The Virus "Stay at Home" - 30 Day Retreat - Day 2

When I was sick with cancer a few years back, someone told me to meditate on this biblical verse - 

1 Thessalonians 5:17-19  

“Pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.”

I could not imagine how to be thankful for having cancer, but I tried.  And miraculously, it changed everything. I began seeing my cancer as a gift, a gift that was changing me for the better, a gift that was leading me to a more meaningful life. A life where I learned how to thank God in all circumstances.

 

That lesson is coming in handy during this time of isolation and fear.  We must never forget if we’re praying about it, God is working on it. God is making things happen for us even when we don’t see it, even when you can’t feel it, even if it’s not evident. God is working on our prayers.  

Sometimes God’s plan is painful and hard. We must never forget He told us to take up our crosses and follow Him. And we must also never forget God changes caterpillars into butterflies, sand into pearls and coal into diamonds by using time and pressure. He is working on us too right now in this time of tension and anxiety.

A wise man once said: “You are where God wants you to be at this very moment. Every experience is part of His divine plan.”

St. Ignatius of Loyola warns us against two specific dangers during a time of retreat.

1. The danger of “self-centeredness." I should always keep in mind that I am wanted even more than I want to be wanted.  I must realize that I am being acted upon by the force of God.  He is drawing me.

2. The second danger is that of "Discouragement."  I must not look at the negative sides of things only.  I must not fall into the trap of only considering my faults, the ability I do not have, nor the past which I have left, nor the current challenge I’m facing.

Today acknowledge the power of being wanted and the power of one wanting me to be wanted.  Let go, fall into the arms of God. 

Prayer:

Enter a period of silent prayer. Asking God"  "What do you want me to learn from this?"

Pray to understand the Truth that God loves us wildly and wants the best for us –  “Taste and see how good the Lord is.”

Reflect on the words of Mary when she was facing an unexpected challenge:  Luke 1:38 And Mary said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”

The Virus "Stay at Home" - 30 Day Retreat

I've been asking myself how can I make this isolation more productive. We are all a little fearful of this whole mess.  The antidote to fear is getting in touch with God and his love for us.  So I thought I'd try having a retreat during this time.  I'll post it here on my blog for anyone who wishes to join me on this journey. 

Day 1 - “Come and See”

John 1: 35-39 The next day, John was standing there again with two of his disciples, when he saw Jesus walking by. "There is the Lamb of God!" he said.  The two disciples heard him say this and went with Jesus. Jesus turned, saw them following him, and asked, "What are you looking for?" They answered, "Where do you live, Rabbi?"  "Come and see," he replied.

"Come and "See," that is the call of our retreat.  To follow Jesus, to get to know Him, and see what he desires of us is the goal.  Like the disciples Jesus called, we too are asked to respond to his invitation, to follow Him, and get to know Him. The hope of this retreat, this time in forced isolation is to make it productive, spending time with Jesus, asking Him: What do you want of me?  What are you looking for from me?

In newspapers, magazines, T.V., the internet, etc. there are opinions expressed in the advertisements concerning what we should do, look, think, say, dress, etc.  Christ is the opposite.  He expresses no superficial opinions on what we should do, look, think, say, dress, etc. Instead, he communicates to us – the truth – of how and what we should do.  He said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will never pass away."  So why then do we listen more to the opinions of others that will pass away then His truth?  During these challenging times, let us focus on the truth of Christ, which will last?

During this retreat, let's be open and listen, obediently to Christ - not the world.

Let’s ask ourselves - What in my life am I afraid of?  Why am I fearful? 

As followers of Christ, as members of his Body, we must develop self-knowledge – the kind of knowledge that will lead us to love. We must want and desire to love and be loved with all our being. To come to Christ and see Him with fresh eyes. In this retreat, let's pray that we may genuinely seek to know the Risen Christ, here and now present.  In doing this, we are seeking His peace – the peace of a real friend. The peace beyond all understanding.

In the end, we want to be able to say: I hope in Christ because I have found that I am loved more than I can possibly love, and I am wanted by God even more than I want to be wanted.  When we "come and see" this incredible love God has for us, we are asked not merely to luxuriate in this love, we are asked to share it. Jesus told us – “If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.”  Let's all use this unique and strange time in our lives to love God and love each other more than ever. 

Prayer: O God allow us to put our hearts where Christ's is.  We beg you that we may be open to Christ, to be more loving and even more loveable, to worry less, and love more.  Amen

From my favorite teacher - enjoy

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Reflection: 
Christmas – the birth of Jesus – that we celebrate this week is one of the biggest events in human history. Just think, through the birth of Jesus, the powerful God of the universe became present among us as one of us.  Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable. Amazing.

