The Map of God's Love

 Maps help us to know how to get to where we are going

Whenever I go somewhere new the first thing that I like to do is to have a map - so I know where I am going and how I am going to get there.  I am at peace when I know where I am going and how to get there - I think that is part of my nature, and likely a side-effect from traveling around the world as a kid.  The Gospels today make a map for us of Holy Week.  They map out the mystery of Holy week in a beautiful way and prepare us for next week - in which we celebrate the heart of the Christian faith.

The Gospel - A map of Holy Week, the life of the Church and My Life.

If we were to map out the readings today we would discover that they form a whirlpool, with each ring of the whirlpool pulling in the next ring out.  Imagine a clock - there are 3 stops in each ring of the whirlpool, one at 12 O'clock, one at 4 O'clock and one at 8 O’clock.  Each ring connects to the next ring when you transition from the 8 O'clock position to the next 12 O'clock position.  

This whirlpool has 3 rings in it.  

• At the heart of the whirlpool is Christ, 

• then Philip and Andrew in the middle ring and 

• the Greeks - who represent you and I in the outer ring.

Each ring is formed by the parable from the Gospel

• At 12 O'clock - The idea is “A grain of wheat”

• At 4 O'clock - “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat;”

• At 8 O'clock - “but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”

The inner ring, 12 O'clock - Christ is the Grain of Wheat

We start with Christ at the 12 O’clock position - Christ is the Grain of Wheat What is it that the grain of wheat does? (from Hebrews) -

“In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.”

Christ makes his love for the Father and his relationship with the Father the foremost event of His life.  It is because of that relationship with the Father that he goes on mission to his neighbors and friends - but relationship with the Father is foremost.

Inner Ring, 4 O'clock - “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat;”

As a result of Christ’s relationship with the Father he accepts the passion and the cross - This is the movement from the acceptance of who we are to what we will do.  

In the gospel Christ speaks of his passion when he says

“I am troubled now.  Yet what should I say?  ‘Father, save me from this hour’?  But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.  Father, glorify your name.”

The glorification of the Father occurs when Christ acts on the Father’s will and takes up his Cross.

What keeps us from embracing the Christ - It is that we love ourselves more than the Father

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. 

How do I change (repent) my view of my life?

In Hebrews Jesus teaches us to enter into this mystery we need to approach our relationship with God in a different way.

“Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;”

2 Problems - Obedience and Suffering

For modern westerners there are two problems with this witness - that Christ learned obedience AND that obedience was learned through suffering.

We think that Obedience leads to imprisonment - but Obedience is the key to freedom. The word obedience has some negative connotations - we want a radical independence and liberty from everyone - which means we want to obey no one - I am free therefore I get to do my own thing…  This is not the kind of freedom that Christ teaches.  Christ teaches freedom from oppression through experiencing the love of God.  Christ teaches freedom from sin by listening to the will of the Father.  The Father has a mission for each one of us and it is found within this parable.  

The problem of embracing Suffering - what it means to die

To be obedient means to listen with your heart - that is what Christ does, and he is compelled by the love of the father - even though in his humanity he is not comfortable with the idea to listen to the Father and to embrace suffering because it brings us to holiness.

Suffering is nothing that we would ever want to embrace, however it is in suffering that we learn to depend on God and to rely on His grace.  It is in suffering that we see God’s love being perfected in us and through us.

Inner Ring - 8 O'clock - “but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”

For our culture - suffering is useless - after all you can’t work when you are dead.  For Christ - death is an integral part of His mission because by his obedient embracing of the suffering of death that he opens the gateway to eternal life.  

Jesus makes this clear when He says:

And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

Again, from Hebrews, 

Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

St. Ambrose - Death shows our true nature

About this parable St. Ambrose pointed out that the nature of the grain of wheat is hidden until it dies and rots - then it brings forth abundant life - new life that shows its inner reality.  This is a great way of seeing the Love of Christ - it is because of Christ’s death on the cross that we have abundant life with God.  

It is through Christ’s death that eternal life is possible

Christ’s death was not empty, devoid of meaning - but it is at the heart of everything that we do as Christians - it is in His death that everything in life has meaning.

The Middle Ring - 12 O'clock - Christ’s abundant fruit through the Apostles. - The Apostles are grains of wheat.

Andrew and Philip are called to also be grains of wheat - and it is in being wheat along with Christ they learn to listen to God and to follow God with their hearts.

Andrew and Philip had a radical experience of Christ.  They spent 3 years with Him during His public ministry and then witnessed his passion, death, and amazingly the resurrection.  In John’s Gospel Christ goes on to say 

Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.  

The Middle Ring - 4 O'clock - Martyrdom of Philip and Andrew - Unless a grain of wheat dies…

As servants we are called to become conduits for others to encounter God’s love - but in order to do that we need to first follow Christ.  After the Resurrection both Andrew and Philip lived their lives sharing the reality of Christ with those around them and they did not flinch from their mission - to the point that like Christ they were both crucified.  Andrew was crucified in Patras, Greece and Philip in Hierapolis (in South west Turkey) which was at that time also Greek territory.  Philip and Andrew were willing to set aside their lives to show the Gentiles the love of God.

The Middle Ring - 8 O'clock - The witness of the Apostles is the path through which we come to know God - And when it dies it produces much fruit…

Christ’s love is written on our hearts through our Apostolic Faith…

Each Sunday in the mass we recite the creed which connects us to the fruits of the martyrdoms of Andrew and Philip when we say “I believe in One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church…”  The faith that we have comes to us from the witness of the love of God given to us through the Apostles.  Andrew and James were linchpins through which this grace has flowed to us.  They are the servants of Christ who bring us the new covenant that the prophet Jeremiah speaks of - 

This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD.  I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  

The Eucharist is how we receive God’s Law in our hearts

Since the start of the Church the Apostles have celebrated the Eucharist.  It is here that we hear about the actions of God, and receive the Eucharist - That “Grain of Wheat” which is Christ who has died that we might receive God himself, the gift of Love in our hearts.

The Outer Ring - 12 O'clock - You and I are the Greeks who approach Christ through the Apostles.  We too are “grains of wheat”

Philip and Andrew you and I, brothers and sisters are Grains of Wheat.  We are the ones who need to take this Gospel to heart this week and to live it out so that God’s will can be done in our lives.  Jeremiah goes on to say “All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.”

Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving help us to know God

The goal of our fasting, almsgiving and prayer this Lent has been to help us to get to know God more clearly, more completely.  When we welcome Christ into our hearts, by our prayers, words and actions we form our conscience. 

Jeremiah says “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives how to know the LORD.”

When our conscience is properly formed - by an encounter with the true and living God we no longer need others to teach us write from wrong - for we know right (Christ) and out of our love for Him we avoid the wrong - This leads us to 

4 O'clock position of the outer ring - Unless a Grain of Wheat dies…

Our conscience makes it clear to us when we have strayed from the truth and from our relationship with God - it leads us to conversion - to a death to sin.  The psalmist today prays the prayer of a Christian who desire forgiveness from God. 

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.

Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.

A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.  Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving show us that we too are grains of wheat…

Another purpose of our prayer, fasting and almsgiving this Lent is to help us to be a grain of wheat - to imitate Andrew and Philip, who imitate Christ and to confront Sin in our own lives.  

• Prayer is to ask for the strength to follow Christ, 

• Fasting is to prepare us for death - to teach the body that the soul is greater and 

• Almsgiving is to give thanks to God for the grace to be converted to serving him.  

We are called to be wheat - to enter into death through obedience and suffering so that we make space in our lives for the love of Christ to dwell.

8 O'clock, Outer Ring - “But if it dies it produces much fruit…”

The beauty of embracing the Christian life is that it is the way that you and I are called to participate in the life of God - to cooperate with Him to bring about His will.  As the Psalmist says  Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall return to you.   

Our mission as Catholic Christians is to be the servants of the New Covenant - to form our consciences according to dwell and to nourish the gift of the Holy Spirit that dwells in our hearts.  To accomplish this we too need to become a grain of wheat - to die to sin so that they might have life.

Do we have the courage to embrace the cross in our lives?

Time to grow in Holiness

 

Ash Wednesday

1 Joel 2:12-18, Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17, 2 Cor 5:20—6:2, Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

Lent is a time of Preparation for Easter

Lent is for the Church a time of retreat - a time where we make a focused effort to grow closer to God, a time where we set aside the things of the world and turn our hearts to the things of God.  The reason why we do this is so that we are better able to understand, better able to comprehend God’s love for us when we celebrate His victory over sin and death this coming Easter.

La Cuaresma es para la Iglesia un tiempo de retiro: un tiempo en el que hacemos un esfuerzo concentrado para acercarnos a Dios, un tiempo en el que dejamos de lado las cosas del mundo y volvemos nuestro corazón a las cosas de Dios. La razón por la que hacemos esto es para que podamos comprender mejor el amor de Dios por nosotros cuando celebremos Su victoria sobre el pecado y la muerte en la próxima Pascua.

We begin by being attentive to the barriers to Christ

How do we prepare our hearts for this celebration?  We begin by recognizing all of the ways that we fall short of the mission that God created us for.  We begin by confronting our own failings, weaknesses and difficulties.  We begin by paying attention to where Christ has put the cross in our lives and then seeking to embrace that cross.

