“Liturgy of the Hours: A Daily Journey Toward Christ” published in the August issue of The Priest Magazine. My article is published online at Our Sunday Visitor.

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“Moses’ Desperate Search” Finger Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC

Reading: NM 11:4B-15

The children of Israel lamented,
“Would that we had meat for food!
We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt,
and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks,
the onions, and the garlic.
But now we are famished;
we see nothing before us but this manna.”

Manna was like coriander seed and had the color of resin.
When they had gone about and gathered it up,
the people would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar,
then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves,
which tasted like cakes made with oil.
At night, when the dew fell upon the camp, the manna also fell.

When Moses heard the people, family after family,
crying at the entrance of their tents,
so that the LORD became very angry, he was grieved.
“Why do you treat your servant so badly?” Moses asked the LORD.
“Why are you so displeased with me
that you burden me with all this people?
Was it I who conceived all this people?
Or was it I who gave them birth,
that you tell me to carry them at my bosom,
like a foster father carrying an infant,
to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers?
Where can I get meat to give to all this people?
For they are crying to me,
‘Give us meat for our food.’
I cannot carry all this people by myself,
for they are too heavy for me.
If this is the way you will deal with me,
then please do me the favor of killing me at once,
so that I need no longer face this distress.”

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Dear Followers of the Christ,

We all discover along our spiritual paths various moments that seem to reveal the meaning of our lives. We know that a newborn baby can make us see the world differently. We understand that getting our dream job shines a light on our future with extraordinary brightness. We feel the comfort of forgiveness in our bones or the miracle of healing in our souls. There are moments in our lives and relationships that offer us a glimpse of how life could be and perhaps should be for us all.

We listen to today’s gospel, Matthew 17:1-9, hearing this message of the Transfiguration of Jesus. He takes Peter, James and John up a mountain. Jesus becomes dazzling white, his face shining like the sun and his clothing whiter than any bleacher could get them. This transfiguration re-imagines Jesus in the minds of his disciples. The disciples even see their ancestors in faith, Moses and Elijah. They experience for themselves the presence of the Father telling them to listen to Jesus, his only Son.

In all of the excitement, the disciples begin to be afraid. Jesus tells them, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” These words are a sign of what happened on Easter when an angel told the disciples that Jesus was risen from the dead and to not be afraid.

The entire scene in this gospel leads us to Calvary and to Jesus’ Resurrection. We will see the central images in this text again on Easter. The bright light of Jesus’ transfiguration is nothing compared to the light of Jesus’ Resurrection. This is the light we share from our own baptism. It is also the light we bless during the Easter Vigil and carry into the church to illumine the darkness.

There are many things that we long to be transfigured within our own lives. We wish our son did not have a learning disability and we wait for the day that his disability will be transfigured and his life will illumine hope to others. We wait for our children to discover God in their lives, but we know that will take a long transfiguration. We search for hope when we think we can control our lives. We ache for relief about our daughters being caught in human trafficking or our sons with drug addiction. Life itself is waiting for this moment of transfiguration and love.

Here are some questions to ponder and pray about this week: How am I waiting to hear God’s voice of consolation and peace? What in my life is ready for transfiguration and new life? How can I learn to pray from this gospel passage? What do the words, “Rise, and do not be afraid” mean to me? How can I take these words from Jesus to heart?

Blessings,

Fr. Ron

On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR

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Gospel  MT 17:1-9

Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.”
When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate
and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
“Rise, and do not be afraid.”
And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them,
“Do not tell the vision to anyone
until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

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Dear Searchers and Seekers,

We are all searching for something. We search for a suitable job to earn a respectable living wage. We search for someone to love even if we have to move across the country or globe. We search for healing when we are diagnosed with a threatening disease. We search for hope when our children are jailed for selling drugs. We search for peace when a spouse is suspected of infidelity. We search for patience when our lives are out of control from our past abuse. We search for integrity when we know we have made an incredible mistake.

