Come Away By Yourselves

The Assumption of Mary is a very special Feast in the Church.  To gaze on Our Lady in Heaven is to contemplate something very beautiful and important.  The marvel of her glorification speaks to us of the surpassing beauty of goodness and holiness as such.  Our Mother's destiny in heaven and her eternal glorification is a revelation of our own future as Christians called to holiness and everlasting life. 

Gratitude is a very important Christian disposition.  God appreciates gratitude, as we all do.  One of the four basic acts of prayer, gratitude should be a constant state of mind and heart.  In addition to pleasing God, it also brings the soul joy and peace.  

This Sunday's readings show as God as a generous provider.  In the book of Isaiah, God invites the people to come to him for their food and drink.  In the Gospel, Jesus feeds the crowds with the miraculous multiplication of loaves and fish.  God's providence is something we are called to place great trust in, especially when times are hard. 

"He who loves his life will lose it, he who loses his life for my sake will find it."  Finding our true life, and our true selves, means handing ourselves over to Christ.  Losing our lives for the sake of Christ is a transformative union with him.  This takes work and an acceptance of suffering.  There is no resurrection of ourselves in Christ without the cross.https://comeawaybyyourselves.com 

Jesus doesn't just have compassion on others, he discovers motives for his compassion.  Understanding others is an essential ingredient in loving them.  This takes humility, patience, and the rejection of an evil, critical spirit.  

Jesus' victory over sin is a great cause of joy in heaven and on earth.  This victory only happens, however, insofar as sin is recognized and repented of.  Paradoxically, therefore, the sorrow of contrition for our sins is simultaneously a great motive for joy at our reconciliation with God.  Sorrow for sin lets Jesus' victory be won in us and thus makes of us fertile grounds for joy and celebration.

Sin and evil are real.  They are not playing games.  To defeat them and be disciples of Christ, we need to take our Christian life very seriously.  This takes resolute, decisive choices and clear thinking about good and evil, virtue and vice, love and betrayal.  

Jesus's presence in the Blessed Sacrament affords us a wonderful opportunity.  Just as we spend time with friends and loved ones just to be with them, our mental prayer is an occasion of simply being present with Jesus.  Jesus did this during his earthly life with various groups and individuals.  They cherished these days and hours alone with their Friend, Lord, and Teacher. We can do the same in our prayer life. 

This Sunday's readings remind us of so many important realities.  We are God's people and precious to him.  He has loved us in our sinfulness, before we merited any goodwill on his behalf.  We are an apostolic Church chosen by name and invested with power to do good and proclaim the Gospel.  Our ordinary lives are actually quite extraordinary!

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is more than a symbol.  Jesus truly loves us with his heart.  This love is fully human: emotional, warm, tender, encouraging.  This love is fully divine: all powerful, infinite, eternal.   To appreciate this love we need to live in it and pray about it.  Let's "enter into the Sacred Heart of Jesus," as saints and Popes alike have encouraged us.  There we find new strength for our own love of God and others.  

On the Feast of Corpus Christi the Church turns her heart to Jesus's real presence in the Blessed Sacrament.   A marvel of love, in the Eucharist the infinite enters the finite, the Creator his creation and the invisible the visible real.  Adoration, devotion, and gratitude should mark our response to this great mystery of our Faith. 

The Bible often encourages us to a silent, receptive stance before God's reality and goodness.  This kind of prayer takes recollection or composure of heart, which in turn requires some trust in God.  Our distaste for quiet prayer can be rooted in an unwillingness to cede control or a fear of the changes it might provoke in us.  Jesus's advice to the busy Martha is pertinent for all times: "Mary has chosen the better part."  Although our lives are rightly busy,  we should also play the role of Mary--quietly listening to Jesus--and we can do this by learning how to pray in silence. 

The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us.  The Spirit dwells within each one of us in the state of grace.   We should ask him for help and rely on his presence especially to live the virtue of charity.  The fruits of the Spirit are the indications of his activity in our life. 

"This is eternal life, that they know you the one true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."  These words of Jesus reveal the importance of coming to know God more and more.  We grow in this knowledge in various ways: study and spiritual reading, personal dealings with Him in our prayer life, living in HIs presence.  To know Jesus fully, however, we also have to enter into his own experience of loving and trusting God in and through the trials of our life.  

As we celebrate Mother's Day in the month of May, our minds and hearts naturally go to our Heavenly Mother, Mary.  Devotion to Our Lady should be natural and heartful, as is our devotion to our own mothers.  Mary is a great ally in the Christian life and May, Mary's month, is a great time to increase our love for her and our dependence on her intercession .

St. Peter says we are a priestly people who  offer spiritual sacrifices to God.  What does it mean to have a "priestly soul"?  How can we make our hearts altars of a burning love of God?  How can we be mediators and peacemakers between God and men?

The image of our Lord as Good Shepherd is a challenging one.   It means that we Christians are sheep.  Our pride and self-sufficiency naturally bristle at this image.  Only with deep humility, and contemplating Jesus the Lamb of God, can we embrace being sheep and having a Shepherd.

The two disciples' encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus teaches us so much about prayer and faith.   Jesus walks with us whether we realize it or not.  He is interested in what is happening in our lives and also in how it affects us.  His presence in the dialogue of prayer, in the Eucharist and in Scripture should be places where we regularly seek his companionship and counsel.   

When he appears to his apostles on Easter Sunday, Jesus's first and consistent message to them is one of peace.  The very presence of Jesus brings us peace as it did the fearful Apostles.  Union with the person of Christ is also another source of peace.  This is promised to us by Jesus himself, "Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you."  Trust in God, especially in God's mercy, is a key to receiving this peace from Christ.  

Lent is over and with it comes the expectation of Easter Joy.  Holy Saturday invites us to anticipate the joy and wonder of the Resurrection of Jesus.  The Resurrection is a powerful reality that continues to give life and joy to the world and especially the Church.  

As we enter Holy Week, we can ponder Jesus's fundamental motivation.  Whether growing up in Nazareth or preaching throughout Galilee and Judea, whether acclaimed by the crowds or nailed to the Cross, Jesus is always doing one thing: fulfilling his Father's will.  This is at the crux of our own identity as sons and daughters of God in Christ 

Jesus's death on the cross is the supreme revelation of God's love.  St. Paul tells us that nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ.  Christ's death shows us how much he loves us and what the Father's love for Him, and for us, is like.  This is a  reliable love, upon which we can firmly plant all of our problems and our whole life.  The cross fills us with confidence in God and our own crosses are a sign of God's confidence in us. 

In saving us from sin Jesus does more than relieve us of an unpayable debt.  He actually pays the debt himself.   He buys us back, redeems us, with the price of his precious blood.  The wounds of Christ are thus mysterious sources of confidence and consolation for us, worthy of our continual contemplation. 

To pray is "to lift up our minds and hearts to God."  Often, however, we lose a proper sense of the grandeur and awesome nature of God.  Routine makes us used to prayer and God becomes something taken for granted, ordinary, and even boring.  Reflecting on God's power and transcendence can spark us to a renewed love for him and new horizons in our prayer life.  

Jesus gives two clear conditions for following him: deny yourself and take up your cross each day.  Lent is a clear invitation and opportunity to do this. 

Lent is a wonderful opportunity to find our peace, joy, and comfort in God.  We do this by denying ourselves our usual sources of support, distraction, and pleasure.   To be filled by God is to run the risk of emptying ourselves out of other things.  This takes trust, courage and patience.   God always responds to this kind of personal faith, even when it is imperfect and needs to grow.   

Jesus's time in the desert fasting and praying are a model for how to live Lent well.  If we understand the opportunity that Lent presents us, we will be more engaged and committed in our Lenten practices.  This will yield great fruits in our interior life. 

Jesus has high hopes for his Church in the world.  We are to be salt and light, giving flavor, endurance, guidance and inspiration to the rest of the world.  This takes a daily fight against our easy-going lukewarmness and a magnanimity of heart that moves us to serve and give good example to others.  

Today we reflect on a unique feast day in the Church, the Conversion of St. Paul.  Paul's conversion shows God's initiative in our lives and the great changes grace can work in a soul.  St. Paul responds to God's entrance into his life in a powerful and exemplary way.  His willingness to suffer for Christ reveals the depth of his love for God.  

This episode is a joint effort with "Sons and Kings" a new podcast on Psalm 2.  Jake Jakubisin interviews Fr. John Grieco about Psalm 2 and the Christian view of Human Nature.  Listen to "Sons and Kings":  https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/sons-kings-the-psalm-2-show/id1863578222https://open.spotify.com/show/2P7KxJ2ILJD1MCd0Qlbfq3

The Sermon on the Mount is at the heart of Jesus's preaching the Kingdom of God.  Jesus presents us with a demanding challenge to live a truly holy life.  At the same time, however, he assures us of God the Father's love and constant care.  

The Baptism of Jesus speaks to us of his incredible humility.  Without being a sinner, Jesus plays the role of one by letting himself be baptized by John the Baptist.  Humility unlocks our ability to love God and others.  It protects our peace and joy.   

The Magi follow the light of a star to reach Bethlehem and worship Christ.  We too must be aware of the lights that God sends us to bring us closer to Jesus.  These lights vary in nature and appearance.  To be constant in following the light that is Christ, we also need to be aware of other lights that could lead us away from Him. To contact us, please write to [email protected].  Please rate and review Come Away by Yourselves wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Christmas puts before us the Virgin Mary loving and caring for her Divine Son.  It's a scene that we can enter into in our prayer and in our life.  Jesus says that we too are "his mother" insofar as we do God's will.  God allows Mary and all of us to love him in the Christ child just as He has always loved us: with a mother's heart.  Christmas is a time to begin life again with a newfound trust in the goodness of God. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Closing in on Christmas we contemplate the mystery of the Incarnation.  Mary's humility and openness to God's plan are inspiring and truly mysterious.  She offers us a recipe for our own life as Christians: attentiveness in prayer, humility based on contemplating God, and readiness to do His will. 

