Pray, Hope and Don't Worry!

My friend believes the world is crazy. He watches the 24-hour news outlets with great fear and anxiety. He tends to worry a lot, maybe with good reason, since 2020 has been crazy.  I tell him the world has always been crazy, we just need to read world history again. I quote St. Padre Pio to him: “Pray, Hope and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayers.”

It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world! The world was mad 2,000 years ago with violence, killings and murders. We didn’t have CNN or MSNBC news showing us riots, looters and violence on TV. We had only the bible to read, the bible can be disturbing, even downright scary. Do not read Revelations on a stormy Friday night.  I think at times, I can get caught up with the news cycles, social media and gossip. I lose sight with the plans that God has for me. I recognize, I need to trust more, be patience with people and believe in God’s plan. Trust and patience can come with great sacrifice.

The Gospel of Matthew 24-33, provides us with a variation on the theme of vineyard that is violent, tense and threatening. God has entrusted the care of His vineyard, His people to the tenants. It’s great that the lord is prepared to risk placing His work in the hands of sinners such as ourselves! When God sends stewards to collect the grape harvest, the tenants, wanting to take the vineyard for themselves, beat up the stewards and kill others. Are we surprised about the violence in this Gospel reading? I’m not! Many Saints have lost their lives in their journey for God. John the Baptist, Thomas More, Edith Stein and Thomas Becket, to name a few.

It amazes me, how the people/tenants treat the prophets, whom God had sent. Showing unbelievable patience, God, sent His Son as His representative, thinking the tenants would welcome Him. But instead, they mocked Him, scourged Him and crucified Him. This parable is a powerful indictment of the leaders to whom God had entrusted His people.

However, not even the crucifixion of God’s Son could thwart the plans that God has for us. Instead, God will ask you and I a basic question. How do we carry out the responsibilities God has given to each of us? Do wear bear the fruits of loving and serving God in this crazy world? Or do we go along with this mad, mad, mad world that we live in.

 St. Dymphna, Pray for us!

Bernard of Clairvaux

 

In the Vineyard.

   This weeks gospel Matthew 21:28-32 Jesus tells  a group religious leaders a parable. In the parable a man has two sons, he asks one of them to go work in the vineyard. At first the son’s response is no but, in the end he does what the father requests. Then the man asks his second son to work in the vineyard. The son answers yes but,  actually never does any of the work.   Jesus then asks the religious leaders who they thought followed the father’s wishes in the parable. They answered the first son... which was in a some ways condemnation of themselves.  The religious leaders, like the second son were all talk. Jesus, then let the religious leaders know that they were hypocrites for seeing the flaw in the second son but not in themselves. 

After reading this gospel  I saw how I can be no different from the two sons  and the religious leaders. The first son had no intention on working in the vineyard.  He told his father no but, something happened. Something changed in him that led him back to vineyard to do the work.  I can say that Jesus is good at getting you to change.  Have you ever had your heart changed? Just like that first son, I have had my heart changed.   These days I throughly enjoy quiet time  in prayer and my relationship with Jesus. I wasn’t always like this.  Prayer was something that I did.  I did it because I thought I was supposed to.  I prayed because I was told to do it. Then something  changed in me.  I started to look forward to being with Jesus. Prayer has become a time for me to connect with the lord.  That’s what Jesus can do if you let him. He changed the way I feel about prayer. The first son  may have said no to his father but,  ultimately ended up in the vineyard exactly where his father wanted him. 

I also saw how I’m not that different from the second son. The second  was basically all talk and no action.  I’ve been there.  I have made plans to be a better follower of Jesus, made plans to forgive people. I’ve even made plans to forgive myself and have fallen short on many  of those.  Haven’t we all been a little like that?  Haven’t we all had the right intentions yet, take little action?   I think that happens when we are distracted.  The world has a funny way of getting our attention and pulling us off course every now and then.  The parable doesn’t mention why the second son didn’t work on the vineyard but we know he didn’t get it done.  He lost his way, no different from  the times we lose our  way to the vineyard.  It happens when life gets in our way  and we forget the importance of Jesus in our loves. Luckily, the lord is there to redirect us and keep us focused on what’s he wants for us. 

Like the religious leaders, I too can be a little hypocritical. They recognized that the second son was “lost” but didn’t realize that they were lost as well.  So many of us including me, can see someone else’s shortcomings before we see our own. My experience has been that if I can see a flaw or shortcoming in someone else it’s usually because I have the same flaw myself.  I believe that God never misses. Never, ever, ever, misses.  So if you need to be redirected or grown in a certain aspect of your life, God will find way to get you the message.  Maybe it’s by bringing someone who is just like you into your vineyard so you can see who you truly are.  I ask you, who are most like in the today’s gospel? Are you the son with a changed heart? Maybe you’re the son who has the right intentions but falls victim to the worlds distractions?  Maybe you’re the religious leader who sees the flaws in every one but themselves?  No matter who it is, the lord will find a way to get you right where you are supposed to be in the vineyard. 

-Anonymous 

The Economy of God

 The Gospel for this coming Sunday is from Matthew.  In it, we hear the story of the laborers in the vineyard.  Specifically, Jesus tells a parable about the owner of a vineyard who pays all of his workers the same, regardless of what time they show up at work.  The guy who starts at 9 am gets X dollars, and the guy who starts at 3pm also gets the same X dollars.  The message, in a general sense, is that regardless of when you come to God, you get the full measure of His love and kingdom. 

 Of course, when we compare this with life on Earth, this makes no sense.  How incredibly ticked off would you be if you got to work early every day, and some dude who got in at 3 pm every day got the same pay?  Or if someone with half of your experience and seniority got the same pay as you?  That would set me off, for sure.

