Spirituality for Beginners

Fr. Bede's almost-daily reflections. When it comes to the spiritual life, we're all beginners. I also send these out by email. Contact me at bcamera@anselm.edu. God bless!





Showing posts with label John 17. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John 17. Show all posts

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Christ prays for us!

The Seventh Sunday of Easter (year C)

I wrote a song which we sang at Mass this morning. The text combines some of the second reading (I am the Alpha and the Omega) with lines from the last section of John 17, the section in which Jesus prays for us.

Whenever I read John 17 (which I encourage you to read today), I want to cry out with the Psalmist: Too wonderful for me this knowledge, too high, beyond my reach! To think of it! Before Jesus was taken away to be crucified, He prayed to His Father. He prayed for us. He prayed that we would be with Him, that we would see the glory He had from the Father before the foundation of the world! Considering the power of that prayer, what could possibly get to us that would be more precious or more filled with hope?

And by the way, this is the next section of Ephesians 1:17 that I’ve been commenting on the past few days. Paul prays that God grant us a spirit of wisdom and understanding that we might see (grasp) what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. John 17 does a good job explaining what some of those riches may be.

Anyway, to get to the song. For what it’s worth, I’m giving you the text below. By next weekend I will have an mp3 (sound file) of the music, because I am having it recorded this week. For today, however, I think the text will provide you with adequate food for reflection. You’ll find it all included in the last part of John 17.

I am the Alpha and Omega.
I am the first and the last,
the beginning and the end.

I am loved by my Father.
He has given me glory
before the foundation of the world.

I pray for you, my faithful beloved,
to be with me and to see my glory.
before the beginning of the world.

The Father’s love for me
will be in you,
you and me, as one.

God bless you.



Friday, April 22, 2016

He saved me because he loved me.

We continue our exploration of the psalms, selecting images and verses that speak about the many ways God cares for us. But before we turn to the psalms today, let’s consider lines from the Gospel for today’s Mass:
 “. . . I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.” (John 14:2-3)
·         This is a particular wish of Christ, to have us be with him for all time. He also prays for this in the High Priestly Prayer (John 17):

“I pray that those, also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (v. 24)
·         Jesus prays this pray for those who will believe in him through the word of his disciples—in other words, he prays for us in these blessed words. This is our destiny; this is where the trajectory of our life will ultimately lead us, despite all the dark valleys and times of weakness and failure. This is how he cares for us. It is especially poignant to realize that Jesus prays this prayer for us shortly before He was going to the garden to be betrayed and arrested.

Psalm verses for today’s reflection:

In Psalm 18, the Psalmist calls out to the Lord for deliverance from the sufferings he is undergoing:

The waves of death rose about me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
the snares of the grave entangled me;
the traps of death confronted me.
In my anguish I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help. (18: 5-7a)
·         This psalm is dramatic and epic in tone. The Lord answers the plea for help in extraordinary and tumultuous ways, and this is how He cares for His beloved:

From on high he reached down and seized me;
he drew me forth from the mighty waters.
He snatched me from my powerful foe,
from my enemies whose strength I could not match. (17-18)
. . .
He brought me forth into freedom,
he saved me because he loved me.  (v. 20)
·         Remember this the next time you find yourself in difficult, perilous or oppressive circumstances, or when you feel that the temptations and trials of life are too powerful and overwhelming for you.


God bless you.