With Neighbors Like That, Who Needs Enemies | March 5, 2018

I think it is safe to say that we’ve all heard a dud homily/sermon or two in our lives: boring, controversial, irrelevant, difficult, long, tedious, hard to understand, and just plain horrible. Whatever the case may be, we’ve sat through some doozies. But, have you ever witnessed a preacher being chased out of the building to the edge of a cliff to be forced to an untimely death because of one of those homilies? (Even if you’ve thought about it <wink,wink>, it’s never actually been done!) Well that’s what happens to Jesus in today’s gospel as he is preaching in his hometown synagogue where he was raised and taught the faith. Yikes!

Here is the prequel to today’s gospel in a nutshell: Jesus had just finished his 40-day “retreat” in the desert where Satan tried to tempt him three times. He probably was in tremendous need of a shower and mom’s home cooking after fasting in the hot desert for 40 days, I’m just sayin’. He was also extra fortified in the Holy Spirit after such an experience and so he volunteered to read the scroll in church that Sabbath. This was an honor reserved for Rabbi’s and there had already been tremendous buzz about the shiny kid from Nazareth so at first his neighbors and family were happy to hear from him. His Scripture choice for the day was that beautiful passage from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Lovely job! Bravo kid! Mary must be so proud of her baby boy! “Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, ‘Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.’” Still impressed and still captivated, Jesus leans in. Get ready, here we go…

“And he said, ‘Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.’” Begin head scratching and thinking twice about that comment. Jesus sees the unease and begins to recap the story of Elijah (A Jewish rock star, icon, celebrity) who was also rejected in his hometown. He was healing people and saving people and cleansing lepers, but not enough people or lepers and not ALL the people so they ran him out of town. I imagine this was some sort of deliberate response to some sort of rumor or gossip or complaints against Jesus doing similar things. Suddenly, the crowd was no longer amazed and impressed, but downright insulted, angry, and offended to the point that, “They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.” (TO KILL HIM!) With neighbors like that, who needs enemies, right? And then, “he passed through the midst of them and went away.” What? How? I picture Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak being pulled out of his tunic and all the people doing that dog pile dominoes thing because he just disappears. The point is that it was not his time to give his life and he absolutely chose to save himself until the right time, which is a foreshadowing of when he was hanging on the cross and the same neighbors (most likely) challenged him to save himself again.

Jesus makes it clear today that he is in control and that he did indeed choose to give his life for each one of us AND each one of those hometown neighbors that wanted to kill him. Perhaps the statement, “No prophet is accepted in his native place” is a call to all of us to go outside of our comfort zones when it comes to spreading the word. Our native place is that which knows all of our weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and ugliness. It can be a place that allows us to rest and to retreat, but it can also be a place that stands in our way and holds us back. It is necessary to go out from the place that holds us back in order to cultivate our strengths, gifts, and beauty. I’m not sure if I’ve captured today’s theme eloquently enough, but perhaps all we need to know is that Jesus chose to suffer and die in our place so that we might live. You can’t go wrong with that.

Oh, and, let’s be the kind of neighbors that celebrate our own, and not the kind that flings our own off a cliff. Have a blessed day and it is well with my soul.

Reading 1 2 KGS 5:1-15AB

Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram,
was highly esteemed and respected by his master,
for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram.
But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.
Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel
a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman's wife.
"If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,"
she said to her mistress, "he would cure him of his leprosy."
Naaman went and told his lord
just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.
"Go," said the king of Aram.
"I will send along a letter to the king of Israel."
So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents,
six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.
To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read:
"With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you,
that you may cure him of his leprosy."

When he read the letter,
the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed:
"Am I a god with power over life and death,
that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?
Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!"
When Elisha, the man of God,
heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments,
he sent word to the king:
"Why have you torn your garments?
Let him come to me and find out
that there is a prophet in Israel."

Naaman came with his horses and chariots
and stopped at the door of Elisha's house.
The prophet sent him the message:
"Go and wash seven times in the Jordan,
and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean."
But Naaman went away angry, saying,
"I thought that he would surely come out and stand there
to invoke the LORD his God,
and would move his hand over the spot,
and thus cure the leprosy.
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,
better than all the waters of Israel? 
Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?"
With this, he turned about in anger and left.

But his servants came up and reasoned with him.
"My father," they said,
"if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,
would you not have done it?
All the more now, since he said to you,
'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said."
So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times
at the word of the man of God.
His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before him and said,
"Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel."

Responsorial Psalm PS 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4

R. (see 42:3) Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Verse Before The Gospel SEE PS 130:5, 7

I hope in the LORD, I trust in his word;
with him there is kindness and plenteous redemption.

Gospel LK 4:24-30

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel
in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

The Bad Samaritan | March 4, 2018

Today, most of us will hear the gospel from John when Jesus cleanses the temple, however, the RCIA calendar uses the wonderful story of the woman at the well and I have been inspired to write about her: The “Bad” Samaritan.

Have you ever been in a crowded room and had the feeling that someone was watching you? When you scan the room, sure enough, a dear friend is just waiting for you to find their gaze and in your eye contact with one another, the crowd and the noise melt away, and you feel found. (Shout out: June Richards and I do this to each other all the time!) This happening captures a piece of the woman at the well story for me.

Jesus was waiting at noon at the Samaritan well for a very specific reason. He knew that this was the hour when the shameful people (only women went to the well) would sneak over to draw their water. The “pretty” people (only women went to the well) would never dream of going to the well in the heat of the day, that was just foolish. Jesus knew this and He sat there waiting for that someone who felt unworthy, ashamed, alone, guilty, marginalized, judged, and cast aside. Raise your hand if you would be drawing water at noon. I would. I’m sure the woman was inconveniently surprised to see not only another person at the well during her private visit, but a Jewish man! Come on! It’s like when you go to the grocery store in your ugly sweats with no make-up and you run into a long lost friend that wants to catch up on your life for the past 10 years in the ketchup aisle. Oi vey, I just wanted potato chips! Anyway, Jesus waited for this outcast to find His gaze, knowing it would be really really awkward for her, and in that finding, her world would be turned upside down.

He looked into her soul and found her vulnerability. Have you ever had a friend that could see into your soul? He used her current reality to engage, “Give me a drink.” (Emphasis on one singular drink) Of course, this exchange was forbidden in every rulebook and on every level. Jesus had a feeling that this particular woman, The Bad Samaritan, wouldn’t mind breaking the rules (He meets her where she’s at in her life). This breaking in melted her on the spot and she was compelled to respond. She sets Him up perfectly with a “how are you talking to me right now?” Walls broken down, check, coming in with the message, check, heart opened to receive, check, life changed forever, check. He makes a mysterious Jesus-type statement to get her to think more deeply about things. It engages her mind to ask what vessel He had to store this living water and Jesus tells her that she is the vessel. Bam! “Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him/her a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” She is hooked and ready to never have to come to the well at this shaming hour again! Bring it on, Jesus! Careful what you ask for.

Now that He has her attention, the next step is conversion, and this is humiliating (or humility) part. He gently has her take a look at her life. That is really all it takes for her to understand that something must change for her to be able to have this well of eternity within her. It was no secret as to why she was at the well at noon and yet Jesus did not use shame to expose her, but rather a tenderhearted nudge to make a new life. Her shame was with her everyday and His breaking into her heart was all she needed to want to sin no more. She is so blown away by his intrusive nature that she is inspired to identify Him as Messiah, for only the Messiah could see into her soul. Ding, ding, ding! You win! The Shameful Bad Samaritan Woman at the well at noon proclaims Jesus as Messiah before his own beloved besties!!! How’s that for a plot twist that makes you dig deep?

Jesus waits for us at the well where our shame dwells. Jesus waits patiently for us to find his gaze. Jesus breaks into our souls and invites us to a relationship with him. Jesus gently addresses our vulnerability, our weakness, and our sin. Jesus offers us a better way and the promise of eternity. Jesus allows us to accept him as our Savior and Jesus sends us out changed for good. Our part is to meet his gaze even in our shame, to ask how (Prayer), to say yes to the promise, to claim him as everything, and to accept our need to change. Have a blessed day and it is well with my soul.

Reading 1 EX 17:3-7

In those days, in their thirst for water,
the people grumbled against Moses,
saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt?
Was it just to have us die here of thirst 
with our children and our livestock?”
So Moses cried out to the LORD, 
“What shall I do with this people?
a little more and they will stone me!”
The LORD answered Moses,
“Go over there in front of the people, 
along with some of the elders of Israel, 
holding in your hand, as you go, 
the staff with which you struck the river.
I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb.
Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it 
for the people to drink.”
This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel.
The place was called Massah and Meribah, 
because the Israelites quarreled there
and tested the LORD, saying,
“Is the LORD in our midst or not?”

Responsorial Psalm PS 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9.

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Reading 2 ROM 5:1-2, 5-8

Brothers and sisters:
Since we have been justified by faith, 
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
through whom we have gained access by faith 
to this grace in which we stand, 
and we boast in hope of the glory of God.

And hope does not disappoint, 
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts 
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless, 
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, 
though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

Verse Before Gospel CF. JN 4:42, 15

Lord, you are truly the Savior of the world;
give me living water, that I may never thirst again.

Gospel JN 4:5-42 

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, 
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob's well was there.
Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her,
"Give me a drink."
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
"How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
"If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink, '
you would have asked him 
and he would have given you living water."
The woman said to him, 
"Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; 
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob, 
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself 
with his children and his flocks?"
Jesus answered and said to her, 
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; 
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; 
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty 
or have to keep coming here to draw water."

Jesus said to her,
"Go call your husband and come back."
The woman answered and said to him,
"I do not have a husband."
Jesus answered her,
"You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband.'
For you have had five husbands, 
and the one you have now is not your husband.
What you have said is true."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; 
but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem."
Jesus said to her,
"Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand; 
we worship what we understand, 
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, 
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; 
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth."
The woman said to him,
"I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; 
when he comes, he will tell us everything."
Jesus said to her,
"I am he, the one speaking with you."

At that moment his disciples returned, 
and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, 
but still no one said, "What are you looking for?" 
or "Why are you talking with her?"
The woman left her water jar 
and went into the town and said to the people, 
"Come see a man who told me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?"
They went out of the town and came to him.
Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat."
But he said to them,
"I have food to eat of which you do not know."
So the disciples said to one another, 
"Could someone have brought him something to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"My food is to do the will of the one who sent me
and to finish his work.
Do you not say, 'In four months the harvest will be here'?
I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.
The reaper is already receiving payment 
and gathering crops for eternal life, 
so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.
For here the saying is verified that 'One sows and another reaps.'
I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; 
others have done the work, 
and you are sharing the fruits of their work." 

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the woman who testified, 
"He told me everything I have done."
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with them; 
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word, 
and they said to the woman, 
"We no longer believe because of your word; 
for we have heard for ourselves, 
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world."

Prodigal, The Sequel

March 3, 2018

Today’s gospel is one that we most likely know in our sleep. We know the punch line, and we know the characters well. He was lost and found by his father who never gave up loving him even when he ran away and did awful things. I’m sure that each one of us has our own prodigal story of times when we were lost and of times when we were found by love. What I’m curious about this morning is the sequel. I mean I’ve been found so many damn times and yet I still seem to end up “prodigaled” over and over again. Did the celebrated son run away again, back to his old habits, or did his one coming home story rehabilitate him for good? And, of course, the older brother scenario is a compelling one. Did he and the prodigal ever work things out? Did the father find an extravagant way to comfort him in his jealousy and pride? Was there a party every time the prodigal son returned, or just that first time?

The set up to this story was that many tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to listen to Jesus, and the Pharisees started complaining that, “this man welcomes sinners and eats with them!” There it is…the sequel to the story is that he welcomes US and eats with US. If we draw near to listen to him, we will be received, and guess what, Jesus also draws near to listen to us so that we can receive him.

This kind of love can only break through the hardness of our prodigal hearts with the softness of deliberate and immediate mercy. This kind of love will kill the fatted calf EVERY time we return. This kind of love stands in the doorway of our abandoned self and waits OVER and OVER again for us to come home. Each returning strengthens us for the next wandering until we no longer seek to get lost, but rest in being found. Have a blessed day and it is well with my soul.

Reading 1 MI 7:14-15, 18-20

Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
That dwells apart in a woodland,
in the midst of Carmel.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old;
As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,
show us wonderful signs.

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
but delights rather in clemency,
And will again have compassion on us,
treading underfoot our guilt?
You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;
You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
and grace to Abraham,
As you have sworn to our fathers
from days of old.

Responsorial Psalm PS 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Verse Before The Gospel LK 15:18

I will get up and go to my father and shall say to him,
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

Gospel LK 15:1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So to them Jesus addressed this parable.
"A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,
'Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.'
So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings
and set off to a distant country
where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely spent everything,
a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need.
So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens
who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,
but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought,
'How many of my father's hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."'
So he got up and went back to his father.
While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him,
'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve to be called your son.'
But his father ordered his servants,
'Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.'
Then the celebration began.
Now the older son had been out in the field
and, on his way back, as he neared the house,
he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him,
'Your brother has returned
and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.'
He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply,
'Look, all these years I served you
and not once did I disobey your orders;
yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
But when your son returns
who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,
for him you slaughter the fattened calf.'
He said to him,
'My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours.
But now we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life again;
he was lost and has been found.'"

For it is in pardoning that we are pardoned...

On the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, I wanted to share some thoughts that have recently marinated in my soul specifically regarding peace, mercy, and forgiveness. Francis was recklessly committed to living the gospel and with the chaos and unrest of our world; I think we also need to be radically merciful. Here are my own thoughts, based on my own personal encounters with scripture and Jesus’ workings of mercy in my own life.

What a blessing it is that Jesus doesn’t speak about forgiveness the way we do. He doesn’t say, “I forgive you, but I’ll never forget what you did.” He says, “Father forgive them for they know NOT what they do,” and then he forgets. He doesn’t say, “I forgive you in my heart, but I never want to speak to you again.” He says, “I forgive you over and over again, face to face, and I still want to be your beloved. Let’s spend even more time together.” Forgiveness and mercy were at the core of Jesus’ ministry and these same virtues are what led to his execution. His execution then became the actual manifestation of these virtues. He suffered and died in the name of mercy and forgiveness and yet we still say things like, “I’m not forgiving you for you, but I’m forgiving you to set myself free.” Jesus didn’t hang on the cross to set himself free, he did it to set the sinner free – that is you and me – because he loves us. He also didn’t lay down his life for us to forgive, but remember, to forgive, but shun, or to forgive for our own freedom. He wants us to lay down our lives for one another, forgiving and forgetting over and over again (Matthew 18:21-22), because we love. Then and only then will we be free ourselves. Forgiveness is and should be 100% for the other because that is what Jesus did and continues to do for us. When we put another first, even and especially a sinner or someone that has hurt us, then we will be free. When we forgive to make ourselves feel better we only lengthen the chains that oppress us, we do not break them. We might feel freer, but the chains remain. This is not what our Father wants for us.

Unforgiveness feels like spiritual waterboarding; a torturing of the soul until it submits to the will of the torturer. We make each other beg for mercy and then we say things like, “I know I need to forgive you, but not yet. I’m not ready.” And the water slowly drips making it feel like we will never breathe again. At the well, Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

The kind of radical mercy, forgiveness, and selfless love that Jesus lived out in the gospels (with the lepers, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the adulterous woman, the woman at the well, his executioners, etc. etc.) is quite impossible for us to live apart from God and the Holy Spirit. Jesus was sent by the Father to show us how to do it and they gave us the Holy Spirit to be our constant companion to help us do it. The Sunday gospels for the past several weeks have drummed the message of mercy and forgiveness into our souls with a fervor that cannot be ignored. If we want God to forget our sins, then we must absolutely forget the sins of our offenders (“Forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us”). I know that I’ve heard people like Oprah and other self help gurus say that we should absolutely remember all the wrongs done to us so that we do not ever let them happen again, however, I’d like to suggest that forgetfulness of sin, ugliness, and the negative past is precisely the level of virtue that we should all pray to have and to have abundantly. I know this is a frightening prospect because we think that if we don’t hold onto the memory of the bad in our lives, we will be burned by it over and over again, but I believe with all my heart that the grace that comes from truly forgiving AND forgetting will give us all that we need to avoid repetition in the future. This is the kind of radical trust that faith, hope, and love fosters in our souls if we stay close to Christ, read and study his word, and practice mercy. We will be given all that we need. I know that we all feel somewhat entitled to and like it is our responsibility to remember things like betrayal, adultery, abuse, or any of the top 10 most unacceptable sins. Of course no one would blame us for remembering these things right. I get it and I have felt totally justified in holding onto these things done to me in my own life, but recently my heart has really softened and completely changed in this regard as I have remorsefully and fervently sought forgiveness only to be denied it over and over again. In this deficit and desperation, God has taught me the importance of forgiving and forgetting. We have all experienced being in a feud with someone and after several months forgotten what the feud was even about, so it is possible to forget if we pray and practice, practice and pray. Jesus wants to unite all of us through mercy and forgiveness, and Satan wants to divide us by slightly altering true virtues with conditions like “never forget” and “forgive everything except for…..”

I just got out of mass and this very theme jumped out at me loudly and clearly when the priest said, “Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins but on the faith of your Church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.” The Church associates the peace of Christ with the notion of not looking at our sins, but on considering our faith. So as we pray for Jesus to look not on our sins, may we also emulate this act of radical mercy toward one another and then, my friends, the peace of Christ will be with us. Come together today. Do not delay. Forgive and forget and receive unlimited grace to have what you need when you need it. St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us. Peace and Goodness. Pace e Bene!!!

No Greater Love

Years ago, I made this video version of the Stations of the Cross using movie clips from The Passion of the Christ and modern music to create a pretty compelling and intense experience of Christ's Passion. I watch it every year during Lent as my own Stations of the Cross practice and I thought I would share it. I hope it inspires you and reminds you how much Jesus loves each one of you. God bless your day. 

https://youtu.be/QRxMT__Zg10