The Visitation/Memorial Day

Mary goes in haste to be at the side of her cousin Elizabeth as she prepares to give birth to a child her her advanced years. Elizabeth recognizes the Presence of the Holy One in Mary's womb as the child in hers leaps for joy. Mary sings her Magnificat as she recognizes God's favor toward his lowly one and predicts the downfall of the mighty. Much food for thought as we remember those who have gone in haste to protect the oppressed and preserve the freedoms that so many fought so hard to gain. This is a day when the Magnificat can be on our lips and in our hearts as we pray/ sing in gratitude for God's presence among us, and how he has preserved us through those who have laid down their lives. Let us also pray for those who are currently serving us. I quote part of this simple but profound prayer and encourage you to pick up your Bibles and turn to Luke 1: 47-55.
"My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon the lowliness of his servant, for behold, all generations will call me blessed. For he, the Mighty One, is holy and hae has done great things for me. His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him."
Bro Rene

The Most Holy Trinity

"We worship on God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity!" (Athanasian Creed). We can easily get lost in trying to wrap our minds around the Three-in-One. "Ineffable"...beyond comprehension, indeed, is the word that best describes "The Great Mystery", as God is called in the Lakota religion by Lakota native Americans across South Dakota. Yet we are urged to approach the Trinity in the simpler, more engaging concept of Love. "God is Love" St. John tells us, "and all who live in love live in God and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect." (1 Jn 4: 16-17). Living in love, living in God means that we model our love for one another on the great love the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have for each other: perfect acceptance, mutual respect, sharing, giving of total being, emptying of self to bring about total harmony of wills and being. As we strive to "love perfectly" today and the days ahead, we will become more God-like. Let us join with the Saints and Angels who intimately share in the life of God and are our role-models and guides on our journey to Eternal Life in the Trinity, and shout: "Blessed are you , now and through endless ages, O holy Creator and Ruler of all, most blessed and undivided Trinity!" (Traditional Antiphon).
Bro. Rene

Pray in the Holy Spirit

St. Jude, in his one and only letter, tells us, "But you, dear friends must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit." (Jude 20) In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul explains, "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will." (Rm 8:26-27). Again, it's a question of "letting go and letting God", a frequently quoted saying in the Twelve Step Program.
So often our days are planned, our prayers are planned, and something interrupts or intervenes. We can become frustrated, or in peace, follow the movement of the Spirit, remembering that not only is there a reason for everything, but the Spirit, who works in harmony with God's own will...is God...is leading where he wants us to go with our day or with our prayer, where it is best for us. We need to rely more on those inner movements and the interventions of the Spirit if our prayer is really going to have an effect on our behavior. Let us rely more on the inexpressible groanings, rather than on our neat and empty words.
Bro. Rene

The Need for Prayer

Progress in our relationship with Jesus, as with any friend, requires time spent together. Enjoyment, support in time of need, trial or faliure, a sense of worth, these are the fruits of friendship. Just being with each other, sometimes even without words exchanged, uplifts and gives energy. St. Teresa of Avila describes prayer as "nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us." (Magnificat, May, p. 386). We all have friends; we simply need to reflect on human friendship and apply what we discover to our Divine Friendship. St. Marcellin recommended recalling the presence of God as often as possible, and required that a prayer be said on the hour to guarantee time between friends.
Jesus tells us, knowing that most of the time we'll be using prayer for asking, "I tell you that all you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavnly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions." (Mk 11:25-26). There flows from prayer, a comfort in feeling the presence and love of Jesus, our Friend, answers to our needs, and the purifying process of forgiveness, which draws us closer to people as well as to God. It stands to reason then, that no matter how tired or busy we are, the need for and benefits from daily prayer are too great to be neglected. Some days are so "bad" that we can't say our usual prayers, but can lift up our hearts in a sigh, or a single word, as we would with our best friend, offer our frustration, fatigue or activity to God as our prayer, and thus at least keep our desire for prayer (which is the begining of prayer) alive. When things settle and we can go back to our regular routine, we appreciate even more what a precious gift we have in prayer.
Bro. Rene

No Longer Strangers

As we continue through our daily routines , experiencing much the same pattern of some good moments, others that make us cringe as we sense the contradictions in our own lives and in the world around us, our motivation and determination can wear thin. We can too easily, it seems, become victims of our physical and spiritual fatigue. At this time, it's not unusual for a passage of Scripture to leap out at us and bolster us on our journey, much as a stop at a service plaza along an inter-state gives us new energy to continue our drive. This section from the first Letter of Saint Peter, I hope, will serve as such a boost: "You are a chose race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
"Once you were no people/ but now you are God's people;/ you had not received mercy/ but now you have received mercy.
"Beloved I urge you as aliens and sojourners to keep away from worldly deisres that wage war against the soul. Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that if they speak of you as evildoers, they may observe your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation."(1 Pet 2: 9-12)
We are aliens to the lifestyle of the world, but as St. Paul reminds us, "You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God. (Eph 2: 19). May we take heart and find strength in knowking that we are not alone, but form one body in Christ and animated by the Holy Spirit.
Bro. Rene

Builders of the Kingdom

Construction is a well respected profession. We might even say it has solid biblical roots: the creation story reveals God as the master architect and engineer with a highly artistic flair. Joseph and Jesus were carpenters. St. Paul often uses the analogy of building. "According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ." (1 Cor 3: 10-11).
We have been called through our baptism into a community where mutual support, mutual building up of each other is expected of us. "The kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the holy Spirit; whoever serves Christ in this way is plesing to God and approved by others. Let us then pursue what leads to peace and to building up one another." (Rom 14: 17-19). Talking about our faith, talking about Jesus with our friends, simple but often not major conversation pieces like the weather or sports, or listening to another's tales, or offering advice or constructive criticism, or being peaceful and joyful, are some of the ways in which we can support one another and build up the kingdom. Let us begin today by spending time talking to Jesus, and then talking about him to others or radiating the peace that he gives through our actions. If he were our best friend, we'd not be ashamed but happy to do so.
Bro. Rene

Enter ThroughThe Narrow Gate

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those how enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few." (Matt 7:13-14). This has been a challenging directive for centuries. Does it mean always take the hard road, "the road less traveled"? Does it mean deprive yourself of the pleasures and liberties that everyone else seems to be enjoying? Does it mean be miserable? The Puritans and others who took these verses to the extreme, it seems to me did not find the LIFE that Jesus promised.
The life that can be ours comes from following JESUS, "the Way, the Truth, the Life." (Jn 14:6).
Jesus also said, "I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in an got out an find pasture." (cf. Jn 10:9). Our desire to follow Jesus through the narrow gate, to love him with our whole heart and soul, automatically restricts our choices, our actions, but fills us with a love, joy, and peace that are life-giving, and by far outweigh the value of what we have excluded from our lives.
One small example might be acting on the familiar saying, "it is better to give than to receive." When you give away something you treasure, something you thought you could never part with, there comes an inner satisfaction that you have given part of yourself as a sign of the deep love you have for the one who receives the gift. There is a sense of freedom...I am no longer "possessed by my things" and I have made someone else happy with them. Wow! Try it...you'll like it. The narrow gate will not seem like a bad option at all, but the preferred option!
Bro. Rene