Stay With Me

As Holy Week approaches, it may be useful to focus on one Gospel verse that can serve as your guide through these holy days.  This time of year, there is so much going on personally and spiritually – having a theme or focus may help you “get it together” so you can walk with both serenity and purpose alongside Christ as he enters Jerusalem and embraces his fate on your behalf.

You may already have a favorite verse that can give you focus during these last weeks of Lent.  Write it on a card or sticky note and place it somewhere you will see it at least a few times a day – near your computer or in your prayer book.  Passages such as John 14-16, Philippians 2 or even Isaiah 53 offer a treasure-trove of possibilities. 

Another favorite of mine – and one I offer you here – is found within the very poignant depiction of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples as found in Luke’s Gospel (Lk. 22:14-38).  Here we witness an intimate scene between Jesus and his closest companions.  The disciples – who have failed Jesus in the past and will fail him again in the very near future – are the objects of Jesus’ love and affection.  Jesus tells them how eagerly he has desired to share this meal with them (22:15), how his blood is poured out for them (22:20), and – even when they begin to argue over which of them is the greatest (note that this conversation takes place immediately after receiving the bread and wine given and poured out for them!) – even when they again show their human frailty – Jesus patiently points them back toward humility (22:27) and then promises them the future bounty of his Kingdom (22:30).  One might see in this passage – punctuated by the betrayal of Judas and the impending denials of Peter – a portrait of Jesus’ undying love for sinners.

In the midst of this communion, Jesus says to his disciples:  “You have stayed with me through all my trials” (22:28).  It is bittersweet to know that these friends of Jesus will soon abandon him – first by sleeping and then by fleeing, leaving Jesus alone to face the brutality of his captors and a lonely death.  But we cannot judge them.  We also sleep and flee; we leave him alone on a regular basis. 

For these next few weeks, we can meditate on these gentle words of Jesus and the trusting expectation they hold:  “You have stayed with me through all my trials.”  We often talk of trusting Jesus – but it seems he also trusts us – to stay with him, to be faithful, not to scatter.  Perhaps our hearts must change if we wish to never betray this enormous, divine trust.  But isn’t that what Lent is all about? 

Lord Jesus Christ, give me the strength and serenity, the focus and purpose, to stay with you.  You believe in me and my love for you.  I do not want to fail you.  I do not want to sleep through this time.  I do not want to abandon you for the cares of the world.  Change my heart so I may love you more than I love myself.  Change my heart so I do not turn away from your Cross.  Change my heart Lord, and this time, I will stay with you through all your trials.

Lessons of the Trees #6: Under the Fig Tree

Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"  Jesus answered him, "I saw you under the fig tree"      (Jn. 1:48).

Have you ever been noticed across a crowded room?  Has anyone ever paid attention to you unexpectedly?  Has someone noticed something special about you – something small or something you didn’t think anyone knew, or something you didn’t even know yourself?  Has anyone ever looked at you in such a way that pages of words and thoughts were communicated in a moment?

And how did that make you feel?  How did being connected with that person make you feel?  Alive?  Like the best version of yourself?  Not alone?

We live in a constant state of tension between two extreme opinions of ourselves.  On the one hand we are utterly enamored with ourselves – this is the side of us that subconsciously thanks God that we are not like the rest of humanity (cf. Lk. 18:11).  On the other hand, we doubt and even despise ourselves to the point of believing ourselves unlovable (“If they really knew me, they would not love me”).

But what if there was someone whose gaze alone could penetrate us with such clarity that we moved away from this exaggerated tension into the peaceful middle, where we could see ourselves as we truly are – genuinely flawed but entirely lovable?  What if there was someone whose gaze expressed such love to us that we believed once and for all that we are the beloved?  What if there was someone who could simply say “I saw you” – and in those words communicate to us that he knows all the little things about us, all the special things, all the things no one else ever noticed before?  How would we respond to that remarkable person?

Nathanael responded:  “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel” (Jn. 1:49).  And then he followed him.

I suppose one who noticed us across a crowded room and loved us so would be irresistible. I suppose that is what Nathanael felt.  Jesus saw Nathanael – saw him, knew him, and loved him.  And as one of his disciples, he taught him, nurtured him, challenged him, called him friend, encouraged him, died for him.  He made promises to him and kept them.  Then he went and prepared a place for him.

Under the fig tree, you too have been seen.  Loved, taught, nurtured, befriended.  Everything about you.  Seen, known, and loved beneath the fig tree.

Nathanael Under the Fig Tree by James Tissot

“Standing before him with open hearts, letting him look at us, we see that gaze of love which Nathanael glimpsed on the day when Jesus said to him:  ‘I saw you under the fig tree’ (Jn. 1:48)” (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 264).

Good Old-Fashioned Zinger

“If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.”

-- St. Augustine

Saint Augustine in His Study, Sandro Bottticelli, completed 1490-1494.  There he is, writing brilliant zingers!

Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Lover of Solitude

I’ve been wanting to share this litany for a while now, and the intensely prayerful season of Lent is the perfect time to do so!  This is not the typical “Litany of the Sacred Heart” that you find in most prayer books or around on the internet.  This litany comes from the “Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book,” a remnant from my Episcopal days and still one of my favorite prayer resources.  You’ll understand why when you read this litany!

As you pray it, reflect on the meaning of solitude.  Solitude is withdrawal from the world – it is quiet and peace, being alone, or being alone with someone you love.  You can seek solitude by going to a quiet place – or you can find it anytime by withdrawing into yourself and seeking only Christ, who waits for you patiently.  As you pray this litany, solitude just falls around you, or you fall into solitude.  Here you spend time with Jesus who loves solitude, and who loves you.

Please click the link below for a pdf of the litany to view or print:

Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Lover of Solitude

Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter that house.  Revelation 3:20

"Welcome Lent" Article in St. Anthony Messenger

I am honored and excited to have an article published in the March issue of St. Anthony Messenger magazine.  The article is about the cross as the centerpiece of our Lenten journey.  Here is an excerpt:

“We tend to perceive our sinfulness as the thing that separates us from God – but that is only true when we cling to it. When we give it over to the one on the cross, the friend of sinners, then we are drawn to Christ crucified, united with him in the miracle of forgiveness, encouraged and embraced by his love. The sacrifice of the cross becomes for us a seal of divine friendship.”

The article can be read in full by clicking the magazine cover below.

The March issue features an impactful article by Donis Tracy about James Foley, a journalist killed by ISIS whose Catholic faith was a sure and quiet strength.  You can also read this article online at the St. Anthony Messenger website.