A heart to heart moment

“I have loved you with an everlasting love”. Find a moment today to gaze and reflect on the heart of Jesus and the love he has for you. Make it a moment, alone with your Savior, where heart is calling to heart.

Are you different

Are you different? Yes, God made us. God made the inside and the outside of each of us. And each of us so much different that the next.  No one has the same finger prints, there are distinctions within the voice vibrations and eye patterns can also be distinguished among people.

And, then we remain different. Some are old, while others are young. We have races of different color and languages from hundreds of countries. Some people are poor while others are quite rich and well off. People are of different sizes, in height and girth. You may be right handed, while I am fortunate to be left handed, but in my right mind. 

And for most of us, we recognize all these differences among all of God’s people. But, why is it then that we quite often judge these very same people because of how they look, dress, cleanliness, grammar and the list goes on.

There is the old adage, unless you’ve walked a mile in my shoes, don’t judge me.

This is what makes God so perfect, he doesn’t even look or care how we differ from others. He loves us in spite of all of our short comings, our looks, our cleanliness, whether we are fat or skinny.  No, God looks into our hearts and a clean heart makes a dwelling place for Jesus. That is why it is so important to keep our heart spiritually in tune with God.

Love me as I have loved you, God tells us, and we must follow God’s example and look at the heart of a person, the inside. Deep inside that heart we will see the face of God.

But, they're not dirty

Wash your hands before you eat!  How many times as a child did you hear those words?  Or, as a parent, how many times did you shout them to your own children.  “Wash your hands before you eat”.  And of course, they would look and examine their hands and say, “why, they’re not dirty”.

To them, they probably didn’t look dirty on the outside, but we all know the germs, the hidden bacteria that makes a home on our hands. So, we wash our hands before you eat so we don’t get sick.

That’s what Jesus is telling us today. It’s not how pretty or clean we look on the outside, it’s what is in our heart. Is our heart clean enough for Jesus to live?

 St. Augustine had a very well known saying, “Late have I loved you, O, Lord”.

It is never too late to clean our hearts, clean the inside, so to speak, and when the inside is clean, then and only then, can we love Jesus with all our heart. Amen

Static or stagnant

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. We see the Holy Spirit working through the Father and Jesus and budding the faith of Peter throughout Scripture. And so important to know, that faith is not static, but it is meant to grow and develop and should never become stagnant.

Our own faith must grow to the point where we can make a similar proclamation.  It is one thing to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, anointed by God to save his people.  But, there is a far greater depth involved in understanding Jesus as God, possessing all the transcendent qualities of the godhead, equal in everything to the Father and the Holy Spirit. 

We could never in a hundred life-times, reach the limits of understanding God.  There is always more and more to learn; and only God can grant us that growth.

