Thrursday Fifth Week of Lent

John 8: 51-59 

There are many people that can't accept that the man Jesus was the Christ.  It seems unlikely that a Spirit that creates the world and all the contents and laws therein would care so much to be involved in my life.  Who really cares what my day is like? 

Jesus came into the world to be part of the human experience.  Jesus came that we may have hope in an eternal life. 

One of our virtues is hope and when hope keeps us going we can see on a foggy day.  Hope finds its root in Love and Love springs from the eternal well of the living spirit of God.  People that lose hope lose sight of God, and the days and nights are too troublesome to be in a position to see hope and so some fall into depression and despair.

If we can trust in the word of God and hold on to hope we will soon experience the flow of Love.  Hope will bring us joy and peace. 

I often repeat this mantra throughout the day "We wait in joyful hope!" and the rest of that will do away with depression "for the coming of our savior Jesus Christ" 

Hope in God and you will be free!  Find your identity in Christ, not an institution or a person, and Hope will show us Love.

Monday Fifth Week of Lent

John 8: 1-11

There is a woman "caught in the very act" of adultery in the gospel.  Caught in the act of a "crime" and now the righteous look for a way to trip up Jesus. 

He bends down, meeting the woman where she is, reducing the effect of superiority, and shows empathy.  He draws in the sand and retorts the killing with his unveiling of the truth and says to the righteous to go ahead and throw the stones if they haven't sinned.  

That makes for a shut and closed case for the woman.  Eyewitness accounts of being caught in adultery is a death penalty.  The woman knew what was in store for her and there are no words from this woman in scripture except after Jesus scatters the accusers.

Jesus already knows and gets right to the point. 

Jesus just doesn't ask for a laundry list of sins to repent for, HE says; "Neither do I condemn you"  What a relief to hear that the one that has the power to forgive sins has forgiven her and without her asking for it.  Jesus knows the heart and the motives and intentions behind every action.

Today's gospel is an indication of the reach of Love that Christ has for us.  He Loves, unconditionally.  Did you hear that? unconditionally. 

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!

It is in His Service that we find Him

The path to Jesus, to peace, is living for others in simple service.  You can have power, but use it to help and be fair. 

Christians have left a muddy footprint in history that continues to be dragged on the floor... We point fingers, exclude, and treat people less than human, we have murdered the soul and body and all done in the name of (love) God; if you don't act and do as we say you are lacking, or the enemy.  

Listen to the words Jesus focused on... He talked about service, humility, and love!  

Be inclusive, be humble, be kind and be the answer to a prayer and then let the Holy Spirit guide you! 

Doing Good all the Time

Reflection for Labor Day 2016

There is a message that may not sit well with today's culture; "Do what is right, even when it's the "wrong" thing to do.

Stand up for those that have no voice, be they unborn children, aged persons, those that may be incarcerated, the poor and marginalized, all these, and whomever else may not be spoken for need a voice to heal and mend wounds, 

Today's culture is so inwardly focused and selfishly motivated, that it fails to see that the voices that we silence are the very voices that breathe life into a system, that is so blinded and singularly devoted to keeping these voices unheard; because they become an inconvenience or fashionably out-dated, that it fails to see the fruits of diversity.

The Pharisees are so focused on what the letter of the law is they miss the point of the law; to protect, help, and heal.  

What Jesus did by giving them a piece of high hanging fruit was to broaden their understanding of the God they worship.  

The "wrong" thing to do in society is to question the law, yet, if we never question we never grow and the spirit becomes stifled, and if we never grow, how will we become more intimate with God?

Doing the right thing has its reward in eternity, no matter if all of our humanity never sees or understands what that may be, the reward rests in the heart of God

Where else would you rather be resting?

May our hearts be open to the spirit of God, that blows where it wills.

Discern Spirits

Reflection for the Passion of St. John the Baptist

The result of grudges and envy are at the root of the gospel message today.  We will see what can happen when we allow these sins to creep into our life and overtake our judgment.

Herod is manipulated into acting on a devious plan fostered by his wife and daughter.  The result is murder, the beheading of an innocent man.

Herodius is steeped in evil intentions marked by the grudge and hate for the John the Baptist and she lies silent until she finds the right moment to strike.

When she finally gets the opportunity to act she takes full advantage of it and manipulates the situation trapping Herod and his daughter in the plot to kill.

We do the same thing when we participate in gossip, hate, and envy.  We may not kill the physical body, but worse, we slowly extinguish the fire of the Holy Spirit that dwells within each of us.

Every time we sin we darken the soul and make it harder to see Truth.

We can even manipulate others to act with us and that causes others to lose the way.

Herod and his daughter are just as culpable as Herodias in her evil plan and their loyalty to her is not commendable at all, in fact had Herod stood up and rejected the murder, John the Baptist, would have survived the scheme.

May we never be loyal to the evil plans of others and not take part in the manipulation that can kill the body and soul, but may we be always truly wise in the Spirit of God and  rejoice in His consolation so as to bring peace to and foster holiness in our life and the life of others.

Say "Yes"

 

 

What is it that Jesus wants from you?  Your Love!  

Mary was faithful her entire life.  We don't know for sure but we can safely assume that during her life she was insulted, humiliated, and stared at with malice. 

This young woman bore the Christ Child, Mary,  became the Mother of God because God lifted her up!

God will lift us up, too.  Lifting our brothers and sisters up that are suffering is a sign of God at work in the world.

Show compassion and love to everyone that you meet, we never know what battle Jesus has them fighting. 

Stay faithful and persevere, the reward is well worth the fight! 

In Him, Rob Lopez, BSD. 

"Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you"

Reflection for July 18, 2018

“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”

After the religious leaders of the time push Jesus to give a sign as to whom He is, the response He gives seems to be obvious to us because we know the end of His earthly life and His resurrection, yet, if we reflect on our own petitions and pleading it may not be as clear.

Let's take a current event and a rather common question to look at this a bit closer.

Recently there was a man in France that drove a truck through a crowd and killed many people, among those killed were children.  The incident comes after the Universal church prays daily, at every moment, for peace and end to conflict and war, yet this horrific event took place.

There are doctors that perform abortions on children and we pray at every moment for an end to the slaughtering of lives.

There are children who live in homes that are verbally, psychologically, and sexually abusive and we pray at every moment for an end to this situation.

There are people that die on their way to work or in some other unexpected way and we pray and beg for answers.

When we lose someone or hear of a senseless deaths we can become bitter and maybe even fall away from God.

Hear the words of our Lord in response to, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”

If we think in terms of God as father and each and every soul belongs to Him and nothing will happen to us where God isn't present then we can begin to glimpse that promise and the pain will ease.

No matter what the situation is, Jesus came that we may have eternal life with him and that may not be easy to see and feel now, in this moment of pain, but, His resurrection is the promise we will return to Him.

In this year of mercy, may we show our-self a little mercy and believe that no matter how horrible of a death a person has on earth, be it terrorist, abortion, drug addiction, abuses of every kind, don't lose heart because Jesus is with us until the end of time, and His time never ends so we will be with Him in eternity forever.

"Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights. . .  there is something greater than Solomon here.”

May the Peace of Christ be with you!

Calvary Was Not Fun

THIS IS JESUS

Reflection for July 11, 2016 

After the gospel reading yesterday in regard to the life of the Good Samaritan, we can glimpse into the eye of Jesus' mind when he talks about what will happen when we take up a lifestyle that reflects the Good Samaritan. 

You see, there will be those that will not support your belief, there will be those that will suspect less than noble motives, and those that will think that it is a weak and obsolete lifestyle.  Those that oppose this lifestyle will be some of the closest people in our lives.  Mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, friends and loved ones will walk away or deal at us at a distance. 

St. Benedict is an example of such a person.  St. Benedict had his closest friends attempt to murder him when he held them accountable for their actions.  

The Holy Martyrs were tortured and killed because of their faith.  Jesus was killed because of His message of Love and inclusion, Dr. Martin Luther King was killed because he held America to a higher standard, a standard that recognizes the value of every human person.   

When we take up that cross of Christ daily we need to be prepared for the worst, but, prepared for the best at the same time.   

I live my life with the resurrection in my sights and no person will keep me from living that life.  Our fear comes from not being liked or labeled as a radical. 

We are fortunate that we are not hunted like wild animals as in the days of the early church and as it is in some parts of the world today, but, if it happens to be that way;  will we still profess our belief that every person is created in the image of God and therefore good, and will we profess our love for Christ?   

Today's message, though initially course, brings a light of hope;   

"And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple– amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”     

May God bless you, protect you, and let His face to shine upon you! 

Reflection for July 4, 2016

The official in today's gospel displays a tremendous amount of bold faith.
Bold faith is a necessary component to our relationship with Jesus.  There was urgency in the official's request and Jesus gets right up to accompany the official to go to see his daughter.

Jesus was focused, and undoubtedly preparing to meet the girl, when another woman that has been sick for twelve years stops him only to be healed completely.

The number twelve is a significant number in sacred scripture.  Twelve is the number of the church, the Old Testament was set on the twelve tribes of Israel and the New Testament is founded on the Twelve apostles.

Notice this woman has been bleeding for twelve years, not just bleeding, but suffering.  The church suffers, but, Christ heals us.

There is a new structure allusion here and the official and woman are an example of this New life we are given.

Jesus came to heal the sick and suffering and then gave His life that there may be no more death.

The official was bold in his request and his faith, the woman just touched His cloak and believed that she would be healed.

We need that same faith.  Be bold and believe!

May we always have the faith like the official and woman that we, too, may have new life.

Let the Dead Bury the Dead

Reflection for June 27, 2016 

"Let The Dead Bury The Dead" 

One synonym for the word bury is "conceal", another is "hide" and another is "cause to disappear or become inconspicuous" 

There is some depth in this text that may apply here and that goes along the lines of "what does it mean to conceal or hide?" 

If I conceal or hide something I am preventing the reality of the thing from being known. For example, if I don't tell you that the bridge is out, you may drive your car into a lake, or if I conceal a gun,  I hide the truth that I am armed; if I cause someone's release papers from prison to "disappear", it may cause some trouble in regard to the freedom of the person in prison.   

There is a scribe in today's gospel that is interested in living a life of service and truth.  He wants to follow Jesus.  Jesus tells the scribe that; "foxes have dens and birds have nests" and He "has no place to lay His head."  Those places Jesus mentioned are places that are inconspicuous, out of the way and protected. But, Jesus goes further with it. 

Death is stagnant, death is stale, death is concealing and hiding the truth.  When we say "I am a follower of Jesus", or "I want to be a follower of Jesus", we need to be transparent, open to the truth, vulnerable to dangers (dangers that come from living the life of Christ, such as rejection and persecution) and be clean from our selfish and past behaviors. 

The other follower asks if he can go bury his father that died, and that leaves us with this response from Jesus; "Let the dead bury their dead." 

Given that Jesus raises people from the dead and heals infirmities, it struck me that this was His response. 

If we want to be a part of Jesus and His good works then we must die, die to self, and those that reject Him are left to bury each other.  

Living this life is not easy, but, it does require sacrifice, discipline, and a tough skin; and we need to have an unbridled trust that Jesus will see us through it.  Jesus is totally open and transparent, we need to be the same way.   

Today, when we want to hide, step into the Light and trust He will see us through the doors of death and we will Live with Him in truth. 

Mercy Trumps Justice

Looking at the gospel today we can easily see how Jesus directs us to peaceful resolution to our frustrations in life when it comes to dealing with others. 

It's very simple... Stop judging others when we, too, have sinful inclinations and behaviors. 

When dealing with human frailty we need to be able to look deep into our own sin and die to it all. That's what believing is.  That is what faith is and that's why it's not for the weak hearted.

But, the good news is that Jesus is present in everyone we meet.  So, we in a way, are judging that which we can't understand.  We can't know the battles that others are fighting.

So, be kind and love as Jesus has loved us.  Unconditionally loving is what we are called to do.

Be patient in dealing with others and be patient in dealing with our own short comings and sin. 

God bless you and may His Peace be in your hearts.