21st Sunday in Ordinary TIme

Our readings for 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Isaiah 66: 18-21
2. Psalms 117: 1, 2
3. Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13
4. Luke 13: 22-30

• Radical inclusion
• God wants us all, and He wants all of each of us.  Yet it's sometimes difficult to accept others into our midst when they hail from a different culture, denomination, political perspective, you name it.
• Think of a time when someone new came into your life.  Maybe they were a soon to be in-law, maybe they were a new colleague at work, or someone looking into joining a ministry group that you had been a part of.
• Were you personally welcoming to them?
• If so, what did you actually say/do to help them feel welcome?
• If not, what lessons did you learn about hospitality from that?

• Telling the good news
• We have received "the Good News."  But what does that really mean?
• Do you have friends, family even, who you know would be much happier, more blessed if they could just see & appreciate God the way that you do?
• Do you think that they know that?
• What would have to happen before you might be tempted to share your faith with them?
• What scares you most about starting that dialogue?
• What scares you most about not starting that dialogue? 

• Forged in discipline
• Matthew Kelly has a chilling quote "you're only as good as your worst habits."
• What are some habits that you've accumulated through the years?  If you don't think that you have any, ask a close friend or spouse.
• Which of those habits bring you closer to God in some way?
• Why do you still have the rest of your habits?
• What is one habit that you wished that you had?  This could be something simple, like "the habit of being grateful for everything that comes my way", or "finding the best in other people, no matter what the circumstances. 

• State of grace
• It's too easy to judge others.  Not so easy to really take a hard look at ourselves.  Ignatius (and others) offer us the examen prayer to meditate fruitfully on our place in time and space, and see how best to move forward.
• Where has God been evident in the past 24 hours for you?
• What are you thankful for today?
•  What were the decisions that you made today?
• Were your motives always pure, did you take the appropriate time to pray through those decisions, were you listening to/for the voice of God?
• How can you do better tomorrow? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How is God calling me to greater trust?
• How is my life drawing others to God? 
• What are my worst habits?
• How is God calling me to greater self-awareness?

Is it OK to Pray Here?

My wife and I were on our way home from Mass.
People were already streaming into the parking lot for the next Mass.

A gentleman, on foot, looking lost in the parking lot approached me.
"Is it OK if I pray here?  I'm not Catholic, but my friend was."

He went on: "I thought that if I prayed for them in a Catholic Church, God might hear me."
I wanted to get home, start the rest of my day.  So I just said "sure thing, the door's over there."

So many better responses have come to mind since then.
I could have told him "God loves to hear from His beloved, no matter where they are."

Better yet, "let me show you to the door and get you seated."
Better yet, "when you're done, I'd love to hear about your friend so that we can pray for them too."

Better yet, "who told you that you're not Catholic.  How do you know?
I am sure that your friend is very grateful that you're praying for them.  And God is too."

Perhaps best of all would have been "remember that you're always welcome to come back."
I pray to God that He'll help me remember this the next time he sends someone across my path.

Shalom!

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Wisdom 18: 6-9
2. Psalms 33: 1, 12, 18-19, 20-22
3. Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19
4. Luke 12: 32-48

• At the ready
• The children of Israel had to be ready.  Ready to leave all that they knew, most of their possessions, their homes and take off into an unknown future.  I imagine the young children asking why they cannot afford to bring along treasured possessions, why they have to leave at all, and why this night, among all others.  I would not want to be their parents.
• What are some things that you are particularly attached to?  That might be a place, a job, a position within your company, a daily routine that you love.
• If God told you that He had something that was even better that He was offering you in exchange for that treasured item, would you be able to let go?
• How would you even make such a decision?
• Have you ever been faced with such a discernment in your past?
• Why do you think that is? 

• Stoking your hope
• Hope sustains us through the worst of times.  But hope is not always easy to find.
• At bottom, what do you hope for most?  Is it to be the next powerball winner, to get that coveted promotion at work, that your mother-in-law would finally stop nagging at you, ...?
• Does that hope help bring you closer to God?
• What sort of hope would draw you closer to God?
• What would be the foundation, the root of such a hope?
• How do you think that you might strengthen that hope starting today? 

• Living in between
• A liminal space is a transition, a doorway into something new.  I expect that most of us want to get to the other side of such chapters in our lives as quickly as possible so that we can once more "settle in" to a new routine, get past that awkward stage of caught leaving one state behind in favor of another, and not having a clear picture of what the future holds.
• What are some of the transitions that you are undergoing right now?  That might be mourning the loss of a loved one, your children moving out of the house, graduating from an education into something new, creating a new relationship with someone else, ...
• Why did you embark on this transition in the first place?
• How much of that decision was the fruit of prayer for you?
• How much of the way in which you navigate this season in your life the fruit of prayer?
• If you could go back to the fork in the road that led you to this place, would you make the same decision, knowing then what you know now?
• Do you think that we ever get to a place of just resting in life? 

• Where is your heart?
• Balance is hard.  Renouncing all possessions and earthly ties is tough, but trying to "live in the world and not be of the world" is perhaps even tougher.  Somehow, we are called to love people, not use them, and use the things of this world for God's glory, but not love them.
• How do you make sure that nothing in your life gets to be too important to you?
• If you find that you have developed an unhealthy attachment to someone/something/some place/some experience, ... how to you get free of that?
• Why do you think that process of achieving freedom can be so painful? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me from my comfort zone? 
• What can I do to get closer to what I hope for in my life in God? 
• Is there anywhere in my life where I might be rushing to get through something that might be an invitation to draw closer to God?
• How is God calling me to greater trust?

Shalom!

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Ecclesiastes 1: 2; 2: 21-23
2. Psalms 90: 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17
3. Colossians 3: 1-5, 9-11
4. Luke 12: 13-21

• Pep talk
• It's always a good exercise to occasionally compose your own eulogy.  It also helps to think about who you would want to be delivering that eulogy.
• Would you rather be remembered for what you were able to give others, or what you were able to acquire?
• When you think about taking on a new effort in your life, how do you decide whether or not to make that commitment?
• Do you sometimes wonder whether some significant part of your life's work has been in vain?
• What makes you feel that way?
• How do you feel God looks at the things that you have labored over? 

• Numbering my days
• My days on this planet are numbered.  I just don't know what that number is yet.  Maybe that's a good thing.
• When you were young(er) what did you dream of doing with your life?
• Have those dreams come true in any measure?
• Why?
• Do you think that God has dreams for your life?
• Do you know what those are?
• Should you ask? 

• Setting my mind on things above
• I'm beginning to think that Jesus never had to make a mortgage payment.  Life is full of things that must be attended to.  Watching the rising cost of homeowner's insurance, trying to find the best deals on groceries, and the fact that the new puppy has decided to chew on the area rugs for some reason, just to name a few.
• How do you make sure that the mundane things of this life are set in proper perspective?
• How can you tell when you've let that proper perspective slip?
• What is it like for you when the "things above" get their proper attention? 

• False security
• I remember a skit that Steve Martin did on Saturday Night Live advertising insurance insurance.  In the skit, you could pay for insurance that would cover the rising costs of insurance.  We all laughed back then...  "The Lord will provide" certainly rings true.  But how does that work out in practice?
• How has the Lord provided for you in the past?
• What have you learned from those episodes in your life?
• Do you think that you can predict what God will do in the future, based on what He has done in your life in the past?
• Does it reflect a lack of trust on your part to set aside money for retirement? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• What might God be calling me to give of myself today? 
• Will what I have planned for today bring me closer to God's dream for me? 
• Where do my priorities come from?
• How is God calling me to greater trust? 

Shalom!

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Genesis 18: 20-32
2. Psalms 138: 1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8
3. Colossians 2: 12-14
4. Luke 11: 1-13

• Invited to pray
• I'm struck that God hung back with Abraham and let His two companions go on ahead, as though God wanted a word alone with Abraham.  The thought that God enjoys time alone with me, that He finds my company enjoyable is both liberating and moving.
• We all have favorite people that we like to share things with.  One person might be your go to when your kids do something wonderful, someone else might be your favorite person to tell about some accomplishment you had at work the other day.  What sort of things do you like to share with God?
• What sorts of things do you think God actually enjoys hearing about?
• A good leader receives more than just the bare facts in a report, they are looking for how those facts impact the one reporting them, how the reporter perceives those facts, and what the reporter wants to see coming out of those events.  How much of that do you share with God?
• If we believe that God is the Universe's best listener, what should we be telling Him about? 

• Lord give me strength
• I love Morgan Freeman in this video.  When we encounter challenging circumstances, it's easy to ask God to remove the challenges, let life get back to "normal", whatever that is.  I suspect the next rung up on the prayer ladder is to pray for strength to get through that challenge.  Still survival mode, but better.  I'm beginning to realize that maybe the next rung up is to ask that I might draw closer to God in the course of making my way in that challenge.
• When are some times that God has given you strength?
• Did it come about that you got to a place where you no longer needed that strength?
• Why do you think that God uses circumstances in our lives to teach us and build us, rather than just "zap" us with whatever grace we're looking for? 

• Nailing it
• God calls us to be people of hope.  That hope looks forward to something better than the sorts of things that most folks hope for: promotion at work, a house in a nicer neighborhood, our kids finally getting serious about their schoolwork.  While all of these things are good, they need to be set in the proper context, the hope for freedom from sin and ever greater closeness to God.
• What limitations, fears, bad habits, ... that you have that in one way or another hinder you from getting closer to God?
• Can you imagine what it would be like if those shackles were to somehow be removed?
• How do you think that God might go about making that happen?
• Are you ready for one or more of those shackles to be broken? 

• The ultimate gift
• Everything around us can be looked at as props on a stage.  They are here to help us to learn how to be more trusting, righteous, holy before God.  They are nothing but a means to an end.  We cannot take them with us, because we will have no need nor desire to take them with us when we die.
• What are some of the best gifts that God has given you in your life?
• Do you think those all came to you by way of prayer (yours or someone praying for you)?
• How did each of those gifts bring you closer to God?
• If God had asked you ahead of time, would you have suggested that He bring you closer to Him in some other way? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How can I make room in my life for more/better prayer? 
• Where do I need greater strength and courage? 
• Where can I be more free in my walk with God?
• How is God drawing me closer to Him today?

Open My Eyes Lord

Funerals are painful for a lot of reasons.

Sharing your grief with other grieving souls is never easy.

Each of the bereft have a different set of memories,

Looking at the departed through a different prism.

 

Finding that all of us carry different facets of the departed,

Sharing stories with one another

Reconciling our personal picture

With the rest of the community of grief can be a challenge.

 

Its a rare person who loses a loved one without regrets.

Rarer still the one whose heart is more full of thanksgiving than sadness 

When a once vibrate part of your life is now gone forever.

Leaving you wondering how it might have been if only you'd known.

 

"I told you I was sick" is a humorous headstone.

Reminding us that life is short, death often unexpected.

And we need to live with each other knowing that we might be in the last days:

Either yours or mine.

 

I think it all comes down to being sensitive,

Bold,

Brave,

Courageous.

 

So that when God comes knocking at our door in the form of a loved one,

We see them, we see Him for who they are in our lives.

And graciously welcome them in knowing that the present is always ripe.

And trust that the knock at the door is an answer to prayer.

 

Whether we know it or not.

 

Shalom!

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Genesis 18: 1-10a
2. Psalms 15: 2-3, 3-4, 5
3. Colossians 1: 24-28
4. Luke 10: 38-42

• A receptive heart
• I don't know about you, but I prefer to have a clear plan for how I'm going to spend my time.  I don't know that plans are bad, but I'm beginning to think that getting too attached to a plan leaves me less open, less sensitive, to God's presence and guidance in my life.  I would probably have been a little annoyed that someone would approach my camp in the heat of the day, when things typically slow down for a bit.
• When have you been "in the moment" with God?  Maybe you had a perfectly fine Confirmation lesson planned, but when you got to class, something totally new, and even better came to mind and you went with it.
• Or maybe you had an "interruption" crop up unexpectedly but you felt led to let that into your schedule anyway, and it turned out to be a real blessing.
• How did you know to "go with the flow"?
• Were your original plans necessarily wrong?
• Why do you think this sort of thing happens to us? 

• Redefining success
• It seems as though each generation of us have their own definition of success.  My father once told me that at one time he thought that "making it" consisted of wife, two kids, brick house in the suburbs, a late-model Buick in the driveway, and a dog.  Not necessarily in that order.
• How do you define success?
• Are you there yet?
• Is your notion of success in this life at all tied to your idea of success in heaven?
• How has your notion of success changed through the years?
• How might your notion of success continue to change? 

• Fully mature in Christ
• Maturity doesn't come easily or quickly.  I am beginning to suspect that maturity gradually blossoms in each of us at a different rate.  Even if we could measure a person's maturity, such a measurement would have little value and less meaning.
• Do you feel that you are more mature today than you were, say, ten years ago?
• What makes you say that?
• How have you achieved that maturity?
• Was any of that intentional? 

• Shifting priorities
• Some years back I chaperoned a Confirmation retreat and I had a wonderful time.  I realized that was the one place where I did not have to constantly wonder whether I was doing the most important thing for the moment.  Life was simple.  A rare experience for me.
• I don't think that Jesus felt that Martha's hospitality was a bad thing, I think that her resentment, and her priorities were what concerned him. 
• How do you decide how to invest your time each day?  Do you have a set schedule that you execute exactly the same each day, do you set goals for yourself of what you want to accomplish, do you set goals for your self of how much time you'll spend at each task, regardless of what you accomplish, ...?
• At the end of the day, how do you tell whether it's been a "good day" or not?
• How might you do that "end of day recap" in prayer? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How could you be a better listener to God's call in your life? 
• What do you think are God's deepest desires for you? 
• How are you partnering with God to grow in your maturity?
• Where has God led you to be generous that you might not have realized?

Apparitions in the heat

I love this time of day.

It's too hot to worry about the flocks.

Most of them are napping about this time.

Supper is hours away.

 

I love to take this time to review the day.

Ask myself whether I've been a good servant to our God.

Review the day and ask where God has touched me,

And where I accepted that touch.

 

Often, I surprise myself.

I find God in the strangest places in my life.

Beckoning, me deeper into His embrace.

Inviting me into His love in a new way.

 

Just when I was settling into meditation,

These three travelers appear out of nowhere.

On a journey when they should be resting.

Looking as though they could use some hospitality.

 

Quickly I arose, afraid that they would pass by in their haste.

Provided the necessities for them as best I could without warning.

And then we companioned together.

Easy and slow, each of us making time for the others.

 

I finally realized who they were -

When one of them repeated a promise to me that only God, Sarah and I knew.

A promise that seemed at once amazing and so generous.

Inviting me and Sarah into all of the joys and sorrows of parenthood.

 

You would think that a promise repeated is more believable.

But Sarah and I had given up hope of ever having a child of our own long ago.

Better to give up, and make peace with that.

Than keep hoping that for a miracle that will never happen.

 

I've come to see that those three travelers who visited that day -

Were not an interruption to my prayer.

I was able to meet them where they were, at that precise moment -

Because of my prayer in the heat of the day.

 

Sometimes God's promises just take time to arrive.

Sometimes my faith takes time to mature.

Sometimes miracles happen when you least expect them.

And there is no "sometimes" about God's mercy. 

 

Shalom!

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Deuteronomy 30: 10-14 
2. Psalms 69: 14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37
3. Colossians 1: 15-20
4. Luke 10: 25-37

• Finding God in your heart
• Once upon a time, I prayed for greater clarity.  I asked God to make His desires for me more clear, speak to me more plainly, relieve me from the challenge of hearing that still small voice.  Now I pray for greater sensitivity on my part that I might be more in tune with His voice, more inclined to listen, more aware of when I drift from His side.
• How does God let you know that you are wandering from the best that He has for you?
• How have His ways of revealing Himself to you changed through the years?
• Do you find that you are better at listening over time?
• Do you think that you can follow God even closer? 

• Finding your needs
• I used to scoff at those who only sought God's help when they had hit bottom.  I imagined God sitting in His favorite recliner with His arms crossed looking at such opportunists saying "where were you during the good times?  Why turn to me now?  Where will you go once you don't think that you need me anymore?"
• I'm beginning to realize that a) God never withholds His mercy from us just because we do not think to seek Him consistently and b) we always need God.
• When is a time that you have called on God to be with you to help you lately?
• Would you have thought to look to God for that earlier in life?
• What happened along the way? 

• Seeking harmony
• Harmony in music is not unison.  Rather, the various voices weave in and out in a dialogue with each other, each making their own contribution, making the result richer.
• Where do you see Jesus bringing diverse points of view, diverse backgrounds, diverse voices together into harmony among us today?
• What can we do to foster that harmony?
• Why can't everyone else just see reason and agree with you? 

• Finding a generous heart
• The words generous and generate share a common root: genus - to give birth, to beget.  Being generous to others brings new life into the world, brings about the Kingdom of God.
• What are some ways that God has called you to be generous in a new, unexpected way?
• How did that turn out?
• How did you come to recognize that God was behind that request?
• How did your generosity change you? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How could you be a better listener to God's call in your life? 
• What do you need God that you've failed to ask for His help? 
• Where do you see a need for greater harmony in your life?
• Where has God led you to be generous that you might not have realized?

Looking for a schedule

I would dearly love it if God would just learn to update my Google calendar.

Better yet, put His wants, desires, events in there with just a couple days notice.

Even better yet, ask me whether I feel up to the call before He changes my schedule.

 

But maybe the unexpected request is an unexpected mercy.

The need unseen (as yet) gives me time to prepare for the I know not what,

Before I have the chance to throw up my defenses my "not this times".

 

Lord, help me to be resilient in the face of need.

Always listening to your call in my life.

Always ready to set aside what has given me joy -

 

That I might embrace an even greater gift -

A gift that you have been growing in me all along -

A gift that has come to bear fruit in the giving it away.

 

Shalom!