Zombies

Our imagination can be very rewarding on our spiritual journey. We must know, visualize and sometimes it takes our imagination to understand that God is with us every step of our journey.
Imagine our Lord saying to you, “Oh my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them”.
I remember, when I was young, passing through a cemetery at night.  I’ve taken this path many times before, but this was shortly after listening to this exact reading, “I will open your graves and have you rise from them”. Naturally, my imagination began to wander. It was pitch dark and the only sound was that of an owl hooting. I’m sure that owl hooted every time I walked through that cemetery, but tonight I heard it.
And, as I walked further and further passed the graves, I swore I heard all kind of noises coming from those very grave sites. Then the the old black and white version of the movie the “Zombies’ came to my mind. And I began to imagine these creatures, one arm at a time, bone by bone, pushing through the earth and watching me. Wasn’t sure if they had appetites, or what zombies ate. I just told God that now was not a good time to open up those graves.
I prayed and the words of Jesus came to me, “I am with you always” and I pictured Jesus walking next to me, side by side, yet leading and comforting me.
Yes, that was some imagination, but in that imagination there was faith. Faith in the fact that I pictured and believed that Jesus was walking this journey with me.
We have three readings that concern death and the resurrection to newness of live.
We see the scene of the grave yard, we see a tomb, the ultimate place of death and decay. We see prayers, extreme faith, a miracle and joy.
We have Lazarus.  Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus. But before Jesus arrived, his illness became fatal and sadness and hurt and even anger, overcame the two sisters. But if we look closely at the reading there was also hope, there was crucial and critical faith, for Martha says to Jesus when he arrived, “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you”. That was a prayer of faith.
And there was weeping and Jesus became troubled and he was extremely upset and Jesus wept.  Yes, Jesus wept, tears of sorrow, tears no different than ours for the loose of someone close.
They remove the stone and Jesus prays. Jesus prays for the glory of God, not his glory. He prays with the faith that we all must have. And then he shouts.
“Lazarus, come out”. Imagine Lazarus, laying in a prepared burial fashion, hands and feet tied and his face wrapped in a cloth.
He manages to stagger to the entrance of the tomb and people are in awe – the dead man came out. There is no conversation between Jesus and Lazarus, but I can imagine there was much said between the hearts of these two friends, their souls joined as they stood there both reflecting on that moment. And I can imagine that every time Lazarus went into his inner room to pray, he placed himself in that loving image of Jesus, talking to him again from his heart.
We are called to be always in the Spirit, and that requires prayer, yes, unceasing prayer and talking to God, it is having Jesus by our side.No one is spared death and the grave swallows up the righteous and the sinner alike.
But how we choose to live this life will decide where we spend eternity. Our weapon to heaven is prayer.
Our journey with Jesus begins at Baptism and we need to remember there will be hardships, temptation and our weaknesses will be become our crosses, but Jesus said, “I am with you always. Yes, believe and visually imagine Jesus with you every moment -allow him to guide your steps to heaven.
Lazarus is a symbol of all of us – dead to God and bound by sin. And, like Lazarus, each of is loved by Jesus.  Jesus weeps over our suffering and calls us by name to come out of our tombs of unbelief, self-centeredness, and ineffectiveness. In the face of death we are encouraged to choose life, and life can be found only in Christ, and his cross.
Yes, we will rise from our graves on the last day, but even now we can rise with Jesus daily.  He promised it and we can experience it as we unite ourselves to him.
There is a story of a  Catholic priest who stopped by to see a patient in a hospital room to say hello and asked how the elderly man was doing. "My doctors say I'm dying," replied the man, and I'm actually excited about it. I know I'm going to be with Jesus."
The priest asked how he could be so cheerful about death. The old man said, when I was younger I grew very discouraged about prayer. I tried to pray, but Jesus never seemed to be there and I never seemed to get an answer. So I just went through the motions. During a retreat a mission priest told me how common that was with prayer.
"The mission priest said, 'You'll have to become like a child. You know how little kids talk to their teddy bears? And get an answer? They use their imagination. Well, Jesus is really there when we pray, but we can't see him, unless we use our imagination.
Choose a room, the mission priest said, where you have some privacy. Put a chair in the room, and picture Jesus in the chair. See him in his robe and sandals, if you want. Then just talk to him in your own words. Tell him what you're upset about and what you're happy about.
Do this every day, soon it will take less time to get comfortable with Jesus, and easier to talk with him.
Then try this: After you have had your say, just be quiet and listen. 'You'll hear Jesus speak to your heart. The God, who made you, can put ideas, memories, and images into your head, and that's how God talks to you and answers your prayers.'"
"So I tried it," the old man said, "and it worked! It wasn't long before Jesus would sit right there and talk with me, and we've become the best of friends.
See this chair next to my bed? That's for Jesus. When the doctors told me I would die soon, I waited until they left the room. Then I invited Jesus
to come in and sit down, and I told him what the doctors said. 'I know, Jesus answered, 'I heard them. And I'm happy because we'll soon get to see each other face to face. That chair is special to me.
"That's why I'm excited about dying," the old man continued, "because I can't wait to be with my friend, Jesus." The priest was overwhelmed and, choking back tears, said he wanted to visit again.
But when he returned a few days later, he saw the man's daughter in the hall outside his room, crying. "He just died," she told the priest. "I left his room to get a bite to eat, and when I came back he was gone. I know he was ready, she said but what bothers me is how he must have suffered in his last moments.
When I found him, he was halfway out of bed, and his head was on that
chair next to his bed."
The priest took her hand and smiled. "Let's take a minute to talk," he said. "There's a story I need to tell you about that chair."

Fame and fortune or something better

As we mature we realize we can do some things better that others. Some even call us talented. Jesus uses a parable to explain how these gifts, the gifts he has given us,  can benefit all of man kind. 

 Many of us think of money that God gave the servants in the parable, but talents are also gifts. God has given all us talents, special gifts.  They are not ours, they are given to us by God to be used for his glory; to return these gifts in ways that bring others closer to God. 

These gifts are not to be used by us to hide, or to turn them to selfish ends.  No, these gifts are to be used to spread and advance the kingdom of god.

Sadly, many of those God has gifted have sold their gifts to "the world" for fame and fortune. 

This is a trap that many of God's most gifted people fall into. In the end, they sadly realize that they sold their soul to the devil himself for a little fame  and a few dollars which have little meaning in the big picture of life.

Great people don't just wake up someday and become great, they discover something they can do and then put it to work with lots of practice. Some can sing, some can write, some have courage, others can speak, others have an ear to listen and to console, others can move mountains and roadblocks for others.

We all have choices in this life. We all come to a crossroad at times when we can choose the Lord or this world. Take an inventory of your gifts and then decide how to use them for the glory of God. 

You can't hide

“The last word when all is heard: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man’s all; because God will bring to judgment every work, with all its hidden qualities, whether good or bad” ( Eccl 12:13-14).

When death draws near

A Prayer for Forgiveness 

 Be merciful to me, O God,
    because of your constant love.
Because of your great mercy
    wipe away my sins!
 Wash away all my evil
    and make me clean from my sin!

 I recognize my faults;
    I am always conscious of my sins.
I have sinned against you—only against you—
    and done what you consider evil.
So you are right in judging me;
    you are justified in condemning me.
 I have been evil from the day I was born;
    from the time I was conceived, I have been sinful.

 Sincerity and truth are what you require;
    fill my mind with your wisdom.
 Remove my sin, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
 Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness;
    and though you have crushed me and broken me,
    I will be happy once again.
 Close your eyes to my sins
    and wipe out all my evil.

 Create a pure heart in me, O God,
    and put a new and loyal spirit in me.
 Do not banish me from your presence;
    do not take your holy spirit away from me.
 Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation,
    and make me willing to obey you.
 Then I will teach sinners your commands,
    and they will turn back to you.

 Spare my life, O God, and save me,^[b]
    and I will gladly proclaim your righteousness.
 Help me to speak, Lord,
    and I will praise you.

 You do not want sacrifices,
    or I would offer them;
you are not pleased with burnt offerings.
 My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God;
    you will not reject a humble and repentant heart.

 O God, be kind to Zion and help her;
    rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
 Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifices
    and with our burnt offerings;
    and bulls will be sacrificed on your altar.

Psalm 51

When there are two rabbits

There is a story about a martial arts student  who approached his teacher with a question. "I'd like to improve my knowledge of the martial arts. In addition to learning from you, I'd like to study with another teacher in order to learn another style. What do you think of this idea?"

"The hunter who chases two rabbits," answered the master, "catches neither one."

As Jesus tells, "you can not serve two masters". But, to help us, he has given us one of the greatest gifts, our free will. We get to choose who to follow

The question to ponder

God said, “Whom should I send”? Throughout his life, Jesus responded with mercy to people in all walks of life.  He befriended the rich and the poor, tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, a Roman centurion and a Samaritan woman.  He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and fed the hungry. He grieved when his friend Lazarus died, accepted the human weakness of his disciples, and forgave the people who crucified him.

The works of mercy are our lifeline to heaven. There hasn’t been a saint who didn’t live and breathe mercy, who didn’t love their neighbor, who didn’t have compassion for the unfortunate and the suffering. God said to them, “Whom shall I send?” and they, with love responded, “Send me Lord”.

The Battle

Our strength, “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world”. (Jn 16:33).

Where are you God

Sometimes we question if God is really with us but, In reality, God does not know how to be absent from us.

They said yes

The works of mercy are our lifeline to heaven. There hasn’t been a saint who didn’t live and breathe mercy, who didn’t love their neighbor, who didn’t have compassion for the unfortunate and the suffering. God said to them, “Whom shall I send?” and they, with love responded, “Send me Lord”.

