The Wounds and Scars

Today, I had the honor of preaching at our live streaming Mass. It was different, for as I looked out into the Church, it was like living a nightmare I had just prior to giving my very first homily. In that dream, when I finished, I looked up and no one was left.

But, let’s begin with those very assuring words we heard from Jesus, “Peace be with you”. What a gesture of forgiveness and friendship to a group who deserted him, what a moment to really think about God’s true love and mercy for all of us.

For all who seek his mercy, it is there. For all who pray for his mercy, and believe in that mercy, it will be given.  For all those who say, “Jesus I trust in you”, live in that loving mercy

  

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday and Scripture tells us, “The favors of the Lord are never exhausted, his mercies never come to an end”. His mercy is never ending.

My father during the invasion of Normandy was injured from shrapnel from a hand grenade. It left a huge scar on his right foot.  And from that day on he wore that battle scar for the rest of his life.  

I sometimes thought the scar on his foot said as much about who he was as anything ever could. That scar, helped save our lives.

And, I suppose it is that way for us.  Our scars, small and large, fill the chapters of our lives, they tell the story of who we are, what mattered most to us, the risks we’ve taken. And even scars for volunteering for the love for another.

Thomas needed proof. He needed to see those scars? He needed to feel the scars in Jesus’ hands and put his own hand into his side, to be sure that it was him.  He needed to believe.

And he did, because those wounds of Jesus told a story of a death and a resurrection. And when he was sure, Thomas cried out. “My Lord and my God”. He doubted in order to become sure. 

But sometimes, not just our bodies, but our souls are wounded and they need healing. There is only one healer, there is only one person who can close up those festering wounds of the soul and bring us back to life.

There is only one place to go for that kind of healing. Peter tells us, “Lord, to whom shall we go, for you have the words to eternal life”. For the healing and mercy, we go to Jesus.

God’s mercy is never ending. He forgives and forgets. The apostles abandoned him, Thomas doubted; he forgave them all. We sin, we doubt and with absolution his loving mercy forgives us.

Jesus said to Saint Faustina “Tell all people, that I am love and Mercy itself.” His mercy is a free gift, it is there for the asking, for he said “The flames of mercy are burning me”.

“I desire to pour them out upon human souls. Oh, what pain they cause me when they do not want to accept me”.

Our world does not accept Jesus and it is wounded, and many are crying out for God’s mercy, but our Churches are closed.  Our Churches are not essential to the healing of this sick world.  But God still hears our call.

Is God telling us something? In these strange times we are living in is God telling us something, and if he is, how long will he wait? He is offering us his Divine Mercy more now than ever since the world began.

He is bringing us to the living and healing waters. We need only to drink for Jesus tells us, “whoever drinks from this water will never thirst again”. That is his healing power

Many of us can remember back over fifty years ago, where there was evil, but nothing compared to what we are experiencing in this age.

We gave an inch back then, actually we caved in to the likes of the world. We gave in to in our movie ratings, exposing adults and kids to just a little more, allowed just a little more cursing and sexual innuendos in our television shows. Satan loved it. God looked on.

Became just a slight bit more permissive with our speech during our conversations, showed a little less respect for women, and some women a little less respect for themselves. Satan jumped for joy

And we continued to give inch, after inch to where we are today, we became an open wound in Satan’s world. How much more will God take.

How much deeper can we go, how many more inches will God tolerate, watching Satan devour more souls than ever.

But it doesn’t have to be, for that wound can be healed. It can become a battle scar.

How is that possible? Only with God’s mercy and listening to the words of Scripture, “Do not conform yourself to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

God is awakening us. He is showing this world that we cannot live without him.  But yet many still plot their evil ways and put salt in the wounds of Jesus.

Today, our homes are our sanctuaries, live streaming our Church.  Our hearts, our inner rooms must continue to be the spiritual tabernacle for our Lord.

We as a nation, as a people of God we plead for God’s mercy. Jesus said to Saint Faustina, “return to your room, for I will be waiting for you there”. It is there where we pray.

We ask our Blessed Mother, the most powerful creature God ever created, to be with us all. She in turn, has giving us the most powerful weapon, the rosary, that has crushed the evils of this world so many times, and will crush them again and the head Satan.

