Medicine

There was etched into the wall of a concentration camp these words from a prisoner:

I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining.

I believe in love even when I feel it not

I believe in God even when he is silent.

Yes, a little faith is medicine for the soul. A little faith has a tendency, with the grace of God to blossom, and has it grows it acquires the desire for us to do more than is expected. And all for the love and a desire to please God. That is a great way to serve God.

When no one understands

Life can be sometimes be over whelming. Pain and loneliness came make our spirits want to give up.  Turmoil and confusion of everyday living can weigh heavily on how we approach the day. We can sometimes feel that people don’t understand what is going on inside our heart, our mind and our soul.

And yet for all our worries, all our hurts and afflictions, all of our despair, there is one person who is by our side every step of the way, and that is God.  He is with you today and every day. He tells us, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself, but I am with you until the end of time.  Yes, turn to the Lord in you need, and you will live, for the Lord hears the poor, the Lord hears you.

So, when you feel the need to talk and no one is willing to listen, when the pain you suffer is sometimes unbearable, when you just feel like crying, let God be part of your feelings. He wants to be not only a part of your life, he wants to be your life. For when that happens, God becomes our sanctuary, our strength and helps carry our burdens for us.

Are You Talented

The purpose of the parable of the talents.  God gave these servants talents. Yes, we think of money that God gave them, 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. 

The Pruning Process

What is pruning? Pruning, removal of parts of woody plants, usually branches or branch tips, to relieve the burden on the remaining parts of the plant, to cut out diseased or broken parts, to increase the quantity and quality of flowers or fruits, to train individual parts to positions structurally favorable to the health of the plant, or to shape the plant into some artificial form.

And you know what?  Pruning hurts! But the pruning of our own vine, of us, means we can bear good fruit. And what is good fruit to us? It means our soul becomes a spiritual heirloom and not a hybrid fruit. Fruits that are hybrids loaded with genetically manufactured organisms usually have seeds that cannot bear additional fruit, or if they do, it’s a fruit of less quality.

But when Jesus works in someone’s life, that person becomes the shining vine bearing the precious spiritual fruit that lights up a darkened world, your world, regardless of where that soul may be.

Our hearts need to change. Our soul must be placed in the hands of the gardener.

We are faced with many trials and difficulties in our lives.  Mistakes, we have all made.  But when we allow Jesus to take those mistakes that are on our vine and prune them, cutting off the parts of our life that cause spiritual disease, hardness of heart; parts that keep us in the material world and away from the mercy of God, then we reconnect to the branch of Jesus and receive the grace to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

But it hurts, because pruning hurts. But it strengthens because pruning strengthens. Yes, pruning hurts, but the pruners touch is gentle.

The Grave Yard

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, and 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.

Many recent readings are concerned with death and the resurrection to newness of life.

And there are grave yard scenes, 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 about 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."

Our Guardian Angel

God has provided us with a wonderful gift. And that gift is our Guardian Angel. You know Scripture has so many references to Angels, to our protectors, those heavenly spirits whose only job is to safeguard our journey to heaven.

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In Psalm 91, which many of you recite on a daily basis, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”

We find in Daniel, “My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me”.

In Exodus, “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

In Hebrews, “Let all God's angels worship him.” And we just read in our Gospel that our angel, our Guardian Angel is always looking at the face of Jesus.

It dawned on me today, I am here because I want to adore Jesus. My Guardian Angel is by my side, and yours is by your side, adoring the same God, always worshiping. What is that like? If we had the ability to see our Guardian Angel, right here, right now, kneeling or prostrating themselves in front of Jesus how could it not but strengthen our desire to adore our Savior, or humble us to the point of great repentance.

We are never alone. We know from Scripture that Jesus tells us, “I am with you always, even to the end of time”. And through his love for us, sent us an angel to guard us on our way. And tonight we have all the heavenly angels surrounding our Jesus on his altar.

Together, with our Guardian Angel let us adore the greatest gift God could ever give us, His only Son. Blood of Christ inebriate us. Amen

Blazing Fire

“Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven”, words taking from Scripture, expressing God’s anger by coming like a blazing fire. Blazing fire! That was the nickname we gave a nun in grade school, blazing fire, I can tell you her left hand was a blazing weapon.  

She was my teacher in fourth grade in the days when we had those many air raid drills where we had to hide under our desks when the air raid sirens were heard. I remember it well, “Shades down and under the desk” preparing for the real thing.

Yes, only a drill, but they were important drills, preparing for the worse, hoping for the best, in case of some type of an enemy attack.  Drills preformed with perfection prevent the real thing from being unfamiliar to us. We’ll be ready.

Football teams participate in drills preparing for the big game. The military engages in maneuvers, preparing them for the real battle. The fire department, police and first responders perform drills preparing in case of a catastrophic event. We do the drills, to be prepared.

One day in fourth grade I was being disciplined by the Sister Elizabeth, blazing fire herself, for something I’m sure I didn’t do, at least on purpose, and then she punished me by walking me by the ear, into the cloakroom and closed the door. There I was all alone.

Suddenly, the air raid sirens started to blare and I could hear through the walls the scampering about of the kids sliding under their desks, pulling down the shades and Blazing fire herself, barking out her orders. But, they forgot about me.

But, in that closet they also kept the pretzel bag, full of freshly baked salted pretzels that would be sold that day at recess. And it smelled so good.

Temptation got the best of me and I pulled up a strip of ten pretzels from inside the bag and tried to break one off, just one little pretzel, but, it slipped and a strip of 10 pretzels fell on the dirty hardwood floor exactly right next to the closed door that led into the classroom.

Thank God, the siren muffled the sound, but I knew that plenty of loose salt fell all over the filthy floor and if I didn’t clean that up, big trouble, the wrath of a nun called blazing fire would be upon me.

I threw the pretzels back into the bag, but for the life of me I couldn’t think of anything to sweep up all that salt. So, I was on all fours, pushing the salt in every direction away from the door.

The air raid sirens stopped and the cloak room door opened and there, Blazing fire herself came in, and there I was on hands and knees almost kissing the floor, blowing away the remains of any salt. Talk about trembling fear. But, something strange happened.

She reached down and helped me up, and apologized for leaving me all alone in the closet, and then commented, “but how good and obedient you were, down on your hands and knees, during the air raid drill.

But she, said some powerful words, “Always be prepared, for some day when you least expect it, it will be the real deal”.

Those words are like the real meaning of life.  We don’t know when God will call us. And every day is a drill and someday a drill will be the real deal.  Thank you blazing fire.

But, the true meaning of “The blazing fire” or “blazing like an oven”, as Malachi claims is a metaphor. It is the image of a brushfire that burns the stubble left over after the grain has been harvested.  It is the short growth that wasn’t cut and had been dried by the heat of the sun, and it is useless except as a fire starter.

So, what is God telling us? This blazing fire destroys all possible growth, any hope of any regeneration as the roots and the branches are burned, no promise of any new fruit. Every aspect is consumed by fire.  This was God’s anger against the Israelite nations, the stubble, for being the stiff-necked people they were.

It is a metaphor, so remarkable in its brevity and yet filled with so much for our imagination. For us, it is the Day of the Lord, the day of the harvest and the day the stubble will be burned, the day when the good will be rewarded and the evil punished, it is the fulfillment of God’s promises and the realization of the destiny of the world.

It is looking ahead at the end of history, to the last things, distinguishing between the wicked, who are burned, and the righteous, who by being prepared, who knew that the preparation would remove all fear of dying. Leaving no doubt, there is a heaven and there is a hell.

But, before all of this, there will be persecutions.  We’re told, persecution will not merely be an occasional episode, rather, it will be an “indisputable reality” for the Church and for individual Christians.

Through the ages, Christians have been burned, beheaded, crushed and fed to wild animals because of their God.  This is the picture most of us imagine when we hear the word “persecution”. But persecutions can be experienced in a different reality. It can be experienced by you and me in everyday life.

You can be heckled at work because of your faith, for standing up for moral issues and principals, you can be cursed at when praying in front of an abortion clinic, or just being made fun of by friends and family, because your God comes first on Sundays. You are becoming the righteous with your daily drills, and they will become the stubble.

Jesus tells us, every generation as Christians who will always be persecuted, even by family members, because of our love for Jesus.

And then, there will be awesome sights and the mighty signs that will come from the sky. And, at the end of the world, when Jesus comes in all his glory, many will be afraid, many will hide, except those who are prepared, those who know the drill by practicing their faith every day. 

At the second coming, Christ will be a blazing fire, not out of anger, but to snatch up those who are righteous, who practice their faith by defending God’s Word.  

The rest, those who were ashamed of God, of defending God and obeying his commandments, will be the stubble, to be set on fire and thrown into eternal darkness. He said, if you are ashamed of me and my words in this faithless and sinful generation, then I will be ashamed of you.

There is that old expression that says, “You know the drill”.  Make every day a drill for Jesus’ coming, be prepared, because one day, when we least expect it, it will be the real deal.