“Two, For The Price Of One!” – Mark 5:21-43†

      

 

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s Content:

 

• ·        Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations
• ·        Today in Catholic History
• ·        Quote of the Day
• ·        Today’s Gospel Reading
• ·        Gospel Reflection
• ·        Reflection Prayer
• ·        Catholic Apologetics
• ·        A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day
• ·        Reflection on part of  the OFS Rule

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Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations:

My oldest Son, Dan III, is leaving for Naval Basic Training today.  Please keep him and all Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Coast Guard personnel in your prayers each and every day.  They are fighting for OUR freedoms granted to us by God and Country.  BTW, this is a great introduction to my next comment about the “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign presently going on:

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Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions For July:

 General Intention:

For “Work Security”: That everyone may have work in safe and secure conditions.

Missionary Intention:

 For “Christian Volunteers”:  That all volunteers in mission territories may witness effectively to the love of Christ.

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Today in Catholic History:

†   649 – Pope Martinus I elected to succeed Theodore I
†   1381 – Birth of Laurentius Justitianus, [Lorenzo Giustiniani], saint
†   1517 – Inquisitor Adrian Boeyens (pope Adrianus VI) becomes cardinal
†   1681 – Death of Oliver Plunkett, Irish saint (b. 1629)
†   1690 – Army of England’s Protestant King William III defeats Roman Catholic King James II in Battle of Boyne in Ireland
†   1995 – Death of Ronald Farrow, radio producer/priest, dies at 49

(From the “On This Day” Blog Site
otday.wordpress.com &/OR
“Today in Catholic History”
http://www.historyorb.com)

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Quote of the Day:

Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master; Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher; Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer; Had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world; He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him; He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today!!

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Today’s reflection: Jesus heals a woman afflicted with a hemorrhage and raises Jairus’s daughter from death.

 

(NAB Mark 5:21-43) ²¹ When Jesus had crossed again [in the boat] to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.  ²² One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet ²³ and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death.  Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.”  ²⁴ He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him. 

²⁵ There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.  ²⁶ She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had.  Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.  ²⁷ She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.  ²⁸ She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”  ²⁹ Immediately her flow of blood dried up.  She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.  ³⁰ Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”  ³¹ But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”  ³² And he looked around to see who had done it.  ³³ The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling.  She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.  ³⁴ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

³⁵ While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”  ³⁶ Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”  ³⁷ He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.  ³⁸ When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.  ³⁹ So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping?  The child is not dead but asleep.”  ⁴⁰ And they ridiculed him.  Then he put them all out.  He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was.  ⁴¹ He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”  ⁴² The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.  [At that] they were utterly astounded.  ⁴³ He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.

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Gospel Reflection:

 

Today’s Gospel relates two stories of healing by Jesus Christ Himself.  One story tells us about a desperate woman who risks much as she seeks healing from Jesus.  The other tells us about a father’s great love for his dying daughter.  In each story, their request for healing is itself a courageous act of trust and faith.  However, very different circumstances are represented by the lives of each suffering person, both in desperate need of divine intervention. 

Jairus, a synagogue official, and a man of considerable standing in the Jewish community, is distraught over his daughter’s poor health.  He approaches Jesus and asks Him to heal her.  Although Mark doesn’t provide many details, we can imagine that his daughter has been ill for some time and that her condition is deteriorating.

The story of the raising to life of Jairus’s daughter is divided into two parts: Mark 5:21–24; 5:35–43.  Placed between these two parts of Jairus’ story, Mark inserts an account of the cure of the woman with a hemorrhage affliction (Mark 5:25–34).  Mark uses this technique of introducing or sandwiching one story within another at least 10 specific times: cf., Mark 3:19b–21; 3:22–30; 3:31–35; 6:6b–13; 6:14–29; 6:30; 11:12–14; 11:15–19; 11:20–25; 14:53; 14:54; 14:55–65; and 14:66–73.  Per the Lectionary for Mass, the story of the woman can be omitted when reading the Gospel at Mass; however, I hope it isn’t; this story has a teaching value and needs to be heard. 

In this “sandwiched’ story, Mark describes a person who also seeks healing from Jesus, an unnamed woman with a hemorrhage for twelve years (I bet she was anemic!).  This woman secretly touches Jesus’ “cloak” from behind and is immediately cured.  In response, Jesus turns and asks who touched Him.  Jesus’ disciples – – always a little clueless in Mark’s Gospel – – help us to visualize the scene and reactions of the people.  The crowds are infringing on – – literally pushing into and crowding – – Jesus’ “personal space”; and yet He, knowing the “power has gone out of Him” (Mark 5:30), asks who touched Him.  The woman could have remained anonymous, but she steps forward and acknowledges what she had done.  Jesus responds to her by acknowledging her as a model of a true faith and sends her away in peace.

Mark had reasons to parallel the two stories: both involve touch, trust, faith, and daughters (and an important status within Jewish society).  In both accounts, Jesus is concerned and compassionate to these women on the lowliest and bleakest margins of society – – a ritually “unclean” woman and a girl on the verge of adulthood within the Jewish religion and culture; both on the lowest rung of society’s social ladder.

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Today’s story opens with Jesus just recently crossing across the Sea of Galilee by boat, and being met by a large crowd:

“When Jesus had crossed again [in the boat] to the other side, a large crowdgathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.” (Mark 5:21)

Jesus frequently used a boat, crossing the Galilean Sea many times during His ministry.  There is a parallel verse about His crossing the Sea in Mark’s Gospel as well:

 “Once again he went out along the sea. All the crowd came to Him and He taught them” (Mark 2:13).

Not only did Jesus teach to them, He was called to heal as well.

“Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” (Mark 5:23)

The “Lay[ing] your hands on her” is a purposeful and active “sacramental” outward action for an inward grace from God Himself.  This particular “action” was (and still is) for the purpose of healing – – through the Holy Spirit – – and is reported frequently in Mark’ Gospel:

“So He was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them” (Mark 6:5); ***

“And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him.  He took him off by himself away from the crowd.  He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then He looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (that is, ‘Be opened!’) And [immediately] the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly” (Mark 7:32–35);

“He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.  Putting spittle on his eyes He laid his hands on him and asked, ‘Do you see anything?’  Looking up he replied, ‘I see people looking like trees and walking.’  Then He laid hands on his eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly” (Mark 8:23–25);

And finally,

“They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.  They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”(Mark 16:18).

Further accounts of sacramental “Laying of hands” is also found in the other Gospels and New Testament books as well:

“While He was saying these things to them, an official came forward, knelt down before Him, and said, ‘My daughter has just died.  But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.’” (Matthew 9:18);

“At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to Him.  He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.” (Luke 4:40);

“He laid His hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.” (Luke 13:13);

“So Ananias went and entered the house; laying his hands on him, he said, ‘Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit.’” (Acts 9:17);

And,

“It so happened that the father of Publius was sick with a fever and dysentery.  Paul visited him and, after praying, laid his hands on him and healed him.” (Acts 28:8).

*** Did you notice in the above Mark 6:5 verse, “He was not able to perform any mighty deed there”?  According to Mark, Jesus’ power could not take effect because of a person’s lack of faith.  What does that mean for us today?  We need to have trust and faith in Jesus in order to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us personally, intimately, and uniquely.

Also, notice that in both Acts’ accounts mentioned above, Jesus had graced this gift of healing to His disciples.  With faith as small as a mustard seed, one can actually move a mountain (cf., Matthew 17:20).

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Now, in verse 27-28 of today’s reading, a “woman afflicted with Hemorrhages for twelve years”

“Heard about Jesus and came up behind Him [Jesus] in the crowd and touched His cloak.  She said, ‘If I but touch His clothes, I shall be cured.’” (Mark 5:27-28).

This woman, suffering from hemorrhages, believes that Jesus can cure her; and in desperation, she dares to touch – – but only His “cloak” – – aware of the taboo against being touched by an “unclean” person.  “Daughter“, says Jesus (meaning a daughter of Jerusalem, of God), “your faith has saved you” (Mark 5:34).  Jesus not only cures her affliction but gives her back her child-bearing ability; thus restoring her dignity personally and within the Jewish community.

For most people, touching one’s clothes to effect a “cure” seems to be idolatrous.  For a Jew of this time (and in the present day as well), the “cloak” was NOT a simple garment of fashion.  This “cloak” was probably Jesus “Prayer Robe” – – a tallit with Tzitzit attached at the four corners – – worn only by men at Jesus’ time.  For the pious Jewish person, the Tallit with attached Tzitzit (the four knotted strings, one at each corner), was (and still is today) considered as sacred and uniquely special to them as the Holy Eucharist is for us Catholic faithful.  To the dutiful Jewish person, this garment, not only represents the “true” physical presence of God’s divinity, the prayer robe effects the personal promises, presence, and power of God Himself.

So, in touching the tzitzit of Jesus’ Prayer robe, she was – – spiritually AND physically – – directly and trustingly touching and calling upon God Himself to help her in her time of need.  (Now that is awesomely cool indeed!!)

In both situations: Jairus and his daughter (Mark 5:23), and unnamed hemorrhage victim, their personal inner conviction of a physical contact (Mark 5:30) with the fully divine, and yet fully human, Jesus, accompanied by a proper and total faith and trust in His saving power, could both affect, and effect, a rewarded cure:

“She said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.’” (Mark 5:28);

 “He took the child by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha koum,’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise!’” (Mark 5:41).

Now, do you know we can also touch Jesus, and be touched by Him in a uniquely intimate and personal relationship with Him through prayer.  What a rewarding effect for both us and Him!!

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What fascinates me about today’s Gospel reading is the way words jump off the page while reflecting and meditating on them.  Verse 33b and 34 both remind me of another experience of Jesus’ personal presence in the Sacraments of Healing, and Reconciliation:

“She fell down before Jesus and told Him the whole truth.  He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has saved you.  Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.’” (Mark 33b-34).

In the Catholic Church today, there are multiple Sacraments of Healing available to the faithful.  The first to be received is Baptism, the effective removing of original (and any temporal [worldly]) sins and their negative effects.  Reconciliation is another great and wonderfully beautiful Sacrament, sadly not often used by most Catholics today (Sorry to say).  Confirmation stirs up the Holy Spirit within the individual, and is effected by the Bishop “laying his hands” on the person’s head.  Finally, the Anointing of the Sick, (AKA) “Extreme Unction” (last rights), is the Sacraments of healing for both the soul and body.  All of these “Sacraments” are outward signs of an inward working of grace from God Himself through the actions of the Holy Spirit working within both the people and priest.  Remember:

“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

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Let’s get back to the original story (the bottom slice of the “bread” of the “sandwich”) of today’s reading (Mark 5:35- 43) about the synagogue’s official, “Jairus”, and his daughter “who died”.  Here, Jesus performs another miracle, a true “arising from the dead”.  Jairus, too, believes that Jesus can cure his daughter by “laying hands on her”.  When news comes that Jairus’ daughter has died, Jesus encourages him to “just have faith” (Mark 5:36).  Jesus clears out the house of the unfaithful, bringing in the faith-full, and then takes the child by the hand and tells her to “arise”.  Think about this: the young woman is twelve years old and just entering her child-bearing years.  She, through the actions of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, rises to life AND to the capacity to bring new life into the world. (And what better grace is there than the grace of bringing a new life into the world!!)

It took considerable courage and risk for Jairus – – a synagogue official – – to openly go to Jesus, inviting the scorn and ridicule of his neighbors and kin.  Even his family and the hired mourners laughed at him in today’s reading.  Their grief was devoid of any true concern or hope for their child (or for themselves).

Jesus knew Jairus’ daughter was dying; yet, He did not immediately help him.  As if to build a sense of urgency and immediate need, Mark has messengers arrive and confirm Jairus’s (and any parent’s) worst fear – – his daughter had died.  Jesus ignores their message and reassures Jairus.  When they arrive at Jairus’s home, they find family and friends mourning the girl’s death.  Jesus told the mourners that the girl is only “asleep”; then enters the room of the dead girl, takes her by the hand, and instructs her to “arise”, AND she did just that!!

So, we need to realize that the trust and faith of Jairus was put to a twofold test:

(1) His daughter might be cured, and

Now that she had died,

(2) She might be restored to life. 

Jairus’s faith and trust in Jesus has not been in vain; his daughter is restored to life through Jesus’ intercession and the action of the Holy Spirit.

Interestingly, Jairus’ faith contrasts with the lack of faith of the crowd:

“When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, He [Jesus] caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.  So He went in and said to them, ‘Why this commotion and weeping?  The child is not dead but asleep.’  And they ridiculed Him” (Mark 5:38-40).

Jesus said, “The child is not dead but asleep” (Mark 5:39).  Throughout the New Testament, various books of Holy Scripture often refer to death as “sleep”:

“Tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.” (Matthew 27:52);

“He said this, and then told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.’” (John 11:11);

“After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:6);

 “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–15);

And, in today’s reading parallel verse from Matthew, Jesus says the girl is sleeping:

“He [Jesus] said, ‘Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.’  And they ridiculed Him” (Matthew 9:24).

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In Matthew 5:41, Jesus orders the girl to “Arise”.  The Greek verb “egeirein”, translated “to arise”, is the verb used to express resurrection from death IN ALL THREE Synoptic Gospels:

“The blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” (Matthew 11:5);

“King Herod heard about it, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, ‘John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.’  But when Herod learned of it, he said, ‘It is John whom I beheaded.  He has been raised up.’” (Mark 6:14, 16);

And,

“He [Jesus] stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and He said, ‘Young man, I tell you, arise!’” (Luke 7:14).

This word, “egeirein”, is also used to convey Jesus’ own resurrection later in the three Synoptic Gospels as well:

“He is not here, for He has been raised just as He said.  Come and see the place where He lay.” (Matthew 28:6);

“He said to them, ‘Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified.  He has been raised; He is not here.  Behold the place where they laid Him.” (Mark 16:6);

And,

“He is not here, but He has been raised.  Remember what He said to you while He was still in Galilee” (Luke 24:6).

“Sleep”, you probably realized by now, is a biblical “metaphor” for death.  Jesus’ statement is not a denial of the child’s real death, but an assurance that she will be roused from her sleep of death.  All of us will arise from our “sleep” at the Parousia event.  For some, there was no need to wait:

 “Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed.  Then he turned to her body and said, ‘Tabitha, rise up.’  She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.” (Acts 9:40).

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After these two miracles of healing, Jesus orders all to NOT speak of them.  The last verse of today’s reading is very explicit:

“He gave strict orders that no one should know” (Mark 5:43).

Why?  Why would Jesus NOT want others to know of His divine nature?  Well, I presume the reason is that it was too early in His ministry for “the word to get out”.  Remember, He was being watched by both the Sanhedrin and the Roman officials (the proverbial rock and hard place).  If Jesus would have become too popular too fast, He would NOT have been able to complete His mission – – God the Father’s will and plan.  As He told His mother, Mary, at the Cana Wedding Feast:

“My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4).

Well, His “hour” is here NOW, and is here for ME and YOU – – NOW!!!

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In Summary, in both stories today, we see Jesus’ personal and real concern for the needs of others AND His readiness to heal and restore life.  In, with, and through Jesus, we see the infinite love of God extending to each and every individual.  Jesus gives freely, wholly, and fully of Himself to each person He meets.  Do you approach our Lord Jesus Christ with a confident expectation that He will hear your request and act on it?  (He will!!)

The contrasts between Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage are stark and revealing.  One is a man; the other is a woman.  One is a public official, an important person in the community; the other is a poor woman who has lost everything to find a cure to a condition that separated her from the community (“Unclean” woman are barred from the synagogue and Jewish society.).  One approaches Jesus publicly; the other approaches Jesus secretly.  However, in each case, trust and faith leads them to seek out Jesus in their time of need.

The Gospel reading today concludes with Jesus’ instructions to remain silent about this miracle.  This is typical of Mark’s Gospel and is sometimes referred to as the “Messianic Secret”.  Repeatedly, those who witness Jesus’ power and authority are instructed to not speak of what they have witnessed.  These instructions appear impossible to obey, and it is difficult to understand the purpose of these instructions.  But in each case, they seem to emphasize the fact that each individual, including the reader of Mark’s Gospel, must, in the end, make his or her own judgment about Jesus’ identity.  Each individual must make his or her own act of faith in affirming Jesus as God’s Son, as the expected Messiah for ALL Israel, and as OUR PERSONNAL SAVIOR!!

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To conclude, there are many ways in which we can compare the request for healing made by Jairus and the request of the woman with the hemorrhage of twelve years.  One comparison helps us think about prayer.  Jairus asked Jesus for healing on his daughter’s behalf; the woman with the hemorrhage on the other hand, had no one to speak for her.  She bravely, but secretly, approached Jesus on her own initiative. 

In our prayers, we do both.  We intercede for others’ needs, and we also express our own needs of intercession, to God.  We find a trust, hope, and faith in Jesus’ response to both of these people in today’s Gospel reading.  They both sought Him out in their hour of need, and were rewarded with His healing grace. 

Think about some of the things you have prayed for recently.  Notice that some of your prayers may have been for other people, and some may have been for your own needs.  In today’s Gospel we find encouragement for both kinds of prayer.  What are the unique similarities and differences between the two people who presented their needs to Jesus – – personally and intimately – – in today’s Gospel?  Did you notice that both individuals received the “healing” they sought from Jesus through the direct actions of the Holy Spirit?  We should pray for the needs of others, and for our own personal needs, with as much trust, faith, and hope as did Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage.   Please say a prayer RIGHT NOW for thanks and praise to God, who hears our needs and answers them. 

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Reflection Prayer:

 

“Christ, Savior of all life,
you come to us always.
Welcoming you,
in the peace of our nights,
in the silence of our days,
in the beauty of creation,
in the hours of great combat within,
welcoming you is knowing
that you will be with us
in every situation, always. Amen.”

(Roger of Taize)

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 Catholic Apologetics:

 

My reason and purpose for this section on my blog is to provide “scriptural confirmation” for our beliefs and doctrines, not to cause dissention or opposition with my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, yet not in union with the Roman Catholic Church.  Whether God speaks to us through the “Bible”, or through “Tradition”, it is the Holy Spirit who inspires the “Word” from which all authentic tradition flows.

Tradition can be separated into two aspects: oral and behavioral.  Oral tradition includes written forms.  After all, it ALL started with oral tradition.  Behavioral tradition includes Baptism, Eucharist or Lord’s Supper, Laying on of hands for healing, Intercessory prayer, and Ordination.  

All Scriptural verses are taken from both the Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition of the Holy Bible and the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

The Trinity

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness …’” (Genesis 1:26) RSV.

“God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness …” (Genesis 1:26) KJV.

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“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19) RSV.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Matthew 28:19) KJV.

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A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day:  Blessed Junipero Serra (1713-1784)

In 1776, when the American Revolution was beginning in the east, another part of the future United States was being born in California.  That year a gray-robed Franciscan founded Mission San Juan Capistrano, now famous for its annually returning swallows.  San Juan was the seventh of nine missions established under the direction of this indomitable Spaniard.

Born on Spain’s island of Mallorca, Serra entered the Franciscan Order, taking the name of St. Francis’ childlike companion, Brother Juniper.  Until he was 35, he spent most of his time in the classroom—first as a student of theology and then as a professor.  He also became famous for his preaching.  Suddenly he gave it all up and followed the yearning that had begun years before when he heard about the missionary work of St. Francis Solanus in South America.  Junipero’s desire was to convert native peoples in the New World.

