This Is My Beloved Son! Listen To Him!

The Transfiguration of Jesus! What was it like? What did Peter, James and John see? Many artists in Christian History have attempted to capture a “glimpse of the glory of Jesus” in paintings and drawings, some with the exuberance of Fr. James Hasse’s painting on the front cover, others in more subdued tones.
What is this amazing event all about? Yes, it is a “snapshot” of the Glory of God manifested in His Son Jesus. Yes, he is connected with the great ones of the past, Moses and Elijah. Some would say it is a glimpse of the glory of Jesus to be experienced in the future.
Most of all, what Peter, James and John saw was the Jesus of the present moment, a new in-sight into his identity during his public life. The transformation was a change that took place when Jesus’ inner reality shone forth and transfigured his outer appearance. More revelation would come with the Passion, Death and Resurrection!
How are we called to respond? The voice from the cloud tells us: “…Listen to Him!”

July 30th, 2017 – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Do You Understand All These Things? A treasure buried in a field. A pearl of great price. A big catch from the sea.
Once again we hear today three more Parables of the Kingdom. The first two speak to value and importance. What is the Kingdom of God worth to us? What are we willing to invest in it? To what lengths will we go to obtain it?
The third parable is similar to last week’s parable of the wheat and the weeds. Right now we live with the good and the bad, saints and sinners. The time of judgment will come, though, when goodness will be uplifted and glorified, and evil destroyed.
These stories speak to our lived experience. Being an active part of the kingdom demands investing our time, our talent and treasure. What we do makes a difference. We are called to responsibility for building up the Kingdom of God here and now. Jesus asks the question: “Do you understand all these things?”

See, Hear, Listen, Understand!

Can’t you see? Don’t you hear me? You’re not listening! Why don’t you understand?

We have all had these statements hurdled at us from time to time. And we don’t like it! And yes, we have thrown them out to other people at times! And others don’t appreciate these statements either!

Truth be told, seeing and hearing that moves us to really listening and understanding is as much an exercise of the heart and spirit as it is of the senses.
All this is about the parable of the sower and the seed that Jesus tells us today. Even more, it is about the ground upon which the seed falls. You know the story  some of the seed falls on rocky ground, some on the beaten down path, some in the weeds and then finally the seed which falls on “good ground.” To get the message of the parable, you have to first start with FAITH. To cultivate the message you need HOPE. To put it into practice, you need PERSISTENCE and LOVE! Then you get it!

HOLY TRINITY – ONE GOD!

The Blessed Three In One! How is this possible? What does it mean? What does it tell us?
We celebrate today the mystery of Three persons in One God. While we claim this to by a mystery, its reality does not totally escape our experience, but rather calls us into a new and different experience, a new and different way of living!
The Trinity is about the power of life and love that is beyond all imagining. The Father is so full of dynamic life and love that His very Word is a Person  the Son! The love and communication between the Father and the Son is so intense that it is a Person  the Spirit!
The Holy Trinity becomes for a the model and ideal of the perfect community we strive for: three persons so united in love and purpose that in fact they are ONE!
As we celebrate Father’s Day this Weekend, we appropriately look to the Holy Trinity not only for Divine Strength, but as a model to reach for: To live and love so closely together that we achieve the Unity we long for!

I Am With You Always! Transformation! What “transformative” moments do you remember in your life? The first day of School? First Communion or Confirmation? Graduation? Your first job? Moving out on your own? Wedding Day? Your first child? The death of a parent or sibling? The list is long for most of us!
This Ascension Day is a transformative moment for the disciples of Jesus, and for all of us who aspire to follow in their footsteps! They had already experienced the “whirlwind” of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. When they meet Him on the mountain, they worship him, but still have lingering doubts.
Now, just as the reality of his resurrected presence has begun to sink in, he is lifted up before their eyes. He charges them to go out and make disciples of all nations. His assurance to them: I am with you always, until the end of the age! He is still with us in this age!

Do You Recognize His Voice?

Do You Recognize His Voice? Whose voice do you recognize? Probably the voices of count-less people! But do you recognize HIS voice, the voice of the Good Shepherd?
The fourth Sunday of Easter is traditionally known as “Good Shepherd” Sunday, and each year the Gospel presents Jesus as “shepherd.” What do you know about shepherds and sheep? Probably not much. We are told sheep can be less than highly intelligent, and at times so are we. We are told they can easily get themselves into trouble, and so can we. They can also learn to recognize and follow a shepherd, and so can we!
Jesus tells us he is the “gate” for the sheep. The gate is the place where the shepherds calls the flock that is his own. Upon hearing his voice, they recognize it and they follow him, and he leads them to safe pasture.
The question for us: Whose voice do we recognize, respond to and follow as we search for safe pasture? Do we recognize His voice?

Jesus Is Alive!

Imagine running into Jesus when and where you least expect him! This was the experience of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. This was the experience of the many followers of Jesus after he rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning!
Today’s Gospel from Luke is a familiar and favorite Resurrection story for many believers. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus on Easter Sunday are so engrossed in their own grief, dismay and disillusionment that they fail to recognize the “stranger” who has joined them on the road.
Their recognition of Jesus comes in two ways: (1) when they take time to “break bread” with Jesus when they arrive at the inn, and (2) in hindsight when they realized how their “hearts were burning” when he broke open the Scriptures for them while they were on the road.
We too experience the resurrected Christ each Sunday, in breaking open the word, and in the breaking of bread. Yes, Jesus Is Alive!