O HOMME, SOUVIENS-TOI QUE TU ES POUSSIERE

Recordatus autem Deus Noe cunctarumque animantium ... [Gen 8, 1]
Et puis Dieu se souvint de Noé, et de tous les animaux ...
Recordatus est Abrahae et liberavit Lot ...
[Dieu] se souvint d'Abraham et a libéré Lot  ... [Gen 19, 29]
Recordatus quoque Dominus Rahelis, exaudivit eam et aperuit vulvam Illius. [Gen 30, 22]
 ... Dieu se souvint de Rachel: Il l'a exaucee et a ouvert son sein.
... Et audivit gemitum eorum ac recordatus fœderis quod cum pepigerate Abraham, d'Isaac et de Jacob ... [Ex 2,24]
... Et [Dieu] entendit leurs gémissements, et se souvint de l'Alliance qu'il avait faite avec Abraham, Isaac et Jacob.
Cognovit autem Helcana Annam uxorem suam et recordatus est eius Dominus ... [1 Sam 1, 20]
Alkana s'unit a sa femme et Dieu se souvint de Hannah ...

Dieu a une très bonne mémoire. Nous ne pensons pas souvent que Dieu puisse se souvenir de quoi que ce soit car nous croyons qu'il est omniscient. Nous lisons ces dires et nous nous demandons comment il se pourrait que la Parole de Dieu pourrait le presenter comme étant si oublieux. Est-ce qu'il est juste qu'Il veut se fair voir comme étant humble? N'est-il pas impossible qu'il ait pu oublier? Comment pourrait-il oublier Noé?  Il n'a sûrement pas oublier Jonas dans le ventre du poisson et puis tout à coup s'en souvenir, n'est-ce pas?  Qu'en est-il d'Elizabeth? L'avait-il oubliée et puis, tout d'un coup décider de s'en souvenir? Il n'a certainement pas oublie Mary. Il semble avoir eu son oeil sur elle depuis la promesse qu'il avait faite à Adam et Eve dans le jardin.
Qu'est-ce donc avons-nous à apprendre de cette forme de discours qui nous montre Dieu comme se rappellant?
La première chose que nous devons tenir à l'esprit, c'est que Dieu n'oublie pas. Il est toujours au courrant des choses. Il ne peut pas oublier, car pour lui il n'y a pas de temps coulant. Tout est un présent éternel.  Donc, quand la Bible dit que Dieu se souvient, cela signifie que pour nous, êtres humains, il est temps pour que quelque chose de miraculeux se produise. Chaque fois que Dieu se souvient, quelque chose de grand se passe. Dans le cas de Noé, la pluie s'arrête, l'eau baisse, l'Arche sera ouverte et Dieu va faire une promesse et donner a Noé, ainsi qu'a nous, quelques nouvelles instructions sur la vie.
Dieu s'est rappele, et il nous a donné, des règles importantes pour la vie a travers son discours avec Noé. [Genèse, chapitres 8 et 9]
Ce style d'écriture est lié à une certaine école d'auteurs Bibliques et disparaît après un certain temps et ne se rencontre pas apres une certaine date. Toutefois, la leçon qu'il transmet est très forte et nous entendons Dieu  donner des instructions à son peuple qui les obligent à tenir sa loi dans l'avant-plan de leurs esprits et de leurs cœurs pour toujours. La leçon est, rappelez-vous toujours de Dieu. Répétez ce repas, toujours. Enseignez à vos enfants de moi, toujours. «Je serai avec vous, toujours."

Aujourd'hui, le Mercredi des Cendres, nous allons entendre la parole de nouveau.  Cette fois dirigée a nous par notre Sainte Mère l'Eglise. Où l'a-t-elle l'obtenu? Il y a deux fonts, en fait.
Tout d'abord, Jésus nous dit: «Faites ceci en mémoire de moi." Jésus, il va sans dire, connaisait les histoires de la Bible. Tout comme nous les connaissons.  Jésus savait la valeur dynamique de la mémoire. Il voulait nous faire rappeler quelque chose a son propos a chaque jour. Il ne voulait pas que nous nous souvenions des sacrifices anciens. Il veut que nous nous rappellions l"Alliance que Lui-meme a forgé avec nous. C'est Lui le sacrifice que nous devons nous rappeler.  Ce ne sont pas les sacrifices d'Abraham, d'Isaac et de Jacob.  L'Alliance que nous devons vivre c'est la Sienne. C'est son sacrifice que nous devons nous rappeler dans le sens de «faire bouger les choses."  Lorsque nous nous souvenons de nous joindre à lui autour de l'autel pour le sacrifice suprême, Il se souvient de nous et, ensemble, nous vivons la Nouvelle Alliance dans la présence vivante de Dieu.
Deuxièmement, nous sommes avises par notre Sainte Mère l'Eglise de nous rappeler qui, et ce que nous sommes, en tant que créatures de Dieu, c'est à dire, selon la liturgie d'aujourd'hui,
Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et pulverem reverteris. [Gen 3, 19]
Rappelle-toi, O homme, que tu es poussière et à la poussière tu retourneras.
Lorsque nous faisons cela, nous ne nous souvenons pas tout pur. Nous nous souvenons de notre histoire. Nous nous souvenons de la mission que Dieu nous a donnée depuis le moment ou Lui-même ferma la porte du jardin derrière nous. Meme en ce moment la, il nous dit de nous rappeler d'où nous venons et où nous devons retourner.  Il nous dit de nous rappeler que c'était au jardin que nous devrions aspirer de revenir. Il nous a promis que la porte pourrait toujours s'ouvrir.  Il veillerait que ce soit ainsi.  Il nous a aussi promis que c'était  grâce à notre rappel de sa promesse que d'autres, moyennant notre aide et appui,  trouveraient leur chemin vers le jardin aussi. Il nous a ainsi invite à le rejoindre en faisant que «quelque chose se produise" dans le monde.  O homme, rappelle-toi d'où tu viens,  car c'est là que tu es appelé à revenir.

En 1846, la Mère de Jésus est apparu à deux vachers illettrés dans les Alpes françaises, au-dessus du hameau appelé La Salette. Notre Sainte Mère a parlé pendant environ vingt minutes aux enfants. Sa leçon a été celle qui fait appel à nous tous de changer notre mode de vie, ou, pour toujours être affamés de notre salut éternel. À un moment donné elle a dit, sans ambages, «Si vous ne vous convertissez pas, je serai forcée de laisser tomber le bras de mon Fils."  En outre, a-t'elle dit: «Si le blé et les pommes de terre sont gâtés, c'est à cause de vous." Pour aider à mettre son message en plus haut relief, vers la fin de son discours elle nous signalat à travers les enfants comme suit:  la "Belle Dame" [ils l'ont toujours appelé ainsi] s'est tourné vers Maximin, le petit garçon et demandat:
"N'avez-vous jamais vu du blé qui est gâté, mes enfants?"
"Non, Madame," répondirent-ils.
 "Mais vous, mon enfant,» a-t-elle insisté, s'adressant au petit garçon en particulier, "vous l'avez sûrement vu une fois lorsque vous étiez à la ferme du Coin avec votre père. (Coin était un hameau près de la ville de Corps).
Le propriétaire du champ dit à votre père d'aller voir son blé en ruine. Vous êtes allés ensemble. Vous avez pris deux ou trois épis de blé dans vos mains et les frottèrent, et ils sont tombés en poussière. Puis vous avez continué à la maison. Lorsque vous étiez encore à une distance d'une demi-heure de Corps, votre père vous a donné un morceau de pain et vous dit: «Voici, mon enfant, mange du pain cette année au moins, je ne sais pas qui va en manger l'année prochaine, si le blé continue comme cela. "'
 Face à ces détails précis, Maximin dit avec empressement: «Oh oui, Madame, je me souviens maintenant, mais tout-a-l'heure je ne me souvenais pas."

La Sainte Vierge a alors fermé sa leçon en leur donnant une mission, en harmonie avec la mémoire qu'elle a causé à se produire: "Eh bien, mes enfants, faites-le passer à tout mon peuple."

