Tag Archives: Gospel

Feast of All Saints

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“After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.  They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.  They cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.”  (Revelation 7: 9-10)

All SaintsToday, the Christian world, especially the Catholic Church, celebrates the Feast of All Saints.  The Church remembers all those who are saints; those officially recognized by the Church and those who are unknown but to God.  The Church believes that when we die, our souls are in need of purification before we can enter into heaven.  This purification takes place in purgatory.  There are those, however, because of how well they lived the Gospel life, are admitted into heaven; come face to face with God, and experience perfect happiness.  These individuals are considered saints.

How does one become a saint; the Gospel reading for today’s Mass, the Beatitudes shows a starting point for one to begin the process.  So is living the two greatest commandments, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.  The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Matt 22: 37-39).  To become a saint is no easy task; it requires a radical interior change, a conversion.  Trying to do it on our own is impossible.  But we are not alone, God is with us.  If we open our hearts to him, he will give us the strength, the grace, to achieve the goal of sainthood.  Jesus Christ, coming to us in the Eucharist, gives us the food for this journey; the Holy Spirit gives us the guidance, the inspiration to continue the journey.

There is no measure that will tell us how successful we are.  We can only continue to strive to live the teachings of Jesus, to strive, through prayer, to be in a close relationship with God.  And we must accept the fact, that there will be times when we will fail.  There will days of dryness, disappointments, feelings of failure.  It is at moments like these, that the lives of saints can be a source of inspiration for us.  In particular, those biographies that reveals both the successes and failures of a saint trying to live the Gospel; because we can identify with them.  We can learn how they overcome their obstacles, and begin thinking about starting again.

I like to think of the communion of saints, something like those crowds of people gathered at the end of a race.  They have run their race; and now they are calling out to us, urging us on to the finish line.

“Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord?

or who may stand in his holy place?

One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,

who desires not what is vain.

He shall receive a blessing from the Lord,

a reward from the God his savior.

Such is the race that seeks him

that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.  “(Psalm 24)

Finish Line

From a Franciscan Perspective: “Preach it man!”

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Lawrence of Brindisi“Preaching, therefore, is a duty that is apostolic, angelic, Christian, divine.  The word of God, is replete with manifold blessings, since it is, so to speak, a treasure of all goods.  It is the source of faith, hope, charity, all virtues, all gifts of the Holy Spirit, all beatitudes of the Gospel, all good works, all the rewards of life, all the praise: Welcome the word that has taken root in you, with its power to save you.”

(From a sermon by Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, OFM CAP)

July 21st is the Feast day of Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, a Franciscan Capuchin priest, born in Italy in the year 1559.  A scholar, he was famous for his mastery of many languages.  Because of this, he was sent into various European countries, on preaching missions.  He became known as an effective and forceful preacher.

As an ordained deacon in the Catholic Church, one of my ministries is to proclaim the Gospel during the celebration of the Eucharist; and occasionally to preach on that reading from the Gospel.  The above quote from Saint Lawrence strikes a chord within me; because the act of preaching can have an effect not only on the congregation hearing the homily, but also on the preacher himself.  I prepare a week before I am scheduled to preach, prayerfully going over the Scripture readings for that Sunday.  I try to open my mind and my heart to what the Word, Jesus Christ, wishes to reveal to me.  I reflect on how the Gospel speaks not only to myself, but how it will speak to those sitting in front of me.  What is that they need to hear; what words of comfort they need to experience.  There have been times that I will delete a whole written page, because I have been inspired to take a different tack.

To preach is far different than any other type of public speaking.  I stand behind the pulpit, with my written text; as I look over the people before me, I whisper a little prayer.  Then, more often than not, the Holy Spirit takes over, guiding me, inspiring me; the words on the paper, takes on a life of their own.  When I am done, I know that for me, it was a holy, sacred moment.

I have come to realize that there are many ways one can preach the Good News.  It is why I am attracted to blogging; it is another way to share my experience of God’s love.  And it is becoming a means of hearing about others experiences.  And finally, the other means we all have to preach the Gospel, by the way each one of us strive to live in our daily lives; with our families, in our workplaces, in the stores, and on the streets.

