Solemnity of Mary, Holy Mother of God

Our readings for Solemnity of Mary, Holy Mother of God are:

1. Numbers 6: 22-27
   
2. Psalms 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8
   
3. Galatians 4: 4-7
   
4. Luke 2: 16-21
   

• The face of God
  
• In our post-COVID 19 world, we crave now more than ever for face to face conversation.  We yearn for dialog that is honest, dynamic, intimate, and above all, authentic.  How honest are you in your prayers to God?
• Think of a time when you were pretty sure that you were not feeling what you should be feeling.
• How did that affect your prayer?
• Have you ever been afraid to tell God what you really think because you're afraid of offending Him?
• Or maybe you don't tell Him how you really feel because you are sure that you will eventually mature beyond that?
• What do you think God wants from you/us in such situations?
  

• God's name is mercy
  
• We have a merciful God, one who could punish us, but who chooses not to out of the essence of who He is.
• Think of something that really challenged you in your faith.  Maybe it was the death of a loved one, a business deal gone totally bad, a betrayal.
• Where was God's mercy in that?
• Do you think that God could ever redeem that in your life?
• Do you think that God might be redeeming that in your life right now?
  

• Can you call God Abba?
  
• Sadly, there are plenty of seemingly accidental fathers, men who became parents with little in the way of preparation or character to help them, maybe even less motivation to be a good parent.  They give fathers a bad name.
• What sort of presence was your father in your life?
• How do you think that God the father resembles your father?
• Do you ever talk to God about that image that you have of Him?
• If we are truly made in the image and likeness of God, how does that make you feel about your image of God?
  

• What are you pondering lately?
  
• Life seems to move at supersonic speeds.  We never seem to have the time to ponder what happens to us, deep down we suspect that we could learn a great deal from our experiences if we would only let them teach us.
• What have you pondered lately?
• Is pondering a process, or an event?
• If you were organized enough to keep a list of all of the things that you'd like to ponder, what are some of the things that you'd have on that list?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might I be hiding my face from God?
   
2. How might I be missing God's mercy in my life?
3. Where is God waiting to break through/beyond the image that I have of Him?
   
4. Where might God be speaking to me in the events, people, emotions of my life?
   

Smelling of Sheep

The stars look so close, I feel as though I could reach up and touch them.
The quiet is peaceful, inviting me into prayer.

The day's work is done, my flock is safe in its fold, I sit at the entrance
Looking into the distance, seeing beyond sight.

Thanking God for His hand in my life, for the abundance of life
For the beauty of the hills and valleys, rocks and streams.

All of them sustain and support me and my flock.
All of them delight and remind me of God's permeating Presence.

That hallowed Presence speaks to me, tells me that Presence has a face,
Bone and sinew, feet and hands all here, now, beside all of us.

I always knew that the world was shot through with the Light of God.
But now, now my eyes are opened, I see His messengers excited beyond all telling.

Telling us on this isolated hillside, that God is here for us, for us.
His cosmos, always charged with love and peace, has a heartbeat, and breaths.

A heartbeat, breath pulsing through His lungs, just like mine.
Just like me, that Presence is all but overlooked, all but missed.

And I see the Light of Life shining around me, and suddenly I realize
That I, we, everyone of us, are all part of this incarnation, this revelation.

All of us, now and always, but especially now are light-bearers,
The skin and bone and sinew of God Himself, consummated in this crowning arrival.

We gather to see this miracle with our own eyes,
And know each other as shepherds in the smell of our flocks.

And see this incarnation among sheep and goats, pigs and chickens,
Peasants and shepherds, and we know that He has come for us for us.

He has come to show us how to touch the Light to others,
How to reveal the heavenly Shepherd by how we shepherd.

I will never look at my sheep, the hills and valleys, the streams made sacred the same.
All of them made sacred by this arrival, this quiet, joyful miracle in, and through our midst.

Shalom!

Christmas Day

Our readings for Christmas Day are:

1. Isaiah 52: 7-10
   
2. Psalms 98: 1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6
   
3. Hebrews 1: 1-6
   
4. John 1: 1-18
   

• Your God is king!
  
• Whenever a lot of chaos is in evidence, the first question to come up is "who's in charge here" be it a crime scene or a commercial loading dock.  We want to know whether there's a plan in place, whether all of this frenzied activity has any direction.
• What are some events in your life that make you think that God is in charge in your life?
• What was your role in those events?
• How might you have been more open to God at that time?
• What did you learn?
  

• What are you praising God for lately?
  
• Organized praise is a tricky matter.  On the one hand, you don't want to be so structured that it becomes nothing more than a formality.  On the other hand, (at least for those of us in the OCD ranks) too much freedom in a large group can lead to liturgical mayhem.
• What would you like to praise God for in a large gathering?
• How would you go about expressing that praise?
• Do you think that it matters to God whether you express that privately or in a large setting?
• Do you think anyone else is interested in hearing why you think that God is great?
  

• The physicality of sacrament
  
• Presence comes to us in many ways.  A warm hug, a sunrise that takes your breath away, the sight of a soaring hawk, the baptism of a close friend, that close friend themselves.
• What are some ways that Jesus is present to you?
• How are they the same?
• How are they different?
• Why do you think that God comes to us in so many ways?
• What do we lose if we miss one or more of those Presences?
  

• Have you incarnated today?
  
• The incarnation is not an event, it's a process.  Bringing God's Presence to the earth is not limited to Jesus.  How could it be?  He told us to follow Him.
• How have you been that Presence to others in your life?
• How has that gift that you give changed you?
• How do you know when you have given enough?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might God be looking for my participation in His kingship?
   
2. How might I express my appreciation for/to God more deeply?
3. Where is God Present to me that I may not have noticed?
   
4. Where might God be calling me to give of myself in new ways?  What might he want me to leave behind?
   

Arrival

I can't hear the angels singing anymore.

At least not the way that I used to.

But I hear the sound

Of my mother's blood

Washing back and forth

In a responsorial chorus to her great heart.

I feel my heart too.

Different it is, from hers.

The to and fro, not as stately.

The rhythms not as slow.

Separate, yet not alone here.

Her blood keeps gentle company with mine.

While we wait together

For the day when we will part.

I belong.

Here, with her, right now.

Finding my way in the world through her.

Shaking with her laughter, mourning in her tears.

All is arrival, all is sacrament.

This season of togetherness and oneness.

Makes all birth holy, all blood sacred.

All water a baptism, a doorway.

My hands feel each other in the dark.

