Endless love

Many years ago, there was a popular song called “Endless Love” – a very sweet and very melismatic duet of romantic love.

It is easy to be cynical about this song, even if one is not instantly allergic to soft rock or romantic ballads, for the world overflows with the wreckage of loves that the lovers had truly felt would last forever.

Rare indeed in our world today is a love between two people that lasts from youth until old age and death and yet even then it may seem hyperbole to call it “endless”.

Speaking of “endless”, tonight’s readings – especially if all of them were read in their entirety – may have seemed endless to some in the congregation (and even perhaps to some in the sanctuary) and yet these readings present to us – in great beauty and in wonderful detail – a love that is truly endless: God’s love for his people, God’s love for us, God’s love for you and me.

***

These readings take us on an amazing journey through this truly endless love, beginning at the very beginning (Genesis 1:1-2:2):

In the beginning,
when God created the heavens and the earth…

We hear the care with which God created the world and everything in it. We hear the mindboggling honor given to us in our own creation:

God created man in his image;
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And we hear God’s contentment in us and in the world he had created.

God looked at everything he had made,
and he found it very good.

And we know that, despite what we as individuals and as a race have done to ourselves and to the rest of God’s creation, deep down the goodness of God still dwells in all things – somehow, somewhere – needing God’s redemption.

***

The story of that redemption begins to be heard in the second reading (Genesis 22:1-18) in the account of Abraham and the near death of his beloved son Isaac.

On a basic level, this reading demonstrates that obedience and faithfulness are still possible “in this crazy, mixed up world”.

On more profound and so much more wonderful levels, this reading foreshadows the ultimate act of love and redemption: foreshadowed in Abraham’s words “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust” and foreshadowed by Abraham’s willingness to offer his son.

It does not take much imagination or scholarship to see these words and deeds fulfilled in God the Father’s gift of his only Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, whose sacrifice would take away the sins of the world and lead to the glory of the resurrection (indeed, Hebrews 11:19 tells us that Abraham’s near-sacrifice was an act of resurrection faith).

No matter how dark and hopeless the world may sometimes seem, faithfulness is still possible through the power of God’s love and grace.

***

The power of God’s redemption is revealed with unprecedented drama and majesty in tonight’s third reading (Exodus 14:15-15:1) as Moses parts the Red Sea, as the People of God are rescued in a way that was unimaginable, and as hatred and arrogance drive the forces of Pharaoh to their own destruction.

We have all heard this many times before and we have all seen that great scene in that movie with Charlton Heston. It is easy to forget, therefore, what it must have been like for the people of Israel on that night.

They are in a strange place, with no familiar landmarks. There is a dark cloud around them, making it impossible to see the massive army they know is out there, within moments of coming to kill them all. Suddenly they are face-to-face with a large body of water that cuts off any hope of escape.

None of them could ever have imagined what happened next.

They would be saved by what was up to then the most earthshaking surprise in history.

God’s power to save his people is stronger than human reckoning and the wisdom of his plan for our salvation is deeper than any human being could ever imagine.

All we need to do is to be faithful, to be loving, to be truly wise, and to trust – no matter what.

***

In the fourth reading (Isaiah 54:5-14), God’s redemption is expressed in ways that are intense, intimate and personal.

For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great tenderness I will take you back.
In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
I hid my face from you;
but with enduring love I take pity on you,
says the LORD, your redeemer.

We all seek love. Some of us think we have found our “endless love” and some of us have been devastated by love.

Tonight’s fourth reading reminds us of the love that is truly endless: the “enduring love” of God.

We may experience times of pain. We may even (God forbid) experience of wrath (brought about by our own sin, as individuals and as a race).

But the power of God’s love is always there, calling us back: calling us to experience the intimacy for which truly we were created, intimacy with infinity itself.

The ultimate, the perfect, the enduring, the true endless love that God has for us – for you and for me.

May we never be afraid of opening ourselves to the powerful and tender, mysterious and pure love of God.

***

Tonight’s fifth reading (Isaiah 55:1-11) spreads before us a wonderful and diverse banquet of forms and means by which God’s redemptive power comes to us.

All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!

You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
come, without paying
and without cost,
drink wine and milk!

It reminds us of how hopeless it is to find real and lasting fulfillment in the things of this world.


Why spend your money
for what is not bread,
your wages
for what fails to satisfy?

Heed me,
and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.

Come to me heedfully,
listen, that you may have life.

Again and again, God rings for us the dinner bell of grace, calling us again and again to turn away from evil, selfishness and hollow pleasures, and to turn back to him.

Seek the LORD
while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked man his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.

We may think ourselves intelligent, proud of our technological prowess even as we recognize in our heart of hearts that technology, science, and The Latest Thing have not made us happier – indeed, sometimes quite the opposite.

God offers us true wisdom and eternal happiness.

For my thoughts
are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways
my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens
are above the earth,
so high are my ways
above your ways
and my thoughts
above your thoughts.

And then, quite fittingly in the midst of this long set of readings, the Prophet reminds us of the power of God’s word.

For just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

May we always take the time – each day and each week – to seek the Lord, to partake of his goodness (especially in the Sacraments), to read his Word, and to open ourselves to the grace and the wisdom that only he can give.

***

The role of God’s wisdom as a vehicle for his redeeming power becomes even more explicit in tonight’s sixth reading (Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4).

The metaphor here is not one of eating and drinking, but of location.

The prophet Baruch writes from the awful exile of Babylon, in the dusty land we now today as Iraq.

The people of God are literally in the wrong place.

How is it, Israel,
that you are in the land of your foes,
grown old in a foreign land…?

The metaphor is very apt for many of us.

How is it that we are where we are in our lives?

How did we let our lives take us so far off track?

Had you walked in the way of God,
you would have dwelt in enduring peace.

Learn where prudence is,
where strength, where understanding;
that you may know also
where are length of days, and life,
where light of the eyes, and peace.

May we reach out to Christ, the eternal Wisdom of God.

May he teach us spiritual and emotional prudence.

May God make us truly wise.

***

The seventh reading (Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28) vividly describes the need of the People of God for redemption - their sin and their punishment – but also vividly describes the redemption that God promises.

As mentioned before, our lives and our sins have brought us to a place where we should not be.

I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.

We have let ourselves be soiled – in our thoughts, in our feelings, in our words, and in our bodies.

I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

We have deadened our conscience and our true feelings of compassion.

I will give you a new heart
and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.

I will put my spirit within you
and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.

God can bring us home: spiritually and in every way.

You shall live in the land I gave your fathers;
you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.
***

How will God do all this for us? How will God redeem us?

Tonight’s eighth reading (Romans 6:3-11) lays it out for explicitly: by dying and rising in Christ through baptism.

Are you unaware
that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?

We were indeed buried with him
through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.

All we have to do, therefore, is live that way and think that way – by the power of his grace.

If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.

We know that Christ, raised from the dead,
dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.

As to his death, he died to sin once and for all;
as to his life, he lives for God.

Consequently,
you too must think of yourselves
as being dead to sin
and living for God in Christ Jesus.

***
What makes all of this possible is described in the final reading, the powerful account in the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke (24:1-12):

At daybreak
on the first day of the week
the women
who had come from Galilee with Jesus
took the spices they had prepared
and went to the tomb.

They found the stone
rolled away from the tomb;
but when they entered,
they did not find the body
of the Lord Jesus.

While they were puzzling over this,
behold,
two men in dazzling garments
appeared to them.

They were terrified
and bowed their faces to the ground.

They said to them,
“Why do you seek the living one
among the dead?
He is not here,
but he has been raised."





Christ is risen.

Indeed, he is risen.

May we kneel before the risen Christ, may we open our hearts and lives to his redeeming power, and may we spread his truth everywhere, by our words, by our deeds, and by the endless love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

(adapted from an earlier post)

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Station Churches of Lent have come to an end, but today, on this Good Friday, it is good to call to mind yet another Church involved with stations: the Stations of the Cross, the last stations of which are within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

There, just beyond the arch to the left,
is where our Lord died.

We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You
because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi,
quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

The Basilica of St. John Lateran

The Lenten march of the Station Churches has come to an end as Lent gives way to the celebration of the Triduum, but we are brought yet again to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran for it is here that the Bishop of Rome traditionally begins the celebration of the Triduum, and the end of Lent, with the celebration of Holy Thursday Mass at his Cathedral and the washing of the feet.



In 2013, the new Bishop of Rome (elected just before Holy Week) had not yet taken formal possession of the Cathedral and celebrated the Holy Thursday evening Mass at a local prison for young people, washing the feet of prisoners there as an act of Christ-like outreach (may we all keep our focus on Christ during this Triduum and turn away from any distraction).

May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who washed the feet of his disciples, bless you and me with abundant graces during this Triduum, so that we may follow our Lord as faithful servants.

(updated from an earlier post)

The Basilica of St. Mary Major

Today's Station Church...
for the second time in the season of Lent... and it is appropriate that the Station Church circuit comes here on the day before Holy Thursday, so that we can begin our celebration of the Lord's passion, death, and resurrection with the same mind and heart as that of Mary, the Sorrowful Mother of our Lord, so that we may share in the joy of the resurrection.

Santa Prisca

Today's Station Church.

The Church of Saint Praxedes

Today's Station Church.

Yesterday's historic meeting

Testing... testing...

A very different religious leader was now on the stage and the crowds loved him.

But the world would turn on him.