St. Teresa of Avila a doctor of the Church, a Carmelite nun and one of my favorite saints made a bold statement that we must believe, “Satan cannot endure our houses.” And I will add, unless we let him.

May God’s Peace and mercy be always with you

Wandered and cried

One sheep wandered from the flock, alone and lost and called out to God. And God heard the call and searched to bring the lost sheep back to where he belonged, to his refuge and fortress.

Our physical fortress is denied entrance, our Churches are closed, but our spiritual fortress, our heart is a place God wants us to find refuge. It is there where God will shelter us.  “Whoever clings to me I will deliver, and all who call upon me I will answer”. There we will dwell in the shelter of the most high.

Many today who wandered, are calling out to God, they are lost and alone. God hears their cries and out of his great love, commands his angels to guard them in all their ways.

With immense joy they are found. And something great happens when we are found, we re-ignite a spark that keeps the embers of love burning.  We begin to glow with God’s light. Strength and courage are renewed, and we know that God is with us, is always with us, in our distress.

To road to destiny

Where does this road lead us? It leads to our destiny. Our ultimate goal, no matter what our circumstances, regardless of where we find ourselves right now, is heaven, or at least it should be. Our journey should be one full of questions and answers from Scripture, praying, devotions, sacraments and the list goes on, leading us to the destiny we hope for.

Two men traveled a road and met a man, a teacher who eased their sadness and their doubt. He opened for them Scripture filling them with the hope they had lost. Two men on the road to Emmaus walked with Jesus and dined with Jesus.

The road to Emmaus must be the road we choose to our destiny.  And as we travel that road to our eternal banquet, our Emmaus, we can walk with Jesus, filling our hearts with His burning love. As we reflect on Scripture each day of our lives, we ask Jesus to open them up for our understanding, for the way, the truth, and the life.

But the road isn’t always easy. Walking our road to Emmaus means accepting the crosses that come our way. It means accepting the fact there will be bumps in the road. There are obstacles, but there is hope. Yes, we all have a cross or crosses we need to carry and sometimes a cross seems impossible to carry, that it’s just too heavy. Today, we all seem to be carrying a heavy burden.

But God in His mercy, doesn’t allow us to carry that cross alone. He wants us to win the race, to be at that banquet table, so His hand is wrapped around our waist for support.  With His help, no cross is ever too heavy for our shoulders to carry.

There is a story told to me by a brother deacon, and you may have heard it before. It’s about a young man who felt like he was burdened with a cross he could not carry.  He complained for weeks asking our Lord to take it away from him. He kept pleading and finally God said to him, “I hear your cries, but together we’ll carry this burden”. But the man insisted, no Lord, it’s too much, please, give me a lighter cross.

So, our Lord took him to a warehouse of nothing but crosses and explained to the man he could choose any cross he feels comfortable with, replacing the one he now has.  The man went up and down every aisle of the warehouse, seeing only huge and heavy crosses, some he couldn’t even lift, others were full of splinters that could hurt and cut the skin, he wanted nothing to do with them, but he couldn’t find any that he felt he could carry. 

Almost exhausted he was about to leave and finally he saw this small cross by the door and he picked it up.  It felt good and he shouted with excitement and said God, this is it, I have found the cross I can carry, I’ll take this one. God said, “I thought you would choose that one, for that is the same one you came in with”.

Every moment of our lives, we are in the presence of our Lord. And every step we take, Jesus steps with us. Every cross we carry, Jesus carries with us. He wants to be alive with him in our hearts.  He wants to break bread with us at his Banquet Table. Today, take a quiet moment, break open Scripture and ask Jesus to send you the Holy Spirit for understanding. With a smile of joy, you will say, “Weren’t our hearts burning”.  What a meal he has planned for us.

Hooked

I remember as a young boy, fishing in Penny Pack Creek just about every day in the summer. In those polluted waters was a beast, a huge carp, whom we named Bubba. A fish just too big to catch and reel in for us, too smart too, but yet he was the ultimate prize that summer.

Occasionally we hooked him, but every time you hooked Bubba and tried to bring him in, he would snap the line, and a few fishing poles left unguarded followed Bubba in the water.  Still, every day, some of us would bring our lunch and fish all day, just for an opportunity to catch this monster.

One day, I got to my favorite fishing spot before anyone else arrived.  I had been able to save some money and bought some stronger fishing line for my reel.  And it worked, after I hooked this monster, I struggled and fought it and was able to reel Bubba in. 

