31st Week in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 11: 22-12:2
2. Psalms 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14
3. 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2
4. Luke 19: 1-10

• Slow and steady wins the race ...
• Can you think of a time when God led you somewhere gently?
• Did it feel gentle and merciful at the time?
• How would you define mercy?
• To what extent does mercy define you?

• We're all in this together
• What did the Budhist monk say to the hotdog vendor?  "Make me one with everything."
• Apparently, in some capacity that is beyond us, every element of creation is capable of praising God.  Also apparently, we are the only ones who have the sublime ability to get in the way of our own praise to God.
• To what extent can we enter into that song that echoes through the treetops and rumbles out of the roots of the mountains, sighs in the breezes through the meadows and whispers in the waves at the seashore?
• Should churches have walls?

• The Day of the Lord
• How can we best balance between preparing for the eventual coming of our Savior, and getting along in live through the day to day?
• Are those two goals at odds with each other?
• How can we make those two directions in our lives help each other?

• If you haven't offended anyone lately, you're not doing it right
• Jesus seems to rub just about everyone the wrong way.
• The setting of this story suggests that Jesus and His entire entourage apparently did a drive by through Jericho and didn't even have the grace to stop for a midday snack.  Then He decides to consort with a wealthy (meaning extremely successful) tax collector.
• How do you think that Jesus sets His priorities?
• Do you think that there is a formula there that we can/should use for setting priorities in our own lives?
• How might that change us?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Do I let God's mercy inspire mercy in me?
2. When was the last time that I raised up someone lowly?
3. Am I any more prepared for the end of time today than I was a year ago?
4. How can I be more flexible toward the promptings of God's spirit?

Standing Tall

The hard part about true repentance is that it leads into uncharted territory.
Suddenly, new vistas open wide before you, inviting you in, and yet
Such panoramas lack a certain concrete quality about them, almost as if,
The future that they hold is still firming up ever so slightly, even as we watch.

Repentance sets foot into rough terrain where we are vulnerable, and unsure.
No one knows how well, or even whether, there will be anyone there for us -
There for us when we arrive at the other end of where this repentance is beckoning.
This strange country in which nothing has changed, yet everything is new and dewy.

No half measures about true repentance.  It's all or nothing all the time.
The only thing that varies from one heart to the next is the face
The face of the events that shape our lives, the imago Dei in all things.
All that you can be sure of is that something has to change, and it has to be me.

I pray that my faith is strong enough to leg go of my own brokenness
For the offer of healing and wholeness there in front of me.

Shalom!

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Sirach 35: 12-14, 16-18
2. Psalms 34: 2-3, 17-18, 19, 23
3. 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18
4. Luke 18 9-14

• I'm proud of my work, too bad about yours ...
• We often hear of growing concern over an "entitlement mentality" in which a person feels that they are entitled to a living, no matter what they do or don't do about their present condition.
• What sorts of things do you feel entitled to?
• Does everyone have the same entitlements?
• If not, how do you differ from the "teeming masses of humanity"?

• I'm proud, but only in the best way possible
• What are some things that you are proud of?
• Does that pride draw you closer to God, make you more devoted, or push God away from you?
• How can you tell excessive pride, or sinful pride, versus a justifiable pride?

• Be proud of what you are proud of
• It's always good to take stock of our lives and ask ourselves what we think will go on our tombstone, versus what we would like to go on our tombstone.
• Given where you are in life, what do you thin is likely to go on your tombstone?
• Does that inspire or excite you?
• What could you do to make your tombstone more exciting?

• Mercy me
• Do you ever feel the need for God's mercy in your life?
• How does that make you feel about yourself, God, you fellow people?
• Where do you find that mercy?
• How has it changed you?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Do I count on God for what I need, or what I want?
2. What am I doing to keep my pride under control?
3. What do I want to accomplish before I die?
4. How am I growing in appreciation for God's mercy?

In My Humble Opinion

Humility is all about being clear
About who and what we are,
And whose we are.

It's easy to lose track of our place
When we're told that the greatest sin
Is not getting what we got coming.

Dear God,
Thank you that my back is strong and straight
Teach me to use that strength in your service.

Thank you that I have learned to see
A few things clearly here and there
Teach me to share that lovingly with others.

Thank you that I'm pretty sure
Where my next meal is coming from
Teach me to be generous to those who don't.

Teach me most of all to have a humble heart,
That I see how lavishly I've been blessed
And find new ways daily to give thanks.

Shalom!

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Exodus 17 8-13
2. Psalms 121 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
3. 2 Timothy 3 14 - 4: 2
4. Luke 18 1-8

• Can you lend me a hand here?
• We help others by lending them tools, sharing advice, agreeing to go to he hardware store with them.  But, have you undertake to help someone pray?
• How is praying for someone different than praying with them?
• Are we praying for each other, or with each other in Mass?

• Guarded Optimism
• Do you feel that God is watching over you?
• What are some things that He has prevented in your life lately?
• What are some things that God didn't allow to happen today?

• Being true to who you are
• Where do you go to find good advice about decisions that are tough for you?
• Is that person/advice column/... very reliable?
• How would you explain the statement "God speaks to me in His Word" to someone new to the faith?
• How would you explain that same statement to someone who has been a faithful follower of Jesus for decades?

• You call this a prayer life?
• How has your prayer improved through the years?
• How have you improved through the years?
• What would you like to change about your prayer life?
• What do you think that God would change about you, if you changed your prayer life?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where do I go for help with my prayer life?
2. Do I take the time to really see what it is that God has saved me from?
3. Where am I learning more about my faith?  Is that a reliable resource?
4. If I was really desperate for something, would prayer come to mind first?

Trust walk

Ice breakers are not my strong suit.
It's not just the organizing the event and getting everyone engaged,
It's the believing that something marvelous will happen.

It's no different with the trust walk.
Getting everyone organized into pairs,
Arbitrarily assigning leaders and followers.

The navigator of the team always knows that they are responsible,
For the safety of the other,
Until they don't know or don't care anymore.

You never know who is looking at you,
Seeking to fathom the secret to your success,
Trying to find God where you found Him.

They don't always advertise their presence,
These phantom groupies,
But they are there, maybe at the fringes.

Looking on at your life,
And wondering how God chose you.
So, I've resolved to be careful what I say

Who I say it to,
And most of all, who I am.
That I might never lead astray.

Shalom!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. 2 Kings 5: 14-17
2. Psalms 98: 1, 2-3, 3-4
3. 2 Timothy : 8-13
4. Luke 17: 11-19

• Attitude of gratitude
• What are you thankful for these days?
• Were you always thankful for that?
• How was God's mercy shown you in that gift?

• Seeing is not always believing
• The popularity of apologetics is that once you master that material, you have something coherent to say to the next person who wants to challenge your faith.
• No one wants to be caught saying something lame like "well, I believe because I believe", or worse, "that's how I was raise."
• Why do you believe?
• Why do you stay where you are?
• If you felt a call elsewhere, how would you check that out to see whether it's really God's will?

• Perseverance takes such a long time
• Is there any aspect of your faith journey that is getting harder with time?
• What do you think is contributing to that?
• Looking ahead, when you are in the last year of your life, what do you think your faith will be like then?
• Is there any way to make that better now?

• On the way there
• Luke tells us that Jesus was journeying to Jerusalem.  If I were on my way to be executed, I think I'd be a little more focused, a little less attentive to anything else going on around me.
• Have you ever been on your way somewhere, trying to get somewhere and suddenly found that your immediate future had taken a turn?
• What made you stop and realize that had happened?
• How long did it take you to be generous in that situation?
• How did that "detour" change you?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. When was the last time that I told God "thank you", and for what?
2. Am I fully engaged where I am now, or am I in a "wait and see mode"?
3. What am I doing to make my spiritual self stronger, more lively?
4. How am I making a different along the way?

Quo Vadis?

It's not always where we are, but where we are headed that makes all of the difference.
"I have arrived" sounds more like a pronouncement of death-like stasis
Than it speaks to some blazing achievement.

I'd rather say "I am on my way to wholeness, one step at a time"
Or better, "I seek oneness along the journey to peace"
And leave plenty of room in the itinerary for surprises along the way.

Peace, I'm finding, is about giving away, shedding, simplifying,
Finding those things that once demanded so much attention
Now command next to nothing of me because I see them better.

The hardest thing to give up is a sense of importance,
In order to gain an element of transparency
Realizing that I'm just a conduit, a gateway.

There is a great deal of value added, in not trying to add anything
To what you are given.  The best thing to do with gifts is share them
Thus making sure that you never lose them.

And all of this life takes is proper perspective
As a medium of exchange
Gifts from the creator to be spread abroad as gifts.

Shalom!