Weeks 671-680

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 680: Restraint in Speech : A reflection on the Book of Kings and the Gospel of Matthew (1 Kings 19 : 19-21 & Matthew 5 : 33-37)

 

[1 Kings]

19 Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak on him.

 

20 Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please, let me kiss my father and mother good-bye, and I will follow you.” Elijah answered, “Go back! What have I done to you?”

 

21 Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to the people to eat. Then he left and followed Elijah to serve him.

 

[Matthew]

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’

 

34 But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

 

36 Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.

 

37 Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.

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In the Rule of St Benedict, there is an entire chapter entitled “Restraint of Speech”. It begins, “Let us follow the Prophet’s counsel: ‘I said, I have resolved to keep watch over my ways that I may never sin with my tongue. I have put a guard on my mouth. I was silent’”. St Benedict comments: “Here the Prophet indicates that there are times when good words are to be left unsaid out of esteem for silence”.

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The prophet Elijah in the first reading gives us a good example of an esteem for silence. He came upon Elisha as he was plowing, and saw that he would make a good attendant. But he didn’t say a word to Elisha when he invited him to follow him. The reading simply says, “Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him”, and that was enough.

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In the Gospel we heard the Word incarnate commending restraint of speech: “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’, and your ‘No’ mean ‘No’. Anything more is from the Evil One.” That is a counter-cultural teaching if ever there was one. With all of our modern stress on communication, whether written or oral, Jesus steps in and says that any speaking more than is necessary comes from the Evil One.

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This is one of the things I think Jesus learned, not only from the scriptures, but from his mother. Mary said “Yes” when she meant yes, and it was the most important yes that was ever uttered: yes, she would conceive and bear the Son of God. But apart from her Magnificat and the intervention at Cana, the Gospels show us a Virgin who preferred to keep silence. Her life was largely a life of silence, a silence of adoration of the Word of God.

In the real presence of the incarnate Word of God, Mary enters into a new silence and is transformed by it after the example of her Son, the Word who reduced himself to silence. And like her Son, Mary’s life goes on, from silence to silence, from a silence of adoration to a silence of transformation.

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Mary’s silence is not the silence of someone who is hesitant in speaking or someone who is helpless. It is a silence more eloquent, if I may say so, than her own Magnificat. After Cana, everyone in the Gospel speaks, and Mary says nothing at all. Her experience of the Word made silent made her all the more silent when the Word chose to speak. All Galilee and Judea is stirred up by Jesus, and Mary keeps a holy silence.

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The reason for her silence is given to us by St Luke: Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. Like her, may we and “all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand” before the King of kings, made flesh in the womb of Mary, made really present on our altar.

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-Priest from The Abbey of the Genesee

 

Prayer: “Lord, please help me to see your plan, to stand strong in my faith when you ask me to go beyond myself, to say “yes,” even when it seems hard. Let me tell You, as Mary told the angel Gabriel, “let it be done to me according to your word. Amen.”

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Quote from a Saint: ““The lover of silence draws close to God. He talks to Him in secret and God enlightens him. Jesus, by His silence, shamed Pilate; and a man, by his silence conquers vainglory.” --St. John Climacus

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Do you practice restraint in your speech? When was a time that restrained yourself from speaking or posting a comment, etc. that seemed to be needed but you knew silence was the better option?

2. Has someone ever been able to get through to you by speaking with silence like the prophet Elijah did with Elisha?

3. Does your yes mean yes and your no mean no or do you find yourself saying what would be socially acceptable in situations because of peer pressure?

4. Have you given much thought to the idea that all unnecessary speech comes from the Evil One? What kind of impact would keeping this saying in mind have upon your daily interactions?

5. Do you value spiritual silence? Do you try to retain a reverential silence when at Mass or adoration?

6. Do you spend silent time with the Lord in adoration? If not, sometime this week find a church that has adoration and go and experience some silence in the Eucharistic presence of our Lord.

7. Do you practice spiritual silence in your daily life? Are you making time for silent prayer? Why or why not?

8. Have you ever had a spiritual experience that left you silent like Mary at Cana?

9. Do you spend time pondering spiritual things in your heart? What kind of things do you ponder in this way? What are the fruits of this pondering?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 679: The Mercy of God : A reflection on the Gospel of Luke (Luke 18: 9 - 14)

 

 

9 He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.

 

10 “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.

 

11 The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector.

 

12 I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’

 

13 But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’

 

14 I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

Someone wrote: “If you want to make progress in charity or rather, if you are concerned not to be lacking in it, your endeavor must never be to be lifted up about anything in yourself, but always to marvel at what is in other people.”

 

How fitting these words are as a commentary on Jesus’ parable of the tax-collector and the pharisee in prayer in the temple.

 

The pharisee had accomplished a very good job of lifting himself so high that he could not see nor appreciate the marvel of God’s merciful grace in the publican. This tax-collector, so disdained by his own people, his soul was filled with deep contrition and his eyes were focused on the infinite merciful goodness of God even in a dark corner of the temple. Even in the dark, he could see and God was his light.

 

How sad that the Pharisee was so blind to the Lord’s mercy and so filled with himself; his blatant self-adoration, gratitude, love filled himself to overflowing. How could he be in need of anything, forgiveness included? As far as God was concerned, He was allowed to listen. The pharisee did need an audience - the pharisee could and did count on God’s presence - but only that. No matter where he chose to stand in the temple, he was in the dark.

 

In a church, any church, in this monastery church we are surrounded by brothers and sisters whose presence speaks clearly of the marvel of God’s gracious mercy. We are, by God’s love, deeply attracted to Him, seeking communion with Him - this is what it means to be people of faith, people in the Light. It is what we desire and what our God desires for us.

 

For the grace to see and appreciate the marvel of God’s mercy around us and, of course, to recognize and appreciate it in ourselves, is to be in the Light. “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord!” This invitation, this command, comes from God Himself.

 

Fr. John Denburger, OCSO

 

Prayer: “O Jesus, stretched out upon the cross, I implore You, give me the grace of following faithfully the most holy will of Your Father in all things, always and everywhere. And when this will of God seems to me very harsh and difficult to fulfill, it is then I beg You, Jesus, may power and strength flow upon me from Your wounds, and may my lips keep repeating – Your will be done, O Lord (…) O most compassionate Jesus, grant me the grace to forget myself that I may live totally for souls, helping You in the work of salvation, according to the most holy will of Your Father…” (Saint Faustina’s Diary, 1265).

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Quote from a Saint: “Proclaim that mercy is the greatest attribute of God. All the works of My hands are crowned with mercy.” (Saint Faustina’s Diary, 301)

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Questions for reflection:

1. In what ways do you practice charity?

2. Have you ever engaged in acts of charity out a motivation of self-aggrandizement and not the love of neighbor? What is the difference? How do the outcomes differ?

3. Have you ever realized that you had become blinded to seeing God’s mercy? If this has happened, what have you done to bring yourself back around?

4. Have you ever treated God as just the audience to whom you were praying or performing acts of charity?

5. Do you identify more with the Pharisee or the tax collector when it comes to your spiritual life? Is there a little bit of each inside of you?

6. How often do you reflect upon the mercy that God has had and continues to have on you?

7. When have you seen God’s mercy in your life and in the lives of others?

8. Do you or have you ever prayed the Chaplet of Divined Mercy? If you have not, why not give it a try?

9. Have you read the Diary of Saint Faustina? If not, why not start today?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 678:The Prophets Prepare us to Follow Christ : A reflection the Prophet Jeremiah and the Gospel of Matthew (Jeremiah 18: 18 - 20; Matthew 20: 17 - 28)

 

[Jeremiah]

18 “Come,” they said, “let us devise a plot against Jeremiah, for instruction will not perish from the priests, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. Come, let us destroy him by his own tongue. Let us pay careful attention to his every word.”

 

19 Pay attention to me, O LORD, and listen to what my adversaries say.

 

20 Must good be repaid with evil that they should dig a pit to take my life? Remember that I stood before youto speak on their behalf, to turn your wrath away from them.

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[Matthew]

17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve [disciples] aside by themselves, and said to them on the way,

 

18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death,

 

19 and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”  

 

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.

 

21 He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”

 

22 Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.”

 

23 He replied, “My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left [, this] is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

 

24 When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers.

 

25 But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt.

 

26 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; 27 whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.

 

28 Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom* for many.”

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In his book “The Prophets” Abraham Joshua Heschel writes: “The prophet is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his soul, and he is bowed and stunned at man’s fierce greed. To be a prophet is both a distinction and an affliction. The mission he performs is distasteful to him and repugnant to others…he bears scorn and reproach, is stigmatized as a madman by his contemporaries, and, by some scholars, as abnormal.

In the first reading today we meet such a man, Jeremiah - his name means “whom God has appointed” - and the appointment is difficult. Not only does he speak in God’s name but, also, he bears in his very person God’s passion for His people, a passion that is relentless, steadfast, infinite.

 

He is not well received or received at all; we heard in the reading that in killing him nothing will be lost, it will be as if he never existed. “Let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully note his every word” and so they did.

 

Jeremiah is not only a prophet; he is also a type of the Lord Jesus who was treated in a similar way. Recall the Risen Jesus’ appearance to Cleophas and his companion on the road to Emmaus. As they sat together Jesus chided them on their slowness to believe what the prophets spoke about the suffering and future glory of the Messiah. St. Luke reports: “...beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the scriptures.” It was a lesson they would never forget - the Christ taught them of the Christ, first hand knowledge.

 

A lesson for us, for our prayerful reflection - we, too, are called to listen to Moses and the prophets, like Jeremiah, so we too learn of the Christ, our Christ, so that our belief in Him has a strong foundation, a profound resting in the truth, a deep taste and a steadfast desire to know Him because we are the people of the Christ - no other reason is necessary.

 

Fr. John Denburger, OCSO

 

Prayer: “Grant that our faith in you may permeate every aspect of our lives. Help us to shed all worldly ways that we may live the Gospel with truth and integrity. Grant that we may be more perfectly conformed to you and live as your witnesses in the world today. Amen.”

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Quote from a Saint: “If you believe what you like in the Gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.” —St. Augustine

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Questions for reflection:

1. Have you ever felt that the Lord has placed a burden upon your soul? How did you react? How did you discern that it was the Lord who had placed it upon you and not your imagination?

2. Have you or someone you know been persecuted for their religious beliefs or because they had to make a stand and not go along with the crowd? How did you/they react?

3. How would our present culture receive prophets? Would there be much difference in how we would receive a prophet versus how the ancient Israelites received them?

4. If you have experienced persecution, did you take it to the Lord in prayer like the prophet Jeremiah did?

5. Have you ever thought about the prophets as prefiguring Jesus? If not spend some time in prayer meditating upon the concept.

6. Are you willing to listen to Moses and the Prophets? Have you ever read about one of the Prophets or Moses and felt like they were calling you to reform your life?

7. Do you spend time “learning about Christ so that (y)our belief in Him has a strong foundation, a profound resting in the truth, a deep taste and a steadfast desire to know Him because we are the people of the Christ - no other reason is necessary.” If not, why not start today?

8. Do you spend time contemplating of the teachings of Christ? If so, what changes has it made in your life? If not, why not start reading through the Gospels today and allow the Lord to pierce you with His loving call to repentance?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 677: Pentecost : A reflection the Gospel of John (John 20 : 19-23)

 

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

 

20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

 

21 [Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

 

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit.

 

23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

 

During these days after the Ascension, the whole Church has been praying: “Come, Holy Spirit!” And today we have the feast of the Holy Spirit, the day on which the Church was born, the day when the Holy Spirit came in power to fill the whole earth, in a new way, with his presence.

 

In today’s Gospel, we heard how Jesus appeared to the assembled disciples on the evening of Easter Day. The first thing he did was to bestow “Peace” upon them, twice. With that word, Jesus granted forgiveness and reconciliation with God to his disciples, most of whom had behaved badly during the Passion. By saying “Peace”, Jesus removed their sadness at his death and their fear of being asked to follow in the same path.

 

Then he said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you”. From that point on, the mission of the disciples is to be a continuation or extension of his own divine mission. They are the ones who will now bear the divine life in the world, they will glorify the Father, and they will draw all people to God, through Jesus. They will love, even as they have been loved, “to the end”.

 

“When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’”. Jesus breathed on his disciples the breath of God, the breath of heaven, his risen breath, the Holy Spirit, Life itself. “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them”. He’s saying that from now on, you are to do divine things, things that only God can do. In other words, God will carry out his work - I will carry out my work - through you.

 

“And whose sins you retain are retained”. The power I now entrust to you is not the trivial, temporary, earthly power of kings and armies, but power for salvation, for peace with God, for everlasting life: or not. Those of us who have been baptized and confirmed have all received the Holy Spirit. So in principle, our sins have been forgiven, and if we still sin, then he is always there to forgive, whenever we ask for it.

 

By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we have the power we need in order to live the Christian life in its fullness. We have the ability to be faithful, in little things and in great. We are able to live a moral life without compromise. We are able to forgive wrongs committed against us, to bear pain and loss, to die in hope of life. We are able to love God and our neighbor. We are able to pray.

 

Because of the Holy Spirit, also, we can celebrate the sacraments, as we do now at this morning’s Mass. The grace we receive from them is no less than the grace that was given to the first apostles. The sacraments give us Jesus, they give us the Holy Spirit, they unite us to God and to one another, within the communion of the whole Catholic Church.

 

For all these reasons, and many others too, we are right to celebrate the day of Pentecost with very great joy. Today’s grace of Pentecost reaches through all our days. Usually this grace is hidden, but sometimes it’s manifest, as it was in the recent commencement address given by a Catholic to the graduates of Benedictine College in Kansas. He spoke about Catholics living truly Catholic lives in today’s toxic culture, and about people of faith generally becoming missionaries in what the speaker rightly dubbed “a post-God world.”

