Tag: <span>Grace</span>

November 20, 2020November 3, 2020

Sweet and Sour

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

How sweet was Jesus’ mission, and yet how sour.

We know from Scripture that in His humanity He experienced a deep, scraping, visceral frustration when those He was trying to save obstinately refused to understand His mission. It is the same sort of willful, obstinate rejection, cloaked as misunderstanding and ignorance, that He receives from many in the world today.

In the modern world, just as in today’s Gospel passage, people instrumentalize sacred things on the altar of greed. They even convince themselves that they are doing the Lord’s work when their only real objective is to build wealth and status.

In the first reading, the scroll–which in other passages we see is the scroll with seven seals on it, that only the Lamb can open–represents God’s providential plan for humanity. It is sweet on the tongue, but sour to the stomach.

God’s plan is the absolute ultimate drama. On the one hand, it involves every sumptuous, overflowing gift of happiness that man in his created nature is fashioned to receive. But for the complete fulfillment of this happiness, man is free, and able to choose to turn away from these ultimate goods to gain lesser goods–like the moneychangers in the temple in today’s gospel.

The combination of man’s destiny of happiness and his freedom is sweet, oh so sweet, so sweet indeed that it is the stuff that his Creator dreams of, even in His own infinite state of completeness.

But man very often uses his freedom to choose to turn away from the heights to which God has called him, for the more comfortable lows of sin. And this is sour. So sour that the invulnerable God wound up shedding blood to reopen the door to salvation from this fate. But man still needs to walk through, and many do not.

Still–and here we can only use our imagination, which falls far short, as St. Paul says (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9)–still, the exalted fulfillment to which those who choose God is so glorious, that God did not shy away from creating human freedom, despite the losses that would be incurred.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus, today and every day, for the gift never to be separated from Him; and He will answer this request, and see your heavenly destiny secured. But also contemplate all those who obstinately use their freedom to turn away from God, or more precisely, from the exalted destiny for which He created them, with all the detachment that this destiny involves. Like a general with his King, plan with Jesus what prayers and offerings you will make to Him to enable Him to push through the doors of their obstinacy and attract them irresistibly with His grace to the higher choice.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

November 9, 2020October 23, 2020

Wellsprings of Grace

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, which occurred in the year 324, not long after Christianity became legal in Rome.

Today’s readings are all about the Temple, and on this feast, we may say about the church building by extension.

The association throughout these readings of Temple with the body of the Christian, and Christ Himself, is mesmerizing. Jesus shows zeal for the Temple building in the Gospel passage, and then immediately goes on to speak of His body as the Temple. St. Paul tells us that our bodies as Christians are temples, with Christ as the foundation.

The first reading is profound in its significance, especially when joined with the other two. The fresh water presents a vivid foreshadowing of the saving grace of Christ, which turns the salt water–the human soul ruined by sin–into fresh water–the sanctified soul.

Leveraging St. Paul’s image, let us imagine that we are actually the superstructure of the Temple described in the first reading. The living water flows directly out from under the foundation of the Temple, from Christ. But as the singular Jewish Temple converts in Christianity to a multiplicity of churches, so too does each Christian, a temple built on the foundation of Christ, produce a new embodiment of Christianity, from which Christ’s grace flows as foundation.

Said more directly, the abundant grace of Jesus Christ flows in all its life-giving and redeeming power from the very existence of every holy Christian, whose “temple superstructure” occasions a new opportunity for the one foundation–Jesus Christ–to plant Himself and act in the world.

While there was only one act of salvation that produced sufficient saving grace for all, and one Savior, Jesus Christ, every holy Christian becomes a multiplier for that saving grace to flow out anew from a brand new dwelling for Christ in the world, a brand new wellspring of His infinite grace.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Contemplate how your life has the opportunity to augment the impact of Christ’s infinitely powerful saving grace in the world, and thank Him for making you a meaningful partner in His plan of salvation, which he didn’t have to do. Ask Him with urgency to consummate the work of sanctification in you, so that you magnify His impact in the world rather than lessening it.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

November 5, 2020October 19, 2020

Paul’s Copernican Revolution

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

Starting a project over from from scratch is a pain.

Especially when you’ve invested significant time, even years, of your life into the project.

But sometimes, we start over because our investigations lead us to an epiphany that we can take the whole goal of the project to an incomparably higher level.

Lockheed Martin is actively working on a safe, compact Cold Fusion technology that will make nearly infinite clean energy portable. Imagine working your whole life on introducing a technology that makes fossil fuel emissions cleaner, and then you discover that this Cold Fusion technology is not only feasible but just three years from release (note: this technology is not this close in reality). Lockheed Martin recruits you, telling you that your engineering skills are just what they need as their project lead to finish the project. Do you refuse? On the contrary, as you accept the offer, are you excited? A little sad about wasted years of your life? Maybe some of both?

St. Paul went through something like this. He was immensely gratified by the heights of Jewish practice that he had reached. But then he was surprised by something a whole level better: The grace of the Messiah, of Jesus Christ. And he says, “But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

The story is even more dramatic than this, because in discovering and accepting Christ, Paul has deep regrets: He has contributed to the persecution and death of Christians.

Rather than inclining him away from his newfound treasure due to shame, however, this circumstance attached Paul’s heart even more thoroughly to Jesus Christ. Today’s Gospel passage tells us why: At the conclusion of the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, Jesus says, “In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The unexpected new paradigm of Jesus turns Paul’s understanding of righteousness completely on its head. He learns that Jesus is most proud of him and excited about him because he is a sinner who has repented, not in spite of that fact.

The Jesus revolution is like the Copernican revolution in the Renaissance, when Europeans discovered that the earth revolved around the sun, not vice-versa–Paul discovered that true religion revolves around the action of God in Christ, not around the action of man to uphold the Law.

The Jesus revolution that Paul experienced never really ends. It is always new for us, because we never become fully accustomed to the fact that in our religion, it is He who does all the heavy lifting, and to enjoy his endless bounty, all we need to do is give our authentic and practical “yes” to Him every day.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Think of the burdens of responsibility, and the corresponding worries, that most weigh you down. Dialogue with Jesus about them, and introduce them in prayer into the Jesus revolution: The realization that He is the protagonist of these problems’ solution, not you.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

October 27, 2020October 5, 2020

Mustard! Who Knew

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

According to the Gospel, the Kingdom of God is like yeast that is mixed with flour, causing the whole batch of dough to rise. Just as yeast brings wheat to its full potential as a risen loaf, so our relationship with God–the Kingdom of God within us–brings us to the full potential of what we were created to be.

So it is too with society, even here on earth: When citizens reach their full potential through their relationship with God, society itself becomes godly and reaches the full potential of what it is intended to be.

And the first building block of society is the family, and concretely within that, marriage. In the first reading, St. Paul urges Christian husbands to cherish their wives, and Christian wives to respect their husbands. This is easier said than done: To move from the natural complementary attraction of the opposite sex to a life dedicate to the service of another person’s happiness, a person built with a psyche and needs entirely different from one’s own, an infusion of God’s grace is critical. Otherwise, disrespect, disdain, and frustration slowly creep in and take over.

As full as the individual husband’s and wife’s heart is with God, just that full is the family of God; and as full as the family is of God, just that full is society of God.

Most of the ills we observe in society trace back to insufficient love within the family unit, which translates to an unhealthy quest for welfare, security and esteem from government and society to make up the loss.

The best way we can change society is by filling our hearts with God, and then giving all we are to our spouse and family. If this seems unsatisfying, too small to make a dent in the shredded fabric of our unhealthy society, consider the Gospel description of the Kingdom of God as a mustard seed. The mustard seed is the smallest of seeds, which then grows into the largest of shrubs, whose branches shelter many birds. If indeed our own effort is small, consider that offered to God it constitutes the “yes” that can unleash the full, infinite power of Jesus’ redemptive act upon many hearts, and ultimately, society itself.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Think about how small your family life is–how little direct impact you make on the workings of society. But then, remember the “yes” of Mary, and consider Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed…ask Him, by the grace of His Kingdom in your heart, to take your “yes” to your spouse and family, your gift of self, and leverage it for the growth of the Kingdom of God in many hearts.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

October 12, 2020September 21, 2020

Signs of Freedom

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

The first reading from St. Paul takes a moment’s reflection to unpack. What is this comparison he is making with the two mothers of Abraham’s sons, Sarah and Hagar? Sarah was Abraham’s legitimate wife, but she was barren until very late in life; Hagar was the slave woman, by whom Abraham bore a son who was ultimately exiled with his mother due to Hagar’s inferior position as a slave.

Hint: Paul speaks of Hagar and Sarah as images of other realities, one coming from Mount Sinai, the other, from the new Jerusalem. The first is a reality of slavery, and the second of freedom.

Paul is comparing Hagar to the Mosaic Law that came from Mt. Sinai, and Sarah, to the redemption that comes from Jesus Christ.

Just as Hagar produced a son for Abraham earlier, while Sarah was still barren, so the Law gave to God a people, when the redemption of Christ still was not fulfilled. But just as the son of Hagar was born into slavery, so children born into the Mosaic Law were born into slavery–not slavery to the Law itself, but slavery to sin, which the Law had no power to abolish.

But, just as Isaac was the legitimate and free child of God’s promise to Abraham of an heir who would bear him descendants as numerous as the stars, so those who enjoy Christ’s unmerited gift of grace are truly freed from the shackles of sin.

And, importantly, each of us living in that grace enjoys the power to become parents of numerous spiritual children, just as Abraham’s descendants were to number as the stars. For as we offer our little imperfect lives to the Father together with Christ’s sacrifice, we trigger the activation of showers of further grace from that infinite source. Grace of conversion for many, even many whom we will never know. Grace of sanctification.

We often think of Jesus as the power source of all this immense potential for freedom, and so He is. But He is also the living sign of this turning point in history between slavery and freedom. He is like a living signpost. Everything He did in His life points to the shift between the slavery to sin and the gift of freedom to which St. Paul alludes.

It would have been terrible to live in the time of Christ. Terrible, that is, if, like those described in today’s Gospel passage, we had somehow missed the reality of His Divinity and His role. Everything He did throughout His earthly life was like a finger pointing to the reality of coming redemption. He Himself is the new sign of Jonah; as Jonah emerged from the belly of the whale, so Christ rose from the dead on the third day (cf. Mt. 12:40). Today Jesus warns those of His generation that it will not go well for them on the last day for rejecting the signs He has given them.

As accessible as the signs were in Jesus’ day, even more accessible are the signs He has given to us: The Seven Sacraments. And just as Jesus in the flesh was both sign and source of the power of redemption, so the Sacraments for us are both the direct source of His redemptive grace, and the signpost pointing to that grace. They are the source and sign of the liberation from sin of which Paul speaks in the first reading.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Contemplate the memory of your last confession, and your last communion. Will the Ninevites rise to condemn you, because you treat Jesus in these mysteries like His contemporaries treated Him in the flesh: Casually, with little faith? Or are you taking full advantage of the liberation that St. Paul so deeply appreciated? Talk to Jesus, thank Him for the Sacraments, and ask Him to help you live them profoundly, so that their grace will not wash over you without penetrating your heart.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

August 26, 2020August 10, 2020

Dead Inside

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

Today’s readings seem to address two completely unrelated topics: Freeloading, and Hypocrisy.

St. Paul warns that people who want to freeload off the Christian community simply aren’t welcome. Sounds harsh–but, whereas giving to the needy is eminently Christian, allowing the lazy to take dishonest advantage of one’s kindness clearly is not, if we are to believe St. Paul.

In the today’s gospel, on the other hand, Jesus Christ upbraids the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, condemning their careful curation of outward appearance, even while they are full of evil, indeed, dead, inside. He prophesies that this evil hypocrisy will ultimately result in his own death, which paradoxically completes the story arc of the murder of the prophets throughout history, the same prophets the Pharisees claim to venerate.

Surely, these readings are unrelated. The Pharisees aren’t exactly lazy, per se; if nothing else, they are diligent about looking after their appearances. Whereas those about whom St. Paul warns the Christian community seem less hypocritical and more lackadaisical.

Upon closer look, however, what is it about saintly persons that causes them to be diligent and hard-working? On the other hand, what is it that causes them to be sincere and consistent between their outward appearance and their inward goodness? Is it their working on honesty/humility on the one hand, and diligence on the other, separately?

On the contrary, when a soul is filled with God, truly alive inside, that soul wants what is within them to shine out and be shared to the exterior; when a soul is filled with God, hard work appears less daunting and more desirable because it is a vehicle by which to share their internal joy with others–and the strain involved seems minor compared to the motivation in their hearts.

Now, it is true that some people have a stronger tendency to laziness, and others to vanity, or pride. The sin in one type of person may manifest more strongly in apathy, and in another, in boastfulness or scorn of neighbor. Since sin keeps us far from God, it makes sense in our spiritual lives to work hardest against the sin that afflicts us most.

But in the end, it is evil that is complex; God is simple. The more we fill ourselves with God and prioritize His friendship and will above other goods, the easier it will become to relativize and avoid sins that at first glance may seem insurmountable. In the end, while He requires effort from us, it is His overwhelmingly powerful grace, accessed through prayer and the sacraments, that will overcome all the complex manifestations of our sins–which so often, more than anything else, are but a manifestation of our emptiness of Him, our need for Him.

Today’s psalm tells us:

“Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.”

It is God’s presence and grace that gives us the hope and motivation in “eating the fruit of our handiwork” that we need to motivate us to work hard; it is hope in His favor that will embolden us to leave aside pretense and show ourselves to the world as we truly are.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Dialogue with Jesus about the sins you find most pronounced, most ugly in yourself. Make a resolution with Him to fight against those sins in particular, without delay. But above all, ask Him to enter with His joy into those areas of your life, so that you no longer feel the desperate need for the fake satisfaction that the sin brings, and have the strength and courage to turn wholeheartedly to Him. Tell Him that you trust that His favor and friendship, as it manifests itself more and more fully, will be more than enough blessing and happiness in your life.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams