14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Zachariah 9: 9-10
2. Psalms 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14
3. Romans 8: 9, 11-13
4. Matthew 11: 25-30

• The challenges of humility
• In corporate America, it's often the case that advancement very much depends upon who notices you, what projects you get to take lead on, who your sponsors/mentors are.  It can seem that getting "the right press" can eclipse doing good work for its own sake.
• Do you feel appreciated for all that you do/all that you are?
• What do you think would be fair appreciation for what you've accomplished in life?  A promotion, a raise, recognition at the next department meeting, a word of thanks from your spouse?
• If you are not getting appreciated, for what you do, why do you do it?
• Some think that humility is about never speaking up for yourself.  Do you agree?
• Is there an up side to being humble?

• Care for the lowly
• Can you think of anyone in your life who is marginalized in some way?  Maybe they are old and it's hard for them to get out.  Or they have health issues of other sorts.  Maybe they don't have much money and no one hears much of them for that reason.
• How does God care for such as these?
• How did they get to be in that "all but invisible" state?
• Do you think that they deserve help?
• Do they deserve your help?

• Life in the Spirit
• How would you define "holiness"?
• Are there any people in your life that you would describe in that way?
• How did they get that way?
• What has that holiness really gained them?
• Is it enough to make you want to be like them?

• The joy of work
• Do you think that it's possible to find work for yourself that you are perfectly suited to, were born for?
• Should such work pay enough to provide for you & your family?
• If a particular function, say neurosurgery, pays vastly more than working as a florist, what does that tell you about the surgeon and the florist?
• What's more important about your life's work: that it brought you & those you served joy, or that it earned a lot of money?

• Preparation for Reconciliation

1. How can I grow in humility?
2. Who do I care for, take care of, care about?
3. Do I genuinely want to be holy?
4. Am I doing God's work in my life?

Shalom!