Manifesting Jesus

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for July 28th – August 2nd, 2014
Ordinary Time

Liturgical texts here

PAUSE, take a moment, and reset your soul. By this, I mean, remind yourself that this is all real. That God exists; that there are angels around you, saints praying for you, and a Mother who has been sent to lead you into battle. Take a moment… think of those inexplicable miracles in your life and others that have been sure signs of God’s activity, from the gift of this morning’s sunrise to even the more dramatic of physical cures… the “miracle of the sun” witnessed by tens of thousands at Fatima… the stigmata of saints like Pio… the Eucharistic miracles… the incorruptible bodies of saints… the “near-death” testimonies… the transformation of great sinners into saints… the quiet miracles that God constantly does in your life by renewing His mercies toward you each morning.

Pause and do this, and often, because one of the tricks of Satan as time accelerates ^[1]cf. Time, Time, Time... is to obscure these truths in a flurry of noise, distractions, sensual delights, trials, and divisions that cause us to “forget” the blessings of God and put one into “survival mode,” living only for the temporal rather than the eternal. Resist these temptations! The best way to do this is to recollect yourself throughout the day ^[2]cf. Recollection and sit at the feet of Jesus.

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her. (Tuesday’s Opt. Gospel)

We need to slow down and recognize something beautiful that the Blessed Mother has been commissioned to accomplish in all of her children in these times. It is really nothing new, it’s just that it is more urgent than it has ever been—and that is to bring about the manifestation of Jesus in us, which will usher in a new dawn in the Church and the world. ^[3]cf. The Rising Morning Star

In the Old Testament, the Father sent prophets to proclaim His word to the people that would prepare them for the coming of the definitive Word, Jesus.

The Son is his Father’s definitive Word; so there will be no further Revelation after him. —Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), n. 73

This does not mean that prophecy nor prophets would come to an end, only that their nature would change. ^[4]cf. Prophecy Properly Understood Instead of revealing a new word, the prophets of the New Testament reveal the Word. And every one of us is called to this prophetic witness, as we all share in the “prophetic, priestly, and kingly offices of Christ.” ^[5]CCC, n. 1291

So how do we each “prophesy” to the world?

Last week, we were meditating on St. Paul’s “theology of saint-making.” ^[6]see Persevere In summary, he says, we are to be…

…always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. (2 Cor 4:10)

The prophets of the New Testament in essence become the Word. They manifest Jesus in their actions, words, their very presence. By dying to the pursuit of comfort, wealth, power, fame, material possessions; by bearing up our daily cross of sufferings; by remaining in communion with Jesus through prayer and the sacraments; and by keeping His commandments, we will manifest Jesus “in our body.” But rather than see this as a heavy list of “To do’s”, it is moreso a simple matter of becoming like a spiritual child in all things by putting the Kingdom first before absolutely everything else.

The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. (Wednesday’s Gospel)

It is this complete surrender of my will for the will of God that draws the life of Jesus into my soul.

…every day in the prayer of the Our Father we ask the Lord: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10)…. we recognize that “heaven” is where the will of God is done, and that “earth” becomes  “heaven”—i.e., the place of the presence of love, of goodness, of truth and of divine beauty—only if on earth the will of God is done. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, General Audience, February 1st, 2012, Vatican City

Our hearts are that “earth” where His will must first be accomplished in order that the soul becomes the dwelling place of Christ:

Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. (John 14:23)

Even so, what I am speaking of transcends actions and words, necessary as they are. A truly prophetic life is a manifestation of invisible Light. It is a Light that penetrates souls without a word spoken; a Light that illuminates spiritual darkness; a Light that casts warmth and wisdom through the fog of human reasoning; a Light that is a “sign of contradiction” amidst a world that follows false light. The miracle, is that this Light shines through “earthen vessels”: poor and humble souls… like Mary.

A light this powerful cannot come from ourselves but from a more primordial source: in a word, it must come from God. —POPE FRANCIS, Lumen Fidei, Encyclical, n. 4 (co-written with Benedict XVI); vatican.va

It is a work of the Holy Spirit with Mary. For it was the Holy Spirit and Mary who produced Jesus in the flesh, and together, they continue to reproduce Jesus in souls.

And so now, Mary is leading us, like an army, to prepare to receive the Holy Spirit as though in a “new Pentecost” so that we will become living flames of love. Divine Providence has placed her at the front because she was the prototype of everything I’ve just written. She is, you could say, the mirror of God’s plan. See yourself also in this passage:

Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God, is the masterwork of the mission of the Son and the Spirit in the fullness of time. For the first time in the plan of salvation and because his Spirit had prepared her, the Father found the dwelling place where his Son and his Spirit could dwell among men… In her, the “wonders of God” that the Spirit was to fulfill in Christ and the Church began to be manifested…In Mary, the Holy Spirit fulfills the plan of the Father’s loving goodness. Through the Holy Spirit, the Virgin conceives and gives birth to the Son of God… In Mary, the Holy Spirit manifests the Son of the Father, now become the Son of the Virgin. She is the burning bush of the definitive theophany. Filled with the Holy Spirit she makes the Word visible... —CCC, n. 721-724

This week’s readings end with the beheading of John the Baptist; the Light, my friends, also exposes and convicts—and the worldly, Jesus said, prefer the darkness. ^[7]cf. John 3:19 Nonetheless, even the darkness itself is permitted by Divine Providence so that the Light becomes more evident. We need only follow the example and teaching of our Blessed Mother who is leading us now to a unified witness that will blind Satan…

I want to share the following alleged messages with you since, as I was preparing to write this, these words came to my email box…

…to follow me means to love my Son above everything, to love Him in every person without making differences. For you to be able to do this, I call you anew to renunciation, prayer and fasting. I am calling you for the Eucharist to be the life of your soul. I am calling you to be my apostles of light who will spread love and mercy through the world… In order to spread love in the right way, I am asking my Son, through love, to grant you unity through Him, unity among you, unity between you and your shepherds.—Our Lady of Medjugorje, allegedly to Mirjana, August 2nd, 2014

Do not become disturbed by the darkness which has spread about, because this is part of the plan of my Adversary; it is on the other hand part of my own victorious plan, namely that of dispelling the darkness so that the light may everywhere return. And the light will shine resplendently throughout creation when it will once again sing the love and glory of God, following on the defeat of every form of atheism and of proud rebellion. The light of truth, of fidelity and of unity will once again shine fully in the Church. My Son Jesus will manifest Himself fully in such a way that the Church will become light for all the nations of the earth. I will make the light of grace shine in souls. The Holy Spirit will communicate Himself to them in superabundance, in order to lead them to the perfection of love… —Our Lady allegedly to Fr. Stefano Gobbi, To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons, “The Time of Battle”, n. 200, May 13th, 1980

I will sing of your strength and revel at dawn in your mercy… (Wednesday’s Psalm)

RELATED READING

• Call of the Prophets!

• The Convergence and the Blessing

• The Rising Morning Star