4 Dreams of St. Joseph (2023-03-20, St. Joseph Day)

● March 20, 2023 ● St. Joseph ●  ● 2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 ● Psalm   89  ● Romans 4:13, 16-18 ●  Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a ● 

 [__00-a__]   With the coming of Jesus as servant who is willing to give up his life for sinners, we see a new standard ---  for what it means for “father” and “son” to cooperate with each other.

          Being a son, I have a father. I have not always cooperated with him. There were times I “failed to cooperate” with him.

          Did you ever “fail to cooperate” with your mother or fail to cooperate with your father?

[__00-b__]   One of the ways in which we seek to imitate Joseph and reason we pray for his intercession is because he cooperated with God in a profound way, becoming the foster father of the 2^nd person of the trinity, Jesus, the incarnate son of God.

          We pray and praise “Joseph most obedient…”

          Joseph was obedient also as a “mediator” and “model” for Jesus.

          We read in the Gospel of John: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that all who believe in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16).

          God the Father gave his only Son. Joseph – in a parallel – also gave his only Son to the world.

          Father Ronald Knox, a British priest and writer, observed that Joseph and Mary raised their son not only as their own , but also to give him away to the whole world.

[__00-c__]    Have you ever given your son or your daughter away?   To enable your child to grow up, to be educated, to get married, to choose his or own way, this involves “giving the child away.”

          We also use the term especially in marriage “to give one’s daughter away.”

          But, I suggest the same applies to parents more generally.

          To anyone in charge of raising a young person.

          You are preparing to give the child away.

          But, the mystery here is that you and the child do not lose connection with each other, but actually can grow stronger.

[__00-d__]    God the Father gave away his Son to die for sinners. But everything Jesus did was to honor his Father in Heaven.

          And, the 4^th commandment teaches all of us to honor your father and mother. This honoring does not simply mean going to bed at a particular hour or doing your homework.

          Honoring and obeying and cooperating with one’s parents is something we are called to do in our pursuit of virtue, whether our parents are near or far, living or deceased.

          To honor and to obey.

 

 

[__04.01__]     These days, we strive to raise children – and cultive in ourselves being INTELLIGENT, PHYSICALLY STRONG, and having  CHARACTER.

          It goes without saying that we would want all of these things in a child – INTELLIGENCE, STRENGTH and CHARACTER.

          But, do we think in terms of raising children – or being ourselves “obedient”?

          Is being “obedient“ a virtue to you? to me?

          It sounds antiquated and old fashioned to say that “obedience” is a virtue. In other words, it sounds as though the obedient person is just a programmable robot or a drone.  And, as we know, robots can break down and drones can be shot down.

          However, in a biblical Gospel sense, being obedient to God’s word is what will help you and to have INTELLIGENCE, STRENGTH, CHARACTER.

I’d like to touch on these 3 virtues of INTELLIGENCE, STRENGTH, CHARACTER as they relate to Joseph’s 4 dreams and Joseph’s obedience.

1^st. “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.”  (INTELLIGENCE)

          Right there, in the beginning, we see the possibility that Joseph might be getting “cold feet”, getting scared and may want to excuse himself from the vow to take Mary as his wife.

          Now, there are interpretations of this dream that suggest Joseph was actually afraid because he thought of Mary as too virtuous – too good for him…and that is why he wanted to divorce her quietly.

          That is not a bad theory, but I suggest it does not leave space to consider that Joseph was still possibly – AFRAID.

          Just a bit.

          When I am afraid, I want an excuse not to do something.

          Do you ever – out of fear – try to excuse yourself or get away?

          The message here is that “fear” and other emotions can coexist. Fear does not have to be winner or the victor.

          It is possible for “love” to be underdog winner here. And, I suggest we are called to use our INTELLIGENCE here.

          I am often tempted to use my INTELLIGENCE to find ways not to obey God or to get around the commandments.

          It is also possible to apply oneself and use intelligence to work through our fears, to consider alternate possibilities and to listen to God.

          Intelligence helps us to cooperate, to obey God.

2^nd dream: “Rise, take the child and go to Egypt.”   (CHARACTER)

          Why Egypt? This was a good place to escape the evil King Herod. But Egypt – in biblical history – was a place of “rescue” …

          It was a place of rescue because the book-of-Genesis “Joseph” lived there and became the rescuer of his father and family during a time of hunger/famine. The rescue was also part of a great reconciliation in which the book-of-Genesis Joseph forgave his brothers for having sold him into slavery.

