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Read more about the article The Book of Amos

The Book of Amos

Last Sunday’s first reading comes from Amos.  Amos prophesies to the kingdoms of Judah and Israel around 750 B.C.  The people of Israel are not happy with his message, and he responds by saying that he was a shepherd and God told him to go and prophesy, and so he did.

Time and again we see God choosing shepherds for special missions.  Moses was shepherding his father-in-law’s flock when God called to him to lead his people out of slavery, David was called from his flock to be anointed king, Amos was called to lead the people away from their hypocrisy and abuse of the poor, the shepherds at the Nativity were the first to receive the news of the Savior’s birth and invited to adore Him, and Jesus many times refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd.  Even in the modern era Our Lady of Fatima appears to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917 with a message of repentance to give to the world.

Why does God so often choose shepherds?  Shepherds have learned patience.  Sheep are not known as intelligent animals and can wander from the flock.  In order to lead people by motivating them through love instead of fear requires a great deal of patience because we, like sheep, can wander off the path and make poor decisions.

Shepherds have learned to listen to God in the silence.  They experience God through the natural world and through His creatures.  They have established a rhythm to their days that does not involve the constant frenetic pace that the rest of us create in our lives.  They create space in their lives to hear God’s voice.

Shepherds tend to be humble.  They spend their days with animals who do not care what they wear, what they have achieved, or who they know.  I am sure it is also easier to be humble with the constant reminder that they smell like sheep, but more than that, they know who they are as creatures of God and who God is as their Creator.  Shepherds are trusted by their sheep because they treat their sheep kindly and it is this kindness that draws people to them as well.

Shepherds are down to earth and not impressed with their own intellect. In Jesus’s own words he says: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.” (Mt 11:25-26)  When these prophets speak God’s wisdom to the people, the people know that these words do not come from them but from God.  Shepherds allow the Holy Spirit to speak because they realize that this wisdom is not theirs, but God’s.

Moses, David, and Jesus were forced into their desert experiences because the ruling kings sought their death, but God used these experiences to draw them closer to Himself.  During the last year and a half with the lockdowns we have all lived the desert experience of the shepherds.  Many have experienced the difficulty of “Zoom school,”  job loss, decline in physical or mental health, or the death of a loved one who couldn’t receive needed medical procedures or by suicide.  We all have suffered through isolation and loss of the sacraments for months.  We have all been forced to slow down.  It is in this desert that God has reached out to us.

We are the shepherds in the modern world.  Yes, all of us ordinary people living ordinary lives are being called to our own unique missions.  Each of us has talents – and weaknesses – designed for the particular mission God has chosen for us.  He knows our imperfections,  our shortcomings and our excuses –we are His sheep, after all.  Our weaknesses are an opportunity for God to show His strength.  Our lack of knowledge is an opportunity for His wisdom to shine through.  Our uncertainty about the future is an opportunity to rely completely on Him.   

The most important quality of shepherds is that when God calls them, they respond.  Amos says simply, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” (Amos 7:14-15). Simply saying yes is all that God required.

God is calling us now.  He invites each of us into the silence to hear His voice.  He invites us to trust Him.   The promise He gave Moses (Ex 3:12)  and the Apostles (Mt 28:20) — “I will be with you” — is the promise He gives to all of us.  All He needs is our “yes” and He will do the rest.

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Read more about the article Time

Time

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt 4:17)

I heard a story a long time ago that went like this:

The demons gathered together to discuss how they would steal souls.  One demon came forward and said, “I will tell people that we do not exist.”  The others thought this was a great idea.  Another came forward and said, “I will tell people that hell does not exist.”  The others applauded him for his ingenuity.  A third one came forward and said, “I will tell people there is plenty of time.”  With this all the demons jumped up ecstatic with his insights into the human psyche.

I remembered this story during a recent vacation I took with my family to see some national parks in Utah as well as the Grand Canyon.  As with many people, God speaks to me through nature.  When I gazed over the lookout at Bryce Canyon, I was amazed to see what weathering had done to the rocks and the beautiful and unique shapes I had never before seen.  I thought about how patient God is in His creation and much time it took to create this beauty.  Then I thought about my soul.  God had given me such a marvelous gift and the only gift I can give Him is to give back my soul in a beautiful condition.  Beauty takes time.  I don’t have thousands or millions of years, so I need to make every moment count.  How much do I pray every day?  How well do I live the Beatitudes?  How much honest self-reflection do I do before going to Confession?  There is definitely room for improvement.

