30 September 2018 - allies everywhere

Today's Readings (Audio)

For whoever is not against us is for us.

This principle is easy to acknowledge but often more difficult to live. For clearly, there are those who are not working toward the mission of Jesus yet who would still invoke his name for their cause. It can't be just a matter of anything we say we do for Jesus is OK. After all, not everyone who says to him "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom (see Matthew 7:21). So how then do we know? How can we avoid damage from those who are misappropriating the name of Jesus while still given full room to maneuver to those who are legitimately pursuing the Kingdom by different paths which are unknown to us?

There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.

There may be mighty deeds which are fake or even which stem from less than holy sources of power. But true mighty deeds done in the name of Jesus reveal his presence at work. People who do such deeds truly in the name of Jesus do not speak ill of him. And this means they embrace every aspect of his teaching. They do not simply speak of health and wealth and blessing and speak ill of the cross.

You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;
you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.
You have condemned;
you have murdered the righteous one;
he offers you no resistance.

Those who are truly for Jesus embrace the whole Jesus. Anyone who is doing his best to embrace the whole Jesus and to whom God entrusts mighty deeds is one with whom we ought not interfere. He is one whose success we ought to desire.

They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent;
yet the spirit came to rest on them also,
and they prophesied in the camp.

The point is that the channels of grace are for God to control and not for us. God is not even bound by the Sacramental life of the Church, much less by specific programs through which we might wish people to receive formation. He is not bound only to charismatic or contemplative or Franciscan or Dominican or any other spirituality or approach. He is not even bound to a traditionalist or a contemporary approach. And neither should we be thus bound. We should have generous hearts wishing to see the Spirit of the LORD fill all who are open to serving him.

"Are you jealous for my sake?
Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!
Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"

Does it matter that what we think about these prophets? It does. Because even though they definitely aren't working against us our pride puts us at risk of hindering them. We risk causing scandal to those who receive the word of God through them.

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.

Let us be strict with ourselves in how we follow. Let us strive to serve the LORD the way he wants to be served. But let us be generous in welcoming the true support of those others who seek him with sincere hearts.

Though your servant is careful of them,
very diligent in keeping them,
yet who can detect failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown faults!

29 September 2018 - in the sight of the angels

Today's Readings (Audio)

War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

We are in a battle but our warfare is not against flesh and blood (see Ephesians 6:12). Yet it is somehow nevertheless our struggle. We have weapons mighty through God for the tearing down of enemy strongholds (see Second Corinthians 10:4).

Even though it is our battle, we can't win it apart from the grace of the one who is alone victorious.

They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.

The battle belongs to the LORD. He uses each one of us in the fight. He does not just win it through us, but also, and especially, through the angels.

Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

The archangels have a special part they play in God's victory over the enemy. That enemy is the devil, and his allies, demons, sin, and death. We need to make sure we are close to the allies God gives us if we want to be able to resist such enemies. We need to make use of the weapons he gives us. If we don't realize we're in a battle we may already be prisoners. If we aren't actively taking up every grace God puts at our disposal we are at risk of being overcome.

The archangels remind us that even though we're in a battle it isn't all about us. Even though we have weapons given to us by God for the tearing down of strongholds and must individually overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony the battle itself is not won apart from those allies both human and supernatural whom God gives to stand with us. Under the leadership of the archangels we experience the victory of God.

In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

28 September 2018 - big picture

Today's Readings (Audio)

There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every thing under the heavens.

We only see parts of the larger plan at any one time. We see the time to weep and can't imagine how there will also be a time to laugh. We want to focus only on a time to heal but sometimes history forces the world into a time to kill. We see bits and pieces of the plan swirling around. But there is only one way to see the big picture.

He has made everything appropriate to its time,
and has put the timeless into their hearts,
without man's ever discovering,
from beginning to end, the work which God has done.

We don't discover the timeless and the eternal by doing the math on the component parts. We only discover them by trusting in the one who makes all things work together for the good of those who love him (see Romans 8:28).

This is the only way we can hold the great truths of our faith at the same time.

Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God."

Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed and long-promised savior of the world. But he is also the suffering servant, the sacrifice, the lamb of God offered for our sins.

He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised."

There is a time for every purpose under heaven. There is a time for the cross and a time for glory. We fixate on the fragments. Let us instead trust in the one who puts each fragment in its proper place.

Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
my mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust.

27 September 2018 - something new

Today's Readings (Audio)

But Herod said, "John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?"
And he kept trying to see him.

We need more than the mere curiosity about Jesus which Herod has. His curiosity is unable to move him to truly and sincerely try to discover who Jesus is. He searches on the surface. But coming to Jesus necessitates moving beyond preconceptions and worldly categories. It is always deeply self-reflective. One must inquire from as a humble seeker and not as a bored king.

When we're bored we are at risk of doing dumb things to try to amuse ourselves. We are not necessarily in a good place to seek after God. Yet our boredom itself can help direct us toward God if we see it in its proper perspective.

Nothing is new under the sun.
Even the thing of which we say, "See, this is new!"
has already existed in the ages that preceded us.

From boredom we can arrive at a longing for something truly new. This newness can be found only in Jesus. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (see Second Corinthians 5:17).

Perhaps it is this newness that Herod dimly suspected might be found in Jesus. But he did not inquire sincerely enough to open his heart to the answer. The comforts of the palace and the illusions of power dulled him to his need for that answer. It was just one more pursuit of entertainment among many others. Had he prayed the prayer of the psalmist he might have fared better.

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.

This prayer helps us move beyond boredom toward the newness that God offers. It helps us not to be satisfied with anything less. 

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.

26 September 2018 - letting enough be enough

Today's Readings (Audio)

provide me only with the food I need

The LORD gives us daily bread. He gives us enough. He is not interested in filling our silos to overflowing. We should turn to him to receive what he does give and learn to be content with what he offers. In this we are safe from the temptations the result from absence. In this we learn to rely on the LORD. 

Add nothing to his words,
lest he reprove you, and you will be exposed as a deceiver.

It's hard to accept, but more than material things what he gives us as bread as himself, including his words. This is hard to accept because it doesn't seem like enough. We are tempted to add to it. We need to be like Paul who learns to be both be abased and abound (see Philippians 4:12). If we do, we can avoid the temptation to make backup plans when he calls us to go out and proclaim the Kingdom of God.

He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey,
neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,
and let no one take a second tunic.

The LORD's word is in fact enough. If we rely on it we are sustained by it. If we try to add or subtract from it we falter.

Your word, O Lord, is a lamp for my feet.

A lamp shines only on the path before us. But we don't need to go out searching for floodlights. We just need to keep walking.

From every evil way I withhold my feet,
that I may keep your words.

25 September 2018 - planning for joy

Today's Readings (Audio)

All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes,
but it is the LORD who proves hearts.

We have a great capacity to deceive ourselves. We need to turn to the LORD whenever there is uncertainty about the rightness of our plans. We have a hard time realizing that it isn't always the sacrifice that the LORD wants but rather what is right in just. We see the thing that looks like the religious thing and assume that it is the right thing. But if we don't involve the LORD on our decisions we end up acting, even in our sacrifices, with "haughty eyes and a proud heart". Even in our prudential decisions we need his help. We should not just make diligent plans on our own but we submit even those to the LORD. We must not run ahead of him in our haste or drag behind in our laziness. It is diligence in planning together with the LORD that leads to sure profit.

When the arrogant man is punished, the simple are the wiser;
when the wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

The LORD often needs to correct us. Let us not be so arrogant that only other people benefit from seeing it. Let us be wise enough to be teachable. When it comes to right planning we still tend to be so far from the mark. We still think of ourselves and our own goals above all. These are part of the picture, but they cannot take our entire focus.

He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself also call and not be heard.

So let us hear the word of God and act on it, just as Mary does, so that we can be mother and brother to Jesus just as she desires for us.

Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.

Jesus is inviting us to know the joy that comes from not having to figure everything out for ourselves. He is calling us to the adventure of trusting in his plans for us.

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act (see Psalm 37:5)

24 September 2018 - light speed

Today's Readings (Audio)

No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
rather, he places it on a lampstand
so that those who enter may see the light.

We should be ready to shine. We should not refuse the good to anyone who has a claim on us. We should not say "Come back tomorrow" when we can do it now. The LORD has prepared us for each good work which he himself prepared in advance for us to do (see Ephesians 2:10).

Our neighbors who come to us for help should find the darkness immediately illuminated. But more often, they have to stumble around looking for the switch in order to find any help. There is the risk when we shine that somethings which were concealed by the darkness may come to light. Honesty and deep soul searching in the Church are realizing this on a large scale. But it is true at every scale. Nevertheless, we must not fear. It is better to get these things out and exposed to the light where healing can begin. We need not be afraid to shine.

Without the light we receive from Jesus we really don't have anything that lasts. We need to share this light with all who experience, in ways large in small, the darkness of this world. We need more of it ourselves.

To anyone who has, more will be given,
and from the one who has not,
even what he seems to have will be taken away.

The light which Jesus himself actually is, shining in the darkness, and which he gives to us as the light of our life  (see John 1:1-4), guides us away from evil and toward peace, away from the company of the lawless and the perverse, and toward friendship with the upright. It leads us away from arrogance and pride and makes us humble. For when we are humble we become transparent to the light of Jesus shining through us.

When dealing with the arrogant, he is stern,
but to the humble he shows kindness.

Only the humble are able to respond so quickly when asked for the light because they add nothing and hold back nothing from what is asked of them. It is these, and not the arrogant, who find the way to God and dwell close to him as his friends.

The just one shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord.

23 September 2018 - wisdom from above

Today's Readings (Audio)

We need wisdom from above to set our inner lives and the world at large in harmony. 

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure,
then peaceable, gentle, compliant,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without inconstancy or insincerity. 

The good fruit of wisdom begins within the individual heart. It is also necessary to avoid the conflicts and wars that arise from our passions. To make sense of all the different impulses and drives within us we need the Spirit to teach us how to order them all properly. Even within ourselves we should long for and seek after a state of peace and purity and not perpetual conflict and struggle. Only when God's peace takes root in our hearts can we share it with others. We cannot give what we do not have.

When disorder is within us it can't help but manifest in our actions and therefore in society. Our pride takes over where peace would call for the compliance and openness to being taught that is a fruit of wisdom. We become like the wicked in the reading from wisdom who, when called to progress from their hypocrisy, choose violence rather than self-searching analysis. They experience the war within between pride and humility. Pride not only wins in them, but leads to violence.

Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;
he sets himself against our doings,
reproaches us for transgressions of the law
and charges us with violations of our training.

Wisdom seems difficult, lofty, like a thing only philosophers may attain. But it is something that even children can possess.

Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”

Children, we know, are not always peaceable, gentle, and compliant. But this is a state to which they return when they rest securely in the love of their parents. They do not have so much invested in their image of themselves that they will hold onto pride indefinitely in the face of love which is only willing their good.

If we can be like children we can let go of our need to be the greatest. We can trust in Jesus even when we don't understand his plans because we know that he understands more than we do. His wisdom begins to put our pride and our doubts into right order as we surrender ourselves to his love.

Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord sustains my life.
Freely will I offer you sacrifice;
I will praise your name, O LORD, for its goodness.

21 September 2018 - seeds of life

Today's Readings (Audio)

The LORD gives us seed. He does not give the fruit of the kingdom fully ripened. Because he gives it to us this way our response in nurturing it becomes essential. We must be like good soil, letting the word deep within, where it can take root and be nourished. It isn't so much that our actions cause the seed to grow. Rather, by our actions we are free to be the sort of soil in which the seed can grow.

And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,
it produced fruit a hundredfold."

We would certainly prefer to receive the end result rather than go through a process. But it is by the process that the LORD confirms whether or not we really want the seed and its fruit. We might like fertilizer to speed the process. But nothing we ourselves can do can speed the growth of the seed. This is the humility we learn from it. All we can do is give it space, attention, and care. We can't make it grow. Yet there is fertilizer after a fashion. The more we involve the Holy Spirit in our lives the more fruit we bear, for all good fruit is from him.

The seed within us is the imperishable seed of eternal life

since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God (see First Peter 1:23).

Along the way this seed bears the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace and the rest (see Galatians 5:22-23). But the ultimate fruit comes only when the seed of our entire life if sown.

What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.
And what you sow is not the body that is to be
but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind.

Knowing about the destiny of our seed should change how we think of ourselves. It ought to change our perspective. It isn't that we don't care about this life and only care about the world to come. This life becomes something precious which nurture, but not for its own sake. We do it for the sake of the fruit, and ultimately, for the sake of eternal life.

Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

This eternal perspective gives us great confidence. There is nothing for us to fear.

For you have rescued me from death,
my feet, too, from stumbling;
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

21 September 2018 - where to begin

Today's Readings (Audio)

I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace

Humility is the starting place. It was what allows Matthew to leave his worldly success and follow Jesus.

He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.

