Weekly Readings Reflections: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

All of us like to see the good guy win in the end. In fact, one model of a dramatic story arc consists of the good guy finally realizing who they are, emerging into a dangerous situation that calls for the very best from them, early setbacks while they come to terms with the demands that their destiny makes of them, followed by a final triumph of virtue over vice, good over evil, courage over fear.
What do you think of when you think of leading a victorious life?
Is that victory something that you are contributing to now, or something that you plan to get started on when you have the time?
Who are some folks in your life who were victorious in their own way?
How do you define victory?

David Whyte has a poem that I invite you to read at: https://onbeing.org/poetry/everything-is-waiting-for-you/ that invites us to be alert to our place in the cosmos, and the place of the cosmos in each of us.
St. Ignatius wrote in his Spiritual Exercises a brief paragraph called the Principle and First Foundation. You can read about that here: https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/what-the-principle-and-foundation-calls-us-to/. There, Ignatius reminds us that all of creation exists to help us draw towards God.
If then, all of physicality cooperates with our journey toward God, how ought we to regard those things that we posses?
What about the people in our lives?
How can we do better at a "balanced" attitude toward this world that we find ourselves in?
How can we come to better appreciate the beauty that is all around us, sustains us, and inhabits us?

Earning a living is more than merely an obligatory grind that we go through to put food on the table and a roof over our heads. It is a doorway into the emergence of creation, an opportunity to join our hand with God's as creation continues to grow and evolve.
How did you decide on the career/retirement that you have currently?
Did you expect for it to be fulfilling?
If it is not fulfilling, is that bad?
For whom?

It's so easy to lose sight of the why of things and get caught up in the what. The Jews of Jesus' day found their national and historical identity in the temple of Jerusalem, but by the time that Luke wrote his Gospel, all of that had been reduced to rubble, and both the Christians and the Jews were trying to find the meaning of it all.
What are some things that are truly essential to your life?
What would happen if one or more of those suddenly disappeared for some reason?
If that happened, would you still be able to say that God is good?
Why?

Beauty

The ceramic vase occupied a place of honor on the mantel.

Fresh flowers always on display bursting from its throat.

It was a bargain, a find, a steal even from long ago

Passed from mother to daughter for generations.

That vase had witnessed many family gatherings,

Wakes, and baptisms, weddings and funerals, and much much love.

Whenever the family members saw that vase,

It put them in touch with who they were, who they were becoming.

It seemed to say, in its own mute way "times come and they go,

But love and what nurtures love will last forever."

One night, a fire broke out in the house, and they all had to leave.

Everyone made it to safety with hardly the clothes on their backs.

And someone remembered the family vase, there in the home's funeral pyre.

And no one had the heart to tell grandma that no one had thought to get it.

When they finally had the courage to tell grandma, she closed her eyes awhile.

And then she opened them, looked around at family and loved ones gathered.

And said "you are all far more precious to me than any remembrance.

All of you are dying, and reemerging as you go through life.

Each passing to make room for the next flower to arise from the ashes.

As long as we have each other, we don't need anything to remind us.

Let this event, this memory, remind us always that the important things

Can never be taken from any of us."

Shalom!

Weekly Readings Reflections