Need a Physician

January 19, 2008

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Then, from a flask he had with him, Samuel poured oil on Saul's head; he also kissed him, saying: “The LORD anoints you commander over his heritage. You are to govern the LORD'S people Israel, and to save them from the grasp of their enemies round about.” 1 Samuel 10:1

Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them (that), “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Mark 2:16-17

Piety

Prayer for the Grace to Name My Sins

Almighty and all-merciful God,

give me the strength of spirit to name my sins

and the courage to feel shame for them.

Let me feel confounded that my sins

have not destroyed me as others’ have.

Teach me to weep for the hurt and harm

I have sinfully inflicted on others.

Please, Lord, I really want to live aware

of how I have let this terrible evil

root itself in my self and in my life world.

-- Joseph Tetlow, SJ

(From Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits, edited by Michael Harter, SJ. Chicago: Jesuit Way, an imprint of Loyola Press, 2005)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/011908.shtml

Our encounters with the Lord do not leave us the way we were before that encounter.

Saul sought out the seer-prophet Samuel. He went with one purpose, to find the lost animals from his fathers herd. But, after he encountered the prophet, he found that he was anointed to fulfill a far different task than Saul expected.

So, too, it was with the sinners and tax collectors with whom Jesus dined. No matter neither what they did before nor how society saw them, Jesus still called and asked them to follow. His friendship was open to all who would say yes.

This behavior seemed strange to the religious leaders. The notes to the New American Bible explain, “Because the scribes and Pharisees were self-righteous, they were not capable of responding to Jesus' call to repentance and faith in the gospel.”

Right from his birth and especially after his baptism, Jesus had a crystal clear understanding of what God wanted him to be and to do. Through our initiation (baptism), we commit ourselves to follow Jesus just like the tax collectors, sinners, fishermen, and others.

Encountering Jesus in this way means that we must be as open to whatever He asks of us. For the Lord asks of us nothing less than complete and unexpected conversion from who we were into who He wants us to be.

Action

What is our sin? Elie Weisel, Nobel Peace Prize-winning author, suggests that it may be our indifference.

At the same time as we are going through the primary stages of our election cycle, there is upheaval in Kenya over how this nation is choosing its leader. The disputed election has resulted in violence which has spilled over into the churches which are being ransacked and destroyed. News reports tell us that people are being forced to flee their homes and entire villages are being uprooted. We can not be indifference to such violence in the world.

Avaaz.org is urging action on our part. In a recent letter, Paul Hilder wrote:

Kenya still teeters on the brink of disaster – today bullets are flying on the streets, with over 600 killed and 250,000 made homeless as government and opposition dispute the presidency. There's hope yet, as Kenyan civil society groups stand up for peace and justice -- but only dialogue and an independent review of the tainted election can end this crisis and prevent escalating violence.

The world can play a crucial role: by reinforcing the efforts of mediators like Kofi Annan, and refusing to recognize any government until it is legitimately established. 50,000 Avaaz members have already sent this message to our foreign ministers, and almost all have listened so far. But inside Kenya, hardline leaders are sowing conflict.

President Kibaki and opposition leader Odinga need to hear that international legitimacy will only come after a mediated resolution. To send this message, we're taking out a full page ad in The East African Standard, an influential Kenyan newspaper. The ad will list the number of messages we've sent to our governments - can we double its strength by sending 100,000 messages this week before the ad runs? Click below to see the ad, send your message and spread the word:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/kenya_free_and_fair/5.php

Kenya depends on international tourism, aid and trade. With both Odinga and Kibaki accepting Kofi Annan's mediation mission, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. It's not too late to help Kenya back from the brink -- send your message, spread the word today.

With hope,

Paul, Pascal, Galit, Ricken, Ben, Esra'a and the whole Avaaz team

PS - Here are some links to the latest news on Kenya -

Marches, violence:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/kenya/story/0,,2242178,00.html

Disputes over mediation:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801141777.html

Tainted elections:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801141360.html

But That You May Know

January 18, 2008

Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

“When this takes place, you will complain against the king whom you have chosen, but on that day the LORD will not answer you.” The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel's warning and said, “Not so! There must be a king over us. We too must be like other nations, with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare and fight our battles.” 1 Samuel 8:18-20

"Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?" Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, "Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Mark 2: 7-8

Piety

The best penance that we can offer is change: to stop living by our own hands and to start living by the hand of God. Here is another gem from Hearts on Fire.

Entrusting Myself to the Hands of Jesus

I’ve come to think that the only, the supreme, prayer

we can offer up, during these hours

when the road before us is shrouded in darkness,

is that of our Master on the cross:

‘In manus tuas commedo spiritum meum.”

To the hands that broke and gave life to the bread,

that blessed and caressed, that were pierced;…

to the kindly and mighty hands that reach down

to the very marrow of the soul – that mould and create –

to the hands through which so great a love is transmitted –

it is to these that it is good to surrender our soul,

above all when we suffer or are afraid.

And in doing so there is a great happiness and great merit.

-- Pierre Teilhard De Chardin, SJ

(From Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits, edited by Michael Harter, SJ. Chicago: Jesuit Way, an imprint of Loyola Press, 2005)

Study

Conflicts and controversy start to follow Jesus everywhere he goes. Why should we be surprised? This behavior has strong roots in the Hebrew Bible so it is nothing new.

