Reaching for Heaven

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. Luke 4:18 ...or do we think we know it all? That question is at the core of whether or not we receive the Word of God and drink it in with passion. If we think we already know it all, then there is nothing to be gained by allowing the Gospel to mold us and shape us. There is no difference and no room for anything more from God. Even Jesus recognized that this would be the case with some, acknowledging that "no prophet is accepted in his own native place." When the Word of God conflicts ...

O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising, you discern my purpose from afar...For it was you who created my being, knit me together in my mother's womb...Already you knew my soul, my body held no secret from you...O search me, God and know my heart. O test me and know my thoughts. See that I follow not the wrong path and lead me in the path of life eternal. Psalm 139You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you, oh Lord. St. AugustineToday marks the memorial of St. Augustine, perhaps one of the most dramatic conversion stories from the early years of our faith. He's been known for such quips as "Lord grant me chastity...only ...

Night and day we pray beyond measure to see you in person and to remedy the deficiencies of your faith. Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. 1 Thessalonians 3:10-13"Night and day we pray..." Can you imagine the struggles of the first apostles as they set out to tell people of this wondrous, but logically unbelievable news? What of Jesus himself, who was abandoned at every turn? I think I can safely say that ...

But the LORD answered me, Say not, "I am too young." To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD. Jeremiah 1:7-8Having entered the Catholic Church at a campus parish during my college years, I perhaps have fewer preconceptions about what it looks like to be a servant of God. The people serving the Lord around me throughout my conversion ranged from birkenstock-wearing college folks, to missionary priests and military personnel. Some were more holy than others, but all of them showed me the love of our Lord, Jesus Christ in a special way.I think sometimes we get caught up in our own ...

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20Jesus exists in community. Even the Trinitarian nature of God as Father, Son & Holy Spirit is communal. The implications for this are astounding as we drift further and further into individualism and isolation. We cannot exist in Christ outside of community - period. This is the fundamental answer for why we need "Church," of why we cannot exist as genuinely faithful people outside of a community of faith. Spiritual, but not religious, only gets us part of the way there. God does not exist in a vacuum for our experience alone. Our relationship with God, with Christ, depends upon how we interact ...

I was sifting through the Facebook updates this morning and ran across a link to an article from the Catholic News Agency about an interchange between Planned Parenthood and a spokesperson for the US Catholic Bishops. In the heat of the healthcare debate, let's just say some words have been exchanged. This was, however, one of the more thought-provoking articles on the subject of abortion within the Obama health care plan.Planned Parenthood's statement? "“Seems that, if the U.S. Conference had its way, the national health care system would make American women second-class citizens and deny them access to benefits they currently have,” she charged."Second class citizens? Really? Funny, even Kourtney ...

His care is to seek the LORD, his Maker, to petition the Most High, To open his lips in prayer, to ask pardon for his sins. Then, if it pleases the LORD Almighty, he will be filled with the spirit of understanding; He will pour forth his words of wisdom and in prayer give thanks to the LORD,Who will direct his knowledge and his counsel, as he meditates upon his mysteries. Sirach 39:6-7 (NAB)"Being smart is not the same as being wise." A friend shared these words of her pastor with me last night as we were talking, and the profundity of the simple statement struck me as so very timely. We can get so busy seeking out knowledge on matters, we sometimes don't stop to think where that "knowledge" ...

Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 12:11 (NAB)Oh, we've all heard it - that old adage that goes something like, "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." That's just an old-fashioned platitude, though, right? I mean, in this day and age, when there are so many viewpoints and possibilities, none are better than the other, none are "more true" because then it would make someone else's ideas wrong, and that's not right, right?What a mess we've become. We have become so fearful of offending others, especially as Catholics sometimes, that we have lost the beauty of knowing the fullness of Truth that resides in our midst. How can we begin to ...

Papa BXVI & the Apple TabletNo, no...this isn't some new-fangled diet supplement or euphemism for our fall from grace. This picture has been circulating on the web, showing our very own Pope Benedict XVI with the Apple Tablet. So, you make the call - think PapaB is giving the Tablet two thumbs up, or is this photo as doctored as his endorsemen ...

Gideon said to him, “My Lord, if the LORD is with us,why has all this happened to us?Where are his wondrous deeds of which our fatherstold us when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’For now the LORD has abandoned usand has delivered us into the power of Midian.”The LORD turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have and save Israel from the power of Midian. It is I who send you.” Judges 6:13-14 There is no denying these are tough times. Perhaps some of us carry the tune of Gideon in his despair: "Why have you abandoned us? If you are good, Lord, why are we in this mess?" Sometimes, the dark spiral of wallowing pulls us down into a place of helplessness and feeling powerless ...

A fun exercise by researchers from Kansas State University trying to explore the habits of people around the country has drawn a map of sin across America.A Catholic News Service article breaks down the researchers findings based on patterns of behavior. The researchers collected census information, FBI crime reports and stats from the Dept. of Human Health and Services. How did they break it down? How else but by the ...

14...Everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Ephesians 5:13-14 (NRSV)The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentation 3:22-23 (NRSV)2223Jesus calls us each morning to arise anew in him. Yet, how many of us can say that we wake each morning in the glow of the light of Christ, the shadows and thoughts of the prior day(s) lifted from our minds? The worries of so many years sometimes follow us around, it can become crippling. It is precisely these burdens and ...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction...For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5Contrary to the belief of many in the Catholic Church of yesteryear, ours is not a private faith. As a new generation of Catholics, we are still recovering from that notion that one does not "impose" one's religion or faith onto others. From where it developed I cannot be sure, only to say that perhaps it was a natural reaction to the persecution many Catholics ...

13This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:12-13Friendship is born of love, and love is born of sacrifice. In an era of Facebook and MySpace, friendship has become synonymous with acquaintance. I was taken aback a few years ago when I heard Fr. Larry Richards say that anyone who told you they had more than a handful of friends was lying. Now, perhaps Fr. Larry was exaggerating, perhaps not. The concept however, was not lost on me. Christ tells us that to live in his friendship, we must be willing to lay down our lives. We must be willing to sacrifice our desires, our will, perhaps ...

O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands. Isaiah 64:7This verse from Isaiah always leads me back to the second account of creation in Genesis. God created man out of clay and breathed life into him. We are all constantly being formed and reformed, given new life with every breath God breathes into our souls. What we are not, is always aware of this grace. God's work is not generally instantaneous, which can definitely be a struggle in this fast-food world. Much like the work of a master artist, the work is slow, sometimes painstaking, and sometimes...well, let's face it, sometimes it needs revision and fixing as cracks appear, or as our ...

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. Philippians 3:7-9Let me begin by saying that not all of us are called to a life of voluntary material poverty. I say this first because I believe that the extremity of such a view often keeps us from embracing the kind of poverty ...

When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, the flames shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:2Today marks the feast of St. Lawrence. Though much is not known about his life, it is known that he was set on fire for Christ, most literally. Under persecution, told to produce all the wealth of the Church, Deacon Lawrence brought with him all the poor, diseased and crippled to present as the riches of Christ. In response, Lawrence was grilled...again, literally set over coals to be burned to death.We do not do well with suffering in our age. Suffering is thought a sign of weakness. In the eyes of Christ, however, suffering is solidarity and strength. It is solidarity with not only the weakest ...

So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 5:2The bread that I give is my flesh for the life of the world. John 6:51Live in love... The word "love" has been so abused over the years, this simple instruction becomes more confusing. What is it to live in love? As we continue to meditate on the image of bread, Jesus gives us an even stronger image of what it means to love. His love is to give up his flesh, so that we may live and have hope of reconciliation with God. If we are to imitate God's love, then love is no less than sacrifice. Love is living in the Truth ...

Fr. Mirek Jordanek is one of only few chaplains serving the armed forces stationed in Afghanistan. Together with others in the chaplaincy, Fr. Mirek serves as the spiritual leader of men and women who face challenges unheard of to us.Read more about Fr. Mirek and the chaplains who are serving our young men and women in Afghanistan. Pray that the Lord may give them the strength to bring a message of hope, comfort and ...

Join the young adults of Fusion Young Adult Ministry at Mass. Specially designed by young adults for young adults. Fr. John Martin from St. Benedict's Monastery in Oxford presiding.Fusion is a young adult community ranging from college-age to young professionals in their 30s who live out their Catholic faith throughout their lives. Lively and welcoming, the group hosts a variety of activities open to all young adults:Area Young Adult Mass (2nd Sundays)Coffee and Conversation (2nd & 4th Tuesdays)Two annual retreats (Sept. & Jan.)A weekly Rosary (Mondays)And a variety of social events through the year!To join the Genesis Ministries mailing list for updates on these and other young adult ...

Let this be written for the next generation, for a people not yet born, that they may praise the LORD: "The LORD looked down from the holy heights, viewed the earth from heaven, To attend to the groaning of the prisoners, to release those doomed to die." Psalm 102:19-21 (NAB)What an honor to know the full story of Good News! If you think back to the time when the Psalms were written, people were holding out in hope that the promise of God would soon be fulfilled. We live in a time where we know that fulfillment in Christ Jesus. We know that not only did God "look down" to see our misery, but that he came down in the flesh, took on a human nature, to not only share in our despondency, but to ...

Pope Benedict XVI has declared this the "Year of the Priest." As part of an effort to increase the awareness of all that our priests do for our parishes, families, communities and Church, Genesis Ministries is looking for your stories! Nominate your favorite priest in our "Year of the Priest Contest" by sharing a story of how he has impacted your life - it can be as serious or funny as you choose.To enter the contest, ...

Too often all we hear of Afghanistan, if we hear of it at all amidst the conflict in Iraq, is more violence, more soldiers and civilians losing their lives. There is more to the story there, and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) offers us a glimpse into the many efforts their workers are relentlessly pursuing to improve the lives of those who live amidst the turmoil.In one such project, CRS organizes groups of women to ...

As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the LORD. Exodus 34:29When he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2Today we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. In witnessing this holy event, the disciples Peter, James and John caught a glimpse of the glory that awaits us all in Christ. The radiance of his presence transmits the love of God for each of us. And yet, as Moses, by gazing upon the Lord in the fullness of his glory, the disciples cannot help but be transformed and called into action. Though, like ...

I have strolled past the Catholic Mass at the airport in Orlando. I've even seen the chapels at others. What I've never heard of is the Church at the mall. Now, I personally think it's relatively brilliant! Take the Gospel and proclaim it in places where people are - there is the evangelization of the 21st century! Bravo to the Capuchin Franciscans in Colorado Springs for such a concept, and bravo to those who are financially ...

Reality TV is a continually growing "genre" in today's entertainment lineup. However we may feel about the multitude of shows offered, it doesn't seem as though there is any end to the madness anytime soon. So Catholic TV in the Boston area has decided "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" And I say kudos to them. I've been a long proponent of starting our own reality-tv series focusing on the lives of Catholic young adults in the area. The hurdle? Getting time and talent to move beyond the storyboard given my own real life!Now, I'm not saying that I would imagine a reality series quite like the one they're doing, but I've got some ideas. Here's my question to you: would you want to be on reality ...

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession. Deuteronomy 7:6Deuteronomy goes on to say that it is not for any reason due to us that the Lord has chosen us, but rather, out of his love and fidelity to the promises he has made. God chooses us, even in our imperfect state, he chooses us out of love. Each day, by our words and our actions, we have the chance to make choices, to choose to act in a way that shows our love for God. We can choose to react in anger, or choose to forgive. We can choose to gossip or spread rumors, or we can choose to remain silent or defend someone's honor. ...

Busted Halo has produced a video series entitled "Busted Borders" sharing the stories of undocumented immigrants - how they got here, why they are here, why they are "undocumented," in the hopes of adding the spiritual dimension to the debate, at least among the young adults the site targets.We are called through the Scriptures and through Catholic Social Teaching, to welcome the stranger. Though many of us have different ideas of how the laws should apply to immigration, remaining faithful makes it necessary that those views should be informed by the command and call of God. Whatever our political ideology, our allegiance to Christ should come first and our treatment of those in our midst regardless ...

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (NRSV)God tends to turn the world upside down, topsy turvy. Now, He's God, so He can. We create our own standards, and then God steps in to show us just how wrong we've gotten it. Sound familiar? It is so easy to get caught up in the "rules" of our world and culture that we can forget that God measures on very different standards than most of our neighbors. Especially in our culture, we are surrounded ...

Lord God, you have made heaven and earth by your great might, with your outstretched arm; nothing is impossible to you. Jeremiah 32:17 It is you, O LORD, you are the only one. Nehemiah 9:6 Each Sunday, as we profess our faith in the Mass, we begin by saying, "We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty...We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ..." As we go through life, I think most of us have a inner knowledge of God as the only God, and yet, it is so easy to begin to let other things direct our paths. It is equally easy to think we have things under control, or if you are like me, that we must take care of everything. Yet, it is God for whom all things are possible, not us. It is God who ...

Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." John 6:27 (NRSV)We continue from last week on the central image of food, of bread. Jesus is the Bread of Life. Just as God sent down manna from the heavens for the Israelites to nourish them while they were lost, he sends us Christ for our eternal and spiritual nourishment. More than simply food, the Bread of Life nourishes our souls, transforming them into a new creation in Christ. One cannot authentically encounter Jesus Christ and recognize him as Lord without being somehow changed. Every instance of such encounters ...