August 26,2018 - Decisions!!!

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Reading I:  Joshua 24: 1-2a, 15-17, 18b

Psalm:  34

Reading II:  Ephesians 5:21-32

Gospel:   John 6:60-69


In last week’s Gospel, we
heard Jesus saying: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.  For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”  In today’s Gospel, we hear some of the disciples saying, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”

As human beings, it is sometimes difficult for us to understand and accept aspects of our faith and some of the tragedies we or others face during life. The followers of Jesus had no problem accepting the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish when the Lord supplied their physical needs.  However, when He attempted to care for their spiritual needs, some chose not to believe and left Him.

Yes, it would have been difficult for them to understand the Holy Eucharist. However,  Jesus had been showing them frequently his miraculous powers and His compassion. They just needed to apply what they had learned of Him to His claim that if they ate His flesh and drank His blood, He would give them eternal life. However, since we were given free will, love and faith have to be our choices.

Jesus allows those who do not want to make the leap of faith to go their way. It probably saddened Him greatly because He wanted so much to give them the wonderful gift of union with Him for eternity.  However, we note that Jesus did not call them back and explain away what He had said.  Instead, He turned to the twelve apostles and asked them if they, too, wanted to leave. Peter responded, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” 
That profession of faith must have been such a comfort to Jesus.

There are also tragedies and sufferings in life that sometimes cause us to question: Why???  Some of these are the result of humans using their free will for selfish or evil reasons. However, some just do not make sense to us. Nevertheless, we know that our God is good and a loving God, so we have to make a leap of faith and trust that the Lord knows what is best. 

During my years in the Navajo Nation, I was blessed to be able to observe Navajo women weaving on looms. This brought to life the poem “The Weaver” which reminds me that that Lord knows what He is doing.

 The Weaver

My life is but a weaving

Between my Lord and me.

I cannot choose the colors

He worketh steadily.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow.

And I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper

and I the underside.

Not till the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why.

 The dark threads are as needful

 in the Weaver's skillful hand

  As the thread of gold and silver 

   In the pattern He has planned.

 Reflection Question:   What question/s do you want to ask the Lord when you are on the other side?

Spanish Translation of Reflection Above...
Decisiones!!!

En el Evangelio de la semana pasada, escuchamos a Jesús decir: “El que come mi carne y bebe mi sangre tiene vida eterna, y yo lo resucitaré en el último día". Porque mi carne es verdadera comida y mi sangre es verdadera bebida”. En el Evangelio de hoy, escuchamos a algunos de los discípulos diciendo: “Este dicho es difícil; ¿Quién
puede aceptarlo”?

Como seres humanos, a veces es difícil para nosotros comprender y aceptar aspectos de nuestra fe y algunas de las tragedias que nosotros u otros enfrentamos durante la vida. Los seguidores de Jesús no tuvieron problemas para aceptar el milagro de la multiplicación de los panes y los peces cuando el Señor les suplió sus necesidades físicas. Sin embargo, cuando intentó cuidar de sus necesidades espirituales, algunos eligieron no creer y lo abandonaron.

Sí, les hubiera sido difícil entender la Sagrada Eucaristía. Sin embargo, Jesús les había estado mostrando con frecuencia sus poderes milagrosos y su compasión. Solo necesitaban aplicar lo que habían aprendido de Él a Su afirmación de que si comían Su carne y bebían Su sangre, Él les daría la vida eterna. Sin embargo, dado que nos dieron libre albedrío, el amor y la fe deben ser nuestras elecciones.

Jesús permite que aquellos que no quieren dar el salto de la fe sigan su camino. Probablemente lo entristeció mucho porque quería tanto darles el maravilloso regalo de la unión con Él por la eternidad. Sin embargo, notamos que Jesús no los devolvió y explicó lo que Él había dicho. En lugar de eso, se volvió hacia los doce apóstoles y les preguntó si ellos también querían irse. Pedro respondió:  “Maestro, ¿a quién iremos? Tu tienes las palabras de la vida eterna. Hemos llegado a creer y estamos convencidos de que usted es el Santo de Dios”.  Esa profesión de fe debe haber sido una gran consolación para Jesús.

También hay tragedias y sufrimientos en la vida que a veces nos hacen cuestionarnos: ¿Por qué? Algunos de estos son el resultado de que los humanos usen su libre albedrío por razones egoístas o malvadas. Sin embargo, algunos simplemente no tienen sentido para nosotros. Sin embargo, sabemos que nuestro Dios es bueno y un Dios amoroso, por lo que tenemos que dar un salto de fe y confiar en que el Señor sabe lo que es mejor.

Durante mis años en la Nación Navajo, tuve la bendición de poder observar a las mujeres Navajo tejiendo telares. Esto dio vida al poema "The Weaver" que me recuerda que el Señor sabe lo que está haciendo.

 El Tejedor

Mi vida no es más que un tejido
Entre mi Señor y yo
No puedo elegir los colores
Él trabaja constantemente.
A veces Él teje tristeza.
Y yo en el orgullo tonto
Olvida Él ve la parte superior
y yo la parte inferior.
No hasta que el telar esté en silencio
Y los transbordadores dejan de volar
¿Desenrollará Dios el lienzo?
Y explica la razón por qué.
Los hilos oscuros son tan necesarios
en la hábil mano del Tejedor
Como el hilo de oro y plata
En el patrón que Él ha planeado.

  Pregunta de reflexión:    ¿Qué preguntas quiere hacerle al Señor cuando está del otro lado?

August 7, 2016 - Trust in the Lord

The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading I: Wisdom 18:6-9

Responsorial Psalm: 33:1.12.18-19, 20-22

Reading II: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19

or 11:1-2, 8-12

Gospel: Luke 12:32-48 or 12:35-40

Fr. John Foley, S.J. provides a beautiful reflection on trust in a relationship, whether with other humans or with God.  He acknowledges that it can be difficult to trust in these days of fragile human relationships and the threats of terrorist attacks.  However, he notes that “human bonding is entirely dependent on trust.”

It is also trust that the Lord asks of us. Abraham, our father in the faith, was asked to have total trust when God required him to travel with his family through the wilderness to a land he did not know. He was asked to believe that he and his wife Sarah, who was beyond the childbearing age, would have “descendants as numerous as the sands on the seashore.” Finally, a heartbreaking challenge was presented to him when the Lord told him to make a bloody sacrifice of his son. How could he continue to trust when the Lord asked him to kill his only son from whom all the descendants would issue?  

In the Epistle to the Hebrews, we hear the words: “...He [Abraham] thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.” Although he did not understand, he continued to trust in God remembering his love, promises, and fidelity of the past.

In His human nature, Jesus was also put to the test. Fr. Foley describes that situation the following way: “Jesus worried about God's abandoning him as he was being crucified. Yes, he trusted, even though he was filled with the raw human fear that God might have rejected him (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [Mt 27:46]). Even Jesus had to make a leap of faith in his Father. He knew the Father had been with him during all the challenges of his life. Therefore, in spite of his anxiety and questions, he took the risk to trust again. Thus, he was able to surrender to the Passion in all its horror. 

We thank you Jesus for your courage and sacrifice born of unconditional love. You ask us to trust as you did in the midst of our journeys through life. One of the blessings of my youth was when I met with my mentor, Sr. Aquin, who was preparing me to enter the convent. She told me an allegory, which is simply an imaginary story which stands for a meaningful truth. 

It went this way: Once upon a time there was a princess who had been promised in marriage to a prince who lived in a faraway land. She had to travel by herself through the wilderness until she would reach the land where her groom would meet her. Although frightened, she set off on her journey. After a short distance, she met a young man with a fiddle.  He offered to accompany her on her journey. When she was tired or scared by wild animals, he was at her side.  Sometimes, he would even play the fiddle to cheer her up.  After a long journey, they finally reached the land where she would meet the prince.  All of a sudden, the fiddler was transformed into a handsome young prince. Realizing how difficult it would be for her to travel through the wilderness by herself, he had disguised himself to accompany her on the journey. What a joyful wedding took place that very day! 

In this allegory,  the princess represents the soul journeying toward the Lord.  The fiddler (the prince in disguise) is Jesus in the Eucharist. He journeys with us through life giving us strength and consolation. At the end of  life’s journey, we will see Him as He truly is and be united with Him for eternity.   

Yes, we do need to trust our God’s merciful, faithful love. Recently, Jesus appeared to St. Faustina and asked her to spread the devotion to him as a merciful Savior. He wants us to trust that He will greet us with open arms when our life here is complete. On the image, which Jesus gave to the saint, we find the following words:

                                                        “Jesus, I trust in you.”

           Today, let us open our hearts wide and ask the Lord to fill them with trust like His.