Easter Reflection: Third Sunday of Easter

Third Sunday of Easter

(Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; 1 Jn 2:1-5a; Lk 24:35-48)

The scriptures this weekend—particularly the first reading and the gospel—are all about recognition; recognizing the presence of Christ and who he really is. In the first reading, we find Peter and John in the temple in Jerusalem. By the power of Jesus’ name, they cured a man who had been crippled from birth and who had been begging money from people who passed by him. Naturally, his cure caused a big stir—especially among the temple officials—and Peter and John seized the moment to remind them that this man was cured not by them but by Jesus of Nazareth...the one they had put to death, calling out for him to be crucified.

The gospel verses we hear today come right after the disciples’ encounter with the Lord on the road to Emmaus. Today we find those same disciples back in Jerusalem, telling the others about their encounter with the risen Lord and, while they are speaking, the risen Lord comes among them. To prove himself real to them, he invites them to touch him and even eats some of their food. Once they are convinced that he it is he, he commissions them to do the work for which he called them—to preach to all the nations and tell them the Good News that he is risen and that they have reason to be hopeful.

When we hear these scriptures—the stories of how slow the disciples were to believe that Christ had indeed risen even as he stood before them, we sometimes shake our heads and wonder why. Yet, if we are honest, we know that they are not the only ones who doubt the presence of Christ in their midst. How often have we doubted? How often has Christ stood before us to assure us that he is with us ... how often have we received the very body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist ... and still wonder where God is when we are anxious or fearful. Maybe it’s because we would rather keep Christ at a safe distance, lest we feel compelled to change and be the better people he knows we can be. Maybe we fail to recognize Christ because so often he comes to us in the guise of the poor, the needy, the person or people we would rather not have to deal with.

I said at the beginning that the scriptures this weekend are about recognition...or the lack of it. And recognition is more than perception...seeing what is in front of us. Recognition is seeing with understanding ... not only seeing what is in front of us, but knowing and understanding who and what it is. It is something far deeper than merely seeing with our eyes. And this is part of the gift of the risen Christ to us—not only the assurance that he is risen and with us, but also—and more important—a share in that risen life so that we can rise above whatever it is that saddens us ... whatever it is that drags us down...whatever it is that prevents us from knowing the fullness of life God desires for us.

We see that so clearly and beautifully in the life of the disciples and the early Church. Having seen Jesus crucified and buried, they had been plunged into the depths of despair. They were a broken and frightened community; grieving people who felt that they lost everything meaningful for them, but each time the risen Lord appeared to them they grew confident in his presence among them and with them, they experienced a transformation that empowered them to unlock the doors and windows and go out into the world with confidence and joy to bring the Good News to any and all who would listen.

Although our presence here says that we believe in the risen Christ, we all have moments and times in our lives when, like the disciples, we feel like life has lost its meaning. We get mired down in sadness and grief and forget the times we have seen and experienced the presence of the risen Christ. It’s at those moments that we need to know and understand that the risen Christ is with us and that we have been and are loved by God more than we recognize. And the more we recognize—know and understand—this presence, the more our sadness is transformed into joy and we are empowered to be his witnesses to other.


– Fr. Anthony M. Criscitelli, T.O.R.

Easter Reflection: Easter Sunday Morning

(Acts 10:34, 37-43; Col 3:1-4; Jn 20:1-9)

If you listen closely to the gospel passage we just heard proclaimed, one thing becomes apparent—none of what they were seeing and experiencing on that morning of the first day of the week was making any sense. Not to Mary Magdalene or her companions, not to Peter nor John. The author of the gospel attributed this to the fact that none of them—neither his closest apostles nor his most devoted followers—understood the Scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead. Yet, when the beloved disciple followed Peter inside the tomb and saw the clothes lying there, we are told that he believed. The gospel does not say what he believed; only that he believed. There is no further conversation between him and Peter that is recorded for us, only that they returned to their homes. The rest of the story—as Paul Harvey used to say—belongs to Mary Magdalene. She is the one who saw the angels...she is the one who saw the risen Lord. Peter and John saw nothing but a vacant tomb and some clothes piled up in a corner. Any way you look at it, that’s a mighty shaky beginning for a faith that has lasted nearly two thousand years and has billions of adherents throughout the world.

And yet, that is where we continue to focus our attention on this glorious Easter morning—on an empty tomb...on what did or did not happen there...and on how we might explain it to anyone who does not believe. Resurrection does not square with anything else we know about physical human life. No one saw it happen on that first Easter morning; no one has ever seen it happen since. Ironically, this most important event in the life of Jesus is the one and only event that was not witnessed by anyone; it was entirely between him and the Father. There were no witnesses whatsoever; they all arrived after the fact. Two of them saw a pile of clothes, one of them saw a vision of angels, and most them saw nothing because they were home in bed, hiding behind pulled up blankets and securely bolted doors.

In the end, none of that really matters and to focus on an empty tomb is to miss the point. The tomb was just an empty shell—a cocoon—and the living being that had been inside was no longer there. Maybe that’s why Peter and John did not stay very long. Clearly, Jesus was not there. He had outgrown his tomb and the stone walls could not contain the life, the energy, and the hope that were radiating from his new being and that needed to be shared. As we are sometimes wont to say, the risen Lord had people to see, things to do, and places to go. His business was among the living to whom he appeared over and over in John’s gospel. And every time he came to his friends they became stronger, wiser, kinder, more daring. Every time he came to them, they became more like him. That’s where our focus should be this morning; not on an empty tomb, but on the presence of a living and breathing God who showed himself to his frightened disciples and transformed their fear into the ability and desire to continue to live and proclaim the message he spoke to them while he was among them.

That is the Easter miracle, my brothers and sisters; not an empty tomb, but an encounter with the living Lord. Easter began for Mary Magdalene not when she stood frightened and confused before an empty tomb, but when she saw the Lord and he spoke her name. It is no different for us. Easter is not about bunnies or colored eggs or even an empty tomb; we will know the true meaning and deep joy of Easter when we acknowledge the Lord who stands before us in our sisters and brothers...in all the moments of our lives...who speaks our names...and offers us nothing less than a participation in his own new and glorious life.


– Fr. Anthony M. Criscitelli, T.O.R.

Easter Reflection: Easter Vigil

The young man dressed in white, sitting where Jesus’ dead body should have been, says one of the strangest things imaginable to the women who visit the tomb: “Do not be amazed!” Given that they had gone there to lament and anoint the body of their dead friend, how could these women not be amazed?

Astonishment and amazement is a natural response to the mighty acts of God. Throughout the Scripture readings this evening we have recounted the history of God at work in the world and in our lives. God speaks—says a word—and the sun, the moon, the stars, the animals, all of humanity are born out of nothing. That is amazing!

God rescues the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt, giving them freedom and life when slavery and death seem their only possible future. That, too, is amazing!

Throughout the Scriptures, God provides a way when there is no way, rescuing his people from slavery, defeat, and exile. How could one not be amazed when God is at work in the world?

But, biblically speaking, amazement is more than mere delight and astonishment. Underneath this word is also a sense of being terrified or afraid—that combination of fear and wonder that reminds us that we are in the presence of a God who will let nothing defeat his life-giving desires. So maybe it’s not so unusual that, in the face of the women’s wonder and fear, the young man says, “Do not be amazed!” This message is at the heart of the Easter story—that we need not be afraid because even death can’t stop God’s life-giving desires. “Do not be amazed” that God is at work in our lives and in our world and it is God’s life-giving desire that we overcome the fears that keep us from living life as fully as God intends for us.

Our new life in Christ is born from the font of Baptism. “Are you not aware,” Paul writes to the
Romans, “that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into his death so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” Here is our life in God—our hope beyond fear. God, whose mighty acts once rescued people from slavery, defeat, and exile, has defeated the powers of sin and death by raising Jesus from the dead. This same God makes us one with Christ through baptism and raises us to newness of life.

The first word of Easter is a word for all of us: “Do not be amazed!” We need not fear because God has raised Jesus from the bonds of death and we are called to live as people of courage, peace, and hope...today and every day of our lives.


– Fr. Anthony M. Criscitelli, T.O.R.

Holy Week Reflection: Good Friday of the Passion and Death of the Lord

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord

(Is 52:13-53:12; Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9; Jn 18:1-19:42)

“Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world.”

These are the words that the priest proclaims as he begins to unveil the cross during the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion and Death which the Catholic Church celebrates on Friday of Holy Week, or Good Friday. The congregation, then, responds, “Come, let us adore” and venerates the cross singing: “We adore your Cross, O Lord, we praise and glorify your holy Resurrection, for behold, because of the wood of a tree joy has come to the whole world.”

