Items filtered by date: Monday, 20 July 2020

I will Hear

(19^th Ordinary Sunday: 1 Kings 19:9-13; Romans 9:1-5;  Matthew 14:22-33)

The story of Elijah in the cave almost gives the impression that it came as a surprise that God would come to him in “a tiny whispering sound.” After all, in other episodes of the prophet’s life, his relationship to the Lord had plenty to do with fire, and God took him up in a whirlwind.

There is no way to predict when or how God will speak to us. But Elijah stood before the Lord, attuned to his presence, ready to hear and serve.

St. Paul’s conversion is another instance of an unexpected encounter with the Lord. Eighteen hundred years later, no one could have anticipated that Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, with no religious training to speak of, would hear the word of God through the words of a Beautiful Lady.

Today’s Psalm describes a surprising encounter: “Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss.“ See how these are all intertwined, as they sum up the purpose of God’s interventions, and of Mary’s as well.

We live in a world where peace seems a lost cause, truth is no longer truth. Pilate’s famous question, “What is truth?” is all around us. Sadly, kindness sometimes seems opposed to truth, especially when truth is hard to bear. At La Salette, however, Mary was able to combine the truth of her message with the kindness of her voice and her tears.

Kindness, truth, justice, peace: these lie at the heart of our desire to be in harmony with God, and to live reconciling lives. But how do we achieve that goal? 

First, we must recognize and accept that there is no guarantee of success. Even St. Paul, faithful servant that he was, regretted his own failure. Sometimes there is a flicker of hope but, like Peter walking on the water, we can panic and hear Jesus saying to us, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Jesus went up on the mountain to pray. Elijah’s cave was at the mountain of God, Horeb. La Salette is in the Alps. Intense “God moments” are often described as peak experiences. But who are we to decide when, where or how the Lord will speak to us?

It is mostly in hindsight that we recognize God’s voice. When did you last hear it?

Wayne Vanasse, and Fr. René Butler, M.S.

Share the Wealth

(17^th Ordinary Sunday: 1 Kings 3:5-12; Romans 8:28-30;  Matthew 13:44-52)

When we say we love something—a favorite food or sport or music—it is simply a way of saying we take special delight in it.

It is not quite the same, however, when, in today’s Psalm, we say to the Lord, “I love your command more than gold, however fine.” How is this different? The answer lies in the possessive ‘your.’ The psalmist is not a lawyer who loves working out all the intricacies (and finding the loopholes) in the Law. The context here is his prayer, addressed to the God whom he loves.

In the Gospel, the first two parables make the point that the kingdom of heaven is of such surpassing value, that one should be willing “to sell all that he has” in order to acquire it. 

There is, however, an important difference between the treasure buried in the field and the kingdom of heaven. In the first case, the person who finds the treasure presumably keeps it to himself, or uses it to get even richer. 

But when it comes to the kingdom, whoever has acquired it and loves it, is drawn to share it.

The Bible is a veritable treasure-trove given to us by God. Do we love it? It provides a wealth of Wisdom, Knowledge, Commands and Precepts to lead us wisely. Do we love them? Along with all this, we have the Sacraments. Do we love these pearls of great price, held in possession by  the Community of Believers?

These weekly reflections are dedicated to those who love La Salette. Here, too, it is first and foremost our love for a certain Beautiful Lady, whom we call our Weeping Mother, and who came to remind us of the treasures that the Lord has placed at our disposal.

In the long version of today’s Gospel, Jesus asks, “Do you understand all these things?” It would be wonderful if we, like his disciples, could answer, “Yes.” We don’t need to be theologians and Scripture scholars.  The psalmist reminds us: “The revelation of your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple.”

As with the kingdom of heaven, La Salette is not something we keep to ourselves. We are charged to make the message known to all her people.

Wayne Vanasse, and Fr. René Butler, M.S.