12 Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 12 Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Jeremiah 20: 10-13
2. Psalms 69: 8-10, 14, 17, 33-35
3. Romans 5: 12-15
4. Matthew 10: 26-33

• Fear of failure
• Have you ever been misunderstood, misrepresented, or even just disliked for no earthly reason?
• How did that make you feel?
• How did you bring that to God in your prayer?  Were you outraged, grief-stricken, vengeful, ...?
• How did God answer you then?
• How is God answering you now?

• Mercy all around us
• Have you ever been in a position to extend mercy to someone else?  Perhaps you were in a position of authority over them as parent, teacher, manager, ...
• How can you tell when someone else deserves mercy from you?
• Does it matter whether or not they appreciate that mercy?
• How does extending mercy to someone else change that other person?
• How does it change us? 

• Sin in our lives
• When you think about sin in your life, do you think of individual events, patterns of sin in your life that recur over and over, attitudes or thought patterns that you have that lead to sin, ...?
• Which of those do you think that Jesus forgives?
• Which of those facets of sin are we trying to mend with penance?
• Who benefits from us removing sin from our lives?
• Or - What are you really afraid of?
• Thinking of the usual catalog of sins: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, "and such like" (Galatians 5: 19-21) which of those would you say were based in fear of some thing or another?
• In what way would faith help to counter such fears?
• What have you done lately to bolster your faith in some specific area?

• Standing out in a crowd
• Peter's denial of Jesus during the passion narrative is rather comforting for all its bleakness.  We hear that and think to ourselves, "I would never do that" and go on our way.
• But besides denying even knowing this Jesus, what are some other ways that we might deny Him in front of others?
• How important is it that we individually speak out against things that are wrong, unjust, evil?
• Is it important whether or not our words are effective?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I willing to bear unjust rejection for God?
2. Where have I shown God's mercy to another this week?
3. How is God healing me of my fears?
4. How can I be more of a sign of Christ's presence to those around me?

Shalom!