 But the economy of God sort of works like that – the latecomer and the less experienced worker get the full measure of God’s love.  This make no sense to us, not by our standards.  But with God, the full measure of His kingdom is available to all comers, regardless of starting time or experience.  I know I’m not making any ground-breaking observations here, but it’s worth saying.

 But I will tell you this: recently two things made me think about how God sees the significance of getting “paid” at the end of the day.  First, I was talking to my old college roommate who has been out of work for a while and living on the financial support of his fiancé.  It’s extremely stressful for him.  Right or wrong, he feels like a loafer because he’s not putting the proverbial bread on the table.  The second thing that happened is about me.  When I woke up this morning around 5, I looked in my bank account and my direct deposit pay wasn’t there, although it usually shows up right after midnight.  I got a little concerned as to why the money wasn’t there.  It showed up in a couple of hours, thankfully.  Maybe the computers were slow, I don’t know.  But for the time before it showed up, I was thinking about all the expenses I needed that money for.  Mortgage.  Food.  Utilities.  In short, true necessities.  And I thought about what I would need to do if the money didn’t show up.

 What’s the point?  God knows that our “pay”, our share of the kingdom, is something we need, not just a luxury.  And for that reason, God is not going to deny us our “pay”, our share of the kingdom, because we were a little slow to get His message.  God is a god of grace.  All we need to do is try our best, whenever we show up.  But don’t worry if you’re late to the game.  Jump in where you are.  In this spiritual sense 9 am and 3 pm (even 4:59 pm) are the same thing.    

The Older Brother

The great Mercy of our King

 What a relief it is to now that we have a King that is so merciful, kind, and forgiving. To know that Jesus, like the king in the parable in this Sunday's Gospel reading is quick to forgive and to release us from the just repayment of our debts. All this, simply for the asking; because He already paid the price to reconcile us to our Father. How does one respond to this? How do YOU respond to this?

Of course Mercy such as this demands a response. Clearly as we can see in this parable; the response must include being merciful to others, as God is merciful with us. Jesus tells us that we are called to love one another as He has loved us. This is because we are called to be LIKE God.

I know of many people that pride themselves and boast that they are saved. I could never say one way or another about whether or not another person is saved. All I know is that I personally have to work hard to make a proper return for the great gifts and the Mercy that the Lord has shown to me. I'm sorry to say, that it is not always easy for me, that is, if I even bother to think about it. To be honest, I'd have to admit that I have often been like the wicked servant in the parable; not realizing that I too, must be as merciful and forgiving as the Lord has been to me. Anyone that has ever driven in the car with me during rush hour can attest to that fact!

So I ask you again, my dear brother in Christ, by way of invitation to contemplate more deeply the great treasure that is the Good News of the Gospel: how do you respond to our Lord's Mercy?

Peace,

                   + Theophilus    

Apologetic Reconciliation

MT 18: 15-20 / 9.6.20

One of the greatest of human challenges is owning up to an error of speech or action we carry out that either insults or injures another person.  This week’s readings (particularly the Gospel) clarifies the inherent responsibility we have as disciples, to address both our own unscrupulous behaviors and those of others who are causing some type of disruption or disorder tot the community.  This responsibility is echoed in God’s words to His son, “ I have appointed you to be a watchman for the house of Israel.” It appears that God is also reminding us that we bear a similar responsibility to be watchmen as we walk the earth now.

 

The goal is reconciliation (if we are the one who has caused some damage to another) or participate in the reconciliatory process with another who is behaving in a destructive manner. I have taken the liberty of coining this process “apologetic reconciliation.”  In summary, St. Teresa’s prayer gives the reader a pause for thought on this Gospel message.  Christ has no body but yours.  Yours are His hands, feet & eyes.  You are His body, for Christ has no body now on earth but yours.  For me, it has been a great paradox (as one who bears the sign of Christ through my baptism & ongoing conversion) to charitably confront someone who has hurt me in some way.

My old brain (the egotistic warrior) impulsively responds to the attack by unleashing a tirade of insults & threats.  This results in short-term relief & satisfies my ego’s need for revenge & retribution.  You can guess where that leads to, right?  It usually fails and results in an escalation of intimidation, anger and possibly violence.  Before resorting to this course of action and when I take the time to think things through, I find that my spiritual brain (for lack of a better term) leads me in another direction.  This part of my brain has paid the price over the years to learn valuable lessons.  It bears many scars from past interpersonal battles & confrontations.  These scars are reminders that I have moved forward to some degree.

Before confronting another person (who needs correction) prayer must always be implemented into the plan. Then, a mental rehearsal of what needs to be presented must be incorporated (a dress rehearsal of sorts).  Even with these tools, there is no guarantee your attempt to correct that individual is guaranteed. This Gospel takes us to the next level of intervention by bringing several others who recognize the need for reconciliation.  And finally, the last resort is for the community (the Church in this reading) to get involved

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Over the years, I have personally involved with staging alcohol interventions. The alcohol disordered person relies on complicated, cognitive mechanisms that are preventing them for getting sober.  Orchestrated correctly, these types of interventions can be quite successful by bringing family members, friends, employers & clergy into the  reconciliatory process.  After reflecting upon this scripture passage, it parallels the message of charitable correction & sincere apologetic reconciliation.

   

Can you recall a time when you were asked to intervene in someone’s life?  Or perhaps, were you the one approached and in need of correction?  The bottom line is that we can stand on either side of the equation.  Let us pray to the Holy Spirit that we can receive the graces to carry out  apologetic reconciliations in a gentle, charitable & loving manner, in the spirit of our Lord & Savior – Jesus Christ.  The Pilgrim.