10 Mar

All the Ways that I Command

Posted by DJP, under Biblical, Christianity

March 11, 2010

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

This rather is what I commanded them: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. Jeremiah 7:23

But if it is by the finger of God that (I) drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Luke 11:20-22

Piety

Come, Holy Spirit, replace the tension within us [or me] with a holy relaxation.

Replace the turbulence within us with a sacred calm.

Replace the anxiety with us with a quiet confidence.

Replace the fear within us with a strong faith.

Replace the bitterness within us with the sweetness of grace.

Replace the darkness within us with a gentle light.

Replace the coldness with us with a loving warmth.

Replace the night within us with your light.

Straighten our crookedness.

Fill our emptiness.

Dull the edge of our pride.

Sharpen the edge of our humility.

Light the fires of our love.

Quench the flames of our lust.

Let us see ourselves as You see us.

That we may see You as You have promised, and be fortunate according to Your word: "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God." (Mt 5:8)

Study

The God of the Hebrew Bible has an image problem. Often His name is invoked in battle. He is asked to deliver violence upon the enemies of Israel. These facts – at least in my mind – make God seem to be a harsh task master and overseer. However, the more we read the books of the Old Testament, the more God’s true nature is separated from the image that humanity has projected upon him – and perhaps that true nature is never more clear than in today’s first reading.

This rather is what I commanded them: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. Jeremiah 7:23

God is seeking our companionship on the journey. He provides neither harsh commandments nor retribution. He does not hold us fully accountable for our transgressions. Even in the face of these, the Lord still wants to walk with us on our journey.

The hearts which are hardened are OURS. It is because we – like our brother Adam – turned out back on God that we became estranged.

John the Baptist told us that “one more powerful than I” will be coming after. Now, Jesus publicly reveals that he is the strong man who will bind the forces of evil and free us from our sins.

Yet, God is there, sitting at the window like the father awaiting the return of his Prodigal Son, ready to run to us and embrace us when we return to Him.

Action

It is our time to recognize the Lord in the present moment. When we welcome Him into our circle of friends, he will help us conquer the sins that follow us daily and that come between each other and between us and the Lord. In the end, it is not God who changes, but we who are changed.

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09 Mar

Until All Things Have Taken Place

Posted by DJP, under Biblical, Christianity

March 10, 2010

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Deuteronomy 4:7

“Do not think that I have 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 the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.” Matthew 5:17-18

Piety
Operation Rice Bowl Prayer
God of all people, Hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need. Bless our Lenten fasting, learning, and giving. May your generous love for your people be our guide as we reach out to all who live with hunger and poverty. Amen.

Study
Was Jesus a revolutionary or an evolutionary? Today’s Gospel from Matthew implies that he was the latter. Jesus is making clear to his audience that he is not about to do away with the long history of tradition that the Jewish people have known.

However, just because he is not going to tear the curtain in the temple today, does not mean that it will not be torn in the near future. Thus, the evolutionary Jesus is preparing people for the radical change that will come…not when the end of the world arrives, but when the end of Jesus life on earth occurs.

In fact much of what Matthew passes on to the audience in today’s gospel also echoes the familiar strains we heard from Isaiah. The notes to the New American Bible explain that the "passing away" of heaven and earth is not necessarily the end of the world understood as the dissolution of the existing universe. The "turning of the ages" comes with the apocalyptic event of Jesus' death and resurrection, and those to whom this gospel is addressed are living in the new and final age, prophesied by Isaiah as the time of "new heavens and a new earth" (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22).

Action
Lent is our time to begin to introduce evolutionary change in our lives. Radical change may not work because it does not become a habit. Behavioral scientists explain that small changes in behavior exerted over a 30 day period will become permanent changes in behavior. So be it to stop smoking, stop eating junk food, or breaking whatever bad habit you have, making a small change is probably better than making a big change if you want long-term success.

Operation Rice Bowl, a Lenten fund-raiser for Catholic Relief Services, is one way to inject small change in your behavior regarding food.

According to its web site: Each year, Operation Rice Bowl calls us to pray with our families and faith communities; fast in solidarity with those who hunger; learn more about our global community and the challenges of poverty overseas; and give sacrificial contributions to those in need.

Our participation in Operation Rice Bowl ensures that Catholic Relief Services can continue to provide assistance to people who really need help in more than 100 countries. Seventy-five percent of your gifts will go to CRS to help farmers in Bolivia receive training to improve crop yields, children in Afghanistan gain more opportunities for quality education, communities in Ethiopia access reliable water sources even during times of drought, and fund many other vital projects. Twenty-five percent of your gifts remain in your diocese to support local hunger and poverty alleviation efforts.

Focus your Lenten prayer, fasting, learning, and giving by reading this week’s Operation Rice Bowl reflection.
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08 Mar

Forgive Seventy-Seven Times

Posted by DJP, under Biblical, Christianity

March 9, 2010


Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent


By Beth DeCristofaro


“For your name’s sake, O Lord, do not deliver us up forever, or make void your covenant….Do not let us be put to shame, but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy. Deliver us by your wonders, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.” (Daniel 3:25, 42-43)


Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21-22)

Piety

O God, do not let me be put to shame and help me not to shame others. Deal with me kindly and lead me to kindness towards other people. Shower your mercy upon me and enable me to extend mercy to others. May I learn that forgiveness is a gift from you and forgiving brings glory to your name. Amen.

Study

Leslie Brandt in Jesus / Now writes “The child of God is not exempt from the problems and difficulties that afflict the human family. There are mountains to climb and burdens to carry. But never need he or she carry the devastating burden of sin. Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient; man’s guilt was exonerated. The forgiving grace of a loving God has been appropriated. …It is necessary, however, that the forgiven person become a forgiving person…Should you be tempted to consider (a) person as unworthy of your forgiveness, consider, as well, how undeserving you are of God’s forgiveness of the enmity and rebelliousness you have often manifested toward Him.”[1]


Seventy-seven times? My patience wears thin after a few times…and those moments of forgiveness can be grudging and forced. Someone rebel against my fine ideas, lofty ideals or correct and well-thought through rules? Who does he/she think he/she is? After all, I am a Christian and try to be a good person so anyone holding enmity against me…? Well! You see where this is going?


I am struck with Jesus’ parable. It seems so obvious that the servant is in the wrong. But in many moments of my life it is usually not so obvious. Something is said, an event occurs – or doesn’t occur – and I’m angry and affronted. Sometimes it doesn’t even cross my mind to offer forgiveness but I rather just stay in my mad space and make life miserable for me and others. It is so hard for me to accept and trust that I am loved by God that it is also difficult giving love freely and forgiving even at what feels my own expense. But this cuts me off from God’s loving presence. God is right there for me…can I be right there for the offender? And can I ask for forgiveness when I offend?

Action

Is there something for which you cannot forgive someone? Look closely, honestly and kindly within yourself. Is there a similar issue with you? Can you not forgive another because you have not forgiven yourself? God has already forgiven you. Extend that forgiveness to the other during this Lenten season and bring glory to God’s name.


[1] Brandt, Leslie F., Jesus/ Now, Concordia Publishing House, 1978, pp. 75-76.

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07 Mar

Send Forth Your Light

Posted by DJP, under Biblical, Christianity
March 8, 2010

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

But his servants came up and reasoned with him. "My father," they said, "if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, 'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said." So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 2 Kings 2:13-14

And he said, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” Luke 4:24

Piety

Psalm 43: Grant me justice, God; defend me from a faithless people; from the deceitful and unjust rescue me.
You, God, are my strength. Why then do you spurn me? Why must I go about mourning, with the enemy oppressing me?
Send your light and fidelity, that they may be my guide And bring me to your holy mountain, to the place of your dwelling, that I may come to the altar of God, to God, my joy, my delight. Then I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
Why are you downcast, my soul? Why do you groan within me? Wait for God, whom I shall praise again, my savior and my God.

Study

Jesus has just delivered the shocking Nazareth manifesto. His neighbors have listed to the familiar words from Isaiah but were given pause when Jesus left out the familiar ring of the hoped for “vengeance” against the enemies of the Lord.

