33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Proverbs 31: 10-13, 19-20, 30-31
2. Psalms 128: 1-2, 3, 4-5
3. 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-6
4. Matthew 25: 14-30

• An unfading love
• When I hear of young women battling bulimia, anorexia, and other body image problems, I feel a little guilty for fueling that obsession with the superficial in my own life, I resolve to look deeper than the surface, try to see with God's eyes.
• What is true beauty?
• From whence does it come?
• How can we make this world more beautiful?

• Getting what you deserve
• Injustice steals many things from the oppressed.  Injustice robs them of the benefits of their hard work, it robs them of tranquility and peace of mind, it robs them of their sense of worth within the community.
• Have you ever been the victim of an injustice?
• How do you know that you really get what you deserve?
• Do you think that God can ever transform an injustice into a moment of grace?

• Awake!
• When I was young, we would accuse someone of "majoring in minors" when they missed the bigger point, the grand scheme of things, by obsessing on the little stuff.  Easy to do.
• What is the big picture perspective on your life?
• Where do you think we are all headed as a community?
• What is the point, the meaning, the value of what we are going through right now?
• How does that broader perspective help living in the day to day?

• Playing to your strengths
• It's easy sometimes to feel like the poor servant with just one talent.  You do not know what to do with yourself, you feel that the consequences of failure are steep, you do not even know what your true talents are.
• How would you define generosity?
• Can one give generously if they do not have much?
• What then can we say of Luke 21: 1-4 (the widow's mite)?
• How can you tell what to give of yourself and when?
• What happens if you botch it?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How am I beautiful?
2. Where can I bring about justice?
3. How am I living God's big picture of my life?
4. How am I giving myself away?

The Heartbreak of Arrival

Comes to every one of us

When arriving at some hitherto distant shore

Brings a harsh reality with it: we are there.

"There" might be that coveted job, 

That longed for spouse,

Or even a new maturity.

And the shoes that got us there no longer fit.

Growing into arriving,

Shedding the skin of the pilgrim

Requires attention to the objective of the journey

Balanced with attention to the shrines and holy places along the way.

The meaning of the destination

Can often be found in the footprints that led to it

Regardless of who left them.

Shalom!