realizes that God loves me and needs me to be love so that people may see Jesus in me? Can the people who come in my life see love in me and realize that this comes from God who wants all to know that they are loved and they are special?

As followers of Jesus, who humbled Himself to take on our human nature and our human death, we must share in and drink from that same cup of humility. It seems that this was what the apostles were afraid of or wanting to make their future comfortable in the special roles they were hoping to have when Jesus began His rule. Mark today reveals that Jesus is going to Jerusalem, the City of David, the center of their faith. Here is where Rome had their headquarters in Israel. Here is the great Temple of Solomon, the religious leaders, politicians, the rich and famous. So these ‘leaders’ have sent ‘spies’ to check up on Jesus. He is heading toward the headquarters of all those opposed to His teaching. This will be their opportunity to put an end to this heretic…this one who was filled with a messiah complex. They would expose His hypocrisy and His phoniness. With this in mind, I’m sure the apostles were both amazed and afraid. Did they believe Jesus when He said that the ‘Messiah would suffer, die and rise on the third day?’ Or were they consumed with the unfounded hope that Jesus would become the Messiah King who would drive out Rome and those who supported this occupying power?

When carrying these thoughts over to ourselves as we continue our journey to the Lord, I reflect on ‘How important do I feel that I am?’ Do I let power and influence and those with power and influence control my life? Am I ‘in it’ for what I can get out of it? Am I living to impress others? Am I really listening to what Jesus is teaching His apostles? Did I really listen to what Pope Francis lived and shared in his recent visit to the United States? Did I see that the Pope consistently made himself available to all people from all walks of life? It was totally obvious that the Pope was just as comfortable in the United Nations and in front of the powerhouse of the Congress as he was visiting the prisoners and the school kids in Harlem.

Jesus is teaching His disciples what was to happen to Him. Today James and John still misunderstand Jesus’ mission and message and make an ‘outlandish request.’ Are they concerned with being a follower or being in command? Are they concerned with honors and privileges and all the respect and glory that comes with this? They haven’t learned from Peter’s recent encounter. They just heard Jesus give His most explicit prediction of His suffering and death. They skip over so readily the thought of suffering and ask to be ‘secretary of state’ and ‘vice-president’ when Jesus’ comes into His glory. Jesus tells them directly that they will not receive their request but they will follow His way of suffering. Maybe these two were caught up in the Transfiguration event where they saw Jesus’ glory. They were not being child-like but definitely childish. In Matthew’s account of this same even, the mother of James and John ask the question. In ancient times, seats to the left and right of the monarch were seats of honor with great dignity. AND the others were very upset…did they feel that they were the forgotten ones…were they thinking of what was in it for them?

Dr. BonnieBowman Thurston shares her thoughts on the gospel passage: “Mark 10:32-45 serves as a summary of the themes of passion and discipleship that dominate this section of the gospel. Disciples are those who, although perhaps uncomprehendingly, follow Jesus, and who follow with amazement and fear. They are to do as their master has done. Not only are they, like Him, to be servant (or slaves) ‘of all’ (v.44), but they are implicated in His suffering and death. Mark undoubtedly shaped this material to serve as instruction for the early church. In our day, it can be fruitfully preached not only to explain in very personal terms the atonement and its cost, but to address the question, ‘What must we do (or avoid doing) to see that our lives conform to Jesus’ (and the kingdom’s) view of greatness.?”

So the question is asked for my reflection: Am I living as a follower of Jesus? Am I concerned with myself as being the ‘gifted one’ or am I living as a servant of God? The traditional title of the pope is ‘Servant of the servants of God’…do people who observe me see me in this light?

I think a basic reflection that each person must spend time with is: Am I living as a Saint? Automatically, myself and most others would say, ‘I’m not a saint!’ True…but am I living as a Saint lives. Is it prideful to want to be a Saint? Again, most would respond, ‘Yes it is’…but is it? Every saint hoped to be a saint and knew that they were far from it but they hoped to be one. Why not me? If I feel that I can never become a saint, then am I denying the role of God’s grace daily in my life? Without God, I can do nothing…with God all things are possible.

Alice Camille in Exploring the Sunday Readings shares some compelling thoughts and questions on today’s readings:

Her reflective questions:

• “Name three qualities of your favorite saint that attract you the most.

• What virtues would you like to add to your canonization resume?

• List three things you’d need to change about yourself to move in the direction of holiness’Try to practice one of hem each day this week…and don’t lose this list!

• Have you ever received glory without suffering?

• What price are you willing to pay for the things you value most?”

Her thoughts:

“Every saint hoped to be one, and you and I should too. Of course, canonization isn’t the goal, but sanctification most definitely is what our Christian lives would lean toward with every decision we make. Working on our sainthood isn’t a matter of polishing the halo inner closet or striking a selfie pose that will look good on the future holy card. It’s about letting the image and likeness of God come out and be the light of the world.

Will we still sin and need to confessor failures? Early and often. Will we rely on God’s mercy to save us, God’s grace to propel us in a continual course correction? Without a doubt. None of the saints were immune to sin, and some of them were rather spectacular failure not he road of spiritual perfection. So if you’ve got flaws that seem to precludes seat in the canonized club, just think how those flaws will encourage some future sinner to aspire to the club themselves!”

So many saints have showed us the way…do we listen…do we read their lives…do we realize that God placed them in our lives to touch us with their love and their insistence on each day working, struggling, climbing over the rocks and boulders on the road ever aware of the end goal: God and heaven forever.

St. Therese the Little Flower always wanted to be a martyr. But how could she do this in living as a Cloistered Carmelite? On reading Paul’s letter to the Corinthians she realized that there were many ‘roles’ a person could use in becoming a saint…he said they were teachers and prophets and many more. She continued and then Paul said that each is blessed with gifts and each is loved by God. He went on to describe this and Therese hit on her way….I am called to LOVE. That’s it….with this in mind, I ask am I love…have I been love today…can people see me as love or as a hinderance to love…how can I love more deeply and completely?

Is any of this possible…YES….am I willing to continue each day…Good question…Is it Hard…Yes…Do I want to ‘take a vacation’ and not do it today…Yes….Is God with me to keep on trying and climbing over the rocks and boulders? Absolutely….Do I let God love me and lead me?

Sacred Space 2015 states it simply:

“Christian leadership is not like human authority, nor is it based upon power and lording it over others. Quite the contrary; it is genuine when expressed in service. Jesus came not to be served but to serve.

What about me? How am I of service to others?”