Monthly Archives: June 2017

Wednesday of Week 11 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 | Psalm 111(112):1-4,9 | Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Do not forget: thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap. (2 Corinthians 9:6)

The more I exercise my body, the fewer aging effects I suffer (until I pull a tendon or something vital).

The more code I write, the better I get at writing code (at least in theory).

The more I contemplate the love of God, the more loved I feel, and the calmer and happier I get.

Conversely…

The more I eat, the heavier and fatter I get.

The more people I stab in the back, the more I get shafted myself.

The more I shy away from the One who loves me, the grumpier and more unpleasant I get.

Indeed, we reap what we sow, so why not liberally spread the seeds of divine love?

Why not give ourselves the luxury of calm introspection in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and the inspiration of daily scripture?

They we would reap God’s graces aplenty, and be in a position to share His largesse with everyone else.

After all:

The one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide you with all the seed you want and make the harvest of your good deeds a larger one, and, made richer in every way, you will be able to do all the generous things which, through us, are the cause of thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11)

Or, in the words of an ’80s pop group I used to listen to:

Anything is possible when you’re Sowing the Seeds of Love.
— Tears for Fears, Sowing the Seeds of Love

Amen.

Tuesday of Week 11 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
2 Corinthians 8:1-9 | Psalm 145(146):2,5-9 | Matthew 5:43-48

what was quite unexpected, they offered their own selves first to God and, under God, to us.. (2 Corinthians 8:5)

There’s a slogan that I still remember from my childhood days:

First to Bata, then to school.

I’m sure it played no small role in making that shoe company the first stop for busy parents trying to get their kids prepared for the school year.

Today’s scripture passage tells us of a parallel with the Christians in Macedonia. They passed over all that “I am for Paul, ” I am for Cephas” nonsense that the Corinthians themselves stumbled over (1 Corinthians 1:12), and instead dedicated themselves directly to the service of God.

And it was through that service to God that they served the needs of their brethren in turn, not for personal acclaim or glory.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

I sent my Apple laptop in for servicing yesterday. Since I’d gone through the proper channels and placed a service call first, arranging for a time slot and showing up at the appointed hour, I was given priority over others who’d just walked in off the street with their broken products.

Can we do the same in our daily lives? Can we dedicate ourselves first to God, preparing ourselves mind and heart, making right all that we can?

Can we make time to come before the Blessed Sacrament, contemplating His boundless love, both in His offering up of His only Son, and in Jesus’ willingness to suffer and die an ignominious death for all our sakes?

Then, by seeing Him anew in our fellow human beings, can we not serve them with willing hearts and minds too?

Then, and only then, can we claim in all honesty and faith:

First to God, then to man.

Amen.

Monday of Week 11 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
2 Corinthians 6:1-10 | Psalm 97(98):1-4 | Matthew 5:38-42

For [God] says: “At the favourable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation I came to your help.” Well, now is the favourable time; this is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)

“Now” is almost always a busy time.

“This day” is almost always filled with cares and duties.

So we push our Creator to the fringes, mentally promising to come back to Him when we have time to breathe.

And we almost never do.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

I normally write these blog entries as part of my nightly “shutdown” routine. However, I’ve been so wiped out at the end of the last few days that I’ve deferred contemplating and writing about the day’s scripture till the day itself.

On Saturday, I busied myself into leaving it out entirely.

I’m writing this now, in between work engagements, because I belatedly realized something: The last two weeks of my life have been filled with death in one form or another. Wakes involving family and friends covered pretty much the entire period, and I was personally involved in two funerals just last week.

The past is done and gone. The duration of my future is unknown.

All I really have is the “now”, and I know there will be a day of “no more now”, when my mind and body no longer function as they usually do.

If I don’t continually orient myself towards God, not just in heart, but in mind and body and schedule as well, there will be a time when I can no longer do any of that.

Being unable to complete any of my projects on this earth is, in the end, no big deal. If it’s important enough, others will step in to continue my work.

What terrifies me is having to stand before God and answer the question:

Where we you when I called?

Where was I, that I was not ready to stop and listen to the Almighty?

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

Robert Heinlein wrote a sci-fi novel titled Time Enough for Love over 40 years ago, about a Methuselah appropriately named Lazarus Long who tired of life after over 2000 years of existence.

None of us are likely to reach that ripe old age, but the book’s title speaks volumes.

No matter how busy we are, we always have time enough for God’s love…if we so choose.

But if we choose not, there will always be “no time”, until the day that trite phrase takes on literal truth.

God always has time for us. When will we have time for Him?

Amen.

Corpus Christi
Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14-16 | Psalm 147:12-15,19-20 | 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 | John 6:51-58

Last night, I broke bread with my wife, my goddaughter, her husband, and her family. The six of us had a full meal, followed by a long conversation on many different subjects, and a quick video of her wedding that we missed while travelling last year.

It was a wonderful and most invigorating evening, and doubly appropriate as a precursor to today’s feast, both literally and metaphorically.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

Such gastronomic gatherings of laughter and love are a rarity for most of us, with lunch and dinner usually being treated as mere physical energy sources, ignoring the opportunity for spiritual recharges and reconnections too.

It’s therefore not surprising (and quite distressing) that many of us approach the Eucharist in the same way, going through the motions of accepting and gulping down a plain wafer, then rushing off to take care of other worldly matters.

Oh, to give such marvelous manna the respect it deserves, as spiritual strength for life’s journey.

Oh, to spend time contemplating this wondrous gift from Christ Jesus, freely offered and abundantly shared.

Oh, to recognize the awesome responsibility that consuming this bread foists upon us—that we are in turn to be broken for others in service and love, reflections of the loving God to those in need of hope.

This bread that we share is the Body of Christ,
This cup of blessing His Blood.
We who come to this table bring all our wounds to be healed.
When we love one another as Christ has loved us,
We become God’s daughters and sons.
We become for each other the bread, the cup,
The presence of Christ revealed.

Amen.

Friday of Week 10 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
2 Corinthians 4:7-15 | Psalm 115(116):10-11,15-18 | Matthew 5:27-32

Always, wherever we may be, we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may always be seen in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:10)

We carry in our body the death of Jesus…

the condemnation of others who do not share our faith,

the jealousy of those who really want to see us fall,

the cruelty of physical and emotional abuse by others, and self-inflicted harm through our own bad habits,

…so that the life of Jesus may also be seen…

the steadfastness of our belief,

the determination to do what is right in the sight of God,

the freedom to shed the shackles of sin and temptation,

if we so choose.

I’m reminded of President John F. Kennedy’s famous moon speech, but the words I hear in my head are slightly different:

We choose to do God’s will! We choose to do God’s will in this life and do the related things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win. Pater, fiat voluntas tua! (Father, Your will be done!)

How beautiful the will of God, that He created us with the supreme gift of free will.

How beautiful the examplar of Jesus Christ, who suffered all our human frailties, yet steadfastly aligned His will to the Father’s, always and everywhere.

How beautiful our own purpose, when we first discern God’s purpose in us, and make it so.

Amen.