- Leviticus 19: 1-2, 17-18
- Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13
- 1 Corinthians 3: 16-23
- Matthew 5: 38-48
- Reproving each other
- None of us likes to be corrected. Even if we 100% agree with the correction, we hate to hear (or see) that correction. We get defensive, and often say things that we regret later. By then it is very difficult to ask forgiveness and start the healing process in that damaged relationship.
- If someone you love is not living up to their potential, is it more loving to keep silent, or to let them know that you are concerned?
- Is there any solid way to make sure that your correction will be taken in the way that you mean it?
- Is there any solid way to make sure that you mean that correction the way that you like to think that you do?
- How might be the best way to "remove the beam from your own eye before removing the splinter from your brother's eye?"
- Finding the kindness in God
- In the first reading, God calls us to be holy, for He is holy. That holiness has many facets, one of them is kindness. But God's kindness can sometimes be hard to find, or recognize.
- How has God been kind to you during your life?
- How did that kindness of God change you?
- Is that kindness still changing you?
- Have you become more kind because of that?
- Tabernacles or tabernacle?
- Looking at ourselves and seeing that we are temples of the Holy Spirit is a sobering reflection. But what if it doesn't end there? What if we as a community, with all of our hurts, warts, and weaknesses are also a temple of the Holy Spirit?
- What do you think a temple of the Holy Spirit is supposed to accomplish?
- Is that possible if the temple has been through trauma?
- Is there a communal healing needed in our church, and beyond?
- Where do we start?
- The secret of happiness
- Fr. Peter was often heard to say that to be happy, we needed to seek holiness. Those around us have different priorities. We are taught in a thousand examples that security, fame, plentiful liquid assets, and a well-appointed summer home in the Hamptons are all ways to happiness. Jesus leads in other directions.
- What makes you truly happy?
- How do you tell true happiness from something less than what God has for you?
- Have you ever been disappointed by something/someone that you thought was going to make you happy, but did not?
- Is it necessarily the case that greater happiness comes with greater freedom?
- Preparation for Reconciliation
- Is there any hatred or anger that God is calling me to set aside?
- Am I known for my kindness?
- How is God calling me to build a stronger, more centered us?
- Where is God offering me happiness that I might be afraid to venture?
It's All Holy
I try to remember to bless myself when I pass a Church.
Catholic or not. God's Presence is probably there.
And I'm not taking any chances.
In the blessing I salute the acts of generosity,
The hands that have reached out to touch the weak,
The absorbent shoulder that others can cry on.
I touch the kindness and mercy that has been celebrated there,
The healing that has restored hope to the despondent,
The warmth of hugs given and received.
I hear words of comfort borne of love and courage.
Love that bears the hurt of another,
Courage that opens a heart in tender empathy.
I smell the aromas of a thousand community potlucks,
Gallons of coffee brewed and consumed at AA meetings,
Fellowship rejoiced in over bread generously given and received.
All of it sacramental,
All of it conveying Christ intimately and immanently,
All of it present through all time.
And if present through all time,
That Presence is Present through all space.
And I know that, to honor that Presence,
To honor that Presence will take more than a gesture on my part.
It requires that I open myself to the knitting together
Of God's children wherever I find them.
Every place, every time, every circumstance
Is charged with the Presence of God if I let it.
It's All Holy if I can just open up to that Holiness.
Shalom!
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