“…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 which surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (EPH 3: 17-19)
Today we celebrate the beautiful solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. We are loved by Jesus in His Most Sacred Heart, and because He dwells in our hearts by faith, we can be “rooted and grounded in love.” It is amazing just to think how much we are loved and “to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Only God’s love enables us to cope with “all the fullness of God.” How lucky we are!
“Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord; and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” (MT 5: 22)
Anger is the motive behind murder, as indicated by the insulting epithets that may lead to it. But the beginning of these epithets starts in our inner dialog. We start blaming the other person; our demands grow, and our mistaken patterns of interpretation in our inner dialog put us in danger: “whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”
“I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” (MT 5: 19)
The commandments we received from God are for keeping us on the right path. They are like signposts to inform which roads are dead ends, which are false and which are good. The commandments should be naturally obeyed and taught in the family. Happy are parents who “will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
“Teach me your paths, my God, and guide me in your truth.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“As God is faithful, our word to you is not ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ but ‘yes’ has been in him. For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him; therefore, the Amen from us also goes through him to God for glory.” (2 COR 1: 18-20)
St. Paul did not foresee a new group of very modern Christians who say: “yes, but…” Generally, they are positive about the Church’s teaching, but there are always some exceptions: for abortion, IVF, divorce, omission of Sunday Mass or daily prayer, etc. Jesus Christ “was not ‘yes’ and ‘no’, but ‘yes’ has been in him.’” Whatever He promises He keeps: “for however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him.”
“Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” (MT 5: 11-12)
All blessings change our perspective: from thinking about prosperity on Earth to looking for eternal friendship with God. The more we are like Our Lord, and the more we imitate His life, the more we “will be great in heaven.” And the true reward, the real reason to “rejoice and be glad,” is to be in Heaven with Him.
“Rejoice and be glad; for your reward will be great in heaven. (Gospel Acclamation)
“… how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.” (HEB 9: 14)
Created by God the Father, redeemed by God the Son and sanctified by God the Holy Spirit, we are unconditionally loved by the Holy Trinity. We respond to it by “worshiping the living God” and respecting the Body and Blood of Christ “who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God.” Today our cities and towns are decorated for Him to welcome Him into our lives and to invite Him to stay with us. Our Lord’s Body and Blood not only redeemed us and gave us new lives but also nourishes us through Holy Communion. When we follow Him in the Procession after the Blessed Sacrament, we worship Him and commit to loving Him more and more.
Him more and more.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold; for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life.” (TB 12: 8-9)
We used to think about prayer, fasting and almsgiving as special gestures of Lent. But we should pray regularly, not only in Lent; fasting is requested by Our Lady as a basic remedy for the sins of this world, and “those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life” and “expiate every sin.” Almsgiving opens our eyes to others, like prayer helps us to be connected with God, and fasting takes care of us. “Better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness.”
“Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Blessed be God, and praised be his great name, and blessed be all his holy angels. May his holy name be praised throughout all the ages, because it was he who scourged me, and it is he who has had mercy on me.” (TB 11: 14-15)
The Book of Tobit says more about angels than any other one. Tobias’ life shows how present the Angels are in our lives, what important missions they have and how we can ask them for help. Especially our Guardian Angels are assigned to protect us and to lead us. And when we pray together with them, our prayer brings more fruit.
“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (MK 12: 29-31)
In any conflict situation, when we have several options, these are our signposts to show which road should be used. St. John Paul II wrote in Centesimus Annus: “It follows that the Church cannot abandon man, and that ‘this man is the primary route that the Church must travel in fulfilling her mission … the way traced out by Christ himself, the way that leads invariably through the mystery of the Incarnation and the Redemption’” (CC, 53). The love for God and the love for our neighbors can direct us to the right choices.
“Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light to through the Gospel.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“At that very time, the prayer of these two suppliants was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God. So Raphael was sent to heal them both: to remove the cataracts from Tobit’s eyes, so that he might again see God’s sunlight; and to marry Raguel’s daughter Sarah to Tobit’s son Tobiah, and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her.” (TB 3: 16-17)
“So Raphael was sent to heal them both” because God had a much bigger plan for them, and His answer was not for what they asked but for what they really needed. The same thing happens with us. When we ask, we see our situation only from our perspective, but our prayer is “heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God” and fortunately for us from a totally different perspective.
“I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die.” (Gospel Acclamation)
