What Will Your Story Be?

Reflection

The meeting between Mary and Juan Diego, on a rural road in Mexico, has a common thread with the gospel today.  There is an invitation to be a vessel of God's Love and Mercy.   Mary is met by an angel named, Gabriel, and she is asked to take part in the salvation story in a very special way.   Juan Diego, is met by Mary and she asks, Juan, to be a special part of the salvation story. Jesus the Christ calls each of us at each and every moment of our life to be part of salvation history in a very unique and special way.

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! 

Have Faith

I was speaking to a woman after mass the other day and she explained how she felt like her prayers didn't matter.  

She went to describe the many years of praying that she has done for one particular cause, her son to find his path. 

I could see that the woman was sad and I asked her why the sadness, she just gave her son to Jesus at mass, surely her mind could rest a bit.

We talked about this centurion in today's gospel and I added that maybe the situation isn't for her son, maybe it's for you.  I mean when God works He has a big plan that we aren't always able to see.

Humility is a gift and the centurion had it and so must we.  How do we get it?  Seeing others with the eyes of God, listening to others with the ears of God, working with the hands of God, loving with unconditional love.  Humility is the road to heaven.

After a short time more I added that all the years that St. Monica prayed for Augustine we only see that her prayers were heard by God and how that transformed Augustine's life, what we don't hear about is all the people that Monica came in contact with while she was praying, we don't hear about the Monica that helped a neighbor, cared for the old, sheltered the poor and orphaned, yet these very things are what her prayers did for her, they humbled her in the face of God, in the face of her brothers and sisters, and in Augustine's eyes.

It wasn't until I asked her what his path looked like that she stared at me; "He's on it" she said.
You got it!  We are on it!

Your prayers are powerful and have an effect on the entire planet, Please, understand that we are all connected to one Almighty, Compassionate, Caring, Loving God.

God hears all of our prayers and has already dispatched his angels to align the plan, sometimes there are a lot of demons working against you and it takes the angels time to fight them all off, and to reach you.

Be humble in His eyes and pray, Prayer goes where we can't

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. 

Humility

Today's gospel takes a moment to call attention to the taxes that were required for payment.  

Jesus is the King of Heaven and Earth and requires no monetary tax.  

Jesus requires love as the payment.  There is a series of letters written by a monk, Carlos Caretto, and these letters speak volumes about God's love and how solitude reveals His Love most. 

Jesus looks to Peter and tells him to take a coin out of a fishes mouth to pay the tax so there is no offense offered. 

Getting close to the Holy Spirit requires stillness and a willingness to be open. Jesus knew who He was and didn't find it necessary to fight about it.  For that matter, His whole life was spent in love.  

Parable after parable we hear Jesus teaching, but, it is always done with Love, not pride and arrogance. 

The lesson we need to take from this gospel: Humility. 

When we are teaching love, we must first love, to be an example of the one that loved us first.

Love is the key to the kingdom 

We can do NOTHING without Jesus. 

In Him, Rob Lopez, BSD.