¿Cómo preparamos nuestro corazón para esta celebración? Comenzamos reconociendo todas las formas en que no cumplimos con la misión para la que Dios nos creó. Comenzamos confrontando nuestros propios fracasos, debilidades y dificultades. Comenzamos prestando atención a dónde Cristo puso la cruz en nuestras vidas y luego buscamos abrazar esa cruz.

Enter into the Desert to find the Cross

When he went into the Desert for 40 days to fast it was because he had set his eyes on Jerusalem, and the mission that the Father had for him there.  How do we identify the cross that Christ calls us to embrace as His disciples?

Cuando fue al Desierto por cuarenta días para ayunar fue porque había puesto sus ojos en Jerusalén, y en la misión que el Padre tenía para él allí. ¿Cómo identificamos la cruz que Cristo nos llama a abrazar como sus discípulos?

What is your Cross?

We begin by reflecting on the nature of the cross - it is the thing you would not wish on your worst enemy, and yet it is the thing that God places in your life to help you to grow in Holiness, to surrender to God and in embracing your cross to become more like Christ - to love without counting the cost, and to forgive without flinching at the hurt.

For some, our cross is the relationship with your children, our spouse, or our parents.  For others with a Sibling.  For some it is an illness, and for others a loneliness.  In all these cases the cross is something we are called to embrace this Lent with Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.

Comenzamos reflexionando sobre la naturaleza de la cruz: es lo que no le desearías a tu peor enemigo y, sin embargo, es lo que Dios coloca en tu vida para ayudarte a crecer en santidad, a rendirte a Dios y en abrazar tu cruz para parecerte más a Cristo: amar sin contar el costo y perdonar sin retroceder ante el dolor.

Para algunos, nuestra cruz es la relación con sus hijos, nuestro cónyuge o nuestros padres. Para otros con un hermano. Para algunos es una enfermedad y para otros una soledad. En todos estos casos la cruz es algo que estamos llamados a abrazar esta Cuaresma con oración, ayuno y limosna.

What are the barriers to taking up the Cross?

What prevents me from embracing my Cross?  Sin, Selfishness, Distraction.  That is why this Lent begins with the appeal from Joel - “Return to me with your WHOLE heart.  Rend your hearts not your garments”  

How do we return back to God?  It is not through the surrender of chocolate - but to the surrender of Sin.  The Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving are meant to turn our hearts back to God, so that we can listen to His voice and become more Christ-like in our souls.

¿Qué me impide abrazar mi Cruz? Pecado, Egoísmo, Distracción. Por eso esta Cuaresma comienza con el llamado de Joel: “Vuelve a mí con TODO tu corazón. Rasgan vuestros corazones, no vuestras vestiduras”

¿Cómo volvemos a Dios? No es a través de la entrega del chocolate, sino de la entrega del pecado. Las disciplinas cuaresmales de oración, ayuno y limosna tienen como objetivo hacer que nuestros corazones vuelvan a Dios, para que podamos escuchar Su voz y llegar a ser más semejantes a Cristo en nuestras almas.

Lent is a time to do battle with sin

In Lent we journey into the desert, to be stripped down to the essentials of who we are so that we are able to recognize our weakness in Sin and selfishness.  That we can be converted into disciples of Christ.  That is why in the Gospel today Christ invites us to make our Prayer, our Fasting and our Almsgiving in secret - so we can be honest about where we need to grow with Christ.

En Cuaresma viajamos al desierto, para ser despojados de lo esencial de quiénes somos, para que seamos capaces de reconocer nuestra debilidad en el pecado y el egoísmo. Que podamos convertirnos en discípulos de Cristo. Es por eso que en el Evangelio de hoy Cristo nos invita a hacer nuestra oración, nuestro ayuno y nuestra limosna en secreto, para que podamos ser honestos acerca de dónde necesitamos crecer con Cristo.

2 ways to identify sin in your life

For this Lent I invite you to reflect on what distracts you the most from God.  There are two ways to reflect on this question.  The first way to think about it is what am I thinking about while I am in Mass?  Am I thinking about work - what I need to do next?  Am I thinking about my favorite Sports team who will play next?  Am I thinking about a movie or show that I am going to watch, or what is going on with my social media feed.  Why is that more attractive to you than the one who created you for love?

The second way is to think about the sin you confess the most in confession.  I want to invite you to adopt a special prayer for the grace to recognize the temptation that leads you to commit that sin this Lent.  Ask for the Holy Spirit to point out to you the ways that you are weak towards that sin and then ask God for the grace to resist that temptation.

Para esta Cuaresma te invito a reflexionar sobre lo que más te distrae de Dios. Hay dos maneras de reflexionar sobre esta cuestión. La primera manera de pensarlo es ¿en qué estoy pensando mientras estoy en Misa? ¿Estoy pensando en el trabajo? ¿Qué debo hacer a continuación? ¿Estoy pensando en mi equipo deportivo favorito que jugará a continuación? ¿Estoy pensando en una película o programa que voy a ver, o en lo que está pasando en mis redes sociales? ¿Por qué te resulta más atractivo que aquel que te creó por amor?

