Passion (Palm) Sunday

The scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032915.cfm

We all have moments we would rather forget. We may be separated by a painful divorce, but memories of that relationship linger, and too many things remind us what we had to endure when things were reaching the breaking point. Even more painful, we loose a very special person to death after a long illness, and it's still painful to recall what they went through in their struggle for life.

What are we doing, then, dwelling on memories of Christ's suffering and death? A whole week is devoted to the dredging up the past. The Romans, the Sanhedrin, the betrayal, the humiliation and insistent cries to "Crucify him!" are all laid before us again. Who wants to suffer these memories? Don't we celebrate birthdays, not labor pains? Isn't an empty cross better than staring at a man whose death sentence was so cruel?

What we remember in this annual ritual is not the cost of salvation. Holy Week is simply a price "paid for our redemption," but more about a historical moment endured by our God in Jesus Christ. The memories of Holy Week give witness that real love demanded a cost, a sacrifice: a death to self to live for something and Someone greater.

In the journey of Holy Week, Jesus asks of us to "remember" Him, to consider God's suffering and humiliation endured for us and to allow ourselves to feel compassion. 

In our society today there are those that deny that suffering is a real part of love. There are plenty of commercials on TV on relieving suffering, how to take away the pain, but few of these commercials show us how to face the pain.

The sick in our society often feel captive to that denial from others: afraid to talk about what they're feeling, hesitant to be seen as needy or useless. We're often afraid of where sickness might lead the ones we love and try to "cheer them up".

Even in Mark, considered as the naked man who runs away in the passion narrative (Mark 14:51-52) runs away from love's consequences. The disciples lived in denial that Jesus' loving union with the Father would cost them rejection.

Christ's death and resurrection gives us courage to know that love and grace accompany us on our journeys to love's final victory.

The Church calls us to remember this week and to put God's actions on our behalf before the eyes of our minds and hearts. Hearts, softened by penance through Lent, are able to feel the hurts remaining in our world. We can face them unafraid. Isaiah provides the image of one whose "face was like flint," courageously moving forward "knowing that I will be put to shame." Knowing the cost of love will allow us to face it with the just-as-certain knowledge that it is worth the journey and the only path leading to the new life promised in Easter.

The Son of Man is to be Glorified

Scripture readings for the the Fifth Sunday in Lent can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032215-fifth-sunday-lent.cfm

The gospel for today's readings is the final section of John, chapter 12. John's Gospel is often referred to as "the book of signs". In today's reading we hear of the arrival of some Greeks (foreigners) who are interested in meeting with Jesus. They first approach Andrew and Philip, who in turn introduces them to Jesus. Jesus' response to meeting the Greeks is by declaring that the hour  has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. In a way this fulfills what the Pharisees predicted in John 12:19: Look, the whole world has gone after him.”

We, like Andrew & Philip, are called to bring others to Christ. We do this by doing what Jesus calls us to do,   Jesus tell us, "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me." (John 12:25-26) In this readings Jesus declares that He is ready to do the Will of the Father by giving up His life on the Cross. By using the metaphor of a seed dieing in order to produce fruit, we are to die to our selfishness and are called to serve Jesus by serving others. We are to die to self in order to be raised to new life in service to Jesus and to others.

By making Jesus and His teachings the center of how we live, people will see the love of Jesus dwelling in us. Then they will come to us, like the Greeks in today's gospel, and say "We would like to see Jesus." May our lives be a reflection of Jesus, bringing others to know Him and to enter into relationship with Him.

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever!

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Coming up on March 25^th will be the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. This feast commemorates the appearance of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary to announce that she has been chosen by God to be the Mother of our Lord. Once Mary said her “yes” (or “fiat”), the Holy Spirit descended upon her and she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. You can find this great story in the gospel of St. Luke, chapter 1, verses 26 to 38.

This feast not only commemorates Jesus becoming part of our human condition, it also commemorates Mary’s willingness to be open to the Will of God in her life. When Gabriel explains that she will become pregnant with a son, and that he will be the Son of the Most High, she was confused! She says, “How can this be since I have no relations with a man?” (Luke 1:34). Once Gabriel finishes the explanation to Mary, she very openly responds, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

This story of Jesus coming into to the world is also very important from the aspect of the sanctity of human life. In our society today, under the guise of “freedom of choice”, a woman can choose to abort her child in the early stages of the pregnancy. The child has no rights and is not considered to be fully human. When the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary, at the very moment of conception, the child in womb was fully Jesus Christ!

A little further along in the gospel of St. Luke, we see Mary visiting her aged cousin, Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist. At that meeting we hear that Elizabeth, upon hearing Mary’s greeting, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and said to Mary, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Luke 1: 42)

This narrative from St. Luke of the Annunciation tells us of the importance of life from conception. It teaches us that God is involved in all stages of life, from the point of conception to natural death.

A good way to support the sanctity of life is to support the Sisters of Life. The Sisters of Life is a contemplative/active religious community of women founded in 1991 by John Cardinal O’Connor for the protection and enhancement of the sacredness of every human life. To find out more about how you can support them and their work to support life, go to http://www.sistersoflife.org/ or by calling the Family Life, Respect Life Office Archdiocese of New York at (646) 794-3185 (9am-5pm EST)

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever!

Christ Cleansing the Temple

Reflections for Sunday, March 8th, 2015, the 3rd Sunday of Lent. Scripture Readings can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/030815-third-sunday-lent.cfm

Saint Augustine once said, "God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."

Our Gospel passage for the 3rd Sunday of Lent is one of the few found in all four Gospels. The Synoptics place the event of Jesus chasing out the money changers from the temple during Holy Week. The fourth Gospel makes the story the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Some scholars suggest that this event is ultimately what got Jesus arrested. For the author of the fourth Gospel, however, this event begins Jesus' public ministry. There are many interpretations among biblical scholars as to what Jesus was actually doing. Some suggest that he was symbolically destroying the temple cult. There was a great deal of tension between the kingdom of God movement headed by a certain Galilean peasant (Jesus of Nazareth) and the temple's wealthy priests, who were hated as Roman collaborators.

Looking at today's Gospel through the focus of Saint Augustine's quote that we are God's holy temple, what are we to do in response to the cleansing of the temple by Jesus? Is our "temple" clean and are we in good relationship with God and with those around us?

In our first reading from Exodus we are reminded of the Ten Commandments and how we are to respond to God's call to love Him and to love our neighbor. Reviewing over these commandments and using it as a examination of conscience before going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a good way to start.

While examining our conscience, let us think of ways where we didn't include God in our lives. The first commandment reminds us to not to have other "gods" in our lives: "You shall not have other gods beside me." (Exodus 20:3). Daily do we thank God in the morning for the new day, and in the evening thank Him for the blessings of the day that just concluded? Or are we just too wrapped up with our cares and concerns and become too busy to include God  in them? Do we turn these cares and concerns over to God to help us through them?

While we are thinking of these cares and concerns, do we think of things and/or people that annoy us regularly?  We can ask ourselves  if there is anything going on in our lives that contributes to these problems and concerns.

What are the things that we can get rid of in our lives that clutter our relationship with God? Gossip at the office or in the family?  An indulgence that might be fostering  a spirit of selfishness?

What we fail to do often depletes our spiritual health as much as what we do wrong.

In addition to frequent use of the Sacrament of Confession, I would like to suggest that you find a Spiritual Director to help you find out where you are in your relationship with God. In all these things remember that we need the Grace of God to accomplish that "spring cleaning" that will lead us closer to the Lord and the joy of Easter.

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever!

Transfiguration

Reflection on the scripture readings from the 2nd Sunday in Lent. The readings can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/030115.cfm

In his book The Ascent of Mount Carmel, St. John of the Cross compares our desire for union with God to the rays of sunlight shining upon a smudgy window. The smudges prevent the sun from illuminating the window completely. It would be different if the window were cleaned and polished. The sunlight will then give the window clarity  and transparency.

We can take this image and apply it to our desire for union with God. Just as the Lord was transfigured, he also invites us to deal with those attitudes, events, and situations that prevent the Lord's light from shining in and through us.

In our everyday life God puts us to the test. He will always be there to test us now and in the future. We can either complain when these tests happen or face and accept what is happening to us. In the first reading from Genesis, God puts a very hard test to Abraham. The test was to offer his son , Isaac, as a holocaust. This must have caused a great deal of stress and anxiety for Abraham. But Abraham put his faith in God, and was obedient to Him. Upon seeing Abraham's faith and obedience, God's messenger informs Abraham to offer a ram and to spare his son.

Throughout salvation history, God has always condemned human sacrifice as an abomination. In this account, God tested Abraham by telling him to sacrifice Isaac as a sign that he loves God more than his son. We are called, too, to think of ways that shows that God is more important than the things in our lives. We are to offer to God our very selves and show Him that He is the center of all we do.

In the gospel from St. Mark, Jesus brings Peter, James and John to the mountain and is transfigured before them. In the description from Mark, we hear, "...his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them."  (Mark 9:3) What has happened here is that Jesus has been transformed into a more divine manifestation right in front of his disciples.  In this vision with Moses and Elijah, many commentators think that Elijah symbolizes the prophets while Moses symbolizes the law (Torah). Traditionally, the law and the prophets was the way of referring to divine revelation. Thus, Jesus is the fullness of this revelation.

As our Lord took the disciples  up to a high mountain to see the glory of God, Jesus wants to bring us to a deeper desire for union with him.

How can we do this? How can we remove the smudges of sin from our lives to get into a deeper, more fulfilling, relationship with Jesus? One way may be in how we relate to those in our lives that we have problems with. Whether it's a relative we haven't spoken to in years, or a friend we have had some disagreement with and no longer speak to, we can reach out and seek reconciliation with them!

Also, another way to "transform" or remove those "smudges", we can turn to Jesus in prayer, fasting, confession and good works. By doing these things, by removing these "smudges", we can radiate the love shone forth from Jesus.

As we continue our journey through Lent, let us continue to think and reflect upon our need to get ever closer to the Lord by accepting Jesus' invitation to transform, to change, our lives by entering into the mystery of the Lord's transfiguration.

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever!