Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will lament him. Yes. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.” Revelation 1:5-8
Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in his 1925 encyclical Quas primas. The encyclical was written in response to growing secularism and secular ultra-nationalism. The encyclical, wedged between two World Wars, attempted to focus people’s minds and hearts on Christ whose power unites and directs us to peace rather than domination.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We pray to be agents of peace and justice in our world, sustained by our devotion to Christ who modeled his kingship by loving service, especially to the poor and marginalized.
How sweet to my taste is your promise! In the way of your decrees I rejoice, as much as in all riches. Yes, your decrees are my delight; they are my counselors. The law of your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces. How sweet to my palate are your promises, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Your decrees are my inheritance forever; the joy of my heart they are. I gasp with open mouth in my yearning for your commands. from Psalm 119
Today, I choose to pray with our Responsorial Psalm 119, a beautiful love song to God. The psalm lists everything for which we might love God.
Picture a beloved asking you, “What do you love about me? Can you make a list?” Picture God doing the same thing. Psalm 119 is one person’s list of how they love the sweetness of God. What would your list look like?
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We take time in prayer to share “love talk” with God. How does the Divine Sweetness touch us, change us? How do we return that sweetness to God by our touch upon God’s Creation?
Poetry: Song Silence By Madeleva Wolff, CSC
Yes, I shall take this quiet house and keep it With kindled hearth and candle-lighted board, In singing silence garnish it and sweep it For Christ, my Lord.
My heart is filled with little songs to sing Him— I dream them into words with careful art— But this I think a better gift to bring Him, Nearer his heart.
The foxes have their holes, the wise, the clever; The birds have each a safe and secret nest; But He, my lover, walks the world with never A place to rest.
I found Him once upon a straw bed lying; (Once on His mother’s heart He laid His head) He had a bramble pillow for His dying, A stone when dead.
I think to leave off singing for this reason, Taking instead my Lord God’s house to keep, Where He may find a home in every season To wake, to sleep.
Do you not think that in this holy sweetness Of silence shared with God a whole life long Both he and I shall find divine completeness Of perfect song?
Music: Cor Dulce – Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), sung by Benedictines of Mary
Sweet heart, most loving heart; our love wounded, our love languishing; be merciful to me.
Heart of Jesus, sweeter than honey; heart purer than the sun; Holy word of God, fullness of God’s wealth.
Thy haven for a shipwrecked world; secure portion for the faithful, defender and refuge of our minds; rest for our faithful hearts.
As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes. Luke 19:41-42
When we think of Jesus’s suffering, we often think only of his Passion and Death. But, like us, Jesus suffered in many ways throughout his life. Certainly, he suffered misunderstanding, hatred, marginalization, and rejection. In today’s reading, Jesus suffers heartbreak. The ones for whom He took flesh have failed to understand the peace he offers.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We pray to understand that the Spirit of God runs in an infinite current through all of life, calling every dimension to deep union with Divinity. This union is achieved by living as Jesus lived in peace, love, obedience, justice, mercy, and joy. Until we can let the rest go, I think Jesus still weeps.
Poetry: Jesus Weeps by Malcolm Guite
Jesus comes near and he beholds the city And looks on us with tears in his eyes, And wells of mercy, streams of love and pity Flow from the fountain whence all things arise. He loved us into life and longs to gather And meet with his beloved face to face How often has he called, a careful mother, And wept for our refusals of his grace, Wept for a world that, weary with its weeping, Benumbed and stumbling, turns the other way, Fatigued compassion is already sleeping Whilst her worst nightmares stalk the light of day. But we might waken yet, and face those fears, If we could see ourselves through Jesus’ tears.
Music: Pie Jesu – Gabriel Fauré The Pie Jesu is the centerpiece of Fauré’s Requiem, which he completed in 1890. Many consider it his greatest composition.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. Luke 19:2-6
Every scripture passage has a lesson for us. And even though I’m tall, not short, there is a lesson here for me. For you too!
We want to grow in our ability to find God in every circumstance of our lives. But, at times, we may be short on the faith, hope, or charity to do so. We may be short on living the works of mercy. Not to sound hip-hop, but we may be short on “Gratitude for the Beatitude”!
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We ask Jesus to discover us in whatever metaphorical tree we might be hiding, to come under our roof, and to live at the center of our lives.
Poetry: The Stature of Zacchaeus – Amos Russel Wells (1862-1933)
Zacchaeus struggled with the crowd; A little man was he. "Vermin!" he muttered half aloud, "I'll make them honor me. Ah, when the taxes next are due, I'll tower as is meet; This beggarly, ill-mannered crew Shall cower at my feet."
Zacchaeus climbed the sycomore (He was a little man), And as he looked the rabble o'er He chuckled at the plan. "I get the thing I want," he said, "And that is to be tall. They think me short but by a head I rise above them all."
"Zacchaeus, come! I dine with you," The famous Rabbi cried. Zacchaeus tumbled into view A giant in his pride. He strutted mightily before That silly, gaping throng; You'd think him six feet high or more, To see him stride along.
Zacchaeus listened to the Lord, And as he listened, feared; How was his life a thing abhorred When that pure Life appeared! Down to a dwarf he shrank away In sorrow and in shame. He owned his sins that very day, And bore the heavy blame.
But as he rose before the crowd, (A little man, alack!) Confessed his guilt and cried aloud And gave his plunder back, I think he stood a giant then As angels truly scan, And no one ever thought again He was a little man.
Music: Zacchaeus – Miriam Therese Winter, Medical Mission Sisters
He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” Mark 12:41-44
We often hear the term “All or Nothing” to describe a superhuman effort perhaps on a sports field or in a gambling effort: “Leave it all on the field!”, “Give it everything you’ve got!”.
But let’s think about the phrase in reference to today’s reading. What would make this poor widow give her livelihood – everything she had – to the Lord’s treasury?
Jesus makes it clear that to assure ourselves of entry into Heaven, we must allow grace to convert every aspect of our lives. As long as we hold on to even a small uncoverted corner of selfishness, we will not be ready to receive the fullness of God. The parable in only minimally about money. It is about the riches of our hearts.
Poetry: The Widow’s Mites – Richard Crashaw ( c.1613 – 1649)
Two mites, two drops, yet all her house and land, Fall from a steady heart, though trembling hand: The other's wanton wealth foams high, and brave; The other cast away, she only gave.
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ Luke 16:1-4
When I was a kid, this parable was referred to as the Parable of the Wiley Steward. We’ve gotten sophisticated now and call it the “Unjust Steward” or the “Penitent Steward”. But I still like “wiley”, maybe because I love the cartoon character “Wile E. Coyote” (pictured above.) Like the Gospel steward, Wile E. continually tried to advance himself by devious plots against the Roadrunner or Bugs Bunny. These deceptions always backfired and Wile E ended up in worst shape than before.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We pray not to try to fool God or ourselves by false excuses or self-serving plots. We ask for the courage to be good stewards of God’s gifts, using them generously and truthfully for God’s purposes.
Prose: St. Augustine on The Wiley Steward – (Sermon 359 A.10)
Why did the Lord Jesus Christ present us with this parable? He didn’t approve, surely, of that cheat of a servant; he cheated his master, he stole from him, and didn’t make it up from his own pocket. On top of that he also did some extra pilfering; he caused his master further loss, in order to prepare a little nest of quiet and security for himself after he lost his job. Why did the Lord set this before us? Not because that servant cheated, but because he exercised foresight for the future, to make Christians blush, who make no such provision, when even a cheat is praised for his ingenuity. I mean, this is what he added: Behold, the children of this age are more prudent than the children of light. They perpetrate frauds in order to secure their future. In what life, after all, did that steward insure himself like that? What one was he going to quit when he bowed to his master’s decision? He was insuring himself for a life that was going to end; won’t you insure yourself for one that is eternal?
Music: Stewards of the Earth – Omar Westendorf
A little addition for those who never heard of Wile E. Coyote:
Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and, found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:7-11
We are accustomed to these words, having heard them multiple times over the years. But read them slowly today. They are stunning! That the Son of God took flesh to restore us to the fullness of grace! All Creation must bow to that Infinite Love.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We let the immense truth of this reading sink into our souls. We rest gratefully in its reality, its daily Presence and invitation to us.
Poetry: On the Mystery of the Incarnation – Denise Levertov
It's when we face for a moment the worst our kind can do, and shudder to know the taint in our own selves, that awe cracks the mind's shell and enters the heart: not to a flower, not to a dolphin, to no innocent form but to this creature vainly sure it and no other is god-like, God (out of compassion for our ugly failure to evolve) entrusts, as guest, as brother, the Word.
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.
Brothers and sisters: Grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift…
… living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole Body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love. living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole Body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:7;15-16
There is a grace, inherent in each of us, that can make us physically, spiritually, and emotionally elegant. Some people move, speak, write, and behave with grace. It is a natural gift that may be enhanced by our openness to God’s gentle power in our lives.
But there is another kind of infinite grace that is a pure gift from God. When we receive such grace, we receive a share in God’s own life.
Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of Uncreated Grace in human form, that gift of eternal, inexhaustible Love which invites our full surrender to its transformative power.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: God’s Love for us is so vast as to be incomprehensibe. Like a star in the seemingly distant heavens, it still touches us with its light, still donates its stardust to our body. We pray to be grateful, open, awed, and obedient to its urging in our lives.
Poetry: That Lives in Us -Rumi (interpreted by David Ladinsky)
If you put your hands on this oar with me, they will never harm another, and they will come to find they hold everything you want. If you put your hands on this oar with me, they would no longer lift anything to your mouth that might wound your precious land- that sacred earth that is your body. If you put your soul against this oar with me, the power that made the universe will enter your sinew from a source not outside your limbs, but from a holy realm that lives in us. Exuberant is existence, time a husk. When the moment cracks open, ecstasy leaps out and devours space; love goes mad with the blessings, like my words give. Why lay yourself on the torturer’s rack of the past and future? The mind that tries to shape tomorrow beyond its capacities will find no rest. Be kind to yourself, dear- to our innocent follies. Forget any sounds or touch you knew that did not help you dance. You will come to see that all evolves us. If you put your heart against the earth with me, in serving every creature, our Beloved will enter you from our sacred realm and we will be, we will be so happy.
I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace; one Body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-6
Paul encourages the Ephesian community to live a life worthy of their call. The same encouragement comes down through the ages to us. The unique blessing of our Baptism deserves a worthy response from us, one characterized by humility, gentleness, patience, love, unity, peace, and hope.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We examine our lives for the evidence of these virtues. They should not only be present in our desires but, more importantly, in our actions and choices.
Poetry: Annunciation – Denise Levertov Mary is the perfect and complete model of the worthy life Paul calls us to.
We know the scene: the room, variously furnished,
almost always a lectern, a book; always the tall lily. Arrived on solemn grandeur of great wings, the angelic ambassador, standing or hovering, whom she acknowledges, a guest.
But we are told of meek obedience. No one mentions courage. The engendering Spirit did not enter her without consent. God waited.
She was free to accept or to refuse, choice integral to humanness.
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Aren’t there annunciations of one sort or another in most lives? Some unwillingly undertake great destinies, enact them in sullen pride, uncomprehending. More often those moments when roads of light and storm open from darkness in a man or woman, are turned away from in dread, in a wave of weakness, in despair and with relief. Ordinary lives continue. God does not smite them. But the gates close, the pathway vanishes.
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She had been a child who played, ate, slept like any other child – but unlike others, wept only for pity, laughed in joy not triumph. Compassion and intelligence fused in her, indivisible.
Called to a destiny more momentous than any in all of Time, she did not quail, only asked a simple, ‘How can this be?’ and gravely, courteously, took to heart the angel’s reply, perceiving instantly the astounding ministry she was offered:
to bear in her womb Infinite weight and lightness; to carry in hidden, finite inwardness, nine months of Eternity; to contain in slender vase of being, the sum of power – in narrow flesh, the sum of light. Then bring to birth, push out into air, a Man-child needing, like any other, milk and love –
but who was God.
This was the moment no one speaks of, when she could still refuse.
A breath unbreathed, Spirit, suspended, waiting.
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She did not cry, ‘I cannot. I am not worthy,’ Nor, ‘I have not the strength.’ She did not submit with gritted teeth, raging, coerced. Bravest of all humans, consent illumined her. The room filled with its light, the lily glowed in it, and the iridescent wings. Consent, courage unparalleled, opened her utterly.
Music: Benedicta et Venerabilis
Benedicta et venerabilis es, Virgo Maria: quae sine tactu pudoris inventa es Mater salvatoris. Virgo Dei Genitrix, quem totus non capit orbis, in tua se clausit viscera factus homo.
Blessed and venerable art thou, O Virgin Mary, who, without spot, wast found the Mother of the Saviour. Virgin Mother of God, He whom the whole world containeth not, being made man, shut Himself in thy womb.
Lavish Mercy 