February 28, 2021: Second Sunday of Lent

Jesus granted a glimpse of the glory that is to come after Jesus's Passion when He was transfigured.

We see that Jesus is truly Man and truly God.

We know that He has great power, and He offers Himself in obedience to fulfill God's plan for our salvation.

As we come down from the mountaintop, we are called to truly live in obedience to Him, in obedience that comes by faith.

When we demonstrate obedient faith, God blesses us with the opportunity to participate in His work in the world, as He did with Abraham.

Despite his flaws, Abraham demonstrated the faith that pleases God, and so God granted that he would have many descendants who would be a blessing to the world.

We go forth confidently in faith to take up our part in His plan, confident in His love, and the reality that St. Paul writes about, that nothing can separate us from God's love.  And He intercedes for us in Heaven, fully in His glory.

So let us follow the voice and listen to God's Son Who is so great a savior for us, opening up ourselves to the many ways His glorious Presence is known to us, and how we can be transformed by it.

February 21, 2021: First Sunday of Lent

After His baptism, Jesus went into the desert for 40 days, for, as the reading in the Gospel of St. Mark describes it, the Spirit "drove Jesus" there.

Even in a barren place, evocative of lifelessness and vulnerability, God was at work.  Jesus strengthened His identity as God's beloved Son in the midst of facing temptations, and in His victory.

So we enter into the desert of the 40 days of Lent once more, which serves as a reflection of this pandemic and how the limitations have made life seem barren at times to varying degrees.  Yet we know God is at work.  In a barren place, we strive for a more authentic existence, seeking to know our God more deeply and to know who we are in God's sight.

We know that God has been at work to save us, going all the way back to the flood in the days of Noah.  Once the flood waters receded, God established a covenant with Noah and all the living creatures, a new order in creation.  As St. Peter writes, the flood prefigured baptism, which saves us now, because it cleanses us on the inside so we are made right in God's sight, and are elevated to right relationship with Him, setting our sights on Heaven.

So truly, knowing our God works to make us right, we turn away from sin and toward Him, because this is the time of fulfillment, and the Kingdom of God is at hand, because Jesus accompanies us, and, even in barren circumstances, is at work.

February 17, 2021: Ash Wednesday

On a day like this, we are awakened to our frailty, and how affected we are in a world broken by sin and evil.

We realize the urgency of turning to God, pleading us for His mercy.

And we do so because we know He is the God Who loves us, and has saved us.

Indeed, as St. Paul writes, "now is a very acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation."

And so we turn to Him anew with steadfast devotion, not trying to elevate ourselves, but honor Him Who has offered Himself for us and the opportunity to be in relationship with Him, expressed in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, so the blessing may even extend to others.

February 14, 2021: 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our world is broken by sin, illness, and death, as starkly demonstrated in the first reading.

Those who have some kind of blemish on the skin, a sign of leprosy or other infectious skin diseases, were declared unclean and had to live away from everyone else, something that speaks to the nature of this current pandemic.

And so that's why the Good News of Jesus Christ is so great:  He brings the healing touch of God to a leprous person who was cast out of society, and immediately restored him to wholeness, which God intends for all His beloved Whom He creates.

On a day when we celebrate love, we see God demonstrating His love so powerfully in healing.

Jesus is able to overcome barriers that exist because of sin and illness to bring that healing touch.

It's so powerful that people continue to flock to Him, even when He goes to isolated places.

And the power of His healing touch continues as we bear this Good News to others, reaching out past barriers to help restore people to Who God created them to be.

Indeed, that is how we do as St. Paul directs the Corinthians in the 2nd reading, to imitate Christ.  We can bring a healing touch, to restore others to a sense of belonging in the face of whatever might cause them to be isolated.  We can truly bond together as we pour out the love God had shown as, that God be glorified.

February 7, 2021: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Because of the downfall that came into the world with sin, including sickness, Job's description of life pretty well fits our lives at times.

So it is such Good News that God has entered our world in Jesus, bringing healing when it was not even thought possible.  No wonder after healing Simon's mother-in-law, people flock to Jesus for healing.

These healings are a sign of a greater work Jesus does by healing our souls so we can be brought back into right relationship with God.

We are furthermore called to preach the Gospel, and share the power of the healing God brings to our world.  St. Paul wrote about being compelled to give of himself in service to others by preaching the Gospel.  We do it not for gain, but because we are compelled by the power of God Who has worked in us so amazingly, so that others can know the hope in which we have been saved.

February 2, 2021: Candlemas/Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

This Feast is about an important Kairos moment in the life of the Baby Jesus.

His parents bring Him to the Temple to follow the dictates of the Law of the Lord.

And they are in for something amazing when they intersect with two godly "senior citizens", long awaiting the Messiah, by word of the God who they wait upon so earnestly.

Simeon and Anna both praise God for keeping His promise not just for them, but for the people of Israel awaiting salvation.

What a great gift our Savior is to us, the Light for us the Chosen People and extending to all the world.

This Light beckons to us, so that we may constantly enter into God's presence, and be filled with His Light.  Then we carry it forth to all the world, so that our Savior may be known.