“Stay Awake”
Painting in Acrylics: Ronald Raab, CSC

Mark’s gospel (13:33-37) begins our Advent journey with Jesus’ words to stay vigilant and awake. We are to quicken our heart’s response to Jesus’ presence in the here and now and learn to rely once again on the power of God for our future in heaven. Advent is meant to cultivate our desire for God. We are to rise from our sleepy ways, realize our dependence on God and rouse our heart’s desire for God alone. Nothing on earth is to claim our heart with such passion and intention.

There are many circumstances in life that render us drowsy and alone. We often think we can save ourselves from our circumstances in life, from our infidelity in marriage or from wanting to control our children’s lives. We judge our colleagues, get revenge in our career, cheat in our classrooms, use people for our own needs and betray our true gifts.  God shakes us from our slumber, our apathy and mistrust in these days that prepare us for Christmas.

Advent claims our hearts again to love God and to serve others.  Advent shows us a straight path in our crooked and unfortunate ways. This painting is a reflection of John the Baptist, the one who calls us out of slumber and obstinate ways. We will hear from John in the next two Sundays of Advent. The eyes of this man are tired and stressed from wanting to lay his eyes on the beauty of the Lord’s coming, the real presence of God’s love. May our eyes not rest until they rest on the face of Jesus.

“Simplicity of Gratitude”
Sketch: Ronald Raab, CSC

A childlike sketch of profound gratitude in the scriptures. Jesus cures the lepers. This intense, human experience of coming to Jesus with deep scars and lasting wounds is the source of our gratitude today. Salvation is a free gift. The love and healing touch of Jesus is really for us. This gospel today tells us that we stand on the soil of God’s presence, not just the soil of the United States. We tell of our freedom, not just under a flag but in the heart of Christ Jesus. We live in childlike wonder in not what we can accomplish for ourselves, but what the Risen Christ is doing within us. Gratitude is instinctual in faith, at the heart and meaning of the Eucharist not just today, but every day of our lives.

“Christ the King”
Painting in acrylics: Ronald Raab, CSC

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Today we celebrate Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. This is the last Sunday of our liturgical year. This celebration is a reminder that all things are in Christ. This image of king is not about our earthly understanding of all power and authority; it is about knowing that in time, all things belong to Christ, that in the end, everything will be all right. This is an amazing image for us to consider. “All things”, that means poverty, loss failure, sinfulness and greed. This means our personal sin and corporate irresponsibility. In other words, Christ will take on to himself the world as the world is, all things will find a home in Christ who is the King of the Universe.

The gospel today, Matthew 25:31-46 is particularly powerful. I believe this is one of the most important texts in the four gospels. Imagine this, we will find salvation only if we visit a prisoner or offer someone a glass of water or share a meal or clothe the naked. When we visit the sick and befriend the marginalized then we shall enter the house of the Lord, we shall find salvation itself. This seems so easy. Yet, we gloss over this passage as a Church because it is difficult to live on a daily basis. There are days when it is easier to find a rule in a book and follow it rather than be associated with people on the margins of society, or who are sick or contaminated or who find their home is behind bars.

We fear the losses of other people. This is why this gospel is so difficult to live. We fear losing our homes, our financial security and even our freedom. This is why sheltering the homeless, offering people security and visiting people behind bars is so difficult, because we tend to have the inner instinct of fear that it will happen to us. However, we are called into such countercultural activities because people need us and we need to respect the dignity of all people. This gospel often gets put on the shelf in many parishes. This is exactly what Pope Francis is trying to get at in his challenge to us to serve people in poverty and in doing so we recognize the living Christ. I am always amazed that in the gospel stories, it was the person who as ill or marginalized who always knew who Jesus was, what he could really do for him or her.

If we want to find Jesus in our own lives, then we must hang out with the very people whom Jesus served, touched, listened to, anointed and healed. We must listen to people who have little, because their abundant faith will also set us free. This is what our salvation rests upon, following Christ into the lives of people who really need God.

This image of Christ the King that I painted a few weeks ago reflects the dignity of Jesus. I realize it does not view him in the trenches of life, but it reveals a regal dignity, a beauty of Jesus as King of the Universe. The image is not mosaic, but just paint. As I painted this particular piece one Sunday afternoon after Masses, I tried to pray for every member of our parish community and our commitment to live this gospel passage of service to all people. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

(Taken from my column in our parish bulletin for this Sunday)

“The Man Born Blind”
Charcoal: Ronald Raab, CSC

“Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”

“Lord, please let me see.”

Once again, the blind man teaches us to search out the Christ, to see the wisdom that is before us. His blindness speaks out on behalf of our own blindness that keeps us from seeing the beauty of people and the love God has for us. I ache to have the vision of this man, to see what he saw and the understanding to know that only Christ Jesus sets me free.

“The Servant Who Buried His Master’s Money”
Charcoal Sketch: Ronald Raab, CSC

“The Servant Who Buried His Master’s Money”

Burying our worth is evident in our day and time:

A mother buries her love for her child because of postpartum depression.

A father buries his value for his family at the bottom of a booze bottle.

A teen stifles her potential as a violinist because she cuts herself to hide her pain.

A son shuts down behind shame as he hides his sexual orientation in high school.

A recent college graduate hides his genius under a rock because of his depression.

A grandmother hoards possessions to hide her grief of losing her spouse of 53 years.

A cousin joins the army thinking that he can hide his drug abuse from his family.

An aunt collects trinkets thinking she is hiding her addiction to prescription medications.

A brother hides his abilities in mathematics because his sister is mentally disabled.

Another cousin turns down his acceptance to Harvard to care for his sick father at home.

A teenage girl quits high school to care for her meth-addicted mother.

A brother quits his artistic expressions because his father views him as effeminate.

A neighbor is now homeless because of his long-term depression from being abused.

Our value, our gift, our talent must not be hidden under a rock or buried in the ground.

Our worth comes from the miracle of our lives, just as they are in Christ Jesus.