His Word Today: Dream big

Good morning everyone,

Today's gospel passage places us with the disciples gathered around Jesus as they hear him speaking, teaching them the real reasons why he had to go up to Jerusalem (Mt 20:17-20).  The lessons that Jesus wanted to teach were much larger in scope than the disciples (or in this case the mother of the sons of Zebedee) could fathom (cf Mt 20:20-21).

Every time we sit with Jesus and listen to his words, he invites us to dream big dreams.  Jesus' lessons challenge us to widen our vision, to look beyond the horizons that we may imagine and to dare to dream as he dreams.

Take time today to dream.  Be careful not to ask for something that you might regret.  Rather, ask the Lord to lead the way, to place you in the situations where your words, gifts and talents are most needed today.  Try to trust as openly as you can; he will never lead us astray.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: White as wool

Good morning everyone,

Today is yet another day for us to marvel at the goodness of our God.  The prophet Isaiah reminds us that even though the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had turned their backs on God and his ways, God never gave up on those people.  Instead he repeatedly called out to them: Hear the word of the Lord, princes of Sodom!  Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! (Is 1:10).

This is the goodness of our God.  Even after so many years have passed, our heavenly Father is still calling out to us: Come now, let us set things right (Is 1:18).

The longer we have tried to deny our sinfulness, our tendency to turn away from God, the easier we find it to believe that there is nothing wrong, yet how often do we stop to think about how happy we are - truly happy - with the way our lives are going?  When things are right between us and God, there is always happiness in our hearts: that's one of the signs, so let us take a moment today to honestly ask ourselves how happy we are.  If we're not, why not?  Is there something we've been hiding?  If so, remember the promise of our God: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool (Is 1:18).

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Mercy

Good morning everyone.

As we enter into the second week of Lent, we are invited once again to come close to the merciful heart of Jesus.  There we will encounter the gifts of compassion and forgiveness (cf Daniel 9:9) which are the fruits of mercy.

Mercy is the gift that allows the Lord to welcome us, his precious children, no matter what we may have done, no matter how far away from Him we may have wandered.  Sometimes it is very easy for us to drift away from regular contact with our God.  If distance from the love and acceptance of our heavenly Father continues, the result is that our hearts become slowly but increasingly hardened, but this is the great gift of the Lenten season: God never tires of seeing us out and offering us another chance to come close, to discover His ever-fresh and ever-merciful heart which always has room to envelop us with its warmth.

Jesus encouraged his disciples to be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful (Lk 6:36).  Let us pray today for the grace to recognize God's great mercy at work in our lives, and for the even greater blessing of allowing that experience of mercy to motivate us to act as God would act: to show mercy to those we encounter today.

Have a great day.

A glimpse ahead

During these days of Lent, we are preparing for the celebration of Easter, but do we truly understand what it means to celebrate the miracle of Christ’s resurrection?  Even after having experienced so many Easter Sundays, I still wonder whether I truly understand – not only with my head but also with my heart – the truth that Jesus demonstrated for us in his life-giving sacrifice.

The scriptures are filed with examples from the lives of others who had their faith tested.  In today’s first reading, we see the example of Abraham.  God asked him: take your son, your only son ... whom you love ... and offer him as a burnt offering (Gn 22:2).  How difficult it must have been for Abraham to do that!  No parent should ever have to witness the suffering and death of his or her child, and yet God was asking him to sacrifice his child.  God tested Abraham that day and found that although He was asking for something that broke his heart, Abraham would have been willing to endure the suffering.

What about us?  Perhaps there are some here among us who have known the pain of watching a spouse or a child of ours who has suffered and perhaps even returned to the Father’s house.  There is a part of us – the human part – that suffers deeply when we must watch someone else in pain.  We would give anything if we could to take their suffering upon ourselves.  Some who have experienced such pain find themselves distanced from God because they remain stuck at the level where they find it difficult to accept the fact that God has caused or allowed such suffering.

The truth of the matter is that God does not cause the suffering; rather he uses such occasions – which appear in the sight of human beings as tests of our faith – in order to prove to us that he is indeed very close to us, especially when we are suffering.

