Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
HOLY WEEK
MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK... (Is.42,1-7;John 12,1-11)The cloud covers the house...the cloud of the cross. Did Mary know what she was doing? Did she realize that in the anointing she was announcing the death of Jesus? So many unusual things: the anointing of the feet instead of the head...the drying of the feet with her hair…using so much of the precious anointment that the house was filled with its fragrance...These unusual things speak to us about the fact that something is hidden within them. The death. What was He thinking as Mary performed the washing? Nothing is said. His silence is the voice to which we must listen to. His heart must have been sad even a little frightened. The touch of His dear friend gave Him consolation.
Did John want to say something beyond the literal? We look at the word ”house” and how John uses it in other places. It is the presence of God, and whoever is with God is in His “house.” .God is present and the fragrance is His glory. But who is anointed? It is the entire Christ and therefore in this act we also are anointed into His death; we are anointed into the Passover which He will walk. We have become dwellers in the “house” and the glory of the Head is within all the members. It also means that as we celebrate the sacred mysteries of this week, we are not only celebrating or remembering Christ’s but also our own. In some mystical way, we have been joined to Him so that the path He walks we also walk. The anointment of the Spirit has come upon us...
Question:
1: Do you welcome the Lord into your home and anoint Him with the oil of friendship?
TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEK... (Is.49,1-6;John 13, 21-33,36-38) A night of contrast .”it was night” words which tell us of sin, of betrayal. They ring with the absence of God…God is light; God is brightness and sunshine; God is being able to see. Night is selfishness; night envelops one so that there is separation. Night is sad; light is joy. Night has no hope; light is hope. Night is walking in the human condition; light is walking with God.
“It was night” is man separated from God. But then the Lord speaks: now is the Son of Man glorified...
The mysterious words “Son of Man” that contain within them the very meaning of who the Lord is: God and Man. He has walked with them.. Many times they did not understand who He was. Now in this, the “night” who He is will shine through. The astounding paradox: night is no longer night but light. Absence is no longer absence but presence. The glory of the Lord, which is the presence of God among men, will shine through. In what people see as the dark, His death, at that very moment His glory will shine through. On the Cross, we see God.
The seasons of the Church’s year each have their own meaning. Easter is the day of days...It is the day which goes so far beyond anything which the human mind can grasp that we stand with our mouths open in awe and wonder. It is the day when we look at our lives and remember that the night which we may have to walk in is only the threshold of the glory which is to come. The sadness-joy, hope-despair, success-failures of life are all wrapped in the great mystery which the Lord unfolded for us when He said: Now is the Son of Many glorified.
Question:
1: Have you ever been in the “night” and then be led to the “light?”
WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK... (Is.50,4-9;Matt.26,14-25) ”Thirty pieces of silver,” the price of a slave...The words of Isaac are fulfilled. The “servant” that mysterious figure of whom he speaks is realized in the flesh. That servant, one of the great hopes of Israel, is here. The words come back. He will take upon himself our sins; he did not shield his face from buffets and spitting; he gave his back to those who beat him...All the words are fulfilled.
It is so humbling with all our pride, and sometimes haughtiness, to accept the fact that God became a servant He gave his life as only a servant can do. We should look at the Lord as redeemer, as King. Then to realize that He is redeemer and King only as servant. Once again, the profundity of this week staggers us. God is our servant.
His life is not His own. His life is for us. He who is the master of all, the beginning and the end of all creation, the center, subjects himself to the created. His life is not something to be held onto but must be surrendered if those whom He has come to serve are to have life. We see in this scene much more than simply betrayal. The mystery of the meaning of life comes through. We live not only for ourselves but for others
Question:
1: What do think of the Lord as your servant?
THE HOLY TRIDUUM.
