Even Now, Return to me

“Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.” (Joel 2:12-13)

These are the words of the prophet Joel to the people of Israel, but they are no less words for us today. “Even now” he cries, “return to [the Lord]. “Even now”, whether close or far from God, return to Him who is slow to anger and rich in kindness.

Scripture tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), what then are we to do… “Repent and believe” (Mark 1:15), Jesus says or as the Douay Reims declares, “Do penance…”

Merrium Webster defines penance as “an act of self-abasement, mortification or devotion performed to show sorrow or repentance for sin.” Further, mortification is defined as “the subjection and denial of bodily passions and appetites by abstinence or self-inflicted pain or discomfort.”

These are in keeping with what John XXIII says in Paenitentiam Agere, “Penance is that counterforce which keeps the forces of concupiscence in check and repels them.” and elsewhere, “Only so [by penance] will he be able to drive away the enemy of his soul and keep his baptismal innocence unsullied, or regain God’s grace when it is lost by sin.”

And how shall we make a return to the Lord (RF Psalm 116:12)? Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These three pillars of Lenten penance are key to our “return to [to the Lord].”

Prayer is that elevation of the mind and heart to God (CF CCC 2559). A conversation of love. But prayer is penance too, Br. Lawrence reminds us that we “ought to give ourselves up to God, [in things both] temporal and spiritual… seek[ing] our satisfaction only in fulfilling His will, whether he lead us by suffering or by consolation, for all would lie equal to a soul fully resigned.” He further states “that… needed fidelity in those dryness, or insensibilities and irksomeness in prayer, by which our God tries our love to him, that then was the time for us to make good and effectual acts of resignation, whereof one alone would often times very much promote our spiritual advancement.”

Fasting is refraining from food or drink as an expression of interior penance. (CCC p 879 Glossary). It is too, however, an “apprenticeship in self-mastery” (CCC2339), a school in self-discipline.  Jesus says, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me (CF Matt 16:24). Our willful self-denial, first and foremost of those things that offend God, leads us most surly through the “narrow gate” (Matt 7:13-14). In fasting we learn to long for the things of heaven and to despise the things of earth, to subdue our passions and affections and order them to the things of God.

Almsgiving. Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (Matt 19:21). Jesus is constantly calling us back to himself, back to a relationship with Him. The “poor are with us always” (Matt 26:1), and it is the poor in spirit who have the kingdom of heaven (CF Matt5:3). Sharing our material goods and monies with the poor is both charity and penance. For we give from what we have and not only from our surplus (ref Mark 12:42-44, Tobit 4:16).

In addition to the materially poor are our spiritually poor brothers and sisters. Those who do not yet know God, or those who because of sin, or fear are far from God.

Let us remember the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. In this way we minister, as good stewards of God’s grace, to both the material and spiritual welfare of our neighbor.

Lord, as we enter this holy season of Lent, let us, even now, return to you. Guide us this Lent in your ways, and by our discipline and self-denial, make us holy and acceptable in your sight. For we know, Lord, that you are faithful from age to age and that eternal is your merciful love. Amen.

Hope in the Garden

In what lies the hope of the Bramble? It is nothing less than the patience and mercy of so good a Gardener. For how often the bramble tests the patience of the Gardner, growing unruly and feral among the plants of His well-tended garden. How patient He must be in his tender care of so unruly a bush.

It is a stubborn shrub, growing wild, always pushing back against the efforts of the Gardener. Poking and piercing him as he tends and cares for such a stubborn bush.

It is the love of the Gardener, however, that continues his work without delay. Trimming here and pruning there, despite the constant struggle, the scraping and poking, the rigidness of its many branches, all resisting the efforts of so good and patient a Gardener.

And yet, in this struggle, the bramble begins to thrive, to grow ever more docile before the tender care of the Gardener. The bramble too learns patience with itself, trusting in the Gardener’s wisdom, his knowledge of how to tend and care for each plant in His garden. No plant escapes His touch, His tender loving care.

It pleases the Gardener to care for his garden, to lovingly tend to them, each according to their need, not leaving any to grow so unruly as to overtake and smother the other plants in his tender care. No, each thrives under his loving care, growing where his wills, for their good and for his glory. For the garden is his most precious belonging, his tender care, his delight.

He loves each of the plants in the garden, desiring them to bloom in due season. It is his pleasure to watch them grow and flourish under his loving gaze and tender care.

Though the bramble is the least of all the plants in the garden, for it is the most unruly, it is for the Gardeners good pleasure that he patiently tends to it. In its littleness, the unruly bush grows tall and strong, wrapping its crooked branches around the great tree in the middle of the garden. For in its shade, he finds rest from the heat of the day and cover in times of storms.

 The delight of this feral shrub is the patient care and inexhaustible mercy of the Gardner. For in what, and in whom can such a wild bush entrust its heart. For only is the tender care of so gentle a Gardner can such an unruly bush find its hope. Not trusting in itself, nor surrendering to its unruly nature, this lowly shrub takes rest in the Gardner’s patient care. For in time, in the care of so great a Gardner, will this wild bush bloom and blossom at its appointed time. This is the goal of the Gardner, the purpose of his pruning, despite the suffering he may endure from such a thorny bramble. For it is through this suffering and pain that the bramble of the lord comes to know his worth as equal to the Rose and the Lily.

“O merciful Gardener, be patient with my unruly nature, see not what I am of myself, but see, in what you see and love in your garden, a tender bush, waiting for it’s time to blossom and bloom. A treasured bramble among the roses and lilies. Continue, I pray, your tender work, so, that loved by so sweet a Gardner, I may come at long last, surrendered to your will and to your loving care, the beautiful bramble of the lord you have made me to be. May I always flourish under your care and grow strong and docile to the hand of the patient Gardener. That one day, by your loving care, I may bear the fruit you desire of me. That the sweet aroma of my flowers may delight you and so please you, you who have been so patient with me. Let it be, not as I will, but as you will. Amen.”

Humility and Grace

What wonderous love the Gardner has for his garden. And what love in turn has the bramble for so good a Gardner. For it has pleased the Gardner to come to the aid of so wild a bramble. In this time of Lent, the Gardener has drawn close to the bramble and sought to uproot from around him the stubborn weeds which have persisted for many years, most especially that one weed which grows tall and proud among his branches. This has truly been a gift from the Gardner and the bramble is ever grateful.

For joy is now the brambles, but it is a joy born of humility and grace. For it has not been the efforts of the bramble that have freed him from the weeds, but the careful uprooting by so good and patient a Garnder.

What more can the bramble do then rejoice in such a great gift.  For it has pleased the Gardener in his time to uproot the weeds among his branches. Long has the bramble asked for such a gift! And so it is and has pleased the Gardener to do.

“O gracious and loving Lord, be pleased to pour out your mercy and grace on so lowly a bush. Thank you for this great gift of freedom in your garden. For freed from the weeds among my branches, I can all the more spread deeps my roots. Draw nearer to me Lord, and do not abandon me. Do not let pride flourish among my branches, but let humility and grace be round about me. Amen.”

Patience in the Garden

Of all the plants in the garden, the bramble is the most stubborn and most unruly. It is a wild bush. Much time and effort is required to prune back his branches, and this is not without some consequence for the Gardener, for the bramble easily pricks and scratches him. And yet how patient is he and how gentle in his care? For he knows the wild nature of the bramble but knows all the more, that well tended it will bloom and produce much fruit at its appointed time.

It is the patience of the Gardner that encourages the bramble, and gives him the hope of blooming in due season. For unruly is his life, and he often grows where he will, where he should not be. How often must he frustrate the Gardner with his stubborn branches that bend so unwillingly. With much difficulty does he change his growing course.

The bramble would do well to take courage in the tending of so good a Gardner. For he knows what he is doing in the tending of so unruly a bush. For what seems to the bramble a mistake may very well be for the Gardener an opportunity. Trim here, prune there, pinup here and secure there. See how patient and thoughtful the Gardner works. The bramble would do well to be as patient with himself and the Gardner is with him.

Though he is stubborn, and training his branches is not an easy task, he does change, he does grow and flourish in the garden. It is the brambles effort to grow, to spread wide and far his branches, it is his nature. But is it the Gardner who directs his path, who watches day and night over the bramble, who rightly trims and prunes in due time.

With confidence let the bramble submit to the master, to trust the efforts of so good a Gardener. For what the bramble may not see from his place in the garden, is the plan of the Gardner. For it is he who planted him here, and he who will tend to so beautiful and diverse a garden.