In the Incarnation, the Infinite God becomes finite, limited, even small.  The Word is made flesh and begins his earthly life as an infant, as a little thing.  In the spiritual life, little things are also a dwelling place of God.  Little deeds, ordinary tasks, and everyday moments are all opportunities for us "to seek Christ, to find Christ, to love Christ", who is present but hidden in each circumstance.  

Advent is essentially a time of preparation.  To prepare for Jesus is to make our souls and lives more welcoming places for him to arrive.  This entails conversion, confession, a real change of heart and mind.  The changes that Jesus can bring about in our lives and in the world are truly incredible.  To let him do this, we need to be on board with the program. 

Advent is a time of patience and hope.  Both of these virtues entail waiting.  Waiting for God is sometimes very difficult, especially in trying situations.  Our faith in Jesus, who is God with us and faithful to his promises, bolsters our ability to wait for him with joyful hope.  Our faith overcomes the tribulation of the world and even makes us peaceful in the face of possible persecution.  

Christ's supreme manifestation as King will come when he returns to judge the living and the dead.  Until then, we have to remain patient with his will for us.  Jesus uses his power to serve others and he hides his power in order to suffer for sin.  At times, we might naturally wish for him to establish his kingdom sooner, putting an end to evil and suffering.  But we should always trust in his plan for our holiness and redemption, which is that we follow the longer and slower path that he himself followed.  

Jesus often calls us to vigilance.  We know neither the time nor the hour of his second coming and the time of our own death is certain but unknown to us.  The best preparation for our judgment is found in discerning and doing the will of God. 

Our Faith should give us great confidence in God.  Waiting around for a feeling of confidence, however, rarely ever works.  Rather we should treat our Faith more like the robust Truth that it is.  Faith is just true, whether we feel like it is or not.  This feeling dependent view of faith ends up filling us with the courage and confidence that we need and want. 

On the Feast of All Saints we reflect on what makes saints holy.  God's gift of divine filiation is at the core of sanctity.  As children of God, the saints experience a freedom that was and is Christ's own liberty.  We pray for a greater desire to be like them on earth so we can be with them in heaven.    

The question of our personal identity is crucial to life.  Our identity is tied to our closest relationships and our life’s mission.  The deepest truth of who we are, however, is something we find in God and receive from Him, not something we have to figure out entirely on our own. By living the life God wants for us, we become our true selves and discover our true names. 

Moses struggles on a hilltop to keep his hands up in prayer while a battle rages down on the field.  The fight's outcome depends on Moses' effort in prayer.  Our prayers also make a real difference in the lives of others and of the world.  Inspired by Scripture, which is living and active, our time in prayer gives new life to our ordinary tasks and interactions.  

Jesus heals ten lepers but only one comes back to thank him.  An image of sin, their leprosy is cured when they are on the way to see "the priests."  Jesus appreciates the gratitude of the Samaritan who returned after being cured and finds fault with the other nine.  Constant gratitude is a way of loving our Lord and of assuring our own increase in saving faith. 

The Sermon on the Mount is the core of Jesus's teaching on how to live with faith.  At once challenging and comforting, Jesus's vision of faith calls us to a radical dependence on God and detachment from all other goods.  At the heart of faith is an unshakable trust in God's infinite love for us.  This conviction frees us to live without fear and to strive for virtue without anxiety.  To have a living faith, however, takes personal prayer: times in which we apply the basic truths of our faith in God to the concrete circumstances and concerns of our current lives.    

Jesus' parable of the talents is an image of Christian life.  God has invested a lot in each one of us.  Like the servants who eagerly trade with their talents to make them fruitful, we want to accept all the opportunities and challenges that our Lord has entrusted to us.  Too often it is easy to resent life, focusing only on the difficulties, and end up like the third servant who buries his talent out of laziness and fear. 

St. Paul expresses God's intent that "all men be saved."  In his providence, God counts on his apostolic Church to fulfill this divine desire.  He is always looking for "laborers" for the vineyard.  The parable of the unjust steward reminds us to be grateful guardians of God's gifts and to be shrewd in pursuing our noble ends. 

Christ's Triumph on the Cross defeated sin and death.  It was a triumph of love over selfishness.  This victory needs to be repeated in our own lives, in our own carrying of the Cross.  Sin and selfishness have to be defeated in us and this entails the acceptance of suffering and sacrifice; in a word the acceptance of the Cross.   Suffering is inevitable in life, but whether it is redemptive and sanctifying or futile and permanent is truly up to us.  

Jesus takes five loaves and two fish from a boy and multiplies them to feed a crowd of thousands.  When we trust him, Jesus takes our good will and our meager personal resources and similarly multiplies them to help us and others.  Fortunately, faith is something we can grow in by choosing to do so.  It is a free human act.  By admitting our limitations and weakness and then confidently trying our best to do his will, Jesus makes up the difference between our insufficiency and the great things he wants us to do.