Our human nature is destined for greatness. We will share in the very glory of God. It has already begun to shine in our nature in the Person of Jesus Christ and in those who live in His Light. The Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor was a moment in time that was witnessed by human beings. It was a moment of intense prayer, when the Lord Himself was so thoroughly immersed in the Love of His Father and in the Truth of the Law and the Prophets that the Heavens opened. Moses and Elijah were with Him on the mountain, revealing that He is the fulfillment of their journeys, the unveiling of the Revelation that was given to them in many and various ways. The Father's Voice renewed the experience at the Baptism of the Lord: "This is My Beloved Son; Listen to Him."
Peter, James and John did not grasp the meaning of this encounter, but they knew that something profound had taken place. They had a glimpse of the Power at work in Jesus. This taste of glory was operating in them as they lived through the painful events of the Lord's Passion and Death. They came to understand something of its meaning when He rose from the dead. For us, it is a reminder that our human nature is destined for glory and, through Christ, is capable of it. We are, by grace, capax Dei, capable of being in union with God.
In the light of the Transfiguration, we experience hope. God's Plan include us as we are, human beings who share human nature with Jesus Christ. May our intuition of glory sustain us through the struggles of life in this world.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Proclamation of the Kingdom & Call to Conversion
From the moment Jesus returned from the desert with its temptaions, He had two major subjects that He presented to any who would listen. First and foremost, He proclaimed the Kingdom of God. In His own Person, God was intervening in the world in such a way as to bring the Kingdom among us. Second, but equally important, He offered the opportunity to all who heard Him to a change of mind and heart. The Call to Conversion is a constant call to every human being. The only way to be open to the Kingdom is to change mind and heart to accommodate the Revelation of God.
God's ways and thoughts are above our ways and thoughts. The Kingdom of God, the gift of Eternity, is beyond anything this world can offer. In order for me to learn something of what God wants me to experience, I have to let go of what I already know and possess. Jesus invites me to enter His world. "Turn away from sin and believe the Good News." The beginning of Jesus' public ministry is found in this twofold message: the Kingdom and Conversion.
The hearts of those who approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation are already open to Jesus' double message. They are sincerely sorry for past sinful choices and they are ready to leave them behind. They are also ready for something new: a new way of being, new habits and behaviors that correspond to the gift of Mercy experienced in the Sacrament.
We are all invited to share Jesus' passion for the Kingdom and to call others to His Way of Life.
God's ways and thoughts are above our ways and thoughts. The Kingdom of God, the gift of Eternity, is beyond anything this world can offer. In order for me to learn something of what God wants me to experience, I have to let go of what I already know and possess. Jesus invites me to enter His world. "Turn away from sin and believe the Good News." The beginning of Jesus' public ministry is found in this twofold message: the Kingdom and Conversion.
The hearts of those who approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation are already open to Jesus' double message. They are sincerely sorry for past sinful choices and they are ready to leave them behind. They are also ready for something new: a new way of being, new habits and behaviors that correspond to the gift of Mercy experienced in the Sacrament.
We are all invited to share Jesus' passion for the Kingdom and to call others to His Way of Life.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Wedding Feast of Cana
A Wedding gathers family. Family grows, adding in new members, now related by marriage, and friends join in. A Mother is invited. Because she is there, her Son comes too. Having ventured out into the world, He now brings friends along--His disciples. They know that He is Someone important, but as yet, they have not seen all. In the midst of this celebration, there is a reminder that not everyone is always ready for all the guests. Who knew that there would be thirsty fishermen in the crowd? They have no wine.
The Mother tells her Son. It is not time, He says. She steps away, "Do whatever He tells you." It is time. He speaks a simple command: "Draw water." Moses struck the rock. Water flowed. Water abounds. He makes it Wine. Not just any Wine, but the best Wine. Beginning to attend to His every Word, His disciples discern something New. They see His Glory, for the first time. They begin to believe in Him.
Lack is not an obstacle. A Mother's Heart once again says "Yes" and lets it be. And the fullness of time arrives for Glory to be seen. No angels sing out. This time it is only human beings at a Wedding Feast. The Bridegroom makes Himself present to His Bride. Eyes that are attentive and Ears that are listening begin to grasp the deeper meaning. The Light shines forth and grace abounds.
How happy the Bride and Groom! It is a moment of joy and fulfillment. May we open our hearts to drink deeply of the New Wine.