Perhaps sensing that he has affected and afflicted his audience, Jesus then begins his prophesies about the present. "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.”

Throughout the early Gospels, we witness time after time where the Samaritans, the poor, the sick, the evil spirits and foreigners recognize the power of the Lord on earth. Yet right here in his home parish, Jesus first feels the sting of rejection. His newly defined ministry “to bring glad tidings to the poor…to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord” has hardly gotten off the ground.

Despite his presence among them, doubt pervades the hearts and minds of those closest to Jesus. That doubt turns to hatred and they attempted to thrown him off a cliff. In the same chapter where the devil tempts Jesus to test the power of God’s angels, once again Jesus escapes a potentially fatal fall.

Jesus ends the chapter exactly where he started it…in the desert. How ironic that the place where Jesus can be closest to God is when he goes off to pray in a deserted place.

Action

When Moses confronted the burning bush, he knew he was on holy ground that very moment and removed his sandals. Today, our soul continues to thirst for the living God. We seek out the Lord but sometimes, we are like our ancestors in the Hebrew Bible, unable to recognize Jesus when he stands right in front of us.

Where and when shall we behold the face of God? Sometimes, we get so caught up in our Oscars, March Madness, and more that we can not see the face of God when it is right in front of our eyes.

What challenging message does the Lord have for you this Lenten season? Put yourself in a place where your eyes can see the Lord and your ears can hear the message.
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06 Mar

Is the Lord in our Midst or Not?

Posted by DJP, under Biblical, Christianity
March 7, 2010

Third Sunday of Lent

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.

The LORD answered Moses, “Go over there in front of the people, along with some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with which you struck the river. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.” This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel. Exodus 17:5-6

For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8

The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, 11 the one who is speaking with you.” John 4:25-26

Piety

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” The Lord is forever speaking to us through creation and all the good things of our lives. It is harder to realize that he is also speaking t o us through the rough times of life. The love of the cross is not easy for any of us. Graces are gifts and gifts have to be accepted. It is easy to reach out for the good things of life. The hard things make us flinch. The good things of life are like the burning bush of Exodus. We are attracted to the good things of life. The way we listen to what the Lord is trying to say to us gives us pause to reflect. A Lenten fast can make us aware of the attractiveness of food. Good food has its own attraction. Hunger makes everything seem tasty. To freely give up satisfying hunger is a major decision of grace when it is built around looking at the fast of Christ. Imitating the fast of Christ is what makes a Christian fast. Trying to lose weight makes a secular fast. We are called by our piety to use the tools of the spiritual journey which are prayer, fasting and good works. How we make our plan should be the result of a good process of discernment about how we can draw closer to Christ. If I connect my hunger to Christ, I will think of him with each pang of hunger. If I appreciate how Christ identifies with the hungry of our world, I will find Christ in myself when I am hungry. And my hunger can be for deeper awareness of the love of God in my life through Christ. I can be hungry for Christ. And I can be hungry in his name.

Study

The Story of the Samaritan Woman is an important story in the Gospel of John. The thirst that Christ has makes him notice the Samaritan Women and respond to her coming. That Christ has so much more to offer than the drink of water he so obviously wanted catches her by surprise. We hear the voice of the Lord not only by our own needs, but also by the needs of those around us. We study the events in the life of Christ such as the story of the Samaritan women that we might come to be aware of the Lord speaking to us in the events of our own daily lives. It Is one thing to say that in any moment we have all of God’s love coming to us by what is happening. It is another thing to realize that God gave us our freedom that we all too often surrender to our passions or bodily needs. The study of the events of Scripture helps us to realize that life itself is how God most loudly speaks to us in our needs and our pleasures. The fire that Moses saw at Horeb stuns him in the remarkable sight of a burning bush that is not consumed. We need to look beyond appearances if we are going to come alive to the voice of the Lord in life itself. In every happening of our lives, God is there to be found by our study of our environment.

Action

St. Francis is reputed to have said; Preach always and occasionally use words. The Lord is asking us by the example of the saints of our lives to do likewise with our lives. The best sermons we will ever give will be the actions of our lives that do good for others. Reaching out and offering help to the hungry, thirsty, sick, naked, prisoners and the needy of life around us will merit us the call of Christ to sit with him; He takes whatever good we do in life as if it were done for him directly when we do it for his poor.
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06 Mar

A Distant Country

Posted by DJP, under Biblical, Christianity
March 6, 2010

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

“He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’” Luke 15:31-32

Piety

http://www.mamarocks.com/closer_walk_with_thee.htm
(Click this link and enjoy some music on today’s theme while reading today’s edition of Your Daily Tripod)

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

When my feeble life is o'er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o'er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Study

Father, shepherd your sinful people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance. We dwell apart from your, always moving in our own direction in the midst of Virginia. Yet you constantly ignore our transgressions.

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, And will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins; You will show faithfulness to all who accept the invitation to walk with you, as you have sworn to our ancestors from days of old and to us today.

We are often looking at Gospel stories which are repeated from one writer or evangelist to another and considering the slight differences between these stories. Luke and Matthew both share with us the parable of the lost sheep. However, Luke takes God’s compassion and pre-occupation with reconciliation even further and provides more stories to help his listeners better understand Jesus' particular concern for the lost and God's love for the repentant sinner.

This unique “only in Luke” story of the Prodigal Son has become the archetype of Cursillo and Christianity. In it is the retelling of the Genesis, Exodus, the Gospels, the Letters, and all of salvation history. Gone is the talk of a God of vengeance who will wreak human violence on those who oppose us and persecute us.

In its place is a Father who defies the model of the patriarch of the contemporary Jewish family. In his place is a God who is kind and merciful. “Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes.” (Psalm 103).

Action

Are you still off living in a distant country, waiting for the time of your exodus home?

Have you been to a reconciliation service so far this year?

Put the Parable of the Prodigal Son in your mind, on your lips and in your heart. Use it as motivation to perform what we cradle Catholics commonly were taught to refer to as part of our “Easter duty.” Today the parlance of “going to confession” has been replaced with “seeking reconciliation.”

Your Father is waiting by the window and watching for you to arrive home.

(Editor's Note: The School of Leader referenced in the Friday March 5 edition of YDT will take place on March 13 at St. Anthony of Padua in Falls Church, VA.)
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04 Mar

The Stone That the Builders Rejected

Posted by DJP, under Biblical, Christianity
March 5, 2010

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

By Melanie Rigney

Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him a long tunic. When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him. (Genesis 37:3-4)

The king sent and released (Joseph), the ruler of the peoples set him free. He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions. (Psalms 105:20-21)

(Jesus told the parable of the vineyard and asked the chief priests and elders) “What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” They answered him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’?” (Matthew 21: 40-42)

Piety

Lord, You have given me so much, far more than I could have ever hoped for. Please help me to recognize and use these gifts to show others the way to Your kingdom.

Study

Envy. Small wonder it’s one of the seven deadly sins.

An article at Catholic Online (http://www.catholic.org/clife/lent/story.php?id=32915) calls envy “the most joyless of the seven deadly sins,” and small wonder. It eats us up inside, causing us to deny or denigrate the ways in which we have been blessed. It moves us to covet what others have that we lack, whether it’s a tunic, a vineyard, a spouse, a job, or a car.

“At its best, envy remains a hidden pool of ingratitude and resentment, secretly applauding the downfall and sorrow of others,” the article states.

Think about the times you’ve quietly rejoiced when someone you regard as Mr. or Ms. Perfect failed in some way. Maybe, like Joseph’s brothers when they sold him to the Ishmaelites, you felt good for a while. Eventually, that feeling passes and the hollowness returns. It ends only when we learn to appreciate our own gifts.

Maybe Abraham did love the child of his old age better than Joseph’s older brothers. But God didn’t. Maybe the elders and priests did think killing the murderous, envious tenants was the only solution. But God didn’t. In an allusion to his own situation, Jesus cited Scripture: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes.”

