Caritas Christi

Today we hear the question: "What will separate us from the love of Christ?" Paul then goes on to list a number of possibilities: "Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?" The answer ...

No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Why? Why can nothing separate us from the love of Christ? Regardless what happens to us the love of Christ is always with us. Paul taught: "in all these t hings we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us." We conquer, because he first conquered.

A story to make the point. Five other Apostles and myself were in C o logne, Germany for three weeks, helping to prepare for World Youth Day. Fortunately our work shift began about 11:00 a.m. which allowed us to participate in daily mass at various churches. One church we went to particularly captured me. Adoration was in process when we arrived, so we prayed for awhile. As I sat praying a mural at one of the side altars captivated me. At first I thought it the scourging of Jesus at the Pillar, but as I looked more closely I noticed the nail prints in his hands and his side opened. What particularly struck me was: This is the Risen Lord Jesus! In fact, every image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is an image of the Resurrected Christ. This can be said because when you look at the image of Jesus, you'll see His opened side. What is the significance of this? It's exactly what Paul was hinting at in the above passage from Romans 8. Nothing can separate us from Christ Jesus, because He went before us and conquered sin and death. So whatever happens to us, he is there ready and able to help us. All we need do is call!

In the First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah we hear an invitation:

"All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!

The key image here is water. We're in the middle of summer, even though some folks are thinking thoughts of school! All of us have known what it means to be thirsty. Perhaps, you're cutting the lawn or at a little league game or ... the only thing you can think about is a nice cold glass of water. Nothing else will do. Nothing else will quench your thirst. That, my friend, is exactly the point. Do we thirst for Jesus? Do we thirst for his words? Do we thirst to know his mind and his Heart? He invites us:

"All you who are thirsty, come to the water!"

This passage is reminiscent of Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28-30:

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

Just as when our phone rings and we let the answering machine pick it up, because we don't want to talk to who is calling; or the cell phone rings and we press the button to ignore the call, you and I have a choice! We can choose to respond to the love of Jesus or ignore Him. In Isaisah we read: "Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life." That's the reality! Come, that you may have life! Didn't He say: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life?" John 14:6.

Lastly we look at the Gospel. Jesus has just head about the death of His cousin, John the Baptist, so...

he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.

It's understandable. You hear about the death of someone close to you and you want to be off by yourself for awhile. So did Jesus, but the crowds followed him. What's amazing is He set aside His grief and "his heart was moved with pity for them." Jesus put aside His need for the sake of the crowd. Why? Because He was/is so tenderhearted. He even "cured their sick." If that is not enough, when He sees that it is evening Jesus tells the apostles to feed the crowd. Jesus says: "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." My friend, Jesus is saying that to you and me. In our world there are plenty of folks who are hungry. Just look around where you live and you'll find them. You see the dynamic working here is simple. If we answer the call, if we allow Jesus to become number one in our life. If we allow His heart, to have a place in our heart, then we have to make room for our brothers and sisters who are in need. The choice is your own. A child shared five loaves and two fish. We don't have to give a lot, all we have to do is what we can do and that will make all the difference.

You can find the Sunday Readings by clicking on the link. http://www.usccb.org/nab/

Today we shall take a few minutes to look at each of these.

I am Sr. Cora Lombardo, an Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. My name is Cora, because of my love for the Sacred Heart. How fitting that the first Blog entry should be on the First Friday of the month, the day dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Though I must confess, as far as I'm concerned every Friday is a mini-Feast of the Sacred Heart just as every Sunday is a mini-Easter!

Before we go much further, let us be clear about the difference between devotion to the Sacred Heart and Sacred Heart Spirituality. A devotion is something you or I may choose to do--such as the First Fridays, but a spirituality is our way of going to God, our way of looking at the world, our way of relating to each other. In this blog you will find Sacred Heart Spirituality, simply because I am an Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and I can't give you anything else. Even when I'm not thinking about the Heart of Jesus, I'm thinking about the Heart of Jesus! An example may help.

I remember one hot, summer August afternoon several of us sisters were driving from Conneticut to Pennsylvannia. As we drove the sun took on the appearance of a huge red balloon. It was the kind of sight that causes you to pause and hold your breath! To my eyes, the eyes of my heart, I felt like I was looking into the very Heart of God. The sun was so afire that all I could think was His Heart is aflamed with love for us! I didn't intend to pray; I didn't intend to think about the Sacred Heart! How could I not? How could I not just hold my breath and watch and pray as the burning blushing sun hung in the sky, giving me a glimpse into the Heart of God?

Today is my mother's birthday!

How fitting that on the first day of this blog I honor her memory, for from her I learned that prayer is real. Often I heard her say:

"Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph, give me patience with these kids!"

She didn't add: "Right now!" (We were four!) I'm sure that's what she meant. In the very short walkway from our living room to the bedrooms hung a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and our Family Consecration. Growing up I would not have considered my family particularly religious, even though my godfather was a priest (my first cousin) and a second cousin was a sister, but it was my mom and dad who taught us about God's love. They didn't so much talk about it, but they are the ones who enfleshed God's love, just as they enfleshed me! It's not that we did religious things as much as in our home there was an atmosphere, an environment. You didn't have to be around my mom and dad too long to know that they loved each other. Their love for each other wordlessly spoke to me of God's love for us. On my parents' dresser was a statue of Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph, the Holy Family. We were no holy family, but my parents did the best they could to feed us, shelter us and love us.

Why is this section so long? Because we only know God's love through each other. Looking at holy pictures or statues won't do it. Pope John Paul II had it right!

"... the family is a living image and historical representation of the mystery of the Church." Familiaris Consortio #49

The family is the "domestic church." It's in the family we learn to live, forgive and love.

Today is the feast of

St. Alphonsus Liguori.

St. Alphonsus Liguori had a great love for the Sacred Heart. In the Entrance Antiphon for his feast day we read:

" I will look after my sheep, says the Lord, and I will raise up one shepherd who wil pasture them. I, the Lord, will be their God." (Ezekiel 34:11, 23-24)

No where in Scripture will you hear the title Sacred Heart of Jesus. Yet if we look and listen with the eyes and ears of the heart, we see images that give us previews. This passage from the Prophet Ezekiel is an example of that. The term, "Good Shepherd," is not used but the notion is implied, because God said:

"I will look after my sheep."

These words remind us of the words of Jesus, when he taught: "I am the Good Shepherd; I know mine and mine know me." (John 10:14)

The Communion Antiphon for the feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori is:

"You have not chosen me; I have chosen you. Go and bear fruit that will last." (John 15:16)

This is our call, regardless of what station in life we are: mother, father, single person, religious or priest. All of us are called to know:

"You have not chosen me; I have chosen you."

Why are we chosen? We are chosen to be His Friend, because He loves us. It's nothing we've done, we do or what we have. He loves us, because He loves us. His love is a free gift, also known as GRACE! It doesn't all end there! You are I are called to

"Go and bear fruit that will last."

Me writing this blog entry is one way of doing that. You have to decide for yourself how you will "Go and bear fruit that will last." This is our call; this is what the Heart of Jesus asks of us: "Go and bear fruit" by proclaiming His love to others in word and deed.