The Word of God

Daily Reflections

• Reflection – Lectionary: 245 

  “Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.” Beyond a doubt, we would all die without water. By extension, our souls are in grave danger without the flowing waters of Baptism that make an end of sin and death and shine the bright promise of eternity with God upon our earthly lives. Healing and strength are gifts along the way which we need to keep going.  

  Imagine for a second the sick man in today’s Gospel who had been fighting his disease (we are not sure what it was) for 38 years! And still there he was by the pool of Bethesda, hoping with all his might for a cure and a new life. That sounds a lot like you and me. Then there came that day when Jesus approached him and changed his life forever: “Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your mat, and walk.’ Immediately, the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.”   Sometimes we learn the hard way that we must get up first from our old ways of life and self-loathing and reach out for the loving hand of Christ. He is certainly there waiting. The great news for today is that Jesus wants us to walk with Him and live the life He wants for us. He wishes for us to thrive, not just survive. Let us pray:

  Lord, I want to be free in my worship and praise to You. Help me to get rid of all self-consciousness and just have my eyes on You as I praise and worship You. Set my feet to dancing, Lord.

• Reflection – Lectionary: 244 

  As we move closer and closer to the great mysteries of Holy Week, the Lord is slowly but surely drawing back the curtain of the Lenten Season to reveal great things ahead: “Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind.” Clearly, something new is promised and on the horizon for all of us. These days of detachment and longing have not, nor never have been, in vain. There is great love behind the intention of Lent, and there is a great reward for us who wish to experience a newness of life and love on this earth while we prepare for the Easter newness within our hearts. We realize today that the Lord has always been right with us during these 40 days: “O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.” 

  And there is so much more: the promise of these days of self-denial and prayer has healing and miraculous effects if we allow them to work through us and if we believe that miracles are still possible for those who believe and trust Jesus. This is made crystal clear in our Gospel today with the royal official whose son was deathly ill and on the verge of a certain demise. What do we know of the outcome of trusting the Lord with everything? “The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.” Such was the confidence of the official in the words of Jesus that this was all he needed. He immediately got back to the daily drudge of life, expecting a miracle and believing from where it came. This is the lesson for us today and for every day we have left. Ask, Listen, and Trust.  “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”  We have seen, and we do believe. 

  “Draw aside, into the secret place no one, but you and God, can explore. This is a place from which all questions can be revered. Doubts and struggles are safe to open up and wrestle with in this place. Tears are welcome.“Jenneth Graser

• Reflection – Lectionary: 31

  “Never judge a book by its cover” is a phrase that many of us have heard since we were little. Have you ever really thought about what that truly means? Let’s take it apart for just a minute to help us understand and fully grasp the meaning of the Scriptures today. “Never judge” is a great piece of advice, especially with our limited outlooks and prejudicial postures. We know this much is true because the Lord has made clear how unclear our own perspectives can be: “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance.” “Never judge a book” seems to intimate that we really shouldn’t assess anyone or anything without reading it or living through it first. This involves and assumes a deep faith in the One who has loved us into existence: “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.” “By its cover” also suggests that many people choose to live in darkness because they think they can hide. This is NOT the way we are to live, especially after having been enlightened by Christ as is pronounced in our Second Reading today: “Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and  truth.”

  The Gospel today reveals an even deeper lesson of life for all of us surrounding a tremendous and multi-layered healing that takes place by a source of water, refreshment and healing for one very blessed blind man who could not have judged anything, much less a book, by its cover: (Jesus tells him) “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—. So he went and washed, and came back able to see.” This life-changing encounter with the Lord removed not only blindness but also the fear, mistrust, and self-loathing and self-pity that had now allowed the blind man to see. But there were other seeing blind people around at that time as well: the Pharisees: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.” This recalls yet another great saying from our youth: “There are none so blind as those who will not see,” traced back to the 16th century and also resembling Jeremiah 5:21. It appears that the most deluded people in our world are those who choose to ignore what they already know.  

  Let us continue this amazing Lenten journey that by now is more than half completed, while remembering that we may be the only Bible someone will read today. Make it a great read!

  Read Today’s Reflection

• Reflection – Lectionary: 31

  “Never judge a book by its cover” is a phrase that many of us have heard since we were little. Have you ever really thought about what that truly means? Let’s take it apart for just a minute to help us understand and fully grasp the meaning of the Scriptures today. “Never judge” is a great piece of advice, especially with our limited outlooks and prejudicial postures. We know this much is true because the Lord has made clear how unclear our own perspectives can be: “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance.” “Never judge a book” seems to intimate that we really shouldn’t assess anyone or anything without reading it or living through it first. This involves and assumes a deep faith in the One who has loved us into existence: “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.” “By its cover” also suggests that many people choose to live in darkness because they think they can hide. This is NOT the way we are to live, especially after having been enlightened by Christ, as is pronounced in our Second Reading today: “Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and  truth.”

  The Gospel today reveals an even deeper lesson of life for all of us surrounding a tremendous and multi-layered healing that takes place by a source of water, refreshment and healing for one very blessed blind man who could not have judged anything, much less a book, by its cover: (Jesus tells him) “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—. So he went and washed, and came back able to see.” This life-changing encounter with the Lord removed not only blindness but also the fear, mistrust, and self-loathing, pity that now allowed the blind man to see. But there were other seeing blind people around at that time as well: the Pharisees: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.” This recalls yet another great saying from our youth: “There are none so blind as those who will not see,” traced back to the 16th century and also resembling Jeremiah 5:21. It appears that the most deluded people in our world are those who choose to ignore what they already know.  

  Let us continue this amazing Lenten journey that by now is more than half completed while remembering, we may be the only Bible someone will read today. Make it a great read!

• Reflection – Lectionary: 242

  “For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”  Last year at a Christmas dinner, a very proud and loving father sat next to his future daughter-in-law, who was sitting across from her future husband, the man’s amazing son. After dessert and before presenting her with his Christmas gift, he turned to her and gently said, “All I want for you to remember today is that I have been praying for you even before I met you. That means I have been loving you without knowing you all this time.” What he did for her and his son, and by extension, all of us, is to give a poignant example of pure love that extends all the way into Heaven. It means that trust and love and responsibility go hand in hand with developing a powerful and lasting relationship with God and with all who believe that love is the answer to the question of how we arrive in Heaven forever: 

  In the Gospel passage, however, we saw the supreme ugliness of hypocrisy even being practiced in a holy place: “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.” 

  The result was disastrous. No faith, no miracles, no healing, and no justification for the proud Pharisee. The lesson seems clear enough: when we overstep our own relationship with the Lord, either by trying to “play God” or reduce faith by arrogant grabs for wisdom and insight, nobody wins. Thank God we have a God who loves us and is always ready to forgive. As we continue our Sabbath experience and begin a new week, let us pray for faith that is built on trust in the One who never stopped loving us, even while we were in the womb. 

  You’d never know. There are people who pray for you without your presence and without your knowledge. Perhaps those prayers save you many times in your life. You’d never know. Stay humble.

• Reflection – Lectionary: 241

  “Thus says the LORD: Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt.”  When we stop and think about it for a while, Lent is consumed with remembering the most important things in life and realizing how, at times, our guilt and fear can be so paralyzing. That is why we sacrifice (give up) mundane things which we really do not need so that we can focus on the things in this world that we truly need. This is supported by the underlying meaning from our First Reading today: “Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.”

  “But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”  Remembering the most important things in life is one of the most important things to do in life. All that we have experienced and lived must form the fabric of the wisdom and the philosophy of life that we exist and use as we move into the future, which is all in the mind of God, who cares and loves us with an everlasting love. During the awesome Season of Lent, we are called and pulled toward memory and freedom. Guilt hurts at first, but if it motivates us to change and reform our lives according to Christ, then we will, in fact, remember how it is that we can find our way to Heaven by following the Lord God with every fiber of our being. In turn, we are compelled to pass that on to those we love, especially our children. May we remember the Name of the One who has saved us! “I will heal their defection, says the LORD, I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them.”

  A man once wrote to his teenage son: “God is the reason why even in pain, I smile, in confusion I understand, in betrayal I trust and in fear I continue to fight.” These are not just words if they are put into practice and lived as best as possible. You and I  must remember even long after this particular Lenten Season is over, that our children, students, and friends will not follow our advice—they will indeed follow and remember our example. “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

• Reflection – Lectionary: 240

  “Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God, and you shall be my people.”  Those who are into music and the recognition some musicians receive for their craft are certainly familiar with The Grammy Awards. They are named such because of the miniature gramophone affixed to the coveted prize. This, moreover, has its roots from the trademark image originated from a painting by Francis Barraud, which is famously known and entitled, “His Master’s Voice.” The painting famously shows a cute dog apparently listening intensely to the original record player, which was later adopted as the trademark by the Victor Talking Machine Company.  According to available publicity material, the dog, a terrier named Nipper, had originally belonged to Barraud’s brother, Mark. When Mark Barraud died, Francis inherited Nipper along with a cylinder phonograph and recordings of Mark’s voice. Francis noted the peculiar interest that the dog took in the recorded voice of his late master emanating from the horn, and conceived the idea of committing the scene to canvas.

  “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” What a powerful image we have been given today as we continue our days of the Lenten journey. To be so attuned to the voice of Christ and to be so drawn and driven in listening to it, no matter what the cost, is the goal of all who want to find their way to Heaven with the great and powerfully loving assistance of the Good Shepherd. However, this search must not become one of superstition and doubt: “Some of them said, ‘By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Clearly, these people had no idea who was standing right in front of them. Ignorance is certainly not bliss! You see, there is no website, Twitter account, or Facebook page that accomplishes the value and depth of speaking and listening directly with the Lord in daily prayer strengthened by our daily dose of the Scriptures and Eucharistic nourishment. Let us decide this week to make the time and listen intensely to our Master’s voice. He is always ready to start a conversation. 

  “Listen in silence because if your heart is full of other things, you cannot hear the voice of God.” St. Teresa of Calcutta 

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