1st Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 1st Sunday of Lent are:

1. Genesis 2: 7-9, 3: 1-7
2. Psalms 51: 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17
3. Romans 5: 12-19
4. Matthew 4: 1-11

• Do these fig leaves make me look fat?
• Self denial is never easy.  We work hard, put in long hours, and we feel that we have some compensation, at least appreciation, coming our way, and ... nothing.
• Have you ever felt robbed by life?  You didn't get what you wanted, maybe even needed, because of some circumstance that you didn't know about at the time, or was out of your control?
• What were you tempted to do in the face of that denial?
• What did you do instead?
• Why was that so hard?

• Finding a clean heart
• A clean heart is not one that is never tempted, but one that never entertains temptations.
• What are some temptations that you often face?
• What is your technique for getting past those?
• How does it make you feel when the same temptations come back again, and again, and again?
• Do you feel as though you're getting anywhere in your faith?

• I'll know it when I see it -
• What really is sin?  Is it a list of things that we must not do, must not think.  Is it attitudes that we must not hold, or rather things that we must do?
• Is it always the case that something that is a sin for you is also sin for me?
• How do you find the sin in your life?
• What do you do about it when you find it?

• Counting on God
• In the normal course of life, God gives us lots of things: shelter, food, clothing, people around us who love us, safety, security, rightful recognition for what we have accomplished, a sense of purpose, ...
• When is any of those things bad?
• How do you tell when you have enough?
• Why are there so many of us who do not have enough of these good things?
• How do we discern a call to help those who are less fortunate

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What in my life is trying to crowd out God?
2. What are my temptations teaching me?
3. When do I find time to seek a better relationship with God?
4. Do I really trust God to give me what I need?

Confession

Father forgive me, for I have sinned.  It's been several months since my last confession.

And what are your sins my son?

I passed a guy with a cardboard sign that said "will work for food" without a second glance.

And how do you know that is sin?

At that moment, I had a mystical experience.  Suddenly I saw him as the man left for dead near Jericho

And you were called to be the Good Samaritan?

Yes.  It was so real.  I could almost smell the camel dung, taste the dust in the air, hear cries for help.

And yet you did nothing.

What color were his eyes?

I don't know, I was in a hurry.

I was afraid.

Of what?

That he would need time, that it would ruin my day, that if I picked him up, he'd stain my upholstery.

So you kept on driving, you ran away.

I'll never find him again.  I've lost my chance to really be holy for once, to follow in Jesus' footsteps.

What do you regret the most?

That it was so easy to just keep going.  I barely felt a twinge, and yet it was so real.

Oh, I'm sure that it was real alright.  For a second, you were connected.

Now what?  I can never go back, never make it up to him, never make it right.

For your penance, I want for you to make a cardboard sign just like that,

And spend a day at that same street corner.

But people will know me.  What if they stop and want to talk to me?

Then tell them why you are there, and that you want to connect.

What if they don't understand?  They'll think that I'm crazy.  What if someone offers me money?

Take it, thank them from the bottom of your heart, and give it to the local homeless shelter, in person.

What's that supposed to accomplish?

It will soften your heart, give you empathy, help you see those in need as human beings.

Come back in a week, after you've done your penance, and let's talk some more.

Shalom!

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Leviticus 19: 1-2, 17-18
2. Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13
3. 1 Corinthians 3: 16-23
4. Matthew 5: 38-48

• Bear no grudge?
• In some ways, frustration is perhaps the toughest emotion to deal with.  It is a measure of the distance between what we would dearly love to do, and what we are capable of because of our better nature, civil laws, or other limitations.
• The last time that someone did a wrong to you, how did that impact you?
• How is your relationship to that other person today?
• If you are separated from that other person, do you miss them, or do you just miss the relationship that you had with them before they wronged you?
• If you could go back to the way things were with them, would you?
• Why?

• Is mercy for losers?
• Have you ever done or said anything, or missed an opportunity to be a generous person?  Do you have a sense of the depth of God's mercy towards you?
• A merciless God could just start over.  After all, He has all of eternity.  Maybe the next batch of sentient creations will treat Him better.  Why do you think He puts up with us?
• What can we learn from such boundless mercy?
• What sort of world would we live in if just one person in it had boundless mercy?
• Could that person be you?

• Humility is the beginning of wisdom
• True wisdom is more than mere knowledge, it is the ability to make sense of the realities of our time, and frame a response to them that helps all of us become more holy.
• How do you stay in touch with the world around you?  Daily newspaper, listing to the BBC, listening to podcasts?
• How do you bring all of that the prayer?
• Why are you convinced that God is interested in all of that?
• What do you think He wants us to do about all of the disturbing things going on around us?

• What's in it for me?
• I have this fantasy that one day I'll come across one of my students with a cardboard sign reading "will work for makeup points on my last CECS 323 exam".  They seem willing to do anything as long as the bottom line is that it will improve their grade.
• What practical use can it be for us to make ourselves vulnerable to others?
• Is there any limit?  When do we have God's permission to defend ourselves?
• The Church deeply reveres martyrs.  Why do you think that is?
• What does it take to avoid just having a martyr complex?
• Is martyrdom an event, or a process?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What anger am I holding onto that I need to let go of?
2. Where can I show God's mercy to someone else?
3. Where is God leading me to greater wisdom?
4. Where is God trying to give me a more realistic view of His world?

Shalom!

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Sirach 15:15-20
2. Psalms 119: 1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
3. 1 Corinthians 2: 6-10
4. Matthew 5: 17-37

• Salvation from what?
• We speak of salvation often, but in general terms.  Is that being fair to this gift of God?
• What in your life do you need saving from?
• Think of someone that you care about deeply.  How would a deeper living in the salvation of Jesus make their lives better?
• What really makes for a better life in the first place?
• Does salvation happen in this life, or the next?

• Discernment is hard work
• Every once in a while, we are faced with a clear choice to make.  Good and evil are easily seen ranged in ranks upon the battlefield of our soul, and the decision lies clear and open before us.
• That's pretty rare though.  Often our choices are between apparently good and maybe better.  The challenge is to evaluate the alternatives with a heart sensitive to God's leading.
• When faced with a tough decision, what is your practice?
• What do you do to make yourself more sensitive to God's leading?

• Virtue is its own reward
• We hear that virtue is its own reward as an incentive to better motivation in our lives, to be holy for the sake of holiness, and not look for some sort of reward.
• How has your virtuous living benefited you, your family, your community?
• What are some life lessons that you would like to pass along to those you love?
• What virtue would you most like to acquire before you die?

• Learning humility
• What are some experiences in your life that have helped you achieve humility?
• How did you grow in humility out of those?
• How did those experiences prepare you for later experiences?
• Do you think that it's our place to see humility out, or do you think that it just happens along the way to those who are open to it?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where do I need saving?
2. How do I pray through the decisions of my life?
3. Where is God challenging my virtue?
4. Where is God trying to give me a more realistic view of His world?

I Need a Moment

Lots of things make me angry.

I'd like to say that injustice, oppression of the poor, indifference to the lowly made me angry.

Sadly, what makes me angry most often are the little things.

Getting a late start to work, and getting stuck in traffic.

Spilling my breakfast into my lap because I was careless.

Sometimes, its realizing that I spoke harshly for no reason, and I need to make amends.

There's no good cure for anger, management just channels that energy.

But I think that Mary has a word for us regarding anger: ponder.

So many strange, frightening things happened in her young life.

And her response was often to ponder them in her heart.

We never hear how long those ponderings lasted for her.

But I like to think that sometimes, in the cool of the day, with Joseph seated next to her,

Mary could start a conversation "You know, I've been thinking, praying, meditating,

And I think that I need to let it go."

Or maybe "I think that Rachel bothers me so much because she reminds me of me at that age."

Or even "I honestly don't know what will come of it, but I'm going to talk to our neighbors."

Wisdom never seems to come in a rush, a blind charge forward.

But rather from time, patience, fearlessness, trust.

Anger, on the other hand, likes instant gratification, instant resolution, instant recognition.

I will try to remember that the next time that I get angry because I lost my car keys.

Shalom!

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 58: 7-10
2. Psalms 112: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
3. 1 Corinthians 2: 1-5
4. Matthew 5: 13-16

• Who is my neighbor?
• "There goes the neighborhood" was a phrase heard often in my parent's generation.  A young couple scrapes together their savings, bets everything that they have on a home, do without so that they can make those relentless mortgage payments month in, month out.  Why do they do that?  Better school district, safer streets, nicer neighbors all contribute to that sacrifice.
• And then some undesirables move into the neighborhood, and everyone is on alert.  Will they be just the first of many, will my resale value go down, will the neighborhood change forever now?
• Can you imagine a way that you could greet those sorts of changes without fear?
• What would have to change about your attitude, the way that you live?
• What would be the first step?
• What would Mother Theresa do?

• Prosperity Gospel
• In the early days of the Church, the collection consisted of families coming to the front of the church to give food, blankets, clothing to help the local poor.  Most of those goods were made at home, often with their own hands.
• In a way, each parishioner was personally sharing their goods with others.  When they ate at home, they know that others in their neighborhood, less fortunate than they were, were likely eating food that their parish had shared with them.  For those mystically inclined, each meal bound them all together, made all of them partakers in the same blessings from God.
• How do you share what God has given you with others?
• Do you think that they are better off for that sharing?
• Are you better off for that sharing?

• Humility personified
• The humble person is the one who recognizes that we are all one in God, whether we find that comforting or not.
• Think of someone in your life is truly humble, who inspires you to be more humble.
• What fears do you think that person has in their life?
• What brings them peace in mind and heart?
• Do you think they are humble because they are fearless, or fearless because they are humble?

• Reality can be harsh at times
• If some big producer offered you a million dollars to come into your home with a camera crew and watch and listen to everything that you said and did for a week, would you do it?
• What are you afraid of?
• What message do you think that slice of your life would convey?
• How would that relentless camera eye change your behavior?
• Would you be inspirational? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How can I be more welcoming in my life?
2. Where can I be more generous in my life?
3. How are my actions bearing witness to God?
4. What does my life teach others?

Shalom!