Laws of Love

Sunday, May 18, 2008
1st Reading: Exodus 34:4 – 9
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11 – 13
Gospel: John 3:16 – 18

The first reading this week is an image familiar to us, Moses going up to Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from God. Upon reaching the top of the Mt. God appears before Moses and says, “‘The Lord, a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger rich in kindness and faithfulness.”

We live in a world where no one wants to have to “live by the rules” and everyone wants to be their own God, their own boss. Therefore, when the world looks at Catholics who live by the “rules” of the Ten Commandments, it scoffs at us and tells us that we need to claim our independence and live free from the burden of such rules. Yet, when we hear the first reading this week what we find is that the world fails to understand our God at all and succeeds only in lying to us.

Moses receives the Ten Commandments, our “rules” or “laws” to live by, and in the very next sentence God tells him that He is a Lord of TENDERNESS and COMPASSION, who is SLOW TO ANGER, and who is KIND and FAITHFUL to His people!!! What does this mean? It means that God gives us laws to live by because He loves us, because He wants the best for our lives, and because He knows that we need them. God did not give the Ten Commandments to Moses and then say, “Now, go and live under this burden because I said so.” God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses then reminded him of His deep love and compassion. When we realize that God gives us rules to live by because He loves us then these “laws” no longer seem to us as laws, but rather guideposts of compassion given to us so that we can reach our ultimate goal, heaven. Suddenly, we see that freedom, the very thing our world claims the “rules” of the Church takes away from us, is in fact the very thing that we gain from obeying them!

We cannot allow the world to lie to us, and we cannot fall into the trap of believing that God’s laws are merely tasks for us to complete in order to avoid hell. In the Gospel this week we will hear, “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.” Obeying the Church is not about fear of hell, but rather it is about LOVE. In the next sentence we hear, “For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.” The laws of God are not meant to be a dividing line for condemnation, you’re either on the good side or the bad side – NO, God didn’t send His Son to condemn the world but to SAVE the world. God sent His only Son so that we would have an example of holiness, because He loves us and wants to share eternity with us. So in love, we look to Jesus as our model of holiness and follow His ways, not as burdensome laws, but as pathways to freedom.

I leave you with the words of St. Paul from the second reading: “try to grow perfect; help one another. Be united; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” We have a God of love, and together by following His plans for us we will grow perfect in holiness and live with Him for eternity.

May our great God of love bless and keep you this week as you obey Him in all things.

In Jesus through Mary,
Hollie

Mary, Spouse of the Spirit

Her Role in our Pentecost

Sunday was Pentecost – the day when the Holy Spirit fell upon the apostles. Sunday the Church prayed for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit – we prayed that the Holy Spirit would fill us more completely, that He would live in our hearts.


What does it mean for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit? To be filled, first we have to be OPEN. Do we grasp what this truly means? Who can we look to as an example?


Let’s back track in time from Pentecost to the Annunciation – the first moment when the Holy Spirit is truly welcomed into an OPEN recipient – MARY. At the Annunciation, Mary is open to God working in her. She conceives Jesus, the Son of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary is the first tabernacle of Jesus, and the first one to be filled with His Holy Spirit! Why is this great privilege given to her? Because she has been chosen by God, and she is open. Like Mary, God wants us to be His tabernacles. He wants us to carry Jesus inside of us. Not in our wombs like Mary, but in our hearts. In order to truly carry Jesus within us we must be open to His Holy Spirit. Like Mary, we must always be ready with open hearts to receive more of the Holy Spirit and to allow Him to live more fully inside of us – to fill us!


Fast forward to the day of Pentecost, the disciples are gathered in the upper room and they are praying. Do you know who is with them? MARY. Mary is with the disciples on that day that the Holy Spirit fills them, and she is praying with them when it happens! Does Mary need the Holy Spirit to fall upon her? She has already been filled with Him at the Annunciation, she is sinless and full of grace! No, Mary is in the upper room with the disciples that night because she plays in intimate role of interceding for the coming of the Holy Spirit!!!! Like the apostles, God wants us to gather together in community and pray for the outpouring of His Spirit – and He wants us to do it with His Mother!


The Church has given her the name of Mary, Spouse of the Spirit, because in cooperation with Him she conceived the Lord, Jesus lived within her. So also today, she works in cooperation with the Spirit so that WE might conceive the Lord in our hearts, so that He might live within us. So this week, the week after Pentecost, may we turn our eyes to the example of our Mother Mary. May we be open to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we might bear Jesus in the world. May we ask her to intercede for us, that she who knew the Holy Spirit so intimately will direct His path into our hearts.


Come Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit.


“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.”


Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.





In Jesus through Mary,
Hollie