Friday after Ash Wednesday
A friend of mine is a Carmelite nun who spends at least half the year in prayer and contemplation at a small hermitage. (The rest of the time, the community is called from their contemplation to acts of service.) Contemplatives are sometimes seen as strange because they sometimes speak of spiritual experiences - everything from prayers in which God speaks so clearly it is impossible to miss, to visions, to levitation and more. In our scientific culture, this can seem a bit much to accept at face value, and these experiences usually get explained away by psychology, biology and so on. But nonetheless, there are numerous people who are attracted to my friend and her community precisely because they have had some kind of experience of God that they can't reconcile with what the world tells them about it. The community's visitor book is filled with guests' descriptions of their own encounters.
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
As we begin this season of Lent, I find myself attending a funeral. Lent is a time where we prepare for the death of Christ. We are saddened, we are prayerful, and we mourn. We put away our Hallelujahs in exchange for a more somber, reflective season of prayer. How appropriate to enter into this season, face to face with death.
Ash Wednesday
We live in a world of paradoxes, they are especially found in our faith. It is through Jesus’ death on a cross that we are given life. It is through fasting that we can truly be fed. It is through giving of ourselves that the Lord repays us ten, fifty or one-hundred fold. The gospel today is a contrast to the other two readings. Jesus prescribes that our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving be done in secret and then we will repaid in secret. The bold language of Joel, “Rend your hearts not your garments” seems to suggest God desires an outward signs of repentance.
Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
When I was reading today's Gospel, it reminded me of my time at Purdue University. At the beginning of my collegiate career, I chose to join one of the music service fraternities on campus, which may have been the worst decision I made during college.
Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
In Pope Francis’s book The Church of Mercy, there is a chapter entitled “Being With Christ”. Our Holy Father acknowledges the importance of prayer, meditation, Eucharistic Adoration, and other devotions in our spiritual life. But he also poses a question that we rarely, if ever, consider: “Do you allow yourselves to be gazed upon by the Lord?” When was the last time you just sat or kneeled before the Lord and simply allowed God to ‘gaze’ upon you?
Over the last couple of months, I have been accompanying a very dear friend of mine through his terminal illness. I would describe this friend as “a good man.” He is a really good man - married, faithful to his wife, children and family, God-fearing, and genuinely good to everybody. In more ways than one, he is a model for me. As the end of his life approaches, he shared some of his fears with me. Prominent among them is his fear of standing before God. As a pastor and friend, I know that he has nothing to fear. His life has been right and just. Yet, he says that he is afraid. I have not reached a conclusion whether his fear rises from the religious formation he received as a child, or it is the “Fear of the Lord,” which we know as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps it is the latter. This latter gift is also called “awe of God.” It means a healthy fear of God.
Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs
Today is the feast of St. Paul Miki and companions. They are 26 Japanese martyrs from 1597. As Vatican II confirms, martyrdom is one of the highest witnesses to love and an unquestionably powerful testimony to the Gospel and its demand to forgive our persecutors. Celebrating the feasts of martyrs from every age reminds us of the Council’s words that, “And while it [martyrdom] is given to few, all, however, must be prepared to confess Christ before humanity and to follow him along the way of the cross amid the persecutions which the Church never lacks” (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 42, Austin Flannery translation). There is another lesson I draw from this feast day, the danger of political hijacking.
Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr
Today’s gospel reading (Mark 6:14-29) is one of those scripture passages that makes a person wonder, “What, exactly, was God trying to inspire here?” The story of the beheading of John the Baptist is one that makes me feel a bit slimy, actually. Interestingly enough, some people have been captivated by this story. There have been many artworks commissioned, and plays and operas written about Salome, the young girl who requests to have John’s head on a platter at the behest of her mother. I still remember listening to Richard Strauss’s “Salome” in a college opera class, and thinking that even the music itself had been written to make me feel touched by something gross.
Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
You’ve heard the saying, “It’s better to give than to receive,” but I would like to argue that sometimes the opposite is true and harder to do. When we give to someone, especially if that person is in need, we can have a sense of having some power over that person, or of being somehow better, or in control of the situation. To receive, however, requires an openness, a humility, an acknowledgement that I am in need of something that the other person is offering, whether it be something tangible like a meal or place to stay or money, or something intangible like their listening ear, their service or assistance with something, or simply their love. I, at least, find that it is sometimes harder to let myself be vulnerable and graciously receive.
Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Walking with people in crisis is challenging and rewarding. It is a privilege to be on the holy ground in people’s lives and feel that one is making a difference. Somedays this journey can be especially tough as people are offered very limited options for their loved ones. These choices are often summed up in the three choices. One choice is to increase care, another is to continue the same level of care, and the third is to decrease the care being offered. This sounds like a straightforward choice until you realize the outcome of the care will likely be the same no matter what one chooses.
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
In today’s gospel, in the midst of Simeon’s prophecy, Mary gets some bad news. In what should have been a moment every bit as joyful as our tradition of baptizing our children, she hears that she is going to be run through by a sword! ‘Have a nice day!’
Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Showing mercy to someone that we love can be challenging at times, but looking at evil with eyes of mercy can only be done with the grace of God. Today’s scripture readings show us how God is calling us to look upon others- even those whose actions are cruel and violent- with a judgment that flows from mercy.
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
It is not uncommon for people to ask, “How did you decide to become a priest?” My answer often is a big sigh! First of all, it is a complex story. I find it hard to talk about my call to priesthood either as a casual conversation or a conversation that is time-constrained. The second reason is that my decision to become a priest was unlike Jeremiah’s call in today’s first reading. I did not hear voices or see visions. I was a teenager trying to figure out what to do. I did not even know if I wanted to be a priest. I simply wanted to try it out, and then, year after year, for twelve years continued to plough on. On the way, I faltered, I fell, I got up and fell again, and.… here I am today. Today, almost twenty-two years back, as I look back at my priesthood, I realize that this is my calling. The peace I have in the depth of my being… that is what assured me of my call.
Saturday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
It is striking how the same passage can speak into our lives in so many different ways. I have read this gospel a number of times and always find encouragement or conviction in a new area. This time it was conviction. I read the passage and thought to myself, “This is my prayer life.”
Friday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time
I've been feeling overwhelmed, lately, with the enormity of the world's problems - and with the relative difficulty of my own problems too. I just find myself thinking sometimes that I am doing everything wrong, and when combined with what I see as the "wrongness" of the world (war, famine, political arguments) everything looks pretty bleak. Maybe it's the grey skies of January, or maybe it's just post-Christmas depression, but I'm just not feeling my best, and it's easy to get caught up in feelings of desolateness.
Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church
“Take care what you hear,” Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel. To “take care” of something means to put time, energy and attention into it. The term “take care” often makes me think of taking care of a garden. Tending a garden involves giving it daily attention and focusing our energies on it. We must provide fruitful soil, remove the weeds and be attentive to its needs. A garden that is ill-planned and ignored will die. When we “take care” of something we are vowing to commit our time and energy into it, because we value it and find it important, which will then produce results, much like a bountiful harvest.
Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
"When the oxygen mask falls put it on yourself first and then help the others around you." These words are part of the universal safety talk given on airplanes before a flight. It seems counter-intuitive for people who wish to help others. On the other hand there are many times in our lives when we have inclinations toward self-centeredness. These times can naturally grow out of a need for self-preservation. More often, especially in our individualistic society, they are part of the pull of our culture. As Christians, we are called to go beyond self towards the other. The first and most important other is of course God. It is through our relationship with God, out of which all of our relationships should flow.
Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops
Scripture Readings (Reflection drawn specifically from the Gospel for this feast)
Around this time last year, I learned something very important about myself-- I was an addict.
Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops
Today we celebrate the Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus, spiritual children of St. Paul whose letters to them were inspired by God and consigned to Sacred Scripture. For today’s feast I have freely adapted the antiphon from today’s responsorial psalm (Psalm 96:3) to fit the theme from today’s readings that I wish to highlight.
Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle
After I graduated from high school I fell away from the Church. Truthfully, in my heart, I had fallen away long before that. Although my entire education took place in Roman Catholic schools, it felt very oppressing and I was only going through the motions from the time I was a sophomore in high school my mid-twenties. That is when my husband and I started our family and I knew we must care for the spirituality of our children. While I did all the things I was supposed to do as far as educating and informing our children about the Catholic faith, I had never had a personal experience of Jesus. Now I know how important that was.