8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Sirach 27: 4-7
2. Psalms 92: 2-3, 13-14, 15-16
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 54-58
4. Luke 6: 39-45

• Revelation -
• All of us have had the experience of discovering something of ourselves in the course of expressing ourselves.  Somehow, speaking something out loud to someone who really cares about us gives us a different perspective on what we are saying, what we are going through.  God is, perhaps, the best listener in the cosmos.
• Do you feel that you can be honest with God in your prayer?
• Do you ever worry that you might offend God with your prayer?
• Do you ever feel that you have to be formal with God?
• How do you think that God feels about all of that? 

• Finding your gratitude
• I don't know about you, but any time I hear a sentence start with "Well, at least ..." because I know the speaker is going to try to lift my spirits by telling me how glad I should be that things are not even worse.  But there are legitimate ways to change our attitude.
• Think of something that has been a challenge for you. Maybe a colleague at work who is difficult to work with, maybe someone in your own home who is hard to live with, a circumstance that you know could be better.
• Now, pray to God and ask Him to help you be grateful for that.
• And pray that prayer of thanks out loud.
• Does that change your attitude?

• Triumph over indifference
• Most of us want to triumph over sin, at least the sin in our lives.  I've lowered my expectations.  I would be happy just to be less indifferent to my sin.  Hopefully, once I see it, Jesus & I can triumph over it.
• Do you ever get a chance to take inventory of what you have been through over the past day, and discern where God was in your life, and where you may have missed God's presence and leading?
• How do you think a practice like that would change you if you did it regularly?

• Finding your fruits
• All of us want to leave a legacy.
• If you were to die tonight in your sleep, aside from the dirty laundry and the dishes in the sink, what would your legacy be?
• If you were to write a spiritual resume for yourself, what would you cite as your spiritual experience to date?
• What do you think that experience has equipped you for?
• What would you like for your legacy to be by the time you die?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What does God want me to be honest with Him about?
2. Where is God challenging my gratitude?
3. Where is God offering me greater humility?
4. What fruit is God growing in me today?

Shalom!