Loyal

They would have arrested him then, but because his time had not yet come no one laid a hand on him.

Jn.7:30

Jesus is in the Temple and openly proclaiming he is from God. The Jewish elders had already decided to kill him, they were just waiting for the moment.

Today's readings set the scene for Holy week. There is plotting from the killers in the First Reading, protection promised by God in the Psalm and Jesus the victim placing himself in their sights in the Gospel.

It seems Jesus had to experience the ultimate betrayal before being lead to his passion. The kiss of Judas. To have one of his inner circle of friends betray him in such a way would have been the deepest of cuts. It is said civil wars are the bloodiest.

The opposite of treachery is loyalty. This virtue is something I can practice in all my relationships, with my friends, neighbours, at work or at home. Especially at home...

Jesus, you experienced treacherous betrayal and yet returned it with loyalty and love. Help me be a loyal friend, a loyal Dad and Grandad, a loyal husband.
Saint Thomas Moore, please pray for me.

Hearing God

‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.
Lk.1:38

The angel Gabriel has just announced God's plan to Mary, for her to be the Mother of the Son of God. Mary gives her fiat, her yes, and instantly God is made flesh.

It struck me while reading this passage how this event affirms that life begins at conception. Jesus became one with mankind the moment Mary said yes. He wasn't a zygote or a "product of conception". He was God made flesh at that very moment. 

A lot can happen from a yes, especially when that yes is to an offer from God. Mary heard clearly what the angel was saying. There was no, "Could you run that past me again please?" She got it. I don't always hear God that clearly. This morning prayer time is the one time I'm quiet enough to listen. I must guard this time jealously.

Thank you Jesus for your faithfulness in being with me each morning I pray. Speak Lord, your servant is listening...
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me.

The River of Life

Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live.Ez.47:9

The prophet Ezekiel is given a vision of a river whose source is the Temple. Fish teem within it and life-giving medicinal plants flourish on its banks.  It is the river of life.

This scripture is such an encouragement to all who place their hope in what the temple contains, the living God. In these times of uncertainty from the COVID-19 virus pandemic it is good to remember that our God is the source of healing and of life.

Thank you Lord for your word of encouragement. I place my trust in you.
Saint Philip Neri, please pray for Italy and pray for us.

Joy comes in the Morning

Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him, give thanks to his holy name. His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life. At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.
Ps.29:5

David writes this psalm, stating yes there will be tears but joy always follows.

A pessimistic Christian is an oxymoron. We always have hope no matter how uncertain the future as with the current COVID-19 pandemic. Joy always comes in the morning. These times are an opportunity to witness to the hope we have in Jesus and that witness can start with a friendly, kind, patient and yes, joyful countenance, today.

Lord Jesus, help me be a face of hope and joy to the people I meet today.
Saint Philip Neri, pray for me.

Friend Forever

What I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts. 

Hs.6:6

The prophet Hosea gives a call from God for his fickle people to return to him. He shows how they are to return, not with holocausts and sacrifice but with love and knowledge.

To know God is to love him. How can I know an infinitely magnificent God, a God who if I saw him face to face I would fall faint? The incarnation is the key. Get to know Jesus. Jesus who is one of us. Jesus who comes running after me not waiting for me to crawl to him. Jesus who is beside me. I just need to turn and call... today, now.

What a friend I've found 
Closer than a brother 
I have felt your touch 
More intimate than lovers 

Jesus, 
Jesus 
Jesus, friend forever

Love God then do as you please

‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’
Mk.12:32,33

A teacher of the law asks Jesus a genuine question. "Which of the laws is the greatest?" Jesus gives him a straight answer. "Love God and love others".

This commandment of Jesus remains core to Christian living. It has been distilled even further to "Love God then do as you please" by Saint Augustine. The key is loving God. Like most of humanity I'm a fickle lover, swinging from hot to cold to in between. It would pay for me to remember that lukewarm is worse than cold and something Jesus spits from his mouth.

Today I choose to love God. Loving others will be a test of how well I'm doing.

Thank you Jesus for your faithful love for me. Help me love you by loving those you place in my path today.
Mother Theresa, please pray for me.

It's a Beautiful Day

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:Lk.15:1-3

The Scribes and Pharisees complain again about Jesus welcoming sinners. In response Jesus tells the parables of the Lost Coin, the Lost Sheep and the Lost Son.

God's outrageous grace is up front and center stage in these parables. As a sinner they give me hope and joy. Sinners loved hanging out with Jesus two thousand years ago and they love hanging out with him just as much today. 

Nothing can separate me from the love of God through Jesus Chris tour Lord.

It's a beautiful day
and the world is bright
Since you took me away 
from the darkest night
What can I do but give all I have to you.

Little Flower, please pray for me.

Generous Heart

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory!Happy are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory!
cf. Lk8:15

Today's Gospel Acclamation is taken from Luke where Jesus is explaining the parable of the sower. The good seed, says Jesus, is the person who hears the Word of God and keeps it with perseverance and a generous heart.

A generous heart. What a beautiful characteristic to find in someone. A person with a generous heart gives more than he gets and is joyous in the process. A generous heart is good to be around.

Lord, often my heart is closed and resentful. Give me a generous heart with the people I meet today.
Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Serve

This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.Mt.20:26-28

The mother of James and John has just requested her sons have favoured positions in God's Kingdom. The other ten apostles are indignant. Jesus clarifies what the hierarchy of God's Kingdom looks like, starting with the greatest at the bottom serving the rest.

The upside-down pyramid Jesus commands of his followers is counter cultural. In the world, the great lord it over the lesser.  Not so for the Church. The Pope is called the servant of the servants of God.

Today I choose to be a servant to those I meet in what ever form that takes.

Lord Jesus you are the Servant King. Help me serve those you place before me today.

Perfect Lover

But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven.Mt.5:44,45

Jesus is teaching in his Sermon on the Mount. Here he focuses on loving our enemies.

This is the great point of difference for Christians compared to other religions. Loving neighbours is a common theme but loving enemies sets us apart. This is in the realm of "being perfect as you father in heaven is perfect". It's a big ask and impossible to do by myself.

I don't have outright enemies but there are people whom I find it hard to love, even in my family. Here's an opportunity to be perfect, with God's help.

Jesus, my spirit is willing. Help be be a great lover today.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Flex the Forgiveness Muscle

‘Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.’
Mt.6:15

Jesus has just given the Lord's Prayer as an example of how to pray. He emphasises the prayer's plea for for forgiveness, tying it forever with the command to forgive.

This not a commonly preached truth. We all want to hear that forgiveness is just there for the asking, on tap. Not according to Jesus. Jesus tells us here that forgiveness from God the Father is not automatic, that the degree by which I am forgiven is linked to the degree by which I forgive.

I've never had a huge wrong against me to forgive. I haven't had a child murdered or suffered a great injustice. But there are "petty injustices" every day that I have a choice on how I am to respond. From the guy who cuts me off when I'm cycling to work to the unconscious but offensive blasphemies I hear in my workplace.

Today I choose to flex my "forgiveness muscle" and forgive those offenses I encounter today.

Lord Jesus, you have forgiven me so much. I am in "forgiveness debt" to you. Give me a forgiving heart so I may be set free from resentment and be forgiven my many sins.
Little Flower, please pray for me.