Priesthood Sunday

Today is Priesthood Sunday. Pope Benedict XVI established the “Year for Priests” that was celebrated June 19, 2009 - June 11, 2010. Magnificat put out a beautiful Companion that included these four main sections: Novena in Honor of the Priesthood, Meditations, Essays and Devotions. The following devotion was in this Companion and I think it beautifully expresses the priesthood. I give thanks for all the priests who bring Christ to the world and especially those who have personally touched my life.

 “To live in the midst of the world

with no desire for its pleasure…

To be a member of every family yet belonging to none…

To share all sufferings; to penetrate all secrets;

to heal all wounds…

To daily go from men to God to offer Him their petitions…

To return from God to men to offer them His hope…

To have a heart of fire for charity and

a heart of bronze for chastity…

To bless and be blest forever, O God,

what a life and it is yours,

O Priest of Jesus Christ!”

Father Henri Dominique Lacordaire, O.P.

Zeal for the Lord

“A man cannot be said to be in earnest in religion, till he magnifies his God and Savior; till he so far consecrates and exalts the thought of him in his heart, as an object of praise, and adoration, and rejoicing, as to be pained and grieved at dishonor shown to him, and eager to avenge him. A religious temper is one of loyalty towards God. To be loyal is not merely to obey; but to obey with promptitude, energy, dutifulness, disinterested devotion, disregard of consequences. And such is zeal, except that it is ever attended with that reverential feeling which is due from a creature and a sinner towards his Maker, and toward him alone.”  ~ Blessed John Henry Newman

I read these words in Magnificat yesterday which was the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude. These men had such zeal for Christ. They dedicated themselves completely to Christ and through their preaching others came to know Jesus, and the Church continued to spread. So much is required of us as disciples; it is not enough to have a one on one relationship with God. Jesus told us, “This is how they will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) We do need to spend time with our Lord every day, intimately, so that he can refresh our souls but then we have to take that love we receive to others. We need to glorify God through our actions of love so that others will be drawn to Him, not us.

We should be grieved when dishonor is shown to him or his beloved sons and daughters. Jesus tells his disciples, including us, “Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:11-13) There are so many things that are distractions in this world. So many assaults to the dignity of human beings under the guise of “equality” or “freedom” such as abortion, same sex marriages, premarital sex, and the list goes on and on. More than ever the world needs disciples with a zeal and love for our Lord that is undeniable to others. When the Lord calls us to do something we need to boldly say, Here I am Lord! And our response needs to be prompt and without fear. We need to trust that God will equip us to complete the task that he is asking of us.

God’s Longing

“What God longs for us to do is to live in the truth Jesus reveals. This means believing in God’s absolute, unconditional love in a way that transforms our attitudes and whole approach to life.”  ~ Sister Ruth Burrows, O.C.D.

It takes effort on our part to come to this place of knowledge, the truth that Jesus reveals to us. Sr. Ruth asks, “What can be more important for a disciple than constantly to reflect on the truth of God, on this unspeakable, incredible love with which we are encompassed?” We need to make time for God each and every day. We need to find a place free from distractions (a friend once told me when her children were little she would sneak into her closet for a few quiet moments alone with God while her kids were watching TV). We need to quiet ourselves and allow ourselves to receive his love. If we don’t make time for him, than we will wither. Without the nourishment of God’s love we will starve.

All that we are comes from the Lord; if we don’t make ourselves available to our “source” then we will no longer continue to exist. We need to be present to God even if we don’t “feel” him or see any changes in ourselves. During that period a few weeks ago when God was silent, I had to encourage myself to continue to lean into him. Deep down I knew he was present but at times his silence was deafening. I wanted him to speak to me. But his silence didn’t mean he wasn’t there. I had to be more patient than I like to be and I had to be still when I wanted to kick and scream. At times I feel like this journey is so hard but I really would rather have it this way than to be lukewarm in my faith, to be indifferent to what God is calling me to do or to have a shallow relationship with him.