HOLY THURSDAY... (Ex.12,1-6,11-14;1Cor.11,23-26;John 13,1-15)The Eucharist. So many images come to mind. Service, community, presence, gift, honor and glory...Where do we begin? Where do we put ourselves in this scene? Is it gathered roun
d the table enjoying?.Is it with the apron on washing the feet of our brothers and sisters? Is it looking forward to what this evening means: suffering, death and most happily resurrection? Are our hearts heavy because we know the master is leaving but do not as yet know how? Are they happy because they realize the gift which has been given them? They have just received the bread of life, they have been given the command: do this in memory of me. Something special…they do not yet fully understand. The Master teaches them the meaning of the evening: He washes their feet. The servant/master gives the sign of love. He gives life through the Eucharist, so they must give life to one another. To be “this evening” in memory of Him..
The “upper room”...A room which resounds with the hearts of all humanity. The evening, done in time and place and yet going so far beyond time and space that our minds stand in humble acceptance, and that is all. The room and what it means has come down to us in the acts of the martyrs; it has come to us in the thousands upon thousands who have dedicated their lives to the Lord. This room comes to us in the love which is shared between husbands and wives between parents and children; it comes to us with a friend helping a friend…with the gentle hands of a nurse giving comfort to a patient…This evening and the Eucharist are all about us…and more than that this evening is still yearning to be brought to life in our lives.
Holy Thursday is not celebrated as a date past but rather as a date yet to be lived.
Question:
1: Simply ask yourself the question: what does the Eucharist mean to me?
GOOD FRIDAY... (Is.52,13-53,12;Heb.4,14-16;John 18,1-19) Silence...The scourging is finished. The long walk to Calvary has ended. The sound of the nails biting into his flesh no longer penetrate the air...the crowds look. His mother and a few friends, at a distance, cry. T
hen the words come: It is finished. But is it?
As we go through this day, wrapped in the sadness of separation colored by hope, as we walk the Passion with Him, is it finished, or is it just beginning? In finishing His work the beginning for the rest of us is in sight.
He begins, in this finishing, something new. The splendor of creation, the meaning of what it is to be human, suffering, not as a curse, but as life giving. It is not yet finished because what happened on that hill so many years ago still has to become alive in the lives of those who say: I believe. The cross is not finished; it has to be made present to the world around us. In finishing, He has just begun. It is not the end but rather the entrance to a new road of living.
It is paradoxical that death brings so much newness. It is the great paradox that in defeat there is victory, that in the shattered body on the cross is the glory and the presence of God...It is something which makes the mind bow to think that He who is the beginning and end of all things subjected Himself to those whom He created...We look at the cross in this moment of silence, and we see ourselves. We see the shattered broken people so much in need of healing. We look at the cross and we see love. We look at the Cross and see that He has come down to heal us and in showing that we are loved gives us the greatest healing.
It is finished, and only begun...
Question:
1: Look at the Cross and see the love of God…
Did John want to say something beyond the literal? We look at the word ”house” and how John uses it in other places. It is the presence of God, and whoever is with God is in His “house.” .God is present and the fragrance is His glory. But who is anointed? It is the entire Christ and therefore in this act we also are anointed into His death; we are anointed into the Passover which He will walk. We have become dwellers in the “house” and the glory of the Head is within all the members. It also means that as we celebrate the sacred mysteries of this week, we are not only celebrating or remembering Christ’s but also our own. In some mystical way, we have been joined to Him so that the path He walks we also walk. The anointment of the Spirit has come upon us...
Question:
1: Do you welcome the Lord into your home and anoint Him with the oil of friendship?
TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEK... (Is.49,1-6;John 13, 21-33,36-38) A night of contrast .”it was night” words which tell us of sin, of betrayal. They ring with the absence of God…God is light; God is brightness and sunshine; God is being able to see. Night is selfishness; night envelops one so that there is separation. Night is sad; light is joy. Night has no hope; light is hope. Night is walking in the human condition; light is walking with God.
“It was night” is man separated from God. But then the Lord speaks: now is the Son of Man glorified...
