Daily Reading and Meditation
Thursday (1/15): "People came to Jesus from every quarter"
Scripture: Mark 1:40-45
40 And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.
Meditation: Do you seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith? No one who sought Jesus out was refused his help. Even the untouchables and the outcasts of Jewish society found help in him. Unlike the people of Jesus' time who fled at the sight of a leper, Jesus touched the leper who approached him and he made him whole and clean. Why was this so remarkable? Lepers were outcasts of society. They were driven from their homes and communities and left to fend for themselves. Their physical condition was terrible as they slowly lost the use of their limbs and withered away. They were not only shunned but regarded as "already dead" even by their relatives. The Jewish law forbade anyone from touching or approaching a leper, lest ritual defilement occur.
This leper did something quite remarkable. He approached Jesus confidently and humbly, expecting that Jesus could and would heal him. Normally a leper would be stoned or at least warded off if he tried to come near a rabbi. Jesus not only grants the man his request, but he demonstrates the personal love, compassion, and tenderness of God in his physical touch. The medical knowledge of his day would have regarded such contact as grave risk for incurring infection. Jesus met the man's misery with compassion and tender kindness. He communicated the love and mercy of God in a sign that spoke more eloquently than words. He touched the man and made him clean – not only physically but spiritually as well.
How do you approach those who are difficult to love, or who are shunned by others because they are deformed or have some defect? Do you show them kindness and offer them mercy and help as Jesus did? The Lord is always ready to show us his mercy and to free us from whatever makes us unclean, unapproachable, or unloving towards others.
Lord Jesus, inflame my heart with your love and make me clean and whole in body, mind, and spirit. May I never doubt your love nor cease to tell others of your mercy and compassion."
Psalm 44: 10-11, 14-15, 25-26
10 Thou hast made us turn back from the foe; and our enemies have gotten spoil.
11 Thou hast made us like sheep for slaughter, and hast scattered us among the nations.
14 Thou hast made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face,
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our body cleaves to the ground.
26 Rise up, come to our help! Deliver us for the sake of thy steadfast love!
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(c) 2009 Don Schwager
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Retreating to Take My Own Medicine
Each year Catholic priests make a personal retreat. It’s a time to bring their hopes, fears, and prayers to Jesus.
The retreat is not a helpful suggestion; it’s a mandate enforced by canon law. Making a retreat is serious stuff. The reason is simple: we can become so busy that we forget the most important thing we can do in life is pray.
Families tell me how difficult it is to make time for family prayers, weekly Mass, and even to remember to say grace before meals. If you followed along last year, you will remember how busy it was for us with travels for speaking engagements, taping new web shows, meetings, writing a weekly column, and most important, my day job doing formation work for seminarians. Believe me; I had all kinds of excuses for pushing my retreat to the last minute.
But, with the grace of God I finally fulfilled my 2008 annual retreat obligation. The last day of my retreat was December 30th, 2008. Talk about pushing the limits!
When the seminarians returned from their Christmas break, they began this year with their retreat, led by Fr. Raneiro Cantalmessa, who is the Apostolic Preacher to the Papal Household. That means Fr. Cantalamessa preaches to the Pope and all the Bishops who live in Vatican.
My retreat and the seminarians’ retreat offered similar themes for reflection, which I’d like to share with the Grace Before Meals family.
One theme was focus on Jesus. It may seem simple, but it’s quite a lofty challenge. My retreat afforded me the quiet to remember Jesus for who He is: God, the Lord of my life. That can be a very difficult thing to fully live. We love to take charge of everything, sometimes forgetting the first commandment. God is God, not me. Fr. Cantalamessa observed that worldly discussions, whether political, sociological, scientific, or even ecumenical can downplay Jesus Christ. Somehow Jesus remains a very challenging figure for us. Just consider Christmas; Is it really about the person of Jesus or more about celebrating a happy holiday? Wouldn’t it be difficult for people today to sincerely say, “I hope you have a blessed Christmas.” Fr. Cantalmessa’s point accurately describes our “God-lessening” society. Our busy lives, bad company, expensive or time consuming hobbies, and our own sins can easily distract our focus on the person of Jesus Christ. That’s why retreats and taking time for substantial prayer is very helpful to regain our focus on the most important person in our faith life.
A second theme was the idea of eating. On my retreat, I had a small kitchenette to cook all of my meals because the retreat center’s food service was closed. I actually preferred that because I created some fun, rustic, and soul satisfying food, such as a pan-roasted rib eye with root veggies and fresh romaine salad.
I honestly sensed God’s encouragement to take this Grace Before Meals movement seriously. I realize that many people may think what I’m doing is just for fun. I’ve even heard people call it a “priest shtick.” But, people are truly hungry in body, mind, and spirit, and we have a responsibility to feed them with faith, hope, and love. This retreat made me refocus my efforts to make sure that we continue to promote this movement, which is now worldwide. I even used the retreat to finish the first draft of my newest book, Spicing Up Married Life, which contains a combination of essays, questions, and recipes to strengthen a couple’s love for each other. So, eating was an important part of my own retreat.
Fr. Cantalamessa also used this theme when he challenged the men to make sure that seminarians are “eating the scroll,” a reference to Ezekial 3:3. It’s not enough to just study theology; we must digest it and take it into ourselves as nutrients from food adhere to our very bodies. He encouraged seminarians not only live in God’s Word, but by eating the scroll we allow His Word to live in us.
When I heard him preach like that I wanted to stand up and cheer.
Retreats give individuals and families an opportunity to reconfirm faith. In retreats, we receive clarity in our concerns. The quiet of the retreat brings us closer to knowing, loving, and serving Jesus Christ. I’ll be leading a few retreats and conferences this year. Check out the Events page of the website for details on joining us for these extended moments of prayer. If you want to make a spiritual pilgrimage with me, please know I have a few spots available for the trip. We begin in Lourdes, France and make our way to Rome, Italy. Come and join us.Click here for the information.
In these first few weeks of the New Year, there’s still time to look ahead and plan for some retreat opportunities this year (including my trip to Europe).
When I write these weekly blasts, I’m always encouraging families to make sure they have a balanced diet of activities, including time for prayer. I took my own advice and made the time to go on my retreat last year. Even though it’s tough to break away from the hectic pace of the modern world, I’m so glad I did. This retreat left me very satisfied and even hungrier to seek God’s love in my life and to share it with all of you.
Rustic Retreat Cuisine
As mentioned before, I had the chance to cook on my retreat. Don’t worry, I didn’t eat all of this myself. I was cooking for me and another priest friend, Fr. Tim, who occupied the cabin next door. He remembered eating my cooking when I was a student in Rome, but hasn’t had the chance to sample my cuisine lately. Here are some of my menu items: pan-roasted bone-in rib eye steaks with roasted root vegetables and romaine lettuce vinaigrette. Another evening I made penne with norcina sauce (creamy white wine, sage, and sausage) with a side of sautéed spinach and red onions.
I also made a stuffed chicken cutlet over spicy tomato rice and steamed broccoli and carrots with a paprika aoli.
The rest of the time, I ate leftovers.
Click here for the stuffed chicken recipe
If you have any recipes, pictures, or stories to share, please pass them along to www.gracebeforemeals.com.
Spirit of the Living God
Fr. Cantalamessa shared some of his spiritual renewal experience through the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in America during the 1970s. This much needed life and breath of Catholic spirituality helped many people focus on the Holy Spirit to truly know the enthusiastic power of God in our lives. During his last homily, he led us in singing a song that asks for the Holy Spirit to fall afresh on us. At the end of the retreat, the Rector spoke about the privilege it was for all of us, especially seminarians, to listen to the Pope’s preacher. Both the Rector (left) and our house spiritual director (right), agreed that this retreat was like sitting at the foot of a spiritual master.
Let us Pray:
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me. Mold me. Fill me. Use me.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on us.
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