Reflection on the Readings for the First Sunday of Lent – 2015

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Noah and the rainbow

Genesis 9:8-15
Psalm 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (10)
1 Peter 3: 18-22
Mark 1: 12-15
The story of Noah and the Ark has in many ways become a child’s fairy tale. Most depictions of the story are like a cartoon, showing friendly animals, lining up two by two, to enter the Ark. We see Noah and his family, smiling as they welcome the creatures coming towards them. Yet, like most of our modern fairy tales, the origin of the story of the Ark; the deeper meaning of the story, can be grim and frightening.

We see God, looking out at the humanity that inhabits His world and seeing only evil and corruption. Like a potter, unhappy with the pottery he has made, God intends to destroy His creation, wipe the slate clean. Yet, God is a creator, not a destroyer. While He intends to wipe out the evil, He sees the good that still exists, exists in Noah and his family. So God saves a remnant of humanity, and insures their survival. And in Noah and his family, humanity is reborn, life begins again. And the Creator promises never to destroy all humanity again, and the rainbow is the sign of that promise. He will seek another way to save His people from the power of sin.

And that way is found in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who, through His death and resurrection, freed all humanity, past, present, and those yet to come from the power, and the consequences of sin. And with that freedom, with the fulfillment of the promise the Father made to His creation, the “kingdom of God is at hand.”

This is the Good News that Jesus is calling us to accept and believe. To believe that God does love this world, loves us; loves us so much He gave us His Son to save us, to heal us. That kind of love calls for a response from us, and that response is to change our lives, to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, to live the Gospel!

The season of Lent is meant to be a time of preparation, a time of reflection, a time of conversion. A reflection on what our lives have been, and to see, in light of the Gospel, what needs to be changed. And we prepare our hearts to be open to experience the joy, and wonder of Easter morning, to celebrate the love of God

Reflection on Ash Wednesday – 2015

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Ash Wednesday 2012

Joel 2: 12-18
2 Corinthians: 20-6:2
Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18

“Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.” (Joel 2: 2-13)

In the frozen, snowbound Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the celebration of Ash Wednesday goes on. I have been assisting at two Masses, and one service, distributing the ashes; marking each person’s forehead with the sign of the cross (or at least, I am trying to!). Each time, I tell the person: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” I want them to listen to the Good News, and to change their lives. Ashes on the forehead are an ancient symbol of repentance, from the time of ancient Israel, and further back in time. But it is only a symbol, it has no power, it has no meaning, if the recipient does not commit himself or herself to living the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Now this requires change; a change in the way we live our lives. It is a call to enter into a closer, more loving, and deeper relationship with our God. It is a call to let go of our selfishness, our self-centeredness, and reach out the Father; and to reach out to each other, friend and stranger alike. It is a call to let go of the negative self-image we can have of ourselves; and realize that God love us for who and what we are, no matter what. And we are called to reach out to the other wounded persons we meet, and share this Good News, whether by word, or by action.

Lent then, is the season wherein we can enter into a more disciplined way of life, with the aim of growing closer to God. We are encouraged to make even more time for prayer, where we can open our hearts wider, to let God in, so that we can experience that Love that surpasses all other types of love. And as our experience of that Love grows and grows, we are impelled to make more and more room in ourselves for God’s Presence. We need to discover what is our internal clutter, that personal junk, which is getting in our way of loving God. This is where the discipline of fasting comes in, where we can discover what we really need to live, and what we can do without. Where we can discover how it feels to be empty, and ready for Christ to come, and knock at the door of our hearts. And finally, after receiving such a great gift from the Father, we feel the need to share that gift of love with others, others who may be alone, feeling unloved, who believe that they are alone in a cruel, uncaring world. By practicing almsgiving, we learn to reach beyond ourselves, and touch those around us, whether they are family, friends or strangers. And we learn that we are not just called to share from our “surplus,” but to share ourselves totally with others.

The season of Lent has been, is, and always will be an opportunity to deepen our commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. An opportunity and a challenge for all of us. The challenge to grow in our faith; and no matter often we might fail, we will pick ourselves up and begin again. We will not be alone on this Lenten journey, Jesus will be us, inspiring us by His Word, and He strengthens us with His Body and Blood. And on Easter morn, He will be there to welcome us, into a much more wonderful life.