The mysterious words “Son of Man” that contain within them the very meaning of who the Lord is: God and Man. He has walked with them.. Many times they did not understand who He was. Now in this, the “night” who He is will shine through. The astounding paradox: night is no longer night but light. Absence is no longer absence but presence. The glory of the Lord, which is the presence of God among men, will shine through. In what people see as the dark, His death, at that very moment His glory will shine through. On the Cross, we see God.
The seasons of the Church’s year each have their own meaning. Easter is the day of days...It is the day which goes so far beyond anything which the human mind can grasp that we stand with our mouths open in awe and wonder. It is the day when we look at our lives and remember that the night which we may have to walk in is only the threshold of the glory which is to come. The sadness-joy, hope-despair, success-failures of life are all wrapped in the great mystery which the Lord unfolded for us when He said: Now is the Son of Many glorified.
Question:
1: Have you ever been in the “night” and then be led to the “light?”
WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK... (Is.50,4-9;Matt.26,14-25) ”Thirty pieces of silver,” the price of a slave...The words of Isaac are fulfilled. The “servant” that mysterious figure of whom he speaks is realized in the flesh. That servant, one of the great hopes of Israel, is here. The words come back. He will take upon himself our sins; he did not shield his face from buffets and spitting; he gave his back to those who beat him...All the words are fulfilled.
It is so humbling with all our pride, and sometimes haughtiness, to accept the fact that God became a servant He gave his life as only a servant can do. We should look at the Lord as redeemer, as King. Then to realize that He is redeemer and King only as servant. Once again, the profundity of this week staggers us. God is our servant.
His life is not His own. His life is for us. He who is the master of all, the beginning and the end of all creation, the center, subjects himself to the created. His life is not something to be held onto but must be surrendered if those whom He has come to serve are to have life. We see in this scene much more than simply betrayal. The mystery of the meaning of life comes through. We live not only for ourselves but for others
Question:
1: What do think of the Lord as your servant?
THE HOLY TRIDUUM.
HOLY THURSDAY... (Ex.12,1-6,11-14;1Cor.11,23-26;John 13,1-15)The Eucharist. So many images come to mind. Service, community, presence, gift, honor and glory...Where do we begin? Where do we put ourselves in this scene? Is it gathered roun
d the table enjoying?.Is it with the apron on washing the feet of our brothers and sisters? Is it looking forward to what this evening means: suffering, death and most happily resurrection? Are our hearts heavy because we know the master is leaving but do not as yet know how? Are they happy because they realize the gift which has been given them? They have just received the bread of life, they have been given the command: do this in memory of me. Something special…they do not yet fully understand. The Master teaches them the meaning of the evening: He washes their feet. The servant/master gives the sign of love. He gives life through the Eucharist, so they must give life to one another. To be “this evening” in memory of Him..The “upper room”...A room which resounds with the hearts of all humanity. The evening, done in time and place and yet going so far beyond time and space that our minds stand in humble acceptance, and that is all. The room and what it means has come down to us in the acts of the martyrs; it has come to us in the thousands upon thousands who have dedicated their lives to the Lord. This room comes to us in the love which is shared between husbands and wives between parents and children; it comes to us with a friend helping a friend…with the gentle hands of a nurse giving comfort to a patient…This evening and the Eucharist are all about us…and more than that this evening is still yearning to be brought to life in our lives.
Holy Thursday is not celebrated as a date past but rather as a date yet to be lived.
Question:
1: Simply ask yourself the question: what does the Eucharist mean to me?
GOOD FRIDAY... (Is.52,13-53,12;Heb.4,14-16;John 18,1-19) Silence...The scourging is finished. The long walk to Calvary has ended. The sound of the nails biting into his flesh no longer penetrate the air...the crowds look. His mother and a few friends, at a distance, cry. T
hen the words come: It is finished. But is it?As we go through this day, wrapped in the sadness of separation colored by hope, as we walk the Passion with Him, is it finished, or is it just beginning? In finishing His work the beginning for the rest of us is in sight.
He begins, in this finishing, something new. The splendor of creation, the meaning of what it is to be human, suffering, not as a curse, but as life giving. It is not yet finished because what happened on that hill so many years ago still has to become alive in the lives of those who say: I believe. The cross is not finished; it has to be made present to the world around us. In finishing, He has just begun. It is not the end but rather the entrance to a new road of living.
It is paradoxical that death brings so much newness. It is the great paradox that in defeat there is victory, that in the shattered body on the cross is the glory and the presence of God...It is something which makes the mind bow to think that He who is the beginning and end of all things subjected Himself to those whom He created...We look at the cross in this moment of silence, and we see ourselves. We see the shattered broken people so much in need of healing. We look at the cross and we see love. We look at the Cross and see that He has come down to heal us and in showing that we are loved gives us the greatest healing.
It is finished, and only begun...
Question:
1: Look at the Cross and see the love of God…
Sunday, March 21, 2010
FIFTH WEEK OF LENT..
We know where it is going to end....there is a quiet yearning to get it done...but Jesus chooses different ways. He wants to show the confrontation that He and his message will always have with the world, and with the two sides of who we are....the one who walks in the light and the one who hides in the darkness.
MONDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT… Dan.13,41-62; John 8,12-20) The irony is strong. Here is Jesus the “new temple,” standing in the Temple which He will replace...Here is Jesus in the very spot where discerning who He is should be so easy, and yet they do not see. Here is the light shinning brightly so that all may see, only to be met by blindness of heart....The light shines so brightly and yet no one sees. So many reasons to see the place, the words ...The light never goes out, the light which is Christ always stands before people trying to break through the darkness of sin induced darkness. To see the light we are asked to put, as the old expression goes, two and two together. This is where the people in the Temple completely missed the boat. They did not stop to reflect on their tradition, or what Jesus had said at other times. They took the words but not the meaning. They could repeat the words but not the message. For us, it is obvious what Jesus is saying...perhaps there is even something in our hearts which says: how foolish those people were. Is He looking down on me and saying the same thing? Is He wondering why I missed the light so often in my life.
Is He standing in the Temple of the world in which I live, and I do not see Him? The darkness which He has to penetrate is as real today as it was then....Perhaps I am more guilty. I know He is the light, I have accepted that, and yet so often I prefer the dark...
Question:
1:Do you see all of nature as the great hymn of praise ?
TUESDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT… (Num.21,4-9;John 8,21-30) People listen to the same words...”many came to believe in Him” and at the same time other hearts remained hard....Can I ask the question; why did they believe? What did they hear that turned their hearts to Him? Maybe for each there is a different answer. The personal touching of our hearts by the Lord...He comes the way we need Him...He comes to respond to the individual yearnings of the human spirit...Some see and understand beyond just the appearances...others are trapped in the material world. To some the brightness of hope fulfilled shines forth while others look for something or someone to remove the emptiness...They can not accept the gift which has been given. He says: I AM…some hear those words others hear something else: what I am... Some were quiet, standing on the periphery of the conversation but listening and taking things into their hearts....others were too busy talking they had no time to listen....some were holding on to the security of their thoughts afraid to let go ...Others let the freshness come in and reached out for something new...Some put their trust in politics others put theirs in the Lord.
Question:
1: What does it mean to you to say “Christ is our hope?”
WEDNESDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT… (Dan.3,14-20;John 8,31-42)A willingness to listen is not enough...The word which Our Lord preaches must be the food of our existence. To live in the real world is to be free. When we live our lives in a world of our own making, we are not be free.
The real is what brings out the greatness of the human spirit...the false captures us. But what is real, or what is truth? The definition corresponds to various experiences...It is a nice day...true. People do bad things...true. We can limit the definition to the material world...to the world of sensual perception.
There is another world, a world we cannot see but is just as real. As a matter of fact it is “more real” than the material one in which we have to make our way. It is the world of God-the ultimate truth the ultimate reality because He does not have any of the limitations of “our world”.
It is this truth, this reality which sets us free. Why? What is it about this truth which is so powerful that we are free? At the bottom line freedom is simply the ability to love. The more one loves the freer one becomes. This truth of God brings us into contact with the boundless love which God has for us. The deeper we immerse ourselves in this love the more the strings of this world are cut away ...We start forgetting ourselves and our own little interests, we begin to walk in the sunshine of the love of God...That is freedom. That is what the Word which Our Lord gives us and which He wants us to make our food offers.
Question:
1: What word of God has struck you during Lent?
THURSDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT... THE SOLEMINITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION (Is.7:1014; Heb.10:4-10; Luke 1;26-38) It begins…With the “let it be done to me” the plan of God for our salvation becomes present. Mary with her yes says that all people have a place in God’s plan. She knew who she was, she knew that her life had a meaning which even she did not know completely. This is the great lesson of the Annunciation by saying yes to who we are we make Christ present in the world.
OR
. (refusing to go further...The security is threatened. We know that there is an invitation to go beyond
, to take a step into that world which we do not know but which beckons. The structures upon which so much of our lives are founded hold us back ...The courage is lacking but more importantly the dream is not there. To be able to dream of something beyond what we see and hear, to be able to dream that all reality is not boxed in this world, to be able to dream that God has a dream for us...that dream is what goes first...today’s word if nothing else puts before us the one offering the dream and those refusing it. To dream and to live that dream, this is the gift which the Lord gives.
Question:
1: has there been a time when you thought God was asking you to do something but you held back because of fear?
FRIDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT... (Jer.20,10-13;John 10,31-42) There is something very humbling about this scene. I place myself as one of the inquisitors of Jesus...I have seen His works in my own life....sometimes in small ways, at other times in ways which truly stagger me by their power. At times the works are like a gentle breeze almost unnoticed, at other times they are like the thunder coming from the mountains...The humbling point comes in when I sit back and reflect on the one simple fact: this is the Lord, the God working in a weak not very worthy human being. It is the Lord, the almighty, taking a piece of clay and molding it into the image which He wants...It is the Lord of all creation, looking down on one of His created and doing great things within him.
Today’s scene reflects that part of me which has such a difficult time accepting the fact that God walks with me and works within me. I can not be too hard on the inquistors…because often times I am one of them…the fact that God is with me is too powerful, almost frightening, and yet that is what the Lord is asking us to accept. Getting caught up in the same irony: the problem is not what the scribes and Pharisees say it is.
They say that Jesus-although He is nothing but a man makes Himself out to be God; when in fact the reality is that although He is God, he shows Himself as a true man. They got the situation backwards. Perhaps they were afraid; perhaps it was just too much for them; perhaps they wanted a different “God” to be with them; perhaps they were blind. These all sound so familiar when I look at my own life.
Question:
1: What great thing has God done through you?
SATURDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK… (Ez.37,21-28;John 11,45-56) The poor Pharisees...trying to solve the things of God with human reason...I hear their talk and can not help but think how fallible we are. There was Caiphas advocating the death of Jesus and at the same time prophesying what that death would mean: for the nation to gather into one the dispersed children of God...I wonder if Caiphas now is in heaven, I certainly hope so. He is looking down on this scene and hopefully having a good laugh at himself ...wondering how he got entangled in discerning the things of God with simply human reason.
Maybe he is laughing at the great joke that took place ...He thought he had everything under control; the logic was perfect: if Jesus dies the Romans will leave them alone...human logic falls right on its face. Caiphas from whereever he is now can see it. At least I hope he is enjoying the situation.
Unfortunately, we do not see the irony that clearly yet. There is an arrogance at times the way we look at situations thinking that we are in perfect control. Because we have thought it out, that is the way it is going to be...Then God comes and does something...just to remind us of who is really in charge. We see also that the plans of people are not in accordance with God’s desires. It is once again so easy for us to make ourselves the center, thinking that we are the ones who determine the right and the wrong.
