Friday Fourth Week of Lent

John 7: 1-2, 10: 25-30

John gives us a bit of insight here on the climate of the time.  It's hostile toward the community of believers.  Jesus understands what is going on and yet He still continues on the mission.

When we think about Christianity across the globe we are faced with similar problems.  People are killed and jailed every day because of their belief.  We face calvary in a very real way when we follow the way of the Lord.

We are also reminded that in God's time will all come to pass.  Be still and be firm in faith.  The final chapter has already been penned. 

The result of an all knowing ego based society will be one that separates, categorizes and tries to remove any perceived opposition.    

When Christ calls from the cross "forgive them" He is talking about you and me.  We persecute Him every time we persecute others.  When we isolate others, when we oppress others, when we hurt others.

He forgave us our trespasses, so, let us forgive our own faults so we may join Him in peace.

Thursday Fourth Week of Lent

John 5: 31-47

Today we focus on relationship.  The relationship that is the Divine working in and through us requires us to be honest with God.  We don't use empty words, empty words are words without meaning.  We mean what we say and say what we mean. 

Talk to God with love and honesty and He will be moved to fill you up with perseverance and fortitude.  The problem may not go away, but there will be clarity and a sure way out.  We can get trapped in our minds about God because we may see God as far, distant, unattached to our life, and perhaps a God of wrath and jealousy that spurs violence and damns humanity for not following a set of rules.  That is a tough place to start. 

God entered human history to share with us and to experience the human journey.  Christ, with the Father from the beginning of time, has made the relationship with the Divine something that is attainable and ready to access!

Jesus showed the apostles the marks of His crucifixion, the marks of His human experience, and He held no grudge, He sought no revenge, He ordered no troops to attack.  Jesus said; "Peace be with you"

The price has been paid the relationship is established. 

Today, we focus on meeting people where there are in their journey and foster a life giving relationship with the Divine in all. 

Wednesday Fourth Week of Lent

John 5:17-30

The work we do to build the kingdom on earth is an important mission.  Bringing others to Christ by our words and actions is the mission of the christian.  Jesus talks about the work he has to accomplish in the gospel and all the work finds its origin in the Father who sent the Son, who sends the Spirit, that is alive and working in you and me.  We can listen to the spirit or ignore it for our own selfish reasons.  "I'm not smart enough" "I'm not good enough" I'm not . . ." all true because without being open to the help of the spirit of God we can't do anything of His will.

Pope Francis was asked about those who are not in favor of his work with the direction of the church and His response is one to remember; "They do their work and I do mine."  

Striving to work for peace, and understanding, the message of the forgiving victim, for those in the world that are oppressed and marginalized requires seeing with the eye of God, hearing with His ear, working with His body, and you don't have to travel far to do it.

Recently, I was asked to explain two predominant cultural theories on truth and afterward the man said "yeah, I guess I can find a soup kitchen to work in." I told him to find the manger, seek Christ in your home, your school, your town and care for Him there.  

Our work is right where we are and we have much work to do before we die!!

 

Tuesday Fourth Week of Lent

John 5:1-16

Today we face misery and hopelessness. The economy, healthcare, employment, no chance at parole, lack of "white privilege", and a batch of other things come to us in life and there seems to be no hope for the situation to get better.  

Jesus finds the same today.  We have a man that is not able to do something that would better his quality of life. There are a host of people and they walk by too busy about their own problems to help the man to the water. 

Lent is a time to challenge the "norms", to disrupt the usual responses with a new and transformative mind. 

How many times we have heard "No, you can't do that" "It's not possible" at every turn there is an obstacle.  The obstacle may be the Holy Spirit moving us to a new direction, a transformed mind, a more workable situation.  Paul tells us not to boast of our own doing, but to boast of God! 

The man in today's gospel has been ill for 38 years.  Jesus never rebukes the man "Why didn't you ask for help?" There is no blame or question, just a response.  It is the emptying of the Love that flows to respond with compassion and healing.

If our lenten season has been met with defeat, there is today!  "Rise, take up your mat and walk!"

Mercy and Hope come from God, ask or wait 38 years, it's up to you!

Monday Fourth Week of Lent

John 4:43-54

There is one word that gets right to the point.  Believe.  Believe that the creator of the universe sees you, hears you, believes in you and wants to the Spirit to flow through you for others.  

John tells us that people are always looking for signs to believe.  There was Cana, and if that were today it would be headline news or labeled "fake news"  either way the child is healed from afar without any tricks.  "Your son will live."  Many people came to believe that day and it started with an unlikely candidate, a royal official.  

Our prayers are powerful when they align with the will of God. When we pray we need to believe that God wants us to have the best life and it may happen that our prayers are answered in a different way.  

I remember one day I offered Mass for a man that has cancer, I don't know what kind, I have no idea of the severity, or the human prognosis. I was leaving the church and came outside to go down the steps when I saw it, rose petals lying on the steps leaving the church, down each step off around the corner they went.  I didn't follow them I just thanked God and St. Therese and went to work.  

The signs and wonders are all around and we see them every day, but the faith we have and the life we live is what allows us to see them, and the will of God, to be a witness for others.  

Take time to see the wonders of Gods Love in our life. 

Friday Third Week of Lent

Mark 12:28-34

   

Jesus gets right to the point today and there is no way around it.  Love God.  Love others. Love yourself. It is that easy.  When we talk about the Divine dwelling in all of us we quickly recognize that when we follow this formula all else seems to fall in line.  

Take your thoughts, words, and actions and direct them at God.  So, when we are upset with someone and want to be mean to them, say what we are thinking to Jesus. The nasty words or actions that are in our mind, we say and do to the Christ.  Jesus came and experienced the human condition and He found out pretty quickly humans can be very nasty.  

Everything becomes part of a big picture.  There is no longer "ME" at the center of the universe.  If I hide the key to the choir loft because I don't like the person playing the organ I am stealing their joy.  I am robbing them of their gift to God.  I may not like the persons' behaviors or ability to play the organ, but it's not about me, now is it?  It is about God and others then me. Let their relationship go how and where it may.  In other words we are not the enforcers of what we think either individually or collectively defines justice.  

Here is a tip.  I look at a picture of Jesus for a really long time.  I'm going to tell Him that I'm going to steal the key to the choir loft.  What will He say?  How will He respond?  Or I'll tell Him I think He is a real jerk for taking "my" seat in the common room so I punch Him or spread the story to gain support and make Him look like the bad guy.  I'll take His food when He is out. Now, He is black and I'll tell Him I don't like black people, or gay people, or Muslim, or Jewish, or or or . . . When I see the Christ, bloodied, beaten, and hanging on the cross, will I go by and spit on Him, too?  Will I take a rock and throw it at Him?  Why not? He is vulnerable and I don't like Him. 

The formula we have today takes us to the heart of being a human.  Be Christ for every person. It's not about me. 

Thursday Third Week of Lent

Luke 11: 14-23 

We can take the advice from the gospel today and recognize the importance of following Jesus.  We can stay in our old brain paths of wrong doing and sin, or we can open our hearts to the Love that God offers us in the work of the Spirit. 

Here Jesus works a miracle and the righteous are ready to critique Him. But, Jesus isn't pressured, He lets them know right from the start that His work is a product of Love and Love flows from the Spirit of God.  

Now, to take that "with me or against me" and relate that to our response, so as not to be divided, we take the road of the gospel and the message of the beatitudes and the words of Jesus and put them to practice.  When you meet resistance, find a common ground and meet there, let our life example be the medium to proclaim the gospel. 

All fall short of the glory of God, but we walk in faith with Christ who bore the burden of humanity's sins and died that we may be shown the way to eternal life.  We will be transformed into the image of the father. 

Pick an opposing view today, sit with it, be still, and look from there. Empathy goes a long way in life! 

 

Wednesday Third Week of Lent

Matthew 5:17-19

Today's gospel comes right after the Beatitudes.  Jesus is reminding us that He has not come to replace, but, to fulfill the law.

It would be a good practice to go over the beatitudes today and think about how Jesus transforms the Mosaic law into a real basic and worthy set of guidelines to keep us on track when we get confused, the beatitudes.

Jesus is transformative.  Jesus transforms the law into a real, practical, non judgmental way of living.  Following the gospel reading Jesus goes on to define how He has come to transform. 

All creation has access to the trinitarian Love that Jesus speaks about.  Once we understand the transformation from a damning, exclusionary, prejudicial Father that was in the old testament, we see the compassion, inclusive, non dual thinking, forgiving our enemy God that teaches us about all those things.

We learn what we are taught, by word and action.  Jesus teaches us that the law is fulfilled in Him and that following His word and action is a sure way to rest in peace.  Peace in this life and in our resurrection. 

Take some time today and go over the beatitudes.  I wish they hung on buildings instead of the ten commandments. 

Tuesday Third Week of Lent

Matthew 18:21-35

What is it we can't forgive?  Our sin or others? both?  

Lent is an invitation to experience the forgiveness of God in a very deep and uplifting way.  When Jesus stretches out His arms it is an act of Love, it is an act of forgiving us our debts.  We, too, must forgive ourselves and others.  

Forgiveness is the soil that is fertile and waiting to have seeds planted in it.  

Forgive. Forgive. Forgive.  We are invited to take part in a celebration, holding on to no grudges, releasing all anxiety and doubt to the caring hands of our dear Lord.

Forgive. 

 

Monday Third Week of Lent (St. Joseph)

Feast of St. Joseph

With simplicity comes holiness.  When we focus on the necessities of life we find our life becomes less stressful and much more rewarding.  We see the Divine in all things and all people.  We hold the entire universe in our hands and yet hold nothing.  

Joseph saw the simple plan God commissioned him for.  He knew that the road was going to be difficult because of the righteous and the critiques of the time.

Still, Joseph, kept his word and served Mary and Jesus faithfully.  We don't have to hear from Joseph to know that he was a holy and trusting man.  His actions speak for themselves.  

We are asked to help Jesus with His plan for salvation.  We are asked to live a simple and prayerful life, not with bended knee and folded hands, but, with a heart that bows to the Divine in all things and hands that work for Christ.

Today we remember the work and life of St. Joseph. 

Friday Second Week of Lent

Matthew 21:33-43 45-46

The gospel message is very clear today.  The death of an innocent, the violent beating of servants, and a plot, foretold, to arrest Jesus.  It is also the mind of dual thinking, stinking thinking.  Being able to be at peace with circumstances and people leads us to the kingdom of God.  We are told that for those that are jealous and envious of others, they will lose that peace.  There is turmoil and anxiety about how to be better or do better than someone else.  We are number one.  That's a tough place to start.  

The closer we come to being in union with the Divine, the less important things of this world are.  The things that can lead us to a dark and dangerous place, such as power, money, and honor among men are no longer what motivates our actions.  We come from a place of poverty.  We no longer look for praise and honor among men and being recognized for our accomplishments becomes of little importance.  We are serving Christ in the people in our life.  We see the Divine in all things and people and we are aware of the importance of safe guarding that treasure.

Meet people and circumstances as they are. Be present.  

Thursday Second Week of Lent

Luke 16:19-31

If someone comes back from the dead, surely we will listen, right?  Jesus says no we will not even listen to the one that returns to warn us of the suffering that will be our eternity if we deny Christ.   It is true.  Look at the news.  Watch the way we treat people around us that are not in our tribe.  We have the means, as a human family, to provide for the needs of all people and nations. 

"He's a drunk" "He's a thief" "She is promiscuous" "S/He is a . . . "  These statements are not what we need to be focused on. S/He is a part of our human family.  We don't want to look in the eyes of people that are poor or outcast.  

We learn the name of God, who knocks at the door today.  Lazarus is poverty's name. 

If we profess the Divine dwells in each of us, and we deny the gift of Love to our brother and sisters, then we deny God.  Jesus stands at the door and knocks and we shove him away or ignore His presence completely, shuffling pass so as not to make eye contact or so as not to be seen with "Those people"  But what if by some twist that person is God in disguise?  What do we do? 

We do the same thing, we walk by with a guilty conscious and pretend we don't see them.  The Holy spirit convicts us and we know it. 

Today, look for Him in all the people that we meet.  Look Him in the eyes and greet Him with Love.  Don't pass by the gate one day more without an encounter with the Divine in each person that we meet.

Wednesday Second Week of Lent

Matthew 20:17-28

There is a bold request that is tied to the culture of power.  When Jesus hears the mother of James and Johns' request that her boys be second and third in the power line of succession he stops her in her tracks.  Jesus lets her know that the request to be on his right and left are not an appointment that he is in charge of, but they WILL drink of the cup that he drinks from.  

