What do aspirin and the Eucharist have in common?
Unfortunately, most of the time, not much.
You see, we take aspirin consciously thinking about the effect it will have on us. We have great confidence that it will change something within us. Ease pain. Reduce fever. Etc. Etc.
But how often do we think about the Eucharist with that same confidence and expectation?
How often do we truly think about how it will cleanse our soul, strengthen our spirit, and fill us with Christ?
God Bless you.
Post-Easter let down?
Here is a quick joke to put a smile on your face:
A friend of Joseph of Arimathea asked him why he gave his new tomb to that man called Jesus.
Joseph replied "Oh it wasn't an problem ... He only needed it for the weekend."
God Bless you.
At our Easter Vigil Mass, we have a tradition where the Church is kept dark to start.
The new Paschal Candle is lit outside, and brought into the Church. The priest lights his candle from that, and then lights the deacon's. The deacon lights the alter servers' candles, and they in turn light the candles of the folks in the first pews. Those folks light the candles near them, and so forth and so on. One by one you can see the light being passed from one parishoner to the next. Within five minutes, the previously dark church is aglow in beautiful light.
It is a powerful symbol of the joy of Easter.
Much like the earliest disciples (Mary Magdalene included) learned of Jesus' resurrection and passed it on, we too are called to do the same.
In fact, it is an important reminder that Easter is just the beginning of our year-long calling to spread God's word.
I wish you and your families a very Blessed Easter! Please pray for the conversion of many today.
God Bless you.
There are two specific words in the Matthew's Passion that speak volumes.
The first is Rabbi.
Matthew tells us in one of his earlier gospels (Mt 23:7-8) that Jesus is not a fan of the term Rabbi. And yet, Judas calls Christ this twice in today's reading.
First, Jesus tells his Disciples that one of them will betray Him. Matthew tells us that they all begin to ask "Surely it is not I, Lord?" Only Judas asks Christ, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Perhaps the weight of what he was about to do was so great, that he could not bring himself to use the term Lord. Or perhaps it was his way of showing that, in the moment, he was no longer a believer.
The other time Judas uses this term is later that night, in the garden. Just before he betrays our Lord with the kiss, he proclaims "Hail, Rabbi!"
And here is where the second specific word is used.
In response to this, Jesus says something unbelievable.
He says, "Friend, do what you have come for."
Jesus was just betrayed by Judas - to the point of a horrific death. And He still greeted him with the word friend. Not Judas. Not traitor. Not a word unfit for this blog.
Friend.
It is a word we glance over as we read the pivotal pieces of the Passion. But it speaks volumes to the love and forgiveness of our Savior.
I hope you have a very Blessed Holy Week.
There was one sentence in John's Gospel about Lazarus that stood out at me today.
Mary and Martha find Jesus and tell Him that Lazarus is very ill. Yet, despite the fact that Jesus' friend - one He loves - is about to die, John tells us that Christ "remained for two days in the place He was".
Another reminder for us that God will work His miracles, and reveal His story, on His timeline. Not our human one.
I hope you are having a Blessed Lent.
There was so much going through my head during today's reading from John (about Jesus healing a blind man) that I decided to do another bullet-point-format post today.
- The people in Jesus' time thought worldly problems were a result of sin. Jesus tells them those problems are so that "the works of God might be made visible". I wonder if the same holds true today. We pout about all of our worldly problems. Instead of looking at them as punishment, perhaps we should look at them as an opportunity for God to show His love in our lives.
- "I am the light of the world" is one of my favorite lines from Jesus. It conjures up such beautiful imagery. It also reminds me of the hymn called "We are the light of the world" and how inspiring that is to sing. I wish we all remembered that fact more often.
- When the blind man returned to his neighbors, many did not recognize him. It dawned on me that after people have a spiritual encounter with the Lord, they become a different person. Perhaps unrecognizable to those that knew them before.
- You did catch his response, by the way, when they ask him if he was the same beggar they think he is. His Jesus-inspired answer was "I am."
- It is a small storyline in this passage, but it always bothered me how the parents of the blind man did not support him out of fear. Another example of how earthly rules made everyone blind to God's real intentions.
- The blind man gets frustrated when the crowd asks him a second time how he regained his sight. How frustrated God should be with all of us, that He has to tell us the same thing over and over ... and yet, His patience is incomprehensible!
- The Jews said "We know that God spoke to Moses but we do not know where this one is from." These kind of statements often baffle me. The ancient Jews certainly had their periods of disbelief with Moses, but eventually decided he was one of God's chosen ones. Yet, Jesus is right there in front of them working miracles, and the leaders never give Him a chance. He is a threat from day one. It is this blindness, in retrospect, that is so hard to understand. (Of course, I say that knowing full well someone could look at my life and comment about how blind I have been.)
I hope you are all having a blessed Lent.
The Transfiguration is such a complex event, that I always have random thoughts going through my head while I read it. Some are serious, some less so. Rather than try to weave them into one coherent post, I thought I'd just jot a few of them down in short form.
- One question I always ask myself ... how did Peter, James and John know what Moses and Elijah looked like? (Nametags? Did Jesus tell them afterwards? Did they have divine inspiration?)
- Someone once pointed out to me the contrasts between this event and the Crucifixion. They are eery. Transfiguration: Jesus is up on a mountain, bathed in light, with His apostles around Him, and the voice of God praising Him. Crucifixion: Jesus is without clothes, nailed to a cross, with Peter and James nowhere to be found, two thiefs next to Him, and silence from God.
- We all lovingly smile at Peter's comment during this scene, but what often gets overlooked is that God cuts him off. Matthew tells us that "while he was still speaking" God speaks.
- Scholars argue whether the Transfiguration occured on Mt. Tabor or Mt. Hernon. This might not matter to the casual reader, but to the apostles it would have. Mt. Tabor is 1,886 feet high, while Mt. Hernon is almost 5x higher at 9,232 feet high!
- Matthew does not mention this, but Luke does - the apostles were sleeping during part of this, and awoke to see the splendor. It is a lovely thought with much symbolism ... the beauty we can see when God awakens us.
- Jesus asks Peter, James and John not to say anything to anyone until after He is risen. How hard must that have been for them!
I hope you are all having a Blessed Lent!