God wasn’t finished speaking with me yet and gave me an experience for further reflection.  We planned a day trip to the Grand Canyon which is a little more than 2 ½ hours from St. George Utah.  We put our destination into Garmin (old school I know but my phone doesn’t do audible commands when it is plugged into the charger) and off we went.  We stopped for gas at Jacob’s Lake then continued on Highway 89 according to Garmin (and lack of signage on the Arizona highway).  We went up and over a two-lane mountain road with no shoulder, no guardrail, and hairpin turns.  I distinctly remember there were also no lights anywhere and wasn’t looking forward to the evening return trip.   Then we descended to the desert floor and proceeded across it, every minute getting hotter and hotter.  Finally my husband commented that we’d been on the road for 3 ½ hours and did I see any signs anywhere on the road?  Sure enough, we had missed Highway 67 way back before the mountain.  So back across the desert we went, up and over the mountain that I thankfully would not have to traverse at night, and finally after five hours of driving arrived at the Grand Canyon.

As an English major I appreciate a good metaphor and I think that’s why God picked this experience.  We can easily take the wrong road in life.  Sometimes we listen to the wrong people and sometimes we are so focused on where we want to go, convinced that we know better, that we miss the gentle urging of the Holy Spirit.  Of course God allows U-turns in life, which means we can eventually arrive where He wants us to end up, but the further we persist in going “our way” the less time we have to appreciate the beauty of the destination.  How much good do we neglect to do when we are doing things “our way”?  How many times do we fail to see God showing us how much He loves us?  How much heartache, worry, and general grumpiness can we avoid if we focus on doing His Will?

On the third breathtaking sunset God gave me on that trip, I stopped to say an Our Father.  No agenda or prayer list of wants, just an Our Father to tell Him I loved Him and to be fully present to Him in that moment.  As I immersed myself in Him, He responded by writing “I love you” in the sky.

If you look carefully you can see the "I," an upside down heart, and a "U."
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Read more about the article Hail Full of Grace

Hail Full of Grace

Motherhood is not only a gift from God, but also an invitation to participate with Him in the creative act.  God, who created us from dust, invites a mother in a special way to enter into the mystery of creation, to feel the first stirrings of new life, to nurture this unique and unrepeatable person within her womb, and bring this life into the world through her own sacrifice of pain.  It is through pain that women give life, which is an echo of the sacrifice of pain that Jesus endured to give us eternal life.  It is through the cooperation of one very special woman that Jesus came into the world to give us that everlasting life.

When the Angel Gabriel says “hail full of grace” to the Blessed Virgin, he reveals to us the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and also the perfection of Her Divine Son.  What was hidden in the Old Testament suddenly becomes clear.

Adam and Eve prior to their fall from grace converse with God openly in the Garden of Eden.  They are pure and perfect and enjoy communion with Him.  After their fall from grace they are so ashamed of their sin they cannot bear to meet God face to face and try to hide from Him.  They realize too late that God is so holy that they cannot bear direct contact with Him any longer.

When Moses receives the 10 commandments, the stone is reverenced because God Himself has touched it and it symbolizes the sacred covenant between God and their nation. The Israelites build an ark to house this holy covenant. The ark itself is such a holy vessel that any unholy person who touches the ark dies on the spot. 

Just as Adam and Eve were created in a state of grace, so too were Mary and Jesus.  Unlike Adam and Eve who rejected God’s plan through their disobedience, Mary and Jesus embraced God’s plan through their obedience.  (Lk 1:38; Lk 22:42)  Christ became Man to perfectly fulfill what we could not and to establish a new covenant between God and all of humanity. Jesus is the new covenant.  How much more holy is His sacred body than stone?  Does it not follow that God would create a perfect vessel to house His Sacred Body?  Would He not adorn His chosen vessel with every grace and blessing as He prepares Her to be the dwelling place of His most beloved Son? Would not this perfect vessel be free from any defects?  Mary’s perfection is a sign of God the Father’s love for His Son. She magnifies His grace.

 Mary is the ark of the new covenant, carrying Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth who is filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaims, “Blessed are you among women.” “Hail, full of grace” reveals Mary’s perfection as a creature of God and shows us the even greater perfection and glory of God. 

Our Lord desires to share with all of us the gift He gave the Blessed Virgin Mary – the gift of His presence within us.  At Holy Communion we receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus.  He enters into our being just as He entered into Mary’s being.  Do we welcome Him as She did? Are we in a state of grace when we receive Him? Do we take a moment to tell Him how much we love Him?  Do we allow Him to transform us into the saints He desires us to become?