Lord, I often don’t understand your ways. You are beyond my comprehension. Give me insight to observe your teachings and avert my eyes from the enticements of worldly treasures. May your praise be forever on my lips and may I continually seek you, my source of spiritual nourishment. Help me to be steadfast and undisturbed in times of adversity and continually seek your face. Amen.

The Love of Friends

“When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven.’” (Mark 2:1-5)

I have been praying the gospels, a practice one of the women from the Prayer Ministry at St. Ann’s, taught me. It is amazing how each time I do this God reveals some truth to me and I am drawn closer to him. I love this gospel story because it not only speaks about the faith of the paralytic but also of the great faith that his friends had. It also speaks of the great love these men had for one another. As I prepared to give a witness at my parish on Monday, I looked back on all the healing God has done in my life especially these past 8 years. I recalled all the wonderful people he has brought into my life especially the love and friendship of the women I met on my Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) weekend. I have come to realize how important it is to have friends that share our same faith and love for the Lord. We are called to help one another on this faith journey. Sometimes our friends have to carry us to Jesus, just as they did the paralytic, because we are so broken. And sometimes we have to carry our friends.

We aren’t meant to walk this journey alone. I know how difficult it is to open up to others, to make myself vulnerable, but this is what we must do in order to have a relationship with one another. And it is only through this vulnerability that we are able to love. Friendships require a mutual exchange of love, it can never be one sided. The other thing I found difficult to do was to receive love. For me it is so much easier to give of myself than to receive help from others. But I have had to learn to accept the love and support that my friends offer to me. They can’t help me get closer to our Lord if I am unwilling to receive their love for me. 

The Greatest Commandment

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

There are multiple places in the Old and New Testament, (Deuteronomy, Psalms, Leviticus, each of the Gospels, 1 John, etc), that we are reminded of these two commandments. These two commandments encompass all the other commandments. If we love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind then we won’t have any other gods, we won’t use the Lord’s name in vain and we will keep holy the Sabbath. And not only will we keep holy the Sabbath but every day for us will be the Lord’s Day. If we love our neighbor as ourselves we will honor them, we won’t kill or steal or commit adultery. We won’t bear false witness against them and we won’t covet their wife or their goods.

The commandments are an expression of God’s love for us and when we obey them, we are expressing our love for God. Love leads to obedience. The more we know God, the more we love him, and the more we love him, the more we desire to serve him and to do his will. But like the Pharisees, we tend to focus on the rules and want to know how much we can bend them. Working with teenagers in our High School Ministry, they sometimes wonder how far they can “go” with their boyfriend or girlfriend before they are sinning. Rather than looking at how far we can bend the rules, we should look at why God gave us the commandments in the first place. We make up excuses for why we sin, often blaming others. I wouldn’t lose my temper if my co-workers were easier to get along with, or if my kids behaved better, or if my spouse were more considerate. I would have a pure mind if there weren’t so many sensual images in our culture. I would be more generous if we had more money. And the excuses go on and on. Making excuses is arrogant. Through pride we are trying to justify our actions and pacify our guilty conscience. It keeps us from humbling ourselves before God, repenting and seeking his forgiveness. “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.”  (James 1:14-15)

As we reflect on this gospel, we need to really look at our understanding of love. Love is a gift from God. We are able to love because God loved us first. We are a gift to one another and we need to see God in each person that we encounter and show reverence for that person. Jesus tells us that the greatest sign of our discipleship is how we love one another. (John 13:35) “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whomever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20) I know it is not always easy to love others. I tend to hold grudges and hold onto the pain that someone has caused me. Being a disciple of Christ is not easy. The path is narrow, the road is often paved with difficulty and often times others we are alone. But with God’s grace we are able to persevere and to love as he loves. 

