25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Isaiah 55: 6-9
2. Psalms 145: 2-3, 8-9, 17-18
3. Philippians 1: 20c-24, 27a
4. Matthew 20: 1-16a

• God is other
• We're not allowed to make God into our own image.  His priorities, His goals, His dreams do not necessarily align with ours, and that can be a hard reality to embrace.
• Have you ever really, really, wanted something to go a particular way, and wondered how you should pray?
• How did you find the peace to hear what God wanted in that case?
• How did you find the courage to pray for what God desired for you?
• How did that turn out? 

• Our God is near
• Deists believe that God set the universe in motion like a cosmic clock maker, and then just watched it run.  We don't worship that God, but just whom do we worship?
• How close is God to you?  How would you describe that closeness?
• A popular bumper sticker used to read "Does God feel far away?  Guess who moved."  Do you feel that is always the case?
• What does God's intimacy with you really amount to?  What are the benefits of that closeness?
• Do you think that God gets anything from that intimacy? 

• Fruitful labor
• Some labor is easily quantifiable: the annual revenue from your small business, the number of customers that you contacted in a week, your billable hours.  Some is not so easy to measure: the comfort that you were able to give a friend when they needed you, the joy that you imparted to someone when God gave you just the right words for them, the hope that you conveyed along with that casserole that you shared with a friend in need.
• How can you tell whether anything that you do is truly fruitful?
• How can you tell that you're making the best use of your time here on earth?
• How can we work to be as fruitful as possible?
• How can we continue to be fruitful as our minds and bodies gradually (or maybe not so gradually) begin to fail us? 

• The measure of success
• Some folks are just more accomplished.  The wonderfully prolific composers, the academics with multiple college degrees to their names, even the fellow parishioner who seems to be everywhere at once in the parish.  Yet each of us has our own way to holiness charted out for us, and it's our job to find that path and walk it.
• What are some times/places/events that have made you feel really appreciated for your work?
• How did that appreciation help you in that ministry?
• Why do you think that appreciation was expressed in the first place?
• During times when you have not gotten any appreciation for your work, how did that make you feel?
• What can you conclude from that lack of appreciation?
• Do you think that God is at all obliged to thank us?
• Why? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where do I need more peace in my life?
• Where might God be calling me to draw closer to Him?
• Am I where I belong, or am I staying in a place just because its comfortable?
• Where might I be letting a perceived lack of appreciation fill me with anger or resentment?

My Last Days

 

I didn't ask for much from life.

Just that all my days would be characterized by:

Good health

An active lifestyle

Meaningful labor

Great hair.

 

Reality set in a few years later.

My goals became more realistic:

Strength to continue serving God just as I have been.

Courage to face the challenges new and old.

Ministry that builds the community.

An enduring sense of humor about it all.

 

Lately, I'm wondering whether all of that's in the cards for me.

Maybe, maybe I would be happy with:

Strength to serve God however He calls me in the moment.

Perseverance to seek Him with my dying breath.

Grace to be His Presence to others however I'm still able.

A source of hope to those who need it. 

 

Shalom!

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Sirach 27: 30-28: 7
2. Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
3. Romans 14: 7-9
4. Matthew 18: 21-35

• Transforming forgiveness
• On May 13th, 1981, Ali Agca attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II.  The pope forgave his would be assassin, and met with him shortly after the attempt.  It would be heart-warming to be able to say that the Pope's forgiveness was transformative for Agca, but reviews of his life since the attempt are decidedly mixed.
• If forgiving another is no guarantee of making them a better person, what is the point?
• Do you think that forgiving another makes you more or less vulnerable to subsequent injury that they might inflict on you?
• Does it really matter? 

• Kind and merciful
• Mercy and justice would appear to be at odds with each other, yet they are both deeply evident in God.
• Do you think that it is possible to show mercy and justice?
• How would you define justice?
• How would you define mercy?
• Is it possible to show one without the other? 

• What matters in the end
• Day to day living can be so day to day.  Life can feel like a treadmill with no real forward progress, barely keeping your head above water.
• If someone asked you what you are living for, what would you say if you only had a minute?
• What would you say if you had a half hour?
• Given the ultimate goal of your life, how does your work fit into that picture today?
• When was the last time that you asked yourself that question? 

• The freedom of forgiveness
• When someone injures us, we suddenly feel vulnerable.  We ask how such a thing could happen to us at all.  Let alone how it could happen to us at the hands of that person.  If we're at all inclined to neurosis, we might spiral into self-doubt and wonder what we did to somehow deserve that.
• Why do you think that it is so hard to forgive?
• Does our forgiveness of another oblige them to respond in any way?
• Does our forgiveness require that they in any way deserve it?
• When you have asked for forgiveness, how has the asking changed you?
• What would have been your reaction if the other person did not forgive you? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Do I have the courage to forgive?
• How can I bring about more mercy and justice in my immediate circle?
• Am I fulfilling my life calling, my destiny in God?
• How/where might God be calling me to heal with forgiveness?

I Forgive You

 

At my age, memory can be a rather fickle thing.

Hurtful things that I've said and done come back to mind.

Floating to the surface of my memory at the oddest times.

And I don't always know what to do with them.

 

I try to remember who I was back then.

I try to find some reason for that behavior.

Or some deeper lesson from that experience.

Maybe inspiration to do better in the future.

 

I know that I cannot redeem that younger me.

No amount of better behavior will make up for those actions.

But perhaps, by the grace of God

I can still bring about some healing.

 

Now I ask God to forgive me

Just in case I've never asked for that.

Where its possible I strive to make amends.

But the hardest thing is to forgive myself.

 

No excuses, no "boys will be boys"

Just a realization that I've been hurtful, spiteful

Nevermind the real or imagined motivations.

And let that younger me know that he is loved.

 

Eternity knows no bounds of time as we know it.

I like to think that I can reach back to that younger me

Claim my right as a child of the Eternal.

And lay a loving hand on his shoulder.

 

And maybe start some healing at the source.

Maybe learn from him how to show mercy in the hear and now.

To those who need it all around me.

And leave a little more of me in Jesus' loving hands.

 

Shalom!

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Ezekiel 33: 7-9
2. Psalms 95: 1-2, 6-7, 8-9
3. Romans 13: 8-10
4. Matthew 18: 15-20

• The hazards of speaking out
• It's easy to tell ourselves that someone out there will have the courage to speak up about some corruption that has caught our attention.  But if everyone feels that way, nothing gets said, nothing gets done.
• You no doubt can think of a number of things going on around you that are wrong.  If you were told that you could make a big difference in just one of them, which of those wrongs would you seek to right?
• Where would you start in trying to solve that?
• What would be the risks?
• How do you know that you are not the one to address that wrong? 

• Trust
• There are several different dimensions of trust, each of which supports the others.  First there's trust that God's will always offers us opportunities to draw closer to Him.  Then there's trust that drawing closer to God is, ultimately, the best thing that can possibly happen to us.  Finally, there's trust that God will reveal Himself to us in a manner that we can understand and act on.
• How has God revealed Himself to you over the years?
• Would you be open to Him revealing Himself by some very different means than what He's used with you in the past?
• Do you think that God's revelation is harder than it really needs to be?
• What to do you do to actively seek His will for you?
• What do you do to make sure that you're hearing Him rightly?
• How has that worked out for you? 

• Debt of love
•  Maybe you have a heart big enough to love the world, I'm afraid that I fall short of that.
• Who are some folks in your life that you ended up being called to love that you would not have chosen?
• How did you come to realize that?
• How did your generosity change them?
• How did your generosity change you? 

• I'm here for you
• We live in a culture that celebrates rugged individualism, self-reliance, the "self-made man" (at least in conservative circles) is held up as an ideal.  And all of that has its place.  But, like everything else in life, there is such a thing as "too much of a good thing."
• Have you ever felt called to help someone else see their own error, their own sin?
• Has anyone else ever ministered to you in that way?
• Why do you think that sort of loving connection between us is so rare?
• What can/should we do to improve?
• What can we do to safeguard against creating a community of busybodies?  Even if those busybodies have the best intentions in the world? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me into a prophetic episode?
• What/who do I really trust in my life?
• Who might God be calling me to love in a new way?
• Where might God be calling me into a deeper partnership with Him?

Lost

 

One of the mother goats in my herd died yesterday of thirst.

She looked at me with her eyes clouded with dehydration,

Trying to nurse her newborn kid who was too weak to stand.

Meanwhile, nothing but sand and rocks in view in all directions.

 

I tried to rekindle the excitement of  our escape from Egypt.

That magical night when anything seemed possible.

I pictured in my mind when we thought we were trapped -

Trapped between the Red Sea and Pharoh's wrath.

 

I remembered the days that we spent in front of Mt. Horeb.

Listening to God and Moses communing in the distance.

Wondering what was going on, how long it would go on,

And most of all, what our future held for us.

 

None of that was any help as I watched my dying herd.

Knowing that my family was not far behind.

And wondering where I, my tribe, my nation, had gone wrong.

Was it God, or Moses, our own sin?

 

We were promised freedom from slavery.

And a land flowing with milk and honey.

Which turned out to be populated by war-like giants.

And the freedom seems to just be freedom to starve.

 

No clear way forward, no way to return.

And we cannot just stay here to die.

I wonder what purpose God had for bringing us here.

I wonder what He is telling Moses over yonder.

 

I hate to go back into the tent and face my family.

They were counting on me to lead them, 

Show them the way.

And I have nothing to say, nothing to give them.

 

I have to believe that we're still following the same God.

The one who called us out of slavery to worship Him.

The one who gave us Moses to lead us.

The one who journeys with us in the Tabernacle.

 

It's just so hard to slack your thirst with just belief. 

But at least I can tell them that we will not die alone.

That the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob still walks with us.

And that we are still His chosen. 

 

Shalom!

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Jeremiah 20: 7-9
2. Psalms 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
3. Romans 12: 1-2
4. Matthew 16: 21-27

• Savoring the surprises
• Most of us don't like surprises.  We like to feel that a) we're smart enough to see what's coming, and b) we have some small measure of control in our lives.  Too bad.
• What are some of the most delightful surprises that have come along in your life?
• How did one or more of those change you?
• What did you have to go through in order to really see that as a blessing?
• If you had the ability to talk to your younger self from that time, what would you tell them?
• When was the last time that you thanked God for that surprise? 

• Gazing on God
• As Catholics, we benefit from the Presence in the Eucharist that we can gaze upon with our own eyes.  But there are many other times and places where God is Present and awaits our gaze, our intentional concentration on Him and Him alone, even if for just a few minutes.
• Have you ever felt as though you're seeing God's face in the eyes of a loved one?
• Have you ever heard His voice in the laughter of children, or the elderly?
• Has He ever spoken to you in a soft breeze or the sounds of falling water in the woods?
• Have you ever wondered at the fact that God wishes to gaze upon you far more than you desire to gaze on Him?
• When God gazes at you, what facial expression do you think that He's wearing? 

• Offering my body
• It's common for Christians to view our flesh as some sort of burden that we carry around, hoping that it will not get us into too much trouble in this life, knowing that we will shed it in death and be freed from its limitations.  But maybe there's more to it than that.
• Have you ever suffered from "heart ache", a heaviness or pain in your body that just would not go away?
• Did you try to "power through it", or were you able to take some time, sit with that feeling, and let it speak to you?
• What did you discover in that conversation?
• Where was God in that conversation?
• Where was your body in that dialogue? 

• I'm here for you
• Sometimes, there just isn't much that we can do that will "make it all better" for someone else, or even ourselves.  But we can, in one way or another, accompany another person on their journey.
• Think of someone who turned to you in a time of real need.
• What were you able to do for them?  Perhaps you were their extraordinary Eucharistic minister, you brought food to them, washed their car, ...
• Out of all that you did for them, what do you think maybe made the biggest difference in their lives at that time?
• Do you think that Jesus could ever use a companion?
• How would you help? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me into deeper trust?
• How is my prayer life these days?
• Am I willing to learn to listen to my body, my intuition, for the wisdom that it has for me?
• Where might God be calling me into a deeper partnership with Him?

Lost

 

Jesus seems beyond committed to this path of destruction.

Past the point of mere acceptance.

He's somehow found His way to embracing this future.

And then what?  What of us, His followers?

 

I don't think that I'm worthy to follow in His footsteps.

If I'm honest, it's more that I lack the courage.

Leaving behind every last shred of respectability.

Boldly stepping into totally unfamiliar territory.

 

The rest of the disciples don't seem very sure either.

Their furtive looks, the strained expressions that they turn on me.

Tell me that they are waiting for some sign from me -

Some leading to tell them how to respond.

 

As much for my sake as for theirs, and Jesus'

I tried to quietly reason with Him.

Remind him what such shame would bring to Him.

Not to mention all of us in His company.

 

That didn't go so well, and now -

Now I have no plan B, no alternative through this.

I considered leaving Him.

But I can no more leave than I can stay.

 

If I'm to be a leader of this dispirited tribe -

I'm going to need some leading myself.

A light ahead of me to show me the way -

Through this dark night that we're plunged into.

 

All that I can think to do is to stay with Him.

Savor the moments that we still have -

However few they may be.

And count on God to make sense of this madness.

 

Shalom!

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 22: 19-23
2. Psalms 138: 1-2, 2-3, 6, 8
3. Romans 11: 33-36
4. Matthew 16: 13-20

• You're fired!
• In the course of human history, we occasionally see God removing someone from their office to make room for a better person.  Makes you wonder how bad things have to get before He does that.
• If all authority on earth ultimately comes from God, why do you think that we sometimes have truly horrible leaders?
• What is our responsibility as God's children with regards to those leaders?
• How can we help them to be better partners with God?
• Is that possible if the leader in question is not one of God's followers in the first place? 

• Seeking the lowly
• There are many ways for someone to be lowly, disenfranchised, oppressed.  Not all of them are very obvious.
• What are some ways that you can think of that someone can be "lowly"?
• What are some examples of how you have seen God care for such folks?
• How can we tell how God wants us to partner with Him to support and comfort these lowly ones? 

• Who has been His counselor?
• It's fine for God to have infinite wisdom, but it would be nice if He'd share every once in a while.
• Do you ever pray for wisdom?
• How would you define wisdom?
• What sorts of wisdom are you looking for?
• If you got it, what would you do with that wisdom?
• Do you think that you might live better with greater wisdom? 

• Partnership
• I'm often struck by the partnership that God strives for with us, His people.  He calls upon us to do our part, and we are called upon to count on, and trust God to do His part.  Yet just what those separate responsibilities amount to can seem tough to nail down sometimes.
• What do you mean when you say "it's all in the Lord's hands now?"
• How can you tell when you're not letting God do His part?
• How can you tell when you're not doing your part in bringing about the Kingdom?
• How do you tell what your part is in the first place? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me into deeper, better leadership among His people?
• Who are the lowly in my life?
• Where might I need greater wisdom?  Am I willing to ask for that?
• Where might God be calling me into a deeper partnership with Him?

Carrying the Ark

 

We had broken camp just across the Jordan from Jericho.

One of the mightiest cities in all of Canaan.

Joshua told us that we needed to conquer Jericho before we could take possession of the land.

All that I could think was this was a decidedly mixed blessing -

This "gift" of the promised land.

 

Then I heard that my cohort of priests would lead the way.

Bearing the Ark of the Covenant in procession.

Straight into the River Jordan.

So that God could perform a miracle.

And let us cross the Jordan dry shod.

 

There were those among us who remembered the stories.

Of father Moses leading our ancestors across the Red Sea.

But all that I could think of was my new sandals.

And how dipping them in that muddy Jordan would do them no good.

And wondering why God needed us to help Him part the Jordan.

 

But there was little time for such wonderings.

God wanted us to cross at dawn.

And I wondered what use it was to God.

That this whole operation turned on the faith of little old me.

In the face of making a fool of myself in front of all His people.

 

But then, almost before I knew it -

We were at the river's throbbing bosom.

And I saw the waters rolling up in a wall to our right.

And new land opening up in front of us.

The way ahead perfectly clear where there had been none.

 

I come here every few years with my family.

And tell them the old stories again.

Hoping that they will have the courage

To let God take their hand and lead them 

Into the impossible.

 

Shalom!

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Isaiah 56: 1, 6-7
2. Psalms 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8
3. Romans 11: 13-15, 29-32
4. Matthew 15: 21-28

• A house of prayer for all peoples
• Some politicians claim that theirs is a "big tent" organization.  Which means that they are inclusive, welcoming, and non-judgemental.  Are we a "big tent" organization?
• If someone came to you and told you that they thought about becoming Catholic, but felt that there were just "too many rules" for them to abide.  What would you say?
• If someone asked you what were the core beliefs that set us apart from other religions, what would you say?
• If someone came to you and said that they really appreciated the good work that we're doing here in the parish, and they want to make a sizeable donation to support that work, would you have any questions for them? 

