Fifth Sunday of Lent - 2020 - Passion Sunday

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

Back in March of this year the Stock Markets were at an all-time high. Politicians were ready to claim credit for all the good things that were happening in hopes that it will enhance their chances of re-election. Then this little fellow appeared on the scene and everything changed. Not only did this near invisible creature take over running society but it entered religion and shut down all the churches.  So what's it all about, life on planet earth? When you examine the social/political structures of our world, it is evident that there are many different approaches people have undertaken to make their societies work and to give life meaning and purpose. Here are the five most common political systems operating around the world: Democracy: in a more traditional sense is a political system that allows for each individual to participate. Republic: the main characteristic of a republic is that the government is subject to the people, and leaders can be recalled. Monarchy: commonly thought as absolute monarchy, in which the monarch truly has the ultimate say in matters of government. Communism: where states are dominated by a single party, or a group of people, often considered an authoritarian political system. Dictatorship: where a dictator is the main individual ruling the country making most of the decisions, and usually having enforcers. In all of these systems, those having power and authority make the rules by which everyone is to conduct their life in that society. When a person refuses to live by the rules, they will be punished, they are taken by force and separated from the rest of the society. The most severe form of this is execution, otherwise it is imprisonment. But there is one overall governing order for everything that exists, which we know as God's Kingdom of heaven and earth. God alone is the creator of heaven and earth. It is God, who has designed the heavenly realms and all that they contain. It is God who created the universe we know and assigned everything its purpose in creation. God created this world and gave life to all living things. The crowning form of all life that God created is human kind; it is us, who scripture reveals are created in God's image and likeness. So why are we here? Philosophy and science, and all the social designs of man, can only bring us to the outer doorstep of the visible universe. They have no way of accessing, directly, knowledge of the Kingdom of God, nor can they tell us anything of the special purpose God has designed for us in creation. For this information we must turn to revelation. Revelation tells us that God, who has given us natural life, has planned for us to be transformed and to take on a new form of existence. We are to live in God's presence, in harmony and peace forever. To live in God's presence, we must first learn how to live in God's presence. Our minds and hearts must be purified of all falsehood. They must be re-formed into perfect harmony with God's will. This purification of our minds and hearts begins here, in this life. The bible has our books of studies, and our lessons of formation begins with the Ten Commandments. Revelation tells us that among the heavenly beings that God created, there were some who rebelled, rejecting the purpose God had given them. Because of this they were expelled from God's presence. They are the Fallen Angels or Devils and Lucifer is their leader. But their ongoing rebellion against God's creative design continues. Now they attempt to persuade us, to reject God's plan and join them in their rebellion. (There is a tradition that suggests that the reason some angels revolted was learning about God's plan to give man, this lowly worm that evolves out of the mud of the earth, a dignity that will be higher than they; What is man that you are mindful of him, and a son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him little less than a god, crowned him with glory and honor. Ps. 8:5) Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Rev. 12:7 Their strategy is simple, lies and deception. And so it begins: Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Gen. 3:1 There is a REASON for everything. But who assigns that reason? How do we know what is true? Who do you believe? If you believe in God, then you must trust, must give your whole existence over in faith. But what if you are wrong? It's this seed of doubt with its many convincing arguments, that is constantly whispered in your soul - are you sure - but what if ...? Today, one of the predominant propositions set before us is atheism; "there is no God". It is up to you to determine, "what is good and evil".  A spin off of this is the discrediting of religion. Who's God do you believe? Why do religions fight each other? What of all the scandals if religion is so holy? If God is good, why all the suffering in the world? If there is a God, where is the evidence? And you, you who believe, why is doubt always there in the back of your mind?  And then there is the ever present, "I'm a good person, I can figure out 'what is good and evil'." Lent begins with Jesus in the wilderness, but not alone. It climaxes in the garden, and again, he is not alone. That voice, ever present voice, questioning, casting a pall of doubt and fear; twisting, deceiving, ever rational and logical, yet always outside of the whole truth works on him. In the wilderness, Jesus' response is precise and clear, dispatching his antagonist summarily. But in the garden the voice has returned with a new weapon. What is it, how is it able to crush the heart of Jesus so that the very sweat of his struggle is his life's blood? We discover it in Jesus' words on the cross. “My God, my God, why have you abandon me?” Abandonment. There is nothing more destructive to a trusting faith than to experience being abandon. St.  Ignatius, in his rules for discernment, tells us that God will allow some souls to experience such a test. He calls it "desolation". The full weight of all the negative arguments against one's trust comes crashing down. The soul is left alone and is no match for the Prince of Darkness. Once our faith has passed through the test of abandonment, the devil has no greater weapon left with which to attack our faith. Jesus brings with him into the garden his disciples, to pray with him as he prepares to enter his test of abandonment. He comes and finds them sleeping, (a condition not unfamiliar to many believers). His exhortation to them and to us: "Stay awake and prayer, that you may not undergo the TEST"  As we enter these final days of Lent, Jesus' exhortation is now addressed to us. Are you ready and awake? Are you praying for the grace of "unshakable trust"? + + + + + + + In his passion of ABANDONMENT, Jesus' prayer on the Cross draws on the words of psalm 22. It offers us much support and inspiration for our prayer at this time. The following is the first part of psalm 22. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why so far from my call for help, from my cries of anguish? My God, I call by day, but you do not answer; by night, but I have no relief. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the glory of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted and you rescued them. To you they cried out and they escaped; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. But I am a worm, not a man, scorned by men, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they curl their lips and jeer; they shake their heads at me: “He relied on the LORD—let him deliver him; if he loves him, let him rescue him.” For you drew me forth from the womb, made me safe at my mother’s breasts. Upon you I was thrust from the womb; since my mother bore me you are my God. Do not stay far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help.

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Fourth Sunday of Lent - 2020

Doctor Brant Pitre - Catholic Productions The Man Born Blind So they say "who sinned, this man or his parents?” And Jesus says "neither, neither this man nor his parents, but his blindness in this case is so that the work of God might be manifest in him." LINK to the Video

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From an Earlier Post. 

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Wisdom from the Church Fathers

From a sermon by Saint Peter Chrysologus, bishop Office of Readings, Tuesday, 3rd Week of Lent Prayer knocks, fasting obtains, mercy receives. There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other. Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others you open God’s ear to yourself. When you fast, see the fasting of others. If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery. Let this be the pattern for all men when they practice mercy: show mercy to others in the same way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as you want others to show mercy to you. Therefore, let prayer, mercy and fasting be one single plea to God on our behalf, one speech in our defense, a threefold united prayer in our favor. Let us use fasting to make up for what we have lost by despising others. Let us offer our souls in sacrifice by means of fasting. There is nothing more pleasing that we can offer to God, as the psalmist said in prophecy: A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God does not despise a bruised and humbled heart. Offer your soul to God, make him an oblation of your fasting, so that your soul may be a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own and at the same time made over to God. Whoever fails to give this to God will not be excused, for if you are to give him yourself you are never without the means of giving. To make these acceptable, mercy must be added. Fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mercy. Fasting dries up when mercy dries up. Mercy is to fasting as rain is to the earth. However much you may cultivate your heart, clear the soil of your nature, root out vices, sow virtues, if you do not release the springs of mercy, your fasting will bear no fruit. When you fast, if your mercy is thin your harvest will be thin; when you fast, what you pour out in mercy overflows into your barn. Therefore, do not lose by saving, but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor, and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to give to others.

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Third Sunday of Lent - 2020

Ancestrally, Samaritans claim to be descent from the tribe of Ephraim and tribe of Manasseh (two sons of Joseph, O.T.) as well as from the Levites. They occupied the region of Israel between Judea in the south and Galilee to the north. Some Religious their beliefs: That there is one God, YHWH, the same God recognized by the Hebrew prophets. That the Torah, the Law, was given by God to Moses. That Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is the one true sanctuary chosen by Israel’s God to worship Him. Samaritans were considered unclean heretics by the Jews whom they despised even more than they despised Gentiles. Now the Samaritan woman’s life is a total mess and by engaging with her Jesus is breaking all the conventional norms of shunning the Jews practiced toward Samaritans. The woman is totally surprised by Jesus’ willingness to engage with her and his disciples where dumbfounded when they saw him doing so. But Jesus tells them that he has come not to perpetuate division but to unite all peoples by taking them to a higher state of religious belief and practice. “The hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” This proclamation by Jesus is no less relevant for us to hear today than for these in today’s gospel. True religion, true worship comes down from God – it is God acting on the believer – it is a work of the Spirit. The worshipper cooperates by seeking after this outpouring of God’s grace. We create rituals around this “sacred act” of the Spirit. They are intended to help us to recognize and cooperate with the Spirit acting in us. We must never forget that it is not the rituals that make worship true, it is our humble surrender to the action of the Spirit working within us that makes our worship true and fruitful. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that it is not the mountain that makes worship true. During lent we are asked to examine the quality of our worship. Just showing up in church on Sunday is not enough. Merely reciting prayer formulas by rote while our mind is way off shopping is not true prayer. Rituals play an important part, and when they are performed with reverence and devotion, they serve to help us rise up into God’s grace acting upon us. Let us always come to worship with such disposition of mind and heart.

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Second Sunday of Lent - 2020

The Second Sunday presents us with the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus. The word transfiguration comes from a Greek word from which we get the word metamorphosis, meaning a radical change. An example that illustrates this well is the butterfly. It begins as worm like leaf eater, then after a time wrapped in a cocoon it emerges as a beautiful butterfly able fly. So here Jesus appearance is being radically transfigured, radically transformed. And as this happens Peter, James, and John can see Jesus’ divine glory. Remember Matthew gospel was first written to first century Jews. When they heard these details of the transfiguration, they would immediately make the connection with Moses on Mount Sinai. Some of these connections with the Transfiguration of Jesus and Moses’ experience on Mount Sinai are: * Moses goes up the mountain taking three companions – Jesus take with him Peter, James and john. * When Moses went up the mountain of Sinai, it says that “when he came down his face shone with the glory of having been in the presence of God,” * When Jesus goes up the mountain, his face is transfigured and it shines like the sun with its own light - similar to Moses but is greater than Moses, because he's being revealed as the divine son of God. * In the Moses experience a cloud descends upon him; it says that “God spoke to Moses from the cloud.”   * In the Transfiguration of Jesus the voice of the Father speaks from the cloud and says the words, “this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” So, for the first century Jews they would see in the Transfiguration the revelation of one who is even greater than Moses. Jesus is acting like a new Moses, but he's a new and greater Moses, and he's bringing the disciples up that mountain to encounter God, to enter into the mystery of God and to also reveal to them his divine Sonship. What is the meaning of the Transfiguration for us today? As for Peter, James and John Jesus is preparing them for the scandal of the Cross. When they and the other disciples see Jesus’ passion and death their faith will suffer a crushing blow. So for us we also see in the Transfiguration the glory and power of God revealing Jesus as our Lord and Saviour – for  we too must face the crushing blows that our own trials will bring against our faith – faith that for some will be lost. This is why Lent is such an important time because it is during Lent that through prayer and meditation, we seal in one unbreakable bond the glorious Transfiguration with the passion of Jesus. So that we can face our trials with the vision of the victorious Christ - so seared into our memory that no suffering we face will ever separate us from our confident trust in the Lord. May I recommend that this be the way for you pray and meditate this Lent. As you look up at the Crucified Jesus, see also the vision of the glorious risen Christ.

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First Sunday of Lent - 2020

Some reflections for prayer on the First Sunday of Lent Gospel for the First Sunday Lent invites us to go with Jesus into the wilderness – not literally, rather into the wilderness of or our own minds & hearts. Like Jesus, we want our own integrity to be tested, to examine the true quality of our faith. What kind of believer am I? So, let us look at the three tests to which Jesus was subjected by the devil, which are the same tests we too must face this Lent. The first test: integrity, security of our lives, "my bread of life". It is said that we are living in the Age of Individualism – the “Me First Generation", the “What-ever-makes-you-happy” generation. That is “my truth”, and it’s my right to have what I need and want to make me happy. Jesus’ response: Truth comes from God the creator. The true goal of every life is to discover and pursue God’s plan for my existence. The question I must ask myself is what truth is shaping my life? What is my daily bread I seek and desire each day? The second test: proof; seeing is believing.  We are also called the Scientific Age. Sound reason demands proof. If religion is true, where is the proof? If God is, and God is love, why so much suffering in the world? Jesus’ response: believing is seeing. No human mind can capture the essence of God – but God will reveal himself to those who open their minds and hearts. Ask yourself, is the secularism of today eroding my faith? The third test: power & possession – “to the victor goes the spoils”.  We are also called the Age of Success. My life is measured by all my successes and the power that I must have to control them. Jesus’ response = wealth & power last but a few years – then death comes to everyone. It is said of our age that the rich are getting richer; poverty in the world is growing. But where is this leading us? History has some worrisome suggestions. Ask yourself: life is short, eternity is forever; where do I wish to end up?

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When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at and desirable for gaining wisdom Pride of the flesh (appetites) Pride of the eye (possessions) Pride of life (control) “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.” ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

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"The first temptation is the devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread.  Well why does he do that and is that a real temptation?" >>> LINK <<<

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