Pass Me Not By

A reflection by Heidi Knofczynski

Whenever this Gospel is proclaimed at Mass, I always connect it with the hymn, Pass Me Not, Gentle Savior.  

Pass me not, O gentle Savior,

Hear my humble cry;

While on others Thou art calling,

Do not pass me by.

Oh, how Zacchaeus wanted to get a glimpse of Jesus,!  So much so that this man, who had a great deal of power within the community, was willing to cast aside his ill-gotten dignity and climb up a tree to do so.  An impulsive act perhaps, but Jesus, who knows what occurs in the depth of our hearts, was there at exactly the right moment.  He willingly entered this bully’s home to dine with him.  This caused much grumbling among those who had also gathered to see Jesus.

Many of those grumblers may have been scandalized by this because Zacchaeus so willingly took the side of oppression and dishonesty for his own personal gain.  But among those grumblers, there were some in that crowd who may have been deeply hurt by Zacchaeus’ unscrupulous actions.  Their honor has been stolen; stolen and misused by this little man in a tree!  Why would the healer pass by the victims in favor of the victimizer?

Let me at Thy throne of mercy

Find a sweet relief;

Kneeling there in deep contrition,

Help my unbelief.

I admit in my meditations, sometimes I find myself to be a major grumbler in the crowd.   I see myself standing in the crowd as someone wounded by that small person.  I am still struggling under the burden of the dishonor and humiliation that was heaped upon me.  I had hoped beyond hope that the Savior would reach out His hand and call me to Him, to restore what was taken.  But instead, He passed me by to get to Zaccheaus, did I deserve my dishonor?  Is there nothing about me or my sorrow that calls to His Heart?  I do not even have the strength to even want to forgive this little man you are calling on.   I start to fear my hopes; I start to doubt my Savior. Better to not hope than to be let down.

It is really hard to stay with a meditation like this, because it is so painful.  There is often so much fear that He will not respond to the pain.   And on top of that, in the background of these thoughts are the murmurings of our own guilt, because we know we have failed others.  It is easy to think: Maybe I don't deserve His attention.   Maybe I am selfish is desiring it. 

Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.

Listen carefully to what Jesus is saying when you start to waiver.   Allow the Lord to draw you out of your fears.  “Do you trust me?”   He speaks so softly you can miss it: “I have not passed you by.  Those who hurt you cannot truly pay their debt to you without Me. Fourfold you will be repaid. My justice surges like water and spreads its splendor like an unfailing stream. (Amos 5:24 ).

Thou the spring of all my comfort,

More than life to me,

Whom have I on earth beside Thee,

Whom in Heav’n but Thee.

Truly we should not begrudge Zacchaeus his joy at being singled out by Christ in this way; we all are a Zacchaeus to someone.  We have stolen someone’s honor, or made them feel insignificant or worse.   Mostly we do this blindly, but not always. In Him only is our hope for repaying our debts, and in Him is our only hope of recovering what has been taken from us.  Christ does not pass you by ever in indifference to your hurts!  He is always bringing you to a deeper level of healing with a stronger faith and a higher hope!

How do you relate to the story of Zacchaeus?  Are you ever worried that He might pass you by?

As Christ approaches you this Advent, let Him draw out your deepest fears and replace them with a hope that is deeper still.  Let your trust in His gentle ways cause your justice to surge like waters and flow like an unfailing stream!

Lyrics for Pass Me Not Gentle Savior  by Frances Crosby 1868 Public Domain

MOTHER of MERCY

MOTHER OF MERCY

(Mother’s Day; 7^th Sunday after Easter “C”; May 12)

I love this “Journey to Wisdom” site because of the wonderful reflections and meditations that are posted by all of you.  Today, I would first like to preface my own reflection with a flashback to St. Francis de Sales.  He had a great way to describe an approach to our meditations, which I would like to share with you.  He asks us to consider our meditation on God’s word as a walk through a flower garden.  There are lots of choices, lots of beauty, and lots of great smells.  So just select one or two or three flowers that appeal to us right now, and pick those.  Just so, select one or two or three points in God’s word that appeal to you as you meditate on His word.  Then “think frequently about them, and smell them spiritually during the rest of the day” (Introduction to the Devout Life).  Isn’t that a beautiful way to remember what to do with our meditations?