“Unwilling as I may seem O Lord to bend in the direction of your hand, be ever patient with me as I grow here in Your garden. Do not abandon me to my unruly nature, but tame and subdue me, set me right upon the course of your desire. Grant me patience with myself, as you are so patient with me. May I in your careful hands, come to bloom and fruit in time, according to your most perfect will. Amen.”

The Weeds Among the Branches

Life is not always easy for the Bramble, for there are many weeds which grow among his branches. These weeds distract from the beauty of his blossoms and mar the fruit of his branches. Saddened by these persistent weeds, the bramble clings even more to the Tree in the middle of the garden. For what hope has the Bramble except in the Cross, except in the great mercy of so tender a Gardener as the Lord.

Long has the Bramble tarried in the fight against these weeds, in particular to one most persistent weed. Among all the weeds, this one has caused the Bramble the most grief, for it grows tall and proud among his branches. What hope then does the bramble have against this fight, except to cling ever more to the Tree, to trust in the goodness and wisdom of so great a Gardener.

Inspired by the hope; that is, in the love the Gardener has for His garden, the Bramble trusts in the wisdom of so great and good a Caretaker. For what can the Bramble do but reveal this weed to the Gardner. To ask Him to prune it as He wills, or even to uproot it if possible. In this way the Bramble asks for Mercy, seeking from the Gardner the good, and asking for his help.

Oh, merciful Lord, look kindly on the Bramble, and despise not his petition for help. Come to his aid and uproot this weed which has settled among his branches. Let its ugliness not persist but show favor to your servant and pluck it out, so that renewed, the Bramble may praise and glorify You, the Gardner of so great a garden. Amen.

Divine Mercy

I am love and mercy itself. … Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. … My mercy is greater than your sins, and those of the entire world. … I let My Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come then with trust to draw graces from this fountain. … The graces of My mercy are drawn by the means of one vessel only, and that is trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive.

St Faustina’s Diary 1074, 699, 1485 and 1578

This fountain of Mercy is for everyone, for every soul.

Let us today on this Divine Mercy Sunday approach this great fount of Mercy. Trusting in this greatest attribute of God, who is Love and Mercy itself.

Jesus especially wanted us to approach him at 3:00 in the afternoon when he died on the cross and it was opened up for us the font of mercy. When blood and water gushed forth from his most sacred heart.

Let us, therefore, trust in this incomprehensible mercy. Turn toward the Father and ask for what we need, his mercy and grace, to become the children, the saints we are called to be.

Turning toward him, let us pray this chaplet of mercy:

Making the sign of the cross with rosary beads, say- In the name of the Father…

Our Father…

Hail Mary…

I believe in God… (Apostles Creed)

On each Our Father beads say- Eternal Father, I offer you the body and the blood, the soul and divinity of your dearly beloved son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

On each Hail Mary beads say- For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

On the center bead say 3 times- Holy God, Holy Mighty one, Holy Immortal one, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

You can conclude with this optional prayer:

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion — inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Good Friday

“It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last.”

Luke 23: 44-46

Today we commemorate the death of Jesus. This sacrifice of his love has won for us the freedom we now share as the children of God. For what greater love has been show to humanity, than the crucifixion and death of Jesus? This moment marks for us a new beginning. A new beginning in His grace.

The cross stands for all to see, him who died for our salvation. This profound act of God’s love in Christ has won our victory over sin. We are no longer slaves, but sons.

Today, let us recall this sacred moment, his crucifixion. Reflect on what it means for us as children of the Father. What more can be said except only to ask to you look upon “him whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10).

“Lord, by your cross bring us the grace of salvation. Look not on our sins, but upon your son and bring us, by his wounds, to the joy of life eternal with you. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Holy Thursday

What greater gift could be given to man than the body and blood of Jesus. For in this is true food and true drink (John 6). How great the institution of the priesthood, which gives us so great a gift, and the handing down of the Liturgy of the Mass by which your ministers give to us your flesh to eat and your blood to drink!

O divine mystery, you who condescend to be amongst your people. You who humbled yourself to share in our humanity.

How great and awesome is this gift of the Eucharist. For by it we are filled with every grace and heavenly blessing. Indeed, this sacred banquet is the source and summit of our whole life. It is the preeminent sacrament of the Church by which man is saved, faults are remedied and weakness is strengthened.

On this night we remember Christ. We remember his words to us and the institution of these great gifts. We come to participate in the mystery of his passion, and to walk with him, in these three days through his suffering, crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

Let us not be lost in the mysteries before us, but seek to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ. For we are his body. Let us, therefore accompany him along the way.