The reading from the first book of Samuel gives us a glimpse of one of those conflicts. The people want a king. Samuel warns them what that means – sons will march off to war, daughters will be put to work, crops will be taxed. The picture he paints is not pretty. Despite Samuel’s warning, the people persist in their demand for a king so they can be like the other nations. So, the Lord gives them what they want.

Jesus does the same. As word spreads about his ministry, his healing and the miraculous signs Jesus performed, people can not take “No” for an answer. Their paralytic friend must see Jesus for a cure but the lines of other seekers are just too long. Because they are so eager for a cure, they climb the building and lower the man down from the roof.

The paralytic man moves from being in the hands of his friends who carry him and lower him down through the roof into the hands of Jesus who lifts him up. Seeing such faith, Jesus gives him what he wants. But he also gives him instructions on what to do in his life from this point forward.

In this healing service, the seeds of conflict begin to sprout from the hearts and minds of the Pharisees who watch the scene unfold.

Action

Who will we be like: the friends, the paralytic man, or the Pharisees?

Will we bring our friends to Jesus? Will we turn our lives over to his hands, stopping at nothing to encounter Jesus in our lives? Or will our hearts and minds be places where distrust raises up?

Too often, our wants and needs are at odds with the Lord’s wants and needs and those of the rest of the children of God. Sometimes we think that by cleaning out our closets, that is enough.

Maybe we are not called to cloistered, celibate or exiled living in the desert like St. Anthony, the abbot. However, we are called to make a sincere sacrifice, a widow’s sacrifice, to help our neighbors.

I Will Do It

January 17, 2008

Memorial of Saint Anthony, abbot

When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies.” 1 Samuel 4:3

A leper came to him (and kneeling down) begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” Mark 1:40-41

Piety

Enfold Me in Your Heart

Lord, enfold me in your heart;

and there hold me, refine, purge and set me on fire.

Raise me aloft, until my own self knows utter annihilation.

-- Pierre Teilhard De Chardin, SJ

(From Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits, edited by Michael Harter, SJ. Chicago: Jesuit Way, an imprint of Loyola Press, 2005)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/011708.shtml

How different the Lord reacts in the two readings today. In the first reading from Samuel, Jesus does not answer the prayers to help defeat the Philistines. However, he does respond to the faith that the leper exhibits and grants his wish to be made clean. Why? Doesn’t he say, “Ask and you will receive?”

We may never know the answer. We may never know God’s will in this case until we meet him face-to-face. We may never know why this story was so important that Mark placed it in his first chapter. But the answer might lie in the phrase uttered by the man with leprosy: Lord, if you wish, you can answer my prayers. Jesus decides he does wish the man to be clean. He will do it.

We can discern, from our piety, study and action, the end result that the Lord wants us to pursue in life. He wants our belief and our action for his purposes, not for ours. Sometimes, we might think the Lord is working, when in reality, the Evil One is exerting a presence in our lives.

Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Anthony, the desert father who left the world in order to refine what he felt about Christian community. By denying his own wants and desires, he also denied the temptations that the world put before him. St. Anthony offered up his austere life in the desert in order to pursue what God wanted from him. His example helped to teach others how to live together. From St. Anthony’s example, people were attracted to Christian communities which were the precursor for monastic life.

After the miracle in today’s Gospel, Jesus had to get out of the city also. As word spread about his healing ministry, Jesus attracted such crowds that he stayed outside the cities in deserted places, too.

Just as Jesus called his disciples and gave them instructions, He also calls each of us. Jesus decides what he will do for us. Jesus decides what He wants us to do for him. But for everyone Jesus encounters in this first chapter of Mark, everyone has a mission to spread the Good News in thoughts, words and deeds.

Action

To celebrate this memorial, deny yourself something today that you usually want.

Give up watching Wolf Blitzer or Lou Dobbs when you get home from work.

Turn off the computer.

Skip a meal.

Pass by that store without shopping.

Here I Am

January 16, 2008

First Wednesday in Ordinary Time

By Melanie Rigney

“The Lord called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, ‘Here I am. You called me.’ Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, ‘Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”’ When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the Lord came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, ‘Samuel, Samuel!’ Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’” (1 Samuel 3:8-10)

“(S)acrifice and offering you do not want; but ears open to obedience you gave me. Holocausts and sin-offerings you do not require; so I said, ‘Here I am; your commands for me are written in the scroll.’” (Psalms 40: 7-9)

Jesus told those who were with him: “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” (Mark 1:38)

Piety

Here I am, Lord, your humble, obedient, and eager servant. Show me the purpose you have set for me.

Study

Today's Readings

Holy Spirit Interactive

Are you answering God’s call? You’re in good company if you’re not always sure.

In today’s readings, it takes three times for Samuel to comprehend that it is the Lord, not Eli, who is calling him. “Speak, for your servant is listening” is his response when he understands, similar to David’s realization that service to God involves not “sacrifice and offering… but ears open to obedience…”

On the other hand, Jesus is clear on what he is to do. After he has cured Peter’s mother-in-law and others and driven out demons, he is told that “everyone is looking for you.” He says he will go to preach in nearby villages “for this purpose I have come.”

