His Word Today: Eternity

Good morning everyone,

There is a hint of promise in the words of scripture today.  Moses calls out to the people and invites them to prepare their hearts so that they can enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord ... is giving them (Deut 4:1) and Jesus cautions his disciples to obey and teach the commandments so that they will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:19).

It is exciting to think that God is - even now - preparing a land for us, a place where he will welcome us.  This land in which we currently live is only a temporary home; while we are here, we are practicing for life in eternity, in our true homeland, in heaven with God.  While we are here, we are learning how to obey the commandments - laws that are lovingly given in order to define the limits within which we must live, and we who are learning this discipline also must teach these same limits to those who will come after us.

With our eyes set on the land which the Lord is giving to us, let us strive to live this day with a view that surpasses the horizons of humanity and dares to dream about the horizons of eternity where we will live one day in the heavenly homeland we are intended to inhabit.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Kindness and mercy

Good morning everyone,

The first reading of today's liturgy places us with Azariah in the midst of the burning flames.  Even in such peril, he found a voice for prayer, words with which he could praise God.  How often have we found ourselves in perilous situations and reacted in a human way: by demonstrating fear?

During this Lenten season, we are invited to remember the truth that at all moments of our days and nights: in the midst of joy and celebration as in suffering and pain, the Lord is close to us.  We can always call out to him: show us your kindness and great mercy (Daniel 3:42).  What consolation the Lord wants to offer us, if only we would open our eyes and our hearts to recognize this truth!

Today, pray for the grace to be deeply aware of God's kindness and great mercy and most especially his presence in our lives: he is always close by, walking beside us, offering words of comfort, consolation and encouragement.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Rejection

Good morning everyone,

In today's gospel, Jesus voices something that is true for all those who authentically seek to follow him: we will be rejected by the world around us.  On many occasions, I use this advice to test the validity of a decision that has to be made as part of my discernment of God's promptings.

In fact, the scripture passages for today's liturgy speak of three instances when this truth was made evident: the story of Naaman the Syrian army commander (2 K 5:1-15), Elijah's encounter with the widow of Zarephath (Lk 4:25-26), and Jesus' own words offered in the synagogue (Lk 4:24).

How often does it happen that we bring our prayers to the Lord, asking for someone to be healed or for help to be given?  It seems as though there is also a hidden expectation that accompanies such prayers: that God will ask us to do something truly demanding in return - as a kind of payment.  How difficult it is for us to accept the fact that our God does not require payment for his goodness.  Instead, he asks us only to do simple things in return - like just saying thank you.

Let's ask for the ability to let go of our expectations today.  Maybe then we will be better able to be surprised by the profound love of God in action.

Have a great day.

Rebuild the temple

Earlier this week, Archbishop Luis Ladaria, SJ, the Vatican’s Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released the text of a letter which has recently been sent to all the Bishops of the world.  In this letter, Archbishop Ladaria considers some aspects of Christian salvation that can be difficult for the modern world to understand.

He recognizes the fact that all human beings have a deep-seated desire for salvation.  Our thirst to live in relationship with God traces its roots back to the Old Testament times.  The first reading for today’s liturgy recounts the words that God spoke to Moses when he gave us the Ten Commandments (cf Ex 20:1-17).  These ten signposts outline the rules of life by which we still seek to live today.  It has always been God’s hope that we should live in relationship with Him, and on many occasions throughout the Old Testament, God has renewed his covenant and planted within our hearts the desire for our relationship with him flourish.

Even today, God’s deepest desire is that our relationship with Him should thrive, but the reality is that there are some current cultural changes in our understanding of the meaning of Christian salvation.  Archbishop Ladaria explains that individualism ... tends to see the human person as a being whose sole fulfillment depends only on his or her own strength whereas the Church has always taught that we are all created and loved by God and that even though we may spend our lives seeking a sense of fulfillment, our hearts will always be restless as we continue this search until we rest in God (Saint Augustine of Hippo).

There is also a prevailing tendency to believe in a merely interior vision of salvation: a vision that is marked by a strong personal conviction or feeling of being united to God ... but which does not recognize our need to accept, heal and renew our relationships with others and with the created world.

It would appear that, at least to some extent, we have lost sight of the relationship that God has always sought to cultivate with us: a relationship of mutual love and respect.  Jesus recognized this danger too when he went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and entered the temple.  There, instead of finding people praying and worshiping God, he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and money changers seated at their tables (Jn 2:14).  In response, he made a whip out of cords and drove all of them out (Jn 2:15).  When they asked him to explain his actions, he simply replied: Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up (Jn 2:19).  We know that he was referring to the temple of his body, and we know that he fulfilled this promise by rising from the dead.  That’s the reason why we are all here today.

Still, the message of salvation that was made clear by Christ’s self-giving death on the cross and by his resurrection appears as foolishness (1 Cor 1:18) to those who refuse to believe the truth of Jesus’ words.  Yet, for more than two thousand years, the Church has consistently communicated our faith in God and our expectation that Jesus, our Saviour, will come again at the end of time.  Our world is thirsting for this message.  Are we willing to share it with those we meet?

His Word Today: Coming to our senses

The Departure of the Prodigal Son
Jan Miense Molenaer

Good morning everyone,

The gospel passage for today's liturgy is one of my favorites because it is filled with images and much food for thought and prayer.  Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus. but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain ... (Lk 15:1-2).  Even these opening words cause us to stop.  We need to ponder in the depths of our hearts - in the place where we must be absolutely honest with ourselves: Which group of people do I fall into?  There are some days when there is no doubt that I am one of the sinners, those who are seeking forgiveness and inspiration from the Word of God, but are there other moments when I am more like a Pharisee, looking at others scornfully and judgmentally?

We can all learn from Jesus the art of living well.  Rare are the occasions when we need to raise our voices (he only did that on very few occasions) but we must constantly be on the lookout for those who seek to impose their own wills.  In most cases, Jesus did not respond with harsh words, but he was intent on making his point.  In this case, he shows us a portrait of the Father: our loving Father, who is even willing to allow us to disown him and take our inheritance (cf Lk 15:12) if we so choose.

How difficult it must have been for the father in that parable to agree to his son's request!  Every parent has hopes and dreams for his or her children.  When the children turn their backs on these dreams, this causes profound pain in the hearts of their parents.  The father could have refused his son's request, but he didn't.  Instead he spent his nights and days worrying about his son, praying for his safety, wondering if he would ever come back.

Pray today for all those we know who have strayed from the path that was first set out by our heavenly Father.  Pray for those who struggle to find their way back.  Pray for parents who struggle to accept the decisions that their children sometimes make, and if we ourselves should be prodigal children, pray for the courage to come to our senses (Lk 15:17), the courage to come back home.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Beloved of God

Good morning everyone.

The story of Joseph and the multi-coloured coat that is told in today's first reading (cf Gn 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28) is among the most well-known of the Old Testament adventures, yet how often have we actually taken the time to consider that the pride that Israel took in his beloved son (cf Gn 37:3) is the same as the pride that God takes in each one of us?  There is a danger though in our being the beloved of God, and that is that we run the risk of becoming the object of much jealousy unless we remind those who share our journey through this life that each and every one of us is a beloved child of God.

On the other hand, how often have we found ourselves in the role of Israel's other sons: the ones who were not his favorites?  When jealousy enters our hearts, it has the power to blind us to the gifts of love and forgiveness.  Jealousy has no place in a heart that is filled with love.  Jealousy leaves no room for anyone or anything else.  It is entirely self-serving.

Give thanks today for the great gift that God has already shared with each one of us by allowing us to be known as his precious daughters and sons!  If we begin with such words of praise, perhaps we will be able to cultivate a new way of seeing the world around us: not so much guided by jealousy but rather by love and forgiveness.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Go out

Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588-1629)
The Rich Man and the Poor Lazarus (1625)

Good morning everyone,

The parable of the rich man that is told in today's gospel (cf Lk 16:19-31) always reminds me that no matter how fortunate we have been in life, we should never take things for granted.  There are always others in our midst who are in need.  Sometimes these people are lying right at our doorstep (cf Lk 16:20), which you would think would make them easier to identify, but their proximity sometimes makes us more blind to their presence.

Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis has repeatedly challenged us to go out.  For those who have become comfortable with their surroundings, this challenge may truly be difficult to accept, but only if we are able to go out of ourselves and to go to the peripheries of existence will we be able to open our eyes and recognize the poor who are right before our eyes.

This is a choice that we must make every day: to go out in search of those who are in need.  If we approach life in this way, we will soon discover the need to trust and to hope in the Lord (cf Jer 17:7).  The great blessing that is right before our eyes is the fact that the less we rely on our own ingenuity and the more that we turn to God, the less we will have to concern ourselves with the things that can distract us from focusing on what is truly important in life.

Pray today for the grace to let go of the things that keep us focused on our own private matters.  Ask for the blessing to go out to the places where we will be able to perceive the people who need our help, and may God grant us the courage to act in his name.

Have a great day.