Penitent Potential

~~~ Isaiah 7:1-9 ~~~ Psalm 48 ~~~ Matthew 11:20-24 ~~~

Jesus began to reproach the towns

where most of his mighty deeds had been done,

since they had not repented.

Jesus had to reprimand the inhabitants 

of the very towns where he had made 

his presence best known.

These are the people who were awed as they witnessed

 the wonderful works of God through 

the person of Jesus.

It was the power of grace working

 through Jesus that made them take notice.

In spite of all that they had seen they failed

 to make the connection to their own existence.

They failed to see the need for their own repentance.

They failed to understand that Jesus came for them too.

They failed to admit that Jesus was reaching out to them.

Today may be the day that we look

 into our own heart and ask ourselves the tough question...

Have we taken the miracles and healings of Jesus

as just what he did while here on Earth?

Do we take our own repentance seriously enough?

Are we being completely honest with ourselves.

Are we so amazed with the miracles that we 

let them be the most important?

It may not be necessary for us to wear sackcloth

 and cover ourselves in ashes,

but our deep sincere repentance is very important.

If today you hear his voice,

harden not your hearts.

A heart that is hardened with pride and arrogance 

finds it difficult to step forward in humble repentance.

Jesus preformed miracles...Jesus captured our attention...

all so that we might choose to repent for our sins.

Have we lived up to our full 

Penitent Potential?

Blessings to Repent.

~~~ Peace ~~~

Soul Accounting

~~~ Romans 14:7-12 ~~~ Psalm 27 ~~~ Luke 15:1-10 ~~~

...there will be rejoicing among the angels of God

over one sinner who repents.

It is never too late to come back to the Lord.
Jesus chose to mingle with sinners.
Pope Francis chose to wash the feet of those in prison.

The shepherd goes in search of the lost sheep
even if they may not realize they are lost.
Jesus is the way for sinners to receive forgiveness.

None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.

Jesus is the living truth that you do not live for yourself alone.
Life would be too simple if your priority was only 'you'.

The lost sheep is found because the shepherd
knew one was missing.
Jesus is seeking you every moment of your life.
Jesus seeks you now for the times when you may be lost.
He knows you. You are so precious to him.

So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.

What will God ask of you on your final day?
Will you be given the opportunity to admit your failings?

How will you balance the ledger?
Will your acts of love, kindness, and forgiveness
be greater than your failings?

It does not matter how many or how severe
your sins may be Jesus restores life to your soul.

He is the only one who can restore your soul
to its original beauty.

...every knee shall bend before me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.

The soul, when restored to its beauty,
spontaneously bows before God;
praising him for his great mercy.

Giving an account before God
is the result of understanding and humility.
There will be no denial on your part
when you stand face to face with God.

God cannot be anything but transparent with you.
He is transparent through his desire
 to love you in spite of your sins.

He will bring you back amidst great heavenly rejoicing.

He knows the original unblemished
beauty of your soul; just as he created it.

May you be Blessed to believe
you are as precious as the one found sheep.

~~~Peace~~~

Hold on Tight

~~~ Ezekiel 18:21-28 ~~~ Psalm 130 ~~~ Matthew 5:20-26 ~~~

If anyone repents from their sin God promises to save them.

...he shall surely live, he shall not die. 

This is really good news for the majority of we humans.

But there is a flip side to this promise from God.

If you are doing well...

keeping the commandments...loving God etc.

and 'fall off the wagon'; into sin, things will not go well for you.

If the virtuous man falls into the same sin as the one 

who turns away from his sin...

None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered,

because he has broken faith and committed sin;

because of this, he shall die. 

These are very harsh words to hear...almost scary.

The moral of the story is 

continue to be a virtuous person...

this is your warning.

Falling off can be fatal to your eternity.

God is always there for us

 to return to him...to repent...

This is THE message of lent.

If you are on the 'virtuous' wagon

 it is in your best interest to hold on tight.

There may be rough times ahead, hold on

 you will survive them.

There may be times when you are tempted to get off

to pick the forbidden flowers.

Stay on the wagon.

Invite others to come on the wagon with you.

Share with them the benefits of remaining 

on this wagon of virtue.

 ...be reconciled with your brother,

and then come and offer your gift.

This is the wagon of faith, love, forgiveness.

This wagon is covered with the mercy of God.

This wagon is headed to the Kingdom of God.

All occupants on this wagon know the time

 for repentance is now.

Make room on this wagon of virtue;

others are sure to come aboard very soon.

On this wagon there is abundant grace

 and daily Blessings for the journey.

Are you on board?

~~Peace~~~

We Have Been Told...

~~~ Micah 6:1-4, 6-8 ~~~ Psalm 50 ~~~ Matthew 12:38-42 ~~~

You have been told, O man, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.

God gives clear directions and guidelines.
He may speak in unfamiliar tones, but he always speaks to the point.
Today we are told...
to do right...to love goodness...
and to walk with God in humility.

There in the presence of God we must walk;
not in a prideful boastful manner,
but in humility.
There is nothing good in our life that we can solely lay claim to;
everything comes from above.
God tells what is good. Goodness is found in how much we love.
The more we love the more goodness we will have in our life.

God reserves the right to correct us when we have gone astray.
Sometimes as we look out upon the lack of goodness
 in our world we feel God must execute his correction sooner.

We grow impatient with God's correction of others,
but do not see where we ourselves need his correction.

God used Jonah, although reluctantly,
to send his corrective message of repentance.

Every party involved responded with resistance.
Jonah did not want to deliver God's message.
The people of Nineveh did not want to hear God's message.

If God were to suggest a similar situation today
I dare say the responses would be no different.

People still reject both the messenger and the message.

We struggle with God's corrective message of repentance.
We try to postpone taking action on the message
 even after it is delivered.

Jonah was willing to remain in the belly of the fish for three days and nights.
He let the sun rise and set on his hard headed stubbornness.

I think we probably do the same thing...
We let our stubbornness keep us from realizing God
 holds the necessary corrections for us to enter into heaven.

Jonah foolishly thought he could hide from God.
He thought he could ignore God.
He tried to turn his back on God, but nothing
 he did sent God away.

God does not and will not ever turn his back on you.
We can pretend to ignore and attempt to resist,
but God is there in every way.
Blessings of Peace.

Breaking News...You are Saved!

Solemnity of the Annunciation

~~Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10~~Psalm 40~~Hebrews 10:4-10~~Luke 1:26-38~~

Mary's 'yes' to the angel Gabriel
is the most profound and unique sign God could ever have given us.

Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!

God, sending Jesus to be one of us is an extraordinary and miraculous sign,
proving just how much he loves us.

We should not be surprised, because everything about God is extraordinary.
His miraculous signs abound beyond our comprehension.

God is miraculous even we do not have the visible evidence.

We too may want signs.
But we only want signs of the positive things in life.
We do not want signs of impending catastrophes.

Here we are well into Lent.
Why would a passage about signs be necessary?
Why in the depths of repentance
would we need to hear of Mary's Annunciation?

I believe that the Annunciation is the sign given to us
from God that he has every intention of saving us.
He plans to keep his covenant with us...we are his chosen people.

The Father sends the Son to redeem the sins of all of mankind.
Emmanuel was coming. We have ample reason
 to be hopeful in our time of repentance.

Sacrificing lambs and turtle doves are not sufficient
offerings for the sins of the whole world.
It would take a person...one unique person...to atone for these sins...
Jesus is the only one chosen for the task.
We are Blessed through the offering of the
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
once for all.
One person,
One life,
One death
sufficient for all of eternity.

Thank you is simply not adequate.
Peace.

Life Changing Tree

~~~ Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~Wisdom 11:22-12:2~~Psalm 145~~2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2~~Luke 19:1-10~~ 

 

In one day Zacchaeus went from being the chief tax collector,

resorted to climbing a tree,

to having Jesus dine with him in his home and repenting.

 

Obviously Zacchaeus was a man of small stature,

 perhaps that is why he prided himself so much

as a chief tax collector and a wealthy man.

 

He was wealthy he had a good job, but yet something

was still missing in his life. You might say he had tenure.

 

He left the ground, his comfort zone, and climbed

 high above the crowd into a tree.

By doing so he removed himself from his usual surroundings.

He was no longer influenced by those around him.

He could for the time being escape the glaring stares.

Jesus sees him and calls him to come down.

Jesus wants to change his life forever.

 

"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."

 

In his position, Zacchaeus had power, he had authority over his co-workers.

But now he is moved to be a generous and even honest man...

now he wants to make reparation for his wrong doings.

Zacchaeus convicted himself, Jesus never accused him of anything.

 

You cannot come into contact with Jesus and remain the same...

you must change...change for the better.

Meeting Jesus inspires you to be a better person.

 

 

...you overlook people's sins that they may repent.

 

God does not hold your past offenses against you.

 

Therefore you (Lord) rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!

God can remind you of your sins without uttering a word...

he may simply call you down from the tree or write in the sand.

He does not need a powerful job, he does not need material wealth;

he just wants to meet you where you are in this moment in time. 

 

If we are to be blessed

 it is because others are praying for us...

Paul writes to his friends...

Brothers and sisters:
We always pray for you,
that our God may make you worthy of his calling
and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose...

 

Someone you know needs prayers today.

Can they count on you?

 

Fingerprinted by God

 

~~~ Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2 ~~~ Psalm 9 ~~~ Luke 11:15-26 ~~~

 

The prophet Joel is preaching a time of mourning for everyone.
The priests are to proclaim to the people.
 Let all who dwell in the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming;

Maybe the people will be more apt to listen if the 'ministers of the altar'
are delivering the message.
It is not a popular message...repent...the end is near.
Today we still have preachers and those who claim to be prophets
 delivering the very same message.
They use similar texts to support their claims. 

The truth is we will not know the day or the hour.
The better message is to be prepared every day.

 

 

But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons... 

 

 The finger of God administers justice.

 The finger of God is pointed at me and at you.
The finger of God marks us as his own.
He has left his finger print upon our heart.
It is through this unique finger print of God that we are also
given the grace to repent

 

No amount of public display of penance can disguise the heart.
It does not matter if you are wrapped in sack cloth
and covered in ashes. 

It is your heart that must be changed.
God gives us all that we need to change;
 if only we would ask him. 

 

If you ask God to touch his finger
once again upon your heart you can experience genuine repentance. 

Blessings come in always having the intention
 to be on God's side. 

What we exhibit externally must come from deep within. 

 The day of the Lord is coming;
let him come into your heart today.

Itchy, Dirty, and Hungry

~~~ Jonah 3:1-10 ~~~ Psalm 130 ~~~ Luke 10:38-42 ~~~

 

After spending three days in the belly of the fish Jonah

 would now promptly obey God's directions.

 

His message resulted in sackcloth, ashes, and fasting...

basically they were uncomfortable, dirty, and hungry.

Their skin felt itchy and scratchy...they smelled of burnt rubbish...

their stomachs were growling.

 

Are any of these things really necessary?

How did these actions make a difference for their soul?

Is it really advantageous to deprive the body to achieve

a deeper spiritual experience.

When we are repentant it may be worthwhile

to be physically reminded that our sins should make us feel uncomfortable

a bit unclean...soiled, and hungry to be reunited with God.

 

The closest thing we have to sackcloth today would be burlap
unless you actually get a real potato sack from the farmer's market.
Sackcloth is rough loosely woven fabric. It has no body and does not drape.
It would not be used to enhance ones figure or appearance.
You can hide the flaws of your body under a sackcloth.
Odd because we cannot hide our sins from God.
Sackcloth is cheap it is reusable you can recycle it.
In Biblical times sackcloth was worn as a sign of mourning.
It was made of black thick goat's hair.

To sprinkle or to sit in the ashes was symbolic of grief,
humiliation, or penitence.
 

Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth
and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.

God had a plan to save the city, but he never said to wear sackcloth
 or to douse yourself with ashes.
The King ordered the entire city to show their repentance.
He took the lead...he did not just issue the order
 and return to his royal chambers.
He led by example.
Ultimately God saved the city of Nineveh...
our God is a merciful God.

Is it in your best interest to wait until the final hour to repent?
God Blesses us even in desperate times.

Lost and Found

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

~~Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14 ~~Psalm 51~~1 Timothy 1:12-17~~Luke 15:1-32~~

 

Most of us have had the experience of losing something we valued.

The shepherd is missing one of his sheep.

The woman is missing one of her ten coins.

The father is missing one of his sons.

 

These loses are real and important to each of these individuals.

If they did not care they would never have experienced the anguish of loss.

The degree by which you miss something is connected

to the value it holds for you.

 

Sometimes what we are missing is not even visible.

Sometimes we are missing something that only the heart can value.

The sheep, the one coin, the young son, which of these is more valuable?

They are each valued in a special way to the shepherd,

the woman, and to the father.

 

When the shepherd finds the lost sheep he picks him up

drapes him around his shoulders and happily

carries him to the safety of the flock.

 

When the woman finds her lost coin she announces her good fortune

 to all of her friends and neighbors.

 

When the father sees his son returning

 in the distance he orders the fattest calf to be prepared.

Upon the arrival of his son he adorns him

with fine garments and the celebration begins.

 

 

There is no mystery as to who the return of the son represents;

each of us as children of God the Father.

 

...the grace of our Lord has been abundant...

 

Imagine there is a lost and found room in heaven.

When we have lost our way there is always hope

 that we will return to the Father.

It does not matter how long it takes for us to return

the Father will take us back with open arms.

 

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

 

When we sin it is as if we are the lost sheep.

When we sin we loose part of ourselves

until someone reveals the light of truth to us.

The woman lights her lamp and carefully searches

 her house until she finds the lost coin.

 

I pray that God will use me to light the lamp

to help someone find their way back to the Father.

 

When we sin it is never too late to repent...to return to the father's house.

Admitting that we are not worthy to be taken back is the attitude

 of repentance that makes the father love us even more.

 

Lord, I am not worthy but only say the word I will be healed...

Being healed is synonymous with being found.

Because you are valuable there will be rejoicing

 when you return to the Father.

 

Blessings come in returning to the Father no matter

how long you have been lost.

Change the Direction of Your Heart

2 Samuel 12: 1-7a, 10-17

Thomas Keating in Invitation to Love wrote this about the meaning of repent...

We come now to the heart of the problem of the human condition. Jesus addressed this problem head-on in the gospel. What was his first word when beginning his ministry? "Repent." To repent is not to take on afflictive penances like fasting, vigils, flagellation or whatever else appeals. It means to change the direction in which you are looking for happiness.

How profound to think about repentance from that perspective..."to change the direction in which you are looking for happiness."  Through a story told by Nathan David realizes that he must change the direction in which he is looking for happiness. He is filled with such remorse that he refuses to eat, clothes himself in sackcloth, and sleeps on the gound. While sacrificing those things that bring us comfort might appear to be repentent, the change must really occur within the heart.

Thus again today we have the well known Psalm 51. The emphasis today cuts right to the core...Create a clean heart in me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me." A clean heart, a heart that desires what is good and pure. A heart that puts love for God above personal pleasures ans satisfactions. The psalm goes on...Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me.

In order to change the direction of your heart it takes more than just saying the words. It takes a willingness to be on guard to be vigilant, to be aware of the former urgings of the heart. Praying while keeping in sight the large crucifix in our church is something that reminds me which direction love originates.

For God so loved the world...that he sent his only begotten son to be with us. David could not hold on to the image of the crucifix, but he did have the love of God in his heart. God sent Nathan to get the attention of David through a simple story.

Throughout the public life of Jesus he told stories, parables, as his primary method of teaching. People can relate to stories because we can visualize the events and our emotions follow accordingly.
So Nathan's story was visualized by David which ignited deep emotion within his heart.

What story or image helps you sustain your willingness to maintain a clean heart?

Original picture: A person with both arms stretched up to the sky.

I chose this image because humility and surrender lead us to true repentance.

This kaleidoscope image incorporates both the darkness of sin and the brightness of a clean heart.

Create in me a clean heart, O God. 

Your word is a light for my path.