Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

13 February 2022

Paul teaches us that, united to Christ through faith and in baptism, we are united in his death and resurrection.  With Christ we die to sin; with him we rise to a new life.  We cannot wait to see proof of our transformation before we change our actions.  The proof is in the lives we live in faith.  To deny that we have died and been raised is to deny the resurrection of Christ.  Paul insists that they cannot be separated.  The challenge is to live in and out of this faith.

Both Jeremiah and Jesus introduce us to such a way of living.  It is a way of paradox, a way that moves us beyond the self-centred standards of the world.  The poor, the hungry, those who weep, and those who are persecuted are really the ones who are blessed.  The victims of our social and economic systems, those who have been ravaged by war or have been made vulnerable by life itself are the ones who, if they place their trust in God, will be blessed in the end.  They may appear to be the outcasts of this world, but, if they are filled with faith, they will inherit heaven.  The wealth of this world and its pleasures are not the blessings that we might think they are.  They can blind us to the real values of life and prevent us from dying to the world and living resurrected lives in Christ.

© Dianne Bergant CSA

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

20 February 2022

Perhaps one of the most difficult lessons to learn is forgiveness of those whom we consider our enemies, those who have wronged us. As challenging as this may be, the Gospel calls us to a very high standard: we must be merciful as God is merciful. If such perfection can become a reality in our lives, we will be able to forgive. Paul assures us that we can indeed attain such perfection, not by ourselves, but through the power of the risen Lord whose image we bear.

Paul plays with the theology of creation. In the beginning, we were made like the first Adam, earthly, limited, weak, concerned about the things of this world, and committed to our own well being. Through baptism we have been fashioned after the image of the second Adam, Christ the risen Lord. Being like Christ, we become Godlike, empowered with his saving power, transformed with him into new beings. It is now in our power, which is really the power of the resurrection, to be merciful as God is merciful. In the risen Lord we experience a mystical transformation. From now on, all of our actions can flow from this new reality.

Transformed by the power of the resurrection, we are capable of unprecedented good works. We can live without retaliation; we can render good for evil. We can be prodigal in our generosity toward others; we can relinquish any rights of proprietorship that we might enjoy. We can live with others without unfairly judging them. We can be like God, boundless in our forgiveness.

© Dianne Bergant CSA

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

27 February 2022

Today’s gospel is made up of three separate teachings of Jesus that have been put together by the gospel writer to convey a particular message. When taken together, the three teachings all shed light on the way believers influence one another in community. It is a call to witness to one another through actions as well as words. Before we seek to teach another we must ensure we have adequately learned the lesson ourselves. We must be self-appraising before we critique another. Finally, our actions towards one another are a reflection of our intentions; good actions come from goodness of the heart.

Ash Wednesday

2 March 2022

Lent opens with readings that call us to penance. However, this penance must be understood within its proper context. Penance is really an attempt to correct what is upset, to repair what is broken, to atone for the wrong done. Penance must spring from a contrite heart or acts of penance can be merely external feats of endurance.

Nothing that we do can reconcile us with God. No penance, regardless of its severity, can repair a ruptured covenant bond. Only the mercy and graciousness of God can accomplish this. And God has accomplished it in the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was God’s love for sinners that prompted such a magnanimous display of divine love. Through Jesus, the entire world has been reconciled to God. Now, each individual has the opportunity to be reconciled. Penance and acts of devotion are ways of benefiting from the treasury of divine mercy and love. They do not buy reconciliation; it has already been purchased.

Almsgiving and fasting and prayer are honoured ways of changing whatever prevents us from drinking from the streams of divine grace. Almsgiving reminds us of the covenant bond that joins us with each other and of the social responsibilities that accompany it. Fasting sensitises us to the dependence we have on the natural world. It also curbs our insatiable desire for more and more. Prayer unites us with God, the source of our being and our merciful covenant partner.

© Dianne Bergant CSA