"What does God think when He looks at you?" (Aug 16th)

One of the things that ends up affecting us Christians more than anything else is how we would answer this simple question: “What does God think when He looks at you?” This really ends up being a strong driving force in our life.

Should be how God thinks of us.

How we think God thinks of us.

That can often end up being very different.  Like the father of the prodigal son, what we think God is thinking about us of often so much less than what is actually in His heart. A child may be ashamed of their mistakes when their parents punish them, but the parents still gaze upon them with a deep love.

If I imagine God like a harsh sports coach or a mean teacher or a demanding parent… I’m gonna live in fear of failing Him, of upsetting him, etc.

But as we saw in today’s Gospel, God doesn’t treat us that way. Jesus, in testing this woman’s faith, also gives his disciples a chance to see things from God’s perspective instead of their own fallen one. He helps us all to see, in the example of this woman, that no one is unimportant to God. All are his children.

God doesn’t think we are bad or evil; He doesn’t think we are damaged goods; He doesn’t define us by our mistakes, our failures, or our sins.

HOW DO YOU THINK OF GOD? WHAT BAD IMAGES OF AUTHORITY HAVE CORRUPTED YOUR IDEA OF GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU?

“What does God think when He looks at you?” If you don’t see Him gazing upon you with love, you have the wrong image. Ask the Lord to help heal that and transform it.

Come and Drink!

2 quotes every Catholic should know and live by:
Augustine: You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.
Irenaeus: The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is to see the face of God.
          Union with God is our true spiritual food. And with good habits, we grow to want this true and lasting food that actually satisfies.
          My sister Katie has three kids, two of them are at the toddler age. She probably wishes that they could just simply eat three times a day along with her and not need anything else, but the truth is they want more than just that. So she has to have them nibble on other things. This doesn’t replace the main meal but it is also important, and it also prepares them for the meal if done well. 
          God wishes to transform our minds with spiritual food. This food is above all found in the 
Eucharist, but God gives it to us in so many ways, and our daily prayer lives is an important one, no matter what form that takes.
(AQUINAS) Note on the words, all you that thirst, come to the waters (55:1), that divine doctrine is first called water: and this is first because it heals the sick: she shall give him the water of wisdom to drink (Sir 15:3) second, because it cleanses the filthy: I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness (Ezek 36:25) third, because it satisfies the thirsty: if anyone shall drink of the water that I will give, he shall not thirst for ever (John 4:13).994. Second, it is called wine: and this is first because it stings in argument, above: thy wine is mingled with water (1:22); second, because it inflames in exhortation: the word of the Lord inflamed him (Ps 104[105]:19); third, because it inebriates in consolation, below: that you may be inebriated with the breasts of her consolations (66:11).995. Third, it is called milk: and this is first because of its beauty: Nephthali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty (Gen 49:21); second, because of its sweetness: let thy voice sound in my ears: for thy voice is sweet (Song 2:14); third, because of the ease with which it is taken: as newborn babes, desire milk (1 Pet 2:2).

READ ALL OF ISAIAH 55! We heard half of it in two weekends this past month. You will love it.
Isaiah 55:1 All you that thirst, come to the waters: and you that have no money make haste, buy, and eat: come ye, buy wine and milk without money, and without any price. 55:2 Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which doth not satisfy you? Hearken diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and your soul shall be delighted in fatness.
55:3 Incline your ear and come to me: hear and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the faithful mercies of David. 55:4 Behold I have given him for a witness to the people, for a leader and a master to the Gentiles. 55:5 Behold thou shalt call a nation, which thou knewest not: and the nations that knew not thee shall run to thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee. 55:6 Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found: call upon him, while he is near. 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God: for he is bountiful to forgive. 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 55:9 For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts. 55:10 And as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return no more thither, but soak the earth, and water it, and make it to spring, and give  seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 55:11 So shall my word be, which shall go forth from my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall do whatsoever I please, and shall prosper in the things for which I sent it. 55:12 For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall sing praise before you, and all the trees of the country shall clap their hands. 55:13 Instead of the shrub, shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the nettle, shall come up the myrtle tree: and the Lord shall be named for an everlasting sign, that shall not be taken away.
          First profession of the SSFPA. Three sisters made three-year promises to live fully the community life of the Congregation.  They have chosen Christ to be the center of their lives and have founded their sense of identity firmly in Him. They look at themselves through the reflection found in His eyes, and thus they are satisfied. They are not feeling, as the lies of this world tell us, that they are “repressed,” “stifled,” or “naive.” They have a joy and a peace that the world does not ever give, even for those with all the money and fame and health that they could ever want. They are fully alive because they behold the face of God in prayer. They are at rest because their hearts rest in God.
          This is what Jesus offers us. We don’t need to be nuns to have this, which is good news for me! God doesn’t rule out anyone. All who are thirsty are invited to come to the waters of baptism, that first water that begins the life that fills us. Through baptism, all of us have the voice of the Father spoken over us can now dare to say, “our Father,” at the savior’s command and formed by divine teaching. Through baptism, all of us have heaven open to us as it was to Jesus, who draws us into Himself. Through baptism all of us are forever carried in the Father’s heart.
          And the deeper you go into this reality, the more you see how the rest of the “food” the world is offering us is just rice cakes and cotton candy: flashy, zingy, sweet, but pretty empty. We end up not-so-fully alive, more just getting by or holding on or treading water.
          So what is that next step for you? How is Jesus calling you to come to the water more fully? What false satisfaction do you need to let go of as you replace it with more time beholding His face and resting in Him? Ask St. Therese to help you. Ask her to show you how to endure the gaze of love that God is showering upon you.

Renewal (transformation) of the mind

Why does Jesus use parables? This is an important question, and in scripture Jesus gives us an answer Himself in scripture. But before looking there, it is good to look at the explanation on parables given by Pope Benedict XVI in his 1st volume on Christ titled "Jesus of Nazareth" - this is an absolute masterpiece that I highly recommend everyone read - where for ten or so pages he explains why the Lord uses parables. He says at all times, Jesus ultimately preaches to reveal Himself: the Son of God come in human flesh who also thus brings in his own person the Kingdom of God (heaven) down to earth. Thus the parables are "hidden and multilayered invitations to faith in Jesus as the "Kingdom of God in person'."

But another good and shorter answer is this: PARABLES are TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE. He wants to shift how we look at the world, at our own lives, at the direction of where our lives are headed, etc. So that we aren't hyper-focused in our own perspective, but are conformed to God's perspective.

This change of how we see is also found in Jesus’ own words from last week’s Gospel, when He said: "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ...they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand."

A sort of revealing and not-revealing way at the same time.

          Do you want more from God? Then be like the good soil from last week's parable, take in a receive whatever He gives you. We need to be humble, like that rich fertile soil, and let yourself be changed. Give God's word lots of room in your heart, in your life, and shape your life around it, and not it around your life. If we are doing these things more and more, then the parables will open themselves up to us.

Jesus says it is to the child-like that His Father has revealed the mysteries of the kingdom, not the wise and the learned. You must live from your identity as a child of God to receive the mysteries of these parables. If we presume that we have outgrown them, "even what we have will be taken away" from us.

          While with my family last week, I continued reading a book of conversion stories, one person quotes the late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia "When you're reading Shakespeare, Shakespeare's not on trial -- you are." It is of course always the same with all of scripture, including even the simplest parable of Christ like the mustard seed and the yeast.

The parables are powerful because they simply test us. They put ourselves and our perspectives on trial and force us to see the world the way the parable sees the world, the way that God wants to see the world. Because these simple stories are given to us by the Word of God in the flesh, we do not get to say: "oh there is a mistake here. I see where it is wrong." No, when you gaze into the mirror of the parables of Jesus, if there is something wrong, the error we see is in ourselves reflected in that mirror. We need to make the necessary adjustments to conform to what these parables are saying. It may be a rude awakening, but it is a freedom. We may feel unsure and unsteady, but we are beginning to learn to walk instead of just crawl. So it's worth it.

St. Paul in Romans 12:2 (we will read it on Aug. 30th this year as we progress through the highlights of this letter) has a beautiful passage about changing the way we see, the way we think about thinks.  - "Do not be conformed to the wisdom of this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may know what is the will if God, what is good, and pleasing, and perfect."

This is the work of the parables: to transform and renew our minds. All parables force us to look through the lends of physical realities, so that we may see beyond them to the invisible realities that are more real, more true, than what is so constantly in front of us.

          The parables are glimpses of heaven. They are small visions of God's heart, God's mind, and God's plans for our lives and our futures. Jesus himself says, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?" (Mk. 4) "The Kingdom of heaven is like..." (a man who sows good seed in a field... a mustard seed that is sowed in the ground

          He is trying to show us heaven. With the business of our lives, with the noise

It is forcing us to think about only what our eyes can see, to drag our attention only to the visible reality that is part of our lives and at the same time to ignore (and ultimately forget) the invisible realities that are also part of our lives, and realities that will actually endure - things that are really more important. So we end up getting sucked into the wrong story. We end up interpreting the world and every single part of our own lives and everything else, every way that we judge our lives and other people's lives, - all of that gets forced into this wrong perspective.

Jesus wants these parables help us to change our vision to focus on heaven, but it is too much for us to take in at once, and that is why we get parables. Heaven to the fallen human mind is like the sun to the eyes - or even just the full light of day when we walk out of a dark place -  our minds are simply overwhelmed and conquered by it.

          So let us allow these parables to work on our hearts.

weeds and wheat: (revealed in private because these disciples already live from their identity as children of God) Jesus explains that this is all about heaven. All of our lives need to be put in perspective of the end of things when we will be separated and those who are bearing good fruit will be taken into his barn. Everything in our lives - how much money am I making? Am I successful? how many friends do I have? have I been a good son or daughter? brother or sister? - all of this must be considered from the final perspective of where our life is headed, and thus we can live our lives every day more in accord with what we were truly made for. The message is: remember where we are headed.

mustard seed: He wants us to see the invisible power of his grace to work in our lives and transform it, and thus transform the world. Think of Therese - that "little flower" like the smallest of seeds, whose hidden life of 24 years (8 in a convent) simply has transformed the world more than Caesar Augustus or George Washington. So many have "nested" in this life and have found.

yeast: God's grace, and the Christian life itself, does not destroy the good of this world and our lives, but rather lifts them up to be more full.

Let us allow the Lord to continue to work on our hearts through these parables. We need to be transformed in our mind - and one way to do that is to pray through these parables of Jesus - here and many others.

This is how we may be renewed and healed from the false perspective of this world, from all of the lies that have been pushed on us. All those weeds that the devil has sown in our minds in our hearts - the Lord wants to purify us of that. We need to let Him work on us through praying with these parables, we need to spend time looking at heaven, and see the true reality that God wants us to live within every single day, the true story that He wants us to be part of.

humility

The memorable prophecy that Jesus fulfilled in his entry to Jerusalem - “Riding on a baby donkey” – was first and foremost a testament to the truth that the Messiah comes in peace, not in war. If he was riding in conquest, he would enter the city on a horse. Jesus is indeed the prince of Peace. However, it also attests to his humility, his lowliness. The Messiah didn’t need any extra praise from others. He “humbled himself even to the point of death on a cross,” Paul tells us in Philippians 2. And thus he gives us all an example to follow.

The donkey is also a good image of the ministerial priesthood and indeed of all Christians, for “we hold this treasure in earthen vessels” and the Lord wishes to use us humble beasts to do something quite extraordinary: to bear His glorious presence within us and to bring him into other people’s lives.

“We are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

“Deeds of the flesh” = sloth, gluttony, lust, hedonism (maximizing pleasure, avoiding pain) self-preservation. Also, though less obvious are the other “deadly vices” or “capital sins” of vanity, envy, pride, and wrath. All of them look at life from a perspective of the flesh: whether to please the flesh or whether to simply forget that we have a life beyond the flesh, a destiny that is eternal, for good or for ill.

And in fact, if we look at all sins, we can see that pride is center of all sin. “my will be done.”

We must love what Jesus loved from the cross, and despise whatever he despised on the cross.

Fasting and other penance. It’s a training ground for saying “no, I’m in charge and I’m going to glorify God in my body.” It prepares us for when love demands something of us.

Litany of Humilty:  

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

4th Sunday of Easter - Repent and be Baptized, COVID edition

“Repent and be baptized”

Every single thing in our life, all the things that we used to do, and all the things we may soon be doing again - all of them need one of these two actions done to them.

Repent - turn your back on them. Do a 180, to face the right thing. Leave it in the dust. Scrap it. It is not of God or not what God asks of me specifically.

Be baptized - It needs to be consecrated to God. It is good in itself and is what God wants me to be spending myself on for one reason or another. Therefore I must do it. But I must do it for God. Given to God. Covered in prayer and discernment and guided by the wisdom of the Church.

Repent and be baptized. That is our whole life, before and after baptism.

We are called to make sacrifices for our faith, for this relationship.

But God did it first. This is one of the things Jesus is speaking of when He calls Himself the Good Shepherd. Every Good Shepherd is the first one out and the last one in. He led the way as a Good Shepherd. Jesus went through the gate of the cross. We must follow.

Sheep were kept overnight in caves. The shepherd would protect the sheep with his own life by laying down across the mouth of the cave. No wolves could come in without getting through him first. A good shepherd “lays down his life” for his sheep.

God did it first.

Now what are we going to do? Will we follow the voice of this good shepherd? Will we “repent” and “be baptized” in every single aspect of our life?

Will our new life on the other side of quarantine look identical to before? If so, we were either perfect before, or we didn’t grow. Clearly, things should be different for us.

3rd Sunday of Easter - Witness is simple

Peter proclaims the Gospel. No special words. Just the basic message. He also shows how Old Testament is fulfilled in Jesus quoting Psalm 16. That’s the fruit of reflection on facts.
Learn for yourself the basics of the Good News. I’d recommend the book: Case for Jesus - Brant Pitre. Or listen to the 1hr lecture that is in Formed.org http://watch.formed.org/the-case-for-jesus
This spiritual reading would be a great use of your free time, or even as part of your prayer and meditation time, but not replacing it. Remember, God wants not just your mind, but your heart and soul as well. Getting excited and inspired by some part of the Good News, which this book or lecture could do, is an important part of being a strong witness to Jesus.
Slowly Peter’s understanding deepens through more praying and reflecting on Scripture and sharing with the other Apostles and other followers of Jesus. Our faith is deepened only when we use it. We can’t expect it to grow on its own.
This is what happens to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Their faith is only deepened by encountering Jesus. They were open to letting God speak to them as indeed Jesus generously does even in disguise along the way. Their understanding grows through this sharing. Then when they finally realize the Lord is with them and not just a random traveler, they must run back and return to Jerusalem to bring the Good News to their brothers. They become evangelists these two disciples, Cleopas and the unnamed one. They simply tell their story. This is what God has done in my life.
All of us are called to do the same. Perhaps an easy thing is sharing how our prayer life helps us grow in love and peace each day. Or How God answers our prayers sometimes in big obvious ways. Or just sharing something that built up our faith.
It also means deepening our faith by being with each other as Christians or by sharing virtually with each other as these times require.
Finally, about this deep truth that Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. It is not a coincidence that Jesus disappeared from Cleopas and the other disciple when their “eyes were opened.” This isn’t a sign that Jesus abandoned them but rather a fulfillment of the word at the end of Matthew’s Gospel: “Behold I am with you until the end of the ages.” His presence was still there, but it is transferred into the Eucharist. nowadays when we are stripped from gathering for Mass and receiving the Eucharist, We are called to realize the same truth but in some ways in reverse: instead of realizing Jesus is among us and then having his presence vanish, we must see our hunger and longing for the Eucharist as a testament to the truth that Jesus is really here.
It was not until they recognized Jesus in the Eucharist did they realize that He had been present in all of their lives. I believe that deepening our faith and understanding of the Eucharist would be a profoundly fruitful use of our time away from the Mass. But above all, to know Jesus, alive and present in your lives, in your mess, redeeming it, restoring it. This is the primary role of the witness. And the world today needs witnesses. Let us learn from Peter and from Cleopas and the other disciple how to witness to Jesus present among us.