He was huge, the largest fish I had ever caught.  I was so proud of myself holding Bubba in my arms.   Yes, I was Jumping for joy, and couldn’t wait for the others to come to share my excitement with me. 

I kept waiting, but no one came. They’re always here by now. I looked at this huge fish, and Bubba was beginning to show signs of dying, being out of the water for so long.  I couldn’t let this fish die, this famous icon. So, I brought it to the bank of the creek and let it go. It struggled at first, then swam away immediately.

Sure enough, some friends arrived to fish for Bubba. It was a long wait, but finally, I could tell someone my great news.  I remember shouting in excitement, “caught the monster, caught Bubba”.  No one believed me, regardless of how many times I told them.  They wanted proof, and I had none, for the fish was gone.  If only Bubba could come back and tell them.

Remembering that story made me think. Maybe Jesus must have felt that way during his three years of proclaiming His Word. No one seemed to believe Him either, And, he tried so hard using stories and analogies.  Even with all the miracles, his humility, all of his good deeds, so many still didn’t believe he was the Son of God. They took it a step further, they crucified Him.

But we are believers, each of us to a different degree.  Even though we believe, some of us sometimes become lukewarm in our faith, and our branch on the vine begins to wither.  We begin to lose faith and trust. St. Paul tells us we must keep our eyes on the finish line, and to run the race as to win. In other words, regardless of the obstacles, the circumstances, and even though Churches are closed, we must keep faith, for there is a prize well worth waiting for.

“What eye did not see and ear, did not hear, and what never entered the human mind-- God prepared this for those who love Him”. For all who finish with God in their heart, the prize, the heavenly reward, is eternal life with all the saints before us.

Our world is in chaos, and sometimes I think many  of us are so much like Bubba, the fish in that polluted water. We need to be hooked and God wants nothing more than to catch us. And when he does, he brings us to shore and hugs us and feeds our spirit. It is only then he will tell us, “I will make you fishers of men”. Then we become the true fishermen of God, casting our nets and spreading his Word, fishing for lost souls in our polluted world. Bringing inner peace to people in a changing world.

For that we must believe and build for ourselves a strong foundation of faith. Yes, today’s world makes it so easy to struggle. And so, we pray, we sacrifice, we do all we can to be faithful followers of Jesus. For those who are sinking, whose faith is fading in murky waters, we must be their anchor.

Can you imagine if we all had the great love and excitement for Jesus that Mary Magdalene had upon finding our Lord? She had to share, and in her excitement and with true happiness she proclaims to the world, “I have seen the Lord.” There are fish out there we can help.

Wonder if Jesus liked liver

I love that expression, “God is good all the time, all the time, God is good”. And what an amazing God he is, for he won’t force us to accept his goodness, or reject it.  No, he has giving us one of the most beautiful and wondrous gifts - our free will.

A free gift to choose how we live our spiritual life. And I believe we would all agree, most times when we find ourselves in the confessional it’s because of the wrong use of our free will, we caved into temptation.

My father was strict and laid down the law for us growing up. And one of his laws was you ate everything on your plate or you went to bed and had it for breakfast in the morning. He liked liver and my mother loved beets and many times liver and beets were both on my plate at the same time. And, both made me gag, still do. But, it made no difference, his law meant clean your plate.

One supper when both were served the devil got into my creative mind. I so carefully slid, piece by piece, the liver and the beets off my plate onto the napkin on my lap. So far, so good.  My plan, be the last one to leave the table, stuff the loaded napkin into my pocket and quickly head to the bathroom for a flush.

The plan was on target. I managed to be the last one to leave the table as my mother, doing the dishes, had her back to me. But someone sneaked into the bathroom, so I did the next best thing.  My sister had a large hollow toy lamb, a pull toy on a string whose mouth opened and closed.  So, I stuffed the napkin with the beets and liver into the lamb’s mouth and pushed into its hollow stomach.  Ingenious!

After a few days, the little lamb really did start to have a stench. My poor little sister, every time she pulled that toy around the house, they kept checking her diaper.

My father finally figured out where that aroma was coming from, the toy lamb. When he emptied the contents into the trash, it was he who started to gag, badly, I might add. He knew it had to be me and I was punished, a bad choice breaking a rule, but you know, we never had beets and liver again.

