You are here: Home / Archives for Isaiah

False Mercy

February 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
hands

Join us today at 3pm (CST) as we intercede for loved ones in need of God’s mercy. — False Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 7 The great sins of the world are superficial wounds on My Heart, but the sins of a chosen soul pierce My Heart through and through… (1702) Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness… (Isaiah 5:20-21) Father, grant us clarity as to what pleases You and what does not. Thank you for the clear witness of Scripture and the Church. Help us to discern ‘blind guides’; most importantly, help us to discern our own tendency to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Mercy and Healing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Prisoners of Hope

February 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment
prayer1

Join us today at 3pm (CST) as we intercede for loved ones in need of God’s mercy. — Prisoners of Hope 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 5 ‘In spite of everything, Jesus, I trust You in the face of every sentiment which sets itself against hope.’ (14) ‘In the time of my favor, I will answer you; on the day of salvation, I will help you…I will say to the captives, ‘Come out!’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’  (Isaiah 49:8-9) Who is like You, Father of Mercy? Even our sin is not stronger than Your Mercy. You woo us with a Love sweeter and stronger than any the world offers. In that Love, we … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Mercy and Healing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Faithful Mother for an Adulterous Generation

February 24, 2012 by 1 Comment
Vilnius square

Join us today at 3pm (CST) as we intercede for loved ones in need of God’s mercy. — Faithful Mother for an Adulterous Generation 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 3 ‘Rejoice, for you are closer to God in His mercy than a baby to its mother’s heart.’ (423) ‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all that He has made.’ (Psalm 145:8,9) ‘Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Mercy and Healing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No More Angels?

January 23, 2012 by 12 Comments
birthday

As I begin my 54th year (my birthday was January 13th), I am aware of a tendency to lock into familiar ways and to resist what is peculiar, untested by my experience. Wisdom? Nah…More likely the hardening of the arteries, the closing of the womb, that menopausal tendency in both men and women to rebuff angels and resist the new life they announce. I pray for the simple, elastic faith of Mary, Jesus’ mother; I marvel at her response to angel Gabriel. His announcement that she will become the mother of God troubles her, but she believes it. All she wants to know is: ‘How will this come about?’ She trusts God, even though it means … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Mercy and Healing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Gaze from the Cross, Part 2

October 31, 2011 by 2 Comments
cross

Day 17 of our 40 Days of Mercy Fast — The Gaze from the Cross, Part 2 (Please also read Part 1, Part 3 and Part 4) ‘Remember My Passion; if you don’t believe My Words, at least believe My wounds!’ (379) We meditate on the Cross, or Passion, of Jesus because His Cross is His most exquisite and profound manifestation of Mercy for us. St. Faustina says it best: ‘The greater the suffering, the purer the love.’ (53) He endured a slow, agonizing death to give us everything He had: His water for washing away our sin (or the burden of another’s), His blood as the source of our new life. Such Mercy deserves meditation. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Mercy and Healing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Reunion

April 4, 2010 by Leave a Comment

‘He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.’ (Mk 16:6) Resurrection is reunion: Jesus, torn from His Father, now returns to Him. Evil demanded payment: crucifixion, the vast distance between God and God. Love crossed over that gap, conquering sin and death. Resurrection is the ultimate Father/Son reunion. Every Easter, God extends to us a fresh invitation to reenter that reunion. Jesus descended into hell to get us out of there. He rose again into perfect union with His Father, that we might join Him there. His reunion with the Father becomes ours, His triumph over sin and death becomes ours. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Mercy and Healing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Discovering the Cross in Our Wounds

March 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment

During Holy Week, we pause to consider Jesus’ cross and the smaller one He asks us to carry. The goal? To know Him more. Perhaps He will invite you in these days to ‘keep watch with Him’ in His suffering. We take another step toward Calvary by considering the ways we have been sinned against. He has not suffered only for our sins and foolishness; His cross-walk had as much to do with the gaps and gashes we bear due to others’ sins. Isaiah 53:4, 5 says it best: ‘Surely He bore our grief, and carried our sorrows…and by His wounds, we are healed.’ He wants us to come to Him as readily with our wounds as with our sins. Why? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Mercy and Healing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

God’s Fast for His Justice

October 27, 2008 by Leave a Comment

A couple of weeks ago my good friend Peter Kockelman and I had the privilege of proclaiming the truth of God’s mercy to transform His broken image in humanity—right in the middle of the Castro, arguably San Francisco’s (and the country’s) most notorious gay district. After the church service, we ate in a restaurant of mostly gay clientele. Among them was a young man, sitting alone, desperately seeking the attention of other men. He looked in earnest, awaiting some masculine source of strength and tenderness to see him and initiate connection with him. No-one did. While he was leaving, I pursued him to bless him and let him know of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gay Marriage Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Repentance for Breaking Natural Boundaries

October 24, 2008 by Leave a Comment

In the Los Angeles earthquake of 1994, I witnessed power lines under and over ground breaking and igniting into flames. Showers of sparks flew from the broken lines as they lashed out, like huge snakes striking wildly at anything in their path. Broken power lines did more damage in our neighborhood than anything else. Like those damaged lines, we as a people are guilty of breaking natural boundaries in our relationships. We have scoffed at the 6th Commandment: ‘Thou shall not commit adultery.’ Not only have we refused marriage as the one context for sexual behavior, we have allowed our minds and hearts to be filled with lustful thoughts … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gay Marriage Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,