Divine Mercy Sunday - Tunnel Vision

See a video of the podcast on our YouTube page, click here!

Take a paper towel tube or a toilet paper one (if you can find it) and place it over your eye like a telescope. This simple toy really changes your perspective. In some ways it’s the definition of tunnel vision.

The apostles had Tunnel-vision. They were staring at one thing way too long, and that’s what got them locked up in the upper room as they were locked in their own minds. Just like the conclave that elected Pope Francis and every pope before him, the key was safely kept in the room that was locked to keep everything else (and everyone else) on the outside.

Their tunnel-vision was very understandable in many ways. They were following a rabbi who was publicly executed. And if it’s true today, it was true even more back then: who you hang out with can do a lot of good or can do a lot of harm. Thus, they saw themselves as next on the list for the cross, or perhaps some other minor punishments. Fear of public shame is a powerful thing. Fear of death even more powerful. Hence the tunnel vision.

Perhaps we could also say they had stone-vision or tomb-vision. All they could think of was that Jesus was dead. It was over. Like all of us today, any of their plans for the future were thrown out. They had to re –evaluate everything and say goodbye to so many things they enjoyed either for a month or two, or perhaps for the rest of their lives. Their vision was focused on the finality of death, on the immovability of that stone over the tomb, on the coldness and darkness of the tomb.

That’s the problem with a problem as big as a crisis. The shock gives you tunnel-vision, gives you stone-vision, tomb-vision. That new and debilitating thing becomes the only part of reality that you can see. Your mind gets locked-up on it. You get stuck inside your head as much as the Apostles were stuck inside that upper room.

But the truth is that life is bigger than the apparent finality of death. The truth is that reality is much broader than a stone or a tomb or a locked door. Tunnel-vision is a sort of lie. It looks at something as if its everything. The stone and the tomb were important parts of reality, but not the most important parts. When faced with a crisis, we end up narrowing our vision to the point that we forget the most important things.

The Apostles had forgotten that God was God. They had forgotten that Jesus had said this was going to happen. They had stopped thinking about the miracles. Their minds were blocked from considering that Jesus said “this is my body given up for you” just the past week in the same upper room. They forgot how God turned tragedy into glory for their ancestors at the Red Sea or with Abraham or with Joshua or Isaiah and Jeremiah.

If they could only take off their blinders and see the whole of reality, especially the reality of God’s providential care and his irrevocable claim on His chosen people, then perhaps they wouldn’t have been so locked-up in their own heads, their own fears, their stone-and-tomb-vision.

Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t wait for them, or for any of us, to get it all straightened out first. He breaks into the room. He reveals Himself, alive. He rips the paper towel tube right away from their faces so their vision is immediately broadened. As much as His death blinded them from so much of reality, so now His risen body, His presence re-open their minds and unlock the doors.  The stone is now rolled away from their hearts. They are coming out of their own self-made tombs. They have once again found hope, hope that God can bring good even out of the horrible tragedy that is their lives, or that their tunnel-vision said was their lives.

In our current crisis, we need the same transformation. If our eyes are too focused on the problem, then we forget that reality is much broader than just the problem. We don’t see the importance of human freedom, and the fact that if we use our freedom to love, to choose the good again and again (which is to choose God again and again) then we are changing so much around the problem, this crisis, that we may in fact even end up changing the crisis from the “disaster” that it can at times seem to be, downgrading it perhaps to what we might call a “hot mess” or even down to just a “situation.” Love can do such things, because God is love. And He is real. And He is here.

And that, my friends, is the most important truth we need to learn from the Apostles and from Thomas today. When He sees that Jesus is real, that He is here, he’s done. He’s not afraid. He’s at peace. All he has to do is worship, say “My Lord and my God,” and place Himself in the Lord’s hands. When the most important part of reality is that God is still God and still involved in all of my life, then why am I afraid? When Jesus’ wounds show the merciful love of God that is greater than my sin, that is greater than death itself, why would I be afraid? I may die, but I’ve already died in baptism. I already have one foot in heaven and one foot in this world. Now I can really live because I am not afraid. Now I can really love. Now God can change the world through me, and save others from their own tunnel-vision.