Much Will Be Required

Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”  (Luke 12:48)

Over the past 24 hours I have realized how much is required of me because God has entrusted me with so much. This evening I attended the funeral service of a patient I have cared for over the past 10 months but especially these past 2 months as she was placed on hospice care and the family had to make some difficult choices. We had many long talks with the family as they worked through these decisions. And while I don’t speak Spanish and didn’t understand what was being said at the service, the language of love is universal. No words were needed to express my sorrow to the family, an embrace and my presence was all that was needed.

A few weeks ago there was a conversation among a few of my co-workers regarding our responsibility to our families after their child dies. One of the doctors said it is not his responsibility to follow-up with the families. He said that he was responsible for the child and after the child dies, he has no further obligation. I was very surprised by his comment because he is so compassionate when caring for the families. The rest of us have a different opinion. These families develop deep relationships with the staff and when their child dies they need our support. Most of their family and friends have only had a glimpse of what their child had to endure while we witnessed it firsthand. We need to let them know that they are not alone and help them identify resources to help them through this difficult time. Maybe I am a little more sensitive to this because when my siblings died, there were no resources for my family and it made dealing with their deaths so much harder. It is hard to reach out at times, you don’t want to intrude on them, but I have never regretted reaching out to a family.

My husband had surgery today and it was a reminder that God has entrusted him to me as well. I was there with him before they took him back for the surgery and there when he woke up in the recovery room. Once we got home I made sure he was comfortable, changed his dressing every 30 minutes until the bleeding slowed down and got him things he needed throughout the day. It was a tender moment in time for us. It forced us to slow down and not worry about work or things around the house, etc. And then tonight at my parish we had our annual re-training for all Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. It was a reminder of what an honor and responsibility we have, distributing the Body and precious Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is not just about the steps involved but a reminder of how important it is to be prepared spiritually for this awesome responsibility which means attending Mass and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently so that God’s grace can be poured out on me.

It is humbling to know that God has entrusted me with so much and that much is demanded of me. I can only accomplish this by turning to Him for strength and guidance.

God Calls Us by Name

“I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not. I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no God beside me. It is I who arm you, though you knew me not, so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun people may know that there is none besides me. I am the LORD, there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:4-6)

It is comforting for me to know that God has called me by name. That He knew me before I was even formed in my mother’s womb. Through my childhood he was “arming me” to be a soldier of Christ even though I had no idea what he was doing behind the scenes. I never felt his presence growing up. I knew of him but I didn’t know Him. As an adult I can look back and see where he was present throughout my life especially during the dark moments when I felt so alone.  

God is God whether we chose to believe in Him or not. He is God whether we choose to follow him or not.  One of the deacons from our parish spoke at the beginning of RCIA last week and during his introduction the person mentioned the deacon wanting to be a deacon and he said, “No I didn’t, He wanted me to be a deacon.” And he looked up toward heaven. I had to smile because so often that is true. God has plans for us that include things we never desired or dreamed of happening.  If we can trust that God is with us always, he can use everything for his glory. I see this so vividly at the hospital. Some of the things these families have to endure are almost unbearable. And often their child having cancer isn’t the worst thing they have to deal with. But those that believe in God are able to find strength and peace in the midst of the storms. They are a beautiful witness to the glory of God and to the love that God has for each one of us. 

One family who never thought they would be able to step foot in the hospital again after their daughter died, comes back every couple of months with boxes of gifts for the prize closet in our clinic and for the Child Life Specialists to wrap for birthday gifts when a child has to spend it in the hospital. Throughout the year the family will host events in their home town in memory of their daughter and that is where the gifts come from. A group of families whose child died from cancer formed an organization called Camp Sol that offers support for other families dealing with the death of a child. It supports the whole family; their mission is to “heal the family heart.” These are just a few examples of how God can turn a tragedy into an opportunity to offer love and support to others in this world that are hurting. We all have the choice to allow our trials to beat us down and leave us bitter or to turn them into a moment of grace and allow God to lead us to things that we could never imagine.

Engaged Though Our Senses

God reveals himself through our senses. We are sensual beings and when our senses are engaged, the experience is often more profound. The Mass engages our senses in so many ways. The rising of the incense engages our sense of smell. The crucifix, the candles, the vestments and so many other things draw us in visually. The beautiful music, the prayers, the Liturgy and the bells ringing during the consecration are just a few of the ways that we are engaged through our sense of hearing. Holding hands and exchanging the sign of peace are tactile ways that we are drawn into communion with one another. And we taste the Body and Blood of our Lord. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood true drink.” (John 6:54-55)

It is amazing how a certain smell can bring back memories of our childhood. The smell of cookies baking takes me back to my mom’s kitchen baking Christmas cookies with my siblings and my mom. A certain song can draw up a memory of wonderful times such as singing with my sisters, or dancing with my husband. A song can even draw up sad memories. Recently at Mass we sang “On Eagles Wings” and the tears began flowing, taking me back to my mother’s funeral. I love listening to music, especially Christian music that draws me closer to God. Sometimes the words fit a certain situation perfectly. I feel that God is talking to me through a particular song. Often times a homily will feel like it was written just for me and the situation that I am dealing with. I think it is a gift from God and that the Holy Spirit is speaking through the priest.

Sometimes certain things can draw up terrible memories and we need healing of these memories. You think you have worked through a traumatic event or at least blocked it out of your mind completely but walking into the room where the trauma occurred sends you reeling back to when you were that frightened, helpless teenager afraid to go to sleep at night. The smell of alcohol on someone’s breath takes you back to the screaming and hateful words that left you cowering in the corner. These traumatic events need to be healed. If we try to just block them out or stuff them deep inside us, they continue to fester and the littlest thing can set it off. It takes God’s healing power to set us free from these memories. It is frightening to go back to these events but with the support of people that are trained in healing prayer, it will set you free. I have experienced this first hand and am so thankful for the people that God has placed in my life that have walked with me through the fire and have helped me to find peace. 

Stop Judging!

 

"For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same thing.” (Romans 2:1)

So often we judge others. We think to ourselves, “I would never do that!” Or we say to someone else, “Can you believe he just did that?” or “How could she do such a thing?” When we focus on the behavior of others, it is a way of distracting ourselves so that we don’t have to look at our own sinful behaviors. It is painful to look at ourselves and see the dark places in our hearts. We are all capable of doing evil things and if we chose to not believe this than we are condemning ourselves. If we think we are not capable of doing evil, we are putting on blinders to our own sinful behaviors. We chose to ignore the times that we wish harm on someone who has betrayed us; the times we have torn someone down through our gossip; the times we have ignored the needs of those around us while we over-indulge. When we do these things we either rationalize our behavior or are filled with shame. Shame because we are doing the very thing that we so harshly judged someone else for doing. Both of these responses prevent God’s grace from working in our lives. We often hold God’s “priceless kindness, forbearance and patience in low esteem.” We diminish God’s abilities by our closed-minded way of thinking. We need to allow His grandeur to be unbound by our pettiness.

God is creating us moment by moment; we are constantly being called to follow him. Conversion is a life-long process so we should be focusing on how we can become more Christ-like instead of judging what others are doing. We need to pray for God to reveal to us the places within us that need to be refined by the fire of his love. At the end of each day, through prayer, we need to look back on the day and see where we faltered (or fell flat on our face) and where we allowed God to work in our lives by being open to Him. We ask for forgiveness for the wrong we have done and we ask for the strength to follow his precepts the next time we are faced with the temptation to do our will and not his. We give thanks for the grace he has given us to do his will and live our lives as we are called to live as his sons and daughters. By doing this, we learn to detect God’s presence throughout our day and discern his direction for us in our daily lives.

Making Room for the Holy Spirit

I went to a class on Saturday, “Introduction to Christian Healing” and the speaker was wonderful. He talked about the Holy Spirit. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells us, “When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first.” (Matthew 11:24-26)

I have heard this gospel many times and didn’t really understand the part about the seven spirits moving in until yesterday. The speaker mentioned that sometimes we try to overcome sin with pride. We think we can overcome it by ourselves, driving it out of us by sheer will. And we may be able to stop the action for a while but without the Holy Spirit, those seven spirits will come and that sin is even more difficult to overcome. Rather than the unclean spirit finding our hearts swept clean, it needs to find our hearts filled with the Holy Spirit. It is only with the strength of the Holy Spirit that we are able to overcome the sin once and for all. We all have a sin or sins that we seem to repeat over and over. I know for myself I have tried to be like the person in this story. I think by my own will I can resist the temptations of my particular sin that I struggle with but it never works. And then I am angry at myself for being weak. But I know that when I call upon the Holy Spirit for strength that I am able to resist the temptation. I haven’t been successful in overcoming this sin once and for all, yet, but I know that when I call upon the Holy Spirit, I am moving in the right direction.

He spoke about the Holy Spirit anointing us, and with any anointing there is oil. This oil is poured over us and makes it harder for the enemy to take hold of us. Our heavenly Father is so powerful and majestic, beyond our comprehension, Jesus walks beside us in his humanity but God the Holy Spirit dwells within us. If we allow him to settle in our hearts, than there is no room for unclean spirits.

“The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

In Tandem with Him

There have been several meditations this week in Magnificat about prayer. And today is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. Pope Benedict XVI says prayer is “about God’s desire to offer us the gift of himself. Prayer is a way of gradually purifying and correcting our wishes and of slowly coming to realize what we really need: God and his Spirit.”

To walk in the Spirit is to live in the present moment, always looking to Christ, always practicing His Presence, always moving in tandem with Him. (Restoring the Christian Soul, p.53) What a beautiful image that is, moving in tandem with Him. We are able to get to this place when we are in communion with God through prayer. God wants us to have an intimate relationship with him. He wants us to trust him with everything that is in our hearts; our hopes, desires, fears, struggles, praise, etc. As I have grown closer to Christ, all of these things have taken on a new light. My desire is to please him; my struggles are against sin and anything else that keeps me from him, all praise and glory is to Him alone, my fears often put up a barrier between me and God because I am often afraid to even voice them. But acknowledging our fears and bringing them into the light allows for the fear to be lifted and is the first step in allowing God to give us the strength to overcome them. My prayers become less about me and more about God’s desires for me.

But I am still trying to find a balance. Several months ago I had to go for a biopsy. I asked Fr. Jason, “Do I pray that the biopsy is negative or do I pray for God’s will to be done and for the grace to accept whatever happens?” He said to pray for both. We know that God is capable of complete healing so I need to have confidence in that when I pray. But we must also pray, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.” It is not either or, but it is both. Fr. Jason anointed me the morning of the biopsy, and when I went to have it done, the nodule was gone; there was nothing to biopsy!! People tried to say that the test must have been wrong instead of even considering that a miracle had occurred. Of course, we knew it was a miracle and the first thing I did was give thanks to our heavenly Father.

The purpose of prayer is not to change the order established by God, but to obtain what God has decided to accomplish by means of our prayer. God wants the working out of certain things to depend on our desire and prayer. Is it not through prayer and our desire that we share in the fullness of God’s work and go beyond the limitations of our actions?  ~ Fr. Bernard Bro, O.P.

Listening With a Heart Like Mary

 

 “Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.’ The Lord said to her in reply, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.’” (Luke 10:38-42)

Today’s gospel reading always makes me want to defend Martha. Jesus came to her home for dinner, Jesus, the Messiah! Of course she wants everything to be perfect. I have always been an introvert and having people over for dinner takes me out of my comfort zone. It has gotten much better over the years and now I can relax and enjoy our company instead of worry about everything being perfect. But just as Martha was missing the opportunity to be with the Lord and enjoy his presence, in my eagerness to serve my company, I almost missed the opportunity to enjoy the companionship of my friends. And that is why they were invited in the first place, to spend some intimate time together in our ever busy world.

