In Jesus Name.
I am Holy? You have got to be kidding.
Isaiah 53:5, 11
God calls us TO BE HOLY. God, Our Creator, wants ultimate blessedness and joy for
us. He created us to share and manifest his glory. Sin is what de-humanizes us, causes us to be less whole, less human, and less joyful. But to strive TO BE HOLY, is to strive to be a whole person.
Say, switch on.
Switch on.
A holy life is what ultimately gives us joy - ultimate wholeness.
I have asked groups of children and adults if they want to be holy. Usually, hardly
anybody raises his or her hand. Some people shy away from holiness almost as if it is evil, thinking holiness will rob their freedom and individuality. Sometimes evil is even looked at as a friend.
Some people will admit that a little evil is good, just as long as one
is doing more good than evil. Before I was married and in the "game" of dating, many men and women found that "a little bad" was something that was sexy, mysterious, and alluring about those they wanted to date. Some people think that there is no such thing as evil - there are only wrong choices and actions due to stupid and ignorant choices.
In any case, these are considered amoral situations that provide an opportunity for people to learn and grow. Tell that to someone who has lost a loved to a heinous murder or has just been raped.
We must not let Satan fool us into thinking that evil either is a friend or does
not exist. Evil does exist, and no part of it is a friend (e.g., 9/11, holocaust).
What does sin look like? Have you seen it?
Can you pick it up and touch it, or even try to destroy it? (e.g., beer can, cigarette, gun - in themselves are they sin?)
Many people have a tendency to think of sin as something positive, that is something tangible, something you can point to and say that is sin. But sin is actually the absence of
good.
In the Book of Genesis, "God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good." [Gen. 1:31].
1 So what exactly is evil? There is physical evil, blindness for example, where the eye is absent of the goodness of sight. There is moral evil, abortion or lying for example, where the decision to do the right thing is absent of the good to protect innocent life or the truth, respectively. There is what is called original sin, where the sin of Adam has left all of humanity deprived of the original graces that perfected the human person’s original created nature (infused knowledge, absence of the inclination to sin, bodily immortality).
There is what is called personal sin where a person’s thought, word, or deed is knowingly thought, said, or done and is absent of the goodness of God’s will. If sin is absent of good, sin cannot be good for us. Its damage is that of destroying,
not creating, and what does grow is an abyss of emptiness in the presence of evil.
The consequences of sin keep us from a firm trust in God’s Mercy and hinder our ability to love like God loves - TO BE HOLY so that we can extend God’s Mercy to others - to share in this mission is also to share in his passion and death for the sake of extending Divine Mercy to others who need to experience it. It is for the sake of love.
Let me know take you to the path to ultimate wholeness.
The prophet Isaiah writes, "Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured…he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins. Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, By his stripes we were healed…through his
suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear." - [Is. 53:4, 5, 11].
I ask again, do you want to be holy?
Amen?
Are you willing to surrender to God’s love and his ways so that he can make you holy for sake of loving like God loves?
Amen!
Let us not just look and adore the cross, or even just walk closer to it. Now its time to step inside the Bible with your spiritual senses and feel his stripes so it can heal you.
To love like God is to suffer with him, also bearing the sins of others so that they too can open themselves to the salvific and healing power of cross. To love is to suffer because to love is to sacrifice and as Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, "one cannot give one’s heart away and keep it too.
"2 Many times this hurts, but it hurts so good because one helps to heal and is being healed in the process - to share in this love of Christ is what makes us
whole…more fully alive, more fully human!
You may say that it is evil to suffer at all for Jesus did that once and for all to take away all suffering. But God calls us to share in the suffering he offered some 2000 years ago,
"I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ." [Col. 1:24]. This passage does not mean Jesus’ sacrifice was not complete rather that it extends through time.
We are the instruments to extend it through time to others.
When we try to avoid and alleviate suffering, we are either trying to avoid suffering that is brought on through evil (i.e., cancer, abuse, war, addiction) or through love.
God does not calls us to contribute to the latter, but as we look upon the cross of Christ, he does invite us into a suffering brought on through love. Ask anyone who has been through a suffering brought on through love or willed by God. There is great value experienced in this suffering, for if it is a suffering born out of pure love - through this suffering, the soul becomes like the Savior and what greater value can you think of?
This is the cost, if you had to name any, of the Divine Mercy if we accept it, for any gift accepted effects us and invokes a response from us. We are able to receive God’s mercy through the grace of the Holy Spirit, but the response is to the call to give that gift of mercy to the world through "Works of Mercy" - to love like God - to suffer like God, for to love is to suffer.
We will only be able to do this loving through the grace of God. A suffering heart must remain open to God’s graces so that they might flow through to others. The water source for the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea come from the River Jordan.
The Dead Sea only has an inlet and not outlet. Its waters become stagnant and smelly, dead.
The Sea of Galilee has an outlet that keeps its waters fresh. An open heart must have an outlet of
loving works - namely, a working faith, for a faith without works is dead [Jas. 2:26] -
and a dead faith debilitates our ability to accept the gift of God’s mercy.
Will our works of mercy save us? - Absolutely not.
Only the work of Jesus Christ crucified has and will save us. Works of Mercy are our continued response in accepting the gift of Divine Mercy.
It is through these works that more of the light and strength of God’s grace is given to the soul to accept God’s will and carry on his work on earth - a soul is strengthened to continually say ‘yes’ to God’s will and to be a part of his mission.
It is a working faith that manifests the glory of God in the world - ultimate wholeness.
Remember what he is said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" - Lk. 23:34] -
"Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy." [Mat. 5:7].
If we are to be merciful through works of mercy, we must love like God loves and realize the urgency and necessity of this is our lives.
I am going to take you to the cross as seen in the film, The Passion of Jesus Christ,
Let us learn from the Savior himself about how to love. In particular, let us enter into the passion of Christ, with Jesus on the cross and the two criminals on each side of him. See and hear in their conversation, the urgent message that faces all mankind - it is a message that says that before the Day of Justice (Day of Judgment)
God is sending the Day of Mercy. But the Day of Justice draws near!
"(After Jesus said), ‘Father forgive them…,’ one of the criminals cried out, ‘If you
are the Christ, save yourself and us.’… (the other criminal said to the other),
"how can you insult him when he prays for you…neither do you fear God, seeing
you are under the same condemnation. And we indeed justly, for we receive the
due reward of our deeds; but this man has done no evil…remember you are at the
point of death, and repent." (Then the humble criminal) turned to Jesus and
confessed his sins and said, ‘Lord, if you condemn me it will be your justice…And
Jesus replied, "You will experience my mercy."…and as death approached, (this
criminal) raised his head and trustingly and with humility and hope said to Jesus,
"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."…and Jesus replied,
"Amen, I say to you, this day you will be with me in Paradise." [cf. Lk. 23:39- 43].3
Folks, God’s mercy is infinite, but can only be tapped into with a repentant, humble, and contrite heart.
God does not want to punish mankind to eternal condemnation rather He desires to lead all to His Merciful Heart.
His truth and justice punish only when unrepentant sinners force Him to do so. Like the hard-hearted criminal, he who refuses to face the truth about himself, repent, and pass through the door of mercy must pass through the door of justice - here, you will be judged on your merits alone without the most glorious and triumphant merit of Jesus Christ crucified attached.
As with both criminals, God prolongs the time of mercy for the sake of sinners, but the time of justice is near. Do not take this time for granted for everyone’s time is short in that everyone’s life is short and death is certain for all - we just know not the hour like. [cf. Matt. 24:42].
Now it the time for all to repent, trust in God’s mercy, and spread this same mercy to those who need to experience mercy, especially the least desirable and your enemies.
Our Lord commands us to give this mercy away that we receive: "a scholar of the law who stood up to test him (Jesus) and said, ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘What is written in the
He said in reply, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’
He replied to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.’
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’
(Jesus replied), It is the one (Samaritan) who treated the robbers with mercy that was neighbor to them. Jesus commands us, ‘Go and do likewise.’" [cf. Lk. 10: 25-37].
"he himself (God) is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
What does a work of mercy look like? - Like pure love and complete forgiveness.
The Catholic Tradition offers what is called seven corporal and seven spiritual works of mercy, not as an end all list of good works, but as a biblical guide to help direct our thoughts, words, and actions.
Corporal Works of Mercy (offers the sacrifice of ones material blessings in time, talent,
and treasure).
1. Feed the Hungry and Give Drink to the Thirsty: Acts of charity that start at the home and extend to the community, especially the least desirable.
2. Clothe the Naked.
3. Comfort the Imprisoned: not only those in prisons but the sick and elderly who maybe trapped at home. Spend time with hem give them material aid as well as emotional support.
4. Shelter the Homeless
5. Visit the Sick: a short visit to a hospital or nursing home is time-consuming, but for the person being visited, that time given is very precious.
6. Bury the Dead: Give support to the grieving, aid them materially or spiritually as they deal with their sorrowful loss.
Spiritual Works of Mercy (Acts of mercy that do not require material means but can provide an even more beneficial spiritual support).
1. Admonish sinners: taking time to give needed and loving correction through standing up for moral principles at work, school, or home, and disciplining those (especially children), whose wills are not steadfast in the truth.
2. Counsel the doubtful: Give Christian counsel as an approach to solving problems, especially when one doubts their faith or is confused over certain moral demands of gospel living.
3. Instruct the Uninformed: Giving instruction to another helps to foster their faith to seek understanding in a gospel based faith and morality.
This week, as we attempt to enter ever more deeply into the experience of the living with
Jesus Christ, realize that now is the time to firmly embrace the cross of Christ in your life
- embracing a suffering for the sake of loving God and neighbor. Now is the time to
commit your life to God so you can commit your life to holiness. It is truly a blessed life
with purpose and meaning - where we become whole/holy, a life of ultimate wholeness.
"Let His Passion become imprinted on your body in an invisible manner - through
suffering!… "Someday we will know the value of suffering, but then we will no longer be
able to suffer - the present moment is ours!"
His pure love pursues us through the murk and mire that covers our souls, blows off its hard and crusty covering with complete forgiveness, gives the soul ultimate wholeness.
This love pierces and penetrates the soul’s depths, then shocks and rattles it, embraces and caresses it, nourishes and refreshes it, and warms
and illuminates it, causing the soul to shutter, flutter, and tingle - For now the soul has been struck, wounded, and now radiates joyfully with the everlasting life of God.
You will either barricade your heart from God’s mercy and then run from it for
the rest of your life, leaving your heart empty, stone cold, and lifeless - or you will surrender to your call.
Let God’s merciful love take possession of you, touching and filling your soul to the furthest depths, and satisfying and lifting you to the highest plateaus imaginable.
All in all, you must trust in what God can do for you. Satan, the prince of darkness, is real and active in this world, trying to deceive anyone who will listen to the lies that love is pleasure and not some worthless sacrifice and senseless suffering. But do not be afraid! [Lk. 5:12].
Now is the time to enter ever more deeply into the experience of the Passion of Christ whose power has triumphed over Satan.
Come closer to the suffering Jesus on the cross and see, hear, smell, touch, and taste the wisdom, the truth, the love, the joy, the promise of everlasting life, that THE DIVINE MERCY freely offers. This power of God’s love and joy is yours if only you trust and accept what it has to offer.
Then, may it be bound on your wrist, worn as a pendant on your forehead, and be forever imprinted on your soul!
Psalm 20 May the Lord answer in time of trial;
May the name of Jacob’s God protect you.
May he send you help from his shrine
And give you support from Zion.
May he remember all your offerings
And receive your sacrifice with favor.
May he give you your heart’s desire
And fulfill every one of your plans.
May we ring out our joy at your victory
And rejoice in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your prayers.
I am sure now that the Lord
Will give victory to his anointed,
Will reply from his holy heaven
With the mighty victory of his hand.
Some trust in chariots or horses,
But we in the name of the Lord.
They will collapse and fall,
But we shall hold and stand firm.
Give victory to the king, O Lord,
Give answer on the day we call.
[cf. Lk. 6: 35-36].
