When some see Jesus suffering and dying on the cross, they see our Lord's loss - the loss of his dignity, the loss of his good name, and ultimately the loss of his life.

But with the eyes of faith, we see something different. We see Jesus' self-giving: he voluntarily sacrifices himself for our sins, freely giving us forgiveness, salvation and eternal life.

And our Lord re-gives these saving graces every Mass, which is the re-presentation of that sacrifice for which he was chosen, blessed and then broken on the cross so as to be given as redemption to the world.

In weeks one through three of our Advent retreat, we explored how like Christ we are chosen and blessed by baptism, but that we are broken by our sins. We also explored how even our brokenness can be blessed, healed and constructively used by God. In this our fourth and final week, we explore how like Christ we are chosen, blessed and broken for something: to be given in self-sacrifice for the benefit of others.

Our opening prayer, part of the Holy Mass' Eucharistic Prayer II, hints at how we live out this divine mission most fully at Eucharist. It also shows, as Nouwen will further help us see, how we live this mission out in our daily lives and personal relationships. The two things - Eucharist and life - are so closely wed that we cannot discuss one without discussing the other.

Eucharist and life. Eucharist: recall the words of Jesus spoken by the priest at mass, "This is my body, which will be given up for you." Life: Jesus really died on the cross to give life to others. Eucharist and life.

Eucharist and life. ... Eucharist:"This is the cup of my blood ... it will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven." ... Life: Jesus really shed his blood on the cross to give life to others.

Eucharist and life. ... Eucharist: we, not just the bread and wine, are changed. We who consume Christ become more and more the Body of Christ the Church, which is called to give itself in service to a world in need. Eucharist and life, so inextricably linked that all distinctions finally disappear: the Bread of Life feeds us so we can become the Bread of Life that feeds others so they can become the Bread of Life ...

Nouwen's contribution to our conversation is this. He offers that our greatest fulfillment as Christians, as humans, "lies in giving ourselves to others." But how do we engage in this divine mission in a culture that exalts having things above giving self? Nouwen offers two ways.

We give our true selves in life. And we give our true selves in death.

Nouwen is not saying we give ourselves at the level of what we have as talents, but at the level of who we are in our gifted humanity - in life we can be patience and forgiveness, for example, joy and love, hope and peace and friendship. And in death, we can be and give to God the gifts of complete trust and surrender, refusing at the end to cling to an earthly life that is trumped in significance by the heavenly life that awaits. In death we can also leave behind for our friends and family the gifts that are the "lessons of our Christian lives," memories that can inspire imitation in others the way Christ's life did. As he is in everything, Jesus is our model for self sacrifice. He understood he had to be broken and given to the world so that he could then ascend back into union with the Father in heaven. He understood this was also the only way to send back for us his gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus proves that even death can be a gift.

I invite us to spend the remainder of our retreat in conversation with one another. Let's discuss with our friends and family at home, with our fellow parishioners at church, or with God in individual prayer, what we can do this Advent and Christmas to give our true selves to others in imitation of Christ. We are chosen, blessed and broken to be given. What are three concrete ways we can do this during a season in which our culture tells us life is all about "getting"?

Kicks-start the conversation with the two questions under "Given" on page 155 of Nouwen's book:

1.     "True joy, happiness, and inner peace come from the giving of ourselves to others" (p. 109). Recall a time when you gave yourself to others. How did you feel afterward about the other person and your relationship? How did you feel about yourself? Did this in any way open you more fully to God?

2.     "It is only when we have died about our spirits can completely reveal themselves" (p.117). Think of the lives of famous saints, writers, relatives, friends, or others who have inspired you. How do their lives and deaths show the truth of Nouwen's words that "the death of the Beloved bears fruit in many lives"?

Happy Advent and Merry Christmas!

ADVENT RETREAT INTRO / SESSION THREE: 11.22.09

Based on Henri Nouwen's "Life of the Beloved."

Broken

-        In the name of the Father ...

-        We silence ourselves and invite God into this space ...

-        May the God of Abraham choose you and take you as his own; may the God of Moses bless you with his favor and love; may the God of Jesus grant you the healing and strengthening light of his Spirit; and may the God of our Mother Mary, St. Joan of Arc and St. Therese of The Little Flower, bless us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life ... Amen.

-        In the name of our one and only God: the Father and the son ...

Think about this image from Catholic author Father Robert Barron:

Driving on the road at night, your car's windshield always looks clean and clear; it's a trick of the dark that all windows seem clean at night. But pull that same car out of the garage the next bright and sunny morning, and as soon as the sunlight hits your windshield you discover it's stained with dust and dirt, pollen streaks and bug-bits - you discover it's actually so dirty that you're amazed you could have driven with it at all last night. Time for a car wash!

The point Barron makes, and one with which I think Nouwen would agree, is a take on sacred Scripture: what the dark CON-ceals, the light RE-veals.

Let's turn from car windshields to the spiritual life.

What's the first goal of all recovering alcoholics? To admit to themselves, and to others trying to help them, that they are, indeed, alcoholics. Keeping such brokenness to ourselves and in the dark tricks us into thinking that that which ishidden does not really exist, that we are fine - until a crisis undoes us or those we harm ("The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist" - character of Screwtape from C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters"). We are all stained with sin, or addiction, or some kind of brokenness. We are like cracked vessels. Barron, Nouwen and sacred Scripture encourage us to bring these "cracks" out of the dark and let God's light shine ON them, to reveal them, and then to let God's light shine INTO these cracks, to heal them and, Nouwen would add, USE them for his divine mission. God's cleansing light and love are our spiritual car wash.

(Read Ephesians 5: 8-15).

In week one of our Advent retreat, we explored THAT we are chosen by God, which gives us an invincible dignity and worth. In week two, we explored HOW we are chosen, through the redeeming blessing of God in baptism, which makes us one with the ever-living Christ we prepare to greet on his birthday at Christmas.

Now, all who are chosen and blessed by God are chosen and blessed FOR something, to DO something for others in imitation of Christ (we will get to this in week four). But today, in week three, we recognize that before every mission or journey, preparation is necessary. Catholic missionaries, for instance, prepare to preach the Good News in foreign lands by strengthening their bilingual skills, strengthening their knowledge of Scripture. We today, with Nouwen's help, will explore two sacraments of the church which God uses to strengthen and heal our brokenness - once we've admitted to this brokenness - before we minister for him in the world: the strengthening sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick.

With that introduction, let's break into our groups (and if I could please ask someone to flip the kitchen switch that cuts my microphone in here from broadcasting my voice throughout the building.) Thanks.

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ADVENT RETREAT / SESSION TWO: 11.15.09

Based on Henri Nouwen’s “Life of the Beloved.”

By Rev. Marc Powell

 Blessed

-    In the name of …
-    Everyone read baptismal renunciation of sin (p. 104 Rites Book)
-    … This is part of the most powerful blessing in the church's arsenal - it is the blessing of baptism, the sacrament by which all our sins are forgiven and heaven is once again made possible. What blessing, then, could be more powerful? Last week we concluded, with Nouwen’s help, and Scripture, that not only Israel, not only Jesus, but all of us are chosen, or taken, and that we are beloved of God, and that this gives us a dignity, a worth, that nothing and no one in the world can take away, that this special status of “chosen” is won for us not by us, but by participation in the Body of the perfectly holy Jesus Christ the Church. Those who are chosen are always chosen FOR something, to DO something, but before we explore with Nouwen what we are chosen to do, let's this week focus on the HOW of our choseness in and through Christ. In other words, let's focus this week on, as the opening prayer suggests, on the how of baptism, which is the door to salvation, the way we the chosen are blessed by our divine father the way in Nouwen’s book the bar mitzvah boy is blessed by his earthly father and mother: (Read p.67 Nouwen). The vital questions we tackle this week, then … Why is the blessing of baptism necessary for salvation? Why is it the only certain way to successfully live out Nouwen’s four Eucharistic verbs - taken, blessed, broken, given? Why must we be blessed in this way to, in short, be truly Christian? And the adults will lastly explore some hints Nouwen gives to help us remember each day that we are blessed even when the world tries to curse us, and how we can be a blessing to others every day.
-    And with that, I invite us to break into our separate groups. We return here, everyone together, promptly at 10 o'clock, to leave more time for questions than we had last week, and so the youth can share any crafts they may have made, and so you can share the fruits of answering last week’s reflection questions, if you desire to do so. Thank you.
 

ADVENT RETREAT

Blessed

Rev. Marc Powell

"The God of power and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin and brought you to new life through water and the Holy Spirit. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation, so that, united with his people, you may remain forever a member of Christ who is Priest, Prophet, and King."

This is part of the most powerful sacramental blessing in the church's arsenal: baptism. This sacrament  forgives all our sins. Makes us part of the body of Christ. And makes heaven possible again.

Last week we explored how not only Israel and Jesus Christ, but all of us are chosen and beloved by God. We also showed how this gives us a dignity and worth that nothing and no one in the world can take away, that this special status is won for us through participation in the body of Christ the Church.

But those who are "chosen" by God are always chosen FOR something, to DO something. Before we explore with Nouwen what we are chosen or taken to do, let's this week focus on what strengthens and readies us for doing. In other words, let's focus, as the opening blessing of baptismal anointing suggests, on the HOW of baptism, the sacrament by which we the chosen are blessed by God the Father before being sent on a holy mission.  In so doing, we will answer two fundamental questions: Why is the sacramental blessing of baptism necessary for Catholics? And why is it a trustworthy way to successfully live out  Nouwen's four Eucharistic verbs?

Blessings for Passovers

Nouwen relates in his book how moved he was witnessing his first bar mitzvah, at which a proud father blessed his newly come-of-age son before a packed Jewish synagogue: "Son, whatever will happen to you in your life, whether you will have success or not, become important or not, will be healthy or not, always remember how much your mother and I love you."

The father blesses his son as the boy readies to "Passover" from childhood to adulthood, which brings to mind another Passover: Israel's Passover from slavery in Egypt to freedom in Canaan (read Ex. 12-Ex.15). For Jewish-influenced Catholics, baptism is yet another type of Passover, but one from spiritual death to new life.

The sacrament and blessing of baptism is a public and ceremonial way we participate in the saving event of passing over not from physical slavery in Egypt like ancient Jews, or from the threat of physical death to physical freedom. Rather, in baptism we ceremonially celebrate passing over from spiritual slavery to sin and death to spiritual forgiveness and new everlasting life. And because sacraments make real what they represent, this is not just ceremony; this New Testament Passover actually happens for us - we die and are reborn in Christ.

Our Passover from Death to Life

Think about it, the beauty of baptism and it's link with our Jewish brothers and sisters, the first chosen people into whose family we are adopted by faith. As Moses led Israel through the waters of the Red Sea to the earthly promised land of Canaan, Jesus, as the new and perfected Moses, leads all believers through the waters of baptism to freedom in the new promised land of heaven. The waters of the Red Sea represent life (for Israel passing through them safely), but they also mean death (for the sinful Egyptian soldiers whom they drown). Likewise, the waters of baptism represent and make real the reality of spiritual death (we drown our sinful selves bound to original sin). The baptismal waters also make real the reality of spiritual life (we rise from the waters reborn into the glorified Christ).

 We are chosen and adopted into the saved family of God by faith and baptism, which as a sacrament allows us to really participate in Christ's redeeming dying and rising. (Read Acts 11:17-19 and Col. 2:12-13 and Romans 5:18-19).

The Necessity of the Blessing of Baptism

Why is the sacramental blessing of baptism necessary? Acts and St. Paul have told us: it is how Christ shares with us the "life-giving repentance" he won by his suffering, death and resurrection.

Why is the blessing of baptism a trustworthy way to successfully live out Nouwen's four Christological verbs? Because without Christ's redeeming baptism, we are not holy enough or "good" enough to enter heaven and lead others there. With baptism, Christ lives out his perfect holiness and perfect goodness in and through us; in Jesus' baptism, then, our sinfulness dies and our holiness in Christ is born (read Ephesians 4:22-24).

The "new self" that St. Paul speaks of in Ephesians, the new self that is taken, blessed, broken and given in imitation of Christ, is impossible to achieve with certainty without baptism. That's why the sacramental blessing is necessary to live out Nouwen's Christological verbs most successfully - and by "successfully," I mean in a way that leads to heaven.

Baptism is necessary because to be a Christian is to have Christ within us, or more accurately, to have been re-born into the mystical Body of Christ the Church. This is only possible with certainty through baptism. As then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote in "Jesus of Nazareth": "to accept the invitation to be baptized now means to go to the place of Jesus' baptism. It is to go where he identifies himself with us and to receive there our identification with him. The point where he anticipates death has now become the point where we anticipate rising again with him."

How blessed we chosen are to share in Christ's baptism.

For a small box: Reflect this week on two suggestions Nouwen gives for remembering our blessedness in the Lord: prayer and presence. For instance, payerfully re-read the scripture passages in this week's installment and hear God speaking his baptismal blessing upon you through them. And become a blessing presence to others by speaking well of them and their efforts to serve God and their brothers and sisters.

Lastly, reflect on the following question: "Isn't it easier for us to believe we are cursed than that we are blessed?" (pp. 74-75). Consider the list of social ills Nouwen mentions on p. 74. Do some of these currently impact your life? What helps you remember your blessedness in the midst of such suffering?

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ADVENT RETREAT / SESSION ONE: 11.8.09

Based on Henri Nouwen’s “Life of the Beloved.”

By Rev. Marc Powell

Taken. Blessed. Broken. Given.

“They are the keys to understanding not only the lives of the great prophets of Israel and the life of Jesus, but also our own lives,” Nouwen writes. Let's briefly explore, then, how Israel, Jesus and all of us are in similar ways “chosen,” or “taken,” the first of Nouwen’s four eucharistic verbs. Recognizing our choseness in this way is quintessential because we can’t live as beloved of God if we don’t KNOW we are beloved of God.

How were we chosen? To answer that, we first must know how Israel was chosen.

Read Gen. 12: 1-3, in which Abram becomes Israel's Father of Faith as reward for his obedience to God, and in which God establishes a covenant with the Jews through Abram. This holy contract explains that Abram's descendents will be God's chosen and beloved people, a familial bond formalized later in Genesis (read Gen. 17: 1-4).

God promises to love and save all of chosen Israel through Abram, whose name he changes from Abram - roughly meaning “father of some” - to Abraham - roughly meaning “father of many.” Abraham thus becomes the spiritual father of the chosen people, a chosen people whose First Covenant designation is proven by Jewish blood or the holy mark of circumcision. Israel's choseness is conditioned upon their living up to their covenantal duties, part of which is listed, for instance, in the Ten Commandments (read Exodus 20: 1-18).

So then, God brokering this first covenant because of Abraham’s faith and service is how Israel knows they are beloved, how they know they are chosen by the Almighty Father. But what does this have to do with the Jesus whose birth we wait to celebrate as Advent and Christmas draw near? And what does it have to do with us?

Well, fast forward to Israel idolatrously worshiping a Golden Calf in the desert after fleeing slavery in Egypt under the leadership of the new Abraham, Moses. Suffice it to say that Israel's particular desert sin is indicative of post-lapsarian human behavior in general: they cannot perfectly live up to their part of a relationship with God. Their list of transgressions against their covenant can be summarized by their desert experience, as they curse God for their hunger and for their shifting allegiance to this pagan calf-god.

Both human and divine, Jesus becomes the new and perfected Abraham or Moses, because he takes on the thus far failed mission to keep Israel faithful to their covenant. Jesus’ role as chosen can be summarized by his own test in the desert, a test that, not coincidentally, features the same temptations to covenantal infidelity that Israel gave in to during their time in the desert (read Mt. 4: 1-11 and compare to the Exodus journey of Israel in the desert, starting in Ex. 16 and culminating with the Golden Calf in Ex. 32).

In the desert, represented by Moses, Israel fails in their covenant by blaming God for their lack of bread, for their not feeling safe, and for their entertaining allegiance to pagan gods who they think may give them what they lack. Jesus, however, as Israel’s new and perfected representative, successfully resists hunger for the bread the Devil offers, successfully resists the temptation to invoke God’s protection out of threatened pride, successfully resists bowing to the false god who is the Devil. Where Israel failed, Jesus has succeeded; in and through Jesus, then, Israel lives up to their covenant and is thus forgiven and re-beloved by God, re-chosen.

So now, what does this have to do with us, you and me, Gentiles or non-Jews?

Everything. Because it hints at how we are also chosen and beloved by God: in and through Jesus Christ, who brings the first covenant to fulfillment with the new covenant he offers to all believers.

Read Ephesians 1: 3-6, in which Jesus expands his mission of salvation by making Jewish blood and circumcision no longer the sole ways to join the Chosen People. In the new covenant he offers, anyone can be adopted into his chosen family by faith and baptism.

Sin makes it impossible for us to perfectly live out the conditions of the new covenant, just as it was impossible for Israel to perfectly live out the conditions of the old. But now the perfect Jesus is our representative, our substitute, and he will succeed on our behalf in the fullness of time. In other words, all believers succeed after baptism in and through Jesus Christ, a truth St. Paul eloquently sums up in Ephesians 1: 11-14.

In the opening chapters of “Life of the Beloved,”  Nouwen writes we cannot live as The Beloved until we first KNOW we are The Beloved. What we have explored in this first week of our retreat – the abbreviated biblical narrative of how we were adopted into God’s saved family - is how we know. We, you and I, are special and in possession of an indelible, inviolable dignity given by God our Creator. We are chosen and beloved by faith and baptism in Jesus Christ.

But beware: the world may deny it (read pp. 30-33 in Nouwen’s “Life of the Beloved”).

Next issue: Blessed.

For reflection this week for the chapter on “Taken”: re-read about Jesus’ baptism in Mk. 1: 4-8. Place yourself in the passage by imagining you are the one being baptized. Meditate on this image for 10 minutes, writing down your thoughts on paper afterward. Then answer the following reflection questions on page 153 of the Crossroad edition of Nouwen’s book:

1.   “We have to dare to reclaim the truth that we are God's chosen ones, even when our world does not choose us (p.57). What makes you resists such a deep and life-giving truth?
2.    “You have to keep unmasking the world around you for what it is: manipulative, controlling, power-hungry, and, in the long run, destructive” (p.59). How does Nouwen harmonize this view of the world with his belief that everyday life can be seen in the light of love? How do you bring God's love to the struggles of your daily life?