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Click Here for Today's Mass Readings (Thursday After Epiphany):
As I mentioned in yesterday’s reflection on Epiphany, this feast is a celebration of the gift of salvation that God wanted to share with the entire world. Instead of the Gospel stating that “salvation is only for the Jews,” it states, “salvation is from the Jews.” In other words, in Epiphany the gift of salvation breaks through the borders of physical descent and is offered to everyone. God has extended His love to us, the “Gentiles,” the non-Jews.
In the days following Epiphany, the Mass readings are chosen to draw our attention to the different moments in the Gospel where Christ is “manifested” to the world in some way. It is a prolonged reflection on the feast of Epiphany. I want to look at two sentences from today’s first reading where St. John the Evangelist speaks about the foundation on which the two greatest commandments of God rest and connect them to Epiphany.
The first reading opens with the profoundly simple statement: “Beloved, we love God because he first loved us.” Amazing. The fact that we desire to love God, to serve Him, and desire to draw closer to Him is a sign that we have been loved by God first. The longing in our heart for God is a “manifestation” that we are loved by Him. The love that we have received from God is the source of the love which Jesus demands from His disciples in the Gospel: “Love one another as I have loved you.” The key part of this sentence is “as I have loved you.” In order to love God and our neighbor properly, we must first open ourselves to God’s love and choose to listen to His voice over and beyond any voice within that pushes us to self-hatred. For some people this is very difficult. But there must eventually be a point where one chooses to listen to the voice of God and stop believing any voice unworthy of a son or daughter of God. I often sense that when people are too harsh, rigid, or impatient with others, it is an indication of a certain harshness and impatience towards themselves. The old cliché, “you can only give what you have” can also be applied to the love of God and neighbor. We are not the source of the love which must be given to God and neighbor. We must love God and others with the love of God.
This leads into the second sentence I wanted to look at from today’s first reading, which regards the second greatest commandment: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” What St. John means is that the love of God and the love of neighbor are inseparably united. We cannot think we love God and at the same time trample down our neighbor. Each time we open ourselves to God’s love, or experience it firsthand without looking for it, we are transformed in some way and made more like God. The love of neighbor is a consequence of that love we have received. The love we have received overflows to our neighbor, and we begin to reflect God’s love more clearly. This is why it’s impossible for someone to say they have experienced God’s love and abide in His love, and continue to hate or be cruel and indifferent to others.
From all of this we see how the Epiphany of Christ can also be lived out in daily life. Through our acceptance of God's love, made "manifest" in our love for our neighbor, we become a reflection of the essential mystery of Epiphany - that the love of God has the power to break through the borders of our “ego” and become a visible sign of salvation to the world. God bless you.
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Tomorrow there will be no post since I will be spending all day on a plane.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Epiphany
Click Here for the Mass Readings for Epiphany:
Epiphany celebrates the “manifestation” of Jesus Christ – the moment when He is first revealed to the nations beyond the border of Israel. The events surrounding Jesus’ birth took place in relative secrecy, but through a marvel of divine providence foreigners, 3 magi or kings, arrive from the east to adore the newborn king.
This feast inspires within me a sense of gratitude for a few important reasons. Number one, the fact that God had led these foreigners to Christ offers us a clear indication that God’s salvation was not going to be based on physical descent, but on those who search for it. Most of us who are Catholic or Christian do not come from a Jewish background, so this manifestation of Christ to foreigners is something even more important for us.
The second reason for gratitude has to do with the way the magi were led to Jesus. The magi were guided by divine providence through means of creation. In their hearts they desired to honor and adore God, and God led them to Himself through the means they would understand – the rising of a star – and he protected them by the means of a dream, warning them not to return to Herod. The magi were also led to Jesus through the means of revelation, as they learned that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem based on a revelation through the prophets of Israel. This indicates that God can guide us in divine providence through the strangest and darkest of moments in our life, and through the strangest of situations, when we seek to know Him, understand and fulfill His will, and are ready to follow His lead even without knowing every step along the way. If those desires are there within us, God will respond, and can make our crooked ways straight. This offers me much encouragement, knowing that the Lord wants to guide us, He wants us to find Him, He wants to reveal Himself to us more and more, He wants us to be close to Him, and that the light of our faith can still dispel the darkness that sometimes seems to envelop our world.
Finally, in a time of neo-paganism, I cannot close without a word about the role of creation in today’s Gospel. This passage of the magi finding Christ by means of the rising star indicates the purpose of creation – it is meant to manifest and lead us to Jesus Christ. Once He has been found there is no longer a need to look to creation for life’s deepest meaning. Many Christians revert to astrology, palm-reading, tarot cards, etc… hoping to find answers. This is a certain sign of a crisis of faith, where the light of faith has either not been nurtured, or it has become so weak that it risks being extinguished completely. How big an issue is this? I know it is a big issue here in Italy, where nearly 20% of Italians consult astrologers or some form of divinization each year! We see in today’s Gospel that creation served its highest purpose as a sign meant to lead man to the knowledge and revelation of Jesus Christ. Creation is still present to us, and speaks or reminds us of God even today, but as Christians we understand creation to be only a sign pointing to something greater than itself. It is a marvelous reflection of Almighty God who has finally spoken to us and revealed everything He wanted to say with one Word – the Word of God who is none other than Jesus Christ.
Epiphany celebrates the “manifestation” of Jesus Christ – the moment when He is first revealed to the nations beyond the border of Israel. The events surrounding Jesus’ birth took place in relative secrecy, but through a marvel of divine providence foreigners, 3 magi or kings, arrive from the east to adore the newborn king.
This feast inspires within me a sense of gratitude for a few important reasons. Number one, the fact that God had led these foreigners to Christ offers us a clear indication that God’s salvation was not going to be based on physical descent, but on those who search for it. Most of us who are Catholic or Christian do not come from a Jewish background, so this manifestation of Christ to foreigners is something even more important for us.
The second reason for gratitude has to do with the way the magi were led to Jesus. The magi were guided by divine providence through means of creation. In their hearts they desired to honor and adore God, and God led them to Himself through the means they would understand – the rising of a star – and he protected them by the means of a dream, warning them not to return to Herod. The magi were also led to Jesus through the means of revelation, as they learned that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem based on a revelation through the prophets of Israel. This indicates that God can guide us in divine providence through the strangest and darkest of moments in our life, and through the strangest of situations, when we seek to know Him, understand and fulfill His will, and are ready to follow His lead even without knowing every step along the way. If those desires are there within us, God will respond, and can make our crooked ways straight. This offers me much encouragement, knowing that the Lord wants to guide us, He wants us to find Him, He wants to reveal Himself to us more and more, He wants us to be close to Him, and that the light of our faith can still dispel the darkness that sometimes seems to envelop our world.
Finally, in a time of neo-paganism, I cannot close without a word about the role of creation in today’s Gospel. This passage of the magi finding Christ by means of the rising star indicates the purpose of creation – it is meant to manifest and lead us to Jesus Christ. Once He has been found there is no longer a need to look to creation for life’s deepest meaning. Many Christians revert to astrology, palm-reading, tarot cards, etc… hoping to find answers. This is a certain sign of a crisis of faith, where the light of faith has either not been nurtured, or it has become so weak that it risks being extinguished completely. How big an issue is this? I know it is a big issue here in Italy, where nearly 20% of Italians consult astrologers or some form of divinization each year! We see in today’s Gospel that creation served its highest purpose as a sign meant to lead man to the knowledge and revelation of Jesus Christ. Creation is still present to us, and speaks or reminds us of God even today, but as Christians we understand creation to be only a sign pointing to something greater than itself. It is a marvelous reflection of Almighty God who has finally spoken to us and revealed everything He wanted to say with one Word – the Word of God who is none other than Jesus Christ.
Monday, January 4, 2010
The Lamb of God & the Power of Good
Click Here to See the First Chapter of the Gospel of St. John:
Click Here for the Mass Readings for Today (USA):
The experience of walking into church to offer Mass and discovering that the Mass readings are different from the ones you prepared can be a little unnerving. That was my experience this morning, and it's not the first time that has happened. I had prepared the Mass readings based off the USCCB website (from the links above), only to discover that for this entire week the Mass readings in the States will be different from the readings here in Italy and other places of the world. I guess I didn't put two and two together yesterday. So while those of you in the States are reflecting on passages of Scripture that touch upon the manifestation of Jesus to the world, you'll have the added bonus of further reflections on the mystery of Christmas. Now that's something to get excited about!
Today's Gospel passage (Jn 1:35-42) contains the famous revelation of St. John the Baptist: "Behold the Lamb of God." This image of the lamb of God is rich in biblical significance. First off, it is an image which calls to mind the exodus of the Israelite people out of Egypt when they had to sacrifice a lamb and place its blood on their door posts. Secondly, a lamb could be offered in the Jewish temple sacrifices as a way to expiate sins. Finally, this image reappears in Isaiah when it talks about the "suffering servant": "Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth." (Is 53:7). The words of the prophet come to fulfillment in Jesus' suffering and death, where Jesus most poignantly reveals Himself to truly be the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world and set us free. In Jesus crucified all three of these aspects are drawn together and their full significance revealed.
How does all of this relate to the mystery of Christmas? The image of the Lamb of God speaks of innocence (not ignorance, but innocence), it also speaks to us about self-sacrifice which comes from love. Every time we look at the crib where the baby Jesus lies we ought to recall the purpose of His birth. He has been born into our world to become the Lamb of God, to offer up His life in sacrifice to purify us and set us free - free to receive and give the love of God to both God and neighbor. Throughout His whole life Jesus remains that "spotless lamb".
How does this relate to our life as disciples of Christ? Before answering that question I would like to look at a quote from today's first reading: "Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil." (1 Jn 3:8) When we look around at the expansiveness of sin, evil, and darkness in our world we can be discouraged if we do not understand the power of God, a power that we often underestimate. In the face of so much evil we can begin to doubt the blessing of humility and innocence just as the psalmist did: "How useless to keep my heart pure and wash my hands in innocence" (Ps 73). Yet God was to destroy the power and might of sin and the devil through His humility and self-sacrifice. This is not easy to accept when we realize that this truth requires a change of mentality and heart on our part. When we think of overcoming evil in the world we think of the need to be mightier than the force of evil, and that in order to uproot evil and sin we need so many things. We often forget or do not think according to the Christian precept of overcoming evil with goodness (Romans 12:21). This is because we do not understand the full power of goodness. I know for myself that the most profound moments of conversion come through an experience of God's goodness, either a direct experience of God's goodness, or seeing heroic goodness in the lives of others around me. Those humble acts of goodness, which often involved some sort of self-sacrifice or hardship for someone, were powerful enough to burn themselves into my memory and heart, and they continue to trasform me.
When we look deeply into the mystery of Christmas, into the mystery of God's love and His coming among us, we will find ourselves challenged by His goodness, by His innocence, by His love and self-sacrifice. But all of this, if we accept the fullness of this mystery, has the power to transform us and make us better reflections of God's goodness. Yes, it requires humility and sacrifice on our part, and we are always learning how to do that better - but it also brings the power of God into our world, a power which does not exist in the governments of the world, but within individual hearts. It is a power which the world calls "weakness", but it is this "weakness of God" that has proved to be "stronger than human strength." (1 Cor 1:25) To be "weak" requires tremendous interior strength and a firm understanding of who we are as God's children. There is nothing feeble or squeamish in humility, mercy or innocence. Innocence is, again, not equivalent to ignorance, nor does it signify immaturity or a need to abandon the use of reason or one's intellect. On the contrary, these virtues, or this "weakness" of God, require a firm purpose, and a noble and gallant resolve on the part of each disciple.
I leave you with a stanza from a poem written as a tribute to St. Edmund Campion by St. Henry Walpole - a man who experienced the goodness and love of God and was converted when St. Edmund's blood splashed upon him during the martyr's execution (the same martyrdom that St. Henry would undergo 15 years later).
"Yee thought perhapps, when learned Campion dyes,
his pen must cease, his sugred (sweet) townge (tongue) be still.
But yow forget how lowd (loud) his deathe yt (it) cryes,
how farre beyond the sownd (sound) of tounge or quill.
yow did not know how rare and great a good
yt (it) was to write those precious guiftes (gifts) in bloode."
Click Here for the Mass Readings for Today (USA):
The experience of walking into church to offer Mass and discovering that the Mass readings are different from the ones you prepared can be a little unnerving. That was my experience this morning, and it's not the first time that has happened. I had prepared the Mass readings based off the USCCB website (from the links above), only to discover that for this entire week the Mass readings in the States will be different from the readings here in Italy and other places of the world. I guess I didn't put two and two together yesterday. So while those of you in the States are reflecting on passages of Scripture that touch upon the manifestation of Jesus to the world, you'll have the added bonus of further reflections on the mystery of Christmas. Now that's something to get excited about!Today's Gospel passage (Jn 1:35-42) contains the famous revelation of St. John the Baptist: "Behold the Lamb of God." This image of the lamb of God is rich in biblical significance. First off, it is an image which calls to mind the exodus of the Israelite people out of Egypt when they had to sacrifice a lamb and place its blood on their door posts. Secondly, a lamb could be offered in the Jewish temple sacrifices as a way to expiate sins. Finally, this image reappears in Isaiah when it talks about the "suffering servant": "Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth." (Is 53:7). The words of the prophet come to fulfillment in Jesus' suffering and death, where Jesus most poignantly reveals Himself to truly be the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world and set us free. In Jesus crucified all three of these aspects are drawn together and their full significance revealed.
How does all of this relate to the mystery of Christmas? The image of the Lamb of God speaks of innocence (not ignorance, but innocence), it also speaks to us about self-sacrifice which comes from love. Every time we look at the crib where the baby Jesus lies we ought to recall the purpose of His birth. He has been born into our world to become the Lamb of God, to offer up His life in sacrifice to purify us and set us free - free to receive and give the love of God to both God and neighbor. Throughout His whole life Jesus remains that "spotless lamb".
How does this relate to our life as disciples of Christ? Before answering that question I would like to look at a quote from today's first reading: "Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil." (1 Jn 3:8) When we look around at the expansiveness of sin, evil, and darkness in our world we can be discouraged if we do not understand the power of God, a power that we often underestimate. In the face of so much evil we can begin to doubt the blessing of humility and innocence just as the psalmist did: "How useless to keep my heart pure and wash my hands in innocence" (Ps 73). Yet God was to destroy the power and might of sin and the devil through His humility and self-sacrifice. This is not easy to accept when we realize that this truth requires a change of mentality and heart on our part. When we think of overcoming evil in the world we think of the need to be mightier than the force of evil, and that in order to uproot evil and sin we need so many things. We often forget or do not think according to the Christian precept of overcoming evil with goodness (Romans 12:21). This is because we do not understand the full power of goodness. I know for myself that the most profound moments of conversion come through an experience of God's goodness, either a direct experience of God's goodness, or seeing heroic goodness in the lives of others around me. Those humble acts of goodness, which often involved some sort of self-sacrifice or hardship for someone, were powerful enough to burn themselves into my memory and heart, and they continue to trasform me.
When we look deeply into the mystery of Christmas, into the mystery of God's love and His coming among us, we will find ourselves challenged by His goodness, by His innocence, by His love and self-sacrifice. But all of this, if we accept the fullness of this mystery, has the power to transform us and make us better reflections of God's goodness. Yes, it requires humility and sacrifice on our part, and we are always learning how to do that better - but it also brings the power of God into our world, a power which does not exist in the governments of the world, but within individual hearts. It is a power which the world calls "weakness", but it is this "weakness of God" that has proved to be "stronger than human strength." (1 Cor 1:25) To be "weak" requires tremendous interior strength and a firm understanding of who we are as God's children. There is nothing feeble or squeamish in humility, mercy or innocence. Innocence is, again, not equivalent to ignorance, nor does it signify immaturity or a need to abandon the use of reason or one's intellect. On the contrary, these virtues, or this "weakness" of God, require a firm purpose, and a noble and gallant resolve on the part of each disciple.
I leave you with a stanza from a poem written as a tribute to St. Edmund Campion by St. Henry Walpole - a man who experienced the goodness and love of God and was converted when St. Edmund's blood splashed upon him during the martyr's execution (the same martyrdom that St. Henry would undergo 15 years later).
"Yee thought perhapps, when learned Campion dyes,
his pen must cease, his sugred (sweet) townge (tongue) be still.
But yow forget how lowd (loud) his deathe yt (it) cryes,
how farre beyond the sownd (sound) of tounge or quill.
yow did not know how rare and great a good
yt (it) was to write those precious guiftes (gifts) in bloode."
Sunday, January 3, 2010
When in Rome...
Click Here to View the Prologue to St. John's Gospel (Jn 1: 1-18):“When in Rome do as the Romans.” While this famous saying does not offer the wisest of councils in regard to the manner in which one should live, it does offer a solid footing for all things liturgical.
The solemnity of Epiphany is celebrated today throughout the United States (as the feast is always transferred to Sunday). In Italy, however, we are celebrating the 2nd Sunday After Christmas, since Epiphany is always celebrated here on January 6th. As a result, today’s post is a further reflection on the Christmas mystery, based on the prologue to John’s Gospel which you can read by clicking on the link above. Today's reflection on the meaning of the Christmas mystery is relevant also for those celebrating Epiphany, as Epiphany falls within the Christmas Season. So, not all is lost in reserving the “epiphanological” reflections for this coming Wednesday (January 6th)!
“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.” (Jn 1:18)
The great mystery of Christmas revolves around one simple message: God loves us and has revealed Himself to us by becoming man, by taking on flesh and living among us. With the birth of Jesus God has revealed His face to us. In other words, He has made Himself known and accessible. Just how accessible is He? Well, who is more accessible than a baby? Everyone can approach an infant!
This new accessibility to God means we can come to know Him in a new way. Since He is still living among us we can know Him even now. We can “see” Him present in our lives through the “eyes of faith”. We can sense and recognize His presence by cultivating a spirit of prayer. We can hear His voice within us and, if we look, we can see His goodness all around us. This is the kind of “knowledge” Jesus came to reveal about the Father – an experiential knowledge of the Father’s love and goodness which is meant to draw us into a relationship of love – filial love.
So what does all of that mean? It means that our knowledge of God must extend beyond information and the memorization of different truths of our faith (which are also important to know!). But our knowledge of God must also be a personal, living knowledge that reaches to the depths of our heart and soul. This intimate and personal knowledge of God can be described by the different images we find in the prologue to St. John’s Gospel, such as life, light, and glory. When we make time for prayer and silence we open ourselves to receive this type of knowledge from God; we experience His goodness and love and its transformative power within us, and we begin to understand how God can truly become the joy of our life.
As already mentioned, we see the key words of truth, light, life, grace, and glory in today’s Gospel passage from St. John. So basing our prayer on those key words let us now pray to God that the fullness of the Christmas mystery may enter our personal lives and the entire world. We pray that those living in falsehood and lies may discover the beauty and freedom of truth. We pray for those overcome by darkness, or who feel that darkness has had the last word in their lives, that the light of Christ’s presence may penetrate their deepest darkness and bring them hope. We pray for those caught in the death of sin and closed to the grace of God, and also for those who perpetuate a culture of death in our world, that they may be overcome by the power of the life of Christ lying in the manger and come experience the joy of conversion. And finally, we pray for all of those who seek their own glory, or the glory of man in whatever form, that all their energies may be redirected to seeking the honor and glory of God, who wishes to share His glory with us.
"And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory…”
Have a blessed Sunday!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Mary, the Mother of God
Click here for the Mass Readings for Today:
Happy New Year to you all!! As we begin this new year of 2010 may each of us stop to turn our gaze to Mary, the Mother of God. January 1st not only marks the beginning of a new year, but it also signals the close of the Christmas Octave - that "one long day" of Christmas which we have celebrated for the last eight days - and the Church appropriately celebrates the motherhood of Mary on this day. Our salvation (Jesus) reaches us not through a cold declaration from on high, but through the heart of a mother.
As today's readings reveal, God sent His Son to us, to be born of Mary, so that we might become sons of God and inherit all the blessings of His Kingdom, especially the blessing of His peace. Today is also the World Day of Peace, an appropriate time to recall that all forms of violence destroy the work of God for peace. We turn to Mary and entrust to her intercession this new year, that man may take steps away from violence and turn to peace. Violence is born first of all within human hearts - it tries to take over that space within us that God wanted for Himself - and if we do not seek to protect our hearts from the presence of violence through forgiveness and the peace of God, it can destroy us and those we love.
Through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of the Prince of Peace, may our world find courage to seek peace. May the Lord bless you and keep you, may He let His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, may the Lord look kindly upon you and grant you His peace! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you all!! As we begin this new year of 2010 may each of us stop to turn our gaze to Mary, the Mother of God. January 1st not only marks the beginning of a new year, but it also signals the close of the Christmas Octave - that "one long day" of Christmas which we have celebrated for the last eight days - and the Church appropriately celebrates the motherhood of Mary on this day. Our salvation (Jesus) reaches us not through a cold declaration from on high, but through the heart of a mother.As today's readings reveal, God sent His Son to us, to be born of Mary, so that we might become sons of God and inherit all the blessings of His Kingdom, especially the blessing of His peace. Today is also the World Day of Peace, an appropriate time to recall that all forms of violence destroy the work of God for peace. We turn to Mary and entrust to her intercession this new year, that man may take steps away from violence and turn to peace. Violence is born first of all within human hearts - it tries to take over that space within us that God wanted for Himself - and if we do not seek to protect our hearts from the presence of violence through forgiveness and the peace of God, it can destroy us and those we love.
Through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of the Prince of Peace, may our world find courage to seek peace. May the Lord bless you and keep you, may He let His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, may the Lord look kindly upon you and grant you His peace! Happy New Year!
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