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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 728: The Good Shepherd: A Reflection on the Gospel of John (John 10 : 27-30)

 

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

 

 

On this Good Shepherd Sunday, it makes me think back on my own experiences of being a shepherd, and what sheep are like. I don’t know if I was a good shepherd, but I sure had a lot of love for my sheep. I probably wouldn’t have been willing to lay down my life for them, but I was happy to make a lot of sacrifices. 

It all started in the spring of 1974. I would have been in the sixth grade, and most of my siblings were gone by this time – either married or away at school. My dad had helped me get into the chicken business when I was in second grade. He would drive me to the local town to sell eggs to people we knew at 50 cents a dozen. It taught me the value of money. So, this spring of 1974 I came to my dad with a proposal. Up till then, we had horses on our ten acres of pasture. They used our barns and corrals. But those horses weren’t producing any money; they were only costing money. I talked my dad into selling the horses and letting me buy some sheep. We checked the local paper and saw an ad where they were selling pregnant ewes for $45 apiece. We came home with three that I bought with my own money. Over time I added to my little flock, and I usually had around 26 or so, if you count the lambs too. As I’ve mentioned in another homily, I would butcher the lambs myself when they were big enough, and sell the meat to people we knew. My dad would get some meat too, for our household, in payment for the land and buildings. I would also give a lamb or two each year to my sister’s convent. I had learned early on that God blesses those who are generous. I would sell the wool, too, but it didn’t bring in much at that time.  

 

A lot of the time the sheep would take care of themselves in our pasture. But other times I would have to herd them on other parts of my dad’s farm. I would do it before school in the morning, and then again afterwards when I got home. It was very important to keep a close eye on them when they were having their babies in the spring. Sometimes I would have to pull a little bit when she was pushing. You quite often had to help the newborn lambs find the nipple. They could stand very soon after sliding out, but their energy would start to wane if they didn’t get milk in their bellies. Sometimes they would be poking around with their nose and mouth in the wrong place, looking for the mother’s nipples. And she, in her nervousness, would be moving around and trying to lick them off. Once you got them to suck, though, they were usually off to the races. It was so fun to see the lambs cavort and run around and buck and hop and play in the green pasture. They were so carefree. 

Sheep, by nature, are really pretty dumb. They are not at all clever, like some of the other members of the animal kingdom. But they can teach us a lot about the virtue of trust. In all those years, until I joined the Trappists in 1985, I don’t ever remember them being anxious about what they were going to eat the next day or what they were going to drink. They had shelter, and were protected from the coyotes and stray dogs. Their shepherd, either myself or my dad after I went away to school, looked after all their needs. They knew they didn’t have anything to worry about and could just lay there and chew their cud contentedly. 

We, on the other hand, quite often lack trust, and act as though we had a Shepherd who did not love us. We forget, and have to be constantly reminded by things like our readings today. I think it was the very helplessness of my sheep and the fact that they depended on me so much, that made me love them all the more. It’s like a parent for their infant child. We have to believe that God is infinitely more that way. He is touched when we step out in trust. It’s teamwork, though – we do our part and God does his. With my sheep, I didn’t open their mouths and shove food inside when they were laying in the shade. I led them to places where I knew there would be food, and then they had to hunt around and find it and clip it with their bottom teeth – they don’t have top teeth in front. Our new bakery manager, Rich Ohlson, is also a preacher on Sundays and really on fire for the Lord. In a conversation this past week he said to me, “I do what I can, so that God can do what I can’t.”

 

In this topic of trust, I can’t help but think of our new Pope, Leo XIV. Instead of being paralyzed by the fear of failure, he accepted weighty positions at different times throughout his life that would have required a hefty amount of trust that God would supply in areas where he was deficient. Being the General of his Augustinian Order for two terms must have been a bit overwhelming at times. Then, all those years in Peru and eventually becoming a bishop there. As most of you know, he was the Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops from 2023 to 2025. That was no small responsibility. He was made a cardinal two years ago, and now Pope of the Universal Church. What a daunting responsibility that must be! And yet, when he appeared on the balcony, he had a peaceful demeanor about him, as if he had learned over the years that it wasn’t all going to depend on him. 

Anxiety is not good for health – neither our physical health nor our spiritual health. Some people can’t help it – they’re just worriers by nature. But most of the rest of us can turn that knob down when we become aware of it, and remind ourselves that we are just dumb, dependent sheep, with an incredibly Good Shepherd who is going to be planning ahead and putting all that we need within our reach. 

 

by Fr. Stephen Muller

 

Prayer: “Lord, we know that You are always with us, even when we feel lost and alone. Help us to follow You closely, so that we may never stray from Your side. Be with us as we face the challenges in our lives, and help us to trust in Your perfect plan for us. Amen.”

 

Quote from a Saint: “Ask yourselves whether you belong to his flock, whether you know him, whether the light of his truth shines in your minds. I assure you that it is not by faith that you will come to know him, but by love; not by mere conviction, but by action.”--  St. Gregory the Great

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Do you allow Jesus to shepherd you, or do you let your worries overwhelm you?

2. How can thinking of Jesus as the Good Shepherd help you to trust Him more?

3. How can using the example of Pope Leo XIV’s first days as pope help you to have more peace in your own life?

4. Do you allow God to lead you to places with more “food”? When has this happened in your life?

5. Are you a worrier? If so, how can letting go of control and trusting in God help you to reduce the anxiety you feel?

6. What resources has the Good Shepherd given you in your life? Does this help you to trust Him more?

7. Why do you think that people act like Jesus, our Good Shepherd, does not love us despite what we have seen and heard?

8. In what ways can you increase your ability to hear the Good Shepherd.

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP  

Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 727: Standing Strong: A Reflection on the Feast Day of St. Athanasius (John 6 : 1-15)

 

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.

Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.

Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people recline."

Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted."

So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."

Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

 

 

There was a time in the fourth century when “the whole world groaned and was amazed to find itself Arian,” as St. Jerome put it. The phenomenon should be familiar to us in the 21st century, when the whole world groans and is amazed to find itself under the tyranny of the woke. In the 4th century God raised up one man, Athanasius, to be the defender of the Catholic faith, and he is capable of doing it again today.

The life of Athanasius is an epic. His clerical career spanned over a half a century. He served as bishop of Alexandria, the See of Saint Mark, for forty-five years. He knew five popes and five emperors. He endured five exiles totaling nearly two decades. His exiles and adventures took him all over the empire, from Rome in the southwest corner to Trier, Germany, in the northwest, to Constantinople and Nicaea in the northeast, and to Tyre and Alexandria and the deserts in the southeast.

The spirituality of Athanasius was formed in the company of St. Anthony of the Desert and the monks who formed a community around him. St Anthony took seriously our Lord’s words to the rich young man: “Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Athanasius would bring their monastic practices to Rome on his second exile.

In the age of Athanasius Arianism won over most of the bishops, and even Pope Liberius was badgered into signing a semi-Arian formula. Arius came to a bad end, suffering a death so undignified that any God-fearing person could see that it was a divine judgment upon him, but by then the heresy had spread to most of the global elites, secular and religious. On two occasions when emperors elected Arian bishops for Athanasius’s see, the faithful of Alexandria took matters into their own hands, and became the first populists.

Like St Thomas More, who stood in the face of the Church’s next great trial twelve centuries later, Athanasius cared little for going along to get along. He cared for the truth. And, like More, Athanasius not only had the courage to suffer for the truth but also the courage to act alone. In his book Arians of the Fourth Century, St John Henry Newman called Athanasius the “one who, after the Apostles, has been a principal instrument by which the sacred truths of Christianity have been conveyed and secured to the world.”

In our time, one of the favorite works of C.S. Lewis was his commentary on Athanasius’s On the Incarnation of the Word. Lewis wrote, “Only a master mind could, in the fourth century, have written so deeply on such a subject with such classical simplicity.” Athanasius concludes the work with words by which he so ardently lived: “Anyone who wishes to understand the mind of the sacred writers must first cleanse his own life, and approach the saints by copying their deeds. Thus united to them in the fellowship of life, he will understand the things revealed to them by God.” And vote accordingly in the conclave.

 

by Fr. Justin Sheehan

 

Prayer: “Father, Teach us what it means to be strong and immovable in our faith. Let us live our lives to the full capacity You have purposed for them to be. Thank you for the life You have given us to live this, and every day. Thank You for the breath we are breathing, and the fulfilling joy we experience in Jesus Christ. Amen."

 

Quote from a Saint: “Christ became what we are, that He might make us what He is.”--  St. Athanasius

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Have you ever been the unpopular one because you stuck to your principles?

2. How likely are you to stand up to the truth if you have to do it alone? What can you do to make it more likely that you follow through?