The Mother tells her Son. It is not time, He says. She steps away, "Do whatever He tells you." It is time. He speaks a simple command: "Draw water." Moses struck the rock. Water flowed. Water abounds. He makes it Wine. Not just any Wine, but the best Wine. Beginning to attend to His every Word, His disciples discern something New. They see His Glory, for the first time. They begin to believe in Him.
Lack is not an obstacle. A Mother's Heart once again says "Yes" and lets it be. And the fullness of time arrives for Glory to be seen. No angels sing out. This time it is only human beings at a Wedding Feast. The Bridegroom makes Himself present to His Bride. Eyes that are attentive and Ears that are listening begin to grasp the deeper meaning. The Light shines forth and grace abounds.
How happy the Bride and Groom! It is a moment of joy and fulfillment. May we open our hearts to drink deeply of the New Wine.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Baptism of the Lord
At the moment of Jesus' Baptism by John in the Jordan, a manifestation of the Glory of the Lord and the Relationships of the Holy Trinity took place. The Scriptures make it clear that something truly mystical unfolded there. As the different Gospels present a description of what happened in that scene, it is evident that it affected all who were part of it in a profound way. Jesus was touched by it and went out into the desert for 40 days afterwards, returning to take up His public ministry. John the Baptist experienced a confirmation of his own ministry and a sense of the fulfillment for which he was looking. Bystanders saw a physical sign of the Presence of the Holy Spirit. The Father weighed in on the beginning of His Son's public ministry with the spoken affirmation of favor.
The Mystery of the Lord's Baptism points to the grace of Baptism as it is given to each Christian. There is a relationship with God, a Providential favor that is bestowed upon every son and daughter, adopted into the family of God through Baptism. The Presence and action of the Holy Spirit, although now hidden, is still very real. The humanity of Jesus first received the grace that would be poured out in time on all who believe in Him.
A call, a vocation, a ministry is entrusted to each human being who is open to receive the touch of grace. Assent in Faith to the invitation to be one with God through Jesus and to share God's Life and Love with the community of believers makes possible a public witness of relationship with God. The waters of the Jordan are a sign of the waters of Baptism that flows freely from the moment the Sacrament is received until they well up into Eternal Life.
The Mystery of the Lord's Baptism points to the grace of Baptism as it is given to each Christian. There is a relationship with God, a Providential favor that is bestowed upon every son and daughter, adopted into the family of God through Baptism. The Presence and action of the Holy Spirit, although now hidden, is still very real. The humanity of Jesus first received the grace that would be poured out in time on all who believe in Him.
A call, a vocation, a ministry is entrusted to each human being who is open to receive the touch of grace. Assent in Faith to the invitation to be one with God through Jesus and to share God's Life and Love with the community of believers makes possible a public witness of relationship with God. The waters of the Jordan are a sign of the waters of Baptism that flows freely from the moment the Sacrament is received until they well up into Eternal Life.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Immaculate Conception
Our God is a God of Providence. He provides for our needs and ensures that we have all the resources we need to be and to do what He asks of us. We are utterly surrounded by God's Love. Mary is addressed by the Angel as "highly favored," also translated "full of grace." She is told that she has "found favor with God." Literally, the angel says, "you have found grace in God's eyes." In other words, there is a special sparkle, a glint in God's eye for this highly favored daughter. We have come to understand one aspect of this fullness of favor as her unique privilege of being made in perfection from the first moment of her existence, being kept free from original sin.
In simple terms, the Church's Faith says that Mary was preserved as free from sin in view of the merits of her Son's Redemptive Act, for the sake of her ministry as the Mother of the Son of God. She notes in her Magnificat that the All-Powerful God "has looked upon her in her lowliness." God's purifying and redeeming look has a power beyond our understanding. In Mary's case, it gives her the gift of perfect human nature, so that she can freely cooperate with God's plan of Salvation, giving human nature to her Son Jesus.
This simple, wonderful "fact" of Mary's sinless human nature is a renewal, a "clean start" for the human race. Adam and Eve were created sinless. By their choice, they failed to pass on that state to us their children. God chose to renew humanity in Mary and her Son, the New Adam and the New Eve, cooperating with God's grace for all humanity.
The truth of the Immaculate Conception is a reminder that God can still reach our human nature even under the stain of sin. In Baptism, our original sin is washed away. Althoug we are not conceived without sin, we are born again of water and the Spirit and grace is given to us.
In simple terms, the Church's Faith says that Mary was preserved as free from sin in view of the merits of her Son's Redemptive Act, for the sake of her ministry as the Mother of the Son of God. She notes in her Magnificat that the All-Powerful God "has looked upon her in her lowliness." God's purifying and redeeming look has a power beyond our understanding. In Mary's case, it gives her the gift of perfect human nature, so that she can freely cooperate with God's plan of Salvation, giving human nature to her Son Jesus.
This simple, wonderful "fact" of Mary's sinless human nature is a renewal, a "clean start" for the human race. Adam and Eve were created sinless. By their choice, they failed to pass on that state to us their children. God chose to renew humanity in Mary and her Son, the New Adam and the New Eve, cooperating with God's grace for all humanity.
The truth of the Immaculate Conception is a reminder that God can still reach our human nature even under the stain of sin. In Baptism, our original sin is washed away. Althoug we are not conceived without sin, we are born again of water and the Spirit and grace is given to us.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Finding in the Temple
At the age of 12, Jesus goes up to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph, as was the family custom. Something new happens on this journey. He is no longer an infant, no longer a child. His "place" in the family is now ready to change. Neither Mary nor Joseph are surprised that He might be someplace else in the caravan. But there is something new happening. When He has to choose His place, He chooses the one place that serves to draw Him into the Presence of His Heavenly Father, the Temple. He remains there as the family departs without Him.
When Mary and Joseph discover that Jesus is not with them, they are distressed. They retrace their steps and return to Jerusalem. When they find Him, He is in the Temple, speaking to the teachers there, listening and asking questions, understanding and leading to deeper understanding in those who speak to Him. Seeing this scene, Mary is able to express to her Son the nature of the distress that she and Joseph have shared. And Jesus is able to respond to her from His new "place." Nonetheless, He returns with them to Nazareth and remains under their authority.
"Why did you look for Me? Did you not know I had to be in My Father's House?" Jesus says to His mother. He is inviting her to know Him in a new, more intimate way. The unity between mother and Son has always been present. It will continue to grow until that moment when the Son is on the Cross. At this moment, Mary has a pang in her heart. No doubt she recalls the words Simeon spoke to her a dozen years before in this very Temple. She does not yet know the depth of the pain that will come one day. For now, she has a few more years of peace with Jesus and Joseph. Yet, she must begin to create more room for her Son as He walks His own way. Her relationship to Him is changing. More and more, He must be about His Father's business.
With the Finding in the Temple, we meet Jesus in an experience that is very human. So many families can relate to the experience of the child lost or left behind. Teens and young adults can relate to the need to separate from parents in the journey of finding their own identity. Jesus reveals the way to negotiate through this human experience: honesty of purpose and, at the same time, an attitude of obedience.
In our world today, so many are lost and confused about their identity. In an effort to "find themselves" and to express their uniqueness, many are duped into establishing false selves or into defining their identity by aspects of themselves that are not the real center. The Finding in the Temple shows how one's true identity is to be discovered: through attending to relationship with the Living God. Seeking God first and being in His Temple will serve to bring each of us to the truth of who we are in God.
When Mary and Joseph discover that Jesus is not with them, they are distressed. They retrace their steps and return to Jerusalem. When they find Him, He is in the Temple, speaking to the teachers there, listening and asking questions, understanding and leading to deeper understanding in those who speak to Him. Seeing this scene, Mary is able to express to her Son the nature of the distress that she and Joseph have shared. And Jesus is able to respond to her from His new "place." Nonetheless, He returns with them to Nazareth and remains under their authority.
"Why did you look for Me? Did you not know I had to be in My Father's House?" Jesus says to His mother. He is inviting her to know Him in a new, more intimate way. The unity between mother and Son has always been present. It will continue to grow until that moment when the Son is on the Cross. At this moment, Mary has a pang in her heart. No doubt she recalls the words Simeon spoke to her a dozen years before in this very Temple. She does not yet know the depth of the pain that will come one day. For now, she has a few more years of peace with Jesus and Joseph. Yet, she must begin to create more room for her Son as He walks His own way. Her relationship to Him is changing. More and more, He must be about His Father's business.
With the Finding in the Temple, we meet Jesus in an experience that is very human. So many families can relate to the experience of the child lost or left behind. Teens and young adults can relate to the need to separate from parents in the journey of finding their own identity. Jesus reveals the way to negotiate through this human experience: honesty of purpose and, at the same time, an attitude of obedience.
