Category Archives: Musings

Wisdom and Knowing When

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We continue to draw our gospels from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Today the Gospel is taken from Matthew 7 which is the concluding part of the Sermon. The opening verse is not the most attractive saying: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (v.6). It might be surprising to hear such harshness as the verse comes immediately after Jesus has taught “Stop judging…” (v.1) and right before the “golden rule”: “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.” (v.12)

Dogs in the ancient Near East were generally not household pets. They were scavengers, roaming in packs around villages. They symbolized what was unclean or outside the covenant community. Swine were ceremonially unclean animals according to the Mosaic Law. Jesus is not making a comparison with these two unclean animals and people, rather he is vividly reminding people about holiness. “Do not give what is holy…” refers to things consecrated to God. Under the Law, meat from certain sacrifices belonged to God and was never to be treated casually or thrown to animals. The dog will have no concern about the meat having been an offering to God. Pearls, meanwhile, were among the most valuable possessions a person could own. Pigs cannot recognize their value. To a pig, a pearl is no more useful than a pebble. The says something immensely valuable is being offered to someone incapable of recognizing its value.

Across the ages, the Church’s understanding has been consistent. The most common interpretation is that Jesus is teaching discernment and learning to exercise prudence. The Gospel is offered to everyone, but not every moment is the right moment for every conversation. That is when discernment is needed. Sometimes a person is simply not ready to hear. Jesus himself demonstrates this as He speaks differently to the crowds, the disciples, the Pharisees, Pontius Pilate, and King Herod. Before Herod, Jesus remains silent. It is not because Herod is beyond redemption, but because Herod seeks only entertainment, not truth.

Discernment is not a lack of charity. It is part of wisdom.

Jesus is saying evangelization requires wisdom. He is not saying, “Give up on difficult people” as He send the apostles to everyone – even to the ends of the earth. But he also cautions them to seek discernment: “Whatever town or village you enter… if the house is unworthy… leave.” (Mt 10ff) and “if anyone will not welcome you… shake the dust from your feet.” (Mt 10:14) Sometimes continuing an argument only hardens hearts further. Sometimes silence witnesses more powerfully than debate.

This passage may be more relevant today than ever. We live in a culture of constant argument. Social media encourages endless debate. People often feel obligated to respond to every criticism of the Church, every hostile comment, every provocative post. Jesus reminds us that not every discussion is fruitful. Not every argument deserves our participation. Not every critic is genuinely seeking the truth. There is a difference between someone who asks sincere questions and someone who merely wishes to mock, ridicule, or provoke. Wisdom lies in knowing the difference. As Saint Augustine observed, charity itself sometimes requires us to recognize when further discussion will do more harm than good.

There is also another, gentler way to hear this Gospel. Think about the most precious things in your life:

  • your deepest friendships,
  • your love for your family,
  • your most profound experiences of God,
  • moments of prayer that changed your life.

These are pearls. Do not speak about them carelessly. Share them with people who will receive them reverently. The Gospel is the greatest pearl of all. Share it generously but also wisely. Pray for the grace to recognize when a heart is ready to receive it, and when the more loving response is to step back, continue praying, and wait for the Spirit to prepare the soil.

Ultimately, evangelization is not about winning arguments. It is about helping people discover the incomparable pearl that is life in Christ and in so doing encounter holiness.

Image credit: Sermon on the Mount (1877) by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Public Domain

What Kind of Eyes?

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The gospels from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 and 6) continue and in many ways the underlying question remains for whom and with whom are we choosing to be formed; who and what are we becoming. 

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” (Matthew 6:22-23)

This brief saying of Jesus in Gospel of Matthew 6:22-23 is one of the more intriguing passages in the Sermon on the Mount. At first hearing, it can sound cryptic. Yet in its biblical context, it is the gateway to a profound reflection on discipleship; one that is especially relevant in our visually saturated, media-driven world.

The passage comes immediately after Jesus’ teaching about storing up treasures in heaven (“Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be”) and immediately before his teaching that “You cannot serve God and mammon.” This placement is important. Jesus is not changing the subject. He is speaking about how our desires, values, and choices are shaped.

The New American Bible translates the Greek word haplous as “sound.” The word carries several meanings: healthy, whole, sincere, single-minded, or generous. Many biblical scholars think Jesus is describing an eye that is undivided in its focus on God. The “sound eye” sees reality clearly because it is not distorted by greed, envy, or selfish ambition. In Jewish tradition, the “good eye” was often associated with generosity. A person with a “good eye”  looked upon others with compassion and shared freely. By contrast, a person with an “evil eye” was stingy, jealous, or resentful. For example, in Book of Proverbs 22:9 (NAB), we read: “The generous will be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.” The Hebrew literally speaks of one who has a “good eye.” 

Jesus continues: “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.” We are not talking about diminished eyesight, but to a way of seeing the world that is distorted. An unhealthy eye can be clouded by greed, envy, prejudice, resentment, lust, pride, or materialism. Such a person may physically see clearly but spiritually perceive very little.

Our eyes are not merely windows through which we see the world; they are also windows through which our values enter our lives..

“If the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” Jesus is warning against self-deception. The greatest danger is not knowing that one is in darkness, believing one’s darkness is actually light. We justify selfishness, rationalize dishonesty, or allow resentment to become “common sense.” Spiritual blindness often begins with small compromises.

These days we live in an age in which our eyes are constantly occupied with social media, advertising, movies, videos, streaming services, all with endless scrolling. Jesus invites us to ask not only, “What am I looking at?” but also, “What is shaping the way I see.”  If we constantly consume anger, outrage, envy, fear, or consumerism, those things begin to color our vision of the world. Conversely, if we regularly contemplate Christ in prayer, read Scripture, notice beauty, practice gratitude, and look upon others with compassion, our vision becomes clearer.  The question is not simply what enters our eyes but what kind of eyes we are developing.

Back in the day photographers spoke about “developing” film in a darkroom. What emerged on the photograph depended on what the camera had been focused on. In much the same way, our souls gradually develop according to what we habitually look at and dwell upon.

  • If we spend our lives looking for reasons to criticize, we become critical people.
  • If we look for reasons to be grateful, we become grateful people.
  • If we look for opportunities to serve, we become servants.
  • If we look upon others with the eyes of Christ, our own hearts begin to resemble his.

For ultimately, Christian discipleship is not just about seeing the world differently. It is about learning to see the world and every person in it with the eyes of Christ.

What kind of eyes will you ask God to give you?

Image credit: Sermon on the Mount (1877) by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Public Domain

Love and Hate

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Last week our daily gospels were taken from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). A major theme was a series of three gospels was a description of progression in Christian discipleship in asking three foundational questions. Who is God shaping me to become? What effect is that transformed life meant to have on others? If that is who we are and how we are to be present to others, what is the “end game” of this mission into the world. 

In yesterday’s gospel, we began to encounter passages in which Jesus begins with a familiar teaching and expressions from the Old Testament and then says: “But I say to you…”  We started with the oft heard: “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”  I covered that gospel in detail.  You can read the reflection here.

In today’s gospel, we encounter another familiar verse: “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” The first half comes from Scripture; the second half does not. The command: “You shall love your neighbor” comes directly from Leviticus 19:18. This command was already one of the great ethical teachings of Judaism. In fact, Jesus elsewhere identifies it as one of the two greatest commandments.

But what about “hate your enemy”? This phrase does not appear anywhere in the Old Testament. There is no verse saying: “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”  Rather, this appears to reflect a common inference or attitude that some people adopted. The logic may have been: If I must love my neighbor, then perhaps I do not have to love outsiders, enemies, or oppressors.

Some groups in Second Temple Judaism drew sharp distinctions between insiders and outsiders. This was the period after the exiles returned from Babylon (~540 BC) up into Jesus’ time and slightly beyond to ~70 AD. In that period the command to love one’s neighbor could sometimes be interpreted narrowly. Yet even the Old Testament contains passages that point beyond such a limitation. For example:

  • Exodus 23:4-5 commands helping an enemy’s animal. 
  • Proverbs 25:21 teaches: “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat.”

So the seeds of Jesus’ teaching already exist within the Old Testament. And it makes sense when Jesus says: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” He is correcting a restricted interpretation of the commandment and expanding the meaning of neighbor so that the disciple’s love is no longer limited by family, tribe, nationality, friendship, or reciprocity. Why? Because this is how God acts. This is who we are to become.

Jesus says: “He makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” We are being taught that God’s love extends beyond those who deserve it. And we are called to imitate that divine generosity.

Yesterday’s gospel and today’s form a logical progression. To the question: How should I respond when someone wrongs me? Jesus answers: do not retaliate. To question: How should I regard those who oppose me? Jesus answers: Love them and pray for them.

Yesterday’s gospel moves beyond revenge. Today’s moves beyond mere non-retaliation to active love. Jesus’ “but I say to you” is not rejecting the Old Testament for it already teaches: mercy, forgiveness, care for enemies, and God’s universal compassion.  Jesus came not to reject the teachings of the Old Testament but to fulfill them by bringing the already existing principles to a new and unprecedented fullness by making love of the enemy as a central mark of discipleship. And he does more than teach it. He lives it. The fullest commentary on these passages is not found in a legal text but on the Cross when Jesus prays: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

That is why the early Christians understood these sayings not merely as ethical ideals, but as a description of the life of Christ himself – a life into which disciples are invited to grow.

Image credit: Sermon on the Mount (1877) by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Public Domain

An Eye for an Eye

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Last week our daily gospels were taken from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). A major theme was a series of three gospels was a description of progression in Christian discipleship in asking three foundational questions. Who is God shaping me to become? What effect is that transformed life meant to have on others? If that is who we are and how we are to be present to others, what is the “end game” of this mission into the world. 

In today’s gospel, we begin to encounter passages in which Jesus begins with a familiar teaching and expressions from the Old Testament and then says: “But I say to you…”  Jesus is not rejecting the Old Testament. Rather, he is revealing to an original intent that seems to have been lost or misappropriated, restoring the verse’s deepest intention and calling his disciples to a higher righteousness appropriate to the Kingdom of God. Today we hear the familiar “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” 

This verse appears in several places, including Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21. The verses are expressing the principle known as the lex talionis (“law of retaliation”). Modern readers often assume it was harsh or vindictive, but in its original context it was actually a limitation on vengeance. In the ancient world, retaliation could easily spiral out of control. Someone injures your animal, so you destroy his herd. Someone breaks your tooth, so your family attacks his family. The law sought to establish proportional justice.

The point was to limit revenge, keep violence from escalating, and create a situation where measured justice could be applied. It was fundamentally a legal principle intended for judges and courts saying that the punishment should fit the offense. In its historical context, it was a significant advance toward systems of justice. Most Jews understood it as part of God’s law governing justice within the community, not as a guide for personal vengeance. Nevertheless, by Jesus’ day, some people could interpret it as justifying a spirit of retaliation: “If someone injures me, I am entitled to repay the injury.”

Jesus is not declaring the Old Testament wrong nor is He abolishing civil justice. Instead, He is addressing personal relationships. He tells his disciples: “Offer no resistance to one who is evil.” and “Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles.” Jesus moves beyond the question: “what am I entitled to?” to the question “How does love respond?” The law had restrained vengeance, but Jesus called disciples beyond vengeance altogether as part of a movement from revenge, to proportional justice, towards generous mercy. This is not a correction of the Old Testament but a radical deepening of its ultimate purpose.

What about in real life? Scholars have found is that in both popular culture and everyday speech, “an eye for an eye” is commonly understood as a principle of personal revenge or retaliation, whereas historians, legal scholars, and biblical scholars overwhelmingly understand the original lex talionis as a principle of proportional justice within a legal framework.  Why? In part because the phrase is detached from its legal setting. In Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, the formula appears within collections of laws governing judicial decisions. Modern readers usually encounter the phrase as though it were a proverb, not as part of a court system.

In modern English if someone says today, “It’s an eye for an eye,” they usually mean “he got what was coming to him.”  It is a staple of cinematic plot. Consider the “John Wick” movies, “The Equalizer” and sequels, “Taken” and its follow-on movies. It is perhaps a legacy writ large in the American imagination with tales of the American cowboy. Studies in moral psychology have also found that people possess strong intuitive approval of retaliation under certain conditions, suggesting that many people instinctively associate justice with personal payback. Research on revenge versus forgiveness treats the phrase as the common cultural expression of retaliatory behavior and contrasts it with “turning the other cheek.”

When faced with individual or systemic injustice, there is a basic human response for a change. We want a hero who can right the wrong in a timely manner. Perhaps a deeper question beyond our instinctual response is “what kind of person am I becoming?” What difference could this “becoming person” make in the world? Will we be the “light” that pushes back the darkness of blood feud and revenge or will we join the fray that points to a world of blind and toothless people.

I guess it depends on who our hero is: Jesus or John Wick?

Image credit: Sermon on the Mount (1877) by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Public Domain

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

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I was baptized at a Sacred Heart Church, served Parokia Moyo Mtakatifu (Sacred Heart in Kenya) and served the Sacred Heart community of Tampa for many years. There’s a history.

The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is a celebration that falls 19 days after Pentecost, on a Friday. The liturgical feast was first celebrated in Rennes, France. The liturgy was approved by the local bishop at the behest of St. John Eudes, who celebrated the Mass at the major seminary in Rennes on August 31, 1670. You’ll notice that the first celebration was not situated in the days following Pentecost. St. John Eudes composed a Mass and a set of prayers for outside the Mass (referred to as an “Office”) that were quickly adopted in other places in France. 

In 1856, Pope Pius IX established the Feast of the Sacred Heart as obligatory for the whole Church, to be celebrated on the Friday after Corpus Christi.

The Roots of the Devotion

But the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is much older. The beginnings of a devotion of the love of God symbolized by the heart of Jesus are found in the fathers of the Church, including Origen, Saint Ambrose, Saint Jerome, Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Hippolytus of Rome, Saint Irenaeus, Saint Justin Martyr, and Saint Cyprian. In the 11th century this devotion found a renewal in the writings of Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries. This expression was given form by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in the 12th century in his famous poem/prayer “O Sacred Head Surrounded.”

A Franciscan Connection

In the 13th century, the Franciscan St. Bonaventure’s work “With You is the Source of Life” (which is the reading for the Divine Office on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart) began to point to the heart as the fountain from which God’s love poured into our lives:

“Take thought now, redeemed man, and consider how great and worthy is he who hangs on the cross for you. His death brings the dead to life, but at his passing heaven and earth are plunged into mourning and hard rocks are split asunder. It was a divine decree that permitted one of the soldiers to open his sacred side with a lance. This was done so that the Church might be formed from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death on the cross, and so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘They shall look on him whom they pierced.’ The blood and water, which poured out at that moment, were the price of our salvation. Flowing from the secret abyss of our Lord’s heart as from a fountain, this stream gave the sacraments of the Church the power to confer the life of grace, while for those already living in Christ it became a spring of living water welling up to life everlasting.”

Also in the 13th century we find the very popular devotional “Vitis mystica” (the mystical vine) a lengthy devotional to Jesus, which vividly describes the “Sacred Heart” of Jesus as the font and fullness of love poured into the world. This work is anonymous, but most often attributed to St. Bonaventure.

The Devotion Spreads Slowly

At the end of the 13th century, St. Gertrude, on the feast of St. John the Evangelist, had a vision in which she was allowed to rest her head near the wound in the Savior’s side. She heard the beating of the Divine Heart and asked John if, on the night of the Last Supper, he too had felt this beating heart, why then had he never spoken of the fact. John replied that this revelation had been reserved for subsequent ages when the world, having grown cold, would have need to rekindle its love.

From that time until the time of St. John Eudes the devotion continues to spread, primarily as a private devotion, but one that was increasingly wide-spread. The Franciscans continued the devotion within their fraternity and their churches, but other religious orders also prayed the devotion: the Jesuits, the Carmelites of Spain, and the Benedictines.

The Devotion Renewed: Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque

In the late 17th century the devotion was renewed and adopted elsewhere, especially following the revelations to Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque. The saint, a cloistered nun of the Visitation Order, received several private revelations of the Sacred Heart, the first on December 27, 1673, and the final one 18 months later. The visions revealed to her the form of the devotion, the chief features being reception of Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month, Eucharistic adoration during a “Holy hour” on Thursdays, and the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

Initially discouraged in her efforts to follow the instruction she had received in her visions, Alacoque was eventually able to convince her superior of the authenticity of her visions. She was unable, however, to convince a group of theologians of the validity of her apparitions, nor was she any more successful with many of the members of her own community. She eventually received the support of St. Claude de la Colombière, S.J., the community’s confessor for a time, who declared that the visions were genuine. Alacoque’s short devotional writing, La Devotion au Sacré-Coeur de Jesus (Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus), was published posthumously in 1698. Here is an excerpt:

“And He [Christ] showed me that it was His great desire of being loved by men and of withdrawing them from the path of ruin that made Him form the design of manifesting His Heart to men, with all the treasures of love, of mercy, of grace, of sanctification and salvation which it contains, in order that those who desire to render Him and procure Him all the honor and love possible, might themselves be abundantly enriched with those divine treasures of which His heart is the source.”

The devotion was fostered by the Jesuits and Franciscans, but it was not until the 1928 encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor by Pope Pius XI that the Church validated the credibility of Alacoque’s visions of Jesus Christ in having “promised her [Alacoque] that all those who rendered this honor to His Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces.”

The World Consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Maria Droste zu Vischering, was a German noble women, who at the age of 25 joined the congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, in Munster. She was given the name, Sr. Mary of the Divine Heart. In 1894, at the age of 31, she was transferred to Portugal and appointed superior of Oporto, Portugal. While there she reported some messages from Jesus Christ in which she was asked to contact the pope, requesting the consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

On June 10, 1898, her confessor at the Good Shepherd monastery wrote to Pope Leo XIII stating that Sister Mary of the Divine Heart had received a message from Christ, requesting the pope to consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart. The pope initially did not believe her and took no action. However, on January 6, 1899 she wrote another letter, asking that in addition to the consecration, the first Fridays of the month be observed in honor of the Sacred Heart. In the letter she also referred to the recent illness of the pope and stated that Christ had assured her that Pope Leo XIII would live until he had performed the consecration to the Sacred Heart.

Pope Leo XIII commissioned an inquiry on the basis of her revelation and Church tradition. In his 1899 encyclical letter Annum Sacrum, Leo XIII decreed that the consecration of the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus should take place on June 11, 1899. Here is the consecration Pope Leo composed for the consecration:

“Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thine altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart.

“Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to Thy Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

“Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.

“Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism, and refuse not to draw them into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy towards the children of the race, once Thy chosen people: of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.

“Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: ‘Praise be to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever.’” Amen

The 100th Anniversary of the Feast of the Sacred Heart

In a landmark encyclical, Haurietis aquas (Latin: “You will draw waters”; written May 15, 1956) Pope Pius XII began his reflection by drawing from Isaiah 12:3, a verse which alludes to the abundance of the supernatural graces which flow from the heart of Christ. Haurietis aquas called the whole Church to recognize the Sacred Heart as an important dimension of Christian spirituality. Pius XII gave two reasons why the Church gives the highest form of worship to the Heart of Jesus. The first rests on the principle whereby the believers recognize that Jesus’ Heart is hypostatically united to the “Person of the Incarnate Son of God Himself.” The second reason is derived from the fact that the Heart is the natural sign and symbol of Jesus’ boundless love for humans. The encyclical recalls that for human souls the wound in Christ’s side and the marks left by the nails have been “the chief sign and symbol of that love” that ever more incisively shaped their life from within.

In a letter on May 15, 2006 Benedict XVI wrote: “By encouraging devotion to the Heart of Jesus, the Encyclical Haurietis aquas exhorted believers to open themselves to the mystery of God and of his love and to allow themselves to be transformed by it. After 50 years, it is still a fitting task for Christians to continue to deepen their relationship with the Heart of Jesus, in such a way as to revive their faith in the saving love of God and to welcome Him ever better into their lives.

As the encyclical states, from this source, the heart of Jesus, originates the true knowledge of Jesus Christ and a deeper experience of His love. Thus, according to Benedict XVI, we will be able to understand better what it means to know God’s love in Jesus Christ, to experience Him, keeping our gaze fixed on Him to the point that we live entirely on the experience of His love, so that we can subsequently witness to it to others.

Consecration to the Sacred Heart

As our nation prepares to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of our independence this summer, on behalf of Bishop Burbidge, I would like to inform you of an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to consecrate our country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The consecration took place on June 11, 2026. As many of you are aware, Bishop Loverde consecrated our diocese to the Sacred Heart in November 2011. This year will be an opportunity to “reconsecrate” ourselves and our diocese to God’s ever-faithful love which flows from his most Sacred Heart.

Memorial of St. Barnabas

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St. Barnabas was one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem, Jewish and Cypriot by birth. He was sent to Antioch as an emissary of the Church in Jerusalem and witnessed the work of the Lord. At some time before this, St. Paul had his Damascus Road experience and conversion. “When [Paul] arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.” (Acts 9:26) and it seems he moved on to Tarsus and resumed his trade as a tentmaker. Continue reading →

The Foundation

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Today is the third of three days reflecting on the daily gospels all taken from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. They are not merely three disconnected sections of the Sermon on the Mount; they describe a progression in Christian discipleship:

Monday, the question was: Who is God shaping me to become? Yesterday we asked: what effect does that transformed life have on others? The answer is simple: a life formed by the Beatitudes becomes salt for and light that changes the world. Over the last two days, Jesus has shown us the shape of the Christian life and its mission. Today he reveals its foundation: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”

At first glance, this may seem like a change of subject. But it answers an important question. Why should we live according to the Beatitudes? Why should we strive to be salt and light? Why not simply follow our own preferences, the latest trends, or whatever the culture happens to value at the moment? That’s modern life, not Christian life. Jesus tells us that the Christian life is rooted in God’s eternal plan.

The Law and the Prophets were not mistakes to be discarded. Together they describe what it means to be a covenant people – and they were preparing the way for Jesus, the one who would fulfill all that the Law and Prophets required. In Jesus, God’s purpose for humanity reaches its fulfillment – true sons and daughters of God. The Beatitudes are not simply beautiful ideals, they are the Wisdom of God to invite us into participation in God’s work. The Christian life is not self-invention or some vague moral life. We are not creating our own morality or choosing values that happen to feel attractive.

If we are swayed by public opinion, social trends, or personal preference, then we are but a thermometer simply reflecting the temperature in the room. The Christian life is to be on mission for Christ. The mission is founded on Christ himself. Things in the world change; they come, they go. But Christ remains. The disciple who builds on Christ discovers a foundation that can withstand uncertainty, suffering, and change.

Jesus fulfills the Law by revealing its deepest purpose. He reveals the meaning of the law – not a life regulated by do’s and don’t’s but a life ordered toward love of God and neighbor.

Over these three days, Jesus has led us on a journey. First, he showed us the shape of the Christian life: the Beatitudes. Then he showed us its mission: to be salt and light. Today he reveals its foundation: God’s saving plan fulfilled in Christ.

The challenge before us is simple.  Let Christ shape our hearts. Let our lives become light for others. And let us build everything upon the One who came not to abolish, but to fulfill the deepest desire of God – that all be saved.

Amen.

Image credit: Sermon on the Mount (1877) by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Public Domain

When the Beatitudes become visible

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Today is the second of three consecutive days when I am presiding at the parish daily Mass. The three gospels are all taken from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. What follows is really one longer reflection delivered over three days because these three Gospel passages form a remarkably coherent sequence. They are not merely three disconnected sections of the Sermon on the Mount; they describe a progression in Christian discipleship:

  • Who we are becoming (The Beatitudes) – yesterday
  • What our lives are meant to do (Salt and Light) – today
  • The foundation upon which we live (Fulfillment of the Law) – tomorrow

Together they form a unified theme: The Shape, the Mission, and the Foundation of the Christian Life.

In yesterday’s reflection, we noted that the Beatitudes remind us that God is not simply interested in improving our behavior. The challenge of the first reflection was: what kind of person is God shaping me to become? Jesus’ hope is that the transformation of our hearts will shape our lives as Christians. 

Our Lives Visible to the World

Today Jesus’ goal is to show us what happens when that Christian life becomes visible. Jesus tells the disciples, “You are the salt of the earth….You are the light of the world.” Notice that Jesus does not say, “You should try to become salt” or “You should try to become light.” He says, “You are.” Such is the commission of our Baptism. The question is whether we are living in a way that fulfills that identity.

Salt changes whatever it touches. Light transforms darkness simply by being present. That is what happens when the Beatitudes become real in a person’s life. A merciful person changes the atmosphere of a family. A peacemaker changes the atmosphere of a workplace. A person who hungers and thirsts for righteousness changes the atmosphere of a community. It is the difference between being a thermometer that just reflects the temperature of the room and being a thermostat that sets the temperature.

The world often imagines that such influence comes from power, wealth, status, or attention. Jesus offers another vision. The disciple influences the world not primarily through position, but through witness.

Think of the people who have most influenced your faith. They were probably not famous. They may have been a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, friend, priest, or religious sister. Their influence came from the way they lived. Their lives were the salt that seasoned your life; the light that reflected Christ into your world.

That is what Jesus means when he says: “Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” The goal is not that people notice us. The goal is that people see something of God through us. What we have received from others, we pay forward by the lives we live.

Yesterday we asked: Who is God shaping me to become? Today we ask: What effect does that transformed life have on others? The answer is simple: a life formed by the Beatitudes becomes salt for and light that changes the world.

Image credit: Sermon on the Mount (1877) by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Public Domain

Who are we becoming?

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Today is the first of three consecutive days when I am presiding at the parish daily Mass. The three gospels are all taken from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. What follows is really one longer reflection delivered over three days because these three Gospel passages form a remarkably coherent sequence. They are not merely three disconnected sections of the Sermon on the Mount; they describe a progression in Christian discipleship:

  • Who we are becoming (The Beatitudes) – today
  • What our lives are meant to do (Salt and Light) – tomorrow
  • The foundation upon which we live (Fulfillment of the Law) – the next day

Together they form a unified theme: The Shape, the Mission, and the Foundation of the Christian Life.

Who we are becoming (The Beatitudes)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus goes up the mountain, sits down, and begins to teach. His first words are not commands. He does not begin by telling his disciples what they must do. Instead, he describes the kind of people who belong to the Kingdom of God. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven…Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy…Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

When we hear the Beatitudes, it is tempting to hear them as a checklist of virtues. But they are more than that. They are a portrait of Jesus himself. Jesus is poor in spirit, trusting completely in the Father. Jesus is merciful toward sinners. Jesus is pure of heart. Jesus is the peacemaker who reconciles humanity to God through the Cross. In other words, the Beatitudes show us what a life transformed by God looks like.

This is important because we often think about our life of faith in terms of activities: attending Mass, praying, serving others, following commandments. All of these are important. But before Christianity is about what we do, it is about who we are becoming. It is about God shaping us into the likeness of Christ.

That shaping often happens quietly. We become merciful by learning to forgive. We become humble by recognizing our dependence on God. We become peacemakers by choosing reconciliation over resentment. Most of us do not become saints through dramatic moments. We become saints through daily conversion.

The Beatitudes remind us that God is not simply interested in improving our behavior. He is transforming our hearts. 

As we begin this three-day journey through the Sermon on the Mount, let us ask ourselves: What kind of person is God shaping me to become? Because before Jesus speaks about our mission in the world, he first teaches us the shape of the Christian life.

Image credit: Sermon on the Mount (1877) by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Public Domain

D-Day Remembered

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Today marks the 82nd anniversary of the June 6th “D-Day” landings in Normandy during World War II. It marked a turning Point in World War II as it provided the Allies with a foothold in Western Europe and set the stage for the subsequent liberation of France and the defeat of Nazi Germany. The Normandy landing resulted in significant casualties on both sides, with thousands of soldiers losing their lives. It remains a powerful symbol of the bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers who fought and gave their lives for the cause of freedom and the defeat of tyranny. The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, situated on the shores of Omaha Beach, serves as a poignant reminder of the cost of war and the importance of preserving peace.

Today and, no doubt, in the days to follow, we will have the opportunity to hear the voices of those who landed and remain with us today. Given those who landed were 18 years old and older, it means today’s survivors are in their late 90s. It is the passing of a generation. On Sunday, there was a parade of veterans at Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. The veterans were all in wheel chairs as the were greeted by thousands of locals who orally history still carry the stories of their liberation from Nazi forced.

Let us offer a prayer in gratitude for all who served in World War II, their families, and the great sacrifices offered for this nation and the world.