Like that stone, we are all wonderful in God’s eyes, whether we write a best seller, win an Academy award, are named Mother or Father of the Year, or are honored in some other public or private way. It’s really pretty simple. God calls on us to make full use of the gifts we’ve received—and celebrate and honor the ones He’s bestowed on others. Leave the envy in the gutter where it belongs.

Action

Did you know God’s especially fond of you? Whether that’s your favorite part of The Shack or something else about the book resonated with you, join the Arlington Cursillo discussion of The Shack on Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-noon at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 3304 Glen Carlyn Road in Falls Church. Father Tuck Grinnell will lead the dialogue. There’s no fee. Bring along a friend! And, if you’re interested in serving on a Cursillo team, stick around after the book discussion for a workshop led by Joan Brown and Pete Roth. For more information, check out www.arlingtoncursillo.org. See you there!
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03 Mar

More Tortuous Than All Else is the Human Heart

Posted by DJP, under Biblical, Christianity
March 4, 2010

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

More tortuous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it? I, the LORD, alone probe the mind and test the heart, to reward everyone according to his ways, according to the merit of his deeds. Jeremiah 17:9-10

“But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'" Luke 16:29-31

Piety
Psalm 1

Happy those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked, Nor go the way of sinners, nor sit in company with scoffers.
Rather, the law of the LORD is their joy; God's law they study day and night.
They are like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; Its leaves never wither; whatever they do prospers.
But not the wicked! They are like chaff driven by the wind.
Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment, nor will sinners in the assembly of the just.
The LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Study

The two Lazarus stories by Luke and John in the Gospels deal with similar resurrection stories and illustrate how difficult it is to change the human heart. Despite his pleadings, the formerly rich Lazarus can not convince the Lord to send him back with a message for the rest of his family. More tortuous than all else is the human heart. Not even the return of someone from the dead will succeed in getting people to repent.

In John’s Gospel, when Jesus goes to Bethany to be with Mary and Martha after the death of their brother Lazarus, Jesus ends up so moved to pity that he brings Lazarus back from the dead. You would think that this might have changed all the people in the region but instead it moved people to plot against Jesus with more vengeance. More tortuous than all else is the human heart.

Underlying the theme of resurrection and getting through to people, Luke’s gospel also further illustrates the issues of people who are rich and poor and how money gets in the way of the message and behavior sought by Jesus. The poor man who is not even named by Luke attains heaven. The rich man gets a named place of honor in the story but he is eternally condemned to the fires of hell. As we recall from the earlier passages in Luke’s sermon on the plain: And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh." Luke 6:20-21

Action

Our attitudes toward the poor also are severely tested in how we treat those whom we pass by each and every day. When I drive to work, right before cars turn onto the Key Bridge in Rosslyn, there are two homeless people standing on the street with signs begging for money from the Mercedez-Benz, BMW, Chevys, Fords and Toyotas that are speeding past. Sometimes, you can sense drivers gunning the gas pedal to get through the intersection and avoid eye contact with the poor as the commuters head to their jobs in the city.

Dozens and hundreds of cars can drive past without any window rolling down. Not even a few quarters get passed out the window to the men.

Once downtown, park benches in McPherson Square and Farragut Square also are populated with people who obviously slept on the street the night before beneath layers of blankets and coats. People jumping off a bus or emerging from the Blue/Orange line metro train step in double-time to avoid an encounter with the poor.

We are content to leave the care and feeding of these people to the formal charities. Many homeless veterans are a part of this cross section of humanity and they subsist on the kindness of charities just blocks form the headquarters of the Federal cabinet department assigned to their care. Maybe these women and men will get a hot dinner from the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker volunteers. Maybe they will get soup and a sandwich from the van that makes its morning and evening rounds from DC Central Kitchen. But it is very unlikely that they can ever expect a quarter or a dollar from the scurrying workers rushing past like Lazarus.

What would you say to get people to stop and share if you were on that park bench some cold morning and there was no hypothermia shelter to feed you and keep you warm the previous night?
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