Unquenchable Heart Burn

~~~Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~
~~~ Jeremiah 20:7-9 ~~~Psalm 63 ~~~ Romans 12:1-2 ~~~
~~~ Matthew 16:21-27 ~~~

But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart...

Sooner or later all that God has placed within
 our living being bursts forth...
we have this longing like no other longing...
it is like a burning fire within that does not consume.
It is the longing to be once again united with our creator God.
As Jeremiah describes it...like a fire burning in my heart.
Notice he does not say this is a consuming fire.
It is the fire of a longing desire...consuming, unquenchable.
The is worse than any heart burn you have experienced after a rich meal.

Paul tells the Romans it takes a radical transformation
 of the mind before one can begin to discern the will of God.

...be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and pleasing and perfect.

The will of God is only about
that which is good, pleasing, and perfect;
this is what burns within our heart.
God created us with the desire for all good things,
but we resist and loose our focus.

It is the burning within our heart
that causes the transformation of our mind.

...what can one give in exchange for his life? 

The closer we come to discerning the will of God
the more intense the burning within our heart will become.
Then and only then can we realize that there is
nothing we can give in exchange
for our life except to return it to God.
The only thing we could possibly give to God
 is our whole mind, body, and soul.

God gave us the greatest gift...our very existence.
He gives every breath we take.
He gives us every beat of our heart.
What does he ask in return?
He asks that we love him in return.
He asks us to put him above all else in our life.

He asks us to live our lives in such a manner
 that we may some day be completely reunited with him in heaven.

The burning within our heart is our longing
for all that is pleasing and good.
Our burning heart longs to be in his presence. 

We are Blessed to have this burning
desire within our hearts.
What would happen to us if we did not
have this longing to return to him?

Only He can quench your heart burn...let him.
~~~Peace~~~

The Christian Pew Jester

~~~ 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ Matthew 25:14-30 ~~~ 

Are you ready to be a Fool for Christ?
Are you ready to be a Christian Pew Jester?

God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise...

If we are to advance in the wisdom of God
 then must we also be willing to flourish in his foolish ways?
I think one cannot be separated from the other.
God's wisdom is forever entwined with his foolishness.

Jesus carried with him into the world this foolishness of God.
Who sends a baby to save a world from certain death and destruction?
Only our foolish God.

Who loves the very people who deny him?
Only our foolish God.

Who forgives those who madly drive nails into his hands and feet?
Only our foolish God.

Who waits with open arms for the return of the last sinner?
Only our foolish God.

Who holds us in times of great fear?
Only our foolish God.

Who comforts in times of darkness?
Only our foolish God.

Who believes in life after death?
The Christian Pew Jester.

Who surrenders all to Jesus?
The Christian Pew Jester.

Who bows down in praise and thanksgiving before the Lord?
The Christian Pew Jester.

Who seeks after the lost and forgotten souls?
The Christian Pew Jester.

Who follows a shepherd to an unknown pasture?
The Christian Pew Jester.

Who strives to see the goodness in all people?
The Christian Pew Jester.

Who works tirelessly in the vineyard no matter the reward?
The Christian Pew Jester.

Who accepts to call to love until their last breath is taken?
The Christian Pew Jester.

Whether one is a Fool for Christ or a Christian Pew Jester,
God is the one and only, the truth, begotten not made.

He alone saves us and deserves our unending love and attention.
There is no other God; if he is indeed foolish
then let's join him and be glad.

Sing, dance, have a little fun, for this is the stuff of foolishness...
just do it all in the name of love for God, self and your neighbor.

Blessed be the faithful Christian Pew Jester.
~~~Peace~~~

Foolishness or Wisdom?

~~~ Passion of Saint John the Baptist ~~~
~~~1 Corinthians 1:17-25 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ Mark 6:17-29 ~~~

...the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

When we look at the passion and crucifixion of Jesus
we may find it difficult to see the wisdom.
Why would God send Jesus to live among us only to have us,
humans, brutally murder him?
It is hard to accept much less comprehend.
As Christians we believe it was all about how much
God desired to save us...how much he loved us.

I am reminded here of the passage where God tells us
 that his ways are not our ways.
No joke!

It may take a lifetime to grasp the wisdom in the ways of God.
Sometimes they seem so contradictory to what we would choose.
How does a terminal illness bring an estranged family back together?
Why does running late for work save you from a fatal accident?
Why does a broken relationship prevent future tragedy?

Paul's words here border on being comical...
How can we begin to think of God as foolish in the first place?
God does reveal his sense of humor to us, just look at nature.

When he (Herod) heard him (John the Baptist) speak 
he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.

John the Baptist challenged Herod and his sinfulness.
He also gave him ample cause to stop and think.

John spoke with passion and conviction
which made Herod curious and perplexed at the same time.

John spoke the truth without fear of the repercussions.
Herod was a spineless wimp who let a child
 plunge him into the beheading of John.

Herod did not have the passion or the conviction
 to refuse such a heinous crime. 

Perhaps exactly what Herod admired
so much in John was exactly what was missing in his own character.

Herod had no wisdom, yet as a ruler he had much power.

Herod failed to accept that John was speaking
 the words of wisdom inspired by God.

Instead he simply found John amusing and entertaining.
Herod chose to close this chapter of his life
 by committing a grave sin, murder.

Do you admire in others what you find lacking in yourself?
It may not be immediately apparent. You may need to
become more aware.
Oftentimes we envy things
about others that we wish we possessed ourselves.

I long to be able to speak, as others I know, with Scriptures
meaningfully used within the context of the conversation.

It is still a work in progress, I must admit.

No matter how foolish God appears to be in our eyes
he always and only has our best interest in his plan for our lives.
What matters is what are we going to do with our life?
Herod squandered his opportunity to be a better human being...
What about you?

Blessed in loving and being loved by a foolish God.
Makes me want to giggle out loud!
~~~Peace~~~

The Doctor of Grace

~~~ Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church ~~~

~~~ 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 ~~~ Psalm 145 ~~~ Matthew 24:42-51 ~~~

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus...

If you read this verse carefully you may notice
that Paul gives thanks to God for something specific....
he gives thanks for the grace of God.

There are so many things if life for which we could give thanks.
How many times have you actually given thanks for God's grace?
Have you ever thought to give thanks for the grace
 has given to someone else?
I must admit, while I have given thanks for my friends,
I have not even consider appreciating God for their grace.
God gives his gifts to each person as he sees fit.
It is nice when someone else recognizes his grace at work in you.

Saint Augustine is sometimes called the Doctor of Grace.
Perhaps because he resisted God's grace for many years,
in spite of his mother's incessant prayers.
When Augustine finally relented and stopped resisting God's grace
 he became an unstoppable wealth of spiritual wisdom.
You most likely are familiar with many of his words of wisdom.

In his Confessions and his other writings we see evidence of his grace...

O Lord, our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.

The Bible was composed in such a way that as beginners mature,
 its meaning grows with them.

Faith is to believe what you do not see; 
the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.

Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved.

If you believe what you like in the gospels, 
and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel 
you believe, but yourself.

Saint Augustine of Hippo was one of the greatest
Doctors of the Catholic church.

He believed singing was the work of a lover.

He here about an experience he had during the singing at Mass.

What emotion I experienced in them! 
Those sounds flowed into my ears, distilling the truth in my heart. 
A feeling of devotion surged within me, and tears streamed 
down my face — tears that did me good.

Saint Augustine, pray for us.
I invite you to spend some time
with one of these quotes from Saint Augustine.

Perhaps he prayed in thanks for not only the grace gave to him,
but maybe he also prayed for the grace that we would be given too.

Blessed with more grace than we could possibly imagine.
~~~Peace~~~

Heart Grooming

~~~ Memorial of Saint Monica ~~~

~~~ 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 ~~~ Psalm 128 ~~~ Matthew 23:27-32 ~~~

May the Lord of peace himself
give you peace at all times and in every way.
The Lord be with all of you.

Saint Paul writes about peace while Matthew
quotes Jesus speaking harshly to the scribes and Pharisees.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
Jesus accuses them yet again about caring
more about external appearances at the expense of their souls.
We too can be alerted to our external and our internal state.
Do we appear to be something other than the reality in our heart?
We owe it to ourselves to periodically check ourselves.
We should take inventory of our inner self.
Are we too concerned about whether or not we appear
 to be the person we want to be?

Saint Monica prayed that her son would find
within his heart the passion for God as satisfying
 as the passions of his material life.

Is your heart as beautiful as the external appearance
 you work so hard to maintain?
We spend hours each day making our appearance
more pleasing to ourselves and to others.

Do we spend just as much time grooming our heart?
Do we believe that our heart will just take care
 of itself while we focus on what can be seen?

It is more difficult to cleanse our soul than to slather cream on our face.
Too often we are confused,
believing our appearance is what matters most.

Maybe if we were not so hypnotized by the media advertisements
 we would see things differently.

You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside...

I cannot speak for you, but I do not
want to be compared to a whitewashed tomb.

We must not ignore the health and beauty of our inner self...our soul.
No matter how many products we use to make ourselves more
beautiful the beauty of our soul is more important.

Take the time to pay attention to your inner beauty.
As you complete your morning grooming routine
 pause to spruce up your soul with the peace of the Lord.

His peace will keep your inner self
 as beautiful and pleasing as your physical self.

The Lord blesses us with so many images of his kingdom.
Maybe today it is easy to identify with because daily
we take care of our physical appearance.

Saint Monica, pray for us that we may share
 your desires for our own inner transformation.

~~~ Peace~~~

The "New Detergent"

~~~ 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3A, 14-17 ~~~ Psalm 96 ~~~ Matthew 23:23-26 ~~~

Try not to be shaken out of your minds or alarmed,
but you may need to take another look at your dishes.
Are they as clean as you think they are?
Do they look clean until you hold them up to the light?
Is it time for a new dish washing soap?
Or is ti time to buy new dishes?

Jesus takes some delight, it seems,
in making comparisons to the scribes and Pharisees.
Today it is about their supposedly cleanliness.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence....

Jesus talks about cups and bowls,
but he is really talking about these men in authority.
Jesus does not really care about whether or not
 they are following all of the prescribed cleansing rituals.

He did not come to inspect their kitchens.
He is not the local health department representative.

He speaks to their inner self as compared
 to their external appearance.
Their hearts are corrupt with minutia...the tiniest gnat.

...Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup,
so that the outside also may be clean."

You probably have seen the commercial of the woman
takes a clean glass from the dish washer
only to discover it looks very cloudy.

The detergent had cleaned the outside of the glass,
but a cloudy film remained on the inside.

The new improved detergent promises to rid the dishes of the cloudy film.

Jesus was the 'new detergent'.
He came to remove the cloudy film,
but the scribes and Pharisees resisted such nonsense.

