Blessed Archangela Girlani, Virgin

I have been a Third Order Carmelite since 2000, and yesterday we celebrated the Memorial of Blessed Archangela Girlani. She was born in the town of Trino in northern Italy about the middle of the fifteenth century. She took the Carmelite habit in Parma and eventually became prioress there. She held the same office in the new monastery at Mantua, where she died in 1495. She had a special devotion to the Holy Trinity. The reading assigned for her in the Carmelite Proper of the Office of Readings was from the Exhortations on the Carmelite Rule of Blessed John Soreth. I found this reading very profound and relevant for us today. The reading starts with, "We read in the Rule, 'Each of you is to have a separate cell, situated according to the lie of the land you propose to occupy.'" He goes on to talk about the importance of the cell and how it can lead the Carmelite to "fullness of perfection and makes him worthy to speak to God." He also compared the cell (where one lives) to the cell of your body. We are to live always in the presence of God, and to be "caught up in union with God, as a bride is joined to her husband." Later in the reading, he gives advice on how to live safely in your cell. You are to have three Guardians: "God, your conscience, and your spiritual director." This reminds us that whether we are alone at home or if we are out and about living our lives, God is always present. Regarding conscience, we are to form our conscience according to the teachings of God through scripture and the teachings of the Church. Finally, we are to find someone trustworthy to be our spiritual director who we can trust to share our spiritual life with and to seek advice. Through our constant reminder that we are always in the presence of God, John Soreth invites us to "love and cultivate your inner cell, and the exterior one, too." This is a call to remind us that God is always present to us. We are to use our "interior cell" to grow in relationship with God. We are called to "be a master of yourself, to set your life in order" according to the Will of God. Through the intercession of Blessed Archangela Girlani, let us grow deeper in love with God, and realize that we are always in the presence of Him who made us. Blessed Archangela Girlani, pray for us.

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings for today's reflection can be found at: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/012614.cfm

He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Today’s gospel begins with a reference to the arrest of St. John the Baptist. The full story of John comes up later in chapter 14 of Matthew’s gospel. The focus here is to give attention to the fact that Jesus has gone to Capernaum. Matthew sees this as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah that we heard in our first reading, “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death  light has arisen”. The early Christians saw this as a reference to the messianic king, and Jesus was that King!

The mission of Jesus becomes clear as he invites all, through his preaching, to “Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Further, the mission of Jesus included a shared ministry from the very beginning. Andrew, Simon Peter, James and John must have heard the preaching of Jesus. So, though it seems like they immediately left all behind to follow Jesus, I’m sure they must have given some thought as to who this Jesus was. Then they came to a decision, and had the strength and courage to follow through in following him.

Do we have the courage and strength to follow Jesus as Andrew, Simon Peter, James and John did? Jesus said to them, “Come after Me.” At once they left their nets and followed. One aspect of this story I want to point out is that of the nets they left behind.

The message of Jesus was that the kingdom of God is at hand and He calls us to reform our lives to enter the kingdom. The trouble is that we want the kingdom but not the reforming. We’re happy living our lives as we want, not as God wants. But yet, we want to go to heaven.

We want to know the rule of God in our life, forgiveness and growth in grace, the sense of belonging to a spiritual community, the peace of being united to God’s will – but we don’t want to give up the nets that trap us, that hold us back! As a result we get entangled in those nets. These entanglements are not the responsibilities we have in our life because those can be ways of serving the Lord. Rather, those entanglements are the people and relationships that distance us and separate us from Christ.

We don’t want to give up gossiping, cutting corners, wrong relationships, immoral behavior, and habits of arrogance, rash judgment or addictions. So, we try to find ways of having it both ways and we can’t. Those nets weigh us down and hold us tight. We need to leave behind the nets, the distorting entanglements of soul and heart and mind.

The Gospel shows us the ones who left their nets and followed as Jesus gave them a new mission, new seas to sail, deeper purpose for their lives. For us, to follow Jesus is not a matter of leaving family or job. It’s a matter of leaving behind a way of living, and that is far more difficult.

The reign of God is open to all of us. We just have to be willing to turn away from our sinful attachments and place Jesus in the center of our lives. We need to make a commitment to follow Jesus. Then we will experience the kingdom to the extent that we let those nets go. It’s hard to follow the Lord if we are dragging all kinds of tangled webs woven from bad memories, angers and sins.

They left their nets behind and followed Jesus. Are you willing to do the same and follow Jesus?

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”