Tag Archives: Jesus

A holy reminder

6º DOMINGO DE PASCUAI do my best to keep the word of Jesus: to love my neighbor, pray for my enemies, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, comfort the ill, welcome those I don’t know, forgive those who hurt me.

And when I forget, the Holy Spirit nudges me—a gentle tug at my heart, maybe, or it could be a spotlight shining on my selfishness. The Holy Spirit’s nudges show me the way to holy wholeness where I become a collaborator in the community of Love.

[Jesus said to his disciples:] “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” John 14:26

Being love

MamaTI can practice loving actions—patience, unselfishness, generosity, forgiveness, respect, acceptance, courtesy, encouragement, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, comforting the ill and grieving.

These loving practices help transform me into a new being, a person who is committed to the way of Jesus, a human being who makes the loving choice over the selfish one.

Someday, maybe, I hope, I won’t have to think so hard about the loving choice and I’ll be on my way to being love instead of doing love.

[Jesus said:] “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

Whose voice

buen_pastor_20How do I discern the voice of Jesus when I am surrounded by a cacophony of voices?

Here’s how: The voice of Jesus  prompts me to love, forgive, let go, help out, be generous. The voice of Jesus calls me to peace, nonviolence, reconciliation, compassion. The voice of Jesus comforts, heals, reassures, encourages.

May I listen to the voice of Jesus. May my voice echo his.

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.”  John 10:27

In the presence

John 21:1-19

John 21:1-19

It only takes a moment to recognize the Lord. May I keep my eyes, ears, and heart open to realize he is here and I am with him.

Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. John 21:12

Within the wounds

Caravaggio (1571-1610) Doubting Thomas oil on canvas, ca.1601-1602 Potsdam, Sanssouci

Caravaggio (1571-1610)
Doubting Thomas
oil on canvas, ca.1601-1602
Potsdam, Sanssouci

I am called by faith to investigate my wounds—betrayal, shame, illness, fear, grief, depression—and find therein the Risen Jesus. And I am also called by faith to honor the wounds of others and find therein the Risen Jesus.

Today I will find peace in the presence of the Risen Jesus despite the many wounds of the human family.

Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
John 20:26a-27

Hope in the Way

Rembrandt (1606-1669) Christ Resurrected Oil on canvas, 1661 Munich, Alte Pinakothek

Rembrandt (1606-1669)
Christ Resurrected
Oil on canvas, 1661
Munich, Alte Pinakothek

Like Mary, I am going in search of Jesus. The path is sometimes dark with pain and sorrow, uncertainty and discouragement, suffering and anxiety. What I bring with me—hope, love, faith, compassion, kindness, respect, forgiveness, peace—is what I am searching for. I follow the way, even in darkness, to find the Way.

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. John 20:1

 

Emptied

Rembrandt (1606-1669) The Three Crosses drypoint and burin on paper, 1653 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

Rembrandt (1606-1669)
The Three Crosses (third state)
drypoint and burin on paper (III/IV), 1653
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

Today I pray for the grace to be emptied of arrogance, fear, and self-seeking, and to be filled with humility, love, and generosity to those in need.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself. Phillipians 2:6-7a

Alone with the Lord

James Tissot (1836-1902) La femme adultère seule avec Jésus, opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894 Brooklyn Museum

James Tissot (1836-1902)
La femme adultère seule avec Jésus
opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894
Brooklyn Museum

How vulnerable I will feel to stand alone with Jesus and face the truth of how I have hurt and betrayed others.

How amazed I will feel to know he does not condemn me for my wrongdoings. How I hope I will have the courage to accept responsibility for my actions.

How I pray for the humility to ask for God’s grace to change the way I treat my family, friends, colleagues, strangers, the poor, the elderly, the sick, the needy.

How unburdened I will feel to experience the mercy of the Lord. How I trust I will extend that mercy to others.

Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” John  8:11b

 

Today’s choice

Düsseldorf, Germany. Catholic church St. Lambertus, main portal with bronze door created by Ewald Mataré. Detail: Return of the prodigal son. Photo by Beckstet, 2010

Düsseldorf, Germany. Catholic church St. Lambertus, main portal with bronze door created by Ewald Mataré. Detail: Return of the prodigal son.
Photo by Beckstet, 2010

I may identify with either the prodigal son or his resentful older brother, but in this parable Jesus is calling me to be like the compassionate father.

How ready am I to forgive? To let go of resentment? To welcome the lost? To be a peacemaker? To show compassion to those who are poor, ill, or different from me in culture, ways of thinking, acting, being?

Today I will choose compassion over indifference and acceptance over judgment.

While [the younger son] was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. Luke 15:20b

Never too late to bloom

James Tissot (1836-1902) Le vigneron et le figuier opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894 Brooklyn Museum

James Tissot (1836-1902)
Le vigneron et le figuier
opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894
Brooklyn Museum

Rooting ourselves in prayer, meditation on God’s Word, and conscious awareness of God’s presence in each moment and in all of creation, we allow God, the Master Gardener, to cultivate our hearts and minds to bear the fruits of peace, joy, forgiveness, compassion, justice, acceptance, and love.

[Jesus told them this parable:] “[The gardener] said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’” Luke 13:8-9