Yes, beets and liver are bad news, and I certainly did disobey my father. On the other hand, God’s demand for obedience is absolute, his commandments are not to be tinkered with to find a loop whole to please our own desires.

When Jesus sat on a mountain side and taught his disciples, they found out that judgment and hell are no longer just for killing someone, but even just being angry with a person. Not just adultery will bring you to hell, but even looking at a woman with lust brings death to the soul. Yes, there are demands.

Jesus’ words must have astonished his followers sitting on the mountain side listening to him preach. He had their minds thinking, calling them to a higher standard of true love for God and neighbor.

Our free will is a gift, but how do we use it? When we say yes to God’s demands, we are provided the strength by grace, to nurture our faith to maturity, and then we are giving another gift from the Holy Spirit; Wisdom.

Every new day challenges us, and to compound that, every new day in isolation can tempt us with fire and evil. But we must never forget, God has a plan. Our duty through our free will is to place all our trust in God’s plan. Adhering to his demands and to preserve through sacrificing in troubled times.

St. Paul tells us that the “secret and hidden” wisdom of God can only be mysteriously explained when we nurture and mature in our faith, by using our free will.  Determined to choose eternal life. God wants us to experience his presence and refreshment every single day, in times of trial as well as in times of peace. He wants to be our light on our stairway to heaven

What is the stairway to heaven? - trust and faith. And without them, the light is extinguished and everything goes dark – we lose our vision of God

God’s only desire for all of us is to be welcomed into the open arms of Jesus when he calls our name.

Remember, even in these very unusual and troubled times, God places demands on us. But with faith and our trust in the God who loves us “we can do all things through Jesus who strengthens us”.

Yes, He has risen!

I’m not sure Jesus had me in mind when he said, “No one has a greater love than to lay down one’s live for one’s friend”.

I have told this story before but, Easter Sunday, as a small child, had a different meaning for me than it does now. All I could think about was the Easter Basket, not just my Easter basket, but my brother and sister’s baskets as well. I may not have understand the true meaning of Easter, but I did understand candy, chocolate candy to be precise.

My mother would sternly say, under no circumstance, were we to eat any candy from our basket until after Church. That was sheer agony. Chocolate right there, the aroma, the coconut alone was worth the risk.

When no one was looking, I would quickly bite off the bottom of the huge chocolate coconut egg in my sister’s basket. Then inconspicuously fit the egg back into the basket, push it down a little into the green straw and place the jelly beans around the perimeter of the egg. Looks like it was never touched.

And as I think back to those days, I realize that I was truly a great brother. How lucky my sister was. I did all that extra work of hiding the chocolate egg just so my sister wouldn’t get in trouble. And then temptation got the best of me and I would begin snacking on the bottom of my own chocolate egg.

I know Jesus said Lay down your life for your friend, but he didn’t say sibling, so when my parents found out the chocolate egg sitting in my sister’s basket was missing the bottom, without any hesitation, I quickly picked up the egg in my basket and said, look, She ate mine too!

That’s not the love God wants us to imitate. But, as I grew in my faith, I understood the real meaning of love and today, the Resurrection, is truly the ultimate culmination of love. He has truly risen.

Today is Easter. Christ is risen! It was today that he renewed the earth. Renewing it, the Church and us as its members by bringing us back to a new life, a life full of hope. We are his friends and need him always, but more in these days than ever before in our lives.

Today, what a spectacular event took place in heaven. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, welcoming all those just souls rising up from under the earth. The heavenly embrace of longtime friends with Jesus.

On Good Friday He forgave us and called us his friend. For it was on that day He laid down his life for us, nailing all our sins to that Cross.  And this morning we see the empty tomb of the resurrected Jesus. He is not there, and still must be found. But for those who hope and search their hearts will rejoice, for he will be found.  

The Resurrection is a pure sign of hope and love, for those who remain as his friend. And today we see that image of love for a friend. It was Mary, who loved Jesus so much, who was first at the tomb.

It was John, the disciple whom Jesus loved and who loved Jesus, who was the first to believe in the Resurrection. It was that Love that gave them eyes to read the signs and a mind to understand.

It’s like a marriage, how easy it is to destroy that beautiful relationship, when the focus is on ourselves. How easy it is to miss the Lord when our focus is on ourselves!  Hard work that brings about many tests.

In these days we truly are being put to the test, and it is times as these that we can shine, that we can offer ourselves for the good of others, by doing all things pleasing to God; More praying, persevering with annoyances, fasting for repentance, holding one’s tongue, sharing what we have, and the list could go on being cramped up in a small area for a long. What little we may think we have, others have less.

There has never been a time where our Churches have closed, the House of God cannot be entered and our services are on line. It all seems to distant us so far from God. But this is also the greatest opportunity for the world to bring itself closer to our Creator. For lost souls to find the true way to be set free. This is a remarkable time for the world to know that God is in command.

When we do all things for the love of God on this journey, his eyes and strength will be upon us. And above all, he will certainly call us his friend. Then someday we will join that special group of his resurrected friends in heaven, his saints.  Happy Easter

A Good Friday of hope

It was called the Place of the Skull, a small hill just outside of Jerusalem. Golgotha to some or the Hill of Calvary to others, and there on that hill hung two thieves roped to their cross.  And from their vantage point they could see another man, dragging a cross, some distance away, being whipped as he struggled up the hill trying to reach the top.

There was a great deal of space between their crosses and they knew where his Cross would be planted. Yes, right there between the two of them was a place where this next man would hang.

Yes, two thieves waited for Jesus that Friday, but for one thief, his heart was full of compassion, for he knew this man was innocent, and had the power to do remarkable things. He even knew, by the grace of God, Jesus was going to his Kingdom that day. For that man, that criminal, the seed of hope was taking root.

Jesus made it to the top of the hill of Calvary. Then his executioners crucified his tortured body, stretching out his arms and nailing them to the wood. Then his feet placing a small platform to the cross to support his feet.  They raised him up and mounted him in the middle of the two thieves. Three crosses of shame, raised high on a hill for all to see.

We begin to hear the last words of Jesus, as well as the deathbed conversations of these dying men. From one cross comes insults, another there is hope and from the third lives mercy.

“Save us and yourself”, one thief shouts, but the other, the man on the cross of hope is defending Jesus and says, “Have you no fear”. Words from these two directed to the man in the middle, the man of forgiveness and mercy.

But then in the very quiet of death, the silence is broken with contrition and repentance, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” The man is crying in hope, his final words, his last breath.

And in the Heart of Jesus there is mercy for he finds the strength to respond with calm assurance: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise”. Hope! There is the hope! There is hope because there is mercy. There is hope because of the Cross and His Resurrection.

No one is denied a share in the victory of that Cross.  No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ.  The prayer of mercy, the prayer of hope, the prayer that brought forgiveness to the Good Thief, brings forgiveness to us. The prayer from the one crucified who forgives us of our sins.

It was a Friday like no other. Our Savior was crucified and the gates of heaven and hell were shortly opened. It was a day illustrating Jesus’ mercy to his last breath on earth and then beyond.

Today, is a Good Friday like we have never experienced before. But regardless of where or how we pray today, we must know that it is never too late to turn to Christ.  As long as a heart beats, the invitation of Christ and his mercy still stands.  So long as there is life there is hope.

With a leap of faith, the Good Thief took a step closer to heaven, a step that was born through hope and trust

 And Jesus, mercy personified, with eyes full of promise said: “Truly, I say to you.” The man’s hope was rewarded.  “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”

This criminal died in the peace of our Lord and entered the promised paradise, the gates of heaven, with Jesus at His side. Isn’t that the way we want to live? Isn’t that the way we want to die? Isn’t that the way we want to live again?

As sinners, we hope for forgiveness and beg for Jesus’ mercy. Every new day brings that hope, another beginning. If we recognize each day as another gift from God, we can live each day with hope in what is to come.  

As we leave the scene on this Hill of Calvary, three crosses remain. To most of the crowd they are still the three crosses of shame, criminals deserving punishment. But what really remains? Yes, three crosses are still there, but we see there is really only one cross of shame, and there is one cross of hope, and there is the Cross of the Glory of Jesus, that Cross of Mercy.

And the Cross of Mercy brings the cross of Hope into his Kingdom.  “Today, you will be with me in Paradise”.  In these days of uncertainty, we don’t know what the future will bring, but we do know we must be prepared. And to be prepared we carry with us the hope of God’s mercy. Oh! There is hope. Amen!