Ahhh the Octave of Easter

Daily Readings - can be found each and every day.

Right Here - at: http://www.usccb.org/nab/

In the Catholic faith, Easter is so massive and wonderful - it cannot be contained in a day. It must last at least a week. And what a week it has been! I hope to add one more song... and call it a year. See ya next year. So, please - say a prayer for me, that it is a song that bring God great glory, and makes Jesus smile - who has been my constant companion, even when I did not know He was there. I hope Mary and Joseph like too, and feel like they wanna dance. I already told you, I am a ridiculous and silly man. Now you know it to be true.

If you wish to check out the past two Lenten Journeys - you can begin 2009 here. And for 2010... go here. The best way to read it, is to do the readings first (you will need to for it to make any sense, that is where the choice content is... duh.)

 To turn the page.... and go to the next page, you will see a link at the bottom, that says - newer post. This will advance you.... one day. The blog is most interesting by seeing the progression. Day by day. Step by step.

And after that, most days I included some comments about my own personal experience in my yearning to draw closer in my relationship with God. Some days, I share stuff that no one in their right mind would share. The Lenten Journey blog has pictures, and songs, all other digital media along the way - so have fun.

I hope to finish writing the last song this year over the next few days, and post it here. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and your prayers. (05/13/2010 - just added another song, Salve Regina).

Suggested reading for Pentecost - The Acts of the Apostles.

See ya later- hope to add the song over the next few days, and God willing, be back next year too. Till then, may God bless you and keep you safe... and thank to God (God the Father, Jesus His beloved Son and the Holy Spirit) - who has done more for me than I could ever hope to explain or tell.

Friday Fifth Week of Lent

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 26, 2010
First Reading: Jer 20:10-13;
Responsorial Psalm: 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7 ;
Gospel:  Jn 8:12-20 ;

And here's an audio file and a video of a priest offering reflections.

First Reading:  Jer 20:10-13 ;
I hear the whisperings of many:
“Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!”
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him.”
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
For he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!

Responsorial Psalm  18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7 ;
R.        In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R.        In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R.        In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
The breakers of death surged round about me,
the destroying floods overwhelmed me;
The cords of the nether world enmeshed me,
the snares of death overtook me.
R.        In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
In my distress I called upon the LORD
and cried out to my God;
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
R.        In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

Gospel   Jn 10:31-42
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?”
The Jews answered him,
“We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God.”
Jesus answered them,
“Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, "You are gods"‘?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and Scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power.
He went back across the Jordan
to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said,
“John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true.”
And many there began to believe in him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Commentary: Today's readings can seem very confusing to many (including myself!), especially when Jesus' words are taken by some as blasphemy because He calls himself God. For many, this still is blasphemy. Jesus is sharing His faith. He has healed the blind, raised Lazarus from the dead, cured countless sick people, offered words of comfort and love, fed the multitude with a few loaves and fish, and walked on water. He opened his heart fully to love us all. He tells the crowd to examine His works. Why do other people's faith and beliefs offend many so greatly? This a fair question for thousands of years up to and including today. And yet, of all the great prophets in the religions (spiritual journey's?) of the world, whether that is Abraham, Buddha, or Muhammed, or Jesus (forgive me but I can't remember the Hindu, Shinto, etc etc.. equivalent, no slight intended) - only one of these religious great men ever had the nerve to call Himself God. (I do believe that Jesus was and is the Son of God, and also a true man too. In short, I believe God humbled himself to share in our humanity, to demonstrate how deeply He loves us all. That is my faith, but it is not the only one and I enjoy it when other share their faith.) 

Now, take it step further, I believe Jesus is also saying, that within each of us - God dwells as well. We live in two worlds, part of it earthly, part is also divine. And as such, we all share this potential, which I regret due to those ongoing issues of sinfulness, doubt, worry, envy, selfishness, and lack of faith etc. - we often fail to reach that perfection, perhaps until we die - when we might gain that status, of becoming that pure perfection of being one with God, with God's help & by God's grace.

God is Love. Don't all of us strive to reach this perfect love? I think it is written on our hearts. If God the Father, Jesus, & the Holy Spirit, (or Allah, or whatever name you might call God by, I do not know), but if God wishes it, it is done and nothing is impossible for God. How can I know such things? Knowing is  the wrong word. I am merely sharing my faith. Don't get all ornery, hate me and kill me. I find it very odd that our current society has such problems listening to different beliefs, whether that is spiritual, political or moral. Are we so afraid to listen and understand each other? Look around and examine yourself - it is a fair question to ask. Of myself.

This unconnected stream of thoughts reminded me of a gross misconception of what the Catholic faith teaches. Catholic means - universal. Basically - we Catholics believe that Christ is the Messiah, that God is manifested in a trinity of God the Father, Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit, which is God dwelling within us by a gracious gift from God, conferred by baptism. But we do not feel that one's entrance into heaven requires this belief. (some other Christian faiths are adamant on this, like this belief is the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket through the pearly gates, so to speak). The Catholic faith teaches that anyone can go to heaven, it is up God and His grace alone. And also, perhaps how the person lived their life. But only God knows the heart and it is all His call. This sentiment was echoed by Mother Teresa:

"There is only one God and He is God to all; therefore it is important that everyone is seen as equal before God. I've always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic." - Mother Teresa

I have nothing but love and respect for everyone, for those who have a strong faith, whatever that might be and also for those people with no faith in anything. I have grown to love everyone with a strong passion. What a blessing. I love people who are my friends and also those who dislike me, even my enemies and those who curse my existence. And when I fall short, I pray for more faith. and more mercy. and most of all - for more love.

Each week,  I am a co-teacher in the 7th grade religion class at our church. This week, the curriculum included, the Beatitudes, and also - loving your enemies, and loving those people who hate you. Jesus said to pray for them. Bless them and do not curse them. We spent some time wondering what Jesus' prayers were like when He knew He was going to be hung on a cross, for our sins, not His own. We talked about how God loved us so much, he would suffer all we suffer as humans, even death. Even death on a cross - not only perfectly painful - but also perfectly humiliated, abandoned by his friend Peter, and all alone, save a few friends and his mother, who wept. He got to see that too. And on that cross, He said a few short sentences, he offered words that proved his faithfulness to what He said. His words, became His works. He lived the Beatitudes, with passion and perfect love.

And so, a few days later - I found myself in a position where I was given the chance to put this into practice, a chance to do - what I had taught in class. Pray for those who hated me. Difficult words were thrown my way. I was told that I was a detestable abomination, with more colorful language. The words hurt. Worse, they felt I instigated the words with my own words, thoughts and beliefs. So, they felt justified in cursing me. Yes, the words and the situation hurt. Harder still, the words were sent my way by someone I still consider a close friend.

I read the words when I woke up and read an email that was sent while I was sleeping. Thankfully, I go to mass often in the morning, so I had a already set aside time to meditate and pray. I pleaded for the sweetest prayer to come from my heart, and that the Holy Spirit within me, would make the prayer worthy for God's ears. Then I asked God to bless them. Forgive them Father. Forgive me. What transpired was nothing short of beautiful and tender beyond what I could have ever hoped for. Beyond my imagination, lovely. It touched my heart as I asked God to bless them, and to love them, and to forgive me for my part.  It felt like the prayer reflected off God and He told He heard it, responded with love for all and all baggage I might have had was no more. There was no longer any hurt. My faith told me He'd handle it. Great, thank you. Done.

After mass I was bathed in a glorious yellow light as the sun rose above the trees, and streamed through a tiny window. Each day, I sit in the same spot - and this had never happened before, so it was totally unexpected and nothing short of delightful. If you knew my heart, then you would know - I am giving God all the glory. His sweetness continues to melt me every day.

I am reading several books right now as part of my Lenten Journey. One of them is called The Wounded Healer, by Henri Nouwen. Last night as I was reading it, Nouwen told the story of a young priest who met with a man in the hospital who did not have a fruitful visit with the sick man. The priest was less than engaged, and he did a poor job of showing that he cared. The next day, the man died when his operation was unsuccessful. Nouwen went on to suggest that those who care for others (meaning, all of us) need to share their own pain, to help others through their own. We offer our own vulnerability to connect with those who are hurting. Compassion, means sharing the pain and feeling the pain, as if it is your own. He recounted the story of how Jesus wept with the family of Lazarus. And I thought of this as I said my prayers for the people who hurt me. Surely I had done this to others too. (or as St. Francis said - once we realize we are capable of anything, it is much easier to show mercy). All these thoughts came to bear as I prayed.

And I share all this - hoping that others can trust Jesus, and follow his example.  And to not be afraid to love unconditionally, and also to imagine what His prayers were like, knowing He would be crucified. How beautiful they must have been. And when you get hurt, ask God to help make these merciful and loving prayers offered by Jesus, your prayers too. Love your enemies. Bless them, and do not curse them. And I thought, how blessed I was to have all these events come together in a short span of a few days and get guidance to help me on my journey home.

Saturday Fourth Week of Lent

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 20, 2010
First Reading: Jer 11:18-20;
Responsorial Psalm: 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12 ;
Gospel: Jn 7:40-53 ;

And here's an audio file and a video of a priest offering reflections.

First Reading:  Jer 11:18-20
I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;
at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings. Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,
had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:
“Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will be spoken no more.”
But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,
searcher of mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause!

Responsorial Psalm  7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12
 R.        O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
O LORD, my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me,
Lest I become like the lion’s prey,
to be torn to pieces, with no one to rescue me.
R.        O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
Do me justice, O LORD, because I am just,
and because of the innocence that is mine.
Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but sustain the just,
O searcher of heart and soul, O just God.
R.        O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
A shield before me is God,
who saves the upright of heart;
A just judge is God,
a God who punishes day by day.
R.        O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.

Gospel   Jn 7:40-53
Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,
“This is truly the Prophet.”
Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?
Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family
and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.
Some of them even wanted to arrest him,
but no one laid hands on him.
So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees,
who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?”
The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.”
So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived?
Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.”
Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,
“Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him
and finds out what he is doing?”
They answered and said to him,
“You are not from Galilee also, are you?
Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
Then each went to his own house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Commentary: Today's readings all seem to revolve around the intent of the heart. For those people who are pure of heart, they see Jesus as a great prophet or the Messiah, a tender and loving lamb who will be led to slaughter for the love of his brothers and sisters, all revolving around His profound and divine love of God. For those who are less than pure of heart, and enamored with their own authority or putting too much trust in their own wisdom, they are unable to have Jesus' loving message penetrate the stone around their hearts.

How do you receive these words? I ask this of myself too. Do I always listen well to what others are saying? Or have I grown too wise in my own opinion? Most of these issues get settled with a positive result when I quietly pray to have God take the stone off my heart, so that I might receive all the love that He has put into this wonderful world for all of our benefit. And I say a simple prayer, that came to me out of nowhere one day at mass. God please forgive me, because I have not spread the mercy to others, that compares to the mercy you have shown to me. Forgive me and help me do better. Thanks.

Wednesday, Second Week of Lent

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 3, 2010
First Reading: Jer 18:18-20;
Responsorial Psalm: 31:5-6, 14, 15-16 ;
Gospel: Mt 20:17-28 ;

And here's an audio file and a video of a priest offering reflections.

 First Reading:  Jer 18:18-20
The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said,
“Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.
It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests,
nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets.
And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;
let us carefully note his every word.”
Heed me, O LORD,
and listen to what my adversaries say.
Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak in their behalf,
to turn away your wrath from them.

Responsorial Psalm  31:5-6, 14, 15-16
R.          Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R.        Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side,
as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life.
R.        Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.
R.        Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.

Gospel   Mt 20:17-28
As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,
and said to them on the way,
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day.”
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Commentary: In today's first reading, we first hear the thoughts of the people of Jerusalem, who decide to listen closely to Jeremiah - not to hear what he has to say, but to use his words, and parse them in a way to put Jeremiah to death. And yes, he was eventually killed just like many other prophets of the old testament. That passage is followed by Jeremiah's plea to God - not to seek God's protection from their evil intentions, but it is a lowly plea - merely asking God to remember, that he prayed for these people, asking God to take away his wrath. I wonder how those people might have felt - if they knew what Jeremiah had in his heart?

Does this kind of thing happen today? Of course it does. All the time - each and every day, thousands of times a day. Perhaps it might not end in killing - but friendships end, cruel words are spoken, people can be mean by "getting even", and love is withdrawn in the heat of anger - all too often because we fail to know the heart of the person saying words that might be hard to hear. Or we can cut off all conversation and not want to learn at all. Just go away.

For good people, this kind of situation happens all the time. And harder still, the sweeter and more gentle the person is - the deeper these wounds will go. That is just the way it is. It takes great discipline to suffer through all that is asked in these situations. To not retort and slap back. To be patient and try to make amends. All too often, people today just give up on people and move on in lieu of trying to help. Or worse... give up on trying to even understand. How sad - when in many cases, the problem is not what the person may have said - it is how we heard it. Try this for Lent - be patient and listen. Open the door instead of slamming it shut. So many years in my younger days as a man - I was in that spot - it was natural and easy to get angry, I grew impatient at the slightest offense and very often...  just blew people off. As I grew older, and mellowed - I learned most people are just plain wonderful. If they have an issue or seem disturbed - it is usually because they are going through a great deal of suffering. Thankfully, I also have learned it is much more fruitful to listen and try and help instead of running away. Oh don't get me wrong - I have an infinite road ahead of me to get where I need to... but I am thankful to God - because He has taken me a long way from where I used to be. And - He will be with me on the long road to go as well. But learning that in so many cases -when people are short, difficult and acting weird - it is usually because they have something going on in their lives I know nothing about. If I just took the time to be a patient friend, I could have won a precious friend. Live and learn.

I very much enjoyed the video homily by the priest today. If you missed it, here's a link to go watch it. (March 3 on the calendar)

Saturday - Fourth Week of Lent

Today's readings: March 28, 2009
Reading One: Jer 11:18-20;
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12 ;
Gospel: Jn 7:40-53;
go to this page (for all three sections listed above on one page) And here's an audio file; & reflections (video)

From time to time, something comes over me, and I go into something of a fugue state, where I feel like a spectator as I become overwhelmed with the thoughts in my head, combined with the events that are happening in the world around me. It is impossible to explain, but basically it involves a combination of what is happening between my ears, and things that are happening in the "real" world - that combine in the same kind of way as the two parts of epoxy. Alone, nothing is especially volatile, but when combined a new experience evolves as each substance acts as a catalyst to create something new. This other worldly parallel universe experience transpired as I wrote this post on Wednesday. I guess it feels like you are in the middle of a dream, but in truth you are awake in a dream state. It happens without any prodding on my part, it just goes down, and the only thing you can do is be as aware as possible, there is no way to fight it. There is nothing I can do, but as I mentioned before - it is like you are a spectator, as well as actor in a play that is in a show, that will go on, without any concern for your desire to watch the play as it unfolds. This fugue state experience went down on Wednesday, I wrote this paragraph on Friday, to help explain what happened and why my words seem so bizarre. But I thought it best to just leave the words as is, and let you make of it what you like.

(here's the fugue state words from Wed). As I read today's Gospel, my heart is broken. The events of long ago, killing a totally innocent person, happen each and every day and the country I live in, says it is okay to do this. What are you talking about you ask? I am speaking of abortion, knowing that words Jesus said apply in full force.

whatever you do for the least of you, you do to me.

On the day after the tragic anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, after the protesters left - the president signed into law again (after Reagan said NO, and Clinton said ok, and then Bush jr... said NO again)... an act allowing taxpayer dollars to fund abortions abroad. I am so sorry my Lord, you know full well how I have wept over this horror, You dried my tears and assured me there would one day be justice and this tragedy would stop. I trust You. But You also know - I still weep, so great is my sadness. Does my country believe that foreign children are less precious than our own? That is the implied message. This morning I saw this lovely video of a beautiful seven year old boy, sent to me by a good friend I haven't seen in 30 years. As I watched the video , for some reason, the little boy reminded me of You my Lord. Maybe it was the hair, or maybe it was the joy he exuded as he played his guitar. And as he played his guitar, I gently wept as I thought of all the songs that were not allowed to be heard. They were aborted.



The little boy named Lucciano is playing a Santana song called Samba Pa Ti, which has many meanings - but the most common one is:

Through every step in life; freedom comes from within.

I looked this up after I watched the video. Ironic, huh? And then I looked up the meaning of Lucciano. Guess what - it translates in English as:

light.

Didn't Jesus say: I am the light of the world? Ironic again? Nope, I do not think so - for me it doesn't surprise me at all. I am not afraid to call such things - Holy Spirit moments. And I know this post will produce the exact same reaction in the hearts of many men and women as told by St. John in today's Gospel. They will hate me for my words today.

Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee."
Then each went to his own house.

But thanks to the amazing love and peace you freely give to those who have trust and faith in You Lord, I will be okay. You always dry my tears. You know I come to You for refuge. Everyday. And everyday, I ask You for mercy, for me and my sinfulness, and for my brothers and sisters. And for forgiveness. And the grace to forgive. They know not what they do. In case you missed yesterday's prayer song - A Prayer to St. Michael, here it is again. It seems appropriate.

Friday - Fourth Week of Lent

Today's readings: March 27, 2009
Reading One: Wis 2:1a, 12-22;
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23 ;
Gospel: Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30;
go to this page (for all three sections listed above on one page) And here's an audio file; & reflections (video)

We move closer and closer each day of Lent on a road of peace, and are given a choice, another chance - to pick which side of our duel nature we want to be. Day after day, with each day gone forever, the stakes get higher, the consequences of our actions today building upon a brighter future, or greater acts of futility. Will you be on the side that listens, and chooses to take refuge in God, forgive those who have caused you hurt and pain, & let it go ... or will you hold onto your opinion of your own righteousness, and the cancer that comes from the guilt, the shame and the inability to forgive. It is easy to look at all these things and see the transgressions of others - it is much more difficult to look at your own foolishness, and to ask God for help, and choose the path that on the face of it - a road that appears to be a path of destruction and violent death. It is violent. In truth, we get to choose a death to our own foolishness, or not. What awaits is rebirth, the life that comes from believing in God, seeking refuge in His words, and in His love. The salvation you seek, comes in doing what Jesus did - die to yourself for others. Forgiveness, mercy, and trusting in God alone leads to the treasure, The Kingdom of Heaven, which as - as He said - at hand. Now.

I am on the non-proverbial road today and tomorrow, a road that leads to Milwaukee, via Detroit - so today's comments are brief. Please pray for those you love, and tell them that you love them. And pray to God for the grace to forgive those who have hurt you. Take refuge in God, and He will rescue you from all your troubles. He will even rescue you from yourself.

Let me leave you with another song, a way to remember a prayer, in this case, another ancient prayer - St. Michael's Prayer. St. Michael is a archangel, like Gabriel the archangel - God's messenger. St. Michael the archangel is also known as God's Strength. A "heavy" prayer, not conducive to a song, which of course meant, I had to try. ahaha. Here it is, A Prayer to St. Michael.

Wednesday Second Week of Lent

Today's readings: March 11, 2009
Reading One: Jer 18:18-20 ;
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 31:5-6, 14, 15-16 ;
Gospel: Mt 20:17-28 ; go to this page (for all three sections listed above on one page) And here's an audio file; & reflections (video)

As I reflect on today's readings, I find myself thinking that there is a test that comes from loving God with all your heart, your mind, your soul and your strength. Other people will test your devotion, and I found this to be true as I walk on my Lenten Journey this year. I thought I would get some grief, but I never expected the level of animus that some folks have regarding your love of a God that is so gentle, kind, generous, sweet, and above all, loving. The words offered in the Gospel are beautiful, full of patience and a parental type of love, of a perfect parent. I do not understand it at all, but I would be lying if I said I have gotten total support from all my friends. I have been told by many people I dearly love, that I have lost my mind, or that I am an idiot. Why is this I wonder. As I said, it makes no sense to me at all. But if I look at scripture, little has changed since the Old Testament. Poor Jeremiah was murdered, Isaac was sawed in half alive, and eleven of the original twelve apostles all met with unnatural deaths by the hands of those who hated them. And the Catholic church could fill volumes on all the martyrs who died for their love of God, especially for their love of Jesus Christ. Even as a baby, Jesus was seen as a threat. We have the story of the death of the Holy Innocents, where Herod decided to kill all the one year old children because he heard from the wise men about a new king that was born in Bethlehem. I urge all those who wish to draw closer to Christ, to strengthen your faith. As you get closer to His amazing light, you will be tested. Do you really love Him? How many times did I just stay quiet when someone was attacking Him, people who felt compelled to state He was nothing but a fairy tale? People don't get upset when I mention Paul Bunyan and his blue ox babe. These moments are just small tests. If you continue to get draw closer and closer, and your love grows stronger and stronger, as you become overwhelmed by His generosity, the tests get bigger. Pray for the faith that gives you courage during these moments, a courage that can only come from God. He will not let you down, if your heart wants to really love God. But I can tell you from my own experience, your love, and the depth of your love will be severely tested. Perhaps even to the point of shedding blood.