So we have seen in recent days, as Pope Francis – very different in style from his predessor – was welcomed enthusaistically by the crowds and even the media, but was soon the target of grim accusations from elites, for he did not walk in lockstep with their agendas and actually took as his own his predessor’s warning against “the dictatorship of relativism.”

So also we hear in today’s readings, as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is welcomed enthusiastically by the crowds and then in a few days is dragged off to his death by the elites of that time and place.

So it was for our Lord, so it is for His Vicar on earth, and so may it be for us.

We should be prudent, of course: focusing on doing what we can to spread God’s truth and share His love rather than seeking confrontation for its own sake. 

As Thomas More says in A Man for All Seasons, “it's God part, not our own, to bring ourselves to such a pass.”

Also, as our Lord Himself says in today’s Passion (Luke 22:14—23:56),
“Pray that you may not undergo the test.”

That test, that great period of trial, is coming – perhaps not fully in our lifetime, perhaps so: the years and even centuries of relative peace enjoyed by the Church are not guaranteed to be uninterupted.

And the test may come for us as individuals before that – a time when we as individuals may be challenged and inflicted with harm because of our embrace of the Faith.

We need to pray that we may not undergo that test, but that we may be able to spread God’s truth and share His love with as few obstacles as possible.

Yet we must also pray to be ready for the test – when God in His infinite love and wisdom may bring us to such a pass – so that we may faithfully shine forth with His love and His truth no matter what.

Saint John Lateran - THE Cathedral

Today's Station Church... for the second time in the season of Lent... so we've seen it already... from its triumphant exterior...




...to its magnificent nave...

But at the far end of the church, tucked in the very center of the very back, stands a stone chair... not as ornate as one might imagine.



This is the Cathedra - the Chair of the Bishop - in the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome.

This is the Cathedra of the Pope.

For most of us, chairs are what we use to relieve our burdens, if only for a little while.

Not this chair.

This chair is itself a burden: the most fearful burden in the world, for the man who sits in it has the burden of acting and teaching and speaking as the Vicar of Christ.

At the end of all things, when Christ takes his Judgement Seat, no one will be judged more sternly than the man chosen to sit in this chair.

 

 

May we always pray for Francis, the Bishop of Rome: that his ministry may be faithful and full of the grace, truth, and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so that at the end of all things our Lord may say to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant..."

And may you and I, by the grace of Christ, carry well the burdens God has given us to bear, so that we too may hear our Lord speak to us words of joyful greeting on the Day of Judgment.

(updated from an earlier post)

The Basilica of Saint John at the Latin Gate

Today's Station Church.

Delayed vocation

He wasn't ordained a priest until he was forty, but he would accomplish much in the years of ministry that followed: including establishing the first seminary in the Western hemisphere, fighting for the rights of native Americans, and becoming an Archbishop.

St. Turibius de Mongrovejo - Archbishop of Lima, Peru - died 407 years ago today.

(adapted from an earlier post)

The Church of St. Stephen on the Caelian Hill

Also known as Santo Stefano Rotondo

Today's Station Church.

Saint Apollinaris

Today's Station Church.

Saint Marcellus

Today's Station Church.

Saint Mary in Via Lata

Today's Station Church.

“She’s pregnant.”

"Pregnant? But, I... I mean, she... I mean, we never..."

"There must be something going on you don't know about."

"I can't believe it. No, she wouldn't."

"Look, she's pregnant. There's no doubt about it. She's pregnant."

"I just can't..."

"Come on! Focus! You've got some decisions to make."

"I... what...?"

"If the child's not yours, that means she cheated on you."

"No, no, she wouldn't..."

"Hey, face reality. If you didn't do it, that means somebody else did. I know you love her, but it's obvious: she cheated on you. And you know what that means."

"I... oh, no. No, not that. I'm not letting that happen to her."

"Listen, it's the way it has to be."

"No! Absolutely not. There's got to be another way."

"Umm.... well... there's a legal thing we can do quietly. That way you can go on with your life and she can go on to... whatever."

"But she doesn't get hurt."

"No, she doesn't get hurt."

"Well, I guess... but, I... I just don't know..."

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,

"Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, 'God with us.'"

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife....

cf Matthew 1:20-24

Today is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph
Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(from an earlier post)

Saint Chrysogonus

Today's Station Church.

Challenges for the bishop

He was a native of the city, a priest of the Diocese, and well thought of by the bishop and others, so it was no surprise that he was picked to be the new bishop upon his mentor’s death.

But he had enemies, who accused him of many things – not the least of which was heresy. He was forced to leave town more than once.

In the end, he ended up on the right side of the many theological and political controversies that were buffeting the Church. Indeed, his writings on theological and liturgical matters would become widely read and treasured.

One of the interesting pastoral problems he faced was an influx of pilgrims that would come into his diocese, more and more every year, especially during the week before Easter.

The reasons for this were twofold:

First of all, his diocese (and hometown) was Jerusalem.