In our world today, so many are lost and confused about their identity. In an effort to "find themselves" and to express their uniqueness, many are duped into establishing false selves or into defining their identity by aspects of themselves that are not the real center. The Finding in the Temple shows how one's true identity is to be discovered: through attending to relationship with the Living God. Seeking God first and being in His Temple will serve to bring each of us to the truth of who we are in God.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple
The joy in the heart of Mary and Joseph and the joy of God the Father at the moment of the Presentation of the Infant Child Jesus in the Temple had to have been incredible. Here, for the very first time since the dawn of the creation of human beings, a Perfect Humanity was given back to God, presented to Him in an act of worship.
It could have been an action that went unnoticed, just a young couple showing up at the Temple as expected by the Law. Instead, it proved to be a moment of completion, fulfillment and prophecy of consummation. The parents presented the Son of God, having accepted Him into their lives, now responding to the dictates of the Law. The just man Joseph and the sinless, immaculately conceived Virgin Mary, presented to God His own capstone, the Son of God and Son of Mary, accepted as the foster but full Son of Joseph, and so Son of David--the Messiah promised to the Anawim, the Poor in Spirit who longed for the consolation of Jerusalem. At this precise time, two unique persons caught a glimpse of the glory in the Child.
Simeon, moved by the Spirit, experiences his last and greatest encounter with the Living God, speaks a prophetic word to Mary's heart, and praises God for the Gift that he sees, the Light to the Nations and the Glory of Israel. Anna, a prophetess in her own right, there at that moment because she was always there, sees and knows and speaks of that joy to all who would listen. The parents marvel at the effect of their Child even before He Who Is the Word of God speaks His first Word--Abba.
There is a hint of the Suffering that will be born by this Perfect Human Nature. Already, Mary's heart is pierced by Simeon's prophecy of division occasioned by the Presence of Jesus and of her sharing in that in her own way. How sad Joseph must have been to see the hint of this in Mary's eyes, knowing that he could not protect her from such pain. Pondering in her heart, Mary would find the strength and courage to accept this reality as part of her Yes, the Fiat already spoken.
We can all share in the giving of humanity back to God. That is the one thing we are capable of doing through an act of the will and an attitude of worship. Husbands and Wives can do this for one another. Parents can do it for their children as they bring them to the Sacraments. All who are baptized may renew their self-gift each time they call to mind their Baptism and respond to the grace of the other Sacraments they encounter.
We see that Jesus followed the example of His earthly parents in His willingness to give up His humanity to us -- both on the Cross and through His enduring Eucharistic Presence.
May we come to know the joy of giving all we are and all we possess back to God, and so come to know the power of the Spirit Who stretches us toward that Perfect Humanity that Is in Jesus Christ.
It could have been an action that went unnoticed, just a young couple showing up at the Temple as expected by the Law. Instead, it proved to be a moment of completion, fulfillment and prophecy of consummation. The parents presented the Son of God, having accepted Him into their lives, now responding to the dictates of the Law. The just man Joseph and the sinless, immaculately conceived Virgin Mary, presented to God His own capstone, the Son of God and Son of Mary, accepted as the foster but full Son of Joseph, and so Son of David--the Messiah promised to the Anawim, the Poor in Spirit who longed for the consolation of Jerusalem. At this precise time, two unique persons caught a glimpse of the glory in the Child.
Simeon, moved by the Spirit, experiences his last and greatest encounter with the Living God, speaks a prophetic word to Mary's heart, and praises God for the Gift that he sees, the Light to the Nations and the Glory of Israel. Anna, a prophetess in her own right, there at that moment because she was always there, sees and knows and speaks of that joy to all who would listen. The parents marvel at the effect of their Child even before He Who Is the Word of God speaks His first Word--Abba.
There is a hint of the Suffering that will be born by this Perfect Human Nature. Already, Mary's heart is pierced by Simeon's prophecy of division occasioned by the Presence of Jesus and of her sharing in that in her own way. How sad Joseph must have been to see the hint of this in Mary's eyes, knowing that he could not protect her from such pain. Pondering in her heart, Mary would find the strength and courage to accept this reality as part of her Yes, the Fiat already spoken.
We can all share in the giving of humanity back to God. That is the one thing we are capable of doing through an act of the will and an attitude of worship. Husbands and Wives can do this for one another. Parents can do it for their children as they bring them to the Sacraments. All who are baptized may renew their self-gift each time they call to mind their Baptism and respond to the grace of the other Sacraments they encounter.
We see that Jesus followed the example of His earthly parents in His willingness to give up His humanity to us -- both on the Cross and through His enduring Eucharistic Presence.
May we come to know the joy of giving all we are and all we possess back to God, and so come to know the power of the Spirit Who stretches us toward that Perfect Humanity that Is in Jesus Christ.
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