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!