Epiphany Sunday

Our readings for Epiphany Sunday are:

1. Isaiah 60: 1-6
2. Psalms 72: 1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
3. Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6
4. Matthew 2: 1-12

• How odd of God to choose the Jews
• Last week we marveled at how God came to be flesh among us in the context of a very humble, outwardly, very ordinary family.  Nothing about the circumstances of Jesus village, his lineage, ... screamed divinity.
• This Sunday, we are invited to reflect that God chose to make His home on earth with the Jewish people.  Generation after generation, God was faithful to them, in spite of seasons when His people were far from Him.
• Has there ever been a time when you wandered from God, either deliberately or by negligence?
• How did God bring you back?
• When you look back on that period in your life, what does that tell you about yourself, about God?
• If God can work through a humble nation like the Jews, what do you think He means to accomplish in you?

• Saving work
• Our God is a God of justice.  But just what does that mean?
• In your day to day work (be it for a paycheck or not, it's still work) when have you had a chance to be just to those around you.
• How did you decide what to do in that situation?
• Did that process bring you closer to God?
• Why?

• Big tent religion
• Why is it easier to relate to someone who is a lot like you?
• Why do you think that Jesus was a scandal to those around Him in His day?
• If Jesus were here today, where do you think that He would live, who He would serve, who He would upset?
• Would you really want to be seen with Him?

• What does it all mean?
• The magi from the East (notice no mention of a gender for any of them) were acutely aware of their surroundings, and saw the star at its rising, and wanted to know just what it meant.
• How can we learn the deeper meaning of what goes on in the world around us?
• Can we just go somewhere/someone and be told what all of this means?
• What sorts of influences in your life tend to make you less sensitive to the deeper meanings of what goes on in everyday life?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How has the faithfulness of God changed me lately?
2. What am I doing to be more just in my life?
3. If Jesus were here today, would I be as welcoming as He is?
4. How am I pondering my daily life, to more deeply understand its meaning?

Shalom!

Feast of the Holy Family

Our readings for Holy Family Sunday are:

1. 1 Samuel 1: 20-22, 24-28
2. Psalms 84: 2-3, 5-6, 9-10
3. 1 John 3: 1-2, 21-24
4. Luke 2: 41-52

• Avoiding attachments
• One of the central themes of Ignatian training is avoiding disordered attachments.  Essentially avoiding clinging to anything that at all.
• Have you ever had something perfectly healthy for you leave your life?  That could be a beloved friend, a job, a relative, your first Camaro.
• How did that separation make you feel?
• Why do you think that happened to you?
• Did you ever get "over" that loss?
• Should you?

• Dwelling with God
• If someone asked you to tell just who you are, where would you start?
• With your current career, your family background, where you live, ...?
• Why is it that those things define you?
• If any of them were to change, would that necessarily change you?
• Which communities, large or small, do you belong to?
• How do those define you?
• Did those connections come about because of who you are, or are you who you are because of those connections to others?

• Well I've gotten ...
• In the play The Man of La Manch, Don Quixote's loyal servant Sancho Panza is confronted by a friend who wants to know why Sancho is following this strange man.  Sancho begins to tell of all of the things that have come his way because of his devotion to Don Quixote.
• Why is it that you feel that you have a relationship with God?
• Is it because of things that you've gotten?
• Is it because of things that you feel, graces that you've received, accomplishments that God has given you ...?
• If any/all of those were to "dry up", would you abandon God?
• Why?

• What does it all mean?
• I find it funny (take that adjective in both senses if you will) that we never do anything to commemorate Jesus being found in the Temple.  After all, if they hadn't found Him, the Gospels might have been a lot shorter.
• Mary and Joseph ended up in Jerusalem to observe Passover.  What are some of the traditions that you observe in your family?
• What do those traditions mean to you these days?
• What did they mean to you when you were growing up?
• Which ones are worth passing along to the next generation?
• Why is that?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What in my life am I attached to that I should not be?
2. Where are the relationships in my life that I need to nurture more?
3. How unconditional is my love for God?
4. What traditions in my life need to be rejuvenated, passed along, abandoned?

Shalom!

4th Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent are:

1. Micah 5: 1-4a
2. Psalms 50: 2-3, 15-16, 18-19
3. Hebrews 10: 5-10
4. Luke 1: 39-45

• Returning to what?
• The Church seems to be full of folks beset with nostalgia.  Some of that nostalgia runs 7 decades deep, back to a time when the Church was sure of her role in the world, when Catholic culture was pervasive throughout entire neighborhoods, when things were simple and clear.
• What are you nostalgic for?  What do you think has been lost along the way over the decades that you have lived?
• If you could go back to an earlier time, would you?
• Do you feel that we, as Church, need to somehow dial back the clock and return to core values, core practices, devotions, ..., or somehow find a way to reinvent ourselves in light of current challenges, current needs, current culture?
• Who is going to lead us into that brave new world?
• Who is the most qualified to do that leading?

• Good to know I'm the apple of your eye, but you have a funny way of showing it ...
• Have you ever had a really good friend who had some hard words for you, or in some other way had to show you "tough love"?
• How did that experience affect your friendship?
• Have you ever had the courage to do that for someone else?
• How much courage do you think it takes for God to treat us that way?

• Consecration
• The transubstantiation of the bread and wine at Eucharist is a consecration.  In a very similar way, each of us is consecrated when we offer ourselves to God for His service.
• If you had to summarize it in as few words as possible, what would you say is the purpose of your life?
• How have you been living that out lately?
• How do you see yourself living that in the years ahead?

• What does it all mean?
• Say what you will about the Harry Potter storyline, one thing that strikes me about that saga is the two-edged sword that befalls Harry as he steps into his destiny.  He quickly gets ushered out of a miserable, though well understood, existence into a much wider sphere that he has been largely blind to.  Or take Frodo in The Lord of the Rings.  He is forcibly pushed from his comfortable existence in the Shire, and in a matter of just a few hours confronts vast and terrifying evil that he was totally ignorant of.
• What are some experiences that have made you connected?  That connection could be to other folks you have known for years that you finally understand better than you ever have, or you suddenly "get" what it means to belong to the community of saints, or maybe injustice suffered brings you into community with those through the ages who have been oppressed.
• What brought those moments on?
• How have they changed you?
• Do you look forward to more of those, or less?
• Why?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where is God calling me to lead others closer to Him?
2. Where is God calling me to show more courage?
3. How is God consecrating me today?
4. What do I need to wake up to today?

Shalom!

2nd Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the Second Sunday of Advent are:

1. Baruch 5: 1-9
2. Psalms 126: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
3. Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11
4. Luke 3: 1-6

• The strength of home
• Uproot a people, transport them elsewhere, and they suddenly become less of a threat.  Their cultural foundation, wrenched from their land, fails them, their social networks crumble, their strength falters, even if nothing else has been done to them.
• Who are the refugees among us today?  Those who have fled their homeland to avoid persecution, corrupt government, destitution, ...
• Where should they go?
• Why?

• Waiting for a return
• The fall of Man concludes in Genesis with humanity being banned from the Garden, condemned to be the world's first refugees, bereft, strangers in a strange land, never to return.
• What would it take for you to be more at home in your life?  Do you dream of moving somewhere that will make you happy, find that dream job, get some kids that finally listen to you, belong to a community?
• Would that move draw you closer to Jesus?
• Would that make you more comfortable?
• Do you think that all of our yearnings are meant to be satisfied in this life?

• Creation yesterday, today, and forever
• How would you define a partnership?
• Jesus told His disciples that He calls them friends.  Do you think that he would ever call us partners?
• During which parts of His life and ministry, yesterday, today, and tomorrow do you think that Jesus would most want your company?
• What can you do to be a better companion to Jesus?

• What does it all mean?
• Preachers from the desert popped up all of the time in John's day.  Someone preaching repentance was nothing new.  Recognizing that John heralded something special, that this was more than just another itinerant preacher took some sensitivity, risk-taking, courage.
• Why is it so easy to miss God's movements in our lives?
• How can we become more sensitive to those movements?
• How can we help each other to become more sensitive to those movements?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What can I do for the refugees of all sorts in our midst?
2. Where is God calling me to return to Him today?
3. Where am I aiding the ongoing unfolding of Creation?
4. What action of the Holy Spirit in my life today am I aware of?

Shalom!

1st Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the First Sunday of Advent are:

1. Jeremiah 33: 14-16
2. Psalms 25: 4-5, 8-9, 10, 14
3. 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
4. Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36

• Waiting for justice can be so hard
• One school of thought says that the 2nd coming is just around the corner, so there is no real point to making things much better this side of eternity.
• What are you waiting for at this season in your life?
• How are you preparing for the coming of Jesus this Christmas, today in that person at the office that you cannot stand, your family, your Church?
• We always assume that Jesus will come with a lot of fanfare, so He will be hard to miss.  What should we be doing to be sure that we do not miss Him when He comes?

• Teach me your ways
• Think of a time when you had to learn something new, something "out of your wheelhouse".
• Did you learn that new skill by studying someone else while they did the work, or were there manuals that you read, or ...?
• How can we learn God's ways in our lives?
• Who might you be teaching, without even knowing it?

• Pleasing God
• A couple truly in love tries to find what will please the other, because each of them finds fulfillment in making the other happy.
• Have you ever felt in your life that you succeeded in pleasing God?
• Does that say more about God, you, or your image of God?
• What do you think that it would take in you to please God consistently?

• Driven to distraction
• "Situational awareness" describes a quality about someone who is aware of the bigger picture.  Someone with situational awareness understands and appreciates the details of what might be in front of them at the moment, but they don't lose the bigger picture.
• How big is your picture?  Do you have any awareness of what's going on outside of your parish, your country?
• Do you care?
• How might a broader situational awareness be a benefit?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Who do I want to become through this Advent season?
2. What is God trying to teach me through what I'm going through right now?
3. How important to me is God's opinion of me?
4. Where am I letting myself get distracted/distraught by the small stuff?

Shalom!

Christ the King Sunday

Our readings for Christ the King Sunday are:

1. Daniel 7:13-14
2. Psalms 93: 1, 1-2, 5
3. Revelation 1: 5-8
4. John 18:33b-37

• What sort of King do you want?
• There's a bumper sticker that I used to see that read "Jesus is coming back and boy is He pissed!"  That sort of casts the Parousia in a different light.
• When you think of the Second Coming, what would you want to see happen before then?  Perhaps some friend or relative come to Christ, peace in the Middle East, cancer get cured, ...?
• Once Jesus establishes the Kingdom of God, how will that differ from what you are in now?
• What is the best way for us to prepare for that Kingdom as a family, a community, a Church?

• To what end majesty?
• What makes someone majestic?
• Which of those qualities really apply to God?
• What does that tell you about majesty in general?
• What does that tell you about God?

• A priestly people
• In its most general form, what is a priesthood?
• Why do you think that we most need priesthood here on Earth?
• Will those functions be needed in the Kingdom of God?
• Why or why not?

• King indeed
• It's ironic that Jesus finally owns up to His kingship before Pilate, the oppressor of the Jews, while Jesus is on trial for his life?
• Do you think that Jesus was trying to hide His true nature?
• What purpose did that serve?
• Or do you think that the revelation of a servant king, one who is vulnerable, even weak, is somehow an essential part of God's nature and revelation to us?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How am I better prepared to meet Jesus today than I was this time last year?
2. What do I expect of God when He comes to set things right?  What role do I have in that?
3. How am I being priestly?
4. How can I identify more with Jesus in His humility?

Shalom!

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Daniel 12: 1-3
2. Psalms 16: 5, 8, 9-10, 11
3. Hebrews 10: 11-14, 18
4. Mark 13: 24-32

• Trust in the face of change
• Think back to the last time that you went through a big change.  Maybe that was a marriage, breaking up with someone, getting a new job, you name it.
• To make that change, you had to leave something behind, say goodbye to something.  What was that something?
• Was the sacrifice worth it?
• What made you decide that the sacrifice was worth it?
• Where was God in all of that?

• Finding the joy of the Lord
• How would you define the joy of the Lord?
• What/where is the source of that joy?
• How is it like the joy that all of us feel at things like the birth of a new baby, or graduating with a College degree?
• How is the joy of the Lord unlike those joys?
• Which sort of joy is more durable?

• All roads lead to Jesus
• Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets.
• Does that mean that all of those centuries of Jewish worship and philosophy were a waste?
• What is something in your life that you had to let go if to make room for something even better.
• Did you resent making that shift at that time?
• Why is it that we cannot "have it all?"

• Cultivating detachment
• It's always been easy to get confused between those things in our lives that are eternal, enduring, and those that are ephemeral, that are here for a time and then we mature beyond them.
• How do you tell the difference?
• Is it important that we know the difference?
• Which is more important, the fine workmanship of the chalice, or the contents of the chalice, or the community of the gathered faithful sharing in that meal?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How am I becoming wiser in the ways of God?
2. What is my joy based on?
3. How am I waiting creatively?
4. How am I setting my priorities?

Shalom!

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. 1 Kings 17: 10-16
2. Psalms 146: 7, 8-9, 9-10
3. Hebrews 9: 24-28
4. Mark 12: 38-44

• Trust me on this one
• Think of a time when you had to take a leap of faith, to invest yourself where you thought there was no hope for a good outcome.
• What made you decide to do that ridiculous act?
• Did it turn out as you had hoped?
• If things turned out differently from what you had hoped, was that OK?
• Why or why not?

• Option for the poor
• God clearly has a soft spot in His heart for those who seem to have little going for them in this world.
• Clearly, the lost, the lonely, the afraid, the abused, ... all need a Gospel, a good news in their life.  What is the essence of that good news?  God loves you, you're not alone, things will get better, ...?
• How can we be that good news to others?
• How can we be better at being that good news?

• Missing the forest for the trees
• All of the rituals, the smells and bells, the church building, ... are there merely as pointers to the true faith that God has come, is come among us, to live with us and guide us.
• How do you tell the transcendent, that which comes from God's own self, from pale reminders of who He is?
• Why do you think that we need these pointers, these signposts to Eternity?
• Could we be just as close to God with fewer of them?

• Cultivating detachment
• Youngsters sometimes end an argument with the word "whatever".  In its twisted way, that one word speaks volumes.  "Have it your way, I really no longer care, clearly my opinion does not matter here, just leave me alone" all get rolled up into one word.
• What is the difference between surrender to God, and "whatever"?
• When was the last time that you surrendered to God in anything?
• How did that turn out?
• What did that tell you about God then?
• What does that tell you about God now?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I ever guilty of reckless generosity?
2. How am I reaching out to the forgotten in my life?
3. How am I pointing the way to God through my life?
4. Where is God calling me to give today?  Where is God not calling me to give?

Shalom!

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Jeremiah 31: 7-9
2. Psalms 126: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
3. Hebrews 5: 1-6
4. Mark 10: 46-52

• Welcome home
• Define "home".
• What people/places/activities/things make you feel "at home"?
• Given the itinerant nature of His ministry, what do you think that Jesus needed to feel "at home" somewhere?
• How can we be more like Him?

• Coming back
• It is probably a rare thing for someone to honestly "hit bottom".  If you look hard enough, things could nearly always be worse.
• Think of a time when you felt that life was far from "good".  How did you get through that?
• What sort of an outcome were you looking for?
• How did you expect for that outcome to happen?
• Where was God in all of that?

• One of us
• At the presentation of gifts, those who bring up the gifts come from among the gathered assembly.  The Lector climbs into the ambo from a seat in the gathered assembly.  Oftentimes, for the offertory at Thanksgiving, we process to the altar rail to put our offerings into the baskets.  The children come from the gathered assembly to offer canned food on behalf of their families.  At communion, the extraordinary Eucharistic ministers arrive at the altar from among the gathered assembly.
• What do these liturgical movements tell us about the place of the gathered assembly?
• What do they speak about our individual participation in the Mass, in ministry, in the bringing of Christ's kingdom to earth?
• Who are we as we go our separate ways after dismissal?

• Putting it all on the line
• Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak, perhaps his only possession, to answer Jesus' call.
• What do you think Bartimaeus was hoping for at that moment?
• Where do you think that event took him in later life?
• Where do you think Bartimaeus showed courage?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How am I helping others to find home?
2. What are the desires of my heart that I have not shared with Jesus?
3. How can I be a better witness to God's Presence?
4. Where is fear holding me back from God?

Shalom!

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Isaiah 53: 10-11
2. Psalms 33: 4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
3. Hebrews 4: 14-16
4. Mark 10: 35-45

• Greatness is in what you give away
• There was a horrible bumper sticker that enjoyed some popularity.  It read "He who dies with the most toys wins."
• What do you think Jesus would have to say to that?
• If that sentiment is not true, write a bumper-sticker worthy statement of your own that is true.
• Is your bumper-sticker worth copyrighting?
• Why or why not?

• No regrets
• Archbishop Oscar Romero was canonized today, in part for his courage to the point of martyrdom.
• Do you think that true faith is always going to have its costs?
• How do you tell when calamities in your life are a result of you following your faith, or other, less noble reasons?
• How is God kind to us through all of that?

• Finding grace
• How would you define grace?
• How have you been graced in your life?
• How do we go about receiving grace in our lives?
• What can we do to be more open to that grace?

• I remember him when ...
• It's a common scenario.  Someone you never expected makes it big and all that you can do is to tell your friends "I remember him when he was just a punk ..." hoping that your familiarity with the new celebrity will somehow rub off on you.
• How would you define or characterize the humility of Jesus?
• Do you think that Jesus had it easier than we do, or harder, to be that humble?
• What sort of humility do you think that we are called to?
• What can we learn from Jesus' humility?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What do I truly desire?  What am I willing to give up for that?
2. Are there times and places in my life where I have tried to avoid the cost of my faith?
3. What graces do I most want in my life?
4. Where am I trying to grab the attention or credit?  Is that of God?

Shalom!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Wisdom 7: 7-11
2. Psalms 90: 12-13, 14-15, 16-17
3. Hebrews 4: 12-13
4. Mark 10: 17-30

• What is it that you desire
• Indecision is a terrible thing.  Sometimes, the pain of it is enough to make us do something rash just to get the decision process over with.
• How do you think that Jesus made decisions?
• Do you think that he had a process?
• Do you have anyone in your life that you can go to for better perspective on your decisions?
• How do such people supplement your prayer life?

• No regrets
• None of us wants to die with regrets.  We want to check off every item on our "bucket list" before we go.
• What do you think contributes to a "regret free" life?
• Have you ever learned to be thankful for a decision that you once regretted, or something that was hard to bear at the time?
• How did that process happen?
• Is it possible to help that process along?

• Looking at life from both sides
• It's almost universal that we wish that we had a better memory for things, but be careful what you wish for.  I believe that at judgement day we will have perfect recall of our entire life.
• We are never going to know everything about the decisions that we make, so how do you know when you have thought about something long enough?
• How do you know when your own desires are helping you, or hindering you from making a good decision?
• What really makes a good decision anyway?

• Disordered attachments
• In Ignatian spirituality, we are told to avoid getting so attached to anything that it begins to distract us from our primary mission in life.
• What are you attached to?
• How do you tell when that attachment has become too strong?
• How would you go about breaking that attachment?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What do I truly desire?  What am I willing to give up for that?
2. What am I thankful for this year that I could not have been thankful for earlier in my life?
3. How am I learning to follow Jesus more closely?
4. What in my life am I incapable of giving up?

Shalom!

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Genesis 2: 18-24
2. Psalms 128: 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
3. Hebrews 2: 9-11
4. Mark 10: 2-16

• Why we need a partner
• Somewhere along the line, every couple comes face to face with the harsh reality that they are married to somebody else.  That this miraculous person that they have committed to has their own desires, their own dreams, their own aspirations, their own way of looking at things.  It's all very disturbing.
• Would you say that you support your spouse?
• What form does that support take?
• Do you feel supported by your spouse?
• Do you think that it's possible that support could require courage on your part?
• Why or why not?

• Reaping what you sow
• It's a foundational element of the American ethic that we get to enjoy the benefits of our hard work.  No one's going to ride into town and take all of our supplies and make off with them.
• Oddly, it's not as much a bedrock value that we get to suffer the consequences of our poor choices.
• Have you ever had a loved one suffer because of poor choices that they made and were making?
• How did you support them in that time in their life?
• What do you think "tough love" really means?
• Do you think that God practices "tough love"? 

• The benefits of suffering
• How do you think that Jesus suffered in His life?
• How did that suffering change Him?
• How do you think that He managed to work through that suffering without becoming embittered by it?
• Do you think that Jesus was ever afraid?
• How can we be more like Jesus in our approach to suffering?

• Vocations anyone?
• Mary & I were at a Loyola Institute of Spirituality Christmas party once and someone asked one of the Jesuit priests how long he had been ordained.  He told us, then he turned it around and asked those of us celebrating the sacrament of marriage how long we had been in our vocation.
• What are some vocations, and participants in those vocations that have changed your life?
• Who are some sacraments in your life that inspire you?
• Picture yourself at your own funeral, someone is giving your eulogy.  Who is that someone, and what would you want them to say about you?
• What are you doing to make that happen?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What relationships can I strengthen this week?
2. What seeds am I planting in my life today?
3. How are my sufferings making me better?
4. Who am I inspiring?

Shalom!

26th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Numbers 11: 25-39
2. Psalms 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14
3. James 5: 1-6
4. Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48

• Membership criteria
• Confirmation retreats are often a time of bonding teenagers into community.  But the question is, is it the music that they share that weekend, the experiences, the talks, their common community at Church, their commonality of culture and age, ... that made them a community?
• Think of some of the communities that you belong to.  What single thing do you all have in common that really binds you together, really makes a cohesive whole out of you?
• Do you think that everyone in the community has that same thing in mind?
• What do you thing should bind you together as a community?

• Curing my blind spots
• Each of us has a blind spot or two in our lives, particularly about ourselves.
• How have you become aware of some of those blind spots?
• How was your life changed by that new knowledge?
• How can we be more objective about ourselves? 

• Prophetic in humility
• Gandhi stands as as the 21st century's emblem of non-violent protest, and the power that can have to make changes happen in our world.  No one would ever accuse Gandhi of weakness or cowardice.
• Most likely, none of us feels that we have much influence over others, but we do have some "pull" with some people, sometimes more than we know.
• Is there anyone in your life who need someone to stand up for them, someone to help them through something in life.
• Why aren't you that someone?

• How big is your tent?
• A joke that I heard once is here.  I think that it's worth a read.
• What things have to be true about someone before they can show you something of Jesus?
• When was the last time that you experienced God from an unexpected source?
• How was it that you knew God was there?
• Why did you not expect to find Him there?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What have I done to build community this week?
2. Do I humbly seek God's insight into my life, my motivations, my limitations, or would I just as soon not hear about that in my prayer life?
3. Who in my life am I willing to go to bat for?
4. Who am I excluding from those that God can use to minister to me?

Shalom!

25th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 2: 12, 17-20
2. Psalms 54: 3-4, 5, 6-8
3. James 3: 16-4: 3
4. Mark 9: 30-37

• Embracing humility
• In Daniel 6 we read of Daniel's deliverance from the plot of envious government officials to have him killed.  Sounds like a good outcome for anyone who fearlessly follows God.
• Jesus wasn't so lucky, yet no one in history has followed God more closely.  Since His death, Jesus has been joined by countless disciples who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of God, and far more who have lost fortunes, been exiled, ostracized and persecuted for their faith.
• Were all of these men and women of faith delivered in any way?
• If so, delivered from what, exactly?
• Is such deliverance enough, or would you like God to be a little more generous?

• God has a thing for the weak
• Few of us have the experience of outright persecution from anyone for our faith.  But even given that, there are times when your faith has constrained you.  Maybe you were not able to take advantage of some insider trading opportunity, or you don't stay late at work because you know that your family needs you more.
• What was the reward that you expected from that behavior?
• Did that work out?
• Did it matter whether it worked out that way or not?
• Why? 

• Prayer changes things
• When I was a child, a popular slogan was "Prayer changes things!" which I have since come to believe fosters a superstitious attitude toward prayer.  I'd rather that such a bumper sticker read "prayer changes us!".
• Have you ever started praying, perhaps desperately, for one thing, and, over time, that changed to another prayer altogether?
• Why do you think that happened?
• How can we make ourselves more open to that process?

• The margins
• In Jesus' day, children were very much at the margins of society, without anyone but their parents to look after them.  There was nothing more destitute than an orphan.
• Who are some of those that you have served, benefited, who will never be able to repay you?
• Why did you perform those services?
• How did that service bring you closer to Jesus?
• How did that service make you more like Jesus?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What do I want to be delivered from?  What/who do I want to be delivered to?
2. What/who threatens me?  Have I brought that to God?
3. Am I open to God changing my mind about things as I pray over them?
4. Where will my discipleship to God take me this week?

Shalom!

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 50: 4c-9a
2. Psalms 116: 1-2, 3-4 5-6, 8-9
3. James 2: 14-18
4. Mark 8: 27-35

• Embracing humility
• No one likes to be misunderstood or misrepresented.  And yet that was Jesus' lot during his entire public ministry.
• Do you think that Jesus felt lonely or isolated by that treatment?
• If you had been there during those final weeks of His ministry, what might you have done to comfort and support Him?
• Do you think that Jesus could use some comfort and support today?
• How might you minister to Him in your life?

• God has a thing for the weak
• How has God delivered you during your life?
• What were some of the things that He delivered you from?  Were they things like a sense of entitlement, unreasonable expectations on someone else, an attachment to success, were they more tangible like deliverance from a financial problem, ...?
• How did that make you feel about your life, about God?
• Do you ever think back on those times and give thanks? 

• Faith in action
• Work for justice often comes in two categories: addressing the immediate need, and looking "upstream" to find why the need arises and address the causes of injustice.
• Do you think that some of us are called to one type of justice work and not the other?
• Do you think that such a call can change over time?
• Do you think that someone who is prophetic, who speaks to the injustice of our day, can really make a difference?
• Who are some prophets of our time that you admire?

• Astonishment
• How do you think Peter should have reacted to the news that Jesus was going to be rejected and suffer?
• How do you think we can learn to think more like God in our lives?
• Do you think that the slogan "what would Jesus do?" is a good place to start answering that question?
• Is there anyone in your life that you feel that you can go to when you want to find the mind of God?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Of the characters in the stations of the Cross, which do I identify with most, and why?
2. What am I grateful for especially this week?  Maybe not things that have happened this week, but things that have come to mind this week.
3. How is my faith changing my actions?
4. What is God calling me to understand from His perspective?

Shalom!

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 23nd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 35: 4-7a
2. Psalms 146: 6-7, 8-9, 9-10
3. James 2: 1-5
4. Mark 7: 31-37

• Abundance in unexpected places
• How has God been abundant beyond reason in your life?  Given you more than you ever would have asked for, ever expected?
• How would you define "more" in your life?  How do you quantify that?
• Why do you think that God is so abundant?
• Is that abundance always easily visible?
• Why is that?

• God has a thing for the weak
• Who are the oppressed in our midst these days?
• What do you think that God desires for them?
• How do you think that God will make that happen?
• What is our role in bringing His kingdom? 

• The source of all generosity
• What would you consider to be the true riches of our faith?
• Is it the concepts, the beliefs that we hold?
• The sacred art and sacred music that has been inspired through the ages?
• The incredible generosity that has poured out from God's people to those in need?
• ...?
• Given that, how ought we to treat those riches?

• Astonishment
• Richard Rohr draws a distinction between astonishment that seems to be the stock response in Mark's Gospel, versus pondering, that is the response that Mary seems to have throughout the Gospel.  Astonishment is a knee-jerk reaction to what God/Jesus does, pondering is a meditation on those same actions.
• Do you think that Mary ever completely "figured it out"?
• Have you ever tried to "ponder" some event, some gift in your life to find its meaning?
• How did you know that you were done in that process?
• Does that pondering actually have to arrive at a conclusion?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What are my expectations of God in prayer lately?  How much do I trust Him for?
2. How am I bringing about God's kingdom this week?
3. What am I doing to add to God's riches?
4. What is God calling me to ponder this week?

Shalom!

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-8
2. Psalms 15: 2-3, 3-4, 4-5
3. James 1: 17-18 21b-22, 27
4. Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

• Foundation for reform
• In fairness to the Jews, many of those admonitions and rules were put into place to help protect the law by making it difficult for someone to unintentionally even come close to breaking the law.
• Is the answer to legalism in religion to strip all of the regulations back to their essence?
• If so, how far back do you go?
• How do you know that you're done removing the "extra" prohibitions, beliefs, devotions?
• And what of someone who imposes safeguards on themselves?  For instance an alcoholic who will not even enter a bar for fear of having a relapse, are they being legalistic?

• Who decides what is just?
• We can all think of things that are unjust.  Things such as a person not being able to enjoy the fruits of their labor, or a family constantly afraid of deportation simply because of their ethnicity, or someone cheating on their income taxes.
• Is there something that ties these, and all injustices together?
• If someone wanted to put a situation in front of you and ask whether that was just, would you feel comfortable rendering a judgement?
• How do we find God's perspectives on issues of justice?

• The source of all generosity
• Selfless philanthropists are looked up to for their generosity.  Those that give away large sums even put in their time and talent along with the money to help in the administration.
• If you won the lottery, how would you spend it?
• Where would you go for guidance in such a venture?
• How long would it take for you to "get back to normal" after winning all of those millions?

• Purification
• Truly pure motives are hard to find.  We often set out with the best intentions, only to find half way through a venture that we are not as pure as we thought.
• Does that mean that we should never take on a venture until we have totally pure motives?
• Is doing the right thing for the wrong reason always totally wrong?
• Is doing the wrong thing for the right reason always totally right?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How does my relationship with Jesus modify my behavior?
2. When was the last time that I spoke out against an injustice?
3. How can I be generous and yet be true to my needs, my passions, who God has created me?
4. How can I be more honest about my motives?

Shalom!

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Proverbs 9: 1-6
2. Psalms 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7
3. Ephesians 5: 15-20
4. John 6: 51-58

• Food for the journey
• Who in your life would you say has an abundance of wisdom?
• Do you ever go to them for answers to specific issues, or wisdom in general?
• How do we achieve wisdom?
• How does one pass that along to others?
• Should we all be wise, or is wisdom something that you can just "Google up"?

• Tasting or savoring?
• Why do you believe that God is good?
• What does that really mean?  How could God be bad?
• Does God's goodness require that He always be good to all of us all of the time?
• How are you good to God?

• No regrets
• Looking back over your life, are there times or seasons that you wished that you had savored more?
• What kept you from really appreciating those times as you went through them?
• Do you think that you are getting the most out of today?
• How do you think that you might become more aware of God's daily gift to/in/and through you?

• Manna
• The bread from heaven for the Jews would immediately make them think of the manna in the desert, one sign that God was with them during their time in the Sinai desert, a sign that they were God's people, a community in His care.
• How does the Eucharist make a community of us?
• Does that community just include those partaking of the Body and Blood that particular Mass, or does it include those who receive from that table by way of extraordinary Eucharistic ministers?
• Does that community extend to the other communities, celebrating different Masses that day?
• Does it include all Catholics celebrating Eucharist anywhere any time?
• Or is that community, does God's love extend even farther?
• What does this sort of community really mean?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What journey is God's wisdom taking me on today?
2. What do I need to be more grateful for?
3. How have I not been as present as I could be to those around me?
4. How can I more deeply celebrate the whole community that God has called me into?

Shalom!

19th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. 1 Kings 19: 4-8
2. Psalms 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
3. Ephesians 4: 30-5:2
4. John 6: 41-51

• Food for the journey
• We don't see whether God told Elijah what he would find there at Horeb, God just equipped him and sent him.
• What are some of the things that you participate in regularly that nourish and equip you?
• Where do you feel that God is sending you lately?
• What do you expect to find when you "arrive" there?

• We have nothing to fear but fear itself
• What are some of the things that you fear in particular.  When you make this list, be as specific as you can.  Don't just say "I worry about my family".  Rather, something specific such as "I fear that my son is making career choices that he will regret later."
• Where is God in that circumstance?
• What do you expect God to do?
• What would you like for God to do?
• If there is a difference between those two, why is that?
• If you see no difference between those two, why is that?

• It's hard being vulnerable
• What really happens to the other person when you forgive them?
• What happens to you?
• Do you feel that forgiving others makes you more vulnerable?
• How can the person that you forgive take advantage of that forgiveness?
• How can the person that you forgive take advantage of you?

• One bread or another
• The sacraments are described as doorways to the sacred, a means for us to touch that which is holy and sublime, even while we are here in the physical world.
• Why do you think that Jesus fed the people those barley loaves first, then preached to them this bread of life discourse?
• When our parishioners are going hungry physically, is our Eucharistic celebration complete and authentic?
• How can we more fully be bread for the poor, no matter what makes them poor?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I willing to turn my back on what is comfortable and familiar in favor of a fuller life?
2. What will it take for me to give up a fear (pick one) to God?
3. Who do I need to forgive, in order for me to achieve wholeness?
4. How can I be more deeply generous in my life?

Shalom!

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Exodus 16: 2-4, 12-15
2. Psalms 78: 3-4, 23-24, 25, 54
3. Ephesians 4: 17, 20-24
4. John 6: 24-35

• Food anxiety is never easy
• Poor Moses didn't have a good lawyer on his staff at the time, or else he would have had the children of Israel all sign a waiver to the effect that they forfeit all rights to anything that they were familiar and comfortable with, in exchange for their freedom.
• Do you think that God categorically has an issue with us being comfortable in life?
• If not, when do you think that God does take issue with comfort?
• How do you tell when your comforts are holding you back from God?

• There's a time and a place for everything
• We like to know how everything will work out before we venture into anything new, but that does not seem to be the way of things in God's service.
• When was the last time that you took a new beginning, without knowing how all of your needs would be met.
• Why did you take that risk?
• How did it turn out?
• Did you end up needing everything that you thought that you would need?
• How did that experience of uncertainty change you?

• Discerning desires
• Are all of our desires necessarily bad?
• Where do those desires come from?
• Do you think that God is interested in meeting any of them?
• How/where can our desires lead us astray?
• How/where can they lead us toward God?

• God is everywhere
• Jesus fed those folks for any number of reasons, but one reason certainly was to show them the Father's compassion and generosity, another to show them that God stood ready to meet all of their needs, physical and not.
• Do you think that ministry to the needy has to address all of their needs, no matter how diverse those needs are?
• Typically in a homeless shelter, the homeless get treated to a sermon first, then food.  Many of the homeless take the opportunity to grab a quick nap before eating.
• Is there anything wrong with that picture?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I willing to turn my back on what is comfortable and familiar in favor of a fuller life?
2. How do I see God providing for me in the context of my service to Him?
3. What desires of my heart do I need to bring to God in prayer?
4. What generosity does God look for from me this week?

Shalom!

17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 76th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. 2 Kings 4: 42-44
2. Psalms 145: 10-11, 15-16, 17-18
3. Ephesians 4: 1-6
4. John 6: 1-15

• All are welcome, all are fed
• In my wife's family, the longstanding tradition is that the host/hostess never goes it along, everyone brings something to share, even if they are told not to.
• Of course, nothing compares to what God offers us at Eucharist, but each of us brings something to share at the feast.  What are some of the things that you share at Mass?
• What would you like to share differently/more/better?
• Be honest, what do you wish was shared differently/more/better by others at Mass?

• Needs versus wants
• Do you think that God has any interest in meeting your wants?
• Where do you think your wants come from?
• How do you tell the difference between wants and needs?

• Finding peace
• How would you define peace?
• Where do you go to find that peace?
• Does anyone else in your life help to bring you peace?
• Why/how or why not?
• Do you think that it's escapism to go "somewhere else" for peace?

• Loafing through it all
• Sometimes, it can be instructive to ask what would have happened in a Gospel story if things had been just a bit different.  In this case, if the boy had decided that he wasn't going to share his lunch, how do you think that might have gone?
• Have you ever tried to meet a need that was hopelessly too big for your resources?
• What did you bring to the table?
• Was it enough?
• Did it matter?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I willing to welcome even those that I have no idea how to serve?
2. Do I trust God with my wants as well as my needs?
3. How can I be peace for others?
4. Do I let fear of inadequacy paralyze me?

Shalom!

16th Sunday in Ordinary TIme

Our readings for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Jeremiah 23: 1-6
2. Psalms 23: 1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
3. Ephesians 2: 13-18
4. Mark 6: 30-34

• Defense from error
• Once upon a time, there was a parish where the Confirmation sacramental preparation was done by volunteers, mostly parents.  The teens were divided up into groups that met in homes, much like the early church.  Then along came a teacher who felt that these parents were often uninformed, mistaken, or just sloppy about their teaching, so he took all of those teenagers, had them meet in one large room each week, and he taught them himself to make sure that there was no error in the teaching.
• We often speak of the distinction between faith formation, and information.  What would you say is the difference between the two?
• Is one or the other more important?
• At what point and in which way(s) do we become adults, and have to start taking responsibility for our own formation?
• Do you think that someone could be influencing/forming/teaching another without knowing it?
• How do we keep each other honest?

• Who wants to be a sheep?
• As Westerners, and certainly as males, we are conditioned to appreciate and praise those who push the boundaries, who succeed in spite of the odds, who have the courage to go beyond their comfort zone.  Hardly an ethic that you associate with sheep.
• Do you think that there are things in this life that are just out and out impossible for you?
• Would it make your life any better to try those things?
• If you don't think that anything is impossible to you, then think about flapping your arms and flying, or being able to compose a truly great sonata, or finding the cure to cancer.
• If not these things, then what are your strengths?
• Do you think that you might have strengths that you've not stumbled into?
• How have you found your strengths, your genius, your calling in life?
• Do you think that was just luck, or something else?
• How can you be more open to that "something else"?

• Chasing the Prodigal
• In the parable of the prodigal son, what I like to call the prodigal father, the father waits patiently, longingly, for the son to come back.  He's the first to see that weary, beaten son come over the horizon from distant lands, and he runs toward that young man as though his very life depended on that reunion.
• Who are some of those in your life who have "gone prodigal" and left, be it a violent rending of relationships, or an inexorable corrosion?
• Is anyone looking for them?
• What do they have to do before anyone is willing/able to receive them back?
• What will they have to do if they ever came back, before anyone would trust them again?
• Who decided that anyway?

• Life is what happens along the way
• Sanctuary is a place, time, space where we go to recuperate.  For the introvert, such sanctuary can be very tangible.  They prefer quiet, a spell where they can center themselves, recover from the demands of people all around them, and rediscover their inner compass.  Other folks crave time with nature, time in their gardens, time on the phone with their best friend, an hour spent in front of the reserved Eucharist, you name it.
• Where is your sanctuary?
• Do you go there regularly?
• Do you bring an agenda with you when you go there?
• How much of your sanctuary do you bring back with you when you rejoin humanity?
• What is the difference between sanctuary and trying to escape?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where/what am I teaching God's people?
2. Where might God be calling me outside my comfort zone?
3. Who am I waiting for to come home?  Do they know that?
4. What am I doing to strengthen my prayer-life?

Shalom!

13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

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

• Where would we be without death?
• Do you think that there will come a time when you will welcome your own death?
• What has to happen between now and then?
• Is all of that going to be a good thing?
• Do you think that God has anything to say about when we die?
• What does that say about God?
• What does that say about our death?

• Praise God, for ...
• When I was growing up, there was a slogan: "praise God anyhow!" that was offered as the answer to any tragedy that occurred.  I gradually grew to hate that phrase, and all of the sanctimonious dodging of genuine pain that it represented.
• What do you think is praiseworthy of God?
• Is that about things that God has done to/for you?
• What do those experiences tell you about God?
• What do they tell you about you?

• Is God a Commie?
• Is it intrinsically evil that one person has more while another has less?
• Just what responsibilities do we, in the richest nation on earth, have for others less fortunate?
• Jesus never healed a stock market portfolio, never preached against a politician because of their immigration policies or their attendance to justice.  Does that mean that Jesus didn't care about those things, just had more important things to do, or that He somehow expected His followers to address such things in due time?
• Is there anything that God actually owes us?

• Life is what happens along the way
• Oftentimes, it feels as though life would be so much better if our interruptions stopped getting interrupted.  How do you think that Jesus dealt with all of the competing demands on His time and energy?
• Do you think that His prayer life had anything to do with that?
• How do you think Jesus knew when it was time to fold up His prayer shawl and get on with life day in, and day out?
• How do you tell?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I blaming God for lately?
2. What am I praising God for today?
3. How can I show mercy without being patronizing?
4. How can I be more patient with/about the unexpected in my life?

Shalom!

The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Our readings for the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist are:

1. Isaiah 49: 1-6
2. Psalms 139: 1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
3. Acts 13 22-26
4. Luke 1: 57-66

• Success isn't all that it's cracked up to be
• We all want to succeed at what we invest ourselves in, it's only natural.  But sometimes, success becomes a hindrance.
• Think of something that you really poured yourself into.  Maybe it's parenting, maybe it's a career, or caring for an ill spouse or parent.
• Did that turn out the way that you had originally wanted/expected for it to?
• Were you disappointed that it didn't go the way that you wanted?
• Did that discourage you from trying again?
• Do you feel that God owes you to succeed at everything that He calls you to do?
• Just how do you define success anyway?

• You just don't understand ...
• Think of someone who really understands you, who "gets" you.
• How did they get that much insight into you?
• How have you built that sort of relationship through the years?
• Why is it that we feel less alone when there are those who really really understand us?
• Do you truly believe that God understands you, that He accepts every part of you, that you are loved right now, every last atom of your being?
• How then should you pray?

• I Am has this covered ...
• God has been at this almighty thing for a long time.  He apparently has the ability to get a huge number of moving parts to all work together over years, nay millennia.
• So, what exactly do we have to worry about?
• Have you ever lamented to God that so much that you have worked on seems to be crumbling, falling down around you for no good reason?
• How did God answer that?  Did you get much sympathy?
• Does it make sense for us to ask for the bigger picture, or are we always going to see just a small part of the big picture?

• What's in a name?
• We have gotten out of the habit of trying to name our children meaningfully.  In so doing, we lose the opportunity to lay claim to that part of the grand arc of history that they will build in their lives, we subtly deny them their destiny because we fear that we're going to get it wrong, or because we fear that we're going to get it right, and that destiny looks too daunting.
• If you wanted to give yourself a name that somehow spoke to who you see when you look in the mirror, what would that name be?
• What name do you think that God has for you?
• Do you think that name ever changes?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What in my life, success, appreciation, affection ... am I willing to give up as I follow Jesus?
2. Where am I helping God to understand me better?  What am I doing to better understand God?
3. What worries can I give up to God today?
4. What can I do today to claim my name before God?

Nativity Carol

Loved into being

Awaited with longing and trepidation

Each of us arrived on this planet amidst doubts and fears, expectations and anticipation

Dwelling in the past is an escape

But to learn from it, we must first learn our own origins,

The clay from which we were formed.

Perhaps it's time to sit down with our children.

Share with them our fondest dreams, hopes, and ambitions for them.

Not to contrast with where they are today, but shine light on the roots from which they spring

Perhaps in the telling we can learn to be more accepting.

Perhaps in the hearing they can learn to be courageous,

Both become brave enough to hope, brave enough to cast aside cynicism.

Shalom!

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

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

• Continuity in the strangest places
• We all like to think that everything that we do lays a foundation for that which is to come.  Schooling leads to that great job offer, the salary leads to that house, and so on.
• But sometimes, the continuity seems fragile at best.  Out of all of humanity, God preserved just Noah and his family.  Just a tiny shoot of the Cedar (representing the nation Israel) would be replanted back in their homeland.
• Thinking back over your life, think of something that has changed radically.  Maybe you lost a job, or had to move to a new one, last a loved one, some relationship died.
• What were you able to carry forward from that experience?
• Were the results worth it?
• Do they have to be worth it?

• The fruit of your labors
• When you think about it, perhaps the single biggest desire that we all share is that we get to enjoy the fruits of our labors.
• How long do you think you will be able to continue to bear fruit in your life?
• Do you think that the nature of that fruit will change as you grow older?
• What of this chapter of your life do you think that you will miss the most?

• At home in this body
• I've finally resigned myself to one tragic reality: I'm a 60-year old white guy trapped in a 60-year old white guy's body.  Oddly, I don't get much sympathy for that.  Maybe I had this coming.
• Do you feel that we are obliged to improve on previous generation's outlook on life, on religion, on holiness?
• If so, how have you improved on that stock that you came from?
• Do you think that you left the next generation a good starting place?
• Where would you hope that they grow into before they pass the baton in their turn?

• It's all gift
• We know that there is nothing that we can do apart from God, yet the practical implications of that simple fact are often hard to pin down, even harder to live.
• If it is ultimately up to God to bring about the Kingdom here on earth, just what is our role?
• How can we best "get out of God's way" as He brings about His kingdom on earth?
• Why do you think that God wants us involved in the ongoing creation at all?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What in my life, success, appreciation, affection ... am I willing to give up as I follow Jesus?
2. What fruit am I bearing today?
3. What legacy is God building in me?
4. How can I give God more freedom in my life?

Shalom!

10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Genesis 3: 9-15
2. Psalms 130: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
3. 2 Corinthians 4: 13-5: 1
4. Mark 3: 20-35

• Who told you that you were naked?
• Nightmares where we are speaking before a large crowd and suddenly realize that we are naked seem to be pretty common.  Maybe the fear is that, in the rush to get out of the door you forgot that one item of your preparation checklist, maybe it's that you don't think that you are prepared at all, maybe it's that you don't feel worthy to be there at all.
• Where do you feel most accepted for who/what you are?
• Where do you feel most at home?
• Does that say more about who you are, what you've accomplished, or about those who are so accepting?

• Mercy me
• God's mercy for each of us is a great mystery, and yet we are called to show some measure of that same grace to others.
• When was the last time that you were merciful to someone else?
• What prompted you to do that?
• Do you think that mercy always means giving the other person what they want?

• Do these wings make me look fat?
• When I was young, I must have asked whether we would meet the family dog Charlie in heaven.  My dad was pretty certain that, despite the mischief that Charlie had committed in this life, that upon entering heaven we will each hear a familiar barking, soon to be followed by one very special cocker beagle leaping into our arms.
• These dwellings that we will have in heaven, will they look the way that we did in our 20s?
• Will we have senses of any sort in heaven?
• Will it matter?

• Being in the moment
• We talk about work/life balance in our lives as a goal for better health.
• How do you suppose that Jesus kept from burning out?
• Do you think that He could pour Himself into his ministry because He know it would not have to last forever?
• How do you make room in your life for the unexpected, the out of the box, the Spirit flying low?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Who in my life needs to hear that they are accepted just as they are?
2. Who in my life today needs mercy from me?
3. What is the most important thing about me that I want to identified by in eternity?
4. How can I be more open to changes in my plans?

It is Enough

Years ago, before my son towered over me the way he does now,

We were walking together, and he put his hand in mine.

My heart sang, and shed a tear at the same time.

Time does not come in a bottle.  Experiences can not be clung to.

And yet, all of eternity can be found in a single moment.

Sudden, breath-taking union with all that is, ever was, ever will be.

Looking back, I know that I was totally present to that moment.

I have no regrets from that day, because I was totally there just then.

But it leaves me wondering how many breath-taking moments I miss

For lack of attention, for being in a hurry, for not giving them enough space.

At the end of life's journey, I want to be full of gratitude.

Maybe the way to get there is to practice gratitude for each moment now.

Learn to let each moment blossom of its own,

Not looking for what's next, where are we going with this, what's in it for me.

Shalom!

Corpus Christi

Our readings for Corpus Christi 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

• Blood bretheren
• How would you define sacrament, sign, sacramental?
• If we go with the Baltimore catechism and start with a sacrament is "an outward sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace", is that institution process over with, or is it ongoing?
• Are we, as faithful and faith-filled followers of Christ merely passive participants of the sacraments, or is there more that we are called to be?
• Is it possible for non-believers to receive the graces afforded by our celebration of the sacraments?

• Gift exchange
• Eucharist can be described as an exchange of gifts.
• What is it that we offer God?
• What/who is it that God offers us?
• When does that exchange really end?
• When does/did it begin?

• Imago Dei
• The Jewish temple, in all of its glory, was just a pointer to, a signpost to, the greater glory and mystery of Christ making His tabernacle with us in our midst.
• Jesus Himself told His disciples that he points to the Father.
• What of our worship, service, vocations, lives together are just pointers to even greater things?
• How effective are those pointers?
• How do we know when they have outlived their usefulness?

• Source and Summit
• In the RCIA rite book, it mentions that each rite within RCIA should be viewed as both a source and a summit for the candidates and catechumens.
• In any typical week, what does the Sunday liturgy bring together and put on the altar?
• How do we draw nourishment through the week from our liturgy together?
• How can our celebration of Liturgy bring us into a greater and broader unity?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How am I a blessing to those around me?
2. What lessons in God's grace would anyone learn by observing my life?
3. Where is my life obscuring the image of God?
4. What can I do today to be better prepared for my next sacramental celebration?

Shalom!

Trinity Sunday

Our readings for Trinity Sunday are:

1. Deuteronomy 4: 32-34, 39-40
2. Psalms 33: 4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
3. Romans 8: 14-17
4. Matthew 28: 16-20

• Prosperity for our posterity
• What do you want most for your children?
• Would you say that your children would thrive if all of those things came to them?
• What does God ask of us, to pave the way for those blessings for our children?

• Creation: event or process?
• How would you define creation?
• Is all creative activity in any way linked together?
• Are all of us called to be generative/creative?
• How can we be more open to the font of all creation/creativity/generosity?

• What are you suffering?
• We often hear of an injured party suing for compensation for pain and suffering resulting from another's negligence or malicious intent.  But suffering can have a much broader meaning.
• What are you suffering lately?
• Do you think that your suffering is, in any way, more acute because you are a Christian?
• Would you say that your suffering is, in some measure, for Christ?

• Doubting as self-defense
• Devout Christians often fear doubts about their faith, feeling that they are symptoms of a weakness in their relationship with Jesus.
• What do you think the disciples were doubting in this Gospel account?  Could they have been doubting their own abilities to continue Jesus' ministry, could they have doubted that God was going to preserve them from all harm in their ministry, ...?
• What sort of doubts to you have?
• Do you think that any of those doubts could be healthy?
• Do you feel that doubts have to be confessed?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What legacy am I leaving my children today?
2. How might I create more deeply in my life?
3. Where is Jesus calling me to suffer with Him?
4. Where can my doubts draw me closer to God?

May I have this dance?

Some have described the Trinity as an eternal dance
Each of them stepping, swaying, twirling to the others
Each of them joining in and adding to the beauty.

No country line dance is this eternal dance.
Each member of the Trinity has their own steps
Each their own expression of eternal love.

They are one in ways that we can scarce imagine
Yet distinct in that each offers themselves to the rest.
Perfect communion, yet dynamic, give and take.

A great mystery that we cannot fully understand.
And a greater mystery still is that we are each invited
Into that dance all of our lives long -

Each time we know that we are far from alone
Each time that we see ourselves in all of creation
And see all of creation in each of us

Each time that we suffer with another
Not because we see that we all are one,
But because we know that we all are one.

Each is an invitation into eternity,
Even if just for a moment, a flicker of awareness.
Even that is enough to transform us.

Shalom!

Pentecost Sunday

Our readings for Pentecost Sunday are:

1. Acts 2:1-11
2. Psalms 104: 1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
3. 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-7, 12-13
4. John 20: 19-23

• Expect the unexpected
• The disciples did not know what was coming their way on that Pentecost day.  They had gathered for prayer as was their custom.  There was no way that they could have forced God's hand and call the Spirit down.
• What do you think made that group open to the movement of the Spirit?
• We don't hear of anyone leaving their company because of the outpouring of the Spirit, do you think that everyone there was ready for this sort of outpouring?
• How can we as individuals, families, communities be more open to the Spirit's movement?

• Looking for renewal
• Is renewal just dialing things back to the way they were when we, those around us, our communities were younger, or is renewal different/more than that?
• What needs renewal in your life?
• What needs renewal in our Church?
• Where do we and the Spirit start?

• Playing to your strengths
• We all have God-given gifts, some of them latent, some obvious.
• How have you found those gifts in your life?
• Do you think that there are other, as yet undiscovered talents awaiting expression, a breath of fresh air, an opening?
• How would you go about discovering those?

• Peace give I to these -
• Peace may not be the absence of conflict, an absence of separation, but more a permeating experience with the oneness that is Christ.
• We put conditions on that unity, fearful of slipping into error, concerned about losing our integrity, worried that we'll somehow lose ourselves in the bargain.
• Do you think that God lies at the center of true unity?
• How can we achieve that in the world that we live in today?
• If Jesus gave His disciples this peace, how can we make ourselves more open to that inheritance today?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where am I trying to force God in my life?
2. What has died in my life and lies ready for renewal?
3. How am I offering my talents up to God in new ways?
4. Where does peace find me these days?  How has that peace changed me?

Peace Give I to Thee

Really, who is He kidding?  I'm going nuts here with deadlines,

The kids need new shoes, braces are going to eat me out of house and home.

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord

I need help that deals with the world that I live in, 

That my family lives in.

Not as the world gives, give I to thee

Peace indeed.  Fine if you have no responsibilities, none relying on you.

But for me, I have demands made on me all the time, 24X7.

Lord God Almighty

Sure, God rules the universe, but in this little pocket where I live,

He's strangely silent, if not absent, what of that?

As the Father has sent me, so I send you

I'm empty handed, beaten, discouraged, drowning.

What do I have to offer anyone else?

Just two things: My Spirit and your brokenness

Well then, brokenness I have in plenty.

You'll hold up your side of the bargain?

My grace is sufficient, rest in that sufficiency

Shalom!

7th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the 7th Sunday of Easter are:

1. Acts 1: 15-17, 20a, 20c-26
2. Psalms 103: 1-2, 11-12, 19-20
3. 1 John 4: 11-16
4. John 17: 11b-19

• Continuity
• Losing Judas must have been a blow to the disciples.  Replacing him was doubtless a part of their grieving process.
• How do you tell when it's best to just let something die?  Maybe it's a job that you've cherished for years, a relationship that has run it's course, a favorite activity that you're just too old for ...
• How do you tell when something that was really good needs to be held on to, regardless of the cost?

• Finding things to be grateful for
• What do you thank God for these days?
• What makes you thankful for those?
• How often do you get the chance to express that gratitude out loud?

• Beloved ...
• If someone were to come to you and tell you that they have a hard time loving others, that their relationships inevitably go sour, they have no friends, and you're their last confidant.  What would you tell them?
• It's so easy, particularly as a Western male, for me to make a project out of everything.  Deadlines, milestones metrics, all come to mind when I set out to do anything.  Yet, how does one become more loving, more caring, more generous?
• And how to do it authentically, rather than just acting a part?

• We meant the Jesuits:
• Many of you remember Andy Anderson.  He was raised in the Franciscan tradition, and he once confessed that when the Franciscans talked about ecumenism, they meant relating to the Jesuits.  Somehow, that is less funny than it used to be.
• What do you think should be the foundation, the source for unity between as Christians?
• Between us as members of humanity?
• Between us as God's creatures?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What are the attachments that I struggle with in my life?
2. When was the last time that I thanked God for anything?
3. How am I growing in love today?
4. Where is the Holy Spirit trying to break through with oneness in my life?

Shalom!

6th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the 6th Sunday of Easter are:

1. Acts 10: 25-26, 34-35, 44-48
2. Psalms 98: 1, 2-3, 3-4
3. 1 John 4: 7-10
4. John 15: 9-17

• Catching up to the Holy Spirit
• It seems as though even the early apostles sometimes let their past history limit what they thought God could/would do.
• How can we be more open to the movements of the Spirit?
• Do you think that sacraments evolve over time to meet new needs, or are they transcendent, or both?
• Who participates in that ongoing creative activity?

• Your idea of salvation may not be mine
• It seems that it is nearly impossible for nations to simply leave each other alone in peace these days.  Anything that benefits one group, one tribe, one nation always seems to come at a cost to another.
• What do we mean when we talk about the Lord's salvation at a community, or national level?
• How do you think God can bring about peace to our world, at this time?
• What role do we have in making that peace?

• Taking it easy
• A wise Jesuit brother once shared with us that as he has prayed longer, he prays simpler.
• How can we let go of more in our prayer life and let God do more?
• When does that become simple laziness?

• You already have what you need:
• You have to wonder what went through the first disciple's minds when Jesus said "I have told you everything I have heard from my Father."  I'd be wondering whether I missed a lecture or two along the way, because I sure would not feel as though I had the complete "how to" of Christianity.
• Acting out of love implies that we know what is best for another.  How do we learn that?
• God's actions often seem hard for us to understand.  If we are god-like, will we be hard to understand?
• Do you ever think that Jesus felt lonely in his ministry?
• How can we minster to that loneliness today?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Is my heart open to God breaking through in the lives of others?
2. What am I doing to bring about peace in my time?
3. How are my desires coming closer to God's?
4. What am I doing to make better use of the graces that I already have?

Shalom!

5th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the 5th Sunday of Easter are:

1. Acts 9: 26-31
2. Psalms 22: 26-27, 28, 30, 31-32
3. 1 John 3: 18-24
4. John 15: 1-8

• Seeing others in a new light
• The beauty of being a confirmed cynic is that you're never disappointed.
• Has there ever been someone in your life who really surprised you by some act of kindness, bravery, generosity?
• Why is it that you were so surprised?
• Do you think that God ever tires of expecting the best from, and in us?
• What would it take for you to have higher expectations of those in your life?

• Getting into the family business
• At some point, our children and grandchildren become adults, have to make their own decisions, live their own lives.  But that can be so hard.
• God gives us free will, do you think He ever regrets that?
• When God looks at us, the pain that we go through, the self-inflicted injuries that we give ourselves, our fears and doubts, how do you think that makes Him feel?
• All of us are parents in some way or another.  How can we join our parent hearts to God's parent heart in caring for our children, whoever, wherever they may be?

• That wasn't what I wanted
• When was the last time that you prayed for something and got exactly what you were looking for?
• Why do you think that is?
• How has your prayer life changed over the years?
• Why do you think that is?

• Stop your whining:
• An old Jesuit priest once remarked to a group of us that his life lately has been characterized by "making it simpler".  All of the things that he so eagerly sought after earlier in life were fine at the time, but he just didn't need them anymore.
• What is God trying to accomplish by such "pruning"?
• How do you know that you are done?
• How can we become more open to such pruning?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Is my heart open to God breaking through in the lives of others?
2. What am I doing to today to build the community that my children will raise children in?
3. How are my desires coming closer to God's?
4. Where is God calling me to leave something behind to pick up something better?

Shalom!