Come Away By Yourselves

On the last day of May, we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation. Elizabeth's response to Mary's greeting reveals a beautiful chain of presence, words and responsiveness.  Her compliments to Mary on her motherhood and her confidence in God are closely connected.  By imitating one of them we also participate spiritually in the other.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

In this month of May, we turn our hearts and minds towards Our Lady.  Like a good mother, she can teach us the most important of lessons.  Among these, how to prayer better is something we can learn from her example and her life with Jesus.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Reflections on Marian devotion and Our Lady of Fatima. 

"He who eats this bread will live forever."  "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him."  In the Bread of Life Discourse, Jesus makes wonderful claims about Eucharistic Communion.  In Communion, we share in Jesus' resurrection and are intimately united with him.  This should change the way we think about Jesus.  He is not a merely figure from the past or a distant model to imitate, he is a spiritual force in our lives, a person who is always present with a mind, a will, power, and initiatives.  Faith unlocks Jesus' life in our lives, his activity in our activities. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

In St. John's Gospel, Jesus's third appearance happens after a night of fruitless fishing for the apostles.  Our Lord's intervention makes up abundantly for the lack of success they had that night.  Our lives too are often marked by apparent failure and frustration.  Like the apostles, this can be made right by a new encounter with the Risen Christ.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

God's power is especially evident in his mercy.  There are no sins that he can't forgive and his mercy waits upon the smallest opening of repentance and sorrow for sin.  Receiving God's mercy is also the result of being merciful ourselves.  Forgiving others is a condition for being forgiven.  Our own forgiveness and mercy make us like our Father God: constant in love and invincible in goodness. Thanks for listening and supporting Come Away By Yourselves.  Please rate and review the podcast wherever you listen.  Good reviews help spread the show.   https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

At the Easter Vigil, the Exultet tells us to rejoice with the joy of Christ's Victory.  Easter Joy is triumphant.  Christ is a victor and conqueror of sin and death.  We share in this victory in the sacraments and in charity.  Living a sincere Christian life, we become the resurrection for the world.https://comeawaybyyourselves.com   

How do we make the most of these Holy Days?  Keep Jesus company in his passion and death.  To get the most out of Easter, let's try to stay with Jesus from the Last Supper through his death, burial and Resurrection.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

At the Last Supper Jesus opens his heart to the apostles and to us.  St. John shares Jesus' own description of the Father's love for us: it is the same love that he has for his only Son, Jesus.  If and when we truly believe this, it changes everything and serves as the foundation of our Christian life. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

In today's Gospel Jesus saves the woman caught in adultery from a terrible fate.  We can imagine her joy, relief, and love after Jesus's intervention.  As sinners saved by Jesus, we are all in the same position.  Deep sorrow for sin precedes the great joy of forgiveness in Christ. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Almsgiving (charity) is one of the three traditional practices of Lent.  When preaching about almsgiving, Jesus focuses on purity of intention.  We should love others for their sake and for the glory of God.  St. Paul paints a portrait of the Christian heart in his letter to the Ephesians.  Christian charity is especially imbued with understanding of others and selflessness in service.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Moses encounters God on Mount Horeb in the burning bush.  We do so in our Lenten prayer and penance.  The time for conversion, for correspondence to Christ's offer of mercy, is limited.  Like the fig tree given just one year more to produce fruit, our life and our Lenten season are passing by. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Lent is a time of self-denial.  The higher, better part of ourselves strives to deny and to master our lower nature.  This interior struggle is a necessary condition for Christian life.  In emptying ourselves out, especially of our pride, we invite God to enter in. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

David composes Psalm 51 as an extended act of contrition.  This follows his being convicted of his sin by the Prophet Nathan.  The "Miserere Psalm" can help us enter into Lent well, focussed on bravely recognizing and humbly repenting of our sinful deeds and state. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

"Spes non confudit" -- with these words from St. Paul, Pope Francis invited the Church to celebrate the Jubilee year of 2025.   Living Christian hope, firmly based on God's love for us, we can become beacons of hope for many others. 