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Isaiah 44: 10-14c
2. Psalms 66: 1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
3. Galatians 6: 14-18
4. Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20

• Looking for hope
• Do you see God at work around you?
• How does that make you feel?
• Do you think that God is diligently working some master plan?
• Do you think that you have an important role to play in that plan?
• Do you think that God will clue you in to just what that role might be?
• With all of that reason to hope, why don't you feel more hopeful?
• What does that say about God?
• What does that say about you? 

• Wondrous deeds
• A friend comes up to you and says "I hear that you're Christian.  Why?"
• What would you say to such a person?
• How far back in your life would you start that narrative?
• What characteristics of God would you think would come through in the telling of such a narrative?
• How might telling that story shape you today? 

• Discovering what's important
• In once heard an old Jesuit priest say "As I get older, it's harder and harder for me to get around, and I find greater and greater freedom to follow Jesus."
• Would you agree?
• Why do you think that happens to us, that gradual letting go of things/people/grudges/ ... that never really gave us any happiness to begin with?
• Why do you think it takes so long to find and hold to that freedom?
• Does it have to take this long? 

• I'm not Billy Graham
• When I was growing up, we Evangelicals looked up to Billy Graham.  He never let up, never rested on his laurels, was always humble, and he was truly out there, bringing people to Jesus by the hundreds.  Trouble was, not all of us are called to that sort of ministry, and it can be tough to tell sometimes what you are called to.
• Do you think that some people, or some personality types are just naturally better at spreading the Gospel?
• Do you think that those who are naturals at it should be the ones doing that work so that the rest of us can go about doing other things?
• How would you define "saving a soul"?
• What should happen to/for those folks once they get "saved"?  Who should look after them?
• If you had never been exposed to Christianity until today, how would you want to be approached?  How would you be most likely to accept the Gospel in your life? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• What in your life is robing you of hope? 
• What are you doing to help God be wondrous? 
• Are you shedding anything unimportant lately?
• Where might God be drawing you to share His word to others?

Tent Meeting:

The guest preacher was really getting his rhythm on this evening.

Cries of "amen" and "praise the Lord" were gradually building.

Just like a tidal wave coming into shore as it gathers itself.

 

I was working the meeting as an usher.

Well, really, I was just whatever needed done at the moment.

I knew the knots that held up the tent,

 

I knew the preacher's schedule to the minute so he didn't have to.

I knew all of the other ushers, what they did, and why.

I knew that this preacher was really special.

 

There was an old man in the back, by one of the doors.

I made my way over to him and asked if he wanted to sit.

"I'd love to, but that would mean taking someone else's seat" he said.

 

I left and came back with an old rickety folding chair that I had tucked away.

I told him to take it, but be careful when leaning back, it might throw him.

He looked at me with piercing eyes and asked how I was going to sit.

 

I told him it was my place to circulate, look for folks in need, do what I can.

He asked if I ever got tired.  I said "no", this work is all that I need.

Seeing the folks coming from miles around.  Singing and clapping and praising.

 

That was more than enough for me.  All that, and I get to meet some nice people.

He asked me "don't you ever get tired of being in the background, out of the spotlight?"

I told him that's not for me, I prefer to do the little stuff, what I can handle.

 

I asked him whether I could get him anything to drink, or eat.

He said that a bite would be very appreciated.

I came back with my supper and we shared it together.

 

Again those piercing eyes.  "What are you going to do for the next hungry person you meet?"

I told him that I didn't know, but that I was sure provisions would be there if needed.

I just had to trust and obey.

 

The old man put his hand on my head and said a private prayer over me.

Thanking me for my witness.

I was confused.  I hadn't told him anything about Jesus, just shared a chair and a sandwich.

 

Then he said "sometimes, that's all that is needed."

He got up and walked off.

The creaky old chair was silent as he got up.

 

And he didn't leave footprints as he walked away.

But I knew that I had grown a little that day,

By giving away without regrets or worry, just trust. 

 

Shalom!

Saints Peter & Paul, Apostles

Our readings for Saints Peter & Paul Sunday:

1. Acts 12: 1-11
2. Psalms 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
3. I Corinthians 11: 23-26
4. Luke 9: 11b-17

• It sucks to be you
• Peter was spared (at least this time) but James was not.  No explanation is given why James died a martyr's death at Herod's hands, but Peter was rescued.  Yet God is faithful in all things.
• Why do you think that God allows some things to happen and not others?
• Is it for us to even know the answer to that question?
• How would you react if some tragedy befell someone that you counted as holy before God, yet you could find no reason for that tragedy? 

• Finding the rescue
• We like to think that there must be some benefit to being a follower of God.  Not just in the next life but this one.  Trouble is, that benefit can be hard to really appreciate.  True happiness may be hard to find, but sometimes, its even harder to recognize.
• How has following God benefited you?
• Has there ever been a time when God rescued you from something?  Maybe you were tempted to go down a dark path, and somehow God convinced you otherwise.
• What did you learn from that rescue? 

• When all is said and done
• One Ignatian discernment technique is to imagine yourself on your death bed.  You know your end is near, and you are looking back over your life, and you get to this moment that you are in right now.  In that moment of looking back, which path that is set before you will you wish that you had taken?  Now you know the way.
• What do you hope that others will say of you when you're gone?
• What are you doing now to help make that happen?
• Why are those things important to you?
• Do you think that any of those priorities will change in the years ahead? 

• Revelation
• Revelation is a tricky matter.  Down through the centuries, various prophets and charlatans have filled the world with revelation.  Sometimes, its hard to tell the prophets from the charlatans.
• How has God revealed Himself to you?  Prayer, reflecting on Scripture, prayerfully reflecting on Scripture, Bible studies, conversation with friends, ...?
• How do you weigh all of that input?
• How does God reveal Himself to His Church?
• Is that revelation still ongoing?
• What part do you play in that ongoing revelation? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• What are you doing today to strengthen your faith in God? 
• Are you grateful for the rescues that God has done in your life? 
• Do you feel that you honor God in your decisions?
• Where might God be calling you to share His love in a new way?

 Shalom!