We are all searching for something. The gospel today, Matthew 13:44-52, once again uses parables to open up our search for the Kingdom of God. Searching for the Kingdom of God is like nothing else for which we search. This is not a random search. This search is not about a crazy whim or last minute decision. This search is truly about our human hearts finding and discovering the love of God.

We are all searching for something. Jesus invites us to search for the pearl of great price. When we find something of such great value, we focus on that alone. Jesus is the reason for our search. We may become distracted. We love shiny objects. However, our searching may lead to discovering aspects about our lives that do not make us proud. We may run toward having an affair because we think we are entitled to some excitement. Our searching for shiny objects, for the latest gadget or something new to get us high, usually leads us searching for something else when those things do not capture our attention any longer. Searching for the pearl of great price is about discovering the mystery of God within our lives.

We are all searching for something. The great pearl of God’s love and commitment toward us is a true treasure. This searching will never leave us in a quandary. This searching will bring us to a true relationship with Divine love and hope for our lives. When we discover the love God has for us through reflection, prayer and giving of our selves to others, we discover that the great pearl can never be taken from us. Sometimes in our searching, we do not believe that we are good enough to be loved or worthy of such attention by God. We think searching for the Kingdom is for the holy, the self-righteous and the privileged.

The something for which we all search is ultimately God. Here are some thoughts to reflect upon for this week in your own prayer and searching: I am searching for God because…. My prayer lately seems short and abrupt because… Sometimes I am impatient with personal prayer and going to Mass because… The beauty I receive in prayer from God is… I hope to discover the Kingdom of God within my heart so that… God, receive me into your deep and abiding love so…

Blessings,

Fr. Ron

On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR

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Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel MT 13:44-52

Jesus said to his disciples:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

“Do you understand all these things?”
They answered, “Yes.”
And he replied,
“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household
who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”

Cover art by: Ronald Raab, CSC

Dear Followers of Jesus,

Last week in a casual conversation, I asked one of our Holy Cross Novices who will be professing vows next Saturday to name one thing he learned in the Novitiate. He told me that he realized in a deeper way the seed of God’s presence within him. He went on to say that he would spend his life cultivating that seed, that real presence of God within his heart and life. That is his real vocation, to find that seed of love and hope and learn to share it with others.

The gospel today, Matthew 13:24-43, exactly demonstrates this point, searching for the Kingdom of God as small as a mustard seed. Hope is within each one of us. Every person has within his or her heart the seed of God’s miraculous presence, care and love. Everyone spends a lifetime searching for this hope, realizing this miracle and discovering love amid the calamities of life.

Hope is sometimes hidden. Hope is that mustard seed of faith that needs to be cultivated within our lives. Sometimes we lose our way in the tense struggles of daily life. Hope can wither when a new diagnosis of cancer falls upon our ears. Hope can be diminished when we do not get our dream job or do not get accepted to the college that best suits our career plans. Hope hides in tall grass when we lose our sobriety or send our child off to war. Hope shuts a door on us when a child is sick or our aging parent is diagnosed with mental illness. We all want to discover the seed that sprouts with new life and courage.

We find this mustard seed of hope when we finally surrender to prayer. Prayer is not saying formulaic words at certain times of the day, but a deep humility of surrender in reliance on God’s love and compassion. We do not have to go to a Novitiate to discover such a mustard seed. We just need to realize that God is God and we are not. Our prayer is the deep conviction that we are loved in the Kingdom of God right here on earth.

My experience teaches me that many people are afraid to pray. We fear even the tiniest seed of love. Prayer is always the first thing that fades away on a busy day. What we are really saying is that we are afraid to receive and claim the love that we know is ours. God waits for us, yet we turn away. We hesitate to engage in God’s fidelity toward us because then we will have to change. This change however, becomes a life of compassion, love and hope all the days of our lives.

Here are some things to ponder this week:

Jesus, help me rely on your presence within me so that…

God, you are present within my heart, but I stubbornly resist you because…

Holy Spirit, guide us toward hope in this life so that…

Blessings,

Fr. Ron

On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 23, 2017

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Gospel  MT 13:24-43

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him,
‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘”

He proposed another parable to them.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'”

He spoke to them another parable.
“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened.”

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.

Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”