31 May 2019 - parallel arks

Today's Readings

(Audio)

We are meant to see in Mary the new Ark of the Covenant. Note the parallelisms with David bringing the ark to Jerusalem.

And David arose and went (see Second Samuel 6:2)

Mary arose and went 

And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?" (see Second Samuel 6:9)

And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months (see Second Samuel 6:11)

And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The ark is not holy for its own sake. It is holy because of the presence of God that it contains. So too with Mary. She brings the presence of Jesus to Elizabeth causing Elizabeth and her infant to leap to rejoice and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Although the ark is not holy for its own sake the LORD nevertheless takes the holiness of the ark very seriously. He allows nothing impure to touch it.

Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God (see Second Samuel 6:6-7)

So too does he refuse to allow impurity to touch Mary, the ark which contains the presence of God more perfectly than the ark of the Old Testament. He does this precisely to maximize the blessing he can offer through Mary to the world. It is a blessing she continues to offer.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed

We too are meant to be like Mary. We are meant to bring the presence of God to the world. People should rejoice when we come to them, not because of anything we are of ourselves, but because of the presence of God that they sense within us. We too must not allow anything impure to touch us, less these blessings be obscured or made inaccessible.

The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.

30 May 2019 - your grief will become joy

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.

Our grief has been turned to joy in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He has kept his word and seen us again, filling our hearts with joy (see John 16:22). He has sent his Holy Spirit into our hearts, giving us love, joy, peace, and all of us fruits.

Why then do we experience sorrow and pain? In spite of the superabundance of the gift we do not always experience the joy of the LORD. Sometimes the LORD feels distant from us. In this world the experience of the cycles of the Paschal mystery are still necessary and unavoidable for us. We must enter again and again into his dying and so experience more and more fully the power of his resurrection. This is our 'little while' until the fullness of joy is revealed in the places he goes ahead to prepare for us.

I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord;
I will come back to you, and your hearts will rejoice.

We have joy. Importantly, we also have hope underlying our joy. Hope tells us that even when God seems distant and joy impossible that Good Friday always leads to Easter Sunday. Easter leads inexorably to ascension into the Father's house, to many mansions, to the table in the presence of our enemies, to peace forever.

The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.

Like Paul we encounter setbacks. Perhaps we are even opposed and reviled. Our hope allows us to shake out our garments and get back to work. Our joy in this freedom is compelling. We do not despair and others can see the hope that keeps us moving.

and many of the Corinthians
who heard believed and were baptized. 

Jesus, remind us of our hope and send your joy more and more into our hearts. When we encounter difficulties we unite them to your cross so that you can bring us even more into your own newness of life.

29 May 2019 - the whole truth

Areopagus Hill

Today's Readings

(Audio)

God has overlooked the times of ignorance,
but now he demands that all people everywhere repent

In his mercy God overlooked times past where ignorance kept people from following him and walking in his ways. There was always evidence to point toward him, "so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us." But this evidence was never sufficient to fully grasp who God was or how we ought to live. Even in our own lives we may not have had a sufficient understanding of our faith to draw from us the full response God desired.

but now he demands that all people everywhere repent
because he has established a day on which he will 'judge the world
with justice' through a man he has appointed,
and he has provided confirmation for all
by raising him from the dead.

Now that we know Jesus and the power of his resurrection (see Philippians 3:10) we can and must give God our whole hearts. We see the trail of hints he scattered in our past lives. We see the unknown altars at which we worshipped. And we are grateful. He gave us the truth as we could handle it. But now, through the Holy Spirit, he offers us all truth.

I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.

We can bear it now! The Spirit declares things that are coming. Now is the time for all people everywhere to repent because the day of judgment is coming. Jesus has been raised and we too will be raised in our human bodies to stand before the throne of God.

When they heard about resurrection of the dead,
some began to scoff, but others said,
"We should like to hear you on this some other time."

