Dad’s Lenten Blog

Thoughts during Lent

Tag: lent

  • The Perfect Fit

     He was the perfect fit.

    Saint Paul, then called Saul, could not have a better resume. He was a Pharisee, he was wealthy and interestingly enough, a Roman citizen. This man dedicated his life to killing and torturing as many Christians as he could find. Who better to be the chief persecutor.

    I’m sure he gained fame with both the Romans and the Pharisees for his pursuits. He also must’ve struck fear wherever he went. If I close my eyes and think back to what life must’ve been like in Israel at that time. I can imagine very simple and probably hard life. it seems to me that whole family would probably work to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.

    It’s in these homes I think the Christianity took hold. These fortunate people more than likely heard the words of Jesus personally. How life-changing, how impactful, how extraordinary that must’ve been. But now think of what it would’ve been like a year, or two years after Jesus was crucified. Those who believed knew that Jesus had conquered death in His Resurrection. It was in this belief that their lives were transformed. “ Love thy neighbor, as I have loved you“, took on  a new meaning. I just have to believe that all of those early Christians would’ve stood out in a crowd. Peaceful, caring, tolerant, loving, hopeful. Qualities that may have set them apart from non-believers.

    Easy prey.

    And Saint Paul (Saul) was ruthless. We just get a snippet of his persecution of those early disciples of Jesus. But I imagine he targeted not just men, but women and children, whole families. Torture and death. He probably thought by this path of cruelty, these Christians will eventually fade away.

    It’s just an incredible event. Really think about it. That Jesus, soon after his Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, chooses maybe one of the most important figures in the early church. Who is that person He chooses, Saint Paul, ( Saul ). Of all the people, all the early disciples, even the first apostles, Jesus chose him.

    Of course, we know the story of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. Now, think about several weeks later after his conversion. Paul goes and visits  the first apostles. Peter, James, John, all of them knew this man and what he had done. Can you even conceive of their astonishment at his conversion? I could just imagine him going to Peter and asking for confession.

    We just don’t know how God can turn suffering into good. We don’t know why God chooses people like Saint Paul. But by Saint Paul’s example, we can be confident in one thing. Jesus can open even the most hardened heart.

    We don’t know how many years he lived after his conversion, but we do know Saint Paul became one of the most important apostles, certainly the most prolific. He went out and preached the Gospel for many years under intense persecution. All of the people, Jews and non-Jews alike, would have known of his past. And as they listened to this man preach the good news they must’ve hung on every word.

    It’s amazing how God works because……… he was the perfect fit.

  • Waiting

    Something struck me at Mass on Sunday. It was the Transfiguration gospel. It was when at that when at the top of the mountain Elijah and Moses appeared in front of Jesus, they began to speak to each other.

    We are not told of the conversation.

    Here’s the thing. There were no mortal souls in heaven. Every human being ever born from the beginning of time was waiting for the Resurrection of Jesus to enter to heaven. There is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ.  So all the souls of those who had  departed the earth were waiting , anticipating, hoping and I have to believe, praying. 

    So what could’ve been this conversation between Moses and Elijah and Jesus? Neither Moses or Elijah were in heaven. They must’ve known that Jesus’s mission was unfolding. That heavens gate would soon be opened.

    There was a famous visionary named Anne Catherine Emmerick in the 17th century who is had visions of the Passion of Christ. Much of Mel Gibson’s movie was based on those visions. 

    In one story I had read, Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane and, as we all know, in great anguish of about what was going to happen.

    She described her vision and said, “Jesus, in his great agony, turned and saw the multitude of souls on their knees, praying for Him.” I don’t know why that is always stuck with me when I picture Him there in the garden, but it has. He knew He would be abandoned by his closest friends and followers. The pain and burden about to placed on Him. Maybe that sight fortified Him in some way. 

    How many hundreds or thousands of years were those souls anticipating this moment not fully understanding its magnitude. From the simplest of people to the great prophets. Maybe Jesus told Moses and Elijah to go back and tell all the souls to prepare.?

    Where did Jesus go for three days between His death and Resurrection? We say, in the Creed, that after his death, he descended into hell. But it is not the hell of eternal damnation. It was the dwelling place for  those souls. 

    All the souls who had been waiting.