Let God Enter, Let Him Love.

A reflection for World Day of Consecrated Religious:

Today, Jesus is presented to the altar of God in the Temple. This comes at one of the weakest times of Jesus' entire life. He’s not able to speak for himself, he can’t walk. He’s a baby, young, physically weak, and completely vulnerable. I think the state that Jesus is in can help us to understand what it really means to be presented to the Lord, to be consecrated to the Lord even in the frailest, weakest, most vulnerable times of our imperfect lives. 

It's clear that God seems to be very particular with who he calls and who he anoints. As you know, there’s a common theme with the Lord calling the weak and the vulnerable. You might say that God has a knack for picking the ones who seem to be less capable. But he chooses them precisely so his Glory can be revealed, making the words of Isaiah ring true -- "He gives power to the faint, abundant strength to the weak." (Isaiah 41:29) He chooses the poor, the broken, the hurting, he chooses the lesser - those who cannot love themselves.

"He gives power to the faint, abundant strength to the weak."   

-Isaiah 41:29

The fact is that we are all imperfect people. We are all weak in some way, vulnerable, hurting and broken. Like many biblical figures, we doubt the person that God can help us become. We are afraid to love God and afraid to love ourselves. We are in fact, afraid of our own tendency to love imperfectly. But there’s hope because as a people of faith, we are called to re-enter into a relationship with God, to be re-consecrated, and re-presented to Him. That means accepting the love of a God who perfectly loves our imperfections. This does not mean that God is okay with our sins, and shortcomings; rather, that He loves us despite of them.

"We are in fact, afraid of our own tendency to love imperfectly."

As I was reflecting on my life as a consecrated religious, I began to think of my journey as lived inside of a large church. At the front of the Church, there is the sanctuary and Jesus awaiting in the tabernacle. Throughout the course of our lives, we position ourselves at different parts and places of this massive church. Some days we might be at the very front, in the sanctuary. We are praying every day, going to mass, doing all the right things and we feel God present in our lives. Other days we might be in the very back of the church, in the very corner, far away - maybe even outside! Sometimes we are hiding on the sides, ashamed and afraid to be seen. We are not concerned with what is happening in front of us. Or, we are in the middle, in the safe-ground. Not too far upfront and not too far in the back. We're comfortable with where we want to be and that's that. We are satisfied with being in the middle ground. "This is my spot, this is where I sit, I'm good, I don't need to do anything else, I am here."...Perhaps this is your life, moving from pew to pew. Regardless, wherever you sit, God is asking of one thing; he's asking for your heart. For your presence. And one thing is certain, we have to approach the altar in order for us to give it freely. Come up and re-present yourself to the Lord with open hearts! Lift up your hearts! Lift up your doors. Just like the psalmist says:

"Lift up! O gates, your lintels; 

reach up, you ancient portals,

that the King of Glory may enter!”

I have found that the greatest freedom in consecrated life comes from opening up the gates of everything that I am and letting God in on it. As the prophet Malachi puts it, there will come a day when the Lord will come and sit in this temple and refine and purify his servants. Jesus would like to purify and refine you. You are that temple, and Jesus wants to transform everything that you don't like about yourself, those imperfections, all the sins, the flaws, the fears, and insecurities - Jesus wants to purify it. For the consecrated religious, we are presented to the Lord in freedom, resting in the sure hope that He will make himself known in the midst of every imperfection and weakness that we know we have. Out of love, we surrender ourselves, we cease any resistance and simply let God love.

"...in order to profess a life consecrated to God, I have to first profess that I am human."

I’m very blessed to be able to look back on the life that I’ve lived as a consecrated religious and see all of the incredible ways that God has been present to me. The people, the places, the ministry opportunities, everything has been an adventure of faith and it would have never happened if I had not given God permission to love what I could not. It has occurred to me that in order to profess a life consecrated to God, I have to first profess that I am human. That means admitting to myself that I don't have all the answers, I don't do everything right, I'm not a perfect human being and because of that, I need God. We need God.

It doesn’t matter who are you, what you’re doing, or what you have done. I can promise you that the Lord today is asking for your heart. He wants to replace all of those imperfections with love. Today we're called to receive God, to be re-consecrated to God, to be re-presented to God. Let Him Enter, the King of Glory.

+ Br Vince Mary

Christian Championship

Not too long ago we celebrated the life of St. Sebastian, an early Christian martyr who was put to death because of his faith. He was tied to a post, shot with arrows, and left to die. However, he was healed with the help of the later Saint Irene, who took him into her home and bandaged his wounds. Once at full health, Sebastian courageously met the Emperor in a small passageway. He had overcome his own pain, his own weakness and was condemned to death a second time. He was beaten to death with cudgels and thrown into the town's sewer. 

(1480) tempera, oil on canvas;
"Saint Sebastian" by Andrea Mantegna

Reflecting on the life of Sebastian and the words of the Psalms, I began to think about our lives as champion Christians, a people of faith who persevere and run with joy, the course that has been set for us. We're called to be champions. One might say that to be a Champion means to conquer. It means to defy the odds, to surpass all other rivals and be in the end, victorious; the last one standing. Champions are those who have lived courageously, fought with strength and persevered in times of difficulty, they overcame. The champion is moved to be victorious, he’s moved to defeat everything that stands in his way, in order to obtain a prize worth cherishing forever. The champion is an athlete and not only an athlete but a person who sees with clear vision his purpose, he understands he has been made to accomplish, to achieve and to succeed. Above everything, a champion is a person who longs for victory using every ounce of energy that has been built up inside. 

Now you might notice that there are striking similarities between this champion athlete, and the champion Christian because to be a Christian is to be an athlete, and to be a champion Christian is to accept the invitation into the true championship with Jesus Christ, the true Victor!

You might be surprised to know that you are an athlete, you are a runner of the race and you have been endowed with a special gift of strength and courage. We are athletes for Christ, as St. Paul puts it, striving to obtain the eternal prize of salvation. We are a Christian people who have been gifted with a purpose in life, a meaning, and an objective to reach that everlasting prize. It’s the imperishable crown that St. Paul speaks about in 1 Corinthians. The strength of the Christian champion has its roots in God almighty. Since he gives us all that we need to move forward, he strengthens us when we are weak, he trains us, and he pushes us to pursue everything that he has in store for us. 

“Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one” -1 Corinthians 9:25

Photo by Holger Link via Unsplash

Since we are sharers in the championship that Christ has already won, we are also gifted with immeasurable strength and courage that is necessary to overcome any blockade. Those moments in our lives that instill doubt or spiritual soreness, slothfulness or acedia. These are things that keep us from moving forward with the hope that we will soon wear the winner’s crown, the imperishable one. We doubt ourselves and we give in to the voice that tells us we will never reach the end. Slowly we slip into modes of hopelessness and mediocrity; we lose sight of the goal! However, we are built to be champion Christians, champion athletes. We are called to overcome, called to push through our doubts, to persevere with strength and hope in moments of uncertainty.  We have been given a spirit of courage and endurance, a spirit that aids us in our weakness. 

“Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.” -Romans 12:12

Remember that you've been called into a true championship with Jesus. You have been invited to complete the task and he has given all that you need to do it. The psalms tell us that the Champion is one who "joyfully runs its course." (Psalm 19:5) and St. Paul adds that as runners, we should run to win. Not aimlessly, or carelessly, but with conviction, confidence, and courage. 

"...Run as to win." -1 Cor 9: 24

In those moments when our zeal seems to be gone, hope shattered or our strength seems to be getting slim, we should turn to the words that have been written down for us. He reminds us to be strong and courageous! (Joshua 1:9) To fight the good fight of the faith! (1 Tim 9:11) To rejoice with hope, endure affliction and persevere in prayer! (Rom 12:12) This is the heart of a Champion, to look beyond our struggle and pain, see our own destiny of Glory and be moved to obtain it. This is the heart of a champion, and it’s the heart of a Christian, to persevere with courage in order to hold the eternal prize of glory.

+Br. Vince Mary