Arriving by ship at Vera Cruz, Mexico, he and a companion walked the 250 miles to Mexico City.  On the way Junipero’s left leg became infected by an insect bite and would remain a cross—sometimes life-threatening—for the rest of his life.  For 18 years he worked in central Mexico and in the Baja Peninsula.  He became president of the missions there.

Enter politics: the threat of a Russian invasion south from Alaska. Charles III of Spain ordered an expedition to beat Russia to the territory.  So the last two conquistadors—one military, one spiritual—began their quest.  José de Galvez persuaded Junipero to set out with him for present-day Monterey, California.  The first mission founded after the 900-mile journey north was San Diego (1769).  That year a shortage of food almost canceled the expedition.  Vowing to stay with the local people, Junipero and another friar began a novena in preparation for St. Joseph’s day, March 19, the scheduled day of departure.  On that day, the relief ship arrived.

Other missions followed: Monterey/Carmel (1770); San Antonio and San Gabriel (1771); San Luís Obispo (1772); San Francisco and San Juan Capistrano (1776); Santa Clara (1777); San Buenaventura (1782). Twelve more were founded after Serra’s death.

Junipero made the long trip to Mexico City to settle great differences with the military commander.  He arrived at the point of death.  The outcome was substantially what Junipero sought: the famous “Regulation” protecting the Indians and the missions.  It was the basis for the first significant legislation in California, a “Bill of Rights” for Native Americans.

Because the Native Americans were living a nonhuman life from the Spanish point of view, the friars were made their legal guardians.  The Native Americans were kept at the mission after Baptism lest they be corrupted in their former haunts—a move that has brought cries of “injustice” from some moderns.

Junipero’s missionary life was a long battle with cold and hunger, with unsympathetic military commanders and even with danger of death from non-Christian native peoples.  Through it all his unquenchable zeal was fed by prayer each night, often from midnight till dawn.  He baptized over 6,000 people and confirmed 5,000.  His travels would have circled the globe.  He brought the Native Americans not only the gift of faith but also a decent standard of living.  He won their love, as witnessed especially by their grief at his death.  He is buried at Mission San Carlo Borromeo, Carmel, and was beatified in 1988.

Comment: The word that best describes Junipero is zeal.  It was a spirit that came from his deep prayer and dauntless will.  “Always forward, never back” was his motto.  His work bore fruit for 50 years after his death as the rest of the missions were founded in a kind of Christian communal living by the Indians.  When both Mexican and American greed caused the secularization of the missions, the Chumash people went back to what they had been—God again writing straight with crooked lines.

Quote: During his homily at Serra’s beatification, Pope John Paul II said: “Relying on the divine power of the message he proclaimed, Father Serra led the native peoples to Christ.  He was well aware of their heroic virtues—as exemplified in the life of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha [July 14]—and he sought to further their authentic human development on the basis of their new-found faith as persons created and redeemed by God.  He also had to admonish the powerful, in the spirit of our second reading from James, not to abuse and exploit the poor and the weak.”

Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.;
revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
(From http://www.americancatholic.org website)

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Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) Rule
Article #’s 1 & 2 of 26:

The Franciscan family, as one among many spiritual families raised up by the Holy Spirit in the Church, unites all members of the people of God — laity, religious, and priests – who recognize that they are called to follow Christ in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi.

In various ways and forms but in life-giving union with each other, they intend to make present the charism of their common Seraphic Father in the life and mission of the Church.

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The Secular Franciscan Order holds a special place in this family circle.  It is an organic union of all Catholic fraternities scattered throughout the world and open to every group of the faithful.  In these fraternities the brothers and sisters, led by the Spirit, strive for perfect charity in their own secular state.  By their profession they pledge themselves to live the gospel in the manner of Saint Francis by means of this rule approved by the Church.

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“Is There Anything To Eat?; This Past Weekend Has Been A Trying One For Me!” – Luke 24:35-48†

 

Third Sunday of Easter

Today’s Content:

 

• ·        Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations
• ·        Today in Catholic History
• ·        Joke of the Day
• ·        Today’s Gospel Reading
• ·        Gospel Reflection
• ·        Reflection Prayer
• ·        Catholic Apologetics
• ·        Reflection on part of  the SFO Rule

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Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations:

 

I wish to extend a SUPER happy birthday Pope Benedict XVI and Mother Angelica.  To Octogenarians who are still young in heart ans faith.

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Today in Catholic History:     

 

†   296 – Death of Pope Caius (or Gaius)
†   536 – Death of Agapitus I, Italian Pope (535-36),
†   536 – Death of Pope Agapetus I
†   1073 – Pope Alexander II buried/Ildebrando chosen as Pope Gregory VII
†   1164 – Raynald of Dassel names Guido di Crema as anti-pope Paschalis III
†   1610 – Birth of Alexander VIII, [Pietro Ottoboni], Italy, lawyer/Pope (1689-91)
†   1994 – Death of D. Nauta, theologist/church historian/lawyer, at age 96

(From the “On This Day” Blog Site
otday.wordpress.com &/OR
“Today in Catholic History”
http://www.historyorb.com)

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Quote or Joke of the Day:

 

 

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Today’s reflection: Jesus appears to His disciples [again] and shares a meal with them.

 

(NAB Luke 24:35-48) ³⁵ Then the two [men on the road to Emmaus] recounted [to the disciples hiding in Jerusalem] what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.  ³⁶ While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  ³⁷ But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.  ³⁸ Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled?  And why do questions arise in your hearts?  ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.  Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”  ⁴⁰ And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.  ⁴¹ While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?”  ⁴² They gave him a piece of baked fish;⁴³ he took it and ate it in front of them.  ⁴⁴ He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”  ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. ⁴⁶And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day ⁴⁷ and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.

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Gospel Reflection:

 

On the third Sunday of Easter, we continue to hear Gospel accounts of Jesus’ appearances to His disciples following His Resurrection.  Luke’s Gospel, like each of the other Gospels (cf., Matthew 28:16–20; Mark 16:14–15; John 20:19–23), focuses on Jesus appearing to His disciples in Jerusalem and their commissioning for their future ministry.  Luke goes further in having the risen Jesus appear to two men traveling back to their home, probably in or near Emmaus.  These two men, no longer blinded to the risen Christ hurried back to Jerusalem, sought out Jesus’ disciples, and told them of their experience.

Jesus then (as in any good mystery story) miraculously and suddenly appears before all those assembled in this “faith-filled” hiding space.  Standing amongst them, Jesus lovingly states:

“Peace be with you.” (Luke 24:36).

Their response to Jesus, per today’s reading, was one of “startling terror”, thinking “they were seeing a ghost”!  These are the VERY FIRST words Jesus says to His disciples AFTER they had abandoned Him to His accusers, torturers, and crucifiers.  His first words were one of “peace” and not “What happened to you?” or “Where were you?” or “You abandoned me, why?”

I am sure Jesus’ disciples felt like they had betrayed Him, and knew and felt that they should have had a royal “chewing out” from Jesus, at a minimum.  However, Jesus is God, who is pure love, and responded with a pure love for His disciples.  How relieved and gratified were these startled, terrified men to know Jesus Christ not only DID rise from the dead, but also wished only “peace” for them personally – – AND for all that believed in Him.

“Peace be with you.” was a most appropriate greeting for a loving Jesus Christ.  The disciples truly had the experience and shock of the death of someone they loved, and feared for their own safety and lives as well.  “Peace” is what they needed more than anything else.  Along with this greeting of “Peace”, Jesus gave another grace, another gift: “forgiveness”. The inherent linking of “peace” and “forgiveness” is quietly made in the final verses of today’s reading.

They thought they were seeing a “ghost”; yet the figure before them is not a “ghost”.  Jesus invites them to experience His resurrected body with their senses, to look and to touch.  The figure standing before them is truly flesh and bone, still bearing the marks of His crucifixion.  Although the disciples cannot forget His suffering and death, “peace” begins to take root in their hearts, with their fears and turmoil turning to feelings of joy and amazement instead.

Jesus was NO “ghost”!!  He is STILL as human NOW – TODAY – as He was on that day, and on the day he was crucified.  He is the physical (and scriptural) proof that there truly is a “life after death” (physical death anyhow).  He IS NOT just a divine memory; AND we are disciples of the LIVING Jesus, not just disciples of our memory of Him!

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The disciples last saw Jesus as a weak and beaten man, who died – – as a human – – on the cross in a most humiliating and torturous way.  Jesus seemed to be “powerless” over the events leading to His ultimate death.  He certainly did not meet the expectations of who the Messiah was to be per Jewish tradition.  If He WAS the Messiah, why did He allow this to happen to Him?  Why would He allow Himself to be as humiliated and embarrassed as He was?

As further proof of His identity and of His resurrected body, Jesus eats with His disciples.  The disciples have known Jesus best through the meals which He has shared with them.  Descriptions of these meals are a defining element of Luke’s Gospel.  By eating with his disciples after his Resurrection, Jesus recalls all these meals, and most importantly, he recalls the Last Supper.

Luke’s report of this Last Supper and the meals which Jesus shared with them after His Resurrection unveils for us the uniquely important significance of the Holy Eucharist.  Having shared a meal with His disciples, Jesus Christ now uncovers for them the significance of what was written about Him in the Scriptures.  Our celebration of the Mass is ALSO an encounter with Jesus – – in fact, the same uniquely important encounter as the disciples!!  So, we encounter Him, this same Jesus, through the Liturgy of the Word and the Sacrament of the Eucharist which is literally the Sacrament of Thanksgiving.  As Jesus commissioned His disciples to be witnesses to what Holy Scriptures foretold, OUR celebration of the Eucharist ALSO commissions US today.  Like the first disciples, we too are sent to announce the “good news” of Jesus Christ, truly risen from the grave.

With His appearance to them, and eating with them, the disciples were given a grace and gift of a revelation in their individual and communal faiths.  They were now able to believe more fully because they had seen the proof of Jesus’ new resurrected life, which they came to understand Jesus’ victory, thus overcoming sin, Satan, and death!

Luke is the only evangelist to mention Jesus’ eating with His disciples.  Jesus didn’t come solely to be seen, to be touched, or to be heard; He came and ate with His disciples just as He did the night of His arrest.  Jesus, still today, does not wish to be simply seen and heard, He wants to converse with each of us; He wants to share a meal with each of us – – personally, uniquely, and intimately – – ALWAYS!!

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We are like the Apostles, especially Matthew; we don’t usually believe unless we see with our own eyes.  The Gospels attest to the true reality of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection.  Jesus goes to great lengths to prove to His disciples that He is no mere ghost or illusion – – no trick of the eye.  He shows them the marks of His crucifixion, explaining how Holy Scripture foretold His suffering death AND rising.  (Please read 1 Peter 1:10-12.  It has a “glorious” connection to this last sentence.)  

Jerome, an early church bible scholar, comments:

“As he showed them real hands and a real side, he really ate with his disciples; really walked with Cleophas; conversed with men with a real tongue; really reclined at supper; with real hands took bread, blessed and broke it, and was offering it to them … Do not put the power of the Lord on the level with the tricks of magicians, so that he may appear to have been what he was not, and may be thought to have eaten without teeth, walked without feet, broken bread without hands, spoken without a tongue, and showed a side which had no ribs.” (From a letter to Pammachius against John of Jerusalem 34, 5th century)

Jesus, on the Holy Cross, is one of the central aspects of the Gospels, but it DOESN’T JUST STOP there!  Through His death on the cross, Jesus truly defeated our enemies – death, sin, and Satan; and won mercy & pardon for our sin.  Jesus’ cross then, is the bridge to heaven and the way to paradise.  So, the way to glory IS through the cross.

When the disciples saw the “Risen” Lord, they did not react to Him with “joy”; they reacted with “startle” and “fear”!  After all, how can a death lead to life?  How can a cross lead to glory?  Well, only Jesus Christ could reveal to us the “joy” and “glory” of enduring suffering with faith to a new life.  He gives each of us the power to overcome the fear, worry, and even despair caused by sin, Satan, and death.  Just as the first disciples were commissioned to bring the “good news” of salvation to ALL the peoples of ALL the nations, both Jew and Gentile alike, so we too are called to be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to all among whom we live – – EVERYWHERE and at ALL times.  

Have you truly witnessed to the “joy” of the Gospels personally?  Do you truly witness to the “joy” of the Gospels to those around you?  As the Franciscans say, do you take the:

“Gospel to life and the life to Gospel”?

Hmm, is this something to think about for you?

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To conclude, Catholic Christian life is sustained by God’s “Word” in Holy Scripture and by Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.  We are especially sustained in our faith through our attendance and PARTICIPATION at our weekly (and hopefully daily) celebration of Mass.  Today’s Gospel should remind us that Holy Scripture and the Eucharist are given to us so that OUR words and deeds of bearing witness to Christ might be strengthened.

Jesus came to His followers, not the inverse (other way around) – – AND He Still does today and will in the future!!  Jesus took (and still takes) the initiative in overcoming sin, Satan, and death with us!  Jesus provided (and still provides) His reassurance and promise of everlasting life!  Jesus comes to us in the Holy Eucharist and through the Holy Spirit working in, with, and through each of us personally, intimately, and uniquely.  All we have to do is to receive Him, to allow Him to dwell in us, and to let Him work through us each and every day.  Really, all we have to do is simply to BELIEVE and to be His WITNESS in today’s society!!  How?  Well, as Saint Francis said to his brother friars:

“Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words.”

This week, think about the importance of memories and the importance of the meals you have shared together with family and friends, and will share in the future.  Both, these memories and the anticipation of future meals, will strengthen the love you share for ALL involved.  In a similar way, our Catholic Christian life is also strengthened by sharing God’s Word (memories) and the Eucharist (meal) at Mass.  Recall the “mission” which Jesus gave to His disciples after their shared meal in today’s reading.  The Holy Eucharist also sends us to be Christ’s witnesses in the world today.  Pray that you, and each of us, will be strengthened by God’s “Word”, and by Jesus’ “presence” in the Holy Eucharist in order to be more faithful “witnesses” to our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

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Reflection Prayer:

 

“Tantum Ergo” 

Saint Thomas Aquinas

“With heads bowed let us now worship a sacrament so great;
And let the old teaching give way to the new;
Let faith reinforce our belief where the senses cannot.

To the Father and the Son let there be praise and jubilation,
Salvation, honor, virtue, and also blessing;
To the Holy Spirit let there be equal praise.  Amen.”

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Catholic Apologetics:

 

My reason and purpose for this section on my blog is to provide “scriptural confirmation” for our beliefs and doctrines, not to cause dissention or opposition with my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, yet not in union with the Roman Catholic Church.  Whether God speaks to us through the “Bible”, or through “Tradition”, it is the Holy Spirit that inspires the “Word” from which all authentic tradition flows.

Tradition can be separated into two aspects: oral and behavioral.  Oral tradition includes written forms.  After all, it ALL started with oral tradition.  Behavioral tradition includes Baptism, Eucharist or Lord’s Supper, Lying on of hands or healing, Intercessory prayer, and Ordination.  

All Scriptural verses are taken from both the Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition of the Holy Bible and the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Honor Due to the Virgin Mary

“And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’” (Luke 1:41-43) RSV.

“And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.  And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:41-43) RSV.

***

“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.  For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name’” (Luke 1:46-49) KJV.

“And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.  For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.  For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.” (Luke 1:46-49) KJV.  

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Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule
Article #’s 23 & 24 of 26:

23.  Requests for admission to the Secular Franciscan Order must be presented to the local fraternity, whose council decides upon the acceptance of new brothers and sisters.

Admission into the Order is gradually attained through a time of initiation, a period of formation of at least one year, and profession of the rule.  The entire community is engaged in the process of growth by its own manner of living.  The age for profession and the distinctive Franciscan sign are regulated by the statutes.

Profession by its nature is a permanent commitment.

Members who find themselves in particular difficulties should discuss their problems with the council in fraternal dialogue.  Withdrawal or permanent dismissal from the Order, if necessary, is an act of the fraternity council according to the norm of the constitutions.

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24.  To foster communion among members, the council should organize regular and frequent meetings of the community as well as meeting with other Franciscan groups, especially with youth groups.  It should adopt appropriate means for growth in Franciscan and ecclesial life and encourage everyone to a life of fraternity.  The communion continues with deceased brothers and sisters through prayer for them.

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“If Jesus Saw His Shadow On Leaving the Tomb, Would We Have Had Six More Weeks Of Lent?” – John 20:1-9†

    

 

EASTER SUNDAY 

Today’s Content:

• ·        Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations
• ·        Today in Catholic History
• ·        Joke of the Day
• ·        Today’s Gospel Reading
• ·        Gospel Reflection
• ·        Reflection Prayer
• ·        Catholic Apologetics
• ·        A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day
• ·        Reflection on part of  the SFO Rule 

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Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations:

 

Congratulations to Pope Benedict XVI for seven years, today, of his being elevated to Bishop of Rome, and Vicar of Christ.  May his role as shepherd and teacher of the faithful bring all of us to a greater understanding of Jesus’ love, trust, promises, and magnificently splendid paradise on earth and in heaven.

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Today in Catholic History:

†   1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin.
†   1149 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum.
†   1378 – Bartolomeo Prignano elected as Pope Urban VI
†   1455 – Alfonso de Borgia elected as Pope Callistus III
†   1808 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore was promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.
†   1974 – Death of James Charles McGuigan, Catholic archbishop of Toronto (b. 1894)
†   Feasts/Memorials: Saint Walter of Pontoise (d. 1099); Saint Constance; Saint Julie Billiart of Namur (d. 1816).

(From the “On This Day” Blog Site
otday.wordpress.com &/OR
“Today in Catholic History”
http://www.historyorb.com)

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Quote or Joke of the Day:

 

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Today’s reflection is about Mary of Magdala finding that the burial stone had been removed from Jesus’ tomb.

 

(NAB John 20:1-9) ¹ On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.  ² So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”  ³ So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.  ⁴ They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; ⁵ he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.  ⁶ When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, ⁷ and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.  ⁸ Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.  ⁹ For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

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Gospel Reflection:

 

Today we begin the Easter Season, a 50-day period of meditation on the mystery of Christ’s Resurrection. (Yep, Easter lasts for nearly two more months.)  Today’s Gospel reading relates the discovery of the empty tomb. It ends by telling us that Jesus’ friends, His disciples, did not yet understand, at this point, that Jesus had actually “Rose” from the dead.

The story of the empty tomb can be found in both Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospels, along with John’s, who’s is presented today.  However, for me, John’s version seems to be a fusion or blending of both Matthew and Luke’s.  (Sorry Mark, you had a Resurrection narrative as well, but John seemed to ignore yours.)

I believe John’s narrative details are not necessarily meant to offer proof of Jesus’ Resurrection happening on a particular “Easter” Sunday morning.  After all, John writes with a poetic, revelational, and “conceptual” thinking and writing style in order to make a specific point – – a Van Gough-ish sort of approach in creating an image for his audience.  John’s unique style of relating detail invites each of us to reflect upon a most amazing grace; a grace founded in a faith in Jesus Christ and in His Resurrection.

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The disciples thought that everything had ended in the tragic events with Jesus’ death.  He was dead, wrapped in a burial shroud, and secured in a tomb.  It seemed the only thing yet to do was to finish the preparation of His body for a final internment as soon as the Sabbath was over.

Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb while, “still dark” on “that” day after the Sabbath in order to finish preparing the body for Jesus’ final burial.  John’s Gospel has the time as “still dark”.  However, Mark has the sun already raised, Matthew describes the day as just “dawning”, and Luke’s book refers to the time as being “at daybreak”, an early dawn.

“After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.” (Matthew 28:1);

“Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.” (Mark 16:2);

And,

“At daybreak on the first day of the week they took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.” (Luke 24:1).

Each of these words or phrases – – “was dawning”, “sun had risen”, “at daybreak”, and “still dark” – – are simply subjective statement’s about the day beginning, probably around 6 AM or the “first hour”.

All four Gospels tell us that Jesus’ empty tomb was first discovered by “women”.  These women are denoted differently in each of the four Gospels:

Matthew’s Gospel:  Mary Magdalene and the other Mary;
Mark’s Gospel:  Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome;
Luke’s Gospel:  The women who had come from Galilee with Him;
and, John’s Gospel:  Mary of Magdala.

John uses the plural “we” in the second part of Mary Magdalene’s announcement to Simon Peter and the other disciples about Jesus’ disappearance from the tomb:

“They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” (John 20:2).

This plural word, “we”, might reflect a Jewish tradition of women going to the tomb as a group.  Solely for safety reasons, I am sure women did not travel without company throughout the countryside of first century Palestine.

This is notable because in first-century Jewish society women could not serve as legal witnesses.  A woman’s role was literally to give birth, (preferably to a male heir), and to take care of all the household activities.  In fact, women were considered less tangible than the livestock of the area.  There were NO equal rights in first century Palestine (then, and still today)!!  So, to mention women in this special way was quite broadminded and freethinking in ideology for the time period.

As just stated, in John’s Gospel, the only woman attending the tomb is “Mary of Magdala”.  Magdala was a small city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, about three miles north of Tiberias.  Mary [Magdalene] arrives at the tomb, and sees the stone removed.  In John’s Gospel, she does not go into the tomb (yet, in others, she does), so she does not know with absolute certainty whether are not the tomb is empty.  My question is: “Where are the Soldiers?”  (I surmise that they ran off with the appearance of the angels and the Risen Jesus Christ.)

Is there a significance of the stone being rolled away from the tomb entrance?  Well, for one thing, – – a significant matter of fact – – the stone closing the tomb was extremely heavy!  It would have taken several strong people to roll away such a stone from its place of function, sealing the tomb entrance. To move the stone would either have to be a group effort, or of divine origin.

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Unlike the Synoptic accounts, John’s Gospel does not describe an appearance of angels at the tomb for the reading at Mass.  (A reference to angels show up in John’s Gospel at John 20:12.)  Instead, Mary naturally assumes that Jesus’ body had been removed, stolen.  Please keep in mind, at this point Mary of Magdala did not consider that Jesus has been “raised from the dead”.  So, seeing the stone moved, she ran away from the tomb and back to the disciples, the people she truly trusted.

Mary Magdalene is the first to report the startling news of the empty tomb!  In John’s version, she is not as directed to go tell others by an “angel” or “a young man”, as is written in all the synoptic accounts.

“Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5-7);

“On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, ‘Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.”‘” (Mark 16:5-7);

and

“While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them. Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others.” (Luke 24:4,9).

I was once told by a priest friend (Yes, this is not an oxymoron term, Priests can have friends.) of mine about a linkage or comparison between Jesus’ closed tomb and Mary, His mother.  As Mary’s virginal womb was closed, so was the tomb closed.  Yet Jesus entered the world through her closed womb, and He left the world through the closed tomb.  What an awesome revelation, at least for me.

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When informed of His vanishing, Simon Peter, and Jesus’ “beloved disciple” (John, this Gospel writer) raced to the tomb in order to verify Mary’s report of His disappearance.  The “beloved disciple” arrives first at the tomb first, but does not enter until after Simon Peter arrives and enters before him.  His hesitation paints a vivid picture, as does the detail provided about the burial cloths.  Did John wait out of fear, not being the first one going into an unknown event? … Or, was John waiting out of respect, knowing that Peter was now the earthly leader, the first Pope?

John testifies to a special feature about the status of the burial cloths, the way they were found in the tomb, causing “the beloved disciple” [John] to “believe”:

“When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.” (John 20:6-8).

I also see something in the details of Jesus’ burial clothes placement in the tomb.  The burial wraps were discarded without concern.  However, the “cloth” placed over Jesus’ head at His burial, I believe to be His Tallit, Jesus’ prayer garment or robe – – a special and revered item for any pious Jew – – was carefully, reverently, and meticulously folded (or rolled) and then placed carefully on the hewn rock ledge Jesus’ body was placed upon.

For the pious Jewish person, the Tallit with attached Tzitzit (the four knotted strings; one at each corner), was (and still is today) considered as sacred and uniquely special to them, as the Holy Eucharist is for us Catholics.  To the dutiful Jewish person, it is the “true” physical presence of God’s soul, divinity, and promises – – and not just a representation or symbol.

I believe the details of the tomb description, in John’s Gospel, leads one to recognize the grave had not been robbed.  Some scholars believe the presence of the burial cloths in the tomb offers essential evidence that Jesus’ body could not have been stolen.  Grave robbers would most certainly take the burial cloths along with the body.  The wrappings would make it easier to carry the body.  The wrappings would keep all the valuables with the body.  And, any tomb raider would not waste their time removing all the wrappings, thus increasing time at the scene and their chance of getting caught.

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The last verse of today’s reading was thought inspiring for me:

“For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.” (John 20:9)

Today’s reading concludes with a perplexing message, for me at least.  Even after having seen the empty tomb and the burial cloths, Jesus’ disciples still did not yet understand Jesus’ Resurrection had occurred.  In the passages immediately following this Gospel reading, Mary of Magdala actually meets and interacts with the “Risen” Jesus Christ, yet mistakes Him for a simple gardener.  How could she mistake a person she had grown to love – – in such a very special and intimate way – – for being a stranger?  Was His physical presence changed that much?!  Obviously, Mary of Magdala was not yet prepared to meet the “Risen” Lord who revealed Himself to her while she later lingered in the garden near the tomb (cf., John 20:11-18).

Is it significant that ALL the disciples had to deal first with the empty tomb before they could start to understand Holy Scripture’s foretelling that Jesus would die for OUR sins and then rise on the third day?  Is it significant that they ALL refuse to accept His “Rising from the dead” until after they saw the empty tomb?  I cannot answer these questions; can you?

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John the Evangelist, “the beloved disciple” of Jesus, wrote his Gospel as an eye-witness to the “Word of God” becoming flesh, living among us in human form, then dying and rising, solely for OUR salvation.

John was the only of Jesus’ Apostles who stood with Jesus at the foot of the cross. He was the only Apostle who witnessed Jesus’ death on that day we now distinguish as “Good Friday”.  And finally, John (together with Simon Peter), was the first Apostle to see the empty tomb on Easter Sunday morning.

What did John see in the tomb that led him to believe in the Resurrection of Jesus?  It wasn’t a dead body for there wasn’t one.  Instead, it was the absence of a “dead body” that allowed him to believe.  In reality, the presence of Jesus’ dead body would have disproven the Resurrection prophesies. His body being present in the tomb would have made Jesus’ death merely no more than a tragic event; a conclusion to a remarkable career as a great teacher, healer, and miracle worker.  When John saw the empty tomb, did he recall Jesus’ prophecies of His rising again after three days, and then to:

“rebuild His Church in three days” (John 2:19).  

Through the grace freely given to us of faith, trust, and love, John realized that NO tomb, NO death, NO anything could contain Jesus Christ, Our Savior and life giver.

In the weeks ahead, the Gospel readings from our liturgy – – our Mass – – will show each of us how the disciples, over a period of time,  came to believe in Jesus’ Resurrection through His various appearances to them, both individually and in groups.  Our Easter faith is based on their witness to both the empty tomb and their continuing relationship with Jesus – – in His appearances and in His gift of the Holy Spirit to all of them (and us), individually, personally, and intimately.

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In summary, today’s Gospel reading relates how the disciples found the tomb empty three days after Jesus’ death.  Also told to us is their “not yet understanding” the Holy Scriptures or Jesus’ being truly “raised” from the dead.  Their understanding of the Scriptures and Jesus’ Resurrection gradually unfolded (grew) for the disciples as they began to experience the “Risen” Lord in His many appearances to them, and to others.

Similarly, our understanding of Jesus’ Resurrection unfolds (grows) for us throughout our lives and experiences.  In the weeks ahead, we will see and go in the understanding of how the first of His disciples moved from confusion, doubt, and skepticism to one of faith, trust, and hope in Jesus Christ.  The first of Jesus’ disciples events and experiences can teach each of us how we also might receive this special and unique gift, – – this special and unique grace, – – of faith, trust, and hope from God.

Reflect on what you know about the events surrounding Jesus’ coming to Jerusalem for the Passover meal, His arrest, His trial, His scourging, His crucifixion, and His Resurrection.  Imagine being among Jesus’ first disciples.  If you had been there, and heard the stone covering had been removed from Jesus’ tomb entrance and that Jesus’ body was no longer there, what would you have thought?  What did Mary of Magdala, Simon Peter, and the “disciple whom Jesus loved” think had happened to Jesus’ body?

Remember that this experience was the first indication to His disciples, that Jesus had been “Raised from the dead”.  So, just as the first disciples learned over a period of time, throughout this Easter season, we also will learn more about “how to” believe that Jesus had been “Raised from the dead”.

The reality of Jesus’ Resurrection is the prime, central, and essential fact of OUR Catholic faith.  The greatest joy we can have is to encounter our living Lord- – Jesus Christ – – in an individual and personal way.  Are you ready to continually grow in that faith?  Remember, from the tiniest seeds of faith can grow a massive tree producing much fruit for all.

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Reflection Prayer:

 

“Easter Prayer of St. Hippolytus of Rome”

 

“Christ is Risen: The world below lies desolate
Christ is Risen: The spirits of evil are fallen
Christ is Risen: The angels of God are rejoicing
Christ is Risen: The tombs of the dead are empty
Christ is Risen indeed from the dead,
the first of the sleepers,
Glory and power are his forever and ever.  Amen”

 St. Hippolytus (AD 190-236)

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 Catholic Apologetics:

My reason and purpose for this section on my blog is to provide “scriptural confirmation” for our beliefs and doctrines, not to cause dissention or opposition with my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, yet not in union with the Roman Catholic Church.  Whether God speaks to us through the “Bible”, or through “Tradition”, it is the Holy Spirit that inspires the “Word” from which all authentic tradition flows.

Tradition can be separated into two aspects: oral and behavioral.  Oral tradition includes written forms.  After all, it ALL started with oral tradition.  Behavioral tradition includes Baptism, Eucharist or Lord’s Supper, Lying on of hands or healing, Intercessory prayer, and Ordination.  

All Scriptural verses are taken from both the Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition of the Holy Bible and the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Purgatory

“For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.  But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.  Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin” (2 Maccabees 12:44-45) RSV.

 

The two books of Maccabees are not in the KJV.  It was removed, after 1000 years, by Martin Luther. 

**

“Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny” (Matthew 5:25-26) RSV.

 

“Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.  Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.” (Matthew 5:25-26) KJV.

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A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day:  St. Julie Billiart (1751-1816)

 

Born in Cuvilly, France, into a family of well-to-do farmers, young Marie Rose Julie Billiart showed an early interest in religion and in helping the sick and poor.  Though the first years of her life were relatively peaceful and uncomplicated, Julie had to take up manual work as a young teen when her family lost its money.  However, she spent her spare time teaching catechism to young people and to the farm laborers.

A mysterious illness overtook her when she was about 30.  Witnessing an attempt to wound or even kill her father, Julie was paralyzed and became a complete invalid.  For the next two decades she continued to teach catechism lessons from her bed, offered spiritual advice and attracted visitors who had heard of her holiness.

When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, revolutionary forces became aware of her allegiance to fugitive priests.  With the help of friends she was smuggled out of Cuvilly in a haycart; she spent several years hiding in Compiegne, being moved from house to house despite her growing physical pain.  She even lost the power of speech for a time.

But this period also proved to be a fruitful spiritual time for Julie.  It was at this time she had a vision in which she saw Calvary surrounded by women in religious habits and heard a voice saying, “Behold these spiritual daughters whom I give you in an Institute marked by the cross.”  As time passed and Julie continued her mobile life, she made the acquaintance of an aristocratic woman, Françoise Blin de Bourdon, who shared Julie’s interest in teaching the faith.  In 1803 the two women began the Institute of Notre Dame, which was dedicated to the education of the poor as well as young Christian girls and the training of catechists.  The following year the first Sisters of Notre Dame made their vows.  That was the same year that Julie recovered from the illness: She was able to walk for the first time in 22 years.

Though Julie had always been attentive to the special needs of the poor and that always remained her priority, she also became aware that other classes in society needed Christian instruction.  From the founding of the Sisters of Notre Dame until her death, Julie was on the road, opening a variety of schools in France and Belgium that served the poor and the wealthy, vocational groups, teachers.  Ultimately, Julie and Françoise moved the motherhouse to Namur, Belgium.

Julie died there in 1816. She was canonized in 1969.

Comment:

Julie’s immobility in no way impeded her activities.  In spite of her suffering, she managed to co-found a teaching order that tended to the needs of both the poor and the well-to-do.  Each of us has limitations, but the worst malady any of us can suffer is the spiritual paralysis that keeps us from doing God’s work on earth.

Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.;
revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
(From http://www.americancatholic.org website)

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Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule
Article #’s 8 & 9 of 26:

08.  As Jesus was the true worshipper of the Father, so let prayer and contemplation be the soul of all they are and do.

Let them participate in the sacramental life of the Church, above all the Eucharist. Let them join in liturgical prayer in one of the forms proposed by the Church, reliving the mysteries of the life of Christ.

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09.  The Virgin Mary, humble servant of the Lord, was open to His every word and call.  She was embraced by Francis with indescribable love and declared the protectress and advocate of his family.  The Secular Franciscans should express their ardent love for her by imitating her complete self-giving and by praying earnestly and confidently.

“Just Like a Popular Detergent – – Jesus Gets the Stains Out!” – Mark 9:2-10†

Second Sunday of Lent

Today’s Content:

• ·        Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations
• ·        Today in Catholic History
• ·        Quote or Joke of the Day
• ·        Today’s Gospel Reading
• ·        Gospel Reflection
• ·        Reflection Prayer or Psalm
• ·        Catholic Apologetics
• ·        A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day
• ·        Reflection on part of  the SFO Rule

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Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations:

 

Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions for March, 2012

March 2012: 

General Intention: Contribution of Women; that the whole world may recognize the contribution of women to the development of society.

Missionary Intention: Persecuted Christians; that the Holy Spirit may grant perseverance to those who suffer discrimination, persecution, or death for the name of Christ, particularly in Asia.

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Today in Catholic History:

†   251 – Death of Pope Lucius I
†   303 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
†   480 – Death of Saint Landry, bishop of Sées
†   561 – Death of Pope Pelagius I
†   932 – Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.
†   1215 – King John of England makes an oath to the Pope as a crusader to gain the support of Innocent III.
†   1303 – Death of Daniel of Moscow, Russian Saint, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1261)
†   1484 – Death of Kazimierz, the Saint, Polish ruler/saint, dies at age 25
†   1484 – Death of Saint Casimir, Prince of Poland (b. 1458)
†   1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus (a Third Order Franciscan) arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal aboard his ship Niña from his discovery voyage to America. He returned to Spain on March 15.
†   1595 – Death of Robert Southwell, English poet, hanged for becoming a Catholic priest
†   1798 – Catholic women force to do penance for kindling sabbath fire for Jews (cannot find reference in wikipedia or elsewhere)
†   1853 – Pope Pius IX recovers Catholic hierarchy in Netherlands
†   1888 – Birth of Knute Rockne, Notre Dame Universities football player and coach (d. 1931)
†   1931 – Birth of William Henry Keeler, American Roman Catholic Archbishop and Cardinal
†   1934 – Birth of Gleb Yakunin, Russian priest and dissident
†   1979 – The first encyclical written by Pope John Paul II, “Redemptor Hominis” (Latin for “The Redeemer of Man”) is promulgated less than five months after his installation as pope.
†   2010 – Death of Bishop Hilario Chávez Joya, Mexican Roman Catholic prelate due to natural causes (b. 1928)
†   Feasts/Mmeorials: Saint Casimir, patron saint of Lithuania; Humbert III of Savoy; Saint Adrian of Nicomedia, bishop of Saint Andrew’s, and his Companions; Saint Basil and his Companions; Saint Basinus; Saint Efrem; Saint Lucius I; Saint Peter of Pappacarbone; Commemoration of Saint Lucius I, pope, martyr.

(From the “On This Day” Blog Site
otday.wordpress.com &/OR
“Today in Catholic History”
http://www.historyorb.com)

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Quote or Joke of the Day:

 

Q: Why shouldn’t Christians watch TV?
A: At the transfiguration, Jesus said, “Tell-the-vision to no one.”

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Today’s reflection is about Jesus being transfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and John.

 

(NAB Mark 9:2-10) ² After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them, ³ and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.  ⁴ Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.  ⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here!  Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  ⁶ He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.  ⁷ Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him.”  ⁸ Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.  ⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.  ¹⁰ So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.

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Gospel Reflection:

 

The context for Mark’s Transfiguration story, from today’s Gospel reading, is similar to the stories found in both Matthew’s (Matthew 17:1-8) and Luke’s Gospel (Luke 9:28:36).  The “Transfiguration” occurs after Peter’s confession that Jesus is the “Messiah”; and after Jesus’ prediction about His future “Passion”.  Soon to take place, in each of these three “Synoptic” Gospels, is a discussion of the “cost” of Apostleship (and discipleship) to Jesus Christ.  (NOTHING is free!  There is ALWAYS a price!)

Jesus took three of His Apostles’—Peter, James, and John—to a high mountain (Some believe it is Mt. Horeb – see last Sunday’s reflection blog for more information on Mt. Horeb).  While Jesus and His “notable” Apostles are on this “notable” mountain, Elijah and Moses appear to Jesus and converses – – “face-to-face” – – with, Jesus Himself.  Per Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospel, this dialogue is unknown to the reader.  However, in Luke’s Gospel, the detail of this tête-à-tête is accepted to be about what Jesus will accomplish in Jerusalem: His Arrest, Scourging, and Crucifixion.

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Both Mark and Matthew place the “Transfiguration of Jesus” six days after the first prediction of His “Passion” and death.  

“After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves” (Matthew 17:1);

Hmm, how many days did God the Creator take to form the world and all things on it?  I believe SIX!  I wonder if there is a connection of some sort between the two events.

The “Transfiguration” counterbalances the prediction of Jesus’ “Passion” by affording a certain group of His Apostles’ (I like to call them “the inner ring”) insight into the divine glory Jesus truly and fully possessed.  His glory will overcome His death, that of His Apostles’, and ALL who fully believe in Him:

“All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18);

And,

“We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.  For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, ‘This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’  We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.  Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.  You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:16–19).

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The “heavenly voice” (Mark 9:7; and 2 Peter1:18 immediately above), heard “worldly” by the three Apostles of Christ, starts the preparation for THEM to understand God the Father’s divine plan: Jesus must die in a dreadful and appalling way before His Messianic glory is made gloriously revealed – –  made  manifest – – to all who believe:

“He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are!  How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!  Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’  Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the scriptures.” (Luke 24:25–27).

The account of the “Transfiguration” confirms to Peter, James, and John that Jesus is truly the Son of God the Father:

“Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, ‘This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him.’” (Mark 9:7); 

The “Transfiguration” itself, points to a fulfillment of the prediction that He will come in His Father’s “glory” at the “end of the age”:

“The Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.” (Matthew 16:27).

The “Transfiguration” event has been explained by some biblical scholars as a “resurrection appearance” – – actually retrojected – – into the time of Jesus’ ministry beginning.   Instead, I believe this reading probably draws upon Old Testament and non-canonical Jewish literature in order to express the presence of divinity and heaven, such as those images conveyed in today’s reading: brilliant lights, white garments, and the overshadowing cloud.  Who knows for sure which belief on its origin is true (other than God Himself); does this point truly matter?

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What can “blind” us, keeping us from recognizing God’s “glory” in our individual lives?  Well, the obvious answer is sin and unbelief!  It is unquestionably awesome for ALL of us – – His disciples’ – – that having a “true faith” enables us to see what is hidden or unseen to our worldly blinded and naked eyes.  Through the eyes of “faith”, Abraham recognized God and His call for his future life.  With “faith”, Abraham saw not only what God intended for him, but also what God intended for his descendants: an everlasting covenant with the true, living, and eternal God.  Abraham is OUR father of faith; he put his hope, love, and trust in the infinite promises of his heavenly God.  “Faith” truly allows each of us to taste, in advance, – – individually, uniquely, and personally, – – the light of God’s glory, when we shall see Him “face-to-face”:

“At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face.  At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12);

AND!; as He truly and fully IS – – IS – – IS the light of glory:

“Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.  We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2).

God is eager to share this glory – – HIS glory – – with each of us!  We get a glimpse of His burning eagerness to share His “glory” when the three Apostles’ see Jesus “Transfigured” on the mountain.  What happened for them to recognize His “glory”?  Well, Jesus’ face changed in appearance and His clothing became dazzling white.  In sorts, Jesus is re-living what happened to one of the other “heavenly witnesses” present with Him on that mountain.  When Moses met with God on Mount Sinai the skin of His face “shone” because he had been talking with God “face-to-face” as well:

 “The Israelites would see that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant; so he would again put the veil over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.” (Exodus 34:35).

Paul, in regards to the Moses event, relates that the Israelites at the foot of the mountain when Moses came down could not even look at Moses’ face because of its brightness:

“The Israelites could not look intently at the face of Moses because of its glory that was going to fade” (2 Corinthians 3:7).

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In today’s event, Jesus appeared in glory WITH “Moses”, the great “giver of the law” to Israel, AND, with “Elijah”, who for me is the greatest of all the prophets (Isaiah is a close second though).  These two great figures from “Israel of old” appear with Jesus Christ, in the presence of three of His “most loved” Apostles.  Why did this happen?  Hmm…!  Let’s think this out!  Jesus went to the mountain knowing already what was in store for Him in Jerusalem: His betrayal, rejection, trial, scourging, and crucifixion.  I see Jesus discussing this devastating choice – – “to die for OUR redemption” in a horrendous and painful death on the Holy Cross – – with Moses and Elijah; maybe to get advice, maybe to get some comfort in His decision.

 Why are these two particular men of Holy Scripture coming as “witnesses” to Jesus’ “Transfiguration”?  Elijah and Moses are significant figures in the history of Israel.  Moses led the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and received from “Yahweh” the Ten Commandments (the Biggies), among other Mosaic Laws.  In appearing with Jesus at His “Transfiguration”, Moses represented the Mosaic Law of “old” guiding the ways, rituals, and entire lives of the “chosen” Jewish people in the “new”..  

Elijah is certainly remembered by the Jewish people as one of the most important prophets of Israel.  He helped the Israelites stay faithful to “Yahweh” and not to pagan gods.  Some (and I believe most) Jews believed “Elijah’s” return would be the signal of the coming of the true “Messiah” returning to save the Jewish people.  This belief is evidenced in the question posed by Jesus’ Apostles’ after they have witnessed the Transfiguration:

“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” (Matthew 9:11)

The appearance of Moses and Elijah, both crucially important and central figures from Israel’s history, – – with Jesus Christ – – signifies Jesus’ continuity with Mosaic Law and with the prophets.  Their appearance with Jesus also signifies His being the true fulfillment of ALL of God promises to His “chosen” people and nation, Israel – – old and new.

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Moses and Elijah represent law and prophecy respectively in the Old Testament AND each are linked to Mount Sinai, possibly Mt. Horeb (covered in last week’s reflection) in regards to covenants created between God the Father, Moses, and Elijah (cf., Exodus 19:16–20:17; 1 Kings 19:2, 8–14).

Now Moses and Elijah surprisingly appear on this mountain with Jesus as divine “witnesses” to the fulfillment of God’s law and plan, and what had been foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament, taking place – – in the person – – of the divine Jesus Christ as He radiates in magnificent glory.  Imagine the sight of this taking place in your actual presence.  Keep in mind; these three men were raised as devout and pious Jews.  They knew the prophets words in a reasonable (if not thorough) detail.  No wonder Peter, and the others, were so “terrified”, and did not know what to say:

“He [Peter] hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.”  (Mark 9:6)

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On seeing Jesus with Elijah and Moses, and having witnessed Jesus’ “Transfiguration” before ALL their very eyes, Peter offered to construct “three tents” for them.  Peter’s reference to making “tents” refers to the Hebrew Feast called “Sukkot” (also called the “Feast of Booths” or “Feast of Tabernacles”).  This well-known first-century Jewish Feast (it is actually still a recognized Jewish Feast day to this day, yet not celebrated regularly) is a “biblical holiday” traditionally  celebrated in late September to late October (per our current day Gregorian calendar).  Sukkot is one of three mandated festivals wherein the Jewish people were “commanded” to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem(the other two being “Passover” and “Weeks” [Shavuot]).  There are many biblical references to Sukkot-type dwellings or tents in Holy Scripture, other than in the “Transfiguration” narratives:

“Three times a year you shall celebrate a pilgrim feast to me.  … You shall keep the feast of Unleavened Bread [Passover]  … You shall also keep the feast of the grain harvest with the first fruits of the crop [Shavuot], … and finally, the feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you collect your produce from the fields [Sukkot].  Three times a year shall all your men appear before the LORD God.” (Exodus 23:14-17);

“Tell the Israelites: The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the LORD’s feast of Booths, which shall continue for seven days.” (Leviticus 23:34);

“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you will declare a holy day: you shall do no heavy work. For the following seven days you will celebrate a pilgrimage feast to the LORD.” (Numbers 29:12);

“Three times a year, then, all your males shall appear before the LORD, your God, in the place which he will choose: at the feast of Unleavened Bread, at the feast of Weeks, and at the feast of Booths.  They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed, but each with his own gift, in proportion to the blessing which the LORD, your God, has given to you.” (Deuteronomy 16:16?);

And,

“The Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.” (John 7:2).  

A “Sukkot” was a “booth or tabernacle”: a walled structure covered with some plant material such as leafy tree overgrowth or palm leaves. The structure was intended to remind its inhabitants of the fragile and easily erected dwellings, in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years in the desert after their Exodus from slavery in Egypt.  

According to Zechariah, in the “Messianic” era, Sukkot will become a universal festival and ALL nations will make pilgrimages annually to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast there:

 “Everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to bow down to the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of Booths.  Should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to bow down to the King, the LORD of hosts, then there will be no rain for them.  And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, upon them will fall the plague, with which the LORD strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the feast of Booths.  This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the feast of Booths.” (Zechariah 14:16-19). 

(Here is a little “side-line” trivia; there are Messianic Scholars who believe that Jesus was born on the “first day of Sukkot” in the year 4 BC.  If interested in learning how they came to figure this out, using math, astrology, and Holy Scripture, please go to the following website:

http://www.bereanpublishers.com/Jesus_Christ_Who_is_%20He/Messiah’s_Birth_at_Sukkot.htm.)

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God the Father chose this time to speak with Jesus, with the witness of others from both old and new covenants.  God gave His approval of Jesus and His public ministry:

“This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him.” (Mark 9:7)

The cloud which overshadowed Jesus and His Apostles fulfilled the dream of the Jews: when the “Messiah” came to save His people, the cloud of God’s presence would fill the temple again, and Jesus was the fulfillment in this cloud on that mountain top.  

At this moment of the event, with emotions high, a cloud comes upon them “casting a shadow over them”.  It was now time for God the Father to throw a little divine twist into this event; something that had happened only ONCE before (and is the last time in Holy Scripture this will happen).  God the Father SPEAKS!!  God tells all present that Jesus Christ is truly His Beloved Son, and that we are to LISTEN to Him:

“This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him.” (Mark 9:7)

Mark reports that the Apostles are “terrified” by what they had witnessed – the vision, the weather change, and the VOICE  from heaven!!  I feel certain that Peter’s offer to make these tents was made out of bewilderment and confusion on his part.  Peter was definitely confused at this point.  Have you noticed that Peter, in this reading, reverted from his earlier declaration that Jesus is “the Messiah”:

“And He [Jesus] asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’  Peter said to him in reply, ‘You are the Messiah.’” (Mark 8:29).

Peter is instead, now calling Jesus “rabbi” (verse 5)!  What do you believe the reason is (?); is it simply a symptom or reaction of his bewildering confusion?  There is NO confusion on God’s part however!  A “voice” [from heaven] speaks from the lofty clouds, affirming Jesus as God the Father’s Son, AND ALSO commands the three Apostles’ to obey – – both this heavenly “voice” (implicitly) AND Jesus Christ Himself (literally)!!  This “voice” from heaven recalls the voice that was heard at Jesus’ baptism: 

“It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.  On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him.  And a voice came from the heavens, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” (Mark 1:9-11).

These three Apostles had to be confused and perplexed; according to rabbinical interpretation of Messianic prophecies, Elijah was to come prior to the Savior:

“Now I am sending my messenger — he will prepare the way before me; and the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple; the messenger of the covenant whom you desire — see, he is coming! says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1)

My question: Could this voice have been a heavenly response to Peter’s bewilderment and confusion?  Or, was it to further reiterate what Moses, Elijah, Jesus, and God had already known: that Jesus Christ IS the true and only “Messiah”!!

Besides these two great people from “Israel old”, the three Apostles also enter into the “mystery” of Jesus’ glorification.  They most surely became what we call “Charismatic”.  They witnessed a gift, a grace from God, by co-witnessing holy figures from the Old Covenants relating and surrendering themselves to a holy and divine figure.  They all witnessed the bringing in of the new and fuller Covenant of His heavenly Father. 

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In the Old Testament, the “cloud” covered the meeting tent, the dwelling place of God during the Exodus, indicating the Lord’s presence in the midst of His people:

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.  Moses could not enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud settled down upon it and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:34–35).

Again, in the Old Testament, the “cloud” also came to rest upon the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of its dedication, making this structure the dwelling place of God in His chosen land:

“When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD.” (1 Kings 8:10).

And now, the “cloud” has come to rest upon the new dwelling place of the full and NEW Covenant for ALL the worlds’ people and lands: no longer in a structure created by man, but in a structure created by God the Father Himself: Jesus Christ.

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Then, another twist happens.  In verse 8, Moses, Elijah, and the clouds disappear “suddenly” and unexpectedly.  I am sure these three “fishermen” wondered if they experienced a dream, and/or saw a mirage of sorts.  Actually, these three fishermen, – – Peter, James, and John, – – have simply not realized yet that “Elijah” had already come, – – in the form and person of a special individual known to ALL of them that inspiring day:

“Then they asked him, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’  He [Jesus] told them, ‘Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt?  But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.’” (Mark 9:11-13)

Yes, Elijah was to (and had) come first!  Jesus’ response showed that Elijah truly had come in the person of John the Baptist, in order to prepare for the day of the Lord.  WOW!!  Just like a “good book” (excuse the pun), I love a great mystery, especially when I know the ending already: God the Father WINS!!!

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To summarize, in Jesus’ “Transfiguration”, we see a future anticipation of the “glory” found in, and from, Jesus’ Resurrection.  In each of the three Synoptic narratives covering the “Transfiguration”, Jesus instructs the three Apostles’ “to keep secret” what they have seen that day, on that mountain, until after the Son of Man had “Risen” from “the dead”.  The Apostles’ bewilderment and confusion continued (and probably grew) as they wondered what Jesus meant by “rising from the dead”.  

The Apostles could – – in NO WAY possible – – understand Jesus’ “Transfiguration” until they also witnessed His passion and death later; future events, the details of which they cannot comprehend at this point.  In our understanding of Jesus’ “Transfiguration”, we truly have the opportunity to anticipate – – to look forward to – – Jesus’ Resurrection as we prepare to remember Jesus’ passion and death in a few short weeks.

I wonder, do we miss God’s glory, graces, and action because we are perhaps “numb or dead” spiritually?  There are many things and ways challenging our minds to become “numb or dead” to God: Mental weariness, and our own “materialistic” priorities and values, can keep us from thinking through our choices and facing our own internal doubts.  Even our “easy to get anything” life may hinder us from considering the “personal cross” Jesus Christ has for each of us to carry.  

Are you spiritually numb or dead?!  Peter, James, and John were privileged witnesses of the “glory” of Jesus Christ.  As disciples’ of Christ, WE TOO are called to be witnesses of His glory NOW!  We are capable of being changed – – “Transfigured” – – into His likeness and glory:

“All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The Lord wants dearly to reveal His face, His glory, and His LOVE to each of us – – His beloved disciples – – personally, uniquely, and intimately!!  Do you seek His presence, His affirmation and approval, His kingdom, with a faith, trust, love, and reverence worthy of HIS faith, trust, and love?!!   

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To conclude: everyone has moments they remember in a special and fond way on a regular basis.  The meaning and importance of these special moments of life possibly even deepen in “feeling and passion” over time.  I believe this is how the three witnessing Apostles’ remembered Jesus’ Transfiguration for the rest of their earthly lives.  The festival of the harvest, “Sukkot”, has now taken on an intimate, unique, and personal meaning to each of them.

The full significance of what they had seen and experienced could only be understood after Jesus’ death and Resurrection.  Yet, they still KNEW something special had indeed happened before their eyes.  Can you imagine how they told Jesus’ other disciples about this event, and their recollections and feelings while recording this experience – – for us – – in their  letters and books?  Because of them, OUR understanding of what it means to call Jesus Christ, – – the ‘true’ Messiah, and God the Father’s own Only-Begotten Son – – has also deepened (at least for me).

The Holy Bible is filled with many important memories about Jesus (both old and new) – – so richly and intimately unique in each account – – so that WE CAN believe that Jesus Christ is truly God the Father’s Son.   What can (and do) we learn about Jesus from this Gospel reading?  For me, Jesus fulfills the promises God made to Israel through two sources: Mosaic Law AND the prophets.  God the Father, in speaking these few “Words” – – heard by earthly Peter, James, and John, – – truly “glorified” Jesus in His Resurrection.  JESUS CHRIST IS – – IS – – IS, God the Father’s “true and only-begotten” Son.

I pray you continue to delve into the Holy Bible passionately.  It will definitely deepen your understanding of, and your love for, Jesus Christ.  After all, if it can change MY heart and understanding, you’re a shoe-in for finding that deepening meaning just under the layer you are on right now!  Just like a fragrant and sweet tasting onion, peel back the layer to find out what gets exposed in your search for the Lord God in your life!! 

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Reflection Prayer:

 

“Prayer for Transfiguration”

“Father of mercies, you glorified your heavenly Son and revealed yourself in the bright cloud, grant that we may listen in faith to have a love for the word of Christ.  Amen.”

(http://www.ewtn.com)

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A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day:  Servant of God Sylvester of Assisi (d. 1240)

 

Sylvester was one of the first 12 followers of St. Francis of Assisi and was the first priest in the Franciscan Order.  A descendant of a noble family, Sylvester once sold Francis stones which were to be used to rebuild a church.  When, a short while later, he saw Francis and Bernard of Quintavalle distributing Bernard’s wealth to the poor, Sylvester complained that he had been poorly paid for the stones and asked for more money.

Though Francis obliged, the handful of money he gave Sylvester soon filled him with guilt.  He sold all of his goods, began a life of penance and joined Francis and the others.  Sylvester became a holy and prayerful man, and a favorite of Francis—a companion on his journeys, the one Francis went to for advice.  It was Sylvester and Clare who answered Francis’ query with the response that he should serve God by going out to preach rather than by devoting himself to prayer.

Once in a city where civil war was raging, Sylvester was commanded by Francis to drive the devils out.  At the city gate Sylvester cried out: “In the name of almighty God and by virtue of the command of his servant Francis, depart from here, all you evil spirits.”  The devils departed and peace returned to the city.

Sylvester lived 14 more years after the death of Francis and is buried near him in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.

Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.;
revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
(From http://www.americancatholic.org website)

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 Catholic Apologetics:

 

My reason and purpose for this section on my blog is to provide “scriptural confirmation” for our beliefs and doctrines, not to cause dissention or opposition with my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, yet not in union with the Roman Catholic Church.  Whether God speaks to us through the “Bible”, or through “Tradition”, it is the Holy Spirit that inspires the “Word” from which all authentic tradition flows.

Tradition can be separated into two aspects: oral and behavioral.  Oral tradition includes written forms.  After all, it ALL started with oral tradition.  Behavioral tradition includes Baptism, Eucharist or Lord’s Supper, Lying on of hands or healing, Intercessory prayer, and Ordination. 

All Scriptural verses are taken from both the Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition of the Holy Bible and the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Christ’s Divinity, Part 3:

“In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.  He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power …” (Hebrews 1:1-3) RSV

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high …” (Hebrews 1:1-3) KJV

**

“But of the Son he says, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom.  … And, “Thou, Lord, didst found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of thy hands.” (Hebrews 1:8, 10) RSV

 

“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.  … And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands.” (Hebrews 1:8, 10) KJV

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Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule Article #’s 4 & 5 of 26:

04.  The rule and life of the Secular Franciscans is this: to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of St. Francis of Assisi who made Christ the inspiration and the center of his life with God and people.

Christ, the gift of the Father’s love, is the way to him, the truth into which the Holy Spirit leads us, and the life which he has come to give abundantly.

Secular Franciscans should devote themselves especially to careful reading of the gospel, going from gospel to life and life to gospel.

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05.  Secular Franciscans, therefore, should seek to encounter the living and active person of Christ in their brothers and sisters, in Sacred Scripture, in the Church, and in liturgical activity.  The faith of St. Francis, who often said, “I see nothing bodily of the Most High Son of God in this world except His most holy body and blood,” should be the inspiration and pattern of their Eucharistic life.

“Jesus Christ Has Risen Today!” – John 20:1-9†

“Easter Sunday”

Today’s Content:

• Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations
• Today in Catholic History
• Joke of the Day
• Today’s Gospel Reading
• Reflection on Today’s Gospel
• New Translation of the Mass
• A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day
• Franciscan Formation Reflection
• Reflection on part of the SFO Rule

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Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations:

Congratulations to Pope Benedict XVI on his elevation to Bishop of Rome, and Vicar of Christ, six years ago today. May his role as shepherd and teacher of the faithful bring all of us to a greater understanding of Jesus’ love, trust, promises, and magnificently splendid paradise on earth and in heaven.

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We had two tornadoes on Good Friday evening in the St. Louis Area. One missed my home by no more than a mile (literally). It was a pretty scary moment. We were in the basement and I glanced over to see me 11 year old praying the rosary quietly. I felt so good in knowing that he has gained an appreciation for our heavenly mother’s care in his life.

The tornadoes created a large amount of damage, and even damaged “Lambert Field”, our Metropolitan St. Louis airport was not sparred. Aa an example, a transport van with four passengers was literally picked up by the twister and placed on a wall of a parking structure, perched over a fall of several stories. We had no deaths due to the weather, and very few significant injuries. What a miracle in this devastation. Thank You Lord.

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 Today in Catholic History:

† 624 – Death of Mellitus, third Archbishop of Canterbury
† 709 – Death of Wilfrid, English archbishop and saint
† 729 – Death of Egbert[us], English bishop/saint, dies in Iona at age 89
† 858 – Nicolaas I succeeds Benedict III as pope
† 1342 – Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
† 1364 – Pope Urbabus V names John V van Virneburg as bishop of Utrecht
† 1581 – Birth of Vincent de Paul, French saint (d. 1660)
† 1622 – Death of Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Swiss friar, martyr, and saint (b. 1577)
† 1910 – German Catholic youth movement Quickborn forms
† 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.

(From the “On This Day” Blog Site
otday.wordpress.com &/OR
“Today in Catholic History”
http://www.historyorb.com)

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Joke of the Day:

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Today’s reflection is about Mary of Magdala finding that the stone had been removed from Jesus’ tomb.

(NAB John 20:1-9) 1 On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” 3 So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 6 When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, 7 and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. 8 Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. 9 For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

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Today we begin the Easter Season, a 50-day period of meditation on the mystery of Christ’s Resurrection. (Yep, Easter lasts for nearly two more months.) Today’s Gospel reading relates the discovery of the empty tomb. It ends by telling us that Jesus’ friends, His disciples, did not yet understand that Jesus had actually “Rose” from the dead at this point.

The story of the empty tomb can be found in both the Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospels, along with John’s, presented today. However, for me, John’s version seems to be a fusion or blending of both Matthew and Luke’s. (Sorry Mark, you had a Resurrection narrative as well, but John seemed to ignore yours.)

I believe John’s narrative details are not necessarily meant to offer proof of Jesus’ Resurrection happening on that “Easter” Sunday morning. After all, he writes with a poetic and revelational “conceptual thought” and writing style in order to make a specific point – – a Van Gough sort of style in creating an image. His unique style of relating detail invites each of us to reflect upon a most amazing grace; a grace founded in a faith in Jesus Christ and in His Resurrection.

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The disciples thought that everything had ended in the tragic events with Jesus’ death. He was dead, wrapped in a burial shroud, and secured in a tomb. It seemed the only thing yet to do was to finish the preparation of His body for final internment.

Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb while, “still dark” to finish preparing the body for a final burial. John’s Gospel has the time as “still dark”. Mark has the sun already raised. And Matthew describes the day as just “dawning,” and Luke’s book refers to the time as being “at daybreak”, an early dawn.

“After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.” (Matthew 28:1);

“Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.” (Mark 16:2);

And,

“At daybreak on the first day of the week they took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.” (Luke 24:1).

Each of these words or phrases – – “was dawning”, “sun had risen”, “at daybreak”, and “still dark” – – are simply subjective statement’s about the day beginning, probably around 6 AM.

All four Gospels tell us that Jesus’ empty tomb was first discovered by “women”.

Matthew – Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
Mark – Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome
Luke – The women who had come from Galilee with Him
John – Mary of Magdala

John uses the plural “we” in the second part of Mary Magdalene’s announcement to Simon Peter and the other disciples:

“They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” (John 20:2).

This plural word, “we”, might reflect a Jewish tradition of women going to the tomb as a group. Solely for safety reasons, I am sure women did not travel without company throughout the countryside of first century Palestine.

This is notable because in first-century Jewish society women could not serve as legal witnesses. A woman’s role was literally to give birth, (preferably to a male heir), and to take care of all the household activities. In fact, women were considered less tangible than the livestock of the area. There were NO equal rights in first century Palestine!! So, to mention women in this special way was quite broadminded and freethinking in ideology for the time period.

As just stated, in John’s Gospel, the only woman attending the tomb is “Mary of Magdala”. Magdala was a small city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, about three miles north of Tiberias. Mary [Magdalene] arrives at the tomb, and sees the stone removed. In John’s Gospel, she does not go into the tomb (in others, she does), so she does not know with absolute certainty whether are not the tomb is empty. My question is: “Where are the Soldiers?” (I surmise that they ran off with the appearance of the angels and the Risen Jesus Christ.)

Is there a significance of the stone being rolled away from the tomb entrance? Well, for one thing, – – a significant matter of fact – – it was extremely heavy! It would have taken several strong people to roll away such a stone from its place of function, sealing the tomb entrance. It would either have to be a group effort, or of divine origin to move the large stone.

Unlike the Synoptic accounts, John’s Gospel does not describe an appearance of angels at the tomb for the Gospel reading at Mass. (A reference to angels show up in John’s Gospel at John 20:12.) Instead, Mary naturally assumes that Jesus’ body had been removed, stolen. Please realize, at this point she did not consider that Jesus has been raised from the dead. So seeing the stone moved, she ran away from the tomb and back to the disciples, the people she trusted.

Mary Magdalene is the first to report the startling news of the empty tomb! In John’s version, she is not as directed to go tell others by an angel or young man, as is written in all the synoptic accounts.

“Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5-7);

“On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, ‘Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.”‘” (Mark 16:5-7);

and

“While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them. Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others.” (Luke 24:4,9).

I was once told by a priest friend (Yes, this is not an oxymoron term. Priests can have friends per Canon Law.) of mine about a linkage or comparison between Jesus’ closed tomb and Mary, His mother. As Mary’s virginal womb was closed, so was the tomb closed. Yet Jesus entered the world through her closed womb, and He left the world through the closed tomb.

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Simon Peter, and Jesus’ “beloved disciple” (John, this Gospel writer) raced to the tomb in order to verify Mary’s report of His disappearance. The “beloved disciple” arrives first at the tomb first, but does not enter until after Simon Peter arrives and enters before him. His hesitation paints a vivid picture, as does the detail provided about the burial cloths. Did John wait out of fear, not being the first one going into an unknown event? Or, was John waiting out of respect, knowing that Peter was now the earthly leader, the first Pope?

John states that the special feature about the status of the burial cloths, the way they were found in the tomb, caused the “beloved disciple [John] to believe.”

“When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.” (John 20:6-8).

I see something in the details of Jesus’ burial clothes placement in the tomb. The burial wraps were discarded without concern. However, the “cloth” placed over Jesus’ head at His burial, I believe was His Tallit – – His prayer garment or robe. This special and revered item was carefully, reverently, and meticulously folded (or rolled) and then placed carefully on the hewn rock ledge Jesus’ body was placed upon.

For the pious Jewish person, the Tallit with attached Tzitzit (the four knotted strings; one at each corner), was (and still is today) considered as sacred and uniquely special to them, as the Holy Eucharist is for us Catholics. To the pious Jewish person, it is the “true” physical presence of God’s soul, divinity, and promises – – and not just a representation or symbol.

Perhaps the details of the tomb description, in John’s Gospel, leads one to recognize the grave had not been robbed. Some scholars believe the presence of the burial cloths in the tomb offers essential evidence that Jesus’ body could not have been stolen. Grave robbers would most certainly take the burial cloths along with the body. The wrappings would make it easier to carry the body. The wrappings would keep all the valuables with the body. And, any tomb raider would not waste their time removing all the wrappings, increasing time at the scene and their chance of getting caught.

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The last verse of today’s reading was thought inspiring for me:

“For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.” (John 20:9)

For John, this verse was probably a general reference to some specific and intended Holy Scripture verses. I can think of two in the New Testament, and several from the Old Testament (there are probably many more):

“Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26);

“… that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:4);

“For you will not abandon me to Sheol, nor let your faithful servant see the pit.” (Psalm 16:10);

“He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence.” (Hosea 6:2);

And,

“But the LORD sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and he remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. From the belly of the fish Jonah said this prayer to the LORD, his God. But I, with resounding praise, will sacrifice to you; What I have vowed I will pay: deliverance is from the LORD.” (Jonah 2:1, 2, 10).

The last verse concludes with a perplexing message, for me at least. Even after having seen the empty tomb and the burial cloths, Jesus’ disciples still did not yet understand about Jesus’ Resurrection. In the passages immediately following this Gospel reading, Mary of Magdala encounters the “Risen” Jesus, yet mistakes Him for a simple gardener. How could she mistake a person, she had grown to love in such a very special and intimate way, for being a stranger? Was His physical presence changed that much? Obviously, she was not yet prepared to meet the “Risen” Lord who revealed Himself to her while she later lingered in the garden near the tomb (cf., John 20:11-18).

Is it significant that ALL the disciples had to deal first with the empty tomb before they could start to understand Holy Scripture’s foretelling that Jesus would die for our sins and then rise on the third day? Is it significant that they ALL disbelieved until after they saw the empty tomb? I cannot answer these questions; Can you?

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John the Evangelist, “the beloved disciple of Jesus”, wrote his Gospel as an eye-witness to the “Word of God” becoming flesh, living among us in human form, and dying and rising, solely for OUR salvation.

John was the only Apostle who stood with Jesus at the foot of the cross. He was the only Apostle who witnessed Jesus’ death on that day we now know as “Good Friday”. John, together with Simon Peter, was the first Apostle to see the empty tomb on Easter Sunday morning.

What did John see in the tomb that led him to believe in the Resurrection of Jesus? It wasn’t a dead body for there wasn’t one. It was the absence of a “dead body” that allowed him to believe. In reality, the presence of Jesus’ dead body would have disproven the Resurrection prophesies. His body being present in the tomb would have made Jesus’ death simply, and no more than a tragic conclusion to a stupendous career as a great teacher, healer, and miracle worker. When John saw the empty tomb he should have certainly recalled Jesus’ prophecies that He would rise again after three days – – “to rebuild His Church in three days” (John 2:19). Through the grace of faith, trust, and love, John realized that no tomb could contain Jesus Christ, Our Savior and life giver.

In the weeks ahead, the Gospel readings from our liturgy – – our Mass – – will show us how the disciples came to believe in Jesus’ Resurrection, over a period of time, through His various appearances to them, individually and in groups. Our Easter faith is based on their witness to both the empty tomb and their continuing relationship with Jesus—in His appearances and in His gift of the Holy Spirit to all of them (and us), individually and personally.

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In summary, today’s Gospel reading relates how the disciples found the tomb empty three days after Jesus’ death. Also related to us, is that they did not yet understand the Holy Scriptures or that Jesus had been truly “raised” from the dead. This understanding of the Scriptures and Jesus’ Resurrection gradually unfolded (grew) for the disciples as they began to experience the “Risen” Lord in His many appearances to them and others.

Similarly, our understanding of Jesus’ Resurrection unfolds (grows) for us throughout our lives and experiences. In the weeks ahead, we will see and come to understand, how the first of His disciples moved from confusion, doubt, and skepticism to one of faith, trust, and hope in Jesus Christ. These first disciples events and experiences can teach each of us how we also might receive this gift, – – this grace, – – of faith, trust, and hope from God.

Reflect on what you know about the events surrounding Jesus’ coming to Jerusalem for the Passover meal, His arrest, His trial, His scourging, His crucifixion, and His Resurrection. Imagine being among Jesus’ first disciples. If you had been there and heard that the stone had been removed from Jesus’ tomb entrance and that Jesus’ body was no longer there, what would you have thought? What did Mary of Magdala, Simon Peter, and the “disciple whom Jesus loved” think had happened to Jesus’ body?

Remember that this experience was the first indication to His disciples, that Jesus had “Risen”. So, just as the first disciples learned over a period of time, we also, throughout this Easter season will learn more about how to believe that Jesus had been raised from the dead.

The reality of Jesus’ Resurrection is the prime, central, and essential fact of OUR Catholic faith. The greatest joy we can have is to encounter our living Lord – – Jesus Christ – – in an individual and personal way.

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“Catholic Collect for Easter Sunday”

God our Father,
by raising Christ your Son
you conquered the power of death
and opened for us the way to eternal life.
Let our celebration today raise us up
and renew our lives by the Spirit that is within us.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
International Committee on English in the Liturgy (ICEL)

Pax et Bonum
Dan Halley, SFO

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New Translation of the Mass

In November of 2011, with the start of the new Liturgical year and Advent, there will be a few noticeable changes in the Mass. It will still be the same ritual for celebrating the Eucharist. The Mass will still have the same parts, the same patterns, and the same flow as it has had for the past several decades. It is only the translation of the Latin that is changing.

 The new translation seeks to correspond much more closely to the exact words and sentence structure of the Latin text. At times, this results in a good and faithful rendering of the original meaning. At other times it produces a rather awkward text in English which is difficult to proclaim and difficult to understand. Most of those problems affect the texts which priests will proclaim rather than the texts that belong to the congregation as a whole. It is to the congregation’s texts that I will address with each blog, in a repetitive basis until the start of Advent.

In the words of Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium, #11, the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of Christian life. Anything we can do to understand our liturgy more deeply will draw us closer to God.

The Glory to God (Gloria) has been significantly changed, with more words and many lines rearranged.

“The Gloria”

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you,
we bless you,
we adore you,
we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King,
O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of
the father,
have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One.
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the Glory of God the Father.
Amen.

 Material from “Changing How We Pray”, by Rev. Lawrence E. Mick

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A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day: St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577-1622)

If a poor man needed some clothing, Fidelis would often give the man the clothes right off his back. Complete generosity to others characterized this saint’s life.

Born in 1577, Mark Rey (Fidelis was his religious name) became a lawyer who constantly upheld the causes of the poor and oppressed people. Nicknamed “the poor man’s lawyer,” Fidelis soon grew disgusted with the corruption and injustice he saw among his colleagues. He left his law career to become a priest, joining his brother George as a member of the Capuchin Order. His wealth was divided between needy seminarians and the poor.

As a follower of Francis, Fidelis continued his devotion to the weak and needy. Once, during a severe epidemic in a city where he was guardian of a friary, Fidelis cared for and cured many sick soldiers.

He was appointed head of a group of Capuchins sent to preach against the Calvinists and Zwinglians in Switzerland. Almost certain violence threatened. Those who observed the mission felt that success was more attributable to the prayer of Fidelis during the night than to his sermons and instructions.

He was accused of opposing the peasants’ national aspirations for independence from Austria. While he was preaching at Seewis, to which he had gone against the advice of his friends, a gun was fired at him, but he escaped unharmed. A Protestant offered to shelter Fidelis, but he declined, saying his life was in God’s hands. On the road back, he was set upon by a group of armed men and killed.

He was canonizefd in 1746. Fifteen yers later, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, which was established in 1622, recognized him as its first martyr.

Comment:

Fidelis’s constant prayer was that he be kept completely faithful to God and not give in to any lukewarmness or apathy. He was often heard to exclaim, “Woe to me if I should prove myself but a halfhearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned Captain.” His prayer against apathy, and his concern for the poor and weak make him a saint whose example is valuable today. The modern Church is calling us to follow the example of “the poor man’s lawyer” by sharing ourselves and our talents with those less fortunate and by working for justice in the world.

Quote:

“Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation” (“Justice in the World,” Synod of Bishops, 1971).

Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.;
revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
(From http://www.americancatholic.org website)

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Franciscan Formation Reflection:

The TAU

How do I view the TAU? What significance does it contain for me?
How can the TAU be a focus of MY prayers for meditation and contemplation?
In what ways do I explain to others the meaning and purpose of the TAU in the life of SFO members?
What is the symbolism of the shape of the tau when related to the “habit” Francis adopted for his way of life (which the Franciscan Friars still use today)?

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Secular Franciscan Order (SFO)
Rule #’s 24 & 25 of 26:

24. To foster communion among members, the council should organize regular and frequent meetings of the community as well as meeting with other Franciscan groups, especially with youth groups. It should adopt appropriate means for growth in Franciscan and ecclesial life and encourage everyone to a life of fraternity. The communion continues with deceased brothers and sisters through prayer for them.

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25. Regarding expenses necessary for the life of the fraternity and the needs of worship, of the apostolate, and of charity, all the brothers and sisters should offer a contribution according to their means. Local fraternities should contribute toward the expenses of the higher fraternity councils.

“It Just Goes To Figure – – No, TRANSFIGURE!” – Matthew 17:1-9†

 

“Second Sunday of Lent” 

 

Today’s Content:

 

• Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations
• Today in Catholic History
• Joke of the Day
• Today’s Gospel Reading
• Reflection on Today’s Gospel
• New Translation of the Mass
• A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day 
• Franciscan Formation Reflection
• Reflection on part of  the SFO Rule

 

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Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations:

 

Only in St. Louis can one’s children shovel snow on one day, and wear swimming trunks and playing in the sprinklers the very next.  I love the St. Louis area. 

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I hope everyone had a great (and safe) St. Patrick’s Day and Feast of St. Joseph (Yesterday); I did.

 

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Today in Catholic History:

†   687 – Death of St. Cuthbert, patron saint of Northumbria (born 634)
†   1191 – Death of Clement III, [Paolo Scolari], Pope (1187-91, 3rd crusades), dies
†   1393 – Death of Johannes Nepomucenus, [Jan Nepomucky], Czech saint, killed
†   1619 – Death of Matthias II, Holy Roman Catholic emperor (1611-19)
†   Feast/Memorials: Feast of St. Cuthbert; Abdon and Sennen at Soissons; Saint Herbert; Saint Wulfram; Saint Alexandra

(From the “On This Day” Blog Site
otday.wordpress.com &/OR
“Today in Catholic History”
http://www.historyorb.com)

 

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Joke of the Day:

  

(from http://thebackpew.com)

 

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Today’s reflection is Matthew’s account about Jesus’ Transfiguration.

 

 

 

(NAB Matthew 17:1-9) ¹ After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  ² And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.  ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.  ⁴ Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  ⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”  ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.  ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.”  ⁸ And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.  ⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

 

Wow, we are at the second Sunday of Lent already.  We move from Jesus’ forty day “retreat” in the beautiful and warm Palestinian desert, to His “Transfiguration” on a “cloudy” mountain top.  Today’s story of Jesus’ Transfiguration is told in each of the three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  And, in each of the three Gospels, the Transfiguration follows Jesus’ initial prediction of His death, and His teaching about the cost of being His disciple such as temptations from evil and from worldly influences.  