          Joseph in the book of Genesis demonstrates a great character and mercy towards his brothers to whom he very easily could have despised and hated.

The rescue in Egypt – in Genesis / Exodus – shows God’s character.

It also forms the Gospel Joseph’s character and part of Jesus’ character to forgive those who abandoned him.

This forgiveness was not just Jesus’ “generous” choice. It was also an act of obedient service.

Have you ever considered that God wants you to forgive others not to show how great you are, but how great He is?

          That’s character. Obedience.

[__05__]   3^rd and 4^th dreams. Take the child and go back to Nazareth. Go back by another route.   (STRENGTH)

          Joseph is now called home, told to return home and then told again to go back by a different route.

          In his own deathbed speech in Deuteronomy, Moses said this to the people who were going into the Promised land, the same destination as JMJ:   “So keep all the commandments I give you today, that you may be strong enough to enter in and take possession of the land that you are crossing over to possess”  (Deuteronomy 11:8)

          It takes strength to love God, love your neighbor as you yourself.

          Sometimes, it is easy to forget or omit or figure that “loving God” is going to be the corollary or device output as long as I check all the boxes of loving my neighbor, spouse, children and – not to mention – my enemies.

          Yes, it’s possible that loving God will be the logical outcome

          But, we also are called to recognize that God is our strength.

          God is leading us. To love God first of all.

          And, this is particularly important in Christian marriage and the sacrament of matrimony for a wife and husband.

          For the wife and husband are joined not only to be strong and have strength for each other to love and honor each other.

          Yes, that is true.

          In a similar way, a priest “called Father” is called to love and honor the people he serves.

          I am called to this, but my role in doing so is not just to judge whether or not you like what I am doing. There is a higher standard. To love God first of all.

          Parallel – we love our parents not just because they are nice to us today – but because they gave us life. We want to love them be blessed by them. Anything else is a curse!

          It is a blessing to love God as Father and to do so first of all.

          It also helps avoid being caught up in seeking love in the all the wrong places.

          Have you ever been tempted to do what is right just to get more “likes”?

          A husband or wife might be tempted to do the same.

          But, marriage and the Christian call us to love God …also to follow the interior voice of God which for Jesus came in his 4 dreams.

          These 4 dreams led him to back by a different route.

          Listening to the Holy Spirit, we are also tapping into the virtues intelligence, of character and of strength so as to cooperate with God and to follow the example of Joseph, most obedient.     St. Joseph, pray for us.  [__end__]

The Man Born Blind (2023-03-19 - Sunday 11:30 am Mass)

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[Ver. 03 ]   2023. 03.19.  4^th Sunday Lent    ●● 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a ●● Psalm 23 ●● Ephesians 5:8-14 ●●  John 9:1-41 ●●    

Title:   The Man Born Blind (Sunday 11:30 am Mass)

[__00_]   Regarding perseverance and persistence, have you ever heard this quote from NBA basketball great Michael Jordan . Michael Jordan said, I've missed more than 9,000 shots lost almost 300 games I've been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and failed to take that game winning shot 26 times, I failed over and over again. That's why I succeed, which is the absolute polar opposite of the disciples who judged the loss of sight and blindness in the Gospel as the result of sinfulness that faults and sinfulness are to be blamed, and to be punished. But Jesus sees this weakness, this blindness as an occasion of God's grace, we can learn a great deal more often from our faults and sinfulness than we can from our success and achievements. I don't like that part. But that's the truth. We learn a lot more from our faults and sinfulness than from our achievements. In the 23rd Psalm we pray, The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. This does not mean that we will always be materially comfortable, but it does mean that the Lord is our light and our salvation (27^th psalm), and that there is nothing for us to be afraid of.

And that also, it reminds us that in this in this life, it's not like the NCAA basketball tournament. It's not single elimination. It's not when or go home. In fact, the blind man has been losing for years, and yet he is raised up as a new witness and disciple.

 

[__01__]  In the ancient world of our Lord and Savior, blindness was more than a challenging hurdle . A blind person was completely marginalized. No success or learning would have been expected of him or her.