The shuffle

When I was a child in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia, Mrs. Brown would shuffle down the street towards St. Bernard’s church, wearing an old bandanna, moccasins and a shabby grey shawl. She never missed church regardless of the weather. 

On really cold days she may wear two shawls for warmth., but she was a widow and so poor – really had nothing. We all referred to her as the crazy lady not out of any disrespect, but because she’d be mumbling words and bobbing her head every once in a while, going down the street. Little did we know at the time she was saying the rosary and bowing her head at the name of Jesus.

On one extremely cold snowy day in February, the crazy lady was headed to daily mass coughing violently and wearing only one shawl. She was cold and she was shivering. 

A older man at the corner candy store came out and wrapped an old jacket around her. He said “Keep it and stay warm. She smiled, thanked him and headed across the street to church. What a beautiful thing that man did and how happy it made her. What so ever you do to the least of my brethren, that you do unto Me.

She wore that jacket for most of that winter and seemed pretty proud of it.
On another cold day in March, the crazy lady was again headed to church clutching her jacket, when out of the same corner candy store came running a little girl chasing her puppy that just broke loose.
Mrs. Brown tried to comfort the little girl by putting her hand on the girl’s head, who was now crying and cold and was determined to find her dog. So, yes, the crazy lady took her jacket off and put in on the little girl and said stay warm and God bless you. With only her shawl and bandana, went across the street to church.

I was naked and you clothed me.

It is beyond our imagination

I think this is one of the most amazing verses in Scripture, one that is not easy to digest, “He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Phi 2:7). God's love is everlasting and incomprehensible. What a God! 

If we are sinking, does that mean we are sunk

Another storm, another valley, another wrong turn. Be like the apostles, when the storms of life weigh heavy on our heart, we call to Jesus. A moment alone with God, away from the world, brings inner peace, quiets our mind, and surrounds us with great calm. A moment cherished once is a moment we will seek again. The storms will come, but when we allow those storms to be calmed by the one who walks on water, then there is peace.

It is called a battle

Temptation leads to sin and sin to death to the soul. But when we turn our weakness to Jesus we are strengthened by courage to win the battle.   “We triumph over all these things through him who loved us” (Rm 8:37). Go to Jesus.

What a gift

Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly” Jn 10:10 – Thank you Jesus for such a gift

The Doctor of our Soul

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, or so they say. But, sometimes, even though we eat that red delicious apple every day, we’re forced to see a doctor for something the apple couldn’t cure.  

Just prior to Christmas, I became extremely sick and was forced to visit my doctor. I had pneumonia.  And, wanting so badly to feel better and to be myself again, I listened to and followed every word that doctor said. I wanted to be cured.

A doctor is a healer and when we don’t listen to the advice of our doctor we can very easily suffer the consequences. But, the reward for listening can be a longer life.

But, you know there is one doctor, who knows even more than all the other doctors combined, and that is Jesus. So, when Jesus speaks and gives advice, we should not only listen but follow precisely His words in Scripture, his prescription to eternal life.

And, just like the large number of people who came from cities and towns from every direction, and followed Jesus in our Gospel, we too must follow the doctor of our soul.

You will not find Christ in your heart unless you seek him, and those who find him don’t ever want to lose him. Those who truly find him have discovered inner peace, tranquility and a desire to love him with their whole heart and soul.

That is a doctor, that is a caring doctor. One who makes house calls. One who not only heals but created us because he wanted us.  St. Peter says it best. "Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you."

He is the doctor of choice, because with him there is no other model, "I am the way, the truth and the life". That very truth should bring us comfort and joy.

But, joy in this life is not measured by how long we live, but how we live that life. The joy is in the path where our life ultimately leads us. 

God gives us all an allotted time on this earth, a definite time in which we are to achieve His divine plan for our souls. We have only this time for there will be no more. 

Sometimes in life we don’t know where to turn. Or who to talk to. There are moments we just need a shoulder to lean on. Then God’s grace comes upon us.

We turn to the one who cured so many, the lame, the diseased, the sinner and the possessed. We turn to the one who is full of compassion, one you can trust. We turn to the Son of God.

To really get to know Jesus, we must search for Jesus, then, we must be with Jesus. To be with Jesus is a healthy place to be.

Leave the Light on for you

My business travels brought me to many different hotels and motels throughout the country. Some decent, some exquisite and some that were not so good.

On one trip I had reservations in a particular hotel and after finishing registering at the front desk I proceeded with the key to my room. Opened the door and saw a brief case and coat on the bed. Not a good sign.

Then, a guy from the room appears and sees me with my luggage and says, “you are the second person they sent by mistake to this room”.  With that, he decided to have his room changed, and together we went to the front desk.

I was told I had to wait for the next room available, about thirty minutes. So, I had dinner, came back, got my keys and went to the room. Turned the key, opened the door, entered the room and, right there on the bed was a very familiar brief case and coat. I Slowly back out, closed the door and headed for the front desk.

Ironically, I saw on the wall of the hotel lobby their slogan “We do it right the first time”. Another annoyed customer waiting in the lobby, walked over, changed the wording. It now read, “We do it right the third time”, maybe!

But, I decided not to give them that opportunity and went across the street to a Motel 6.

Now, they have a catchy commercial slogan, “We’ll leave the light on for you”. But, I think it’s the way it is said, in that Tom Bodett manner.

It would always end with, "I'm Tom Bodett for Motel 6, and we'll leave the light on for you." Hospitality at its best, A light, to help us find our way.

Well, our Readings have a few catchy slogans to live by, as well.

No, in our Gospel, Jesus doesn’t say, “I’ll leave the light on for you”, although he is the light, but he says to the two disciples, searching for the Messiah, “What are you looking for”? They’re not lost, and yet they really are trying to find their way to the truth.

And they respond in a very curious and yet excited way, “Where are you staying”. Jesus didn’t say a Motel 6, but he did say, “Come and see”. They followed and in an instant, the Church was being formed.

“Come and see”.  Jesus had a way of using that phrase in his teaching.  It’s like saying “Do you want to know the answer to this question?”  Do you want to know the solution to this problem?”

 When Jesus said “Come and see”, He was inviting them, as he invites us, not only to come and talk, but to come and find the answers that only he alone could teach them.

“Come and See”! It is God calling us. It is God shining his light on us.  It is God calling us in the night, in a dream, while reading Scripture. It is a prompting stirred up in our heart begging us to say “Here I am”.

The Apostles were invited, and they answered the call. These ordinary men, were prompted by the Spirit, bringing them to the Messiah they were searching for.

We too, are ordinary people, we too, want to be led to our Savior, we don’t just want to see where He is staying, we want to be where he is staying. 

Yes, we are ordinary people, with our flaws, our valleys and even our virtues who desire to be transformed by the Holy Spirit. To be graced and empowered and guided. But, we must answer, “Here I am”.

Long before the Apostles ever met Jesus, there was a pursuit for the Messiah by the Jewish people. There was always that hope that he would come on their watch. That they would be the generation where Israel would be saved.

And He did come and they found him. He met them somewhere in the middle of the road on their journey. Just ordinary people, searching and hoping.

“Come and see”, they encountered Jesus and they followed. They found the Messiah, they found the Way, the Truth and the Life. We are those same ordinary people and our road to salvation is no different than the apostles.

 There is always a magnet that attracts us to the truth, but when we turn our backs to that truth we repel that very truth and we begin to lose our way. There is no light to guide us and our life becomes disordered.

If we want Jesus desperately enough, he will come to us, he will leave a light on for us in our heart. We will walk side by side, every step we take, will be his strength. But, when, we may ask ourselves?

Somewhere, at some point in our life when we are searching, we may find ourselves on that special road, maybe a fork, maybe not, maybe in a valley. And on that very spot, Jesus comes out to meet us. And at that very moment, right there on that road, we will begin to answer the very question presented to the apostles, “What are you looking for”.

It is that encounter with Jesus where we realize that this road we have been travelling, may not be leading us to salvation, and darkness looms ahead. And like the apostles, maybe perplexed, but yet excited, we ask, “where are you staying”.

Yes, “Come and see”. The invitation is there, not only to come and see, to come and talk, but to come and find the things that he alone can open up for us.

He chooses us, because he loved us first.  Yes, God does it right the first time, and every path guided by the Lord, is the road that leads to heaven and we can rest assure that He will leave the light on for us.