I think for most of us, a part of us is Mary and we want to sit at the Lord’s feet and listen to him speak to us. But there is a lot of Martha in us as well. There is always so much to do. There is so much need in the world. I find this especially true at work. Yesterday I had a new family to meet whose child had a bone tumor that was possibly cancer. I had a family whose baby girl is on hospice and having some difficulties, a child who was sick with fever and needing to be admitted to the hospital and a child who had relapsed. And these are just the ones that required a lot of time and compassion. I have to take a step back and offer up a prayer before I go see each family otherwise it is too overwhelming. We can’t just focus on the tasks that need to be done because what we do is so much more than that.

Our world today applauds achievement but our Lord desires companionship and intimacy. The world is telling us to do more, obtain more, show everyone how successful you are. But our Father whispers, “Be still and know that I am God.” The closer we draw to the heart of Christ, the more we see his heart for the world. And so we serve, we minister, and we love, knowing that when we do it for “the least of these” we are doing it for Christ. But we have to constantly draw him close, allow him to guide us so that what we are doing is for our brother, not for ourselves. We need to sit at the feet of Jesus with an open heart and ready to receive. 

There is No Hiding From the Lord

 Today’s readings from the Book of Jonah and the gospel of Luke are so rich with lessons about how we are to live our lives and also about God’s mercy. There is so much that can be said about both of them but I am going to share my meditation on the story of Jonah. This story demonstrates the sovereignty of God as he employs his creation to accomplish his divine plan. God often chooses those who really don’t want to do his will. Jonah knows who God is and even tells the mariners, “I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”  (Jonah 1:9) But when God asks him to go to the city of Nineveh and preach to them, Jonah literally takes off in the other direction. Anyone who truly understands who God is and has a proper respect for Him, knows you cannot run from God and that obedience to God is always the best course of action. And just as we see with Jonah, our sinfulness often affects those around us. The Lord hurled a violent storm upon the sea and the ship was almost at the point of breaking apart. The mariners on the boat were terrified.

Father, forgive me for the times that I have responded in the same way that Jonah did; running away from the things you are asking me to do. Sometimes I think that what you are asking of me is too hard. Rather than trusting that you never give us more than we can bear, I become overwhelmed. Often what you ask of me is more than I can bear alone, but if I reach out to you, call out for your help, I will be strengthened by your grace. My disobedience causes the same turmoil in my life that Jonah experienced and my disobedience often cause pain and turmoil for those around me. It is not only you that I sin against. I do long to do your will but my flesh is weak. The words of Saint Paul ring true for me. “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want to do, but I do what I hate.” (Romans 7:15) I come to you with a contrite heart and ask for the grace to do your will and to never fear what it is that you ask of me because it is all for your glory. Amen.

Your Name is Written in Heaven

“The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.’ Jesus said, ‘I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power to tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.’”  (Luke 10: 17-20)

The joy in discipleship is not in authority over demonic power, but in the citizenship of God’s Kingdom. In today’s Gospel, we get an understanding of revelation and how it works in Jesus’ ministry. The kingdom of heaven is shared among Jesus’ disciples. It is a kingdom of power over all forms of evil. It is a kingdom in which those who are a part of it are privy to knowledge of the Father because the Son (whom only the Father knows) chooses to whom he will reveal it. It is the “childlike” who are chosen for this revelation. God’s kingdom and the understanding therein, are for those with whom the Son shares it.  Again, Jesus teaches us about the humility necessary to be his disciple. They are able to “tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy” because of Christ alone.

We were chosen by God and all we have has been given to us by God. Our discipleship is strengthened by our willingness to receive and be taught. The more we are open to God, the more he will reveal to us about his Father and about ourselves. Let us be open to all that God has in store for us. Let us allow “the dawn from on high” to “break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1: 78-79) May we always rejoice that our names are written in heaven!!