Corpus Christi Sunday

Our readings for Corpus Christi Sunday:

1. Genesis 14: 19-20
2. Psalms 110: 1, 2, 3, 4
3. I Corinthians 11: 23-26
4. Luke 9: 11b-17

• Exchange of gifts
• To be in right relationship with God entails an exchange of gifts, not to bribe God, but to celebrate that everything comes from and returns to God
• What do you think that God wants from you?
• What do you think that God wants for you?
• What do you really, deep down inside, want from God?
• What do you think God's chances are for getting what He wants?
• What do you think your chances are for getting what you want?
• Do you think that will make you happy? 

• Priesthood of believers
• Ordained or not, we are all called to be priests, it's a fundamental aspect of our identity.
• Define priest.  Get creative.
• Does anyone come to mind who has filled that role especially well in your life?
• What made them a good priest?
• Why do you think that all of us are called to be priests in one fashion or another? 

• A friend like no other
• It's hard to know how much Jesus knew about His passion going in.  My bet is that the revelation of just what was coming was gradual, and that Jesus had to process that revelation a piece at a time.  I also bet that He took a very bittersweet comfort from celebrating one last Passover with His friends, knowing that it was never going to be quite like this again.
• Who are some special friends that have been a support for you?
• Would you say that God had worked through them in your life?
• What is about one of those friends that you treasure the most?
• What do you think they might treasure about you? 

• Basket case
• Jesus never did tell His disciples what was coming, He just gave them the next thing that needed to be done.  In so doing, He invited them into a miracle.  In so doing He invited them into the fellowship of the Trinity, into the ongoing creation story that is still unfolding.
•  When is a time that you felt called of God to do something where you had no idea how it would turn out?
• How did you come to be certain of that direction, not knowing how it was to end?
• How did that turn out?
• How do you know that the effects of that act of faith are played out even today?
• How does that make you feel about God, about yourself? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where is God calling you into greater happiness?
• How is your priesthood progressing lately?
• Are your friendships making a better person of you?
• Where might God be calling you to reckless obedience?

Bread Unnoticed

Indeed, that was a day of miracles.

 

It started with Jesus' welcome of the crowds.
He had gone there to get some rest,

But still He welcomed the crowds when they gathered.
As though He somehow found a second wind.

Then, wave after wave of needy villagers came.

All of them touched, healed, loved.

Every one of them transformed in the encounter

No matter where they came from.

But the rest of us, we could tell that this could get ugly.

All of those folks far from home, kith and kin,

Transformed they may be, but soon, soon

They were going to need food and shelter.

 

Besides, all of us were nearing the end of our endurance.
Striving to find the inner reserves needed to meet the seemingly endless need.

But instead of sending them away, Jesus told us to "lean in" and meet the need -

Meet the needy.

The next miracle was that we somehow found the trust we needed.

The trust we needed to put one foot in front of the other one more time.

Get the people seated to receive, we knew not what.

We prayed with Him over a few loaves and fishes, to what purpose we knew not.

Then He asked us to give from our need, our lack, our fatigue.

After all, by then, those were the only gifts we had left.

The next miracle was that we found just enough strength and just enough courage

To distribute the little that we had to those massed there that day.

I wanted to apologize for such miserable offerings.

But I saw understanding in their eyes.  They knew.

And so we moved among them, as needy as they were.

And gave away all that we had, no longer caring whether it was enough.

 

Only, only desiring that we could see this last miracle through.

Some saw only bread and fish that day.

Some saw a divine gift-giver in full riot. 

I, I saw resurrection within my own poor heart.

 

Shalom!

Trinity Sunday

Our readings for Trinity Sunday:

1. Proverbs 8: 22-31
2. Psalms 8: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
3. Romans 5: 1-5
4. John 16: 12-15

• Playing before God
• We speak of attaining a good work/life balance.  Maybe we're going at this wrong.
• Is play mutually exclusive to work?
• Why can't work be holy, and fun at the same time?
• Have you ever experienced that?
• Did it pay the bills too?
• Does it have to? 

• The mind of God
• How do you learn what's on God's mind?
• Does nature help you in that regard?
• Does that revelation give you anything that you can put into words?
• Is it still valuable? 

• Forged in affliction
• The so-called prosperity gospel would have us believe that God shows his generosity to His elect in this life.  At the other end of the spectrum is the perspective that this life was meant to be short, brutish, and mean, and we should only expect happiness and fulfillment in the next life.  I think that God wants to offer us yet a third way.
• Do you think that God brings hard times into our lives on purpose?
• Or, do you think that God works to transform those hardships into opportunities?
•  If you feel that way, what sort of opportunities are we talking about here?
• Does that have to be in the context of affliction? 

• Triple colloquy 
• A painting The Two Trinities offers a different perspective on the place of Jesus as a member of the Holy Family a Jesus as a member of the Triune God at the same time.  This might offer a different take on how we can approach God in prayer.
• When you pray, do you ever pray to the Holy Spirit?
• How is that experience different from when you pray to God?
• Do you ever ask Jesus to intercede for you, get you an "in" with the Big Guy?
• Why or why not?
• How about Mary?
• Or Joseph for that matter? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling you to play more, or differently?
• How is God revealing Himself to me today?
• How might the Trinity help me improve my prayer life?
• What is your image of God like these days?  

Shalom!

Pentecost Sunday

Our readings for Pentecost Sunday of Easter:

1. Acts 2: 1-11
2. Psalms 104: 1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
3. 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-7, 12-13
4. John 20: 19-23

• Getting the word out
• Its understandable to look back at those early days of the Church and feel some long-term nostalgia.  Those first disciples didn't have Jesus in bodily form anymore.  Threats of persecution from the Jews and the Romans were present.  Doctrinal differences from within were emerging.  Yet, in spite of those challenges, the early Church managed to not only survive but thrive.
• Do you think that our Church today is doing any better or worse at addressing the challenges before us?
• What do you think was the secret of those earliest Christians?
• Can we apply any of their approach to the challenges that we face today?
• Where can we start here, now? 

• The mind of God
• Unlike us, God is able to multi-task quite well.  We are individually and corporately in His thoughts every minute of every day.  We are each part of the ongoing miracle of the abundant life that He has in store for all of His creatures.
• If you could have a face to face with God, would you?
• Would you come with an agenda, things that you wanted to be sure came up in the conversation?
• How much would such an encounter be different from normal time that you spend in prayer?
• Why is that? 

• Finding your charism(s)
• A charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon a community (such as the teaching charism that the Sr.s of St. Louis share with their students) or an individual.  God gives charisms to build up His Kingdom.
• What do you think your charism(s) are?
• Do you think that your closest friends would agree?
• Do you think that you are making the best use of those gifts?
• How would you know? 
  

• Go, you are sent
• There are a number of things that Jesus didn't say in this passage.  He didn't say that there was no danger to His disciples.  He didn't say that everything was always going to go their way.  What He did do was to give them a mission, and that transformed them.
• Where have you seen the Presence of the Holy Spirit at work?
• What had to happen before the Holy Spirit could work in that situation?
• How can we as a community be more open to the Holy Spirit in our community?
• How do you think that you, as an individual could be more open to the Holy Spirit in your life? 
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• What of your life in Christ would you most want to share?
• What is getting in the way of a better prayer life for you?
• Are you making full use of God's gifts to you?
• What in your life is robbing you of peace? 

 Peace Give I to Thee

Lo

I am with you always

Even unto the end of time.

 

Dangers,

Uncertainty,

And more will come your way.

 

But know that none of that -

In any way -

Changes your call, nor my promise.

 

 Lord, give me your peace and no other.

Help me to look to you above all else.

And in you, find the true meaning of all else.

 

That I might see the life that You have given -

In its proper light.

Your gift, to serve Your Kingdom.

 

I give up my claim to security, certainty, clarity.

None of them were mine to begin with.

Help me to know your great "I am" in all things.

 

And in giving up all to you, I find you in all. 

 

Shalom!

Ascension Sunday

Our readings for Ascension Sunday of Easter:

1. Acts 1: 1-11
2. Psalms 43: 2-3, 6-7, 8-9
3. Ephesians 1: 17-12
4. John 24: 46-53

• Waiting on, and for, the Lord
• One of the struggles of the early Church revolved around the time table for Jesus' return.  If He was coming right back, there's no point in buying green bananas.  On the other hand, if it is going to be years, decades, millennia before He comes again, that's a horse of a very different color.
•  If you knew that Jesus was returning tomorrow, what would change in your life?
• How about in a year?
• Or five?
• Maybe fifty (for you younger disciples)?
• Why does it make a difference?
• Should it?
  

• The Light of Christ
• Power.  Apart from the understanding of that term in physics, we are conditioned to never seek power.  Perhaps that is because power is so often abused by us and among us.  But what if that didn't have to be the case?  What if power could be used for the good?
• What sort of power do you think it is that Jesus wants to confer on us as His disciples, His community, His Church?
• What are some examples of power that you have seen in your life?
• Do you feel that any of that power came from God?
• What should we, as His people, be doing with the power that we have?
• How do we find what that power is?
  

• A joyful noise
• Not all of us are talented.  Some may find it hard to bring anything offer God in worship.
• We tell the gathered assembly that they don't have to sound ethereally beautiful in order to properly worship the Lord in congregational singing.  If the sound isn't the point, what is?
• Conversely, is it possible for a soloist, or even an entire choir to sound glorious, and not be properly worshiping the Lord?
• What is that proper worship that God is looking for?
• How can we foster such worship in our hearts and the hearts of the gathered assembly?
  

• Go, you are sent
• Sacramentally, we believe that the Holy Spirit falls on us a Confirmation.  Fair enough.  But then what?
• Is the anointing of the Spirit a one time event, a process, perhaps a sequence of anointings?
• How do you tell that you have been anointed?
• Once that Spirit has come upon you, then what?  How do we find what to do next?
• Is that "finding what to do next" an event or a process?
• How do we know when we have it right?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Are you ready for Jesus to return?  If not today, when?
• Where might God be inviting you to offer the less than perfect parts of you?
• Where might God want you to better use the power that He has given you?
• Where is God sending you? 

 A Power Like No Other

Once upon a time, in a remote village in the northern foothills,
There was a an old brother named Matthias.

He had seen many years, dozens of kings.
Famines plagues, wars come and go.

And now, in the sunset of his life,
He fashioned poetry in the clay.

Fired in a hearth of his own making.
A few pieces at a time, but enough, just enough.

Matthias' needs were simple,
All he needed was time and health enough to pray.

Occasionally, one or another of the villagers would seek Matthias out.
Looking for the meaning of their lives.

Especially after some calamity, or senseless tragedy.
Matthias would listen, softly ask questions.

Help them talk it out.  And eventually lead them to silence.
Not as much because they had run out of things to say.

But because his guests finally realized that they needed to listen.
And Matthias would help them hear more clearly, with greater boldness.

Once a mighty king came to town on foot.
Clad simply, with a single companion to keep him company.

The king had just one question:
Why am I here?

Matthias did not answer for the longest time.
While the king spilled his years of frustration and longing.

Finally Matthias said "you already know the answer.  You just don't know that you know."
The king replied "my people, in the end, I just want to help them find happiness in who they are."

Matthias said "and that, your majesty, is your power in these lands.
You see, we each have power we scarcely know.

And until we find the courage to use that power,
We are useless, weak, and weary."

"What then, is your power might I ask" queried the king.
"My power lies helping others wait for the clamor in their hearts to find inner peace.

That they may finally ask the real questions.
And learn why there are here, now, in this sacred space and time.

And how to honor that holy destiny
With their whole body soul and spirit."

Shalom!

6th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the 5th Sunday of Easter:

1. Acts 15: 1-2, 22-29
2. Psalms 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8
3. Revelation 21: 10-14, 22-23
4. John 14: 23-29

• Discernment
• Discernment consists of seeking and finding God's will in a situation.  In a way, it is prophetic - searching for where the Spirit is leading right here, right now.
• When tough decisions have to get made in your home, how does that happen?
• What sort of preparation do you do (long term and short term) to ensure that everyone involved is able and willing to listen to God's still small voice?
• What about at the parish level?  How do you think decisions get made there?
• How can you contribute to that process?
• How would that make the outcomes better?
  

