theROCK

The Need to See Some Skin

There is this delightful story about a four year old child who awoke one night frightened by a dream. She could not fall back asleep, and her mind convinced her that there in the darkness of her room, lay in waiting, an assortment of monsters and ghosts.

Alone, she ran to her parent’s bedroom. Her mother calmed her down and taking her by the hand, led her back to her own room. Her mother put on the light to dispel the demons and reassured her child with these words, “You needn’t be afraid, you are not alone here. God is in the room with you.”

The girl replied “I know that God is here, but I need someone in this room who has some skin!”

This is what the apostle Thomas is, in essence, asking of the resurrected Jesus. He’s saying,” I need to see some skin.” This is the best explanation for our whole experience with Jesus, since his announcement to Mary by the angel Gabriel - until this moment.

This Easter is unlike any I have ever had. How about you? I long to celebrate with someone who has some skin. Maybe this Easter we can celebrate knowing Jesus came in the flesh, died, and then rose again. He sits at the right hand of the Father and is with us here on earth. We have been accustomed to our relationship with Jesus without some skin, and today, I ask you to unite with our entire St. Dominic Catholic Parish family…unite in love. Unite in the power of God’s love.

I ask you to close your eyes and think about being with people you enjoy, family, friends…Now open your eyes. How do you feel when you think about spending time with them? Now close your eyes again and think about stuff you have. Now think about spending time with the stuff…How does that make you feel? Which of the two feelings would you like to experience more often? That’s the power of God’s love.

This Lenten season, you were to tame your desires for stuff, to strengthen your will against things you thought you needed. This at-home experience is showing us what we really need, and to see the power of God’s love, the same love which raised Jesus from the dead…for us. To see again with new eyes. To see with the eyes of Jesus. His eyes see the value in relationships.

Have a blessed Easter. Until we can see each other in the flesh.

Thirsting for Jesus

Have you ever imagined yourself as the woman at the well in the Gospel of John?

Jesus approaches you and tries to reveal his thirst - perhaps his thirst for intimacy with you - but you put him off. You are not worthy. It won’t work. You are convinced he can’t satisfy your needs, at least not at this well and not without a bucket!

How do you put Jesus off, with excuses, problems, or barriers? Do you say “I don’t have time,” “I haven’t done this before,” “My stuff is too complicated,” or “I don’t know how to find you in this mess”? When Jesus shows the woman at the well that he knows her, she comes to understand she is in the presence of someone special—perhaps the One she has thirsted for all her life. Do you allow Jesus to show you he knows you, understands you, and still loves you? 

Let Jesus into the very depths of your heart this Lent, and then see what he has in store for you.

The Mystics

Our Catholic faith has many fascinating elements to it. Not many people pay attention to the mystics. These are individuals who possess a gift that allows them to participate in a different level of awareness and connection to Jesus and Mary. There are many Saints who were mystics. They experienced visions and participated in interactions that are, for lack of a better phrase, out of this world.

There is one such mystic today who is a wife, mother of six, and a Secular Franciscan named Anne. She experiences interior locutions. An interior locution is a mystical concept used by various religions, including the Roman Catholic Church. In an interior locution, a person reportedly receives a set of ideas, thoughts, or visions from an outside spiritual source. Interior locutions are most often reported during prayers. An interior locution is a form of revelation, but is distinct from an apparition or religious vision because no supernatural entity is reported as present during the interior locution (forums.catholic.com). I learned of her writings a few years ago, and with skepticism, read them. Even though her texts carry the Imprimatur, I always went into them with a prayer on my lips and in my heart not to fall prey to anything that wasn't Truth. I don't believe I have. I wish to share some of what Jesus told Anne to write. These messages are in line with the gospel. They are simple and clear. Peace! 

I am Jesus. I am God. I am complete in myself. I am present in your world and I am present in Heaven. You see. I am omnipresent. Even if you wish to, you cannot remove yourself from my presence on Earth. I created Earth. You might say the earth belongs to me. All on it are also my creation. You, dear beloved one, were created by me. Do I say that you belong to me? I say it in another way. I say, I 'want' you to belong to me. I want to possess your heart. Why do I use the word heart when truly it is your soul that I seek? I use the word heart because people characterize the heart as the place where people hold the love they possess. If you have love, people say you have it in your heart. The heart is known as the source of love and the receptacle of love, so I, Jesus, tell you that I want to possess your heart. When it is all simplified, as it should be, I am saying that I want you to love me. I love you. There is no problem there. I love you today and I will always love you. A difficulty we have is that you do not know me. The only way for me to teach you to love me is for  me to reveal myself to you, to allow you to know me. For that reason, I come to you today. I reveal myself to you through these words and through the graces attached to them. If you read these words and sit in silence, you will begin to know me. If you begin to know me, truly, you will begin to love me. Forget anything that tempts you to move away from these words and graces. Rest. Be with me. Allow me to teach you about myself.