Weekly Readings Reflections: 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

It can be hard to explain your actions to others, particularly when they think that they are looking out for your best interests when they try to talk you out of something that you're sure came to you from God.
When have you doubted that something/someone/some commitment on your part came from God?
What did you do?
Were you right, did you get God's call garbled in the transmission somehow?
Or did you miss what it was that you were sent there to accomplish?
Or was it just a matter of staying the course so that God could intervene?

Following God can sometimes lead us to places that make our friends, even our family, worry about us.
Have you ever been in a place where your family did not know what to make of you?
How did they convey that to you?
How did your attitude towards them, and theirs towards you change?
What did you pray for during that time? Was it strength, courage, wisdom, perseverance, ... ?
How did God answer you?
Is that struggle still going on?

When you think about the phrase "freedom from sin", what does that conjure up for you?
Is enslavement to sin confined to addictions, be it substance abuse, abusive behavior, using your work as a refuge from unwanted stress, ...?
Does freedom from sin mean freedom from fear of all sorts? Should we not fear at least some things in this life, lest we become foolhardy?
Or does freedom from sin mean that you somehow gain the ability to see yourself from God's perspective, get some objectivity in your life?
How does Jesus figure into such freedoms for you?

Youth Day at CCD Congress is an inspiring event. Seeing all those young Catholics gathered together in one place affirming each other in their faith is amazing. But I often wonder how those same young people do when they find themselves separated from all of that support?
Are there times, places, in the company of some people when it's hard to really celebrate your faith?
Does that necessarily mean that you don't belong there, or that you need to convince them that you know the secret to true happiness, or that you should keep a lower profile?
How would you define evangelist?
Are we all called to evangelize in some way or another?
How do we find the way to evangelize that God is calling us to?
How can we help others find their inner evangelist?

On My Own?

Lost and alone are two desperate companions.

You'll find them in each other's company on a regular basis.

Lost knows that they are far from home.

But has no idea of where to go from here.

Sometimes, lost gets so lost they lose track of where they were headed.

Then, they truly are lost.

Alone feels abandoned, left to their own devices.
No one cares, no one sees, no one listens.

Trying to figure that out, alone soon decides -

That they don't deserve a companion, that no one wants to walk with them.

Jesus comes to tell us that both lost and alone are liars.

We, as His children, are never lost, never alone.

Jesus knows the way to His Father. Jesus is the way.

Jesus will never leave us alone, no matter what.

Sometimes, when I pray, I imagine Him sitting facing me

With my hands in His hands, waiting for me to speak.

He never tires of hearing from me -

Even when I tire sometimes of hearing myself.

And He always knows when it's time to get up -

And get going on whatever is before me.

I can always count on His perfect timing.

Moving gracefully from contemplation to action.

And just as gracefully from action to contemplation.

Unlike lost and alone, action and contemplation never let me down.

They don't tell me lies.

They always bring me back to Him.

Thank you Jesus for never leaving my side.

Never leaving my hands empty.

Shalom!

Weekly Readings Reflections