The cross our symbol to overcome all fear!

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Numbers 21:4-9

John 8:21-30

 

 

Thirty more days of self-isolation! My first reaction was, “What am I going to do” and then fear set in. The same can be said in our spiritual lives, “What are we going to do, staying away from the Eucharist 30 more days?” Our readings speak about fear, but we are also given a simple solution to our fears.

 

In our first reading, the Israelites are grumbling about a lack of water and food, and God becomes angry with the people. God sends snakes to bite the people, and fear sets in. Moses makes a bronze snake and raises it on a pole, so when the people look at it, they will be healed. Hearing this should send us to the image of Christ hanging on the cross?

 

In our Gospel, fear sets to the people as Jesus speaks about this intimate relationship he has with the Father. Jesus says, “I AM,” the one who God sent. He continues by saying, “When you lift the Son of man, then you will realize that I AM.”  As Jesus talks to the people in this powerful way about how they must come to believe in him or die in their sins, their fears are dispelled, and many come to believe in him.

 

My friends in Christ, “What will calm our fears this day?” We are given a powerful image as we have the crucifix. We should notice that the arms of Christ are open wide to comfort us as he hangs on the cross.

 

May our fear be dispelled this day, and may our faith increase.

A time of prayer!

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Wisdom 2:1, 12-22

John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

 

I believe our readings are calling us to prayer, to make some time in our day to be alone and pray.

 

In our first reading, we hear how evil is planning to do harm against good. When we feel attacked by anything in our lives, whatever it is attacking us should bring us to prayer.

 

In our Gospel, it is time for the Festival of Tabernacles, which is one of the three major pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The Feast of the Tabernacles was required by all males to attend. It celebrated the end of the harvest and commemorating Israel’s time in the desert. I was in Jerusalem one time during this feast day, and I found it very prayerful. The people set up tents on their porches to recall their ancestor’s time in the desert. The Festival of Tabernacles is a special time of prayer and recalling God’s saving power.

 

Today at 1:00 eastern time, Pope Francis is asking us to spend some time in prayer with him, and we will be granted a plenary Indulgence. Let us today join our Holy Father in prayer, and know of God’s peace.

 

 

God speak, to our very core!

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Exodus 32:7-14

John 5:31-47

 

One of the most significant changes for me during this time of the Coronavirus is that our church is silent. Weekday mornings we usually have a fair amount of people bustling about, on the weekends we usually would have almost 2000 people pass through our doors, and now all is silent. The challenge for us during this time is to know that though our church may be silent, God’s word, spoken to us, is not silent.

 

In our first reading, Moses has listened to the word of God spoken to him, and he has led the people through the desert, eventually arriving at the Promised Land. The people are dependent on the word of God for their survival through the dessert. God and Moses are devastated when the people turn away from God’s word and worship a molten calf.

 

In our Gospel, Jesus is trying to have the people believe that he is an even more representative of God’s word than Moses. Jesus tells the people he has more credentials, then John the Baptist. Jesus reminds the people to look at what he has done in his preaching and his healings and to come to know that he is the word of God made flesh. We celebrated that yesterday, in the Annunciation of the Lord

 

My friends in Christ, what are the obstacles in our lives that prevent us from hearing the word of God? How can we allow God to speak to our very core? Now is the time to take advantage of this time to listen to God speak to us and to grow in faith and holiness.

 

 

 

 

Word becomes flesh!

The Annunciation of the Lord

Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10

Hebrews 10:4-10

Luke: 26-38

 

Happy Solemnity!  We celebrate today one of the most glorious feast days of the year, “The Annunciation of the Lord.” It’s the celebration of the Incarnation of our Lord, but it also marks that we have nine months before Christmas. I only encourage online shopping at this time.

 

In our Gospel, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have been chosen to conceive and bear a son, by the Holy Spirit.” She responds, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”  It’s interesting to note that our Blessed Mother was told that “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son.”  She wasn’t asked by the angel if she was willing; rather, she was told what was to happen. 

 

Mary’s confidence in God is what we strive to be in our lives. When Mary says yes, she is saying yes, on our behalf. When we struggle in faith, because of fear and doubt, Mary’s yes will always be there for us.

 

In all we do today, may we like Mary say yes to do the will of God, because nothing is impossible with God!

 

The healing power of water!

