“You can sacrifice and not love. But you cannot love and not sacrifice.”

“Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.” ― St Francis of Assisi: (1181 – 1226: Roman Catholic friar)

Gospel Text: (MT 16:24-28)
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

Today, the Gospel clearly confronts us with the world... It is absolutely radical in its approach, and it does not admit any half measures: «If you want to follow me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me» (Mt 16:24). In many instances, when we are facing the suffering generated by us or by others, we may hear some people say, “ Keep on gathering sacrifices in very much the same way as those trading stamps we used to collect, with the hope of showing them at Heaven's audit department when our day to present our statements of accounts arrives.”

But our suffering per se would be of little value if we think like that. Christ was no stoic: He was thirsty, He was hungry, He was tired, He did not like to be forsaken. He let others help him... Where He could, He soothed pain, whether physical or moral. So, what is happening, then?

Simple. Before loading up with our “cross”, the first thing we must do is to follow Christ. It is not a matter of first suffering and then following Christ... Christ must be followed from our Love, and from there we can then understand the sacrifice, the personal negation: «For whoever chooses to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life for my sake will find it» (Mt 16:25). Love and mercy may lead us to sacrifice. Any true love engenders, one way or other, some sort of sacrifice, but not all sacrifice engenders love. God is not sacrifice; God is love, and only from that perspective does pain, fatigue and the cross in our existence have any meaning, following the model of man the Father reveals us in Christ. St. Augustine sentenced: «When one loves, one does not suffer; but if one does suffer, the very suffering is loved».

In the ensuing events of our life, we should not seek a divine origin to explain our sacrifices and shortcomings: «Why is God sending this to me?», but we rather have to find a “divine usage” for them: «How can I transform this into an act of faith and love?». It is from this evaluation how we are to follow Christ and how —certainly— we may deserve the Father’s merciful glance. The same glance, which the Father looked at his Son on the Cross with.

“Night never had the last word. The dawn is always invincible.”

“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained in sudden flight but, they while their companions slept, they were toiling upwards in the night.” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: (1807 – 1882: American poet and educator)

Gospel Text: (MK 9:2-10)
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John,
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,

“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.

Who do people say I am?” After being pressed, St Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Christ.” Before they could triumph in their close relationship with this “Messiah” and what glory that would bring them, Jesus reveals the future: suffering, rejection and death. This was such a terrible shock to the apostles; they couldn’t accept it. Peter cries out, “This cannot happen to you!” Jesus replies, “Get behind me, Satan.”

It is in this depressing situation of misunderstanding and disillusionment that the Transfiguration takes place, six days later. On the mountain Jesus is suddenly transformed. Moses and Elijah appear to be talking with Jesus. The message is clear: Moses and Elijah fully endorse what Jesus is doing and saying and the future he has foretold about his suffering and death. Then a cloud appears and covers them. This was not simply a change in the weather. For a Jewish person, it represented the presence of Yahweh. A voice from the cloud declares: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” A supreme endorsement of the Son by his Father. Yes, listen to him even when he says things that you don’t like, things that you do not yet understand.

This special moment of encouragement will help the apostles through the difficult days ahead, though they will not fully understand until after the Resurrection and the experience of Pentecost, when they will boldly proclaim the Cross and not hesitate to carry daily their own cross.

May the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ be an encouragement to us to faithfully continue our journey, even when we don’t understand all that God is doing in our lives.

Faith is not a privilege of a few, nor is it the property of those who think they are so good

“I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much.”--Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Gospel Text: (MT 15: 21-28)
At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
But he did not say a word in answer to her.
His disciples came and asked him,
“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
He said in reply,
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”
He said in reply,
“It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Do you ever have those days (weeks? months? years?) when it seems nothing goes your way? Personally, I find it all too easy when this happens to assume I have somehow offended or opposed God. Both the Old and New Testament readings today from Mass speak of people opposing God’s decrees.

In the Gospel, it is one Canaanite woman who sets herself in opposition to God, in the form of Christ Jesus. Here, the opposition is of a different sort. She does not refuse to follow God’s direction; she simply refuses to believe He will not help her. Note that when the disciples ask Jesus to send her away, He doesn’t. He engages her in conversation. Perhaps He was testing her faith. Perhaps He was speaking out loud what the disciples were thinking in order to turn it on its head as a lesson for them. In any case, she persisted and was rewarded. Her faith in the goodness of God helped her move through the opposition and secure the healing of her daughter.

This reading gives me hope for when I feel opposed or challenged. I can ask myself, is my faith in God’s goodness being tested? God challenges us in our lives – sometimes to purify us for the work ahead; sometimes to test our faith. In the end, however, if we allow Him, He will use our challenges to bring us closer to Him.

“Faith makes things possible, not easy.”

I will go peaceably and firmly to the Catholic Church: for if Faith is so important to our salvation, I will seek it where true Faith first began, seek it among those who received it from God Himself. ~St. Elizabeth Ann Seton S.C., (1774 – 1821: The first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized)

Gospel Text: (MT 14:22-36)
Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When the men of that place recognized him,
they sent word to all the surrounding country.
People brought to him all those who were sick
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,
and as many as touched it were healed.

Two things jump out at me in particular after reading the above passage: the invitation and the rescue. First, Jesus does invite Peter to do something really amazing, and I think we are invited to do extraordinary things, too. Through the Incarnation and his life on earth, Jesus showed us what humans are meant to be. We are meant to be loving, forgiving, compassionate, and merciful. We are meant to question and challenge figures of authority who seem to have forgotten that leadership means service to others, not protection of privilege and influence at all costs. Finally, we are meant to remain faithful to our deepest convictions and our central identity as beings created in the image and likeness of God. This might seem daunting, but I doubt most of us see it as miraculous. Human history and today’s news, though, are rife with stories of war, murder, deceit, and the worship of wealth and power. So when you look at that long tale, the humanity that Jesus invites us into really is extraordinary.

Second, there is the rescue. As I already mentioned, living in the way we are meant to live looks pretty daunting when we consider some aspects of the social and political reality in which we are trying to live, as well as the human jealousies, selfishness, and pettiness that each and every one of us is all too familiar with. So, we can probably count on failing or falling short with quite a bit of regularity. But God reaches out to us, like Jesus reaching out to Peter. Our focus on living the life that Jesus has revealed to us sometimes falters, but if we are open to and strive for that life, we won’t be allowed to drown. God doesn’t write us off every time we fail to live up to our deepest identity, thank goodness! Instead, God continually invites and reaches out to us when we need it, pulling us at our core and pushing us to be who God desires us to be.

If I examine my everyday experiences, where have I failed to live in a Christ-like way? Where and how do I feel continually called and pulled to change my ways? What do I need to do in my life in order to be open to and recognize when God is reaching out to me? Maybe it’s more regular prayer and reflection, journaling about daily experiences, or conversation with a family member, friend, or spiritual advisor. These can be some intentional avenues for us to watch for God’s hand reaching out to pull us up as we are continually invited to live in an extraordinary way.

“Men will trust in God no further than they know Him”

“The true Christian can nurture a trustful optimism, because he is certain of not walking alone. In sending us Jesus, the eternal Son made man, God has drawn near to each of us. In Christ he has become our traveling companion.” ― Pope John Paul II (1920 – 2005: Declared a saint by Pope Francis on April 27, 2014)

Gospel Text: (Matthew 14:13-21)
When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over–
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.

In today's gospel reading Jesus tries to take some time for Himself to mourn the death of John, a close relative and a good man who took his faith quite seriously; maybe Jesus even foresaw in John's death His own destiny. When the crowds flock to Him and He sees their need, however, Jesus sets His own needs and desires aside and ministers to them, body and soul.

The disciples care about the crowds in their own way, as they have begun to learn that other-centeredness which is so much a part of Jesus' teaching. They are not aware that they can do more, but they turn to Jesus in their need --- and He tells to them to feed the crowd themselves. They do not see what He is getting at, but Jesus takes what they think is only a little and blesses it. Putting that back into their hands, they suddenly have enough to take care of the people as they wish to, but only because they gave Jesus what they had and He blessed that tiny amount of bread and fish.

We ourselves wish to care for others, but we also believe that we do not have enough to do the great things that our hearts dream of. But do we turn our gifts over to Jesus, along with our hopes and dreams, and let Him bless them? Do we then trust that we too have enough to perform miracles of love?

“We are constantly tempted to reduce the Eucharist to our own dimensions, while in reality it is we who must open ourselves up to the dimensions of the Mystery.”

Christ gives us his Body in the Eucharist, he gives himself in his Body and thus makes us his Body, he unites us with his Risen Body. If man eats ordinary bread, in the digestive process this bread becomes part of his body, transformed into a substance of human life. But in holy Communion the inverse process is brought about. Christ, the Lord, assimilates us into himself, introducing us into his glorious Body, and thus we all become his Body. - Pope Benedict XVI (General Audience on December 10, 2008)

Gospel Text: (JN 6:24-35)

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,

they themselves got into boats

and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

And when they found him across the sea they said to him,

“Rabbi, when did you get here?”

Jesus answered them and said,

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

you are looking for me not because you saw signs

but because you ate the loaves and were filled.

Do not work for food that perishes

but for the food that endures for eternal life,

which the Son of Man will give you.

For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”

So they said to him,

“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”

Jesus answered and said to them,

“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

So they said to him,

“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?

What can you do?

Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:

He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

So Jesus said to them,

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;

my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world.”

So they said to him,

“Sir, give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them,

“I am the bread of life;

whoever comes to me will never hunger,

and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Moses told them, “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”  (Exodus 16:15)



The wise remind us:  money and wealth do not bring happiness.  Some days we listen and know this to be true.  Then our true treasure shines brighter than gold and we see in new light.

How can we leave behind the familiar and survive the trek into the unknown? 

Scripture says that our true treasure comes from above.  We seek it but do not earn it.  Our greatness lies in welcoming the gifts of faith, family, friends, work, and world.  Like the morning dew, a new self is given, not picked off a rack. 

The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. - "One word of truth outweighs the world.”

“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”― Theodore Roosevelt: (1858 – 1919: Twenty-sixth President of the United States, and a leader of the Republican Party and of the Progressive Movement)

Gospel Text: (MT 14:1-12)

Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus

and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist.

He has been raised from the dead;

that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”

Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison

on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,

for John had said to him,

“It is not lawful for you to have her.”

Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people,

for they regarded him as a prophet.

But at a birthday celebration for Herod,

the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests

and delighted Herod so much

that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for.

Prompted by her mother, she said,

“Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

The king was distressed,

but because of his oaths and the guests who were present,

he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison.

His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl,

who took it to her mother.

His disciples came and took away the corpse

and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

A question I did have upon reading these verses was just why Herod was bothered by Jesus.  What had he heard which threatened him and his little kingdom.  In the previous chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has been relating and explaining various parables about a “kingdom” which is like a sower who sows seeds, like a growing mustard seed, like a treasure or pearl found or a fishing net resulting in some fish saved and others thrown away. Matthew follows these parables with Herod’s feeling his kingdom, his power, his identity being diminished. So Herod, in Matthew’s arrangement of things, begins to work toward his participation in getting rid of Jesus just as he got rid of the annoyance of John.  I would suggest our reading the previous chapter’s parables to see what of our little kingdoms is threatened by their meaning.  It is a prayerful reflection to become aware of how Jesus’ teachings can annoy us and we can have the same reaction as Herod, “Get rid of all that stuff!  I am my own kingdom!  I don’t want to be reminded who God says I am!  I will decide!  I will hear who others tell me I am!”