• All the nations
• The Good News has spread throughout the world.  But along the way, challenges regarding how that Good News is expressed, preached, celebrated, and appropriated to different peoples, different lands, different cultures have come up.
• How can we be more welcoming to those who come from different cultures?
• How do we do that without compromising the core of our lived message?
• Is that inculturation even necessary?
  

• Let your light shine
• Jesus is the light of the world.
• What does it really mean that Jesus is the Light?
• When we talk about the darkness of sin, why is it dark, impenetrable?
• How are we called to be that light in our part of the world?
• How have you learned to be more of a light lately?
  

• Hanging on, or clinging?
• Once Jesus resurrected, got His disciples suitably revved up, it was time for Him to go.  I have to imagine that the disciples were in a near panic at that thought.  So much had changed in their lives in the course of following this Jesus, and now, just when they thought that they had seen everything, he's telling them that He's leaving.
• What are some good things that you had to leave behind in your life?
• How did you come to know that it was time to move on?
• How did you mourn that loss in your life?
• How do you know whether you are clinging to someone, something, some way of doing things just because that is comfortable, versus hanging onto what's truly eternal and transcendent?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Is God truly the Lord of my decision-making?
• Where might God be inviting me into greater openness to others?
• Where might God want me to publish something of His life in me to someone else?
• Where might God be calling me to shed something that was once important?
  

Shalom!

5th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the 5th Sunday of Easter:

1. Acts 14: 21-27
2. Psalms 145: 8-9, 10-11, 12-13
3. Revelation 21: 1-5a
4. John 13: 31-33a, 34-35

• Getting it done
• I'm always fascinated by the accounts of the early Church.  I try to imagine what it must have been like back then.  One thing that I'm always struck by is how the early Church leaders emerged, were trained, and then sent on their way.
• What do you look for in a good leader?
• How do you think that we can/should develop such pastoral skills among us?
• Do you ever get to be too old to lead?
• How do we find such folks in the first place?
  

• God of all
• The psalmists have a world view that includes all of creation in the kingdom of God.  Every rock, tree, gazelle and rainstorm are all His, and each in its way glorifies Him.
• If that's the case, how ought we to treat the world around us?
• How ought we to treat each other?
• How ought we to treat ourselves?
  

• All things new
• Our God makes all things new, rather than all new things.  Often, we wonder why would God not just start with a clean slate.
• Have you ever been in a failed relationship?
• Did you just walk away, or did you try to repair, heal, transform that hurt?
• Why did you work so hard?
• Why do you think God has worked so hard on redeeming us, both corporately and individually?
• Do you think God shares your grief?
  

• Giving consolation, being consolation
•  Consolation is anything that draws (rather than pushes I might add) us towards God.  That could be a gorgeous spring morning bursting with life and pregnant with glory, the fond touch of a loved one just when you need it the most, or even a superb pastrami on rye if you are properly grateful for it.
• Who are some of those who are a consolation for you, in your life?
• How have they come to mean so much to you over the years?
• Did you ever think that they would be that important to you?
• What do you do to foster and nourish that relationship?
• What do you wish you were doing?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be inviting me to be more welcoming?
• Where might God be inviting me into greater openness to others?
• Where might God have joy unexpected waiting for me where I least expect it?
• Where might God be calling me to deeper awareness of my place in the world?
  

 Building the Kingdom In Patience

Her name is Ezri.

She is a female black Labrador Retriever.

All of about fourteen pounds.

And very sure of what she wants, when she wants it.

 

Mary & I have raised puppies just like Ezri for over 20 years.

Every one of them with different personalities, foibles and quirks.

And a small handful of them have gone on to serve.

Furry ambassadors from our home to some other home.

 

They will never know of the countless trips to the back yard to relieve,

The time spent learning how to teach amazing things to that animal,

The times when we have had to take a deep breath in frustration,

And let it out in a laugh at the dog and ourselves.

 

The Kingdom of heaven is built of the little things.

What goes largely unnoticed in this world.

But has the power to transform the giver of such love,

And provide companionship and consolation to the receiver.

 

Each of us has our own puppies to care for and give away.

Sometimes, we just don't see them in that light.

But generous hearts send forth the love of God regardless,

And so are blessed in the giving.

Shalom!

4th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the 4th Sunday of Easter:

1. Acts 13: 14, 43-52
2. Psalms 100: 1-2, 3, 5
3. Revelation 7: 9, 14b-17
4. John 10: 27-30

• Filled with joy
• The joy of the Gospel is not meant to be something that is exclusive to an elite few in God's service, but to all of us.  Trouble is, where do you find that joy?
• What is something that has given you joy in your walk with God that surprised you?
• How did you come to find joy in that person/ministry/work?
• What had to change within you before you were able to find that joy?
  

• God of all, even you, even me
• It seems as though there is a great deal of talk about inclusivity these days.  Makes you wonder how well that is aligned with the love of God for all of us, and just how we are to live in such all inclusive love.
• Who are some individuals, groups, peoples that you feel that you have little in common with?
• How are they different from you?
• How much do you think that matters in God's eyes?
• How can you cultivate the same view/attitude toward them that God has?
  

• Wiping away the tears
• Just making the pain go away might be what we think we want.  But is that really best?  Do we want to really forget all that contributed to that pain?  I still miss my father at unexpected times.  Do I want to stop missing him?  If not simple numbing of the pain, what do I really want instead?
• Think of a time of loss in your life.
• Do you think that you have been healed of that loss?
• What did that healing actually mean for you?
• Is it still going on?
• Do you think that this healing will ever be truly over?
• How much of that healing do you expect to take to heaven with you.
  

• I am known
• It is sometimes hard for us as humans to know why we respond/react the way that we do.  Sometimes it takes hard work to get to the root of why certain things affect us they way that they do.  Sometimes that process takes a really good friend.
• Has Jesus ever helped you to get to know yourself better?
• Have you ever thought to ask?
• Has He used other people in your life to help you discover yourself?
• How do you think that self-discovery could be better/deeper in the future?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be inviting me to be more welcoming?
• Where might God be inviting me into greater openness to others?
• Where might God have joy unexpected waiting for me where I least expect it?
• Where might God be calling me to deeper awareness of my place in the world?
  