          There was no way for a blind person to learn to read or write. This was the situation of the man born blind.  For this reason,  the Temple leaders are insulted, put off by his witness to Jesus and his wisdom and they say, “You were born totally in sin and you are trying to teach us.”  (John __).

          This is ironic because they were also – were also – born in sin, born in original sin.  We are all born in original sin and need baptism.

          They do not recognize this. They are trying to throw him out of the synagogue.

 [__02__]   I’d like to connect this Gospel to the 3 Lenten disciplines and to “blindness” or “darkness” as an advantage ….

          Jesus says that he come so that those who see might become blind. I’d like to touch on the advantage of  blindness/darkness as it relates to the 3 Lenten disciplines of love/almsgiving,  prayer, and fasting.

 [__03.01__]  [1^st]  First the advantage of darkness when it comes to LOVE

 [__03.02__]       In order to make decisions based on true love, do I love only what I can see, touch, perceive ?

          For example, do I love – not LOVE – my neighbor – my spouse – my classmates, siblings, co-workers, boss, friends – only based on appearances? Here I do not mean only “physical appearance”, but also the appearance of their status, the appearance of their affection for me.

          Do I only love those who love me or reciprocate and help me to “have a nice day”?

          It would be better if I were blind.

 [__03.03__]       Samuel – the prophet – in the 1^st reading – benefits from some “blindness” rather than vision in his decision about the next king of Israel.

          Our 1^st reading is about the selection and signing up of David as the surprising “first round draft pick” of God to be the next king of Israel.

David is not visible, not at home, when Samuel arrives; also NOT on anyone’s “recruiting list”.  To use an NCAA March Madness term, David was the “Cinderella” player or underdog choice. No one would have “seen” him coming. Like FDU vs. Purdue ? 

This caused distress and darkness for Samuel who was King Saul's advisor and prophet Samuel has to do this recruiting and search away from King Saul's prying eyes and vision and off camera. At First Samuel doesn't

 to select any new king – thinking Saul may change his ways. But, Samuel is later convinced but wants to select based on obvious physical characteristics and “seniority”. For example, the first eldest son – Eliab - appears to be best first round draft pick.

          But Samuel is told by God: “Man looks at the appearance but God looks into the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:__)

          And, so Samuel is led to select the youngest and apparently “less able bodied” David.

          But, David was the right choice – the loving choice - because Samuel did not look only at appearances.

          Do I – do you – focus on appearances when it comes to “love” and” decisions” ?

[__04__]   [2^nd ]  the advantage of darkness when it comes to PRAYER and “DISMISSAL” or REJECTION.

          The man born blind was dismissed and rejected for his whole life due to his “pre-existing condition” of blindness.

          He was desperate position as a result of his blindness. He cannot learn, socialize.

          But, he is used to this!

          This type of rejection does not, as we say, “blindside” him.

          Have you ever been blindsided by rejection?

          When I feel “rejected”, I am tempted – we are all tempted – to look at the appearances especially to focus perhaps on how it affects our visible “status” or standing with others.

          This rejection – or this “blindsiding” was historical fact for some early Christians who found themselves themselves in the difficult position of being between “Jesus as their new rock” and “the hard place of rejection” by the synagogue community.

          One commentator made an important distinction – we read the words that “the Jews”  rejected Jesus.

          What is translated as “Jews” is the Greek word Ἰουδαῖος (ioudaios)? The word obviously connects to Ἰουδαία (ioudaia) – “Judea” the geographic area in the southern part of Israel and closer to the Temple.

          It is true that Jesus’ mission was more successful in the north in Galilee. It also true that many Jewish people did accept Christ – the apostles were Jewish, Joseph and Mary. The blind man was Jewish. Jesus was Jewish.

          The blind man – now healed is invited to pray in a new way – to Jesus as God incarnate and to receive a new source of light and not to be discouraged by the rejection which “blindsides” him.

          It makes practical sense to as one business writer observed: “cultivating silence isn’t just about getting respite from the distractions of office chatter or tweets.  Real sustained silence, the kind that facilitates clear and creative thinking, quiets inner chatter as well as outer.”  (Harvard Business Review, The Busier You Are, the More You Need Quiet Time, by Justin Zorn and Leigh Marz, March 17, 2017)

          But, Jesus wishes us to unite ourselves to him especially when we are rejected by others whether online or in person. As we read in Matthews Gospel:

          “when you pray go to your room and pray to your father in secret and the father who sees in secret will repay you.” (Matthew 6:__)

[__05__]   [3^rd]  the advantage of darkness when it comes to Lenten fasting.

          At first, the choice to give up something – whether that be giving up “screen time” or some other entertainment, giving up a favorite food or drink or form of caffeine, at first the fasting may make the object loom larger as a temptation or make it more visible..

          But, after some time, is it not true that the temptation can become less obvious, more obscure. In other words, we see thing we are tempted by more clearly, even though we are not consuming it.  There’s advantage to distance and darkness.

          We also give alms. pray and fast during the 40 days of Lent not give up what is bad, but to say no in everyday ways to things that are good and then to learn to say YES or NO to things that are more important and to do so not for our own comfort but with our focus on Jesus as the light of the world.   [__END__]

The Man Born Blind (2023-03-19) - Sunday 7:30 am

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 [Ver – 05 ] 2023. 03.19.  4^th Sunday Lent   ●● 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a ●● Psalm 23 ●● Ephesians 5:8-14 ●●  John 9:1-41 ●●   

Title:  Man Born Blind  (Sunday 7:30 am Mass on Mar. 19, 2023)

[__01_]  Many years ago, I was in NYC, at the busy intersection of 8^th Avenue and 42^nd Street, outside the Port Authority bus terminal one day, when I was approached by a blind man – a blind man whom I did not know.

          He asked me to help him cross 42^nd Street. He held my arm while I walked him across the street and we had a brief conversation.

          I found him to be quite friendly and interesting. I was interested to keep walking with him, but he assured me he was fine on his own. He continued without me.

[__02__]  In some sense, I was amazed at how little I had done for him, and how little he needed of my services. Of how much this blind man could attain and achieve with his white cane and his ears and hearing alert that he could get around fine and sidewalk. It was only that little bit of crossing the street.

[__03__]  Have you ever been impressed by what a blind person – without vision – can accomplish or achieve?

          There are blind lawyers, physicians, accountants, computer programmers. Some of them may even report their blindness as an advantage.

          Many musicians have excelled not in spite of blindness, put perhaps because the greater sensory strength they find in their hearing. And, it’s not unusual to see a sighted musician closing his or her eyes to focus and hear better.   Andrea Bocelli, Stevie Wonder, and Ray Charles are examples of this

          Blindness may be a hurdle, but in our modern times, we do not see it as insurmountable.

 

[__04__]  In the ancient world of Jesus, it was a different story. A blind person was completely marginalized. There was no way for a blind person to learn to read or write.

          For this reason,  the Temple leaders are insulted, put off by his witness to Jesus and his wisdom and they say, “You were born totally in sin and you are trying to teach us.”  (John __).

[__05__]   Our Gospel and the reading from 1^st Samuel teach us today about the advantage of seeking God’s light when we are in darkness.

          Also, the message is that neither blindness nor any disability indicates that you are abandoned by God or God’s love.

          Jesus says that he come so that those who see might become blind. I’d like to touch on the advantage of  blindness/darkness as it relates to the 3 of our sacraments – to Baptism, to Confession and to Holy  Communion.

[__06__]   1^st. BAPTISM.

          There is a type of “baptism” taking place in the first reading about the prophet Samuel.

          I say that this is a baptism because David is being selected and anointed as the new King of Israel.

          And, when you and I are baptized, we are also baptized into Jesus’ kingly or royal character. You were baptized to be a priest, a prophet and yes… a “king”.

          When we think of kings we think of royal families with lots of money, good looks and palaces.

          But,  Samuel is sent to anoint someone as a king who has none of this. In fact, Samuel does not really understand God’s plan.    Samuel is “blind”.

          Samuel is inclined to rely on his own vision and to anoint the eldest and strongest looking candidate.

          Samuel is told “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty statue, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but God looks into the heart.” (1 Samuel __)

          This “rejection statement” of the eldest son of Jesse could also be “copied and pasted” to apply equally to God’s view of the current King of Israel who also had a tall and lofty stature but who was not in tune with God.

          David will later be described as a “shepherd” after God’s own heart.

