In a way, these readings are about heaven and hell.
Let’s start with heaven.
In the first reading, Moses asks to know God’s Name.
He wants to draw closer to God.
After all, Moses and God’s People had been in slavery
for over 400 years.
The stories of what God did in Abraham’s life,
in the lives of Isaac and Jacob and Joseph, were all distant memories.
Perhaps even God himself seemed very distant.
In Hebrew, names are more than just what someone is called.
They express the essence of who someone is.
When God tells Moses he is “I AM WHO AM,”
he is revealing his true nature,
that he is the One who truly and fully exists.
By responding this way, God is being very intimate with Moses,
And encouraging Moses’ desire for that intimacy.
Notice that: God WANTS US to know him this way!
This intimate union with God is heaven.
Remember, always remember: God wants this for us.
Some people seem to think God’s salvation is grudging. NO!
The problem is never God’s want-to, but ours.
You and I never have to change God’s mind.
It is our mind, our lives, that need to change,
and God is always at the door our heart,
you and I only need to invite him in.
At the beginning, I mentioned hell. Where does that fit in?
Well, that’s what Jesus is warning against in the Gospel.
Unless you and I repent, he says, we will all likewise perish.
He doesn’t mean natural death, but spiritual death.
As we all know, a terrible war is raging in Ukraine.
The thing about war is that it, too, is about both hell – and heaven.
The hell part is obvious. But notice the grace that is at work.
It was C.S. Lewis – in his book, Screwtape Letters –
who noted that war strips away, better than almost anything,
the illusion that death is far away.
Amid the horror, acts of courage and generosity take our breath away.
As people worldwide unite in a common purpose and pray together,
our hearts lift with hope.
Let me call to your attention Pope Francis’ plan
to consecrate Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
People are asking, is this about Fatima?
Honestly, I will let other people deal with that.
I know that Sister Lucy, one of the Fatima visionaries,
said that Pope John Paul properly consecrated Russia to Mary in 1985.
I’m not interested in getting into the weeds on that.
Pope Francis wants to renew that consecration. I’m 100% in favor.
This will happen on Friday, at noon our time.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Schnurr has asked us all
to pray a novena of Rosaries for Ukraine,
so I invite you to pray a Rosary every day through Friday.
Maybe people would like to gather at St. Remy, on Friday, at noon?
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