Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church

"I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! Praised be the LORD, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies." - Psalm 18:2-3

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for Your strength when I am weak, Your consolation and healing when I am broken and wounded, that You for Your delight in me, that You are there in all circumstances. May I ever let You fight in, with and through me, that the effects of sin may not find a resting place in me, rather nothing save for You and Your Love. Amen.

Who Fights For You

The worldly people would have us think that Jesus is just a pacifist, a good moral teacher, someone we might be able to learn from on our own if we should so choose. The reality though is that Jesus is passionate about each of us. Jesus knows the effects of sin in our lives, the effects that sin has on us, our relationships, and how it prevents us from welcoming and seeing God Himself.

In our gospel today, Jesus helps us to get a clearer picture of who He is and what He has come to do. Jesus is speaking strongly against those who would kill Him. Jesus is preaching to prepare their hearts to recognize Him and be saved from their sins. The result though is that we see the ugly fruit of sin in our lives, that sin causes us to hate God, to want to kill Him. Rather than being angry and God for letting us choose what is actually not God for us. The path to freedom is to see Jesus for who He is and to let Him fight sin and its effects in our lives, within our very hearts. To see that the works that He is doing and has done, are works done that we might come to believe in Him and remove the resistance within our hearts. To recognize that this resistance is due to sin and that If we believe in Jesus and call on Him then we will be set free from sin. In a similar way to how Jesus passed from their malice as they tried to stone Him. Jesus is not blind due to sin as we are. Jesus sees clearly and wants us to entrust ourselves to His guidance.

This is what God has always wanted, this is the message that God sent countless times through His prophets. Return to me, cast far from yourselves your sinful ways. See the truth and goodness of God's ways. These are good quick summaries of God's word spoken through the prophets, messages which got most of the prophets killed. And as we know Jesus, God Himself. Jesus loved us to the end, and is still fighting for us. Now as we are being saved from the effects of sin in our own lives, Jesus calls us to be prophets. And in this call Jesus gives us His words which are true, and should guide our actions as we help others be free of sin in their lives, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me." (Jn 15:18-21)

May you believe in Jesus and let Him fight in, with, and through you!

-Fr. Jeremy