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12

John 5:1-16

It is day 7 of not celebrating Mass because of the Coronavirus.

 

What do we all wish for at this time? I would guess we would all respond that we want to be done with the Coronavirus. We want to be free of the worry and the fear we are all experiencing at this time. Our readings today are very prophetic as they both speak of the healing power of water.

 

The Middle East is a hot climate with much of this country in a desert. In the time of our first reading, water was a symbol of God’s saving grace, and it signified God’s blessings. Today we hear from the prophet Ezekiel who tells of a life-giving stream that begins as a trickle that flows from the temple. As it flows, it becomes larger and larger, and everything it touches grows with an abundance of life. 

 

In our Gospel, we hear of a man who is in need of healing as he has waited thirty-eight years to be healed. He waits at the Pools of Bethesda, but no one helps him into the pools. Jesus asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” The man responds, “There is no one to put me in the pool.” Jesus responds, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Water is central to this reading, but it the Lord’s word that does the healing. The man thinks the water can only heal him, but God’s Word heals him.

 

By our baptism, we have been saved, and by God’s word, we are sustained. In this time of healing, how can this time be a time of grace for us? Let us all wash our hands, and continue to practice our social distancing, and know that God still reigns, and that God is good.

 

 

Can we see?

Fourth Sunday of Lent

I Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13

Ephesians 5: 8-14

John 9:1-41

 

On Wednesday of this past week, a parishioner called and shared with me an idea of what the priest in her hometown back in Italy is doing during this Coronavirus pandemic. The priest has been collecting photos of his parishioners and putting them in the Church, so when he celebrates his private Mass, he is looking at their faces. I loved the idea and decided to use it here at Holy Spirit Parish. The response has been tremendous, as almost 400 pictures have been sent to date. However, as the photos have been coming in, I have realized something about myself in this project. As much as I have desired to see the faces of the parish family, the parish family has desired to have their faces seen by me. Many people have written prayer requests with their pictures and stories of what they are going through at this time. It has all been heartfelt and moving because, in this time of social distancing, we all want to be seen, loved, and to stay somehow connected.  

As we are all staying in our homes, it has heightened our awareness of our need to be connected, and it has made the world a much smaller place. I count it no small miracle that our readings on this Fourth Sunday of Lent are about blindness, and one’s ability to see and to be seen.  

 

In our Gospel, we hear about a blind man, and one thing I love about the story is the blind man does not ask to be healed, Jesus sees him and comes to him. Jesus spits on in the ground, and from the dirt makes mud and smears it on the man’s eyes. Ok, let’s be honest, if I am blind, having mud made from someone’s spit does not sound comforting or brings me peace. What we may learn from this is peace is not about the world being a perfect place. It is about knowing that Jesus Christ is coming to us, he is present to us, and is leading us to peace, in any way possible. The man is told to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. The man is obedient, and when he returns, he can see.

 

One of the tragedies of the story is not that the man was blind, but once he is healed and can see no one can see him and accepts him for who he now is, a man who can see. Imagine how he would have felt being healed and yet the townspeople, even the man’s parents, and the disciples do not see him; they only see a blind man. The blind man is now physically healed and can see, but he is also spiritually healed and can see Jesus, and he becomes a follower of Jesus Christ.

 

As we are all doing our part, social distancing calls us to be physically apart, but sometimes this distance enables us to see each other more clearly connected to each other. We all still have a need to be seen and to be loved. Our world is now changed forever, and it is in times like this that the Lord enables us to see things we should have been seeing all along. May our eyes be wide open to where the Lord is leading us? God bless you and stay faithful and healthy!

 

How will we show God’s love today?

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

Hosea 14: 2-10

Mark 12:28 – 34

It is day three of not celebrating Mass with you because of the Coronavirus.

 

Has anyone noticed that the robins are back here in Michigan after migrating south or the winter? The arrivals of robins are a sure sign to us of better things to come. Our readings are also an excellent boost to our weary souls of good things to come!

 

In our first reading from the Book of Hosea, God is reaching out to the Israelite people and encouraging them to return to him in a spirit of divine compassion. God promises to heal the Israelites and to love them freely. If we are wise, we will heed these instructions.

 

Our Gospel is a very timely one as we are all wondering what to do because of the Coronavirus. The scribe in our Gospel is wondering what to do with his life as he asks Jesus, “What is the greatest of all the commandments?” Jesus answers him, “To love God with all our heart, with all your soul, with all mind, and with all your strength.”

 

In this time of social distancing, we are to be creative of how we are to love God and love each other at this time. Now that we are all perhaps spending a lot more time together as a family, and trying to find things to do when our children are not doing their school work, it can be a time of stress and a lack of patience.

 

We want to be not on the fringes of what God is asking us but right in the middle of God’s heart. To love at this time is demanding a lot from us, and we need to find new and creative ways to express God’s love.

 

At the end of our Gospel, Jesus tells the scribe, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” How will we love so that we may not be far from the Kingdom of God?”

Hang on to our faith, and pray!

St. Joseph Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

II Samuel 7: 4-5, 12-14, 16

Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22

Matthew 1:16,18-21,24

 

I am reading and seeing everything now through the lens of the Coronavirus, as everything is taking on new meaning. The lesson that I see in celebrating St. Joseph is when God chooses someone for a particular task, and God gives that person all the gifts, all the grace they will need to fulfill that task. It is left to that person to have faith and to believe in the one who gives those gifts. We are not to lose our faith right now but use our faith.

 

In our first reading, God tells King David to have faith because the kingdom will last forever, and from him, ancestry will come to the Savior of the world.

 

St. Paul, in our second reading, recalls the faith of Abraham that Abraham was made great not because of the law but because of his faith. Paul would go on to say that we are to have hope beyond hope.  

 

In our Gospel, we hear of Joseph, a man of faith, a righteous man, a man who faced a lifetime of crises. But each time Joseph was given a situation that he did not immediately have a solution to, he took it to prayer, and he used his faith to get him through his most challenging time.

 

So maybe it is good that we have this little interruption from Lent and look to all those who had come before we marked with faith and are looking down at us. Faith is not what we see but what we hope to happen. Joseph knew very well trials and tribulations, but his faith never wavered. May we also have faith in God and what he has in store for us!

 

Let’s obey the Law!

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9

Matthew 5:17-19

 

A just society is built on laws and guidelines for the common good of everyone. We are experiencing that from our governmental leaders and our Bishop. We are encouraged not to gather in groups of ten or more, and our Bishop has decided to temporarily suspend ALL public Masses and all other liturgical and devotional services, effective immediately, through Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020. Our readings are both about obeying the law.  

 

In our reading from Deuteronomy, Moses is standing before the people, and before they enter the Promised Land, he tells them to observe all the Laws that God has given them to follow because the Law and God are one. Their obedience to God’s Laws will provide evidence of wisdom to the other nations. The Laws of God are life-giving because, without the Law of God, they will be without life, hope, a direction. They are expected to do more than the nations around them.  

 

In our Gospel, Jesus is encouraging the people to follow the Law of Moses, but he puts a new twist on it as he says, “I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill the law.”  Jesus is encouraging his disciples to follow the law but also to take the Law to another level by reconnecting every law to the first and greatest Commandment, the law of love for God and neighbor. It is through Jesus Christ that we get the strength to do this.

 

Our current pandemic is inviting us all to reflect on the common good of all and how we will obey the guidelines that are being given to us about lessening our social engagements. May we find peace in these troubling times and not give up on God, because He is right here in our midst.   

 

Please forgive me and help me to forgive others!

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

Daniel 3:25, 34-43

Matthew 18:21- 35

 

We all miss celebrating the Eucharist together, and today our readings may just help us and give us comfort during these difficult times.

 

In our first reading, we hear from one of the men thrown into the fiery furnace; their names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Babylonian names). We understand of Abednego’s beautiful prayer as he prays, “We miss having burnt offerings, sacrifice, oblation, incense, and no place to find favor with you.”  Abednego prays a beautiful prayer that their very contrite hearts and humble spirit be enough.

 

What makes our Gospel so powerful is that it is addressed to Peter as he asks, “How often should I forgive, seven times?” Jesus responds, “Not seven times but seventy-seven times” and then Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. Jesus is reminding Peter and us, never miss an opportunity to forgive. We all like the idea of forgiveness until we have to forgive.

 

We all miss celebrating the Eucharist, but the measures that are being asked of us have been proven effective in the spread of disease. As we all hunger for the Eucharist may we spend more time in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving?