After Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, a great crowd with swords and clubs, led by Judas, one of the Twelve disciples who will betray Him, enters the Garden and seizes Him. (Matthew 26: 36-50)

Peter, another of the Twelve disciples, draws his sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s slave. Jesus orders Peter to put his sword away, saying:

“’Put your sword back, for all who take the sword will perish. Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?’” (Matthew 26: 51-54)

A Roman legion at full strength had approximately 6,000 soldiers. So, that’s a minimum of 72,000 angels that Jesus can call upon for assistance.

And yet Jesus does not call for the angels. Instead, He quietly and willingly turns Himself over to the crowd, knowing that His decision to accept God’s plan will end in His Crucifixion. (Matthew 26: 36-56)

From the Cross, in absolute agony, Jesus says these words aloud:

“”Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’” (Luke 23: 34)

Jesus asks God to not only forgive those who have crucified Him – Jesus begs the Father’s forgiveness for all of us – those who have gone before us, those here now, and those yet to enter the world. He prays and intercedes for all of humanity, from the Cross.

Before He dies, Jesus looks down from the Cross at his beloved Mother, Mary and disciple, John, and says these words:

“’Woman, behold, your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your Mother!’” (John 19: 26)

Before He dies, Jesus reminds us of His Commandment to love one another – and positions His Mother as a powerful intercessor for all of us.

For centuries scholars, theologians, historians, believers, and non-believers have asked what would compel someone — and particularly the Son of God — to willingly accept death by Crucifixion?

In considering Jesus’ final actions and words from the Cross, we find our answer:

LOVE.

Dearest Jesus, Song that the Angels sing, how deeply we adore Thee and love Thee.

Fair and wise judge Jesus, forgive us our sins as we forgive the sins of others.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, source of all goodness, our souls long for You.

Gentle and faithful Shepherd, lead us to see the face of God.

As I move through Good Friday, the most solemn day of Holy Week, a question stirs uncomfortably in my mind – Why does it have to be this way? Why does God choose to demonstrate the depths of His Love and Mercy for us through the Crucified Jesus?

The prophets foretell that the anointed Servant of the Lord will one day offer Himself as a sacrifice to suffer viciously for the sins of all God’s people. The prophet Isaiah describes that the Lord’s Suffering Servant will be “wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities; upon Him lies the chastisement that will make us whole, and with His stripes, we are healed.” (Isaiah 54: 3).

Another prophecy in Deuteronomy describes that “a hanged man is accursed by God.” (Deuteronomy 21: 22-23)  In these verses, any man who is “hanged on a tree” is described as being “cursed.” The atoning and sacrificial nature of Jesus’ death is clearly evident in these verses since He takes on the punishment and curse that belongs to sinful men and women.

But the question still remains – Why is it that the horror of the Cross must stand at the center of the history of our Salvation? What is God trying to show us through the Cross?

St. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical on the Mercy of God (Dives In Misericordia, or “Rich in Mercy) offers us answers:

“The events of Good Friday and, even before that, in prayer in Gethsemane, introduce a fundamental change into the whole course of the revelation of love and mercy in the messianic mission of Christ. The one who ‘went about doing good and healing’(Acts 10: 38) and ‘curing every sickness and disease’ (Matthew 9: 35) now Himself seems to merit the greatest mercy and to appeal for mercy, when He is arrested, abused, condemned, scourged, crowned with thorns, when He is nailed to the cross and dies amidst agonizing torments. (Mark 15: 37, John 19: 30). 

“It is then that He particularly deserves mercy from the people to whom He has done good, and He does not receive it. …

… “In the passion and death of Christ — in the fact that the Father did not spare His own Son, but ‘for our sake made him [bear the burden of] sin’ (2 Corinthians 5: 21) — absolute justice is expressed, for Christ undergoes the passion and cross because of the sins of humanity. This constitutes even a ‘superabundance’ of justice, for the sins of man are ‘compensated for’ by the sacrifice of the Man — God.

“Nevertheless, this justice, which is properly justice ‘to God’s measure,’ springs completely from love: from the love of the Father and of the Son, and completely bears fruit in love … The divine dimension of redemption is put into effect not only by bringing justice to bear upon sin, but also by restoring to love that creative power in man … [for] he once more has access to the fullness of life and holiness that come from God …

… “The cross on Calvary, the cross upon which Christ conducts His final dialogue with the Father, emerges from the very heart of the love that man, created in the image and likeness of God, has been given as a gift, according to God’s eternal plan … It is love which not only creates the good but also grants participation in the very life of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For he who loves desires to give himself.

“The cross of Christ on Calvary … includes the call to man to share in the divine life by giving himself, and with himself the whole visible world, to God, and like an adopted son to become a sharer in the truth and love which is in God and proceeds from God. It is precisely beside the path of man’s eternal election to the dignity of being an adopted child of God that there stands in history the cross of Christ, the only begotten Son, who, as ‘light from light, true God from true God,’ (The Nicene Creed) came to give the final witness to the wonderful covenant of God with humanity, of God with man — every human being.

“This covenant, as old as man … is equally the new and definitive covenant … open to each and every individual. … And yet this is not yet the word of the God of the covenant: that will be pronounced at the dawn when first the women and then the Apostles come to the tomb of the crucified Christ, see the tomb empty and for the first time hear the message: “He is risen.” They will repeat this message to the others and will be witnesses to the risen Christ. …

… “Believing in the crucified Son means “seeing the Father,” (John 14: 9) means believing that love is present in the world and that this love is more powerful than any kind of evil in which individuals, humanity, or the world are involved.

“Believing in this love means believing in mercy. For mercy is an indispensable dimension of love; it is as it were love’s second name.”¹

I love this encyclical so much. St. Pope John Paul II’s words are even more meaningful when we reflect on his life. Although he was the child of a loving family, his life was not easy. Born in Poland, in 1920, he had lost his mother and older brother by the time he was twelve years old. An older sister had died in infancy. He was raised by his father, a deeply religious man, in the midst of political turmoil and social chaos. St. Pope John Paul II would lose his father to a heart attack in 1941. Through all of this, St. Pope John Paul II continued to search for and find the indescribable Love and Mercy of God.

St. Pope John Paul II’s life and words give us great hope.

On this Good Friday, as we look to the Cross, let us recognize the power of Divine Love and Mercy to lift all of us high above the horror of sin and the chaos of evil.

¹Click here to read in full St. Pope John Paul II’s Dives In Misericordia, published November 30, 1980. The excerpts above are taken from Chapters 7 and 8.

In my early search to know Jesus, my sister gave me a book titled, Jesus: An Interview Across Time¹. It’s written by Andrew G. Hodges, M.D., a practicing psychiatrist who seeks to answer questions that are centuries-old. Here is an excerpt from the foreward:

“Dr. Hodges believes the humanity of Jesus has been neglected. He has creatively fashioned a format in which Jesus answers intimate questions about the details of His life, including some that are not recorded in the Gospels.” Pg. 13

The book is a fascinating read of Dr. Hodges’ own estimation of Jesus, drawing from the Gospels and Hodge’s own life experiences and beliefs. Dr. Hodges’ book is filled with questions that perplex believers and non-believers alike:

“Then how did you find out that you were the chosen one, the Messiah? Did your mother tell you?” pg. 28

“You fulfilled over three hundred specific prophecies about the Messiah, yet the scholars, the ones who were supposed to teach the people what to look for in the Messiah, missed your appearance entirely. Why? Pg. 56

“Tell me about the message behind the miracles.” (pg. 180) “There have been scattered miracles performed in recent years and Christians continue to report unbelievable responses to prayer; but why don’t you do these spectacular miracles anymore?” (pg. 144)

“You didn’t care for the Pharisees very much, did you?” (pg. 191) “As I read the gospels, I never cease to be amazed at the number of times you provoked the Pharisees.” (pg. 196) “You never let up on the Pharisees.” (pg. 199)

“Can you really love a spirit, ‘someone’ you can’t see, like God?” (pg. 239)

“What do you most vividly recall about those four days between Palm Sunday and the Last Supper?” (pg. 284)

The book is provocative in the sense that each page challenges the reader to reflect more deeply on what he or she believes about Jesus. So many years later, as I seek to draw nearer to Jesus, I still find myself turning from the book to cited Bible verses, sifting what I think Jesus is trying to tell me through His life and words.

Here’s a particularly moving excerpt from Hodges’ book about prayer:

“Tell me about prayer.

[Jesus’ response] – “People think that to really pray they have to be alone for long periods of time. They don’t realize that God is their friend, who is always with them, and He is someone they can tell things to at any time, just as to a husband or a wife or a dear friend.

“Another major reason people don’t pray enough is that they’re afraid of the power they’ve been given. Imagine this: you can move the hand of God. Listen to what He says, ‘Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33: 3)

“He’s waiting to answer you. That’s why I told My disciples so many times to ask. Six times in my last message before my crucifixion, I told them to ask. Power makes people uncomfortable. They back off from the influence they have, and then their God becomes too small. I hope my people never forget that they’re made in the image of God.” (pp. 230-231)

Let your eyes and heart wander back over what Dr. Hodges is trying to share in the preceding excerpt. The “power” Hodges writes of is Love – human love and Divine Love.

Love remains the most humbling, inspiring, and freeing action any of us can choose to take. Through His Life, Death and Resurrection, Jesus shows us the undeniable power of Love to change lives. Jesus does not teach that we need to wait for heaven to know God and the full depths of His Love. Through Jesus’ remarkable humanity, we understand that we can claim the power of God’s love right now, in the present day.

Love has the power to transform our earthy lives because it naturally compels us to be more merciful toward one another. It is God’s Mercy – made known through Jesus – that frees us to be who we are meant to be – men and women wonderfully made in the very image of God. (Genesis 1: 27)

Jesus’ disciples witnessed firsthand the unparalleled power of Love and Mercy, Divine and human — and they spent the rest of their days sharing Jesus’ remarkable story:

“This was their heritage. Love was to be our power that would conquer the world, not might or material wealth or political strength or fear. A new day was dawning for all people, and my disciples were the first to know. Those who believed in Me and My Father were to be My brothers and sisters, and there would be a oneness that the world had never known.” (pg. 307-308)

This Holy Week, seek to know Jesus more deeply. Spend time in quiet prayer with Him and ask Jesus what little things you can do today, to be better — for yourself and for others. Jesus loves us and wants us to invoke the power of His Love and Mercy right now, within this earthly paradise.

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1: 14

¹ Andrew G. Hodges, M.D. Jesus: An Interview Across Time (MI: Kregel Publications, 1986, 2003).

We are deep within our Lenten journeys now. Yesterday (March 24), Catholics around the world celebrated Palm Sunday, the final Sunday of Lent and the start of Holy Week. Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphant arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem, and His Passion and Crucifixion a few days later.

In one week, the Church will celebrate the Risen Lord, on the first Easter.

My heart, this morning, is focused on the mercy of Jesus, revealed in particular by St. Pope John Paul II. In 1980, he published an encyclical dedicated to revealing God’s Mercy. Titled Dives in Misericordia¹ (or, “Rich in Mercy”), St. Pope John Paul II’s message focuses entirely on showing us that the very heart of the mission of Jesus Christ is to reveal the merciful love of the Father.

In this memorable encyclical, St. Pope John Paul II writes that mercy “is love’s second name.” He goes on to write, “Mercy is the greatest of the attributes and perfections of God, and the Bible, Tradition and the whole faith life of the People of God provide particular proofs of this.”

Early in the Old Testament, in the Book of Exodus, as God’s Commandments are made known to us, God reveals more about the depth of His Mercy:

“I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to THOUSANDS of those who love Me and keep My Commandments.” Exodus 20: 5-6

Do not be thrown off by God’s use of the word “jealous.” God is not irrational or insecure! But He is jealous for, or deeply desirous of, our love and devotion because He understands that only by entering into His Love can we find the hope and peace we yearn for in life. Only with His Love can we find the purpose and meaning that we desire, enabling us to live good and happy lives.

Only with His Mercy can we understand that God gives us each new day to start again. If we are truly sorry for our sins, and try to be better than we were the day before, God and His angels swoop in to help us.

Do we understand the depth of God’s Mercy? Yesterday at Mass, our priest said this to us:

“If you were the only person left on earth, when Jesus came down from Heaven, He would have willingly died for you alone, on the Cross. Jesus came to earth because He loves us and wants to redeem our souls — your soul and my soul.”

Jesus Himself directly tells us that He came to earth to reveal the merciful love of the Father:

“‘As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; abide (or remain) in My Love.'” John 15: 9

How do we remain in Jesus’ love? All we need is a sincere desire to know Him, to follow His teachings, and to love Him. He loves us so much. As Jesus is about to leave the world, He says this to His disciples:

“‘I will not leave you desolate (or alone); I will come to you.'” John 14: 18

Jesus is beside you now. If you ask Him to, Jesus will reveal that of all the many gifts He has to share with us, His Mercy is by far his greatest attribute and perfection. St. Pope John Paul II describes this best, within his encyclical:

“In this way, in Christ and through Christ, God also becomes especially visible in His Mercy; that is to say, there is emphasized that attribute of the divinity which the Old Testament, using various concepts and terms, already defined as ‘mercy.’ Christ confers on the whole of the Old Testament tradition about God’s mercy a definitive meaning. Not only does He speak of it and explain it by the use of comparisons and parables, but above all He [Jesus] Himself makes it incarnate and personifies it. He [Jesus] Himself, in a certain sense, is mercy. To the person who sees it in Him – and finds it in Him – God becomes ‘visible’ in a particular way as the Father who is rich in mercy.”

Jesus loves us so much. Truly, Mercy is Jesus’ — and Love’s — second name.

¹St. Pope John Paul II, Dives In Misericordia, published November 30, 1980.

“Love cannot remain by itself — it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service.”

Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Happy Ash Wednesday! ♥ Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥

It seems perfect that Ash Wednesday – a day that marks the start of Lent and our 40-day journey of spiritual preparation and self-examination leading up to the Easter celebration – should fall this year on Valentine’s Day –  a day associated with several early Christian martyrs named Valentine and recognized as a time for celebrating love and friendship.

Lent is certainly a time for abstinence, self-reflection, and penance. But Lent is also a time to listen more closely for Jesus and to trust in His loving call to follow Him. ♥

Luke’s Gospel recounts the story of Jesus calling Simon Peter as His disciple:

“One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around Him and listening to the Word of God, He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.

“When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’

“Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’

“When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

“Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him.” Luke 5: 1-11

I can totally relate to Peter’s concern that his sins are far too great for Jesus. I can also totally relate to Jesus telling Peter not to be afraid and to believe in how much He loves him.

The love Jesus has for all of us is on full display within Luke’s story. Make no doubt about it – Jesus is telling us to stop sinning. But Jesus is also asking us to not be afraid to start loving Him – and each other! He is asking each one of us to follow Him, to cast our nets deeply into life’s ocean, and to draw more souls to Him.

This Lent, may we all embrace more fully Christ’s call to leave behind our sinful ways, and to love more deeply.

And this Valentine’s Day, may we all be assured of how very much Jesus loves us.

Jesus loves you.

He loves you deeply and without end.

God’s love never fails. ♥                                                       

As we enter a new week – and prepare for the beginning of Lent this Wednesday – I encourage all of us to take a few minutes to thank the Lord for all the goodness in our lives. There is so much goodness all around us. Even during the darkest of days, we can find goodness if we look for it.

I would venture to guess that all of us are thinking about some challenge that lies before us this week. Lay that challenge before the Lord, and ask Him to lead you through the challenge. Ask Him to help you turn that challenge into some sort of goodness. Spend time in the silence with Him this week. Think about what enters your heart and mind as you sit silently with Him. God speaks to us when we are still with Him, in the silence.

God wants to lead each of us forward – always. We can accomplish so much with Jesus and through Jesus:

“I can do everything through Him (Christ) who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

Below are some verses from a beautiful hymn. Carry these words on your hearts this week:

Praise to the Lord¹

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation; O my soul praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation. All you who hear, now to His altar draw near, joining in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee; Surely His goodness and mercy shall daily attend thee. Ponder anew, what the Almighty can do, who with His love doth befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him! All that hath life and breath come now with praises before Him! Let the Amen sound from His people again, now as we worship before Him.

¹Written by Joachim Neander

This morning, I rose early with the most vivid image in my mind. I had been dreaming. I do not normally recall nor spend much time thinking about my night time dreams! This dream was different. Given my new year’s resolution to draw nearer to Jesus, I will share this story.

I woke up with an image of Michelangelo’s Pietà on my mind – a marble sculpture of the Blessed Mother Mary holding the dead body of her Son, Jesus, after He was taken down from the Cross. In my dream, Michelangelo’s sculpture was painted with vibrant colors. I could see myself kneeling there, before the Pietà. The Blessed Mother was peering down at me intently, as if she were trying to say something.

As I sipped my morning coffee, the image remained on my mind, and slowly I felt a sense of peace settle on my heart. I thought more about the amazing Peace and Love that ultimately triumphed over that terrible event on Golgotha.

I began to think about the brokenness that exists in each one of us – a brokenness that causes indescribable pain at times. We tend to see this brokenness most clearly within our own families. We know each other so well.

We know that God gives us very specific people to love in the world. Jesus describes this in the Gospel of John, in a prayer to the Father:

“I have revealed You to those whom You gave Me out of this world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me and they have obeyed Your Word.” John 17: 6

Jesus asks that we follow His example of loving others, as God loves us:

“’As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Now remain in My love. If you obey My commands, you will remain in My Love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His Love. I have told you this so that My Joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.’” John 15: 9-11

Loving others – and in particular, our families – fulfills us. It completes us in ways we cannot imagine.

And yet loving others well requires sacrifice and effort. Love demands that we be willing to put the needs of others above our own. It commands a willingness to listen to and engage with one another – and a willingness to forgive. Love is not always easy. Loving family members, in particular, can be tough. Again, we know each other well.

Love is a choice we make. Before Jesus dies on the Cross, He asks His beloved disciple, John, to watch over His Mother:

“When Jesus saw His Mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His Mother, ‘Dear Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your Mother.’ From that time on, this disciple [John] took her into his home.” John 19: 26-27

Through this gesture, Jesus confirms that God gives us our families to love – and that we must choose how deeply we love them.

Through my dream, I feel the Blessed Mother was reminding me to love deeply those family members who have been given to me in this world.

Dearest Jesus, help us not to lose hope when we see brokenness in this world. Especially within our families, help us to love deeply, to seek to understand and to forgive, and to turn to You first, when we are angry and hurt. Help us to cherish the families You have given us, and to search for and find the goodness in one another.

These words from St. John of the Cross are compelling:

“In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”

We are in this world to love.

Our desire and commitment to love ultimately defines our happiness on earth, and eternally with the Father. Someday, God will ask each one of us how much we loved others. He will ask us to recall those times when we gave of ourselves beyond what we thought was possible. He will ask about the times we chose to forgive – and not to forgive. God will ask about the times when we chose pride over loving each other.

What will I say to Him?

Nine days into the new year, I have one resolution on my heart – to draw nearer to Jesus. 

One way I plan to do this is by spending more time with Him in the silence.

Lastnight, before I fell asleep, I asked my guardian angel and the Holy Spirit to wake me early in the morning, before my alarm rings – and to get me out of bed. These two things do not always happen in tandem, right?!

As if on cue, at 4:45 a.m., I was awakened by our German Shepherd, who wanted to go outside. The wind was howling as I walked with her through the door and into the morning air. A wintry mix of snow and rain brushed my cheeks. As we made our way across the lawn, I couldn’t help but smile as I realized what had happened – my guardian angel and the Holy Spirit were hard at work, and there was no turning back. I was up and starting my day!

By 5:30 a.m., I was sitting at my table, with coffee in hand. I turned to the Gospel of John, Chapter 20, which details the empty tomb and Jesus’ subsequent appearances to Mary Magdalene and His disciples. It’s quite a scene – filled with two distinct calls to action. First, Jesus does all that He can to help the disciples believe that it is truly Him, risen from the dead. In particular, He shows the disciples the wounds from the crucifixion, on His hands and His side. (John 20: 20).

Second, as He breathes and prays over them, Jesus says these words to them:

“’Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’” John 20: 22

Later in the chapter, Jesus meets up with Thomas, one of the disciples who doubts that He is risen from the dead. Jesus shows Thomas His wounds and says to him,

“’Stop doubting and believe.’” John 20: 27

Before we can do anything else well, we must first believe.

Jesus speaks so plainly to His disciples – and to all of us today – about how we can remain near to Him:

BELIEVE. FORGIVE.

What would happen if we focused more on Jesus’ gentle commands? What would change for us and for others in this new year?  

I bet if we believed more, we would readily get out of bed, to have time with the Lord in silence and to plan out our days together. We would reprioritize our time and look for more opportunities to genuinely help others. We would have more peace, even when chaos swirls around us. We would turn to Him first, when we are not sure what to do, and He would help us to stay focused on goodness.

I bet if we forgave more, we would more readily see Christ in one another. We would have more patience with each other – and with ourselves. We would certainly be more humble and more aware of the gifts of others around us. We would feel more hopeful and joyful.

We would draw and remain nearer to Jesus.

Jesus continues to call to us in the new year.

BELIEVE. FORGIVE.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4: 31-32

Jesus is calling to us in the new year:

“’I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.’” John 10:10

I relish the promise of Jesus’ words: I do not want you to have just an ordinary life – I want you to have an extraordinary and abundant life. That is My dream for you, dear ones.

I think about the dreams and longings we hold in our hearts. God has given each one of us every talent and grace we need to bring those dreams to life. These talents and graces are as unique as our dreams.

The longings of our hearts matter – these are the things that make us come alive. These are the gifts of goodness, from God, that we alone can bring to the world. And some day, the dreams we realize will become our legacy.

Will this be the year we make a dream a reality?

I can remember a time when I was wrestling with change. A dear friend with much faith in God told me, “Do what frightens you. Say your prayers, listen for God, and take a chance with Him.”

That is perhaps some of the best advice I have ever received; so I pass these words along to you.

May this be a year of “abundant” living, with Christ and through Christ, for all of us.

Happy New Year!