"Blood of Christ, inebriate me." Anima Christi
Spiritual writers are always searching for images and metaphors that help them and us understand more deeply the mysteries of faith, and because the Easter season explores Baptism and the Eucharist so often, it stretches our imagination and prayer in ways that can shock us.
Though abhorrent to some, especially those whose lives have been undermined by the abuse of alcohol, the idea that the blood of Christ should inebriate us is one that Christian writers have often employed. The Anima Christi, a 14th century prayer that many older Catholics memorized as children, is probably the best known, but today's selection from the office of readings by St Gaudentius of Brescia explores the same image. When we receive the blood of Christ, Gaudentius writes, our "hearts, like capacious wineskins," expand and change, and that is the point.
Our hearts need to change. They have to become bigger and more open to the power of Christ's love. Because wine in moderate amounts can do this, we need to probe its possibilities. Otherwise, we risk stagnation and death.
Today, open your heart to new ways of knowing the boundless ways God loves us.
How would you help others understand the strength an power of the Eucharist?
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Can God's Grace Set us Free?
"During the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison,(and) led them out." Acts 5:18
It is one thing to be set free from prison, and quite another to live a new life. When the angel of the Lord freed the apostles from prison, they did as they were told by the angel. They proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ and risked their safety and lives. The real test of our faith is not that we believe quietly in our hearts, but that we announce what has happened to us despite the consequences.
Many of us are trapped in prisons of our own making. We may have had some success, or we are comfortable where we are in life, but when our success and comfort become ends in themselves we are imprisoned and without a defining voice. We speak kindly, we act gently, but our lives lack power because we never say anything that might risk our security. Too much of a good thing makes us boring. The Arabs say it this way, "All sunshine makes a desert."
Today's scriptures remind us of how fruitful the apostles' lives were when they stepped out of their fear and comfort to live the gospel in a much more public way. Their example is a powerful stimulus to us. Only when we rely totally on God can our lives have the transforming effect on others that the Lord intends.
Today, live your faith publicly.
What does it take to get you out of your comfort zone for the sake of the Gospel?
It is one thing to be set free from prison, and quite another to live a new life. When the angel of the Lord freed the apostles from prison, they did as they were told by the angel. They proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ and risked their safety and lives. The real test of our faith is not that we believe quietly in our hearts, but that we announce what has happened to us despite the consequences.
Many of us are trapped in prisons of our own making. We may have had some success, or we are comfortable where we are in life, but when our success and comfort become ends in themselves we are imprisoned and without a defining voice. We speak kindly, we act gently, but our lives lack power because we never say anything that might risk our security. Too much of a good thing makes us boring. The Arabs say it this way, "All sunshine makes a desert."
Today's scriptures remind us of how fruitful the apostles' lives were when they stepped out of their fear and comfort to live the gospel in a much more public way. Their example is a powerful stimulus to us. Only when we rely totally on God can our lives have the transforming effect on others that the Lord intends.
Today, live your faith publicly.
What does it take to get you out of your comfort zone for the sake of the Gospel?
Monday, April 13, 2015
Sharing God's Gifts
"The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in common." Acts 4:32
One of the most vexing questions that bedevils Christians is the right to private property. Especially in a world the distribution of wealth is so uneven, the question of private property becomes radically important. This is not to challenge the radical right of people to possess and protect things as their own, but rather to pray about how to discern what level of private property protects both the rights of individuals and the common good.
The question of discernment is most important here. Discernment, in a classical sense, is the sifting through of two goods. Granting that famous athletes and movie stars need to protect themselves and their families more than the rest of us, their homes are among the most egregious examples of excess in this regard. Why any family with one or two children would build a 22,000 squareS foot mansion with an elevator is incomprehensible to most, but it does get us thinking and praying about what is adequate and necessary. When the rights of a few are protected to the detriment of the many, the question of how best to distribute food and goods must be engaged by thoughtful and prayerful believers.
Today, think about justice in the distribution of goods.
How do you think we ought to apply the
One of the most vexing questions that bedevils Christians is the right to private property. Especially in a world the distribution of wealth is so uneven, the question of private property becomes radically important. This is not to challenge the radical right of people to possess and protect things as their own, but rather to pray about how to discern what level of private property protects both the rights of individuals and the common good.
The question of discernment is most important here. Discernment, in a classical sense, is the sifting through of two goods. Granting that famous athletes and movie stars need to protect themselves and their families more than the rest of us, their homes are among the most egregious examples of excess in this regard. Why any family with one or two children would build a 22,000 squareS foot mansion with an elevator is incomprehensible to most, but it does get us thinking and praying about what is adequate and necessary. When the rights of a few are protected to the detriment of the many, the question of how best to distribute food and goods must be engaged by thoughtful and prayerful believers.
Today, think about justice in the distribution of goods.
How do you think we ought to apply the
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Rebirth through Baptism
"How can a man once grown old be born again?" Jn 3:4
For many who have tried to live a life of faith, the answer to Nicodemus' question is not that difficult. Most of us have been reborn many times. For some it is a movement in the church, like Cursillo or Marriage Encounter, that lifts their spirits and opens their hearts to a deepening of their faith. For others, it is the baptism or the marriage of a child. For some, it is the death of a young person or parent that at first troubles them greatly, but then forces them to reevaluate their lives and make a fundamental option for faith.
Young people willing to give themselves over to God's plan are often the occasion of a rebirth for me. For more than twenty years I have been associated with the Maryknoll Mission Association of the Faithful, (MMAF) a group of lay people committed to living the Gospel all over the world. Although most of the Missioners are young by my standards, there are always a few who come to Maryknoll as older people wanting to reach out to the poor and distressed in the developing world. In any case, these Missioners are extraordinary people of faith who suspend their lives and careers in order to follow the call of God to go to all nations and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Teaching them is always a renewal for me. I almost never leave a class with them when I am not energized by God's spirit living in and among them. Indeed, I am reborn.
Today, ask the Lord to give you a rebirth, and do not ask how this is to happen.
Have you been reborn in faith? Has your rebirth endured?
For many who have tried to live a life of faith, the answer to Nicodemus' question is not that difficult. Most of us have been reborn many times. For some it is a movement in the church, like Cursillo or Marriage Encounter, that lifts their spirits and opens their hearts to a deepening of their faith. For others, it is the baptism or the marriage of a child. For some, it is the death of a young person or parent that at first troubles them greatly, but then forces them to reevaluate their lives and make a fundamental option for faith.
Young people willing to give themselves over to God's plan are often the occasion of a rebirth for me. For more than twenty years I have been associated with the Maryknoll Mission Association of the Faithful, (MMAF) a group of lay people committed to living the Gospel all over the world. Although most of the Missioners are young by my standards, there are always a few who come to Maryknoll as older people wanting to reach out to the poor and distressed in the developing world. In any case, these Missioners are extraordinary people of faith who suspend their lives and careers in order to follow the call of God to go to all nations and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Teaching them is always a renewal for me. I almost never leave a class with them when I am not energized by God's spirit living in and among them. Indeed, I am reborn.
Today, ask the Lord to give you a rebirth, and do not ask how this is to happen.
Have you been reborn in faith? Has your rebirth endured?
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