Jesus stopped and ordered that the blind man be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. Luke 18:40-42
This Gospel story is filled with images and interactions that might speak to our souls.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We consider this: What if Jesus asked you that question right now? “What do you want me to do for you?”
What would your request be? Would you be tempted to respond as if Jesus were a genie who deals in wishes not hopes?
Or would your answer grow from your deep faith as it does with this blind man? Upon his healing, heaven’s window was opened to him. The Gospel tellsus that “he followed” Jesus. His newfound vision was put fully at the service of God.
Poetry: Blind Trust – Irene Zimmerman
Bartimeus sat outside the town of Jericho. The more they told him where to go, the louder he cried.
He had no pride -- when Jesus asked he simply stared: "Lord, I want to see!" and waited to be eyed.
Jesus said to his disciples: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
“And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. Mark 13:24-27
We’re coming to that time of year that I don’t really like too much. The eschatological readings used to close out the liturgical year are filled with astounding, awesome, and sometimes frightening images.
But I guess that’s the whole point. If you haven’t gotten the message throughout the entire year, this is a last-ditch effort to scare it into you!
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We offer the prayer of today’s Responsorial Psalm, confident that when the end time comes, we will be among those who rejoice.
Poetry: You are my inheritance, O Lord!- Psalm 16
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices, my body, too, abides in confidence; because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever.
Music: In Paradisum – interpreted by Michael Hoppé
In paradisum deducant te angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.
May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you to the holy city Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive you and with Lazarus, once was poor, may you have eternal rest.
Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers and sisters, especially for strangers; they have testified to your love before the Church. Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey. For they have set out for the sake of the Name and are accepting nothing from the pagans. Therefore, we ought to support such persons, so that we may be co-workers in the truth. 3 John 5:8
Most of us have felt like strangers at some point in our lives. It’s not a nice feeling. You might have attended an event without a date or companion. You might have been the only woman in a group of men, or vice versa. You might have been the only Black person at a White funeral or the other way around. Didn’t we hope to find someone to connect to, someone who would offer us an open door?
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: As we think about Paul’s teaching, and our own experiences, let’s prayerfully consider our attitudes and actions regarding immigrants and refugees. Persons displaced by climate, politics, poverty, lawlessness, and a host of other causes deserve our help, as Paul describes. Let’s ask ourselves how we’re doing with that.
Poem: The Kindness of Strangers – Sally Van Dorn
Here I am with all my flaws seeking form and shelter.
I blanche at the notion of violence, but it’s coming
after us, closing in like a superstition I can’t shake.
If I acquiesce to your harsh future you must promise me
one thing. Where we go we will find our youth again. Can you
see it there under the yellow linen tablecloth? I’m depending on it.
Music: Wayfaring Stranger – published in 1858, author unknown
I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger Traveling through this world below There is no sickness, no toil, no danger In that bright land to which I go I'm going there to see my father And all my loved ones who've gone on I'm just going over Jordan I'm just going over home I know dark clouds will gather 'round me I know my way is hard and steep But beauteous fields arise before me Where God's redeemed, their vigils keep I'm going there to see my mother She said she'd meet me when I come So I'm just going over Jordan I'm just going over home I'm just going over Jordan I'm just going over home
Beloved: I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the holy ones have been refreshed by you, brother. Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ to order you to do what is proper, I rather urge you out of love, being as I am, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus. I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment, who was once useless to you but is now useful to both you and me. Philemon 1:7-11
Did you ever have to intercede for a friend? Or if you were the friend, did anyone ever have to intercede for you? That’s what is happening in this passage.
Onesimus, the escaped slave of Philemon, had also been accused of petty theft. During his escape, he comes into Paul’s company, is converted, and befriends and assists Paul.
Paul pleads with Philemon to forgive and reconcile with Onesimus as a brother in Christ.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We give thanks for those who have stood by us in times of testing, who knew our hearts better than others did, and who represented us in Christ.
Poetry: “Onesimus” by Tania Runyan
Since I stole your money, Philemon, and even more, myself, the body that broke earth and stacked stones at daybreak while you slept,
you have every right to lash me till the whites of my intestines show, brand FUG on my forehead, or throw me to the lions, who love especially
the taste of escaped slaves, our blood sweet with freedom’s fleeting breath. But Paul, wild-eyed with Christ, has washed down his prison walls
with prayer. He knows you will take me back, not a slave, but a brother delivering koinonia to your congregation in this present evil age, teaching
how to pray paralytics into motion and how to sleep in peace when soldiers sharpen swords outside your windows. Paul calls me his son, no—
his very heart. I am no longer your body but will reside in yours, pump forgiveness and prayer through your veins. I will make you
see Christ in every jangling harlot and rotting, leprous face. I will make you a slave to God’s bidding.
But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7
The saint we honor today is an exemplar of the spiritual life Paul describes in his letter to Titus – centered in God’s mercy, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and unified with Jesus Christ and his Gospel.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we take time to be with Frances Xavier Cabrini, and with any of our special saints who model for us the pathway to eternal life.
Research: The story of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s life is inspiring and astounding. To read a summary, click here:
Music: Va, Pensiero (from the film Cabrini) is an aria from the opera Nabucco written by Giuseppe Verdi in 1842. The aria is popularly known as “The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”.
The opera recollects the period of Babylonian captivity after the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC.
The libretto is by Temistocle Solera, inspired by Psalm 137. The opera with its powerful chorus established Verdi as a major composer in 19th-century Italy. The full incipit is “Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate”, meaning “Go, thought, on wings of gold”. (Wikipedia)
Goes, thought, on golden wings Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate
It goes, it places you on the slopes, on the hills Va, ti posa sui clivi, sui colli
Where they smell warm and soft Ove olezzano tepide e molli
The sweet auras of the native soil L’aure dolci del suolo natal He greets the banks of the Jordan Del Giordano le rive saluta
The towers of Sione collapsed Di Sione le torri atterrate
Oh, my beautiful and lost homeland Oh, mia patria sì bella e perduta
Oh, memory so dear and fatal Oh, membranza sì cara e fatal Golden harp of the fateful prophets Arpa d’or dei fatidici vati
Why does it change from the willow tree you hang? Perché muta dal salice pendi?
Rekindle the memories in your chest Le memorie nel petto raccendi
It tells us about times gone by Ci favella del tempo che fu O similar of Sòlima to the fates O simile di Sòlima ai fati
You draw a sound of raw lament Traggi un suono di crudo lamento
O may the Lord inspire you with a concert O t’ispiri il Signore un concento
May it infuse virtue into suffering Che ne infonda al patire virtù May it infuse virtue into suffering Che ne infonda al patire virtù
May it infuse virtue into suffering Che ne infonda al patire virtù
When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do. Luke 17:10
Today’s Gospel tells us that we have to give God our “All” because God is the Source of that “All”.
Often, we hear about “giving our all” in relationship to the sports world – give it everything you’ve got, leave it all on the field, all or nothing, win or go home.
What if we had the same attitude toward our spiritual lives? Toward performing the Works of Mercy, living the Beatitudes, keeping the Greatest Commandment. What if we really gave God all!
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We need plenty of practice to achieve the kind of dedication that gives “All”. Let’s begin or renew our will and effort right now through prayer, reflection, and living Mercy in our world.
Prayer: Thomas Merton
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
Music: I Surrender All – Judson W. Van DeVenter (1896)
A gentle interpretation of an traditional favorite.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Luke 17:1-2
Jesus is serious about the importance of good example and moral living. I mean, look at the heft of that millstone! It ain’t no necklace! If you’re thrown into the sea with that around your neck, there’s no coming back.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We pray for the spiritual sensitivity to be aware of our motivations, our influence on others, and any selfish or concupiscent choices we make.
Poetry: House of Light – Mary Oliver
Still, what I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled— to cast aside the weight of facts
and maybe even to float a little above this difficult world. I want to believe I am looking
into the white fire of a great mystery. I want to believe that the imperfections are nothing— that the light is everything—that it is more than the sum of each flawed blossom rising and falling. And I do.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; they shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord shall be their King forever. Those who trust in God shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with God in love: because grace and mercy are with God’s holy ones, whose care embraces the Elect. Wisdom 3:7-9
All Souls Day is a glorious feast, and yet it is threaded with a tinge of sadness. We remember those we have loved and lost into the incomprehensible dimensions of eternity, into an infinty of Love.
The gifted Wisdom writer consoles us with the verse we are all so familiar with from many funerals:
The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.
Wisdom 3:1
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We place our trust in God’s promise to hold our beloveds in tenderness until we see them again.
Poetry: from John O’Donohue
Though we need to weep your loss, You dwell in that safe place in our hearts, Where no storm or might or pain can reach you.
Your love was like the dawn Brightening over our lives Awakening beneath the dark A further adventure of colour.
The sound of your voice Found for us A new music That brightened everything.
Whatever you enfolded in your gaze Quickened in the joy of its being; You placed smiles like flowers On the altar of the heart. Your mind always sparkled With wonder at things.
Though your days here were brief, Your spirit was live, awake, complete.
We look towards each other no longer From the old distance of our names; Now you dwell inside the rhythm of breath, As close to us as we are to ourselves.
Though we cannot see you with outward eyes, We know our soul’s gaze is upon your face, Smiling back at us from within everything To which we bring our best refinement.
Let us not look for you only in memory, Where we would grow lonely without you. You would want us to find you in presence, Beside us when beauty brightens, When kindness glows And music echoes eternal tones.
When orchids brighten the earth, Darkest winter has turned to spring; May this dark grief flower with hope In every heart that loves you.
May you continue to inspire us: To enter each day with a generous heart. To serve the call of courage and love Until we see your beautiful face again In that land where there is no more separation, Where all tears will be wiped from our mind, And where we will never lose you again.
Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” He said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.” Revelations 7:14
The Book of Revelation conveys stunning and sometimes confusing images, but the image of the Blessed wrapped in white robes is very clear. These are the ones who haved witnessed, endured, and remained faithful. These are the saints.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: In the presence of the saints, we pray to many of our departed favorite saints, whose lives witnessed something which speaks to our own. We have lived, and are living beside some of them right now. But the purpose of the Book of Revelation is to pose this question to its readers: Are you becoming one of them. Will you wear the white robe of belonging fully to God?
Poetry: God Make Us Saints – Vachel Lindsay
Would I might wake St. Francis in you all, Brother of birds and trees, God’s Troubadour, Blinded with weeping for the sad and poor; Our wealth undone, all strict Franciscan men, Come, let us chant the canticle again Of mother earth and the enduring sun. God make each soul the lonely leper’s slave; God make us saints, and brave.
Music: When the Saints Go Marching In
For those of my readers not from the Philadelphia area, this is a clip of the Quaker City stringband as they prepare for our famous Mummers Parade on New Year’s Day. You will notice the brooms in some of the dancers hands. These are to sweep out the old year and begin anew.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling! Behold, your house will be abandoned. But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Luke 13:34-35
Scripture often uses the image of wings to convey the sense of divine protection as in Psalm 91:4:
You will cover me with your pinions and hide me in the shadow of your wings.
In today’s reading, Jesus expresses his desire to love and protect us in this way. Yet some, by their life choices, remain unwilling.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We gratefully nestle in God’s grace and protection asking that our lives be transformed in that Holy Shadow.
Poem: Peace – Gerard Manley Hopkins
When will you ever, Peace, wild wooddove, shy wings shut, Your round me roaming end, and under be my boughs? When, when, Peace, will you, Peace? I'll not play hypocrite To own my heart: I yield you do come sometimes; but That piecemeal peace is poor peace. What pure peace allows Alarms of wars, the daunting wars, the death of it?
O surely, reaving Peace, my Lord should leave in lieu Some good! And so he does leave Patience exquisite, That plumes to Peace thereafter. And when Peace here does house He comes with work to do, he does not come to coo, He comes to brood and sit.
Lavish Mercy 