 

Shalom!

3rd Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the 3rd Sunday of Easter:

1. Acts 5: 27-32
2. Psalms 30: 2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
3. Revelation 5: 11-14
4. John 21: 1-19

• I'm not worthy
• The challenge in following Jesus is that He calls each of us in different ways.  We are all called to bring about the Kingdom on earth, but just what our proper contribution to make that kingdom happen differs.
• How does it make you feel when you see someone preaching at a street corner?
• Do you think that sort of evangelization is truly effective?
• What sort of evangelization is effective?
• Do you think that all of us are called to be evangelists?
• How will you ever know if you're doing a good job?
  

• Dancing for Jesus
• Sometimes, when God intervenes, it's not so much to change the circumstances themselves, but to change our attitude toward those circumstances.
• Have you ever been transformed such that you found joy in something that had previously filled you with anger, anguish, or despair?
• How did that transformation/resurrection happen?
• How did that change you?
  

• Finding time to worship
• Much of what we experience on this earth is meant to prepare us for our eternal destiny.  Worship is one of them.
• Would you like more time for worship?
• How much is enough?
• How much is too much?
• What does your worship time do for/to you?
• Is it better alone or with other people?
  

• Follow me
• Renewal of wedding vows can be a meaningful occasion for a couple to reflect on their relationship to each other, give thanks for the time that they have had together, and resolve to continue to deepen and enrich that living relationship.  It's not a bad idea to do the same with Jesus.
• Have you ever been in a "dry" spell in your faith walk, a time when your relationship with Jesus seemed all but dead?
• What do you think caused that?
• What did you do about that season in your life?
• What finally brought you out of that "dry spell"?
• Do you think that you're a better person for experiencing that?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be inviting me to be more welcoming?
• Where might God be inviting me into greater hope?
• Does God have my worship, or someone else.
• Can I rededicate myself to God in any measurable way today?
  

Burning

is my heart within me watching those coals on the beach.

Their flames dancing before my eyes with the same warmth -

That same warmth that I see in the eyes of my Master.

 

Yes, I backed down,

Yes, I turned away from Him,

Yes, I let my fear become certainty.

 

Yet, here He is, gazing intently into my eyes.

Seeing everything in me,

Knowing everything about me.

 

Yet still loving

Affirming,

Taking radiant joy in me.

 

He offers no guarantees of safety, security, nor shelter.

Just a life full of meaning, heart-felt wonder, and a home for all eternity -

Beginning here, now.

When first I met Him

I set aside my nets and my boat

Because they had become too small for me in that moment.

 

Today, today I set aside my shame, my fear, my pride.

Knowing that they too have become too small for me.

Knowing that Jesus offers me freedom.

 

If I will just accept it.

 

Shalom!

2nd Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the 2nd Sunday of Easter:

1. Acts 5: 12-16
2. Psalms 118: 2-4, 13-15, 22-24
3. Revelation 1: 9-11a, 12-13, 17-19
4. John 20: 19-31

• Doing the work of Jesus
• My nephew once sported a T-shirt with the image of a bearded man, in a long flowing robe, hang gliding, with the caption "what wouldn't Jesus do?"  You have to wonder how those early disciples were able to decide how to go about being Jesus' Presence in their world with Him no longer there to give them advice.
• How have you been inspired by Jesus in your life?
• How have other people, perhaps closer to home, inspired you to live differently, maybe more generously, or more boldly?
• What do you think it really means to imitate Christ?
  

• Opening up to joy
• Imagine yourself suffused with a joy that is unquenchable, that triumphs over whatever you experience, not by tamping down those hurts, but by transforming them into avenues for grace.
• What gives you the most joy in your life?
• What is it about that which makes your heart soar?
• How has that joy changed you through the years?
  

• Sharing your distress
• Distress, stress, trauma, tragedy, call it what you will, all of these can isolate us from those closest to us.  We can feel cut off from our loved ones because our pain puts us into a strange, unexplored twilight that is all but unreachable.
• How have you found it possible to reach out to others in great pain?
• How did you learn that?
• Why do you think it makes a difference how you reach out to, touch those in need?
• How has that touch changed you?
  

• Afraid to hope
• I took Thomas as my confirmation name for two reasons, it was my father's first name, and I always felt that Thomas at least ought to get credit for being honest.  Were I in his shoes, I would be afraid to hope because hopes can be dashed.  Personally, I think that the greatest sign in this week's Gospel reading is Jesus' love and mercy toward Thomas.
• Imagine that you're in that locked room with the rest of the disciples (and yes ladies, I believe there were women there, so don't let that slow you down) and Jesus suddenly is there with you.
• He turns and gazes at you.  Suddenly, you feel as though the room is empty except for you and Jesus.
• You clasp His hands, feel the cruel nail marks, the warmth of His flesh, the strength of His hands in yours.  You suddenly know that He never really left you, and that He never will leave you.
• What expression is on the face of Jesus as you gaze at Him?
  
• What is it that Jesus has to say to you today?
• How do you respond?
• Happy Easter!

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be inviting me to bring hope to another?
• Where might God be inviting me into greater hope?
• How is God inviting me to be closer to Jesus today?
• Where might God be inviting me into a miracle? 
  

Warm

is the flesh I clasp in my calloused hands.

Warm the glance, the gaze, the caress of His eyes upon me.

Warm my heart as I gaze back and find my courage in His eyes.

Find my salvation at the shores of eternity in His flesh embracing mine.

 

My heart knows what my mind could scarce believe:

I am loved, I am accepted, I am called -

Just as I am, right here, right now.

And that's all that I really need to know.

 

I am resurrected  out of the tomb of my own despair.

Given power over the chains of my own fears.

Filled with a joy based in Jesus and Him alone.

Knowing that all I need to know is the step right before me.

 

Jesus sees my face light up.

He throws back his head and laughs with me.

And I know that He is in me and I in Him.

And that I never want to leave His side.

 

Hallelujah!

 

Shalom!