God Is Good for Us

As servants of the One True King, our love should be sincere, free from deceit, and free from hollow sentiment. This is especially required when we are confronted with people intent on being nice and politically correct.

This obsession, being nice and inoffensive, renders our words insincere, deceitful and devoid of meaning. Eventually, the living and life-giving Word becomes a dead letter. Faith becomes meaningless when the Word is not alive and active.

The gospel challenges us not only to speak the truth but to live it in love. “Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy” (Warren W. Wiersbe).

Because He chose not to equivocate, Jesus lived a dangerous life. He knew that He was the Beloved Son of the Father and He committed Himself to doing only that which the Father told Him to do. He was not afraid of rejection. In His passion and death we have been healed.

Like the one true King, let us pour ourselves out in the service of the Gospel and thereby bring those who wander in darkness and gloom to the fullness of life. As servants of the Kingdom, we offer the world an invitation to the banquet of the Lamb, who loved us first and saved us at the cost of His blood.

If we desire to be conformed to the person of Chris, we must allow His Grace and Truth to take possession of our souls and transform our hearts. We cannot expect to attain the crown if we do not strive to repent of our sins and believe the Gospel of the Kingdom. We must seek the kingdom of the Father in spirit and in Truth.

Saint Paul often used athletic imagery when speaking of his striving for to grasp his heavenly prize. To live in the arena of the monastery, we must run the race according to the Truth, leaving no room for duplicity. Entering the arena of the monastery bears with it a stark reality. Stripped of all deceit, the monk stands naked before the gaze of the Beloved Son. Obeying the Word, we strive to take hold of the prize for which Christ has taken hold of us (Cf. Phil 3:12).

I will allow Blessed Paul VI to end this reflection: “We can imagine, then, that each of our sins, our attempts to turn our back on God, kindles in him a more intense flame of love, a desire to bring us back to himself and to his saving plan… God, in Christ, shows himself to be infinitely good…

"God is good. Not only in himself; God is – let us say it with tears – good for us. He loves us, he seeks us out, he thinks of us, he knows us, he touches our hearts us and he waits for us. He will be – so to say – delighted on the day when we return and say: ‘Lord, in your goodness, forgive me. Thus our repentance becomes God’s joy”.

Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

Light and the Lord

Consider the word LIGHT. Light is a very illuminating word, you might say. Sorry about that! We tend to say, “I see the light” when we understand something. We say someone has seen the light when he or she comes to share our perspective on something. We speak of coming out of the darkness and into the light as we find clarity in making an important decision. We associate light with growth, development and joy. We often speak about light at the end of the tunnel as we emerge from a period of inner darkness. Here we are not only speaking about physical darkness but also spiritual darkness where our greatest fears lie. In the context of faith, we speak of light as a saving grace – Christ is the Light of the World. We have come to believe that it is through the sacred words that we are brought out of darkness – the very word of God is enlightening, His very being aglow with light that shines upon us and all that is good. It is as clear as the light of day. Jesus said that we are "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world". Being salt and light is not optional. When we open ourselves to the light, good things can happen. We shine brightest when we are focused on serving others and accompanying them in their faith walk. It is through spontaneous acts of kindness that our light shines. “Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves and gravity, we shall harness for God energies of love. Then for the second time in the history of the world we will have discovered fire” (Teilhard de Chardin).

Jesus announced to the disciples: "You are the light of the world." The light of Christ has come into the world. God has kindled the Fire of Divine Love in our souls. Jesus instructs us to share the light that we have been given – using it to reflect our good deeds. The Love of God makes us firm in the faith of the gospel. The Communion of the Holy Spirit is the bond of Love that makes us one in Christ. The in dwelling of God's Holy Spirit enables us to be lovers of world we live in, lovers of the people we encounter and lovers of the Word we ponder. It is important, however to keep in mind that it is not our light, but the reflection of the Light of Jesus Himself, that people will see in us.

I will close with a story from the desert fathers: Abba Lot came to Abba Joseph and said: Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, meditation and contemplative silence; and, according as I am able, I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do? The elder rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: Why not become fire?

Here Are My Mother and My Brothers - Whoever Does the Will of God Is My Brother and Sister and Mother

January 28, 2014

Tuesday of 3rd Week in Ordinary Time

Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas

2 Samuel 6: 12b-15, 17-19

Mark 3: 31-35

The Family of the Virgin by Martin de Vos (1593) Painting on Wood

“Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother (Mk. 3: 34-35)”.

This passage never ceases to challenge preachers. On the surface, Jesus appears to be repudiating His family. But, if we were to pause and ponder the passage for a moment, we would see that Jesus is attempting to move His hearers beyond the level of mere blood relationship to a spiritual one. He is expanding upon the concept of being created in the “image and likeness of God” our heavenly Father. In this context, we come to see the fraternal relationship within the Kingdom of the Father as a gift from God.

The Father was made known by the Son Whom Saint John the Evangelist describes as being “close to the Father’s heart” (Cf. Jn. 1:18). Because we are members of the Family of God, we find ourselves close to the heart of Christ.

We access the heart of Christ by “hearing the word of God and observing it” (Cf. Lk 11: 28). In this hearing and observing, we come to surrender our lives and will to the love and care of God. Taken in this light, Jesus is actually honoring His mother when you consider how she pondered the actions of God in her heart and surrendered herself totally to the divine will as it was revealed to her by the message of the angel Gabriel.

Jesus is challenging us to surrender to God's love for us and to place ourselves at the service of all whom He loves. The Church offers us a wonderful example of this act of abandonment in today’s first reading, where David danced before the Lord (Cf. 2 Sam. 6:14). David was filled joy at the nearness of the God of Israel. He could not control his exaltation. The king did in the midst of the people of Israel what John the Baptist did in the seclusion of Elizabeth’s womb. Rediscovering the joy of his youth, David danced, leaped and sang the praises of God.

In the presence of a loving God, David was set free from any slavish fear that had possessed him. The knowledge that he was under the watchful eye of the Almighty caused  him to be filled with a new hope that comes from being the object of divine blessing. Like David, we find ourselves in the presence of the Heavenly King Who tells us that by hearing His Word and pondering it in our hearts; we are united to Him by a bond closer than family lineage. It is in Him that we truly find ourselves. We are called to live authentically and consistently, loving and serving others as we have been loved and served. It is important that we show mercy and compassion to all those whom God loves, especially the poor, the sick and the marginalized.

Faith is a gift of grace. God Who is love, makes His dwelling within us and empowers those who accept Him to live in love--love of Him and love of others. This abiding in Christ and Christ in us is manifested to the world when we show love for one another. Love is the fruit of faith at the service of the Kingdom.

Love is the means whereby faith manifests its energy and power to transform not only the individual, but also the whole world. Loving compassion is the means whereby faith is activated and energized.

As believers we place ourselves at the service of those who suffer from despair at the lack of meaning of life, drug addiction, fear of abandonment in old age or sickness, marginalization or social discrimination. As believers we strive to build a world that respects human life and fosters personal growth and development.

Blessed John Paul II wrote: “God created man in his own image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26, 27): calling him to existence through love, he called him at the same time for love. God is love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8) and in himself he lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the human race in his own image and continually keeping it in being, God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion. Love is therefore the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being” (Familiaris Consortio, 11).

Father Jerome Machar, OSCO