Second, the open practice of Christianity had just been legalized a few decades before by the Emperor Constantine.

Some say that it was Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem during the middle decades of the fourth century, who shaped the celebrations for Holy Week at Jerusalem’s holy sites (e.g., the procession with palms) and that returning pilgrims spread these practices throughout Christendom.

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop of the Holy City, great writer of Catecheses, and Doctor of the Church, is said to have died on this very day in the year 386.

(from an earlier post)

Everything is a loss

Sometimes we – as individuals and even as a Church – enjoy moments of wonderful success.

Sometimes we – as individuals and even as a Church – experience times when not everything is going well.

Sometimes we can even experience times of devastating loss.

Today’s readings speak powerfully to these experiences.

The Responsorial Psalm (126: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6) is the cry of God’s people in a time of loss:

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.

But even more powerful and clear are Saint Paul’s words in today’s Epistle (Phillipians 3:8-14):  words that speak of total loss and absolute faith, words about the attitude we should take as individuals, words also that may touch on the attitude  that Pope Francis may have meant when he spoke of us being a “poor Church”

I consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake
I have accepted the loss of all things
and I consider them so much rubbish,
that I may gain Christ
and be found in him,
not having
any righteousness of my own
based on the law
but that which comes
through faith in Christ,
the righteousness from God,
depending on faith
to know him
and the power of his resurrection
and the sharing of his sufferings
by being conformed to his death,
if somehow I may attain
the resurrection from the dead.

It is not
that I have already taken hold of it
or have already attained
perfect maturity,
but I continue my pursuit
in hope that I may possess it,
since I have indeed
been taken possession of
by Christ Jesus.

Brothers and sisters,
I for my part
do not consider myself
to have taken possession.

Just one thing:
forgetting what lies behind
but straining forward
to what lies ahead,
I continue my pursuit
toward the goal,
the prize
of God’s upward calling,
in Christ Jesus.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength
of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength
of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength
of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength
of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun, Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning, Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea, Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

I summon today all these powers
between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power
that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells
of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge
that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me,
Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ
in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ
in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation
(St. Patrick's Breastplate)

Saint Peter's Basilica

Today's Station Church (for the second time in the season of Lent).

Inside this grandest of Basilicas, tucked in a corner just inside the door all the way to the right, is one of the most famous of statues, depicting a mystery we shall celebrate in a very special way, beginning seven days from now.

Saint Nicholas "in prison"

Today's Station Church.

Saint Eusebius

Today's Station Church.

GAUDIUM MAGNUM

Basilica of Sts. Silvester and Martin

Also known as Saint Martin in the Hills

Today's Station Church.

Saint Paul's Outside the Walls

Today's Station Church. Traditional burial place of Saint Paul the Apostle. Mosaics of all the Popes are displayed inside.

Praying for the Conclave

Veni Creator Spiritus,
Mentes tuorum visita,
Imple superna gratia,
Quae tu creasti, pectora.

Qui diceris Paraclitus,
Altissimi donum Dei,
Fons vivus, ignis, caritas,
Et spiritalis unctio.

Tu septiformis munere,
Digitus Paternae dexterae,
Tu rite promissum Patris,
Sermone ditans guttura.

Accende lumen sensibus,
Infunde amorem cordibus,
Infirma nostri corpis
Virtute firmans perpeti.

Hostem repellas longius,
Pacemque dones protinus;
Ductore sic te praevio,
Vitemus omne noxium.

Per te sciamus da Patrem
Noscamus atque Filium;
Teque utri usque Spiritum
Credamus omni tempore.

Deo Patri sit gloria,
Et Filio, qui a mortuis
Surrexit, ac Paraclito
In sacculorum saecula.
Amen.

Come, Creator, Spirit,
Visit the minds that are Yours.
Fill with heavenly grace
The hearts You created.

You who are called the Paraclete,
Gift of God Most High,
Living Spring, Fire, Love,
And Spiritual Anointing.

You sevenfold gifts give,
Finger of God's right hand;
You, clear promise of the Father,
The tongue empower.

Kindle a light in our minds.
Pour love in our hearts.
Our weak bodies
Make firm with Your unfailing strength.

Drive our foe far away.
And give us peace always
Lead in such a way that
We may avoid all things despicable.

Through You, may we know the Father
And know also the Son,
And You, the Spirit of them both
May we believe at all times.

To God the Father be glory
And to the Son, who from death
Rose, and to the Paraclete
For Ages of Ages.
Amen.

Saint Lawrence in Damaso

Today's Station Church.

The Four Holy Crowned Ones on the Caelian Hill

Santi Quattro Coronati al Celio -dedicated to the memory of four brothers, Severus, Severinus, Carpophorus, and Victorius, all Roman officials who were scourged to death under thei ancient Roman emperor Diocletian - today's Station Church.

Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem

Today's Station Church.