14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Ezekiel 2: 2-5
2. Psalms 123: 1-2, 2, 3-4
3. 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10
4. Mark 6: 1-6

1. Missioned
• Some years back, when I would do interviews, there was one fellow on the panel who would ask the interviewee "give three words that describe you."  If someone asked that of you in a Catholic context what would those words be?
• Do you think that "prophet" might be one of them?
• Why or why not?
• Do you think that we can have too many authentic prophets?
2. Looking for mercy
• How would you measure success in general?
• How do you measure up to that definition of success?
• Do you think that true humility can help a person become successful?
• Why or why not?
3. Strength in humility
• How would you define humility?
• How do you think that we go about learning that?
• How does a humble heart help us in our ministry?
• How might it help us at home?
4. Might might not be where you expect it
• Who are some of the ones who have taught you the most?
• What made it possible for you to learn from them?
• Do you feel that you are at all a teacher/coach/mentor for others in their faith?
• How might you be better at that?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Is false humility keeping me from sharing my God-given gifts?
2. Am I willing to be seen as a failure in most people's eyes if that's what it takes for me to follow Jesus' call in my life?
3. Do I expect Jesus to protect me from the bumps and potholes in the road of life, or am I content knowing that He'll be there with me, no matter how dire things get?
4. Am I willing to let Jesus be true to His nature, His purpose, even if that conflicts with my expectations on him?

Not Now, I'm Praying

Lord, I want to be successful.
Nothing grand or glorious,
I'd just like something to turn out the way I want it to from time to time.




Hello, I'm praying, I'm listening,
I thought we had an understanding here,
That you'd be there for me.

Oh, sorry, you're talking to me?
Just what were you looking for by way of an answer?
What role do you think I might have in your success?

Well, some guidance in how to make that happen,
Maybe some direction in how I should go,
Where to put my effort.

What were you looking for, stock tips,
Perhaps some suggestions on which MBA program
Would best suit your idea of your future?

Well, it sounds sort of trivial when you put it that way.
Look, I'm not very clear on the big picture here.
I'm just trying to take this one step at a time.

Now you're talking.
Put your trust in me,
Learn indifference to all that you have, 

Wait, wait, trust, yeah, I get that.
But indifference, aren't you the one
Who supplied me with all this?

And you need to put all of that
In it's proper place, even
Your understanding of what success is.

But if I do that, what's going to be left?
What can I count on going forward?
What can I hang on to for security and continuity?

I'll never leave you nor forsake you,
Come back when that's enough for you.
And then we can talk some more.

Lord, have mercy
I always have
This is so hard
It always has been
I'll be back
I'm counting on it.

I love you more than you'll ever know.
I gaze at you every moment of every day.
I am here for you no matter what.

Shalom!

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Wisdom 1: 13-15, 2: 23-24
2. Psalms 30: 2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13
3. 2 Corinthians 8: 7, 9,13-15
4. Mark 5: 21-43

1. Death be not proud
• Thank God for the Internet.  I found John Donne's poem Death, be not proud in a matter of minutes.  Back in the old days, well, it would have taken longer.
• My father-in-law, bless his heart, comforts himself with the sentiment that God must have needed Jean more than we did.
• At bottom, what does that sort of statement say about God?
• What does it say about us?
• Can you think of some other meaning for death?
2. Rescue station
• Do you think that God rescues us from circumstances that we've created?
• How specific are you when you pray?  Do you leave the field wide open for God to step in, or do you give him some hints as to what He needs to do?
• How much of a partner do you think God would like us to be when He intervenes?
3. Together in Mission
• What do you think our obligations are to our sister parishes?
• Do you think that those obligations should be met at the local or Diocesan level?
• How do you think that we should decide on how much to give?
4. Don't bother me, I'm doing God's work
• I love this Gospel because it makes me think of multi-tasking.
• Do you think that Jesus ever felt frustrated that He could not be in more than one place at a time?
• Do you think that He knew that it was going to end up "OK" in the end if He stopped along the way to Jairus' house?
• Have you ever missed an opportunity to do good because you were too busy doing good?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What do I blame God for?
2. Do I appreciate the things that God has rescued me from?
3. Do I look for opportunities to be generous, or do I look for ways to give "just enough".
4. Am I willing to have God break into my service to God?

The Impertinence of it All

I could hardly believe our good fortune,
A noted synagogue official approaching the Master, asking for a healing.
Surely, if Jesus is able to help this man, Jesus' notoriety will soar,
Everyone will see how wonderful He and His ministry are.

Time was of the essence.
Her life hung in the balance.
We needed to show that we cared.
And above all, get to her in time.

The crowds were like dense herds of sheep.
Milling around without apparent purpose.
Having no effect but to slow the Master's progress,
Not to mention kicking up a good deal of dust.

We finally seemed to be making some progress,
And all of a sudden Jesus stopped dead in His tracks.
It almost seemed as though the press of bodies became even tighter
When the last of our forward momentum died.

I had hoped to get him moving again,
By appealing to reason.  But no.
He had to encounter whoever it was that had touched Him.
This had "long afternoon" written all over it.

Then I saw who it was, heard the whispers.
This woman had a flow of blood, she was unfit to enter the Temple.
And now she had made Jesus unfit as well by touching Him,
Just before He is to attend a synagogue official.

And then, I saw the mercy in His eyes,
And saw her, not as an obstruction, but a door
Letting me out of my self absorption
Into wider spaces of self-donation.

Soon enough, we picked where we left off.
But the journey had been transustantiated
And the distinction between what we did in service to others,
And what we did to make that service possible, melted away.

Shalom!

12th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time:

1. Job 38: 2, 8-11
2. Psalms 107: 23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31
3. 2nd Corinthians 5: 14-17
4. Mark 4: 35-41

1. Learning from Creation
• How active do you think God was in creation?
• Did He just set everything up, all the laws of Physics, the constants (like Newton's gravitational constant) and then let it run?
• Do you think that He's still involved in the unfolding of creation?
• What role might we have in that ongoing unfolding of creation?
2. God's rescue
• Think of a time when you can say that God rescued you in some way.
• Is there any way to predict what God will save us from and what He might allow?
• What does that tell you about God?
3. New Purpose
• How can the average person live for God, and yet do practical things like put a roof over their family's heads, put food on the table, clothes on their backs?
• What then does it really mean for someone to live for God?
• How would you be able to tell such a person from the outside?
4. What were we supposed to do?
• What do you think Jesus expected the disciples to do in the boat rather than interrupt His nap?
• How would you distinguish between faith and trust?
• Does faith lead to trust, or the other way around?
• Is your faith and/or trust increasing over the years?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. When was the last time that I asked God where He was calling me?
2. Do I pray to find my place in God's creation, or do I pray for things to turn out my way?
3. What difference does it make that I've given my life to Jesus?
4. How has God been forming me through my life experiences of late?

That sinking feeling

Sometimes, I feel pulled in so many directions at once,
That it's hard to tell where life is taking me,
Or whether there's any real direction at all.

And I wonder just when it was that life became so cluttered,
And I realize that I've added all of these things,
One at a time, until the aggregate was just too much.

I wonder whether there was a magic moment,
When, like a box entirely full,
I would have taken something out before putting something new in.

Or whether there is some organizing principal,
Some lodestone to guide where I put my energies,
To show what requires my energy and no one else's.

Lord,
Give me the strength and wisdom to say "no"
With care and consideration.

That, bit by bit, I carve for myself
A ministry out of the myriad opportunities
Clamoring for my attention.
Shalom!

11th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Our readings for 11 Sunday in Ordinary  Time:

1. Ezekiel 17: 22-24
2. Psalms 92: 2-3, 13-14, 15-16
3. 2 Corinthains 5: 6-10
4. Mark 4: 26-34

1. Helping God help you
• "The Lord helps those who help themselves" is a quote that gets bandied about from time to time.  What do you think that means?
• Do you think that someone who lives by that motto would be humble?
• How can we orient/dispose ourselves to be more sensitive to God's provision for us?
2. Vigor in old age
• When asked what they wanted to hear about them at their own funeral, one participant offered just three words: "look, he's moving!".  But that's not likely to be how it goes for us.
• How do you see yourself being fruitful, making a contribution, following God's call in your life in old age?
• How is that different from what you are doing today?
• How are you preparing for that old age?
3. Being pleasing
• Think of some things that you've done lately that really pleased someone else, anyone else.
• What was it about that act that really touched them?  Was it particularly thoughtful, well timed, met an urgent need on their part, whatever?
• Do you think that the same sort of behavior can please God?
• How would you tell?
4. Harvest home
• When I was growing up, we emphasized bringing new souls to Christ when we thought of "harvest".  What are some other types of harvest that a good life can bring in?
• Certainly in agriculture, there are seasons.  Do you think that our lives have seasons, perhaps epochs when we are predominantly sowing seeds and other chapters in which we are reaping the harvest, or is that all sort of stirred together?
• What are you harvesting in your life today?
• What seeds are you sowing for tomorrow?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Have there been blessings that God has offered me this week that I was too proud to accept?
2. What of this last week will I look back on in the years ahead and be glad of?
3. How am I showing God that I care about Him/Her?
4. Am I reaping the harvest that God really wants for me at this stage in my life?

Someone put Petunias in my Rose Garden

I honestly don't remember where I got this idea,
But I distinctly remember thinking from my earliest days,
That retirement would be dignified.

There I'd be, surrounded by trusted colleagues, valued peers,
Holding a celebratory glass of Diet Pepsi,
And thinking to myself that I had arrived.

That "arrival" was supposed to include:
Recognition, success, acclaim
For hard work, and worthy accomplishments.

Instead, what I've found is a legacy of friendships.
Bonds to men and women that I've labored with,
People that have depended on me and I on them.

They are going to miss me,
Not so much that I accomplished all my tasks on time,
But that along the way, I was a good support.

I've learned that it's more important
To prove that you care, than you are smart,
And loyalty is the best barometer of success.

And I'm going to miss them,
Because these fellow pilgrims along the way
Have taught me how to find and share what's worthwhile.

So while I thought I was planting seeds of success along the way
It turns out that that's exactly what I did.
Just different sorts of seeds, a different sort of success.
Shalom!

Corpus Christi

Our readings for Corpus Christ Sunday are:

1. Exodus 24: 3-8
2. Psalms 116: 12-13, 15-16, 17-18
3. Hebrews 9: 11-15
4. Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26

1. One before the altar
• We claim that we are one body, but what does that really mean?
• How can we make that oneness go deeper?
• What are some of the fruits of that oneness?
2. Sometimes "thank you" is all you have
• Have you ever felt so generously gifted by someone that you had no idea how to express your gratitude?
• Did you express that gratitude with some sort of gift in return?
• Were you trying to "get even" so that you didn't owe them anything, or was it something deeper?
• What does that tell you about thanking God for what He gives us?
3. Offering
• Thinking in the most general terms possible, how would you define the role of a priest?
• What is accomplished by offering sacrifice?
• Do you think that if you sacrifice more, God will treat you better?
• Why do you think that we have the offertory before Communion?
4. Be our guest
• Why do you think that Eucharist was based on a meal?
• What does that tell us about sharing a meal, any meal with loved ones?
• At family dinners that you've been to, is there anything present that is not part of the food itself?
• Is that "special ingrediant at all present in the Mass?
• Why not?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Do I have the vision to see all of God's people united?
2. When was the last time that I thanked God out lout?
3. Have I been priestly to those around me this week?
4. Is there love at my dinner table?

Table Talk

Blessed are you Lord God of all the earth,
Through your bounty and the work of many human hands,
We have this bread to eat, this wine to share.

So Robby, did you tell your friend here
About how we kick off the dinner conversation?
I don't want anyone to feel left out.

I sure did Dad, and he said that he'll give it a try.
I'd like to start, to sort of show him how.
Well then, you go right on ahead son.

Well, the think that I'm most grateful for history.
Our teacher has started showing us letters,
Newspapers and such from that time and place.

It helps me really feel like I'm there.
Somehow, I feel as though I know why they felt the way that they did,
And more importantly, why they did what they did.

Robbie, think you're up for this?
I'm most grateful for this time with all of you
Because everyone here treats each other like they're special.

Robbie, what are you least grateful for?
I'm least grateful that Buddy, my dog, isn't feeling well.
The vet says there's nothing that we can do for him.

I want to know what kind of a God lets dogs suffer,
Or not show us how to help them,
And yet make them so lovable.  It's a setup!

Robbie, why do you think God put dogs here?
I dunno, maybe to show us how to care for others,
How to forget about ouselves once in awhile.

But it hurts when I see him limping.
I know son, you're probably right on both counts.
Please pass the peas before they get cold.

Shalom!