Lessons from Abraham, our Father in Faith

We are People of God. As such, we have an ancient heritage, dating back to Abraham. For this reason we should consider the faith journey of our renowned patriarch.

Abraham

Abraham had nothing to boast about concerning his own merits in the presence of God. It was God Who sought him even before he knew the One Who sought him. Encountered by the Unknown One, he is told to: “Set out from your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you” (Gen. 12:1).

This invitation will be repeated by an unknown itinerant preacher from Nazareth to a group of fishermen: “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch” (Lk. 5:4).

Leaving all that was comfortable and familiar, our patriarch in the faith is like the apostles, set out on a journey of faith into the depths of God’s provident love and grace. Not knowing where the journey would lead, he followed the Voice that spoke to his heart. It was this obedience of faith that was accounted as righteousness.

Newness of life is offered to all who surrender to the movement of grace. The initiation rite does not justify us. Circumcision or baptism serve as a sign that we have responded to the One who called us.

In this light, Abraham is our Father in the Faith. Following in his footsteps, we run on the path of God’s commandments with our hearts expanded by the inexpressible delight of love.

The seal ofthe Holy Spirit is our sanctification, making us new creatures conformed to Christ. The object of our faith is God and God alone, in whom we are justified and recreated. Because of God’s love for us, our sins have been atoned and our iniquity cleansed.

Since Christ has taken all our sins to Himself, let us walk in the freedom that His victory has won for us. As children of the kingdom, let us sincerely seek to do the will of Him who created and redeemed us.

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the guarantee that the things not seen are true” (Heb. 11:1). The assurance of our hope is in Christ who has told us that we are precious in the Father’s eyes.

God has told us to cast our cares upon Him because He cares for each of us individually and promises to provide for all our needs.

Allow me to close with a blessing.


Wherever your faith journey may lead, may the Living Lord go with you; May he go behind you, to encourage you, beside you, to befriend you, above you, to watch over you, beneath you, to lift you from your sorrows, within you, to give you the gifts of faith, hope, and love, and always before you, to show you the way. Amen.
(Benediction - Blair Monie)

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

Unity and Peace: Gifts of the Holy Spirit

On the Feast of Pentecost, we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church; an event of grace that first filled the Upper Room in Jerusalem and then spread throughout the world. If only everyone who hears the sound of the rushing wind and sees the flames of divine love would be of one mind and heart! The Holy Spirit is given to us to heal the wounds of division. The Spirit sanctifies, and makes us pure and holy, purges away the dross of sin, error and superstition; and enlightens our minds and gives us knowledge of divine and spiritual things; and fills us with zeal and fervor for the glory of God and Christ, and the good of the Church. It is essential that all Christians agree to love one another; for where brothers and sisters in Christ dwell together in unity, there the Lord manifests His glory and majesty.

For Israel, Pentecost - celebration of the harvest - had become the celebration marking the ratification of the Covenant on Mt Sinai. In wind and fire, God made his presence known to the people and then gave them the gift of the Ten Commandments. In this singular way was the work of liberation, begun with the Exodus from Egypt, brought to fulfillment: human freedom is always a shared freedom, a "togetherness" of liberty. For us, Pentecost constitutes the baptism of the Church. It is the seminal event that gave the Church the shape and thrust of its mission.

Come, Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth.

Gathered in prayer, the disciples found themselves in the midst of a driving wind and an all-consuming fire. When we speak about wind and fire, we are talking about vitality, excitement and energy. The Jerusalem Disciples were overpowered by the presence of God. They were consumed by the fire of divine love and were driven out of their comfort zones. Moved by the Spirit, in the bond of love, like them, we are called to bless and praise the God Who created us with our lives. Faith tells us that God is light and in His light we see light because in Him there is no darkness. Through the regenerating water of baptism and outpouring of the life-creating Spirit, we have been grafted into Christ and, with Him, we have been transformed into the Light of the world. We are to be a light of hope for those caught in the destructive vortex of darkness. We are the first fruits of the new creation for people who have lost touch with their humanity and are groping to rediscover the radiant glory that is theirs as the handiwork of God.

My brothers and sisters, we are created from the dust of the earth, and into these earthen vessels God has breathed His Spirit. The Lord Jesus overcomes our fears and calms our anxiety by lovingly and reverently entering into our lives. It is a comfort to know that nothing can keep the Lord from pitching His tent in our hearts. Each of us has been gifted by the Spirit in a unique and personal way. From the one Spirit comes a diversity of gifts and talents. These gifts may differ from person to person, some greater and some lesser but each one is necessary for the building up of the kingdom of God. The message of Pentecost is that we are never alone and no wall is too thick for the Holy Spirit to penetrate or too tall for Him to surmount.

The evangelist John tells us how the vision of the risen Lord brought joy to the hearts of the disciples who had barricaded themselves in the upper room because of fear and sorrow. The Lord came to people who were too afraid to come to Him. Into that space filled with stale and lifeless air, Jesus breathed the breath of the Holy Spirit. Those who had been dead were brought back to life. As they breathed in the Spirit, they were transformed. The Spirit of God made them all that the Father created them to be. It was no longer they that lived, but Christ the Risen Lord was living in them. The members of the Body of Christ should endeavor to build up one another in their faith, both by repeating what they have heard to those that were absent, and by making known what they have experienced. The newness which God brings into our lives is something that actually brings fulfilment, that gives true joy, true serenity, because God loves us and desires only our good.

The Holy Spirit does not leave the disciples comfortable, safe, locked away in a sheltered world. He continues to push them beyond their accustomed boundaries. As He said to Abraham, our father in faith, He says to us: "Go from your country and your relatives and your father's house to a country that I will show you" (Gen. 12:1). We heard earlier that the Holy Spirit unites, breaks down barriers, leads us one to the other. The strength that overcomes isolation and resentment is the strength of forgiveness. Jesus can grant forgiveness and the power to forgive because he himself suffered the consequences of sin and consumed them in the flame of his love. Forgiveness comes from the Cross; He transforms the world with the love that is offered. His heart opened on the Cross is the door through which the grace of forgiveness enters into the world. And this grace alone is able to transform the world and build peace. Nothing can improve the world if evil is not overcome. Evil can be overcome only by forgiveness. Peace can only spring from reconciliation.


Sequence — Veni, Sancte Spiritus


Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from your celestial home Shed a ray of light divine!
Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour your dew; Wash the stains of guilt away: Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray.

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO