The Forgiveness of Jesus

What a mess we would be in were it not for the forgiveness of Jesus. What a mess the disciples

would have been in after Easter if Jesus did not forgive them for abandoning him during his

Passion. On Easter Sunday evening, Jesus appears to two disciples who meet him on the road to Emmaus and recognize him only after he has broken bread with them. These two return to Jerusalem to tell the others. After they have shared their account of seeing Jesus, he now appears to the entire group gathered together. 

 

Imagine the sense of shame the disciples must now feel for having abandoned Jesus during his Passion. We too feel a sense of shame when we abandon Jesus when we sin. That is really what happens when we sin; we abandon Jesus. We choose something else above Jesus. We put Jesus in second place. Sin is always abandoning Jesus for something or someone else. So it is good when we are sensitive enough to recognize that we have abandoned Jesus and we feel a sense of shame and guilt. I say it is good because when we have a sense of shame or guilt we can turn to Jesus for healing. If we did not have a sense of shame or guilt we would remain in our sorry state of having abandoned Jesus.

 

But Jesus does not want us to remain in shame or guilt. He did not want his disciples to remain

in shame or guilt and so his first words to them as we hear in our Gospel were, “Peace be with

you.” (Luke 24:35) His meeting with his disciples is really one in which he forgives them for

having abandoned him. He comes to them again as the same familiar person and so he shows

them the wounds in his hands and feet (Luke 24:39). Naturally they would have wondered

about the wounds. 

 

He had eaten many meals with them and now once again he eats a meal with them -- whatever piece of fish they had was good enough for him (Luke 24:41-43). This gentle meeting did so much to ease the tension and calm nerves. Emotions were beginning to return to normal again. “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?” he asks to reassure them that everything is okay (Luke 24:38). Jesus is accepting his disciples as his disciples again and not chastising them for having abandoned him. 

 

After we sin Jesus wants us to return to him quickly also. 

 

Now that the disciples have received the forgiveness of Jesus he gives them a mission to preach his forgiveness to others. When we sin Jesus does not want us to remain in shame or guilt. He wants to heal the broken relationship, broken by our abandoning him in sin. Therefore after sin we always want to return to Jesus in repentance and sorrow. He says to us, “Peace be with you.” (Luke 24:35) From his wounds we receive forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as the priest in the name of God absolves us of our sins. Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations…(Luke 24:46-47)

 

--Deacon Joseph Pasquella

I Will Place My Law within Them

“I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer. 31:33). So the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah.

God is speaking to His people, assuring them that He Himself is their teacher. All of us who are taught by God are taught to love one another by the mere fact that God is writing His Word upon our hearts. By means of this implanted Word, we discover the path to newness of life.

As God promised to His Chosen People, He now speaks intimately to each of us, calling us by name; not just any name, but a name known only between us as intimate friends.

The life of faith is not a recital of rules and regulations. The life of faith is entering into an embrace of love that brings us into communion with the Persons of the Trinity. In that embrace, we come to know that we are loved and forgiven.

In this knowledge, we will become Ambassadors of healing and reconciliation for a world scarred with violence and sin. This pardoning mercy flows from the pierced heart of Christ and is freely given to us to be shared with all who are in need of forgiveness.

Having been conformed to Christ in baptism, it is not out job to condemn sinners but to call them back to fullness of life and grace.

The mystery of grace is not that we seek to know God, but rather that we come to realize that we are known by Him.

Acknowledging this love, we can love others with the same all-consuming love. In a world that continues to seek retribution and to fan the flames of hatred, such love is absolutely revolutionary.

The message will not be written on banners or placards, but shall be etched upon the tablets of our hearts. When God pours forth His Spirit upon us, we will not burn the cities of man, but will be consumed by the fire of divine love.

I will close with a few words of Pope Francis, spoken at the prayer vigil in Krakow: “This is no time for denouncing anyone or fighting. We do not want to tear down, we do not want to give insult. We have no desire to conquer hatred with more hatred, violence with more violence, terror with more terror. We are here today because the Lord has called us together. Our response to a world at war has a name: its name is fraternity, its name is brotherhood, its name is communion, and its name is family... Let our best word, our best argument, be our unity in prayer.”

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

Fools for Christ

Saint Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth: “We are fools on Christ’s account” (1 Cor. 4:10).

We who have been called to follow in the footsteps of Christ have no cause to be proud. All we have, all we are, all we do that is good and praiseworthy, is a gift of God’s grace. In a world that is self-asserting, we are called to be Christ-asserting. If we believe that all we have is gift, we cannot be other than Christ-asserting. In the eyes of image-builders, such talk is foolishness. Even though we are fools for Christ, if we follow the call of the Good Shepherd, we will be granted moments of light and insight.

In the late 70’s, a miniseries entitled Jesus of Nazareth was aired on prime-time television. As I was preparing these reflections, I recalled a scene from that series. Some of you may remember it: Jesus is inside Matthew’s house, telling the parable of the prodigal son. All the while, Peter is standing outside the open door, refusing to go. During the narration, Peter is granted a moment of light and insight: Jesus is the all-loving and all-forgiving Father, Matthew the prodigal and he (Peter) the older dutiful son. Overwhelmed by this insight, Peter enters the house and walks directly to the Lord. With tears streaming down his face, he slowly and deliberately declares: “Forgive me, Master. I’m just … a stupid man.” Recalling this moment, I am reminded that Jesus is the Savior of mankind and even though I am less than nothing in his sight, He loves me. In a success driven society, such talk is foolishness.

We may be fools, but God uses us to bring about the building up of His kingdom. Though cast off and rejected as worthless by power-driven secular society, we are precious to God. Though poor in the sight of the world, we are rich in grace because of Him who became poor for our sakes. As fools on account of Christ, we walk in conformity to His will and bear His cross with which we can overcome the world and contribute to the building up of the heavenly kingdom. As companions of the Lord of the Sabbath, we are called to celebrate God’s provident care for us. We need to listen to the voice of the creator of the Universe as He calls out to us: “My house is your house. Come right in! Come in and feast upon the Meal I have prepared for you.” Gathered around the Table of the Lord, may we lift up our hearts and offer Him praise, honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

911--Fifteen Years -- 2001 -- 2016

Fifteen years ago, the world was shocked at the sight of planes flying into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Later, clouds of smoke billowed from the Pentagon and from a field in Shanksville, Pa. The reality of these attacks cut through our petty narcissism and opened our hearts to the needs of others. For a moment, we saw the true greatness that America stands for. As we recall the acts of terrorism, we must never forget the acts of valor and generosity they evoked. I am reminded of a line in Alan Jay Lerner’s musical Camelot, “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.”

Unfortunately, we have forgotten.

Once the dust cleared, we forgot about the needs of others and sought to make our personal worlds secure. We seem to have lost sight of the fact that the path to true peace requires each of us to lay or lives in the service of others. Despite the fact that we have built monuments to 9/11 we have not been able to build bridges of peace and brotherhood.

In this setting, the conversation between God and His Servant Moses is very instructive. Certainly, you recall how God pointed out to Moses that the people had forsaken Him and as a result He intended to wipe them out and start all over again. Seeing how corrupt the people had become in such a short time, God pronounced a verdict of total destruction. Standing in the breech, Moses speaks up. Forgive me for what I am about to do. “O Lord, you seem to have forgot that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.” Moses reminded God of His covenant with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Israel. If the Lord would be forgiving in this instance, He would see that there would be a faithful remnant.

Paul seems to have taken up this theme as he wrote to his co-worker Timothy. “I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life” (1 Tim. 1:16). The apostle knew well that had God not been merciful to him, he would have perished. God is not ignorant of the reality of sin. He also knows that love is stronger than hate; and that the Cross is the Tree of Life.

The Son of God who died on the cross has risen from the dead and reigns upon the throne of Glory. We must never let it be forgot that once there was a spot where the Lord of Life conquered death and brought us all into the kingdom of light and life. Recall these words written by the apostle John: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the Spirit who is in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4).

In the the Gospel of Luke, we have heard about God’s desire to seek out, to find, to welcome. The philosopher Maimonides seems to have understood the power of God’s mercy. He wrote: "let not a penitent man imagine that he is far from the Excellency, because of the sins he has committed, the thing is not so. Rather, he is beloved and desired before the Creator, as if he had never sinned; for his reward is great; for lo, he has tasted the taste of sin, and hath separated from it.”

We must never let it be forgot, that the Gospel presents mercy as an excess of God’s love for a fallen and broken world. The mercy of God expands our souls. It makes us think of that spot that was Camelot, for us. God, in His mercy, draws us to himself, purifies us of our sins and then sends us forth to bring mercy to all.

Because we have received mercy upon mercy, we can seek to pour out our lives in service to others and as agents of peace and reconciliation. Our ability to live as Children of the Kingdom springs from the fact that we are at one and the same time sinners pardoned and sinners restored to dignity. The mercy of God brings knowledge and compassion. The one who shows us mercy conforms us to the image of His Beloved Son. As we receive the mercy of the Loving Father, we are empowered to share it with others.

For a moment, the events September 11, 2001, brought us into contact with our own fragility and vulnerability. For a moment we remembered that we needed one another.

 The scriptures remind us that we are the objects of God’s delight. “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good” (Gen. 1: 31). The reason we believe in a kind and merciful God is because Jesus not only told us, but acted mercifully. Like the God who repeatedly forgave the erring Israelites, Jesus always acted mercifully towards those who came to him. We are invited to embrace the truth that we are Beloved of God and cause of His joy.

When we return to the Father and repent, do we get what we deserve? No. When we return to the Father, we get what He offers us --- Forgiveness. My brothers and sisters, don’t let it be forgot that once there was a spot… that was known as Calvary.

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

The Doors of Mercy Are Open--Hypocrites Welcome!

“The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated; every man fled to his own tent.”

Life is a constant challenge. Often we will suffer defeat in the face of temptation and persecution. The trick is not to flee to our own tents. We stand in need of the support of the community and the mercy of God. It is important to keep in mind that God loves us, even in our failings. God loves us, not because we are good, but because we are created by Him and therefore are lovable.

Because love is of God, all we do must be in conformity with His will. Mother Theresa used to say: “God does not require us to be successful, He only requires us to be faithful.” The challenge set before us is to trust God, knowing that He trusts us. Even though that does not sound quite right, trust it and act on it.

We are called to love in relationship with the God who made us. The rock of our strength is the Living God, not some creedal formula.

God is a person who seeks to establish a personal relationship with each and every one of us. Sometimes we place our trust in rituals and not in the Living God. During this Year of Mercy, Pope Francis is reminding us of the need to place our trust in God and is inviting us to return our Father’s House. The urgency of this invitation was brought home to me the other day. An individual came to see me because her life was in turmoil. I asked her if she had taken her cares to prayer. Tears filled my eyes when she said that she hadn’t because she was such a hypocrite. The door of mercy is open-- hypocrites are welcome to come in!

It is reasonable to say that modern-day hypocrites are the equivalents of the leper-- people who feel unclean and marginalized. Like the leper, each of us who is a hypocrite needs to come to the Lord, asking Him to make us clean again. Like the leper, we need Jesus' healing touch. We need Jesus to touch that deepest part of our souls where we feel the most hypocritical.

The issue is not whether we deserve some gesture of mercy from the Lord. The truth of the matter is that we need Christ’s mercy. Our neediness speaks to the heart of Christ who is rich in mercy. Pope Francis keeps reminding us that Jesus desires nothing more than to forgive sinners and to remove the effects of sins from our lives. Jesus wants to touch our hearts and to heal them, even if we make Him wait. Let us be open to Christ’s healing embrace.

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

The Mercy of God Is Everlasting

The History of Salvation is quite awesome to read. Whenever God intends to deliver his people, he stirs up the hearts of the prophets to pray for them.

For example, the prophet Micah prays that God’s Anointed would take care of his people, as the great Shepherd of the sheep, and to go before them, while they are here in this world as in a wood, in this world but not of it. The prayer is answered in the person of the Good Shepherd who seeks out and finds the lost and prepares a banquet for the wayward who returns. The prophet’s prayer and God’s response was powerfully enacted when Pope Francis visited a prison in Mexico, at the end of his pilgrimage to that country.

Standing before men and women who had been incarcerated because of crimes they had committed, Pope Francis spoke of God’s pardoning mercy. “There is no place beyond the reach of His mercy, no space or person it cannot touch” (Pope Francis). Sin and wrong doing have brought us into spiritual bondage, but God’s mercy extends pardon and forgiveness to us. When the One Who did not know sin became sin, God broke the power of sin and made all of us who are willing to receive the gift of grace heirs of the Kingdom. When God nailed sin to the Cross, He made the sin-sick world as white as wool and the sin-darkened world as bright as the sun.

The Good Shepherd has sought out the lost and placed them on His shoulders, making their burden his own. In His own body, He took our punishment so that through His wounds we would be healed and made whole again. The Mercy of God is everlasting to all His people. He Who is Mercy has extended to each of us unlooked for grace and unimaginable pardon. By so doing, the Prince of Peace has broken the cycle of violence and sin. No matter how low our sin has brought us, the Father has never ceased calling us Son/Daughter. When God works on the heart of a sinner, He convinces the individual of His infinite love and calls him back to His loving embrace.

I will close with a few comments of Pope Francis concerning the commemorative gift he left at the prison. "You encounter much fragility. Therefore I would like to offer you this fragile image, Crystal is fragile, it breaks easily. Christ on the Cross represents the greatest fragility of humanity; however it is this fragility that saves us, that helps us, that enables us to keep going and opens the doors of hope. It is my wish that each one of you, with the blessing of the Virgin and contemplating the fragility of Christ Who died to save us, sowing seeds of hope and resurrection".

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

Opening to the Mercy of God

The Prophet Isaiah reminds his hearers that God is One and there is no other than He. Nothing comes into existence or stays in existence if He does not will it.

The Scriptures tell us that we are earthen vessels, the works of God’s hands. For us to contend with God is as senseless as a lump of clay to contend with the potter working the wheel.

It is God Who makes and shapes us for His own purposes. It is God who fills us with heavenly graces, as rain on the meadows, making them fruitful.

We are preparing for the day when Christ will return in glory, bringing with Him an abundance of graces and all spiritual blessings: peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life in the Heavenly Kingdom. From the creation of the world, Christ has been appointed to be the Savior of the Human Race.

As we continue to journey through the days of Advent, let us open our hearts to receive the Light and Life of the world Who took flesh in the immaculate womb of the ever-virgin Mary.

Despite the numerous accounts of violence from every corner of the civilized world, God continues to speak a word of peace and reconciliation to His people. But here’s the rub. In order to be reconciled, we have to repent of our sins and return to the embrace of Love that we have avoided.

The healing grace of peace and forgiveness is freely offered to all who are willing to turn from their sinful ways. The season of Advent reminds us that God’s salvation is close at hand and that His divine majesty is manifested in the incarnation of His Only-begotten Son.

This year of Mercy reminds us that God loves the world so much as to give each and every one of us the opportunity to reclaim the greatness that is ours as children of God.

As disciples of the Word Made Flesh, it is important that we convert and become people of truth and mercy. Laying bare our hearts to the One Who knows and loves us, we are called to become a community of mercy and spiritual healing.

The Just Judge will look at the humble, broken-hearten, repentant sinner with the eyes of love and bind up the wounds that are presented to Him.

Yes, God loves us so much that he even rejoices and takes pleasure in us. He loves us with gratuitous love, love without limits, and without expecting anything in return. In mercy the Lord manifests the glory of His justice.

The Son of God become Flesh in the womb of Mary shows God's tender kindness to confused followers, to weak sinners and to the sorrowful of heart. He walks with us, he shows us the path of love, lifts us up in our falls, holds us to our labors, and accompanies us in all circumstances of our existence.

The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of mercy and grace. The poor and marginalized are graced to hear the Good News. No sin can cancel his merciful closeness or prevent him from unleashing the grace of conversion. However, we have to cooperate with it.

This year of mercy affords us an opportunity to stand humbly before the gaze of divine love and allow God to recreate us in His image and likeness so that we might radiate the glory that shines on the face of Christ.

The light that leads us--is it Christ’s or is it someone else’s? People will hear the words that we utter, but they will judge us by our actions. However, only if we are pure of heart will the Good News of salvation bear fruit in our time.

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, But Nobody Wants to Go Now

Years ago, Kenny Chesney sang a song: “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now.”

When you discuss death and final judgment, most people freak out. The mention of these topics makes us face our fragility. It reminds us that any notion of invincibility we may have is an illusion.

Reflecting on the familiar passage of St. John of the Cross, Madeleine L’Engle wrote: “In the evening of life we shall be judged on love, and not one of us is going to come off very well, and were it not for my absolute faith in the loving forgiveness of my Lord I could not call on him to come” (Madeleine L’Engle).

Love in Action

We live in a world that enslaves us to our past, whereas the Kingdom of God beckons us into a future of promise and hope. The One Who will judge us at the end of time is the One we have served all our lives and upon whose providence we have depended.

The love of God assures us of God’s love for us. Love teaches us to be willing to endure pain and suffering for the sake of the kingdom. Recall these words written to Timothy: “If we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:12).

When the Lord returns in glory, we will be standing in the presence of the One Who loved us so much that He sent His only Son to rescue us from the evil in the world and in us.

“And all of us who have had the veil removed can contemplate the glory of the Lord. And the Lord will transform us into His image with increasing glory. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).


The Synod Fathers expressed it this way: “[Jesus] showed the true meaning of mercy which implies the restoration of the Covenant. This appears clearly in his encounters with the Samaritan woman and the woman taken in adultery, in whom the awareness of sin is awakened in the presence of the gratuitous love of Jesus. Conversion is an ongoing commitment for the Church which embraces sinners in her midst and holy and at the same time in need of purification applies herself ceaselessly to penance and renewal. This striving for conversion is not a human activity alone. It is the dynamism of a contrite heart drawn and moved by grace in response to the merciful love of God who has loved us first. God offers the free gift of his forgiveness to anyone who is open to the action of his grace” (Final Relatio, #41; translated by Bishop Michael G. Campbell).

When we stand before the Flame of Divine Love, the whole mystery of the Cross will be revealed to us. Illumined by the Light of Love, our eyes will be opened and we shall be able to see clearly, knowing ourselves for the first time as we are known.

We shall have the Light of Life and our faces will radiate the glory of the Lord. If we open ourselves to the power of His boundless and eternal love, then the Father will see in us what He sees and loves in His Son.

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner and when you come again in glory, remember me and receive me into your kingdom.

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

It is easier for God to hold back anger than mercy.

Every year, people grumble about preparing for Christmas. There is so much shopping to do; so much baking to do; so much card-writing to do; so much decorating to do; etc. Yet, all the grumbling aside, we would never think of not doing any of it. We humans are a strange lot!

The problem is not Christmas. The problem is that we are not consistent in the way we celebrate God greatest gift to the world.

Seeking the Lord Jesus who is the face of the Father’s mercy should be a way of life for believers. Like the patriarch Jacob, we are often surprised to discover that we have been in the Presence of the Lord, even though we were not aware of it (Cf. Gen 28:17).

Learning to extend the mercy of God to all we meet, year-round, will fill us with joy, serenity and peace. Celebrating the mercy that God extends to us in Christ allows us to love others as we have been loved.

This lifestyle of extending mercy and celebrating newness of life in Christ becomes the bridge that connects us to God and to one another. It opens our hearts to the hope of being loved and being capable of loving others.

 As the Church prepares to enter into the extraordinary jubilee year, let us dedicate ourselves to extending to others the mercy that God has extended to us.

We live a life build on the Rock that is God, Who is ever-faithful and Whose mercy is everlasting.

The Eternal Word, Who took flesh of the Ever-virgin Mary stands at the door of mercy and extends His healing touch to all who would cross the threshold. Those who trust in God shall receive from Him grace that will transform them into the likeness of His beloved Son. The Lord is the refuge of sinners Himself and the dwelling place of all who call upon His name.

God’s forgiveness knows no bounds. In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God makes even more evident his love and its power to destroy all sin and hate.

The breath of the Holy Spirit gives newness of life wherever it blows.

Reconciliation with God is made possible through the paschal mystery and the mediation of the Church.

Thus God is always ready to forgive, and he never tires of forgiving in ways that are continually new and surprising. If there is a shortage in forgiveness, it is because we have gotten tired of asking for it.

In the Letter to the Romans we read: “There is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For if the many died by the sin of one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, superabound to many” (Rom. 5:15).

The grace and mercy of God, made tangible in the person of the Son totally outweighs the offense.

Saint Augustine, says: “It is easier for God to hold back anger than mercy”.

Let us not be afraid to approach the throne of mercy. Let us not grow tired of asking for forgiveness nor of extending forgiveness to anyone who asks it of us. When we perform random acts of mercy, we are making visible and tangible the power and the glory of the God.

Father Jerome Machar OSCO

God's Love Knows No Bounds

In the face of violence and terrorism, Lent reminds us that God loves everything and everyone He has created. In the face of hatred and prejudice, Lent reminds us that God is Love and because He cannot deny His own nature, He loves even those who do not love Him. In the face of a culture of death, Lent reminds us that God know that we are dust, but as creatures that He loves, we bear a treasure in earthen vessels. In the face of a society that is becoming more and more isolated, Lent reminds us that God made us to live in relationship with Him and with one another.

The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God speaks a word of comfort to the heart of each of His creatures. In that word is found a gracious offer of pardon and peace. Unlike His creatures, God is rich in mercy. No matter how mired we are in sin, God seeks us out and calls us to repent and return to His loving embrace. God so loved the world that He sent His only-begotten Son to save all who are willing to accept Him. Salvation is on God’s terms and not ours. For this reason, He has a claim on our obedience and allegiance.

The mercy of God is everlasting and His love is without measure and His Word is Truth. In love He speaks the truth to our hearts and He expects us to respond in truth. We can respond to the call of mercy because God has first sought us and the Holy Spirit is at work, ready to transform us, provided we allow Him. This transformation is total. It requires a change of mind and heart whereby we seek to conform ourselves to the mind and love of God. To repent is to return to the Lord from Whom we have wandered.

The word that proceeds for the mouth of God is living and life-giving. The letter to the Hebrews enlarges upon Isaiah’s theme: “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). God’s Word produces a spiritual change in the mind of men, which neither rain nor snow can make on the earth. It shall not return to the Lord without producing important effects. Gospel grace can and will transform us and bring about newness of life in Christ. Provided we truly repent of our sins, we will be delivered from the wrath to come and come to live in peace with one another and with ourselves. Because we have come to know the mercy of God Who sought us while we were mired in sin and guilt, we can show compassion to others who are enslaved to sin.

God offers His People forgiveness and peace. Like those who have gone before us, we have to leave the land of our slavery. Freedom from guilt and shame comes when we choose to abandon the fleshpots of Egypt and journey towards the Land flowing with milk and honey. The Word of God can soften our sin-hardened hearts only if we are willing to immerse ourselves in it. The Word of God is effective and active only if we allow it to take root in our souls. During the forty days of Lent may the Lord make our hearts like His, firm and merciful, attentive and generous. Having pondered the word, may we be joyous heralds of mercy and hope.

Father Jerome Machar OSCO

Guilt and Shame vs. Healing and Mercy

            Guilt and shame are powerful barriers to our relationship with God. They cause us to run and hide from the one person we need the most. They make it almost impossible for us to ask for and to accept mercy. The evil one uses them to keep us from standing before the Lord and seeking His pardon. Because of guilt and shame, we do not enjoy peace of conscience. When our hearts condemn us, it is the Lord who is seeking us and calling us out of our hiding places. At these moments, when the devil would have us wallow in despair, God sends forth His Holy Spirit to prompt us to trust in His merciful love. When we cannot find rest for our souls, God applies the healing balm of the Spirit. When we are speechless, the Lord gives us the Words of everlasting life. God is quite different from sinful human beings. It might be good to ponder these words taken from the Letter to the Romans. “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the One Who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will” (Rom. 8: 26-27). 

            The Evil One seeks to isolate us from one another and from God by accentuating our guilt and shame. God, on the contrary desires to engage us in a dialogue of love and reconciliation. To those who are weighed down with guilt and shame, the Lord calls out, “Don’t hide, but come to me. Lay down your burdens and I will give you rest and peace of mind” (Cf. Mat. 11: 28). The devil accuses us day and night, attempting to make us squirm and hide from God. God, on the other hand never tires of forgiving us. The devil seeks to deafen us with his accusations and the Lord desires to open our ears to the sound of His voice, calling us back to wholeness. The Lord does not condemn us because of our faults; rather, He accepts us no matter how imperfect our efforts. May we recognize the presence of the Lord accompanying us along our life’s journey and allow Him to open our hearts to the healing sound of His voice and the recreating power of His grace.

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

The Prison Door Is Wedged Open by the Cross of Christ

The Prison Door Is Wedged Open by the Cross of Christ

St. Paul speaks of slavery under the law. Jesus purchased us from slavery and we are free, but we retain our free will and can choose slavery in our lives. St. Paul says, “Do not submit your selves to slavery again.” 

Because we are human beings, we have an inclination to sin. We keep going back to slavery and put ourselves into slavery again instead of going forth into the freedom of God. God knows us better than we know ourselves. God understood that just setting us free was not enough. He had to initiate a way to keep the doors open to himself. We are in the prison of sin, but Jesus opened the prison door by his sacrificial death on the cross. And once we realize that, just like anyone who has been in prison, we see that the door is open to freedom from sin and we run out once we see that the open door that leads to Jesus. 

However, prison can become comfortable, and so, when things get tough, we might run back into the prison because we were comfortable there at least to a degree. However, Jesus has pried the prison door open with his cross. You cannot lock yourself in prison again. The cross of Jesus is wedged in the prison door and keeps the door open, and we can always walk out at any time. We can release ourselves from prison again through the sacraments, the gifts of baptism, confession, Eucharist, the anointing of the sick. These keep the door to our prison open. 

God allows the door to be always open for sinners who return to their prison of sin. They cannot shut the door to his mercy. Even the gift of the anointing of the sick, the last rites, is a way to present the love of Jesus Christ in the last hour. The door to God’s mercy is always open, and sometimes God himself goes in and carries the person out of the prison of brokenness when that person will not walk out themselves. The power of the sacraments carries them out of this prison. 

There is a constant flow of grace in the Catholic Church, a flowering of grace at every moment. The wounds of Christ were not healed over in his hands, feet, and side. The wound in his side is the Church which is ever flowing with the blood of mercy and the water of forgiveness. 

We can pity the Pharisees who always considered the external as a way to salvation. Christ called them to interior change. In his discourse with the Pharisees, Jesus, thinking of people caught up in sin, said, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.' (Luke 11:39-41)

God sees the charity in one’s heart. God knows a person’s behavior and he understands that some people may be away from him, but he sees the charity in their heart. Almsgiving makes them clean on the inside, even if they are not behaving very well on the outside. Some people who have turned away from God can be more godlike in their lives than those who pretend to be godlike, because God sees their heart of charity. He knows a loving heart when he sees it. Charity covers a multitude of sins. 

It is good to reflect on the freedom that God gives us. The chains with which we lock ourselves up are no longer usable because the chains are broken and the locks no longer work. We cannot lock ourselves away from God or go back in our prison and close the door where he cannot enter. The cross is holding the door open and, if we do not go out to God ourselves, at the very last moment, through the Sacrament of the anointing of the sick, he may come into us and carry us out. And praised be God forever. 

--Father David Engo, FBM

Extending Mercy to Sinners

   Saint Paul reminds the members of the church of Ephesus that they have reason to rejoice. Even while they were trapped in their sinful ways, God called them to fullness of life in Christ. This calling is the greatest gift anyone could hope for. It is offered to each of us even before we ask for it. If we cling to Christ we shall never be miserable, but if we separate ourselves from Him, we shall never know true peace. God chose us in Christ to be holy and fully alive in the Spirit before the foundations of the world were made. We were predestined to be adopted children of God through the blood of Christ and the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Because the world has been lulled into insensitivity and driven to the brink of self-destruction, we are obliged declare loudly and clearly the good news of salvation. 

            Because God has shown gracious mercy to us, we can extend mercy to those we meet, offering them a way out of the hell that their habitual sin has created. Through the sacrificial love of the Son, God does not encourage sin, neither does He glibly excuse it away. However, He does conquer the power of sin over us and shows us the path to conversion and holiness. Pope Francis put it this way:  “Frequently, we act as arbiters of grace rather than its facilitators.  But the Church is not a tollhouse; it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems.”  (The Joy of the Gospel, # 47)  

            I do not want to deny the reality of sin. Neither do I wish to ignore the moral teaching of the Church. However, some of us strive so hard to right the wrongs of sin that we forget to show compassion and mercy for sinners. As we seek to proclaim the Good News we must always remember that He who was sinless took to himself our condemnation as sinners so that we might live in the holiness of grace. Through baptism into Christ all people have been given a share of the blessings Christ won for us by His Paschal Sacrifice. These graces are the fruit of a love that allowed the beloved Son to die so that sinful sons and daughters might live. 

         Here’s the rub. In order to share in the spiritual blessings of the kingdom, we must take responsibility for and confess our sins. In his first epistle, Saint John wrote: “If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us” (1 Jn. 1: 9-10). We need to examine our hearts and then humbly ask that they be recreated. God is the author and giver of all blessings, but He can only forgive those who repent of their sins and choose to live in the fullness of grace in Christ. We are invited to make Christ the source and summit of our lives.  

Through faith we come to believe that God makes forgiveness and grace available to everyone. Through faith we surrender ourselves to the love and will of God who alone can make us whole. We rejoice because Christ has conquered sin and death and freed us from our bondage. To conclude, I would like to read a prayer that Bill Wilson was inspired to include in the Big Book. 

The Third Step Prayer 

God, I offer myself to You-  To build with me  and to do with me as You wilt.  Relieve me of the bondage of self,  that I may better do Your will.  Take away my difficulties,  that victory over them may bear witness  to those I would help of Your Power,  Your Love, and Your Way of life.  May I do Your will always! 

Fr. Jerome Machar, OSCO