Hearing the call and acting upon it take discernment. A recent public example is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s conversion to Catholicism after a lifetime as an Anglican. He’s been welcomed by the Vatican…and criticized by some British Catholics for waiting until he was out of office and because his political history on abortion and war are viewed as counter to Church teaching. Yet, it is difficult not to believe that Blair heard God’s call. The archbishop of Westminster said Blair “…feels at home in the Catholic Church in a way that he didn’t in any other church, or in the Anglican communion.”

Feeling at home and comfy, however, does not guarantee that we will easily hear and accept the call when it comes. A recent essay in the Holy Spirit Interactive e-newsletter talks of the need for ongoing conversion among all Catholics, cradle and convert:

Conversion, then, is not a one-time event. It is, in fact, an ongoing process. There is an initial conversion in which a person is washed clean of sin and puts on Christ. As the Catechism teaches, “Baptism is the principal place for the first and fundamental conversion. It is by faith in the Gospel and by Baptism that one renounces evil and gains salvation, that is, the forgiveness of all sins and the gift of new life.”

Let each and every one of us find the faith to answer “Here I am” each time we are called.

Action

What does God want from you? Take some morning or evening prayer time to ask and listen. Discuss what you’ve heard with your group reunion, spiritual director, or a close friend this week.

Obey Him

January 15, 2008

Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

“O LORD of hosts, if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the LORD for as long as he lives; neither wine nor liquor shall he drink, and no razor shall ever touch his head.” 1 Samuel 1:11

“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” Mark 1:24

Piety

“I am not worthy to have you come under my roof” (Matthew 8:8)

Lord Christ,

I wish I could offer you

A reasonably clean

And swept house

To dwell in,

But I can’t.

I can say – and know the meaning of – “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof…”

But you are already there!

Living among the once flourishing idols.

The floor is dirty

and at times the room is airless –

even for me!

I am ashamed of your presence there,

yet you slept in a cave

and on a donkeys back at night

under the desert stars.

So, if I can’t change your accommodations,

let me rejoice all the same

that you are present

I must believe strongly, Lord,

that I can’t question this:

that you are at home

with sinners –

and my greatest sin, Lord Christ,

is that I don’t want to be a sinner!

Nor do I easily accept it – still,

the evidence

is overwhelming.

But hope is like a green shoot

In the midst of an airless, disordered world.

And that hope comes from your Spirit.

I rest in that hope.

-- William Breault, SJ

Study

Hannah gives us an example of persistence in her prayer life. She “poured out her troubles to the Lord” and asked him to think kindly on her. Her obedience despite her unhappiness is an example to us. She doesn’t challenge God for not thinking of her. She just shows her faith in her petition. She has prayed for a son every day of her adult life year-after-year. She walks around in envy of the son which God has granted to her rival Peninnah. She knows that she is unworthy and offers her unworthiness to the Lord.

As the Psalm reminds us today, the Lord puts to death and brings new life. In Hannah, her prayers were answered with new life. In today’s Good News, we see the Lord conquer the evil spirit.

The man with the unclean spirit shows us a different picture of what happens when we encounter the Lord. He taunts Jesus and, in return, Jesus gives him what he does not want. He challenges what Jesus will do for him and then finds out – the hard way. He may not have prayed a day in his life but the one time he encounters Jesus, all bets are off.

At Jesus’ baptism, the voice of God cried out for us declaring that Jesus was his beloved son. By the time of the transfiguration, the God adds, “Listen to him.” If Hannah, despite her misery can still trust in the Lord, can we who claim to be daughters and sons of God do any less? If the evil, unclean spirits obey Jesus, can we who claim to be daughters and sons of God do any less?

Action

How can we clean our houses in this New Year?

There appears to be some agreement between recent protestors in front of the Supreme Court and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Last Friday (January 11), 82 people were arrested in front of the Supreme Court building for calling to an end to the torture and imprisonment of detainees at the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba. Those arrested were a part of Witness Against Torture's action to Shut Down Guantánamo on the date that marked six years of imprisonment and abuse for the men held in Guantánamo. About half of those arrested were inside the U.S. Supreme Court; the others were arrested on the steps of the Court.

Less than 48 hours later, Admiral Mike Mullen also called for the closure of the prison while touring the facility with a handful of reporters.

The Catholic Church has longstanding opposition to the use of torture. Late last year, Bishop Thomas G. Wenski, Bishop of Orlando and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Policy wrote to Congress regarding proposed legislation in HR 2082, the Intelligence Authorization Act, to prohibit torture as an interrogation technique. He urged lawmakers to ensure that the United States continues to insist upon the highest ethical standards and fully complies with U.S. commitments to observe international law in its treatment of detainees whether here in the United States or abroad.

Join this diverse group of people calling for closure of the prison at Guantanamo. Let your representative in Congress know how you feel.

The Cup of Salvation I Will Take Up

January 14, 2008

Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

By Beth DeCristofaro

How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. (Psalm 116:12, 13)

(Jesus) walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him. (Mark 1:19, 20)

Piety

Make me a us disciple on fire with your love that I may bring good news to the afflicted, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. Help me, God, to enkindle in others a sense of hope that transformation is possible. Amen. [1]

Study

How extravagant become our actions when graced by God! The cup of salvation I will take up refers to prayer, the pouring out of wine and of invocation. But it also prefigures the sacrifices of John, the Baptizer, Christ himself and the followers of Jesus who were willing to take up the cup and embrace salvation by pouring out their own lives.

God’s call comes to ordinary people, leading ordinary lives. Hannah, a barren woman, frustrated, sad and unfulfilled pled with God. Her extravagant trust led her to give up what God had graced her life with and the prophet Samuel was put in place to bring God’s words to the Chosen People. John the Baptist’s extravagant “yes” readied people for “God at work in Jesus Christ. This is the time of fulfillment: i.e., of God's promises”[2] The answer of “yes” to God sanctifies ordinariness. Grace allowed and accepted imbues life with sacredness, with a portion of divinity.

Our “Yes” to God is our invitation to be “fishers of (people).” Our “Yes” to God overrides any other yes-es that we might think we need from the world. Jesus chose fishermen in today’s Gospel. Our “Yes” must be repeated every day in order for it to inform the freedom God gives us in our actions. It allows us to reach out to the unrepentant and to those wishing us harm. We also reach out to those not like us just as Jesus reached out to the fishermen making them disciples and just as God reaches out to us through Jesus. Our “Yes” helps us recognize that within ourselves, without the grace of God, it is all too easy to remain unrepentant, wishing to do harm, wishing to be the center of the universe.

Action

In what way am I fishing for others? Am I confident in the “Yes” I have spoken to God, secure that God delights in my “Yes” and offers me the means to act always in the “Yes”? Am I able to take up and rejoice in the cup of salvation? Sit with God today and renew your “Yes;” be glad in it.

---

[1] Adapted from Discipleship for Mission Prayer Service, Catholic Heath Care Association of the United States, http://www.chausa.org/Pub/MainNav/News/HP/Archive/1998/07JulyAug/Departments/hp9807q.htm

[2] USCCB, footnote 8, http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/mark/mark1.htm

Descending Like a Dove

January 13, 2008

Baptism of Christ

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness. Isaiah 42:5-7

Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, "In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. Acts 10:34-35

John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. Matthew 3:14-15

Piety

Help Me Live Your Kingdom

Lord, give me the grace to labor with you

without seeking myself –

to live the Kingdom

in its full reality

-- John Futrekk, SJ

(From Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits, edited by Michael Harter, SJ. Chicago: Jesuit Way, an imprint of Loyola Press, 2005)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/011308.shtml

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7

This theme of the suffering servant reveals the destiny of Christ. Jesus is being told his destiny. We all have a destiny. We are created in the image and likeness of Christ. To realize our Christian destiny is to accept ourselves fully. “Am I really willing to be who Christ would be if he had been lucky enough to be me?” We can say “no” to our destiny. That is what freedom is.

God’s awareness of the free choices we will make is part of his plan for the human race. God has picked the world where terrible things could happen by our free choice. The providence of God orders our world without making our destiny an order or robbing us of our freedom.

Parallels with Lord of the Rings: It was Frodo’s destiny to destroy the ring. He could have said no, but... Things are not always black and white. We may have to choose between evil and less evil or good and a greater good. Frodo (Christ) realized that the old prophecies applied to him.

Acts 10:34-38

God shows no partiality. He has appointed people from every nation to do good and to heal those possessed by the devil. We have God with us to do something about the evil that is in our world. God is open to all those who will accept his son. Jesus shows us how it is done in his doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil. As God was with Christ, he is with us when we are with Christ. What we do, we must do in the name of Christ. Our Apostolic action is planned and done with Christ as the energy of our heart’s love.

Matthew 3:13-17

The baptizer is less than the baptizee. John took Christ’s injunction to baptize Christ as a command. He knew he had to follow what Christ was asking of him whether or not he saw his destiny linked with Christ. Martin Luther King felt a kinship with Christ in his baptism. He felt the need to go and act, even though he knew he would be killed. He knew he had to be a leader. Many of us know we’re called to be leaders, though we shrink from our risks. We need to be listening to our hearts if we are to discern the path God has laid out for us.

Action

We look at Christ in our prayer. Events we are involved in will come up and they are not distractions. What comes into our prayer is blessed by being there. Pay attention to the distractions – maybe it is the Lord talking. The prayer of simple regard is thinking about what you’ll do that day. Anything you think of during the time of prayer, is blessed.

Are you willing to be yourself before the Lord? You have the opportunity to do small things (smile) and to thus bless people.

Our job during the day is to be available to what the Lord wants us to do, even in all the trivial things. Then we too will hear what Christ heard from the Father at the end of our journey. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” It can only give us Christ if we are willing to take up our cross – accept the inconveniences of the day as God’s invitation. We don’t expect things to be easy or smooth – we accept the daily chaos as a good thing when we work in the name of Christ.

Behold the Lamb of God (John says this at Jesus’ baptism. The Glorious lamb, suffering lamb is foretold in Isaiah). This pointing out the destiny of Jesus, tying together the old prophecies and the future, is the work of the prophet. Three times in the Luke Gospel Jesus speaks of having to go to Jerusalem to suffer. He is conscious of His anointing as the Lamb. He is baptized into a destiny but has the freedom to choose and accept it.

If I go against my destiny, I am free to make this choice. Does happiness comes from fulfilling one’s destiny? There are moments that the destiny breaks through. But are there unaccepted graces stored away in heaven that are part of who we are in being part of who we could have been?

He Must Increase

January 12, 2008

Saturday After Epiphany

We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one. We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to know the one who is true. And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Children, be on your guard against idols. 1John 5:19-21

John answered and said, "No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said (that) I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. John 3:27-29

Piety

Live Eternally in Me

So act, good Jesus,

that in all my relationships with whatever neighbor

and in all I do for the furthering of your Father’s glory

and the salvation of others,

I form myself on your pattern;

That I be a genuine reflection of your moderation, gentleness, humility, patience, graciousness, tireless zeal,

In a word, of all your virtues;

And, in order to engrave them in my soul,

Live eternally in me.

-- Jean-Pierre Médaille, SJ

(From Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits, edited by Michael Harter, SJ. Chicago: Jesuit Way, an imprint of Loyola Press, 2005)

Study

The gift Jesus offers to us in today’s scripture is discernment -- learning what is best and choosing that.

In our society, as in Biblical times, the world is filled with competitions we seek to win. Against Others. Against Nature. Against Machines. These themes fill our lives, our stories, our movies, our dreams.

The company or organization where we work wants to do better than its rival. The school where we study wants to do better than the school in the next town. Our neighbors don’t just want to keep up with the Jones’ but do even better. Our co-workers want to get favorable treatment.

We are the same way. Who hasn’t found themselves caught up in the spiral of capitalism? Best Buy wants us to fill our time with gadgets. Ditech entices us to get a lower rate on our mortgage. Fidelity advisors lure us to seek a higher “return” on our retirement savings. Marlo commercials pitch a lower price on a new leather sofa. Because in life, much of what we are is measured by what we have and what we want to have. Salaries. Houses. Degrees. Cars. Plasma screen TVs.

John refused to play by the rules of competitive society. He already chose to live out in the desert away from society. People came to him for Baptism. When Jesus and His disciples started doing the same, some Jews who were with John objected. They viewed this as a sort of competition. Maybe people who were coming for ceremonial washings were offering some kind of gift or contribution for the service.

Baptism for us is a once in a lifetime occurrence. However, for people in the Jewish faith, purification rites (mikvuh) were established for restoration to a condition of “ritual purity” in specific sets of circumstances. Some people might seek this monthly, weekly and maybe even more frequently. According to some texts, the mikvah is a rite that is meant to be carried out repeatedly, and is thus essentially different from baptism, which has an unrepeatable character.

We can almost hear them saying to John, “You baptized the man from Nazareth. Now he’s taking your ministry. Tell him to stop. He will listen to you.”

John would not be caught up in any kind of personal rivalry or competition. He refused to be governed by the rules of the world. He preferred to be a voice crying out in the wilderness. John the Baptist knew what we read today. That Children of God must live by a different set of rules.

Our rules are not set by the world where we are forced to live for a while, our exile from God.

John reminds us that "No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven.” We must decrease to make room for Jesus.

Action

Welcome the migrants.

Today is the end of National Migration Week as established by the USCCB. Let us continue to work and pray that we will be the example of people who will make room in our hearts and our communities for children of God who seek a better life in America as all of our ancestors did.

Our gifts from heaven are meant to be shared with all people just like John freely shared the gift of Baptism.

According to those radicals at the USCCB, “After failure by the U.S. Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform last summer, the Catholic Bishops have vowed to continue raising their prophetic voice calling the faithful and all people of goodwill to reach out in love and understanding to our migrant brothers and sisters. We must learn of the realities that cause them to leave all that is precious behind for an uncertain future, learn the truth about the many contributions they make and gifts they bring to our society, and work to reform our immigration laws that cause family disintegration and strife within communities.”

The One Who Believes

January 11, 2008

Friday After Epiphany

Who (indeed) is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:5

Now there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where he was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it. Be made clean.” And the leprosy left him immediately. Luke 5:12-13

Piety

“I Take My Stand on His Word”

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord

Lord hear my voice

Be attentive to my cry.

If you remember our sin

Who could bear it?

No, your glory is your forgiveness.

My soul hopes in the Lord:

I take my stand on his word.

More than the sleepless awaiting the dawn

My soul awaits him.

As a vigiler awaits the dawn

Let his friends await the Lord.

For with him is grace abundance!

Out of the depths

I take my stand on his word.

-- Daniel Berrigan, SJ

(From Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits, edited by Michael Harter, SJ. Chicago: Jesuit Way, an imprint of Loyola Press, 2005)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/011108.shtml

Today, Jesus meets up with a man imprisoned by horrible skin disease. The man was outcast by the community because of his disease – banished so he would not infect anyone else. How alone must he feel? Not even his parents and family can be with him.

Through his faith, he turns to Jesus to be set free of this horrible disease. Out of the depths of his despair, he turns to Jesus. John reminds us in today’s first reading that whoever believes in Christ will be victor over the world. So, before Jesus can set the leper free, we see the leper pour out his faith in a public pronouncement. That is all Jesus needs. Whoever believes.

The leper did not see Jesus perform and signs or miracles. Maybe he had heard about Jesus around town. He certainly did not have the benefits of our education – of the Gospels, a life of religious teaching and preaching, the experiences of the sacraments, Cursillo group support and the love of a community. The only action that the leper needed to take was to see Jesus and then to believe. Like the shepherds. Like the magi. The encounter was enough for his Epiphany. He just sees and believes.

And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God. And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours. John 5:11-15

Jesus hears the leper’s confidence in him. The leper asks and Jesus answers.

