4th Week of Lent 2025 - Monday - Spiritual Springtime

 

Yesterday, after the morning masses, I was able to enjoy some of the nice weather. So I sat outside, sipped some tea, read a book, and listened to the birds. What was also lovely to notice, was that trees are budding, flowers are starting to push up from the ground. Winter is over, and springtime, the time of new life is here. 

That is one reason why the english speaking church adopted the word Lent for this liturgical season. In latin, the season is called Quadragesima, the 40 days. But our word, Lent, comes from the old english word, Lencten, which means the time of the lengthening of days, when the sun begins to be seen more after the dark days of winter, when the elements of creation seem to wake up and new life begins to flourish again.

It is no surprise that many of our Lenten scripture readings focus on new life and new creation, for Lent truly is a spiritual springtime. Our reading from Isaiah this morning speaks of God creating a new heaven and a new earth, where infants, young men, and old are not limited by brief days, but enjoy an abundance of food and reliable shelter.

Then, in the Gospel, we encounter a royal official who experiences the power of God’s new creation directly, when Jesus heals his dying son. Christ came to bring new life not only physically, as seen in the healing of the boy, but spiritually as well.

Lent invites us dispose ourselves to the new life God wants for us. Our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving help prepare the soil of our hearts, removing the obstacles of selfishness, distraction, and sin, and creating space for the seeds of grace to grow. Just as we see nature awakening and new life emerging around us, Lent encourages us to open our hearts to God's life-giving grace, allowing Christ to heal us and renew us deeply from within.

In these final weeks of Lent, let us embrace this season of renewal with openness, eagerly anticipating the transformative power of Christ’s resurrection. May our hearts become fertile ground for God’s grace, allowing us to experience the abundant life Jesus offers—life that heals, restores, and renews. Through our sincere observance of Lent, let us prepare ourselves joyfully and intentionally for the new life that awaits us at Easter.

May we be open to the divine work God wishes to do within each of us, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in God's promises of new life and renewal, let us present our prayers and petitions with open hearts.

For the Church, that throughout Lent, all Christians may open their hearts fully to the renewing power of God’s grace, preparing joyfully for the celebration of Easter. Let us pray to the Lord.

For world leaders, that they may be guided by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in working toward justice, peace, and prosperity, allowing all peoples to experience new hope and abundant life. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those who feel spiritually dormant or disconnected from God’s presence, that they may experience a profound renewal of faith, hope, and joy. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those suffering from illness, despair, or hopelessness, that the healing presence of Christ, who restores life, may touch them and bring comfort, strength, and renewal. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our beloved deceased, that they may share fully in the eternal life promised by Christ, experiencing forever the joy and renewal of heaven. Let us pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, you continually bring forth new life and hope. Hear our prayers and renew our hearts, that we may live joyfully in anticipation of the Resurrection. Through Christ our Lord.

3rd Week of Easter 2024 - Friday - New Life through Christ's Flesh and Blood

 Early last week, we read of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John chapter 3, in which the Lord speaks about being born again of the Spirit— the new life that comes from being his disciple. The Church fittingly reads of that conversation about spiritual rebirth and spiritual life during the Easter season—in which we celebrate the risen life of Christ and consider how we are to share in that life—through discipleship and the sacraments and through the life of the Church.

That theme of sharing in Christ’s life continues in John chapter 6—the Bread of Life discourse—in which the Lord teaches that in order to share in his life—and in the life of his Father—on earth and in eternity—we must eat his flesh and drink his blood: “unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life”

Discipleship of Jesus Christ is the path, the only true path to eternal life. That discipleship involves a living relationship with Christ—which includes faith that He is God, acceptance and practice of his moral teachings—including the avoidance of sin and the practice of works of charity, and a true sharing in his very life through the Sacraments of the Church.

We read in the Acts of the Apostles how Paul's sight is restored when he is baptized and given food. New life was given to Paul himself through the Sacraments.

Baptism, in which we are born again by water and the Spirit—begins that life. And eating his flesh and drinking his blood in the Eucharist, sustains that life. Receiving his Body and blood devoutly is part of our Easter proclamation that in Christ is found life—sanctified earthly life that leads to the blessedness of eternal life with God—that there is no other way to eternal life with God than through Christ.

It is a horrific tragedy that so many Catholics who should know better, deprive themselves of the Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ, choosing to skip Mass, and fill their lives with so much garbage that does not satisfy, that does not give life. 

Part of our Easter mission is to witness to them that the Eucharist is part of the constant spiritual renewal that God wants for his children. 

In one of his last encyclicals, Pope St. John Paul wrote about how the Eucharist is the source of our life. He writes, “In the humble signs of bread and wine, changed into his body and blood, Christ walks beside us as our strength and our food for the journey, and he enables us to become, for everyone, witnesses of hope”

May we witness to our hope in Jesus Christ by receiving the Eucharist devoutly, allowing it to bear so much fruit in our lives—signs that Christ is alive in us and desires life for the world for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

That the Church will deepen in her devotion to the Eucharistic sacrifice which is the source and summit of our Christian life, and that during this time of intentional Eucharistic Revival, our faith may be deepened, grace may increase, and our mission may be furthered. 

That the outpouring of charity in Christ’s Eucharistic Self-Sacrifice will become manifest in all marriages, in all business relations, in all daily encounters, in our concern for the downtrodden and care for the most vulnerable, among friends, strangers, and enemies.  

For those who suffer from physical or mental illness, addiction or grief; and for the consolation of all the afflicted. 

That the Eucharist will be for priests the source of their joy and their deeper configuration to Jesus Christ.  

For all those who have died, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for all who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.

4th Week of Lent 2024 - Monday - Promises of New Life

The fourth Sunday of Lent, yesterday, marked a threshold in this liturgical season.  No longer will the weekday readings emphasize prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The Church assumes, that at this point, we have habituated these practices. Rather, from now until Holy Week, our weekday scripture readings will focus on the identity of Jesus as the Messiah, and the mounting hostility he faced leading up to his arrest and crucifixion. 

The gospel book changes as well.  Since Ash Wednesday, we’ve read from one of the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, or Luke.  For the rest of Lent, we will read predominately from the Gospel of John, which presents Jesus as “the resurrection and the life”. 

The promise of new life is introduced in our reading from the prophet Isaiah this morning. God announces his plan and his promise to create a new heaven and a new earth where the sufferings and sadnesses of life—caused by sin and death and evil—shall not be remembered, but will be replaced with endless rejoicing and happiness. 

And then how did our Gospel reading show Jesus fulfilling this promise of new life. The weeping of the royal official over his dying son is replaced with joy when Jesus restores health to the boy. Joy is brought to the entire household. 

Yesterday, on Laetare Sunday the liturgy urged us to be joyful, for all who mourn shall be made to exult. And again today, we have this connection with joy and new life. The new life available to all of us through Christ is the cause of our joy. 

Joy should be evident in the life of the Christian. Even as we undergo Lenten penances, there should be joy. Because we know that our Lenten penances bring life. They are aimed at the spiritual growth of our souls, and softening hardened hearts to the life of God. 

Our collect prayer this morning, too, spoke about the renewal God desires to bring about through Christ. What is the renewal God wants for you, right now, and this point in your life? Can you identify it? If not, ask God to help you identify those parts of your mind, body, and spirit that he wants to renew through Christ. And if you do know, ask for the strength to pursue that renewal, that new life. It might not be easy. Renewal might require change and breaking habits and thinking and speaking differently. But that change is good because it is the change desired for you by God. 

May the joy of our salvation in Christ pierce through every darkness and lead us and those we pray for to the eternal light of Heaven for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

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As the Solemnity of Easter approaches, dear brethren, let our prayer to the Lord be all the more insistent:

That God may be pleased to increase faith and understanding in the catechumens and those to be fully initiated in the coming Paschal Solemnity

For Peace throughout the nations of the world most threatened by hatred, division, and violence, for the protection of the unborn and the safety of the men and women in our armed forces.  

That all families will commit themselves to fervent prayer this Lent so as to grow in greater love and holiness.  

For the physical, emotional, and spiritual healing of all people, especially the spiritually blind and hard of heart.  

For all those who have died, for all the poor souls in purgatory, for those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for…  

Have mercy, O Lord, on the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in the divine mystery may never be left without your assistance. Through Christ our Lord.

5th Sunday of Lent 2021 - Jesus raises the dead to new life

Two weeks ago we heard the story of the woman at the well.  She encountered the Lord Jesus, who said to her, “I will give you living water, which alone can satisfy”.  She represents all of us, all thirsting for God. Jesus invites all people of all time to drink deeply of the living waters of God through Him.

Last week we heard of the man born blind.  Again, he is all of us, born in the blindness of sin.  We desire to do good and avoid evil, but it’s not always easy to see clearly. Sometimes our egos, our sinful attachments are so great, they blind us to seeing how God wants us to live rightly. Jesus says to the man born blind and to all of us, “I am the light of the world.”  If you want to see rightly, let the light of my life and my teachings enlighten you. 

These stories in John’s Gospel move toward a sort of crescendo. I am living water which quenches thirst. I am the light by which you see. And today Jesus speaks the greatest of the “I am” statements.  He says, “I am the resurrection and the life” without which you are not fully alive nor will you experience the life of the resurrection. 

What is our God interested in?  Life!  One of my favorite quotations from the early Church fathers is from St. Ireneus of Lyons, who said, Gloria Dei Homo Vivens, “the glory of God is Man fully alive.”  Jesus himself said, I came that they might have life, and have it to abundance. Christ died, that we may live, free from sin, full of divine life.  

God’s glory, what gives God happiness, is that we are fully alive.  Conversely, what saddens the heart of God is when we continue to allow death to reign in us at any level, physically, emotionally, spiritually.  

God speaking through in Ezekiel in the first reading says, “I will open your graves and have you rise from them.”  He’s not just speaking of our final resting place here.  Whatever grave you are in: perhaps an inability to forgive someone, perhaps a jealousy, an inability to grieve the loss of a loved one, or an addiction, or habitual sin, whatever is limiting your life.  Think of laying in a grave, there is no place to move, you are constricted, unable to move, tied up, and God says, from your graves, I will have you rise up.”  God wants life for us.  Jesus , the incarnate Word of God speaks this truth, “I AM the resurrection and the life.”  We are made to have His life in us.

There are three people raised from the dead, given to life, by Jesus in the Gospels.  The first one is the daughter of Jairus. Remember the little girl who died in her home when Jesus was on the way to heal her?  The daughter of Jairus. The second is the son of the widow of Naim.  Jesus sees the widow weeping as they brought out the body of her son, and Jesus is moved to raise him from the dead.  The third is of course, Lazarus.

St. Augustine offered a reflection on these three raisings.  Augustine says these three raisings stand for three types of spiritual death from which we can be raised by Jesus’ love and mercy.

Because Jairus’ daughter dies in her house, St. Augustine says that her death symbolizes the sort of spiritual death that remains locked up in us, the sort of sins that poisons us from the inside: the resentments, the old grudges.  They aren’t necessarily expressed in words or actions, they just sort of fester within us, poisoning our thoughts, isolating us from others 

The soul suffering from this sort of spiritual death might say, “Lord, I’m a good person, I don’t do a lot of evil things, so I must be fine”.  All the while there is anger and resentment and impatience stewing within. In this persons life you’ll see some broken, unmended relationships, and a lot of missed opportunities to go out in the life of the Spirit. Jesus raises the daughter of Jairus, dead in her house, , just as he wants to heal us from all of our interior sinful attitudes to increase in us the life of generosity and compassion.

Secondly, the son of the widow of Naim.  He had died and was being carried outside the house to the cemetery. St. Augustine says, the widow’s son symbolizes that spiritual death, that sin, that comes out from the heart and the mind and has begun to express itself in action.  Anger, resentment, impatience expressed in words and actions and gestures.  Jesus approaches this person too, and offers new life, a new way of interacting with others. 

The third person Jesus raises from the dead is our friend Lazarus.  Lazarus has been carried out of the house and placed in a tomb.  By the time Jesus gets there, Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days.  When the Lord instructs them to roll away the stone that blocks the tomb, his sister, famously says, “but Lord, surely,  there will be a stench.”

St. Augustine says that Lazarus in his grave, stinking and rotting, symbolizes that evil, that spiritual death, that not only has come out of the heart in words and actions, but has established itself as a habitual part of one’s life.  Now, the anger and the hatred and the violence and the lust and the greed, have come out, and have become such a part of my life and my activity, that, I have begun to stink, and it’s affecting the people around me—one’s family, one’s community, one’s nation or the world—depending on one’s position of influence. I think of the Hollywood Elites, Popular Musicians, and politiians..who, well, just stink, who set such bad example, especially for children. But Jesus offers new life to these souls as well. 

So we have these three types of sin, the interior, the exterior, and that…well…stinkiest, ugliest sort of sin.  I remember reading that Saint Christina, whose relics are stored at our diocesan Cathedral, by the way, would become nauseated when she was in the presence of people whose souls were dead and rotting because of mortal sin.

But, at the heart of today’s Gospel, is that Jesus does come, even to the grave of Lazarus, and he brings him back to life.  Jesus goes even into the furthest, smelliest, ugliest souls and invites us back to life.  

From time to time, a priest hears someone say, “Father, believe me, what I’ve done is so bad, even God can’t forgive me.  Don’t talk to me about confession because that won’t help.”  Not true. Nobody, not even those who are entrenched in evil are beyond the reach of the forgiving power of Christ.

Now looking at our own life, we might not be Lazarus, but it is highly unlikely that any of us are without a bit of grave rot. For those powers of death are always seeking to reclaim territory lost to Jesus. So the saints recommend frequent Sacramental Confession, to claim our lives for Christ once again.

This Wednesday, a guest priest and I will offer confessions from 5 to 8 here in the Church. If it’s been more than a year since your last confession, you are over due. 

Notice, too, that Martha and Mary, lead Jesus to the tomb of Lazarus. There are likely souls, who are dead and rotting, who we must lead Jesus to by our prayers and penances. We should never pretend, that just because it’s 2021, that some sins are now okay. And souls can live without a living relationship with Jesus Christ. It cannot be done. I know, it’s unpleasant to think that some souls are in danger of hell. But that should motivate us all the more to pray and evangelize.

For the Lord is willing to go to the deepest darkest places in order to bring forgiveness and healing and new life, but sometimes he wants us to lead him there.

May our conviction that he is the resurrection of life spurn us on in our Lenten journey to Easter, in the journey from sin and selfishness to new life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Easter Sunday 2017 - Transforming the Tomb

Yesterday morning, I spent some time watching April, the most famous giraffe in the world, give birth to her new calf. For weeks, millions have watched tuned in to gaze into this little zoo enclosure to see one of God’s spectacular creatures bring new life into the world. Million watched and waited on April’s womb. And now her womb is empty because it has brought forth new life: a healthy little baby giraffe, who’s already walking around and smiling with that goofy giraffe grin.

Today, on this Easter Sunday we celebrate not an empty womb, but an empty tomb, the first empty tomb since the fall of Adam and Eve. For remember, from the time of the sin of Adam and Eve, the tomb had claimed every human soul. The tomb was the place of captivity and darkness. The tomb was the place where death reigned supreme. It was the place of stench, decay, and utter sadness.

But on Easter Sunday morning, a little less than 2000 years ago, God did something completely new in the history of the world. He defeated the tomb; the powers of death, which dragged every human soul since Adam into hell, were defeated. Through Christ’s resurrection, death lost its grip over human souls.

Utter defeat has been transformed into irreversible victory. As C.S. Lewis said, “The door which had always been locked had for the very first time been forced open.” Evil had its way with God's anointed. Death had sway over mankind.  But now, no more. Christ is risen, he is truly risen!
The tomb, in a sense, is transformed into a womb. The place of death is transformed into a place of life. From this lifeless tomb burst forth new life. As St. Paul says, Jesus Christ is “the first-born of the dead.”

Jesus Christ’s resurrection, his bursting forth from the tomb, is the stamp of guarantee on all of his teachings and promises. He rose, just as he said he would. Resurrexit sicut dixit. And so all of his promises can be trusted, we can put our faith in Him. We can believe that those follow him as he taught us, those who have been reborn in baptism as he taught us, those who eat his flesh and drink his blood as he taught us, those who carry their crosses faithfully to the end as he taught us, will be raised with him as he taught us. No believer, no one who believes in Christ and follows him, will be subject to the tomb. No tomb shall ever hold Christ’s faithful ones again.

Yes, we may still face physical death. But physical death, we Christians know is not the end of the story anymore. The tomb through Christ is transformed into a womb, whose darkness and constriction are now simply a place of preparation for new and eternal life. Those who buried simply rest and wait to be raised.

In the Creed, every Sunday, we profess this belief in the resurrection of our bodies. Just as Christ is risen and lives forever, so all of his faithful ones us will be raised on the last day and live forever.
Jesus himself teaches this John’s Gospel; he says, “The hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.”
This truly is Good News, the best of news.

Chesterton writes: “‘God raised Jesus from the dead!’  This was the fundamental and unalterable testimony of those who had physically seen Jesus dead and then alive again.  The historical fact of Jesus resurrection is the ground and basis of all true love, hope, and joy; for if Jesus is still in the grave then all of humanity will remain in the grave too.  But he is not in the grave, and this makes all the difference.  Now those who put their hope in Jesus may find their way into a fullness of joy: partially in this world; fully in the next.”

A baby in his mother’s womb cannot comprehend the beauty and splendor of life outside the womb; he’s not even begun to experience the joy God has in store for him. Similarly, the life of the Christian faith opens us to great vistas of truth and beauty and goodness and joy that can be found no where else.

Is your life full of Christian joy? Are you surprised by the unexpected joy of encountering God in your prayer life, through acts of Christian service? Are you surprised by the joy of studying the faith and reading and studying the Scriptures? Are you surprised by the joy of experiencing the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifesting in your life and in your family? If not, let this Easter be an invitation to enter more deeply into life.

Lack of Christian joy is often a sign of infantile faith. Lack of joy is often a sign that we are still allowing the powers of death and sin to reign in us, that we are not allowing faith in the Risen Christ to flourish in us. If you aren’t experiencing true Christian joy, if you haven’t been living your faith as you should, if you haven’t been praying and studying and serving and coming to mass and going to confession as should, let today be a new beginning. Let it be a new beginning of living the faith, encountering Christ, spreading his Gospel. For true Joy and new life can only be discovered through Jesus Christ.

In just a moment, we will renew the promises of our Baptism. Many of us, baptized as infants, did not get the opportunity to make our own baptismal profession. It was made for us by our parents and godparents. But every Easter, Mother Church gives us the opportunity to renew our baptismal promises. We will promise once again to put behind us the old life of sin, to walk with Christ in newness of life, to make our souls places where the risen Christ may dwell and bear fruit and draw sinners to himself through us.

Listen to this beautiful invitation expressed by Pope Francis at Easter a few years ago, Pope Francis; he said: “Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life! If up till now you have kept him at a distance, step forward. He will receive you with open arms. If you have been indifferent, take a risk: you won’t be disappointed. If following him seems difficult, don’t be afraid, trust him, be confident that he is close to you, he is with you and he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you do.”
Jesus is Risen, indeed he is Risen, let us rejoice and be glad.  Alleluia, Alleluia.