Back at Home: Arriving into Israel and Jerusalem

Arriving to Israel has been in fact a return trip back home. Riding the shuttle bus from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport to Jerusalem was an assertion of that point. Despite being pulled aside for two hours because of Israeli security (and I have a feeling I know why that happened - more about that at then end if you're interested…) or the massive hug I received from my travel companion upon arrival it was all about coming home. It was on that bus, surrounded mainly by Jews, that I discovered a beautiful gift:

 

"I am with my people….This is my Home."

 

Upon treading upon the land of Faith where Love for the One God emanated. It is the locus where our Faith took form in eleven restless apostles and where the Holy Spirit proved to the rest of the world that Love has no boundaries. The millions that come to Israel, or those that merely desire it, want to be part of something grand, something infinite.

 

 

Water has flowed through the hardened bedrock of this soil as a sign of its baptism in grace. Blood has also ravaged this Land, thicker always and crying out to God, "Have Mercy on us!".  Blood may be thicker than water but it is Grace and Mercy (Hesed) that overwhelms all hatred and anything less than love.

 

What do I hope to experience and live out in this, the Land of my People?

 

As Jesus asked the People of Israel, "What did you hope to see [in John the Baptist]?" I hope to give the latent answer that all of us have deep down inside:

 

I wish to Encounter the Living God.

 

I don't want to encounter Him in a perfect situation: friendly (or not so friendly) tourists, Middle East delights, intense Israeli security but rather in the quiet of my heart. In prayer and harmony.

 

 

*So a little bit about why I think I got held up in Israeli security for questioning:

 

Once upon a time having worn a Roman Collar as a religious/seminarian for years upon years I have a passport photo  accordingly so thus when I would say that I was here for vacation as opposed to "religious motives" they started taking a look at whether or not I had stolen someone's identity. Upon arrival I was pulled aside at the terminal and then again at customs. The questionings were momentary but the whole process took two hours with different questions about family and travel. What matters is that I'm here.

A Prayer to the Sacred Heart

A Consecration Prayer to the Heart of Jesus
This unworthy prayer was written by me. Ed Sheeran's song Photograph accompanies this Consecration Prayer. It is a dialogue with our Lord who sings to us through the Song and lets us know how much He Loves us through His Heart. Make it yours.

Dear Lord,

We've spent the last few days considering what makes you tick. Your Heart.

Ed Sheeran sings in his song Photograph how

"Loving can hurt...but it's the only thing I know..." (Ed Sheeran, Photograph)

Heart of Jesus, If there is something you know how to do...it is to Love.

The Heart is the vital organ which gives life to the rest of the body. It functions without requiring a nervous stimulation from the brain. It 'beats on its own'. In Biblical talk the Heart goes beyond the material muscle it is what moves us, what is at the deepest core of our thoughts and desires. 

"When it gets hard you know it can get hard sometimes. [Loving] is the only thing that makes us feel alive..." (Ed Sheeran, Photograph)

Heart of Jesus, you felt the sorrows and the pain yet your only consolation was in loving us. 

"So you can keep me - Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans - holding me closer 'til our eyes meet - You won't ever be alone, wait for me to come home..." (Ed Sheeran, Photograph)

Heart of Jesus, I will not just keep the memory of you in a pocket but close to my own heart. I welcome you into my life, into my heart. Please, come into my home. I will wait for you.

"Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul - And it is the only thing that I know...And it is the only thing we take with us when we die..." (Ed Sheeran, Photograph)

Heart of Jesus, you showed us that your Love healed us, made us whole, brought us back to life. Let it be the only thing we know in life. Let the rest be left behind. You showed us how it was the only thing we take with us as you climbed upon the cross.

"And if you hurt me, that's O.K....Inside these pages you just hold me...I won't ever let you go...Wait for me to come home..." (Ed Sheeran, Photograph)

Heart of Jesus, I have hurt you so many times throughout my life. I want to hold the pages of your Divine Word, your Will for my life. I know you won't ever let me go and please grant me the patience to wait for you to come home.

"You can fit me...Next to your heartbeat where I should be - Keep it deep within your soul" (Ed Sheeran, Photograph)

Heart of Jesus, I invite you to beat deep within my soul, within my own heart. Let our hearts beat together. You are the Love of my Heart and my Soul. I give you my all. And let that be my last word.

Amen

SH Novena Day 9 of 9: Hurt

Jesus with His open side
I took this photo in South Tyrol, Italy
Carved by Joseph Bernardi

John 19: 33-37 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may [come to] believe. For this happened so that the scripture passage might be fulfilled: “Not a bone of it will be broken.” And again another passage says:“They will look upon him whom they have pierced.”

Dear Lord, 

I would like to offer you my heart on this final day of the Novena. Thank you for opening your heart to me. I wasn't worthy of your love but you considered me a worthy recipient of the greatest gift ever: Your Heart. So the Soldiers pierced your heart with a lance and drew blood and water. Let that Blood and Water wash me through Baptism and nurture me through the Blessed Sacrament. Through your cleansing balm wash and heal our hurt and brokenness. What you suffered there upon the Cross, let your wounds strengthen and heal us. Amen.

Tomorrow I hope to offer a reflection on the Sacred Heart Devotion and a Consecration Prayer that you can recite on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is best before the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist. Thanks for participating!

SH Novena Day 8 of 9: "God is Spirit"

Sacred Heart of Fire and Love

Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. 24God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.”

Dear Lord, 

I want to offer you the very best from my heart this day. One for one. My heart for yours. "God is Spirit". In your Sacred Heart we have the most 'Human' of the Divine. All things fade before the gift of God. All things fade before the gift of the one who "makes all things new". "God is Spirit" and nothing bars us from Him. "What can come between God and us?" (Cf. Rom 8) no boundaries exist, all is but a medium to encounter You! Every moment, every chance encounter, the rain, the wind, the stars, the victories and defeats, our strengths and weaknesses. All things are a conduit of God's grace, Nothing bars us from Him. All things are His and nothing can pretend to shield us from You. I Trust in You. Amen.

SH Novena Day 7 of 9: Encouragement

John 16:33 - I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.

Dear Lord,

I look around and the sense I get is that you didn't conquer the World. The wars, the poverty, the chaos, that surrounds us seems to hem us in on all sides. How is it that we are winning a fight? As Christians and believers in a better World aren't we losing? But I know that at heart you continue on making a difference in my life - and if that be the case - then I can also go out make a difference in this World - . Let your encouragement resonate in my heart and let the hope from your Resurrection live strong in my life. Amen.

SH Novena Day 6 of 9: Holiness

Jesus offering us His Heart of Love

John 17:17-19 I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.

Dear Lord,

You gave me the Father's Word. The Father's Word of Mercy and Love, the same words with which you desire me to be Holy, a Saint. "The World hated us, hates us and will always hate us to some degree because we are different. We live with a distant goal, a crystalline fountain. Your Father's Word, Lord, is that fountain from which our lives flow and despite our personal and difficult failings it continues to flow. Let your Father's Word, the Words of the Prodigal Father be those that resound in our hearts and minds:

"My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours." (Lk 15:31)

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Eucharist - the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord - may we encounter in Him that everything and may we encounter our Heaven on Earth as we are made one as participants in the Eternal Life of the Father's House. Amen.

SH Novena Day 4 of 9: Wholeness

Jesus Heals

John 11: 23-27Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” 24Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” 25Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

Dear Lord,

You are my Resurrection and my Life. "To whom shall we go? You have the Words of Eternal Life", Peter said (Jn 6:68). You are the Divine Healer and from your Heart our wounds find new lifeblood, new life. When you found Lazarus dead and his Sisters, Martha and Mary heartbroken you responded with a merciful Heart and wept. Pour out upon us the healing and the strength to come back anew from our broken weakness. Let your healing balm fill and strengthen us. You asked the blind man, "What do you want from me?" and he answered, "to be well". I wish to be well in you, Lord. Jesus, I trust in you!