So today I want to share the “flowers” that appealed to me.  [In the Omaha Archdiocese we do not advance the “Ascension” solemnity to Sunday; instead we retain the liturgy of the word for the 7^th Sunday after Easter.]

Today is a special day for Deacons like me all around the world, because in our First Reading from the Acts of Apostles (7:55-60) we celebrate the life of the very first Christian martyr, St. Stephen the Deacon.  The day after Christmas is really Stephen’s feast day.  But the Church also places this same episode right here, one week before Pentecost Sunday, because it shows the struggles that confronted the disciples in the early Church.  Unfortunately, Stephen gets stoned to death; but he gave us two lessons.  First, he shows what can happen when you cling to your faith in Jesus Christ during times of persecution: it may even cost you your earthly life.  But a second lesson is more important: Deacon Stephen provides a witness to how we must try to be like Jesus in his attitude of MERCY, no matter what the personal cost.

   

Stephen imitates Jesus even in death, as he forgives his persecutors. Jesus had said from the cross, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Now we hear Stephen saying, just before he dies, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”  A merciful gift is given to his persecutors.

We discover in our Gospel reading today (John 17:20-26) that Jesus is praying for unity, a unity that can only come when people actually experience unconditional love – a merciful love that extends even to enemies, even to those who would kill us. Pope John Paul II taught us in a 1980 Encyclical (“On the Mercy of God”; #138) that only love that is demonstrated can bring about unity.

There are many roads that lead to unity.  But the most famous and most effective road is the “love road” commonly called “works of mercy.”  These are ways we demonstrate our love. These are ways that witness to Jesus Christ, and attract non-believers.  There are 14 works of mercy; but perhaps the hardest one of all to live out is the obligation we all have to forgive offenses willingly.  Jesus set the bar high; and St. Stephen lived up to it.

Do you remember that nasty Superstorm Hurricane, called Sandy, that hit the Northeast so savagely last October?  At the heart of the recovery efforts from the flood and fires, in the Rockaway area of New York, was St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church.  There have been many articles in the secular press, even six months later, praising the many practical works of mercy that the parishioners at St. Francis de Sales provided for the storm victims—long before the official government support groups went into action.  As the news article said, and I quote, these “works of mercy bring us together and also show the world what the power of faith can achieve.”  And that is from the secular press, mind you!

I think it is a wonderful coincidence that this weekend is Mothers’ Day weekend.  If there is any one single person in our life that has shown us how to extend mercy and forgiveness, it is our biological mother.  But our Spiritual Mother is really the “Mother of Mercy” par excellence.  Every day we appeal to her, in a prayer at the end of our rosary: “Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy...”   We remember the many times she appeared to St. Brigid of Sweden, and to St. Faustina of Poland, and to St. Juan Diego in Mexico: she identified herself to them as our “Mother of Mercy.” 

We also remember the eloquent way Blessed Pope John Paul II called her the “Mediatrix of Mercy” (Redemptoris Mater, 1987).  He teaches that Mary has a specifically “motherly” role as mediatrix of mercy, when Jesus returns at his final coming.  We call the Blessed Virgin Mary our “Mother of Mercy” because she literally brought Divine Mercy Himself to birth in our world.

And now she shows us how to live as true Disciples, by living out the many virtues we need to practice daily.  One of the most important virtues, of course, is Mercy (or Charity, which is really the same thing).   The gospels show is that she lived out this virtue when she went to serve her cousin Elizabeth in her time of need, and also when she interceded for the needs of the married couple at the wedding feast in Cana.  And now our Queen Mother is in heaven, to intercede for everyone who calls for her help.

So we have a “cloud of witnesses” who have shown us, by their example, how to be merciful.  First, the example set by Jesus our Redeemer, forgiving his enemies from the cross.  Then St. Stephen the Deacon, forgiving those who stoned him to death.  And then the visionaries, such as St. Brigid, St. Faustina, and St. Juan Diego, who tell us that the Blessed Virgin Mary wants all of us to know that She is the Mother of Mercy.

There really is nothing more we need to hear.  The gospels and all the saints challenge us to be merciful, just like Jesus.  If there is anyone in your life who needs your forgiveness, then please imitate the holy witnesses, and be merciful.    Remember the command Jesus gave us in the Sermon on the Mount: “Be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful”; or, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy.” (Luke 6:36; Matthew 5:7)

As we pray for and honor our own earthly mothers this weekend, please also remember to pay special tribute to our heavenly “Mother of Mercy.”  Please join with me right now in the “Hail, Holy Queen” prayer, as one way to acknowledge and respond to our Mother’s desire that we imitate the Mercy of her son, Jesus:

Together – “Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O merciful [clement], O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! +

Blessings to all of you!

I pray especially that the Lord will send each of you mothers many blessings through the mediation of His mother, Mary.

- Deacon Paul Rooney

Our Advent Journey

Advent is the liturgical season that precedes and prepares for Christmas. It is a season of hope and of longing, of joyful expectation and of peaceful preparation. As we continue on our Advent journey, we prepare for the coming of our Lord. Part of the preparation is reconciliation. The following is taken from a Communal Reconciliation Service. I hope you find the meditations helpful to your personal journey.

Liturgy of Asking Forgiveness

We come now to ask the Lord of justice for His forgiveness. We ask in the name of Christ who is the light ofthe world. Let us listen to our hearts.

"Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, has come to thee O Israel."

God promised through Isaiah to be out everlasting light. How have I been a light, or a ray of hope to my family, my friends, those I work with? How have I protected my darkness so that no one can get in?

Jesus, fill us with your light.
"Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, has come to thee O Israel."

God promises to make us radiant in the Light of Christ. Do I allow my values and desires to be formed by the Gospel? Have I used my light to work for justice and act with compassion? Have I been hope for those around me?

Jesus, fill us with your light.
"Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, has come to thee O Israel."

Jesus tells us to care for the needs of the poor and one another. How do I share God's goodness with others? How do I fail to care for the poor and those in need?

Jesus, fill us with your light.
"Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, has come to thee O Israel."

We have been seeking to be Christ for one another and for the people with whom we journey on the path of life. How have I made ready the way for Christ to come to birth in this day and in this place? Have I neglected to go beyond myself to point the way to Christ?

Jesus, fill us with your light.
"Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, has come to thee O Israel."

God calls us to build up Christ's body, the church. Is Christ resent in my life, in my relationships with others? What in my life cries out for redemption? For new life? For what am I most grateful?

Jesus, fill us with your light.
"Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, has come to thee O Israel."

Let us pause for a quiet moment .......... .let us think of what we most want to bring to our God.

An Act of Contrition
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help, To do penance, to sin no more,
And to avoid whatever lead me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ sufferedand died for us.
In his name, my God, have mercy. AMEN

Isaiah 63: 17 "Why do you let us wander, O Lord, from your way, and harden our hearts so that we fear you know? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage."
64:7 "Yet, O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands."

Peace and blessings to you through all this Advent journey
Judy

Forgiveness and 9/11

Here is a link to the prayer said by Pope Benedict at Ground Zero from the blog Whispers in the Loggia.  It is a fitting prayer to be read again on this day of remembrance.  How appropriate that our readings for today are centered around forgiveness.  Forgiveness is a hard thing, and we greatly need the grace of God to enter into the freedom that forgiving others offers.