Jesus tells us to pray to have the strength "to stand before the Son of Man."  When we die we will be judged by God.  This is a hard truth but also a truth that saves us.  If we ask God for the courage to see ourselves as we really are now, we will be prepared for our death and God's judgment.  Reliance on God's grace, fostering sincerity with ourselves and others, living charity, and regularly examining our conscience are all ways to avoid self-deception and to prepare for our definitive meeting with God.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

"Where are you?"  This is God's haunting question to Adam and to fallen humanity.  "Here I am!" This is our response to Christ's search and rescue mission on our behalf.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

"To be eucharistic souls" was a great ideal proposed by St. Josemaria.  Having our lives and hearts shaped by what we celebrate in the eucharist has various manifestations in our spiritual life.  Adoration, receptiveness to God's love, imitating Christ's charity, joy, and thanksgiving are among the characteristics of truly eucharistic souls.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

"Spes non confudit" -- with these words from St. Paul Pope, Francis invited the Church to celebrate the Jubilee year of 2025.   Living Christian hope, firmly based on God's love for us, we can become beacons of hope for many others. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

This week we celebrated the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas.  Thomas believed that the Crucifix was his greatest book and source of wisdom.  Guided by St. Thomas, we too can learn great spiritual lessons of from Christ by contemplating his passion. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

"He who loves his life will lose it, he who loses his life for my sake will find it."  Finding our true life, and our true selves, means handing ourselves over to Christ.  Losing our lives for the sake of Christ is a transformative union with him.  This takes work and an acceptance of suffering.  There is no resurrection of ourselves in Christ without the cross.https://comeawaybyyourselves.com 

Like the apostles themselves, the life of the Christian is a call to be close to Jesus and to go out and spread the Good News.  Holiness and apostolate are two sides to the same divine vocation.   To be an apostle, however, we have to confront various obstacles which would keep us from sharing Christ with others. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

The Baptism of Jesus speaks to us of his incredible humility.  Without being a sinner, Jesus plays the role of one by letting himself be baptized by John the Baptist.  Humility unlocks our ability to love God and others.  It protects our peace and joy.   https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

The Feast of the Epiphany invites us to set our on our own journey to find Christ.  Christ is the Truth, the light of Life.  To find him means to deepen in our understanding and acceptance of the Truth about Him and about ourselves.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Holiness is God's own will and resolution for us.  In calling us to be holy God resolves that we be such.  Holiness is the fullness of charity.  To respond to our call to holiness, to live this divine resolution, is to learn to love God in himself and in and through all things.  

Heading into Christmas we turn our hearts towards the Christ Child.  Christ is our great Christmas present from God the Father.  Mary and Joseph give him the gifts of their faith, hope and love.  These are gifts that we too can give to the Baby Jesus.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Given as part of a Novena to the Immaculate Conception. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

A reflection given for the Novena to the Immaculate Conception on Mary as "Mother of the Fallen Away."

In Advent we prepare for the coming of the Christ Child at Christmas. Jesus, who found no room in the inn at Bethlehem, can find room in our souls and our lives if we prepare well for his coming. Making room for Jesus means clearing other things out, finding time for prayer, and welcoming him in others. 

What is the Kingdom of God and the Kingship of Christ?  How can we be loyal subjects of this Kingdom?  What keeps us from letting Christ rule as King?https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Jesus encourages us to pray constantly.  This advice is seconded by St. Paul and many other saints.  Scripture teaches us the many benefits of habitual prayer: joy, motivation, peace and fruitfulness.  Prayer is the very shape of Christian life: a sharing of our life with Christ's. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Prayer was a regular part of Jesus' daily life.  We can learn a lot from watching when, how and where he prayed. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Given at an Annual Men's Conference.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Send us a textJesus's parable of the widow and the unjust judge teaches us to pray with persistence and intensity.  While always confident that God our Father hears and answers our prayers, we are called to exercise this confidence by patient perseverance in our petitions.  "Prayer works."  This is a fundamental Gospel truth.  Prayer is powerful and others depend on our prayers of intercession for them.  Prayer of petition brings us closer to God, by reminding us of our status as his creatures and children.   https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

After the Rich Young Man goes away sad, Jesus tells his disciples twice that it will be difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God.  The possession of riches comes with the danger of relying on them too much, seeking our happiness in them, falling into a kind of practical idolatry.  The solution to this is detachment or poverty of spirit.   Detachment frees our hearts to love God and others.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

When Job sees God he accepts God's plan and submits to his judgment.  In this life, our vision of God is always indirect and partial.  "We see through a mirror dimly." It takes thus faith to trust in God's plan and his providence especially when things are difficult or go against us.  In this life, faith in God's promises substitutes for sight especially in moments when it is hard for us to understand God's ways. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

The reward for charity is great, the punishment for sin is daunting.  We live in a battle between good and evil, between joy and misery.  Victory in this struggle is not just a matter of effort but of clear spiritual vision.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Matthew's response to his vocation demonstrates a great deal of trust in Jesus.  His Gospel emphasizes Jesus's deep appreciation of faith and his disappointment at its absence.  Trust in Jesus should be absolute, lending a great certainty to our faith in his Church and in all of his teachings.  "Faith is the evidence of things unseen."  This means that at times we will have to trust more in Jesus than in the evidence of our own senses or the apparent evidence of our own judgment. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Christ's Triumph on the Cross defeated sin and death.  It was a triumph of love over selfishness.  This victory needs to be repeated in our own lives, in our own carrying of the Cross.  Sin and selfishness have to be defeated in us and this entails the acceptance of suffering and sacrifice; in a word the acceptance of the Cross.   Suffering is inevitable in life, but whether it is redemptive and sanctifying or futile and permanent is truly up to us.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Our Faith constantly encourages us to overcome our fears.  This entails standing up to them and being open to fearful situations.  Christian courage, however, is primarily based on belief in God's powerful presence and protection.  With God, "whom shall we fear?"  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

St. James describes the word of God has "having been planted in us."  This gift of God leads to the growth of His own Life in each Christian.  To foster the growth of the word in us we need to remove obstacles and create an environment in which it can flourish.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

St. Bartholomew's first meeting with Jesus is recorded in the Gospel of St. John.  Introduced by Philip, Bartholomew is struck by Jesus's already knowing him before they ever met.  Jesus is struck in turn by Bartholomew's sincerity, "an Israelite in whom there is no guile."  Our own Christian life is a matter of meeting Jesus, finding that he already knows and loves us, and being radically sincere with him so that he can completely forgive and save us. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Martha invites Jesus into her home along with her sister Mary.  Jesus's interaction with them is a great source of insight for us.  "The better part" that Mary has chosen, sitting at the feet of Jesus, tells us of the importance of prayer.  Jesus's correction of Martha, however, also has to do with her inner attitude of distraction, worry, and resentment.  In this sense, Martha can choose the better part, keep working, and maintain her peace and joy. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Jesus wants his joy to be in us and our joy to be full.  Sharing the joy of Jesus means sharing in his victory over sin and death on the cross.  Jesus receives a crown of glory and joy in heaven for his triumph.  We too will be crowned victors if we persevere joyfully in the Spiritual Olympics of life. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

The "Bread of Life" Discourse in John Chapter 6 is a treasure trove of spiritual insights.  Faith in Jesus's person is paramount for the Christian life.  This faith is tested by the audacity of his claims for the Eucharist as well as by the trials and difficulties of our personal Christian vocation.  Jesus promises spiritual satisfaction, eternal life, and, most amazingly of all, intimate communion with him for those who receive the Bread of Life in the Eucharist.  https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Jesus takes his apostles to a lonely place to rest with them.  He offers us the same opportunity in our prayer life and when we practice trust in his constant care for us. We need to distinguish healthy rest from rest that can short-circuit our attempts to refresh ourselves. ]https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Prophecy wasn't Amos' original plan for life.  God chose him to be a prophet.  St. Paul speaks of God choosing small and weak people to do great things for him.  God also chooses us for great things: holiness and mission.  Our persona, our role in life, should be more and more determined by God's vision and less by our own or by others'. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Prophetic figures are usually violently resisted.  This happened to Christ on the Cross.  Sometimes they are simply overlooked or ignored.   This happened to Christ in Nazareth, with those who knew him well.   Unless we are careful, our own familiarity with Christ could weaken his impact in our life.  We should pray about ways to have new and powerful encounters with Jesus. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

On the Feast of St. Josemaria, we reflect on one of his most important teachings: the sanctification of work.  After their conversion, the early Christians were encouraged to continue living the same life which God had already given them.  St. Josemaria encourages us to do the same.  Work is a blessing from God and key to a happy, fulfilled life.  Working well is a condition for offering our work to God, thus making it holy and sanctifying ourselves and others in the process.  Our life of prayer is an essential element in sanctifying our work, without times of intense prayer we cannot turn work into prayer. https://comeawaybyyourselves.com