Mary and Joseph were two very simple people.  A country girl and a lowly carpenter engaged to be married who lived in a very insignificant town in the Middle East.  No one would ever expect these two to bring God to the world.

Why did God do it this way? 
What’s the message in that for us?
Why was Jesus born to humble people and live such a simple life?

The answer has to be for our sake. So that we can be confident God understands our challenges; so that we can trust him.

The above Gospel story is all about trusting God.

Mary had to trust that even though she was a  virgin, she would give birth to a child by the Holy Spirit.  Mary did trust, and it was done to her, as the angel said. Joseph had to trust that Mary's pregnancy was indeed by the Holy Spirit. Even though Joseph could not understand how this could be possible, he put total faith and trust in the angel’s message to him. The point of the story of Mary and Joseph, the reason God entered the world the way he did, is because God wants us to try to be like them. They are our role models. He wants us to do what Joseph & Mary did.

Things will happen in our lives we never anticipated, as it did for them.  We can despair when the challenges come. We can question God.  We can worry about everything, or we can trust.  Trust that our God in heaven cares and has a plan. Mary and Joseph trusted God with their whole heart, and because they said YES to God, Jesus was able to come into the world, and everything changed.

Our mission in this world is just the same as theirs!  The message of our Gospel today for us is that we, too, must make that same act of trust as Joseph & Mary. We also must choose to welcome Jesus into our lives. And like Mary and Joseph, God has a plan for each of us. God sends each person into this world with a special message to deliver with a special act of love to bestow. No one else can speak our special message to the people in our lives. No one else can bestow our special act of love. Like Mary and Joseph, we are being invited to bring Christ into the world. If we don’t speak our message or perform our act of love, a part of God's plan goes unfulfilled; a part of God’s glory goes unseen.

None of us are too young or too old or too weak to take up the plan God has for us. That’s the message of Jesus’ humble birth. Regardless of who we are, what we have, or don't have, we have a mission in this world. It was given to us by God himself.

This call from God, besides requiring that we trust God, requires us to trust in ourselves just as Mary and Joseph did that day. We must trust in our own goodness. We must trust in our own value. We must trust that God made us for some special purpose.

Listen to where He leads you – you won’t be disappointed.

Called to Love Homily 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

During the time of Jesus, the culture lived by the concept of reciprocal justice: "An eye for an eye."  But Jesus turned that idea upside down. He challenged his followers - he challenged us - during the Sermon on the Mount saying: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your Father in heaven."  Our Father in heaven is loving, and as his children, our call is to be like him.

These past few weeks, there has been an overwhelming amount of tragic violence and a seemingly ever-growing amount of hatred expressed towards those who are blamed for causing these acts of violence. Hatred eats away at us. These days you can almost feel the hate tearing us apart.
   
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus said: “more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” (Luke 12:48)  We Christians we are the ones who have been entrusted with more, and therefore more is demanded from us. Jesus is talking about spiritual wealth. What we are entrusted with is FAITH. In the book of Hebrews, we hear the only explicit definition of faith in the Bible: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)  What we have been entrusted with is a hopeful faith. And this faith calls us to love always, even those we see as enemies.  Therefore, we need to ask ourselves:

Is that what people around us see and hear from us a hopeful faith, a faith that loves?

God demands that we rise above the hatred and the rancor and respond to our society with love. Love for all. Even those we disagree with even those we can't stand. Luke writes in the 12th chapter of his Gospel (Luke 12:32-48)  a collection of short parables Jesus spoke in which the main characters are a master and his servants.

The master in the story is the risen Jesus, the risen Christ who we believe will come again. That is our hope, that is our faith. The servants are his followers. We are his servants. According to these master-servant parables, the future coming of Jesus is certain, but its precise time is not known. The parables tell us the proper attitude for the servants is to be ready for the master’s return, to be continually watching. The hope of the faithful servants is on the master's return, they will enjoy the fullness of God's kingdom.

In the parable, Jesus gives us the most radical image of what that will look like! Jesus said:

“Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table and proceed to wait on them.”

Do you hear that?  God will put on his work clothes and serve us!  That’s heaven!

No wonder we pray each week hopefully: “Thy Kingdom Come.” Jesus is telling us: “Do not be afraid any longer for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” A kingdom where we are the object of his service, his love. That’s genuinely good news. The servants - we - are entrusted with the management of the household, which of course is the world until Jesus returns. And our job is to make sure all know this good news. The “Good News” that we serve a God who is so full of love he’s ready to serve us.

The master could return any moment - at the end of our lives or at the end of the world - and he is expecting to find everything in order when he comes. That’s our calling, through our hopeful faith, we are called to prepare the world for his return.

Hatred is not what Jesus expects to find.                                             

He wants us to share the Good News that our God is a God of love not hate. And he put us his servants in charge to make sure the world is a loving place. We have been called to cling to this hope of a future where there is no hatred, only God loving on us. And us sharing that love with others.                                 
How are we doing? When the Lord comes will he find a loving world? Will we pass the test?

It starts with each one of us!

Father Pedro Arrupe, S.J. - soon to be a saint - once said:

"I pray that I continue to look for and find God
and that I am amazed with joy and gratitude."

He gave us words to live by:

Nothing is more practical than
finding God, than
falling in Love

in a quite absolute, final way.

What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination,
will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read,
whom you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love,
stay in love,
and it will decide everything.

Martha and Mary ... Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 10:38-42)

Any of us who have been coming to Mass for a few years know the Martha and Mary story. When we hear their names, many of us think, oh yeah, Martha is the grouchy sister that needs an attitude adjustment, and Mary is the good sister. Martha is so often seen as "the lesser" example for us when compared to her sister Mary.  But maybe that's not fair. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m kind of a Martha fan.

Martha clearly seems to be the leader of the family. Luke tells us that she is the one who welcomed Jesus to the village. She took charge of the hospitality, just like Abraham did when the LORD came to his town. That said, you must admire Mary too.  She seemed to figure out that having Jesus in the house was something amazing, and sitting at his feet and listening was an incredible opportunity. She saw it as a better way to spend her time.  And can you blame her? If Jesus showed up at your house, would you rather sit listening to him or fix dinner?

For me, both sisters are admirable.  You have the servant leader of the family Martha doing what needs to be done.  And the scholarly one Mary who recognizes the rare opportunity to learn from and pray with Jesus. Both are serving Jesus but choosing different ways to serve. I think Luke set up this story when he wrote his Gospel. Look at where Luke positions this story. I don’t think it’s an accident.

Right before this story comes the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is the ultimate story of discipleship as service. And right after the Martha and Mary story, Luke tells how the disciples come to Jesus and say: “Lord, teach us to pray. Which is where we learn the Our Father the most important prayer Christians have. So, you see, the sister of service and the sister of prayer and contemplation are sandwiched right in between the two passages which emphasize the importance of both. There isn't just one way to follow Jesus. In my mind, both sisters demonstrate equally valid and essential examples of leadership. One shows us the importance of study and prayer. The other sister is a person of action who takes charge and cares for the needs of others. She shows us faith in action. Both Mary and Martha teach all men and women to have faith in Jesus as they seek their mission, their form of service.

But there is something more to this story than their examples.  It’s important not to miss how radical Jesus was. Jesus consistently challenged the prevailing culture exposing its flaws. What Jesus was doing was a radical change in that culture. He was elevating women in the discipleship community.

The mistake Martha made that day was to get so caught up in her servants’ heart, so full of worry about her hostess duties that she completely misses the more important point.  Jesus says to her, "there is need of only one thing."   Not many things. The greater need is to accept my invitation to be fully accepted as a disciple.

Luke tells us that day, Mary "sat beside the Lord at his feet, listening to him speak."  In that time, this is the normal position of the male disciple. To sit at the feet of a rabbi meant that a person was one of his disciples. Martha was so busy that day she missed the plan Jesus had for her. He was challenging the cultures traditional belief of a woman’s place. Jesus’ praise for Mary was that she “got it.” And she dared to act in a way that was against the expectations for women at that time.

In the story of The Good Samaritan Jesus makes the hero someone that no one in that society would ever have seen as a hero - a Samaritan.  In the story of Martha and Mary Jesus again does something just as shocking.  He invites Mary to the same level as - a male disciple. Once again, Jesus does something no one in that society would expect. To call women to be equal to the men in discipleship was radical. So radical Marta missed it. That was her mistake. She missed the opportunity Jesus was calling her to because she was too busy with busy work.

We do that, don't we?  We get so caught up in the day-to-day work, the chores and things of life, that we forget to spend quality time with Jesus.  And because of that, we can miss how he is calling us. Our call as his followers, his disciples, is a call to be like Him, to shake up a world that needs change. Jesus is saying to us like he did Martha that day, "you are anxious and worried about many things," but you really only need one thing. And that’s to follow me, to be my disciple in the world.” What’s causing you anxiety and holding you back from seeing what Jesus is calling you to do?

We need to learn from Mary and spend more time with Jesus sitting at his feet carving out time each day to listen and pray.  Can you hear him saying today …?                                                                                   
I’m calling you to be my disciple regardless of who you are!                 

How are you going to respond?… …  Radically, I hope!