33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Our readings for the 3^3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Proverbs 31: 10-13, 19-20, 30-31
2. Psalms 128: 1-2, 3, 4-5
3. 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-6
4. Matthew 25: 14-30

• Give her a reward for her labors
• Service should always be given out of humility, looking to bring about the Kingdom in ways large and small, without thought for reward.  That having been said, a little appreciation never hurt anyone.  I realize now that I've never told Mary how proud I am of all that she does.
• When was the last time that you thanked someone for what they do/say/are in the community?
• Do you think that sort of encouragement would help you in your ministry/ministries?
• If you could choose whom you would like to hear such appreciation from, who would that be? 

• Prosperity Gospel
• There are those who believe that the natural consequence of following God is prosperity in this life.  Others tell you that this life is meant strictly as a test, and any blessings that we get courtesy of following God all come in Eternity.  I don't buy either of those perspectives.
• How would you define "prospering"?
• How can we tell what is the proper reward for hard work?
• Is that always going to be "fair market value"?
• Is it possible for a person to be a trillioniare in a just world?
• Do you think God cares whether we prosper or not? 

• Children of the Light
• As we approach the end of this liturgical year, the 2^nd coming becomes prominent in the readings and we're reminded that our ultimate citizenship is elsewhere.  We are a pilgrim people in this world, on our way to our true destiny.
• Who are some people in your life that spread that "light of Christ"?
• How have they changed your life, either by their example or things that they have done or said to/for you?
• How do you know whether your life is "spreading the light"?
• What could/should we do to make our community more attractive to others? 

• Building the Kingdom
• Our faith has its superstars, many of them have been canonized.  Looking at their lives can either be inspiring or daunting.
• How do you know that you're doing enough for God?
• How do you know that what you're doing is for God?
• Does the old phrase "work smarter, not harder" apply?
• Is Christian burnout a sign that you were generous, or just not properly focused?
• How do you know when it's time to leave a ministry or service? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Who in my life could use some warm appreciation right now?
• What am I doing that I wish that God would prosper, or prosper more?
• How can I be more effective at spreading the Light of Christ?
• Is my life in God well balanced?

What's Your Superpower?

 

I used to wish that someone would tell me what my superpower was.

Then I would understand my place in the grand orchestra of life.

Then I would know the part that I am to play.

 

Then I learned that generosity is more important than talent and ability.

Being ever ready to give of myself at the right place and time -

Being available is the key to building the Kingdom.

 

Then I realized that I cannot clutch my plans too tightly.

Lest those plans blind me to the here and now,

The random act of kindness, the senseless act of beauty.

 

The priest who passed the wounded man on the way to Jericho

Had important things to do that day.

He needed to be clean to perform his duties.

 

Surely someone else would come along soon.

Someone not nearly so important as that priest.

Someone who could stop what they were doing and lend a hand.

 

 Lord - help me to serve in the moment.

Help me to learn the humility

To let go when needed, and be Your hands and feet. 

 

Shalom!

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Our readings for the 32^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 6: 12-16
2. Psalms 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
3. 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18
4. Matthew 25: 1-13

• Seeking wisdom
• Wisdom is not something that you're likely to put on your resume, but I'm sure that a healthy dose of wisdom is a great help no matter where you go.
• When you feel the need for a greater wisdom than you have at the moment, where do you go?
• How well has that worked for you over the years?
• How do you know whether an idea/impression/action is truly wise or not?
• What have been the benefits of seeking wisdom in your life?
• What has it cost you to seek wisdom? 

• Finding the courage for kindness
• It can be hard to be kind to someone, particularly if they have many needs and/or are needy.  Extending a kindness towards them will likely encourage them to seek you out again, and again, ... to help them cope.  Yet our God is kind, and He calls us to be more like him in all of His ways.
• How are some ways that you have been kind to another?
• What was the fruit of that kindness?  Were the results what you expected/hoped for?
• Would you be that kind and kind in that way again? 

• Surrounded by a cloud of witnesses
• Certainly one incentive to be mindful of our actions is that we'll eventually get to see our whole life when we stand before God at our death.  But increasingly, I am mindful that there are all of those who have gone on before me, who are "rooting for me" as I go about my life.  I don't want to disappoint them.
• Who are some of those "silent witnesses" that have gone ahead of you that you look up to?
• What do you think they might say to you today if you were able to still see them?
• How might they encourage and console you in what you're going through now?
• What would you ask them to pray for? 

• In it for the long haul
• Uncertainty about the future calls for patience and courage.  Patience to allow God's plan to unfold on His schedule not ours, no matter how urgent our needs and desires seem to be.  Courage to take the right action at the right time.  In some ways, we are always in training, and at the same time always on mission.  Each decision the culmination of all that has gone before, and the foundation on which the rest of our lives will be built.
• In what ways do you think that God has made you a better person of late?
• How has that holiness helped you with recent challenges?
• What are some of the ways that an experience/challenge/trial helped prepare you for new challenges that you didn't see coming?
• If you had more time, energy, ... what would you do to better prepare yourself for what lies ahead of you? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How might I better seek wisdom in my life?
• Where do I need the courage to be kind?
• How can I bring more joy to those that I love who have gone before me?
• How might God use what I'm going through right now for my benefit in the future?

A Helping Hand

 

The only thing worse than seeing someone making bad choices for no good reason

Is having them make those bad choices in spite of the wisdom that you tried to impart.

 

Helping a loved one "see the light" calls for humility, patience, and indifference.

The sure knowledge that you are called to be a light, regardless the consequences.

 

That other person may not be able to see something in their life that's clear as day.

But they can spot pride in you from a mile away.

 

And I'm sure that patience is a fragile virtue indeed.

Given how easy it is to lose it when you need it the most.

 

But the world that we find ourselves in longs for wisdom.

Even though you will hardly ever hear someone say those words.

 

Instead, they will blame circumstances beyond their control,

Or thoughtless, selfish other people who don't know how to behave.

 

Leaving you to grind your teeth in frustration.

While you learn humility, patience, and indifference.

 

Those foolish ones who are such challenges.

Are a blessing well disguised.

 

They help us learn a wisdom that we need.

While we hope to give them wisdom that they need.

 

Lord, help me find the courage to thank you for the difficult people in my life.

Help me to embrace them unconditionally.

 

That I might be Your Presence to just one person today.

And so fulfill my destiny.

 

Shalom!

All Saints

 Our readings for All Saints Sunday are:

1. Revelations 7: 2-4, 9-14
2. Psalms 24: 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
3. 1 John 3: 1-3
4. Matthew 5: 1-12a

• Diversity in the Kingdom
• God wants diversity far more than we ever could.  I think it starts at home.  I remember Andy Anderson speaking of his Franciscan training once.  He said "we all believed heartily in the benefits of ecumenism.  Of course, at the time we were thinking of the Jesuits."
• When have you found it difficult to work with someone else to bring about the Kingdom?
• What was it that divided you?
• Do you think that actually meant that you shouldn't work together?
• Did you manage to do some good in spite of your differences? 

• Seeking God's face
• I once tried to explain contemplative prayer to my Confirmation students.  I told them that it's like a romance.  At first, you talk to each other for hours at a time.  Gradually, you are able to convey more and more of consequence to each other just resting in the other's presence.  Finally, if you are very lucky, the need for words gradually slips away and all that really counts is being together.  When that beloved is God, that's contemplative prayer.  Needless to say, that lessen flew like a lead balloon.
• Can you imagine God gazing on you right now, in complete acceptance of all that you are, all that you are actively becoming, all of your hurts and injuries, both visible and invisible.
• Imagine further that God gently calls your name, and you hear Him.  You set aside what you're doing, not because it's not important or unnecessary, but because your beloved is calling you in this moment.
• You walk towards God and you gaze into His eyes and you find perfect peace.
• He smiles at you and you know that you are never alone, always beloved, ever on His heart.
• How does that reality transform your view of the rest of your day? 

• Hope in purity
• It's easy to give up hope.  So many events, development, trends all seem to be running in the wrong direction with no end in sight to a downward spiral.  And yet, God calls us to hope in Him for a gradual, steady revelation of His kingdom in the here and now as preparation for the yet to be.
• When have you felt like giving up hope?
• Did you recover from that despair?
• What brought you back?
• What do you hope for in the future for you, your family, your various communities? 

• Clean of heart
• Clean of heart, or pure of heart (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition) describes someone who is free of anything that draws them away from God, free to follow God's will in their lives, free of deceit before God and others.  That sort of freedom helps you see God in unlikely places.
• Where are some unlikely places where you found God?
• Why was it that you were, at first, not seeing God there in that circumstance?
• How did you come to see Him there?
• How has that changed you? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where can I learn to love the unlikely, even impossible?
• When was the last time that I took time to bask in God's love for me?
• How can I be a source of God's hope to others?
• What might be blocking me from finding God in others?

Ode to Perseverance

 

The chapel was small.

Walkers and wheelchairs in every direction.

Frail, thin voices calling out the decades of the Rosary.

Just as they had done for decades.

 

I used to think that such rote prayers spoke of a lack of imagination.

That those who resorted to such recitations had no prayers of their own.

Until it gradually came to me so very gently.

These prayer warriors had made this prayer their own.

 

An aunt's battle with cancer,

A child's broken bones,

Marriage teetering on the ragged edge,

A paycheck too small to cover the rent.

 

All of these and so much more,

Had been offered up in this very space,

By these very saints.

Woven into the words, the beads, the breath of Rosary after Rosary.

 

God moving through eternity sees, and feels, and walks it all.

By our side, in our heart, as near as our own heartbeats.

Holding our hands, giving His strength, weaving us together as community.

All in the words, the beads, the breath of Rosary after Rosary.

 

These aging voices were a hymn of trust

Of faith,

Of humility before God.

And I finally was able to hear God laugh, and sob, sigh, and rejoice,

 

With these His children in prayer.

 

Shalom!

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Exodus 22: 20-26
2. Psalms 18: 2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
3. 1 Thessalonians 1: 5c-10
4. Matthew 22: 34-40

• Protecting the alien
• Say what you will about federal politics, these last couple of years have definitely called needed attention to our country's approach to immigration.
• Is it more just to help an immigrant to be productive than it is to give them hand outs with no expectations/requirements for them?
• Is it more just that government funding go to those who have come to this country illegally to meet their basic needs than it is for that same funding to go to US citizens?
• Is it more just to circumvent immigration laws than it is to undertake massive reform of those laws?
• Why do we, or any nation, have borders at all? 

• You are not alone
• Tragedy in our lives can be isolating.  Others find it difficult to relate to our circumstances.  Eventually you feel alone, cut off, by your challenges.
• When have you gone through experiences in your life that frightened you?
• What were you afraid of, what was the worst that could have happened?
• Do you think that God truly understood what that was like for you, how it felt, how it impacted you?
• How did God show His love for you through that time?
• Do you think that you might be able to be His Presence to someone else in similar circumstances? 

• Joy in persecution
• The beatitudes in Luke end with: Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!"  It's hard to imagine finding anything to rejoice about under those circumstances.
• What are some things that have brought you true, lasting joy in your life?
• Was that joy the culmination of a lot of work, or did it come easily for you?
• What are some things that have brought you fleeting, temporary joy in life?
• Why do you think that there is a difference between the first list and the second? 

• Teachable moments
• People can be hard to love sometimes.  They do or say things that make no sense, they hurt themselves and others.  Sometimes they manage to push buttons we did not even know that we had.  Worst, others sometimes make us confront things about ourselves that still need healing, that we would rather just went away on their own.
• Who are some folks in your life who are difficult to love?
• Why do you think that God put them there in your life?
• How is that working out for God?
• Do you feel that loving those difficult people helps your relationship to God at all? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• What am I doing to bring more justice to those with no voice who are around me?
• How can I be a source of God's comfort and Presence to others?
• Where do I find my joy most often?
• Where can I learn to love the unlikely, even impossible?

My Elder List

 

Caring for the elderly is, among other things, a school in humility.

Day after day, this frail loved one manages to win most arguments.

Stopping you from carrying out your best intentions,

Just because you're not doing it "the right way".

 

I'm building a list of things that I hope that I will do as I get older.

Hoping against hope that I'll somehow learn from today

Lessons that I can carry with me into the shadowy tomorrows.

So that I'll be better, not bitter, hopeful, not critical.

 

I hope I won't point out how haggard others my age are looking lately.

I hope that I'll never stop looking forward to family gatherings.

I hope that I'll always find ways to love my grandchildren in ways they understand.

I hope that I'll always be willing to listen to reason, even when it hurts.

 

I hope that no matter how tasteless my food seems, that I'll always be grateful.

I hope that no matter how tired I get to feeling, I'll always be able to pray.

I hope that my aches and pains will turn me to God for support and comfort.

I hope that I don't let my fear of the changes in my life turn to anger.

 

I hope that I will never forget how lucky I am, even if I cannot remember why.

I hope that I'll always have a smile for those who cross my path, even if I lose their name.

I hope I can always be able to find ways to show love, no matter how small.

I hope that I'll always notice love shown me, no matter how small.

 

Shalom!

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 45: 1, 4-6
2. Psalms 96: 1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
3. 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5b
4. Matthew 22: 15-21

• I feel so used
• None of us likes to feel like a pawn on the chessboard of life.  For one thing, the pawns tend to die early in the game.  God uses us to His own good will and purpose, yet (for the most part) we don't feel used.
• How/what do you do to put yourself at God's disposal?
• When did you start that practice?
• How has it worked for you?
• Assuming that you firmly believe that God has the highest good for all of us in His plans for us, don't you think that it would help if He'd share those plans from time to time?
• If there was one thing that you could ask of God to make it easier for you to follow Him, what might that be? 

• God of all nations
• At one time, it was thought that each nation had their own god(s) firmly rooted in their land.  When one nation triumphed over another in battle, it was, by extension, a victory for their god(s) over the other.  But our God tells us that He is God of all, a unifier, not a divider.
• Do you think that God has anything to say about international politics?
• What would a just world look like?
• How do we get there?
• Is that too much to hope for this side of eternity?
• How did we get here? 

• Enduring hope
• The first person who will live to be 120 is alive today.  Or at least that's what a financial planner has on a billboard that I saw.  Once we remove the physical barriers to long life, I wonder how we will manage the spiritual and emotional ones.  Living to be 120 without hope sounds like a pretty harsh sentence to me.
• What is it that you hope for in this life?
• What do you hope for in the next life?
• What does that first list have to do with the second list?
• Where do our deepest hopes and dreams come from?
• What are you doing about yours? 

• Hope at the crossroads
• Sometimes its hard to remember that all good things flow from God, He is the author of all authority, our ultimate destiny is in His hands.  Once you believe all that, the only challenge is what to do in the meantime while the Kingdom of God is emerging.
• What do you hope for from our leaders, both within and without the Church?
• As children of God, what do you think that we owe those leaders?
• What can we do to help them be the best leaders that they are capable of?
• What happens if Church or civic leaders don't "stay in their lane"?  Church leaders trying to tell us how to be good citizens or civic leaders venturing into maters of religion?
• How do we tell when they have strayed that way? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• What am I doing to help me follow God more closely?
• Where is God inviting me to bring others together in Him?
• How do I nurture my hopes?
• Where might God be calling me be a better, more authentic leader myself?

Prayer for Courage

 

Fr. Brian mentioned St. Oscar Romero in his homily a couple of weeks ago, and I felt led to do a little looking into his life and I stumbled onto this prayer of his that really seemed to fit.  I offer that this week as a way to set the proper context for what we do, who we are, and who we are striving to become.

 

Shalom!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 25: 6-10a
2. Psalms 23: 1-3a,3b-4, 5, 6
3. Philippians 4: 12-14, 19-20
4. Matthew 22: 1-14

• The riches of God's love
• God is generous, maybe not in the ways that we expect, but He is never stingy.  So it would seem that we, His servants, would learn generosity from Him as well.  Yet there is so much need all around us.
• In days gone by, the Catholic Church built orphanages, hospitals, schools, and churches.  Each of those contributed to the betterment of their respective communities.  What's happened since?
• Are we still called to that same sort of generosity?
• What can we learn from that past and apply to today?
• What might we have to do differently today in order to be generously holy and holy in our generosity? 

• The valley of the shadow
• Frightening events come to just about all of us.  Its easy to let fear blind us to what we know to be true about our God, His care for us, even forget times in the past when He has proven Himself to be faithful and merciful.
• When you are fearful of some outcome, what do you do?
• If you answered "pray", how do you pray in those circumstances?
• What do you really expect God to do to/for you?
• When you look back over your life, does that fill you with trust, or uncertainty?
• Why? 

• Holy indifference
• Our deepest desires come from God.  The world that we live in, however, manipulates us with other desires, ones that are not deep, not from God.  Our challenge is to sift our desires, and use those deep desires to help us find God's will in our lives.  Ignatius terms this openness to whatever God intends for us: "indifference".  It's not despairing of ever getting what we want, but finding the freedom to seek what God has planted deep within.
• Have you ever wanted something really strongly.  You thought that you just could not "live" without that?
• Did you pray for it?
• What happened in that prayer?
• If you eventually received that object of your desire, how did that make you feel?
• How long did that feeling last?
• What can you learn from that? 

• Desiring transformation
• I'm told that in Jesus' day, a wealthy host would provide his guests a festive outer garment when they arrived.  To refuse to wear such a garment would be seen as a rejection of the host's hospitality and generosity, and ultimately a rejection of the host themselves.  One reading of the wedding garment is that to wear it bears witness to an internal transformation on our part as we accept God's graces.
• Sometimes the truths that we sing of may be just a bit outside of our own experience to date.  Is it authentic on our part to sing those lyrics anyway?
• Is there room for us, as ministers, to grow into an attitude, belief, and actions even as we call upon our gathered assembly to do the same?
• How can we be sure that we're doing more than just mouthing the words, making the music?
• Do you think that anyone can tell?
• What can we do so that we are always growing in grace, and be true leaders? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where could I bring more justice to those that I care for, that I care about?
• Am I trusting God with my fears?
• Do I deliberately discern, or do I just react?
• Where might God be calling me be a better, more authentic leader?

The Garment

 

The wedding invitation arrived.

Recognizing the seal, I tore it open eagerly.

I was not disappointed, I had been chosen.

Chosen to celebrate a most momentous occasion.

 

I presumed it was in recognition of my steady service.

That I had been called to this celebration in appreciation.

That I was finally getting recognized for my generosity -

Of time, talent, and treasure all these years.

 

The day of, I bathed, trimmed and oiled by beard.

Donned my best robs and sandals.

Hired a liter to bear me there in discrete splendor.

And arrived right on time.

 

The doorkeeper greeted me warmly,

Handing me a garment to wear over my robes.

I gazed at it closely.

And saw that it was not nearly as fine as what I had on.

 

I asked the doorkeeper whether this was truly necessary.

After all, if the host was looking for festive, I had that in spades.

The doorman could only tell me it was required.

He did not have anything else to share.

 

I thought this a horrible idea.

I put on the proffered garment with a grumble.

Then slipped into the hall and quickly took it off.

Throwing it into a corner hoping it would not be found.

 

After all, I am special, I am important.

