Fourth Sunday Of Easter (May 7, 2017)

Today’s Gospel reading speaks of Jesus as the shepherd who calls his sheep by name and leads them out to pasture. He is also the gate of the sheepfold. All who enter through him will “have life and have it more abundantly.” Our relationship with Jesus allows us a place of refuge, a place where we will always find nourishment and safety. Jesus has called us by name so we are able then to recognize his voice.

What does that mean in terms of our daily living? Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows us by name, and he wants us to know him in the same way that he knows his Father, and his Father knows him. He knows and loves us intimately, and he gives us the grace to know and love him in the same way.

We learn to do this by taking the time each day to listen to his voice. He speaks to us in the Scriptures, in our worship, in our personal prayer, and in the people and events that are part of our daily lives. St. Francis de Sales calls this process learning to let Jesus live in us. As we let ourselves be led by the voice of Jesus,

Jesus lives in us more and more - and the new life that he shares with us becomes the source from which we live each day. The power that flows from his death and rising transforms our self-centeredness into out-reaching love for one another. More and more, we become the love of God incarnated in our world.

Because we hear Jesus’ voice, we are able to be more patient in our suffering. We are able to look at Jesus’ own experience of suffering and learn from him how to accept our own. He left us an example. He trusted in his Father’s love for him and knew that his Father was with him no matter what he was doing. He listened for his Father’s voice and found refuge in his love.

In the sacrament of Baptism, Jesus called us by name and made us part of his flock. What a wonderful gift we have been given in our baptism! May we learn to take hold of that gift each day and nurture its growth through prayer and generous love. Let us take joy in the fact that Jesus is leading us to abundance of life with him - an abundance that will be complete in eternity.

Third Sunday of Easter (April 30, 2017)

In today’s Gospel Luke gives us a feel for the disciples’ encounter with the risen Jesus. He also gives us the essentials for a Christian liturgy. Once the Scriptures have been opened and the bread has been broken and shared, the eyes of the disciples who have gathered are opened ever wider and once again Jesus is recognized among us. We are so moved in our faith by this encounter that we rush out to share the good news we have come to recognize more clearly as word and sacrament were celebrated.

Notice the disciples’ remark: “Were not our hearts burning inside us as he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Their words indicate an eagerness and an openness to listening to whatever Jesus was saying to them. That attitude of openness and eagerness to listening to Jesus’ words allowed their hearts to be touched by what they heard.

We have to bring that same attitude of openness and eagerness to listen to our celebration. We have to be attentive to the Scriptures readings for they are the living word of God, meant to teach us about our lives and how God is working in them.

We also have to come to each celebration of Eucharist with an active faith, believing that Jesus is present, offering himself to the Father for our sins and feeding us with his Body and Blood to strengthen us on our journey.

It’s very easy for all of us to come to Eucharist out of routine and forget that we encounter our God in the celebration. The more alive our faith is as we celebrate, the deeper the word of God can speak to us and the more fully we are nourished. We will be able to experience what the disciples on the road experienced - our hearts burning within us as Jesus speaks to us and nourishes us.

Perhaps, then, we will feel a greater urgency to share the good news we have experienced in faith-filled, Jesus-filled living.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Second Sunday of Easter (April 23, 2017)

With the reading of Peter’s First Letter, we are invited to join the whole Church in offering praise to our heavenly Father for his great mercy, shown to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Through God’s mercy, we draw new life from the resurrection of Jesus and partake already in eternal life. Through his mercy, we already possess an imperishable inheritance. We are also reminded of the cost of this new life - the death of Jesus on the Cross - a death we too must share in. This new life that we celebrate will pass repeatedly through the cycle of death to new life. Each new suffering that we experience can lead us to a new experience of Jesus’ resurrection.

We have been encouraged to appreciate the description of the early Jerusalem community as a model for our own experience as a faith community. We all know from our experience that these expectations are not easily achieved. Each of us individually and all of us together must learn to share all things in common - including suffering, patience, forgiveness, and love. All of these are the marks of the crucified Jesus that we must learn to bear in order to bring about the transformation needed to live as Jesus calls us to live.

The ability to do all this must rest on faith that Jesus lives within and among us and shares the power of his death and resurrection with us. The signs of Jesus’ scars are the human weaknesses we see among us. In those scars we can learn to acknowledge “My Lord and my God” as Thomas did.

The glory of resurrection is to be revealed through the weakness of human flesh. The hope held out to us by our faith reaches beyond reality and expects more than what is seen and what seems possible. This hope brings us through the daily deaths we need to experience to new glory and wonder at the power of the Lord Jesus to transform those who are willing to be transformed.

There is a cost to living as the Jerusalem community lived - the daily cost of dying to our self-interest and selfishness. But the cost is nothing compared to the joy and strength we can be for one another in a loving community of faith and hope. Our willingness to accept the daily death required to live our common life opens us to sharing in an ever-deeper way in the risen life of Jesus. May we praise the great mercy of our God by letting Jesus live in us more fully each day.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Resurrection of the Lord (April 16, 2017)

This is the day that the Lord has made! We have good reason to rejoice and be glad. Jesus has triumphed over sin and death; he is risen!

In his great love for us, Jesus has drawn us into himself by his death and resurrection, making us his “body”. We now share in his loving obedience to his Father on the Cross; we now share in his new life after the Resurrection.

St. Paul reminds us: if we really believe that Jesus is risen and we share his new life, we must make a sincere effort to set our hearts on heavenly things. We must try to be intent on things above rather than on things of earth.

This is a daily struggle for most of us. It’s just too easy to become intent on our own needs and wants, our own suffering and pain. These can easily distract us from the new life we share, and seeking to do God’s will and not our own, and trying to love others as Jesus has loved us.

St. Francis de Sales encourages to start afresh each day. Mindful of God’s loving presence with us and the new life within us, we can ask our God for the grace we need to do each action of our day in a manner that is pleasing to him – as Jesus did.

In a moment, we will share again in the saving mystery of Jesus’ death and rising.

We will renew our baptismal promises as a community of faith.

Let us be mindful that we are called to give witness to our renewal by the way we live our daily lives. Our words and deeds must flow from the same source - the grace of our salvation – being one with Jesus.

May the words we say and the actions we do proclaim to everyone we meet that Jesus is risen. He is alive in us!

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

The Easter Vigil (April 15, 2017)

Tonight we join the whole Church in a most sacred celebration -- the wonderful opportunity to experience once again and celebrate the full sweep of God’s saving work among His people.

We began our celebration by accepting once again the light that Jesus brings to our lives as believers. In the Easter Proclamation, we sang of our Father’s great care for us - his boundless merciful love. We even rejoiced over Adam’s sin, which gained for us so great a redeemer.

Our Scripture readings offered us an opportunity to remember - we have been made in the image and likeness of our God and, like the chosen people of old, coming through the water has saved us. And the prophet Isaiah spoke to us of God’s mercy: “My love will never leave you.”

The Gospel has just announced the great mystery that brings us together tonight: Jesus, the One who was crucified for our sins, is risen. He is alive, among us drawing us into a deeper sharing in His new life.

St. Paul reminded us that God’s saving work continues in our midst. We have been incorporated into his plan of salvation by our baptismal washing which allows us to share in Jesus’ death and rising. As a result, we are slaves to sin no longer. We have been made new, alive for God in Christ Jesus.

In a moment, we will renew our baptismal promises together: a further sign of our re-dedication to letting Jesus live in us more fully each day.

Jesus chooses us to be messengers of God’s continuing mercy and love for his people. May our joyful celebration this evening renew us and give us strength for our mission.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

The Passion of our Lord (April 9, 2017)

We have just hear Matthew go to great pains to show us that every event, every happening, every person involved in the passion and death of Jesus fulfills a passage from the Hebrew Scriptures.

The betrayal and abandonment of Jesus by his special friends, the innocent Jesus becoming the victim of religious and political conniving, the darkness and the skies and the dramatic ripping of the Temple veil - all are seen in light of the sacred scriptures of the Jewish people.

The proclamation of the centurion who has witnessed all these events is the surprised recognition from all the clues: “Clearly this was the Son of God.”

With that recognition, Matthew turns our attention back to the fidelity of the women who have been following Jesus from Galilee. They alone remained to witness the fulfillment. All the others had scattered in fear.

We are among the faithful who attend Jesus and will follow him through His passion and death. St. Paul tells us what we must be doing as we journey. We are to learn to live with the attitude that Jesus had toward life and its varied events. Suffering and glory will be so intertwined as to be inseparable. Learning to accept whatever comes as coming from God’s hand and doing it in obedience to the will of the God who is my Father, being willing to put aside any position so as to better love God and my neighbor - all of this is having the attitude of Christ.

May we all be open to learning more about life from Jesus this week.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Fifth Sunday of Lent (April 2, 2017)

St. Paul is very clear in today’s second reading. Because of our baptism, Jesus lives in us through the Holy Spirit. Because the Spirit dwells in us, even though our bodies are subject to death as a consequence of sin, our spirit lives. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will raise our mortal bodies to life beyond death. This is the sure promise made to all of us who choose to live, animated by the Spirit.

Today’s Gospel calls us to a deeper faith and trust in Jesus who tells us: “I am the resurrection and the life: whoever believes in me, though he should die, will come to life.”

“Do you believe this?”

No one seemed to be prepared for Jesus’ next words and actions. “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” Then he shouts: “Lazarus, come out!” And Lazarus comes out, still bound in his linen shroud. Jesus has to tell them to “untie him and let him go free.”

What is your response, my response, as we listen to the events recounted for us? The glory of God revealed in Lazarus’ new life calls us to faith and trust. Physical death only ends our earthly life; there is life beyond the grave - eternal life, resurrection of our bodies! The Spirit who dwells in us will give us a share in Jesus’ glorious risen life.

But before that promise comes true, however, we have an earthly life to complete.

Reality must break through the marvelous events we have witnessed.

We know that this miracle hastened the tragic events of Jesus’ arrest, suffering and eventual death on the cross. As we listen today, we are reminded that there are daily deaths to self and sin that we must endure in order to share in Jesus’ rising. People and events in our daily living will challenge our faith and trust in Jesus as resurrection and life. How we handle these daily deaths to self and sin is often a good indication of how we will handle our final, earthly death. Seeing them as our opportunities to share in Jesus’ suffering and death gives us the courage to accept them gracefully.

Let us resolve, then, to use these challenges to deepen our decision to follow Jesus more closely each day. Jesus has told us that our daily deaths to self and sin, and our eventual physical death, will bring us to our promised share in his glorious risen life. May the grace of God and our faithfulness bring us to the fullness of life Jesus has promised us.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Fourth Sunday of Lent (March 26, 2017)

We just heard another of those wonderful stories found in John’s Gospel. Each story is told to teach us something, to get us to look deeper into life. This is a story of light and sight - about not seeing the light, being afraid to see the light, seeing the light, and tragically refusing to see the light.

Jesus, the light of the world, gives sight to the man who has been blind from birth. The waters of the pool of Siloam wash away the muddy earth from his eyes, and he sees - an obvious reference to the waters of Baptism.

It’s hard to believe that the Pharisees could be so obstinate in their refusal to believe what the man reported to them. They are blinder than the man ever was Even the parents are afraid to believe their own son’s story, for fear of being put out of the synagogue.

The Gospel points out that Jesus wasn’t only interested in the man’s bodily sight. He came to give him “saving sight” - the fullness of faith in him as God’s Son and Savior of the world. The man’s belief in Jesus cost him his place in the synagogue.

The final scene of the story shows us the tragedy that is unfolding. Those who took great pride in their religious sight are not open to the light that Jesus brings. They are the truly blind.

Each of us from time to time shares in the various attitudes displayed in the Gospel story. Sometimes we are like the man born blind and Jesus must give us sight. Sometimes, like the Pharisees, we’re reluctant to see his workings in those around us. Like the man’s parents, we can be afraid to acknowledge the light of Christ because others may criticize us, or worse, reject us. The Gospel is encouraging us to live faithfully by the light that Jesus gives us.

The conclusion of the Gospel is a warning: there are no privileged people in the community of faith. Jesus is the source of the light by which we all see. If we choose to be our own light, we risk eternal blindness.

May each of us have the courage to examine our own way of seeing and again choose Jesus as our light.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Third Sunday of Lent (March 19, 2017)

Lent is a time for us to encounter Jesus in a very personal way so that we deepen our baptismal consecration and commitment. John tells us that he wrote about the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman so that we “may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief we may have life in his name.”

Notice that, during this encounter, Jesus is drawing the woman beyond earthly realities and concerns to the deeper realities of the eternal. Jesus offers her “living water.” He means water that gives life, but her attention is on earthly water. She asks him, rather sarcastically, if he thinks he’s better than Jacob who gave them this well. Jesus refuses to be side-tracked from his goal - to give her water that will permanently end her thirst. All she can see is the convenience of not having to come to the well every day.

Jesus moves her to a new level by getting her to face the truth of her present situation. But he doesn’t tell her to “come back when you’ve straightened out your life.” The grace he offers is meant to help her to change – here and now.

Rather than make a commitment now, she says that she’s waiting for the Messiah to come. Now, Jesus can offer her the opportunity for a personal commitment: “I am he.”

The purpose of the story is to remind us that even committed disciples need to be brought to deeper understanding and conversion.

How great is our thirst during this Lenten season? What is the “food” we are seeking? What is it that Jesus wants us to understand through our Lenten encounters with him? St. Paul reminds us that God has proven his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Our Lenten journey will be more fruitful if we are sincerely open when we encounter Jesus and are willing to be led by grace into a deeper conversion of mind and heart to the ways of the Lord. Then our hope will be based on the love of God poured out into our hearts.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Second Sunday of Lent (March 12, 2017)

Like Abraham in today’s first reading, we are on a journey. The circumstances of our lives are always changing. As we get older, we find that we can’t do things they way we used to, so we learn to do things differently.

Change isn’t always easy; so, if we’re smart, we learn to be flexible. This is true in our spiritual lives also. We must learn to be more sensitive to the many ways the Lord is working in us and through us.

Lent is a time for developing this deeper sensitivity to God’s presence and love. St. Paul reminds us that there are a few things that never change. They become the sure foundation for our Christian living:

• God has saved us in Jesus, who has robbed death of its power and has brought us life and immortality.

• Salvation is a grace - a gift of God. We have done nothing and can do nothing to merit it. The gift is ours because God loves us with great compassion.

• We are called to live a holy life, bearing our share of the hardship which living and sharing the gospel entails.

Like Peter, James and John, we have heard and believed the voice from the clouds: “Jesus is my beloved Son on whom my favor rests. Listen to him.” Listening to Jesus is a vital part of our living a holy life. Our willingness to take the time to listen to Jesus is the primary way that we grow in our sensitivity to God’s working in us. Our listening can take many forms:

• Personal prayer

• Meditating on the life and passion of Jesus

• Spiritual reading

• Attentiveness to the needs of the people around us.

Lent is a graced time for moments of listening. What we will hear will point out the direction our journey with the Lord will take. None of us will probably hear a voice from the clouds, as the disciples did. God will speak to us in less obvious ways, but he will speak. He speaks in every event of our lives, in every person who crosses our path. As we grow in greater sensitivity to his presence in everything and everyone around us, we will more easily understand what he is telling us about ourselves and what he wants us to say and do each day. Our daily journey becomes an ever-growing dialogue with our God who loves us and calls us to be one with him.

These days of Lent are graced. Let’s be sure we take the time to accept the graces God has prepared for us and grow in our baptismal commitment.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

First Sunday of Lent (March 5, 2017)

We continue our Lenten journey today with the telling of one of the oldest stories in our ancient heritage - God’s creation of the first man and woman. The storyteller reminds us that the human tendency to want to “be like God” (to exercise our free will without any restrictions) has been there from the beginning. This tendency caused a great disruption in God’s loving plan for us. As we listen, we aware of our own capacity for selfishness and sin.

St. Paul reminds us that God’s loving plan for us was only disrupted for a while. God had manifested his love for us in creation, but God chose to manifest it in an even greater way by sending Jesus among us. God’s love overflowed in compassion – in the gift of grace that Jesus wins for us by his obedience to his Father’s will. His willingness to die on the cross for our sins brings us a gift that far exceeds the original sin of Adam and Eve and even all the sins that have followed through the ages. During Lent, we are encouraged to meditate on the greatness of this gift from our God.

The Church encourages us to join Jesus in the desert during these next few weeks and share his experience of prayer and fasting. We are asked to consider our baptism and its continuing effect on our lives. How am I making use of the gift of grace in my daily living? How have I been tempted to use my free will for my own selfish ends? Am I nourishing myself on the word of God, or am I content just to eat the bread of this world? Who or what does my heart worship?

Jesus offers us a way to handle our temptations: turn to God and find our strength. Temptations are tests, but they are also moments of grace. They offer us an opportunity to acknowledge our human limitations and our need for God’s help. The grace of God can be powerful in the heart that is lowly.

The seriousness with which we choose to make our Lenten journey will be directly influenced by our appreciation of the greatness of the gift we have received through Jesus and our understanding of our need to deepen the effects of that gift in our daily living.

Let us pray each day that the Spirit of God will enlighten our minds and touch our hearts, that we may spend these graced days of Lent in ways that will open us more deeply to the grace of redemption.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Ash Wednesday (March 1, 2017)

As we are reminded every Ash Wednesday: “Now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation! Do not receive the grace of God in vain. Return to me (your God) with your whole heart.” That’s our Lenten invitation: “Be reconciled to God” as completely as we can.

The ashes that will be placed on our forehead in the sign of the cross are a visible reminder of our need for the saving grace of Jesus’ death and rising. Our mortality and our sinfulness make it necessary for us to turn ourselves again and again to the presence of our God so that our whole heart can be eventually taken up by his gracious love for us.

The prophet Joel echoes our God’s earliest revelation of his name to Moses: “The Lord, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.” Our gracious God is calling us to come closer to him during this Lent. St. Paul reminds us of the greatest motivation for responding with our whole being: “For our sakes (yours and mine), God made (Jesus) who did not know sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the very holiness of God.” Imagine: that we might become the very holiness of God.

Once again this Lent we are invited to turn to our God and receive his gracious love. We should look carefully into our hearts in order to find some very practical ways to use this sacred season to open our hearts even more to receive the very holiness of our God.

In our Lenten prayer, may each of us recognize the ways we still need to turn ourselves more to the Lord, and then take hold of the grace the Lord will give us to make these turnings.

May our God be praised by our efforts to live by his gracious love this Lent!

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 26, 2017)

Today’s Scriptures encourage us to see our daily life with the eyes of our loving God. Isaiah sets the tone: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” Our God has a tender, mother-like love for each of us, for we are his children.

When we learn to take these words to heart, then we are better able to understand what we heard Jesus tell us in today’s Gospel: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. . . Your heavenly father knows that you need them all.” Because our God loves us so much, we can trust that he will take care of all our needs.

Our trust is not that of a fool; we must use our talents and abilities to do what we can to provide for our needs. Our trust does not leave room for worry; worrying has never accomplished anything, but can distract us and ruin our peace of mind.

Jesus wants us to learn something important from the birds of the sky and the wildflowers of the fields. So we must listen carefully and then apply what we learn to our daily living. What we hear will help us to “seek first the kingdom of God” and his attitude toward living.

This should help us to live each present moment well, so that we give glory to the Master who made us.

St. Francis de Sales echoes Jesus’ words so well: “Do not worry about tomorrow. The same loving Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day.”

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 19, 2017)

Early in the history of His people, God summoned them to pattern their lives on His: “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” Jesus repeats that summons to us in the Gospel: “You must be perfected as your heavenly Father is perfect.” In order to make that seemingly impossible summons possible, the Spirit of God dwells in us.

Today’s Scriptures focus on how we become perfected through the way we act toward one another. The pattern that Jesus offers us is truthfulness, compassion and non-violence. When we recognize and honor ourselves as temples of God and respect others as His temple, then our words and actions will mirror our belief. The wisdom behind the way we choose to act comes from the Spirit dwelling in us. He will lead us to act in ways that the world around us may consider foolish.

Acting as Jesus would act calls us to greatness of heart. If loving as God loves is our model, then we must be willing to risk not returning violence for violence done to us. When we choose to love as God loves, we risk being taken advantage of and even getting hurt. The alternative - to be suspicious, stingy or cynical - is not worthy of anyone who possesses the Spirit of God.

Jesus summons us to the perfection of love: “Love your enemies, pray for your persecutors.” There’s no great challenge in loving those who love us. The real proof that we understand that we are children of God comes when we are willing to love those who do not love us in return, especially those who harm us. There is heroism involved in choosing to love each and every person who crosses our path.

The challenge that Jesus offers us is accompanied by the gift of His presence in us through the Spirit, making it possible for us to live out his challenge. Allowing Jesus to live in us and love through us more and more each day makes the seemingly impossible possible.

You and I can be perfected, as our heavenly Father is perfect.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 12, 2017)

Today’s Scripture readings elaborate on the wonderful reminder that we have heard from the book of Sirach: God has created us out of love, and the surest sign of his love is the blessing of free will. Sirach encourages us to exercise our freedom to choose wisely.