At first, the adoration of the Cross could seem strange. After all, in Jesus’ time, the cross was a form of torturing punishment and extreme humiliation. In fact, prominent atheists use the veneration of the cross to attack the principles of Christianity. For example, Any Rand states, “I do not believe in the sacrifice of one man to another. […] I am not merely anti-Christian. I am anti-mystical. The cross is a symbol of torture, of the sacrifice of the ideal to the nonideal. I prefer the dollar sign – the symbol of free trade, therefore of the free mind.” [1] This is not a new or modern development. During the 13th century, some heretical groups thought that the cross should be cursed and not blessed because it “was the instrument for the suffering and death of the one who had come to show us the way of salvation.” [2]

However, one of the mysterious ways that God works in the world is to take something that is lacking, or even evil, and raise it up to achieve good, and thereby, sanctify it and make it holy. This is not to say the God desires evil things. However, God tolerates evil and, because of God’s divine Power, God can make good out of evil. The cross is a perfect example. Before Jesus’ crucifixion, the cross was a symbol of torture and death. However, through Jesus’ selfless embracing of the cross, he transformed it into a holy instrument. The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). Thus, the Church acknowledges the holiness of Christ’s Cross and, in fact, established a feast, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14), to honor the holy Cross of Christ. A portion of the preface prayer on this feast day states, “For you placed the salvation of the human race on the wood of the Cross, so that, where death arose, life might again spring forth and the evil one, who conquered on a tree, might likewise on a tree be conquered, through Christ our Lord.” Since the original sin of humanity began with a tree, the eating of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God decided to use a tree as an instrument for humanity’s salvation through Jesus Christ.

So, as we reflect on the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are conscious of our sinfulness and we thank Jesus for his saving love. We ask that Jesus take us, who are lacking and sinful, and purify us; make us new, so that we may be instruments of his peace throughout the world. And so, we echo the favorite prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:

“We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, in all your churches throughout the whole world, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”


– Bro. Jeffrey Wilson, T.O.R.



[1] The Saturday Evening Post (Nov. 11, 1961) quotes Ayn Rand in an interview with Mike Wallace.

[2] Raoul Manselli, St. Francis of Assisi. (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1988) p. 68.

Holy Week Reflection: Holy Thursday

Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper

(Ex 12:1-8, 11-14; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Jn 13:1-15)

Today is known as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of Holy Week. The Church commemorates and celebrates the Supper of the Lord, or the Last Supper, in which Jesus institutes the Eucharist and the Priesthood. In addition, in John’s Gospel, the Evangelist portrays Jesus giving an example of how to minister to others and how to be ministered to by others in his washing of the feet of the disciples. Both cases require both meekness and humility.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines meek as “enduring injury with patience and without resentment” and humble as “not proud or haughty; not arrogant or assertive.” In addition, St. Bonaventure, the Seraphic Doctor, explains, “A person is meek by loving his brothers [and sisters], humble by loving lowliness. To be meek is to be a brother [or sister] to everybody; to be humble is to be less than everybody.” [1] Both meekness and humility refer to one’s relationship with others. Humbling oneself is lowering oneself in relation to another. Meekness is loving another in a certain way.

Jesus’ washing of the feet of the disciples is an example of both meekness and humility. First, Jesus’ act of ministry requires meekness, that is, Jesus’ brotherly love for his disciples. Love is the primary motivation for all of God’s actions, and therefore, Jesus’ actions. After all, God is love (1 Jn 4:16) and for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life (Jn 3:16). Because Jesus loves the disciples, he ministers to them by washing their feet and so gives them (and us, for that matter,) an example of how to minister to others.

Second, Jesus’ act of ministry requires humility. In Jesus’ time, the washing of one’s feet was the job of a slave or house servant. Jesus had to lower himself, that is, his social standing and role in society, and be free of any sense of pride or entitlement in order to perform this task. Jesus’ action echoes St. Paul’s words, “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Phil 6:8). This is such a lowering of Jesus’ self that, at first, Peter refuses to have Jesus wash his feet. St. Bonaventure describes Peter’s response as fearful reverence. He explains, “He came to Simon Peter, that is, to wash his feet. And Peter said to him: Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Peter was speaking as one terrified: You are doing this for me? You, as Lord, are doing this for me, a servant? You, the Master, are doing this for me, the disciple? You, the Almighty, are doing this for miserable me? [2]

Peter’s response leads to the second point: being ministered to by others also requires both meekness and humility. Jesus tells Peter, “If I do not wash you, you will have no part with me.” In order to be obedient, Peter must also be meek and humble. Through his love for Jesus, he must allow himself to me ministered to by his Lord, the Master, the Almighty. Peter must lower his desire and will in relation to God’s desire and will, that is, humble himself before the Lord. And it is Peter’s love for the Lord that allows him to do this.

So, as we enter into these holy days of the Triduum, let us stop and take time to reflect how we can be meek and humble in our ministering to our brothers and sisters and in our being ministered to by our brothers and sisters. After all, Jesus instructs us, “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Matt 11:29).

– Bro. Jeffrey Wilson, T.O.R.


[1] St. Bonaventure, “The Evening Sermon on Saint Francis” in Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Vol. 1 - The Founder. Eds. Regis J. Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., J.A. Wayne Hellman, O.F.M. Conv., and William J. Short, O.F.M. (New York: New City Press, 2000), 517.

[2] St. Bonaventure, Works of St. Bonaventure, Vol. XI – Commentary on the Gospel of John. Trans. Robert J. Karris, O.F.M. (Saint Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 2007), 688-9.

Holy Week Reflection: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

(Is 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Mk 14:1-15:47)

As Christian people, we are a community shaped by stories—stories of God’s love, which called us and all creation into being, God’s promises to be with and deliver his people throughout history. Each weekend we come together to reflect on stories found in the Scriptures and we gather around the altar to re-enact one of those stories. But on no other weekend is the story as clear as it is this weekend—a weekend that we call by two names: Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. This double name reflects what is going on in the liturgy. We begin by blessing palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” and, before it’s all over, we find ourselves shouting with the same crowd, “Crucify Him!”

Like so many of the stories we hear throughout the year—indeed, throughout our lives this story sometimes loses its impact, its ability to grab our attention, to shock or startle us. And yet, when this story is proclaimed, we are invited and challenged to enter into it—to think of ourselves not simply as a 21st century community listening to the retelling of something familiar, but to ask ourselves, “Where do I fit in this story? With what character do I identify?”

We are used to the usual cast of bad guys: Judas Iscariot, Caiphas, Pontius Pilate, the fickle crowds. But in Mark’s telling of the Passion, even the disciples of Jesus come off looking not so good! They should have been there to witness what Jesus was going through as he was about to fulfill his mission. After all, Jesus had—directly and indirectly—prepared them for what was ahead. On the mount of the Transfiguration, in the garden, and at other times he spoke about his impending passion and death. Yet, when his time had come, they all “forsook him and fled”—even Peter, who only hours before, protested, “Even if all desert you, I will never desert you.” At the foot of the cross, where his disciples should have been, Mark tells us the only one who would recognize and profess Jesus for who and what he was a Roman centurion—one outside the Law. How ironic that an outsider should recognize Jesus when those who were closest to him didn’t have a clue and ran off in fear for their safety.

In the end, perhaps what should shock or startle us about the telling of Jesus’ Passion is not that God’s anointed should suffer the indignity of the cross—not that Judas should have betrayed him—not that Caiaphas or Pilate should have sentenced him to death. No, the real scandal is that his own disciples—those who heard his words and witnessed his deeds—were so slow to recognize him. When they thought his life and mission had been a failure and he was being dragged to his passion and death, they abandoned their hope in him.

What about us? Are we willing to put our faith and trust in a God who submits himself to the humiliation of the cross? How do we hear Paul’s words to the Philippians, “Your attitude must be that of Christ’s; though he was in the form of God he did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at…?”

Throughout this week, the Church invites us to listen to this story—perhaps as if for the first time—not so much that we may understand it, but that we may enter into it and ask ourselves who we are as the drama unfolds.


– Fr. Anthony M. Criscitelli, T.O.R.

Lenten Reflection: Fifth Sunday of Lent

Year A Scrutinies

(Ez 37:12-14; Rom 8:8-11; Jn 11:1-45)

The Greatest Miracle in the World

What is the greatest miracle in the world? Is it the Wedding at Cana? The miracle of the fish? The healing of the many people who are sick and diseased? Is it the feeding of the five-thousand or the walking on the water? Or is it as today’s Gospel says; the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus? I would think that one could make a case that of all the extraordinary, astounding and astonishing miracles that Jesus has performed, none has been greater than this most awesome expression of God’s life giving power.

Now in light of this realization that Christ has performed the greatest miracle in the world what does it mean, then, when he says to his disciples (as he says to us today) in John’s Gospel, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn 14:12-14).

Greater works than these … greater works than these? We are told we will do greater works that those of the Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!? I say that with an exclamation point and a question mark as well, for frankly, I find it quite intimidating that the Truth tells us that we will do greater works than those that the disciples had witnessed at that we hear proclaimed year after year.

What could be greater than raising someone from the dead? I believe the answer is raising those from the living dead; our brothers and sisters who share this holy existence of life among us on this earth. Many of us have experienced the life of mediocrity. We have in many different ways settled for an altered way of life because of lost dreams. We have surrendered our self-esteem to negative persuasions, and have settled for just getting by. We may have lost our desire to cooperate with God’s Divine plan for our lives; we may have fallen into the nightmare of compromise filled with regret, dejection, and hopelessness. We may have fallen upon a path of disdain for any respect for human life, a track with alcohol and drug addictions, or even a journey in which some of us shared in the despair, bleakness, and fear of a life that was filled with “unanswered prayers and nights of tears.”

But there is hope! There is joy! There is Jesus and his promise to us all: “You will do greater deeds than these.” We, my brothers and sisters, can and must be ready to follow in the Lord’s footsteps and raise those in need from the living dead.

How are we to do this? Look at the example of our patron St. Francis of Assisi: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, make strangers welcome, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, clothe the naked.

What is the greatest miracle in the world? The wine, the fish, the loaves? … It is the gift of life! God is challenging us today to resurrect those from the living dead; those who look upon themselves with disgrace and terror; those who live in fear and failure and thrash hopelessly and helplessly in their own image of worthlessness and mockery.

My brothers and sisters, we must raise our hands in prayer and in honor to the Almighty and ask for the promise that Jesus foretold: to share in his ministry; to perform the greater miracle; to raise those from the living dead. As we seek and find those in need we will then cry out in a loud voice “Lazarus, come out!”


– Br. Matthew Hillman, T.O.R.

Lenten Reflection: Fourth Sunday of Lent

Cycle B

(2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21)

Lent is the Church’s annual call to conversion. It echoes God’s call for a change of heart; from spiritual death or sickness to become whole and healthy again. Penance is not a way to make ourselves feel bad but a chance to know real spiritual peace and joy again. But this Sunday was a break in the old rather severe Lent and is called Laetare from the first antiphon: “Rejoice.” It celebrates the chance to choose life and wholeness, to be open to receive that undeserved, generous love we cannot earn but only accept as God’s gift to us.

Today in this passage from St. John’s Gospel we overhear part of a conversation between Jesus and a Pharisee called Nicodemus. This man was attracted by the words and deeds of Jesus, but he was still unsure and, in the face of the opposition of some of his confreres, was still fearful about following Him. So he comes under cover of the darkness to find out more about this Rabbi. Jesus talks with him and we listen in.

Now, John’s Gospel is noted for highlighting the Signs - especially the seven miracles - which help one to have faith in Jesus. Today Jesus refers to the sign of the serpent uplifted on a pole. He was recalling a strange event during the Exodus. The Israelites had been bitten by desert serpents and some had died. Moses was told by God to mount a bronze serpent on a pole and all who looked upon it with faith would recover. (You probably have seen something similar to that serpent on the pole in your Doctor’s office. It is still a sign of healing ...... points us to the MD...the healer!) So when Christ is lifted up, Nicodemus will recognize the He is The Healer.

St. John is also well known for highlighting the signs of Light and Darkness. Whenever he uses Light it is always pointing to life, faith, and the saving wisdom Jesus is offering.(Nicodemus has come out of the darkness to Christ the Light) Jesus explains that He has come because God the Father loves this human world of His Creation and wants to give it Eternal Life. Jesus is the Light come into the world so that we might see ourselves, others and the world as it is....a world where darkness was the condition everyone used to cover up their sins and evil deeds,. In the darkness no one can recognize the good man from the criminal. One of the practical safety and anti-crime precautions is an abundance of bright lights in an area.

Today’s Liturgy reminds us that the Coming, the Presence of Jesus is The Great Gift of God to us. And once He has come into the world there are only two choices: either to believe in Him and move into God’s Light or refuse to believe and turn from the light into moral darkness where evil thoughts and actions are not so glaringly apparent. It is even possible to move so far away into the darkness of selfishness that the refusal of God’s offer of Light and Healing becomes permanent. And that is what is meant be eternal condemnation or hell; eternally fixed in one’s choice to refuse to love or to accept love.

Today’s Liturgy also reminds us that to do Penance; to learn to open, our secret, locked in hearts - to show the wounds to God and to welcome the Light and Warmth of His love. During these days of Lent we have the opportunity to take time out to consider the Good News, to recall what it means to be a follower of Jesus and to be prepared for a time of Surprising Grace. Here are some helpful hints to point you in the right direction in the remaining days of Lent:

Look about you every morning. God has given you this day and He wills to be with you as you go through it. It will not be important how much you will do for Him, but how much you are willing to let Him do for and through you. The thing that carried many people through the terrible experience of the concentration camps was Someone was concerned and was waiting! On a difficult day realizing that God is with you and loves you can be like the Light at the end of a dark tunnel.

Place a crucifix or picture of Christ in your home. Not hidden away in the bedroom but “lifted Up” in a place of honor to remind you and those who enter your home how much you are loved by God, your Savior and Healer.

Take advantage of appearing before God’s Mercy Seat in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, not as an Easter DUTY but to receive a gift from God, to hear Him say through His priest: “I know your sins and failures, but even so you are My beloved and Chosen Child.”

This Laetare Sunday resolve to do such things and you will discover Lent is a time of joy and light. It will remind you of Who God is, who we are and what we believe. It can be a time of grace when your heart is changed and you become whole and spiritually healthy for God’s Love is a recognized, vital part of your life.

– Fr. Seraphin Conley, T.O.R.

Lenten Reflection: Third Sunday of Lent

Cycle B
(Ex 20:1-17 or Ex 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17; 1 Cor 1:22-25; Jn 2:13-25)

Growing up you could always tell when you entered a Catholic home because either at the entrance hall or in a place of honor in the parlor there would be a crucifix or a religious picture. There are all kinds of artistic depictions of Christ: good, bad, or indifferent. There are the “traditional” ones: the Good Shepherd, the Healer, the Teacher, surrounded by children, the Crucified, the Sacred Heart, etc. And some modern versions like the young, smiling, sun tanned Jesus who looks like a New Smyrna surfer coming in on a perfect wave! At different times in our lives, depending on the circumstances, one or the other of these images might appeal to us, might comfort or encourage us. But always with the caution that this familiar “Jesus” – made in Our Image and Likeness – may be quite unreal, quite able to be manipulated to approve whatever we do or leave our attitudes unchanged. Today we have an image of Christ who refuses to conform to our imagination: eyes flashing, hot with anger, making a whip, tipping over the money changers tables, spilling the coins and scattering the animals. I’m willing to bet that not too many people have that picture on their bedroom wall! Jesus seems so out of control, so unpredictable. Whereas all other images show Him completely serene and in control, even on the Cross.

What is happening here? At first the idea of money changers and people buying and selling oxen, sheep and doves seems pretty crass. But back then in Jerusalem these people were important for the Temple rituals. In occupied Palestine, the Roman coins used in commerce had images of Caesar on them. So just as in a foreign airport you have to change your dollars so these Roman coins had to be changed for special Temple coins. Also, pilgrims coming from afar would want the priests to offer a sacrifice in the Temple so they would need to buy the ritual animals needed. So the vendors were tolerated and assigned a special area of the Temple. Seems reasonable enough but not to Jesus that day because he saw that making profit had overturned God’s values in His very Temple. He is angered that the vendors have moved from the outside to inside the Temple Court . And perhaps there were dishonest practices of cheating the pilgrims with inflated prices for poor quality animals. The victims were almost always the poor pilgrims from out of town with no other choice.
As we have noted in the past weeks, St, Mark always has the identity of Jesus gradually revealed through the miracles. The 3 Synoptic Gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke) recount this event as the catalyst for the Jewish leaders rush to judgement and condemnation. But St. John reverses the process in his Gospel. He doesn’t gradually lead us to the identity of Jesus, he has already revealed the Identity of Christ in the magnificent

Prologue to his Gospel that we read on Christmas Day: “In the beginning was The Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” So John moves this event of the Temple Cleansing closer to the beginning of his Gospel. He is using this event of the Temple Cleansing to unfold our already known identity and mission of Jesus to set the stage and explain the rejection of Jesus by the religious leaders: “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” St. John is showing the that the long awaited Messias has arrived and He is burning with zeal for the Lord. When the Prophet Zacharias had commented on the coming of the Messias, he had written: “When that time comes there will no longer be any merchant in the Temple of the Lord Almighty” (Zech.14:21). There is a lesson about sincerity and reverence in our worship….but there is a much deeper meaning than cleaning up abuses in the Temple of some who had forgotten the reason for being there. The actions of Jesus are a proclamation that the promised New Era of the Messias has come. The Temple is no longer the Sign of God’s Presence. Now it is Jesus – Emmanuel/God with us – who is the New Temple the dwelling place of the Father. The new source of blessings. As Jesus answered those who asked what was the authority for His actions “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.” They scoff and retort that it took 46 years to build it.

But John observes: “Actually, He was talking about the Temple of His Body.” The Body of Christ is the New Temple. After the Resurrection, a new, transfigured state helps it to be present at all times and in all places in the Eucharist. And our Eucharistic celebration renewing Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross will do what the Temple was meant to do: praise God in sincere, loving worship and be a place of encounter between God and man.

During these days of Lent, may this image of the Zealous Jesus move us to honesty as we examine our lives. May Jesus send us His Spirit to cleanse our hearts and minds of self interest, or sinfulness or manipulation of Christ’s teaching to explain away or ignore what makes us uncomfortable or challenges us. May our hearts be filled with a Zeal or Enthusiasm for God’s House and a real commitment to the deeper meaning of God’s Commandments—or 10 Words – which as we prayed in the responsorial psalm are the “words of eternal life.”


– Fr. Seraphin Conley, T.O.R.

Lenten Reflection: Second Sunday of Lent

Cycle B
(Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Rom 8:31b-34; Mk 9:2-10)

One of the former presidents of CBS News—the parent company of WCCO—once made the astute observation: There are only two kinds of people in the world. Those who are there when I need them, and those who are not!

If we were to look at that quote in light of the first reading today, we’d have to conclude that Abraham was the first kind of person. When God called him, he answered. “Here I am.” When God asked him to leave his homeland and his kin at an old age and go into a wilderness...an unknown place... he answered, “Here I am.” And he went. And when God asked him to sacrifice the person he loved most in this world—his beloved son—Abraham was even willing to do that. His life is an astonishing chronicle of great faith and obedience. No matter what, he seemed to be ready for whatever God might ask of him. As we hear this reading and consider the person of Abraham, we need to ask ourselves if we have even a fraction of his trust and faith in God and whether we would be able to answer God with such obedience and spontaneity. How many of us are able to say to God, no matter what he asks, “Here I am.” These days I think that kind of devotion is rare, if it exists at all.

Lent is a beautiful time to reflect on that...what God may be asking of us and how willing we are to respond. We can all take time during this season and offer ourselves...to neighbor who is lonely...here I am...at the soup kitchen when volunteers are needy to feed the hungry poor...here I am...to the spouse or child or friend you’ve taken for granted...here I am...to a God whom you’ve neglected, a faith you’ve overlooked, or a prayer life that has become stagnant...here I am.

Lent offers us a chance to remember what matters, to strip away what’s unimportant, and to once again make ourselves present, especially to God, trusting that he will use us as he wants. That kind of faith made Abraham the father of a great nation. It led Jesus to a mountaintop, where—as the gospel tells us today—he was transfigured. That mysterious moment was Christ’s own statement to the world of who he was; another way of saying , “Here I am.” He will say it to us again when the host is elevated. We will look at it in adoration and, without speaking a word, Christ will say, “Here I am.” Here I am...offered, sacrificed, and broken...and as he gives himself to us, he challenges us to do the same. It’s an invitation to change our hearts and, in a sense, be transfigured.

On Ash Wednesday, St. Paul told us that now is the “acceptable time” to make that happen. So how will be respond to the invitation and challenge of Christ? Remember, there are only two kinds of people in the world. Those who are there when they are needed, and those who aren’t! Which will we be?


— Fr. Anthony M. Criscitelli, T.O.R.

Lenten Reflection: First Sunday of Lent

Cycle B
(Gn 9:8-15; 1 Pt 3:18-22; Mk 1:12-15)

One of the qualities that marked the life of Christ was compassion. He saw someone sick or in need and he responded with compassion. The crowds were hungry on the mountain and he responded with compassion. He came across someone seeking forgiveness and he responded with compassion. As disciples of Christ, we want to try to model that behavior in our own life and cultivate a spirit of compassion. However, we often get compassion confused with pity. And pity, trying to pass itself off as compassion, is anything but that. In fact, in the Buddhist tradition, pity is seen as the enemy of compassion. Pity says something like this, “What she is going though just horrifies me and I feel sorry for her.” Being repelled by what someone else is dealing with, we actually separate ourselves from that person and maybe even feel a bit superior.

Compassion, on the other hand, is based on love and it draws us deep into others’ lives to walk with them in their pain. It also makes us vulnerable to one another, taking us deep into some of the most profound human experiences. Interestingly, the Buddhist term for compassion is karuna, which means “quaking heart.” And the corresponding term from the New Testament—compassion as Jesus understands it—is splanknizomai, which means “moved to the bowels”—moved to the very center of who we are. Given that, it’s not surprising that compassion has such a profound effect on us and bonds us strongly to another. Consider someone who has entered your life with great compassion at a time when you have been particularly hurting. Or consider a time when you may have done this for another. The bond forged in those moments is not easily forgotten. How could it be, when you have shared such vulnerability; when your hearts quaked together and your souls were stirred to their very foundations?

On this first Sunday of Lent, we hear a familiar and predictable passage from St. Mark’s gospel...a passage that speaks to us, albeit briefly, about Jesus’ temptations in the desert. It was a time of great vulnerability when Jesus came to realize his life was not his own and one of gthe great lessons he learned in the desert was that he could count on the compassion of the Father not only in that moment, but throughout his ministry. The first reading, as well as the reading from the First Letter of Peter recalls Noah and the great flood as a sign of baptism, which saves us from sin and death. In compassion, God gives us this sacrament which frees us from a lifetime of slavery to sin and holds out to us the possibility of eternal life. More, Peter also tells us that out of compassion “Jesus went to preach to the spirits” bringing his saving presence to those in Sheol, a world of no hope, no life, and no God. It was the darkest possible place of the human condition and there, he bought love and compassion. Having come to know the compassion of the Father, Jesus “pays it forward” and wants us to know that we can rely on his compassion not only in our moments of desolation, but in all the moments of our life.

Similarly, we who rely on and are the beneficiaries of the compassion of Christ, are to show cultivate and show compassion to other. These Scriptures remind us that whatever else we do during these weeks of Lent, we would do well to consider them as a particular time of compassion—entering into the human condition with an engagement that moves us to our depths. The traditional three practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving move us in that direction. We pray so that we can more enter more deeply into relationship with the God who has called us into being and seeks to draw us into his love. We fast to bond with the two billion people around the world who go to bed hungry each night. We give alms to free ourselves from greed and become free for union with those in great need...who have no choice but to do without, sometimes because of our having too much. Lent is a time to be especially mindful of our capacity for compassion. It calls us, like Christ, to enter more deeply into human existence with great vulnerability and great love...to live with a quaking heart.


— Fr. Anthony M. Criscitelli, T.O.R.

Ash Wednesday Reflection

(Jl 2:12-18; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18)

Today we celebrate Ash Wednesday, the official beginning of Lent. Today we are reminded that sin does indeed exist and exists in a very real way. If we are to see God we are told that we must first turn away from sin and repent before God our Savior. Sin is something that puts weight onto the soul. Our souls become heavy, burdened down with sorrow unable to Love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. We begin to love ourselves more than we love our neighbor. The most important thing that we do during Lent is to recognize the sins that we have committed before God and to ask for his forgiveness which he gives to us in the person of Jesus Christ. For Jesus was made like us in every way except sin so that by his sufferings our sins may be washed clean by the blood of the lamb. “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb, you taught me wisdom in that secret place” (Ps 51:5-6). So Lent is that time when we can return to God. To place all of our transgressions in front of him and cry out in mercy. God will hear the pleas of those who seek him entirely. He will not forget the promise he made to Abraham when he told him that he will make of him a great nation and will bless those who bless you.

Ash Wednesday is typically know as a day of repentance. The dusting of ashes is a reminder to the faithful that, “Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.” As a nurse working in a nursing home I would always look forward to Ash Wednesday. The priests and other clergy would come in, say the blessing and offer the distribution of ashes on the forehead. Some folks would accept this offering and others would simply say, “No thanks.” I went up to one of the Jewish ladies and asked her what the ashes meant to her. She replied, “Nothing in life is free, except for the act of forgiveness and I don’t mind giving it when I receive it from someone else.” It’s amazing how much you can learn from those who have lived life. From those who have experienced all that life has to offer. They will tell you that the most important thing in life are the people we share life with. How we love others reflects how we love God. For when we love each other, we love the Christ that resides in all of us. What then is the quest of the human experience. We all seek to be happy. People above all desire peace. In today’s modern society we often look for happiness from what the world gives us. We want to have the latest, the newest, and the fastest device on the market. We rush to be first in line to acquire these objects that fill the holes in earth of our daily lives. We focus our gaze on the latest fashions. We want to and we desire to possess the beauty that is beholden beneath the senses of our perception. But none of these things possess the inner beauty of God’s grace which transfigures the soul into the image and likeness of the Christ inside. Saint Augustine writes in his Confessions, “My temporal life was totally unsettled, and my heart had yet to be cleansed of the old leaven. The Way, which is our Savior Himself, pleased me, but I did not as yet have the courage to venture forth upon so narrow a path.” Sin therefore is any act which causes the eyes of the soul to turn outward into the dust of the flesh. Penance is that act which turns ones preoccupation with the ’self’ to one of reconciliation with God. To find the peace that comes from living with Christ.

Lent is not just a time for prayer, fasting, and alms-giving as the prophet Joel writes, “Even Now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning, Render your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.” It is a time for reflection about how God is working in the world to establish the Kingdom of Heaven. Pope Benedict XVI announced that the message for this Lenten season should be one of, “concern for others, communion, compassion, and fraternal sharing of the sufferings of those in need.” One would have to be blind not to notice all of the needless suffering going on in today’s world. From the unrest in the middle east, to the bloodshed in Syria, to the banking crisis in Europe, to the unemployment level in the United States, to the growing number of poor on a global level, to the total disrespect of human life from beginning to its natural end, we are facing a human crisis like that we have never seen before. We are going down a road that leads out of the Garden of Eden to the desert of temptation and greed. We must stand up and work together as one Body that shares in the life of Christ to plant the seeds of equality and justice for our brothers and sisters all over the world. Our Blessed Father goes on to write that, “When the call to communion is denied in the name of individualism, it is our humanity that suffers, deceived by the impossible mirage of a happiness obtainable alone.” This is why we need each other. A house divided cannot stand. We are our own worst enemy. If we can leave behind our selfishness and the differences that separate us we can erase that line drawn in the sand. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Brothers and Sisters: We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled with God.”

Our concern as one Church during Lent should be going out to meet the suffering Christ in the world. With the love of Christ that resides in us we can help to stop the bleeding of the world with compassion, not hatred and scorn for our fellow man. It is folly to think that God is not present in the world because we make God present when we act according to his word. The evil in the world caused by human sin can be healed by the saving cross of our Lords resurrection. We must turn ourselves over in haste to God in our prayers of supplication. We must prepare the way by working to create a temple that is holy and acceptable unto God (Rom 12:1). It is prayer that is done in faith that is seen and heard. For it says in Matthew, “When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden”(Mt 6:17). God resides in the hearts of the faithful, who keep his commandments and lives according to his will. His will is that we should become one family united by his divine grace. Father in heaven, we know that you become present in the world by our works of faith, we ask that you keep us free from sin and walk humbly before you in penance so that by the light of your Son we may live in peace. Amen.


– Jesse Darnell Augustine Pellow, Postulant T.O.R.

Scripture Reflection: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle B
(Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25; 2 Cor 1:18-22; Mk 2:1-12)

Years ago, Jim Carey starred in a movie called “Yes Man.” He played a character who was so stuck in the past that he could not be open to any present opportunities. The operative word in his life was “no.” No to anything that might disturb his comfort…no to anything that he might disturb his routine…no to anything that might cause him to have to change. It doesn’t take us long to see that although his heart and lungs and brain are still working, he has really died. Finally recognizing that he has a problem and that he cannot go on this way, he registers for a self-help group in which he is told that he must begin to learn to say “yes” to every opportunity that comes his way. This, of course, leads to many comical moments in the course of the movie, but even as he endures everything that befalls him, he begins to recognize that something important is happening; he is coming to life again. No longer stuck in the past or afraid to try something new, he enjoys a whole new outlook on life.

On this last weekend before we enter into the Season of Lent, the Church presents us with Scriptures that offer us a similar message. In the first reading, the Prophet Isaiah is addressing the people of Israel who are exiled in Babylon. They have been taken captive by foreigners and are separated from all that is dear and familiar to them. Earlier on, Isaiah spoke words of comfort to them, reminding them of God’s fidelity and encouraging them to be hopeful. But now the prophet takes a different,
harsher tact with them. Isaiah cautions them, “Remember not the deeds of the past.” At a time when all they could hold on to were their memories of how things used to be was the prophet being more than a little insensitive? Not really. Isaiah was not telling them not to have memories ; rather he was telling them not to live in their memories—not to cling so hard to the past that they were unable to respond to the call of God in the present. If they were going to know hope for new life, they had to
let go of the past and learn to live and act differently.

This is a danger we can all succumb to from time to time—living in the past, glorifying a time or moment in our history –personally or as a community—to the point that we get stuck and cannot move beyond it. In admonishing the people of Israel to “not remember the deeds of the past” Isaiah is reminding them that when they are stuck in the past, they cease to live. Living and discipleship involves an openness to change and moving forward. If we are stuck in the past, we miss what is
happening in the present moment and we cannot plan for a future filled with life and growth.

In a different way, that same dynamic is at work in the Gospel. The man with paralysis wants to change. He wants to reclaim his life, stop lamenting about his condition, and move on. Although he desires to say “yes” to what he believes Jesus can do for him, he finds himself unable to get access to Jesus and so he calls upon the community to help him. When others come to his aid and find an alternative way to gain access to Jesus, he is able to realize his hope of new and restored life. On the surface, we may think this is simply another miracle story—a physical healing. But on another—deeper—level there is another equally important miracle for our consideration: the miracle of what happens when we are willing to let go of the past and turn to the strength of the community to support us in our desire

We all deal with paralysis from time to time. We are paralyzed when we get stuck in the past…when we refuse to accept change in our lives…when we are afraid to speak our yes to what God might be asking of us in the present moment…when we desire to change, but don’t know if we can do it by ourselves. At those moments, we need—like the people in the gospel—to come together as a community to strengthen one another and ultimately know the fullness of life God desires for us.


— Fr. Anthony M. Criscitelli, T.O.R.

Scripture Reflection: Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle B
(Lv 13:1-2, 44-46; 1 Cor 10:31-11:1; Mk 1:40-45)

Leprosy, or Hansen’s Disease, has been pretty well eradicated or at least controlled in modern times, but in Jesus’s day it was the most dreaded of all diseases. Not only the inevitable physical disfigurement but the banishment from society as a precaution was often a virtual death sentence. The afflicted person was deprived of family and community support at the very time of greatest vulnerability. Even into the last century, the Government of Hawaii sent all lepers to the dreaded island of Molokai (Now ironically a tourist destination!!). The Christ-like charity of Fr. Damian who accepted exile to serve these poor people and who eventually became a leper is one of the great glories of the Catholic Church.

The event in today’s Gospel is really extraordinary. When this man covered with scabs or flaking white scales approached Jesus seeking a cure he was way out of line. He had no business going near where people gathered without warning them. And Jesus response was astonishing not only did He welcome the man but He reached out and touched him! By law anyone who came in contact with a leper was rendered ritually unclean and so was unfit for worship. But Jesus obeys a higher law charity is higher than any man made law. Then Jesus wanted to change their attitudes towards lepers - Now He wants to change our attitudes towards the “outcasts” or those pushed aside in our society.

In our times for all our modern science and medical advances there are still diseases or conditions which grip the heart with fear and dread: Alzheimer, AIDS, cancer, etc. And there are those with serious illness even when not contagious - or those grieving the death of a loved one who are often avoided because they remind us of our own mortality and vulnerability. So we practice Out of sight, out of mind. We avoid visiting the hospital or the funeral home leaving the afflicted to their isolation! But WWJD –What would Jesus do? The Gospels give us more than a hint!

St. Mark wrote the most vivid Gospel account...... with many concrete details and descriptions of the human emotions of Jesus. His style helps us to “feel” the texture of the story, to listen with our imaginations and seeing what Jesus is doing draws us to want “to know Him more clearly, love Him more dearly, follow Him more nearly”. So, Mark writes Jesus was “moved with pity.” Just three words but they tell us so much. Biblical pity is a powerful emotion like a gut reaction, coming from deep within a person, which feels the pain of another. It contains the compassion and love ..perhaps best expressed in the phrase “My heart went out to him.”

But Pity moves beyond a feeling to action...to do something. It gets a person involved in finding a solution to another’s problem ---- either relieving their misery if possible, or at least standing beside them so they are not alone in bearing their pain. Our English word “compassion” stresses the idea of “passion”. So biblical “pity” is not standing on the sidelines wringing one’s hands but stirs us up to do something with passion!

Jesus responded to the Leper’s wonderful plea of faith in His healing power. “If You wish, you can make me clean.” Christ answers simply and directly “I do want to.” The whole life of Jesus consists of the desire of God to help those in trouble, to give to those who have the seed of faith His healing presence. And we see the beginning of how costly it was to Jesus. In a sense, after this work of mercy, He becomes “the leper” and can no longer enter the towns to preach for the crowds enthusiastically search Him out.

Mark’s Gospel reminds us that true discipleship entails more than praising Jesus as a wonder worker and a solution to our problems. As the text shows He is certainly not indifferent to our situation....watching from on high at a safe distance. The well regarded Scripture scholar Fr. Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP has been pointed out that Jesus never stays in Jerusalem but often at Bethany a few miles away. The name means “House of the Lowly” and was the closest lepers could come to the Holy City. From its hilltop they could only look towards the Temple where God’s People worshiped...and they could not, so the Son of God came to them. Our Lord was quick to reach out to touch the leper and we remember how He has touched us, especially through the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. He continues to touch whatever has lessened human life through us a people formed by the Gospels to be able to ask and answer the question: What Would Jesus Do? And strengthened by the Sacraments to do it!!


– Fr. Seraphin Conley, T.O.R.

Tradition in Light of the Gospel of Mark

Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
(1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30; Mk 7:1-13)

One point that people use in the debate between organized religion and the personal practice of faith is that the Church is too centered on its traditions and not the practical use of the Gospel message in our day to day lives. This is far from the truth and it is this misunderstanding of tradition that leads to confusion. I am reminded of the old Thanksgiving tale about the daughter who asks her mother why they cut the ends off of the ham for dinner. The mother replies, “I really don’t know sweetheart, I’ll have to ask your grandmother.” So she goes into the den and asks her mother the same question. Her mother replies, “Well, it was just something that my mother always did.” We get accustomed to doing things a certain way and we never really bother to think about WHY we do things. They become apart of our very identity. They make us who we are.

In today’s Gospel reading from Mark, Jesus is trying to show that God’s dwelling place is not blindly following the laws of humanity but in keeping his commandments in our hearts. The Pharisees are so stuck in their ways and are so intent on destroying Jesus that they fail to recognize that he is indeed God’s dwelling in the presence of his people. They wanted to fix God’s law to serve their own purposes and desires to be kept clean by God’s divine mercy. God’s greatest commandment is to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. It is God’s love for us that keeps us free from sin. This love is shown through the signs of his grace in the sacraments of our Christian faith. By sharing in this sacramental covenant relationship with Jesus we become co-sharers in the divine mission. That is to work with him for peace and justice in the world. God’s will is never one that tries to overpower and dominate the human will. It is one that tries to work through us and in us to bring out the goodness that is found in Christ.

In today’s society our human traditions have taken precedence over God’s commandments. We strive for peace in the world but we do so out of our own righteous indignation. We live in a very individualistic society. We are bent on controlling our own destinies. We want to be free and independent to live our own lives. We are closed in on ourselves. We hang tight to the human traditions that define who we are as a people. It is this egoism that blinds us to the reality of God’s presence in the world. The power of God is meant to serve, not to control. Faith allows believers in the incarnation of God’s rule to simply live more fully in unity and harmony with each other. When we see people misuse the power of God that resides in all of us we see the ugliness and the unclean flesh of the human spirit. Jesus responded to the Pharisees with the words of Isaiah, “This people honors me with unclean lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine human precepts.” So in reality being a true disciple of Christ is that when we pray in communion with each other in the sacraments of God’s grace, we are called by Jesus not only to live faith but to practice faith. To indeed show as Solomon asked, “Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?” Lars Svendsen writes in the ‘Philosophy of Boredom’ that, “Traditions have been replaced by lifestyles.” This is true, however the very life of the Church, it’s lifeline, it’s blood donor is Christ Jesus himself who washes clean our hands at the table he provides. He fills the hunger and thirst that resides in our souls for peace among all peoples of the world. Amen.


– Jesse Darnell Augustine Pellow, Postulant T.O.R.

Scripture Reflection: Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Cycle B
(Jb 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk 1:29-39)

We begin with an overview of Sunday’s Liturgy. The first reading surely has to be one of the most depressing in the lectionary. Job is broken hearted and totally depressed. He sees this as the universal human condition. This is what Jesus has come to redeem in His ministry of preaching the Kingdom which begins with the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and then all who come to Him. And this service to all both weak and strong is what Paul accepts as his duty and each Christian’s. Through our participation in the Eucharist and our personal prayer our own lives are healed and we are strengthened to follow Christ in care for others. Jesus directs our eyes towards those who suffer the tragedies of life. He shows us how to grasp their hands, to help them up, to bind up wounds, and to be healers.

In our reflection on today’s readings, we start with the Book of Job who is usually seen as the story of a good man whose faith is tested through suffering. In the end he will prove to be the faithful believer in God’s mercy although still not understanding God’s ways. But in today’s passage of his lament Job certainly does not seem to be the poster boy for the popular expression: “As patient as Job!” The popular wisdom of the ancients would hold that if you suffer well then you must have done something wrong and offended God in some way. Job is not about to patiently accept this. He protests vocally and eloquently that he has done nothing wrong so why is God allowing these terrible things to be happening? And when we hear his complaint there is the uncomfortable feeling that no matter how successful our lives, or how well off, or even how good, we might be walking on thin ice and at any moment it could break through. We hear of the divorce of close friends, of a serious sickness striking someone our own age, or watching the spectacular sinking of the Costa Concordia on its routine sailing and the weeping and anxious faces of passengers and rescuers. And, more than an uncomfortable feeling comes the terrifying question: “Is there a God out there who cares what happens to each and every one of us?” It calls for both faith and courage to believe that God really does heal the brokenhearted; a faith which rests on a solid foundation.


And perhaps this is why the Gospel of St. Mark at its outset shows the encounters with Christ over a broad range of experiences. The ground of the real world in the midst of people with real afflictions, obsessions and interior injuries is the ground on which Jesus sets out to proclaim the Good News. The Gospel gives us a foundation for faith when it shows Jesus healing with a gentle touch and words of power. The ancient world believed the world was locked in mortal combat between forces of good and evil represented by angels and demons. So the Gospel text is not simply about healing and exorcism but is showing the power of God in Jesus casting out the forces of evil in our world and establishing there the Kingdom of God. In describing the healing of Simon’s mother in law, Mark uses expressions which sound quite ordinary but are anything but. Jesus “helped her up.” This is the same expression often used in the New Testament resurrection stories. Mark is implying that this person is given a new life - a life that only the Risen Christ can give.

And what does this “new life” look like? Well, Mark says that when she was healed, the woman began to “wait on them.” But the word he uses is “diakoneo,” the word for Church work or Christian Service. Again, the implication is that she “waits” on the Community, she serves i.e. does the work of the Community. When people experience a new life from Christ then they want to share and they are able to serve others. And so many involved in this “deaconal” work of serving, helping others as Jesus did them, say that they get more out of what they do than what they put into it. As the Peace Prayer of St. Francis reminds us: “In giving, we receive”.

Suffering remains a mystery for us as it did for Job. What we heard in today’s Gospel is not a solution to the mystery but the Power of Jesus over suffering. He takes on our suffering so that we can be set free. We celebrate today that what Jesus did for Simon’s mother in law and those afflicted by pain and evil, He can do for us. He extends His hand to us, to raise us from the destructive, deadly forces of pride, anger, envy, gluttony, lust, avarice and sloth to New Life.

His new life doesn’t resolve the mystery for us. It gives us the power to see the needs of others and to be free to respond to make time for the children, to take care of aging parents, to mending marriages or friendships, to patiently soldier on after misfortune. In other words, in your own quiet ways, to do as Jesus did. And may He bless you in the doing!


– Fr. Seraphin Conley, T.O.R.

So, What Exactly Does TOR Mean? Inquiring Minds Want to Know!

What does TOR stand for?

Often times we are asked by curious people “What does TOR stand for?” T.O.R are the initials of our branch of the Franciscan Family - the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis of Penance.

Franciscans serve the needs of the Church and participate in the mission of Christ to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Our Fraternal living provides a center from which our friars go out and are nourished and strengthened in our shared resources to be of service to the Church. Many of the religious communities in existence today were founded for a specific purpose or to meet a specific need in the Church.


The Franciscan family has three branches, there is the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), the Poor Clare's (religious sisters), and the Third Order Regular. Secular Franciscans, lay men and women bonded to Franciscan communities, have been known as Third Order Seculars and sometimes the terms are confused.

OFM Friars are what many people picture when they think of a Franciscans because there are so many different OFM groups, there are the Capuchins (Padre Pio for example was a Capuchin Friar), OFM Conventuals, etc. There are abundant OFM Provinces in the United States, and abroad the OFM Friars number into the thousands if not more. Poor Clares are religious sisters {CLOISTERED NUNS} who follow the footsteps of St Francis and Saint Clare, and then you arrive to our Order the Third Order Regular.

In the time of Saint Francis there existed a group of early Penitents. These lay men and women lived a life of penance and Francis was first called to join them. That is how the Franciscan Order began. Throughout the centuries the Third Order consisted of lay men and women, and the term "Regular" was added to distinguish between lay individuals and those who were priests and professed religious brothers, thus becoming known as the Third Order Regular, or the TOR’s. Many Congregations of religious brother and especially of sisters engaged in works of charity, education and hospital ministry also follow the TOR Rule

Today the Third Order Regular has about 900 Franciscan Friars who minister in seventeen countries around the world. The TOR's are indeed a small Order in numbers, but we are a great fraternity and blessed to have your support.

For more history on the Third Order Regular, view a video on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lvZPlrev1U&lr=1

Scripture Reflection: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

(Mal 3:1-4; Heb 2:14-18; Lk 2:22-40)

Today’s Feast recalls the Presentation of the JESUS in the Temple. We celebrate it 40 days after Christmas ... almost as if we don’t want to forget the joy of Christmas. In fact, in some countries it is the custom that today is the day to take down the Nativity sets. In winter’s darkness we recall the words of the faithful priest Simeon calling Christ “the light to the nations” which is the background for the custom of blessing the candles to be used in Church or at home --- and the popular name for the feast: Candlemas Day. The candles we bless are an especially beautiful symbol of the offering of Christ .... they are consumed by the flame and so light is spread about!

In the 2nd reading, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews highlights the human condition of JESUS. It was necessary for him to be in solidarity with our human weakness, sorrows and anxieties: he is “our flesh and blood,” our Brother, and so his sufferings and death can free us. Christ’s whole life is an offering of love which gives light to the world. Today’s Feast is also a meeting. We come to meet Christ the Light so that we ourselves can become Light as St. Paul puts it: “children of the light.” Jesus said we were to be the light of the world. And St. Paul exhorts us ‘to present Yourselves to God as a living sacrifice.’ We pray that our lives may be consumed in the flame of love and become “light” thanks to the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Today’s Gospel has an impressive scene with several persons. First of all Joseph and Mary who are obedient to the ancient law of God and come to observe the Mosaic prescriptions for the “purification” of the Mother after childbirth. This was not because the women were somehow “unclean”... but because of their contact with the God of Life in bringing life into the world made them extraordinary! Like Moses with the veil over his face after his encounter with God. It was a rite to bring them back into ordinary life! Mary & Joseph come for the ransom of their firstborn male child to be consecrated to God. Jesus belongs to the ranks of the poor and thus the offering of doves. Then as though representing the Prophets and Saints of the Old Testament patiently waiting for the Messiah, Simeon and Anna come to welcome the Child to the Temple.

The words of Simeon’s beautiful prayer acknowledge that this helpless child in His mother’s arms is the salvation and light to all the nations, not just to the Israelites. But the mission of Jesus in bringing the Good News and God’s Peace will not be easy. . The words of Simeon foretell the passion “This child is destined for the rise and fall of many in Israel, a sign of contradiction...” and Mary’s share in it “Your own soul a sword shall pierce.” The sword that pierces her heart symbolizes her sharing in His work and sufferings. So today’s Feast is a prefiguring of Holy Saturday when the Paschal Light symbolizing Christ will be lifted high in the darkened Church. And by being lifted up on the Cross as an offering Jesus has become the Light which illuminates all nations and the glory of His People Israel whose destiny was to show God to the world.

As the Church joyfully celebrates this feast she reminds us that we also share in the mission of bringing God’s peace and good news to all people. Mary and Joseph, and the faithful, patient old priest Simeon and pious old lady Anna give us examples of joy and hope in God’s Plan. There is surely a lot of “darkness” in our society but rather than just complain or criticize we might be encouraged by the motto of the Christopher Movement: “It is better to light just one candle than to curse the darkness.”

Today we pray that our souls be filled with Christ’s light so that we may illumine our homes and our world.


– Fr. Seraphin Conley, T.O.R.

Scripture Reflection: Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Cycle B
(Dt 18:15-20; 1 Cor 7:32-35; Mk 1:21-28)

Today’s gospel is interesting because it shows us a typical day for Jesus. It shows something of the When & Way that Jesus preached in the first stage of His public ministry before the hostility of some influential leaders and the vast crowds forced a change.

WHERE: Jesus did not preach in the Temple in Jerusalem which was THE place of worship and the only place where the Jewish priests offered sacrifice. Jesus preached in the Synagogues which were numerous since any place with 10 or more Jewish families had to have one. The Synagogue was a place of teaching and instruction....like a Catechetical Center. Usually it did not have a permanent teacher. The ruler or director of the Synagogue would simply call upon any competent male to give a teaching. Once Jesus became known as a Man with a message He could enter any synagogue confident that it would provide Him with a place to instruct and inspire the people.

THE WAY: Jesus did not teach as the Pharisees and Scribes and so He was a breath of fresh air. The experts were men who delighted to pour over the Sacred texts of the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) to find a direction and guidance for all of life. Don’t think of them as wrinkled old fellows but more like Teveya, the Jewish farmer in The Fiddler on the Roof. ...who prayed to God to strike it rich so he could spend all day with the Scriptures, learning and disputing about their meaning. The ideal of the Scribe was to try to know all that the old masters had taught about a text,….. not giving his own opinion but rather that of the ancient masters. So it was: ”There is an opinion that says......” and “On the other hand there is another opinion which says.....” They could get so bound up by all these precedents and viewpoints that they were hesitant to teach anything as definite or even give their own opinion! Jesus was so different. He spoke definitely and independently. He quoted no experts, no other authority. Unlike even the Prophets He did not begin with “The Lord told me……or …The Lord revealed this to me”. Jesus spoke with the Voice of God “It was said/written….but I tell you ….”…..and it amazed and captivated the people. It was the terrific certainty of a Man who had been there.......who knew what He was talking about from experience, who radiated the All Holy One of Israel Who had sent Him. Not only in teaching but in goodness and holiness He could confront evil and drive it away. Preaching to the ordinary people, expelling demons and evil, healing the sick ........These were some of the signs of the Messianic Age and so Christ aroused a great hope within the people.

As a newly ordained priest assigned to our Novitiate in Pennsylvania, I was dragooned by one of our priests, who was a recovering alcoholic to attend some AA meetings. I must tell you that he had not been my favorite as a young cleric. He was OK until he got drunk….and he was a MEAN drunk. But he really had changed and was a wonderful friend. So I reluctantly went because of him….and I found there men and women speaking of their lives, their failures and the pain they had caused themselves and their loved ones so often. Their stories often exemplified the virtues of truth, humility and compassion that I had read about in spiritual books. The difference was they made them come alive........because they spoke from experience and it was often deeply moving. And it was thus that Jesus spoke ....... not from books but from His own experience of the Father.

There is a famous little book about St. Francis and his first companions called the Fioretti or Little Flowers of St. Francis. This book of lovely stories was read in the small houses of the friars to teach them in a very simple and practical way how to be like St. Francis.......how to be Franciscans. When I was a young friar we still used to read it in the refectory during meals. One of the stories tells how St. Francis and a new enthusiastic brother were coming into a town. Francis had advised the brother to pray and meditate because they were going to preach to the people when they got there. The two friars walked through the town greeting the people, stopping by the church for a visit, going to the marketplace , talking to the vendors and accepting their charity, ....Francis listening to problems and promising his prayers. And they went on their way. Outside the town, the brother disappointedly said: “Brother Francis, you forgot that we were supposed to preach to the people”. And St. Francis smiled and said....”But we did”.

That’s an important point which you should never forget. The priests and deacons officially preach in Church and there is a solemn responsibility to prepare and do the best we can. But often time our best efforts remain only words, or as my classmate used to say “Homilies are written with water”.....and you....and even the preacher....will forget them. But deeds are seldom forgotten and they do speak much louder than words! And in imitation of Jesus whose deeds of compassion gave authority to His preaching, they are what every follower of Christ is called to show. So, really every one of us “preaches” out of his own experience when we are sent from here in the Name of Christ. The question to think about this Sunday is: What or Whom are we preaching???


– Fr. Seraphin Conley, T.O.R.

Christ and the Steward of God’s Creation

Image Collage (2012) by Bro. Jeffrey Wilson, T.O.R. [1]

(Click on image to view larger picture)

This work was first conceived after I wrote a reflection on the one year anniversary of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and Gulf of Mexico oil spill (http://franciscanfriarstor.blogspot.com/2011/04/holy-week-2011-way-we-treat-ourselves.html). The reflection centered around a statement that Pope Benedict XVI made in Caritas in Veritate, “The way humanity treats the environment influences the way it treats itself, and vice versa” (¶51). Pope Benedict’s statement echoes a quote that is popularly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.” I wanted to visually depict the spirit of these two statements. Below are some of my initial thoughts and reflections on the symbolism of the images in the collage. Although these notes do not reflect every conceivable aspect of the collage, I hope that they may assist in making this collage a beneficial and fruitful form of meditation and prayer.


– Bro. Jeffrey Wilson, T.O.R.

________________________

† Christ: The image of Christ is taken from Salvador Dalí’s, Christ of St. John of the Cross, which many consider to be the greatest religious painting of the 20th century. In his work, Dalí took the lone figure standing at the far left of the painting from a drawing by Diego Velázquez and the figure standing by the boat from Louis Le Nain’s Peasants Before Their House. In a similar manner, I have used Dalí’s image of Christ for this collage.

The crucified Christ is hovering over the landscape representing that Christ’s passion and death is the source of healing and reconciliation for the violence and division depicted in the scene below. The original sin of Adam and Eve wounded the created order, both humanity and the rest of creation. Therefore, Christ’s salvation and restoration heals all creation; both humanity and the rest of creation. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ recreates all things. “And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new’” (Rev 21:5).[2] “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Cor 5:17). “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom 8:19-21).

† Throne: As Christ is the source of healing and reconciliation, the throne represents the source of division; domination over others, the domination over both humans and the rest of creation. The stone foundation disperses the weight of domination and oppression evenly among the humans on the left (humanity) and the elephant on the right (the rest of creation). Below the throne, a rift begins to open in the ground and spreads out towards the observer, growing wider as it goes. The rift represents the growing division and alienation between humanity and the rest of creation.

The two serpent armrests represent the direct opposites, or antitheses, to the great commandment given by Jesus. “The first is this, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and 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). The opposite of loving God with all one’s heart is idolatry. St. Paul equates idolatry to greed; “Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry)” (Col 3:5). “Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” (Eph 5:5). The serpent head on the man’s left hand side symbolizes greed/idolatry. Below the serpent’s head, lies a stack of money and a bag that is tied tightly closed. While the money represents monetary greed, the cinched bag represents those things that we covet as our own, and thus, greedily desire above God. In other words, they are our idols.

The serpent head on the man’s right hand side symbolizes the opposite of loving one’s neighbor as oneself which are malice, violence, and unjust war. The right hand side is customarily a warrior’s weapon hand. Below the serpent’s head are a machine gun and a gurkha knife, tools that can be used for violence and war. “Simeon and Levi, brothers indeed, weapons of violence are their knives. Let not my person enter their council, or my honor be joined with their company; For in their fury they killed men, at their whim they maimed oxen. Cursed be their fury so fierce, and their rage so cruel!” (Gen 49:5-7).

The throne rests on two stone tiers, or platforms, that serve as the foundation. The front of the top tier is engraved with seven symbols representing the seven deadly sins while the bottom tier is engraved with eleven symbols representing various expressions of the seven deadly sins in today’s culture. The lower symbols are meant to help interpret the corresponding symbols above them, starting from the lower tier to the upper tier and on to the two serpent armrests.

† Man and woman on the throne platform: The man sitting on the throne represents the leaders in society, those in governments, businesses, and communities. He holds a posture of superiority and dominance. He believes that the two serpent armrests are at his service. However, he is actually slave to them. “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” (Jn 8:34). His head is wrapped in a white cloth and he is holding his face in his left hand. In his right hand, he holds on object representing the double helix of human DNA topped by an atom with the Earth as the nucleus. This object represents the human desire to control and manipulate every aspect of created order, from designer babies to the splitting of the atom. The man views the Earth and all of God’s creation as his own possession and not as the gift that it truly is.

The woman standing behind the man is an image of Diana Moore’s sculpture, Figure of Justice, and represents those who do not actively engage in the exploitation, oppression, and violence but still benefit from these actions. She is tying a blindfold around her eyes to insulate herself from the truth around her. In many ways, she is like the rich man who ignored the needs of Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31). The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of sin” (¶1859).

† Two men holding up the throne: The two men holding up the throne represent those people who are exploited and oppressed for the benefit of others. The pairing represents solidarity and philia love (the love of friendship) among the human race despite the presence of exploitation and oppression. The man on the left/front is an image of Auguste Rodin’s sculpture, The Shade, while the man on the right/back is an image of Evan Benelli’s sculpture, Sisyphus.

† Young woman and man sitting under the throne: The young woman and man sitting under the throne represent those in despair from exploitation and oppression and the love that can support them. The young man is an image from Robert Shure’s sculpture at the Boston Irish Famine Memorial. The young woman is an image of Lyn Maxwell’s sculpture, Sitting Arab Woman.

† Man and woman kneeling: The man and woman kneeling represent the “cry of the poor;” those who are in anguish and who are completely ignored by those who have power and influence in society. “Those who shut their ears to the cry of the poor will themselves call out and not be answered” (Pr 21:13). The man is an image from Kenneth Treister’s sculptures at the Miami Holocaust Memorial. The woman is an image of Lyn Maxwell’s sculpture, Famine.

† Elephant: The elephant is the largest living land animal on Earth and represents creation that is exploited and oppressed by humans. God gave the Earth to humans in order to care for our needs and it is meant to be used wisely. However, there are times when God’s creation is exploited and oppressed for the sake of human greed and because of simple apathy.

† Prophet and the lion: On the right of the collage, a prophet and lion stand on a cliff and look out over the scene. The paring of the prophet and the lion represents truth and justice and the proper relationship between humans and the rest of creation. “The lion has roared, who would not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken, who would not prophesy?” (Am 3:8). “Let justice descend, you heavens, like dew from above, like gentle rain let the clouds drop it down. Let the earth open and salvation bud forth; let righteousness spring up with them! I, the LORD, have created this” (Is 45:8). “I will listen for what God, the LORD, has to say; surely he will speak of peace to his people and to his faithful. Love and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss. Truth will spring from the earth; justice will look down from heaven” (Ps 85:9, 11-12).

The prophet is an image of Walter Seymour Allward’s sculpture, Justicia. The prophet standing on the cliff is inspired by Gustave Doré’s engraving, The Prophet Amos. The Prophet Amos pronounces various crimes committed by the nations: “Because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron (Am 1:3); Because they exiled an entire population (1:6); Because they […] did not remember their covenant of brotherhood (1:9); Because he pursued his brother with the sword, suppressing all pity, persisting in his anger, his wrath raging without end (1:11); Because they ripped open pregnant women (1:13); Because they hand over the just for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals; They trample the heads of the destitute into the dust of the earth, and force the lowly out of the way” (2:6-7). The crucifix that the prophet is holding represents the “Christian lens” of the prophet, that is, the Christian perspective and understanding of the proper stewardship and care for God’s creation. This perspective is “Christocentric” and is reflected in St. Paul’s Christ hymn; “He is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible [...] all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:15-17).

The lion is an image of a Sir Thomas Brock’s sculpture, Agriculture, at Queen Victoria Memorial, Buckingham Palace. The lion is inspired by several sources such as the lion being the king of the animal kingdom, the Lion of Justice, and the Lion of Judah. At first, it may appear that the lion is looking directly at the observer. However, upon closer observation, one discovers that the lion is actually looking over the observer’s shoulder. The prophet is looking over the violence of the scene while the lion is looking at the violence that is occurring back behind the observer in their society. The observer is invited to follow the lion’s gaze and examine the reality of their own situation. Concerning the relationship between humanity and the environment, Pope Benedict XVI explains, “This invites contemporary society to a serious review of its lifestyle, which, in many parts of the world, is prone to hedonism and consumerism, regardless of their harmful consequences. What is needed is an effective shift in mentality which can lead to the adoption of new lifestyles in which the quest for truth, beauty, goodness, and communion with others for the sake of common growth are the factors which determine consumer choices, savings, and investments” (Caritas in Veritate, ¶51).

† Girl in red: The girl is an image of one of Kenneth Treister’s sculptures at the Miami Holocaust Memorial. The girl in red is inspired by the girl with the red winter coat in the Steven Spielberg’s movie, Schindler’s List. In the documentary, Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust, Spielberg discusses the symbolism of the girl in red and explains, “America and Russia and England all knew about the Holocaust when it was happening, and yet we did nothing about it. We didn’t assign any of our forces to stopping the march toward death, the inexorable march toward death. It was a large bloodstain, primary red color on everyone’s radar, but no one did anything about it. And that’s why I wanted to bring the color red in.”

In the collage, the girl in red represents the young innocent victims of violence and war. In one sense, she represents the loss of innocence and the vulnerability of the orphan. Righteousness in the Old Testament was often measured by how one treated the most vulnerable in society: widows, resident aliens, and orphans. The color red represents the blood of the innocent and the sin of those that shed this innocent blood. “When you spread out your hands, I will close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they may become white as wool” (Is 1:15-18).

In addition, the color red has a second meaning which is tied to the San Damiano Cross. The San Damiano Cross depicts blood rolling down Christ’s arms and flowing from his pierced side and feet onto the other figures in the scene. This represents Christ’s redeeming blood that washes his disciples clean and blesses them. In a similar manner, the color red in the collage represents Christ’s redeeming blood. Dalí’s image of Christ is meant to be beautiful so as to be a direct opposite, or antithesis, to the image of Christ in Matthias Grünewald’s The Crucifixion. Thus, Dalí’s image of Christ does not bear any nails or reveal any blood. The collage tries to balance the beauty of Dalí’s image of Christ with images of Christ’s passion that are placed into the scene below. The red of the girl’s clothing represents Christ’s saving blood. At the bottom of the scene, a nail embedded in a rock represents Christ’s crucifixion nails while a rock opening of a geyser represents Christ’s open wounds and the living water that flows from Christ’s side.

† Human bodies: The human bodies at the bottom right of the scene are an image from George Segal’s sculpture, The Holocaust, at Legion of Honor Park in San Francisco. They represent the victims of violence, war, and genocide. The blending and shading of the bodies is inspired by the “atomic shadows” left by human bodies from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb explosions. The bodies also bring to mind Carl Sandburg’s poem, Grass:

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work.

However, violence and destruction have left the scene devoid of any living vegetation. In this case, the grass has not been allowed to work.

† City buildings: The city in the background is comprised of the largest buildings in the world. They represent unhealthy progress and development, that is, seeking progress for the sake of progress which is fueled by pride, consumerism, and the belief that bigger/more is better. In many ways, the city can be viewed as a modern day Tower of Babel. “Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves’” (Gen 11:4). Pope Benedict XVI explains, “Openness to life is at the center of true development. […] The acceptance of life strengthens moral fiber and makes people capable of mutual help. By cultivating openness to life, wealthy peoples can better understand the needs of poor ones, they can avoid employing huge economic and intellectual resources to satisfy the selfish desires of their own citizens, and instead, they can promote virtuous action within the perspective of production that is morally sound and marked by solidarity, respecting the fundamental right to life of every people and every individual” (Caritas in Veritate, ¶28).

† Oil covered lake: The oil covered lake represents environmental pollution and is particularly inspired by the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Three oil covered birds add to the environmental disaster scene. Instead of offering God the sweet aroma of the fruits of the Earth, a thick, black, toxic smoke rises into the heavens. “Awake, north wind! Come, south wind! Blow upon my garden that its perfumes may spread abroad. Let my lover come to his garden and eat its fruits of choicest yield” (Sg 4:16). “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life” (2 Cor 2:14-16).

† Buffalo bones: The dead buffalo, or bison, adds to the scene of environmental violence. Many believe that, at one time, the buffalo represented the largest population of any wild land mammal on Earth. However, they almost became extinct in the 19th century do to over hunting. In fact, during the wars with the Native Americans, the U.S. Army encouraged the wholesale slaughter of the buffalo in order to deprive the Native Americans of their main food source. The violence against the buffalo represented violence against humans as well.

________________________

[1] The image of the Martian landscape and cliff are from NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org.

[2] New Testament scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation while Old Testament scripture quotes are from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE) translation unless otherwise noted.