•  Let all the nations praise you
• Across the globe, we come from very different cultures.  Yet God desires to be Lord in all of our lives.
• Why do you think that Christianity and Catholicism do not enjoy a wider following in the world today?
• How much of that is on us?
• What can we do within our families, communities, and parishes to be more attractive to others?
• How do we do that without compromising any of the essentials?
• How do we know what those essentials are? 

• Mercy me
• Our God is a God of mercy, and we as His children should be revealing His nature in our lives.
• How would you define mercy?
• What do you think that it costs God to be merciful to us?
• When have you ever been merciful?
• What is the difference between being merciful, versus just letting someone get away with something? 

• Prayer changes things
• Prayer takes a lot of faith.  Ideally, prayer should be a conversation.  Maybe not so much that we seek to wear God down into doing what we want, but that we learn to draw closer to God in the process.
• Have you ever prayed for something, not knowing what the outcome might be?
• How did that turn out for you?
• Are you grateful for the answer that you received?
• What did you learn in that encounter with God?
• Do you think that God has a sense of humor? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be looking to expand my horizons as far as accepting others?
•  How can I be more welcoming?
• What within me prevents me from showing greater mercy?
• Do I really trust God in my life?

Courage to Care

 

You never know where caring for another will take you.

Without warning, the trust you earn by caring opens them up.

They show their heart to you, and suddenly, you know.

 

You know their hurts scarce shared with another.

You know their fears that they have tried to tamp down.

You know that they don't know what's coming next.

 

And neither do you.

 

The decision then becomes whether to step into that need.

Or turn and run, by whatever means possible.

Or worse, pretend interest without meaning it.

 

On the razor's edge of that decision rides the simple question:

Are you a child of mercy, a disciple of the God of Mercy?

Or maybe just a hollow person who looks like a disciple.

 

It hurts to hear that I have no depth to my devotion.

 

But better to confront my shallowness face to face.

And address my fears, prejudices, selfishness

And draw closer to Jesus along the way

 

Than it would be to find comfort in lies. 

Lord, give me the courage to be honest with you -

And myself.

 

There is the beginning of true discipleship. 

 

Shalom!

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. 1 Kings 19: 9a, 11-13a
2. Psalms 85: 9, 10, 11-12, 13-14
3. Romans 9: 1-5
4. Matthew 14: 22-33

• Getting my attention
• I believe that it's common for us to wish that God would just send an e-mail, or perhaps have an oracle of some sort knock at our door when He has something to say, but that doesn't appear to be the way of things.
• Thinking back over the various times and places when God needed to communicate something to you, how did you decide that this was God, and not something/someone else?
• In general, how good do you think you are at listening to what God has to say to you?
• When you try to discern His will, how do you tell if you got it right?
• What are some things that have made it hard to hear His voice in your life? 

•  God's kindness
• We speak of God's great mercy and kindness.  We speak of the contrast between what God could do, versus what He does do.
• How has God been kind to you lately?
• What makes you see that as a kindness?
• If a friend or relative treated you that way, would you see it as kindness?
• How do you strive to reflect that same kindness to others? 

• God's grace
• We sing that God's "grace is enough", but what does that really mean?
• How would you define "grace" in this context?
• When have you seen God's grace active in your life?
• How did you receive/appropriate that grace?
• How did that grace change you? 

• Overboard for Jesus
• I love Peter.  He never does anything by half measures.  I want to have his boldness.  I'd even be willing to accept his lapses if I could have his courage.  I think that he felt exhausted, abandoned, and at his wit's end when he saw Jesus, and Peter needed to be sure it was really Him, because Peter just could not take one more stress that day.
• When is a time that you felt that you had reached the "end of your rope" and just had nothing left, no gas in your tank?
• How did you pray in that circumstance?
• How did God answer you?
• How did you know that it was Him who provided that answer?
• Do you think that you turn to God in such circumstances earlier/more easily now?

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be trying to still some of the noise in my life today?
•  How is God showing me kindness today?
• How is God showing me His grace?
• Do I really trust God in my life?

Cutting Through the Noise

 

The rest of the disciples were panicking behind me.

Tossing anything from the boat to give us just a little more buoyancy.

The ragged sound of buckets of water being flung madly overboard.

The shrieking wind and crashing waves adding their voices.

All made for a deafening chorus.

 

But somehow, when I saw Jesus,

All of that urgency was thrust from center stage in my view.

And He came into sharp focus in the midst of  the chaos.

Showing us that we were not abandoned, not alone.

The other disciples were too busy to notice.  I needed to demonstrate His Presence.

 

That, and I needed to be near Him again.

Even if for just one last time.

I have been borne on the bosom of these waters for my whole life.

I always knew that this sort of fury was possible.

And I thought that I had what it took to ride it out, come safe to shore.

 

But now, in a flash, I realized how wrong I was.

I saw that Jesus beside me was what I needed most.

Not just strength, flash reflexes, even the support of the other disciples.

What I needed was His hand in mine to show me how to use all that.

What I needed was His guidance to show me the way.

 

He was coming toward us, that much I could see.

But suddenly, that wasn't soon enough.

Not personal enough.

I needed Him now, this very instant.

And I, for a moment, was ready to do whatever it took to reach Him.

 

Maybe if I had ran across the water a little faster 

So that I would get to Him before I started to sink.

Maybe if I had done a better job keeping my eyes on Him.

Maybe if I didn't listen to myself screaming that leaving the boat was madness.

All that I know was that I felt so very free in that moment.

 

I'll never look at the sea the same way again.

Sometimes, I stand in the shallows and let the wavelets wash over my feet.

And remember that moment when I could follow Jesus out onto the water.

And I tell myself that today, today I can follow Him yet again.

Into new horizons and wider vistas.  If only I keep my eyes on Him.

 

Shalom!

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 55: 1-3
2. Psalms 145: 8-9, 15-16, 17-18
3. Romans 8: 35, 37-39
4. Matthew 14: 13-21

• Spending on what is not bread
• Life is demanding.  It can seem as though there are so many different calls on our time and attention that our days can seem like a chronic plate spin performance.
• How do you figure out from day to day what is the most important thing(s) to invest yourself in for that day?
• What happens to the rest of the items on your "to do list"?
• How do you know when you get it right? 

•  God's provision for us
• God's answers to prayer can seem difficult to predict at times, leaving us wondering whether He cares, or what/whom He cares about.
• Do you think that God is there to satisfy all of our needs?
• What are some ways in which God has satisfied your needs in your life?
• What role did you play in those times.  What did God ask you to do to make the miracle happen?
• How would you define a "miracle" in the first place?
• Can we always count on God for a miracle? 

• God's faithfulness
• God's love in our lives can be hard to see sometimes.  Stress at the workplace, tragedies in the family, doubts that arise in our hearts, can all make us doubt the love of God in our lives.
• Think of a time when you felt most disconnected from God.
• How did you get there?  What do you think led up to that point in your life?
• How did you pray through that?
• Looking back on it now, do you think that you were alone in that time, that God had left you without His help?
• Do you sometimes wonder why God chooses to show His love for us the ways that He does? 

• You give them something to eat
• Looking at this miracle from the disciple's perspective, they might have been more than a little afraid.  If the food were to run out before they fed everyone, what might happen?  What would/could Jesus do to quell a riot?
• What are some needs that you've stepped up to fill?
• How did you know that was what God was calling you to?
• How did you know that your effort was going to be enough to make a difference in that case?
• How did that turn out in the end?
• Why do you think that God relies on us to participate in His actions? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be trying to teach me better priorities?
•  How is God satisfying my needs in unexpected ways today?
• How is God showing His love in my life today?
• Where can my faith help me to meet a need that moves me?

Smelling Like Fish

 

The crowds were getting restless.

It had been a long, hot day.

I know that Jesus probably wanted some time alone.

But that never came.

 

The stream of sick and possessed had finally tapered off.

The sun was starting to set.

Soon, it would be evening,

And we all needed to find rest.

 

We just wanted what was best for Jesus.

Or, at least we thought that we did.

But Jesus wanted us to meet just one more need.

With next to nothing.

 

When Jesus heals, He taps some spring within -

Something that the rest of us cannot see or touch.

No way to tell how much is left at any given time.

No way to know when he's tapped out.

 

But feeding this crowd, 

It's abundantly clear that we don't have an abundance.

It's almost laughable.

Yet, it's all that we have today.

 

Jesus gave each of us some of the food,

And we distributed it among the assembled crowd.

Their appreciation touched us.

Many of them knew us by name.

 

Soon, I lost track of our limited resources,

And instead saw only the touched hearts,

The grateful faces,

The hands touching in their reception of our humble offering.

 

And then, miraculously, we were done.

And we began to gather the rest of the food for later.

And realized that, somehow, 

All that we had was more than enough.

 

Lord - 

Help me to regard need as an opportunity to serve You.

Give me the courage to give.

Help me to see past uncharted want to Your heart among us. 

 

Shalom!

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. 1 Kings 3: 5, 7-12
2. Psalms 119: 57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 
3. Romans 8: 28-30
4. Matthew 13: 44-46

• Thoughtful prayer
• Salomon was convinced that it was no accident that he was king, but divine providence.  And because of that, he could be confident that God wanted for him to lead well, and so become a blessing to God's people.
• What is a ministry? 
• What do you pray for with respect to the ministry or ministries that you are in?
• How has God answered those prayers through the years?
• How has your prayer in this regard changed through the years?

•  Keeping God's word
• Imagine that you suddenly had enormous wisdom, and you started to share that wisdom with others.
• How do you think that would change your relationships to those around you?
• What other virtues do you think that you would also need if you were going to be effective in that ministry of sharing wisdom with others?
• What form would that sharing take?  Would you tell others what they should be doing instead of what they are doing, would you remind them of things that they already know, would you challenge them to discern on their own ...?
• Now that you've thought about this a little, do you still want that gift of wisdom? 

• Living in God's glory
• We speak of the glory of God, but we don't spend much time thinking about that.  Even more, we don't spend much time thinking about what it would mean to have a share in that glory.
• What do you think we mean when we speak of the "glory of God"?
• What are some of the ways that God has manifest His glory in your life?
• Do you think that it's possible that we might manifest God's glory in our lives. 

• Work/Life balance
• For a long time, I tried to find ways to reliably strike a balance between work and life.  Then I began to realize that life is all about work.  Time at home is invested in DIY projects, helping the kids with their homework, helping the family to create a home that is a nourishing community.  "Work" as in career then becomes a means to support that Life.  Properly viewed, our spirituality is what gives meaning and direction to Life.
• How does your faith impact your "work" life?
• How does your work life impact your faith?
• How do your family life and your faith give meaning to each other?

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be trying to teach me wisdom?
•  Who among my friends and family needs to hear some inspiration/consolation/comfort from me?
• Where might God be inviting me into His glory in my life?
• Where can my faith help me to be a better member of the various communities that I am a part of? 

Veronica's Veil

 

I think about the various participants in Jesus' way of the cross.

I wonder how He regarded them during those encounters.

He was doubtless disappointed in Peter, and prayed for him.

I think that He prayed for Judas as well, knowing him the way He did.

Veronica was one of the few friendly faces in that boiling screaming crowd.

And yet all that she could do was to be there, and offer a gentle touch.

 

I believe that wisdom is more than just words shared.

Wisdom has to include timing.

Wisdom has to consider what the other is really able to receive in the moment.

