A New Start

Some time ago, when I first began this blog, I said that I would post something on a daily basis based either on Scripture or a feast on the Catholic calendar for that particular day.  Well, needless to say, I didn't follow through with this.

I could offer all sorts of excuses like no time or too tired or there was really nothing to write about.  Yet, these are just excuses.

When it comes to the practice of our faith, excuses don't count and neither should any excuse be used to explain why I haven't written in this spot on a regular basis.

That is changing.  Beginning tomorrow I will begin posting thoughts, observations, reflections, or inspirational material daily.  My faith to me is a precious and wondrous gift to my life.  It has seen me through nearly everything you might be able to imagine.  When the world seemed to have abandoned me, my faith, God, stood by me.  When there were times that it seemed like the best thing to do was to give up or give in, God was there.  He sustained me in my darkest moments because, among other things, God is Divine, Eternal Hope.

This hope is not the wishful thinking type.  It is the promise fulfilled by Jesus on the Cross Who saved us from eternal damnation with no contact with God--ever.  There is simply no greater a nightmare in human existence than eternal separation from the Creator.

And so, please join me on my daily journey through the days we are given as I share with you the faith that has come to be the bedrock of my life, the faith which allows me to come to know God, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Love that binds them, the Holy Spirit.  Catholic or not, it is my hope to stir your imagination, your curiosity, and your faith as we take a Daily Journey with Jesus in our lives.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

Today, on the Catholic liturgical calendar, the Catholic Church celebrates the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It is a day in which we recall the enormous infinite love that Christ has for each and every one of us.  It is a day when the Gospel of Saint John recalls the moments immediately after Jesus died when a Roman soldier pierced the Savior's side and immediately blood and water poured forth.  This became symbolic of the love that Jesus manifested by dying on the Cross.

Jesus had a broken heart.  His heart broke because of our sinfulness, our complete disregard for the Father's will.  On one level, He must have been stunned at the level of disrespect all of humanity shows the Father through our sinful nature.  He was the model of following God's will, seeing it everywhere and finding it in every aspect of life.  He taught us that through prayer and fasting, we may be able to discern the Father's will in a clear manner that would lead to our following it with more ease than we can imagine.  Often, in the gospels, we see Him going off by Himself to pray.  And this was not just a minute or two during the day to utter a Psalm or two.  No!  When Jesus prayed, He often prayed for hours, many times foregoing sleep to pray all night long.  He did this to achieve full communion with His Father and He also did this as an example for us all.

How many of us can actually say that when we pray, we could go on for hours?  Many of us feel proud of ourselves if we're able to achieve fifteen minutes of uninterrupted prayer in which we're able to fully concentrate?  Yet we must remember that Jesus was just as human as we are.  He had the same human limitations as we with the exception of our sinful nature.  He even had the same temptations that we experience.  Why is it that we cannot follow Jesus' example in prayer?

Jesus loved us fully with His human heart.  His Passion, Death, and Resurrection were all done out of His deep love for each and every one of us, even the worst of us!  He gave Himself up for each one of us.  It was not just something that happened to Him.  He chose to die even though it was completely unnecessary for Him to do so.  He took upon Himself the sins of the world.  He became guilty of each sin that we commit during our lifetime so that He might offer Himself up to the Father in reparation for our offenses.

"See what love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God; and so we are."  (1Jn 3:1)  It is in this selfless act of dying that Jesus reveals His Sacred Heart, the well-spring of God's love for humankind.  That heart, burdened with our sinfulness, was opened by a lance which in reality is symbolic of the sins of mankind.  The Blood of the Lamb poured out on man so that we may be washed clean.  "Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down his life for his friends."  (Jn 15:13)

How do our hearts measure up to Jesus' Sacred Heart?  Are we willing to actually die for someone we do not know?  Are we willing to become guilty of another person's crimes?  No one is that generous, yet, because Jesus became one with the Father through His sacrifice and great love in His heart for both the Father and the human race, He was more generous than we could possibly understand.

