Today’s gospel is short, sweet with many good points. Let me muse upon just one: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” One way to consider this admonition is to ponder what are the consequence of withholding mercy.
In the early 19th century, Mary Shelley wrote the novel, Frankenstein. While we associate the name with the creature, the name is the moniker of the novel’s scientist. This character is often thought about as the archetypical product of the Enlightenment and Industrial Age.
1:15 Then they took Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea’s raging abated. 16 Struck with great fear of the LORD, the men offered sacrifice and made vows to him. 2:1 But the LORD sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and he remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Interestingly, many modern translations position Jonah 2:1 as Jonah 1:17, including it with the previous chapter where it makes more sense from a literary point of view. It is good to be reminded that chapters/verses were assigned by Robert Estienne in 1551 for the New Testament and 1571 for the Hebrew Scriptures for his print editions and so chapter/verse is not sacrosanct. But if you read other Bibles and commentaries and are wondering why the verses are “off” by a single digit…now you know.
Did you know that our Christian brothers and sisters proclaim the gospel of the Transfiguration on the Sunday before Lent while we hear it this 2nd Sunday of Lent? For them it is the end of the liturgical season of Epiphany that starts with the first revelation of the Christ child to the world and end with the account of the divine glory of God being revealed in the person of Jesus. There is a lovely symmetry to that. On the first Sunday in Lent, both traditions proclaim Jesus’ temptation in the desert – and with the exception of this Sunday, both traditions proclaim the same Gospels for the remainder of Lent.
The Traditional Stations of the Cross have long been celebrated in many forms with the 14 Stations familiar to us a relatively recent form. Several of the stations arise from long-held traditions among the Christians of the Holy Land, but they are not necessarily Scriptural. In 1991, Pope John Paul II instituted a form of the Stations that are based solely on Scripture. This too forms a wonderful means of reflecting upon the events of the Holy Week which put the love of Christ in the forefront of our hearts and minds. Continue reading
Tomorrow is the 2nd Sunday of Lent in Year B. It is an account of the Transfiguration as told by St. Mark. You can read a full commentary on the Gospel here.
2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. 4 Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. 5 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.” 6 He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. 7 Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” 8 Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. 9 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. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.
It is later in the autumn of 1206 that with his decision to “leave the world” Francis began to be aware of the powerful Divine Presence in his life through, his work among the lepers near Assisi, and his habit of taking refuge in churches for prayer and rebuilding the structures. At San Damiano he encountered the consoling presence of the Savior who had suffered and died for him. It was a presence he soon came to recognize in other churches: “And the Lord granted me such faith in churches that I would pray simply and say: We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, in all your churches throughout the world, and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.” (Testament 4-7). Francis was at the beginnings of an inner peace. Continue reading
Today’s thoughts were occasioned by a Mass for the school children of St. Francis of Assisi School in Triangle, VA
“Forgive us our sins as we forgive others” – that’s what it says in the Gospel. Those are the words of the Lord’s prayer, also called the “Our Father.” In the first reading St. Paul says, “Forgive anyone who does you wrong just as Christ has forgiven you.” Let’s review… Christ has forgiven us and so we forgive others… pretty straight forward … this should be easy!
So… if someone asks you to forgive them, how do you forgive them?
Perhaps you have come across this cartoon show from the early 1960 on the Cartoon Network or If you are old enough perhaps you saw it in the original broadcast – Magilla Gorilla.
The star of the show, Magilla Gorilla, spends most of each show in and around Mr. Peebles pet shop adsorbing a lot of Mr. Peeble’s attention and a great deal of food. Many people purchase Magilla Gorilla, but he is always returned for a refund because of some hi-jinx or another. A little girl, Ogee, love Magilla Gorilla but is unable to persuade her parents to acquire the love of her life.
11 “What shall we do with you,” they asked, “that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more turbulent.” 12 Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea, that it may quiet down for you; since I know it is because of me that this violent storm has come upon you.”
These were the ending verses in the previous post. But there was also a question to ponder: What is the motivation for Jonah to suggest being thrown into the sea? To be fair, the narrative is silent on the matter, we only know of the suggestion. It seems there are at least two plausible motivations:
For those of you who think we have it so easy in Florida, I want to tell you something: It was only 62 degrees the other morning. And drizzling. I had to get a jacket. I had to decide between my Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup champions jacket, my Tampa Bay Rays American League champions jacket or my Tampa Bay Bucs Super Bowl champions jacket. By the time I made my decision, it had warmed up to 74 degrees, and I didn’t need the jacket anymore. Stressful morning! Now it’s 87 degrees, and I’m headed to the beach.
