Love of God and Love of Neighbor

The scripture readings for today can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032919.cfm
In today's gospel for mass we  hear the all too familiar passage where Jesus is asked about what the greatest commandment is. He responds "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30) That's easy enough, right? Well, guess what? That's not enough!

Jesus goes on to say "The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31). That's where things get tough!!

It's easy to love God. It's easy to go to church on Sundays and feel good that we're doing what we think God is asking us to do in our worship of Him. But, as Jesus points out, we need to take our love of God to those in our lives. This isn't always easy in our human relationships. There are people in our lives that are not very likable, let alone lovable. But we are called to love them as we love God.

There are those in our families we may not want to have anything to do with. Or there are those on our job that we may feel are jerks! Or there are those in public office that we may LOVE TO HATE!! Guess what? God is asking us to LOVE them as we love Him. He's not asking us to like them. He's asking us to love them. And while we're at it, we should pray for those that we may not want to love, let alone to like. If we pray for all the people in our lives, those we find easy to love, and those we find it hard to love, this world would be on the path of becoming a better place.

Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return

 

Our 40-day journey of fasting and penance during Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on March 6^th. The churches will be filled with people looking to have ashes placed on their foreheads. The priest or deacon will say, as he administers the Ashes, one of two phrases: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

These two phrases are inviting all of us to turn to God and develop a closer relationship with Him. We are reminded that we are nothing without the presence of God in our lives. “We are dust and to dust we shall return.” The other phrase, “Repent and believe in the Gospel” helps us realize that we are all sinful people in need of repentance. We need to develop that relationship with God that will help us become better people in our relationship with one another and with God.

There are a few ways that we can develop that closer relationship with God during Lent. First is by the regular reading of scripture. I would like to suggest that you take time every day to read the scripture readings assigned to Daily Mass. You can find these assigned readings in magazines such as the Magnificat, The Word Among Us, or Living Faith. These magazines will tell you what the scripture readings are for each day of the week. Take time each day to sit with one of these magazines, and a Bible (I would recommend the New American Bible). Find a convenient time during the day to sit prayerfully with the scripture readings that are assigned. Take time to see if the Lord is attempting to speak to you through the scripture readings.

Another way is to go to Mass during the week (in addition to Sunday mass). Usually weekday masses are very simple and prayerful and is a good way to be with the Lord in addition to Sunday. Plus, you have the benefit of receiving our Lord in the Eucharist in addition to just Sunday.

Finally, sometime during Lent make time to go to confession. The regular use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, especially during Lent, helps us to focus on where we should be in our relationship with the Lord.

Repent and believe in the Gospel.

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you

Scripture readings for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/022419.cfm

Our readings for today are very challenging for us as Christians to follow. It's about things that would normally go against our nature. It's about forgiving those in our lives that we really hate or are at odds with.

In our first reading from Samuel, we hear of the ongoing problem between Saul and David. At this point in scripture, David is running for his life since, out of jealously, King Saul wants to kill David. David has the opportunity to kill Saul, but instead allows Saul to live and shows forgiveness and love to Saul. Because of David sparing the life of Saul, Saul comes to be reconciled with David.

In our gospel for today, Jesus is teaching us to do some very difficult things if we are to be His followers. "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you," "To the person who strikes you, offer your other cheek," "do to others as you would have them do to you," "Stop judging and you will not be judged", and the list goes on and on. I know for myself, there are people in my life that I want nothing to do with. I find it hard to be forgiving and loving towards them. I find them annoying and the type of people I want nothing to do with. These are the people that I am called to love and treat kindly.

Is it easy? No! Is it something that the Lord is calling me to do? Yes.

There's a priest that I know that would preach on this, and say that these words and instructions from Jesus can be very liberating! We don't have to LIKE the people in our lives, but we do have to LOVE them. He would go on further to say that it's always best to love and forgive the people in your live that bother you since holding onto hatred and revenge can be damaging to our spiritual and emotional health. He went on further to say that just because you are forgiving them, you don't need to keep them in your life. Forgive them, but out of your own spiritual growth and well being, keep your distance. Forgive them and love them. But avoid that near occasion of sin by keeping your distance from those who would only upset you and cause you to get angry.

Is it easy to forgive? No! But by doing so and praying for those that need your prayer, you will be able to get closer to God, and be able to fulfill your calling to be a follower of Christ!

Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.

The scripture readings for today's Mass can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/020919.cfm

Today's gospel reading for Mass is from the gospel of St. Mark and it contains one of my most favorite encouragements from Jesus: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31) The apostles just returned from the mission Jesus sent them on to the nearby villages, giving them authority over unclean spirits, and telling them to preach about repentance. The healing power of God was with them, and they were able to expel demons and cure the sick. 

Upon returning to Jesus, they reported all they had done in the name of the Lord God. Then Jesus, knowing that they were tired, invited them to go away to rest and be one with God.

It's important for all of us to make time to be alone with God. For me, my favorite time to be alone with God is early in the morning. I have my usual place where I take out my breviary (the daily prayer book that priests, deacons and religious use to pray the psalms with) and have my coffee ready, and light a candle, and place a crucifix in front of me to help me to focus on our Lord. This time of praying scripture and meditating on the word of God helps me to be open to what God is trying to tell me that morning. It helps remind me that no matter what may happen that day, God will always be present.

I would like to encourage everyone to make that special time to be alone with God. It doesn't have to be in the morning. It could be any time of the day when you can get away and be quiet. Set up a place at home, if you're able, where you can just sit with your bible or prayer book, and just focus on what God is trying to teach you that day. Once you get into that habit of being alone with God, I think you will find that peace that can only come from a close relationship with Him who made you.

The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me

The scripture readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/012719.cfm
Our readings for this 3rd Sunday in Ordinary time focus on the importance of scripture in our relationship with God and with one another.

In our first reading from Nehemiah we hear of the priest Ezra gathering the people of Israel to hear the law of the Lord and explaining how scripture is applied to their lives. He explained "Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep." (Nehemiah 8:9). We are called, like the people of Israel, to set aside time every week to study scripture, to gather as an assembly, and to be joyful that the Lord God is a loving God. Through regular attendance at Sunday liturgy, we hear the word of God proclaimed & explained to us, and then we receive the Lord in the Eucharist. We do this as a community, not individually. We are then to take what we have heard and learned at Sunday liturgy to those that God has placed in our lives.

In the reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians we are reminded that we, like the different parts of the body, all have different jobs to perform in service to God and to His people. All people, like all parts of the body, are important.

Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus tells us that he is "to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19) It is through His followers that He is able to do these things. We are called each Sunday to hear the Word of God, to take it into our hearts to try to understand what God is teaching us, and then to bring the Love of God to those in the world that need His love most.

There are many ways to do what the Lord Jesus is calling us to do. It could be in small ways, or big ways. But we are to do it out of love of God and out of love for those in our lives. There are those in nursing homes that are lonely who would appreciate a visit from some caring individual; those in prisons that need to hear the word of God preached to them, and so forth. There are many ways we are called to bring Christ into the world. But we need to have an open heart to be able to answer his call "to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."

Before I Knew You I Formed You

“Give us the grace – When the sacredness of life before birth is attacked, to stand
up and proclaim that no one ever has the authority to destroy unborn life.”
– St. John Paul II

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you.”
– St. Jeremiah 1:5

This year marks the 46th anniversary of that terrible court decision Roe v Wade, which allowed the legal killing of the pre-born child in the mother's womb. On Friday, January 18th, thousands upon thousands of people will be going to Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life to bring attention to the fact that every life is precious in the eyes of God, and should be protected.

I've been going to this March for the last several years and each year I'm amazed at how many young people in their 20's are there marching to promote the sanctity of life. They march in support for the protection of innocent life that is being snuffed out as a result of abortion. They hold up signs and wear tee-shirts that proclaim "I Am the Pro-Generation." These are young adults that grew up in a time where it's always been legal to have an abortion, but they see the sinfulness of it. They realized that there are those who have been aborted that would have been their contemporaries. People that they will never know because they were not allowed to have the gift of life.

In the website "We are a Pro-Life Generation" (https://marchforlife.org/pro-life-generation/) we can see how this generation views abortion. It tells us that 53% of Millennials feel abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances.

This generation gives me hope that abortion will one day be a thing of the past! Part of helping make abortion a thing of the past is to develop support for those women who may find themselves in a situation that they don't know where to turn. These "crises pregnancies" can be resolved if there's a place where the mothers can turn to for care and support.

One group that comes to mind is The Sisters of Life ( https://www.sistersoflife.org/). They were founded in 1991 by John Cardinal O’Connor for the protection and enhancement of the sacredness of every human life. They provide free and confidential help for women who find themselves alone and hopeless in their pregnancy.

Let's pray for an end of abortion. Let's pray for a greater respect for life, from conception to natural death.

The Feast of the Ephiphany

 

“…behold,magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where isthe newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at itsrising and have come to do him homage.’” Matthew 2:1-2

On January 6^th, the Church commemorates the Feast of Epiphany, which commemorates the Manifestation of Christ to the gentiles, as represented by the Magi from the East. The magi traveled a great distance in order to find the new born King of the Jews. They were following a call from God, prompted by the Star that would lead them to the Christ Child. They were in search of deeper meaning in their lives and felt compelled to travel a great distance to answer God’s call.

Pope Benedict wrote of the Magi, “Deep within themselves they felt prompted to go in search of the true justice that can only come from God, and they wanted to serve this King, to fall prostrate at his feet and so play their part in the renewal of the world.”

We are called to find true justice that can only come from being a follower of Christ. Pope Benedict would go on to say, “They had to learn to give themselves – no lesser gift would be sufficient for this King. They had to learn that their lives must be conformed to this divine way of exercising power, to God’s own way of being.”

Are we willing to give our lives as a gift to God, to be willing to serve God in serving others? Benedict asks the question, “How can I serve God’s presence in the world?” We are called by God to serve Him by loving Him with our whole mind and by loving and serving those he has put into our lives. By doing so, Christ will be manifested to those in our lives as he was once manifested to the Magi. By serving others in the name of Christ, we can bring renewal to the world.