Wisdom calls for courage and discernment when we touch another.

Wisdom has to work with humility in order to be well received.

Wisdom must be wrapped in patience.

 

God, grant me Your wisdom.

Let me be Your gift to others.

That I might learn from them

What it means to be Your hand in the dark

Your support at their side

Your Presence in their lives.

 

Shalom!

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 12: 13, 16-19
2. Psalms 85: 5-6, 9-10, 15-16
3. Romans 8: 26-27
4. Matthew 13: 1-24-43

• The God of second chances
• Addictions of any sort have a ripple effect.  It's not just the addict who suffers, its all of the people that they love and who love them who suffer betrayal after betrayal as the addict tries over and over again to reform their life.  Any sin that we fall into habitually, in spite of the manifest harm that it does to ourselves and others, can be treated as an addiction.
• Have you ever had an addict in your life?
• How did you cope with that?
• Who/what was the biggest influence in their life towards recovery?
• Is their recovery through?
• How will you know? 

•  God's trust in us?
• When we repent of a sin, there is an expectation that we will not fall into/fall for that temptation the next time.  But what if we do?
• How many times can we fall into the same sin before God concludes that we are not being authentic in our repentance?
• How many times can we fall into the same sine before we stop trusting ourselves?
• What then? 

• Knowing what we ought to pray for
• Sometimes, the biggest challenge is to know what to ask God for.  It's always important to be specific in our prayers.  Otherwise, we won't know whether God answered our prayers or not.  If we're not specific, we'll never know whether God is calling us to pray in a different way.
• Have you ever felt a need so strongly that you were unsure what God wanted to give you?
• How did you pray at that moment?
• Over time, did your prayer change any?
• What difference did that make for you in your heart as your prayer evolved? 

• Spreading the word
• Spreading the Good News an happen even if we are unconscious of it going on in our lives.  Which sounds wonderful until you stop to think of all of the bad messages that you might be broadcasting in your life as well.
• Who are some of the folks who were truly instrumental in sharing the Good News with you?
• Was Good News that something that you could easily put into words at the time, or even now?
•  Was the most important part of that Good News shared with you in words?
• What sort of Good News do you think that you are spreading lately? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• What are my addictions?
•  Is there hope for me to break free of my addictions?
• What might God be calling me to change how I'm praying for something specific??
• What message is my life proclaiming? 

 Lifelong Parable

 

I've taken to finishing each lecture with a simple question: what did we learn today?

Doing that right after a time of sharing and exploring transforms the lesson.

Instead of merely being passive or even indifferent, my students are looking for a nugget or two.

Something that they can share with the class when we're done for the day.

 

Maybe, I should expand that technique and ask similar questions:

What did we learn yesterday?

Last week?

This semester?

 

Even more profound might be the question "what did you think you learned -

But turned out to be only a partial understanding, or even flat wrong?

How did you find that out?

What did you do about that misunderstanding or that partial understanding?

 

In life, the seeds that you sow today in your heart might still be yielding a harvest years from now.

You may not at all be aware of the slow unfolding of wisdom in your heart.

Growing from the fertile soil of many years ago.

Feeding on the words of friends and family now many miles or years away.

 

The way to water those seeds is with gratitude first for those life experiences - good and bad.

At the same time, taking the time to examine the feelings behind your words and actions.

Asking yourself whether you still believe the things that drive you today.

Or whether its finally time to do some mental molting and move on. 

 

Shalom!

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 55: 10-11
2. Psalms 65: 10, 11, 12-13, 14
3. Romans 8: 18-23
4. Matthew 13: 1-23

• Don't count every word, make every word count
• One liability with a good memory is that not all of my memories are good.  Things that I've said run the gamut from well meaning but unfortunate to "what on earth was I thinking!?" to the occasional moments when I hear myself say something and think to myself "I hope someone's taking notes.  That was pretty good."
• When you have said something that you regret later, what do you usually do about that?
• When someone comes to you after a heated exchange and they start with "I didn't mean ..." how do you take that?
• Is there any way to prepare ahead of time to say the right thing, be the right sort of presence, so that we're more likely to heal than hurt others?
• How does "tough love" factor into all of that? 

•  Bearing fruit or going to seed?
• Ours is a culture that thrives on accomplishment.  The more letters that you have on the end of your name the better.  They show that you have a good work ethic, that you're intelligent, that you persevere even when the going gets tough.  But its easy to get caught up in all of that and make those accomplishments the center, rather than how they equip us to serve others.
•  Looking at some of the folks that you've met along the way who have been truly fruitful in their lives, do you see anything that they have in common?
• What might it take to emulate some of those qualities in your own life?

• Members of creation
• Knowing that all creation waits for us to be revealed sort of puts this life into a different context.  I'm hoping that when that happens I'll have a good deal more wisdom.  Failing that, I'd at least like to cure this receding hairline before its too late.
• What comes to your mind when you think on "glory"?
• We likely don't have any trouble thinking about the glory of God, but what of the glory that we'll come into, how hard is that to imagine?
• What can we do now to prepare for that glory? 

• Spreading the word
• In some respects, the Gospel is immutable, the Good News never changes.  In other respects, we are called to be prophetic, speaking God's Word into the present circumstances, people, culture in ways that meet them where they are in the moment.  To do anything less is not really faithful to God's Word in our lives.
• How can we, as a body of believers, be more prophetic to those that God brings us?
• How can we be more prophetic within the various communities that we belong to?
• How can we be more prophetic within our families?
• When I was in RCIA, the goal was to emphasize faith formation versus faith information.  What's the difference?
• Is one more prophetic than the other? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How much time do I spend saying/doing things that don't really matter?
• What am I planting today that will bear good fruit tomorrow?
• What might glory look like in my life even now?
• Where might God be calling me to be more prophetic? 

 Being Receptive

 

Learning a new skill, new concept, new subject is hard.

It requires time, diligence, and patience to form new information pathways.

It's harder yet to look at things through new eyes,

To look at the familiar and see a different picture altogether.

 

Sometimes, that journey to discovery is a long one.

And the best that we can do is to pray for patience.

Patience with God in His working within us.

Most of all, patience with ourselves.

 

I always worry though, that I'll just take so long.

That the opportunities that are right in front of me will pass me by.

And worse, I won't even know that I missed them.

Since God never seems to put an expiration date on revelation.

 

I can only pray that I become more sensitive -

To that gentle tug on my heart in the moment.

Learn when it's time to just stop.

And breathe, and listen.

 

And when it's time simply to trust where the Spirit is guiding.

Do the best that I can with what I have in hand.

And trust God to sort it all out in the end.

And trust His gentle and sometimes unseen work in me.

 

Shalom!

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Zechariah 9: 9-10
2. Psalms 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14
3. Romans 8: 9, 11-13
4. Matthew 11: 25-30

• Let's hear it for humility!
• In Jesus' day, horses were rather rare.  Common folk would rarely see them.  The only ones who owned a horse was  a ranking nobleman or solder.  So they became a symbol of power, wealth, even glory.  By contrast, the humble donkey was much more common, and they provided much more humble services.  Jesus riding in on a donkey was almost a parody of the triumphal entry of a Roman general.
• In some utopian future every ruler will be humble, looking for how to serve their people in peace.  How do we get there?
• Who is it that starts such a process?
• Isn't such a disarmament dangerous, even irresponsible?
• What can we do to bring this kingdom of peace to earth? 

•  Discoursing of God's glory
• Being an introvert as I am, the leading of the Spirit is quite a process.  Spontaneity is not something that I'm especially good at.  But I'm gradually learning that God is present in the moment, and He's the author of the sensitivity that allows us to follow Him in the moment, bringing all that I am to each conversation, no matter where it happens or with whom.
• Can you think of a conversation with someone else that changed your life?  Maybe it was affirmation of something that had been nagging at your subconscious for quite some time, or maybe it was something that you knew, but you just didn't know that you knew.
• How did that revelation "get through" to you?
• How did that word in season change you, and your outlook?
• Have you ever been that word for someone else? 

• Obligation to living in the Spirit
• Each of us has an angry, fearful, furtive creature that wants to play it safe, fortify us off from anything else that might challenge our preconceived notions, disrupt our outlook in life, call into question the narrative that we have woven in our life.  I choose to call that poor creature "the flesh", and I try to learn to coax him out into the light where he can find healing.
• Have you ever been caught by surprise by something that you've done or said that you would have never though possible until it happened?
• How did you find the courage?
• How did that act of bravery work out?
• Does such courage ever get easier? 

• The burden of discipleship
• When Jesus tells us "follow me", it's easy to be of two minds about that.  We want to know where this journey is taking us.  We want to know whether we have what it takes to finish.  As I get older, I'm beginning to ask different questions.  Lately, my questions are "do I trust God to lead me into true joy" and "am I sensitive enough to hear His true voice"?
• What is joy?
• What does joy depend on, what does it take for joy to come into a person's life? 
• What brings you joy in your life?
• Do you think that God put that joy there?
• Do you think that God might call you to something that does not bring you joy?
• Do you think that it's OK for us to seek more of that joy in our lives? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How can I bring more humility into the world around me?
• How is God revealing God's self to me today?
• Where might God be teaching me courage?
• Where might God be calling me to greater joy? 

 Chasing Joy

 

Glum Christians are a liability, and should be "coached".

When others see them, it makes them wonder:

"Does he look so beaten and fatigued because he's a disciple?

If that's the case, please spare me discipleship.  I'll find my own way."

 

I'm willing to bet that many of your morose disciples -

Are not really disciples at all.

Rather, they stumbled into some ministry for bad reasons -

Or they stayed in some ministry for fear of the unknown.

 

Either way, they are fish out of water.

Gasping for the air of God's joy in their gifts.

Because they were too stubborn to realize -

Realize that they were in the wrong place.

 

God's true calling gives you wings.

The work transforms you day by day.

Drawing you closer to Him and His children.

Making you a better and better reflection of His joy.

 

Take the time to celebrate what delights and amazes.

Pause to breath a breathless thank you for what transforms you.

Savor the richness of the moments on wings.

Find what excites your dreams and let God use them to guide you.

 

Greatness is nestled in delight and wonder.

Happiness alights in our hearts on the wings of holiness.

Glory whispers in the gentle breeze of what draws our hearts.

Trust in God who planted His desires and dreams for you in your heart.

 

Shalom!

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. 2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16a
2. Psalms 89: 2-3, 16-17, 18-19
3. Romans 6: 3-4, 8-11
4. Matthew 10: 37-42

• Can something be done for her?
• Opening ourselves up to another person's needs is a risky proposition.  We worry that their deepest need may be more than we're ready, or even able to deliver.  Harder yet, their deepest needs may be unknown even to them.
• Who are some folks in need that you reached out to?
• How did you come to know of their need?
• What did you do to help them?
• How did you know that you could afford to extend that help?
• Did your help turn out to be effective?
• How do you know? 

•  Standing on the promises
• A slogan that I remember from my youth was "are you standing on the promises or just sitting in the premises?" calling the faithful to actively embracing God's promises and walking in His will rather than merely being "in the company" of  the faithful.
• What are some promises of God that you have found to be true for you through the years?
• How have those promises changed your life?
• Are there any promises that you wished God had given you?  Maybe for a long life, prosperity, good health, honor, ...? 

• Dead to sin
• Would that we were all dead to sin, no longer held in its shackles.  Or maybe we already are in that state and just don't know it yet.
• Are there sins in your life that you just cannot seem to shake?
• Maybe behavior patterns that you execute over and over again whenever you get triggered?
• How do you explain such things?
• Do you find that you resist those well-worn sins differently today than you used to?
• Are you making any progress? 

• Receiving a prophet
• Prophets are not confined to the Old Testament.  God calls them, us, to proclaim the truth into a world that often seems more comfortable with lies and deceptions.  True prophets often make others uncomfortable.  God often calls upon His faithful to support His prophets.
• Who are some prophets that have crossed your path?
• Were you able to support them in any way?
• How did that support bless you along the way?
• Was that blessing anything that you might have anticipated?
• Were you able to make a difference?
• Were you able to bring anyone else along with you on that journey? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How is God calling me in the voices of the needy in my life?
• What difference are God's promises making in my life today?
• What am I doing about my familiar sins today?
• Am I willing to receive a prophet when God sends one into my life? 

 Shedding my Comfort Zone

 

The familiar, the secure, the comfortable have served me well all these years.

Serving as protection from the unknown, the unsure, the unsafe.

 

Maybe I knew all along that I would have to step free of them eventually.

Maybe I've been holding back for fear that once I started down that road,

Leaving behind the familiar, that I'd never be able to find my way back.

Maybe, maybe not even wanting to find my way back.

 

I look around at my surroundings and smile as they recall fond memories.

Now, even now, I see them with new eyes as I start to scan new horizons.

 

And I wonder if I've already missed opportunities out of fear.

Missed chances to make a difference because Jesus called toward the unfamiliar.

And I realize that now, now is the only moment that I have.

And moment by moment, each decision is my chance to follow more closely.

 

Jesus, thank you for the prophets that you have brought into my life.

Thank you for their bravery, faithfulness, courage in the face of opposition and even indifference.

 

Help me to find my own way to support those living saints that you send me.

Help me to find the courage to join in their work in my own way.

Help me to find Your prophetic voice within my heart.

That I too might be your voice to those who would never hear you otherwise. 

Shalom!

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Jeremiah 20: 10-13
2. Psalms 69: 8-10, 14, 17, 33-35
3. Romans 5: 12-15
4. Matthew 10: 26-33

• When the going gets rough
• 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? 

•  A stranger to my family
• 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? 

• Free from sin
• 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? 

• Acknowledging God before others
• 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? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How might God give me a course correction in my life?
• What am I afraid of that might block my way towards Jesus?
• How can I be more free in Jesus today?
• Am I proud of my Lord? 

 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!

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Exodus 19: 2-6a
2. Psalms 100: 1-2, 3, 5
3. Romans 5: 6-11
4. Matthew 9: 36-10:8

• A royal people
• Sometimes, it's hard to believe that we are God's "special possession".  Things don't go the way that we want, disappointments arise that we didn't expect, and we begin to wonder where God is in all of that.
• What makes you feel special in God's eyes?
• If you were to describe God to someone, what character traits would you give Him?
• How do you think that God would describe you?
• How does that shape your prayer life? 

•  Thankful hearts
• God's kindness endures forever.  He never tires of showing His kindness and mercy.
• How has God shown kindness to your family, community, parish, nation?
• Do you think that God would ever withhold that kindness?
• What would we have to do before God ceased being kind?
• How likely is that? 

• Second chances
• God is about giving us second, third, fourth, ... chances in life.
• When was a time when you turned God down for something, some call on your life, but you repented later?
• How did you come to see that from His perspective?
• Where did you find the courage to change your mind, your heart?
• How did that turn out in the end?
• Was that what you expected?  

• What troubles you?
• All of us are troubled about many things.  Some are very basic like the occasional student that I have who is food or shelter insecure.  Some are less basic, but no less important like corruption in our government officials, or the growing acts of violence aimed at places of worship.
• Do you think that Jesus is here to minister to us in all of our troubles, or are some of our troubles too small, too insignificant for Him?
• Is it always worthwhile to pray for needs/worries/desires? 
• What are some ways that you have ministered to others in their troubles?
• Do you see that gift that you gave as bringing about the Kingdom of God?
• Who are some who have helped to bring about the Kingdom of God in your life?
• What have you learned from that?

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• What is my image of God?
• What are ways that I might adequately respond to God's kindness to me??
• How can I be more trusting?
• What do I need to believe of God that I'm still struggling with? 

 The Kingdom is at Hand, and Feet too

 

We all had come back to Jesus after He had sent us among God's chosen.

Some of us had mementos of  the journey that we'd been on.

One evening, we all gathered and brought out our memories to share.

 

I was reluctant to bring mine out, but finally Andrew convinced me.

It was a nail from a horseshoe that we had picked up from a farm.

Their only plow horse had gone lame because of a lost shoe.

 

She was a widow with young children, and planting season underway.

No time to let the horse heal before they would need him again.

The rest of the village could not spare their animals either.

 

The family shared what they could with us.

But they knew it was going to be a long, harsh winter.

I've farmed.  I knew the back-breaking toil needed.

 

I asked to see their plow yoke.

The wooden crossbeam was worn and smooth from use.

The leather strapping still in good shape.

 

I hefted the yoke to my shoulders and looked at Andrew.

He just nodded and stepped into the yoke.

The widow was reluctant to let us pull her plow, 

 

But we told her that we were young, and strong.

The soil there proved almost eager for the seed.

Andrew and I worked from dawn to dusk for days on end.

 

But we got her little farm plowed, fixed some things too.

We were too exhausted to talk much at the end of each day.

But when we saw that she was going to be OK for now -

 

She clasped our new roughened  hands, looked us in the eye,

And said "surely God is with us." and sent us on our way.

I hear that she's gotten to be quite a preacher in her village. 

 

Shalom!