We are among those who can hear and accept this truth, precisely because God has been with us all along, gradually making us ready to receive the resurrection power of Jesus through his Spirit, and to be guided by that Spirit into truth in all fullness. How then ought we respond? We respond by not shying away from even aspects of the revelation which challenge us. We do not hesitate to proclaim the truth when we are called to do so.

Be this his praise from all his faithful ones,
from the children of Israel, the people close to him. 

28 May 2019 - where the Spirit of the LORD is..

Today's Readings

(Audio)

For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.

It is easy to imagine that we would be better off with Jesus here walking among us performing miracles and teaching. But that is not what he tells us. His Spirit extends his presence and power throughout time and space. Where once there was a single body in the Holy Land now there is the Mystical Body spread throughout the world and throughout the ages. Jesus is the head of the body. He is enthroned in heaven, victorious, connecting the rest of the body throughout the world to the fruits of his victory.

And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation

The Holy Spirit is able to convict hearts and bring about true conversion. He is able to show a man his own inner depths of selfishness. Yet at the same time he teaches him to hope in and turn toward the righteous one, whose righteousness is proven and accepted by his resurrection and ascension into heaven. His victory manifests the condemnation of the Evil One and in turn the condemnation of all evil. The Spirit actually changes hearts by presenting not only the problem but the genuine hope we have in heaven toward which we can turn.

About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,
there was suddenly such a severe earthquake
that the foundations of the jail shook;
all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose. 

The Spirit is at work with Paul and Silas in the prison. Their praise and worship caused the Spirit to shake the prison, open the doors, and break the chains. But Paul and Silas know not to use this freedom as an opportunity to fulfill what the flesh would immediately suggest, that is, escape. Instead the jailer is able to realize the greater good that is their priority. He himself is able to believe in the Lord Jesus with his whole household.

Because of your kindness and your truth,
you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.

We too should recognize what a great gift we have in the Holy Spirit. When we're in trapped he can help us to sing praise regardless. He can open the way to freedom and help us to bring others with us as we come more and more into the light.

27 May 2019 - testify

Today's Readings

(Audio)

and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what Paul was saying.

Lydia experienced what Jesus predicted:

the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.

Paul testified, but the Spirit also testified. This reminds us that whether we are offering the word to others or receiving more of it ourselves we can do neither without the Holy Spirit acting to open hearts. It is both the Spirit and the bride who say, "Come!" (see Revelation 22:17).

Let's begin with ourselves. Let's ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts to pay attention to what the writers of Scripture are saying to us. Let's ask him to open our hearts as we do spiritual reading and as we listen for the voice of God in prayer. As we go out into the world let us listen for the voice of the Spirit giving us guidance and direction in how to love, in just what among his many fruits would most benefit a given situation. Let us ask him to open our hearts and guide us into the situation where he wants to use us. If we do this, it will make us courageous even if those situations are difficult.

I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.

If we begin with our hearts open to what they Holy Spirit testifies we will not fall away in difficult times. We will be more ready to share the truth of the word with others. We won't make the mistake of trying to convince others through crafty arguments much less by shouting down arguments to the contrary. We will pray that God opens the heart of anyone to whom we ourselves testify. We will be ready to give them the fruit of the Spirit that they most need. When we ourselves experience doubts we will know to turn to the Spirit rather than to rely on our own understanding (see Proverbs 3:5).

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.

26 May 2019 - do not let your hearts be troubled

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.

Jesus gives us his peace. We have it. It is within us along with the other fruits of the Holy Spirit who is given to us a baptism.

Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to us but we must choose to use them. We are given love but we must act with love. We are given joy but we must choose to rejoice. We are given peace, but we can still allow our hearts to be troubled or afraid if we neglect it. This means that to experience peace we must begin with the renewal of our minds.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind (see Romans 12:2)

Getting our minds renewed is the step we are supposed to do immediately after putting off our old self which belongs to our former manner of life. In order to put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness we must be renewed in the spirit of our minds (see Ephesians 4:22-24).

What does the renewal of our minds look like practically? It means setting our minds and keeping them set (see Colossians 3:2). It means a persistent behavior on which we don't give up when we encounter setbacks. It means that with time and effort, by the power of grace, we begin to think the thoughts we choose rather than whichever ones the enemy suggests to us.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (see Second Corinthians 10:5).

Of course thinking on purpose sounds difficult or perhaps impossible. And it is not the case that we will ever be free from thoughts that tempt us to believe something other than what God reveals. But we can come to a place where such thoughts are no longer able to deeply impact us.

I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.

Jesus closely connects the Spirit's ministry in keeping us grounded in the truth and his gift of peace. The Spirit reminds us that Jesus has the victory and that all the things which cause suffering, fear, and anxiety, have ultimately been defeated. We can stand on these beliefs through his power if we choose.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit (see Galatians 5:25).

The connection between truth and peace is why the Church has always been so concerned about preserving and teaching the truth.

Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind

In response to complexity and doubt the Church and the Holy Spirit cut through the complexity so that the people of Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of Gentile origin can again regain their peace.

I saw no temple in the city
for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.
The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gave it light,
and its lamp was the Lamb.

God is making all things new. John already beholds the new heaven and the new earth. He sees the new Jerusalem even now coming from heaven to earth. The Holy Spirit is the one who teaches him this joyful reality when he, exiled on Patmos, would have every reason to despair. It is a revelation he experiences in the Spirit on the LORD's day. That can be today for us as well.

May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!

25 May 2019 - truly free

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Saint Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi

Saint Bede the Venerable

Saint Gregory VII

If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.

There was formerly a cultural consensus that shamed the Western world into not admitting its hatred of Christianity. But as that consensus is broken we do begin to see that the things we profess are contrary to the values of the world. We experience animosity from the world as we stand against those values.

If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

We are already seeing actions against Christians in the name of so-called healthcare and equality. But let us be clear. It isn't any of the specific moral issues that is key. The root is whether our freedom is meant to be used for arbitrary self-creation or for the service of the Father. Jesus reveals what freedom is meant to be. In following him we are meant to reveal it as well. If we are not yet experiencing persecution we need to look at ourselves and how we're using our freedom.

To us he is the censure of our thoughts;
merely to see him is a hardship for us,
Because his life is not like that of others,
and different are his ways.
He judges us debased;
he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure.
He calls blest the destiny of the righteous
and boasts that God is his Father (see Wisdom 2:14-16)

God asks only that we use our freedom in accord with his purpose for us. He asks us to live in the only way that can bring the true happiness for which he created us. Obedience sounds burdensome at first. But through it we learn to delight in God just as we see Jesus himself delights in the Father. Once we learn this lesson we become effective missionaries. Our lips proclaim the gospel, and our lives reflect what we say.

When he had seen the vision,
we sought passage to Macedonia at once, 
concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.

Let us not be afraid to be what God asks us to be. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

24 May 2019 - love wins

Today's Readings

(Audio)

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends.

Love is always a laying down of one's life in ways that may be large or small. True love is not simply affection. A feeling may be part of love but it is more than a feeling. It can even endure when feelings are absent. Husbands and wives make sacrifices for the sake of their partners. They continue to act loving even when they didn't get enough sleep or have a headache or had a bad day. Parents make sacrifices to love their children, even when those children act in ways that are less than deserving, less than endearing. Priests sacrifice in order to provide service to their congregation.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.

What sustains love when feelings are absent? It can be difficult if feelings were part of an initial motivation to keep going without them. But there's something we know, revealed by Jesus from the Father, that helps us to believe in love even when we don't feel it. It is the same as believing in the resurrection when all around us we only see Good Friday. 

We know that our self-surrender is not for nothing. It is received. We know that the love we show has meaning and impact. Just as Jesus knows that his love matters because it will give new life to his bride so too do we come to learn and believe in the victory of love. Even though we might not feel the emotion of love we are almost able to reach directly through to the results of our love in the beloved and experience that joy as our own. This is the mystery of love. It is a glimmer and a glimpse of the Trinitarian life in which we are, somehow, called to share.

Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!

We need to be grounded in the truth of Jesus in order to love like he loves. This is why the danger of those upsetting us with their teachings and disturbing our peace of mind is a concern. Bad teaching can make us uncertain about whether we should really love like Jesus loves. This is why good teaching is as simple as it can be but not simpler:

'It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,

When we hear what Jesus tells us from the Father we become able to live as his friends, loving as he loves. This is the necessity. This is the simple truth. We are to love. For if we love we are victorious.

23 May 2019 - the remain thing

Today's Readings

(Audio)

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love

We want to remain in the amazing love of Christ, surpasses anything we ever have ever known.

"I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and
your joy might be complete."

We want to the joy of the LORD to fill our hearts and minds. It is a fruit of the Spirit given, and so is meant to be available for all believers who have become Spirit-filled at their baptisms.

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love

It is this middle term with which we struggle. Commandment and love seem to be diametrically opposed realities. In seems like a question of dead letter versus living Spirit.

just as I have kept my Father's commandments
and remain in his love.

Jesus shows us why commandment and love have a necessary connection. Jesus desires to do his Father's will. His Father's will is commandment, unchanging, eternal, precisely because it is the greatest possible good that can be willed. Any change would be to something lesser, to a world with less love, and as a consequence, less joy. Jesus does not need to second guess the Father's will because he lives in it and experiences the results in his own being.

Why, then, are you now putting God to the test
by placing on the shoulders of the disciples
a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?

There are human rules that we overemphasize. We tend to look for ways in which we can judge ourselves successful and perhaps better than others. We want these to be ways in which we ourselves set the terms. We take God's good ideas and twist them for the sake of our own pride and sense of righteousness.

On the contrary, we believe that we are saved
through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.

The commandments are all about love. They are not burdensome (see First John 5:3). They are descriptions of how we are meant to let the Holy Spirit live in us and love through us. The yokes we create draw people away from love into pride and competition. Let us lay them down.

Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.

22 May 2019 - branch office

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.

Jesus is the source of our life. If we want to bear fruit, especially love, joy and peace, we need to remain in him. We need to cherish our connection with him and be extremely protective of it. Neglect on our part can partially whither our connection to him and cause us to languish.

He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.

Jesus wants healthy plants. He won't watch us pour energy into things which don't bear fruit. He prunes those branches because they are dying, even if we fail to recognize it. An example of this is when something which used to seem fun for us no longer does because we are being called to living more in accord with our purpose. Jesus is willing to take away the joy and the life from parts of our lives in which we are investing effort disproportionate to the joy that we can attain. It is hard at the time but preferable to the whole tree dying.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

When we remain on the vine our desires are pruned with such precision that we can expect miracles when we pray. We become confident that the fruit we want to bear is what Jesus wants and that he will provide the life we need to bear it. By this is his Father glorified.

Protecting our connection to the vine means protecting our connection to the truth we have through Scripture, Tradition, and the magisterial teaching authority of the Church.

Because there arose no little dissension and debate
by Paul and Barnabas with them,
it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others
should go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and presbyters
about this question. 

Let's invite the Holy Spirit to take our connection to vine to the next level. He is the life that flows from the vine to us and through us to the world. He is delighted to give us more of himself.

Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

21 May 2019 - an altar state

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.

Peace is meant to mark our lives as disciples. Does it? When circumstances are bad and storms rage what happens to our peace? We do tend to lose it, don't we? Peace as the world gives it is something beyond our control. It does come and go. In contrast, the peace of Jesus need not ebb or flow with circumstance. But we must choose it. We must set our minds and keep them set (see Colossians 3:2) or the world will convince us that we should indulge in the anxious thoughts that come to us.

Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

Having peace is all about choosing to live the gift using the gift God has given us. We choose to think that our hearts are not troubled, that we are not afraid, and that we have peace beyond all understanding.

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (see Philippians 4:6-7).

We need peace so that we can do and rejoice in the will of the Father even when the ruler of this world afflicts us. We can be like Jesus whose bond of love with the Father is so strong that nothing can interfere with it. He knows he is loved. He can't help but love in turn. It is this love of God that is the source of our peace, and through peace, our freedom.

for the ruler of the world is coming.
He has no power over me,
but the world must know that I love the Father

The peace of Christ is mentioned each mass to remind us that this peace is not just for the select few special saints of history but for each and every Christian. It is not just for our benefit but so that the door of faith might be opened to more and more people that we need to ground ourselves in this peace which God never ceases to freely bestow.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.

20 May 2019 - never without witnesses

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?

Jesus does want the whole world to know him, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, woman or man.

We proclaim to you good news
that you should turn from these idols to the living God,
who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.

Yet people are much more ready to turn toward lesser things.

"The gods have come down to us in human form." 
They called Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes,"

When we receive good things we tend make much of those from whom we receive them. It is right to be thankful. But it is not good to forget that ultimately every good and perfect gift is from above (see James 1:17). Ultimately everything God gives, through whomever he gives it, is meant to bear him witness.

In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways;
yet, in bestowing his goodness,
he did not leave himself without witness,
for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts.

Given, then, that God never ceases to offer witness to himself, given too that all whom the Father gives Jesus come to him, why does it then seem that God has revealed himself only to a few and not to the world at large? This is the mystery of free will. We who love God do not love him apart from his grace which allows us to do so. We rely on it utterly. Yet our free will is not destroyed. 

Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.

Jesus and his Father invite us to love them. They actually supply the grace and the love whereby we can love them. They give us the grace to choose to love them. But they will not force us. We can choose to ignore them. This is the great peril we all face. We must not refuse so gracious, so generous, so merciful an offer of salvation.

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven (see Hebrews 12:25).

We should be clear that it is not a mystery to be solved or a program of right behavior first and foremost. It is rather an invitation to relationship. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit want to live in us. They want to be known by us precisely so that we can love them and they can love us more fully.

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit 
whom the Father will send in my name 
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.

The Holy Spirit transforms us spiritually into what the world is naturally, that is, unceasing witnesses to Christ.

19 May 2019 - love will wipe our tears away

Today's Readings

(Audio)

I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

May Jesus teach us how to love. We need the glory of the resurrection to stir our hearts to the love to which we are called. Without that glory things just seem to hopeless to be as all in as we need to be to love like him. It seems like love is vain and ends in death. But the glory of the resurrection shows us that what really matters is love and what truly lasts forever can only be built on that basis.

It is because they know the risen Christ that Paul and Barnabas can proclaim:

"It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God."

They strengthen the spirits of the disciples. Our spirits too can be strengthened when we understand what awaits us.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.

Love makes possible what God always desired. Unlike our earthly societies of this present age we look forward to a new heavenly society wherein love is an unbreakable bond.

Behold, God's dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.

In a world that questions whether any relationship is meant to last forever the love of Christians even here and now can be evidence of the glory to come.

This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.

18 May 2019 - room to grow

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?

Jesus is inviting us to a deeper relationship with him. It is a relationship in which we are invited to pay more attention to everything Jesus is doing in our midst. We overlook many small wonders that he does everyday because they seem so small as to be negligible to us. We do not realize that they are mustard seeds that will grow into the kingdom.

How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? 

We have to give Jesus time and attention so that seeds will grow in us. Only by watching his actions in the circumstances of our lives do we see specifically what he means that the Father is in him and he in the Father. Only by careful attention to his words do we also hear the voice of the Father speaking.

For so the Lord has commanded us,
I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
that you may be an instrument of salvation
to the ends of the earth.

We learn about the Father's love for the world and his desire to give eternal life to all people. We do, at least, if we're attentive. Otherwise we will just see persecution and hopelessness. We may still check in with Jesus. But without loving attention we don't penetrate to the Father's plan at work in our midst. It is true that it is hidden. It is slow as we recon speed. But he wants us to wait on him with patient love.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.

17 May 2019 - promises fulfilled

Today's Readings

(Audio)

You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.

The resurrection is the good news that all the promises of God have been fulfilled. It isn't just that someone came back to life like Lazarus. Rather, death tried to kill someone on whom it had no claim, someone whom it was impossible for the grave to hold.

In the resurrection Jesus revealed that he was truly the Son of the Father. Previous figures like David about whom this was written were prefigurements and types. The connection of Jesus and the Father is so direct that Jesus constantly receives life from the Father. His resurrection reveals in time what happens in the eternal day of the Triune God. 

You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.

By the resurrection we too can enter into the relationship that Jesus has with his Father. We too can share in the resurrected life he receives.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. 
No one comes to the Father except through me."

Our lives were death directed. Now we have the hope of eternal life. We have the map that shows us how to get there in the person of Jesus Christ. He is guiding us to dwelling places which are not just anywhere, but specifically in his Father's house. It is in his death and resurrection that he prepares places for us. The places he prepares are actually within himself. As parts of his body we live with him in the house of the Father. As parts of him we ourselves partake in the divine nature. We ourselves behold the eternal day of God.

You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.

May this knowledge give us boldness and confidence, stronger faith, deeper hope, and more steadfast love.

Ask of me and I will give you
the nations for an inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.

16 May 2019 - feet first

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master
nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.

Jesus just came from washing the disciples feet. He was greater than the disciples yet he chose to serve them. 

Because Jesus is master and LORD and yet humbled himself to serve his subjects how much more must we be humble, both before our LORD and master and before our brothers and sisters.

John the Baptist understood.

What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.

How surprised John would have been to have his feet washed by the one who he knew to be so much greater than himself? In our humility and our service we are called to imitate this shocking self-abasement of Jesus.

Where does our humility begin? This is perhaps the greatest lesson for us today. It begins when we allow Jesus to wash our feet. It does not begin by our own work or effort. Our humility comes as a gift of the incarnation. Because Jesus joins his divinity with humanity the ultimate act of humility was already done. We are joined to it in baptism. We must choose to live it and embrace it moment to moment.

From now on I am telling you before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. 

Jesus helps us to plan for the things that will be asked of us. We need to turn to him first as our example and guide. When we remember to begin from the one who is we find ourselves beginning to live the victorious life he died to give.

For you have said, "My kindness is established forever";
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.

15 May 2019 - into the light

Today's Readings

(Audio)

I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. 

Jesus came to save the world. Without him the world is in darkness. We can see this all around us and even within our own hearts. Part of us desires the light but part of us doesn't want to change and be exposed by the light. We allow the words of Jesus a to come so close but no closer. We allow his light to address us superficially but not deeply. Yet what is it that we fear? Why won't we allow him to come close? Is it not because we fear that when we are exposed we will be condemned?

I do not condemn him,
for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. 

Jesus does not want to condemn us. But we choose to live under condemnation to the degree that we don't come into his light. Darkness still reigns in the parts of us that we don't expose to him, to the secrets we keep from him. And these parts of us remain under the condemnation of his word. He condemns them precisely because they harm us and he wants to save us from all the darkness inside of ourselves. He wants us to come to him for light.

When we truly draw near to God, when we let him shine in all the recesses of our hearts, we gain the ability to hear him and the freedom to move as he directs our steps.

"Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them." 

It is not just Barnabas and Saul that Jesus wants to set apart. It is not because their hearts were uniquely pristine when he found them. It is precisely because they allowed themselves to be transformed by the blazing light of Christ that they are now vessels he can use.

May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.

14 May 2019 - chosen

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men 
who accompanied us the whole time 
the Lord Jesus came and went among us,
beginning from the baptism of John
until the day on which he was taken up from us,
become with us a witness to his resurrection.

What is most important in a disciple? It is that he or she be a witness to the resurrection. We too are called to be witnesses to the resurrection in our own way. In virtue of our baptism we have the resurrected life of Jesus within us. We have been buried with Jesus and we are called to walk in newness of life (see Romans 6:4). Could outside observers detect the miracle that the LORD has worked in us?

show which one of these two you have chosen

We too are chosen by God.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

We usually think about our actively choosing for God but sometimes forget that this is always a response to the grace of his invitation. He has chosen us to be witnesses to the resurrection. Only because of the resurrection can fruit truly remain or abide.

Jesus wants us to have complete joy. This is why he makes us witnesses to his resurrection. It is why he tells us to love one another and shows us how. He himself exemplifies what a fulfilled life looks like. United to him we are invited to share in it.

The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.

13 May 2019 - more abundantly

Today's Readings

(Audio)

But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.

Jesus is the shepherd who leads us. When we follow him we aren't at risk of being stolen or destroyed by thieves.

I am the gate for the sheep.

Jesus is not only the truth spoken to us but he himself is also the way. In him we live and move and have our being (see Acts 17:28).

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left (see Isaiah 30:21).

Jesus makes this possible by his incarnation, by joining himself to humanity, and, while remaining a shepherd, becoming himself one of the sheep. The gate is precisely as wide as his own life. Remaining in him we come in and go out and find pasture.

I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.

Why did Jesus come? He came to seek and to save the lost. He came the we might have life. He wants to give us this abundant life not only in eternity but also here and now.

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,
'John baptized with water
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 

The Holy Spirit is the form this abundant life is meant to take. He is the evidence of life-giving repentance. He is the fulfillment of God's promise to baptize us with fire. It is not wrong to desire more of the Holy Spirit. The more we receive, in fact, the more we will desire. But since it is a desire that God delights to fulfill we need never go thirsty.

As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?

12 May 2019 - we hear him speak

Today's Readings

(Audio)

My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.

We hear the voice of Jesus. Do we believe it? He speaks to us not just generally but personally. He calls us by name (see John 10:3) and not just en masse. We're willing to believe that he speaks to us corporately about generalities. We are less ready to believe that he speaks to us about actionable specifics. Yet he calls us to believe this.

Jesus, we believe that we hear your voice. Help us to listen and to follow you.

Paul and Barnabas listened for the voice of God. They were able to follow his lead even in difficult situations.

It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first,
but since you reject it
and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life,
we now turn to the Gentiles.
For so the Lord has commanded us,
I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
that you may be an instrument of salvation
to the ends of the earth.

We are more likely to go and sit in Church listening to the noble teachings of our faith all the while ignoring the specific things the LORD asks of us.  Perhaps we are gritting our teeth and facing persecution when God is closing one door and asking us to pivot to another.

The Good Shepherd is looking after us. He has our best interests at heart. We can trust him even when we don't understand. He himself first survived the great distress of the cross so that he could guide us through any distress we encounter. He himself washed our robes and made them white in his own blood. The Shepherd displayed so much goodness as to become a sheep to show us the way and give us confidence. It is he who speaks to us this morning. Please God, let our hearts be opened to the sound of his voice.

For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne
will shepherd them
and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

11 May 2019 - faith from beginning to end

Today's Readings

(Audio)

In the readings today we see the contrast between faith and the lack of it.

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”

The crowd is unable to accept it when Jesus tells them that he himself is the bread of life and that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood to have life. The crowds had been able to delight in the mildly miraculous. Being fed by the multiplication of the loaves and witnessing healings an exorcisms was something they would believe. They might not understand the how in those situations. But they understood the why. They understood how their own happiness was directly related to what was happening.

What happens when Jesus tells us something and we not only don't understand the how but also don't understand the why? Are we willing to believe that Jesus knows better than we do what will make for our happiness and flourishing? We may not understand the how. We may not even understand the why. But if we understand that the voice speaking to us is good nevertheless will we listen? 

Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.

In the Acts of the Apostles, we see in some disciples another profound example of faith. They believed that Peter could help Tabitha even though Tabitha was already dead. They didn't allow questions about the why of the death to interfere with their faith.

Since Lydda was near Joppa,
the disciples, hearing that Peter was there,
sent two men to him with the request,
“Please come to us without delay.” 