 

Nowadays we are confronted quite brutally by many things which seem the opposite of peace, of life, of joy, of holiness. Looking around we seem to notice ever wider areas from which the Holy Spirit is excluded. Our society continues along on its ever-more secularized path. Christians continue to manifest disunity, infidelity, compromise, and conformity to this world, even as Catholics are without a doubt the single most frequent and substantial religious target of the American security state — and the federal government more broadly.

 

But our trust is not in human projects, or in worldly success, or in the progress of history. Our trust is in the Holy Spirit. He is all-powerful, he blows where he wills, he brings life out of death, he renews the youth of the Church. May he kindle, once again, in us and all around us, the fire of his divine love. May he renew in us and in the Church of our day all the grace of Pentecost, that many may be converted and believe, and that the saving Gospel may shine forth anew, for our good and for God’s glory.

 

Fr. Justin Sheehan, OCSO

 

Prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Let us pray. O God, who have taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

 

Quote from a Saint: “Those whose hearts are pure are temples of the Holy Spirit.” —St. Lucy

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Questions for reflection:

1. What does the word peace mean to you?

1. Jesus appears to the disciples who are fearfully hiding in the upper room. When He appears he grants them His peace and they transform from fearful men hiding in a room to bold proclaimers of Christ. Have you experienced this kind of peace? Do you desire to? Why or why not?

2. Have you been to the Sacrament of Reconciliation lately? Are you in the habit of going regularly? Why or why not? What are some of the possible benefits of going more often?

3. How much of a role does the Holy Spirit play in your prayer and spiritual life? Do you think that you should start focusing more on the Holy Spirit?

4. Do you celebrate Pentecost with great joy? It has been said that Pentecost is the second most important day in the liturgical calendar after Easter. Have you ever considered this? Why do you think that this is?

5. Are you or have you been like the fearful apostles in the upper room because you feared standing out or challenging our secular society? What can you do to combat that fear? Why is it important that we challenge secular society rather than keeping our religious beliefs to ourselves?

6. Have you ever prayed specifically to the Holy Spirit? Why not start now and make it part of your spiritual practice?

7. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to live our Christian lives to the fullest. Why do you think that is? How have you seen the Holy Spirit working in someone’s life in this way? Have you seen the “grace of Pentecost” active in your life?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 675: Discovering Jesus as the way, the truth and the life : A reflection on the Gospel of John (John 14: 6 - 14)

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6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

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7 If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

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8 Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”

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9 Jesus said to him, “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. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

 

10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.

 

11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves.

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12 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.

 

13 And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

 

14 If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.

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When Jesus proclaimed to Thomas, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” - Jesus enlightened His disciples as to His identity and also His most sacred relationship with the Father. Clearly, He wanted them to know Him, the one they were following.

 

But, also, I believe Jesus enlightened these men to the experience of grace each had received. Here were men who, having been called by Jesus, left all to follow Him - it involved sacrifice, it involved trust - lots of trust - and they were doing it. Jesus gave them insight into the mystery they were living; He put into words their own wordless belief: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” And each could say in his heart: “Yes, Lord, You are this - You are this for me! This is why I am captivated, held by You, to You - even with my questions, my fears I know I must follow You. You have spelled out the grace of my call!”

 

Behind all this, supporting all this Jesus was lifting them up into a clearer awareness of Him, raising them into a more profound relationship with Him. Nevertheless, they still lived their unique humanity with all its weaknesses and flaws - yet, bearing at the same time a growing faith, a strengthening conviction of Jesus as their Lord and Master, as the long-awaited Messiah “the Christ”.

 

He had spoken about Himself and at the same time, the Divine Word was speaking Himself into them - like the sower pressing the seed into soil. Jesus, the Divine Sower, because of their receptivity, was pressing the seed of His word, of Himself into their hearts where it will grow and bear fruit.

 

Each day, here at Mass or alone in our solitude, as we read, listen, reflect on the Sacred Word, the Lord is at work - pressing the seed of the Word, the seed of Himself into our hearts. He lifts us up, raising us to a greater level of seeing with faith, of believing with conviction, of loving Him with gratitude.

 

Each day, we are extravagantly privileged in the Eucharist, in prayer, in sacred reading to go to Him who has first approached us. The Lord proclaimed, “I have come that they may have life in abundance” and we can add what we believe: “Yes, Lord, You have come, do come to lift us up, to raise us up into Yourself. This is Your desire, Your passion, Your way.”

 

Because of this, we can say, “Lord, You are truly the way, the truth, and the life for me. Fill me with gratitude!”

 

Fr. John Denburger, OCSO

 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the way, truth and life. Open our eyes to see the love that you have for each of us. Give us the courage to let that love transform us. As we do our best to walk the way you have laid out for us, help us when we struggle to love those around us.

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Quote from a Saint: “Lord Jesus, you are the way, truth and life. Open our eyes to see the love that you have for each of us. Give us the courage to let that love transform us. As we do our best to walk the way you have laid out for us, help us when we struggle to love those around us.” – St. Thomas Aquinas

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Do you believe that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life? Is this something that you have struggled with or maybe still have difficulty with? If so, bring this verse with you to your next quiet time of prayer.

2. How well do you know Jesus? What have you done or are you currently doing to strengthen your relationship with Him?

3. Is your faith growing or has it reached a plateau--or maybe even grown a bit stagnant? If the second two sound like your situation what are some things that you could do to start growing in faith?

4. How receptive are you to the Lord? Is your heart open to Him and what He has to tell you? Do you listen for His still, small voice in the silence of your heart? If you hear it, do you act immediately?

5. How frequently do you attend Mass? At least every Sunday? Could you add another Mass this week?

6. Do your spend time in solitude with the Lord? If not, can you arrange your schedule so that you can at least spend five minutes per day with Him?

7. How is your prayer life? Is it in need of some work?

8. Is sacred reading or study part of your schedule? If it is not, begin this week and see if it helps you to form a deeper connection with the Lord.

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

 

Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 674: A Glimpse of Heaven : A reflection on the Gospel of John (John 20:1-9)

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1 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. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

 

3 So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

 

6 When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, 7 and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.

 

8 Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. 9 For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

 

When we think of our liturgical year, the two feasts that really stand out are Christmas and Easter. And yet, one of those two feasts is much more ancient and much more important. According to Britannica, “the celebration of Christmas started in Rome about 336, but did not become a major Christian festival until the 9th century.” However, what we are celebrating today [Easter] goes back to the very beginning and is the Feast of All Feasts. As an article on “The Loop” said on Thursday, “Dating to the earliest days of the Church, the three-day liturgy is the summit of the Liturgical year for Catholics.”

 

We can’t help but ask ourselves why this is so. Before Christ’s Resurrection, people didn’t have a very rosy image of what awaited them after death. For the most part, Jews believed in a shadowy place called Sheol where both the good and the bad went. And in most cases the Pagan world didn’t have a much better hope, often even believing in the annihilation of the soul after death. Stop and think for a moment what that must have felt like and how it would color your day-to-day existence. The prospect of death would seem like such a tragedy, and the fear of death would always be lurking under the surface of our consciousness. 

 

But Christ’s death on the Cross and Resurrection changed all that. Heaven had been there all the time but there was no way for us to enter it. Its gates were closed to us. We didn’t even know it existed. 

 

Picture being in a big old house, maybe a castle over in Europe. We’re having our regular, day-to-day existence in a mediocre-type room, with our moments of joy and moments of disappointment. We know that we will eventually “time out” and have to go live in the dungeon in the basement where it’s dark and dank. And we’ll have to stay in that miserable place forever and ever. Who knows?--it might even have instruments of torture, like the rack. 

 

Meanwhile, right next to our mediocre-type room is a magnificent ballroom with all kinds of dancing and laughter, and celebrating. There are also endless tables in there with all kinds of delicious foods and drinks. But this room is separated by a soundproof wall with no door. It’s as if it’s a secret room in the house that no one knows about. 

 

Well, Christ came from that hidden room and he suddenly appeared in our room. He lived like us for a while and then, through his death on the Cross and Resurrection, he became the door which allows us to enter that blissful room. In those old-type houses, you could see through the keyhole of the door and peep in on what was happening in the next room. Christ’s Resurrection is sort of like that keyhole that allows us to peep into heaven. If Christ can rise from the dead, so can we. He gives us a quick glimpse of what awaits us. 

 

We take the prospect of heaven for granted, now, and it’s hard for us to imagine life without that concept. I guess it might be a little bit like the way we take flying for granted now. Not too long ago we read a book in our refectory about the Wright Brothers and all that went into the first flight for humans. All those principles of aerodynamics were there all along but the pieces had to be put together in the right way. Once they showed it could be done, people in other parts of the world started figuring out how to fly, too. Now, we think nothing of hopping on a plane with a couple hundred other people and flying to Europe. 200 years ago it would have been unthinkable. And we have great respect for that magical moment at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903, when Wilbur and Orville made it happen for the first time. In a very pale way, it mirrors the very first time a Human Being flew to heaven, and why we celebrate this Feast today with so much solemnity and why it is such a big deal. 