On this night especially we ought to call to mind his arrest and imprisonment. For he is taken away from us as he had said. Let us tonight then pause, for from our tabernacles the Lord with be taken to a place of repose. Let us, if but for a moment, reflect before the empty tabernacle.

Let us participate in these three days as if they are those days long ago. For here the Church re-presents the mysteries which have won for us so great a victory. It is not a representation but an again, not that he is crucified once more, but that the power of his throne would be made manifest for us in these days, and would be for us now, in this moment a remedy of sin and offering of pure Love.

Let us not let these days pass swiftly, but let us journey with Christ, from the garden to the cross that we might worthily celebrate and praise the glories of his resurrection.

“O God, as we enter these three days let our hearts be raised to you our almighty Father. May we gladly walk with your son on this road to Calvary, so that in sharing in his passion and death we might too share the joy of His resurrection. Through Christ our Lord. Amen”

Ecce Rex

“Behold your King…” (Zechariah 9:9). These are the words of the prophet Zechariah, now fulfilled in Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He comes to us, meek and lowly, riding on a donkey. What an image to have beheld. The crowd wild with excitement, waving palm branches and throwing their cloaks upon the ground and exclaiming “Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matt 21:9).

We echo their sentiments today as we enter the church with palm leaves in our hand. We too welcome the King of the Universe and ask always for His mercy and for His grace. What a joy it is to be in this place, to be here in the presence of so great a King, and truly present will he be, body, blood soul and divinity.

Let us worship the righteous King, the One who welcomes us and calls us to himself. Let us behold him who takes away the sins of the world. For blessed are we who are called to this altar, blessed are we who are called to this great feast.

What great a gift we have been given. The King of all creation has humbled himself to be here with us today, to be present here on this altar in bread and wine. What more could we, the children of God ask for? How close is our King, how welcome in this place.

Let us rejoice, dear friends as we approach the altar today, let us acknowledge the King and pay Him homage. For He has not regarded his stately nature, but humbled himself to be among us, to walk with us in our daily lives. Come let us adore so great a King.

O praise the King from whom all blessing come, praise Him who condescends to us in our lowliness, so as to lift us up in Himself and bring us to so great a reward.

All hail to the King of Kings! All praise to the Lord of Lords.

“Oh Lord, You who have humbled yourself to be among us, be here with us today in this sacrifice on your altar. Be present here in flesh and blood and pour out upon us your children every grace and heavenly blessing. Do not be far from us this day O great King but draw nearer to us and we here draw near to you. Fill us anew with your Holy Spirit and kindle in us a great fire of your love, and by your love transform us into love itself, so that like you, in all this we may be pleasing to the Father. We ask this and all things always in Jesus’ name. Amen”

The Bramble and His Thorns

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you.”

1 Peter 5:6

Humility is seeing oneself as one truly is, a sinner, and in need of God’s abundant mercy. For “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23).

This “…saying is sure and worthy of all acceptance, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners…” (1 Timothy 1:15). These words of Timothy ring true for the bramble, for he too, like Timothy, is the foremost of sinners. When the bramble surveys his life, he sees a life often lived far from God, a life of many falls and many failures. When he looks in on himself, he sees his many thorns. Indeed, if the bramble is worthy of heaven at his passing, he will most certainly be the least among all the saints of God.

This is not to say that the bramble has no hope, for “…hope does not disappoint…” (Romans 5) and “…mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13). But it is his very life that calls him to humility, to seeing himself as he truly is. But there is something new now, Christ and His abundant mercy. For the bramble, in its littleness, trusts surely in God’s unfathomable mercy. It is the bramble’s constant disposition to be like the tax collector, and every moment begging, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” (Luke 18:13)

There is something else that the bramble must consider, a worthy meditation. It was not the lily or the rose that was chosen to crown our Lord King, but alone it was the bramble. How great and terrible was this calling. For certainly the bramble has pierced our Lord with his sin, but so too has he acknowledged and proclaimed the reality of Christ’s kingship over all humanity. For if such a lowly and uninviting branch can be made the crown of Christ the King, so too is there hope for so lowly a plant in the garden of the Lord.

“Lord, as we acknowledge our sin before You, restore us to Your grace by Your abundant mercy. We know who we are of ourselves, but we know who we are in You. May this hope we have in You not disappoint but bring us to the joy of life eternal with You.  Amen.”