St. Charles de Foucauld: From the moment in which we begin to judge anyone, to limit our confidence in him, from the moment at which we identify the person with what we know of him and so reduce him to that, we cease to love the person and he ceases to be able to become better. We should expect everything of everyone. We must dare to be love in a world that does not know how to love.

“God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living”. God did not make death nor evil, but they are all too present in our daily lives. To the point that many people state that they do not believe in God because death and evil are so present in our world.

“Enter through the narrow gate.” To the proud man, everything that contradicts him seems narrow: love, humility, truth, holiness. God is too narrow, too restrictive, too different from me. The further away I perceive myself from God, the narrower this gate seems – so narrow that it seems almost closed.

If you look at the recessional hymn for today’s Mass, it’s a kind of commentary on the readings. It’s addressed to God the Father, and the second verse reads: “By your Son the wide creation / Rose where chaos held its sway; / By the Spirit, God Almighty / Swept eternal night away. / Son, the Father’s love revealing”. The Creator of the sea is the only one who can say to it, as he does in the book of Job: “I set limits for [the sea]...and said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled!”

Recently in my reading I came across something that stayed with me: “Renunciation is not giving up the good things of this life but accepting that they go away.” In this view, renunciation is not about willpower but acceptance and surrender. The monk, who is characterized by renunciation, comes to be seen not as a spiritual athlete, but under the aspect of mourning.

Prayer was an essential part of Jesus’ ministry. It was where he entered into contact with his identity – his relationship with the Father – finding nourishment, meaning and peace for his ministry and life. And the main characteristic of Jesus’ prayer, the one which stood out the most, was the fact that it was incarnate. Jesus was a living prayer and he conveyed salvation, peace and meaning to all those who entered into contact with him.

In the Gospels Jesus is often addressed as “Rabbi” or “Teacher” because he took many opportunities to teach, often in parables to the crowds, and great crowd sat that, and often giving instructions to His disciples in private as today’s Gospel reports. A question arises: What was behind all this teaching about the Kingdom? I believe His purpose, His motive can be summed up in two words, “I thirst.”

In the Rule of St Benedict, there is an entire chapter entitled “Restraint of Speech”. It begins, “Let us follow the Prophet’s counsel: ‘I said, I have resolved to keep watch over my ways that I may never sin with my tongue. I have put a guard on my mouth. I was silent’”. St Benedict comments: “Here the Prophet indicates that there are times when good words are to be left unsaid out of esteem for silence”.

I find it interesting that during the course of the year we only have one feast that celebrates a particular body part of Christ. We do not have a feast of the Sacred Fist of Jesus, to celebrate his power or justice. We do not have a feast of the Sacred Brain of Jesus, to celebrate his intellect or his wisdom or the fact that he knows everything. No, the feast of the Sacred Heart is unique, and it tells us a lot about God and how he wants to be perceived in our relationship with him.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Take it, this is my body”. “Do this in memory of me”. Brothers and sisters, we are celebrating today the feast of the Body and Blood of Christi – Jesus’ biggest gift to humankind, just before his Passion and Death. In fact, Jesus gave to us not only one body. According to the Fathers of the Church, Jesus gave us three bodies: 1) his physical body, incarnated in Mary’s womb from the Holy Spirit; 2) his sacramental body, the Eucharist, that we celebrate in a special manner today; 3) and his mystical body, the Church, composed of all those who were baptized in his death and resurrection.

05.27.24, Mon 8 OT, Mk 10:17-27: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Since the dawn of monastic life, that was the question posed by a disciple to his master: “Master, what must I do to be saved?”

Good Friday is a day of faith, hope, and love. Today’s liturgy allows us to contemplate Jesus, the Paschal Victim, and to deepen our love of Him who willingly laid down his life for love of us. We need this day to help us become more mindful of the fact that we have been redeemed and that good does overcome evil. Our war-torn world needs someone willing to take its pain and suffering upon his shoulders and offer it to the Father as a sacrifice of praise, healing, and reconciliation.

When the Risen Jesus appeared to His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, He had prepared a meal and afterwards directed His attention to Simon Peter in a very personal way. Three times Jesus questioned him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” In turn, Peter might have questioned Jesus, “Master do You love me?” but he didn’t.

“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God” (Dan. 3:95). What God did for these three young men would serve as a beacon of hope for the Babylonian captives. Nebuchadnezzar’s shock was nothing compared to the encouragement the exiles felt every time they retold the story. Like our Jewish ancestors in the faith, we need to build each other up in faith by telling and retelling the stories of God’s loving-kindness.

There are certain conversations that are very precious, a conversation in which someone reveals something very personal from the past or present. It is an act that speaks of trust, of confidence, of a sharing that draws people closer; such enhances friendship, touches lives deeply.

“I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east” (Ezek. 47:1). Reading about the water flowing from the side of the temple brought to mind the water and blood flowing from the side of the crucified Lord. These waters flow out from Jerusalem and out into the world. Christ is the Temple from whom flow the living waters.

Someone wrote: “If you want to make progress in charity or rather, if you are concerned not to be lacking in it, your endeavor must never be to be lifted up about anything in yourself, but always to marvel at what is in other people.”