Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Our readings for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God are:

1. Numbers 5: 22-27
2. Psalm 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8
3. Galatians 4:4-7
4. Luke 2: 16-21

• Be a blessing
• One of the supreme ironies that you hear about more and more these days occurs when management hatches a scheme to save money, and it involves the present employees training their eventual replacements.  In such circumstances, it's easy, maybe even justifiable, to intentionally or unintentionally sabotage such efforts, often to the detriment of everyone involved.
• Has there ever been a situation where you were called to be a blessing in someone else's life at your expense?
• What sort of struggles did you go through in that situation?
• Did you eventually become the blessing to that other person?
• How did that change you?

• God's watching over us
• When you think of God's face as it's turned towards you, what sort of expression do you see God wearing?
• If you were to try to summarize God's feelings towards you in three words, what might those be?
• What would you rather those three words be?

• The family business
• If we are all heirs to the Kingdom, what does each of us feel the deepest need for in our lives that we may fulfill that destiny richly?
• For my part, humility and wisdom are at the top of my list.  The humility to truly see myself as God sees me, the wisdom to see the true meaning of the events and condition of the world around me.
•  In which ways are the virtues like athletic skills?
• How are the different?
• How can we make room in our lives for a greater practice of the virtues so that we steadily become better at them?

• Taking time to ponder
• Do you ever feel as though life is happening too fast, demanding too much of you?
• Do you think that we are able to live better if we ponder, mull over, our lives?
• What practices are there that can help that intentional savoring of life?
• How can we help each other get better at it?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I afraid to be a blessing to others in my life?
2. When was the last time that I took time to delight in the presence of God, and let Him delight in me?
3. What am I doing to become more ready for the Kingdom?
4. What can I do to slow my life down, even if it's just a little?

The Smell of the Nativity

The stable was pretty well kept, all in all.
The stalls had been mucked out recently.
The straw relatively clean.

At least that's what the innkeeper said.
To a carpenter's nose, the stench was searing.
And yet, whenever I smell that bouquet of odors

I'm carried back to that lonely inn
Where Mary & I had found shelter for the night
Against the bitter cold outside.

Just when I thought that I had coped
With all of the practical essentials there
This band of shepherds shows up, excited beyond measure.

My first thought was "Oh bother", but Mary stopped me
With a glance that I was already learning to respond to.
And we listened to their amazing story.

And I realized that this time, this place,
Was a gateway to God's heart,
And that heaven was closer than ever before.

And suddenly, the scratchy straw was nothing to worry about
I realized that the stench of the stable came from the same place
As the warmth in those cramped quarters.

I realized that we were not alone, but surrounded
By a great cloud of witnesses through all of time and space
Hanging on every move, every word.

And I knew that all of the chaos, the unpredictability
Were there to break me open
The the vastness of eternity come down to Earth.

And I knew that we were home.

Shalom!

Christmas

There are an abundance, nay a wealth of Masses that are celebrated at Christmas.  I like the Midnight Mass because it's so full of expectancy, of things just on the cusp of becoming, a hushed moment in our liturgical cycle, the journey of years, the ticks of the centuries, when anything is possible, and Love never disappoints.

That, and the Gospel from that Mass is from Luke this year, and the face of Jesus that I see in Luke always looks so very human.  So human that He reminds me that in becoming one of of, all of us have become one in Him, we just have to reach out beyond our comfort zone to accept that grace for the gift that it is.

Our readings for Christmas Mass at midnight are:

1. Isaiah 9: 1-6
2. Psalm 96: 1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13
3. Titus 2: 11-14
4. Luke 2: 1-14

• The path to peace
• We all crave peace at this time of year, hoping to get a little breathing room in our lives.  But what does that really mean?
• How would your life be different if you were totally at peace?
• What would you miss about your present life if you were to totally embrace peace?
• What can you be doing today to be ready for real peace?

• Today is born our savior
• Are you ready for Christmas?
• What does that really mean to you?
• What about this season gives you happiness?
• How is Christ coming to, coming in, coming through you this year?

• Training camp
• Do you think that we get better as Christians by practice?
• What are you practicing these days?
• Are you getting any better at it?
• How can you tell?

• No one seems to care
• Grief, worry, dislocation, all of these and more can make us feel isolated, cut off from the rest of humanity, even when they are within arm's reach.
• When was the last time that you found yourself in a strange situation, or a strange place and felt abandoned?
• How did you work through that?
• Have you ever thought to bring those feelings to the Jesus in prayer?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I paying enough attention to the lights that are in my life?
2. What can I do to be more ready to receive my Savior, no matter what form He takes?
3. At this start of the new liturgical year, what practice can I take on to bring me closer to God?
4. How can I be more present to those around me in need?

Taking off the Training Wheels

Do you ever wonder what Joseph talked about with his buddies on Friday nights?

Maybe over a fresh mug of fermented pomegranate juice, or goat's milk eggnog.

Trying to explain why he took Mary as his wife even though it seemed crazy.

Or explaining he they ended up with Jesus in a feeding trough.

Joseph probably told folks about the frantic search for a clean dry place that night.

How he and his little family was just another bit of human flotsam looking for rest

Without a friend in the world, no one to speak up for them or look after them.

And explaining how he felt a peace about the whole thing, like he was right where he belonged.

I'm sure that stolid, intentional, prayerful Mary was a help, or maybe not.

How would you like to be told that everything is going to work out just fine,

When you don't even know just what "just fine" would look like?

Even less how to get from here to "just fine" and be just in time about it too.

Maybe Joseph just gave up trying to explain,

And learned from Mary to ponder things, look them over from different vantage points

Until the bigger picture started to emerge.

I wonder how he found time for that much silence to seep into his soul.

I want to learn that sort of intentional living.

That savors the moments into full flower,

Getting the real texture and sweetness of the moments

Before they fly away, never to be revisited.

Maybe that's the source and summit of peace,

Making time to hear the silence, and learn

Just what is really important in life, 

And hear what it has to say to all of us.

Shalom!

4th Sunday of Advent

Our readings for 4th Sunday of Advent are:

1. Isaiah 7: 10-14
2. Psalm 24: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
3. Romans 1: 1-7
4. Matthew 1: 18-24

• Reading the signs of the times 
• Survivalists work to get "off the grid" and simplify their lives so that when Armageddon comes around, they will not have any reliance on flimsy technologies.  Such folks have significant stores of food, ... and ammo, laid by against the day when justice and order as we know it collapses.
• What future do you see ahead of us all?
• What are you doing to prepare for it?

• A captive audience
• If the earth is the Lord's, and he loves it, why do you think that He put it into our care?
• What of this present existence do you think will last into eternity?
• What does that say about how we care for what we have on this planet?

• Slavery making it simple
• A slave never has to stress over their position in life, who they server, what the limits are to the initiative which they can take.
• In what ways are we like slaves to God?
• In what ways are we like sons and daughters?
• Can we be both?

• A little more information please ...
• Notice that the angel just told Joseph that this whole thing was part of God's plan, but never really said why that should make Joseph feel better.
• Has God ever asked you to trust Him?
• Was there a process in growing in that trust over time?
• How can we be better able to trust God?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I willing and able to leave this life that I have here and now behind to serve God?
2. Am I letting God be present to those around me through His creation?
3. What of my parish, family, and my life would I want to share with someone in ndeed?
4. What am I doing to grow in trust in God?

Shalom!

3rd Sunday of Advent

Our readings for 3rd Sunday of Advent are:

1. Isaiah 35: 1-6a, 10
2. Psalm 72: 146: 6-7, 8-9, 9-10
3. James 5: 7-10
4. Matthew 11: 2-11

• Return of the exile 
• Refugees of all sorts are like invisible amputees, they have been cut off from their roots, their homes, their loved ones, their livelihoods, and yet they look totally whole and complete.
• Our church tells us that we are exiles from God's heavenly kingdom.  How does that change the way that you look at all of the daily demands on your attention?
• When have you been displaced, cut off, exiled from friends, family, job, home, even if it was to move on to something better?
• What of heaven do you think will look/feel familiar when we are home again?
• How should that change the way that we live today?

• A captive audience
• Serious ongoing debate rages over how best to manage a seemingly endless supply of criminals in our prison system, yet you hardly ever hear discussion about how to rehabilitate them.
• When a convict who has served their time comes out of prison, it's easy to realize that they need a place to stay, a job, and so on, but what of giving them a reason to want those things?
• Fr. Al used to personally work with such folks to help them experience first hand what "life on the outside" could be like.  What sort of transition work should we, as God's faithful be doing for such individuals?

• If I don't complain about him, who will?
• Whining, griping, moaning, complaining is there any difference between those activities when it comes to how we treat one another?
• When one of us fails to be fully ourselves, fully who we are called to be, what are the rest of us to do?
• How can we tell when someone is really ready/able to take correction?
• Can such correction be prophetic?

• Congratulations, God has chosen you for ...
• We all want to feel commissioned, chosen, elected, but how does that election come to us?
• Do you think that your function/gifts/role within the Body changes over time?
• How can we become more sensitive to that change in direction? 

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How have I been hospitable to a displaced person lately?
2. How can I be more welcoming at our parish?  How can our parish be more welcoming?
3. When I speak, is truly in love?
4. What is the message of my life?

Good Intentions Can Leave You Lonely

Any paragraph that starts with "with all due respect" makes me cringe.
What follows is not outright mockery, but an object lesson in the limits of my authority.
A line drawn in the sand that says "I respect your office, your position, your role"
"But you, well, that's another story."

We cannot respect someone that we do not know,
And can hardly know someone we do not respect.
But once that deep knowledge of the other has been forged,
It becomes an occasion of mourning when they fail to be their true selves.

Sin in our lives obscures our view,
Cuts us off from the impact that we have on others,
Blinds us to the essential oneness of our existence,
To the point we feel our actions are victimless, truly secret.

Sin obscures my vision of how unlike myself I have grown
Grown into a caricature of myself,
A poor actor impersonating the real me
Upon a stage strewn with empty promises and quick fixes.

I need the occasional Nathan in my life
To remind me of who I am and what I am becoming
And help me see how much at odds that is with my thoughts, words, and deeds of late.
Any volunteers?

Shalom!