Easter

 Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Ps 118: 1-2, 16-17, 22-23

Col 3:1-4

Jn 20:1-9

 

 

“This is the day the Lord has made; 

let us rejoice and be glad.” 

 

These joyful words have been circling the globe for hours. First in Australia, then Taiwan and the Churches of Mainland China.  After passing through Asia and Russia they were proclaimed in Poland, Slovenia and England while the East Coast of the United States was barely waking up. An then they swept across North and South America in churches, monasteries, and convents as the celebration completed its global orbit.  

 

The words from the psalm were repeated in: Mandarin, Fujianese, Swahili, Tagalog, Slovenian, Croatian, Portuguese, French, English, and every other tongue in the known world, as the news of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is proclaimed yet again. 

 

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles summarized Jesus’ life from His baptism to His death on the cross.  We heard the commission to the apostles to preach the message of salvation.  It is the same commission we received: Preach the message of salvation through Jesus!  Proclaim the Gospel of the Lord. 

 

That message is the reason we are to rejoice and be glad.  Jesus is the one set apart, a root meaning of the word holy. Those who believe in him have  forgiveness of sins through His name. 

 

As St. Paul so memorably wrote to the Romans:  “God showed his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”  While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.  Jesus, fully Divine and fully human, Son of God and Son of Mary, like us in all things but sin, died for our sins, because of our sins, and to save us from those sins.  We are sinners.  But, we are sinners passionately loved by God.  We are redeemed by Jesus’ passion and death in a redemption made manifest in His resurrection from the dead.  What more can we say than “This is the day the Lord has made; 

let us rejoice and be glad.” 

 

In the proclamation of John’s Gospel we heard of the disciple’s astonishment, confusion, sorrow, and fear upon discovering that the tomb, in which Jesus had been placed, was empty. The burial cloths were rolled up and lying off to the side.  The last line of this Gospel reading is instructive:  “Remember, as yet they did not understand the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.”  They did not yet understand.  Despite the years that they had followed Him the disciples did not really understand who this Jesus was.  But that was going to change at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended.

 

The apostle’s confusion and lack of understanding of Jesus mirrors our situation.  Despite Jesus’ action in our lives, we don’t always understand.  Unlike the apostles who lived the events told here in real time we have scripture and the tradition of the Church to instruct us and help us understand.  Still, we don’t always get it.  We sometimes fail to understand how great a gift Jesus is to us. We sometimes fail to appreciate the gift he gave us.  We sometimes reject that gift outright. Thus, it is today, and every day, we are called to pray, to meditate on scripture and to receive the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ so that unlike the apostles, we will understand, we will see, and, through understanding and seeing,  we will believe. 

 

The words repeated while inscribing the paschal candle  are a very short catechism.  

 

“Christ yesterday and today

the beginning and the end. 

Alpha and Omega; 

all time belongs to him, 

and all the ages; 

to him be glory and power, 

through every age for ever.” 

 

“This is the day the Lord has made, 

let us rejoice and be glad.” 

 

 

Alleluia

Alleluia

Alleluia. 

______________________________________

An extraordinary night.  Over the past eight months I've been instructing a physician colleague to prepare him for baptism, confirmation, and communion in the Church.  It was quite a journey in which he pushed me.  I joked after Mass that he cost me at least $100 in books.  Four were baptized at St. Ignatius last night.  I had the joy of baptizing Tony.  Was going to post this homily last night but didn't have the energy to hold the computer let alone do anything with it.  

One of my favorite still-life shots taken in a tiny sacristy in a cloistered monastery.  I knew this was going to be black and white the moment the camera arrived in front of my eye.  

The small private chapel in which I celebrate Mass when visiting there.  I had just set up for Mass but had not yet started.  I will drive to the monastery in eight days to spend the week catching up with work. 

Have a most Blessed Easter.  

+ Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

May It Be Done Unto Me: Homily for the Solemnity of the Annunciation

Isaiah 7:10-14, 8:10

Psalm 40

Luke 1:25-38

 

Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ,
Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto

"The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit" 

With rare exceptions spaced many decades apart, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord  always falls during Lent.  This solemnity, this feast, is a welcome glimmer of hope during a season of penance and fasting.  We hear the prophecy in the first reading. We hear the fulfillment of that prophecy in Luke's Gospel.  We hear Ahaz's stubborn 'no' in the first reading.  We hear Mary's perfect 'yes' in the Gospel.  Isaiah narrates God's command to Ahaz that he ask for a sign.  Ahaz refused to ask.  In His frustration God told Ahaz the sign He would give. 

 

The Universe held its breath when the angel appeared in the house in Nazareth, a backwater town of no importance.  The angel was to carry news to a young woman living in the house.  How would she reply?  Is this the time or must the waiting continue?  The angel's appearance in the room startled the young woman.  The tension in the universe approached unbearable.  God had promised a sign, that the virgin should bear a son.  Is this the time?  Is this the woman?  The universe was still.  Nothing stirred.  All movement halted when it heard the angel's greeting, "Hail, full of grace!  The Lord is with you."

 

Clasping its hands in front of its heart, the universe waited for the scene to unfold. 

 

"Do not be afraid Mary,  for you have found favor with God. You will conceive and bear a son and you shall name him Jesus."  

 

The woman appeared puzzled and concerned, as if she were asking herself what the odd greeting meant. The universe was stilled.  Oddly, the anxious anticipation vanished to be replaced by a new calm.  The look on her face was changing.  Wait . . . . 

 

Maria dixit "Ecce ancilla Domini, 

fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum."

 

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, 

May it be done unto me according to your word." 

 

The universe changed instantly.  It would never be the same.  A new calm descended. The prophecy would be fulfilled. The young woman's words penetrated the very substance of the universe where they would echo forever. The most yes in history had just been spoken.  And the universe rejoiced. The virgin had accepted her vocation to be the Theotokos, the God-bearer, in fulfillment of the prophecy to Ahaz.

 

Like us, Mary was endowed with free will.  She could have rejected the vocation the angel presented to her. It seems irreverent to suggest that Mary could have refused. Her decision, however, was not inevitable.  It was not forced by God.  She was chosen.  But she had her own choice and  she responded with yes.

 

Et Verbum caro factum est.

Et havitavit in nobis

 

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.  

 

Angels rejoiced. Seraphim, Thrones, Powers, and Dominations celebrated. Mary's life would change. Joseph would soon receive her into his house. They would soon make the arduous journey to Bethlehem where Jesus would be born of the House of David, once again in fulfillment of a prophecy.

 

On this great feast the Eastern Church will sing a hymn to the Theotokos, a hymn to the God-bearer whose reply to the angel enabled the universe to rejoice: 

 

"Receive, O earth, the glad tidings of great joy.

Heavens, praise the glory of God. 

The Theotokos, the God-bearer, the living tabernacle of God

shall not be touched by an unclean hand. 

The lips of believers shall sing to her ceaselessly 

with the voice of angels crying joyfully, 

Hail full of grace, The Lord is with Thee."  

______________________________________________

A particularly favorite feast for many reasons.  Rather than putting up photos am including the YouTube of the men of the Dale Warland Singers performing Franz Beibl's Ave Maria that is a setting of the Angelus complete with verses and response

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFPbNsGF0Y0

How to be a man: Homily for the Solemnity of St Joseph

 Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a

 

Matthew’s description of the events leading up to Jesus’ birth contains fewer details than Luke’s Gospel. It does not include  the splendid prayers from Luke--the Magnificat, the Benedictus and others--that have become part of the Church's liturgy.  But it is as important as Luke's exquisite narrative. Matthew’s Gospel is filled with human drama and marked by pathos, anxiety, and fear.  Most significantly, we hear about Joseph and come to understand why he was called a righteous man. We learn of his compassion when he planned to divorce Mary quietly, unwilling to subject her to shame, and possible stoning for being with child. We hear of his obedience when an angel appeared to him in a dream, "do not be afraid . . .  it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived.  She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  

 

Not one word  is attributed to Joseph in scripture.  He remains silent throughout. We know that he was a good man, we know that he was a real man, who accepted the role of husband and father, doing that which was necessary.  But, we know this only through observing his actions rather than reading his words.  We know that he was righteous through his courage and obedience in doing what God commanded without complaint or protest. 

 

Mary’s fiat at the Annunciation--“May it be done unto me according to your word”--changed the history of the world and continues to change the history of the world.  The sound of her yes still echoes throughout the universe to this very moment.  It will echo for eternity and beyond eternity.  Joseph’s yes was silent.  His yes was as important as Mary's.  Joseph's yes also continues to echo throughout the universe, but it echoes in its example rather than the sound of its words.  Joseph was righteous because his obedience to God was immediate and without question.  

 

An angel would again come to him in a dream after Jesus' birth.  In his obedience, in his role as protector of his young family, Joseph would take them to Egypt for an extended exile that would last until Herod’s death. The 90-mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem with a pregnant wife could not have been easy.  The flight to Egypt was probably even more difficult and filled with greater anxiety and complicated by the almost overpowering fear of a father whose son's life is threatened. 

 

Pope Francis was inaugurated on 19 March, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, eight years ago.  He asked the following question in his homily:  "How does Joseph exercise his role as protector?"  The pope then answered the question in a way that explains why Joseph must be a model for all men, men who are fathers and grandfathers in particular, as well men who are responsible for the care of others.  

 

The Holy Father explained that Joseph exercised his role, "Discreetly, humbly and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to understand." Joseph did what had to be done.  He did what had to be done without question and without complaint.  He did it with quiet strength that grew from his trust in God. That is why he is credited as righteous.  That is why we celebrate him with such solemnity today.

 

St. Joseph protector of families, pray for us. 

____________________________________________________

 

All but the first of the photos are of sv. Jože (St. Joseph) Church in Ljubljana, Slovenia.  Lived in the adjacent community during my time there.  

The sculpture of the Holy Family in Brezje, Slovenia.  The cross is actually several hundred yards away from the statue.  It is also much larger.  But if an observer kneels in front of the statue the cross appears in this way.   I could have gotten a bit better framing but it had rained, there was a puddle, and I was wearing wool slacks.  Black chinos I would have cared but wool?  Nah.

The bell tower from the road leading up to the castle. 

The bell tower at sunset one magnificent summer evening. 

 The interior of the church.  Commies had it for years.  A lot of work needs to be done. 

The statue of St. Joseph and the Child Jesus.  The altar was designed by Jože Plečnik I think in the 20s (last century not this).  Somehow it survived the community desecration of the church.  

+ Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

May God Strike Me Dead: Homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent

2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23

Ps 137 1-6

Eph 2:4-10

Jn 3:14-21

 

"Laetare Jerusalem: 

et conventum facite omnes 

qui diligitis eam."

 

"Rejoice, O Jerusalem; 

and gather round, 

all you who love her."

 

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally called Laetare Sunday. The name deriving from the first word of the entrance antiphon,  Laetare. Rejoice.

 

We mark Laetare Sunday visually by replacing the somber purple vestments with dusty rose. Note, dusty rose is NOT, it is absolutely not, hot pink. There is a difference.  The vestments for Laetare Sunday must not be the same as the color associated with Pepto-Bismol. The vestments visually remind us of a lightening of mood, transient though it may be, now that the penitential time is more than half over.   That change of color is an important signifier of what the late Jesuit Father Jim Schall described in one of his many essays. "Laetare Sunday is traditionally called a respite.  It makes us begin to feel the nearness of the Passion and the Resurrection, but with a reminder that even amid the Lenten fast and the coming remembrance of the Crucifixion, we are not to forget that Christianity is a religion of joy."  He goes to explain that, "Christianity is a religion of joy since it knows this world is not all there is; there is something precious beyond the world."  That precious something is apparent in today's readings and particularly in John's Gospel.

 

The Jewish Study Bible notes that "one of the hallmarks of the Book of Chronicles is its strict notion of divine providence and retribution . . . (through which) virtuous deeds lead to reward, (and) bad deeds bring punishment and suffering."  The book's uniqueness is its view of Divine compassion instead of retribution and punishment as the operative principle. It is God's Divine compassion that allows for repentance and forgiveness of sin. That compassion brings an eternal message of hope.   

 

No matter how often the Israelites violated the covenant forgiveness was available. God never forgot the covenant even when his people did so deliberately and repeatedly, even when they chose to worship false pagan gods. We are blessed because out of  God's mercy we receive forgiveness for our sins in the sacrament of confession, again and again, as often as we wish to partake of it.   

 

Psalm 137 is fascinating.  It reflects the notion of retribution for sin found in Chronicles. It illustrates the importance of holding to God, the importance of recalling and living within the covenant God made with His people. 

It is also one of the few instances in the psalter in which a physician can make an accurate diagnosis. 

 

"If I forget you O Jerusalem, 

may my right hand wither, 

may my tongue cleave 

to the roof of my mouth 

if I remember you not." 

 

For the sin of forgetting the covenant, the psalmist is calling down upon himself the Ancient Near Eastern version of the old schoolyard oath, "If I am lying may God strike me dead."  He is calling down a very specific punishment that many would find worse than being dead. 

 

Should he sin by forgetting what God had done for his people, the psalmist is asking that he be punished by having a stroke on the left side of his brain, the type of stroke that results in paralysis of the right hand and arm;  both of which eventually atrophy and wither and manifesting with the garbled speech of expressive aphasia that does, in fact, sound as if the tongue were stuck to the roof of the mouth. 

 

It is important to note that God is not threatening this punishment.  The psalmist is calling it down upon himself as punishment if he forgets.  Given the Ancient Near East understanding of disease he is saying that it would be better to be dead than to forget God and His covenant with the people. 

 

St. John Paul II of happy memory took words from Paul's Letter to the Ephesian for the title of his second encyclical Dives in Misericordia, Rich in Mercy, an encyclical in which he explored the mystery of redemption.  In section seven he wrote:  " . . . mercy is an indispensable dimension of love; it is . . . love's second name, and, at the same time, the specific manner in which love is revealed and effected . . ." 

 

We have been saved by grace and mercy.  John tells us as much in the gospel when he wrote, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."  

 

This truth never loses its power to stun the believer into silence while leaving the non-believer perplexed by the scandal of the cross.  It is critical to recall when contemplating these words, that they do not even hint that we will not die. Rather, these words overthrow the power of death itself.  We all will die.  Ideally that moment will occur at the natural end of our lives rather than through so-called physician prescribed death, a euphemism for putting down the ill or demented elderly. We will all die but death itself has lost its power over us and will never regain it.  

 

"Laetare Jerusalem: 

et conventum facite omnes 

qui diligitis eam."

__________________________________________

Photos from a monastery

Sun-catcher in the cloister of a monastery

The Consecration at Mass

Sanctuary lamp in the monastic choir

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

Commandments and Zeal: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent

Ex 20:1-17

Ps 19

I Cor 1:22-25

Jn 2:13-25

We adore Thee or Christ and we bless Thee

Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

What we know as the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue is not unique to Genesis in either the Hebrew or the Christian scripture. All of the laws and prohibitions appear elsewhere throughout scripture though not necessarily in identical form. But, they are unique in the history of the ancient world. They are unique because God was the author. This belief set the Jewish people apart from all others in the Ancient Near East. Elsewhere the laws were believed to be the product of human minds, particularly the king, perhaps with divine inspiration of some sort, but ultimately, law was a human conception. The laws, commands, or edicts of the Decalogue however, were given directly from God to Moses who relayed them to the people. Thus, obedience to the law--both the moral law and the civil law--became religious duties. This explains, in part, Jesus' response to His interlocutors who asked about paying the tax to the Empire: "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and to God that which is God's." Thus, the laws against adultery or murder are as morally binding as the laws to observe the Sabbath and have no false gods are religiously binding.

The first three commandments define our duty toward God. The remaining commandments describe our duty toward family, community, and society in general. Killing. Adultery. Stealing. Lying about or bringing false witness against another, or coveting another's possessions all destabilize the community or devastate the family. Of all these sins none has a more devastating effect on the family than adultery. Adultery ruptures family bonds, destroys friendships, has the potential to cause economic insecurity and hardship, damages reputations, sometimes beyond repair, and, particularly if young children are involved, impairs their developing sense of trust in the world around them in ways that may not become conscious or apparent for many years.

The Gospel narrating Jesus' cleansing the Temple from profanation that violated the first three commandments, is an important reminder to, if not an antidote for, those who see Jesus as permissive of all things, sanctioning even immorality if it is enacted in the guise of love, and, at least according to the s

Speaker of the House of Representatives, having no problem with killing of infants in the womb.

This episode forces us to confront our ideas of how Jesus is and what He demands. It is not a warm and comforting scene. There is no gentle, hugging, or smiling Jesus here. This is not the Jesus of accommodation. There is no compromise or equivocation. For those for whom zeal and reverence for God’s house. or whose observance of the commandments is a sometimes thing that shifts with current social trends, the encounter with this Jesus is uncomfortable because it is a reminder that He is not a Jesus of accommodation to current social mores. He is not one to adapt to what people want, to what everyone is doing, or to water down the law as we are reminded in Matthew's gospel, "I have not come to abolish the law or the prophets, I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. . . . Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place." Thus, these frequent whines hold no water.

"Oh, c'mon Jesus everybody is selling animals in the Temple these days."

"Keep your religious belief out of my life."

"My body, Myself."

"I am the only one who can determine what is moral for me."

The Jesus of the gospels challenged political authorities. He challenged society at large in condemning adultery, divorce and extortion, among others. The Jesus of the gospels called a spade a spade. He did not cave in to secular society. He would not tolerate desecration of His Father’s house. We do well to remember that. The scene of Jesus overturning tables in the Temple and driving the money changers out with a whip bothers many. They are bothered because Jesus is not gentle, affirming, or negotiating. There is no way to manipulate his words or actions to be anything than what they are. The late Jesuit Father Stanley Marrow, made an insightful comment on this gospel passage in his commentary on this Gospel.

“One puzzling aspect of the narrative is how generation after generation can hear this account and persist in clinging to their cherished image of Jesus. . . so 'gentle and mild' as to be incapable of overthrowing anything, including the reader’s smugness. . . . The Jesus in this, or any other gospel, is not exactly a standard-bearer for bleeding hearts. The aim of the Gospel is not to provide us with the biography of an inspiring hero, who fits . . . our ambitions, conforms to our ideals, or meets our conceptions of what constitutes greatness.”

Fr. Marrow could have included that Jesus was not a standard bearer for political correctness, the politics of either the left or the right, or the au courant gender silliness. Without zeal for God’s house the Church cannot survive. Without the Eucharist, without the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ, the Church does not exist. Everything else the Church does--peace, justice, health care, education-- is beside the point if it does not emerge from the Eucharist, from Christ's Real Presence among us.

Without zeal for God's house we might as well stay in bed on Sunday and watch the shopping channel, football , or 'The View.' Only zeal for God's house, only time spent in prayer and contemplation, will allow us to understand the basic truths we heard in the psalm.

"The decree of the Lord is trustworthy,

giving wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart,

the command of the Lord is clear,

enlightening the eye."

The Lord truly has the words to everlasting life.

If we are willing to hear them and listen to them.

We adore Thee or Christ and we bless Thee

Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

___________________________________________________________________

One of the great joys of photography is looking through photos randomly and allowing them to trigger memories of the place, the reason for the photo, and many associated feelings. These are three.

The Church of Saint James (sv. Jakob) in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The church was built between 1613-1615. It has been repaired, remodeled, and refreshed a few times over the centuries. It is a Jesuit church separate from sv. Jože (St. Joseph, built in the early 20th century) not too far away.

The books set up for vespers in a monastery.

Wandering through Ljubljana one very cold night. The candle and ashtray were on a table at an outdoor cafe. I took quite a few shots inadvertently because my hands were so cold I could not feel my fingers or tell when the shutter had been pressed.

+ Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

Sacrifice and Transfiguration: Homily for the 2nd Sunday in Lent

Gen 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

Rom 8:31b-34

Mk 9:2-10

 

We adore Thee oh Christ and we bless Thee

Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

 

The first reading from Genesis described Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac.  Unfortunately, the passage was discontinuous. The details of the journey to the intended place of sacrifice were skipped over. That Isaac carried on his own back the wood for the sacrifice was omitted.  Isaac's confusion was left out. We are left with two things: Abraham's obedience and the confirmation of God's promise that he would be the father of a great nation. This is a rich narrative.  Relevant details should not be left out. The parallels between Isaac carrying the wood on which he was to be sacrificed and Jesus carrying the wood on which He was sacrificed are obvious. Isaac's confusion was mirrored by Jesus' confusion in Gethsemane.  

 

To those with the mindset common to Freudian psychiatrists or those hostile to faith, the narrative is disturbing.  God asks a man to sacrifice his only son.  The man prepares to carry out the sacrifice without question.  Many people whine, whimper, and emote about this narrative along the lines of "I could never believe in a God who could be so cruel, sadistic, irrational, or . . . ." (fill in the blank with a favorite pejorative).  There is no sadism here. There is no cruelty in the narrative. There is only faith. 

 

The Jewish Study Bible describes this narrative, which it calls Abraham's last and greatest test, as "A magnificent story, that is one of the gems of biblical narrative."  It also notes a translation problem. "There is no good English equivalent for the Hebrew 'hineni' that is translated as 'Here I am.'  Hineni indicates readiness, alertness, attentiveness, receptivity, and responsiveness to instructions.  It indicates unquestioning obedience to the will of God.  This describes Abraham.

 

In the second reading from Paul's Letter to the Romans we heard that, God "did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all."  God asked Abraham to give him all, to give him everything, to give him his only son, to give him his future, and the existence of a people yet to come into existence.  Once Abraham demonstrated his obedience God returned everything to him.  Because of Jesus' obedience everything was returned to us. 

 

 

One of the first prayers a Jesuit novice learns when he enters is the Suscipe of St. Ignatius of Loyola. It begins, 

 

"Take Lord, and receive,

all my liberty, my memory my understanding, my entire will, 

all I have and call my own."  

 

Take all.  Not that which I am willing to give.  Not that which is left over.  Not that which is easy.  Take all.  That is what Abraham was willing to give.  That is what God the Father gave us.  All.

 

Jesus' Transfiguration points us towards and draws us into a mystery that is beyond historical reconstruction. The Transfiguration is beyond scientific explanation and geographic specificity.  None of these factors matter.  When, how, and where are unnecessary distractions to the deeper meaning of the narrative.  It is sufficient that Jesus was transfigured in front of three of the apostles.  

 

Imagine the scene. 

Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets, standing with Jesus.  

Put yourself into that scene.

Where are you standing? 

What are you seeing?  

What are you feeling? 

What are you thinking?

How are you acting? 

 

The apostles were confused and frightened.  As he became more anxious Peter began to speak without thinking of what he was saying.  Despite today's vogue for apostle bashing none of us would have acted any better.  Most likely, we would have acted worse and pulled out an Ancient Near East smart phone, snapped pictures, texted to the rest of the apostles, and tried to get a selfie with Moses. 

 

As the tension increased the voice of God the Father declared, "This is my beloved Son."

 

This is the beloved Son who was like us in all things but sin. This is the beloved Son who took on the human condition to redeem us from our sins and save us from death. This is the beloved son, God incarnate, who, like Isaac, carried the wood for the sacrifice on his own back. This is the beloved son, who, like Abraham, acted in perfect obedience to the will of the Father.  

 

Then, the apostles, and by extension, each one of us, received a mission from the Father: "Listen to him."  Listen to his teaching, the teaching of His words and the teaching of His actions.  As we listen to Jesus words and imitate his actions, as we take His teaching to heart, and allow that teaching to transform us, we move that much closer to experiencing the glory of His Transfiguration in our own lives and transforming ours. 

 

We adore Thee oh Christ and we bless Thee

Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

_________________________________________________________

Both photos were taken at Horseneck Beach near Westport, MA, a town on the border of Rhode Island.  Until some changes in parish structure I periodically went down there to cover Masses for the weekend.  If decent weather I would try to hit the beach with camera for a bit before Mass.  

 + Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

 

Temptations in the Desert: Homily for the First Sunday in Lent

Gn 9:8-15

Ps 25:4-9

1 Pt 3:18-22

Mk 1:12-15

 

We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee, 

because  by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

 

No matter which cycle of Sunday readings is proclaimed, Matthew, Luke or, as is true this year, Mark, the first Sunday of Lent is always about Jesus' temptations during forty days in the desert. The challenge with Mark's version compared with Matthew and Luke is that he gives no details about those temptations.  There is no dialog between Jesus and Satan.  Mark simply notes: "The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan." Bare bones and succinct to say the least.  At a recent conference Jesuit Fr. Michael Simone described Mark's writing as "Hemingwayesque" Short sentences.  Short words.  Concise.  Minimal detail. However, Mark's brief statement is an important reminder that Jesus was like us in all things but sin, that he too was presented with desires, with temptations, with tests, and challenges just as we are.  Unlike us, he did not succumb to those temptations or fail those tests. 

 

The first reading from Leviticus describes God's covenant with Noah in which He promised that flood waters would never cover the whole earth again. While most people are familiar with the deluge, the ark, the rainbow, and so on, most of us are unfamiliar with anything beyond that.  This is particularly true of the ancient covenant with Noah and the commandments God gave to him. 

 

The Talmud is a collection of commentaries on the first five books of  the Hebrew scripture known as Torah. In the commentary on these verses from Torah The Jewish Study Bible cites the Talmud's exposition on the covenant with Noah through which God  laid down seven commandments, known as the "Noahide covenant," which all in Israel, even non-Jews, were to obey. 

 

The Seven Laws of Noah forbid:

The worship of idols,

Cursing God or blasphemy, 

Intentionally shedding human blood through murder.

 

The commandments forbid

Adultery, bestiality, or sexual perversion, 

Prohibit stealing or robbery

Ban eating the flesh torn from a living animal that is not properly slaughtered first.

 

The final commandment to Noah is the demand to establish courts of justice. 

There was no demand for non-Jews to convert but those who observed these commandments, living by the terms of this covenant, would be considered righteous gentiles who met with God's approval. 

 

With the exception of eating meat cut from animals that were not properly slaughtered and establishing courts of law, the seven commandments resemble the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments given to Moses.  The modern world, especially the U.S., would do well to take notice that blasphemy, the worship of false gods, sexual perversion in all its forms, and the shedding of human blood, including the killing children in the womb, have been forbidden for many thousands of years rather than being, as some would put it, inventions of the Catholic Church. 

 

We hear in the second reading how God waited patiently for Noah to build the ark so that Noah and his family, a total of eight persons, and thus all of mankind, were saved through water.  The second reading taken from the First Letter of Peter links this saving water to baptism.

 

Water is a powerful symbol for the Church. It is a symbol of life and salvation in both the Old Testament and the New. Thus we read about the water on which floated the basket holding the infant Moses, the water that was parted as the Israelites fled Egypt, the water of the Jordan with which John baptized Jesus, the water mixed with blood that flowed from Jesus' side at the crucifixion, and the water of baptism.  Water is more necessary to human life than food.  We can live for many days without food.  We can only live a few days without water.  

 

Physicians spend much time in med school learning--and even more time in the hospital worrying--about fluids and fluid balance for good reason. Water is crucial to the moment-to-moment normal functioning of the body.  Vitamins, even those specially concocted for women, children, old men, and even pet owners, 

the hype for free radical scavengers, organic locally grown food, whole grains, 

and all the other food fetishes, fads, and foolishness advertised today are irrelevant compared with the need for water.  It need not be water specially fortified with vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, and other forms of nonsense.  The body is well-equipped to manage those things on its own, as it has since the beginning.  It must simply be water.  All the rest emerges from the fevered minds of advertising majors.

 

As important as it is physiologically, water is even more crucial to our spiritual lives and the salvation of our souls.   The water of baptism is the only way through which anyone can enter into the life of Christ. Only after having received the saving waters of baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--and no other formula--can we partake fully of the sacraments.  Without baptism there is no spiritual life or light of Christ.  Without baptism there is no partaking of the Eucharistic banquet, the true and real Body and Blood of Our Lord.  Without the water of baptism there is nothing but a void. 

Without baptism there is only a void like the one that existed before God said let there be light at the beginning of creation.  The light of Christ is visible only to those who have received the waters of baptism.  It will never be otherwise. 

 

Ashes were imposed on Wednesday with one of two formulae.

The first was a reminder of our common mortality. "Remember, thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return."  The second gave us a rule for living, "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospels".

 

As we move from this first Sunday of Lent toward the joy of Easter we are called to meditate on the meaning of one and to live according to the dictates of the other. 

 

We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee, 

because  by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

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Two experimental photos.  The red is a collection of ice on a bush next to the house.  Used a red laser pen from the side while shooting a 1/2 second exposure.  

A first attempt at zoom burst photography.  this was a 13 second shot during which I zoomed out from 40 mm to 12 mm.  Need some work to learn more about how to do it but it was a first. 

The Jesuit motto in the rotunda of Gasson Hall at BC

One of the windows in Gasson.

 +Fr. Jack SJ, MD