Reflection for Wednesday, April 16, 2014

WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK
IS 50: 4-9A
PS 69: 8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34
MT 26: 14-25

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the final day of Lent, 2014, "Spy Wednesday," remembering the day Judas asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?"

In the composition of place, we read the third song of the Suffering Servant, perhaps even experiencing the acceptance, the surrender and the peace Jesus feels. We can also sense the betrayal, the pain, of His day as we go through our own lives, our own days…

Spy Wednesday can be an appropriate day to pray the Stations of the Cross, if we haven’t already done so.

The readings of the day certainly speak for themselves as we enter the Triduum, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, all leading us to the triumph and fulfillment of Easter Sunday.

Have a blessed Easter, all the better because of a blessed Lent.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

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REFLECTION

Giving something up notwithstanding, Lent is more about giving in…giving more…entering more deeply…preparing for all that is to come…making ourselves ready, with the grace of God…for the grace of God.

We read in Isaiah that, despite the betrayal and suffering, The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced… We pray in the Responsorial Psalm, with the hope and confidence of the psalmist, beseeching, Lord, in your great love, answer me.  We learn in the Gospel about Judas, the betrayer of Jesus.

Lent, briefly and to the point, is the time we can start doing what God calls us to do, only doing it better than we did it before.  So rather than simply focusing on what we gave up, we can pray in gratitude about what are becoming.  We can be grateful for the confidence, and the courage, and the strength to live in the promises of God and the hope of the Kingdom…we can with increasing confidence, answer the Baptismal questions.. 

                        Do you reject sin so as to live in the freedom of God’s children?

                   Do you reject the glamour of evil and refuse to be mastered by sin?

Isn’t Lent also, primarily, a time for us to reconcile--with ourselves, with others, and, mostly, with God?

The 35^th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, in Challenges to our Mission Today, charges us Jesuits, As servants of Christ’s mission we are invited to assist him as he sets right our relationships with God, with other human beings, and with creation. (GC35, n. 62)   Lent is a good time to look at how we respond to that invitation.  This type of preparation and examination seems much more than giving up something.

We can accept more fully the gift we’re being offered, and enter more fully into the opportunities we have been given, to live life abundantly in accordance with what our Lord has given us.

Have a blessed Triduum, as together we prepare to celebrate joyfully the mysteries of our salvation during this Holy Week, and look forward to a bright Easter.

                                                                       

Have a blessed Easter.  God bless you…

Fr. Paul Stark, S.J. is Vice President of Mission and Ministry.

Reflection for Tuesday, April 15, 2014

TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEK
IS 49: 1-6
PS 71: 1-2, 3-4A, 5AB-6AB, 15 AND 17
JN 13: 21-33, 36-38

Today we are at the very end of Lent, and Jesus' betrayal is almost at hand. Looking at his situation from the perspective of the Romans, it could seem like "I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength," (IS 49:4) -- about to be betrayed by one of his closest friends and abandoned by the rest, have the city of Jerusalem turn their backs on him after "hosannah-ing" him in just  a few days earlier, and have his efforts to heal and feed and liberate be rewarded by being condemned to a grisly and shameful death.

As it so happens, today is also the 149th anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln; I just saw a poster from several years back advertising "the 200th anniversary of the birth of America's greatest president," but at the time he died, his life too might have seen like a failure: getting the nation into the most horrible and bloody war they had ever seen, destroying the infrastructure of the very people he was fighting not to secede, and not even living to see the end of all the fighting (General Lee having surrendered the week before his death, but the fighting still carrying on several more months as the news disseminated). Not exactly a scene that might lead him to believe that he would be so widely revered as the greatest or one of the presidents in American history.

Hope in these circumstances might simply look like a dogged refusal to acknowledge reality - wishful thinking. Friedrich Nietzsche famously wrote, "Hope is the worst of all evils, for it prolongs the torments of Man," and we all know people who have stayed in unhealthy relationships, sick work environments, abusive marriages, and so on for far too long because they held out continual wishful thinking that "next time will be different." But hope might also, and I suggest more properly, be understood as a recognition that there is more possibility out there than what I am capable of seeing from my limited vantage point. Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann suggests that hope has something to do with trusting that God will be in the future as God has been in the past: this is why so many lament psalms can have enough chutzpah to ask where God is, why things are so bad, and how long things will stay the way they are now: because the psalmist knows God from God's history of fidelity and action, and so comes to expect more of the same and can even "remind" God of who God has been.

As Lent draws near, consider the areas of your life and our lives together that may seem the most broken, that most feel like an exercise in futility. Simply put, hope. Know that there is more goodness at work than what you are able to manage or even identify. You may know the prayer that has been ascribed to Archbishop Oscar Romero, sometimes called "The Long View" - a reminder of our limited vantage point and ability to manipulate reality. Jesus did not end the injustices he fought, Abraham Lincoln did not end racism (or even slavery), and we do not accomplish our lives all at once, or even once and for all. But knowing that "the kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision" can free us to not despair over the realities that we cannot yet see, and give us confidence that our lives are situated in a larger Life, a larger project of the coming of the reign of God, that promises the renewal of the world even where that renewal seems utterly impossible - as impossible as the return of a condemned criminal from the grave.

Reflection for Monday, April 14, 2014

MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK
IS 42: 1-7
PS 27: 1, 2, 3, 13-14
JN 12: 1-11

“God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with its crops, Who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it….” Isaiah 42:5

We often worry about the small things in life: Am I smart enough, pretty enough, busy enough, good enough? I have found it beneficial in my own experiences to zoom out of the situation in order to gain a new perspective on my worries. Lately, I have been literally looking up at the sky to remind myself how small my worries actually are...  About 13.8 billion years ago, God created our expanding, intricate, and ever changing universe. God created billions of galaxies in this universe and in each galaxy, billions of solar systems. The most distant galaxies that God created are so far away that the light arriving from them on Earth today set out from the galaxies billions of years ago. In this vast universe lies planet Earth. This sphere that is full of humans of different races, beliefs, and stories. The planet that is consumed by love and happiness, but also hatred and sadness.

He created our detailed bodies that are currently working very hard as you read this. Your heart fuels itself, paces itself, and alters in response to life’s daily happenings ALL with no conscious effort. Cells are currently being formed and destroyed. Your kidneys are currently detoxifying blood. God was so detailed in the creation of humans that he made little proteins called laminins, which form the foundation for most cells and organs, to be shaped as a cross! Take a break and Google “Laminin.” It is amazing. God formed us with great detail and love so that we may know Him, love Him, and follow Him.

He says, “I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.” Isaiah 42:6-7

God created us with so much potential to be companions for those around us. Now, what do we do? How can WE know, love, and follow this incredible creator of ours? I believe that it begins with loving ourselves first. We can only truly be a light for others if we are a light for ourselves. Be kind and patient with yourself as you take on life’s joys and challenges.

“To open the eyes of the blind…”

This Lent, let us see past the haze of judgments that we place on people. Next time we see someone who might seem “different” than us, let’s break down that screen and remember that person was also made in God’s image. That person is meant to teach us something in that moment.  When we stop being blind to the things around us, we can unite with others to continue helping each other see. Once we see that we are not all that different from another, peace and connection can begin.

“To bring out prisoners of confinement…”

This coming week, let us practice breaking out of the confinements we build around ourselves. If you get nervous in class, push yourself to speak; if you are scared to be yourself, practice doing something small each day that exemplifies you; if you have an addiction, take one step this week into a positive direction. When we know how hard it is to be a “prisoner” in our own jail, we can know how to help others break out of their jails. What walls do you need to bring down?

“And from the dungeons, those who live in darkness…”

God asks us to bring people out of darkness of the dungeons of our lives. Let us be vulnerable to the darkness. God made us to be together, to help one another, to love one another. Our friends that we vent to are God’s messengers. Let us be lights for one another. He created us in order to connect. To share in the sorrow. To break down our walls together. When we are brave enough to explore the darkness of our dungeons we will be able to find the infinite power of our light.

RISE and BE a light for the nations. Find the light that God planted within yourself and shine it for all to see. We have one week left before Easter. How can we be a light this week for ourselves and for others?

“Be who God meant for you to be and you will set the world on fire.”

-St. Catherine of Siena

Kaitlyn Vokaty is a junior majoring in Occupational Therapy.

Reflection for Sunday, April 13, 2014

PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD'S PASSION

MT 21: 1-11

IS 50: 4-7

PS 22: 8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24

Phil 2: 6-11

MT 26: 14 - 27: 66

Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.

The story of God revealed in Jesus has and continues to confound the world.  As we enter into Holy week, I find it difficult to place myself in the immediate context of Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem. My problem is that I know how it all ends, so I do not find myself convinced by the proclamation of the crowds that come out to greet him and announce, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.” In my own mind I know beforehand the role the crowd plays in the passion we read as today’s Gospel.

Certitude about how this story ends spoils all the remaining plot twists. The Romans are not kicked out of Palestine, Jesus dies, and then is raised from the dead. More importantly, certitude cuts against one of the major themes of the Gospels; God’s actions in our lives does not conform to our expectations or rules for how God should act in our lives.

That Jesus, “The Son of David” entered Jerusalem on a beast of burden confounds some human expectations.  Instead of entering the city as a conqueror, as King David did, Jesus enters on an ass. The crowd tries to dress it up by cutting palms and throwing their cloaks before him – royal enough in a pinch. By the end of today’s Gospel there is no dressing it up.  The Son of David is dead, unable to throw off the yoke of foreign conquerors and restore God's Justice among the people of Israel.

This is not how it was supposed to go. The Messiah – The Son of David was supposed to restore the good-ole days. God is not bound by our expectations and rules.  I re-encounter this fact every Sunday, and especially during Easter when so many of our stories are contain this theme. The Son of David washing the disciples’ feet.  Peter denying Jesus and going on to become the rock the Church is built on. The multiple renditions of Jesus’s death on the cross as a convicted criminal.  The challenge is not to figure out how God is going to act, but being present to and recognizing God's Grace at work in our lives.

John Burke is the Campus Minister for Faith and Justice. 

Reflection for Saturday, April 12, 2014

SATURDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT
EZ 37: 21-28
JER 31: 10, 11-12ABCD, 13
JN 11: 45-56

“It is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” (JN 11:50)

A cultural theorist named René Girard has made much of this very pattern of sacrificing one for the good of the many, a pattern which he sees working, usually invisibly, across literature and religion and mythology: the creation of unity among disparate groups as a result of the unanimous expulsion or death of an outsider, a scapegoat. If you have read the Oedipus trilogy or Freud’s Totem and Taboo, if you have read the graphic novel Watchmen or seen the Avengers movie, you have encountered the idea of shared opposition to a common foe bringing disparate peoples together. It doesn't work for very long, but it does work, as long as you are ok with constantly having (and destroying) an "other" over against whom you define yourself.

John’s Gospel uses this image ironically, as Caiaphas imagines the death of Jesus as a means of placating Rome so they do not “take away both our land and our nation.” (11:48) Of course, Rome DID attack Jerusalem several times, none of which were because of Jesus: the destruction of the Temple in 70AD, the sack of the city in 135, The irony is that Caiaphas does not realize that Jesus’ death is indeed for the life of the nation, not by stifling a troublemaker, but by Jesus being “lifted up” (JN 3:14, 12:32) so as to “draw everyone to myself,” echoing the image from Ezekiel of bringing together those members of the children of Israel who had been scattered by the Exile (586-538 B.C.) to the ends of the known world.

I can't help but think that the unity that Caiaphas tried to create was linked to expelling people who did not fit his vision - that is, uniformity and intolerance of dissent were the content of his version of unity. We are called to unity as well, but not by excising whoever does not look like us, think like us, act like us. On Friday, Campus Ministry celebrated a Way of the Cross with stations based on Catholic Social Teaching and situations of injustice that people face around the world today, situations that continue the crucifixion of the Body of Christ. Do we create negative peace through imposing silence, through stifling cries of pain and critique, through creating spaces of fear? Or do we create positive peace that is messy and complex through its openness to the other, its ability to move and change in response to needs, and its vulnerability to being unsettled by those who are different? As the end of Lent draws close and Holy Week begins, be mindful of how easily we choose the path of peace-through-silencing-outsiders instead of the chaotic peace in which differences are respected and valued.

Reflection for Friday, April 11, 2014

FRIDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT
JER 20: 10-13
PS 18: 2-3A, 3BC-4, 5-6, 7
JN 10: 31-42

At this time in the semester it is almost essential to take things in small steps. Many of us need to take it one day at a time while still trying to plan far enough ahead to keep ourselves out of trouble.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus is conversing with a crowd who is ready to stone him for blaspheming because he says that he is the Son of God. Jesus’ response invites us to something much deeper, but also gives us the option of taking small steps.  Jesus says, “if I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Jesus knows our humanity and appeals to this. If we are not ready to take on all that God has led us to at this point or to take that leap of faith, he invites us to look at the blessings around us – all of His good works – and take it one step at a time.

I have found myself asking what the point of Lent is as we have progressed through this season. Why are we asked to take these forty days and to focus our attention on having a change of heart and mind? I think Jesus’ response can give us some insight on this. We are called to become closer to God; to know his love and to find ways to show it – to live it. Jesus invites us to come to know him, and his Father, more deeply through small steps. This is something we can all manage.

For this last week of Lent, I challenge you to look around you and see the works Jesus has done. If we only look for it, God’s infinite grace and love is visible all around us. One day our small steps might even lead us to take that leap and to let our belief guide us to live as Jesus did.

Emily Polovick is a junior studying Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy.

Reflection for Thursday, April 10, 2014

THURSDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT

GN 17: 3-9

PS 105: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

JN 8: 51-59

I recently saw a banner in a local church that said “Redesigned by Christ”.  It struck me that there were areas of my life that have been and still could be redesigned by Christ.  His design of me was perfect but I felt the need to tweak it in an effort to control certain aspects of my life.  Of course, I know what is best for me, right? 

We feel the need to control many aspects of our lives and at times find that we are successful but only to a point.  Finances, health, peace of mind, relationships all can be stable and with a sudden miss-step, all is lost and we cannot find a way to re-gain control. 

Once we’ve lost control, what we should seek is for Christ to redesign our perspective and to offer up the situation to Him. But it is not easy to let go of a situation that we believe has a huge impact on our lives.  When we give total control to Christ in any situation and seek His guidance we re-gain the stability we felt was lost. 

Christ gave up total control to our Heavenly Father to die on the cross for us.  Could there be any situation we face any more difficult than that?  I am challenged and challenge all of us to give control of every aspect of life each day to Christ so that we not only find peace and stability but also know the will of God in our lives.

Cindy Bush is the Coordinator of the Busch Student Center.