My fingers interlock.

Separate, yet one none the less.

I stretch out my hand and feel -

Feel the walls of my new home.

Feel the tidal rhythm of my mother's breathing.

Know our oneness, and separateness

In our flesh, shared, yet distinct.

This place I tabernacle in is holy.

Holy as it has been since the beginning.

This embrace of flesh surrounding

Surrounding and sustaining.

This flesh is not a wall, but a door to an ancient love.

An old old love with a new expression.

An intimacy unimaginable,

Yet one imagined so long ago.

Rhythmic spasms pulse through us,

My limbs are squeezed through the narrow door.

My lungs emptied of the familiar fluid.

My eyes open for the first time.

I get my first glimpse of creation through these eyes.

I smell the warm moistness of the cattle, sheep, chickens,

I feel the rough cloth upon my tender skin,

And I am comforted by the sound of angels singing once again.

Shalom!

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Our readings for the Fourth Sunday in Advent are:

1. Isaiah 7: 10-14
   
2. Psalms 24: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
   
3. Romans 1: 1-7
   
4. Matthew 1: 18-24
   

• God, are you there?
  
• Trusting in God can be a tricky matter.  There is always the question whether what we think is God's will really is God's will.  Particularly when the stakes are high.  Think of a time when you felt the call of God to go outside of your comfort zone.
  
• How did you tell whether or not this was God's leading?
• How did you find the courage to follow that leading?
• How did that turn out?
• Do you still think that was God's voice?
  

• Standing in a holy place
  
• Holy places are all around us.  Certainly there are shrines aplenty, but I believe that any place where love is found soon becomes holy, the love practiced there seeps into the fabric of that place, making it a doorway to the sacred.
• Where is a place that you find holy, where you go to find God?
• How did that place become holy for you?
• Is it possible to make your home, your place of work at all holy?
• What could you do to bring that about today?
  

• Set apart, but for what?
  
• It's a sacrilege to use something for anything other than it's divine purpose.  In a small way, washing your car with the priest's alb would be a sacrilege.  In a similar way, using our lives for anything other than God's purpose for us is a sacrilege.
• What is God's purpose in your life right now?
• How did you find that purpose?
• Do you think that it's ever going to change?
• Where would you like for your life to go next?
• Do you think God cares what you want (careful, this is a trick question)?
  

• What makes a family holy
  
• Joseph and Mary were doubtless both trained from their youth up in what made for good parenting, what the responsibilities they were going to shoulder as adults, and how that would look.  Only some of the training prepared them for what lay ahead.
• All of us are in a family in some role or another, many of us play several roles.  I am still son to my mother (I get reminders from time to time) and still father to my children (fortunately, I don't seem to need to remind them), husband to my wife.  Which of your family roles brings you the most joy?
• Was that joy always there, or did you have to grow into that?
• How has being in your family changed you through the years?
• How would you like for it to change you?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might God be calling me out of my comfort zone?
   
2. Where can I bring some holiness today?
3. Am I at all sacrilegious in how I spend my time, talent, and treasure?
   
4. Where is God inviting me closer to Him with, in, and through the crazy messy gaggle of folks that I call family?

Casting out Fear

Some of my fears are old friends that are so familiar, they all but define me.

Fear of failing, of being a failure, of being seen as a failure.

Fear of going to my grave without a commendable list of accomplishments.

Fear of not seeing where God has worked through me until I am gone.

Fear of being paralyzed by my own fears, sidelining myself,

Until the last play is over, and the lights go out on the stadium of my life.

I used to strive to slay my fears.

Wrestle with them, beat them into submission.

Banish them for good, score a solid triumph.

Then I realized that they were a lot more resilient than I was,

For they kept coming back like stray dogs that I had once fed.

Just as strong as ever.

 

I tried giving them up to God.

I wasn't sure quite how to do that, 

My prayer was one of "here, I don't need this, you take it"

And I was disappointed in God that he didn't take me up on my offer.

And I began to fear failing at dealing with my fears.

Getting on some fear treadmill.

Then I learned, slowly, 

That my fears were going to be my companions for good,

And I needed to let them be my companions for good, and not evil.

Acknowledge them, pray about them,

Listen carefully to the various voices in my life,

And find that one still small voice that called forth the best in me.

It's not easy, or quick.

I have need of a lot more humility and trust.

But somehow, I feel that the process, messy though it is,

Is a form of devotion in its own right.

And I look forward to hearing less and less from my fears,

As all of those voices within learn what's truly important.

Shalom!

Third Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the Third Sunday in Advent are:

1. Isaiah 35: 1-6a, 10
   
2. Psalms 146: 67, 8-9, 9-10
   
3. James 5: 7-10
   
4. Matthew 11: 2-11
   

• Be strong, fear not!
  
• It appears that, as we get older, we fear more and more things.  Some of them are understandably physiological in nature, such as who will care for me when I cannot care for myself, will others still treat me with respect even when I am feeble?  Other fears center around all of the changes that we have witnessed in the world around us, and the certain sense that those changes will only grow more frequent and intense with the passage of time.
• What do you fear?
• If you pray about those things, how do you pray about them?
• Do you think God will guide you around those things that you fear, or through them?
• To what extent do you feel protected by God from those fears?
  

• Lord come and save us
  
• As Christians, we often think of the word salvation in connection with salvation from our sins.  But there are so many things that we can cry out to God for salvation.
• What would you like to be saved from?  Maybe you find it hard to trust God, or you have a feeling of hopelessness, or you feel stuck in some soul-sucking job.
• How are you praying about that today?
• What do you expect God to do for you in that situation?
• What do you feel God is calling you to do in that situation?
  

• Patience in the face of need
  
•  God's timing often is very different from ours, and that is hard for us to understand.
• When have you had to have patience with God in your life?
• How was that patience rewarded?
• What is the difference between being patient, waiting in hope, and just giving up?
• How did you keep that hope alive?
  

• Working through your offense
  
• We used to have a priest celebrate Mass with us named Fr. Al Scott.  Fr. Al always seemed to be asking two simple questions: "what are you doing for the poor" and "what are you doing to actively draw closer to God in your own life".  You never walked away from one of his homilies without being challenged.  Some took offense at him and his message.
• Have you ever been offended by a word from God?
• How did you get past that offense on your part?
• Do you think that God was patient with you?
• How has that experience continued to change you in the years since?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might God be waiting on me to transform my fear?
   
2. Where is God calling me to participate in my own salvation?
3. Where might God be offering me hope, maybe in unexpected places?
   
4. Where is God inviting me to go deeper with Him?

Water me oh God

With the dew of your mercy that I might shower it on others.
Especially when they demand more of me than I know how to give,
When they seek what I scarce can find, even in myself.

Give me your hope in you, that I will rely on your saving help
For all my challenges large and small, day in, and day out.
Instead of trying to go it alone, and growing bitter in the attempt.

Help me to appreciate the gift that you have been in my life.
The faithfulness that you have shown me all of my days.
So that your life in my life can feed my faith, and my faith feed me.

Open my eyes that I may see your angels ever around me.
In the form of family, friends, loved ones, even the annoying ones.
That I may receive Your presence with open arms and heart.

Shalom!

Second Sunday in Advent

Our readings for the Second Sunday in Advent are:

1. Isaiah 11: 1-10
   
2. Psalms 72: 1-2, 78, 12-13, 17
   
3. Romans 15: 4-9
   
4. Matthew 3: 1-12
   

• Transformation, not starting over
  
• Time, ultimately, is on God's side.  If He builds something and it doesn't turn out the way that he planned, he could just start over.  But He never does.  Several of the kings who were the descendants of David were pretty miserable, but God chose to bring Jesus forth from the house and lineage of David.
• Think of a time in your life that you felt as though you had failed.  Was there any good that came out of that?
• Do you think that there might yet be more good to come from that experience?
• So, was it really a failure?
• Do we always have to succeed as Christians?
  

• Celebrating Justice
  
• Justice is all about making sure that everyone receives what is due them.  Fair enough, but how do we tell what is due someone?  In the University setting that I live in, an affordable, quality education is considered everyone's due.  A mere hundred years ago, that would have been considered abject nonsense.  Does justice evolve?
• Think back to a time when you were treated unjustly.  How did that make you feel - fearful, angry, outraged, depressed, ...?
• Once you had suffered that injustice, what should have happened to right that wrong?
• Ultimately, who is it that should be righting that wrong, even today?
• Coming out of that experience, do you feel any kinship with others who are unjustly treated?
  

• Welcoming one another
  
• One problem with getting old is painful memories.  Some years back we had a young lady in RCIA who was making minimum wage, barely getting by on her income and permanent disability from her live-in boyfriend.  He was abusive, but she loved him anyway, and he helped pay the rent.  To this day, I still don't know how we as a church should have welcomed that young seeker into our midst.
• When/where have you been welcomed?
• How did that make you feel?
• What are some tangible ways that you are welcoming?
• What would disqualify someone from being welcome here?
  

• Resting on your laurels
  
• Sometimes, living a life of faith can get harder with time.  Your faith life becomes almost like the air you breathe, taken for granted, invisible, hardly thought about.
• How do you celebrate your relationship with Jesus?
• How has that changed through the years?
• How do you hope that relationship will sustain you in the years ahead?
• What are you doing to make that relationship stronger/deeper?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where/what is God transforming my life lately?
   
2. Where can I help make justice emerge?
3. Who are the lost in my world who need a warm welcome?
   
4. Where is God inviting me to go deeper with Him?

Shalom!

First Sunday in Advent

Our readings for the first Sunday of Advent are:

1. Isaiah 2: 1-5
   
2. Psalms 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
   
3. Romans 13: 11-14
   
4. Matthew 24: 36-44
   

• Peace in our time?
  
• Peace between nations, tribes, communities, families seems so distant.  One party takes advantage of the other, threatens them in some way, and conflict breaks out.
• How would you define true peace?
• Can we rationally expect to see true peace in this life?
• Who are some peace heroes in your life?
• How did they accomplish what they did?
• Is any of their lives something that you can emulate?
  

• Bring a friend.  Better yet, bring two.
  
• Evangelizing comes in many forms.  You belong to a reading group, and you bring a friend.  You know someone who has nowhere to go for the holidays, and you invite them to Thanksgiving with you.  You know someone curious about the Catholic faith, and you offer to sponsor them in RCIA.
• Think of a time when you evangelized.
• What gave you the courage to offer?
• Was that person that you brought warmly received and welcomed?
• Is there anything keeping you from inviting others today?
  

• Waking up
  
• It's easy to get so caught up in the day to day that we lose track of the larger picture, essentially to be unaware of, asleep to the greater shifts in our world.
• How do you find the broader meaning in your life?
• Why do you bother?
• How do you think Jesus makes your life more full of meaning?
  

• Being ready
  
• Each of us has responsibilities in this life that are particular to us, things that no one else can do or say.
• How have you gone about finding out what those things are that God is calling you to in life?
• Did His call in your life ever change?
• How did you figure that out?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where is my faith journey taking me today?
   
2. How can my community, my family, my very heart be more welcoming?
3. Who are the prophets that I'm listening to today?
   
4. Am I doing what's important?

Doing God's Work

Most of us look incredibly ordinary.
We get up each morning, get dressed, get breakfast, commute to work.
Then we spend the day fighting entropy - that constant force
That wears everything down, promotes the path of least resistance,
Gradually, inexorably, reduces the finest buildings to rubble.

Or is there more to life?

Is it possible that the mere fact that we are, where we are,
As Christ's advance men and women here in this world,
Doing our best to put skin on Christ's presence in this world,
That we are making a witness, a proclamation,
That holiness can be found in the strangest places.

The question is, do you feel holy?

What moves you, stirs you, energizes you each day?
Is it just about success, recognition, appreciation, even a paycheck,
Or is there something more?
Do you step into your work with anticipation,
Knowing that you are making the world a better place to live?

Are you doing what you were born to do today?

What would that feel like?
Would you be proud of what you are doing,
How you are doing it
Why you are doing it,
What the doing has done to you?

Or will you hang your head in tears of shame for wasting your life?

What's holding you back from the holiness that God has for you?
Is it fear of being alone, not getting the support you need, failure in the end?
Do you fear that this next chapter in your life will not be enough to sustain you?
Do you fear that you will not have the ability to do your dream boldly and well?
How will you know until you try?

What would it feel like to live the dream, to be fully alive, to be holy before God?

Shalom!

Christ the King Sunday

Our readings for the solemnity of Christ the King are:

1. II Samuel 5: 1-3
   
2. Psalms 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5
   
3. Colossians 1: 12-20
   
4. Luke 23: 35-43

• Heeding the call
  
• In large corporations like Boeing, there is a distinction between management and leadership.  Management makes the best use possible of limited resources to accomplish necessary tasks on time and within budget.  Leadership, by contrast, inspires the rank and file to bring their their very best to whatever task is at hand, fully committing themselves to giving their all consistently.
• Which do you think that we as a community need more of: management or leadership?
• Where is that next generation of leaders and managers going to come from?
• What can we do to make sure that God's work continues when we are gone?
• How do we know what that work will be by that time?
  

• On the road again
  
• Apparently Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher once said "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."  Maybe today he would have said "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a call to Uber."
• No one knows what the future will bring in terms of what might happen to us, what twists and turns our career might take, what the kids are going to name your next grand baby, but we should have a goal of where we want those events to take us.
• What kind of a person do you hope to be in five years?
• How does God seem to be taking you there?
• What are you doing to help?
  

• Peace - how and when
  
• One perspective is that this life, corrupted by sin, is never going to be what God intended for us.  At best, it's a spiritual boot camp where we learn endurance, perseverance, and fortitude to get through this life.  Sounds rather grim.
• Can we expect peace of any sort in this life?
• Why is that?
• What can we do, at our level, to help make that peace?
• How does making, and enjoying, peace in this life prepare us for the next life?
  

• Being awake
  
• By all accounts, crucifixion is perhaps the most agonizing way to go that mankind has devised.  Yet in the midst of that, St. Dismus, the penitent thief, found the grace to see the bigger picture, realize what was going on in his life at the moment, and pray.
• In times of stress and hardship in your life, how did that affect your prayer?
• Do you think that God understood?
• What does that tell you about your relationship to God?
• What does that tell you about God's relationship to you?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where can I be a force for transformation in my community, family, household?
   
2. Am I open to the graces that God has for me today?
3. Would anyone who knows me characterize me as a peace-filled presence?
   
4. Do I believe that God is with me right now?

Hangin' With Jesus

 I looked out over the sacred hills of Jerusalem.

And tried to remember that they would be there long after I am gone.

I looked this way and that, taking in the golden sunlight of that day,

Just one last time before the inevitable blackness of death.

I hoped that there was some small shred of my life,

That would benefit those coming after me,

Some reason for my shameful existence,

Some meaning in my life, even now getting cut short.

Even raised up, and exposed this horrifying way,

I enjoyed a certain anonymity here on this cross.

The usual onlookers were focused on the one they call Messiah,

I and the other reprobate were just backup.

I had heard of this Jesus before, wanted to meet Him,

But knew that I was unworthy, beneath His consideration.

Somehow, despite His humble origins, His simple ways,

I knew Him to be special, a beacon of hope for the lost.

But I always thought that even Jesus had to have standards,

Depths to which even He would not go.

But seeing Him there, accepting this horrifying punishment,

I realized how wrong I was about Him.

His mercy has no limits, His love no frontiers.

His empathy for those on the edges has no edge.

I was so ashamed to hear my fellow prisoner jeer at Him,

I lost my temper with him, and immediately regretted it.

But I locked eyes with Jesus, saw pools of mercy there.

And I took the plunge, one last moment of prayer,

And I asked Him to remember me,

So that I would at least have one human being to recall my name.

He took that feeble request, that humble plea,

And gave me so much more than I ever imagined.

I knew peace in that moment.  All the rest fell into place.

The pain, still just as searing, was bearable now.

And I knew that the end was just a beginning.

Shalom!

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Malachi 3: 19-20a
   
2. Psalms 98: 5-6, 7-8, 9
   
3. 2nd Thessalonians 3: 7-12
   
4. Luke 21: 5-19

• What continues, what doesn't
  
• When we suffer loss, whether it's a loved one, a ministry that we have devoted ourselves to for years, someone special in our lives moves on, we wonder whether there is any part of what is gone that we can still benefit from.  By contrast, evil, in all of its manifestations, always comes to a complete end.  Just maybe not soon enough for us.
  
• What is an evil that you wish could end today?
• Are there evils that in one way or another contribute to that?
• Are any of those root causes anything that you can do about?
• If not you, then who?  If not now, when?
  

• Ruling the world with justice
  
• Politics is the second oldest profession.  That doesn't say much for prostitution.  Just rule seems like a distant possibility, a fantasy even for some.
• Why is just rule so difficult?
• When was the last time that you prayed for a politician?
• How can we contribute more as a community to just rule?
• Do you have to be an activist to effect change?
  

• Earning your bread
  
• All work is essentially creative, bringing to life something new, building a new tomorrow that was only an idea before.  As such, all of us are called to work in this life, to join our hands with God's in the ongoing work of emerging creation.  It doesn't really matter whether you get paid for it.
• How has your work made the world a better place?
• Do you have any regrets about how you spent your career?
• How did you get into that work in the first place?
• How has that work changed you?
  

• What matters
  
• Long Beach State lately banished the statue of the 49er to an obscure part of campus because he had become an embarrassment.  The 1849 gold rush brought fortune seekers to California in droves, and they stopped at nothing to wrest the precious gold from the land, often trampling the ecology and the indigenous peoples.
• A monument doesn't have to be a statue.  It could be an institution, a way of doing things, even a person.  In each case, it stands for something that endures, or that we hope will endure.
• What are some monuments in your life?
• If one or another of them disappeared, what would that do to you?
• How would you mourn their loss?
• Do they really have eternal value, or is it something that the monument points to that has eternal value?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where is God offering me the courage to combat an evil?
   
2. How can these two hands of mine bring some measure of justice to the world I live in?
3. In what sense is my work sacred/holy?
   
4. Do I worship anything that is not enduring, not eternal?

When it ends

We like to think that things that matter, the really important, the good

Will last forever.

And when it doesn't we wonder -

Was it as good, life-giving, holy as I thought?

Was it just time to move on?

Had I gotten too attached, and God granted me freedom?

Mourning a loss is therapeutic,

Reflecting on the good times, being thankful for the blessings,

Stoking the embers of hope that tomorrow has blessings all its own,

Waiting for me to step into them.

But still, you have to wonder -

Do things have to change so much, so often, so violently at times?

Why couldn't God just leave well enough alone,

And grant some comfort once in awhile?

Is that asking too much?

 

Shalom!

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 32th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. 2 Maccabees 7: 1-2, 9-14
   
2. Psalms 17: 1, 5-6, 8, 15
3. 2nd Thessalonians 2: 16-3: 5
   
4. Luke 20: 27-38

• Trust beyond knowing
  
• In Jesuit theology, the third degree of humility, the most perfect, comes as we seek closeness to God so deeply that we welcome poverty and marginalization that we may live as Christ lived.  With that mindset, trust boils down to believing that God can use anything to bring us closer, if we are willing.
• When have you trusted God for something big?
• How did that turn out?
• What makes you think that the results of that trust are completely evident?  Is it possible that your trust is still bearing fruit?
• What advice would you give you former self when you were going through that time in your life when you needed to trust God?
  

• Waking up
  
• What is the first thing that comes to mind when you wake up in the morning (besides how much it's going to hurt when your feet hit the floor)?
• What does that say about you?
• What does that say about your relationship to God?
• Do you think that you can train yourself to start the day better?
  

• Some protector God is
  
• The first reading for this week is pretty grim in some respects.  Yet these brothers who were persecuted for their faith were under God's protection.  Just what was it that God protected them from?
  

• Fearful intimacy
  
• I have a theory that over the decades of marriage, old married couples gradually go from not noticing each others foibles and annoying habits because they are infatuated with each other to learning to live with said foibles, to finding them endearing, to eventually realizing that those very foibles are almost sacramental: a gateway into the vastness of that other person.
• How has your marriage and the marriages of others taught you how to be intimate?
• How has your intimacy with others gradually changed you?
• How might you be more open to those changes?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Are those things/people that I trust truly worthy of that trust?
   
2. What do I want to wake up praying tomorrow?
3. Am I letting God protect me enough?
   
4. Where is God calling me to greater intimacy?

Put Your Hand in Mine

The local memory care facility has a sign showing an old, liver-spotted hand in a young one.

At first, I thought it a wonderful image of that elder putting their trust in someone else's hands.

But what if, in addition, the agreement from that young helper went something like this:

I trust you to be honest with me,

To trust me to care, even if I cannot solve what you're going through,

To trust me to be here, day in, and day out,

Bringing what I have to offer that day, no matter how fragile or broken it might be,

Into our time together.

I trust you to be patient with me,

As I do the slow, steady work of relating to you,

Learning what motivates you,

What moves you,

What makes your heart sing.

That together, we can be healing for each other.

How many people on this earth can you say that to?

Shalom!

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 31th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 11:22 - 12:2
   
2. Psalms 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11,13, 14
   
3. 2nd Thessalonians 1:11 - 2:2
   
4. Luke 19: 1-10

• Finding God in the little by little
  
• Perhaps God's greatest show of mercy is patience.  Instead of hitting each of us full on with all the things that we should be doing/praying/saying, He nudges us.  Maybe we would appreciate that more if we took stock of where that nudging has gotten us.
• Can you think of a time when you felt that everything was OK, and God opened your eyes just a little to see otherwise?
• How did you respond?
• Do you think that God was able to build on that response?
• Where do you think God is taking you?
  

• Land acknowledgement
  
• The land that we occupy had people before us, and maybe yet other people before them.  I ask myself when someone makes a formal acknowledgement of that  fact: "great, my ancestors ripped this land from the hands of others.  Now what?"
• If God has mercy for all his works, how can we reflect that mercy?
• Do you know anyone in need of mercy?
• What do you think God would have you do?
  

• Worthy of the calling
  
• I remember Kelly Evans sharing once that it suddenly hit her while she was teaching that she was, that moment, doing what she had been born to do.
• Do we have to earn that sort of realization/recognition?
• What does it take to get to that place in life, courage, determination, blind luck, contemplation, ...?
• Do you think that destiny changes for us over time?
  

• Touching the untouchable
  
• Jesus seems determined to surprise, perplex, and scandalize those around Him.  Zacchaeus had something worse than leprosy, he collaborated with the Romans.
• Who are the untouchables today?
• Do they deserve that status?
• How can we convince them that they are worthy?
• What is it that they are worthy of anyway?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where has God been leading me through the years?
   
2. Where are some unexpected places that I can be God's mercy?
3. Am I fulfilling my destiny?
   
4. Who are the untouchables in my life?

Pity Jesus' Agent

Every great celebrity needs an agent to look out for them,

Make sure that they get proper treatment, proper notoriety. 

 

It's all about connections, knowing the right people,

Being seen in the right places, showing what you got.

 

This Jesus is an amazing man, full of courage, compassion, wisdom.

All He has to do is get the Word out the right way, use proper channels.

 

Otherwise, well otherwise He'll join thousands of other noble men

In total obscurity, hidden by the ashes of time and forgetfulness.

 

Jesus could make a difference in a lot more lives if He's just listen.

Listen to reason that is.

 

No one will know what He does for the poor, the lame, the leper,

The outcast, the trodden upon if He just becomes one of them.

 

Disappearing into the anonymity of  the downtrodden.

You cannot rescue someone from a plight that you share.

Can you?

Shalom!

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Sirach 4: 6-8, 16-18
   
2. Psalms 34: 2-3, 17-18, 19, 23
   
3. 2nd Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18
   
4. Luke 18: 9-14

• Finding the willingness
  
• Serving God willingly can be hard.  God seems to have a knack for nudging us out of our comfort zone, challenging us to go where we might not have even though was a real destination.
• Think of a time when your faith led you to some new place in your life.
• Would you say that you were led, nudged, pushed, abducted by the experience?
• How did you come to terms with your discomfort in that transition?
• How did that transition change you?
• Why did it have to be so hard?
  

• Legacy planning
  
• Deep down, we all want to be remembered.  Maybe we ought to be a little more specific and spell out what we'd like to be remembered for.  I can think of any number of cringe-worth deeds and actions in my life that I can only hope no one will remember.
• What do you want to be remembered for?
• Who would you like to have those memories of you?
• What do you think the chances are that those will be what you are remembered for?
• Does it really matter?
  

• Appreciation
• We all want to be appreciated.  Honest appreciation tells us that we are doing the right things with our life, that we have made wise decisions, that what we have been doing matters.  But is appreciation really necessary?
• OK, so maybe you can get along without human adulation and the occasional recognition dinner held in your honor, but what of God.  Should He at least express some appreciation for your service?
• What would you think that appreciation would look like?
• If you did not feel any appreciation, what would that mean to you?
• Does appreciation make you a better person?
  

• Praying to yourself
  
• Authenticity can be hard.  We might have the most honorable of intentions, and still end up "faking it" because our heart is not in what we are doing, we are superficial about our actions or speech, we are not fully invested in what we say or do.
• You may have heard the aphorism "fake it 'til you make it" which suggests that action can lead the heart in some cases.  Can we do that in prayer?
• If it is possible for us to pray our way into the right attitude/mindset/paradigm, is there really such a thing as dishonest prayer?
• How do you know that you are honestly praying to God and not yourself?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. How can I be more honest in my prayer?
   
