REFLECTIONS

Protected by God's mercy

2011-04-11T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
April 11, 2011

This reflection is also available as an audio podcast:
http://gnm.org/DailyReflections/podcasts

Today’s Readings:
Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62
Psalm 23:1-6
John 8:1-11
http://www.usccb.org/nab/041111.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_04_11.mp3

Protected by God's mercy

Have you ever been accused unmercifully? Whether we have been rightly reprimanded (like the woman found in adultery in today's Gospel reading) or falsely accused (like Susanna in Dan. 13), we feel terribly invalidated when we have to endure condemnation without forgiveness.

Feeling remorseful for a genuine sin does not make it easier to accept the harsh reactions of others, so we defend ourselves rather than admit our guilt. We want to protect ourselves from a crushing sense of shame, so we try to rationalize away our sins.

Does this really work though? No, only mercy can protect us. Only mercy can validate our worth. Without it, we try to manipulate people into liking us and approving of us and affirming us. The more we sin, the more desperate we become for other people's approval. And the more desperate we become, the less remorse we feel for what we've done wrong, because remorse is a feeling that says we deserve disapproval.

To fill the emptiness and heal the wound, we need to realize that we've been forgiven by the mercy of God. The Sacrament of Confession gives us audible proof of this mercy. And we must understand that it's only God's opinion of us that really matters. Even if others refuse to give us mercy, if we know that we have God's mercy, we will have peace and the sense of personal value that we need.

When we're falsely accused, we feel empty and invalidated because the truth has been misjudged and we're at the mercy of others' wrong opinions of us. They're rejecting us and it's totally unfair. We hunger for their affirmation, and if we don't receive it, we defend ourselves and offend them. We convert our innocence into selfishness and pride and unloving behavior.
To fill this emptiness and heal this wound, we need to realize that we are protected by the mercy of God, and we must remind ourselves that it's only his opinion of us that really matters.

No one can validate us or heal us like God can. He alone loves us no matter what we do. Mercifully, when we deserve punishment, Our Father says: "I do not condemn you, because My Son took your punishment for you. I love you. Go on with your life and sin no more, but be assured that I will always love you, even if you sin this way again."

God has more mercy to give us than we allow yourself to receive. Meditate on this and open yourself to his steady, merciful love. He wants to free you from the need to be validated and healed by people.

This truth will free you to love others even when they sin against you. With Jesus, tell the Father: "I do not condemn them. Please grant them your forgiveness even if they do not ask for it."

We forgive others not because they repent (some never will), but because God has been merciful to us. As we have received mercy from him, so do we share his mercy with others.

© 2011 by Terry A. Modica
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Dare to care

2011-04-05T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
April 5, 2011

This reflection is also available as an audio podcast:
http://gnm.org/DailyReflections/podcasts

Today’s Readings:
Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12
Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
John 5:1-16
http://www.usccb.org/nab/040511.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_04_05.mp3

Dare to care

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus faces an important decision when he notices a man who's been sick for 38 years. Should he protect himself from being rejected, ridiculed, and persecuted for breaking the religious law about not working on the Sabbath? Or should he respond to the man's suffering and work a healing?

The lame man did not ask Jesus for a healing. It was entirely Jesus' decision. Apparently, the poor guy hadn't heard of Jesus yet, as evidenced by his reply about needing someone to put him into the pool.

Why did Jesus focus on this man amidst a crowd of many who were ill, blind, lame, and crippled? Maybe he'd been sick the longest. Maybe he had more love for God than the others did. Maybe the Father had a special plan for his life. We don't know, but whatever the reason, Jesus recognized his need and readiness to be healed, and so he decided to take the initiative and reach out to the man.

We don't know why Jesus picks any of us out of the crowd. When he takes the initiative to give us any gift, healing, vocation or other blessing, all we can do is trust in his wisdom and accept what he does and praise him for being so good to us.

Jesus knew the ramifications of inviting the lame man to receive his healing gift: Both he and the man would be condemned as sinners. Have you ever been in that kind of a situation? Following in the foot-steps of Jesus means responding to the needs of others, whether it will backfire or not.

This is compassionate love. In compassion, we contact the authorities when we see children being abused, even though their parents might retaliate. In compassion, we take meals to a sick neighbor, even though his illness is making him cranky and he's likely to lash out at us. In compassion, we speak up for someone who's been misunderstood and rejected, even though we'll become the next target of condemnation. In compassion, we advocate for employees who are being ill-treated by their employers, even though we'll be disdained or fired or blacklisted for stirring up trouble.

RIGHT? Or do we think God won't take care of us if we work this hard for his kingdom?

To do less is unChrist-like. When we get nailed for doing good deeds, we are truly being like Jesus. We're taking our compassion all the way to the cross. Actually, it's Christ's compassion. Our compassion is his. Our crosses are his. We are intimately united to him when we suffer for the sake of love.

Dare to follow your heart to where others need the caring touch of Jesus. Look for opportunities to be Jesus for others in ways that you've avoided before. Stretch your ability to face the cross, because you love others that much.

The word "compassion" means "with passion" – you are with Jesus in his holy Passion!

© 2011 by Terry A. Modica
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Miracles without signs and wonders

2011-04-04T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
April 4, 2011

This reflection is also available as an audio podcast:
http://gnm.org/DailyReflections/podcasts

Today’s Readings:
Isaiah 65:17-21
Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-13
John 4:43-54
http://www.usccb.org/nab/040411.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_04_04.mp3

Miracles without signs and wonders

Why is it that we so easily feel discouraged when we don't "see" the answers to our prayers? Jesus says in today's Gospel reading, "Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe." He said this to a dad who wanted Jesus to come to his house to heal his son.

This man's faith depended on the same thing that ours so often does: "Seeing is believing". He thought that he could only get a miracle if Jesus physically showed up at his house to pray over the boy. Jesus invited him to grow beyond that.

Have you ever wished that Jesus would appear to you in person to assure you that everything is going to turn out okay? I sure have! But then where is our trust in the power and goodness of God? What kind of faith exists without trust?

Jesus told the worried father, "Go on with your life as normal. Your son will live."

This is what Jesus is saying to all of us every time we pray. "Go on with your life as normal," he says. "Now that you've given the problem to me, trust in my wisdom and perfect timing. Don't take it back by disbelieving that I'm working on it. Go about your normal business as if I'm taking care of it beyond your field of vision, because I am."

Do you know why Genesis says God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh? To teach us that God never rests until his work is done!

He's not asking us to ignore our problems. Ongoing prayer keeps us in touch with God so that when he says, "Okay, here's what I want you to do next...", we'll be able to hear him and follow his instructions.

Some of our church prayers accidentally contribute to the feeling that God's not working outside our field of vision. For example, when we end our intercessory requests with "Lord, hear our prayer", the implication is that God hasn't already been listening, watching, and working, and that we need to beg him to take action.

We should consciously remind ourselves that we're really saying: "Lord, THANK YOU for hearing our prayer! I know you'll take good care of this need, and I trust your timing and your way of handling it."

That's what "amen" means.

What miracles do you need? Write down all your prayer requests, then tuck them in your Bible. As you close the cover, give Jesus your trust.