What is on the inside is so much more important than the outside.
The scribes and Pharisees paraded around dressed in their fancy robes.
All the while their insides were left in a state of uncleanliness.

They were not taking care of the important things like...
...judgment and mercy and fidelity.

Sometimes we too focus on the 'outside' of the cup.
If we can keep our heart and soul fixed on the good things of the Lord

then everything else will fall into its proper place.

The scribes and the Pharisees become Obsessive Compulsive
 about even the smallest part of the law. 

They were not the least bit concerned about
 how well they were loving God and their neighbors.

Jesus wants us to follow his example of love.
Observing the law may have its place,
 but it should never supersede our desire to love.

Jesus is the 'new detergent',
he removes the cloudy film from inside our hearts.
He Blesses us with his love so that
 we can in turn love others more completely.

Turn your cleaning first to the inside of the cup and all will be well.
~~~Peace~~~

The Unending Prayer

~~~ 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12 ~~~ Psalm 96 ~~~ Matthew 23:13-22 ~~~

We always pray for you,

that our God may make you worthy of his calling...

It was Paul practice to always pray for those he had visited with...
those who had become believers.

Like Paul, you probably pray for many people
as you remember their needs.

But do you ever pray for God to make them worthy of his calling?
I would guess that has never come to your mind.
Worthy is an uncomfortable word because how
does one consider being worthy when it comes to God?

I wonder if the apostles ever considered themselves worthy
to have been called by Jesus to follow him?
How did Paul himself feel about his calling?

We cannot take our call to follow the Lord as routine or ordinary.
It would be good if we did have people praying
 that we would continue to grow in holiness.
If we are growing in our personal holiness
 then surely we are becoming more worthy of our calling.
It is only by the grace of God that we grow to become worthy;
it is never reached alone.

...and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose

and every effort of faith...

Prayer is not just a tool or a means to get what you want.
Prayer is about becoming more of the person God intends for us to be.

God intends for us to do good while we are here on this Earth.
He wants us to get up every morning with this intention.

Paul does not pray for more food, more clothes, more attention
Paul prays for the spiritual health of those he is addressing in his letters.
Paul's prayer has no end. Paul's prayer is an ongoing prayer.
Paul's prayer is one of encouragement; we can always become better.

Paul is praying in union with the mind of God.
Paul knows what really matters in life.
Paul has the same desires as God does for those he prays for each day.

Our prayers for others might be for them to find their
purpose according to God's plan for them.

Have you ever actually prayed for someone's faith to be increased?
Perhaps that is what their soul needs more than anything else.
Paul teaches us to pray for the right stuff.

Consider a different approach to your prayer today.
Lord, how should I pray for ____ today?
Lord, give them your sense of purpose...
shield them from lack of faith.

Paul urges us to pray unceasingly.
Paul's message is about deep gratitude and love for God.
 We are Blessed by the teachings
and examples of St. Paul.

~~~Peace~~~

Without a Doubt

~~~ Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~ Isaiah 22:19-23 ~~~ Psalm 138 ~~~ Romans 11:33-36 ~~~ 

~~~ Matthew 16:13-20 ~~~

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

Peter correctly identifies Jesus as the Son of the living God.

...the living God...God is not dead...he never will be.

Peter knew that Jesus was more than a teacher or healer.

Peter knew Jesus was more than the Messiah.

Peter knew Jesus had an intimate relationship with God the Father.

Peter knew Jesus was anointed set apart not by other men, 

but set apart by the Father.

Peter did not hear this from the locals...he did not read it in a book...

he was not told by the authorities...Peter was blessed 

with a revealed understanding directly from God.

Peter knew who Jesus was without a doubt.

He was confidence in his answer to the question asked by Jesus.

Maybe Jesus was checking to see if he was ready

 to hold the future of the faith in his hands.

Jesus trusted Peter to do a good job.

He did not have time to start over if Peter messed up.

Jesus gives us the opportunity to be his representative on many occasions.

“But who do you say that I am?” 

If we honestly answer this question
then our actions should be a reflection of what is on our heart.

Peter was able to be trusted by Jesus because
he had no doubt Jesus was the Christ.

If you are holding on to the slightest
doubt that Jesus is the Son of the living God
I encourage you to seek the truth from any
reliable source available to you.

Read the Bible and books about Jesus, speak to your pastor or ministers.
Find other believers to socialize with...ask questions...
be still, God will fill in the holes of doubt if you let him.

Jesus is the Son of the living God...
God is not dead...he is alive...he lives in each one of us.
If we let feelings of doubt take root we are letting pollution fill our soul.

I invite you to be firm in your convictions, you do know who Jesus is.
He has proved it to you so many times.
Every morning that you wake up is proof of his existence.
Every breath you take is his loving you.

How do you not know the one
who loves you the most?

For from him and through him and for him are all things. 

To know him is to love him.
We are Blessed with a living God who knows us and loves us.
Do not be shy about your believing in Jesus.
Spread his message of love then you will have no doubt
as to you answer to the question.
~~~Peace~~~

Who Gets the Credit?

~~~ Ezekiel 43:1-7AB ~~~ Psalm 85 ~~~ Matthew 23:1-12 ~~~

All their works are performed to be seen.

This is a trap so many of us fall into before we even realize it.

We endlessly fret over what others think 

about what we do or fail to do.

We are too often impressed by the works 

we observe others performing.

We ask ourselves, 'what does this look like to my

 family, friends, or neighbors?'

Jesus was warning the Scribes and the Pharisees
that their intentions for following
 the letter of the law were filled with pride.
They wanted to be noticed for all of the right correct things they did
 not for how much they loved God.
It is a temptation for all of us to find ourselves in a similar position.
We normally do not want to be criticized by those
 in authority or by our peers.
Criticism and instruction are very different;
 the approaches are therefore not received the same.

You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.

....you have but one Father in heaven.

....you have but one master, the Christ.

The greatest among you must be your servant.

Whether we are a teacher, a parent, or a minister;
we must give all credit for any good we accomplish to God. 

It is through the gifts given to us from God that we are able to be successful.
If we find that we can lead others to love the Lord
it is not to our personal credit, but we must give the credit to God.

The rabbi was honored as the teacher of the word and laws of God.
A teacher has the responsibility to share knowledge of various subjects.
If one is to become a teacher of spiritual things
 one first must acknowledge that God
is to be given the proper credit.

It is the Holy Spirit that gives us wisdom, knowledge,
and understanding of things to do with holiness.

It is the power of the Holy Spirit.
We ourselves cannot take credit, for without the Lord
 we could not come to a deeper understanding.

Whether we are teacher, priest, or parent we are servants of the Lord.
It is our duty to be representatives of Jesus to others.
We must constantly remind ourselves that all
that we do must be for the honor and glory of God,
not for our own edification.

The only credit that we might take would be in knowing
 that we have allowed God to use us for his purpose.

This is a personal understanding to held close to ones own heart.
It is not something that you go around telling others.

If you are truly a servant to those around you it will
become evident to them that you are
letting God's presence increase while you decrease.

We receive more Blessings
 if we ask the Lord to teach us his ways.

~~~Peace~~~

Every Breath is Love

~~~ The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary ~~~

~~~Ezekiel 37:1-14~~~ Psalm 107 ~~~ Matthew 22:34-40 ~~~

You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,

with all your soul, and with all your mind...

The Lord sends the prophet Ezekiel into dry bone 

covered plain with the instruction to prophesy over the lifeless bones.

Dry bare bones certainly have lost their ability to love the Lord.

Dry barren bones are stripped of their flesh and their spirit.

Dry bones have no life left within them.

But God does not allow that to keep him from fulfilling his prophecies.

Ezekiel sees the prophecy from the Lord fulfilled right before his eyes.

He hears the rattling of the bones as they join back together.

He see the muscles and the flesh materialize right before his eyes.

God is working this miracle as a message to Israel.

Israel seems to be lost, dry, with no spirit left in them, 

but God does not give up.

It is impossible to love the Lord with your whole heart, 

mind, body, and soul if your bones are lying lifeless on the ground.

God is sending his prophecy to Ezekiel to prove all is not lost.

God has powers to not only put together the bones

with its muscles and skin,

but the power to return the spirit.

The joining of the bones and the flesh do not make the person whole.

Without the breath of the spirit, which comes form above, 

is not present there is no life...

if there is no life there can be no way to love the Lord.

God gives us every possible way to love him

 with our whole mind, body, and soul.

I will put my spirit in you that you may live,

and I will settle you upon your land;

thus you shall know that I am the LORD.

I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.

God delivers us whole and safely 

so that we may come to love him more fully.

To love him more fully means that we must also

 love ourselves and others as God loves.

This is of course easier said than done.

Blessed in every way with his love.

Love is the whole reason and purpose

 for every breath of air we inhale.

I invite you to spend a few minutes today

 just focusing on your breath...

this is the spirit with which we are to love.

~~~Peace~~~

The Invitation

~~~ Saint Pius X, Pope ~~~

~~~ Ezekiel 36:23-28 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 22:1-14 ~~~

Have you ever failed to RSVP before attending a party?

Have you just ignored an invitation just because

 a better invitation came in the mail? 

Have you ever received an invitation to an event

 that you really had no interest in attending at all?

Have you ever just completely

 threw an invitation into the trash can?

The king planned a grand party. 

He sent out invitations to all the most distinguished guests.

As the hour for the festivities draws close the guests were not arriving.

He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,

but they refused to come.

Why do you suppose they did not want to come?

He had his servants prepare the best possible foods.

A second time he sends out his servants

 to give the guests a preview of the menu.

But still they refused to attend the king's party.

They were being called to party with the king

 but found reasons for not showing up.

If this king just happened to be God or Jesus, do you think 

they might have had a different response?

So often this is exactly the case; Jesus is sending his invitations

 out to us and we toss them aside.

We ignore them...we pretend they never came...we busy

 ourselves with less important matters.

God extends an open invitation for us to come to his home for the feast.

The king eventually scraped his guest list 

and invited the street people to his celebration.

The servants went out into the streets

and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,

and the hall was filled with guests.

Where would you place yourself?

Is your name on the guest list or did you get invited off of the street?

There is just one thing...if you do get invited to come to the feast

 you must be dressed properly.

The wedding garment for the heavenly feast

 is one of a repentant heart.

You must come ready with a clean heart

 one free from all hatred and evil.

One must be clothed in the fabrics of love, compassion, 

patience, kindness, forgiveness 

and all other qualities of finer goodness.

There will be no place at the wedding feast for those

 who come unwilling to live a life of love.

Blessings come...open your invitation...

RSVP...dress up...

show up...

it is the grand feast.

~~~ Peace ~~~

Trust the Shepherd

~~~ Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church ~~~

~~~ Ezekiel 34:1-11 ~~~ Psalm 23 ~~~ Matthew 20:1-16 ~~~ 

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The sheep do not question. The sheep follow the shepherd.

The sheep trust the shepherd to care for all of their needs.

The sheep do not worry about where the shepherd will lead them.

The sheep do not concern themselves with food or water.

It is the shepherd who leads them.

The shepherd leads them to cool refreshing water.

The shepherd leads them to the food trough.

I am not sure if we are able to place that much trust

 in the Lord when it comes to our needs.

We find it difficult to completely trust. 

We want reassurance in advance that all

 of our needs will be met.

Unlike the sheep we think ahead; sometimes too far ahead.

When we let our mind wander too far ahead

 we find ourselves in the land of fear.

When I find myself in the land of fear

 I look around in search of my 'shepherd'.

Will he really take care of all of my needs and wants?

Will he teach me to change my priorities?

Maybe the right path is to the left instead of to the right.

Maybe the best food source is just over the next hill.

Maybe the water is cooler and more clean in the valley just ahead.

If we can trust the Lord like the sheep trust the shepherd

then we will no longer be concerned about 

the order in which we gain access entrance into heaven.

The gospel today about the landowner and the daily wages

is about entering the kingdom of heaven.

It is not required for one to live a long holy life before going to heaven.

Children go to heaven....

Newly baptized go to heaven...

The elderly go to heaven...

There is no competition when it comes to heaven.

There is no lottery so you do not have to wait

 until you receive the winning ticket. 

Literally you cannot buy your way into heaven.

We are Blessed to have many images of God

 and the kingdom of heaven.

Today we have the shepherd and the landowner.

I find comfort with the Shepherd.

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

~~~Peace~~~

Taming Haughty Heart

~~~ Ezekiel 28:1-10 ~~~ 

~~~(Psalm) Deuteronomy 32:26-27AB, 27CD-28, 30, 35CD-36AB ~~~

~~~ Matthew 19:23-30 ~~~

Because you are haughty of heart,
you say, “A god am I!

Perhaps we do not say that we are a god,
but what story do our actions tell?
How do we treat those who are less fortunate than we are?
Do we secretly feel better than those around us?

Haughty...proud, arrogant, snobbish, superior, condescending.
The greatest danger we have for our heart is to be
a condescending person.
Proverbs 12:4 says
Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
the lamp of the wicked will fail.

The Bible footnote is included here for our reflection...

Heart and eyes depict, respectively, the inner and the outer person.
 “Haughty eyes” peering out from a “proud heart”
show a thoroughly arrogant person. How can such a person flourish!
Their lamp, which signifies life, will go out.

If we allow our heart to become arrogant and superior
we are headed down the path leading away from Jesus.

This is what often happens with the acquisition of abundant wealth.

Look at those within our society that gain power
 many of them come to expect treatment worthy of a god. 

The paparazzi swarm around movie stars and athletes as if they were gods.
We have done this to ourselves. We have encouraged
 this haughty attitude, because we support it. 

Jesus says...
"Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven..."

Maybe you have not won the lottery...
maybe you have not inherited a great sum of money,
but that does not necessarily mean you are not haughty.

We can all find ways to make ourselves feel better than someone else.
Our challenge is to see others as God sees them
as opposed to seeing them in comparison with ourselves.

Wealth makes one feel superior
 to others, to be more entitled than those with less.

We should not overlook those who do wonderful things with their wealth.
They use their money to make a change to benefit others.

How do we tame our own haughty heart?
I invite you to support your local area charities.
Admit to yourself that all that you  have has come to you from God.

...for God all things are possible.

If you find your heart becoming haughty
 pray for God to lead you toward
 a more loving compassionate attitude.

Whatever God has Blessed you with
 share with those who are less fortunate as often as you can.

~~~Peace~~~

Ticket To Heaven

~~~ Ezekiel 24:15-23 ~~~ (Psalm) Deuteronomy 32:18-19, 20-21 ~~~
~~~ Matthew 19:16-22 ~~~

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.

Jesus says to this young man that he needs to do more
 than keep the commandments.

He wants to enter into heaven. He wants to do the right thing.
He is seeking advice from Jesus, personal advice.

Have you ever asked for someone's opinion
 and then been less than pleased with their response?
This is the situation this poor young man
found himself in the middle of;
He thought he was doing pretty well.
He was keeping the laws sent down from God.

To attain entrance into the Kingdom of heaven
requires more than just being 'good'.
Apparently material things make it more difficult
 if not impossible to get to heaven.
Why do material possessions become obstacles to get into heaven?

Material possessions take up time and space.
It is important that material things not interfere
 with your relationship with God.
This is what Jesus is implying;
as long as material things are at the top of your list.

Perhaps this young man was immature and dazzled
 by all that he had been able to acquire.

Clearly he was not prepared to comply with what Jesus prescribed.

We cannot ignore the poor while continuing
 to collect more and more things for ourselves.

The needs of the poor must be addressed.
Jesus makes this very clear on several occasions.

The things we consider to be earthly treasures will mean
 nothing in the kingdom of heaven.

Why do we struggle to release our things?
Why do we continue to acquire more even when we do not need it.
How many things are we keeping in our homes
that we no longer use, much less need?

I am as guilty of this as the next person.
Giving up of our things to the poor is acting in the manner of Jesus.

Jesus does not tell this man that he must become destitute.
Jesus does not tell the man that he must become homeless.
Jesus does not tell the man that he must give up everything.
Jesus does tell this man that he should consider
 how his possessions are keeping him from getting to heaven. 

The real treasure lies in heaven.
The real treasure cannot be seen, heard, or held.
The real treasure is getting through the pearly gates.
The real treasure will not fit into a suitcase, or a safety deposit box.
The real treasure is not held in the local bank vault.
The real treasure has more to do with
 our faith and trust in Jesus.

Following Jesus should not be the cause for us
 to turn and walk away in sadness.

Blessed to know that acquiring material things
are not our ticket to heaven.

~~~Peace~~~

The Faith of a Foreigner

~~~ Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 ~~~ Psalm 67 ~~~ Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 ~~~ 

~~~ Matthew 15:21-28 ~~~ 

The Canaanite woman argues with Jesus, makes her point, 

and gets blessed with his mercy and compassion.

Is it possible for us to change God's mind?

This woman took a risk. She felt she had nothing to loose,

 since her daughter was so ill.

I was thinking about the two health care workers

 who recently contracted the Ebola virus.

They agreed to be given an untested experimental cure, 

because they had nothing to loose.

They would most likely have died, so they took the chance.

It seems to be working, but if it had not they would

 have given much needed results to the doctors.

The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,

ministering to him,

loving the name of the LORD,

and becoming his servants—

...them I will bring to my holy mountain

and make joyful in my house of prayer;

The Canaanite woman was a foreigner, but that did not
 stop her from coming to Jesus.

Her faith, in contrast to many others
 who even walked with Jesus, was greater.

She was not going to take 'no' for an answer.
She was not going to turn and walk away quietly.

How many times do we get discouraged
when we think God is not listening...
when it seems he is not going to answer our prayers?

There is much we can learn from these few verses.
Jesus appeared to be turning this mother away.
Her plea seems to have fallen on deaf ears,
in the end her daughter was healed.

This may have been the instant in time when Jesus redefined his mission.
Was he only sent to save the people of Israel
or was there a more inclusive plan?

Anyone who has faith will not be turned away.
Anyone who has faith will not be denied the mercy of the Lord.

Sometimes we find ourselves feeling like a foreigner,
estranged from Jesus.
This is exactly when we need to come to him with these words...

Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! 

Jesus will answer our prayers even
 in those times when we feel as if we are foreigners.

A foreigner with faith is better than a member with little or no faith.

There is always a blessing to increase our faith...
a blessing to exercise our faith...

a blessing to speak to the Lord of our needs.
~~~Peace~~~

The 'New' Crayons

~~~ Ezekiel 18:1-10, 13B, 30-32 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 19:13-15 ~~~

Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed,

and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

It is a miracle that modern medicine has discovered

 a way to literally give a human being a 'new' heart.

Technically I guess it is not really a 'new' heart

 since it comes from a donor...

another human being

 that for some reason will no longer need their heart.

God presents us the possibility of making ourselves a new heart.

Along with the new heart you may just get the added
bonus of a new spirit too.

Do you like new things? Most people do.

I remember every summer right before school began

 shopping for those 'new' school clothes.

I still enjoy the 'new' notebooks and school supplies.

What about 'new' crayons? Nothing better.

They look so beautiful all perfectly lined up in their box,

each with that carefully point.

I actually knew an art teacher who would make the kids

 tear the paper off of the crayons,

and if that wasn't bad enough 

then they had to break them in half.

Her theory was; they would be able to use the crayons

 to create in more creative ways. Ugh!

Create a clean heart in me, O God.

The psalmist is asking God to make his heart 'clean'.

Certainly God would do a better job with our heart then we could.

God can see what really needs to be done.

Perhaps a deep cleaning will suffice.

Perhaps we don't really need a 'new' heart. 

The dentist told my friend that his teeth needed
a 'deep' cleaning, 

like beneath the gum line.

That sounds very unpleasant to me, 

but if God would just 'deep 'clean my heart

 I would be so grateful. 

“Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them;

for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Jesus wants the apostles to let the little children come to him.

The Kingdom of heaven belongs to them

 because they are the ones with the 'new' hearts.

They are the ones with the 'clean' hearts.

The older we get the more we mess up our heart.

Luckily God reminds us several times a year

to allow him to create a clean heart for us.

He does not tell us it will be a pleasant experience,

just like the dentist does not give any details

 about that 'deep' cleaning procedure.

Blessed with options...

a 'new' heart or a 'clean' heart.

Which would you prefer?

Pray with Psalm 51 and then decide.

~~~Peace~~~

We Call Her Blessed

~~~ Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ~~~

~~~Revelation 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB~~~ Psalm 45 ~~~
~~~1 Corinthians 15:20-27 ~~~ Luke 1:39-56 ~~~

And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.

Yes, the Almighty did great things for Mary.
He chose her from all the possible, available
young women to be the mother of Jesus.

Her body became the holiest of holy.
Her blood, her oxygen, the very cells of her body
were brought together by God to form his Son into a human infant.
God made perfect every molecule of her human body.
She was to carry perfection himself, God the Son, Jesus.

It was not just her body that was made perfect,
but her soul was also purified.

Her soul and her spirit were overwhelmed with pure joy.

He, God, looked down and smiled on her.
God blessed her beyond all other women, beyond all other mothers.

Becoming a mother, carrying a child is in itself a beautiful miracle.
But Mary was chosen to carry Jesus in her womb.
Did every tiny cell in her body divide
 and develop with a sense of joy too?
I can just imagine the excitement
as her blood rushed to nourish each tiny cell.

Her joy was evident to Elizabeth and the child within her womb.
Imagine how radiant her face must have been...
how her eyes must have sparkled...
how the corners of her mouth turned up with her smile.

If you ever want to know joy just look at the Blessed Mother.
Parallel to her joy was, however, also her sorrows.

It is not too hard to believe that God, along with Jesus,
 would want to honor Mary by assuming her body
 into heaven when she took her final breath.

Jesus ascended into heaven under his own power,
but Mary was assumed into heaven by the power of Jesus.

Her body gave life to Jesus.
Her body made it possible for Jesus to take on our human form.
Her body, sacred and holy, certainly belongs in heaven.
Her holy body was spared the decay of death.
Mary and Jesus had a closer bond than any other mother and child;
it was unique...one of a kind.

Today we celebrate the unique relationship that continues
between Mary and Jesus in heaven today.

Mary was chosen, touched by God.
She birthed Jesus into his own world and at the end of her life
he brought her up into his heavenly world...
his Kingdom of Heaven.

We are so Blessed to Mary as our heavenly mother.
She recognizes those who love her Son.
She intercedes on our behalf...
just ask for her help.
Mother Mary, pray for us and for the whole world.

~~~ Peace ~~~

Break Free...Tear Down the Wall

~~~Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr~~~

~~~Ezekiel 12:1-12~~~Psalm 78 ~~~Matthew 18:21-19:1~~~

...each of you forgives his brother from his heart.

We hear so much about forgiveness,
 that I fear sometimes we become indifferent to its importance.
We know Jesus tells Peter to forgive
not seven times but seventy-seven times.
And yet we all struggle with forgiveness.
It does not occur to us to keep count because each time we are hurt
we place a brick on the wall within our heart.
This may be the reason we must pray for God to give us a new heart...
to take away our heart of stone.
We desire to be close to God, but that is only possible
 if we can forgive as he forgives.
Yikes! That is such a challenging undertaking.
For some reason we hold on to those things that we should forgive.
It is within our heart that we store these hurtful details,
so it must be from within our heart that we find forgiveness.

...while they look on, dig a hole in the wall and pass through it;
while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness...

Using this verse from the prophet Ezekiel;
we must begin digging a hole in the wall of past hurts
until we can at least reach through to the other side.

The only way to escape the pain is to allow your heart to forgive...
to dig a hole in the wall...to take the bricks down.
There is no 'other side' of the wall if we cannot forgive.
The burden we carry will be removed if we but break through the wall.

The burden we carry of not forgiving keeps our heart
 laden with heavy stones.

This wall did not instantly rise up in your heart over night
so it may take a very long time and much effort
to just begin to dig the hole.

The smallest brick you remove will begin to let the light
 from the other side trickle through.

The more bricks removed from the wall
 the more light will come through,  the more you can see
 the more you will appreciate the beauty of forgiveness.

It is time to begin to take down the wall within your heart
one stone at a time for as long as it takes.
Begin today, you will be so glad you did.
 Do not wait any longer.

Break Free...Tear Down the Wall.
You will be Blessed with a new heart and untold peace.

~~~Peace~~~

Marked for God

~~~ Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22 ~~~ Psalm 113 ~~~ Matthew 18:15-20 ~~~

 ...if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.

We are invited today to join with others...to come
 together with our prayer intentions.
It only takes one other person joining you
 to insure that God is also with you.

It truly does not matter if those others are physically with you
what matters most is if you are joined with others in common prayer.

It is possible to join with others in prayer all around the world.
This is possible because we are all part of the Body of Christ.
Many times I have joined my prayers at a specified time for a specific
 intention even though I am separated by distance.
For God there is no such thing as distance.
Joining together in prayer is about stating your intentions.
I am joined in prayer currently with a dear friend
who is with her sick infant granddaughter.
We are many hundred miles apart but our prayers
 rise up together to God.

Once a week we come together for worship
 in a common house we call church.
We collectively call upon God to hear our prayers.
We call upon God to hear the prayers of the person beside us,
behind us, in front of us, and across the aisle from us.
We believe God is with us, because he tells so.
If he is with only two or three who gather in his name to pray
surely he is with us in our community prayer.

In the reading from the prophet Ezekiel today the people
are gather together but they come to worship idols.

God comes into their midst with instructions to mark some with an X.
Marked with an X is to mean that you will be spared
from destruction...death.

We still use the phrase 'X marks the spot'.

In the book of Exodus the doorposts were marked with an X
 to show which houses were to be spared...
those belonging to the Lord.

When you are praying together with one other person,
face each other and join your hands together between you.
Notice that your arms are forming the lines of an X as you
join your hands together in the middle.

Make the X and know that you are marking yourselves before God.
You are praying in his presence with another person.

Jesus had to die in order for it to be possible for him
 to be with all of us each and every time we come together in prayer.

When he walked among us he was restricted by conventional time,
but now he has no such limits.

We come together in prayer because God has marked us...
claimed us for his own.

He desires to be with us when we come together in prayer...
when we call upon his name to hear  our petitions.

Blessed to be among those marked by God.
We come together in prayer knowing that God is there beside us.
~~~ Peace ~~~

As a Little Child

~~~ Ezekiel 2:8-3:4 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 ~~~

Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.

Think about your experiences with little children.
Children rely completely on the parent to fulfill all of their needs.
Children can do nothing for themselves.

A child comes into this world as pure love.
A child comes with joy.
A child comes with arms open wide.
A child comes without judgement.
A child comes without fear.
A child comes without hate or prejudice.
A child comes with a smile from ear to ear.
A child comes to climb in your lap.
A child comes to be held up to your cheek.
A child comes to be caressed.
A child comes to be cherished.
A child comes to be kissed.

A child is dependent on others to meet their needs.
A child is everything God wants us to be.
God wants us to run to him.
God wants us to climb up into his lap.
God wants us to feel happy in his arms.
God wants us take refuge with him.
God wants us to know we are safe with him.
God wants us to sense his great love for us.

God wants to care for us.
God wants to love us.
God wants to forgive us.
God wants to cherish us.

God wants us to come to him as little children...
completely relying on him to keep us from harm.

Those who remember how to be a child
 in the presence of God will have the Kingdom of Heaven.
Those who are meek and humble like a little child will find joy.

Those who come to God as a child will find peace and happiness.
A little child has no fears, cares, worries, or anxieties.
A little child receives love from all around them.

May we find the Blessings today that come from our own child within.
Bless your own child...validate the child's needs.
Believe God takes your little child
as something precious and holy, and sacred.

~~~Peace~~~

Tilapia: St. Peter's Fish

~~~ Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin ~~~
~~~ Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28C ~~~ Psalm 148 ~~~ Matthew 17:22-27 ~~~

Heaven and earth are filled with your glory.

The prophet Ezekiel shares with us
his magnificent vision of the glory of God.
There are storms, flashing fires, human like creatures
with large powerful wings, roaring waters,
and the voice of the Almighty.

Just yesterday we heard from the book of Kings
that the Lord was in the tiny whisper.
So which is it? Is God small as a whisper or mighty as a fire storm?
Or is it possible that he exists in all of these elements? 

Ezekiel goes on to describe the beauty
 of the throne looking like sapphire.
All of this as if radiating from this figure,
filled the sky with the brilliant colors of the rainbow.

Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

Our challenge today is to open our eyes to where ever God
makes his presence known...be it in the quietness of a whisper
or in the arc of colors brushed across the sky.

The gospel today follows the account of the Transfiguration, 

when Jesus reveals himself in the fullness of his glory.
While this account is nothing like Ezekiel's vision
it gives us a picture of the magnificence of the glory of God.

The question about who is obliged to pay the taxes
comes up in this chapter of Matthew
because ultimately Jesus will pay the price for all of us.

We have been freely brought into this kingdom.
It is tax free for all of eternity.
 Jesus does not wish to abolish the laws, as we know,
so he pays the required tax doubling the amount.

He pays with the miracle of the gold coin taken
 from the mouth of a fish.

This is not one of the major miracles preformed by Jesus,
but one rich for discussion.
When do you think the coin was actually
placed into the mouth of the fish?
How did Jesus know exactly which fish
 Peter would catch?

Jess performed this miracle for one main purpose,
...that we may not offend them...

This miracle confirms Jesus acts with the blessing of the Father.
He has dominion even over the fish the Peter would catch.

This miracle confirms for the apostles that
Jesus is one with the Father...
he is all powerful.

We are blessed with an all powerful...
all knowing God who calls us to be a part of his Kingdom.
Jesus supersedes all of our small minded expectations
on most occasions.
~~~Peace~~~

Here is something interesting about this fish story.
Tilapia were a common fish caught in this sea.
Tilapia were known to carry their young in their mouth for protection.

It was not uncommon for them to also have other objects
caught in their mouth, sometimes even shiny objects.
Perhaps even just the right coin...
Peter would not have thought this directive
 from Jesus to be too strange after all.

No Storm Too Great

~~~ Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~ 1 Kings19:9A, 11-13A ~~~ Psalm 85 ~~~ Romans 9:1-5 ~~~ 

~~~ Matthew 14:22-33 ~~~ 

....After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. 

God sent Elijah to the mountain top to wait for the Lord to pass by,
but every time he thought it was the Lord he was wrong.
The Lord was not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire;
the Lord was in a soft whisper.
The unexpected unobtrusive; this is the manner
 in which the Lord chose to reveal himself. 

This is recounted for the Book of Kings.

Jumping into the gospel of Matthew we find the Lord, Jesus,
coming on the waves of a turbulent storm...
fierce winds were blowing...the boat was being tossed about.

In the distance Jesus was calmly walking
 toward the boat of fearful apostles.

Jesus was the calm among the violent winds
 and waves of the storm.

Jesus must also be the calm for us
when we find ourselves caught in the inevitable storms of life.

We may not be able to completely avoid the turbulence if life,
but we can always cry out to the Lord to save us.

Today every news report is a wake up call
to keep our focus on the Lord.
The waves can be crashing around us but the
Lord is coming out to meet us.

Peter may have acted impulsively
when he jumped into the stormy waters,
but he had his gaze fixed on Jesus.
He called out to Jesus to save him he did not give up.

Do you think Jesus would have let him drown?

I think probably not, but the conclusion would have still been the same.

Jesus would have scolded him for his lack of faith.

There is no storm too great for Jesus to come out to meet us.
There is no storm too severe for us to call out to God to save us.

He is most likely the only one who can brave
the terrible storms to reach us.

Jesus is the source of all calm and peace
 that we long for when tossed about in a storm.

We are Blessed...
for when we call out to him
 he is already on the way to our side.

Peace, do not be afraid.