Jesus gave His Sacred Heart for us and to us.  It is the reason for His choosing to die for our sake.  Without that Heart, we would have had no recourse for the forgiveness of our sins.  There would be no reason to hope, no reason to have joy in this world because our fate would have been one of darkness.  But because of the generosity of that Sacred Heart, our future is nothing but joy and light!

"We Should Believe in the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ" (1 Jn 3: 23)



Believing in the name of Jesus Christ really doesn't take that much if we think about it.  Believing in the name, quite simply, means that we believe in the Person of Jesus Christ.  We believe that He is truly the Son of God and that He came to rescue us from the bondage of sin.  We believe that He is the anointed one, the Messiah.  In believing these things, we accept as truth, all of the teachings that He gave us.

But there is more to this verse than the line quoted in the title of this piece.  The rest of the verse challenges us to "love one another, just as he has commanded us."  (1 Jn 3: 23)  Loving those who we close to us is quite easy.  This demands nothing from us and there is no redeeming quality in this.  (cf Mt 16:26, Mk 8:36, Lk 9: 25) Where the real challenge comes in is when we are expected to love those with whom we have problems or those who have hurt us or violated us in any way.

How do we go about loving those whom we perceive as our enemies?  It is not easy.  It is within our nature to at the very least avoid those who have hurt us.  We run from them when we see them coming.  It is built into our DNA to preserve ourselves at any cost.  There are times when it is necessary to defend ourselves from harm.  But we must also have the willingness to reach out to those who have not treated us very well to, at the very least, forgive them.  Jesus Himself demonstrated this while He was suffering on the cross.  "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do."  (Lk 23: 34)

This is the difficulty of Christianity.  In the past there has been much bloodshed prompted by those who professed to be Christians.  They wielded the word of God as a sword, destroying enemies and people all in the name of the Lord.  But Jesus from the cross tells us that we are to conduct ourselves differently.  With one word he could have easily brought down the Roman executioners and released Himself from the cross in a triumphant display of power.  That is what most people expected the Messiah to do.  However, Christ's way was the way of humility. 

It takes a great deal of humility to forgive.  When we forgive, we swallow our pride.  We recognize that the need for mercy is far greater than the need for vengeance and retribution.  When we forgive we elevate the transgressor along with ourselves.  We seek peace and offer to work to maintain that peace.  We may be persecuted or ridiculed for our actions because our society calls for vengeance.  It is more in a mode of an eye for an eye than love one another.  As Christians, we must counter this by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We must be willing to call from our lives as Christ called from the cross, "Father for give them; for they know now what they do."

"Show Us the Father and That Will Be Enough For Us"



How many of us, at one time or another, have yearned to see God?  I would imagine that if we were all honest with ourselves we could easily say that all of us have wished for even the quickest glimpse of the Father.  After all, our lives are a journey back to Him. 

The Apostle Philip, one of those who shared the Last Supper with Jesus, asked this question.  Jesus must have certainly been frustrated by this comment.  You can hear His tone in His answer.  "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me Philip?  Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."  It isn't like Philip and the other Apostles hadn't heard this before.  Time after time Jesus told them that He and the Father were one."  (Jn 14: 9)  In a few short hours, He would prove His love for them and for all humankind by dying on the cross and rising three days later, all as a sacrificial offering to the Father.  Every Apostle except one, would abandon him and cower in the very room in which this conversation was taking place.  Even when they saw the Risen Christ, they still did not get it.  They still did not understand that every time they looked upon Jesus, they were looking upon God.

How much different are we from them?  We look for signs of God and, not finding them, we begin to doubt.  We pray for some indication of Him, some glimpse of Him in our lives.  We pray.  We wait.  We search and come up empty.  Frustration sets in and the disbelief arises in our hearts.  Once this happens, our will begins to supersede His.  And sin enters our souls because we do not have enough faith to believe.  And, yet, we are blind.  And in our blindness, we become callous and cold, withdrawing from the world, from others, and sadly, from Him.  At this point, we lose ourselves.

Like Philip, we are looking with human eyes, eyes that are fixed solely on mortal images.  We do not see God because God is not visible in the mortal world.  There are reflections of Him.  The majesty of the mountains.  The vastness of the sea.  The night sky with it's enormous array of stars and planets.  He is reflected in the smile of a baby and in the aged eyes of a grandparent watching that baby graduate years later from college.

These are all valid reflections of God presence in our world and in our lives.  But they are not God.  God is, however, visible through spiritual eyes, through the eyes of faith.  If we listen carefully to Jesus, we find that God is not of this world.  That we already knew.  But He goes on to tell us that now that we have become His followers, we, too, are not of this world.  (cf Jn 17: 16)  We are of the spiritual realm of existence while alive in this mortal world.

The vision of God begins, then, with faith.  We must first believe in God, in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit.  But it does not end there.  We must then practice that faith.  We must exercise that faith so that it grows strong.  We must witness with our lives to the world that Jesus is Lord and that we do believe in Him.  We must reach out to others in love, mercy, and compassion.  We must become the Lord to all who are in need.  This can be done in any number of ways from prayer to community involvement.  But one thing is certain, if we do not practice our faith, it will wither and die and then it will be impossible to see God.

The effect of practicing our faith is that we begin to see Christ in everyone and in everything.  Even at times when it seems like God is far from us, quiet and unresponsive, He is there.  He is in the tragic accident that happened down the street when a neighbor's home burned to the ground killing their only child.  He is in the eyes of that detestable person who seems to go out of their way to make our lives miserable.  He is in every other countless human moments that may suggest there is no God at all.  When we begin to see this, we begin to see God.  When we reach this point, we can know that the Holy Spirit has inspired us and has given us a spiritual vision that spurs us on to greater faith.

This does not come easy!  Philip was still looking to see God even though for three years he had stood in front of him, teaching him and showing him the way of the Father.  The Master is still with us, standing before us in all who are in need or distress of any kind.  You see, we have seen the Father after all!

Good Friday

Good Friday.  The holiest Friday of the year.  Today we commemorate the brutal Passion and Death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  There is so much that can be said about this day.  So much that can be learned from it.

For a moment, however, I would like to view Good Friday not from our perspective, but from that of God's.

Traditionally, on the night of Good Friday, Catholics gather to remember the Lord's great sacrifice.  During this most solemn liturgy, the reproaches are recited.  These remarkable utterings come from God, expressing His feelings at the moment His only Son is dying for our sins through crucifixion.

"My people, what have I done to you?  Or in what have I offended you?  Answer me.

What more should I have done, and did not do?

I led you out of the land of Egypt, and you prepared a cross for me.

I opened the Red Sea before you, and you opened my side with a lance.

I gave you a royal scepter, and you have given me a crown of thorns.

With great power, I lifted you up, and you have hung me upon a cross.

My people, what have I done to you, or in what have I offended you?

Answer me.!"

In these brief, beautiful, yet, stark words, the feelings of our Creator, God, are summed up in terms that we mere human beings can relate to.  Our God has done everything for us.  He has given us everything.  He has shown us that through His Son's death on a cross, we have eternal life, and, yet, we still sin, still deny He even exists.  We fight among ourselves about what His will is for us, all the while ignoring the one image, the Holy Cross, that carries a message for the ages that if we but follow His holy will we will triumph.

What do we continue to do to God through our sinful behavior?  Why do we continually turn our backs on Him to follow our will, a will that is flawed with the stain of sin?  Why do we not have the kind of mature and lasting faith in Him after He showed us how much love He has for us by giving up His only Son so that we might live?