St. Paul reminds us that God has revealed his wisdom to us through his Spirit who dwells in us. The gift of faith gives us a broader view of life than mere human wisdom can give. Allowing the Spirit to lead us will enable us to see beyond our own selfish needs and desires and choose to act in ways that manifest God’s goodness and love.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about one way to do this. He encourages us to look beyond the mere letter of the law and strive to act in ways that move us toward the ideal living of the kingdom of God. Minimal obedience is far beneath the dignity of anyone who genuinely loves God and neighbor.

Jesus’ words in the gospel are not to be taken too literally. He is using the customary Middle Eastern love of exaggeration to make his point. What he is saying is that reaching the ideal implies avoiding whatever will compromise the ideal.

For example, the letter of the law says: “You shall not commit murder.” Living by the spirit of the law will mean: Do nothing which can injury another person (anger, abuse, hatred). And if you have injured anyone, go and seek reconciliation immediately. Then the two of you can worship God in mutual love and respect.

Jesus is encouraging us to listen to the wisdom of God present in us in the Spirit, and use our freedom to choose wisely as we go about our daily living.

In this way, we respond to the love that God has shown us in the gifts he has given us. Our choice to use our gifts wisely becomes an act of love. And in choosing to love, we are building up the kingdom.

May we learn to be faithful in following the lead of his grace.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 5, 2017)

St. Paul reminds us that our faith rests on the Cross of Christ and the convincing power of the Spirit, not on the wise argumentation of the world that so often leads to conflict and division. The crucified Jesus is the powerful manifestation of God’s love that unifies.

In the Gospel, Jesus calls us to be what we are because of the power of the Spirit. You and I are “the salt of the earth.” We flavor the world with the presence of God’s loving concern. Jesus encourages us to look at the flavoring we are at present. If we are not flavoring the world around us with the presence of God’s loving concern by the way we live each day, then we must be careful. Then we are good for nothing except to be thrown out and trampled.

You and I are “the light of the world.” We are a “city set on a hill,” “a lamp set on a stand to give light to all in the house.” Everyone sees us. Are we light in the darkness? The power of the Spirit working in us and through us is meant to touch others’ lives with God’s loving concern and mercy.

The theme of “light” appears again and again during this time before Lent. As Jesus manifested the light of God’s great concern for the poor of this world, you and I are to be continuing manifestations of that care and concern.

When we are aware of God’s presence in our own lives, then we are capable of illuminating the lives of others. When we do this is a way that makes it clear that we are reflecting the “true” light, then those around us will recognize the “light” we manifest and give thanks to the Father for it.

Francis de Sales must have had this in mind when he wrote: “Let us be what we are, and let us be it well, to do honor to the Master whose work we are.”

May today’s Word be good news once again and may we rededicate ourselves to being flavorful “salt” and transparent “light” for our little corners of the world.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 29, 2017)

We have just heard very familiar words from the mouth of Jesus.

We know that his words are instructive, they are also filled with joyful encouragement. Our God rewards those who struggle to be poor in spirit and humble, those who hunger and thirst to be holy, those who show mercy and work for peace, and especially those who suffer for their efforts to be holy.

When we make an effort to follow the lead of grace and be like Jesus, we are blessed and have reason to be glad. We are promised the reward of heaven.

Paul’s words to the Corinthians remind us of the great paradox of our existence. The lowly of the world are called by God to be his friends, brothers and sisters of His Son - not the wise and influential whom people of the world seek. Only the weak, the low-born, those who count for nothing are able to recognize the deeper realities of creation and give thanks for the wonderful mercy and love of God. They are overjoyed to let God be God. They are open to all that grace can do in their lives. They can take refuge in the Lord.

The prophet Zephaniah encourages us to continue to seek the Lord, observe his law, and seek justice and humility. When we live in this manner, then we are part of the faithful remnant whom God leaves in the midst of the world as a leaven.

As followers of de Sales, we have often heard the words of the beatitudes. They are the foundation for “Live, Jesus!” May we find joy in hearing them again, and may they urge us on in our efforts to be humble and gentle as Jesus was.

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 22, 2017)

Today’s reading from Isaiah announces once again that Jesus’ coming among us has brought light to the darkness and gloom of our world.

Jesus has smashed the yoke of sin; he brings us joy and reason for great rejoicing. You and I have been brought into the Light through our baptism, and we are grateful for this gift.

We look around us, and it’s easy to see the gloom and darkness that cover so many peoples’ lives. Since our baptism gives us a share in Jesus’ mission to bring Light to the world, it’s important that His Light be with us as we go about our daily living.

The way we reach out to the people we live with and work with offers us an opportunity to share His Light. Our caring, our honesty, our compassion, our willingness to forgive - each can bring Light into the darkness

which envelops many of our brothers and sisters.

Like Andrew and Peter, James and John, Jesus calls us to follow him into our world. We need to be clear about our mission as followers. We are called to share the Light of Christ, not our own light. If we are sharing the only true light – Jesus, then there can be no factions, no special groups. We are called to be one in the Body of Christ; otherwise we risk rendering the cross of Christ void of its meaning,

as we heard St. Paul tell us.

Today we are invited to spend some time renewing our commitment to live in the Light of Christ. In prayer and Eucharist, we can gain some new insights into how we can do this more completely. And now the Lord will come to nourish us for our continuing journey with him.

May we let Jesus live in us more and more each day, and may His Light shine through us in all we do.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 15, 2017)

Today we begin the cycle of ordinary Sundays of the year - a time when the Church once again focuses our attention on the reality of God’s kingdom present among us in the life and ministry of Jesus.

In the Gospel passage we just heard, John the Baptist identifies Jesus as “God’s Chosen One,” the servant spoken about by the prophet Isaiah. He is the One who is “a light to the nations” so that the salvation planned by our God may reach the ends of the earth.

Through our baptism, you and I have been incorporated into God’s saving plan. As St. Paul tells us, we are “called to be a holy people, consecrated in Christ Jesus.”

We are members of his Church and therefore part of Jesus’ continuing presence in the world. We share in his prophetic mission to be “a light to the nations,” announcing the good news of salvation to the ends of the earth.

It’s very easy to forget that you and I have an obligation to be light to the nations, even though most of us have little contact with “the ends of the earth.” We have to remind ourselves frequently that we are essential parts of the body of Christ.

While we may not be able to reach very far physically, we can give strength to those who do. The power of our prayer for those who minister the good news and for their people is invaluable. How often have Oblates who minister in Africa

or South America or India or Haiti have thanked us for our prayers which give them the strength they need to carry on their efforts for the Church?

Today might be a good time to renew our efforts of prayer on their behalf. We might even take a few minutes this week to write to one of them, reminding him (and ourselves) of our prayer for him and his people. As we prepare to celebrate the feast of Francis de Sales next week, we might offer a day of fidelity in our practice of the Directory for our brother Oblates who serve the Church far from home. In this way, we can stir up in our own hearts a sense of connection with the mission of the Church and, in the process, assist others in coming to know Jesus as God’s Chosen One.

Baptism of the Lord (January 9, 2017)

Today we complete the Church’s celebration of the unbelievable good news that God has fulfilled his promise to be Emmanuel - God with his people.

As we hear Matthew recount the baptism of Jesus, heaven and earth are joined together as the Spirit descends on Jesus and we hear the Father’s voice announce Jesus’ true identity: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

To help us understand the full meaning of the Father’s words, we have also heard the words of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus is the fulfillment of his prophecy. Jesus is the Servant, the Chosen One, on whom the Father’s favor rests. The Spirit of the Lord is upon him, and he will bring forth God’s justice to all the world.

The wonder of this revelation is that he will bring about this justice with meekness and gentleness, especially toward the downtrodden. Jesus will announce this good news of peace as he goes about going good and healing sinners. He will be light to the blind and freedom for those locked away in darkness. Anyone who reveres God and is willing to live as Jesus teaches can share in God’s gift of peace.

That’s the message we have received and the challenge we are offered by our baptism. Because Jesus wants us to share his very life, the Spirit of God has descended on us and dwells in us, and the Father speaks the same wonderful words to us that he spoke to Jesus: “You are my beloved son or daughter, with whom I am well pleased.”

Our Father has grasped us by the hand and he wants us to be the living signs of his continuing care for all his people, especially the downtrodden. We are to work each day for the victory of justice with great gentleness. In our own way, we are to bring light to anyone who is living in darkness.

Our Father wants to remind us at the beginning of each day: “You are my beloved son or daughter, with whom I am well pleased.” If we take the time to listen to his words each morning, they offer us direction for our day. As we listen, we can ask ourselves: how will I live today as the beloved son or daughter of God? How will I make it evident today that I am thankful that God is pleased with me?

God’s loving word to us has to be an uplifting start to our day! Let us take the time to listen.