2. Where do I need rescuing?
3. How can I be more humble?
   
4. Am I praying about what really matters?

Prayer of the woebegone

Hey God, me again.
Sorry that it's been so long.
I'm past busy.  Now I'm just in survival mode.
So many demands on me, I have no idea where to start.

I'm finally past asking you for advice.
Wisdom to help me prioritize
Discernment to make right decisions
Strength to carry on ...

I could pray for all of those.  But I won't.
Today, I just have one simple request:
Give me rest from all the demands on me,
Help me find my rest in you.

Help me put my hand in yours,
Feel the soft warmth of your love in my flesh,
Breathe in your Presence
And just be with you a spell.

I don't know if that will make it all better.
But it will make me better.
More centered, less distracted,
More in touch.  Maybe even holy.

This is me putting down all the balls
That I have been juggling lately.
Maybe I'll pick them up again,
Maybe I won't.  I'll have to see. 

For now, it's more than enough
To just be in the now,
And let the rest of the moments
Before and after, go their own way. 

How are you doing today? 

 Shalom!

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Exodus 17: 8-13
   
2. Psalms 121: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
   
3. 2nd Timothy 3: 14- 4: 2
   
4. Luke 18: 1-8

• Finding strength in prayer
  
• When I went in for pre-admission for surgery a few months ago, I chanced to walk by the hospital chapel.  It was profoundly non-denominational, but I somehow connected with the prayers that have gone up from that little corner of that vast hospital.  It felt holy.
  
• Is prayer ever wasted?
• If you are praying for something that is really not what's best for you, not what's in God's will for you, what do you think happens with those prayers?
• What do you think happens to you in those prayers?
• Is there a truly wrong way to pray?
• How do we know that we are praying to God, and not just ourselves?
  

• Some guardian
  
• I'm from the generation that watched in horror the TV footage surrounding the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.  In later years, as I learned bits and pieces of the protection that surrounds a sitting president, I wondered, if the president of the United States is not safe, who is?
• With God as your guardian, what are you safe from?
• How does that safety make you feel?
• Does that safety make you act more boldly, speak more truly, love more tenderly?
• Why is that?
  

• The right time
  
• "Timing is everything" as they say, and sometimes, opportunities open up in front of us to do the right thing when we least expect it.  Then the challenge is to seize the moment before it gets away from you.
• Can you think of a time/place when you feel as though you did just the right thing or had just the right thing to share with someone?
• Did you act on that?
• If you did not, what stopped you?
• If you did act on that impulse, how did it turn out?
• Either way, how did that experience change you?
  

• Weary of prayer
  
• It's easy to wonder whether prayer is having any effect.  We are a people always looking for gratification, feedback, reward for everything that we do, to the point that when we don't get those things, or don't recognize them, we wonder why we do what we do.
• On any given day, why do you pray?
• What good is your prayer life doing in your life lately?
• What would you like for your prayer life to accomplish?
• What do you think your prayer life is accomplishing in God's eyes?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Can I pray even if I don't know how at the moment?
   
2. Where is God calling me to rely more on him more for protection?
3. How can I be more sensitive to God's leading?
   
4. What am I willing to do to make my prayer life more vibrant?

 Shalom!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. 2nd Kings 5: 14-17
   
2. Psalms 98: 1, 2-3, 3-4
   
3. 2nd Timothy 2: 8-13
   
4. Luke 17: 11-19

• Open to blessings
  
• God ministers to us in ways that sometimes surprise us, sometimes even offend us.
• Has there ever been a time in your life when God came to you in some unexpected way?
• How did you respond at first?
• What changed your attitude?
• How might you be more open (less hard hearted) the next time?
  

• Salvation from what?
  
• In our culture, we hear the word "salvation" our minds immediately go to salvation from eternal torment, eternal separation from God, maybe our mind goes to eternal separation from our family and other loved ones, but there are plenty of other things to be saved from.
• What has God saved you from lately?  Maybe its salvation from self-pity in the face of a loss, or salvation from making a bad decision, or salvation from being hurtful towards someone that you deeply love.
• How did that salvation come to you?
• How did you express your gratitude?
  

• The "little way" of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
  
• We read of martyrs who found holiness in life and died for that.  But before they gave their all in death, they had doubtless given their all many times in many places all their life long.
• What are some examples of other people that you know who have given of themselves generously over and over again?
• What are they like personally?
• Do they inspire you?
• To what?
  

• Revelation
  
• Life today is in too much of a rush.  We are never able to savor, revisit, ponder happenings in our life right after we go through them.  Maybe, if we are lucky, near the end of life, if our minds hold together long enough, we can look back, and wonder.
• What are you grateful for today?
• Why are you grateful?
• Has that gratitude changed your life in any way?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where is God blessing me right now?
   
2. What would God like to save me from today?
3. What might God be calling me to give up that I might receive more from Him?
   
4. Where has God been good to me and I am only now realizing it? 

Too Busy for Breezes

It's Sunday afternoon, the day is sunny and warm.
A light breeze sighs through the branches outside
And I hear it calling me to come, even just for a moment
And enjoy the breeze, hear its chant, join in prayer.

But I'm too busy here with other things, important things.
The breeze will have to wait until I feel as though I deserve it
When I have accomplished enough today that I feel worthy
Of wasting some time doing nothing but enjoying a light air.

After all, maybe it's just a quirk of weather, with no meaning.
Or maybe it's angels murmuring, one to another
Reminding each other of the goodness of God
In the breath of each moment, each hour, each day.

Either way, it's going to have to wait. 

 Shalom!

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Habakkuk 1: 2-3; 2: 2-4
   
2. Psalms 95: 1-2, 6-7, 8-9
   
3. 2 Timothy 1: 6-8, 13-14
   
4. Luk3 17: 5-10

• Be the vision
  
• Martin Luther King had a dream.  I suspect that vision guided him, helped him prioritize his live, figure out what was important and what was not.
• What's your vision?
• If someone asked you to tell them what the world you live in really needs, what would you say?
• How committed are you to that vision?
• When was the last time you did anything to make that happen?
  