3. How can we relate the challenges of our current time to those of the time of St. Athanasius? How can we use his life as an example of how to resist the errors of our time?

4. Who are some of the speakers and church leaders that stand strong against the problematic beliefs in our world today?

5. How can cleansing your life and copying the deeds of the saints help one to understand the minds of sacred writers?

6. What are some ways that you can cleanse your life?

7. Do you have a saint that you find particularly inspiring? What are some ways that you can use that saint’s life as an example to lead you toward a holier life?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP  

Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 726: The Fear of Not Fitting In: A Reflection on the Book of Acts (Acts 4 : 13-24)

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Observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed, and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus. Then when they saw the man who had been cured standing there with them, they could say nothing in reply.

 

 So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin, and conferred with one another, saying, “What are we to do with these men? Everyone living in Jerusalem knows that a remarkable sign was done through them, and we cannot deny it. But so that it may not be spread any further among the people, let us give them a stern warning never again to speak to anyone in this name.”

 

So they called them back and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Peter and John, however, said to them in reply, “Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges.
It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”

After threatening them further, they released them, finding no way to punish them, on account of the people who were all praising God for what had happened.

 

 

When the leaders see the “boldness” of Peter they are “amazed”…that he is not intimidated by them…and in this they recognize him as “a companion of Jesus.” 

They don’t want Peter’s strange new teaching to spread further among the people. They claim, paternalistically, that they want to protect the people from being misled, “confused” by this teaching… but in fact they only care about their own prestige and influence.

The people, however, are not confused; “everyone in Jerusalem” has seen the healing power at work through Peter.

What the leaders truly think of the people is seen in the gospel of John when the Pharisees say to the temple guards: “Are you carried away like the rest of the rabble? You don’t see any of the leaders believing in him, do you? Or any from the Pharisees? It’s only this crowd, ignorant of God’s law, that is taken in by him and duped.”

While divine authority is clearly at work in Peter, as seen by the healing he has worked and the enthusiastic support and recognition of the people, the leaders presume to issue a “stern warning” and try to shame and threaten Peter into silence.

Peter’s role here is prophetic and like all prophets, in the familiar adage, while “he comforts the afflicted, he afflicts the comfortable.”

The comfortable feel afflicted in several ways: they feel afflicted by his comforting their victims, by the way he treats with respect those they oppress.

They see in Peter what a true shepherd looks like and are put to shame; and being attached to comfort and security, they are afflicted at the prospect of having to put these aside; they resent having their addiction to luxury and privilege exposed.

The leaders take on themselves the role of judge, they presume to judge the work of God…so Peter says, in effect, “Fine, you want to be judges. Judge this: is it right for us to obey you, who idolize what is merely human custom and convention, who tie up heavy burdens for others while not lifting a finger to carry them yourselves…or to obey the living God, at work here and now through the Spirit?”

On this day when the universal church celebrates the life of Pope Francis, we give thanks to God for raising up his bold and prophetic voice, truly in our time, the authentic voice of Peter.

 

by Fr. Isaac Slater

 

Prayer: "Heavenly Father, I come before You today asking for the boldness to speak Your truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. Amen."

 

Quote from a Saint: “Do not lay too much store on the favorable judgments of men, for I love thee with a perfect love. I spent My earthly existence in humiliations and scorn and in a hidden life. It was thus that I glorified My Father, laid the foundations of My Church, and remedied the evils of pride. This is the path that thou must follow.”--  Our Lord to Blessed Maria Celeste Crostarosa

 

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Do you ever let your love of comfort stop you from following God’s plan for your life?

2. Is there anything in your life that you allow because it is comfortable even though it may not be good for you spiritually?

3. How can some discomfort benefit your spiritual life?

4. Are you bold and unafraid to declare the truth about Jesus and the Church? What is your reaction when someone challenges you about your faith?

5. Have you let the teachings of Jesus carry you away to the point that others notice, or do you temper your response out of fear of not fitting in with society?

6. In what ways do you see the influence of the world trying to change the true message of the Church? How have you seen priests, bishops and popes push back against this encroachment to preserve the faith?

7. In what ways do you see the influence of the world change or try to change how you practice the faith?

8. In what ways is keeping the teachings of the Church and sharing the teachings with others an act of love?

 

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP  

Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 725: The Passion of the Lord: A Reflection on the Gospel of John (John 19 : 1-42)

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly. Once more Pilate went out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them, “Behold, the man!” When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
“Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.”
 

