Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section. God Bless Fr. Mark
Lent 27 March 2019; In Chapter 18 in “Rediscover Jesus” Matthew Kelly talks about yearning for home and how ultimately this yearning should lead us to our heavenly home. The desire for heaven is found in how we live our lives and what we value in life this the chapters title “Jesus on Lifestyles.” For those of us who lived through the 80’s we remember the show “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” which by its very title we can see is antithetical the Gospel values. There is nothing wrong with being “rich or famous” but when it becomes the goal and the lifestyle then we are placing our trust in the worldly and making false gods out of things and stuff and not looking towards the true God’s in whom riches and fame find love and meaning. This is where healthy detachment becomes a necessity and one of the ways the Catholic Church invites into a spiritual detachment that is both healthy and holy is the practice of tithing the first fruits of our labor. As someone who has practiced tithing for over 25 years, as a lay person, a seminarian and as a priest I can testify to the benefits of discovering happiness and holiness not solely in what I have or don’t have but who I am in the eyes of God. Here is a little food for thought on tithing.
PRAYER: Jesus, open my eyes so I can see every person I encounter each day as you see them. (p 83) this prayer from “Rediscover Jesus” reminds us of how we are chosen to love radically and differently as followers of Jesus Christ. When I was first ordained I was introduced at my parish to Andy and Martha (not their real names) an elderly couple who were both suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. My visits to their home were always a trial as conversation was difficult and the behavior was unpredictable. But every once in a while there was a moment of clarity where you could once more see the person in their fullness. As I continued my visits those moments knit together allowed my heart, my eyes and my ears to begin to know them as God knows them and to see them as God sees them. Thank you Jesus for your patience in opening the eyes of we who are blind. God Bless, Fr. Mark