• The dangers of a soft heart
  
• I used to think that that hard-hearted folks were very removed from me.  Not so much anymore.  A soft heart is one that's open.
• How does God speak to you, Scripture, the testimony of a fellow journeyer, tragic life events, moments when you feel completely unable to carry on, ...?
• Is God speaking to you in more ways lately?
• Are you getting better at hearing His voice in familiar ways?
• Where do you think this process might be going?
  

• Come, sit down and have lunch with the gifted kids
  
• When I was in High School, there were lots of cliques on campus.  Some more obvious than others.  The gifted kids, the ones who took the AP and honors courses, were a rather subtle bunch.  They didn't have a team T-shirt or anything, but if you were in the know, you could spot them.
• Are you gifted?
• What are your gifts?
• How are you developing them?
• How did you know that you even had them?
  

• Just do it
  
• In the verses just ahead of this week's Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples essentially to forgive without limit.  That's what excited them to ask for more faith.  It sounds as though Jesus did not cut them a lot of slack at this point.
• Think of a time when you felt a tug, a nudge if you will from God to do something that looked as though it would be hard, awkward, uncomfortable, even foolhardy.
• How did you finally decide what to do?
• How did that turn out?
• Do you think your decision changed you?
• How?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might God be calling me to be more aware, more focused on His vision in my life?
   
2. How can I be more soft-hearted?
3. Which graces is God calling me to pray for?
   
4. Where is God calling me past my comfort zone?

 Shalom!

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Amos 6: 1a, 4-7
   
2. Psalms 146: 7, 8-9, 9-10
   
3. 1 Timothy 2: 1-8
   
4. Luke 15: 1-13
   

• We are all in this together
  
• Regardless what your beliefs are regarding global warming, the debate over climate change, what we as a species must do about it, and whether it's too late already have highlighted the simple truth that our actions have impact far beyond our borders.
• What justice issues are you concerned about?
• How do you feel about the rest of the planet?  Concerned, but unavailable, overwhelmed, apathetic, complacent?
• What would you like for your attitude to be?
  

• Privilege
  
• Privilege has gotten to be a four-letter word.  If your family was stable, loving, nurturing, then you are privileged, and you have an intrinsic advantage over those who grew up in less than ideal surroundings.
• For those of us who enjoyed or enjoy privileges, what responsibilities come with them?
• Is privilege necessarily bad?
• Is there any real way to "level the playing field" for those who have lived a life of being marginalized and silenced?
• What can we do about that?
  

• Pursuing grace
  
• If God's grace is free, unearned gift, do we just sit and wait for it?
• Are there different kinds of grace in our lives?
• Is prayer the only thing that we can do to prepare for those graces?
• What would your life be like if you were "full of grace"?
  

• Is wealth bad for your health?
  
• Relating to others in need can be challenging.  Their need could be loneliness, poor health, loss of a job, ... and relating to someone in such circumstances often defies our best intentions.
• If you suddenly fell heir to some vast sum of money, how would that change the way that you relate to others?
• How you relate to God?
• How you relate to yourself?
• Would you be better able to minister to those most in need?
• Why?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might God be calling me to be more aware, more focused, giving something up to make room for something better?
   
2.  Can you share your privilege with others?
3. Which graces is God calling me to call upon Him for?
   
4. Am I able to see past my own possessions, recognition, even my health?

 Shalom!

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Amos 8: 4-7
   
2. Psalms 113: 1-2, 4-6, 7-8
   
3. 1 Timothy 2: 1-8
   
4. Luke 15: 1-13
   

• Showing mercy until it hurts
  
• These days, there seem to be an endless supply of justice issues demanding attention.  Doing the right thing always bears a cost.  Sometimes we pay it directly, sometimes its through a tax hike, or loss of some benefit that we are used to.
• Where are you showing mercy these days?
• How did you get involved?
• What keeps you doing that?
  

• Who is my neighbor/who are the poor?
  
• In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus answers the question of "who is my neighbor".
• Who are the poor?  Is it just those with nowhere to sleep at night, those who are marginalized and voiceless, those who are comfortable, yet underpaid, those exposed to unnecessary dangers on their job, ...?
• How is God going to lift them up?
• Why does He have to involve us?
  

• Jesus is my campaign manager
  
• All of us agree that politics is a dirty business.  Its easy to despair of anything really good coming out of government.  The separation between Church and State has come to mean that the Church can never influence the State.
  
• Do you think that God has a stake in our political process?
• If we pray to God for better government, better representatives, better political systems, How do you think that God will answer?
• How did governing get to be such a mess anyway?
  

• Return on investment
  
• The prudent among us are always looking towards the future.  Will I have enough money to retire on?  Once I retire, how long will I be able to live on my accumulated savings?  What sort of a legacy do I want to leave to my children?
• If you were attend your own funeral, what would you want to hear people say about you?  I know what I'd want to hear: "Look, he's moving!!!"
• How about in another ten years?
• What are you doing today to help make that happen?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Who might God be asking me to defend that I hardly recognize?
   
2. Who are the poor in my life?
3. Where is God moving in our city, state, country that He wants my help?
   
4. Where might God be calling me to greater/different generosity?

 Shalom!

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Exodus 32: 7-11, 13-14
   
2. Psalms 51: 3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
   
3. 1 Timothy 1: 12-17
   
4. Luke 15: 1-32
   

• Your people
  
• Sometimes a husband or wife will try to blame their spouse for one of the children.  Dad opens a conversation with "Do you know what your son did today at school?"  That's shorthand for "I fail to see any contribution of mine in this son of ours."
• Think of the last time that you prayed to God on someone else's behalf.  How did you try to motivate God to do what you wanted?
• Reminding God of all of the good that this other person has done?
• Reminding God that God is first of all merciful and kind?
• Reminding God that you, the one doing the praying, has been good and faithful, so now God owes you this?
• Offering God faithfulness and discipline on your part, if only God will have mercy on your friend?
• ...
• How effective do you think any of those are in moving God?
• What does that tell you about God?
• What does that tell you about you?
  

• Give me a clean heart
  
• How would you define a clean heart?
• Knowing what you do about King David, Moses, Abraham, did any/all of them have a clean heart?
• How clean is your heart before God?
• What would you think it would take to make your heart more clean?
  

• Mercy me, mercy why
  
• All of us can pinpoint times/areas in our lives in which God has shown us mercy.
• Why do you think that He did that?
• Did that abundance of mercy from God change you in any way?
• Did that mercy equip you for anything later in life?
• Have you found a way to share that mercy with others?
• Did God's mercy teach you something profound that you would not have realized otherwise?
• How are you doing in making good use of that mercy?
  

• Expectations
  
• The prodigal father in this parable forgives so much.  You would think that the father would rest assured that this lost and found son would never do anything so heartless again.  But we know that is not a given.
• Think of a time when you have extended mercy to someone.  What sort of changes did you look for in their life?
• Was that reasonable?
• If you knew for a fact that this other person was not going to live up to your expectations on them, would you still be merciful towards them?
• Why does God extend mercy toward us?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might God be trying to reveal herself to you in new ways?
   
2. What would your life be like with a truly clean heart?
3. Where is God's mercy in my life changing me today?
   
4. Where might God be calling me to reckless mercy?

 Shalom!

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 9: 13-18b
   
2. Psalms 90: 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17
   
3. Philemon 9-10, 12-17
   
4. Luke 14: 25-33
   

• Embracing the mystery
  
• In Catholic theology, a mystery is not something that can never be apprehended, rather it is something that can never be completely understood.  Who knows, quantum mechanics might qualify as a mystery under that definition.
  
• Do you feel at all wise?
• How do you feel that wisdom came to you?
• Are there any folks in your life who are benefiting (in one way or another) from that treasure trove of wisdom that you have?
• Would you want to be more wise?
• How would you support that process of gaining more wisdom?
  

• God is ageless and age transcendent
  
• Keeping the "big picture" in mind gives us context, helps us to realize that the immediate challenges confronting us are all part of something bigger, that their true significance often is very different than we might think.
• Have you ever prayed for that bigger picture?
• Have you ever asked God the eternal question "why"?
• What has been the answer to that prayer for you?
• Does that mean that you should stop asking?
  

• Getting our priorities right
  
• One tenet of Ignatian spirituality is to cultivate an attitude of indifference towards outcomes in life.  Not because a disciple doesn't care, but that their principal care is that God be glorified in their life, that the disciple can draw closer to God.
• Pretend that indifference was something that you have been able to thoroughly embrace.  How would that change your prayer?
• How would such indifference change your stress levels, your anxiety levels?
• What are some virtues that would support such indifference?
• How do you think that you can achieve such indifference?
  

• Motivation is everything
  
• All of us need to eat.  God, in His generosity, provides what we need.  But that relationship with our food becomes unhealthy when we use eating to comfort ourselves, or try to establish control, or act out in some sort of defiance or ...
• What should be our attitude towards the daily bread that God gives us?
• What about our possessions, our homes, clothing, Teslas?
• Our families?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might God be calling me to greater wisdom?
   
2. Can I ask god "why" and still be a person of faith?
3. How much do I trust God to do the right thing, to get the ultimate good?
   
4. Am I clinging to any part of my life that I need to let go of?

 Shalom!

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Sirach 3: 17-18, 20, 28-29
   
2. Psalms 68: 4-5, 6-7, 10-11
   
3. Hebrews 12: 18-19, 22-24a
   
4. Luke 14: 7-14
   

• Getting involved in your giving
  
• We all know that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9).  Does God also cherish an involved giver?
• Think about the giving that you do.  How are you involved?  Do you have an automatic withdrawal, you have to write a check regularly, you go to the charity of your choice and volunteer time, you serve on their board of directors, ...?
• Does it matter how you are involved, as long as the needy people get their needs met?
• Why is it that you give?
• Has that giving changed you at all?
• Is it more than just a noble habit?
  

• God helps those who help themselves
  
• None of us likes to see someone take advantage of other's generosity.  The person who is permanently short of funds, always looking for a handout, never able to make good on their commitments, ... would appear irresponsible, even lazy, and hence not deserving of generosity.
• How would you separate the deserving needy from the undeserving needy?
• What should we do with/for the undeserving needy?
• If God loves a cheerful giver, does it matter whether the giver is generous towards someone who is deserving or not?
  

• Awesome God
  
• We all agree that God is awesome.  So what?
• What are some things/memories/people/events in your life that are truly awesome?
• What made/makes them awesome?
• Do any of those criteria apply to our God?
• What awesome thing has God done for you /to you lately?
  

• Heavenly rank
  
• In many contexts, we know where we stand.  Where I work the deans have department chairs reporting to them, the department chairs have faculty reporting to them, the researchers among the faculty have graduate assistants reporting to them.  Everyone knows their place by means of well-established criteria.
• In the kingdom of heaven, things are a little harder.  What makes for greatness in the Kingdom of God?
• Is it our place to aspire to such greatness?
• Where does humility factor into those aspirations?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might God be calling me to let my giving transform me?
   
2. Where might God be calling me to be generous to those that I have little in common with?
3. What does God's awesomeness tell me about God?  About me?
   
4. Where might God be calling me to awesomeness of my own?

 Shalom!

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Jeremiah 38: 4-6, 8-10
   
2. Psalms 40: 2, 3, 4, 18
   
3. Hebrews 12: 1-4
   
4. Luke 12: 49-53
   

• Perishing for lack of prophets
  
• In times of crisis a community will likely actively seek God's guidance, if not intervention.  But sometimes, a reliable prophet can be hard to find, especially if that community has made a habit out of driving out, persecuting, and otherwise not appreciating the work of prophets in their midst.
• With all of the sources for guidance that the Church offers us today, do we still need prophets?
• What's your definition of a prophet?
• How do you think that God chooses such people?
• Could you see a prophet being an asset in your community?
  

• In celebration of lowliness
  
• Mother Theresa is probably one of few saints to be recognized and appreciated by the world at large.  Usually we kill such people instead.
  
• What do you think was Mother Theresa's most enduring trait?
  
• How do you think that she became that way.?
• Would you want to become like her in that way?
  

• Family inspiration
  
• Think about family and friends who have gone before you.
• Do you think that they are anxiously watching you now?
• How might they be influencing you life today?
• How might you share your family memories with others, who may not have the "cheering section" that you do?
  

• What divides us and what brings us together
  
• God's highest good for all of humanity is that we all find ourselves, each other, and God in a healed, holy, and whole Kingdom of God.  Simple enough when you put it that way.  But the Devil is in the details.
• What sets you apart from "just anyone"?
• What do you typically do when you are tempted to "blend in"?
• Has that behavior of yours ever threatened whatever relationship that you had with the other person?

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might God be calling you to be more prophetic in your life?
   
2. Where might God be calling you draw inspiration from one of our spiritual ancestors?
3. Where might God be calling you closer to Himself by a family member or friend who is already gone ahead of you?
   
4. Where might God be calling you to make a difference by being different?

 Shalom!