This is how to live an "amen" kind of life instead of worrying and disbelieving and seeking signs and wonders for proof of God's involvement. The signs and wonders will happen, but the who, what, when and where of them will be God's choosing, not ours. After all, would you really want it any other way?

© 2011 by Terry A. Modica
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Forgive, forgive, and forgive … again?

2011-03-29T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
March 29, 2011

This reflection is also available as an audio podcast:
http://gnm.org/DailyReflections/podcasts
and as part of a downloadable ebook of the entire Season of Lent:
http://catholicdr.com/ebooks/Lent.htm

Today’s Readings:
Daniel 3:25, 34-43
Psalm 25:4-9
Matthew 18:21-35
http://www.usccb.org/nab/032911.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_29.mp3

Forgive, forgive, and forgive … again?

How many people have taught you how to forgive seventy times seven times? These are the ones who repeatedly – sometimes seventy times in one day! – give you opportunities to practice forgiveness. This method of learning the lesson of today's Gospel passage is not fun. But there's a reason why God allows it: These people need your gesture of mercy more than others do. In God's great concern for them, he has put them in YOUR path. (Gee thanks God, but couldn't you have picked someone else to do it?)

Such people are in desperate need of unconditional love; they've received less of it than we have, and that's why they behave so badly. In many cases, they have NEVER received real love; their only experience of "love" is actually co-dependency or control or emotional bribery.

In some cases, disease, addiction, demonic oppression, or mental illness has robbed them of the ability to receive love when it is, in fact, given to them.

No one can give to us what they do not have. They can only give us what they do have, and sadly, that's grief – and plenty of it!

We can give them the forgiveness we've received from our loving Father – the "king who settled accounts with his officials" in the parable. We know what love is, because we've opened ourselves to God's generous love, and therefore we have the responsibility of sharing it with those who have less.

They might assume that they know what love is, but they don't know how to recognize real, unconditional, Christ-like love, so we have to persist and forgive and persist and forgive until finally – finally! – our love breaks through the barricades of their hearts.

Then, when they slip back into their old ways, we forgive them again. Our persistence might be the only true connection to Jesus that they have.

However, we cannot succeed alone. Others are also needed, including counselors, doctors, or therapists. Sometimes God tells us that we've done enough and it's time to step away so that he can help them through someone else.

The process is long. We have to ask God to give us a supernatural love for these people. When we want to quit prematurely, we can look at Jesus hanging on the cross for us. He did not give up on us. If we truly want to follow him, we have to become like him. By uniting our sufferings to his cross, we are intimately united to his redemptive power.

Pray for those who are causing you pain; choose to forgive them. It's a choice, not a feeling. And we need to do it now, not when (or if) they repent. Jesus did not delay his walk to Calvary hoping that humankind would repent before he got nailed for our sins. As you follow him in the spirit of forgiveness, remember: After crucifixion there is always resurrection!

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How to handle rejection

2011-03-28T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Monday of the Third Week of Lent
March 28, 2011

Today’s Readings:
2 Kings 5:1-15
Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4
Luke 4:24-30
http://www.usccb.org/nab/032811.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_28.mp3

How to handle rejection

Is there anyone in your life who doesn't accept how much you've grown spiritually? Is there someone who doesn't believe you about your faith? Have you been falsely accused of doing something you never had any intention of doing? Have ever you been dismissed as incapable of doing what you have in fact learned to do?

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus shows us how to handle these people.

First, it helps to realize that such rejection is normal for a follower of Christ. As Jesus says in this Gospel reading, "No prophet is accepted in his native place."

We rise above it by connecting our suffering to Christ's. Rejection unites us to God; the time gap between his unfair treatment in Nazareth and your unfair treatment today disappears. What a privilege!

Second, in love we give others more occasions to see and accept what God is offering to them through us, as Jesus did. He always gave his persecutors an opportunity to discover: "Aha! I need to learn from this guy!" Perhaps one out of a hundred will have an "aha" moment. By patiently persevering, we find that person.

Not everyone from Nazareth rejected the messianic ministry of Jesus. James, a relative from his extended family, became one of his most devoted followers. James even wrote a letter that was accepted into the canon of the New Testament. God has a James for you, too.

The third step, in imitation of Christ, is to walk away. Jesus did not nag people into changing their minds. He did not stomp his foot and pout and whine and all that other silly stuff that we do to win someone's attention. Neither did he stay there and let them attack.
The day would come to be nailed to a cross, but not this day. Like Jesus, we must always seek the Father's will to discern when it's time to go to the cross for someone and when it's time to simply walk away.

As today's responsorial psalm says, "My soul is thirsting for the living God; when shall I see him face to face?" When others reject us, we thirst for acceptance, and God provides it. We do see him face to face, but we must immerse ourselves in a community of believers whose faces reveal God. We have to surround ourselves with companions who are capable of accepting the gift that we are.

To move from the cross of rejection to the resurrection that God wants to provide for us, seek out those who are working hard on their own spiritual growth. This type of person is able to recognize what God is doing in your life. When others reject you, run to these companions for comfort. When you need assurance or encouragement, they will be able to give it to you. God has – right now – a community of believers ready to be his gifts of love for you!

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Good News Reflection FOR NEXT SUNDAY: April 3, 2011 Fourth Sunday of Lent

2011-03-27T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
FOR NEXT SUNDAY: April 3, 2011
Fourth Sunday of Lent

Parish bulletins, faith-sharing groups, RCIA:
For professionally published, printable copies of this reflection,
please go to Catholic Digital Resources:
http://catholicdr.com/calendar/Lent/Lent4.htm - Preview a sample

Next Sunday's Readings:
1 Samuel 16:1b,6-7,10-13a
Psalm 23:1-6
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-4
http://www.usccb.org/nab/040311.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_04_03.mp3

Conversion to Christ is a process. The blind man in the Gospel reading exemplifies this journey into faith.

Notice that he did not go to Jesus. Jesus came to him. The man responded by waiting to find out what would happen and then by obeying Jesus.

Conversion begins when Jesus seeks us out and we make ourselves available to his touch. He then opens our eyes to the truth, but we don’t immediately understand.

When the man’s neighbors asked about his cure, he did not yet understand who Jesus was; he thought of him as just a man.

Then, under the pressure of listening to the Pharisees argue about who Jesus was, he had to give it more thought. He concluded that Jesus must be a prophet, which for the Jews was a highly esteemed holy vocation.

Next, as the Pharisees treated him more roughly and raised the possibility of expelling him from the synagogue if he claimed that Jesus was the Christ, he began to wonder whether it might be true. Their reasons for hating Jesus became the eye-openers that cured his spiritual blindness.

Lastly, Jesus sought him out again, this time to minister to him in response to the mistreatment he had suffered from the Pharisees. In this act of caring, the man could see who Jesus really was.

Conversion – the purification of our spiritual vision – takes place in the fire of our sufferings as we recognize the love and concern that God has for us.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
Think of an area of your life where there is confusion from a lack of understanding. Perhaps you’re having a hard time seeing the good in someone. Maybe you’re worried about the future. What will you do this week that will help you see it from God’s perspective?