La segunda forma es pensar en el pecado que más confiesas en la confesión. Quiero invitarte a adoptar una oración especial pidiendo la gracia de reconocer la tentación que te lleva a cometer ese pecado en esta Cuaresma. Pídele al Espíritu Santo que te indique las formas en que eres débil ante ese pecado y luego pídele a Dios la gracia para resistir esa tentación.

Do you need to go to Confession?

For some of us it has been many years since we have been to confession - if that is you - then I want you to hear St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians - “Now is an acceptable time!”  Take a moment this week and make a good confession.  We have confession here at the parish every Saturday from 10 to 11:30 in the morning.  

Para algunos de nosotros han pasado muchos años desde que nos confesamos; si ese es usted, entonces quiero que escuche la carta de San Pablo a los Corintios: “¡Ahora es un tiempo aceptable!” Tómate un momento esta semana y haz una buena confesión. Nos confesamos aquí en la parroquia todos los sábados de 10 a 11:30 de la mañana.

Grow in your ability to accept God’s Love

The goal of Lent is for us to grow in our ability to be filled with God’s love - that means we need to acknowledge the thing that we do that our barriers to receiving His love and take some positive steps towards them. 

El objetivo de la Cuaresma es que crezcamos en nuestra capacidad de estar llenos del amor de Dios; eso significa que debemos reconocer lo que hacemos que son nuestras barreras para recibir Su amor y dar algunos pasos positivos hacia ellas.

Prayer / Oración

For Prayer - Take some time in the morning or in the evening to begin the day with prayer from the Scriptures.  I recommend Psalm 51, which we prayed today as a psalm to pray as you pray for conversion away from sin.  Also consider coming to the Stations of the Cross here on Fridays at 7 PM.  

Para la oración: tómate un tiempo en la mañana o en la tarde para comenzar el día con oración de las Escrituras. Recomiendo el Salmo cincuenta y una, que oramos hoy como un salmo para orar mientras oras por la conversión lejos del pecado. También considere venir al Vía Crucis aquí los viernes a las 7 p.m.

Fasting

For Fasting - Today and Good Friday are days of fasting.  Every Friday during lent are days of abstinence from meat.  St. John Chrysostom says “Let the mouth fast from foul words and unjust criticism for what good is it if we abstain from birds and fishes but bite and devour our brothers.”  Fasting teaches us that the needs of the body are temporary while the needs for the soul are greater.  It quiets down our body so that we can pray with a deeper sense of need.

Para el ayuno - Hoy y el Viernes Santo son días de ayuno. Todos los viernes durante la cuaresma son días de abstinencia de carne. San Juan Crisóstomo dice: “Dejad que la boca ayune de malas palabras y críticas injustas, porque ¿de qué sirve abstenernos de aves y peces, sino morder y devorar a nuestros hermanos?” El ayuno nos enseña que las necesidades del cuerpo son temporales mientras que las necesidades del alma son mayores. Calma nuestro cuerpo para que podamos orar con un sentimiento de necesidad más profundo.

Almsgiving

Finally, almsgiving.  Christ teaches us that we have a need to give to others - because Christ is both fully God and fully man.  He gives himself to us fully, so we too have a need to give of ourselves to others.

Share the gifts that God has entrusted to you with those in need.  Take a moment and think about the times and places that you give alms.  For the next 6 weeks seek to double the alms that you give - with a generous heart.  

Finalmente, limosna. Cristo nos enseña que tenemos la necesidad de dar a los demás, porque Cristo es plenamente Dios y plenamente hombre. Él se entrega plenamente a nosotros, por lo que también nosotros tenemos la necesidad de darnos a los demás.

Comparte los dones que Dios te ha confiado con los necesitados. Tómate un momento y piensa en los momentos y lugares en los que das limosna. Durante las próximas 6 semanas, busca duplicar las limosnas que das, con un corazón generoso.

San Pablo nos recuerda nuestra misión en esta cuaresma: convertirnos en Embajadores de Cristo. Convertirnos en Hombres y Mujeres que reflejen el amor de Dios en el mundo. No sólo aquí en la Iglesia, sino también en nuestros hogares, nuestros trabajos, nuestras escuelas y nuestra comunidad. No dejéis que se desperdicie esta temporada de gracia. ¡Ahora es el momento aceptable!

The mission of Lent - to become an Ambassador for Christ

St. Paul reminds us of our mission this lent - to become Ambassadors for Christ.  To become Men and Women who reflect the love of God into the world.  Not just here in the Church - but in our homes, our jobs, our schools and our community.  Do not let this season of grace go to waste.  Now is the acceptable time!