We gathered at Mass to hear the Word of the Lord and
partake of the Bread of Life.
Like the prophet Isaiah, we find
ourselves in the presence of the heavenly host, that cloud of witnesses
that stands where the Most High dwells. With the prophet, we are given a
glimpse of the divine majesty and forced to acknowledge our sinful
unworthiness to be there.
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews put it
quite clearly: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God” (Heb. 10:31). “For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb.
12:29).
It takes my breath away to think that we take the living God
into our hands. Think about it. The fire of divine love places Himself
in our grasp.
The zealot Paul had a similar experience of God’s
overwhelming presence. While on his way to Damascus, he was wrapped in a
light that blinded him and brought him to his knees. Like the prophet, I
can imagine his saying, “I’m doomed!” (Is 6:5).
Both Paul and Isaiah found themselves confronted by the Holy One of Israel. In the light of that
vision, each had to grapple with his unworthiness.
We find a parallel
story in the Book of Genesis. “Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a
man there until the breaking of the day. And when the stranger saw that
he was unable to overpower him, he struck his hip joint and dislocated it”
(Gen. 32: 24-25).
Having been purified in the crucible of divine love,
these men are all set aside for a special ministry to the people of God.
God’s
Word is a live coal and the Holy Spirit is its fire. We are cast in to
the crucible of divine love each time we receive the Bread of the Word
and the Bread of Life.
Like the patriarch Jacob, we mindlessly
wander into the presence of God. “Surely the Lord in in this place, and I
didn’t even realize it” (Gen. 28:16).
We cannot always be focused on
the Presence of the Holy One in our lives, but when we are granted a
glimpse of His presence we must acknowledge that He is holy and we are
not.
By the freely given grace of God we, each time we hear the Word and
receive the Sacred Body of the Lord, are conformed to the person of the
Beloved Son and made new. God is the only one who can purify our lives
and empower us to serve the Gospel.
Like those who have gone before us,
may we see the Holy One and repent of our sins. When the Sacrament of
Divine Love touches our lips, may it take away our iniquities and
cleanse of us our sins. Having been purified by Love, may we be used as
ministers of love, forgiveness and reconciliation.
--Fr. Jerome Machar, OSCO
CONFRATERNITY OF PENITENTS BLOG -- Follow the Confraternity of Penitents, a Catholic Association of the Faithful for people who want to live at home a religious Rule of Life, originally given by Saint Francis of Assisi to the penitents of his time.
Showing posts with label sinfulness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sinfulness. Show all posts
Friday, September 16, 2016
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
The Dignity of Human Beings
God’s love is everlasting. We should never doubt that we
are the objects of Our Father’s love. When Jesus ascended into heaven
with His nail scarred body He took His place at the right hand of the
Majesty to plead for those He had left behind. We have the certainty
that He will wait for us to join Him. When God became man, He joined our
human nature to His divinity for all eternity, giving our human nature a
higher dignity than we had the day we were created. It is important to
keep this in mind as we turn our attention to the people gathering in
Washington. The event reminds us that many people have lost touch with
God.
Having lost the anchor of the soul, people tend to forget that they were created by God and for God. Having been created in the image and likeness of God, we are made according to His good pleasure and for His praise and glory. The liturgies and rallies in Washington DC, for the annual March for Life on January 22, are intended to be beacons of hope for all, who like Juliet cry out: "O, shut the door! And when you have done so, come weep with me, past hope, past cure, past help." This year’s March for Life, says to all people with Pope Francis, “The door is open! We shall weep with you, but tears of joy because there is hope, there is a cure for your soul and there is help for the future.”
To people trapped in a culture of death, Jesus says: “I have conquered death and have broken its bonds. Take my hand and walk in the newness of life.” In the face of sin and death, it pleased God to reconcile sinners to himself. He stretched out His arms on the cross and died so that we might have life and have it abundantly. The door is open and the light of life is offered to each and every one of us. We can choose to die to sin and live, not to ourselves but to Him. We have only to recall Moses’ exhortation to the people: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Choose life” (Deut. 30:19).
Suspended between heaven and earth, the Lord of Life opened the gates to paradise to all who would call upon His name. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” In the face of total failure, Jesus claims victory over sins and death. In emptiness and darkness, Jesus because the cause of our hope, the source of our healing and companion on the journey. Nailed to the Tree of Life, he became the fountain of mercy for all who are willing to admit their thirst and drink of the living and life-giving waters. Upon the cross, Jesus is seated upon the Throne of Mercy. Though He was consumed by desolation and vanquished by death, He spoke words of hope, healing and forgiveness to a penitent criminal. By Himself entering into the valley of death Jesus calls each of us into everlasting life.
Because we have received mercy, we are called to reach out to those who find themselves in the existential peripheries of society. Because we have been grafted to Christ, we are to live in solidarity with the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters: the poor, the disabled, the unborn and the sick, migrants and refugees, the elderly and the young who lack employment. All of us must care for life, cherish life, and treat every man, woman and child with dignity and respect.
--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO
Having lost the anchor of the soul, people tend to forget that they were created by God and for God. Having been created in the image and likeness of God, we are made according to His good pleasure and for His praise and glory. The liturgies and rallies in Washington DC, for the annual March for Life on January 22, are intended to be beacons of hope for all, who like Juliet cry out: "O, shut the door! And when you have done so, come weep with me, past hope, past cure, past help." This year’s March for Life, says to all people with Pope Francis, “The door is open! We shall weep with you, but tears of joy because there is hope, there is a cure for your soul and there is help for the future.”
To people trapped in a culture of death, Jesus says: “I have conquered death and have broken its bonds. Take my hand and walk in the newness of life.” In the face of sin and death, it pleased God to reconcile sinners to himself. He stretched out His arms on the cross and died so that we might have life and have it abundantly. The door is open and the light of life is offered to each and every one of us. We can choose to die to sin and live, not to ourselves but to Him. We have only to recall Moses’ exhortation to the people: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Choose life” (Deut. 30:19).
Suspended between heaven and earth, the Lord of Life opened the gates to paradise to all who would call upon His name. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” In the face of total failure, Jesus claims victory over sins and death. In emptiness and darkness, Jesus because the cause of our hope, the source of our healing and companion on the journey. Nailed to the Tree of Life, he became the fountain of mercy for all who are willing to admit their thirst and drink of the living and life-giving waters. Upon the cross, Jesus is seated upon the Throne of Mercy. Though He was consumed by desolation and vanquished by death, He spoke words of hope, healing and forgiveness to a penitent criminal. By Himself entering into the valley of death Jesus calls each of us into everlasting life.
Because we have received mercy, we are called to reach out to those who find themselves in the existential peripheries of society. Because we have been grafted to Christ, we are to live in solidarity with the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters: the poor, the disabled, the unborn and the sick, migrants and refugees, the elderly and the young who lack employment. All of us must care for life, cherish life, and treat every man, woman and child with dignity and respect.
--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO
The Degradation of the Human Person
Everyone knows the story of David and Bathsheba. In a society that
is inundated with sex, we tend to overlook the horror of this epic
story. When David was consumed with lust, Bathsheba ceased to be a
woman, the handiwork of God and became an object to be possessed and
used.
Unlike David, we do not have to climb to the roof of our palaces, we only have to turn on our computers. Lust, fed by pornography, hardens the heart and entices us to live out our fantasies, wherein people become things to be used, abused and disposed of. Society’s focus on pleasure and instant gratification has done horrible things to women.
The Holy Spirit moved the pen of the Sacred Author to record this event in David’s life. We must trust in the Spirit to speak to our hearts and enable us to value the beauty of the human person. By God’s merciful grace, we will receive the helps we need to overcome self-indulgence and pour ourselves out in service to others. By the guidance of the Spirit, we will learn to treat other with dignity and respect. By the outpouring of grace, we will rediscover what it means to say that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Once again, we will come to know the bliss that comes from walking with God in the Garden of His delight.
Lust not only caused David to treat Bathsheba as an object, but it also caused him to think that Uriah was expendable – disposable. Once we desecrate the temple of our body, nothing is sacred, nothing has value. When David fell prey to his lust, he did not see the image and likeness of God in either Bathsheba or Uriah. Sin hardened his heart and caused him to degrade the woman and to destroy her husband. His stone cold heart had to be made flesh again.
God so loved the world that He set in motion a process whereby the children of Adam and Eve might become human again. God became flesh so that sinful human beings might once again be made in the image and likeness of God. The Beloved Son, Who reflects the glory of the Godhead, was degraded and ridiculed so as to restore dignity to a fallen race. The immortal God died on the cross to bring mortal men to the fullness of life. I pray that each of us would experience God’s mercy and forgiveness so that we would stop hurting ourselves and others.
--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO
Unlike David, we do not have to climb to the roof of our palaces, we only have to turn on our computers. Lust, fed by pornography, hardens the heart and entices us to live out our fantasies, wherein people become things to be used, abused and disposed of. Society’s focus on pleasure and instant gratification has done horrible things to women.
The Holy Spirit moved the pen of the Sacred Author to record this event in David’s life. We must trust in the Spirit to speak to our hearts and enable us to value the beauty of the human person. By God’s merciful grace, we will receive the helps we need to overcome self-indulgence and pour ourselves out in service to others. By the guidance of the Spirit, we will learn to treat other with dignity and respect. By the outpouring of grace, we will rediscover what it means to say that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Once again, we will come to know the bliss that comes from walking with God in the Garden of His delight.
Lust not only caused David to treat Bathsheba as an object, but it also caused him to think that Uriah was expendable – disposable. Once we desecrate the temple of our body, nothing is sacred, nothing has value. When David fell prey to his lust, he did not see the image and likeness of God in either Bathsheba or Uriah. Sin hardened his heart and caused him to degrade the woman and to destroy her husband. His stone cold heart had to be made flesh again.
God so loved the world that He set in motion a process whereby the children of Adam and Eve might become human again. God became flesh so that sinful human beings might once again be made in the image and likeness of God. The Beloved Son, Who reflects the glory of the Godhead, was degraded and ridiculed so as to restore dignity to a fallen race. The immortal God died on the cross to bring mortal men to the fullness of life. I pray that each of us would experience God’s mercy and forgiveness so that we would stop hurting ourselves and others.
--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO
Monday, December 14, 2015
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
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
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