Humility is what allows any of us to prefer the way Jesus is going to the customs posts where we sit. Without humility we can't function well as a body. We try to control things for which we are not gifted but refuse to put ourselves out there in order to exercise the gifts we do have.

We need the Spirit to make this unity among the members of the body possible. We need his fruits in order to grow.

And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ. 

The Spirit worked in Matthew. He helped him see beyond the customs post where he was comfortable and secure. He allowed him to step out in faith, following Jesus, even though he certainly risked looking like a fool. The Spirit too was necessary to make the community of disciples receptive to this one who was doubtlessly previously a sinner in their eyes. The Spirit allowed the disciples to accept him that he would truly be one of them.

The Spirit wants to work miraculously to bring more and more people, often unlikely companions, together into one body.

Their message goes out through all the earth.

20 September 2018 - at your feet

Today's Readings (Audio)

Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.
Which of them will love him more?"
Simon said in reply,
"The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven."

We have been forgiven a debt so large we could never repay it. The sheer grace of existence was already a gift we couldn't earn even before sin put us even more into debt. Jesus washes away our sins. He forgives the entire debt. Do we realize it? Are we as grateful as we should be?

When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss,
but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.
You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.

It is important to realize how much God forgives us. The point of this is not to beat ourselves up. It isn't about self-hatred or dwelling on our past faults. It is about recognizing the great love with which we are loved so that in recognizing it we can begin to reciprocate it. It builds not just an abstract love but a genuine affection for Jesus.

but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.

We can imagine our fellow Catholics accusing this woman of emotionalism. Yet Jesus encourages her. He wants to draw this affection from her. He praises her for it. Perhaps she won't always be able to sustain it in every moment. But when it is there it is clearly good to express.

Everything we receive is a grace given to us based on the death and resurrection of Jesus. None of us could earn such a gift. All of us stand in need of its fruit. This is why witnesses throughout the ages cannot be silent about it.

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.

Whether we feel like one of the original witnesses or more like one who was born abnormally the grace in which we stand is the same. The mercy we received is unmeasurable. Let us proclaim that mercy to others.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."

19 September 2018 - a different tune

Today's Readings (Audio)

We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.

The world cannot hear the music to which we dance.

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (see John 3:8).

We are an enigma to the world, or should be, because the world can't see where we're headed. Our end is eternity and we only make sense when that is taken into consideration. This is why the world can't understand why we sometimes fast and sometimes feast. They look to find the rationale here below. But when we fast we fast to draw near to God and when we feast we feast to draw near to him as well. It is not this world primarily that dictates our actions.

The world can only understand the gifts for their own sake. But we learn that even the gifts only make sense in light of eternity. They only find their purpose in the greater purpose of divine love.

Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.

Even our knowledge is partial. We know that eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love him (see First Corinthians 2:). The important thing is know our destination and our path. Our destination is heaven. Our path is love. Knowing these two will ensure that we are not lost.

At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

If we truly know the end for which we are made we have great cause for rejoicing. May the LORD more fully reveal that truth to our hearts.

For upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.

18 September 2018 - one body

Today's Readings (Audio)

When we hurt the LORD cares. He has pity.

When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity for her and said to her,
"Do not weep."

Even when the situation seems unfixable the LORD has the power to fix it.

"Young man, I tell you, arise!"

Nothing is irreversibly lost. God's presence is among his people. Even when we feel completely without life and unable to move the LORD can give us life again.

Even when the parts of the body aren't functioning as one the LORD can bind us together again. When we forget how to play our specific roles and use the gifts we have been specially given the LORD can teach us by his Spirit. In order to respond to the command of Jesus to arise and be alive we must let him teach us how to function together as one body.

As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.

We must have the humility not to insist on a part given to another. We must not have a false humility that refuses to act from the gifts we have in fact been given. That is actually pride. It won't do anything that can't be done perfectly by one's own strength. Humility is able to receive and use the gift because it trusts in the giver.

Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?
Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing?
Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

May the LORD make us alive in one body by his Spirit animating us according to his good pleasure. Then we will experience the fullness of life we can know when we are together one flock under the one shepherd who alone is good.

Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.

17 September 2018 - words of power

Today's Readings (Audio)

For I too am a person subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.

The centurion was somehow able to recognize the authority of Christ. He already found favor with the people by building a synagogue for them. The fact that they spoke out in his support is good evidence of his character. His heart was in some sense already open. Otherwise it could be harder for one with earthly authority over soldiers to recognize the authority of Christ. His was not merely an authority that others followed out of fear of punishment. The authority of Jesus was over all of creation including sickness and death. The centurion must have heard or seen Jesus speaking with this authority or healing and driving out demons with it. His open heart was not threatened by the alternative and more complete authority of Jesus. He did not need to scoff. Instead, he opened his heart in hope.

"Lord, do not trouble yourself,
for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you;
but say the word and let my servant be healed.

The centurion recognized authority in Christ. This prevented him from putting imagined limits on him the way he otherwise might. One could easily imagine that Jesus would have to come to one's home to perform a healing. But the centurion knew that the word alone would be enough and that reality itself would conform and obey.

There are a few lessons for us. The centurion shows us that it is in humility and generosity that we are able to fully recognize Jesus and therefore to give him full freedom to work in our lives. He shows us as well that we should not impose any limits on what Jesus can do. No matter how distant our LORD seems, how many times we've asked for something before, or how unlikely we imagine his answer to be, the LORD, by his authority can completely transform any situation in an instant through the power of his word.

We need this complete belief in the authority of the word of Christ to truly receive all the grace Jesus wants to give us in the Eucharist.

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my Body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."

The most basic reason we believe this is because we believe that the word of Jesus has the power to do what it says. We believe it even when we cannot see results, even when we ourselves cannot understand the reason why it should be this way. We do not necessarily understand it. But we recognize the one who has the words of everlasting life (see John 6:68). According to the hymn of Saint Thomas Aquinas:

Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived:
How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed;
What God's Son has told me, take for truth I do;
Truth Himself speaks truly or there's nothing true.
- Adoro te devote by Saint Thomas Aquinas

We can't be like those with divisions in the early Church who basically come to do there own thing. These divisions sometimes exist even just inside of our own spirits as diverse priorities contend for our attention. Even these are still a problem. Like the centurion we should be as open and focused as we can manage. Even this disposition that we bring is a gift of grace. But we must choose to bring it. When we do we recognize the authority of Jesus over the elements of the bread and wine and over the elements of our own lives. We receive fully the grace of transformation. We taste glory.

May all who seek you
exult and be glad in you
And may those who love your salvation
say ever, "The LORD be glorified."

16 September 2018 - obedience of faith

Today's Readings (Audio)

The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.

This is not so easy, even after the LORD opens our ears. With Peter we can receive from the Father in the Spirit the revelation of the identity of Jesus.

Peter said to him in reply,
"You are the Christ." 

But next, when we simply hear of or imagine difficulties we already begin to turn back.

Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 

When we first come to faith in who Jesus is it is pure grace from God. But we are not called to receive this grace only once. We continually be open to faith and to the obedience of faith. Even after our ears are opened we must not turn back. Once we know that Jesus is the Christ we must still follow him to the cross.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works? 
Can that faith save him? 

There is something valid about this faith that knows the truths of God. But there is something missing. By hope, it needs to take action in love or the faith itself isn't what it is meant to be. We aren't meant to receive the revelation of who Jesus is and then go back to our normal lives. We believe in order to follow. In fact faith itself makes following possible.

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

The Bible teaches us that he who perseveres to the end will be saved (see Matthew 24:13). There is no human effort that can attain this. But faith and grace are not an autopilot that allow us to sleep and see it happen. God desires our response and his power makes it possible.

Gracious is the LORD and just;
yes, our God is merciful.
The LORD keeps the little ones;
I was brought low, and he saved me.

15 September 2018 - our lady of sorrows

Today's Readings (Audio)

We tend to be sorrowful and weep over things which don't really matter. We are permitted to partake of the bread of angels and the cup of eternal salvation. Yet lesser concerns distract for this amazing blessing. We treat our other pursuits and endeavors as so important that we make idols from them. They clamor for our hearts, trying to drowned out the rightful place of God.

My beloved ones, avoid idolatry.

Because we are allowed to participate in the one sacrifice of Jesus our hearts need to be as wholly his as we can manage. Because the Eucharist is the Blood and the Body of Christ truly and substantially present in the Church we have no wiggle room to also serve the world. The gift we are given is too great, too present, and too  overwhelming generous, for us to justify anything other than complete dedication.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons.

Yet we persist in making our token offerings to the world when we choose lesser things instead of God. We still try and eat from both tables. In fact there has only been one person in the history of the Church who never fed in any sense from the table of demons. That is the person Christ gives us as mother.

Then he said to the disciple,
"Behold, your mother."

He gives Mary to us precisely because she can teach us how to care only about the one thing necessary, to receive only from table of the LORD. Only if we learn this can we stand by the cross of Christ with Mary. We have earthly sorry whenever our tainted desires are not met. It is these concerns which make us flee from the cross with most of the disciples of Jesus. Mary has no room in her heart for such earthly sorrow. She has sorrow only to see her Son abused and neglected. Her sorrow can heal our sorrow.

and you yourself a sword will pierce
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Mary's sorrow calls us to a recognition of what truly matters. It is a life-giving sorrow that leads to repentance. It is utterly unlike our sorrow which just becomes more and more desperate. The sorrow of Mary calls us to fully enter into the cross he bears, to stand there with him as she does. Only in entering fully into this sorrow where all the things of earth and of our former lives are striped away do we experience the freedom of the resurrection. Then we can take up the cup Jesus himself gives us, untainted by any of demons or idols.

The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.

14 September 2018 - lift high the cross

Today's Readings (Audio)

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

When Jesus is lifted up all humanity is drawn on to him. Why is it precisely here, when we should most prefer to run or at least to look away, that we must look upon Jesus. Why is it precisely the serpent of sin and the consequences thereof with which we must fully recon in all of their ugliness?

"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live."

The prophet foretold that we would look upon him whom we had pierced (see Zechariah 12:10). But we is it not just the risen LORD upon whom we look. Can't we just ignore this ugliness of sin as something done once and now over?

We are not yet fullen drawn unto the LORD. And the consequences of sin are gone neither from the world nor indeed from our own hearts. We still need the power of the cross itself to change us. And thanks be to God that power is still available to us. This is why Paul boasts of nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified (see Galatians 6:14). It is that power precisely that brings transformation in the life of Paul.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (see Galatians 6:20).

The cross of Christ continues to put sin to death. It continues to pave the way to the resurrection. But it is important to remember that the cross isn't just or even primarily ugliness. It is mostly and primarily the love of God on full display. It is therefore glory.

Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

When we lift the cross our problems but we see God's solution. We see how serious sin truly is. But in the love of God on display we find hope.

While he slew them they sought him
and inquired after God again,
Remembering that God was their rock
and the Most High God, their redeemer.

13 September 2018 - free to love

Today's Readings (Audio)

Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin,
I will never eat meat again,
so that I may not cause my brother to sin.

Aren't we a little too ready to insist on our own legitimate freedom? Sure, we know that meat offered to idols doesn't mean anything because idols aren't real. Or we know that animals don't have the same royal dignity of humanity and that we are free to eat them. Other than meat, we may, for example, watch programs which contain scandalous themes because we know that they are not affecting us. Even if all of this is true what does it matter if we're throwing stumbling blocks in the road of people who don't yet know Christ?

What if a vegetarian or a vegan could more easily listen to a Christian who abstained from meat? What if an academically inclined atheist can't take seriously a Christian who indulges in a show like Game of Thrones? These are real possibilities. It does not mean we necessarily need to try to do everything to make everyone happy all the time. That's impossible. But it does mean we need to hold these freedoms loosely.

Letting go of legitimate freedoms for the sake of others is a step closer to being able to love our enemies. Enemies demand from us even what is not simply a freedom but a right. They tread on the dignity which is our due. They disregard our possessions and person and even cause us bodily harm. But we are in fact called to love our enemies. 

But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

The one through whom all things exist prays for those who persecute him as they lead him to a cross and nail him upon it. Jesus himself teaches us the mercy of the Father. He gives us the ability to stop judging, to stop condemning, to start forgiving, and to start giving to others out of love. He empowers us to get beyond the walls of self-protection that surround us. In him we can love and not count the cost.

Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.

12 September 2018 - this world in its present form

Today's Readings (Audio)

For the world in its present form is passing away.

This is hard to see from our perspective. Our everyday experience is all of the world continuing apace as it always has. Yet we know that the new day of the resurrection has already begun in Jesus. In our spirits we are already seated with him in heavenly places (see Ephesians 2:6) where inequalities cease and every tear is wiped away. Paul wants us to reevaluate our present circumstances from this perspective.

From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping, 
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.

The best of our earthly joys and the worst of our earthly griefs are nothing compared with eternity. 

"In light of heaven, the worst suffering on earth will be seen to be no more serious than one night in an inconvenient hotel." - Saint Teresa of Avila

What we read Paul saying above is the same thing that Jesus teaches in his sermon on the plain in our gospel from Luke.

Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.

Blessed even now are the poor because already they share in the kingdom where they finally have justice. The hungry can already experience spiritually the satisfaction for which they hunger physically. Those who are sad can even now taste the joy of the Spirit.

In fact, those who are afflicted have the advantage of not being satisfied with what they have. Those who are satisfied are at risk.

But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.

If we are so rich that we forget to lay up treasure in heaven (see Matthew 6:19-21) we will find our wealth does not last. If we feast on the most sumptuous foods but ignore spiritual food we will find ourselves no better off than the rich man who neglected Lazarus on his doorstep (see Luke 16:19-31).

So if we do have much let us still use it as not using it fully. Let us recognize it is passing away so that we can recognize where true and lasting joy is found.

They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
The place of your fathers your sons shall have;
you shall make them princes through all the land.

11 September 2018 - royal teaching

Today's Readings (Audio)

A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people 
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon
came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;

Let us welcome Jesus as he descends from God's presence to teach and to heal us. He comes down from the mountain with the new law of the Spirit. No longer does religion simply say unclean and long for the one who can heal us.

and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.

Jesus himself is the one to whom the law and the prophets all bore witness. He is the one who can finally heal us and make us clean. His teaching is different from any other teaching because his teaching has the power to transform.

but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified,
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and in the Spirit of our God.

We often fail to realize just how great is the transformation already at work in we baptized by the Spirit given to us.

Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?
If the world is to be judged by you,
are you unqualified for the lowest law courts?
Do you not know that we will judge angels?

The royal dignity of the Kingdom of God is clear. We are made priests, prophets, and kings, sharing in the anointing of the Christ. The world has no claim to be able to judge us. We are entirely beyond the realm of worldly understanding. Not only are we exempt from judgment but we are also exempt from the need to defend ourselves when to do so would cause further injustice.

Why not rather put up with injustice?
Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?

Read here our royal dignity. The courts of these foreign lands can take nothing from us that truly matters. Were we to fight on their terms, trying to get our piece of the pie, we would quickly end in the same sorts of behaviors in which the world engages. We need to follow the example of our master. He fearlessly exercised his Kingdom rights, but turned the other cheek in mere earthly matters.

Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.

10 September 2018 - pure bread (leaven the past behind)

Today's Readings (Audio)

Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Jesus is the lamb without blemish. He is the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth that we receive in the Eucharist. This is our feast as Christians. We are called to become what we receive. We each still have an old man with sinful tendencies. Yet, as Christians filled with the Spirit we no longer have to live in accord with a former manner of life. We can be renewed, starting with our minds, from the inside out (see Ephesians 4:22-24) until our entire beings reflect the new life we receive in the Eucharist.

Before we are renewed we are always carefully watching Jesus. We assume there are only certain conditions and situations in which it is appropriate for him to exhibit his 'religious influence'. We are all too ready to shut Jesus out when he seems to be overstepping his bounds and interfering with social norms. Anytime we see ourselves uncomfortable with the good Jesus wants to do we should seek renewal of our minds. When we are renewed Jesus is free to work. 

Then Jesus said to them,
"I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath
rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?"

In fact we all need the healing touch of Jesus constantly. We are more like the man with the withered hand than we care to admit. Our ability to accomplish the aims we attempt is hindered by the impurity of our inner lives. But Jesus wants to make us free. He doesn't want to wait for the sabbath to end. He wants freedom and renewal for each of us right this very moment.

"Stretch out your hand."
He did so and his hand was restored.

We must reach out to Jesus even with the parts of us that are imperfect and which embarrass us. Only if we come to him with all that we are can the healing he works in us be complete.

But let all who take refuge in you
be glad and exult forever.
Protect them, that you may be the joy
of those who love your name.

9 September 2018 - LORD open my lips

Today's Readings (Audio)

And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.

Aren't we the man who is deaf and dumb? The words of the Kingdom are spoken. The Word of God is virtually all around us with its power to transform and cut to the heart. Yet even though we have this exposure, how often are we changed? How can we hear about Jesus dying for us and fail to be moved to new and more profound acts of love? How can we hear about the gift of his flesh and blood in the Eucharist without being moved to ever greater devotion? Even when we do know some of the blessings of the Kingdom we have a hard time putting them into words. Somehow a speech impediment seems to prevent us from speaking. Others may hear us, but from the perspective of who we truly are and what matters the most to us, are we not as good as mute?

We need the healing touch of Jesus to remove these residual side effects of sin.

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.

When we come to mass and hear the Good News proclaimed and we find ourselves indifferent or we find our attention wandering let us hear Jesus say “Ephphatha!”

When we see the host elevated that we might adore the body and blood of Christ but we can't see beyond the accidents of bread and wine let us hear Jesus say, “Be opened!”

And when we are sent forth into the world and called to proclaim the Good News to others but can't find the words to speak, let us allow Jesus to open our lips. He himself gives us the power to say “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

When Jesus opens our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our tongues to speak we will find that many of the illusions common in the world begin to fade. Distinctions of judges with evil designs are revealed to have no substance. Those who can truly see are freed from such illusions. And when the illusions no longer hold sway they are free to truly love.

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?

A vision test for us is whether or not we see the face of Jesus in the poor among us. The degree to which we do not is exactly the degree to which we still need his healing touch.

The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.

8 September 2018 - the dawn of peace

Today's Readings (Audio)

Today we are called to be grateful for the gift of the one through whom the savior is given to the world. She is the mother brings forth a ruler, a shepherd, one who "shall be peace."

We are called to celebrate the one who is not just the mother of Jesus, but our mother, and the mother of all who call on the name of Jesus. She is given to John and the Church to be mother on the cross because Jesus desires to be "firstborn among many brothers."

In Mary, because she said yes, God drew near to humanity in a way that was completely new.

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel

which means “God is with us.” 

We may be tempted, like Joseph, to look at Mary and see only natural causes at work. We may think that God wanted to make the best of a mediocre situation. But the angel assures us it is more than that. Mary was a fixed part of the plan, for "it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her." Nothing was left to chance. Nothing was done on mere human initiative. The name of the child itself was given to them by the angel.

How blessed we are that God chose to use Mary to fulfill his plans. We can't imagine anything else he might do which wouldn't seem impoverished by comparison. We are permitted, by the birth of Mary, to celebrate the renewal of humanity and the response of mankind to God being finally rightly ordered to welcome the King into the world. We not only experience it once, but we are given a mother to teach us the lessons she knows again and again until they are finally learned. The knot of Eve's disobedience is untied by Mary's 'yes'.

The birth of the King, in God's plan, came about precisely because the feast we celebrate today opened the way. Today we celebrate the creation of the New Ark of the Covenant. And her glory is that God may dwell in her.

Let me sing of the LORD, "He has been good to me."

7 September 2018 - paradigms of peace

Today's Readings (Audio)

Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?

There is a new paradigm. Before Jesus came we were on our own.  We tended to go to one extreme or another. We would fast too much or, more likely, too little. We were vaguely away that we were doing it for God, but we weren't quite sure why. We still risk this outcome today unless we keep in mind what Jesus tells us.

Jesus himself is the source of our joy and our feasting. He himself is the bridegroom whose wedding feast is the only true only lasting joy we can know. It is precisely because of this great good that we sometimes fast.

But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days.

It is like how the disciples who saw Jesus transfigured where strengthened to follow him to the cross. It is like the strength the angel gives Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. No longer is fasting merely something we do on our own for the sake of God. It itself is a gift which we can live to purify ourselves and the world. It is only possible be the strength of God which allows us to see beyond Good Friday to Easter Sunday.

If we try to compute the mysteries of God through reason apart from faith we do not succeed. At first it seems fearful to give up control in this way. But it is actually freedom.

It does not concern me in the least
that I be judged by you or any human tribunal;
I do not even pass judgment on myself;
I am not conscious of anything against me,
but I do not thereby stand acquitted;
the one who judges me is the Lord.

Does Jesus feel distant right now? Then perhaps he is inviting us to enter more fully into his Paschal mystery, fasting for the sake of the Church and the world. And this, of course, can be done in smaller or larger ways depending on what Jesus is specifically asking of each individual. But from the smallest sacrifice to the greatest they are possible because we see beyond them to the hope of the resurrection by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. Already our minds are thinking, 'only large sacrifices are enough!' We find ourselves trying to figure out what is 'enough' based on "human tribunals". In our fasting and feasting the one who judges is the Lord. It is easy to say, but a challenge to live. But it is a worthwhile challenge, because when we are willing to attempt it we find a greater peace than any we can concoct for ourselves.

Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.