Faith isn't meant to help us only to believe in things which seem plausible or understandable to us. It is meant to help us transcend the limits of our own understanding.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (see Hebrews 11:1).

Faith is the necessary gateway to all the blessings of the Kingdom. We sometimes see the gifts and the fruits of the Spirit as a program of personal development that we must struggle through as opposed to faith, which we reserve for special occasions. When we find ourselves stuck, when we aren't bearing fruit for the kingdom, we need faith first. We need faith to underlie everything we try, for "Everything that does not proceed from faith is sin" (see Romans 14:23). But what proceeds from genuine faith always attains its end.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours (see Mark 11:24).

Are we struggling with anything today? We probably are. None of us is likely to say that all of the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit are perfectly evident in our lives. If that is so, let us pick one and start from belief rather than struggle. For example, we say (hopefully out loud) "I have complete joy in the Holy Spirit" as an act of faith. Every time contrary thoughts come we keep speaking it again until they are silenced.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (see Second Corinthians 10:5).

When we begin with faith we can end with praise like that of the psalmist.

O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.

10 May 2019 - grounded

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine
to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,
and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.

Jesus has big plans for Paul. He has big plans for us as well.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (see Jeremiah 29:11).

Like Paul, we are called to carry the name of Jesus to the world. Like Paul we will have to suffer for his name, but Paul teaches us that it is worth it.

But perhaps we're still overly invested in our own plans for the LORD to use us as he desires. Perhaps our plans might not be as great as we imagine them to be.

"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

When we try to figure out what to do on our own with no reference to God we tend to end up hurting ourselves and one another. The trouble is that we think we see clearly when we do not. Jesus wants to fulfill his plans for us. He is not content to leave us in our illusions. If Jesus wants to shake us free let us welcome him.

Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;

What Saul thought he could see he could now no longer see. But Jesus had revealed himself, so nothing was the same. All that he had because of his former ability and plan he now counted as loss (see Philippians 3:8).

We don't just need one moment of getting knocked to the ground by the light. Every time we're heading in the wrong direction it is a mercy. It is an occasion of grace where we come closer to Jesus and begin to know him better.

We don't see Jesus in the Eucharist with the sight of our eyes. Yet whenever we come before him we have the opportunity to be enlightened by his light. We receive eternal life. Suddenly our personal plans seem less relevant. The Kingdom and the Name become the most important things to us. We eat, like Saul, and recover our strength.

Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

9 May 2019 - taught by God

Today's Readings

(Audio)

"Do you understand what you are reading?" 
He replied,
"How can I, unless someone instructs me?" 

Yet they were now in the age about which the Prophets said, "They shall all be taught by God." We might expect God himself to directly intervene if we took that at face value.

Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,
he proclaimed Jesus to him.

Philip did not speak his own words or ideas he formulated.

The Spirit said to Philip,
"Go and join up with that chariot." 

Because the Holy Spirit was leading Philip the eunuch truly was taught by God through him. Philip did not prepare in advance what he would say. He didn't even know he'd be meeting the eunuch until it happened much less what specific passage he would be reading in Scripture. Yet God had clearly set all of this up as a perfect opportunity to speak about Jesus who was like "a sheep led to the slaughter" about him the Eunuch just "happened" to be reading.

Just as Jesus opened the hearts of the disciples to the Scriptures on the way to Emmaus so too Philip now proclaimed Jesus from the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit was making Jesus present, even to the end of the world (see Matthew 28:20). 

What is to prevent my being baptized?

The Eunuch was now desperate to be united to the One whom he now knew suffered and died for his sake. Jesus himself desired this even more. The Eunuch believed and therefore Jesus was pleased to give him eternal life.

When our minds are opened to the Scriptures and we believe we are not meant to stop at the union with Jesus which baptism brings about. Rather, we look to the even more profound union we experience in the Eucharist. 

I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world.

Jesus wants to speak to us through others and others through us. We need to be ready and listening. He often takes us by surprise on the road to Emmaus. But if we let him he always leads us to himself, he who is the living bread that came down from heaven.

Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.