Meditations

Read more about the article Epiphany

Epiphany

Today is Epiphany.  Just as the wise men brought their gifts to Baby Jesus, we also can present our gifts to Him.  What gift can we give God? The gift He desires most – ourselves.  He wants us entirely and completely.   Yes, I know this may be intimidating, and we have all of our excuses lined up. “But I’m a sinner.”  Yes, I said that too. St. Peter denied Jesus.  St. Paul was responsible for the persecution and murder of Christians.  St. Mary Magdalene had seven demons cast out from her (I can’t even begin to imagine her sins).  If Jesus forgave them and gave new life to them, there is hope for you and me. “But I don’t want to change who I am.”  I tried that one too. Who do you think gave you all your talents?  Why would He bless you with all your unique gifts and then withhold them from you for choosing to follow Him? Jesus does not call us to become who we are not; He calls us to be the best selves we can be.  We all have our flaws and are trying to become better, but if we give ourselves to Jesus, how much more He can help us to become the better human beings we would like to be. “But I don’t want to give away all my stuff.”  I don’t know about you, but my stuff wears out and I have no problem parting with the stuff that is old, broken, and doesn’t fit anymore. (Yes, I still have a few sentimental favorites like my son’s Baptismal outfit.) More importantly, it’s not about giving up what we want, but being happy with what we have.  And if stuff really made us happy, we would not have to constantly buy more of it.  If we really want the things that don’t wear out, we need to think about what treasures we are storing up in Heaven.  Are we generous?  Are we kind?  Are we forgiving?  Are we patient?  Are we loving?  Do we offer up our prayers, works, joys, and sufferings to God every day?  These are the things offered with love that build up our treasures in Heaven. “But I don’t want to give up my goals.”  This one worried me too.  I had lots of plans for my life that included starting my own business and having material success.  I had my MBA and was making progress on my plan.  Then I gave birth and the doctor presented my son to me.  As I held him in my arms everything changed 180 degrees.  I suddenly realized that I couldn’t leave him.   This was the Holy Spirit at work.  I told my husband, “We need to talk.  I can’t go back to work.  I can’t leave our son.”  He smiled at me and said, “As I watched the doctor place him in your arms I realized that I didn’t want you to go back to work.  I want you to…

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Read more about the article Nativity

Nativity

A Meditation on the Nativity from the perspective of St. Joseph: We have traveled many miles to Bethlehem.  Mary and I are hungry, thirsty, and exhausted. So often she looks at me and smiles her gentle smile and I know that she is praying as I am praying. Yes, we are weary but at peace.  The journey will soon be over.  We will find an inn and rest.  Then we can report for the census tomorrow and return home to Nazareth. Then Mary says very softly, “It is time.”  It is too soon.  We don’t have a place to stay. The sun has set and it is bitter cold.  I have given Mary my cloak and she is still shivering. I go from inn to inn and get more worried as time and again they say there is no room.  I search their faces for some shred of compassion – a baby is going to be born.  Mary and Jesus need shelter.  I can’t let them down. Why is this happening? My dear Mary can’t give birth in the street.  I even plead with one man, but Mary says “It is okay. Don’t insist, Joseph.”  She is so calm.  I meet her gaze and see only love, compassion, and trust; I know that somehow it will be okay. I keep knocking on doors.  Finally, I am offered a place in the stables, a cave really.  The animals are there, but it is warm and dry. I don’t understand why this is happening, but I trust that Our Father has His reasons.  I prepare a place for Mary.  I look for a place to prepare for Jesus and I remember the crib I made him – it’s back in Nazareth.  The hours I spent lovingly carving it, putting my whole self into that crib.  I wanted it to be perfect for Him. All that is in front of me is a manger – a feeding trough.  There is clean hay to put in it and use it as a bed.  I am thankful for the clean hay. Mary settles in and I sit and pray.  Suddenly there is a brilliant flash of light and I hear baby Jesus crying.  He is here.  I wait until Mary has wrapped him in cloth and I go and kneel before Him.  Mary smiles and says, “Here Joseph, hold Him.”  Hold Him? Hold God?  I am about to say no, but He looks at me and smiles and then gives a little shiver from the cold.  I go to Him and hold Him close to my heart.  I will keep you warm, My Lord. After a while I hear noises outside.  “Who’s there?”  “It is only us. We are shepherds.  The angels told us the King of kings is here.  We want to worship Him.”  I pull aside the curtain and they file in.  They tell me how thousands of angels filled the sky and sang so sweetly that they would never forget that music,…

