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Daily Scripture

+ Feast of the Birth of Mary

We have the best and the worst among our ancestors>

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. [Romans 8:28]

You will recognize the gospel passage as the one we usually avoid, assuming it has nothing to offer contemporary Christians. However, it does have a purpose beyond tracing the lineage of Jesus to David. It is not a scientific genealogy so don’t attempt to ‘prove’ it scientifically.

It’s a mixed bag at best. There are saints and sinners among the list but they are all ancestors of Jesus through Mary. It’s odd that on this feast of the birth of Mary that we read the genealogy of Joseph because it is through Joseph not Mary that Jesus is connected to David.

I suppose we are all connected at least spiritually. The late great Seton Hall professor and convert to Christianity, Msgr. Osteriecher, used to remind us frequently that we are all spiritual Semites, i.e., we are Judeo-Christians and therefore trace our lineage through David to Abraham.

And that’s why we claim Mary as our spiritual mother. Indeed, she is.

Beyond that, it’s good for us to be reminded that few if any of us are of pure breed. We often refer to our family as a “Heinz 57” family because like the food brand, we have at least 57 different nationalities among our ancestors, not all of them saints, to be sure. But whenever we got together for a ‘family’ event, we were one. I hosted the last family reunion at St. Joseph several years ago for over 200 relatives comprising four generations.

It’s never too late to give thanks for our heritage.

Ash Wednesday 2010

Wednesday February 17, 2010

Learning to Swim

With the approach of Lent, a middle-aged gentleman thought it was high time to shed a few pounds and so he decided to go on a diet and do exercise. He even changed his usual driving route on the way to work precisely to avoid passing his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he arrived at the office carrying a large, sugarcoated, calorie-loaded coffee cake.

Roundly chided by his colleagues, he smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said, “What could I do? This is a very special cake. I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window were trays full of the most scrumptious goodies.

“I felt it was no accident that I happened to pass by this way, so I prayed, ‘Lord, if you really want me to have one of those delicious coffee cakes, let me find a parking space right in front of the bakery.’ And sure enough, on the fifth time around the block, there it was!”

It’s a cute story but it may be more truth than fiction. As someone remarked to me in a jocular manner, “The quickest way to get rid of temptation is to give into it!”

The discipline of Lent is not as much about passing the local bakery or the butcher as it is about taking a holistic view of our lives as human beings within the context of our Christian heritage and formation. The process begins with a prayerful examination of our life of faith.

Thomas Green in his popular book on spirituality, When the Well Runs Dry offers as a metaphor for faith and prayer the attitude of a person learning to swim.

The secret of swimming lies in being willing to take the risk and do the opposite of what happens by instinct. When we attempt to keep ourselves rigid in the water, ready to save ourselves from the waves breaking around us, we wind up being swamped by the waves. On the other hand, as we relax we are buoyed up by the rolling sea and we escape being swamped. People find it difficult to let go. It is the same with faith. We need to risk swimming in the sea of God’s grace, to be at home in the water with no visible means of support except the constant buoyancy of God’s presence.

In the face of moral choice, rigidity or obsession on one hand or presumption on the other can lead to defeat. Confidence in God and trust in our own formation will lead to a positive outcome.

In today’s complex world, temptation can be very subtle and extend beyond diet to healthy attitudes toward our world politic and habits that impact on our neighbor and the common good. A holistic attitude toward life does not excludes our daily diet of food and exercise, but also includes our reading and entertainment habits and our willingness to love without counting the cost.

Lent is the time for all Christians in the Catholic tradition to encounter the God of love who buoys us up in the face of life’s choices and the struggles that can lead to sin, personal and social.

Jesus walks the journey with us. He is our strength. In him we find the confidence and courage we need to overcome the fear of drowning. He is our hope and salvation.