Jesus knew that his disciples would suffer deeply when the time came for him to go home to the Father.  Saint Mark tells us in today’s gospel that before that time arrived, Jesus took ... Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  There, he was transfigured before them (Mk 9:2).  Archbishop Joseph Cassidy (1933-2013) used to say that Jesus allowed these three apostles to experience his transfiguration so that when the time came for him to suffer and die, they would be able to encourage the other disciples to understand that physical suffering and death is nothing but a doorway that leads into the glory of the Father’s house.

I have a feeling that Peter, James and John forgot their experience of the transfiguration as they witnessed Jesus’ arrest, trial, persecution, suffering and crucifixion.  Even after his body had been placed in the tomb, they were probably too much in shock to remember what they had witnessed at the top of that mountain, but later on, when the women came running from the tomb on Easter morning to tell them that the stone had been rolled away, perhaps they remembered the day when Peter had wanted to make three dwellings on the top of that mountain (cf Mk 9:5) so that they could stay there forever.

The experience of the transfiguration is also meant to encourage our hearts so that when we have to endure trials that test our faith, we too can find the strength to believe that our ultimate destiny is the fullness of life, love and happiness in the Father’s house.  If we believe this, we will be able to echo the words written by Saint Paul to the early Christians living in Rome: Who will separate us from the love of Christ (Rom 8:35)?  No matter what hardship we may have to endure, we can always believe in the love that God has for us.

His Word Today: Beloved of God

Good morning everyone.

There is something truly special about the relationship that our God has created between himself and each one of us.  The words spoken by Moses paint a picture of a people who is truly precious, beloved and prized by our God.

Today, the Lord is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people particularly his own (Deut 26:18).  Anyone who has had the great fortune to fall in love knows what it's like to feel as though we are particularly special to someone else, but have we ever stopped to consider that this is the way that our God feels about us too?  There is a special look in the eyes of those who know deep down that they are especially loved.  This is the same for each one of us who is a child of God, and Lent is a time when he wants to remind us of this truth.

When we realize the fact that our God loves us so deeply and tenderly, it is easy to fall in love with God.  At first we are enamoured with his goodness to us and the selfish part of us wants to lap up all the attention, but the true gift of love is that it is always outward focused, so we in turn want to do things to please the one who loves us.  God asks only that we observe his statutes, commandments and decrees, and to hearken to his voice (Deut 26:17).

Listen today for the voice of our God.  Listen for the sweet and tender words of the One who loves each and every one of us beyond our wildest imaginings ... and do whatever he tells you.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Time for forgiveness

The Prodigal Son
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

Good morning everyone,

The season of Lent is a precious time, a gift that is offered to us each year.  This is an opportunity for every one of us to 'come clean' with our own consciences and with God.  The prophet Ezekiel tells us that God offers us a get out of jail card if we need it, but in return for his generosity, he asks that we turn away from all the sins we have committed (Ez 18:21).

Lent is a spiritual amnesty for sins that we may have hidden deep within our own consciences.  Since no one can say with certainty whether there is such reason for seeking forgiveness except if an individual speaks for him or herself, no one has the right to accuse another person of having sinned, and the joyful news that the prophet shares today is the fact that even God does not bring judgement against us unless we choose to hide.

This is a season of grace, a time for forgiveness, an opportunity for each one of us to discover or to re-discover the merciful heart of our God.  It takes courage to admit our failings, but it might help to know that if only we can dare to speak our truth, God is willing to forgive and to rejoice.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: the Chair of Peter

The chair of Peter, the Apostle
above the Altar of the Chair in
Saint Peter's Basilica

Good morning everyone.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle. This feast brings to mind the mission of teacher and pastor conferred by Christ on Peter (Mt 16:13-19), and continued in an unbroken line down to the present Pope, Francis. Today, we celebrate the unity of the Church, founded upon the Apostle Peter, and we renew our assent to the teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, extended both to truths which are solemnly defined, and to all the acts of the ordinary teaching authority of the Church.

The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Rome has been celebrated from the early days of the Christian era on 18 January, in commemoration of the day when Saint Peter held his first service in Rome. The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch, commemorating his foundation of the See of Antioch, has also been long celebrated in Rome on 22 February. In each of those cities, a chair (cathedra) has been venerated which the Apostle had used while presiding at Mass.

Today, let us pray especially for Pope Francis.  May the Lord grant him many years of health and zeal to continue leading the Church and teaching us by his words but more importantly by his example about how we can all become more compassionate, loving and forgiving people.

Have a great day.