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Read more about the article The Book of Job

The Book of Job

Then the LORD* answered Job out of the storm and said: Who is this who darkens counsel with words of ignorance? . . I will question you, and you tell me the answers! Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its size? Surely you know? Who stretched out the measuring line for it? Into what were its pedestals sunk, and who laid its cornerstone, while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God* shouted for joy? Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place for taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from it?  Then Job answered the LORD and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.  I have spoken but did not understand;  things too marvelous for me, which I did not know. (Job 38:1-7,12-13, 42:1, 3) (Bible.usccb.org) This excerpt from the Book of Job is familiar to all of us.  Job has lost everything and everyone. His body is wracked with sudden disease and pain.  He is a good man.  Why is this evil visited upon him? He demands answers from God.  We have all been in Job’s shoes to some extent at some point in our lives.  We understand Job and can empathize with his sorrow, anger, and despondency.  Miraculously, God enters into a conversation with Job.  The conversation does not go as Job planned.  Instead of answering the question Job asks, God shows him the depth and breadth of creation – oceans, jungles, stars, galaxies.  Job is overwhelmed.  With humility he realizes with Whom he is speaking and how little he has appreciated everything God created simply so that man could exist.  He reconciles with God, not because God answers his question, but because God answered the question buried deep in the recesses of Job’s heart that he was afraid to ask:  Have you abandoned me? Do you still love me?  When God entered into a conversation with Job, He was telling him that he did indeed matter.  He had not been abandoned.  When God showed him the entire universe in a glimpse, Job finally realized that everything was created for his benefit; everything was created to support life on this little blue-green planet, because as tiny and insignificant as we seem in comparison to the universe, we matter. We are loved. Even if God had answered Job’s original question, Job would not have understood the answer.  The Incarnation had not happened yet and Job could not have comprehended the answer. We can see Job as one of us, but he is also a type of prefiguring of Christ.  Job is a good and faithful man who loves God with all his heart.  Jesus is perfection and loves God perfectly and completely. As Job’s fortunes go from bad to worse, he does not curse God but instead continues to bless…

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Read more about the article Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Poor in Spirit has nothing to do with wealth; it has to do with detachment from material things.  Yes, it is pleasant to have a nice home, an expensive car, beautiful clothes, and a respected reputation in the community, but these things are only pleasures for this world and do nothing to advance our holiness and lead us to Heaven.  Detachment may seem difficult, but it is easy when we have the right mindset.  I have known many people who received a cancer diagnosis and not one of them ever said to me, “I don’t want to leave my stuff.”  On the contrary, they were worried about leaving children behind, or how their families would suffer. With all the fires in California in the last few years many people had to make split second decisions on what to take with them.  They took children, pets, their cell phone (which connected them to family and friends), and family photographs if they had time.  No one showed up at a shelter with their big screen tv or their trophies or awards.  We really do know what is important when we have perspective; we just need to put it into practice on a regular basis.  Recognizing these material blessings as temporary gifts intended to be shared, is where we begin.  These material gifts only bring graces to us when we use them as God intended.  My father-in-law was a wonderful example of sharing his gifts with others. At his funeral, a man told my husband that his father had loaned him money for funeral expenses.  Someone else approached and said, “Your father is the only person who would loan me money for my son’s legal expenses when he was in trouble.”  My father-in-law never mentioned the debts to anyone, including his wife, and always treated these gentlemen with courtesy and respect.  Both of these people eventually paid him back in full and were grateful for his kindness and generosity. It is in true charity that we encounter the face of God.  To see Jesus in the face of the one in need and be moved to reach out in love, is an encounter with God.  To receive that gift knowing that our loving Father has sent this person to help us because He loves us, is also a grace.  True charity is the virtue of love in practice. “. . .For Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” This is the great truth the world does not know.  We gain all things in Heaven by being detached from the things of this world and using them for good.  A paintbrush is merely a tool, but in the hand of Michelangelo it was used to create the paintings in the Sistine Chapel.  For hundreds of years millions of people have contemplated God in that Chapel.  In sharing our gifts with love, we open ourselves to intimacy with Our Lord and this is how we experience the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.  God is love.  Love…

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