Today we walk with the Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ.  He was brutalized for us.  He was nailed to a cross and hung in bitter agony for three hours while the world passed by, barely pausing to gaze upon it's very Savior.  Those who did pause, mocked Him, made fun of Him, taunted Him.  Then, they went about their business, not giving Him another thought.  And, yet, He died for all!  

Let us pause on this holiest of Fridays.  Let us pause in solemn remembrance for the sacrifice that was made for us on this very day.  Let us pause to remember that our sins made this sacrifice a necessity.  But let us also pause in thanksgiving for a God "Who gave His only begotten Son so that we might live."  (Jn 3: 16)  This is the day of our deliverance and as the sun sets this evening, and we recall our Savior's lifeless body being placed in a tomb, we remember His promise to rise in three days.  We now await, with great anticipation, the completion of our Redemption, the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ!

In remembering the reproaches quoted above, we now add:

"My people, look what I have done for you!

I have given you life through my Son!

Come, worship Him, and enter My Kingdom!"

The Eyes of Christ

I am spending my afternoon in a rather unique place that many of you have never visited.  And you can be glad for that!  You see, I am in a chemo room at a hospital with my wife Joan who is undergoing chemo for a recurrence of breast cancer. 

The room resembles a forest of metal trees, only instead of leaves, plastic bags, filled with cancer combating medication, hang, slowly dripping their contents into the patient.

The room is filled with an interesting assortment of people.  One is very talkative, friendly to all and not afraid to speak her mind on anything.  One sits near me with her grandson.  He is about twenty years old and filled with the energy and idealism of youth.  Grandma listens patiently to his ramblings, but she is not sold on his offerings.  Another is reading a thick book.  Is it a text book?  Is it something religious?  Whatever it is, it must be very interesting because her gaze has been firmly fixed on the page.

Yet, all of these patients, here because cancer is attacking their bodies, have one thing in common.  They are all frightened in one way or another, even though few would ever admit it.  One way of telling this is by looking into their eyes.  You can see the fear there.  In some, it is barely detectable, but it is, nonetheless, there.  In others, the fear is very present and they try to cover it up with light conversation or serious reading.  It is a marvelous collection of people from all walks of life with this one thing in common: they are all fighting for their lives.

Another thing they have in common is that if you look closely, you will begin to see the eyes of another.  Look into their gaze and realize that what you are seeing are the eyes of One Who has suffered unspeakable brutalities not because of a physical disease, but because of a disease called sin.

Jesus Christ is present with those who are ill or are suffering in any way.  He understands physical suffering having been crucified on cross for an unspeakable amount of time.  He knows the agony of those who suffer emotionally because he, too, suffered the loss of good friends because of who he is.  After all, one of his closest followers betrayed him and turned him over to the authorities who condemned him to death.

When you come to see Jesus in the eyes of those who suffer, you gain a new respect for the person.  We are all unique and not one of us is free of worry and anxiety and trembling fear about something in our lives.  We just become very adept at covering it up.  But Christ knows your heart.  He knows the hurt, the pain, the devastation that all of us have experienced at one time or another.  In these moments, if we but surrender these things to him, he will help us carry our cross and ease our burden. But it isn't easy.  It takes faith and faith takes hope and hope requires love.  If we all step out of ourselves unselfishly, we can come to see these things and then experience Christ in the eyes of another.

Stay With Us Lord!

On the evening of the Resurrection, a time which must have been a mixture of despair and hope for the followers of Jesus because of rumors of Jesus's Resurrection, two of His disciples who had only heard the seemingly wild stories of their Master's rising, were walking along on their way to the village of Emmaus.  As they walked, they were speaking of the terrible events of the last few days.  They were in despair over the death of who they thought must be the Messiah.  But how can the Messiah die, be killed through brutal crucifixion?  It didn't seem possible.

Were they duped by the One whom they left everything behind for to follow?  Was He some master magician who could somehow put everyone under a spell that would make them believe who He said He was?  But, didn't it seem that when you were around Him, there could be no doubt in your mind about Who He really was? Why, then, did they feel the way they felt now, betrayed, hopeless, saddened beyond words?

They continued on, mainly in silence, each to his own thoughts.  And then, seemingly out of nowhere, there appeared a stranger on the road slightly behind them.  They kept walking making sure to pay attention to this walker for fear that he might be a robber or worse.  Soon, the stranger caught up with the wary couple.

He asked them what they had been talking about.  So the two disciples began recounting the story of the crucifixion and death of their spiritual leader.  They told the mystery walker everything about this man who the Jews had found guilty of blasphemy and had the Romans put to death on the cross.  Their sadness was palatable, especially when they explained to their guest that just today, rumors had spread that this man rose from the dead.  But how could that happen?  Most likely, the duo said, the body was stolen by someone for some unknown purpose.

The trio walked in silence for a moment or two until they came to a fork in the road.  This stranger who had not uttered a single word but who had remained strangely at their side, started to turn on the fork opposite the one the disciples intended to take.  Even though he had said nothing, the disciples sensed something in this man that they liked.  They asked him to continue on with him to Emmaus where they could rest and get something to eat for the night was falling and the evening air had a chill to it.  Their new friend accepted their kind invitation and they walked on together toward the village just up ahead.

It was at this point the stranger broke His silence.  He began explaining the events that happened in the days before in light of Sacred Scripture.  As He spoke, both disciples began to feel their spirits lift.  It seemed with each step they took they gained more energy, more hope and a better understanding of what they had been witness to.  Still, they had no idea of who this man might be.  But, somehow, this mattered little.  His words had brought them great comfort, a comfort that, up until now, they had been unable to find even in the presence of Jesus' chosen Apostles.

Upon arriving in Emmaus, the disciples entered one of their homes.  The three were hungry so they made something to eat.  As they sat talking, the stranger did something unusual.  He took a loaf of bread that they had at the table, He blessed it, broke it, and gave each of the disciples a piece to eat.  It was in that moment that they realized who this charismatic stranger truly was.  It was Jesus Himself!  In that moment of discovery, Jesus vanished into thin air right before their eyes.

Immediately, they got up from the table and hurried out the door.  Destination: Jerusalem to tell all the other followers of Jesus that they had indeed seen Him and had even shared a meal with him.  As they walked back to the Holy City, they remarked to each other how the stranger's words make them come alive, how they burned with excitement inside.

What a privilege it must have been to walk with the Lord that first night of the Resurrection.  Here was the Saviour of the World, hidden from their eyes in plain sight, teaching them about how Scripture had foreseen the events they had witnessed and how those events would change their lives, indeed change the world.

How many times have you wished that you could walk with the Lord some evening?  What would it be like to simply walk and talk about the things that effect your daily life and how you react to them?  What would it be like to listen to someone who appeared as a total stranger teach you how these things in your life all related to the Risen One?  What would you give to walk with the Lord, to drink Him in and hold Him in your heart?

We have that very opportunity on a daily basis.  We have Sacred Scripture at our fingertips with the Word of God ready to be absorbed morning, noon, or night.  We have those who are in need, those who are hurting, marginalized or suffering waiting for the hand of God to reach out to them to extend a little hope to them.  We have each other to turn to for love and support in our moments of sorrow, pain, and hopelessness.  We have the love of God that comes through the Sacred Liturgy and strengthens us with His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity so that we may completely unified with Him.



Jesus waits for us, wants us to come to Him.  Just as the two disciples of Emmaus came to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, we must come to recognize Him in one another so that we can begin to drop the barriers that prevent us from becoming a truly unified mystical Body of Christ.  We can walk with Jesus at any time of the day or night, but we must first overcome our fears and our weaknesses and trust in Him who climbed upon the Cross to die for us that we might have life.  If we do this then we, too, can invite Jesus to "stay with us!"  And He will!!