The Jews answered, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid, and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him, “Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, “If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your king!” They cried out, “Take him away, take him away!  Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”
Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;
and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,  “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my garments among them,  and for my vesture they cast lots. This is what the soldiers did. Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and that they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe. For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled: Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says: They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.

 

 

 

In Genesis 22, we find the story of Abraham being asked to offer up his son, Isaac. We read there: Some time after these events, God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, ““Abraham!” “Ready!” he replied. Then God said: “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you.”

 

A few verses later, it continues:

“Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and laid it on his son Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. “Father!” he said. “Yes, son,” he replied. Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?” “Son,” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.””

 

We all know the rest of the story . . . how Abraham bound his son and placed him on the altar. Just as his knife was plunging toward his son, an angel of God restrained him. God then knew that Abraham put love for God above love for his son. 

 

The reason I bring up this story is that it has a lot of parallels to what we commemorate today. We usually view Good Friday from the angle of Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. I would like to explore today how it was affecting the other Two Persons of the Blessed Trinity. 

 

Like Genesis 22, it was his Beloved Only Son that God the Father was sacrificing on the altar of the Cross today. His heart was breaking, even more than Abraham’s was. Abraham got let off the hook. God the Father was not so lucky. When Isaac had asked about the sheep for the holocaust, Abraham had replied, “Son, God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.” And indeed, God himself DID provide the sheep for the holocaust – Jesus, the Lamb of God. 

 

What in the world could cause the First and Second Persons of the Blessed Trinity to willingly go through so much agony?! The answer: Love. It was his love for us that caused God the Father to sacrifice his son like Abraham did. As the familiar passage from John 3:16 states, “Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” And elsewhere, in 2 Cor 5:19 we read, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.”

It was likewise love that propelled Jesus to undergo such unspeakable pain and sorrow – love for us, and love for his Father. Such intense love, on the part of those two Persons of the Blessed Trinity, is hard for us to comprehend, because we are only operating with a finite intellect and understanding, whereas they are infinite, and so far beyond us. 

 

So where does that leave the Holy Spirit on Good Friday? None of the Evangelists mention a dove appearing, like at his Baptism, or tongues of fire, like at Pentecost. Was he disinterestedly taking a nap up in heaven all the while? Of course not. He was in the thick of it with the other two Persons. 

 

The Blessed Trinity is a mystery we will never completely understand. However, one explanation is that the reciprocal love between the Father and Son is so great, that it actually forms another Person – the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. The Holy Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and the Son. He is their spirit personified. In line with this schema, if it was love that compelled the Father and the Son to go through so much anguish, then it was the Holy Spirit himself who was the driving force. The whole Trinity was equally involved in this monumental event that reconciled humankind back with its Creator again. Adequate atonement was provided; sufficient recompense was made. As St. Anselm proposed, since the offense was made against an infinite Person, finite persons would never be able to sufficiently atone. God himself had to provide the Lamb. 

This act of the Blessed Trinity opened the gates of heaven for us again after so many thousands of years. We have so much to be grateful for. It was love that drove the Trinity to do this drastic act. Let us love them in return.

 

by Fr. Stephen Muller

 

Prayer: I beseech you, most sweet Lord Jesus Christ, grant that your Passion may be to me a power by which I may be strengthened, protected, and defended. May your wounds be to me food and drink, by which I may be nourished, inebriated, and overjoyed. May the sprinkling of your Blood be to me an ablution for all my sins. May your death prove to me life everlasting, and your cross be to me an eternal glory. In these be my refreshment, my joy, my preservation, and sweetness of heart. Who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.

 

Quote from a Saint: “The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon himself the death that he found in us, he has most faithfully promised to give us life in him, such as we cannot have of ourselves.” – St. Augustine

 

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Have you ever meditated upon how Abraham’s sacrifice of his son Isaac prefigures the Father’s sacrifice of the Son?

2. Have you ever attended the Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion service? What was your experience? How did it deepen your understanding of Good Friday and commemorate Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross?

3. How does a deeper understanding of the Lord’s Passion lead to a deeper understanding of God the Father?

4. How does a deeper understanding of the Lord’s Passion lead to a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit?

5. Do you find that reflecting on the Passion helps you to better appreciate Easter?

6. Have you ever done something painful for the Love of someone you care deeply for?

7. How well do you understand the Holy Spirit? Since the Holy Spirit will likely always remain a mystery to humans with our limited intellect, how can meditating on the Holy Spirit bring you closer to the Trinity?

8. Do you meditate upon the Passion of the Lord outside of the Lenten season? How can mediating upon this benefit the spiritual life throughout the entire year?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP  

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 724: Humility: A Reflection on the 1st letter to the Corinthians and the Gospel of Luke (1 Corinthians 11 : 23-26 & Luke 22 : 21-30)

 

 

[1 Corinthians]

Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

 

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[Luke]

21 “And yet behold, the hand of the one who is to betray me is with me on the table; 22 for the Son of Man indeed goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.” 23 And they began to debate among themselves who among them would do such a deed.

 

24 Then an argument broke out among them about which of them should be regarded as the greatest.

 

25 He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them and those in authority over them are addressed as ‘Benefactors’;26 but among you it shall not be so. Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.

 

27 For who is greater: the one seated at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one seated at table? I am among you as the one who serves.

 

28 It is you who have stood by me in my trials; 29 and I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father has conferred one on me, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

This evening’s Gospel comes just after Jesus has instituted the Eucharist in the words of today’s Second Reading [1 Corinthians], and then went on to foretell his betrayal. And at the mention of betrayal the Apostles began to debate among themselves as to which of them might do this thing. Then today’s Gospel begins: “An argument broke out among the Apostles about which of them should be regarded as the greatest”. But Jesus has a different idea of what greatness is. He says, “Your greatest must become like a junior and your leader must be a servant... just as I am the one who is the servant among you.” Jesus goes on to promise them: “It is you who have stood by me in all that I have gone through; and I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father has conferred one on me”. The Apostles will “sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel”, signifying their share in his authority, but also their share in Christ’s suffering as they serve God’s people.

This Gospel is not the usual one for the Mass on Holy Thursday, but it gives us a bit more information about what happened at the Last Supper. The three synoptic Gospels tell us that Jesus and the disciples had gathered for the Passover meal mentioned in the First Reading [Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14], from the book of Exodus. Early in the evening, either before or during the main meal, only John tells us that Jesus rose from the supper table, washed the disciples’ feet, and taught about humility, setting the tone for the evening. The three other Gospels agree that Jesus and the disciples proceeded with the Passover meal, eating and reclining together. Towards the end, Jesus took bread and wine, blessed them, and instituted the Eucharist, using the words of the Second Reading of today’s Mass. Then we sang in the responsorial psalm, “Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ”, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

At that point the Gospel as read in the parishes is from the Gospel of St John, who mentions the footwashing but not the Eucharist. The other Gospels mention the Eucharist but not the footwashing. Since no one Gospel mentions both the footwashing and the Eucharist, monastic communities have traditionally kept the two rituals separate. Even today, a rubric in the Cistercian Calendar states that “The washing of feet, or Mandatum, is celebrated apart from Mass”. And so here at the abbey, the ceremony took place earlier this afternoon, in the chapter room, and included John’s Gospel about the foot-washing (John 13:1-15). The Abbot washed the feet of the monks, in imitation of what Jesus did for the disciples at the Last Supper, and we sang various Mandatum chants.

But the Holy Thursday Gospel as read in monasteries has a Eucharistic undertone, even though it never mentions the Eucharist. Earlier in this same chapter of St Luke, Jesus gives himself in the bread and wine, saying, “Do this in remembrance of me”. St. John Paul II, in a Holy Thursday letter to priests, linked that passage to the priesthood, encouraging the clergy to “learn to live the Eucharist personally” by serving as Christ served. But the ideal of “living the Eucharist personally” really applies to all of the faithful, whether we are priests, or monks, or laity.

What this means is that when we approach the Body and Blood of Christ this evening, we approach as sinners who are in need of this “medicine of immortality”, as St Ignatius of Antioch rightly called it. Now there’s no need for medicine except in the case of an illness, or for healing except when someone is sick. Our Lord himself said “It is not the healthy who are in need of a doctor, but those who are ill” (Matthew 9:12). St Thomas Aquinas understood this saying to mean that everyone who receives communion receives it for the forgiveness of sins. The reason is that “By approaching the sacrament [of the Eucharist] reverently and devoutly, [a person] receives the grace of charity which makes contrition complete and brings forgiveness of sin” (Summa Theologiæ, 3a Pars, Question 79, Article 3).

St John Paul II confirmed this in his 2005 Holy Thursday letter when he taught that the Body and Blood of Christ are given for the salvation of the whole human race, “because no one, unless he freely chooses, is excluded from the saving power of Christ’s blood”. And the Byzantine rite even incorporates this insight in the communion formula. The priest says to everyone who: “The servant of God receives the precious and holy body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, for the remission of his (her) sins and for eternal life.” That is truly Good News for all!

 

by Fr. Justin Sheehan

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Prayer: The litany of humility

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it

 

 

Quote from a Saint: “All our religion is but a false religion, and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not that universal charity for everyone - for the good, and for the bad, for the poor and for the rich, and for all those who do us harm as much as those who do us good.”--St. John Vianney

 

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Do you struggle with being humble? How can serving others as Jesus did in the washing of the disciples’ feet teach you to be humble?

2. Have you ever had your foot washed on Holy Thursday? If you have, did it teach you anything about yourself? How did it help you to relate to the disciples? Did it teach you anything about humility?

3. Do you see yourself as being a sinner in need of a remedy?

4. Does humility play a role in our ability to examine our conscience in preparation for confession?

5. Do you “live the eucharist personally”?  Have you ever considered this as a possibility?

6. Have you experienced healing from receiving the eucharist?

7. Have you ever spent time in prayer and meditation on the reading about Jesus washing the feet of the disciples?

8. Are you comfortable serving others as Christ served? Why or why not?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP  

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 723: Born of water and the Spirit: A Reflection on the Gospel of John (John 10 : 31-42)

 

 

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?" The Jews answered him, "We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God."

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, 'You are gods"'? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."

Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, "John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true." And many there began to believe in him.

 

 

In this morning’s Gospel we hear that the Jewish authorities tried again to arrest Jesus, but he withdrew from them. They didn’t want him to escape from their power, but he got away from them anyway, and they couldn’t stop him from leaving them. Here St John is giving us another hint that Jesus would not have been crucified unless he had willingly consented to it.

“Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained”. He made a point of going there because he wanted to remind the people of all the things John the Baptist had said about him. And since his stay in that place worked out well for many people, today’s Gospel says that “Many came to him”. These people remembered how John used to baptize and preach at that place. “John performed no sign”, they said, meaning “If we believed in John who was not a wonderworker, why shouldn’t we also believe in this man who does work amazing miracles?”

They knew that John the Baptist worked no miracles, and for that reason, some might have been thinking that John’s testimony about Christ might not be reliable. That’s why the Gospel says, “But everything John said about this man was true”. This time around, it’s not John who lends credibility to Christ; now it’s Christ who lends credibility to John.

Therefore, “many there began to believe in him”. The word “there” indicates that the people could learn something from the place itself. So, Jesus frequently led the people out into desert places, separating them from the world at large in order to grant them spiritual blessings. And there was a precedent for that in the Old Testament. St Paul tells us that the people “drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ” (1st Corinthians 10:4). According to St Paul, it was actually Christ who was behind the Hebrews’ exodus out of Egypt, Christ who made them his people when they were alone with him in the desert, and Christ who brought the various factions among them into unity by giving them the Law.

Christ’s withdrawal into the desert also has a spiritual sense: he goes out from Jerusalem where he used to teach in the Temple, and goes to the Jordan where the waters of baptism flow, that is, to the Church whose members, both Jews and Gentiles, follow the teaching and example of Christ. Many in fact have come to Christ by “crossing the Jordan” - they have passed through the waters of baptism and been born of water and the Spirit. The new life in Christ lies “across the Jordan”, which we reach by passing through baptism. There is no other way to approach Jesus and enter the kingdom of God.

After our 40 days of Lent in the desert, may we renew our baptismal vows at the Easter Vigil, and live the new life in Christ as members of his body.

 

by Fr. Justin Sheehan

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Prayer: “Lord, thank you for the precious gift of baptism, that we can publicly declare our love and passion for you.  Lord, we ask for your goodness and blessings to be poured out on this faithful servant. We pray that you would work deeply within their heart and soul to renew and refresh them each day. Come guide their footsteps, give them a hope and a vision for the future. Today, the past is gone. They stand free and whole, loved and forgiven within the kingdom of God. Father, cover and protect them now, encircle them with your promises and fill their hearts with joy. May this day be one they cherish and remember forever! Amen.”

 

Quote from a Saint: “No one can begin a new life, unless he repent of the old.” –Saint Augustine

 

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Why do think that it is important that Christ consented to His crucifixion?

2. Jesus often led people away to preach to them. Have you ever experienced that in the form of a retreat or some other situation? How can being away from your normal life lead to a deeper spiritual experience?

3. How can you get away from your everyday life so that you can hear God more clearly? Could something like Adoration be one way? What are some others?

4. How do you think John got so many followers without performing any miracles?

5. Can you see the actions of Christ in the events of the Old Testament?  

6. When you attend a baptism, do you reflect on what baptism is and its effect on your soul? Do you take to heart what you are saying when you renew your baptismal promises?

7. Have you ever been a sponsor to an adult going through OCIA (RCIA) where the person was baptized (catechumen)? How did it feel to witness someone receiving this sacrament? Did the newly baptized person experience anything spiritually that they told you about?

8. How can you prepare yourself for the Easter Vigil and the renewal of your baptismal promises?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP  

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 722: Growing in Faith through Loving Others: A Reflection on the Book of Deuteronomy and the Gospel of Matthew (Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 & Matthew 5:17-19)

 

[Deuteronomy]

Moses spoke to the people and said:
"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees as the LORD, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy. Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, 'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'

For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?

 

[Matthew]

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

 

Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter

will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.

 

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.

 

But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."

 

 

In the Prologue of his Rule, St Benedict uses a striking phrase about the monastic life, and it’s something that can apply to every Christian life. We even sing it in our liturgy. It begins like this: “As we go forward in our monastic life and in faith, let our hearts be enlarged”. When Benedict talks about going forward, he’s talking about a process of continuous conversion, of letting our hearts be enlarged. And our hearts can be enlarged if we continuously listen in faith to the Lord, just as the people listened to Moses in the first reading, when he said, “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live”.

 

Really live, and live by faith. A person whose faith is not very deep is often guided only by his own reason. He finds it very hard to be patient and calm and charitable to others when they trouble him unreasonably and do him wrong. But one who loves the Lord with all his heart discovers that it isn’t all that hard to put up with troublesome people, because Love with a capital L fights for him and destroys these moments of anger and bitterness. The awareness of God’s love makes a person more ready to bear all things with an interior consolation. He listens with faith to what our Lord says in today’s Gospel, “whoever obeys and teaches these

commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven”.

 

And it is God’s love that brings all this about, because the love of God is what enlarges the heart and makes the person indifferent to what people say or do against him. So when a true lover of God suffers at the hands of others, he is strengthened through the grace of the Holy Spirit. If he responds to that grace, he can become so patient and calm that, whatever wrong or injury he suffers, he remains humble. He does not despise his persecutors or speak ill of them, but prays for them with more compassion than for those who never harmed him. And in fact he may even love them more, and pray more fervently for their salvation, because he knows that God can draw great spiritual good out of the evil that they do.

 

But this kind of love and humility is beyond human nature, and can only be brought about in us by the Holy Spirit, because only the Spirit can make us true lovers of God. Let us pray for his grace, that we may “run with unspeakable sweetness of love in the way of God’s commandments”. As St Benedict adds: “Never swerving from his instructions, then, but faithfully observing his teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ, that we may deserve also to share in his kingdom.

Amen.”

 

by Fr. Justin Sheehan

 

Prayer: “Jesus, Prince of Peace, you have asked us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We pray for our enemies and those who oppose us. With the help of the Holy Spirit, may all people learn to work together for that justice which brings true and lasting peace. To you be glory and honor for ever and ever.”

 

Quote from a Saint: “Seeking the face of God in everything, everyone, all the time, and his hand in every happening; this is what it means to be contemplative in the heart of the world. Seeing and adoring the presence of Jesus, especially in the lowly appearance of bread, and in the distressing disguise of the poor.” –Saint Teresa of Calcutta

 

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Have you ever looked at your spiritual life as being a continuous act of conversion? Why or why not?

2. Do you find it difficult to be patient and tolerant with others? How could a deeper relationship with God help you to be patient?

3. Do you pray for those who are hurtful toward you? Is there a specific person who you should be praying for? Meditate on this during your prayer time.

4. What times in your life have you looked on those who might be bothersome with love? How did your love for God help with this?

5. Do you live by faith or by your own reason?

6. How can God’s influence help you to be indifferent to what others say? How can this help you to follow God’s will?

7. In what ways have you seen a great spiritual good come from suffering?

8. How can we apply the instructions of St. Benedict to life outside of the monastery?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP  

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 721: The Trust of St. Joseph: A Reflection on the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a)

 

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.

 

Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

 

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Trust is defined as firm reliance on the integrity, ability or character of a person. What does such firm reliance look like? All we need do is to look around us here, to those next to us, those across from us; assembled here for this liturgy we are icons of living trust. Graced by God we come because we trust the redeeming love of the Lord Jesus is celebrated, made present in this Mass; we are here because we trust the Lord Jesus will be present in a piece of unleavened bread which we receive and embrace. Even though this occurs everyday for us, this grace of living trust is momentous.

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Today in celebrating the Solemnity of St. Joseph, we call to mind his life, his call and especially his trust. The Gospel reports the devastating experience of learning that his betrothed is pregnant and it is not his child she carries. This account could not possibly express how he felt, the terrible rejection, the humiliation, the betrayal. He could have had her put to death; that he didn’t speaks loudly of his character. St Matthew writes, “...since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her privately.”

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This humble carpenter, in spite of this most painful disappointment, offered mercy, compassion, forgiveness. But God had other plans for Joseph as we know. Encountering an angel in a dream, Joseph had his own annunciation. The message was clear: “Do not be afraid to take Mary into your home. For it is by the Holy Spirit that the child has been conceived.” Joseph obeyed; he trusted in the angel’s word. Not one word of his is recorded - only his action.

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Recounting the scene of the nativity St. Luke gives scant detail but we can imagine that Mary and Joseph were alone in that manger with Joseph assisting her as she gave birth. The Word of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and now the Word-Made-Flesh was seen. He was the first to see the child and the first to receive and hold this newborn. Could it not be said that in receiving, in holding Jesus, Joseph was confirmed in his obedience, his trust? In addition, does it not appear that by his gentle, loving action he acknowledged the child as his own - his Jesus, son by adoption, Son of God by his nature. Joseph saw, believed and trusted.

In this Holy Eucharist we receive the Lord Jesus in a piece of unleavened bread and in taking this Sacred Host we, with profound trust, graciously graced by God, acknowledge Jesus as our Lord, our Savior. It is a simple gesture, this act of receiving, yet momentous no matter how often it happens. In trusting we are entrusted with the Lord Jesus Himself. May St. Joseph, an exemplar of trust, continue to intercede for us as we journey into a trust that is consuming as our father Abraham did, as our forebears in the faith did, as Mary and Joseph did, as we are trying each day with a desire born of God.  

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by Fr. John Denburger

 

Prayer: “Most merciful Jesus, I turn to You in my need. You are worthy of my complete trust. You are faithful in all things. When my life is filled with confusion, give me clarity and faith. When I am tempted to despair, fill my soul with hope. 

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Most merciful Jesus, I trust You in all things. I trust in Your perfect plan for my life. I trust You when I cannot comprehend Your divine Will. I trust You when all feels lost. Jesus, I trust You more than I trust myself.

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Most merciful Jesus, You are all-knowing. Nothing is beyond Your sight. You are all-loving. Nothing in my life is beyond Your concern. You are all-powerful. Nothing is beyond Your grace.

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Most merciful Jesus, I trust in You, I trust in You, I trust in You. May I trust You always and in all things. May I daily surrender to Your Divine Mercy. Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, Pray for us as we turn to you in our need. Amen.”

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Quote from a Saint: “Lay all your cares about the future trustingly in God’s hands, and let yourself be guided by the Lord just like a little child.” Saint Edith Stein

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Questions for reflection:

1. Do you or have you ever had any problems trusting God or the plans that He has for your life?

2. Do you or have you ever had any problem with trusting the Lord’s Church? If so, what have you done to increase your trust?

3. Do you see partaking in the Body and Blood of Christ as an act of trust?

4. Do you have a devotion to Saint Joseph? If not, why not?

5. How can we emulate Saint Joseph’s actions in our every day life?

6. How would you have reacted if you found yourself in the position of Saint Joseph- your betrothed appears to have cheated on you? If you had a dream that told you this was all the plan of God, how would you react?

7. Have you ever considered how much trust it must have taken for St. Joseph to remain with Mary? Do you think that his act of trusting God strengthened his spiritual life?

8. Have you ever meditated on trusting the Lord during adoration?

9. How can you learn to trust God in your own life?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP