​Twenty five years ago I gave blood, “the gift of life,” for the first time. It is a vivid memory because of necessity it took place on Good Friday. While donating I could not help but think of Jesus and the offering of His blood. Although I had to eat hearty meals before and after the donation on a day given to fasting from food, I realized that it was a different form of fasting because I was ‘giving up’ some blood. The entire experience was simply profound.* It helped me to enter more fully into meditation on the death of Jesus, but also to some of the earlier interactions He had with those seeking healing. The people who had approached Him were seeking the gift of life, also: the spiritual life-blood of encounter with His mercy, healing, and love. Jesus came to set us free from sin and death, an act of the purest, most unfathomable love. Therefore, He went even further than giving life through healing people, giving His Body and Blood as an everlasting gift in the Eucharist. And then He gave all by shedding His Blood on the Cross. Jesus gave us the ultimate gift of life, that is, eternal life with God.

​During Lent we spend more time in prayer, participate in fasting and abstinence, and increase almsgiving and works of mercy. A great way for us to grow in charity is to find inspiration in the Gospels; thus, prayer and reflection feeds our soul and consequently our ability to act. While all the gospels provide a number of healing stories, a passage that stands out is that of the life-giving healing given to a woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years. (Mark 5:25-34) Her bleeding would have caused a great loss in the quality of her life because it would have rendered her unclean by Mosaic Law. In other words, she would have been an outcast, cut off from the Temple, the source of spiritual life for the Jewish people. Her physical and spiritual life was ebbing away. Some could call her desperate, but her faith was indeed what saved her; she touched Jesus, knowingly rendering Him unclean too, something which could have resulted in her death for violating the Law. She knew the risks, and so she attempted to do it without Him noticing, given the tumult of the crowd. She was fearful, yet her faith enabled her to be bold enough to believe all she had to do was sneak a touch of his garment. When her deed was announced by Jesus who “felt power had gone out from Him,” she contritely admitted it was she who had touched Him, approaching “in fear and trembling” only to be gifted again by His mercy. And as if that was not enough, He gave her the additional gift of freedom from fear. (“Go in peace.”) One ‘touch’ led to the healing of body, mind, and spirit.

A point of reflection is to ask whether our words and deeds are life-giving. Do we share our faith through evangelization when the opportunity arises? Do we bring or enhance life through works of mercy, almsgiving, kindness, peacefulness, working for justice and the like? Do we go the extra mile when we see a need, or do we wait to be asked for help, and if so, do we respond? In short, those we encounter should find interactions with a disciple of Jesus to be life-giving in some way. During Lent it is important to pray and discern how to be life-giving. There are many ways to do so, all of which involve setting aside self in order to help someone else find healing through our care and mercy. Perhaps we will even help preserve life in one who feels like he or she is barely holding on. This is a time to pray about how we can be life-giving though our actions, to ask for the graces to act, and then to do so. Jesus insisted that His followers help those in need. Thus, we can help feed and clothe the poor and the unemployed or underemployed who can barely make ends meet by giving of our time, talent, and treasure; we can volunteer at a church or community center; we can reach out to a lonely person in our neighborhood, take Communion to the homebound, listen to someone who needs to talk, offer kindness to a person who is difficult in some way, spend  time with our children even when we are tired, and many other little ways that do not require a lot, yet are impactful and life-giving to the one who receives. Kindness and selflessness do not require much, only that we are attentive to those who are trying desperately to touch the hem of our garments.

​Lent calls us to reflect upon what we have been given by Jesus, that we take to heart His words: “What you have received as a gift, give as a gift.” (Mt 10:8) In heeding the Lenten call to prayer, acts of mercy, almsgiving, and fasting, we can give of the riches we have received to those still seeking. The season of Lent calls us to understand that growing in holiness is important, but it is only possible if we direct ourselves toward others. All the gifts we have been given are not ours to possess, but are to be given away to others so they might find healing and wholeness, too. Jesus gave His all so that we might have life to the full. As His disciples, let us do what we can to imitate Him through our small acts of love.

May we be life-giving by sharing our faith through word and deed! May we find inspiration for our works of mercy in the Gospels and in our prayer! And may we never cease approaching Jesus to touch the hem of His garment! Let us continue to meet in the Heart of Jesus! Peace! 
                         ©Michele L. Catanese

* The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center uses the phrase, “Give the Gift of Life” as a motto. Giving blood is a wonderful way to offer something precious to the community if you are able to do so. ~As for giving on Good Friday and subsequently not fasting from food, I have no doubt Jesus approved of my different form of fasting. 

Images:
1. Icon cross, The Cross of Life -The Flowering Cross, by Fr. William Hart McNichols. I can think of no image more appropriate for this post than this one! You can purchase a copy in one of many mediums at fineartamerica.com/featured/the-cross-of-life-the-flowering-cross-william-hart-mcnichols.html
2. Wall painting, Healing of the Bleeding Woman. This was found in the Catacombs of St. Marcellinus and Peter in Rome, Italy.
3. My photo, blurred purposely, taken in northern Italy. A gesture of kindness: an injured friend  being helped after a nasty fall while climbing down a mountain. 
4. Painting, The Corporal Works of Mercy.
5. My photo, the Atlantic Ocean at a beach in Puerto Rico. Water is another symbol for life.

NOTE: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. 

The author of the Gospel of Mark is known for being succinct, his gospel being the shortest of the four. Though the details of each gospel event he recorded are brief, there is much contained within each of them. After only 13 verses (packed with meaning), Mark gets right to the ministry of Jesus, much of it about providing physical, emotional, and spiritual healing to many people. In general, all the healings are about becoming whole in spirit so that we can become the person we were meant to be, our truest, most beautiful self, finding happiness in God. Mark also writes about the ‘nature miracles’ performed by Jesus, such as walking on water and two stories of multiplication of food.  For a succinct writer, that he describes two such food miracles is important. The first was done for Jews and the second for Gentiles, thus Mark was assuring his Gentile audience that salvation is for everyone, and that we all are in need of it! We are on this journey together, no one individual or group is more important than another. Unfortunately, we also share in the reality that we are broken and prone to sin. It is for this reason that God offers healing so that we can grow closer to Him in our work as disciples, building up the Kingdom. But more important to Him is that we discover the truth of who we are: good, beautiful, gifted, and loved. 

​We should note that in Mark’s Gospel all of the miracles of Jesus culminate with the most marvelous event of His life prior to His resurrection: the Transfiguration. Jesus knew that while the apostles were still quite rough around the edges, they were getting closer in readiness to take over the mission; simultaneously the time for Jesus to fulfill His ministry was growing near. While the apostles would not fully understand until after the death of Jesus, the moment was chosen for them to witness the reality of God as Trinity and that Jesus is the Son. We usually focus on Jesus in the Transfiguration event, but for a moment let us focus on the men present. Peter, James, and John never asked Jesus to perform miracles, nor did they pressure Him to reveal anything. Instead they observed, listened, and reflected upon what they witnessed, often confused and baffled, but trusting anyhow. There was nothing perfect about their responses to Jesus at any time, but they had the faith and openness to continue following Him.

When Jesus transfigured before the three men, it marked a dramatic shift in His ministry and in His teaching. It became more intense and almost urgent afterward. The event itself was a revelation of the immense glory of God, but for the apostles, however, it was overwhelming. Nonetheless, they must have reflected upon the experience for quite a while, discussing it amongst themselves while continuing to follow Jesus. The event surely evoked changes in them: in other words, they, too, were transfigured by the experience, albeit interiorly. They certainly did not become perfect or perfectly holy, but something within changed, perhaps their hearts and souls were being prepared for their future ministry as the first leaders in the church. While they had moments of great weakness, they never gave up before the Transfiguration or after it. And that is the entire point: we must be like them and never give up even when we are overwhelmed or frightened when things look bleak. The truth is that we do better than we think, just as the apostles did better than they thought. They had been transfigured, healed, and became more in touch with what was within them all along. But it was a process which required openness, trust, prayer and reflection, and they never gave up.

Yes, we do better than we think, but of course there always is room for improvement. Often we either deceive ourselves with the thinking that we can never be holy, or that our continued sins – (especially those we repeat no matter how many times we confess them) – will keep us from ever being worthy of doing anything for the Lord. Instead, let us look to daily opportunities for transfiguration. Just as the apostles were moved by the presence of the Living God glorified and visible, we can look within to find that very Presence which will indeed offer a daily transfiguration of some sort. It might be the need for God’s mercy or for strength in a particularly difficult moment; it may be to discern a situation, to have the time for the good works we want to do, to see the opportunities to do small things with great love as they present themselves. 

Whatever it is, we have everything we need within our hearts and through the grace offered in the Sacraments. We must look within, listen to what is there, and be attentive to that which is going on around us. Just as the apostles observed everything, so too can we find the Lord offering some little miracle of transfiguration every day. The healing we seek is present; the transfiguration we seek is available. To discover it we need faith in God, time spent listening in prayer, trust in the unseen and seen, and to use what we find to build others up by following the way of Jesus. Thus, we will find that we are indeed good, beautiful, gifted, and loved through the presence of our God who reveals Himself in glory through and in us.

May we rely on Jesus to reveal His glory in us that we will see and believe that we are good, beautiful, gifted, and loved! May we be moved to pray, asking the Holy Spirit to help us become more attentive to daily opportunities for transfiguration! And may we be like the apostles, never giving up, especially when things are most difficult or challenging! Let us continue to meet in the Heart of Jesus! Peace!
                                                                         
​                                                              ©Michele L. Catanese

Images:
1. My photo: bowl with mosaic of Loaves and Fishes. I got this bowl while in the Holy Land and it depicts a mosaic which is found at the spot where the first multiplication was supposed to have taken place, Tabgha, Israel. For more information here is a great article. https://www.jeffangiegoh.com/?p=5380
2. Inset of a painting: The Transfiguration of Jesus by James Tissot. I cropped the painting to highlight the reaction of Peter, James and John as the event unfolded.
3. Image: Hebrew Name of God-Adam Kadmon, by Fr. William Hart McNichols. This is an image of the tetragrammaton, that is, I AM WHO AM, spoken by God to Moses at the Burning Bush. To obtain a copy for purchase in one of many mediums you can find it at https://fineartamerica.com/featured/hebrew-name-of-yahweh-adam-kadmon-183-william-hart-mcnichols.html
4. My photo: a sunrise, a type of offered opportunity for transfiguration as we are given the gift of a new day.
5. My photo: an iris taken at Dirleton Castle and Gardens in Scotland.

NOTE: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time.