Angels

Feast of Archangels Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.

Jn.1:51

Jesus is starting his ministry and has met Nathanael who he is about to call. Nathanael is impressed that Jesus knew of him before they met. Jesus reveals Nathanael will see much more, indeed he will see heaven and all its angels.

Today is the feast of the Archangels, including my name-sake Saint Michael. Angels have always been part of God's revealed kingdom even from ancient times. Jesus says that every child has a guardian angel. I believe this heavenly body guard continues to watch over me.

I remember a priest encouraging us to ask for the name of our guardian angel. Mine is named Joseph. I still ask for the guardian angels of my children and grandchildren to be vigilant. There is great solace in knowing that I have heavenly allies I can call on, today.

Thank you Jesus for giving us angels as friends and guardians to help us. 
Angel Joseph and Archangel Saint Michael, please watch over and guard me today.

Perspective

Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart.

Ps.89:12

The psalmist is looking at the temporary nature of even a long life and what a folly it is to count life on earth as the ultimate source of happiness.

Perspective gives wisdom. This verse is a prayer asking for perspective on life. It is easy to be seduced by the here-and-now of life and loose sight of what I am really here for... to love God. When I see today's joys and trials in light of God's love for me, I ask how can I love God in return in the midst of my life now? The answer varies depending on the circumstance but it gives perspective.

Today is looking busy with work to help prepare a shop for opening, Alpha Away Day plans to settle and a wedding to attend. All important but in need to God's perspective on how I enter them.

Jesus, thank you for giving me the long view as I enter today. Help me enter fully into life today as a gift.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

 

God my Friend

‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’

Lk.9:20

Jesus places this question to his disciples. The disciples come up with various opinions from others but Peter supplies his own answer, "The Christ of God."

This is the Big Question of life to which everyone needs their own answer. Who is Jesus? Answers I've heard range from "A Martian." through to "The Holy Son of God" and everything in between. But who do I say Jesus is? I guess I would sum that up with,  "God who is my friend."

God my friend is who I take out into this day.

What a friend I've found 

 Closer than a brother 

 I have felt Your touch 

 More intimate than lovers 

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus 

Friend forever

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Opportunities

Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart.

Ps.89:12

This psalm echoes the first reading from Ecclesiastes where Solomon calls everything on earth a useless vanity. However the psalmist shows a way out of this futile existence. Admit our temporary earthly life and gain wisdom of heart.

Knowing the shortness of my life puts everything in perspective. What is so urgent and important pales when compared to the briefness of my time on this planet. I gain this perspective when I have an eschatological world view, that is, keep one eye firmly fixed on the end of time.  My final destination is not here. This is not my home. My destiny is Judgement Day where I'm counting on Jesus to be my judge and also my advocate.

With this end-of-time perspective, suddenly everything I do today is not a useless vanity. It's an opportunity to build up my case for entry into heaven. This is wisdom of heart I take out into my day.

Thank you Jesus that you give reason and purpose to my day. I place my trust in you.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

 

Purify My Heart

A man’s conduct may strike him as upright, the Lord, however, weighs the heart.

Prv.21:2

The book of Proverbs is focusing on wickedness and virtue. This verse differentiates between outward appearance and interior state of the heart.

 I have a mask that I put on in public but God sees who I truly am. That is what he is concerned about. He's not interested in my outward appearance but in the condition of my soul. This means I don't have to pretend with God, I can be real with him. What a relief!

Jesus, you know my struggles and petty vanities. Thank you for loving me anyway. Help me be as concerned about the state of my heart, the state of my soul as you are.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

 

Generosity

Why be envious because I am generous?

Mt.20:16

Jesus is telling the parable of the workers in the vineyard to reveal what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. The last workers are paid as much as the first, the generosity of the owner being an example of the generosity of God.

I have seen this principle at work. My mother, an atheist for ninety-two years, made a literal deathbed confession of faith. The peace she gained and the assurance I was given were a testimony to God being a God of the eleventh hour. I praise him for his generosity.

The expectation here is that I in turn be generous. As Jesus said yesterday in the parable of the sower, fertile soil is found in people with a noble and generous heart.

Jesus, I thank you Lord for your generosity given to me. Help me be generous with the people I meet today.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Noble and Generous

This is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.

Lk.8:15

Jesus is explaining to his disciples the meaning of the parable of the sower. He says the rich soil where the seed falls is a people with noble and generous hearts who give a hundred-fold harvest.

I have met people with noble and generous hearts. They tend to be people I feel safe with, encouragers, generous with their time as well as their resources. They are fully present, not distracted with ulterior motives. They are authentic what-you-see-is-what-you-get people. In my circle they are often people of faith.

Jesus says such generous and noble of heart people are those who hear God's word and act on it. I choose to have a noble and generous heart with those I meet today.

Jesus, you have the most noble and generous heart. Help me be such a person so I may bear a rich harvest for you.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

 

Jesus is Alive!

If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people. But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.

1Cor.15:19,20

Paul corrects those in the church of Corinth who say that Christ has not risen from the dead. He emphasises that the resurrection of Jesus is an incontestable fact and indeed the cornerstone of Christian faith. 

A woman on our Alpha Course admitted to finding the resurrection of Jesus unbelievable. This is the stumbling block to her faith. Without this missing piece her faith journey is stuck. She has to meet with Jesus somehow, either through other believers or though looking at the evidence or through direct personal encounter.

For me it was a combination of all three; through believers, through the evidence and through personal encounter. What a gift! I enter into today knowing the Living Jesus is with me and for me in all that I do. Thank you Jesus!

Jesus, you died, you rose, you will come again. Thank you Lord . You are the source of my hope and joy.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Great Forgiveness - Great Love

I tell you that her sins, her many sins, must have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such great love. It is the man who is forgiven little who shows little love.

Lk.7:47

While at a Pharisees house a woman of bad name lavished Jesus with love. The Pharisee is critical of her but Jesus defends her, holding her up as an example of one whose great love shows evidence of one who has received great forgiveness.

As one who has received great forgiveness, I love this story. It shows that a person's position in the world is irrelevant when compared to their disposition. The woman had gratitude and love, the Pharisee had criticism and judgement. Both received their own type of reward. 

Today I choose to have the attitude of gratitude and love.

I thank you Jesus that you have forgiven my many sins. This is the day that you have made and I rejoice and are glad in it.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Lift Him Up

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

Jn.3:14,15

Nicodemus' sincerity in seeking the truth prompts Jesus to to reveal the truth, that is, reveal himself and his purpose that all who believe in him will have eternal life.

Tonight on our Alpha Course we are on night three where the question is asked, "Why did Jesus Die?". The answer is, because he loved us. When I remember what Jesus has done for me out of love, when I look at a crucifix, the assurance of eternal life gives me joy no matter what is happening in my life.

Jesus nails this truth home in the following famous verse;

"Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life."

This is the message for tonight's Alpha Course and indeed for the whole unbelieving world.

Jesus, you are my way home. Thank you for dieing so that I may live.

Saint John of the Cross, please pray for me.

Focus on their Eyes

I made myself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost; and I still do this, for the sake of the gospel, to have a share in its blessings.

1Cor.9:19

Saint Paul writes to encourage the Church of Corinth to give their best for the sake of the good news about Jesus. His model to the Church is to be "all things to all men" in order to gain their trust so they may hear the Gospel.

 To be all things to all men means being present to people as individuals. My wife has a practice when engaging with our grandchildren; "Just focus on their eyes" she says. Lots can be going on around when a grandchild is trying for attention. When I focus on their eyes they know they have me at that moment. 

In our Alpha Course it is tempting to be the organiser, the one speaking from the front. I need to fight this and engage with people individually. I need to be present and focus on their eyes.

Jesus, you were always totally present and met individuals where they were at. You meet me where I am at right now. Thank you Lord. Help me be present to those in my day that I may gain their trust and share your Good News.
Saint Philip Neri, pray for me.

Grateful

What do you have that was not given to you? And if it was given, how can you boast as though it were not?

1Cor.4:7

Paul is correcting the Church of Corinth, stopping them from taking up factions, one against the other. All have been given the same Good News, there has been no special revelations from man. Paul is saying if everything I have has been given to me, how can I boast as if it were my own work. 

With something like thirty thousand Christian denominations today, it's fair to say this entreaty from Paul has been forgotten. The unbelieving world looks on and shakes its head. 

The antidote to this prideful delusion is thankfulness. When I am grateful there is no room in me for pride. All that I have has been given to me, even the very breath I draw and beat of my heart is gift. Today my attitude is one of gratitude.

It's a beautiful day and the world is bright 

'cause you took me away from the longest night 

What can I do but give all I have to you

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Accept

 

There must be no passing of premature judgement. Leave that until the Lord comes.

1Cor.4:5

Paul writes to the Church of Corinth, describing true apostleship. One characteristic is lack of judgement. Discernment yes, judgement no.

Our Alpha Course has a wide range of guests, old and young, rich and poor, local and foreign, male and female. Yet, we treat them all the same. They are simply seeking souls. The genius of Alpha is it makes no judgement, it accepts people where they are at. You think Jesus was a martian? Fine, what does the rest of the group think?

When people feel not judged but accepted, they are in a better place for that inside out conversion. This is the only conversion that stays. This is true Church. I must be vigilant against my tendency to judge. Any judgement is premature. God hasn't finished with us yet.

Jesus, you didn't judge me. You accepted me. Help me accept all that I meet today.
Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Less of Me More of Him

 For it is not ourselves that we are preaching, but Christ Jesus as the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

2Cor.4:5

Paul encourages the Corinthian Church by modeling servant-hood for the sake of Jesus. Powerful preaching is all about Jesus and nothing about the preacher.

Our parish Alpha Course has just started. It needed organisation and leadership to happen. The twenty guests have come to learn about Jesus not about the hosting team. We become wallpaper so that all attention is given to Jesus.

There's a little boy inside of me who wants some of the attention. I choose to put him back in his rightful place, setting up the chairs or washing the dishes. It's all about Jesus.

Lord Jesus, help me be less that you may become more.
Saint John the Baptist, Saint Gregory the Great, please pray for me.