Questions for Community Faith Sharing:

In the first reading, God makes it clear that he sees what we cannot see when we're focused on external evidence. Think of a time when you looked deeper or beyond the obvious. How did that change you?
In Ephesians 5, we read that we have become light in the Lord. Name some of the good fruits that come from the ability to see what Jesus is doing in your life.
The Gospel reading illustrates that those who think they can see the truth are very often blind, and those who acknowledge their blindness become able to see clearly. Why does this happen? Has it happened to you?

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Living in heaven on earth

2011-03-24T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
March 24, 2011

Today’s Readings:
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Luke 16:19-31
http://www.usccb.org/nab/032411.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_24.mp3

Living in heaven on earth

Hell is not "down" in the middle of the earth, a physical place where bad people and pagans go after death for eternal punishment. Rather, hell is separation from God. And it's not God who separates himself from people. It's we who separate ourselves from him, and it begins while we are still here on earth.

Do you feel (at least sometimes) like you're living in hell on earth? It's not the pains and trials we endure that make our lives hellish. It's the feeling that God is not with us.

The parable in today's Gospel passage shows that it's impossible to rescue anyone from hell after they've died. It also teaches that it's impossible to rescue an alive person who is headed for hell – that is, IF they are not willing to unite themselves to God's love. Jesus points out the lack of repentance in those who reject what God has revealed to them.

Jesus revealed himself as God by becoming one of us and willingly sacrificing himself on the cross to take our punishment for sin upon himself, removing all obstacles between us and God, and then rising from the dead to give us eternal life in God's presence. It's not the people who don't know this who go to hell. It's the people who reject God's love because they don't want to give love.

When someone dies without knowledge of Jesus but they lived in the spirit of Christ by loving others, he or she will want to live forever with him when they meet him on their personal judgment day at the hour of their passing from earth. But those who heard of him and rejected him because they had no desire to give up their unloving ways – they will want to avoid Jesus at the hour of their death. Thus, they decide to separate themselves from God forever.

The question for you and me right now is this: What am I doing today that rejects love? How am I separating myself from God and creating my own hell on earth? We might be 90% in love with God, but it's that other 10% that makes us miserable.

Even when other people's unlovingness ruins our fun, we can rise above the suffering by living in God's embrace. This is why the Lord said in today's first reading: "Cursed are those who trust in human beings and turn their hearts away from me, but blessed are those who trust in me." The message is repeated in today's responsorial Psalm.

What holds you back from being completely loving? Are you trusting in God's love when others fail to love you enough? There's always plenty of evidence, when life is hard, that "proves" we should not trust him, but Jesus' death and resurrection are proof that his love is real. Acting upon that truth by loving others unconditionally is how we bring heaven to earth.

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Embracing your specialness

2011-03-23T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
March 23, 2011

Today’s Readings:
Jeremiah 18:18-20
Psalm 31:5-6, 14, 15-16
Matthew 20:17-28
http://www.usccb.org/nab/032311.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_23.mp3

Embracing your specialness

Have you ever had the feeling that you've been served enough? Not me! For years, I would feel depressed on my birthday and on Mother's Day, because these were the days I was supposed to be served and yet I always ended up doing the dishes or some other chore that served others. Even though my family treated me sweetly to make those days special, it never felt like they served me enough.

One year I started a new tradition for celebrating my "specialness" as a person and as a mother. I decided that on any day when the focus is on me – or SHOULD be on me – I remember that it's really like any other day. God blessed me with life and the talents to serve others, and if perchance I receive special treatment from others, this is a bonus. It's nothing more than an additional gift from God, coming to me through whomever God has chosen at that moment, like any other day of the year.

And you know what? I've greatly enjoyed birthdays and Mother's Day ever since!

When we're the ones being served, we might feel special, but oh how quickly that feeling fades, doesn't it?

We truly are happiest when we're using our gifts and talents in ways that make a difference in the lives of others. That's because we're made special by our unique combination of gifts and talents and personality traits. It's a specialness that no one else has.

No one else ever did or ever will have what makes you YOU. However, the only way to experience this specialness is to USE your uniqueness in ways that God designed you to use it – and that means in service to others, which glorifies God and helps his kingdom.

Otherwise, we're like a kid who gets an enormous basket of chocolates for Easter and he tries to enjoy all of its deliciousness in one day, without sharing it. Soon, he gets sick. Where's the fun in that?

This is why Jesus tells us in today's Gospel passage that the greatest person is the one who serves all the rest.

Serving others doesn't make us look good in the eyes of God – that's not where our greatness comes from. To God, we're already wonderful, simply because he made us each so unique, so special. Our greatness comes from making a difference in the world.

We can only make a difference by using our giftedness to serve others. If you were to die tonight, what would people say about you at your funeral? The more good deeds you've done for others, the more you will be exalted in your eulogy – and in the kingdom of heaven.

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The victorious gift of mercy

2011-03-20T00:00:00.001+03:00

Good News Reflection
Monday of the Second Week of Lent
March 21, 2011

Today’s Readings:
Daniel 9:4b-10
Psalm 79:8, 9, 11, 13
Luke 6:36-38
http://www.usccb.org/nab/032111.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_21.mp3

The victorious gift of mercy

Be merciful, don't judge, don't condemn, freely forgive, and be generous, says Jesus in today's Gospel reading. This is what it means to love unconditionally.

We agree. We nod our heads in willing assent, but we frown, because we often fail. Do you know why we fail? It's because we don't treat ourselves the way we know we should treat others.

How merciful are you toward yourself? When you make a mistake, or when you discover that you're wrong, or when you realize that you've sinned, how do you handle it? After making amends, do you still condemn yourself with impatience, unkindness or self-loathing?

How quickly do you forgive yourself?

We can't give to others more mercy and compassion than we give to ourselves.

When we lack mercy, we become judgmental. How judgmental are you about your own life? When someone else's prayers are answered, do you judge yourself as unlikely to receive a similar response from God? When you're asked to do a service for your parish or community, do your judge yourself as unqualified and untalented, even though the one who asked you says you can do it?

We judge others as harshly as we judge ourselves.

What kind of a sentence do you impose on yourself after you've passed judgment? How long lasting is your self-condemnation? Are you still punishing yourself for sins you confessed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation? The right attitude – the holy attitude – is one of learning from the past in a spirit of compassionate self-encouragement.

After judging and imposing a punishment, how soon do you grant yourself a pardon? We can't move forward in renewed relationships with others if we can't let go of our own past to embrace who we've become.

How generous are you toward yourself? Do you take time to rest from hard work? Do you make sure that your needs are met without waiting for others to read your mind? Do you applaud yourself for the good that you do? This is not prideful as long as we realize that our ability to do good comes from God.

To move forward in holiness, treat yourself with mercy, judging your sins but not your personhood. Forgive yourself so that you'll become generous in love. Love yourself so that you'll fill up with God, since he is love.

The more we give his love to ourselves, the more we will give it to others. And then, more is returned to us. We're the ones who determine how big is our measuring cup. The measure with which we give to others is THE SAME as what we give to ourselves. This isn't selfishness, not unless we keep it all for ourselves.

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Good News Reflection FOR NEXT SUNDAY: March 27, 2011 Third Sunday of Lent

2011-03-20T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
FOR NEXT SUNDAY: March 27, 2011
Third Sunday of Lent

This Sunday's Readings:
Exodus 17:3-7
Ps 95:1-2, 6-9
Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
John 4:5-42
http://www.usccb.org/nab/032711.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_27.mp3

What are you thirsty for? Thirst is what happens when we lack something vital. Water is essential for our physical survival, and our bodies signal us when it’s time to drink fluids to stay healthy.

Likewise, water is necessary for our spiritual survival, albeit a different sort of water – the LIVING water, the baptismal water that purifies us for eternal life, the holy water that enables us to have abundant life in Christ now.

The Holy Spirit is the Giver of Life. One of the biblical symbols that represents the presence of God's Spirit is life-giving water. Therefore, we can surmise that Jesus wanted to give the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Samaritan woman. Why? It would still be a while before the Holy Spirit descended on everyone at Pentecost.

She needed the truth; the Holy Spirit is Truth, and Jesus wanted to give her whatever she needed to repent and receive salvation and then share this new life with the people around her.

We only get thirsty when we haven’t had enough to drink. Spiritual thirst shows itself in many forms: loneliness, despair, frustration, self-indulgence, or any other feeling or behavior that’s triggered by lacking something that we need or want.

And why would we lack anything spiritually? Because, like the woman at the well, we are sinners who need to receive healing from God. How does God give us this healing? He pours his love into us with all sufficiency, but to drink of it, we have to listen openly, like that woman, ready to be changed by the truth.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
What sin or unhealthy habit do you need to overcome so that Jesus is free to quench your thirsts? What will you do this week to hand it over to him?

Questions for Community Faith Sharing:

In the first reading, why did a physical thirst turn into a sin? How does this still happen today?
In Romans, grace and hope are mentioned as gifts we receive when we have been “justified by faith” (when we’ve repented of our sins and sought forgiveness through Jesus). How do grace and hope quench our thirsts? How do they help us resist sin? How is this a result of God’s love being poured into our hearts?
The woman at the well eagerly received what Jesus said. Even though he confronted her about her sins, she drank it all in and then, without shame, excitedly told others about her encounter with the Messiah. What need was filled by the truth? What does this teach about how we can help others hear the truth?

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Choose anger or healing

2011-03-18T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Friday of the First Week of Lent
March 18, 2011

Today’s Readings:
Ezekiel 18:21-28
Psalm 130:1-8
Matthew 5:20-26
http://www.usccb.org/nab/031811.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_18.mp3

Choose anger or healing

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus speaks to us about anger. He makes us aware of the increasing dangers of anger by referring to increasingly disastrous results in the angry person's soul. At the lowest level, anger in the heart results in "judgment," which in that day meant the Jewish local court where the easiest punishments were meted out.

Then, he describes how anger in the heart becomes anger that kills: To use abusive language toward others destroys their self-esteem. It belittles them. It kills their spirit. The abuser must now face a trial before the Sanhedrin, which was the highest judicial body.

Finally, Jesus warns that holding someone in contempt is the worst of all forms of anger. To hate someone so much as to see no value in them is to condemn oneself to Gehenna. "Gehenna" was a name given to a nearby valley that was used where children were burned as a sacrifice to the gods. The Jews used the name to illustrate the concept of punishment by fire; today we call it "hell."

Abortion is such a sin, because it sees no value in the unborn child. However, even in this, God's forgiveness and healing is very nearby. The Sacrament of Confession re-opens the door to heaven, where we will someday be happily reunited with these children.

The rest of this scripture passage is God's remedy for the times we feel angry. In essence, Jesus says: Go and do whatever is necessary to be reconciled with whomever has made you angry. This, he points out, is even more important than worshiping God.

How genuine can our worship really be if anger has replaced love in our hearts? Since God is love, worship that's mixed with hateful anger is hollow and hypocritical, a slap on God's face, a crushing stomp on the Eucharist.

Anger as an emotion is not evil. Feelings are neither right nor wrong, they're merely a temporary reflection of what's going on inside of us at the moment.

Anger becomes a sin when it festers in us long enough to damage others. It’s rooted in the emptiness of not feeling loved. Filling that void with anger deceptively feels good.

We receive healing when we choose to fill the void with love. By choosing love instead of anger, we let God’s love penetrate us, and once God's love fills our emptiness, there's no room left for anger.

Jesus got angry about sin. It's okay to feel justifiable anger. It's what we do with the feeling that matters. Do we allow God to use it for loving purposes or do we use it as a weapon that hurts others?

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Walking in God's unconditional love

2011-03-17T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Thursday of the First Week of Lent
March 17, 2011

Today’s Readings:
Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25
Psalm 138:1-3, 7-8
Matthew 7:7-12
http://www.usccb.org/nab/031711.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_17.mp3

Walking in God's unconditional love

Queen Esther totally trusted God (as we see in today's first reading). She knew that she could count on his help as she spoke boldly to her husband, King Xerxes (also called Ahasuerus, a Persian), who was planning to murder the Jews who lived in his kingdom.

By daring to stand up for her people, she endangered her own life. Her faith in God's love gave her the courage to make a difference in the lives of others. To this day, the Jews commemorate this in the Feast of Purim.

The writer of our responsorial Psalm also knew that he could count on God's help for the same reason: God loved him.

Are we that confident? We have visible proof of his love, which the psalmist did not have – Jesus who died on the cross for us – so why do we often act as though we're not sure that he truly loves us?

Jesus says in today's Gospel passage that we find what we seek. If we're seeking God's love, we find it. If we're seeking God's help, we find it. Jesus shows complete confidence in God's love for you when he says: "Knock, and the door WILL be opened for you!"

The problem is, we stand at the door and knock ... and knock ... and knock. Jesus is calling out to us, "Come in! It's not locked!" but we don't believe it. Something childishly immature in us is convinced that we don't deserve it.

We were raised in a system of rewards and punishments – at home, in school, and even in the Church of the post-Trent, pre-Vatican II era when people feared going to hell if they sipped even a little chicken broth on a Friday.

Although our parents told us, "I'm punishing you because I love you," the child in us equated love with reward, and punishment with the withholding of love.

However, Jesus loves us so much that he took the punishment we deserve! God is not on the other side of the door blocking it until we start behaving perfectly.

When we understand what Jesus did for us on the cross, we realize that the door is already open. We step over the threshold and LIVE WITH God in mature faith. Only then are we able to do what Jesus tells us to do at the end of this scripture.

As long as we think that we deserve to be punished, we want to punish others. When we know we are loved no matter how imperfect and sinful we are, it's easier to love others no matter how imperfect and sinful they are. We treat others the way WE want to be treated, because the question of who deserves what no longer matters.

Forgive yourself for everything and anything that you don't like about yourself. Make a list and nail it to the door of God's kingdom. The Father will interpret that as a good, loud, resounding knock, and he will open the door wide. Now enter into his love by choosing to love yourself without limits or conditions.

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The healing power of forgiveness

2011-03-15T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
March 15, 2011

Today’s Readings:
Isaiah 55:10-11
Psalm 34:4-7, 16-19
Matthew 6:7-15
http://www.usccb.org/nab/031511.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_15.mp3

The healing power of forgiveness

In our holy walk following in the footsteps of Jesus, we make a difficult journey. Holiness means struggling to remain in the spirit of love even when others commit sins against us: It might be the spouse who divorced you, or an abusive priest, or the employer who fired you, or the friend who betrayed you with no desire to make amends.

In the "Our Father" prayer that Jesus gives us in today's Gospel passage, he puts the greatest emphasis on forgiveness. Oh no! This means that by asking God to "forgive us for our sins THE SAME WAY AS we forgive those who've sinned against us" we're taking our holiness very seriously. It means that the measure or amount of mercy we give to others is the measure we're asking God to give us, but we want to receive much more mercy than we want to give!

It's not that God withholds forgiveness from us – he already forgave us 2000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross on our behalf. The fact is, we separate ourselves from God's forgiveness whenever we refuse to forgive others. In this stormy sea of our unmerciful attitude, we find it hard to believe, deep inside, that we deserve to be forgiven any more than we believe someone else deserves our forgiveness.

Jesus is challenging us to love ourselves at a holier, healthier level. To receive all of the love that God has for us, we must enter into the world of forgiveness by forgiving those who have wronged us. He didn't say that we must wait until they ask for forgiveness. What he said was that if we don't forgive, neither will we be forgiven. Giving forgiveness frees us to enjoy life; it frees us from dependence on what others do or don't do to us.

To follow Jesus, we have to embrace our pain as Jesus embraced his. Embracing the wounds caused by others means that we make a decision to forgive. This then begins true healing – we're no longer controlled by the pain and the other person's hurtfulness.
It's okay to not enjoy this. Jesus wanted to avoid his cross, too. But the only way to resurrection is through the cross.

To feel the embrace of Jesus as we journey with him, we have to stay close to him in both good times and bad, when his hands are reaching out to us with healing love and when his hands are nailed to the cross. By choosing to forgive those who show no remorse, we benefit fully from the sacrifice that Jesus made for us: We are forgiven, we are saved, we are healed.

Identify the people you haven't really forgiven yet. Make the decision to forgive them, then meditate upon the pain that Jesus suffered in love for you. Realize how much compassion it took for Jesus to do that for you, even though you did not deserve it. Remind yourself that he continues to love you this much every day, no matter what, whether you're sinning or not.

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Moving closer to heaven as sheep

2011-03-14T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Monday of the First Week of Lent
March 14, 2011

Today’s Readings:
Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18
Psalm 19:8-10, 15 (with John 6:63b)
Matthew 25:31-46
http://www.usccb.org/nab/031411.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_14.mp3

Moving closer to heaven as sheep

Today's first reading expands upon a portion of the Ten Commandments – the commandments about loving others, not about loving God. If we don't love others, we don't love God.

Why? Because he cares about everyone, even the worst of the worst. If we truly love him, we care about those whom he loves: everyone, even those who reject him, even those who cause us to suffer.

Jesus tells us in today's Gospel passage that what we do to others we are actually doing to him. Why? Because he united himself to every sinner – even the most terrible sinners – when he came to earth as one of us and then offered himself as a sacrifice on the cross for our sins.

The worst of the worst people in our lives are the "least of these" whom we are to treat the way we'd like to treat Jesus, even if they don't acknowledge what Jesus did for them.

Our love for others is our love for God. When we lie or speak falsely, we're lying to Christ as he hangs on the cross. When we break a promise to a child, we profane the name of God, who is THE Promise Keeper.

When we curse someone who cannot hear us or when we speak ill of others behind their backs, God hears us and takes it personally. When we make the blind stumble (for example, causing a sinner to sin more), God sees and holds us accountable.

When we judge others unfairly as if we knew everything about their hearts and motives, we judge God, who is THE Judge. When we slander and complain about our relatives or ex-spouses, we slander God.

When we stand idly by while our neighbor suffers even though we could help, we turn our backs on the Lord who suffered tremendously.

When we recognize that someone is sinning, it's right to try to reprove him, but if we prove our hatred for him by retaliating or holding a grudge, we are hating God, who is THE Giver of Mercy. And since we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, whenever we're unkind to ourselves, we're being cruel to God.

When we choose not to do good to others, we are refusing to do good to Jesus, and thus we become the accursed "goats" who are separated from him. Love means DOing something good for others and thus also for Jesus. The "sheep" in the story did good deeds – actions of caring – even to those who deserved it least.

One reason why DOing is so important is because it converts our feelings. It's hard to hold a grudge while doing an act of kindness.

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Uniting to the Passion of Christ

2011-03-09T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Ash Wednesday
March 9, 2011

This reflection is also available as an audio podcast:
http://gnm.org/DailyReflections/podcasts

Today’s Readings:
Joel 2:12-18
Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17
2 Corinthians 5:20 – 6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
http://www.usccb.org/nab/030911.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_09.mp3

Uniting to the Passion of Christ

As we turn away from sin and draw closer to the life-giving Spirit of Christ, this Lenten season can be a time of inner transformation that empowers us to bring Christ's kingdom more fully to earth by taking action against global injustices within our normal, everyday lives. This is the purpose of our new Lenten e-mail ministry called "Lenten Explorations: Personal purification that helps heal the world".

Suffering, unfortunately, is something that we all experience. But when we unite ourselves to the passion and death of Jesus, by connecting our experiences to his, we will also experience victory, resurrection, and a worthwhile value for our hardships.

This Lent, let’s walk from grief to healing and from anger to peace, which is only possible by uniting ourselves to the passion of Christ. Day by day we will journey with Jesus as he teaches us to rise above our crosses by first embracing them in redemptive holiness and then by entering into the resurrection of Christ. Thus, we will discover tremendous blessings that we cannot yet imagine.

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus gives us a walking staff for this journey. It has three parts. The top section, like a shepherd's crook, is almsgiving – this is what bends our heavenward heart back to earth as we turn our sufferings into ministries that help others. The middle section is fasting – this is what gives strength to the staff. The bottom of it is prayer – this is what grounds us.

ALMSGIVING is a gift that we give to God in thanksgiving for his generosity toward us. Jesus describes two different "rewards": (1) the repayment received by the Pharisees and (2) the recompense given to those whose generosity is based on love. Those who give lovingly are friends of God, and since friends share freely with each other, we are generous with our time, our patience, our talents, our money, or whatever else God has given to us that others need. Such love opens our hearts to receive more of God's love.

PRAYER can be motivated by a right attitude or a wrong attitude. Do we pray with pious words and appropriate gestures in order to get people's approval? Do we make the sign of the cross when we pray because we think it will improve our chances to get what we asked for? Do we recite formula prayers over and over to convince God to pay us heed? Or is our prayer time truly an intimate communication with the One whom we cherish most dearly?

FASTING is valuable only if it helps our spiritual life. If we fast so that others will think we're good Catholics, it's worthless. Fasting originated in Jewish history as a personal sacrifice on the Day of Atonement – the annual day for the forgiveness of sins – to show God humility and repentance. Today, fasting is recommended by the Church as a means of acquiring "mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart" (CATECHISM paragraph 2043). In other words, fasting helps us enter into greater conversion.

This three-part walking staff is necessary for our journey, because it enables us to deepen our ongoing conversion. Almsgiving converts our hearts when it involves sacrificing our material goods for the sake of loving others. Praying converts our hearts when it involves sacrificing our selfish use of time for the sake of loving God. Fasting converts our hearts when it involves sacrificing our selfish pleasures, represented by our enjoyment of food, for the strengthening of our spiritual nature and our holiness.

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The Holy Spirit's gift of courage

2011-03-08T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Tuesday of the 9th week in Ordinary Time
March 8, 2011

Today's Saint: John of God
Pray for the sick, addicted, and dying:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/JohnofGod.htm

Today’s Readings:
Tobit 2:9-14
Ps 112:1-2, 7-9
Mark 12:13-17
http://www.usccb.org/nab/030811.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_08.mp3

The Holy Spirit's gift of courage

Have you ever been tripped or trapped by a challenging question? How did you feel? How do you think Jesus felt when it happened to him? Assuredly, he took it much more calmly than you or I do. Why is that?

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus responds to a trap laid by Pharisees and Herodians. His confidence comes from knowing that the Holy Spirit always provides the right words and the perfect wisdom.

You and I have been given the same Spirit.

What do you need from the Holy Spirit so that you can serve God's kingdom courageously? Whatever it is, God's Spirit is reliable and will make everything available to you exactly when you need it. If you don't seem to have it now, it's because you don't need it yet.

Courage comes from trust. Although it might feel like you don't have what it takes to stand up to trouble and become victorious, that's only because you're moving beyond your comfort zone. If the situation were IN your comfort zone, you wouldn't need courage. Trusting God means taking bold, scary steps into the unfamiliar.

One year on Pentecost, I asked for the Holy Spirit's boldness to speak up against injustices that I sometimes witness within our beloved Church. Normally, if speaking up is politically incorrect, if it's socially unacceptable, if it strays from the expectations of what "should" happen in church, if it's outside the comfort zone of the rules of "normalcy", or if it could result in a reprimand or disapproval, my heart races, my knees tremble, and I keep my mouth shut.

God readily gives us opportunities for doing what we hope to learn. Shortly after asking for boldness, I found myself facing the need to ask a priest to delay Mass. An accident on the street was keeping many people from reaching church on time. I made the decision to let my concern for these people outweigh my fears.

This might not seem like a big deal to some of my readers, but for many Americans, starting Mass on time and ending on time (or ending early) is a big deal. And for Catholic Americans, disagreeing with a priest is an even bigger deal.

The priest replied that Mass must always start on time. To my surprise, I looked him in the eye and, with my voice full of compassion, said: "For the sake of the people who want to be here on time but cannot, please wait just a few minutes!" The priest's reply? "Okay."

That happened a long time ago. Since then, I have experienced that same Spirit-filled confidence every time God wants me to stand up to injustices, which always involves stepping away from what's normal and expected and socially "proper". However, to receive this gift from the Holy Spirit, I have to be willing to feel uncomfortable.

What's the gift you're asking for? He's ready to provide it! Now ask the Holy Spirit to show you what comfort zone you must step away from so that you can experience this gift.

Lent begins tomorrow. Would you like to receive short daily messages, prayers, and ideas for deepening your journey to Easter? Subscribe NOW to our special Lenten e-mailings called "Lenten Explorations: Personal purification that helps heal the world". As we turn away from sin and draw closer to the life-giving Spirit of Christ, this Lenten season can be a time of inner transformation that empowers us to bring Christ's kingdom more fully to earth by taking action against global injustices within our normal, everyday lives.

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Persevering to glory

2011-03-02T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Wednesday of the 8th week in Ordinary Time
March 2, 2011

Today’s Readings:
Sirach 36:1, 4-5a, 10-17
Ps 79:8-9, 11, 13 (with Sirach 36:1b)
Mark 10:32-45
http://www.usccb.org/nab/030211.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_02.mp3

Persevering to glory

In today's Gospel story, Jesus is leading his disciples toward Jerusalem and he is leading his own feet toward the most severe persecution he ever faced. He knew the sacrifice he'd have to make. Are we willing to accept hardships for the sake of doing God's work? We are if we really want to love others as Jesus loves them.

Meanwhile, James and John wanted to achieve spiritual glory the easy way. They wanted to be honored with Jesus in his kingdom, and they wanted to get there just by asking for it. But such glory comes only after sacrifice. There is no easy road to sainthood, no shortcut to the prestige or supernatural gifts of God's kingdom. We have to follow Jesus to the cross if we want to reach the glory that awaits those who are victorious over evil.

Have you ever wondered why God doesn't snap his almighty fingers to make your problems go away instantly? Instead, he leads you deeper INTO the problem – true? It's not because he wants you to suffer. The Father did not want Jesus to suffer, but it was the only way that humankind could be redeemed.

If we really want God to redeem the bad situations in our lives, we have to accept that the way to get there is through the cross. We have to be willing to endure the difficulties, and in enduring them, learn patience, and in learning patience, develop unconditional love for troublemakers, and in developing unconditional love, become more fully united with God who IS love.

Jesus told James and John that they would be baptized by pain. What does baptism do? Water baptisms give us rebirth by drowning our sinful nature and raising us up to full life in God. Baptism by being immersed deeper into our problems also drowns our sinful nature – if we go through it with Jesus – and this redeems the situation much more gloriously than if God had ended it early with a snap of his fingers.

(Note: If you're in an abusive relationship, God is NOT asking you to carry this cross. It's not loving to anyone. God is asking you to get away to a safe place where you can insist that the abuser seek professional help. Only after real change takes place – real healing in both of you – will it be time for a resurrected relationship.)

By drinking of the same cup that Jesus accepted, we discover that we've never been more intimate with Jesus, because we're closest to him when we join him in everything – including the cross. But when we exclude the cross, trying to take the easy route, we turn our backs on the Savior who loved us so much that he suffered a horrible death for us.

Are you willing to accept the hardships of true Christian living? Rejoice, for God will raise up many blessings from your sacrifices!

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Unwilling to change? Let God do it!

2011-02-28T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Monday of the 8th week in Ordinary Time
February 28, 2011

Today’s Readings:
Sirach 17:20-24
Ps 32:1-2, 5-7 (with 11a)
Mark 10:17-27
http://www.usccb.org/nab/022811.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_02_28.mp3

Unwilling to change? Let God do it!

Have you noticed that when you've made great progress on your spiritual journey, Jesus smiles at you and says, "Ahhh, this is good, very good! The Father and I are very pleased with you." But then he adds: "There's something else I want you to do." He knocks you off your chair of cozy self-contentment and invites you to more purification.

I get so tired of that!

That's what happened to the poor lad (or should I say, the rich young man) who gleefully ran up to Jesus in today's Gospel passage. He'd been dutifully obeying all of God's commandments. With such commendable holiness credentials, he thought he had earned an open door to heaven. But Jesus knew that in the man's heart he was self-satisfied while doing only the minimum and living a mediocre faith.

So Jesus invited him to see the commandments differently. Notice that he did not condemn the man. Neither does Jesus condemn us when we need purification. He knows that we truly desire to be holy. With tremendous love, he brings to our attention the shortcomings of our obedience and teaches us the greatest commandment: the Law of Love.

But we frown like that young man. Our flesh nature does not enjoy giving up its self-satisfied limitations that we impose on God's commandments. This is why Jesus emphasizes: "For you, it IS impossible, but not for God!"

Trusting God to do in me what I cannot do for myself has proven to be an excellent strategy. For example, several years ago I found myself staring silently at a priest during confession. I was angry toward someone who "deserved" my anger. I could say I forgave him, but I did not want to stop being angry, because if I became nicey-nice, this guy would not get the point that I'd been trying to make and which he so obviously needed to learn.

The priest asked me if I was willing to let God change my attitude, even though I wasn't willing to change it myself. I could not get my mouth to say yes, but I did manage to force my head to nod. That was all Jesus needed! Through the priest, Jesus absolved me of my sins and empowered me with a supernatural grace from his Holy Spirit. When I walked out of the room, a new peace flooded me. Not of my own accord, but thanks be to God, I was truly a new creation!

What sin are you unwilling to quit? What change have you been avoiding? What disobedience makes logical sense? (By the way, reading these Good News Reflections is very dangerous, because when the Holy Spirit reveals a sin through them, you're accountable for it – no excuses, you have to either repent or walk away sad.)

Tell Jesus that you don't want to stop justifying your sin, but give him permission to re-create you according to his loving kindness. With God, change is very possible – and joyful!

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The true meaning of friendship

2011-02-25T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Friday of the 7th week in Ordinary Time
February 25, 2011

Today's Saint: Walburga
Pray for the conversion of witches and satanists:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Walburga.htm

Today’s Readings:
Sirach 6:5-17
Ps 119:12,16,18,27,34,35
Mark 10:1-12
http://www.usccb.org/nab/022511.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_02_25.mp3

The true meaning of friendship

At the heart of the message against divorce in today's Gospel passage is the understanding of what true friendship means. Husbands and wives are, first and foremost, called to be true friends for each other.

The first reading describes what a true friend is and is not. This applies to marriages and to all other relationships.

True friendship is a holy relationship. In a holy friendship, no one stops caring about the other, no matter what happens. A holy friend imitates Christ, making sacrifices for the sake of the other, willing to do whatever will help heal wounds and overcome problems.

When the efforts are only one-sided, it's not a holy friendship. You might handle it righteously, but you cannot force the other person to be holy. If a husband refuses to be a true friend to his wife, he has forsaken the marriage. If a wife never intended to be faithful, there is nothing the husband can do to make the marriage valid. When spouses quit being loving, by abusing or abandoning, they break their vows of unity; they are the adulterers if they marry another, not the faithful partner.

The point is, our friendships and marriages are supposed to be reflections of God's friendship, evangelizing the world. He has made a Covenant of Love with us, sealed by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Human friends will fail us, but God never does.

When we accept God's Covenant of Love, we're agreeing to true friendship, which includes loving those whom he loves – which is everyone! Whenever we fail to love anyone, we're breaking our unity with God. The Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Penance Rite of Mass restore that unity.

To remain in unity with God, we have to give his love to the people around us. To live in his friendship, we have to be friendly toward others. It's like water in the pipes: We can't feel the presence of the water in the pipes unless it's flowing from the faucet. To feel the presence of God, we have to keep his love flowing out to others.

If we ever think that God has failed to be a True Friend, it's only because we have quit being a true friend to him. When things don't go our way, we blame it on him or assume that he's ignoring us. In reality, we're quitting the friendship by refusing to let him comfort us and heal our wounds and solve our problems in an unexpected way.

In our covenant friendship with God, even if the people we love reject us or warp the love that we offer, we are not failures. With God in our marriages and friendships, the love we give always succeeds, because if it's rejected or the relationship ends, the love flows back to us from God directly, and we are mightily blessed in a special intimacy of mutual suffering.

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Getting free of the excuses that trap us

2011-02-24T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Thursday of the 7th week in Ordinary Time
February 24, 2011

Today’s Readings:
Sirach 5:1-8
Ps (40:5a)1:1-4,6
Mark 9:41-50
http://www.usccb.org/nab/022411.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_02_24.mp3

Getting free of the excuses that trap us

Today's first reading contains a list of common excuses that people use to justify their sinful behaviors or to put off change. Lest we assume that since we've already experienced conversion we're above all this, let's reflect on the ways that our old thought patterns might still be entrapping us.

Wealth and power, prestige and clout, and the ability to make life happen the way we want it to is very dangerous. The deception is that we don't need God when we can take care of everything ourselves. Do you pray for help only when things go wrong? If so, this trap has ensnared you.

Following the desires of our hearts can be very misleading. Our feelings, motives, longings and wishes are not always in line with God's desires. Do you ask God to purify your desires, distrusting them until after you've talked to him about it and have handed them over to him for him to do with as he chooses? If not, this trap is ensnaring you.

The idea that "anything's okay as long as it doesn't hurt someone" or that "it's okay to disregard an inconvenient or unpleasant law or teaching of the Church because God understands and he'll forgive me" carries with it the arrogant presumption that sins are not always sinful and that they don't always produce bad consequences. Do you rationalize away a Church teaching about faith and morals by saying that it doesn't apply to you? If so, this trap is crushing you so slowly and subtly that you don't even notice.

Delaying repentance holds us back from wonderful growth and spiritual healing.

Do you procrastinate because change is uncomfortable? Do you put off whatever seems humiliating, impossible, or less beneficial than your old ways? Old behavior patterns feel like cozy blankets, raggedy and full of holes, but familiar and valuable. Even when we're aware of being smothered by them or of hurting others with them, we don't know what the new blanket would feel like, so we hang onto the old. Or we don't know how to get the new blanket, so we don't really try. The old one has ensnared us; it's smothering our souls and covering our ears so that we fail to hear the loving, beckoning call of Christ.

Today's responsorial Psalm reminds us of the benefits of escaping from the snares of sin: We prosper from doing the Lord's will. And the Gospel reading gives us the key that opens every trap: Get rid of whatever causes you to sin.

It's a free-will decision. First we choose to do things God's way, no matter how uncomfortable or impossible or unbeneficial it seems. God will enable us to do what he asks of us. The freedom to be holy is a partnership with the Almighty.

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The unity of love

2011-02-23T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Wednesday of the 7th week in Ordinary Time
February 23, 2011

Today's Saint: Polycarp
Pray to meet Jesus:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Polycarp.htm

Today’s Readings:
Sirach 4:11-19
Ps 119:165,168,171,172,174,175
Mark 9:38-40
http://www.usccb.org/nab/022311.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_02_23.mp3

The unity of love

In the 1980s, when contemporary Christian recording artists were just beginning to transform the music scene with Christ-centered rock and pop, a friend asked me to listen to one of their albums. She wanted me to tell her it was demonic, because she believed that all rock music came from the devil. But the songs on the album glorified God! I reminded my friend of the words that Jesus spoke in today’s Gospel passage: "Anyone who is not against us is with us."

Sadly, she wanted nothing more to do with me, because she now believed that I was demonized, too.

Isn't it interesting that Jesus did not say, "Anyone who is not against ME is with ME." He made it an "us". To him, we all matter. Since we belong to him, anyone who does good for the Lord does good to us.

This can be hard to grasp, because it’s easier to be aware of what divides us than it is to unite on our common ground. We assume that if people don't tell us what we want to hear, they're against us. Or we think that if someone doesn't worship Jesus the way we do, they're against our faith.

We don't have to be in agreement to be in community with others. True Christian unity means acknowledging what we have in common and refusing to allow our differences to interfere with our love.

Everyone who LOVES us is with us, because "love comes from God" and therefore "everyone who loves has been born of God" (see 1 John 4:7). As John Paul II wrote in "Ut Unum Sint" (That They May Be One) in 1995: "Love gives rise to the desire for unity, even in those who have never been aware of the need for it. Love builds communion between individuals and between Communities [i.e., denominations]."

The opposite of unity is self-imposed excommunication (a word that means "divided from community"). Like the friend who cut herself off from me in her judgmentalism, people excommunicate themselves when they cause division by choosing against love.

At the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2003, Pope John Paul II said: "May each of us be enabled more and more to look upon our brothers and sisters in faith, within the unity of the Mystical Body.... May we come to see what is positive in others, to welcome it and prize it as a gift from God."

I suspect that John Paul II will eventually become the Patron Saint of Christian Unity. He did a lot during his pontificate to open doors for cooperation and communication between the Catholic Church and those who have been divided from us in the faith. Now Pope Benedict XVI is building on this foundation. Let us help him in his mission by loving everyone and doing good to all, despite our differences.

Note: To learn more from John Paul II, take the courses I teach online at Catholic Digital Resources: http://catholicdr.com/e-Classroom/index-courses.html

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Whom are you shepherding?

2011-02-22T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Tuesday of the 7th week in Ordinary Time
February 22, 2011

Today's Feast: Chair of St. Peter
Pray for Church leaders:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Peter.htm

Today’s Readings:
1 Peter 5:1-4
Ps 23:1-6
Matt 16:13-19
http://www.usccb.org/nab/022211.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_02_22.mp3

Whom are you shepherding?

In today's Gospel reading, we see that Saint Peter was gifted with the insight to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, and then he was called and commissioned to shepherd others into the same realization.

We, too, know that Jesus is our Lord and the Good Shepherd described in today's responsorial psalm. Therefore we, too, are called and commissioned to shepherd the people we encounter. We're to lead them to Christ the way a shepherd herds his flock.

In today's first reading, Peter tells us how to do this: Be a good example. Don't lord it over those whom God has placed in your life to minister to, because only Jesus is Lord. When people look at us, they should see Jesus – not bad attitudes, not unlovingness, not apathy, not argumentativeness, not depression or doom and gloom, not despair and hopelessness, not materialism, not selfishness.

In other words, we have to work hard at overcoming our sinful tendencies, because our lives are a witness. We either give witness to life without Jesus or we give witness to Jesus' life.

Sheep follow their shepherd because he (or she) knows where the greener pastures lie and how to get there. What have you learned on your spiritual journey that would benefit others? Any oases that Jesus has led you to become places of your expertise. Now, you can shepherd others to the same places. Who do you know who is in need of rest from their hardships and healing from their wounds? Shepherd them with what you have learned.

Being a shepherd means you also know about the wolves. The sheep might be totally oblivious to the dangers that lurk, but you have been given the responsibility of staying alert for potential attacks of evil. Because Jesus is with you, and because he is the Good Shepherd to whom you're guiding your flock, the wolves can and will be defeated. However, evil spirits and their influences will be conquered only if you stay close to Jesus and swing your Sword of the Spirit when the need arises.

We cannot successfully lead others to Christ if we do not take the necessary measures to protect ourselves and those we're guiding. We must have a good prayer life, knowledge of the scriptures, and ever-growing holiness. We must have trust in God. And none of us can be good shepherds for very long if we hang onto sins we know we're committing, because then we're playing with the wolves. We must cover our vulnerabilities with the armor of God by getting right with him and getting rid of any known areas of disobedience.

Being a shepherd is risky, but only if we make ourselves vulnerable to the wolves.

At the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter by the Sea of Galilee, where this Gospel story took place, there's a sign that says, "The deeds and miracles of Jesus are not actions of the past. Jesus is waiting for those who are still prepared to take risks at His word because they trust His power utterly."

Pray with me: “Lord Jesus, I say yes to Your calling, no matter how risky it seems. I choose to trust in Your guidance, Your directions. What do You want me to do?”

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What flood are you trying to survive?

2011-02-15T00:00:00.000+03:00

Good News Reflection
Tuesday of the 6th week in Ordinary Time
February 15, 2011

Today’s Readings:
Gen 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10
Ps 29:(11b)1-4, 9c-10
Mark 8:14-21
http://www.usccb.org/nab/021511.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_02_15.mp3

What flood are you trying to survive?

When I read the story of Noah's cruise (in today’s first reading), I like to think that if I had lived in those days, I would have been one of those holy folks who made it onto the ark. However, there have been times when I've caused my own floods by turning away from God's guidance while he was trying to lead me to the safety of an ark.

We all have our self-inflicted floods. We drown in pride or fear. We turn away from the ark that God is offering by using problem-solving methods that are not of God. We make choices based on how we feel instead of paying attention to what the Holy Spirit is saying in our spirit. We try to build easy lives in smooth valleys and assume that this home will never be deluged by too much rainfall.

God never ceases trying to guide us. He reaches out to us in scriptures, in our prayer time, in the homilies we hear, in the words of his people around us, and so on. But when we choose to do things in contrary ways, we create the clouds that rain on our nice valleys, and if we keep adding to the storm, it overwhelms us with a flood of problems.

Then we try to survive the storm by swimming, but we grow weary and start to sink in the stink of the ever-deepening waters of evil. We cry out for help, but if we only want to protect our precious plot of land in the valley, we're not interested in the ark that would float us away from what has been familiar and comfortable and "ours" – and then we get angry at God as if it's his fault that we're drowning!

Whether it's by our own fault or by external circumstances such as today's severe economic recession, Jesus says to us through today’s Gospel reading: "Do you still not understand?" He is the ark that the Father has provided. He is the Lord who will bless us with peace, whose voice calls out to us over the vast waters, as it says in the responsorial Psalm.

As we gulp for air, scared that the flood is overwhelming us, he asks: "Don't you remember what I have done for you in the past?"

How has he rescued you before? He will do it again! What miracles did he use to meet your needs? He will do it again! How did he turn suffering and hardships into blessings? HE WILL DO IT AGAIN!

Jesus is the ark that saves us. When we turn to him, regretting that we have not allowed him to lead us away from our comfort zone in the valley, sorry that we did not follow his example nor accept his advice – ZAP! Our remorse immediately plops us safely into the ark. We might still have a storm to ride out, but now we are safe. We are protected by his love and merciful forgiveness.

In today's economic hardships, environmental damage, wars and terrorist threats, culture of death and pro-abortion agendas – and in your own personal crises: More than ever, keep your eyes on Jesus!

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