Making a Joyful Noise through Holy Week – 04/15/2014

Making a Joyful Noise through Holy Week – 04/15/2014

“What kind of love would not feel the need to speak of the beloved, to point him out, to make him known? If we do not feel an intense desire to share this love, we need to pray insistently that he will once more touch our hearts. We need to implore his grace daily, asking him to open our cold hearts and shake up our lukewarm and superficial existence. Standing before him with open hearts, letting him look at us, we see that gaze of love which Nathaniel glimpsed on the day when Jesus said to him: “I saw you under the fig tree” (John 1:48). How good it is to stand before a crucifix, or on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament, and simply to be in his presence! How much good it does us when he once more touches our lives and impels us to share his new life!” (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium: The Joy of the Gospel)

Pope Francis’ words today remind us of our challenge these Holy Days and in life. They remind us what we have to do so that we don’t become like Judas, Peter and the other disciples. They remind us not to give up on, betray, deny or run away from Jesus!

Troublemakers and troubleshooters are two very different types of people. Troublemakers are those people who create anxiety, frustration, agitation and cause calamity. Troubleshooters are those people who have the ability to identify, locate and eliminate the source of the disturbance. In today’s Gospel (John 13: 21-33, 36-38) Judas is a troublemaker and Jesus is a troubleshooter.

In the Gospel we are told that Jesus is deeply troubled and as we read on and picture the scene we quickly understand why. The scene today is the Last Supper and Jesus is aware of the events ahead of him. He knows that Judas will betray him and in the midst of the supper Jesus sends him on his way. We all know what it feels like to lose a friend. We invest time, effort, our emotions and feelings only to have the person move on, decide that we are not worth the time, effort and trouble. Jesus has given three years to Judas and Judas needs to move on.

Jesus has given three years to all of his disciples yet he knows they will all run away before the night is over. One of his closest friends, Peter, will deny that he knows Jesus even though we listen to his bold statement of loyalty in the Gospel. Yes, it is a troubling time for Jesus.

However, unlike the troublemaker Judas, Jesus does not run away. He identifies the problem, the struggle, the difficulty. Jesus realizes that humankind has “fallen from love.” That is our original sin; we have fallen from God’s love. Jesus the troubleshooter is going to restore the gift of that love by his journey to the cross the empty tomb. Jesus set us free to embrace the mystery of God’s love. It is up to us to turn away from sin but through the action of Jesus, the troubleshooter, we are given the chance to once again “fall in love with God!”

As we journey through this day let us remember what Jesus has done for us. Let us look at the cross and “fall in love once again!”

Have a blessed Tuesday of Holy Week and remember to make a joyful noise with your life today!

Daily Holy Week Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank you for your great love. We are sorry for having troubled you by not embracing, by rejecting, by denying, by betraying your love. Help us to be people of hope, to be people of joy, to be people of faith. Help us to be people who fall in love with you again! You know the weakness of our human hearts. Grace us with hearts alive with your joy filled love. Gift us with faith filled spirits that will help us to make good choices as we journey through this life to the mystery of your everlasting love! Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: Let us run with a spirit of gratefulness. Before we begin our run let us declare our intentions to look upon all we encounter with the freshness of the unexpected. The let us run with a sense of miraculous expectation and allow our feelings of gratitude for the extraordinary and the ordinary to flow through our beings. (Adapted from Running the Spiritual Path by Roger Joslin)

Daily Blessing: Blessings on this Tuesday of Holy Week everyone! I hope your day is starting out well. It looks like rain here and they say we will be getting a little cooler over the next few days. I have to say I really enjoyed the last few days, the sun, the warmth. Hopefully this coolness will not last too long. It would be nice to see the sun and feel the warmth again on Easter Sunday! Whether your day is warm and sunny or rainy may it be one touch by God’s joy!

Our retreat here at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish is moving along very nicely. Yesterday’s journey was spirit filled again and a nice crowd gathered in the evening. I am looking forward to this third and final day of retreat here before heading home tonight. Your continued prayers for the community of faith here and their preacher are greatly appreciated!

I hope your taxes are done!

My prayer asking for God’s blessing is that you will all have a great day. One filled with many blessings. If you are encountering a bad day take a moment to remember that you are in my prayers and that God does love you. Perhaps that pause will help to turn the tide from a bad day to a good one. I pray that all of you will be rich in the special graces of this most holy of weeks and extravagant love of God will touch your life in many life giving ways today. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul