Monthly Archives: April 2017

Monday of Holy Week
Isaiah 42:1-7 | Psalm 26(27):1-3,13-14 | John 12:1-11

Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the house was full of the scent of the ointment. (John 12:3)

Can you smell holiness?

I think you can.

I think it smells like the palm I picked up at church, a faint hint of greenery that sparks images of a “Hosanna!” donkey day long gone.

I think it smells like baby powder, which hit my nose when I lifted a little child up to the drinking fountain before mass, and who rewarded me in turn with a shy smile.

I think it smells like a sweaty South Asian construction worker, who valiantly helped a maid navigate her wheelchair-bound employer over bumps and potholes, while traffic rushed by within arm’s reach of the trio.

And, of course, I think it smells like Jesus Christ, anointed by Mary as a reminder to all present that He would be dead soon, as He foretold.

I think you can smell holiness.

It’s recognizing it for what it is that’s the trick.

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I just smelled my right armpit.

I don’t know why, and I’m wishing I hadn’t.

I clearly need to work on the holiness bit.

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Lord Jesus Christ, as we watch You process towards Your salvific death on a cross, help us engage all our senses as we bear our own crosses through life. Help us recognize the signs of holiness in action around us, and smell the fragrance of Your goodness in others. Amen.

Palm Sunday
Matthew 21:1-11 | Isaiah 50:4-7 | Psalm 21(22):8-9,17-20,23-24 | Philippians 2:6-11 | Matthew 26:14-27:66

And so it begins.

As the massive crowd cries “Hosanna!” and enters with Jesus into Jerusalem, a lone figure in the distance follows breathlessly behind.

That would be me, running late from an emergency consult that also meant I missed writing yesterday’s blog entry. That emergency occurred because maintenance problems that were foreseen and forewarned actually came to pass, causing a customer’s mission-critical services to grind to a messy halt.

You might say that a default (choosing to do nothing about known issues) became a default (failure to fulfill an obligation to keep things running smoothly).

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You can bet that Jesus foresaw all that would happen to Him during those few days in Jerusalem that we commemorate each year, because He forewarned His disciples about the events to come.

Yet He chose to embrace all the cruelty and suffering that He saw ahead of Him, instead of avoiding them for business or personal reasons.

He chose to complete His mission, instead of hustling off to do something new and exciting and not-painful.

He chose not to default, so that we can look forward to eternal life today.

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But we too have been forewarned about the choices we make in our daily lives, and how they affect our progress towards the eternal life that Jesus promised through His actions.

We can choose anew each day to embrace His Holy Way, to do the right thing even when it’s the hard thing.

Or we can default to cavorting along the wide boulevards of secular ease, casting others aside in our hedonistic rush to personal glory.

Shall we choose life together?

Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,
the King of Israel.
Hosanna in the highest!

Amen.

Friday of the 5th Week of Lent
Jeremiah 20:10-13 | Psalm 17(18):2-7 | John 10:31-42

I hear so many disparaging me,
‘“Terror from every side!”
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’
All those who used to be my friends
watched for my downfall,
‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error.
Then we will master him
and take our revenge!’ (Jeremiah 20:10)

Fair-weather friends are a dime a dozen; when circumstances turn against you, they will be nowhere to be found, or perhaps even take advantage of your plight to raise their own status or reputation.

This is especially so in a work environment where the boss plays subordinates against each other, so that everyone fakes teamwork while quietly aiming to get a leg up by stepping on others’ backs…and possibly stabbing them in the process.

The Lord is not this sort of “boss”. He wants us all to work as one united people in bringing His kingdom to earth, through concerted words and deeds of love for one another.

Which is why I’m quite disturbed by the rising tide of lamentations at the advent of a new “boss” at our parish, a veritable jeremiad of “he’ll change everything, upset all our apple carts, woe is us, time to move to a new parish!” I’m guessing that he’s already feeling the effects of rumours that will undermine whatever good he’ll try to do during his tenure here–perhaps the above passage might even have crossed his mind.

It’s possible that some of his intended changes would directly affect my choir ministry. Whether I can help channel those changes for the good of our ministry remains to be seen, but until the nature of those changes are made known, I’ll wait patiently…and try very hard not to prejudge.

In the meantime, Holy Week beckons. Time to set aside any gripes about our inbound parish priest, and focus on Christ as He begins His journey of Passion.

Amen.

Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent
Genesis 17:3-9 | Psalm 104(105):4-9 | John 8:51-59

I will establish my Covenant between myself and you, and your descendants after you, generation after generation, a Covenant in perpetuity, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. (Genesis 17:7)

Don’t worry, I’ll get it done by tomorrow…

I promise to be true to you, in good times and in bad…

I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to make amends for my transgressions, and turn away from sin…

In the words of a popular song from my youth:

You made me promises, promises
Knowing I’d believe
Promises, promises
Why do I believe?

God instead makes covenants, bonds between Him and His people. We uphold our end of these covenants by being faithful to His Word, and working to bring forth His Kingdom by sharing that faith with others.

As we approach the Week of Our Lord’s Passion, let us renew the Abrahamic Covenant with God in our hearts, by pledging to live as His children, in as true a fashion as we can manage, and turning to and trusting His Son Jesus Christ, to lead us in the path of salvation and reunion with the I AM.

Let us make this a promise we actually want to uphold for the rest of our lives.

Amen.

Wednesday of the 5th Week of Lent
Daniel 3:14-20,91-92,95 | Daniel 3:52-56 | John 8:31-42

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, ‘Your question hardly requires an answer: if our God, the one we serve, is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace and from your power, O king, he will save us; and even if he does not, then you must know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the statue you have erected.’ (Daniel 3:16-18)

While riding the train to my client’s office yeaterday, I spied two young Mormon missionaries proselytizing to the folks near me.

This should be interesting, I thought. I wonder how our encounter would go.

They eventually finished with the person next to me, so I quickly prepared an “opening statement”, something along the lines of “Am I saved? Yes, brothers, since the day I was born!”…and then they walked right past me to talk to the fellow commuter on my other side!

I looked down at myself. My crucifix and medallion were still tucked inside my polo T-shirt, invisible to any observer. I’d also finished praying my daily rosary long before they came within line-of-sight, so there was no outward sign I could think of that would cause them to “give up” on me.

Huh. Maybe next time.

Then it hit me: Not so long ago, I would’ve exited the train at the earliest opportunity, just to avoid interacting with missionaries of any sort.

I’ve yet to attain the spiritual confidence of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who faced a grim choice between apostasy and fiery death, but at least I am willing to quietly talk about my own beliefs to anyone willing to listen.

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There’s another reason why the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego resonates with me today. Oddly enough, it has to do with music.

After they were thrown in the furnace, the angel of the Lord arrived to protect them from the intense heat that killed even those who threw them in. They then sang a song of glory and praise to God in Daniel 3:51-90, which Marty Haugen used as inspiration for All You Works of God, and a portion of which forms today’s responsorial psalm.

It’s a song I first learned in college, and we used to sing it at random times around the liturgical year. Though I’ve not sung it in public worship since then, it’s always had a place in my heart, and you can be sure I’ll be singing it in my head come Holy Saturday.

Amen.