While praying on a mountain top (High Prayers?), a voice pronounces that Jesus IS God’s “Son” in words not unlike those heard “from the heaven’s” at Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan River.  In addition, the appearance of Moses and Elijah with Jesus on the mountain connects this “Transfiguration” story with God’s relationship to the people of Israel – – His “chosen” people.  Moses and Elijah represent the “Law” and the “Prophets”, respectively.  Together with Jesus, they represent God’s “complete and fulfilled ‘Word’”.

Jesus very likely discussed with Moses and Elijah His crucial and earth-shattering (and creation saving) decision to go to the Holy Cross – – the Holy Tree – – of salvation and redemption. 

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The Transfiguration occurs in the presence of just three of Jesus’ disciples.  Peter, James, and John always seemed to be with Jesus.  Matters of fact, in Matthew’s Gospel, these three disciples are among the first whom Jesus calls to be His Apostles.  These men had a very special relationship among Jesus’ chosen group of men – – The Apostles – – who, as a group, all had a uniquely special relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  These twelve particular men – – the Apostles – – are identified as the “inner circle” among Jesus’ disciples. 

Peter, James, and John were obviously Jesus’ “BFF’s” (Text talk for “Best Friends Forever”) as these three Apostles were also with Jesus at a later [important] date, while He was at prayer on another hilltop – – Gethsemane, just prior to His arrest:

“He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress.” (Matthew 26:37).

The “Transfiguration” confirms to the three Apostles accompanying Jesus (and all who believed and still believe) that Jesus is truly the “Son of God”.  The Transfiguration also points to a fulfillment of prophesy that “He will come in His Father’s glory at the end of the age”:

“For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.” (Matthew 16:27).

Jesus goes up “a high mountain” (verse 1).  This mountain has been identified with Mount Tabor, or possibly Mount Hermon.  The meaning of “a high mountain” may be a theological, rather than geographical, statement.  Some scholars say “a high mountain” may have been used in a literary way to recall the revelation of God given to both Moses and Elijah (at separate times) on Mount Sinai; and linking that relationship to the New Covenant brought in by Jesus.  The Lord was with both on their mountain tops, and is now again with them on His mountain top:

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain and, while you are there, I will give you the stone tablets on which I have written the commandments intended for their instruction.’  So Moses set out with Joshua, his aide, and went up to the mountain of God.  The elders, however, had been told by him, ‘Wait here for us until we return to you.  Aaron and Hur are staying with you. If anyone has a complaint, let him refer the matter to them.’  After Moses had gone up, a cloud covered the mountain.  The glory of the LORD settled upon Mount Sinai.  The cloud covered it for six days, and on the seventh day he called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.  To the Israelites the glory of the LORD was seen as a consuming fire on the mountaintop.  But Moses passed into the midst of the cloud as he went up on the mountain; and there he stayed for forty days and forty nights.” (Exodus 24:12-18)

And,

“He got up, ate and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb [Sinai].  There he came to a cave, where he took shelter.  But the word of the LORD came to him, ‘Why are you here, Elijah?’  He answered: ‘I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.’  Then the LORD said, ‘Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.’  A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD–but the LORD was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake–but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake there was fire–but the LORD was not in the fire.  After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.  When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.  A voice said to him, ‘Elijah, why are you here?’  He replied, ‘I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts.  But the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.’  ‘Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus,’ the LORD said to him. ‘When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.  Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you.  If anyone escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill him. If he escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill him.  Yet I will leave seven thousand men in Israel–all those who have not knelt to Baal or kissed him.’” (1 Kings 19:8-18).

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I have been embarrassed a few times, and sunburned many, many, times in my life (I never seem to learn).  My face has glowed red with anger a few times as well.  But, never has my face been described as “shining like the sun”!  This physical description reminds me of two events in the Old Testament; Moses on Mount Sinai, and Daniel’s prophesy:

Then the Israelites would see that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant; so he would again put the veil over his face until he went in to converse with the LORD. (Exodus 34:35)

 “His body was like chrysolite, his face shown like lightning, his eyes were like fiery torches, his arms and feet looked like burnished bronze, and his voice sounded like the roar of a multitude.” (Daniel 10:6).

Jesus’ garments became glistening and intensely white.  Jesus’ face shined and “His clothes became white as light”.  Just as Jesus is manifesting God now, Moses skin shined when he met with God on Mount Sinai as he experienced God directly:

“As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the LORD.” (Exodus 34:29). 

White clothes are a prominent image associated with God’s manifestation.  Daniel’s prophecy (about 600 years earlier) states that the clothing of God appeared “snow bright”:

“As I watched, Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne.  His clothing was snow bright, and the hair on his head as white as wool; His throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire.” (Daniel 7:9)

The Evangelist Paul said the Jewish people could not look at Moses’ face because of its brightness after spending time with God:

“Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not look intently at the face of Moses because of its glory that was going to fade.” (2 Cor. 3:7).

And, even the book of Revelations is fairly active with “white garments” for heavenly beings:

“Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones on which twenty-four elders sat, dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads.”  (Rev 4:4)

“After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.” (Rev 7:9)

“The armies of heaven followed him, mounted on white horses and wearing clean white linen.” (Rev 19:14)

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The cloud which eclipsed Jesus, His apostles, Moses, and Elijah fulfilled the Jewish peoples prophesy of God’s presence, when the true “Messiah” came to His “chosen” people, in the form of a cloud.  This cloud would again fill the temple, as the cloud did in the Old Testament:

“When Aaron announced this to the whole Israelite community, they turned toward the desert, and lo, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud!”  (Exodus 16:10).

“The LORD also told him, ‘I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also.’  When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people.” (Exodus 19:9). 

“As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses.”  (Exodus 33:9). 

“When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD.” (1 Kings 8:10). 

“Then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord will be seen in the cloud, just as it appeared in the time of Moses and when Solomon prayed that the Place might be gloriously sanctified.”  (2 Maccabees 2:8). 

Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus Christ as God’s representatives and witnesses to the fulfillment of the Old Covenant laws and prophecies.   These laws and prophesies are being fulfilled in the person of Jesus as He appears in glory before theses two Old Covenant representatives, His three much loved Apostles, and His magnificent Father in heaven.

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Peter asked Jesus if he should make “three tents”.  “Tents” were places in which the Israelites lived during the “Feast of Tabernacles” while in their travels to Jerusalem from their home towns; in essence biblical era mobile homes.  The reference to “tents” in today’s Gospel reading is meant to recall the Jewish ancestors’ living in tents (also called “booths”) during the Exodus journey from Egypt to the “promised land”.  The words “tents” is a translation of the original Greek word, “skene”.  It is used interchangeably with the word “booths” which is sometimes used instead in reference to the “Feast of Tabernacles”. 

Per “Bible-truth.org”, the “Feast of Tabernacles”, also called “Sukkoth” or “Booths”, starts on the fifteenth of “Tishri”, the seventh month of the Jewish (biblical) calendar (sometime in the Gregorian calendar month of September or October).  This feast is the third of seven Jewish feasts in the Hebrew calendar year.  The “Feast of Tabernacles” required a pilgrimage of the Jewish peoples to Jerusalem in order to worship in the Temple, and to offer sacrifices and offerings to the Lord.  The Feast of Tabernacles is explained well in the book of Leviticus, and is also vaguely mentioned in John’s Gospel:

“On the fifteenth day, then, of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate a pilgrim feast of the LORD for a whole week.  The first and the eighth day shall be days of complete rest.  On the first day you shall gather foliage from majestic trees, branches of palms and boughs of myrtles and of valley poplars, and then for a week you shall make merry before the LORD, your God.  By perpetual statute for you and your descendants you shall keep this pilgrim feast of the LORD for one whole week in the seventh month of the year.  During this week every native Israelite among you shall dwell in booths.” (Leviticus 23:39-42).

And,

“The Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.” (John 7:2)

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Jesus went to the mountain in full knowledge of what awaited Him in a short amount of time in Jerusalem: His betrayal by Judas, His rejection by all His Apostles, His scourging and humility, and His crucifixion on the Holy Tree of redemption. 

Jesus was in prayer on this mountain top when a “cloud cast a shadow over them” and the “Word” emanated from the clouds.  (I wonder if they brought umbrellas and a tape recorder.)  The Gospel of Mark parallels Matthews account in a nearly identical way:

“Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, ‘This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him.’” Mark 9:7.

Jesus’ most loved and closest friends – – three of His Apostles – – enter into the mystery of Jesus’ glorification on that mountain top.  (Wow!  Can you just imagine their feelings?!)  

Peter, James, and John were privileged witnesses of the glory of Jesus Christ.  Remember though, we too, as followers of Jesus Christ are also called to be witnesses of His glory in today’s world.  In witnessing to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, we change into His likeness little by little, as this possible as a grace from our Lord, – – and in, with, and through the Holy Spirit:

“All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18).  

Why a cloud, and “words” coming from the cloud?  Well, in the Old Testament, a cloud covered the “meeting tent” during the 40 year exodus (had to be high quality tents), indicated the Lord’s presence in the midst of His people.  This same “cloud” came to rest upon the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of its dedication.  Verses from the Books of Exodus and 1 Kings are being revealed again:

“Then the cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling.  Moses could not enter the meeting tent, because the cloud settled down upon it and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling.” (Exodus 40:34-35)

And,

“When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD.” (1 Kings 8:10).

 

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” is identical to Matthews’s earlier statement of God’s word at the time of Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan River:

“And a voice came from the heavens, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:17).

In both cases, God the Father’s voice speaking from the “heavens” is a reflection of God’s words heard in several Old Testament encounters:

“Then God said: ‘Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah.  There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you.’”  (Genesis 22:2);

“Then speaks to them in anger, terrifies them in wrath: ‘I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.’  I will proclaim the decree of the LORD, who said to me, ‘You are my son; today I am your father.  I will proclaim the decree of the LORD, who said to me, ‘You are my son; today I am your father’”.  (Psalm 2:5-7);

And,

“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1)

The voice of God heard by Peter, James, and John not only repeats the baptismal proclamation about Jesus; it adds the command “listen to him”.  “Listen to Him” makes reference to a particular verse from the book of Deuteronomy:

“A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kinsmen; to him you shall listen.” (Deuteronomy 18:15).

The command “’listen’ to Jesus” is a simple and generally academic command.  However, in the context of today’s Gospel reading, it may apply particularly to the past prophesies of His “Passion”, His “Resurrection”, and of His coming again – – IN GLORY!  Matthew exemplifies this belief later on in his Gospel:

“From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” (Matthew 16:21);

And,

“For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.  Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:27-28).

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How powerful is this statement from verse 7: “Rise, and do not be afraid“?!  The Old Testament typography found in this verse is amazing and comforting for me.  I use a very similar verse from the book of Daniel quite often, especially when stressed.  Please write down these verses from Daniel, and use them as a prayer and meditation when in need of comfort, courage, and strength: 

“When I heard the sound of his voice, I fell face forward in a faint.  But then a hand touched me, raising me to my hands and knees.  The one who looked like a man touched me again and strengthened me, saying, ‘Fear not, beloved, you are safe; take courage and be strong.’”  (Daniel 10:9-10, 18-19).

For me, it is apparent that Jesus was not only well-versed in this particular book of the Old Testament (Daniel), He internalized, loved, and emitted this beautifully “prophetic” book. 

 

Matthew is the sole Gospel writer using the words, “the vision” to describe the ‘Transfiguration’.   It was impossible for these three men (the Apostles) to fully understand the importance of the “Transfiguration” event that happened before their very eyes UNTIL the “Son of Man” – – Jesus Christ – – had been raised from the dead on that one Sunday morning!  Only in the light of, the illumination of, and the radiance of Jesus’ “Resurrection” can the true and full meaning of His life and mission on earth be completely and justly understood.  Prior to Jesus’ Resurrection, – – happening three days after His horrific torture and demise on the Holy Tree, – – NO testimony, declaration, or evidence to the “vision” presented to these three Apostles would be able to lead people wholeheartedly to faith in Jesus Christ, as the “Messiah”, without the works of the Holy Spirit.

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I am certain the Apostles’ had questions about the appearance, – – the return to earth – – of the Old Testament’s law giver – Moses, and the Old Testament’s leading prophet – Elijah.  In addressing any questions, Jesus unravels the mission and actions of the “greatest” Law-giver and prophet from the Old Covenant.

  Through Moses, God brought His law to His “chosen” people.  Jesus is not only continuing the law of God, but through Jesus Christ, the law is completely and fully revealed.  Elijah’s expectations and prophecies are brought about and fulfilled in Jesus Christ when baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.  God’s “Law” is fulfilled, and ALL the “Messianic” prophesies are fulfilled – – Through Jesus Christ!!

I find it interesting that the role in salvation history which John the Baptist played, – – and revealed many centuries before in Elijah’s prophesies – – was not suspected by those individuals who vehemently opposed John’s message, and also those individuals whom ultimately had him killed. 

Jesus ends this Gospel reading with a fact yet unknown, yet to berevealed, to man. He tells of a human fate for Himself, similar to Elijah and John the Baptist – – death.

 

Have you ever been able to use the memories of previous “good times” and “positive experiences” to sustain you in the difficult times?  Jesus’ Transfiguration was certainly an event from which Peter, James, and John drew courage when facing the difficult events of Jesus’ Passion, and in their own personal “passions” later in their lives.  

Are you prepared to see God’s glory?  Do you seek, search out, His presence with faith and reverence in all we do, we experience, and we see?  The Lord wants to reveal His glory to us, His much loved disciples.  Pray a prayer of thanksgiving for the good times and experiences that you have had in your life.  Pray to use these experiences to sustain you during the difficult times.  

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“Psalm 33”
(from today’s Mass)

 

“For the LORD’S word is true; all his works are trustworthy.
The LORD loves justice and right and fills the earth with goodness.
But the LORD’S eyes are upon the reverent, upon those who hope for his gracious help, delivering them from death, keeping them alive in times of famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and shield.
May your kindness, LORD, be upon us; we have put our hope in you. Amen.”

Psalm 33:4-5,18-20,22

 

Pax et Bonum
Dan Halley

 

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A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day:  St. Salvator of Horta (1520-1567)

 

A reputation for holiness does have some drawbacks.  Public recognition can be a nuisance at times — as the confreres of Salvator found out.

Salvator was born during Spain’s Golden Age.  Art, politics and wealth were flourishing.  So was religion.  Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus in 1540.

Salvator’s parents were poor.  At the age of 21 he entered the Franciscans as a brother and was soon known for his asceticism, humility and simplicity.

As cook, porter and later the official beggar for the friars in Tortosa, he became well known for his charity.  He healed the sick with the Sign of the Cross.  When crowds of sick people began coming to the friary to see Salvator, the friars transferred him to Horta.  Again the sick flocked to ask his intercession; one person estimated that two thousand people a week came to see Salvator.  He told them to examine their consciences, to go to confession and to receive Holy Communion worthily.  He refused to pray for those who would not receive those sacraments.

The public attention given to Salvator was relentless.  The crowds would sometimes tear off pieces of his habit as relics.  Two years before his death, Salvator was moved again, this time to Cagliari on the island of Sardinia.  He died at Cagliari saying, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”  He was canonized in 1938.

Comment:

Medical science is now seeing more clearly the relation of some diseases to one’s emotional and spiritual life.  In Healing Life’s Hurts, Matthew and Dennis Linn report that sometimes people experience relief from illness only when they have decided to forgive others.  Salvator prayed that people might be healed, and many were. Surely not all diseases can be treated this way; medical help should not be abandoned.  But notice that Salvator urged his petitioners to reestablish their priorities in life before they asked for healing.

Quote:

“Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.” (Matthew 10:1).

Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.;
revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
(From http://www.americancatholic.org website)

 

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New Translation of the Mass

 

In November of 2011, with the start of the new Liturgical year and Advent, there will be a few noticeable changes in the Mass.  It will still be the same ritual for celebrating the Eucharist.  The Mass will still have the same parts, the same patterns, and the same flow as it has had for the past several decades.  It is only the translation of the Latin that is changing.

The new translation seeks to correspond much more closely to the exact words and sentence structure of the Latin text.  At times, this results in a good and faithful rendering of the original meaning.  At other times it produces a rather awkward text in English which is difficult to proclaim and difficult to understand.  Most of those problems affect the texts which priests will proclaim rather than the texts that belong to the congregation as a whole.  It is to the congregation’s texts that I will address with each blog, in a repetitive basis until the start of Advent.

In the words of Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium, #11, the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of Christian life. Anything we can do to understand our liturgy more deeply will draw us closer to God.

 

During the Preparation of the Gifts, the prayers of the priest has several changes, but the only change for the assembly is the addition of the word “Holy” to the response just before the Prayer over the Offerings.  Where we now say, “for our good and the good of all his Church,” the new text will say, “for our good and the good of all His Holy Church.”

Material from “Changing How We Pray”, by Rev. Lawrence E. Mick

 

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Franciscan Formation Reflection:

 

Prayer III

Read the explanations about contemplative prayer in the Catechism of the Catholic Church?  Does this help your understanding of contemplative prayer?

How many paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church are devoted to instructing us about prayer?  Have you we read these pages, and reflected on them?

Why do you think the Catholic Church has devoted this amount of space to publish the aforementioned section on prayer in the Catechism?

 

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Secular Franciscan Order (SFO)
Rule #’s 20 & 21 of 26:

 

20.  The Secular Franciscan Order is divided into fraternities of various levels — local, regional, national, and international. Each one has its own moral personality in the Church. These various fraternities are coordinated and united according to the norm of this rule and of the constitutions.

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21.  On various levels, each fraternity is animated and guided by a council and minister who are elected by the professed according to the constitutions.

Their service, which lasts for a definite period, is marked by a ready and willing spirit and is a duty of responsibility to each member and to the community.

Within themselves the fraternities are structured in different ways according to the norm of the constitutions, according to the various needs of their members and their regions, and under the guidance of their respective council.  

“John, Don’t Lose Your Head Over My Divinity! You Are Great In Your Own Right!” – Matthew 11:2-11†

  

We are Half-Way though the Advent Season today; only thirteen (13) days till the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

†

 

 

Green Bay’s Bishop David Ricken becomes first in US to approve local Marian apparitions from 1859

 

CHAMPION, Wis. (CNS) — Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay has approved the Marian apparitions seen by Adele Brise in 1859, making the apparitions of Mary that occurred some 18 miles northeast of Green Bay the first in the United States to receive approval of a diocesan bishop.

Brise, a Belgian immigrant, was 28 when Mary appeared to her three times in October 1859. The first appearance took place while Brise was carrying a sack of wheat to a grist mill about four miles from Robinsonville, now known as Champion.

Brise devoted the rest of her life to teaching children. She began a community of Third Order Franciscan sisters and built a school next to the shrine. Brise’s father, Lambert, built a small chapel near the spot of the apparitions. When a brick chapel was built in 1880, the trees where Mary appeared were cut down and the chapel’s altar was placed over the spot.

Apparitions have taken place throughout history “as a sign of God’s providence, to remind us of what God has already revealed,” said Father Doerfler. “As a loving mother would remind her children about things that are important, so our Blessed Mother Mary has appeared throughout history to remind us of things that are important for our salvation and to draw us closer to her Son.”

Read the full story at:
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1005014.htm

 

†

 

The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is the Latin word meaning “rejoice.”  This Sunday is so named because “Rejoice” is the first word in the entrance antiphon for today’s Mass taken from Philippians 4:4,5:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.”

Some people mark this Sunday on their Advent wreath with a pink candle instead of a purple candle.  This day is a joyful reminder that our salvation is near.

 

Today in Catholic History:

†   1098 – First Crusade: Massacre of Ma’arrat al-Numan – Crusaders breach the town’s walls and massacre about 20,000 inhabitants. After finding themselves with insufficient food, they resort to cannibalism. [A sad and lowly part of Church history]
†   1212 – Death of Geoffrey, Archbishop of York
†   1524 – Pope Clement VII approves Organization of Jewish Community of Rome
†   1610 – Birth of Saint Vasilije (St. Basil of Ostrog), Bishop of Zahumlje in Herzegovina (d. 1671)
†   1769 – Pope Clement XIV proclaims a universal jubilee
†   1779 – Birth of Madeleine Sophie Barat, French saint (d. 1865)
†   2003 – Death of Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate (b. 1926)
†   2008 – Death of Avery Dulles, Roman Catholic Cardinal, Theologian (b. 1918)
†   Feast Day: Mexico – Our Lady of Guadalupe Day

(From the “On This Day” Blog Site
otday.wordpress.com) &/OR
“Today in Catholic History”
http://www.historyorb.com)

 

 

Franciscan Formation Reflection:

 

Franciscans witness to a genuine love and respect for the poor and vulnerable.

“For Francis, poverty involved not only serving the poor but being poor and connected to those who were poor and outcast.  This service to and identification with the poor was at the heart of the lives of Francis and Clare, it is there that they discovered Christ as “the poor Son of the poor Mother.”  Following the example of these saints, members of the Franciscan family today are called to be with and identify with the poor and vulnerable and with all who face discrimination of one form or another.  We are called to be in solidarity with them in their struggle to have their God-given rights honored by others.  We are called to develop a lifestyle that brings us close to the poor and makes us sensitive to those who are most vulnerable.” 

“Francis went around the cities and villages, proclaiming the kingdom of God and preaching peace.”  Thomas of Celano, The Life of St. Francis, 36

(From the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) website:
http://www.franciscanaction.org)

 

 

 

Quote or Joke of the Day:

 

You Might be a Roman Catholic…

…if you think God’s presence is always strongest in the back three pews.
…if you judge the quality of the Mass by the length of the Homily.

 

 

Today’s reflection is about Jesus telling John the Baptist of the signs of the kingdom that are being worked through him; and praises John as more than a prophet.

 

2When John heard in prison of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him 3 with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”  4 Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.  6 And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”  7 As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out to the desert to see?  A reed swayed by the wind?  8 Then what did you go out to see?  Someone dressed in fine clothing?  Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.  9 Then why did you go out?  To see a prophet?  Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.  10 This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.’  11 Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  (NAB Matthew 11:2-11)

 

This week’s Gospel continues a reflection on the personhood, ministry, and message of John the Baptist.  Last week at Mass, John spoke about his relationship to Jesus, the coming “one” prophesized in the Old Testament.  This week, we have Jesus’ message to John, who is imprisoned (and a message to us as well).  Jesus’ message is about the signs of the kingdom found in John’s ministry.  Jesus’ examines, and praises John’s “role” in salvation history and in the Kingdom of God.

Have you noticed the perceived undertone present in today’s Gospel reading?  There seems to be a subdued, yet noticeable and growing opposition to Jesus, if you “read between the lines.” From this point on, there will be more disputes, challenges, and attacks relating to “faith” and “discipleship” in reference (and preference) to Jesus in the future readings.

John the Baptist is now “in prison”.   Upon finding out of John’s capture and imprisonment, Jesus withdrew to Galilee (Matthew 4:12).  According to Josephus (Antiquities 18, 5, 2 #116-19), Herod imprisoned – – and then executed – – John because he feared that John the Baptist’s influence over the people could possibly enable him to lead a rebellion.  The murder of John (see Matthew 14: 1-2) by Herod Antipas foreshadows the death of Jesus (see Matthew 17:12).  

John stood in the doorway between the Old and New Testaments.  He stood in the doorway between the Old and New Covenants of God.  For me, John the Baptist was the bright “light stream” in the vast desert pointing vividly to the safe and lovingly calm harbor of Jesus, similar to the light stream of a lonely lighthouse pointing the lost in the vast seas to a safe, calm, and loving harbor of safety.  John points to the “door” of Jesus moving inwardly from the “Old” – – towards the “New” – – kingdom of God.

John foretold and prepared the way for the Messiah – Jesus Christ.  At the Jordan River, He also pointed his own followers to Jesus when he extolled, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).  John knew early on in His ministerial life what Jesus the “Messiah” would accomplish through His death on that Holy Tree of crucifixion.

Nearing the end of His life, today’s Gospel shows us how John queried whether Jesus was truly the “promised Messiah”.  Jesus retorted to John’s uncertainties by recounting the firm proof of facts about his ministry.

While in prison, why did John send his followers to question Jesus as he was sitting in prison knowing was going to die soon, at the hands of King Herod.  In verse 3, the question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another” expressed a doubt from John the Baptist.  He wanted to know if Jesus was truly “the one who is to come”.  The reason: because Jesus’ mission had NOT been one of a “fiery judgment” as John (and almost all Jewish people) had expected, but rather one of simple repentance.  John knew prophesies of the Old Testament.  In Malachi 3:1, it read:

“Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.  But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye.  He will sit refining and purifying (silver), and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.”

Jesus responds by pointing to the miracles that He has worked.  He says that His miracles, actions, and words about the kingdom of God is proof enough in recognizing the realization of Isaiah’s prophecy foretelling the signs and wonders which the Messiah would perform  (see Isaiah 35).  

In his rabbinic teaching style, Jesus also returned one question with another to Him and his followers: What do you see in John the Baptist?  His response to John’s question was also rabbinic in nature as it was taken from the Old Testament.   He took passages from Isaiah that pictures the time of salvation as being marked by deeds and acts, such as those that Jesus is doing. These passages were a caveat and warning to John the Baptist to NOT disbelieve solely because he believes his own expectations have not been met.

“But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.  For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth.”  (Isaiah 26:19)

“On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see.  The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”  (Isaiah 29:18-19)

“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; Then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe.”  (Isaiah 35:5-6)

“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.”  (Isaiah 61:1)

Jesus’ rebuke of John for questioning His divinity is offset by His reminder to the crowd of the greatness of John the Baptist’s role and function in salvation history (verses 7-11).  Jesus praises John for his role in preparing the way for Jesus – – the “MESSIAH!”

Why does Jesus contrast John with a “reed”?  Unlike a reed, which is spineless and easily bruised, John the Baptist stands as a truth of faith because his heart, soul, and body – his entire being – was surrendered to God.  John the Baptist burns brightly, warmly, and intensely with the fire of God’s truth and love for all mankind.

There was a common belief among the Jewish faithful that there had been no prophets in Israel since Malachi.  The coming of a new prophet was eagerly awaited among all Jewish people.  Jesus basically sanctions that John was that prophet, sent to foretell the coming of the Messiah that all was waiting.  John was the precursor of the “one” who would bring in the new and final age.  John was the last of the prophets to announce Jesus’ coming.  In leaping for joy in Elizabeth’s womb, John was also the first witness to Jesus’ divinity(along with Mary and Joseph)!

John’s preeminent greatness lies in his purpose of announcing the nearness of the “kingdom”.  Jesus is telling all hearing that the “kingdom” of God is so great a privilege, pleasure, and joy, – – that the least in God’s kingdom – – is greater than the last and greatest prophet: John the Baptist.  All who work for the Kingdom of God will be as great as John – and even greater!

Jesus’ message to John about the signs of the kingdom being performed recalls the salvation described by the prophet Isaiah. This Gospel reading is a reminder that the beginning of salvation is already present to us, but also yet to be fully fulfilled.

Someone who is “tepid” – careless, half-hearted, and lukewarm – can be easily influenced and converted by others.  If we want to be like John the Baptist, we must surrender our heart, soul, and body to Jesus Christ and his kingdom of everlasting peace, joy, and righteousness.  There is absolutely NO room for compromise on this matter of faith and fact.  We are either for Jesus and His kingdom or against Jesus and His kingdom – no fence walkers are allowed.  

Salvation is already in our midst as apparent in the miracles demonstrated by Jesus so many years ago, and in the Church today.  But salvation is also to be fulfilled in the coming reign of God.  

Look at our society and the societies around us.  Look at what is happening around the world today.  Though we can find glimpses of God’s work among us, it would so very easy to become disheartened and depressed by the apparent and obvious secularization of society.  The “absence” of God and His salvation is prevalent in today’s families and societies (even so-called Catholic ones).  Jesus’ excruciatingly painful death on the “Holy Tree” captured our hearts and souls, and opened the doorway to heaven.  We cannot truly know why there is so much pain and suffering in this world.  But, we do know that Jesus walked that same path during His time of humanity on earth.  And He is accompanying us on our path still today, especially close to us in times of pain and suffering.  That is why He is called Emmanuel: “God is with us!!”

 Advent is a season of “hope.”  We should acknowledge that salvation is both mysteriously present in our world, and yet to be fully and truly fulfilled in the unknown future.  We are also expected to help prepare the way for God’s kingdom by our own actions, words, and prayers.

Reflect on John’s question to Jesus: “Are you the One?”  Jesus does not answer his question directly (he was a great therapist – without a couch though), but points to the signs of the kingdom present around Him.  Try looking through your local newspaper for signs of hope that God is at work in your world and neighborhood.  

Each of us has times when we questioned God’s love, mercy, and attention to us.  There are times when we feel ambiguous or unsure about following Jesus on His path.  At these times, Jesus gives us the exact same answer he gave to John the Baptist: “Review your life.”  Try to remember the beautiful, wonderful, and awe inspiring things you have seen the Lord do in your life, in others, and in nature.  Keep hold of your trust, faith, and love for God – even when it doesn’t make a lot of sense to you at that time.  Eventually, you too will be vindicated by God’s love for you!!

 

“Our Father”

 

“Our Father, who art in Heaven; hallowed by Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.  Amen”

 

Pax et Bonum
Dan Halley, SFO

 

*****

 

A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day:  Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the sixteenth century. Chronicles of that period tell us the story.

A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego.  He was a 57-year-old widower and lived in a small village near Mexico City.  On Saturday morning, December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady.

He was walking by a hill called Tepeyac when he heard beautiful music like the warbling of birds.  A radiant cloud appeared and within it a young Native American maiden dressed like an Aztec princess.  The lady spoke to him in his own language and sent him to the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga.  The bishop was to build a chapel in the place where the lady appeared.

Eventually the bishop told Juan Diego to have the lady give him a sign.  About this same time Juan Diego’s uncle became seriously ill.  This led poor Diego to try to avoid the lady.  The lady found Diego, nevertheless, assured him that his uncle would recover and provided roses for Juan to carry to the bishop in his cape or tilma.

When Juan Diego opened his tilma in the bishop’s presence, the roses fell to the ground and the bishop sank to his knees.  On Juan Diego’s tilma appeared an image of Mary exactly as she had appeared at the hill of Tepeyac.  It was December 12, 1531.

Comment:

Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego as one of his people is a powerful reminder that Mary and the God who sent her accept all peoples.  In the context of the sometimes rude and cruel treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards, the apparition was a rebuke to the Spaniards and an event of vast significance for Native Americans.  While a number of them had converted before this incident, they now came in droves.  According to a contemporary chronicler, nine million Indians became Catholic in a very short time.  In these days when we hear so much about God’s preferential option for the poor, Our Lady of Guadalupe cries out to us that God’s love for and identification with the poor is an age-old truth that stems from the Gospel itself.

Quote:

Mary to Juan Diego: “My dearest son, I am the eternal Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, Author of Life, Creator of all and Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth…and it is my desire that a church be built here in this place for me, where, as your most merciful Mother and that of all your people, I may show my loving clemency and the compassion that I bear to the Indians, and to those who love and seek me…”  (from an ancient chronicle).

Patron Saint of: Americas; Mexico

Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.;
revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
(From http://www.americancatholic.org website)

 
    

Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule #’s 12 & 13 of 26:

 

Witnessing to the good yet to come and obligated to acquire purity of heart because of the vocation they have embraced, they should set themselves free to love God and their brothers and sisters.

 

 

 

 

As the Father sees in every person the features of his Son, the firstborn of many brothers and sisters, so the Secular Franciscans with a gentle and courteous spirit accept all people as a gift of the Lord and an image of Christ.

A sense of community will make them joyful and ready to place themselves on an equal basis with all people, especially with the lowly for whom they shall strive to create conditions of life worthy of people redeemed by Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Was Jesus a Republican or Democrat!?” – Mt 23:27-32†

 

Exactly four months till CHRISTmas day!  That is 122 days, or 17 weekends, 107 weekdays, and about 100 or so school days.  Isn’t everybody excited NOW!!

 

Today in Catholic History:

 
    
†   1282 – Death of Thomas Cantilupe, English saint
†   1624 – Birth of François de la Chaise, French confessor of Louis XIV of France (d. 1709)
†   Liturgical Feasts: Genesius of Arles; Saint Louis IX of France; Saint Joseph Calasanz.

(From the “On This Day” Blog Site
otday.wordpress.com)

 

Quote or Joke of the Day:

 

While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. — Francis of Assisi

 

Today’s reflection is about Jesus’ “calling-out the Scribes and Pharisees as “hypocrites!”

  

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.  28 Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.  29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’  31 Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; 32 now fill up what your ancestors measured out!  (NAB Mt 23:27-32)

 

The gospel today is a diatribe of criticism and censure by Jesus to the Scribes and the Pharisees in Jerusalem.  Jesus is definitely driving home a point by literally calling the Scribes and Pharisees “hypocrites!”  While a deep antagonism and conflict existed between Jesus and the Scribes and Pharisees, and is well founded in the various clashes between them, this tongue-lashing reflects a deep disagreement that probably goes beyond that of Jesus’ ministry.  This disparity needs to be seen as expressing the bitter conflict that still existed between the Jewish Pharisees and the early Jewish-Catholic Church of Matthew’s time later in the first century A.D., long after Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to heaven body, soul, blood, and divinity.

Jesus’ speech is not purely anti-Pharisaic though.  Matthew observes in “his” Jewish-Catholic Church, many of the same faults that Jesus found prevalent in the Pharisaic Jewish temples of Jesus’ time on earth.  Matthew is warning his fellow Christians, through this Gospel reading and Jesus’ words, to look at their own conduct and attitudes: to not fall into the same trap the Scribes and Pharisees fell into.   

The sixth “woe” —  about bright and gleaming tombs with rotting flesh and bones inside, just as  the preceding “woe” (not in this reading) about cleansing the outside of the cup, but not the inside, —  deals with a concern for externals, and the neglect of what is inside oneself.  Jesus is telling the temple officials that although they appear “whitewashed” on the outside, they are full of dead bones and filth on the inside.  I can picture Him being visibly upset, and nearly yelling at those church officials present, while stretching out his arm with a finger pointed at each of them.

Do you know anyone who always has to have the newest fashion, yet snub their nose at others they feel live “beneath” them?  Have you ever done this, and don’t answer to quickly!?  Let me throw a few sentences at you, and see if any come even close to something you may have said:

• How do you like my new haircut?
• See my new cell phone.  It has all the best gadgets on it.
• My family ALWAYS vacations in Florida.
• My children can’t go anywhere but _______! Fill in the elite and very expensive ivy-league type high school in the area.  (I purposely left out a few very specific names of schools in my area, as to not grossly offend someone.  There were several I could use, including a couple of [sadly] Catholic High Schools in the area, which gives the impression they are TOO GOOD for the average person.)
• Let me pay the bill with my “platinum” credit card.

All of these sentences carry the sins of pride, greed, and envy; plus, depending on the circumstance, also the sins of gluttony and sloth.  Besides these 3-5 “capitol or cardinal” sins, the person saying anything similar to this is extremely close to breaking the 8^th and 10^th Commandments (Thou shall not bear a false witness, and Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s property, respectfully). 

Contact with dead bodies during Jesus’ time on earth, even if the person was unaware, caused ritual impurity for that person.  Ritual uncleanness was, for all essence, contagious and the individual was separated from the temple and society.  This is why people with a skin disease such as leprosy were not allowed in the cities, much less the temples.  Any impropriety with cleanliness, religious or personal was scrutinized, and the person treated severely.    For this reason, tombs were white-washed so that one would not contract any impurity inadvertently.

The final “woe,” is the most serious of the seven mentioned in this Gospel chapter.  It is nothing less than that of an indictment from Jesus.   It portrays the temple Scribes and Pharisees position and status in society, as being in the same relationship of their ancestors “who murdered the prophets and the righteous.”

The Scribes and Pharisees honored the murdered prophets of old, by building tombs, and then decorating their memorials with trinkets and gems.  Plus, the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ time asserted that they would have not participated in their ancestors’ crimes of murdering the prophets if they had lived during their ancestor’s period of time.  Jesus made a very clear and profound statement in declaring the Scribes and Pharisees as being most definitely the “true” children of their ancestors.  The Scribes and Pharisees were boldly ordered by Jesus to “fill up what those ancestors measured out!”  This order manifests the Jewish belief that there was a specific allotment, a measure, of suffering that had to be completed prior to God’s final judgment taking place.

What do you think the crowd listening to Jesus this day were thinking and doing?  Some in the crowd were probably nodding their heads in total agreement, while others (especially the Scribes and Pharisees) were visibly upset or confused at what Jesus was saying to them in a very public way.  Do you think the majority of the crowd was happy and elated that Jesus “called out” the “quasi-politicians” of the Jewish religion?  Or, do you believe the majority present was upset that He was attacking the temple officials that took care of their specific spiritual needs. 

Was Jesus looked upon as the “outsider” attacking the “incumbent,” similar to how present day politics work?  Rhetorically, was Jesus a Republican or Democrat?  My answer is WHO CARES: but I believe the correct answer is neither.  Jesus’ political party was that of “Messiah and Savior from God!”

All communities have its portion of trouble-makers, but I prefer to call them “Sh!t-disturbers” because they enjoy the ability to “stir the cr@p!”  These people have a tendency to abuse the generosity of others, similar to the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ time that is preached about in today’s Gospel reading.

For us reading and reflecting on this Gospel today, Jesus is simply giving us another example of how important our example is to others, for as St. Francis said, “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words!”

 

“Saint Francis’ Prayer Before the Blessed Sacrament”

 

“We adore You, O Lord Jesus Christ,
in this Church and all the Churches of the world,
and we bless You, because,
by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.  Amen.”
 

 

Pax et Bonum
Dan Halley, SFO

 

*****

 

A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day:  St. Louis IX, King of France 1215-1270

 

Patron of the Secular Franciscan Order

 

King St. Louis was born in the castle at Poissy near Paris on April 25, 1215. His devout mother, Blanche, was determined that he should be educated not only for the earthly kingdom he was to govern, but still more for the kingdom of heaven. She accustomed him to look upon all things in the light of faith, and thus laid the foundation for that humility in good fortune and endurance in misfortune which characterized the holy king.

Louis was crowned king when he was only 12 years old. His mother, however, was entrusted with the actual government of the kingdom during his minority. Meanwhile, Louis was being educated in all the duties of a Christian prince. Among his instructors there were several Franciscan friars, and later on the young king himself joined the Third Order of St. Francis.

Louis had governed his kingdom for several years in his own name, when he vowed, in the course of a serious illness, that if he would recover, he would make a crusade to the Holy Land, to wrest the holy places from the hands of the infidels. Upon regaining his health he at once carried out his vow. He took the fortress of Damietta from the Saracens, but was taken captive after his army had been weakened by an epidemic.

After he had borne the sufferings of a prisoner of the infidels for several months with holy serenity, the terms for his release were submitted to him; but there was attached to these terms an oath, that if he did not fulfill them, he would deny Christ and the Christian religion. The holy king replied: “Such blasphemous words shall never cross my lips.” They threatened him with death. “Very well,” he said, “you may kill my body, but you will never kill my soul.” Filled with admiration at his steadfast courage, the finally released him without objectionable condition. After securing many other terms favorable to the Christians, he was obliged to return to France, since his mother had died in the meantime.

In the government of his kingdom, Louis proved how profitable piety is in every respect. He promoted the welfare of the country and his people in a remarkable manner. His life as a Christian and as a Christian father was so exemplary that he has been found worthy to be chosen as the patron and model of Tertiaries. The most important principal of his life was the observance of the laws of God under all circumstances. His biographer assures us that he never lost his baptismal innocence by mortal sin. He himself set such store by the grace of baptism that, in confidential letters, he took pleasure in signing himself “Louis of Poissy,” because it was in the parish church there that he had been baptized.

Louis never tolerated cursing or sinful conversation either among the servants or among the courtiers; and never was he heard to utter an unkind or impatient word. he wished to avoid all unnecessary pomp and luxury at court, so that more help could be rendered to the poor, of whom he personally fed and served several hundred. His wardrobe was as simple as it could fittingly be, and at all times he wore the insignia of the Third Order under his outer garments. On special occasions he publicly wore the habit of the Tertiaries.

In order to curb sensuality he not only observed all the fasts of the Church with unusual severity, but denied himself certain food for which he had a special craving. He was a most solicitous father to the 11 children with which God blessed his marriage. He himself prayed with them daily, examined them in the lessons they had learned, guided them in the performance of the works of Christian charity, and in his will bequeathed to them the most beautiful instructions.

He fostered special devotion to the sufferings of Christ; and it was a great consolation for him when he gained possession of the Crown of Thorns, for the preservation of which he had the magnificent Holy Chapel built in Paris. When serious complaints concerning the oppression of the Christians in the Holy Land reached his ears, he undertook a second crusade in 1270, but on the way he died of the plague, contracted while visiting his sick soldiers.

Amid exclamations of holy joy because he was going into the house of the Lord, he surrendered his soul to God on August 25. St. Louis was canonized by Pope Boniface VIII in 1297.

from: The Franciscan Book of Saints,
ed. by Marion Habig, ofm.,
© 1959 Franciscan Herald Press
(From http://www.franciscan-sfo.org website)

 

Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule #25 of 26:

 

Regarding expenses necessary for the life of the fraternity and the needs of worship, of the apostolate, and of charity, all the brothers and sisters should offer a contribution according to their means. Local fraternities should contribute toward the expenses of the higher fraternity councils.

“If you are going to talk the talk, then you have to walk the walk; just like the Samaritan!” – Luke 10:25-37†

It is a beautiful Sunday morning.  I hope all my Benedictine friends have a great day celebrating the founding of their religious order in the Catholic Church. 

My Secular Franciscan Order’s Fraternity is having our monthly meeting today.  We have a new inquirer, and I excited to travel with her on our journey in the Franciscan Order.  Anyone interested in the SFO, or even just have questions, please let me know.  Can’t find a better group of fun and pious people; and being Franciscan’s, it seems there is always food present.  

  

Today in Catholic History:

 

†   Feast Day of Saint Olga (first Russian Saint)
†   Feast Day of Saint Benedict (founder of the Benedictine Order)

 

Quote or Joke of the Day:
    

The greatest kindness one can render to any man consists in leading him from error to truth. ~ St. Thomas Aquinas
            

Today’s reflection is about the story of the “Good Samaritan.”

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.  ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’  He said to him, ‘What is written in the law?  What do you read there?’  He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’  And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’  But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’  Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them.  Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.”  Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’  He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’  Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’ (NRSV Luke 10:25-37)

 

In response to questioning from a Jewish “Lawyer” about inheriting eternal life, Jesus gets the “Lawyer” to respond that what is written in the law comes from Deuteronomy 6:5: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  In this Old Testament bible verse, one of the most important prayers in Judaism and said twice a day in Jesus’ time, confirms that love of God and neighbor are what is required for eternal life. Jesus’ response to this official was just as pure and simple as this verse from Deuteronomy above; “Do this and you will live.”

When questioning continued, with an attempt to trap Jesus, He illustrated the superiority of love over legal rhetoric through the parable about the “good” Samaritan, found only in Luke’s Gospel.  Samaria was the territory between Judea and Galilee west of the Jordan River. Samaritans were descendents of Jews from the northern part of the country, who had intermarried with Gentiles and did not worship in Jerusalem.  For these cultural and religious reasons, the Samaritans and the Jews had a bitter hatred of each other. 

This “lawyer” is obviously an expert in the Mosaic Law, and was probably a “Scribe.”  Scribes were Jewish temple leaders that were extensively trained in oral interpretation of the written law, and were adversaries of Jesus because Jesus questioned their interpretations and judgments. 

As an example, remember the story of Jesus asking for water from a Samaritan woman at the well.  What a dangerous thing to carry out; and explicit statement to make, with this action.  Jews used nothing in common with Samaritans.  Samaritan women were regarded by Jews as ritually impure, and therefore Jews were forbidden to drink from any vessel they had handled.  For a Samaritan to touch a Jew was diabolical, for it made the Jewish person ritually unclean as well.  Jesus, taking a cup of water from her was, in essence, a slap to Jewish Law.

Earlier in Luke’s gospel (the Sermon on the Plain found in 6:27-36), Jesus talked about the “law of love.”  In today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus proclaimed that the Samaritan, a person the temple lawyer would have considered ritually impure, actually exemplified the love we should offer to others much more than the Priest and Levite did.  The Temple lawyer (or Scribe) had to bitterly admit that the identity of the “neighbor” was a Samaritan, a despised person to the Jewish faith and people.  For the Jewish people, and especially the Temple officials, the Priest and Levite being religious representatives of Judaism, would have been the expected models of the “neighbor.”

Where does all this hatred in the Jewish people come from, and is it in Scripture?  There is no actual Old Testament commandment demanding hatred of one’s enemy, but the “neighbor” of the love commandment was understood as only one’s fellow countryman.  Hatred for others outside your group could be interpreted from Old Testament and Dead Sea Scroll Passages as being a correct attitude.  Psalm 139:19-22 states (O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil!  Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?  And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?  I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.).  The Qumran 1QS 9:21 reads (And these are the norms of conduct for the man of understanding in these times, concerning what he must love and how he must hate: Everlasting hatred for all the men of the “Pit” [those who do not belong to the Essene community] because of their spirit of hoarding!).

Where does hatred come from today?  It is all around us.  With groups such as Al-Qaida, the Taliban, and other “Jihad” groups; the Ku Klux Klan; Neo-Nazi’s; and the Black Panther’s, hatred is spread in a separatist and destructive style.

Relations sometimes even erupt in every day religion.  Issues involving Protestant, Catholic, and Judaic groups seem to be an everyday occurrence; with clear and specific beliefs by some that each other group may be doomed to eternal hell for not believing exactly the same way as they do.  And we definitely cannot forget the Pro-Abortion, Pro-Capital Punishment, Pro- Euthanasia versus Pro-life conundrum.

How do I, [and we], get over all of our issues to live in harmony?  How can I, [and we], make a difference in this world, in order to establish peace throughout the lands?  Start small!  I say the following prayer every day:  “Lord, help me to do great things as though they were little, since I do them with Your power; and little things as though they were great, since I do them in Your name.”   The key is to keep God in your hearts, and on your lips.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is extending the “love commandment” to any enemy, and to the persecutor. Jesus demands that His disciples, being children of God, must imitate the example of His Father in heaven: God the Creator, who daily offers His gifts of sun and rain to both the good and the bad equally. 

Jesus’ disciples (then and now) must not be content with merely displaying the “usual” standards of conduct for their status in society.  What Jesus taught (though I am not even close to being worthy of summarizing anything Jesus taught), is that love for God and each other is basically genetic in origin, and natural in all of us.  It is already in our hearts and consciousness.  Love of God and each other is not a complex set of theological rhetoric or formulas. 

We do not choose to do good for others.  We actually have to choose to be malevolent, or even ignore the person, when we witness one in need of assistance.  For whatever reason, (even if it is a realistic reason), we make a definite decision NOT to help when we see a need; and sometimes we choose to do the exact opposite of helping by encouraging further distress to an individual.  Think about this the next time you see a person fall, hurt, or otherwise in need: and you do not act; be it for safety, lack of knowledge, time constraints, or for some other reason.  Remember this also the next time you see someone threatening to jump from a high obstacle (even on television) and hear, “Go ahead, jump, jump, jump!”

Jesus, with this parable, utterly destroys the notion that social definitions such as class, religion, gender, or ethnicity determines who our neighbor will be.  A neighbor, through Jesus, is now defined as a person who acts with compassion towards another.  It is no longer “who” deserves to be loved as I love myself, but that I become a person who treats everyone with compassion, regardless of their social status.

The last sentence of this Gospel Reading threw me for a loop!  Jesus is an extremely smart and cunning person; who would make a great lawyer today: He knew how to use His words to play with people.  When He said “Go and do likewise,” He is explicitly saying that it is not enough to just understand loving God and each other; the “doing” is important as well.  If He were to make this point today, He would probably have say something like, “If you are going to talk the talk, then you have to walk the walk!”

With the English Translation of the new “GIRM” (General Instructions of the Roman Mass) coming out within the next year, the dismissal at Mass is changing to the more accurate vernacular found in Scripture.  The words presently are, “The Mass is ended, go in peace.”  The Priest, with the upcoming changes in the Mass, will have the option to say either, “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord” or “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”  It is now time to walk that walk!  Do as St. Francis of Assisi did; go up to the metaphoric “leper” to hug and feed him.  In other words, try to find Jesus in everyone: family, friends, neighbors, strangers, and even enemies; and then ACT on that love.

 

 “Act of Love”

    

“O my God, I love you above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all my love.

I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and I ask pardon of all whom I have injured.  Amen.”

  

Pax et Bonum
Dan Halley, SFO

  

*****

  

Franciscan Saint of the Day:  St. Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727)

  

Veronica’s desire to be like Christ crucified was answered with the stigmata. 

Veronica was born in Mercatelli.  It is said that when her mother Benedetta was dying she called her five daughters to her bedside and entrusted each of them to one of the five wounds of Jesus.  Veronica was entrusted to the wound below Christ’s heart. 

At the age of 17, Veronica joined the Poor Clares directed by the Capuchins.  Her father had wanted her to marry, but she convinced him to allow her to become a nun.  In her first years in the monastery, she worked in the kitchen, infirmary, sacristy and served as portress.  At the age of 34, she was made novice mistress, a position she held for 22 years.  When she was 37, Veronica received the stigmata.  Life was not the same after that. 

Church authorities in Rome wanted to test Veronica’s authenticity and so conducted an investigation.  She lost the office of novice mistress temporarily and was not allowed to attend Mass except on Sundays or holy days.  Through all of this Veronica did not become bitter, and the investigation eventually restored her as novice mistress. 

Though she protested against it, at the age of 56 she was elected abbess, an office she held for 11 years until her death.  Veronica was very devoted to the Eucharist and to the Sacred Heart.  She offered her sufferings for the missions. Veronica was canonized in 1839. 

Comment: 

Why did God grant the stigmata to Francis of Assisi and to Veronica?  God alone knows the deepest reasons, but as Celano points out, the external sign of the cross is a confirmation of these saints’ commitment to the cross in their lives.  The stigmata that appeared in Veronica’s flesh had taken root in her heart many years before.  It was a fitting conclusion for her love of God and her charity toward her sisters. 

Quote: 

Thomas of Celano says of Francis: “All the pleasures of the world were a cross to him, because he carried the cross of Christ rooted in his heart.  And therefore the stigmata shone forth exteriorly in his flesh, because interiorly that deeply set root was sprouting forth from his mind” (2 Celano, #211). 

Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.; revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
(From http://www.americancatholic.org website)

     

Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule #11:

  

Trusting the Father, Christ chose for Himself and His mother a poor and humble life, even though He valued created things attentively and lovingly.  Let the Secular Franciscans seek a proper spirit of detachment from temporal goods by simplifying their own material needs.  Let them be mindful that according to the gospel they are stewards of the goods received for the benefit of God’s children. 

Thus, in the spirit of the Beatitudes, and as pilgrims and strangers on their way to the home of the Father, they should strive to purify their hearts from every tendency and yearning for possession and power. 

  

  

“The Not So Dirty Dozen; At Least To Start With!” – Mt 10:1-7†

Today in Catholic History:

 

† 1304 – Death of Pope Benedict XI (b. 1240)
† 1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death.
† 1946 – Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini becomes the first American to be canonized.
† 2007 – Pope Benedict XVI issues the “Summorum Pontificum,” removing restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass.

 

Quote or Joke of the Day:
  

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, an even greater miracle happened.  Twelve relatively uneducated guys (and many, many other followers) changed the world, and were martyred to protect a lie.
  

Today’s reflection is about the sending out of the twelve Apostles!

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.  These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”  (NRSV Mt 10:1-7)

 

This Gospel reading is a cousin to last Sundays, when the seventy-two disciples were dispatched to witness to the world the “Kingdom of God.”  It deals with a broadening of the Kingdom from its core group and geographical area, and starts the missionary activities of the Catholic Church just prior to, and includes the time of the Jesus’ resurrection, and the “parousia” (the second coming of Christ).

Matthew, unlike Mark and Luke, has no story of Jesus’ choosing the Twelve in his gospel.  Being closely aligned with first-century Judaism (he was the Jewish tax-collector), maybe he just assumed that the group of Apostles would be already known to the readers of his gospel.  The number of Apostles chosen by Jesus, “twelve,” probably was meant to recall and represent the twelve tribes of Israel clearly described in the Old Testament.  By doing so, Jesus is implying an authority to call all Israel into His Kingdom with His coming “new” covenant.

“Authority over … every sickness.”  What a significant sentence!  Jesus is giving the Apostles the gift, the grace, to witness and participate in the same activities as He.  In doing so, the Twelve Apostles also share in Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom.  But although Jesus teaches, the Apostles do not go out to teach at this point in time.  Their commission to teach comes only after Jesus’ resurrection, and after they have been fully instructed by him.

The word “Apostle” translates to “one who is sent.”  It will, with the first Easter, come to mean primarily one who had seen the Risen Lord and had been commissioned to proclaim the resurrection: our first “Bishops.”  This is a great explanation for why Paul is sometimes called as the 13^th Apostle.  He did see the Risen Lord (on the road to Damascus), and been to told to tell the world.  With some very slight variations in Luke’ Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles, the names are the same in the four lists of Apostles given in the New Testament.  

Now I want to write about the “black sheep” in the group: Judas Iscariot.  In reading the Bible, I noticed that Judas always ends the list; and always with a mention of his betrayal of Jesus.  He went and performed miracles at Jesus’ command.  Judas witnessed nothing different from any other Apostles.  As the “holder of the purse,” he had a special role, a quasi-board member role, in the group of followers of Jesus.  AND, he was NOT the only one to turn away from Jesus.  Remember, all the Apostles fled from Jesus at His capture in the garden, persecution by the Sanhedrin, and trial before Pilate.  Peter (the Rock) even explicitly denied his relationship with Jesus THREE separate times!  The “Rock” succumbed to betrayal and fear before the crow of the “Cock!”

So what made Judas different than the rest?  I believe it was the way he handled his betrayal; his sin.  All the Apostles returned to Jesus, except him.  We know for a fact that at least Peter wept and begged for forgiveness.  All (except Judas) gathered together and felt the mercy of God, while Judas just hung around for awhile. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!  My-bad!) 

Judas, could not get past himself.  His “self”-ishness would not allow him to get past his own guilt for his actions.  In his eyes, no one could forgive him for what he had done.  Satan had won with this one Apostle!  Judas never realized the magnificence and boundless love and mercy Jesus has for everyone.

We are all sinners.  We all betray the Lord many times throughout our lives. Luckily, we know that we can be forgiven.  There is noting that can keep God from showing us His mercy and unlimited love, except ourselves.  God doesn’t turn His back on us EVER!  Even the most horrendous, dangerous, and mean person on this earth still has God with him at his darkest times. 

So why can’t we see God when we sin?  We turn our backs to Him.  We refuse to see the brightness in the darkness of our lives.  Take off the shades, open your eyes, and walk to the warm light of forgiveness and love.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a miraculous grace given to us, by Jesus, so that we can ask for forgiveness directly and physically to Him.  Please use this grace often.

Like Jesus, the Twelve Apostles were initially sent only to areas of Israel.  This may be because early Jewish Christians refused extending the mission to the Gentiles.  Interestingly, Jesus Himself even observed this limitation during His earthly ministry.  It took a scholarly, cultured, devout, and militant Jewish leader, of Jewish and Roman heritage, to help the Twelve Apostles (Judas was replaced with Mathias) extend the Kingdom of God to other parts of the known world: Saul, later to be known as Paul (my favorite “apostle.”).
  

Franciscan Morning Prayer
  

 

“Jesus Lord, I offer you this new day because I believe in You, love You, hope all things in You, and thank You for your blessings.

I am sorry for having offended You, and forgive everyone who has offended me.

Lord, look on me and leave in me peace, and courage, and Your humble wisdom, that I may serve others with joy, and be pleasing to You all day.  Amen.”

 

Pax et Bonum
Dan Halley, SFO

*****

Franciscan Saint of the Day:  Blessed Emmanuel Ruiz and Companions
(1804-1860)

Not much is known of the early life of Emmanuel Ruiz, but details of his heroic death in defense of the faith have come down to us.

Born of humble parents in Santander, Spain, he became a Franciscan priest and served as a missionary in Damascus. This was at a time when anti-Christian riots shook Syria and thousands lost their lives in just a short time.

Among these were Emmanuel, superior of the Franciscan convent, seven other friars and three laymen. When a menacing crowd came looking for the men, they refused to renounce their faith and become Muslims. The men were subjected to horrible tortures before their martyrdom.

Emmanuel, his brother Franciscans and the three Maronite laymen were beatified in 1926 by Pope Pius XI.

Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.; revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
 (From http://www.americancatholic.org website)

    

Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule #7:

 

United by their vocation as “brothers and sisters of penance” and motivated by the dynamic power of the gospel, let them conform their thoughts and deeds to those of Christ by means of that radical interior change which the gospel calls “conversion.” Human frailty makes it necessary that this conversion be carried out daily.  On this road to renewal the sacrament of reconciliation is the privileged sign of the Father’s mercy and the source of grace.