Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we are gifted with another magnificently beautiful prayer from Ephesians. Friends, there are times when simply nothing more can be said.
Let your heart kneel in God’s Presence as you savor this powerful prayer:
I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Poetry: God is Today – Jessica Power
God is today. He is not yesterday. He is not tomorrow. God is the dawn, wakening earth to life; the first morning ever, shining with infinite innocence; a revelation
older than all beginning, younger than youth. God is the noon, blinding the eye of the mind with the blaze of truth. God is the sunset, casting over creation a color of glory as He withdraws into mysteries of light.
God is today. He is not yesterday. He is not tomorrow. He never is night.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, Paul proclaims his mission to the Gentiles, announcing that through the Gospel, salvation is offered to all people. He says that, by grace, he became a minister of this Gospel – called to preach “the inscrutable riches of Christ”.
And Paul certainly did an extraordinary job. He had been given much by God, and he gave it back wholeheartedly.
In the Gospel, Jesus talks about that same kind of investment. In answer to Peter’s confusion about the call to be ready for God, Jesus tells the story of wily steward.
This servant had been given much: trust, responsibility, power and probably higher pay. But when the master is away, the trusted servant fails him, acting cruelly and greedily in his own interest.
Jesus ends the story with a pronouncement that has always shaken me a little:
For unto whomever much is given, much will be required.
I know I’ve been given a stunning abundance by God: faith, family, friends and a thousand other graces. But my will and ability to give back sometimes feels as fragile as a decaying leaf. Ever feel like that?
It turns out that even Paul, great Apostle to the Gentiles, felt that way too. He says so in his letter to the Corinthians. Paul asks God to remove his fragility.
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Let’s pray today to be good stewards of the amazing riches God has given us – in Creation, Faith, Grace and Community. Let us invite God’s power to perfect our weakness, all for the sake of God’s glory.
Even a lacy leaf can be beautiful when it is filled with Light.
Poetry: To Autumn – John Keats
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind; Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep, Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers: And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep Steady thy laden head across a brook; Or by a cider-press, with patient look, Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,-- While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue; Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn Among the river sallows, borne aloft Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies; And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn; Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft, And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.
Music: My Grace is Sufficient for You – Keith and Amy Amano
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we celebrate the Feast of St. Luke, evangelist, writer of the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, and devoted missionary companion of Paul.
Luke’s Gospel is unique in several ways.
Six miracles appear only in Luke:
the miraculous catch of fish
the raising of the widow’s only son
healing a possessed, crippled woman
healing a man with dropsy
cleansing of ten lepers
healing the man’s ear in Gethsemane
Eighteen parables are unique to Luke, including the beloved stories of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son.
Van Gogh’s Good Samaritan
While both Matthew and Luke contain the story of Christ’s birth, only Luke includes those beautiful passages which now comprise the joyful mysteries of the rosary: Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Presentation, and Finding in the Temple.
Only Luke gives us the Magnificat and the cherished words of the Hail Mary.
Think of all that we would not be able to visualize without Luke’s blessed writings. No Gabriel. No Elizabeth, Zachary, Anna or Simeon. No tender Samaritan or merciful loving Prodigal Father to show us God’s face.
Rembrandt’s Prodigal Son
Maybe some of your favorite passages are among these Lucan treasures. You might want to choose one to accompany you throughout your day.
Poetry: A Sonnet for St. Luke – Malcolm Guite
His gospel is itself a living creature A ground and glory round the throne of God, Where earth and heaven breathe through human nature And One upon the throne sees it is good. Luke is the living pillar of our healing, A lowly ox, the servant of the four, We turn his page to find his face revealing The wonder, and the welcome of the poor. He breathes good news to all who bear a burden Good news to all who turn and try again, The meek rejoice and prodigals find pardon, A lost thief reaches paradise through pain, The voiceless find their voice in every word And, with Our Lady, magnify Our Lord.
The music today is a country song, not really about St. Luke’s Gospel, but certainly reflecting its love and respect for those who are poor.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, our readings are all about riches. How appropriate that seems in a world where we’re always trying to get a little bit richer!
Take, for instance, our “lottery mania”. Whenever there is a big national jackpot, I like to think what I might do with the prize money. Don’t you? (Of course, my Dad always told me that the first thing you have to do is buy a ticket — which I usually fail to do!)
News bits will often show interviews with John and Jane Q. Public, informing us of how they might use such winnings. Of course, all describe an amazingly altruistic response to a winning ticket. It seems everyone will help her unfortunate brother-in-law, and buy his mail carrier new shoes. Hmm? I wonder?
Not so with Gospel Farmer today. He hits the jackpot in the fields and, as many of us might, decides to keep every last grain for himself. Oops! On the night of that decision, he dies, leaving the grain behind along with his selfish legacy.
Jesus tells us:
Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.
Paul tells us what it does consist of:
God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, … brought us to life with Christ, raised us up with him …
We are to live among one another as mirrors of this Divine kindness and richness — not holding on to every last – very transitory- grain of our “possessions”.
Friends, every one of us, through our Baptism, already holds the winning ticket to the only treasure that lasts – eternal life. May our lives reflect that immense grace in deeds of love and mercy.
Poetry:The Summer Day – Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean —
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down —
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
(Sorry for my late and truncated post today. Just returned from vacation and got a little off track.)
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, our readings encourage us never to weary in our faith and prayer.
Look at Moses in our first reading! He keeps his hands raised in supplication throughout the entire battle, albeit with a little help from his friends.
This is a good reminder for us of the gift and importance of a praying community. There are times in every life when we need someone to hold us up in prayer.
In our second reading, Paul counsels Timothy never to grow weary in the pursuit of his ministry.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, … proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient…
And in our Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the importune widow, who kept after the judge until she got the answer she wanted. Luke includes this information:
Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time wentyIf a dishonest judge can be moved by persistence to grant justice, how much more will God do so for those God loves?
The point? Not that if we bug God, we’ll get what we want. Rather it is to remind us to stay in steadfast relationship with God who is always revealing the path of grace and wholeness to us.
So let’s take a clue from Moses. Let’s keep our hands up in faithful praise to God through all the blessings and challenges of our lives. By doing so, we will receive peace far beyond our persistent questions and concerns.
Total Praise – Richard Smallwood, sung by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
Lord, I will lift mine eyes to the hills Knowing my health is coming from You Your peace You give me in times of the storm
You are the source of my strength, Hallelujah And You are the strength of my life, yes You are I lift my hands in total praise to You
Lord, I will lift mine eyes to the hills Knowing my health is coming from You Your peace, You give me in times of the storm
You are the source of my strength You are the strength of my life I lift my hands in total praise to You
You are the source of my strength You are the strength of my life I lift my hands in total praise to
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
You are the source of my strength You are the strength of my life
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we read the magnificent Ephesians prayer, spoken by Paul over his beloved community — and over us. The phrases are like sacred honey, each one to be individually savored and consumed.
I never cease giving thanks for you
May God give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation
May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened
May you know what is the hope that belongs to God’s call
… what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones
… and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe
Wow! What if we prayed for one another like that? What if we prayed for ourselves like that?
Sometimes we, and our companions on life’s journey, do require prayers for a specific need: recovery from illness, strength in a time of trial, courage in darkness.
But we should pray for one another every day – a prayer that transcends specific needs – a prayer for wisdom, faith, understanding, and wild confidence in God’s loving power in our lives.
Such a prayer, like Paul’s, helps create a web of spiritual resilience for our beloveds, around them and within them. This is the power of the Communion of Saints.
Let us pray like this for each other.
Poetry: some thoughts from today’s holy Wonder Woman, Teresa of Avila:
Each of us has a soul, but we forget to value it. We don’t remember that we are creatures made in the image of God. We don’t understand the great secrets hidden inside of us.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, Paul tells us that we were created “for the praise of God’s glory”. Paul emphasizes the phrase by using it twice in the first reading.
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.
the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.
Thinking about the prayer of praise may remind us of the four types of prayer we learned by nemonic as a child: ACTS.
Adoration
Contrition
Thanksgiving
Supplication
The last three types are prayers centered in the self. They express my regrets, my gratitude, and my needs. But the first type, Adoration, is centered on God – a prayer of awe and absorption into God’s Presence.
That kind of prayer is so important to deepening our relationship with God. We can understand why just by considering our human relationships.
In order to love someone deeply and intimately, we have to forget ourselves and allow ourselves to embrace their reality. It’s very hard to do this. We are naturally self-centered and self-concerned. But through generosity, intentionality and self-sacrifice, we can learn to love unselfishly.
We can learn to love God like this too. Our prayer of adoration may be a shared silence with God. It may be simple phrases we offer in the awareness of God’s Being, as we breathe the breath of God’s life:
You are Beauty….
You are Life….
You are Mercy….
You are Love…
You are…
We let go of time and purpose. We give ourselves to the One who sustains us.
We don’t ask for anything, say thanks or sorry for anything. We simply absorb God’s Presence and return it in praise.
If we feel the need for words to begin this prayer, we might use the first phrases of an old, beloved mantra – the Divine Praises. Here’s my translation:
Blessed are You, precious God. Blessed is your Holy Name. Blessed are dear Jesus, truly God, truly human. Blessed is your holy Name. Blessed is your Sacred Heart. Blessed is your Precious Blood.
…. and then go on with your personal praises to bless God: blessed is your Presence in my Life … your call to my heart … your peace in my turmoils…..
Poetry: from Rumi
To praise is to praise how one surrenders to the emptiness.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, as we pray with Paul’s beautiful Ephesians hymn, I would like to take a little different tack with my daily reflection. Although you are reading this around October 12th or 13th, I am writing it on October 2nd. I am in Sea Isle City finishing up an eight-day retreat with Clare D’Auria, a Sister of St. Francis who is filled with the Holy Spirit. Hurricane Ian is wagging its tail outside my window with downpours of rain and 30-40 MPH winds. But my spirit is quiet, still, blessed and grateful.
Then, as I read, I am given the amazing further gift of this passage:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
In Christ we have redemption by his Blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
Ephesians 1:1-10
My dear readers, in heaven’s name, what more could be said!!!!!
I simply read these verses today, taking them phrase by phrase, letting their grace sink into my spirit, lifting my whole being in reverence and gratitude. I encourage you to do the same.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, our readings continue the theme of sincere faith versus hypocritical practices.
Paul really lets the Galatian community have it. Apparently, their behavior had slipped pretty low! Paul’s list of things to be avoided contains some shocking stuff, like orgies, bursts of fury, and drinking bouts. Sounds bad! A lot worse, I hope, than any list he might make about us if he were writing now. I wonder?
In our Gospel, Jesus lets loose on some of the Pharisees too. He points out that they practice the tiniest, visible observances so that people see them as holy. But they ignore the more important requirements of love, justice and mercy. In other words, they look good but don’t do good.
As we pray with these readings, we could try to address the small hypocrisies in our own lives – a kind of “weed the garden” approach. Surely it would help our spiritual life to get rid of anything like orgies, fury and drunkenness. But I think most of us, dear readers, are pretty much beyond that.
I prefer to take my cues from Paul’s accompanying list of virtues to be pursued: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. How obvious are these things in my life? When I rest my head on the pillow at night, are these the things I remember about my day? Have I given these gifts to others? Have I received them with gratitude?
As we read about the tithes of mint, rue and other garden herbs, the cooks among us might like to imagine life as a great bouillabaisse, perfectly seasoned for God with all the spices on Paul’s menu. What little herb do you need to add right now?
Poetry: from “Lines Scribbled on an Envelope While Riding the 104 Broadway Bus” by Madeleine L’Engle
There is too much pain I cannot understand I cannot pray Here I am and the ugly man with beery breath beside me reminds me that it is not my prayers that waken your concern, my Lord; my prayers, my intercessions are not to ask for your love for all your lost and lonely ones, your sick and sinning souls, but mine, my love, my acceptance of your love. Your love for the woman sticking her umbrella and her expensive parcels into my ribs and snarling, “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” Your love for me, too, too tired to look with love, too tired to look at Love, at you, in every person on the bus. Expand my love, Lord, so I can help to bear the pain…
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, our readings challenge religious and moral hypocrisy.
Paul, in his continuing letter to the Galatians, counsels them about the practice of circumcision. But his counseling is really about freedom in Christ.
In Paul’s time, circumcision had religious significance as a sign of inclusion in the Jewish nation. Some Jewish Christians mistakenly taught that a Gentile must first become a Jew, through the law of circumcision, in order to become a Christian.
Paul condemns this error, reminding the Galatians that the grace given to us in Christ is beyond the Law.
For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
In the Gospel, Jesus condemns any religious practice that is empty and just for show. He compares such rituals to cups, whose clean exterior hides a corrupt interior. Jesus says that the remedy to this hidden nastiness is to give alms, to be merciful.
We are all aware of pharisaical behavior within our religious institutions. We have seen disgusting evidence of it in sexual predation among clergy. We see it when exaggerated religious rituals are substituted for sincere, communal worship. We see it when the small, visible mistakes of others are used to hide the gaping faithlessness of the condemner. Sometimes, we are even caught in the judgmental nets these pretenses spin.
When we are confused by such situations, look to the words of Jesus and Paul today:
Look for faith working through love. Look for a generous heart that sees and comforts the poor.
If our “religious” observance results in any form of exclusion, prejudice, condemnation or unforgiveness, we can be sure it is not of God.
Poetry: by Omar Khayyam
If you will listen to me,
I will give you some advice:
[Here it is]
For the love of God
put not on the mantle
of hypocrisy.
Eternity is for all time,
and this world
is but an instant.
Then sell not for an instant
the empire
of eternity.
Lavish Mercy 