Tout comme il nous est commandé par son fils de le célébrer en «mémoire de moi», notre Sainte Mère nous rappelle d'où nous venons afin que nous puissions lui aider, ainsi qu'a son fils, de vivre de manière que le miracle de la conversion se produise.

O MAN, REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE DUST...

Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et pulverem reverteris.
O Man, remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.
[Gen 3,19]
Recordatus autem Deus Noe cunctarumque animantium...
[Gen 8, 1]
And then God remembered Noah and all the animals...
Recordatus est Abrahae et liberavit Lot...[Gen 19, 29]
[God] remembered Abraham and liberated Lot...
Recordatus quoque Dominus Rahelis, exaudivit eam et aperuit vulvam illius. [Gen 30, 22]
...then God remembered Rachel: He heard her and opened her womb.
...et audivit gemitum eorum ac recordatus foederis quod pepigerat cum Abraham, Isaac et Jacob... [Ex 2,24]
...and [God] heard their groaning and remembered the covenant that He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Cognovit autem Helcana Annam uxorem suam et recordatus est eius Dominus... [1 Sam 1, 20]
Alkana had relations with his wife Hannah and God remembered her...

God has a very good memory.  We do not often think about God remembering anything since we believe in Him as all knowing.  We read these sentences and we ask ourselves how it could be that the Word of God could picture Him as forgetful.  Is it that He is just being humble?  Isn't it impossible that He could forget?  How could He forget Noah?  He surely didn't forget Jonah in the belly of the fish and then suddenly remember, did He?  What about Elizabeth?  Had He forgotten her too and then decide to remember?  He certainly did not forget Mary.  He seems to have had His eye on her since the promise He made to Adam and Eve in the Garden.
What, therefore are we to learn from this early form of speech that shows us God remembering?
The first thing that we must keep in mind is that God doesn't forget.  He is always on top of things.  He doesn't forget because for Him there is no time.  Everything is the eternal present.  So, when the Bible states that God remembers, it means that for us humans, it is time for something miraculous to happen.  Every time that God remembers, something big happens.  In Noah's case, the rain is stopped [God didn't forget to shut it off],  the water is receding, so, not that God remembers, the Ark will be opened and God is going to make a promise and give Noah, and us, some new instructions about life.  [Genesis, chapters 8 and 9]
This style of writing is related to a certain school of Bible authors and disappears after a while and doesn't occur again past a certain date. However, the lesson it conveys is very strong and we hear God giving instructions to His people that require them to keep His law in the forefront of their minds and hearts forever.  The lesson is, remember God always.  Repeat this meal, always.  Teach your children about Me, always.  "I will be with you, always."

Today, Ash Wednesday, we are going to hear the word again.  This time directed to us by Our Holy Mother the Church.  Where did she get it?  Two places, actually.
First, Jesus tells us, "Do this in memory of Me."  Jesus, needless to say, knew His Bible stories.  Just as we do.  Jesus knew the dynamic value of remembering.  He wanted us to remember every single day.  He didn't want us remembering the old sacrifices.  He wants us to remember the Covenant that He forged with us.  He is the sacrifice that we must remember, not the sacrifices of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  His is the Covenant that we must live.  His is the sacrifice that we must remember in the meaning of  "making something happen."  When we remember to join Him around the altar for the supreme Sacrifice, He remembers us and together we live the New Covenant in the living presence of God.
Second, we are advised by Holy Mother the Church to remember who and what we are as creatures of God, i.e.,
Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris. [Gen 3, 19]
Remember, man, that you are dust and to dust you shall return.
When we do this, we don't only remember ourselves.  We remember our history.  We remember the mission that God gave us even as He was closing the Garden Gate behind us.  He was telling us to remember whence we came and where we had to go.  He was telling us to remember that it is to the Garden that we should return.  He promised us that the Gate would open.  He would see to it.  He also told us that it was to be through our remembering His Promise to us that others would find their way to the Garden as well.  He was thereby telling us that we had to join Him in making "something happen."  Remember, O Man whence you come, for that is where you are called to return.
                        +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
In 1846 the Mother of Jesus appeared to two illiterate cowherds in the French Alps,  above the hamlet called La Salette.   Our Blessed Mother spoke for about twenty minutes to the children.  Her lesson was one that called upon us all to change our way of life or forever be starved from our eternal salvation.  At one point she said, bluntly, "If you are not converted, I will be forced to let the arm of my Son fall."  Further she said, "If the wheat and potatoes are spoilt, it is because of you."  To help put her message across, toward the end of her talk to us through the children, the "Beautiful Lady" [they always called her that] turned to Maximin, the little boy and said,

"Have you never seen wheat that is spoilt, my children?"
"No, Madam," they replied.
 "But you, my child," she insisted, addressing the little boy in particular, "you must surely have seen some once when you were at the farm of Coin with your father. (Coin was a hamlet near the town of Corps).
The owner of the field told your father to go and see his ruined wheat. You went together. You took two or three ears of wheat into your hands and rubbed them, and they fell into dust. Then you continued home. When you were still half an hour's distance from Corps, your father gave you a piece of bread and said to you: "Here, my child, eat some bread this year at least; I don't know who will eat any next year, if the wheat goes on like that."'
 Confronted with such precise details, Maximin eagerly replied: "Oh yes, Madam, I remember now; just at this moment I did not remember."

The Blessed Virgin then closed her lesson by giving them a mission, consonant with the memory that she caused to happen: "Well, my children, you will make this known to all my people."

Just as we are commanded by Her Son to make it happen in "memory of me," our Holy Mother makes us remember where we come from so that we can help her and Her Son make the miracle of conversion happen.
[Note: When the boy's father heard that the Beautiful Lady had remembered that episode in his life, he immediately converted and never missed a daily Mass for the rest of his life.]

Therefore, I tell you, Mementote, nolite lacrimare ante sarcophago meum.
Remember, no crying in front of my casket.

SPIRITUALITY OF HOME, SWEET HOME

How well do you listen to the homily?  Before you answer, try to get yourself through the next few paragraphs and then see what your habit is.
Catholic life is different than some others that we come to know about from our friends and acquaintances.  Catholics who participate in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist [Mass] every Sunday know the pattern well.  There are four very specific references to Sacred Scripture.  Three proclamations (Old Testament, Letters from New Testament and Gospel) with one prayer, usually of praise or petition (Responsorial Psalm).  These Scripture readings are organized in such a way to give the audience a clear idea of the general "theme" for the Sunday.  The Catholic Church has this part of Sunday Eucharist organized in three parts, A, B, C, one for each year of a three year cycle.  The priests who lead the Liturgy are expected to give inspirational reflections concerning the contents of the Bible Readings that make up the Scriptural teachings of the week.  These reflections/meditations are called Homilies.
Catholic priests do not get to choose the bible passages that they will "preach" about on any given Sunday.  Catholic priests are also further required to provide the congregation of the faithful with reflections/meditations on scripture readings taken from the Church's organized Scripture schedule during Masses celebrated on week-days.  Six days a week, Monday through Saturday.  If you have time, you might want to make daily Mass a habit.

This makes the question in the title an important one.  Why?  Because the Catholic who pays attention to the Homily will learn more about the Scripture than just the transitory lessons being communicated by any given priest.  True that some Sundays we walk away saying to our pew companion, "He did well today.  You have to give it to him.  He's usually pretty good, but today he was really on his game."  That is indicative that the parishioners really do hear more than just what is being said about a given set of Bible Readings.  What is it that we hear?  Is it that important?    Yes, it is important.  here's why.
We all have channels through which we connect to people.  In the natural world, these are connected to our personality, our character, our culture, our background, our family customs, our education, our talents and who knows how many more things.  We have perhaps two or three friends whom we consider to be true friends, even if not the 21st century TFL [True Friend for Life].  With each one of these people we are happy for different reasons.  Each one evokes slightly different reactions and feelings in us.  We love each one equally, or about equally, but each one for a slightly different reason.  This is true of our relationship with God.  I relate to God in a different way than you do.  Father "X" relates to God differently than Father "Y" does.  That, I don't think can be denied.
A reality of Catholic life is that Catholics, generally,  don't follow a particular priest to the point of discipleship.  Catholics, generally, get more attached to the Mass schedule than to the priest.  So, over a year's time, Catholics will hear the homily from a given priest about 15 to 18 times, on average.  That is not an enormous number, but it is enough to get to know what the "nut" of the reflection, the Homily, will be every time.  This, in general Catholic Theological terms, is what is called the priest's Spirituality.  It is his way of relating to God and to the the higher supernatural realities of life.  Ask yourself, "Do I recognize the spirituality of Father 'X'  when he is delivering the Homily?"  If you haven't gotten to that point yet in your Sunday Mass participation, maybe you can start analyzing things that you hear a little more closely.

I now allow myself to give you an example.    At the church where I go more often, there is one priest who has a very recognizable spirituality. His relationship with God and God's Mother Mary is focused on the Kingdom of God being HOME.  I have been listening to this priest for more than one year now.  I have come to feel comfortable with his spirituality.  It is a clear, guiding focus in his relationship to God and Mary.  To those in the pews who hear him over the time of those 15 homilies I mentioned will also hear a suggestion of how to relate to God and Mary.  The listeners will be enriched by understandings of God and Mary that go beyond the sound of the words.  They will hear the whispering of the Holy Spirit in their Hearts and Souls.  It could very well be that his HOME relationship with God and Mary will resonate with the listeners and enrich their prayer experience.  It will also increase their respect for a priest whom they now are convinced has a solid personal prayer life.


Those of us who live in parishes where we get to listen to two or three priests on a regular basis are blessed with the possibility that there will be at least one who will have an easily detectable spirituality like the one I mentioned above.   Sadly, there are too few priests who communicate as honestly as the one I am mentioning here.
It is not my intention to denigrate anyone.  It is my intention here to encourage all Catholics within the sound of my voice to work on their preparation time before participating in the Sunday Mass.  Read the Scripture for the day before going to the church.  How do you feel about the readings?  What do you think is the key for you on this day?  Then, when you get to Church and the Liturgy of the Word unfolds, don't just listen.  Embrace it.  Remember how you felt at home and compare what you feel NOW.  Compare your understanding of the "theme" and what the priest's understanding is.
Finally, if you are reading this, it means that you can ponder the readings for the Sunday ahead right here at www.Parishworld.net  If you are subscribed, you get the email every Friday [or is it Saturday] so you can always prepare to participate deeply in the Mass.

Remember that you heard this from me.  I am sure that following this advice will make you so happy that you will have no temptation to cry at my funeral.

VALUE OF SUFFERING

There was an interesting thought that crept into my consciousness today.  I read that some one on a religious Internet site asked the question, "Is it right to ask God to cure my suffering?"  You have to admit that this is not your ordinary cute little challenging question such as makes the rounds on the Internet now and then.  You know the kind of question I mean.  The famous question about why we "get into an automobile but get on a bus."  No.  This is not a George Carlin question.  This is a real one coming from a spiritually alert person.   Not that I am saying that Carlin was not a spiritually alert person.   The reason why the question intrigues me is that if I were suffering I would not be shy about turning to God and asking Him to get me out of the situation.  This is a question that could only come from a Christian, more than likely a Catholic one at that.  But is is intriguing.  Why would anyone think that suffering is a morally proper state to live in?  Why would someone think that it would be sinful to wish to be relived of suffering?   I think I know why.   I do have some ideas that I will put on the table after I make a couple of short points.
~Suffering is not synonymous with pain.  My father lived for some 40 years with daily pain.  He led a fruitful life.  In fact, I saw him truly suffer for one whole year, one time, but not from what was causing him the pain.  He had contracted Rheumatic fever and it was excruciating.  Not from the pain, but from the forced inactivity.   Rheumatic fever is a very dangerous illness.
~I have a very exciting and fiery case of gout.  Since the age of  thirty-two I have endured this painful condition. I've never missed a day's work because of it.  I have it in just about every joint known to man and woman, and I suppose, God too.  Two years ago I was flat on my back for a couple of months.  True, for a while the pain was "killing" me.  I was suffering more from the situation that I was in than the pain.  I want you all to know that I prayed that I would walk through that valley and get high enough up on the sunny side of the hill to see something toward the future.  I did.  I am convinced that God did it.  He provided me with a loving community of generous people to help me through the valley of darkness.  
I think that the big difference between pain and suffering is that suffering is communitarian.  It affects the whole environment.  The pain of suffering is not necessarily physical.  In some cases it attacks your wallet more than your body.  In many cases it affects your identity as it relates to your place in the world.  I was in a wheel chair for about ten or twelve weeks and I have to say that I would have swapped an extra dose of bodily pain for freedom from that Satanical instrument of torture.
We have a very good example of the difference between suffering and pain in the Gospel of Luke.  The story of the rich man and the poor Lazarus.  The poor man lingered and loitered around the rich man's table to snag what he could falling from the table, despite the avaricious behavior of the rich man.  He even was satisfied to let the dogs lick his pullulating skin lesions.  He died and went to Heaven.  The rich man went to Hell.  There he suffered.  And how!  We never hear about the poor man's state of mind.  All we know is that he was not a very healthy individual.  
The people whom we see suffering in the Gospel are those who have not yet met Jesus or who have met Him and rejected him.  We have to believe that the Pharisees, as religiously fervent as they were had to be extremely uncomfortable around Him.  The Sadduccees even worse.  
Consider Judas.  He suffered so badly that he did himself in.
That brings me to the reason why it is perfectly correct to pray to be delivered from suffering.  It is, briefly, because in that prayer, we meet Jesus.  We humans relate to the pain of Jesus.  We wonder how He could have lived though it all for so long.  Actually, the physical torture was nothing compared to the centuries of rejection that the Father, Son and Spirit had undergone at the hands of the Chosen People to that point.  It is because of that personally insulting rejection that Jesus was suffering.  It is because He is the only One who knows the depth of that suffering and has lived it in His divinity that He can save us from committing that very sin.  It is therefore easy for me to say that the value of suffering lies in the fact that it puts us in the same situation as Jesus was.  This unity between Him and us is so intimate that our suffering becomes His and we are delivered from owning it.  When we unite ourselves with Jesus on this very intimate level, our suffering is offered for the spiritual good of others.  In this intimate relationship, physical pain, though present, becomes unimportant.
It is through the example of Jesus that we know that suffering is a communitarian reality.  He did not do it alone.  He did not do it for me or for anybody else personally.  He did it for the People.  He did it for the human race.  He did it for the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, i.e., for us all.  He did it in public.  He did it in the main street of the Holy City.  The City over which He had shed bitter tears.  The City that had killed Prophets.  When we suffer, it is not we who suffer.  It is we and Jesus.  When it is WE and JESUS, the pain is secondary.
So that is where the question is born.  "If we are so close to Jesus in suffering, shouldn't it be wrong to pray for it to stop?"  The answer is no for three good reasons.
ONE.  Even Jesus prayed for it to stop.  Remember?  It didn't, but He suffered in the presence of His Father.  Just as we suffer in His presence for His Will to be done.
TWO.  Among the scoffers and the indifferent passers-by there were those who were impressed by the strength of the person being tortured.  Jesus even won one of them over.  That's the goal.  That's our goal too.  But we can only get it if we are suffering in and with the Father, Son and Spirit.
THREE.  When He resurrected, look at all the unfinished business He cleaned up.  It's after He suffered that He told the Apostles to get going and to spread the word.  When we are delivered from our suffering, Jesus knows that we will do everything in our capability to spread the word.


Finally, suffering is good because it teaches the one who goes through it with Jesus and comes out the other side to pitch in and try harder to be a more faithful and righteous disciple.    In my case, this part was done for me.  My loving and devoted spouse, Belle, promised God that if He got me through it, she and I would offer the rest of our lives working for Him.  Now you know why I don't want anybody crying at my funeral.