Hiding all of that under someone else's clothes seemed a shame.

I had earned the right to wear whatever I wished.

I had worked hard to afford my own clothing.

 

I soon found myself surrounded by people of all sorts.

Some I recognized from my other doings.

Most were strangers to me, a rangy lot overall.

Not the sort that I would normally associate with.

 

All the rest of them wore the host's garment.

And I stood out among them.

As well I should, I thought.

After all, I worked hard to get here.

 

Everyone was staring at me.

I looked up to see our host looking at me.

"I gave you the chance to become community with my other guests.

But you chose to flaunt your wealth and position instead."

 

"I had hoped that we could all learn humility.

Learn that what binds us together is more important -

More important than than what sets us apart.

That we all might celebrate together." 

"I will honor your choice to be apart from us -

Your evident desire to stand out.

Be honest with yourself, and leave us.

And we will mourn your passing."

  

Shalom!

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 5: 1-5
2. Psalms 80: 9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20
3. Philippians 4: 6-9
4. Matthew 21: 33-43

• Stolen land
• At Long Beach State, high level meetings and convocations will often start with a land acknowledgement in which we voice the fact that the land that we occupy today was once inhabited by others.  I'm never sure what to do with that.  If we're not going to give the land back, why bring it up?  Folks from the far left tell us that we have no right to secure borders since we are occupying land that we have stolen from the indigenous peoples.
• How do you spend your resources of time, talent, and treasure?
• How do you decide how you spend those resources?
• If the world were totally just (not necessarily fair), how do you think those resources would be allocated and spent?
• Where would God be in such distribution? 

• Good seed
• Not knowing the first thing about wine making, I'm still pretty confident that good fruit comes from good plants.
• How has God nurtured you through your life experiences so that you're able to minister the ways that you do now?
• Do you have any ideas about what His next steps might be in your life?
• How will you know that it's time to move into something new? 

• Whatever is lovely
• There is much in our world today that is base, crude, gross that circulates in all of the media, even our schools.  Avoiding such trash is nearly impossible, particularly given the ubiquitous cell phone.
• What are those things that you do on a regular basis that bring you up, make you a better person, inspire you?
• If those things that call you higher, bring you closer to God were all that you spent your time and energy on, what would happen to you?
• Would you be able to make a living?
• Would you be able to keep all of your friends, even your family? 

• What's your produce?
• Each of us has a commission, several actually.  Some of that is completely within our control, some we can only accomplish with others.  Sometimes we need to influence our leaders so that they provide us the leadership needed for us to follow God at our best.
• What are you doing to help others produce their best produce, live their best life, draw closer to God?
• Do you feel that your leadership always helps you be that best servant?
• What do you think God might be calling you to do about that?
• Are you sure that God is still calling you to be right where you are? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where could I bring more justice to those that I care for, that I care about?
• Where might God be calling me into something new?
• How might God be calling me to greater loveliness?
• Where might God be calling me to be prophetic where I am?

Sour Grapes

 

Large organizations have a way of becoming hard to change. 

"That's way above my pay grade" often means "I've given up hope".

Sometimes the backstory is that you've tried and failed to make it better.

The pain of disappointment is too bitter to put up with any longer.

The smart money is to disengage, ride it out.

You'll retire soon enough, and this will all become a distant memory.

 

But we don't have the option to retire from service to God.

In His mercy, He finds ways for us to build His Kingdom

Right to the very end.

And the question becomes one of tools, functions, and people.

Are the tools we need going to be there, or do we build them?

Will it be clear what our role is or do we carve that out?

 

No one is an island, 

We are called to minister in community.

And that community needs constant care and attention.

Or it slowly dies in place.

Perhaps still going through the motions of past decades.

Still maintaining the appearance of meeting real needs.

 

God counts upon His people to bring His kingdom.

God counts upon His people to build His community -

The living stones built upon His cornerstone.

Every human endeavor needs organization.

But we are called to be something more.

The very Presence of God among His children.

 

Shalom!