"Where Are You?"

In today's first reading, Genesis 3: 9-24, we are given the dialogue that occurred between God and Adam following his disobedience to the Lord.  "'Where are you,'" God called out to Adam.  "'I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.' then [God] asked, 'Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!' the man replied, 'The woman whom you put here with me--she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.' The Lord God then asked the woman, 'Why did you do such a thing?' The woman answered, 'The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.'"

And the blame game goes on to this very day, as does the hiding when we do something wrong!  As with Adam, we feel "naked" when we go against our consciences, that is, when we follow our will and not God's!  And like both Adam and Eve, we find someone or something to blame for our wrongdoing! Also, true, is that God, to this very day, looks for us when we have gone astray. "Where are you?" God asks each one of us. We cannot hide from God! God knows that we are afraid, that we know that when we have done wrong, and He comes in search of us. Not to condemn us but to restore us, to heal us, to make us whole again and to protect us from Satan's trickery! God takes our side against Satan! God comes to help us all ways and every time and any time! 

Yes, there are consequences when we sin, as there were for Adam and Eve and for Satan who corralled them, so to speak!  Jesus assumed responsibility for our disobedience to God, offering His life and death to show us the way back to God and to assure us that sin and death do not have the last word! Resurrection does. We will rise from our sinful ways and return to what is right and just and the loving thing to do. God is there to strengthen us to leave sin behind and to follow Jesus, who is our Way, our Truth, and our Life back to God!

The Power of the Eucharist

In  the first reading of today's liturgy, 1 Cor 10: 14-22, St. Paul reminds us that we are one in that we all share in "the cup of blessing,...the Blood of Christ,...and the bread,...the body of Christ."  By partaking of Holy Communion, we are, in fact, unified as the Body of Christ.  We are made one with our spouses, our children and grandchild, our community members or members of our parish. That which destroys our unity is, in itself, destroyed, so to speak, and we are reunited in love, in peace, in forgiveness.  In the Eucharistic meal, Jesus restores us, makes us whole, reconciles us to one another.  

In this same passage, Paul goes on to warn us of sacrificing to idols, that is to demons.  To demons, you ask? Yes, to demons, to anything to which we cling as God substitutes or to anyone whom we "worship" in place of God, the Almighty One, the Ultimate Forgiving One, the Infinitely Merciful One, our Savior God above all gods.  To whom, in your life do you, and to whom, in my life do I seek "salvation" and leave God out of the picture? To whom and to what do we repeatedly go for a sense of peace, security, a settling down, so to speak, and shut God out?

What may help us is to realize is  that God patiently waits for us to come to Him with all of our problems!  He is there for us and ready to help us resolve whatever issues are troubling us. God wants our peace! God wants us to feel secure with Him! Whenever I am troubled and I come to the Lord and pour out my troubling thoughts, laying before His feet that person or situation about which I am upset, God restores my peace of mind. Turning people, things and myself over to the Lord, as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, gives me the strength to carry whatever cross I was agonizing about.  I can get up, as Jesus did, and face whatever disturbed me. Yes, I am then able to go to the "Calvary" of my life, die to that which I need to die to--usually changing an attitude within myself--and am then able to experience a resurrection. The "stone" is then removed from the "tomb" in which I had buried myself and I can then live  differently from that which was blocking new life in me.

Jesus, the Partner of Laborers and Those Who Are Burdened

In today's Gospel, Matthew 11: 25-30, Jesus invites us to come to Him, saying to us:  "[A]ll you who labor and are burdened...I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and  you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."  The heaviness of the burdens we are carrying is lessened, as Jesus is partnering with us. Whatever burden we are carrying, Jesus is not ashamed or embarrassed to "get his hands dirty," so to speak. He will help us through the messiness of our lives, no matter what!  Willingly and meekly He takes our burdens upon Himself. In fact, He will carry not only our cross up the steep "hills" for us, but also carry us personally!

God Fights for Us against Satan

In yesterday's reading from  Exodus 14: 21-15:1, "the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the Lord was fighting for them against the Egyptians."  The same is true for us. Enemies may be pursuing us on every side and especially from within our own beings: pride, selfishness, gluttony, idolatry (God substitutes such as compulsive use of alcohol, drugs, food,  pleasure, relationships,  sex or whatever we use to distract ourselves or as sole means to meet insatiable needs, calm excessive fears, and avoid feeling whatever pain is beckoning us to look at the truth of what is going on in our lives). As with the Israelites, God fights for us as well.

By our use of God substitutes, we are likely to deafen ourselves to God's voice and develop a  blindness to God's presence and action in our lives.  How do we keep our ears and eyes open?  How do we maintain our focus on God, realizing and discovering that God is on our side and that God is enough for us? By calling upon the Holy Spirit or reverently uttering Jesus' name, asking God to help us.  It is at those times that Satan sounds his "retreat" from us,  because he knows then that the Lord is fighting for us against him in the same way as the Lord fought for the Israelites, His Chosen People.

Liberation from Slavery to Oppressive Behaviors, that is from Sin

In today's first reading, Exodus 14: 21-15:1, we are given the story of the Israelites being freed from the oppression of the Egyptians.  God divides the waters of the sea, "with the water like a wall to their right and to their left," the Israelites are able to cross the sea on dry land.  Once safely across, God instructs Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea, "that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians."   None of them survive.  "When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore and beheld the great power that the Lord had shown against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses."

This story is not only about the Israelites. It is about you and me, as well!  God also frees us from our oppressors: the oppression of selfishness, prejudice and hatred that holds us back from being a true disciple of Jesus.  It is about the ways, through baptism and the other sacraments that Jesus frees us from the oppressing blindness and deafness that deprives us of the ability to recognize Jesus in others and from hearing the voice of the Spirit guiding us to do good and avoid evil. 

The story of God freeing the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt is a precursor of Jesus freeing us from sin as He offered His life for our salvation and rose from the dead, death and sin having absolutely no power over Jesus.  In baptism we died with Christ and rose with Him to new life, a life in which we are empowered to live as brothers and sisters and mothers of Jesus, that is as persons doing what the Father wills of us (see today's gospel, Matthew 12: 46-50).

Freed from slavery!

In today's first reading, Exodus 12: 37-42, we are told about the night that the Israelites rushed out of Egypt.  To this very day, this night is remembered by the Israelites as "a night of vigil for the Lord".  God kept watch over His people and, at the right time, freed them from the slavery of the Egyptians.  God also keep vigil for us. He knows the chaos or the slavery into which we have fallen or could fall each day. He watches. His timing of freedom for us is the perfect timing.  God is not turned back by what He sees. The turmoil, the chaos, the sinfulness, the divisiveness, the deficits in our lives do not cause God to distance Himself from us. No!  On the contrary, God draws near to us.  God is always near, watching and waiting for the right moment to set us free, to draw us closer and closer to Himself and to others in love.

For 430 years, the Israelites stayed in Egypt! That certainly is a long time!  Where was God, you may ask? God was at their side, empowering them to rise up to the occasion and do what had to be done as slaves.  Was God pleased that they were slaves? Of course not!  God, in no way, wishes us evil or rejoices when life is difficult for us.  God is the liberator, the One who reconciles us with those who  bring us harm or frees us from those who hurt us!  Our freedom may come in a variety of ways. Sometimes as dramatic as with the Israelites' passage out of Egypt. Most times, in less dramatic ways and sometimes we are not even immediately aware that we are being led to freedom.  We simply start making choices by which we let go of attitudes that enslave us to others or that allow others to abuse us.  We begin making choices that give us peace or we keep company with persons who are supportive of us and give us the courage to be our true selves, not another person's slave!

Am I, are you, choosing ways that limit our authentic freedom to be the best person we can be? What behavioral changes do I, do you, need to make to experience greater freedom to serve God with joy and in peace?  What attitudes do I, do you, need to change that will lead us more deeply into the truth of who we are, who God is and how to become our better selves?

God's Promise to Be with Moses and with Us

In today's first reading, Exodus 3: 1-6, 9-12, Moses encounters God in the burning bush.  curious that the bush is not being consumed, Moses approaches the bush, saying to himself: "I  must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned."  As he approaches the bush, he hears a voice announcing his name"   "Moses! Moses!   ...'Here I am,'  Moses responds.  "Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.  I am the God of your father,..., the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."  God then tells Moses that he has heard the people's cry and is aware of the fact that the Egyptians are oppressing them. He wants Moses to lead God's chosen ones out of Egypt. Moses questions God:  "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?"  God says to him: "' I will be with you."

Imagine being Moses, a man in hiding out of fear of being killed by Pharaoh for killing an Egyptian in retaliation for his murder of one of Moses' kinsman. "Me go back into Egypt?  You have got to be kidding, God! I killed a man there!  I will be put to death!" God, of course, knows Moses' past crime and yet chooses him to confront Pharaoh and to lead the Israelites out of slavery!  Our sins are not a deterrent for God's choice of us to do the work of liberating others from that which enslaves them.  In fact, God has liberated Moses from his sinful past and empowers him to be a liberator with God's help.  The same is true for us! Or is it? Do we cooperate with God when God calls us to partner with Him?  Or do we resist, offering God every excuse in the book of why there is no way that we can do what he is asking of us?

What if Mary has said no to God?  What if Jesus had likewise refused to become one of us and show us the way to the Father and reveal the Father's love for us?  Both Mary and Jesus, however, said yes! They held nothing back! Nothing!

What am I, what are you, willing to do for God, for other's well-being, in accord with God's will for us and them, namely that we be reconciled to God and one another, that we become recipients of the fullness of life that Jesus came to give us?

Fulfilling God's Purposes Here on Earth

Today's Scripture, Exodus 2: 1-15, presents the story of Moses' mother, a Levite woman, hiding her infant in reeds on the river bank. Pharaoh's daughter finds him and asked his mother, who is watching nearby, to nurse him. She does so and when the child grew returned him to Pharaoh's daughter.   Moses is raised an Egyptian.

One day, as an adult, Moses sees an Egyptian  striking one of his kinsman and kills him.  The next day, he sees two Hebrews fighting one another and one of them asks: Are you going to kill us, too. Moses realizes that his murder of an Egyptian is known and that Pharaoh is out to kill him. He flees to the land of Midian.

As we know from the rest of the story, Moses is called up from Midian to be God's instrument in freeing the Israelites from the Egyptians. That he murdered a man is no deterrent in God using him for his divine purposes. In Moses' case, he overcomes his fear of Pharaoh and follow God's plan.  Not easy, by any means!

You and I are no different from Moses. We, too, engage in behaviors that, perhaps, we believe make us unworthy of being an instrument in God's hands. Not true, however. Because the works we are to do, or the purposes for which God created us, are accomplished, literally, by the Spirit of God at work through us. The good that we accomplish in this life is not our doing, though we may take credit for the good we do, collecting accolades and awards as though we truly carried out God's will all by ourselves.

Lord, we ask for forgiveness and repent of the times that we usurp Your power, the credit and the glory that belongs to You.  You are God. We are mere creatures, Your children, put here on earth to give You glory and honor and praise.  We are here to learn of You, to see Your glory here on earth and to be Your servants!







 

God's Work Cannot Be Destroyed

In today's first reading, Exodus 1: 8-14, 22, the Egyptian authorities execute a decree to oppress the Israelites, their slaves,as their population is increasing, afraid that,in times of war with other nations, the Israelites will join Egypt's enemies and turn against them and  also leave the country.  "Let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase....Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied."

So, too, with Christianity!  God's work cannot be destroyed. The work of the Holy Spirit is unstoppable, then and now!

No matter how the cross appears--outside oppression, internal turmoil, ill health, failure of some sort or whatever-- whatever suffering you and I endure in faith and in trusting the Lord, our faith will deepen and our love grow stronger and more extensive. Suffering endured in faith will yield fruit that will last into eternity!

In Jesus' suffering, Jesus never lost sight of His Father's delight and love of Him and of us.  May you and I, likewise in our sufferings, not lose sight of God's delight in us,  His love for us, and His nearness, giving us the strength we need to grow in faith and trust of the Lord!  May we look to God for help to realize how much we depend upon God to grow in faith and love especially during times of trial, turbulence, and pain!





 

Learning to Rely upon Jesus

In today's first reading, Gen 49: 29-32; 50: 55-26, Joseph's brothers, following their father Jacob's death, are afraid that their brother Joseph, whom they  treated so cruelly by selling him as a slave into Egypt, would take revenge upon them. So they approached Joseph, begging for mercy:  "'Please, ...forgive the crime that we, the servants of your father's God, committed.' When they spoke these words to him, Joseph broke into tears. Then his brothers proceeded to fling themselves down before him and said, 'Let us be your salves!'  But Joseph replied to them; 'Have no fear. Can I take the place of God? Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve the present end, the survival of many  people.'"

Feelings are natural reactions to situations in our lives, and, of themselves, are not sinful. However, when entertained and obsessed about, we make ourselves vulnerable to choosing actions based upon those negative feelings. Joseph's brothers did just that.  By feeding their jealousy and anger, the brothers fell  into sin by planning murder. Changing their plan to kill Joseph, they  expressed their anger by selling Joseph to Ishmaelites on their way to Egypt. To cover up their crime, they soaked Joseph's colored cloak in animal's blood to look as though he suffered a fatal attack by a wild beasts.

When have you and I entertained feelings of jealousy, anger, revenge? To what did those feelings lead us? Did we redirect our attention? Or did we act upon those feelings?  We have a choice to do either!
Let us turn our focus on Jesus, say the name Jesus and ask for help rather than relying upon ourselves to deal with situations that are problematic for us!

Trusting, Believing and Following the Lord to Freedom

In today's first reading, Gen 22: 1b-19,  God challenges Abraham's distorted thinking that he had to sacrifice the first fruits of his offspring to God.  Believing this cultural tradition, Abraham takes his son Isaac to a place where he intends to sacrifice him to the Lord. As Abraham approaches the place of sacrifice, he places wood on his son's back and continues the journey, leaving his servants behind at that point.  Isaac says to his father:  "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?"  Abraham replies:  "God himself will provide the sheep for the burnt offering."  And God does so, stopping Abraham from harming his son at the very point at which he is about to kill him!  God sends a messenger from heaven who calls out:  "Abraham, Abraham!...Do not lay your hand on the boy...Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God,  since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."  Abraham looks about and sees a ram caught by his horns in a thicket!

What do we learn about God from this passage? 

• That God knows our thoughts even before we do!
• That God provides for our needs
• That God tests our faith in many ways
• That God uses even our distorted thinking to reveal Himself and His will for us
• That God will and can stop us from engaging in wrongdoing
• That God challenges our distortions and guides us to the truth
• That God frees us from the power of Satan

Based on this passage from Genesis 22: 1b-19, how am I, are you, to live our lives?

• Trusting the in Lord, as Abraham did
• Realizing that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow
• Following God's way, being cautious of the ego's power to mislead us into doing what is contrary to God's will, though what we are contemplating looks like the right thing to do
• Remembering that God will provide for all our needs and that the sacrifice God desires of us is the one we remember during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Jesus' life, suffering, death and resurrection as well as our own

God: A God of Imminence, of Compassion and Power to Save

In today's first reading, Gen.  19: 15-29, God sends angels to lead Lot and his family out of Sodom, which God is about to destroy because of the wickedness of the people.  In the today's Gospel, Matthew 8: 23-27, Jesus saves his disciple from a storm at sea.  Both readings reveal a God who is imminent, compassionate, and aware of times that we are in danger. God is a God always ready to help us in time of need. 

How should you and I live according to these Scripture readings?  God, I believe, would say to us:  Live in complete trust of Me, Your Savior, and of God, your Father and the Holy Spirit, your Sanctifier. By your lives, may other people know that I am an imminent God, a God whom you trust, confide in and love with your whole heart.  Learn from Lot to trust me when I send angels to direct you out of danger.  From the disciples in the boat thrown about by turbulent weather, learn to call upon Me in your need. I am never asleep, as the disciples thought I was.  Know, as they learned, that no storm is too great for Me or the Father or the Spirit to calm.  We will keep you safe always!

Choosing God's Way

In today's first reading, Acts 2: 16-20, 3--31, St. Paul appeals to the leaders of the Jews in Rome, where he is under house arrest. He says to them: "My brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or our ancestral customs, I was handed over to the Romans as a prisoner from Jerusalem. After trying my case the Romans wanted to release me, because they found nothing against me deserving the death penalty. But when the Jews objected, I was obliged to appeal to Caesar, even though I had no accusation to make against my own nation. This is the reason, then, I have requested to see you and speak with  you, for it is on account of the hopes of Israel that I wear these chains."  His appeal for freedom was rejected. However, Paul continues to speak about Jesus and proclaiming the Kingdom to anyone who visited him. Luke, the author of Acts, says: "He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance and without hindrance he proclaimed the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ."

What do you and I do when what we ask for is not granted?  Like Paul, God's plan for us to proclaim or build up the Kingdom and/or speak about Jesus does not change. Only the circumstances around which we carry out the assignment God has given us changes.  Do I let go of my hurt in not having my ego requests granted and continue being Jesus' disciple or do I hold on to my grudges, dig in my heals and refuse to do the Lord's bidding? Do I let my ego edge out God?

God's Gift of Freedom and Protection

Today's Entrance Antiphon reminds each one of us that  "the Lord became [our] protector. He brought [us] out to a place of freedom; he saved [us] because he delighted in us."   We could rewrite that as a personal message, the Lord saying to each one of us:  "I  am YOUR protector. I bring YOU out to a place of freedom; I save YOU because I delight in YOU." We might recall the many times that the Lord has protected us from disasters on the highway, from serious illnesses that attacked others and took their lives, from job losses suffered by co-workers, from abusive marriages, from mental illnesses, from suicidal thoughts or actions, from making disastrous mistakes in choosing a partner in life. Or, we may think of the times that God brought us out to places "of freedom": out of serious depressions, out of thoughts of suicide or debilitating anxiety, out of disasters from which we thought we'd never recover.

On the other hand, we might simply ponder deeply the phrase "I delight in YOU." The God of the Universe delights in us.  The Creator of all humankind delights in you and me personally. The God who created the galaxies, the sun and the moon, the stars, the earth with its oceans and landscapes, its trees and wildlife, its seasons, night and day delights in you and me personally! God so delights in you and me that the Almighty, the Holy One, has taken up residence in each one of us! With His Presence, God anoints us as His Beloved. With His Presence God strengthens us, purifies us, makes us holy, sustains us and reconciles us to Himself when we fall into Satan's trap, as did Adam and Eve before us.  Our God is a God of relationships, drawing us into an intimate relationship with Himself and with one another, showing us the way of Love!

God be praised and glorified by our lives of love and unity!

What Hannah Teaches Us!

In today's first reading, 1 Sam 1: 9-20,  Hannah enters the Temple and "presented herself before the Lord."  She does not use a book to pray traditional Jewish prayers. No, she presents herself. She pours out her heart to the Lord. She is filled with sorrow at being barren and shares that sadness with the Lord, "weeping copiously".  "In her bitterness she prayed to the Lord, weeping copiously, and she made a vow, promising: 'O Lord of hosts, if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the Lord for as long as he lives'....When Elkanah had relations with his wife Hannah, the Lord remembered her. She conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son whom she called Samuel since she had asked the Lord for him.."  

Hannah teaches us the importance of 1) taking our problems to the Lord, 2) being honest with the Lord in prayer and 3) expressing our needs--telling the Lord what it is that we would like from Him. We need to be real with the Lord, as a small child is real with its parents! However, if we are neither truthful with ourselves nor with a trusted other about our feelings and our needs, it is unlikely that we will share our truth with the Lord in prayerful encounters!  How often do we not go into prayer as dry a desert and come out the same way! How often than not do our relationships reflect the same barrenness--nothing of significance happens between us because nothing of significance nor of the truth about ourselves is honestly shared, that is, we hide our vulnerabilities. Hannah did nothing of that sort!

Lord, help me be humble enough to be vulnerable in my relationship with myself and trusted others and honest with you in prayer!  It's not the right prayer that I need but an open heart that I am willing to speak my truth to you.  May I keep no secrets from you, Lord!

Led to the Right Path by Adversity

In today's first reading, Jonah 1: 1-2: 2, 11, Jonah boards a ship going in the opposite direction from Nineveh. God's request of Jonah was that he [s]et out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; their wickedness has come up before me." Jonah runs away from God, as does a little child whose parents are asking of him/her what the little one does not was to do. Just as a parent runs after the fleeing child, so, too, does God follow Jonah. He gets Jonah's attention when a violent storm breaks out and the ship on which he is traveling is in great danger of sinking!  Frightened, the crew, once they believe that Jonah is the problem, throw Jonah overboard. The turbulence ceases. And Jonah is swallowed up by a huge fish and coughed up on the shores of Nineveh, so the story goes--a theological treatise teaching us that God is in charge and that, when we try to escape God's ways and fail to carry out God's will for us, we, too, will experience turbulence--a troubled conscience that deprives us of sleep at night and denies us the peace we crave. We, too, become swallowed up by darkness!

Our only chance of becoming free is that God ultimately rescues us from our waywardness. With Jonah, Jonah 2: 3-5, 8, we pray:

Out of my distress I called upon the Lord,
and he answered me; 
From the midst of the nether world I cried for help,
and you heard my voice.

For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the sea,
and the flood  enveloped me;
All your breakers and your billows
passed me over.

Then I said, "I am banished from our sight!
yet would I again look upon your holy temple."

When my soul fainted within me,
 I remembered the Lord;
My prayer reached you
in your holy temple.

Feast of the Sorrowful Mother

With special permission from the Vatican,  the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother celebrate their congregational patronal feast day, the feast of the Sorrowful Mother, on the Sunday following the feast of the Sorrowful Mother, September 15th.

As I reflected upon Mary standing beneath the cross, my heart felt pierced by Mary standing their watching her beloved son die an agonizing death.  As Jesus walked up the hill to Calvary to be crucified, as He was scourged and crowned with thorns and covered with blood and wounds, as He died an agonizing death on the cross, Mary, too, was tortured as His mother, as any mother would have been to watch their beloved child, in similar circumstances, put to death!  And as He was dying, Jesus gives His Mother to us, saying to the beloved disciple standing with Mary: "Son, behold your Mother" and "Mother, behold your son."  Mary is our Mother, as she is the Mother of the Son of God made flesh. We are her daughters and sons, as is Jesus her son and our brother.

Mary stands by us in our sufferings, as she stood with Jesus.  She stands by every person in the process of dying physically or dying psychologically to selfishness, greed, envy, anger, hatred and other evils that may grip our souls.

Mary, Mother of Sorrows, pray for us, for all humankind, especially those in war-torn countries, in brothels against their wills, in the sex trade, those coerced in labor camps or forced into the drug industry. Mary, Mother of Sorrows, pray for your children who have abandoned their faith and walked away from your Son, as did those to whom He said: "Amen, amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink of His blood  [Holy Communion or the Sacrament of the Eucharist], you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him....This is the bread that came down from heaven" (John 6: 53-58).  It is that Living Bread, the Son of God, Jesus, who dwells in every Eucharist and in the Tabernacles in our Catholic Churches. It is that reason that Catholics reverence the Eucharist and receive it at every Liturgy!

Discernment of One's Moral Strength

Discerning one’s moral strength:  In today’s Gospel, Luke 16: 19-31, the evangelist presents the story of Dives and Lazarus. Dives,  a rich man,  ignores the needs of Lazarus, a poor, very ill man who sat outside the gates leading to the rich man’s property.  Dives  is deaf to the cries of the poor and blind to their needs, using all of his wealth for himself alone.  On the subject of morality, he would score an “F” on his report card.  The consequences of his choice to live for himself alone, not sharing his wealth but ignoring the needs of the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized and the vulnerable of his society:  eternal  torment outside of the presence of God for all eternity (See today’s Gospel, Luke 16: 19-31)!

The author of the March 16^th reflections on this Scripture passage, as given in the March 1, 2017 issue of WORD AMONG US,  states clearing how we can discern the moral strength of a society or of ourselves as well.  The author states:  “There is no getting around it. God wants us to work together to improve the situation of society’s weakest members.  In the end, the moral strength of any community  will be measured by how we have  treated our most vulnerable citizens, not by how we ourselves have fared.”

In what ways am I, are you, working to improve the situation of the weakest, most vulnerable members of our society, of our families, of our religious communities, of our parishes?  We can discern how moral we are by the way we respond to those in need.

Given our responsibilities to “work together to improve the situation of society’s weakest members”,  I believe, that the government of the U.S.—the President, His Cabinet, and members of Congress--earns an “F” in terms of morality. How much longer, I ask, will I, will you, or will the citizens of the U.S. support the choices of a President, of our Senators and members of the House of Representatives who are  making choices that deny the poor and vulnerable among us what they need to provide their

families with adequate food, shelter, clothing, health care, and an education that prepares them to

provide for their future families?

 How willing am I to take my moral responsibility seriously by standing up for what is right? Am I willing  to challenge  unjust legislation that exploits the poor and ignores the most vulnerable members of our country? For what reason, I ask,  might our elected leaders be doing this? Is it not possible that they truly want to increase the wealth of the richest among us and also line their own pockets, no matter what the cost to the poor and marginalized of our country, thus bringing to reality the  President’s desire to increase billionaires in our country, as he stated during his campaign for presidency?

Final question:  How would you and I score our moral strength? Would we  give ourselves an “A,” a “B,” a “C,” a “D,” or an “F”?

Discernment: How do you know that you are called to religious life?

Discernment:  How do you know that you are called to religious life?  You might get some answers to that question by asking a couple of other question: How do you know what career to pursue in college? How do you know to date such and such a person or terminate the dating relationship, not pursuing marriage?

The answers are: 1) you sense the direction to take career-wise by listening to an inner voice.  You choose according to your preferences, your likes, your dreams, your talents. You choose according to what energizes you.  2) You hear yourself say “Yes! That’s it!”  3) Then, you take steps to move in that direction.  4) If the choices you make confirm your decision, you continue pursuing your dreams and making them a reality or you change careers.

Religious life: 1) an inner voice directs you to look into religious life as a vocational option, 2) your research confirms your decision, 3) when you find the right community, you and the community says: “Yes, this is it. Let’s proceed with the application process”, 4) through the process, you and the community come to the decision to accept you into the postulancy: the first stage of training to become a member of that religious community ,5) during postulancy, you and the community continue to believe that you are called to religious life within this particular community—or you and the community come to realize that a) you are not called to religious life or b) you are called to religious life but in a different community (for instance, a Dominican community instead of a Franciscan one).

Discernment of your mission and purpose in life

Discernment of your mission and purpose in life:  Today we celebrate the baptism of our Lord. The first reading of today’s liturgy, Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7,  presents the prophesy concerning Jesus’ mission. God says to us through the prophet Isaiah that Jesus is God’s “servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, …A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching….”  Jesus, Isaiah tells us,  is “a covenant of the people, a light for the nations.” He is “to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”

As you reflect upon Jesus’ mission, you will discover that your mission, through baptism, is the same, as is the way your creator feels toward you. As with Jesus, God says to you:  You are my “servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am please, upon whom I have put my spirit.”  To properly know your mission—the reason you are sent to earth and within which vocation you are to live out God’s purpose—you need to see yourself as “God’s servant,” as one in whom God is well pleased and upon whom God as put His spirit. Without that perspective, you are likely to lack the confidence to follow God’s direction for your life.  The task God may be calling you to accomplish and the vocation in which He wants you to do this,  may seem too difficult from a perspective that exclude’s God delight in you, God being pleased with you. 

Every day, bask in God’s delight of you, his pleasure in creating you and giving you an unique mission. Hear God say to you every day: You are be beloved daughter/son. In you I am well pleased. Hear God say to you as you consider the work you are about to undertake or the decision you are about to make: “Son/daughter, I am proud of you.”