Mary can help us prepare to receive Jesus in the Eucharist.  By praying the Rosary and meditating on the Gospel mysteries contained within it,  She teaches us to love Her Son and draws us closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  This is where She wants all of us to be – in the center of His Sacred Heart.  Praise be Jesus.  Now and forever.

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Read more about the article The Two Become One

The Two Become One

This past year Covid has really taken its toll on many marriages.  Without warning, couples were placed in 24/7 togetherness that usually comes only in post-retirement after many years of marriage and the wisdom of many years of experience.  This has left many young couples without the wisdom of experience to guide them.  Remembering first and foremost that Catholic marriage is a sacrament and that Christ is present in all Christian marriages is the first place to turn.

Each of us is given a unique mission to serve God and He gives us helpers along the way.  Many of us fulfill our missions through the vocation of service in the Sacrament of Marriage.  Marriage is a unique gift for each couple because God intertwines our missions in such a way that serving each other also serves the community.

In a Christian marriage, there are three people present: the couple and Christ.  It is no coincidence that the spiritual world can be better understood by reflecting on our natural world.  In architecture, the triangle is the strongest shape.  Modern buildings in earthquake country use this fact in designing stronger buildings.  Watch an office building going up and you will see the diagonals adding support to exterior walls.  In order to sit on a stool, it needs three legs.  When there are only two in a relationship, however, it is like a seesaw going up and down because that is what we humans do.  It is the third person in the relationship, Jesus, that builds the bonds between us and stabilizes us.  It is by God’s design that the three persons in a marriage mirror the relationship of the Blessed Trinity.  Inviting Jesus to be an active participant in our marriages strengthens us.

We can’t go any further without discussing the elephant in the room: if we all were engaged to perfect fiancés, where did these imperfect spouses come from?  I know each of us has set about fulfilling the mission of our marriage: to improve our spouse.  How’s that working for you?  Probably as well as it worked for me, and no wonder – if I have extreme difficulty improving myself, how did I think changing my spouse was going to go?  As it turns out, we assumed the wrong information.  Our real mission is to get our spouse to Heaven.  To do this, we must be willing to sacrifice our own selfish desires in order to serve our marriage.  This may not sound appealing, but paradoxically, getting what I want may make me satisfied in the moment, but it does not lead to lasting happiness.  Focusing on self isolates us from our spouse and leads to the contest of wills that always leaves one person feeling trampled and resentful. 

Real love is not a satisfied feeling; it is a decision to will the good of the other.  Love is an action word.  We find true happiness here because our sacrifice reflects the sacrifice of love Jesus performed on the cross. When we enter into this mystery of sacrifice these acts of love expand our own hearts, increasing our capacity to love and our capacity to receive the love of Jesus.  True transformation happens when we focus on love and leave the changing to the only person who can accomplish it both in ourselves and in our spouses.  The first step in this transformation starts with a simple prayer: “Jesus, give me the grace to love my spouse as you love him.” 

Praying together is an essential part of accessing the sacramental graces.  Even if we are physically apart, we can set a time to pray in unison.  If our spouse is a first responder or in the military, we can offer up a second set of prayers in case our spouse is unable to do so.  Because there are three people in the marriage, conversation with all of them strengthens the relationship. Even if all we can manage is an Our Father, we can pray it together.  And remember “sacrificial love”?  Here is where we get to practice it.  “Thy will be done.”  Not my will, but God’s will. God wills peace, love, and mercy – definitely better than any of our plans.  “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Forgive our spouse the way we want God to forgive us.  We need to sacrifice our ego to say, “I am sorry; please forgive me” when we offend.  We need to sacrifice the power of resentment and playing the martyr and instead extend mercy and forgiveness when our spouse asks for it. 

Some things are more difficult to forgive than others and some changes we need to make are harder than others.  Take these things to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Regardless of our feelings, we can align our will to God’s will and ask Jesus for these graces in the Sacrament.  We not only receive forgiveness, we also receive graces to assist us in healing from the spiritual and emotional wounds others inflict as well as graces to overcome our own bad habits.  Most important of all, attend Mass and receive the Eucharist (or a spiritual communion if we cannot receive Eucharist) as often as we can, daily if possible.  The Eucharist is the source of all graces and strengthens sacramental marriage.  Putting Jesus at the center of our marriage is the best way to fulfill our mission to get our spouse to Heaven.

Continue ReadingThe Two Become One

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