Once again, fear seems to be predominant...It colors the way we think. The subtle fears, that come into our lives and we are not even conscience of can control us. Pray to be freed from the fears which prevent us from seeing the things of God.
We know where it is going to end....there is a quiet yearning to get it done...but Jesus chooses different ways. He wants to show the confrontation that He and his message will always have with the world, and with the two sides of who we are....the one who walks in the light and the one who hides in the darkness.
MONDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT… Dan.13,41-62; John 8,12-20) The irony is strong. Here is Jesus the “new temple,” standing in the Temple which He will replace...Here is Jesus in the very spot where discerning who He is should be so easy, and yet they do not see. Here is the light shinning brightly so that all may see, only to be met by blindness of heart....The light shines so brightly and yet no one sees. So many reasons to see the place, the words ...The light never goes out, the light which is Christ always stands before people trying to break through the darkness of sin induced darkness. To see the light we are asked to put, as the old expression goes, two and two together. This is where the people in the Temple completely missed the boat. They did not stop to reflect on their tradition, or what Jesus had said at other times. They took the words but not the meaning. They could repeat the words but not the message. For us, it is obvious what Jesus is saying...perhaps there is even something in our hearts which says: how foolish those people were. Is He looking down on me and saying the same thing? Is He wondering why I missed the light so often in my life.
Is He standing in the Temple of the world in which I live, and I do not see Him? The darkness which He has to penetrate is as real today as it was then....Perhaps I am more guilty. I know He is the light, I have accepted that, and yet so often I prefer the dark...
Question:
1:Do you see all of nature as the great hymn of praise ?
TUESDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT… (Num.21,4-9;John 8,21-30) People listen to the same words...”many came to believe in Him” and at the same time other hearts remained hard....Can I ask the question; why did they believe? What did they hear that turned their hearts to Him? Maybe for each there is a different answer. The personal touching of our hearts by the Lord...He comes the way we need Him...He comes to respond to the individual yearnings of the human spirit...Some see and understand beyond just the appearances...others are trapped in the material world. To some the brightness of hope fulfilled shines forth while others look for something or someone to remove the emptiness...They can not accept the gift which has been given. He says: I AM…some hear those words others hear something else: what I am... Some were quiet, standing on the periphery of the conversation but listening and taking things into their hearts....others were too busy talking they had no time to listen....some were holding on to the security of their thoughts afraid to let go ...Others let the freshness come in and reached out for something new...Some put their trust in politics others put theirs in the Lord.
Question:
1: What does it mean to you to say “Christ is our hope?”
WEDNESDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT… (Dan.3,14-20;John 8,31-42)A willingness to listen is not enough...The word which Our Lord preaches must be the food of our existence. To live in the real world is to be free. When we live our lives in a world of our own making, we are not be free.
The real is what brings out the greatness of the human spirit...the false captures us. But what is real, or what is truth? The definition corresponds to various experiences...It is a nice day...true. People do bad things...true. We can limit the definition to the material world...to the world of sensual perception.
There is another world, a world we cannot see but is just as real. As a matter of fact it is “more real” than the material one in which we have to make our way. It is the world of God-the ultimate truth the ultimate reality because He does not have any of the limitations of “our world”.
It is this truth, this reality which sets us free. Why? What is it about this truth which is so powerful that we are free? At the bottom line freedom is simply the ability to love. The more one loves the freer one becomes. This truth of God brings us into contact with the boundless love which God has for us. The deeper we immerse ourselves in this love the more the strings of this world are cut away ...We start forgetting ourselves and our own little interests, we begin to walk in the sunshine of the love of God...That is freedom. That is what the Word which Our Lord gives us and which He wants us to make our food offers.
Question:
1: What word of God has struck you during Lent?
THURSDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT... THE SOLEMINITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION (Is.7:1014; Heb.10:4-10; Luke 1;26-38) It begins…With the “let it be done to me” the plan of God for our salvation becomes present. Mary with her yes says that all people have a place in God’s plan. She knew who she was, she knew that her life had a meaning which even she did not know completely. This is the great lesson of the Annunciation by saying yes to who we are we make Christ present in the world.
OR
. (refusing to go further...The security is threatened. We know that there is an invitation to go beyond
, to take a step into that world which we do not know but which beckons. The structures upon which so much of our lives are founded hold us back ...The courage is lacking but more importantly the dream is not there. To be able to dream of something beyond what we see and hear, to be able to dream that all reality is not boxed in this world, to be able to dream that God has a dream for us...that dream is what goes first...today’s word if nothing else puts before us the one offering the dream and those refusing it. To dream and to live that dream, this is the gift which the Lord gives.
Question:
1: has there been a time when you thought God was asking you to do something but you held back because of fear?
FRIDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT... (Jer.20,10-13;John 10,31-42) There is something very humbling about this scene. I place myself as one of the inquisitors of Jesus...I have seen His works in my own life....sometimes in small ways, at other times in ways which truly stagger me by their power. At times the works are like a gentle breeze almost unnoticed, at other times they are like the thunder coming from the mountains...The humbling point comes in when I sit back and reflect on the one simple fact: this is the Lord, the God working in a weak not very worthy human being. It is the Lord, the almighty, taking a piece of clay and molding it into the image which He wants...It is the Lord of all creation, looking down on one of His created and doing great things within him.
Today’s scene reflects that part of me which has such a difficult time accepting the fact that God walks with me and works within me. I can not be too hard on the inquistors…because often times I am one of them…the fact that God is with me is too powerful, almost frightening, and yet that is what the Lord is asking us to accept. Getting caught up in the same irony: the problem is not what the scribes and Pharisees say it is.
They say that Jesus-although He is nothing but a man makes Himself out to be God; when in fact the reality is that although He is God, he shows Himself as a true man. They got the situation backwards. Perhaps they were afraid; perhaps it was just too much for them; perhaps they wanted a different “God” to be with them; perhaps they were blind. These all sound so familiar when I look at my own life.
Question:
1: What great thing has God done through you?
SATURDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK… (Ez.37,21-28;John 11,45-56) The poor Pharisees...trying to solve the things of God with human reason...I hear their talk and can not help but think how fallible we are. There was Caiphas advocating the death of Jesus and at the same time prophesying what that death would mean: for the nation to gather into one the dispersed children of God...I wonder if Caiphas now is in heaven, I certainly hope so. He is looking down on this scene and hopefully having a good laugh at himself ...wondering how he got entangled in discerning the things of God with simply human reason.
Maybe he is laughing at the great joke that took place ...He thought he had everything under control; the logic was perfect: if Jesus dies the Romans will leave them alone...human logic falls right on its face. Caiphas from whereever he is now can see it. At least I hope he is enjoying the situation.
Unfortunately, we do not see the irony that clearly yet. There is an arrogance at times the way we look at situations thinking that we are in perfect control. Because we have thought it out, that is the way it is going to be...Then God comes and does something...just to remind us of who is really in charge. We see also that the plans of people are not in accordance with God’s desires. It is once again so easy for us to make ourselves the center, thinking that we are the ones who determine the right and the wrong.
Once again, fear seems to be predominant...It colors the way we think. The subtle fears, that come into our lives and we are not even conscience of can control us. Pray to be freed from the fears which prevent us from seeing the things of God.
Friday, March 12, 2010
THIS WEEK
The Gospel in most parishoners will be the parable of the Prodigal Son. We are all familiar with the message. Thanks to the wonders of modern tech. we are able to listen to Pope Benedicts insights into this beautiful reflection on the love of God...It only takes about five minutes. Since the Holy Father's homily is so beautiful I decided that my homily would be something similar to a fire cracker going off after an atomic explosion.
Don't forget to link onto the Franciscan Volunteer Ministry web page....you or someone you know may be interested.
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