How many times have we betrayed Jesus by putting power and money at the head of our list of "to do's"  We won't let anything get in our way because we don't serve God.  Money is not, in itself, bad, the misuse or abuse of power and money in our life is what gets us tied up. 

Jesus lets us know that if we want to be great, we need to serve God with humility, and love of our neighbor. It's not fancy and there are no horn blasts in the heart, though others may place you up on some higher level, it is our duty to remind ourselves that Jesus is in control and we serve Him. 

The attitude of the mother is one of exclusion, group, and tribal thinking that has stifled our growth as a church and the human family. The attitude of letting the flow of the Spirit work in and through us is not understood.  

Everything matters and everything is connected. 

Follow your thoughts and keep the light on Christ! 

Tuesday Week Two of Lent

Matthew 23:1-12

Week Two can be a time of purging and a time when the Holy spirit begins to reveal the real message of Lent and the false piety begins to fade.  Week two in the gospel is highlighted by the words of Jesus; "Do what they tell you to do, but don't follow their example."

Jesus knows that the religious leaders of the time placed harsher than necessary restrictions on the people, but their piety of instruction is to be followed.

"I fast and keep all of the Lenten observances"  but how do I treat my brother? Am I holding a grudge or remembering some bit of information that keeps me from a relationship with a brother or family member?  Do I forgive the faults of my life?  Am I keeping the Lenten observances and being mean and uncharitable toward the stranger and person of a different belief?  

Being a Christian requires an real emptying of oneself so we can be filled with Love.  God is Love.  We are created in the image of God.  We are created to Love. 

Week two of Lent and today's' gospel is a time to discover those sins and offenses, those habits and lack of charity we have deep within.  The beginning of Lent is Gods' way to say "What do you think keeps you from me?"  Week two is the time when God says "Here is what is keeping you from me."  Short temper, lying, not really keeping the fast etc.  

Dig in and root it out.  Be determined to empty the old vessel so that the Christ may fill us with the abundance of Love that He promised.

Lent is about being transformed into this wonderful person, we call human.  to Love those unlovable by society, to feed the hungry (not just chips and fish), clothe the naked (not with just a coat or hat) Visit those in hospitals and prison (not just behind physical bars and walls) 

Be still and let the movement of His Love fill our soul and rid us of the cancers of hate, fear, anxiety, control, and the lack of reverence of the Divine in humanity.

Monday, Second Week of Lent

Luke 6:36-38

If we can just stop judging each other, and not just about what a person did or didn't do, about the way they look, talk, comb their hair or don't, facial expressions, there is a whole batch of reason we start judging each other.  

We need to focus on the Divine in them and work around the rest, because after some time we will discover that when we start at "Yes" or an attitude of acceptance and remove the barriers that keep us divided we will find peace and spread peace.  That is the importance of mediation.  Shed the ego.  Lose the elite attitude. become one with our neighbors and thus with the Divine nature. Speak and act from a place of poverty and humility and not arrogance and pride.  We certainly can find the right words to justify our own sinful actions or faults, why then is it so hard for us to do the same for others?  

Today, when you find your thoughts going down that old worn out brain path, pick a new attitude, thoughtfully take another way.  Take His Way.

Friday First Week of Lent

Matthew 5: 20-26

Jesus is teaching us something about negotiating and meeting people at a point of compromise.  Pope Francis calls this "holy negotiation".

How different the world would be, how different our life would be if we learned how to release the "either or", "this or that" thinking and began to apply and use the little word "and".  Francis reminds us that we are not a church of this nature but we are a church of "and". 

 "My brother has offended me so I will get back at him" is unhealthy and damaging to the human family and takes us out of the "Divine dance", where we become unified with the Trinity.

Wars, divorce, murder, and violence of all sorts can result from not paying close attention to resolving issues before they become so tangled that the truth may be lost in emotion. 

Conflict resolution costs millions and perhaps even billions when we look at a military budget, and that budget takes money out of the mouths of starving people world wide.

Resolve our differences quickly lest we be put in the crucible.

Thursday First week of Lent

Matthew 7: 7-12 

"Do to others what you would have them do to you" 

It is difficult for some people to get this concept down, however, it is the way to Peace.  Feed the hungry, not just with food for the body, but, with food for the soul.  A smile or a good morning to a suffer soul is a blessing from God.  To minister to the sick while we, too, are ministered to is the Trinity at work. 

Being human is harder than it seems because we are asked to think and act in a counter cultural way.  We are asked to show mercy to the sinner, but, too often we slide into the cultural way of thinking and that is to join the group, to be a part of a bully squad, so we are not bullied.  We bully in silence. 

Today, show Love and Mercy in times when we would act otherwise.  That's what we are working on during Lent.  Transforming our mind and heart.  

Jesus tells us to "Ask" and it will be given.  Ask for His Love to fill us that we might fill others. 

Wednesday First Week of Lent

Luke 11: 29-32 

"Not those people" 

Today in the gospel we are reminded of our inclination to say "yes" to what we want and "no" to what is uncomfortable or against the culture. 

Jonah doesn't want to go to Nineveh because he thinks "Not those people" yet that is where God wanted him to go.   

We meet the Divine in the encounters we have each and every moment and "those people" are people that are loved by God, and indeed all people. 

How do we respond when we are asked by God to BE for the people of Nineveh of our time?  We are the people of Nineveh, we are Jonah. 

Being a better human requires a pro life attitude with all people.  The prisoner, the outcast and marginalized, the entire people God has gathered no matter what our ideas may include or exclude.   

Look for ways to be transformed by the sign we have been given!  Be inclusive! 

Tuesday First Week of Lent

Matthew 6: 7-15 

The prayer Jesus gave the apostles when they asked Him to teach them how to pray is what we know now as "The Lords' Prayer" or "The Our Father"   

Jesus lets them know if they don't forgive they will not be forgiven.  The reason I focus on this is because it is in this prayer that we are in communion with the Divine.  We are acting with the Will of God.  God desires that we all find His love and peace, and forgiving our actions and the actions of others unites us to each other in peace. 

It means that Jesus recognizes that the anger, guilt, shame, desire for retaliation or vengeance that can grow out of this non forgiving and hateful position leads us to a downward spiral and can ultimately end in violence and even death, our own death or death of another.  We start with Love and end with Love. 

Monday First Week of Lent

Matthew 25: 31-46   

"This is where the rubber meets the road."  "Actions speak louder than words" "The proof is in the pudding"  This gospel reading is at the heart of the Maria House Project and indeed the rule base for the Brothers of St. Dismas.  (which is an awesome life!!) 

It is the place we transform our mind and heart from the selfish to the selfless, we switch from an exclusive mindset to the inclusive, and we meet the Divine face to face.   

Take this gospel and LIVE IT!!  Practice being human and grow spiritually. When we look in the eyes of those we pass or meet, when we shake their hand, when we listen and speak to those on The Way, remember that we are where we are by the Grace of God and it is His will we are where we are. Our life becomes Gods' mission at work.  events are more than just "happenstance" or "luck", whether good or bad they are Gods' will and we have a role to play and that role is to surrender our will to His. 

Friday after Ash Wednesday

Matthew 9:14-15 

Fasting and abstinence from things during Lent is a time to reflect and in the gospel today Jesus is saying just that.  Enjoy what we have while we have it and recognize the presence of Christ among us.   

We can to that today.   

When we feel hunger we remember the offerings we made with injustices in our heart and the injustices in the world, and we ask to be purged from the behaviors that keep us from treating others with dignity, respect, and love. 

If I have smacked my finger with a hammer I am more inclined to be cautious when I use it again.  Fasting calls to mind the damage my sin does to the world, how it harms my relationship with those around me and the relationship I have with God. 

Being a human requires us to follow our mind around all day and ask honest, serious, and tough questions.  Why am I fasting?  What am I attempting to accomplish?   

Why am I giving?  Why am I?  

Am I a Righteous Person?

THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY 

Luke 9:22-25 

Jesus has a very different way of looking at things than did the people of His time, and indeed the people of all time. Jesus, in today's gospel, is indicating that He will die at the hands of the religious righteous.   

What are the crosses of my daily life?  Anger, frustration, desire to right all the time, etc.  and how will I take up that cross daily to follow the way of Christ?  

Am I a righteous religious person?