          You and I have a dignity in baptism that is not based on a visual “look” or profile.

          Nearly all of us were baptized as infants, long before we could walk or talk. It is an example of God laying down his life while were still sinners. While we all resembled each other.

          It also reminds me to consider and ask myself – do I love others or appreciate others only based on appearances? On status ? on what they do for me?

          On whether someone is affectionate or friendly to me or not?

What about a situation when I have to confront someone with love or you may have to confront someone with love to correct someone to speak lovingly to someone about some action. No one likes these confrontations or conversations. Sometimes “tough love” is needed.

          But, one of the reasons we are called to do this is to look beyond appearances.

          My parents did not love me simply by telling me how good I looked. They looked into the heart. By our baptism in the Holy Spirit, we are called to do the same.

          Doing so, you do not even need to see. It can be an advantage to be blind.

 [__07__]   2^nd. CONFESSION.

          The sacrament of confession exists as the internal and private forum in which you and I can reveal our faults to Jesus Christ through the priest.

          It is, in a good way, a form of blindness and darkness. You do not have to be seen. The priest does not have to know and is not supposed to ask your name.

          It is a way for us to give our sins to God so that they are taken from us.

          Confession is the alternative to condemnation. It is the remedy for and solution to prevent us from condemning ourselves and condemning others.

          Personally, when things go wrong, I find it tempting to condemn myself or to condemn someone else.

This is against the Gospel.

          Confession also exists because the experience of recognizing one’s sin is not a “single elimination knockout tournament” where “you win or go home”.

          Also, by doing penance we become co-heirs with the Risen Christ, “provided we suffer with him.”

          This does not mean “penance” is a payment I make to “get forgiven”. Rather, penance is my share in the cross.

          “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that all who believe in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

          Confession happens also so that we can access God’s true light which is love and mercy.

          Also, is it not easier to forgive someone else when you yourself have been forgiven?

[__08__]    3^rd . HOLY COMMUNION

          One of the things we are doing when we are at Mass is we are FASTING before we receive Holy Communion.

          The official minimum fast is one hour, but you may certainly fast or abstain from food for longer if you wish.

          And the Lenten discipline of 40 days also introduces us to fasting and giving something up for Lent.

          I suggest it is similar to what the man on the street outside the Port Authority had to do… in order get across 42^nd Street.   He was very independent, very able bodied.

          But he could only cross the street with help from someone, without submitting himself to help from someone else.

          The act of going to Communion is not just an act of sustainability, but also of surrender.

          Fasting is not just an endurance contest, but also an act of surrender to indicate that what we are giving up is less important than what we are receiving during the fast.

          Because the point of the fast is not to show what you can go without but find out what you really need.

          The reason the man is healed from his blindness is also not to send him back his old life, but to give him a new one where Christ is the light of the world.    [__END__]

Water Source (2023-03-12, Lent - 3rd Sunday)

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__2023. 03.12.  3^rd Sunday Lent   ●● Exodus 17:3-7 ●● Psalm 95 ●● Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 ●●  John 4:5-42 ●●  

 Title:  Water Source

  [__01__]  A couple of years ago, I visited a sick friend the hospital who was recovering– and has now recovered - from an illness – but along the way, he lost his appetite.

          While he was barely eating anything, we urged him to drink water, to stay hydrated. Water – [H₂O]  is a biological requirement. In fact he drank enough water to recover, even though he did not feel thirsty.

          More than half of the human body consists of water The water is in you and me doing its job, performing a healing function even if we do not perceive or sense its impact or effect..

          Water is a performance enhancing substance. Good news. It’s totally legal.

 [__02__]  Why does Jesus stop at the well – which is a place with an underground stream or spring for water?

          It appears that Jesus is at the well to procure or get water for hydration, but he’s actually there to provide or give “living water” for holiness.

          The definition of a sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible reality.  This moment is sacramental with the water as a visible sign of God’s goodness.

Also, Jesus sees – in the Samaritan woman – a goodness which others disregard. He sees – in you - goodness which others may disregard. As Paul wrote in Romans:

“only with difficulty does one die for a just person,  though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us  in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:7-8)

 [__03_]  The biblical scholar – Kenneth Bailey – wrote that we can assume that this traveling group including Jesus and the apostles had the necessary water jug or container or “bucket” to go to such a well. They were traveling overland in hot dry climate. And, it was the middle of the day.

          If the group had such a container, why did Jesus not ask that it be left with him? The others were going into town to buy food. He was the one at the well. He went without a jug or jar because he had another plan in mind.  (Kenneth Bailey, Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes, p. 202)

 [__04__]    Jesus’ plan calls for healing and wholeness which is a theme for this Sunday’s Gospel and the next 2 Sundays on which Jesus heals the man born blind and raises Lazarus from the dead.

          These 40 days of Lent are a time of discipline of prayer, fasting, almsgiving but we do these things not to merit a reward or to improve our “chart”. Rather we do them to unite ourselves to Christ’s own Passion.

          To take prayer as an example, it an exercise in freedom – and liberation – to pray or fast or give alms on behalf of – someone who has wronged you or trespassed against you or insulted you.

          Our instinct/reflex is to take revenge.  But our freedom is in offering these things up – to say as Jesu does “forgive [her or him or] them Father, they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

          Also, to pray for those who may persecute you. This prayer not change the other person – but can change you.  Your prayer is a healing sacrifice that benefits you.

          At times, I admit, the discipline may feel like the water you do not want to drink because you are not feeling well or do not feel thirsty.  Nevertheless the water does its job.

 [__05__]    We read in today’s Gospel about a woman who individually needs the healing grace of God and Jesus Christ.

          Why does she show up alone at midday – 12 Noon – after everyone else has retrieved the early morning water?  St. Augustine wrote that the woman represents the Church not yet made righteous but about to be made righteous. She is wounded.

          The statement about her “5 husbands” indicates something about her personal life.  Biblical scholars have also pointed out that the “5 husbands” are not just in her “relationship profile”  (as though she had social media. I know she didn't have that.)

It was also in the “relationship profile” of the country of Samaria which was once part of Israel but later was conquered by foreign invaders.

          The people of Samaria were originally Jewish but after the invasion the Jewish population was captured taken into exile. They were replaced by 5 different ethnic groups, 5 different religions, 5 different idols.

          Thus, when Jesus says you have 5 husbands, he is not just speaking to her but to the whole nation and to you and me with our divided, wounded hearts.

 

[__06__]    Sometimes, we need to go beneath the surface – beyond what is visible – to gain the necessary water for healing and recovery – whether physically or spiritually.

          In physical-medical sense, I once had the very fortunate/blessed  experience of being totally and successfully healed after being very dehydrated due to a virus.

          I’d like to compare the physical healing properties of water to the mercy of God.

          When I was not feeling well, it worried me that I could not simply drink water to get hydrated and healthy.

          I needed help and needed time.

 [__07__]    [NEEDED HELP]         That is, I needed an ER hospital visit to get an I.V. intravenous.  I also had to rest.

          I suggest that a sincere confession our sins in the sacrament of penance and reconciliation is similar.

          That is, it is a prescription from Jesus the physician to receive his mercy poured out upon you and me. There is no IV or needle, but it does involve staying still for a bit allowing to God to come from the outside in.

          Jesus does not come to get water. He came to give water and his life for you and me.

[__08__]    [NEEDED TIME] while I was being rehydrated with the necessary fluids, I did not feel good right away. I was told by the doctor: “you do not feel bad because you are getting worse, but simply because you did not have enough water.”

          I can think of instances where I have sinned or been guilty of fault and then tried to recover, apologize, make amends. I even went to confession. In some cases, I did not feel good instantaneously. It may take a while to recover.

          Nevertheless, is it not valuable to admit and confess our wrongs out loud? To give them to God who puts them to death in the confessional?

          The water of mercy does its work even if we do not feel the impact right away.

          Going to confession and receiving sacramental absolution/ forgiveness is not given to us to make us feel better or soothe us immediately.

          A sacrament of a visible sign of an invisible reality.

          We receive the grace and mercy of Christ because we were made in his image, because were created good.

          Do you always see the goodness in yourself ? I do not. I need Jesus’ mercy to remind me of this.

          God made everyone good and in his image. Yet, we can be wounded in need of healing.   This healing enables us to be messengers of the good news, having been refreshed by water better than any mountain spring:

          “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;  but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  (John 4:13-14)