How smart do we think we are? With our diplomas and degrees, we probably learn more in a few hours than people in the ancient world would learn in a lifetime.

How many of us can express the confidence of the leper in our faith? He will hear us, too.

Action

Who is today’s leper? Maybe he is one of the hundreds of thousands of children in Latin America who statistics tell us will die this year from easily preventable diseases. Jesus is not here to cure them. However, there are many worthy organizations assisting who can use our palanca. One group is the Catholic Medical Mission Board. CMMB’s Accion por la Salud Familiar (Action for Family Health) reduces child mortality by providing medical care and resources to healthcare facilities, and by training local volunteers to spot and treat the first signs of serious illness. Click here to read more about the CMMB program.

As a charity, more than 95 percent of the funds it collects are used for program expenses. Considering supporting CMMB. It is one way we can reach out to the leper – to the one who believes.

Upon Me

January 10, 2008

Thursday after Epiphany

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. I John 4:19-20

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me 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

Piety

A Hollowed Space to Be Filled

By William Breault, SJ

A cup must be empty before it can be filled.

If it is already full, it can’t be filled again except by emptying it out.

In order to fill anything, there must be a hollowed out space.

Otherwise it can’t receive.

This is especially true of God’s word.

In order to receive it, we must be hollowed out.

We must be capable of receiving it,

emptied of the false self and its endless demands.

When Christ came, there was no room in the inn.

It was full. The inn is a symbol of the heart.

God’s word, Christ, can take root only in a follow.

(From Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits, edited by Michael Harter, SJ. Chicago: Jesuit Way, an imprint of Loyola Press, 2005)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/011008.shtml

Are you prepared to face the challenge of the Nazareth manifesto?

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me 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

Placed right after the Spirit’s descent on Jesus in Luke 3, Jesus now announces here – in his very first sermon – that He will begin his public ministry. To define that work, Jesus relies upon Isaiah and announces his intentions to the world: “to bring glad tidings to the poor.” The notes to the New American Bible point out that “more than any other gospel writer Luke is concerned with Jesus’ attitude toward the economically and socially poor. At times, the poor in Luke's gospel are associated with the downtrodden, the oppressed and afflicted, the forgotten and the neglected and it is they who accept Jesus' message of salvation.”

See how Jesus talks in the present active tense. See how Jesus talks of all the poor, not just the poor of Israel. All the prisoners. All the blind. All the oppressed. This made the people in Nazareth very uncomfortable. Jesus is not promising some distant change in order to get elected. He is saying change is upon us with his presence. Everything he does from this point forward lives out this new reality. His active presence in the world changes and transforms everything.

Action

The lectionary pairs this passage from Luke 4 with a familiar message from John…a message which reminds us that we love because God loved us first. Because He loved us first, we now have a responsibility to love others. So the mission which was fulfilled by Jesus now passes to us.

Now the Spirit of the Lord is now upon me. And upon you.

Now it is up to us to bring glad tidings to the poor.

Now it is up to us to proclaim liberty to captives.

Now it is up to us to recover sight to the blind.

Now it is up to us to let the oppressed go free.

Now it is up to us to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

We all love Jesus when he gives us what we want. Multiplying the loaves and fishes. Curing the blind. Calming the seas. The sticking point comes when Jesus challenges us to reach out to those on the edge, to those beyond the boundaries of our own community and self interest. There are people who find the Gospels more radical than anything written by Karl Marx, Che Guevera, and Ho Chi Minh.

So now is the time to take a stand like Jesus does in his hometown, even though his own neighbors will reject him. John reminds us that we must love each other because if we don’t then we can not love God. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has another way of expressing our need to take the side of the oppressed like Jesus: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

What will you proclaim? What tasks has the spirit placed upon you?

There Is No Fear in Love

January 9, 2008

Wednesday after Epiphany

By Melanie Rigney

“God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us…There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.” (1 John 4:16-18)

After the disciples saw Christ walking on the sea and they mistook him for a ghost, he told them, “‘Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!’ He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were completely astounded. They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.” (Mark 6:50-52)

Piety

Lord, calm our fears. Stay with us always, and teach us the ways that the power your love can work in our lives.

Study

Good News Ministries

“What are you so afraid of?” the priest asked me.

“Everything,” I said without thinking. It felt so good to finally say it out loud.

There’s much for each and every one of us to fear if we let ourselves. Are we good friends, good spouses, good sisters or brothers, good employees, good servants to Christ? Like the disciples, we harden our hearts against the possibility of miracles such as God’s love for us.

The fears we face are beautifully defined at Good News Ministries of Tampa Bay, a Catholic adult faith formation and evangelization ministry in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida. According to writer Terry A. Modica, they are:

· Fear of God, which means we are in AWE of Him because we realize that He is perfectly loving, totally good, and without Him we are neither loving nor good.

· Natural Fear, which is the common sense warning that helps us survive: “Don't put your hand on that hot stove or it will burn!”

· Evil Fear, which blows common sense out of proportion, and which has nothing to do with God: “Don't get within 10 feet of that hot stove or you will burn!” Evil fear harms both our relationship with God and our enjoyment of this world.

Modica goes on to offer a seven-step process for overcoming fear and entering into the fullness of God’s love:

1. Look at the fear

2. Identify the lie it is telling you

3. Tell yourself what the truth is

4. Figure out WHY it is true

5. Choose to believe the truth

6. Ask the Holy Spirit, who is Truth itself, to empower you to believe the truth

7. Act on the truth

(Thanks to Good News Ministries for providing permission to use the above, copyright 1998 by Terry A. Modica.)

For some of us, believing that we are loved by God at times can be more difficult than believing in the Resurrection, the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, and other tenets of our faith. It’s taken me a while to get there, but using Modica’s seven-step process has helped me discern the difference between fear, awe, and self-loathing. God doesn’t want us to fear or hate; he wants us to love, unconditionally.

What would I say today if someone asked what I’m so afraid of?

“Not much.”

Action

What are you so afraid of? Follow Terry Modica’s seven-step model to identify your biggest fear today—and to let it go.

He Began to Teach Them

January 8, 2008

Tuesday After Epiphany

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. Matthew 6:34

Piety

Jesus, please satisfy us, your servants, with your words of hope and love. Bolstered by your support, help us to live lives that will satisfy your mission for us here on earth. Amen.

Study

According to the notes in the NAB for 1 John 4: Love as we share in it testifies to the nature of God and to his presence in our lives. One who loves shows that one is a child of God and knows God, for God's very being is love; one without love is without God. The revelation of the nature of God's love is found in the free gift of his Son to us, so that we may share life with God and be delivered from our sins. The love we have for one another must be of the same sort: authentic, merciful; this unique Christian love is our proof that we know God and can "see" the invisible God.

Coming right out of the Christmas season, what is the first thing we hear Jesus teaching to the people? To love and to share. As the first and last messages Jesus taught, we can not underestimate the importance of this in our Christian lives.

Before Jesus taught this important lesson, the disciples noted that this was a deserted place. After the lesson, the people were satisfied. “They all ate and were satisfied.”

The scene also allows us to recall the Hebrew Bible where people were given enough by God to satisfy them, when God rained manna on them. There, too, the Israeli people found themselves in a deserted place where they were satisfied. In Exodus 16, we found that “They so gathered that everyone had enough to eat.”

Deuteronomy 8:3-- He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. Based on this generosity, the people were told to “walk in his ways.”

Action

Many readers joined me in expressing frustration with NPR over the atheist story aired on the Sunday before Christmas. Maybe our notes had an impact. On Sunday, the Feast of the Epiphany, Weekend Edition Sunday broadcast a segment of its “This I Believe” series penned by Sr. Helen Prejean.

Sr. Helen begins her essay with these words: “I watch what I do to see what I really believe. Belief and faith are not just words. It's one thing for me to say I'm a Christian, but I have to embody what it means; I have to live it.” Her message Sunday complements the words we hear in today’s scripture. You can read or hear the rest of it at this link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17845521

What do you believe? Why not try to write your thoughts down? Consider submitting them to “This I Believe?”

If that is too much, now may be a good time to let NPR know that we appreciate their appropriate handling of a suitably religious topic that supported Christianity by airing this important essay.

The Light Has Arisen

January 7, 2008

Monday After Epiphany

By Beth DeCristofaro

The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; this day I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession." (Ps 2: 7-8)

He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people. His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them. (Mt 4: 23, 24)

Piety

God, let me see and know your Son today. Let me make quiet space within myself so that your Son will fill me and set in motion whatever I think or do. Let me know and rejoice in the Light of the Son. Let the space within be filled with your light, health, peace, truth and a fiery desire for you. All else will follow.

Study

Clearly the psalm prefigures Jesus. Although Jesus was Word, always of and always with God, at one point in time he also became Emmanuel in order that for us and for those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. (Mat 4:12)

And what does Jesus do for and with us? "He cured them." In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus' primary ministry is: speaking the Word of God, teaching and healing. All of these ministries directly touch those who listen. Jesus touches and cures physically, psychically, emotionally each individual who accepts. He is a helping hand to the fallen. He is light in the darkness. He is truth in confusion. He is peace resolving conflict. He is salve for pain. He is acceptance within loss. He completes finite humanness.

Are we ready for the cure? Can we to stand up and rejoice, taking the cure offered, then turning and offering it to others? Are we willing to gratefully live the Word of love. Are we willing to heal, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation rather than our own agenda? Are we willing to share with thanksgiving the Light we have been given – perhaps through our words but most importantly through our actions?

All are welcome to the healer. He offers his light to anyone. We can close our blinds or we can open to the light.

Action

As Fr. Oswald said in his homily yesterday: "Are you sure you are the light of the world?" Make time for light. Look to the east, enjoy the sun. God's light is in the world. God's light is in me. Let God's light illumine each step I take today whether physically, mentally or emotionally. Let the light of God shine from my being today.

Mystery Made Known

January 6, 2008

The Epiphany of the Lord

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.

Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; But upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. Isaiah 60:1-2

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage." Matthew 2:1-2

Piety

God, just as the magi sought you out when they saw the sign of your birth, let us search you out, lay our treasures at your feet and make a place for you in our lives. We offer you the gifts of our piety, study and action to help you rescue the poor when they cry out and the oppressed who have no one to help them. May the rains of this New Year water your good earth and make your words and works flourish in all who encounter you as revealed through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Study

Literally it means open to or appears to. We all claim epiphanies in our lives at one time or another. We have those moments when we realize the meaning of our lives. The Epiphany Feast today has a number of meanings for us. It refers to the Lord including everyone in his good news. But it also implies the gifts that are given at Epiphany. Gold, frankincense and myrrh refer to prophecy, priesthood and kingship.

The prophet opens up the world to what is wrong. Even tells the community what it needs to do. All the social outreach programs of the community are how it exercises the role of prophet. When our leadership of the community opens up another task to be done the prophet role is being fulfilled.

Christ is our king and we share his kingship. We are responsible for our world. We are the masters of our destiny. In the God who strengthens us we believe we can do all things. Our very lives give life to the community. We need each other even when we work alone. Our unity flows out of the kingship of Christ. We can call each other brothers and sisters in our relationship to Christ. Prophecy instills in our hearts the tasks of Christ and his kingship over our hearts is our right to act in his name.

Action

The priest gets his definition from the community he serves. He is the funnel between the community and God. He takes the prayers of the community to God and brings back the blessings of God in the Eucharist which reenacts the great mystery of the priesthood of Christ. The one Sacrifice which is forever gives us our contact point and puts us in the fullness of Christ's priesthood by the giving of our lives which is celebrated together.

Epiphany in its fullest meaning is God opening himself to our world. We are his opening when we live the gifts of our community that give Christ flesh and blood in each other.

In Deed and Truth

January 5, 2008

Memorial of Saint John Neumann, bishop

If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. 1 John 3:17-18

Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree." Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." John 1:48-49

Piety

Lord, help us to see you in others around us who need our compassion and love. Through this service, show us the way to encounter you so that you can get to know us as your friends and followers. Amen.

Study

"True Christianity…is the sacrifice of self for others, because of Christ, because of God. It is shown by signs; it is manifested in deeds. Christianity is sensitive to the suffering and oppression and sorrow of others, to poverty, to all human needs, the first of which is truth."

From the Canonization homily of St. John Nepomucene Neumann (19 June 1977) by Pope Paul VI

The Gospel of John opens and closes with vivid pictures of conversion and faith experienced by the disciples. Today we see the opening act. Nathanael believes that Jesus is the Son of God because Jesus testifies to a fact that Nathanael knows Christ did not directly witness. At the end of the Gospel, we see John kneel when he witnessed the empty tomb and found the burial clothes strewn about the cave. In between, we see many signs of Jesus' work on earth.

The duty to fulfill that sensitivity and service falls to those who "follow" Jesus. Initially, those followers were the disciples. Then, they were the distant churches addresses in the epistles. Now, those followers are you and I. We are enjoined to love in deed and truth not only in the letter of John but also in the homily delivered by Pope Paul VI when John Neumann was canonized.

Action

If you have made a resolution in the New Year to do more service, one place you can look is the interactive database managed by Volunteer Fairfax. Currently listed on the site, Our Daily Bread is looking for volunteers to help families with budgeting and grocery shopping.

What Are You Looking For?

January 4, 2008

Memorial of Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious

No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God. 1 John 3:9

Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will see." John 1:37-38

Piety

"If I am right Thy grace impart still in the right to stay. If I am wrong Oh, teach my heart to find the better way." A Prayer by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/010408.shtml

As we encounter Jesus, like any friend, He engages us in conversation. He wants to know our wants and needs, our motivations and intentions, our goals and ideals. He does not want us to just treat this relationship as some superficial acquaintance. Nor will Jesus just be a casual friend with us. He wants to get to know us and he wants us to follow him.

Just like any family relationship or friendship, that requires two things: talking over important issues and spending time together. Today, we see that dialog begin with the disciples and Jesus. This interaction also leads to them spending time together as they accept Jesus' invitation. "Come, and you will see."

Yesterday, John the Baptist spoke about the Spirit remaining in Jesus. Today, John the Evangelist writes about God's seed remaining in us. Permanence. When we accept His invitation, we do not just attend some casual party. We partake in a very special meal. Jesus shares his very Body and Precious Blood with us. Once he does that, we are united with Him. Not just for the hour we are at Church. Not just for that week but for a lifetime.

Action

We get invitations all the time, especially now during the holidays. Accept God's invitation to be his children. Extend that invitation to others in service and love.

We Are God’s Children Now

http://www.usccb.org/nab/010308.shtml

January 3, 2008

Christmas Weekday

Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2

"I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel." John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'" John 1:31-22

Piety

Lord, give us the drive of John to make you and your work know to the world. Give us the courage to let the world know that we are your children and that we are here to do your work. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/010308.shtml

"On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one."

Our encounter with Jesus is not some spur-of-the-moment experience, like visiting Disney World or attending the latest Rolling Stones concert tour. It is a permanent and life changing experience. Once we have that experience, God remains with us and we remain with God. Once we have this encounter, John tells us that "we are God's children now." Once we are identified as God's children, there is no turning back. It's not like you can move to another city and root, root, root for the new home team. You can't be traded like some sports franchise would deal its star player to another city for other players or cash. You cannot run down to The Sports Authority and buy a new jersey of your favorite player. You are God's and that is what you will remain.

Jesus is the first example of such permanence. John did not just see the Spirit hovering over Jesus and then fly away. He saw it "remain."

Action

How will people know that you are on God's team? Will they read it on your resume? Maybe you can not reveal things outright. However, you can unveil something about yourself by showing where you volunteer and what activities with which you are involved: social action, religious education, family life, youth group. Reveal it publicly.