 

The Resurrection gives us hope. It proves death does not have the last word. It proves that our existence has far greater potential than the existence we know in this world here below. We need to keep our eye on the keyhole and the life it promises. We need to live for that world, not this one. As our second reading coaxed us, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

 

Fr. Stephen Muller, OCSO

 

Prayer: Christ is Risen: The world below lies desolate. Christ is Risen: The spirits of evil are fallen. Christ is Risen: The angels of God are rejoicing. Christ is Risen: The tombs of the dead are empty
Christ is Risen indeed from the dead, the first of the sleepers, Glory and power are his forever and ever.- St. Hippolytus of Rome

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Quote from a Saint: “Yes, Christ is truly risen, and we are witnesses of this. We proclaim this witness to the world, so that the joy which is ours will reach countless other hearts, kindling in them the light of the hope which does not disappoint.” — St. John Paul II

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Questions for reflection:

1. How does the thought of the Christian afterlife color the way that you think about life and death? How does the trend of post-Christianity in our society influence how people think of death? How should we, who hope in Christ, think about death?

2. What is your impression of Heaven after getting a quick “glimpse” of it through Christ’s resurrection?

3. Do you take the prospect of Heaven for granted? Do you feel like people in society take going to Heaven for granted? How are these people wrong?

4. How can we help people who think there is no Heaven or Hell realize that these are very real destinations for us at the end of our lives?

5. What did you think of the illustration about the hidden room and Christ becoming the door that lets you enter the ballroom?

6. Which holiday does our contemporary culture put more emphasis on, Christmas or Easter? Is their emphasis misplaced? Is there anything that you can do to help change this?

7. How do you celebrate Christmas and Easter? After reading this homily are you going to make any changes to how you celebrate them?

8. Has the Resurrection changed your view on death? Why or why not?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 673: Putting on Christ : A reflection on The Book of Acts and the Gospel of John (Acts 4: 8 – 12 & John 10: 11 - 18)

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[Acts 4]

8 Then Peter, filled with the holy Spirit, answered them, “Leaders of the people and elders: 9 If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, 10 then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed.

 

11 He is ‘the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”

 

[John 10]

11 I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

 

12 A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. 13 This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.

 

14 I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me,15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.

 

16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.

 

17 This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”

 

Peter was sitting in the courtyard when one of the serving girls came over to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” He denied it in front of everyone: “I do not know what you are talking about!” In a short time, he was confronted two more times and in all, he will deny knowing Jesus three times. Jesus had predicted this and Peter wept bitter tears.

 

In the first reading for this Mass, we meet an altogether different Peter. Before the leaders, the men of power, Peter is examined, confronted about a miracle in Jesus’ name. However, This time Peter is not intimidated in the least and he answers courageously and honestly. From a profoundly personal conviction, he proclaims, “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” Later Peter surely reflected upon all this, marveled at his own courage, his belief and he knew absolutely that this was a grace of the Holy Spirit. He knew, as well, that in the company of Jesus, he had heard the Lord proclaim His own divine convictions.

 

In the Gospel the very first words of the Lord flow from the convictions of His heart, from His identity as the Son of the Father: “I am the Good Shepherd.” On other occasions He had said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life” - “I am the Bread come down from heaven” - “I can only do what I see the Father doing.” We heard Jesus proclaim, as Peter did, something about all these convictions. “This is why the Father loves Me because I lay down My life in order to take it up again.” With passion, He repeats, “No one takes it from Me but I lay it down on My own. I have power to lay it down and power to take it up again. This command I have received from My Father.”

 

In those words Jesus tells us that belief, conviction is meant to be lived, not just held in the mind, not just spoken but to be seen, manifested in how we live. And Peter who heard these challenging words of Jesus will do the same. He will lay down his life in proclaiming the good news, he will serve his people with his life and one day be crucified for his convictions. In a word, he will have truly “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” in word and in action.

 

We gather as men and women of serious convictions, of profound beliefs that form our lives, that we are celebrating in this Holy Eucharist. We will audibly profess our convictions, we will hear one another say, “I believe in God the Father Almighty - I believe in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord - I believe in the Holy Spirit - I believe in the Holy Catholic Church and we know these our beliefs are the gift of the Spirit of the Father and Son. This precious gift we hold in earthen vessels, in our humanity and the Lord Jesus tells us “Yes, you do hold them but they are only words, pious thoughts unless you live them.” And we pose a question, “How, Lord?”

 

The answer challenges us, confronts our excuses - by laying down your life in love that is truly service to others, by dying to all preoccupation with self, by reaching out to others in kindness, in generosity, in forgiveness. None of this is easy and one has to stretch, a deliberate act to extend self. Without the stretching, the extending of self our Catholic faith is little more than an artifact in a museum.

 

“The Gift (capital “G”) you have received, give as a gift!” The Gift of the Risen Lord Himself we will hold in our hand or receive on our tongue. That act declares our own personal commitment to lay down our lives. It is our “Yes” - a silent yes and we will be held to it!

 

Fr. John Denburger, OCSO

 

 

Prayer: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God made man, that he suffered and died for my sins and rose from the dead in glory, and that it is only in him through the Holy Spirit that eternal life is given to us. I believe in all that your holy Church believes.”

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Quote from a Saint: “The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion: Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. There is the goal; that is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest." –St. Augustine

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Questions for reflection:

1. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you did not want it to be known that you were a Christian? If so, what were the circumstances and what would you do differently now?

2. Has there been a time when you were called to defend the faith or found yourself clarifying a Church teaching without time to prepare? How did it go?

3. Put yourself in the place of the disciples when Jesus said: “This is why the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life in order to take it up again.” With passion, He repeats, “No one takes it from Me but I lay it down on My own. I have power to lay it down and power to take it up again. This command I have received from My Father.” How would you react if you were in their place?

4. If it came down to it, would you be willing to lay down your life for the love of others or to proclaim the truth of the faith?

5. Do you try to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” in word and in action? What does that look like?

6. Do you live your beliefs and convictions? Do others know that you are a Christian by how you live?

7. Is your Catholic faith something that you live or is it “an artifact in a museum”? What is the difference? How can you make your faith more a part of your life?

8. What do you feel when you receive the gift of our Lord in the Eucharist? Do you consider it a declaration of your willingness to lay down your life?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 672: Recognizing Christ : A reflection on The Book of Acts (Acts 24:13-35)

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13 Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,14 and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.

 

15 And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,

16 but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast.

 

18 One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”19 And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him.

 

21 But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. 22 Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. 24 Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.”

 

25 And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.

 

28 As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther.29 But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

 

30 And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. 31 With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.

 

32 Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”

 

33 So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them 34 who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”

 

35 Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

 

In the Resurrection narratives, a kind of pattern arises; Jesus is not recognized. He is a stranger as we chanted at Vigils on Good Friday. Mary Magdalene did not recognize Him; she thought He was the gardener until He called her by name.

 

Also, Cleophas and his companion did not recognize Him although like Mary Magdalene they knew Him well. Jesus, a stranger, a pleasant and very knowledgeable companion joined them in their journey to Emmaus and at their insistence joined them for a meal.

 

It will take an act on Jesus’ part to bring them into the light and so He did. St. Luke recorded that moment: “And it happened that while they were at table, He took bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them.” In that instant the grace of faith, of sight flooded them and the bread of Life fed them - they were lifted up from despair, from shattered hopes, from a terrible darkness. Christ the Light illuminated their hearts.

 

And with that, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him but He vanished from their sight but not from their faith, from their memory. They had truly seen Him - the Risen Crucified One - and there was more - they received Him in the Holy Eucharist - the Lord Jesus literally gave Himself to them.

 

So with us, now, we gather to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and at this very moment we are being given the grace of desire to receive Him, the grace of sight to recognize Him as our Food of Life - these are graces beyond words, and beyond our understanding - totally gratuitous, totally merciful.

 

May this daily celebration consume us as it did Cleophas and his companion as it has consumed countless others so that you and I can say, “I know Him - He is no stranger to me!”

 

Fr. John Denburger, OCSO

 

 

Prayer: Lord, help me to see You in the lives of those closest to me. Help me to rejoice in Your presence and to grow in love of other and in love of You as I see You at work in their lives. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Quote from a Saint: “How many of you say: I should like to see His face, His garments, His shoes. You do see Him, you touch Him, you eat Him. He gives Himself to you, not only that you may see Him, but also to be your food and nourishment.”--St. John Chrysostom

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Has there ever been a point in your life when you did not recognize Jesus? Perhaps you did not see Him in the Eucharist or in the people that you encounter during your day-to-day life. What happened that allowed you to recognize Christ?

2. Has Christ illuminated your heart so that you recognize Him in the Eucharist? Do your attitudes and actions during Mass reflect that belief?

3. Have you ever contemplated the fact that the God of the Universe humbled Himself to become a man who was then rejected, mistreated, and murdered by His created creatures in order to save them? How about the fact that He humbles Himself once again to come to us mysteriously in the Holy Eucharist and Precious Blood? If not, take this with you to prayer.

4. If we choose, we can receive Christ in the Eucharist every day of the week. How often do you go to Mass? Would it be possible for you to attend Mass on another day in addition to Sunday?

5. How would you react if someone you knew had died suddenly and then appeared to you and those he knew? Meditate upon how the disciples must have felt after seeing the risen Christ.

6. Are there people in your life that do not know Jesus? Have you been praying for them to be flooded with the light of God so that they can see and recognize Him? If not, start today!

7. Do you feel as though you know Jesus or is He still a stranger to you? How can you become better acquainted with Him?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 671: Wade Out Deeper : A reflection on the Prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12)

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1 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and there! I saw water flowing out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east. The water flowed out toward the right side of the temple to the south of the altar.

 

2 He brought me by way of the north gate and around the outside to the outer gate facing east; there I saw water trickling from the southern side.

 

3 When he continued eastward with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the water; it was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand cubits and once more had me wade through the water; it was up to the knees. He measured another thousand cubits and had me wade through the water; it was up to my waist. 5 Once more he measured off a thousand cubits. Now it was a river I could not wade across. The water had risen so high, I would have to swim—a river that was impassable.

 

6 Then he asked me, “Do you see this, son of man?” He brought me to the bank of the river and had me sit down.

 

7 As I was returning, I saw along the bank of the river a great many trees on each side.

 

8 He said to me, “This water flows out into the eastern district, runs down into the Arabah and empties into the polluted waters of the sea to freshen them.

 

9 Wherever it flows, the river teems with every kind of living creature; fish will abound. Where these waters flow they refresh; everything lives where the river goes.

 

12 Along each bank of the river every kind of fruit tree will grow; their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fresh fruit because the waters of the river flow out from the sanctuary. Their fruit is used for food, and their leaves for healing.”

 

“I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east” (Ezek. 47:1). Reading about the water flowing from the side of the temple brought to mind the water and blood flowing from the side of the crucified Lord. These waters flow out from Jerusalem and out into the world. Christ is the Temple from whom flow the living waters. Christ is the door, from the floodgate of his pierced side flowed the waters that refresh the world. Christ is the wellspring of living water that satisfies the thirst of the human soul. Like the prophet Ezekiel, we discover the works of God in stages. At first, the wonders of God are simple and delightful, so we wade into them, ankle-deep. The more we walk in the flowing waters, the challenges get more difficult, knee-deep, and waist-deep. The journey keeps taking us deeper and deeper until we find ourselves in waters that are over our heads.

 

Reading how the prophet waded deeper and deeper into the river flowing from the temple, I was reminded of a passage in St. Luke’s gospel. “Launch out into Deep Water and lower Your Nets for a catch” (Lk. 5:4). Granted, it is comfortable to wade in the shallows, but you can’t catch an abundance of fish there. Our Christian calling challenges us to set out into the deep water of God’s mystery. Saint Paul knew the wonder and awe of taking the plunge. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways” (Rom. 11:33). Confronted with the mystery of God’s love, Paul came to know his weaknesses and accept his limitations. In the light of that knowledge, he sat at the brink and wondered at the depths. Paul knew that the ever-expanding flood was not for him alone. “I pray that you may be firmly rooted and securely grounded in love. May you have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Eph. 3:17-18).

 

Eventually, Ezekiel came to the spot where the water was over his head. This is exactly where the Lord wants each of us to be, launching out into the depths. Jesus wants us to be immersed in the Spirit and his Word. The Lord wants us to walk in the waters until we need to cry out to him to stretch out his hand and pull us up. Many people stumble and get stuck because they keep trying to figure their Christian calling out, rather than letting God work it out for them. All the while, God keeps nudging us along until we can no longer feel solid ground under our feet. In the end, God wants us to depend on him and his abundant merciful kindness. While we may feel more secure in the shallows, the Lord is calling us to launch out for the deep waters. Only those who are willing to take the plunge can experience the saving power of grace. We need openness and docility if we want to plunge into the depths of God’s infinite mercy. When God finds a resting place in our hearts, by his word and Spirit dwelling richly in us, he can, and will, sustain us as we plunge into the depths. With his mighty right hand and outstretched arm, he will bring us safely to our heavenly home.

 

Fr. Jerome Machar, OCSO

 

Prayer: O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty yourself out upon us. O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in you!

 

Quote from a Saint: “Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to Him. That is all the doing you have to worry about.”--St. Jane Frances de Chantal

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Do you find yourself wading in the shallows of faith because it is more comfortable? What is the scariest part about going deeper?

2. As you have waded deeper into the faith, what are some of the challenges that you have encountered?

3. Why do you think that God wants us to get in over our heads?

4. Why do we stumble and get stuck in our faith when we try to figure our Christian calling out? What is God wanting us to do when this happens?

5. How do you relate to Christ as the Wellspring? Do you rely upon Him to quench your thirst?

6. Have you ever read Saint Faustina’s Diary? Are you familiar with the image that she had created that shows the blood and water flowing from Jesus as rays of colored light? If not, look it up and spend some time with the image in prayer.

7. How much do you trust God? Do you trust him in all areas of your life, or have you ceded Him control in only a few? What is holding you back?

8. Do you fear plunging yourself into God’s Divine Mercy? Why or why not?

9. Have you ever tried praying the chaplet of Divine Mercy? If not, find out how to pray it and give it a try.

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP