Author: WebDept ParishAdmin

From our human perspective, wouldn’t it be great if Jesus were like the fairy godmother from Cinderella? “Bibbity, bobbity, boo! More faith for you!” We can all enjoy a good chuckle knowing that isn’t how Jesus works. And then we have to pause and really sit in the fact that, no, that isn’t how Jesus works.

Jesus is a miracle worker. But He isn’t ours to command. Jesus is a healer. But we don’t get to decide when it is our time to die. Jesus is a teacher. But we do not get to demand knowledge we aren’t mature enough or wise enough to handle. God is God, we are not.

Just prior to this Gospel reading in Luke, Jesus told the apostles that if someone sinned against them seven times and seven times asked to be forgiven they ought to extend that forgiveness. He warned them about allowing sin to work through them to the detriment of others. Jesus is paving the way for what it means to not only be a disciple but also a teacher of faith. 

This scared the apostles. Did they have enough faith? Who could have enough faith to withstand such temptation and be required to extend such forgiveness? They quickly asked Jesus to increase their faith. 

Jesus didn’t wave His wand and pour more faith into them. That’s not how faith works. Faith is like a muscle. It has to be exercised to grow stronger. We don’t need God to give us more, we need to learn how to use the faith we have already been given. 

Faith is a free gift from God. As it is a gift, it is up to us to accept it. Once we accept it, we have to learn how to use it, how to rely on it. How? By becoming humble servants of God, trusting in His Will for our lives. We have each been given specific work to do upon this earth which will bring God glory. Just as we have duties within our own family, we have duties as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, our heavenly family.

At the close of our life when we stand before God, let us all hope to be able to say, “we have done what we were obliged to do.” May we stand proud of how we followed God’s Will, how we obeyed His commands and did the work He had so carefully chosen for us to do.

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Prayer

Simplicity

Obedience to God’s will 

These principles are the foundation of St. Therese’s Little Way. In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives the Disciples insight into this truth so much a part of St. Therese’s teaching. Following God isn’t about great heroics, but a reversal of power found where the meek and humble are exalted and the wise and learned fail to understand. 

This school year it has been difficult to get my morning prayer habit back into a routine. I have a puppy who wants up well before the alarm and expects my undivided attention even before my eyes are open. There is much to do in the beginning of the school year and it is easier to get my computer out and mark a few things off my to-do list in the morning when the house is quiet. 

St. Therese reminds me not only to pray…but to keep it simple. I don’t need an elaborate routine or a huge chunk of time. Simply stopping to ask God to keep all of my work in line with his will is enough. 

God doesn’t look for grand gestures, he wants to be included in our simple, everyday moments. This year we have incorporated prayer more closely in our everyday routines at school. In the morning, before we enter the school, the students and I talk about opportunities to show mercy or kindness to another during the day before we pray the Act of Charity. We pray together before going to lunch. We have incorporated the Prayer after Eating as we take a couple of deep breaths and pray together to transition our bodies and minds from the fun and chatter of the lunchroom back to the focus of the classroom.

These simple routines with my students have led me to attach simple prayers to routine actions I take during the day. I breathe, “Come, Holy Spirit” as I turn on my computer. As I walk through the school and make sure the lights and heat are off, I ask our Blessed Mother to take care of those who inhabit this room for so much of the day. God doesn’t want grand acts from me, but to incorporate simple prayer into all I do.

I am so grateful for St. Therese and Her Little Way, a way of humility and childlike trust in our God that leads us ever closer to His will. 

Prayer

Simplicity 

Obedience to God’s will

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I know a lot of people say this, but my dad was one of the smartest men I have ever known. I will go a step further — he was one of the wisest men I ever knew. When I was a kid monkeying around at the dinner table, he would put me in my place. I deserved it. And when my wife and I got married and my parents came to visit us, my dad shocked me, asking if he could sit in the recliner. At home, he always sat in the recliner. But he knew this was my home, not his. He knew his place, too. I wish he was still alive to sit in my recliner any time he wanted.

I share this because today’s readings are all about our place. Specifically, they’re all about how we see ourselves, where we are, in our relationship with God. In the First Reading, we are nearing the end of the book of Job. He has suffered much but refused to turn from his God. And when he gets that audience with the Lord, he begins to question what has been going on. But does God give him comforting words? Far from it. To paraphrase, God asks, almost sarcastically, “Hey, where were you, Job, when I created this? Did you help when I made that?”

Job is taken aback. Is this the response to expect from a loving God? Job rightfully replies, however, “I won’t say another word.” Because Job realizes, as should we, that this is God. God, who created everything, to whom everything belongs, has chosen to reveal himself to Job. He has everything, He can do anything, but He has chosen to be with Job, and with us. He has chosen to love us. Didn’t God, after all, originally bet on Job’s faithfulness? He is in our corner, but he isn’t some simple buddy. We have to remember he is God — God! — who has chosen to create us, care about us, love us. And send us His son.

This brings us to the Gospel. Jesus has done some amazing things in Bethsaida and Capernaum and Chorazin. Why, if Tyre and Sidon, two of the most sinful places in the Old Testament, had witnessed these things, they would have repented immediately. Jesus is speaking to us here. We have seen what he did. We have heard it preached and read about it in the Gospels. What does it mean to us? How do we react? Do we repent and believe in the Gospel? Do we become disciples and try to live as Jesus wants us to live? What is our place in relationship to this Lord and Savior, and the One who sent Him?

Let’s contemplate that today. Do I know my place when it comes to God, when it comes to Jesus? Is it the right place? Do I treat our Lord as some great vending machine, “gimme this, gimme that”, or do I give him the love, the praise, and the worship deserving of the Lord of the universe, who is all good and deserving of all our love. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy. 

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Sé que mucha gente dice esto, pero mi papá fue uno de los hombres más inteligentes que he conocido. Iré un paso más allá: fue uno de los hombres más sabios que he conocido. Cuando yo era niño haciendo el tonto en la mesa, él me ponía en mi lugar. Me lo merecía. Y cuando mi esposa y yo nos casamos y mis padres vinieron a visitarnos, mi papá me sorprendió cuando me preguntó si podía sentarse en el sillón reclinable. En casa, siempre se sentaba en el sillón reclinable. Pero él sabía que esta era mi casa, no la suya. Él también conocía su lugar. Quisiera que todavía estuviera vivo para sentarse en mi sillón reclinable cuando quisiera.

Comparto esto porque las lecturas de hoy son todas sobre nuestro lugar. Específicamente, se trata de cómo nos vemos a nosotros mismos, dónde estamos, en nuestra relación con Dios. En la Primera Lectura, nos acercamos al final del libro de Job. Ha sufrido mucho, pero se negó a apartarse de su Dios. Y cuando obtiene esa audiencia con el Señor, comienza a cuestionar lo que ha estado pasando. Pero, ¿le da Dios palabras de consuelo? Para nada. Parafraseando, Dios pregunta, casi con sarcasmo: “Oye, ¿dónde estabas, Job, cuando creé esto? ¿Me ayudaste cuando hice eso?

Job se sorprende. ¿Esta es la respuesta que se espera de un Dios amoroso? Sin embargo, Job responde correctamente: “No diré una palabra más”. Porque Job se da cuenta, al igual que nosotros, de que esto es Dios. Dios, que creó todo, a quien todo pertenece, ha elegido revelarse a Job. Él tiene todo, Él puede hacer cualquier cosa, pero ha elegido estar con Job y con nosotros. Él ha elegido amarnos. Después de todo, ¿no apostó Dios originalmente por la fidelidad de Job? Él está en nuestro rincón, pero no es un simple amigo. Tenemos que recordar que él es Dios, ¡Dios! que ha elegido crearnos, cuidarnos, amarnos, y envíanos a Su hijo.

Esto nos lleva al Evangelio. Jesús ha hecho algunas cosas asombrosas en Betsaida y Capernaum y Chorazin. Bueno, si Tiro y Sidón, dos de los lugares más pecaminosos del Antiguo Testamento, hubieran sido testigos de estas cosas, se habrían arrepentido inmediatamente. Jesús nos está hablando aquí. Hemos visto lo que hizo. Lo hemos oído predicar y lo hemos leído en los Evangelios. ¿Qué significa para nosotros? ¿Cómo reaccionamos? ¿Nos arrepentimos y creemos en el Evangelio? ¿Nos convertimos en discípulos y tratamos de vivir como Jesús quiere que vivamos? ¿Cuál es nuestro lugar en relación con este Señor y Salvador, y Aquel que lo envió?

Consideremos eso hoy. ¿Conozco mi lugar cuando se trata de Dios, cuando se trata de Jesús? ¿Es el lugar correcto? ¿Trato a nuestro Señor como una gran máquina expendedora, “dame esto, dame aquello”, o le doy el amor, la alabanza y la adoración que merece el Señor del universo, quien es todo bueno y merecedor de todo nuestro amor. Nuestro Salvador Jesucristo sufrió y murió por nosotros. En su nombre, Dios mío, ten piedad.

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I remain a parishioner at the church where I was baptized 55 years ago, meaning I have spent well over 2,000 Sunday mornings there. As a child, my mind and my eyes tended to wander, and the stained glass windows provided both entertainment and enlightenment, as they are meant to do. Later, as I struggled to quiet my small children during Mass, I whispered the stories of the saints in those same windows to them.

A favorite window depicts St. Michael casting the fallen angels out of Heaven, as today’s alternate First Reading from Revelations describes. It’s a graphic representation, even a little scary, showing the Archangel poking at skeletal creatures with his sword. Children, of course, love this.  Similarly, it is especially satisfying to call on St. Michael at the end of Mass, asking him to “thrust into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world.”

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Archangels, Michael the warrior, Gabriel the messenger, and Raphael the healer. Our readings draw us into contemplation of heavenly glory, when we will see God on His throne, attended by “myriads and myriads” of angels, and where “in the sight of the angels” we will sing His praises. 

We are also directed to consider Jesus’ place in God’s glory, as “one like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven.” Indeed, Jesus tells Nathanael that he “will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Angels are God’s attendants, and thus Jesus’ declaration to Nathanael clearly implies his own divinity, and calls to mind the Gospel passage after his temptation in the desert when angels came and ministered to him. 

The angels have always been in Heaven in the presence of God, whereas human beings have to learn to know, love, and serve Him here on Earth before being admitted to Paradise.  While today’s readings provide a glimpse of the glory that awaits us, they do not provide a road map for getting there.  Truly in these passages salvation is presented as a gift of God for which we praise Him, not something we can earn. 

Though we do not earn salvation, we are called to cooperate in it. This is where the example of Nathanael is helpful. Just before the passage in today’s Gospel, Nathanael’s friend Philip obeyed when Jesus said, “Follow me.” He then went to Nathanael and extended an invitation to him: “Come and see.”

Nathanael accepted, and although he was initially skeptical (asking Philip if anything good can come from Nazareth) he believed in Jesus after only one exchange.

We see in Nathanael an openness to relationship with Jesus and humility in putting aside his prejudices. Being himself a person “without deceit,” perhaps he is able to sense the same honesty in Philip and in Jesus himself.  We can also learn from Philip, who not only follows Jesus unquestioningly but shares the invitation with his friend.   

Today, and every day, let us be open to the invitation of Jesus, so that one day we too will sing his praises “in the sight of the angels.”

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