Palm Sunday

Our readings for Palm Sunday:

1. Isaiah 50: 4-7
2. Psalms 22: 8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
3. Philippians 2: 6-11
4. Luke 22: 14 - 23: 56

• Seeking a well trained tongue
• A person in great need is often hard to reach.  They can feel isolated, alone, cut off from the rest of humanity by their tragedy.  This can especially happen to those grieving the loss of a loved one.
• Have you ever been confronted by someone whose need was so deep that you had no idea what to say to them?
• What were you able to say/do for them?
• How did you come to that response to their need?
  

• Feeling abandoned
• What is something that God has done for you just lately that you're grateful for?
• Were you seeking that blessing, or did it come as a surprise?
• What were you praying for at that time?
• Why do you think that God answered you the way that He did?
• What does that tell you about God?
• What does that tell you about yourself?
  

• What wondrous love
• Jesus' gift of Himself was no snap decision, no single impulsive act that committed Him to His death.  Rather, His whole life among us was one decision after another, one giving of self after another, one death after another.
• What do you think that it means to imitate Christ?
• What good can come of trying to live a life as Jesus did?  Didn't Jesus live that self-denying life so that we would not have to?
• What has denying yourself ever gotten you?
  

• Hangin' with Jesus
• You have to feel awe that Jesus was able to extend mercy to St. Dismas even in the midst of his own agony, shame, and isolation.
• Have you ever ministered to someone else when you were troubled in one way or another?
• What made you think to look outside yourself, and touch that other person?
• How were you able to get past your own problems in that moment?
• Did that offering of yourself help you in any way?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be inviting me to bring hope to another?
• Am I honest with God in prayer?
• How is God inviting me to be closer to Jesus today?
• Where might God be inviting me into a miracle? 
  

Splinters In My Shoulders

 I hate the Romans.
They find an endless litany of ways to remind you that they are the dominant force on the planet.

Their soldiers can demand that you carry their arms and armor for a mile.

Every transaction is an opportunity for another tax.

Even the money bears the image and likeness of the emperor.

 

The wood that they pressed upon me was stained,

Heavy,

Rough in places, worn smooth in others.

And I wasn't sure which revolted me more: the bloody stains

Or the smooth spots worn down by the spasms of agony of former victims.

 

I wanted nothing to do with it.

But, of course, like all things with the Romans,

What I wanted did not matter.

So they lashed that hateful instrument of torture to my back.

And bid me walk for the pathetic, beaten, mutilated man beside me.

 

I could tell that he was barely hanging on.

Putting one foot in front of the other through sheer act of will.

Meanwhile, the soldiers just wanted to get his execution over and done with,

So that they could get home to their families and get a little rest

For my part, I was already trying to decide how I would describe today to my wife.

 

Even in the midst of His agony, He comforted others.

Telling them to take heart,

No cries for pity parted His lips.

No screams of outrage or mourning tumbled out of his bruised and beaten frame.

His eyes always seeking others, to meet and comfort them.

 

Finally, he looked at me.

And suddenly I joined the crowd of mourners,

Reduced to tears at his cruel fate.

Reduced to groans and sighs in the face of such cruelty.

He held me in the embrace of his eyes and thanked me for my service.

 

I could not leave His side after that.

I knew that I had to stay close to Him as long as possible.

I did not know what would come of that impulse, 

But I knew that I would be forever incomplete if I left His side.

And I have found my best self on that via dolorosa ever since.

Shalom!

5th Sunday of Lent - Cycle A

Our readings for the 5th Sunday of Lent Cycle A are:

1. Ezekiel 37: 12-14
2. Psalms 130: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
3. Romans 8: 8-11
4. John 11: 1-45

• Hope in God
• Faith, Hope, and Love are the three cardinal virtues.  All three of them can be hard to find for various reasons.  Sometimes, hope can seem unrealistic, even delusional.
• What do you hope for as a child of God?
• What is the source of that hope of yours?
• What are some things in your life that strengthen that hope?
• What are some things that threaten your hope?
• What are you doing about that?
  

• Communal redemption
• Each of us is part of a larger whole.  To pretend that we can get right with God without that community that has formed and sustained us is arrogance.  At the same time, to imagine that we will find redemption merely because we belong to a community undergoing redemption is presumptuous.
• Do you see signs of God redeeming our nation, our parish, your family?
• How does that communal redemption strengthen your ongoing redemption?
• How is your ongoing redemption strengthening your community(ies)?
  

• Indwelling
• We believe that the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us at the sacrament of Confirmation, and in that faith, we are soon going to confirm several Elect and Candidates at Easter Vigil.  And every year we confirm a batch of young adults, supposedly into lifelong service to God.  But these confirmed rarely stick around.
• Why do you think so many leave soon after Confirmation?
• Is it a lack of the sacramental preparation that they receive?
• Is it maybe that they don't see a warm welcome into service within the parish?
• Maybe they are still running on "second-hand faith" and they have not really appropriated  this as their faith?

• Lazarus come out!
• It's not clear just who Jesus got to roll away the stone from Lazarus' tomb, but I am going to bet that it was a communal effort.  Maybe a few of the locals had to come up with picks and crowbars.  I would have been thinking to my self that this is going to be a huge waste of time if nothing miraculous comes of it and we just have to put the stone back.
• Why do you think that God calls on us to help make miracles happen?
• What might have happened if the man born blind had asked "why the pool of Siloam?  There are closer pools than that one!"
• Have you ever been a part of a miracle?
• How did that change you?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be inviting me to greater hope?
• How might I be more deeply redemptive for my community?
• What can I do to make my parish more welcoming to the young?
• Where might God be inviting me into a miracle?
  

Shalom!

4th Sunday of Lent - Cycle A

Our readings for the 4th Sunday of Lent Cycle A are:

1. 1 Samuel 16: 1b, 6-7, 10-13a
2. Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 69
3. Ephesians 5: 8-14
4. John 9: 1-41

• Seeing what God sees
• "Don't judge a book by its cover" is a familiar aphorism that never grows old because we so easily fall into that trap.
• Think of someone that you were very mistaken about at some point in your life.
• What was different about how you looked at them in the beginning versus how you eventually came to look at them?
• How did that transformation in your outlook change?
• How did that transformation in your outlook change you?
  

• Finding repose
• I somehow doubt that many of us identify much with sheep.  We like to think of ourselves as a bit more active about making our futures than that.  Perhaps a bit more intelligent too.
•  Think of a time when God met a deep need of yours in some unexpected way.
• Were you able to accept that immediately?
• Were you even looking for His help in the first place?
• What did you go through before you were able to really accept that help?
  

• Exposing the darkness
• St. Oscar Romero of El Salvador was featured the other day in The Little Black Book (a set of devotions for Lent) for fearlessly calling for an end to the violence and oppression going on in El Salvador at the time.  Hopefully, not all of us are called to be so outspoken in the midst of such violent oppression.  That's a very hard life to lead.
• What evil have you seen in your life?
• What did you feel called to do about it?
• Where did you find the courage?
• Would you do it again?
• Was your action successful?
• How do you know?
  

• Reacting or pondering
• I daresay that there is nothing so well fortified as a closed mind.  Thankfully, our God is a God of mercy, and He leads us in small steps, often along seemingly crooked paths, to see Him for who He really is, and who He wants to be in our lives.  That long slow process is often a great opportunity for growth.  And potentially very frustrating.
•  What are some of the transformations that have come along in your life as a disciple?
• Are any of those still ongoing?
• Do you wish that the process were over sooner, that you could get over that "awkward stage"?
• How will you know when it's over?
• Do we ever stop transforming in Jesus?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Whom might God be trying to show me in a new light?
• Where might God be inviting me towards gratitude?
• Is there someone in my life that God is calling me to serve/defend?
• Where might God be calling me to see Him/myself in a brand new way?

Now What?

Life as a beggar is hard.

You never know what will come your way from one day to the next.

Some passers-by pretend not to see you.

Others glance your way and hurry by.

Others casually throw a few coins in your basket and go about their business.

And once in a great while, someone will stop and actually talk to you.

 

Jesus and His disciples were different.

Jesus was not interested in the usual explanations for my condition.

He was in no hurry to be on His way.

He touched me, lavished time on me.

And healed me in a totally unexpected way.

And made me a scandal to my family, friends, and the local leaders.

 

I still miss the centuries-old community that I once knew.

For a long time I ached for my birth family,

The place where I grew up,

Even the patch of roadside that I had come to see as "my own".

But gradually, I realized that Jesus had given me so much more.

And I try to share that with everyone that I meet.

 

Hardly anyone believes that I was once blind.

That I once called the side of the road my home.

And that I found a measure of comfort there.

In the sure knowledge that blind I was born, and blind I would die.

Always subsisting on random acts of generosity -

From complete strangers.

 

Today, I try to tell others how Jesus changed my life.

Not just in giving me these new eyes.

But because He gave me new purpose.

And a new relationship to my creator.

One born of love rather than duty.

One founded in freedom rather than bondage.

 

This new sight still surprises me daily.

The ongoing revelation continuing to this day.

As I try to help others to open their eyes.

And leave behind whatever is blinding them today.

And I wonder where this journey might take me

As I continue to follow Jesus out of today's Egypt into His next promised land.

 

Shalom!

3rd Sunday of Lent - Cycle A

Our readings for the 3rd Sunday of Lent Cycle A are:

1. Exodus 17: 3-7
2. Psalms 95: 1-2, 6-7, 8-9
3. Romans 5: 1-2, 5-8
4. John 4: 5-42

• Honesty with God
• Sometimes, its hard to be honest with God.  We think maybe He doesn't care enough to do anything, or maybe we tell ourselves that we should be able to take care of whatever it is that we're facing.  Or, we tell ourselves that God put this in our lives to make us suffer, to test us, to make us stronger.  Or, we are so scared, angry, ... that we don't know how to pray.
• Have you ever had a hard time bringing something to God in prayer?
• What made it hard for you to talk with Him about that?
• How did you manage to get past that obstacle?
  

• Dealing with doubt
• Even the most devout follower of Jesus has their doubts from time to time.  Sometimes its sudden and dramatic, sometimes the doubts come because we are tired and worn.
• Was there ever a time that you doubted?  Maybe the doubt was that you weren't sure that God cared anymore, or you doubted that God could ever receive you into His bosom again, or you doubted that there was a way to recover from a mistake that you had made.
• Did your faith eventually triumph?
• What did you learn from that "dark night of the soul"?
  

• Feelin' the love
• Accepting the love of God in our lives is essential to living in His kingdom.
  
• When or where do you most feel the love of God?
• Why do you think that time/place was graced for you?
• How are you affected by that graced time/place to this day?
  

• Change in plans
• When I make a plan, I prefer to stick to it.  Changing plans at the last minute feels disruptive, uncertain, even dangerous to me.  But sometimes, that's the best part of the journey.
• Have you ever had a sudden change in plans for your ministry?  You thought you were doing exactly what God had for you, but something else popped up out of nowhere?
• How did that make you feel?
• Why do you think that was such a surprise?
• Do you think God might have just told you that was coming ahead of time?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Do I truly think that God longs to hear from me, no matter what?
• Am I willing to live with my doubts and let them draw me closer to God?
• Am I willing to accept the love of God in my life, no matter how it comes?
• Where might God be calling me to deeper trust?

So Much for the Groceries

The Samaritans could spot us from a mile away.

Glancing sidelong at us,wherever we went.

Wondering who we were, why we were there.

And all that we needed was food for the journey.

 

We had heard stories about these Samaritans as children.

How they had abandoned our ways so many years ago

When we were wrenched from our land by the Assyrians

And led into lonely exile to strange lands and stranger customs.

 

Finally, after a great deal of money-changing, and bargaining,

We had enough to see the group of us through the week.

We congratulated ourselves on getting some real bargains.

And we were ready to go back to Jesus and be on our way.

 

But there He was, deep in conversation with one of the locals.

Clearly they were sharing deeply with each other -

But we knew that Jesus needed to eat, as did the rest of us.

But Jesus would have none of ordinary food.

 

Instead, He told us that His food was to do the will of His Father,

As though that would put meat on his bones and spring in His step.

And I began to wonder whether it would ever be the case for us -

That we would draw nourishment from finding and doing God's well.

 

So often it feels as though we try to do what's reasonable,

Or what anyone else would expect in similar circumstances,

And Jesus has some totally different take on what really matters.

Always amazing, always challenging, always loving.

 

I just wish that I could see that coming before I bought the groceries.

 

Shalom!

2nd Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 7th Sunday of Lent are:

1. Genesis 15: 5-12, 17-18
2. Psalms 27: 1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14
3. Philippians 3: 17- 4: 1
4. Luke 9: 28b-36

• Chosen
• It's hard to imagine what it must have been like for Abram to put his faith in God.  In his day, gods were far more tangible, and tied to a specific country or people.  This God that Abram worshiped is different.  Abram must have felt very much alone.  You wonder what Sarah and her family thought of all of this.
• What are some things that you have had to leave behind in your life as you have followed God?  They might be familiar places, a community, family, a job that you loved, family, ...
• How did you know that it was time to leave them behind?
• Did you feel that God was asking too much of you at the time?
• Would you make the same decision again?
  

• The face of God
• Imagine that you are face to face with God.  He has something very important that He wants to tell you, and He has manifested Himself to you because He wants to make absolutely sure that you get this directly from Him.
• You are ushered into His presence, and He looks deep into your eyes and says to you "I love you, without qualification, without bound, without any merit on your part."
• Silence falls between the two of you as you let that affirming love touch you.
• Finally, God speaks again: "do you love me?"
• Where does that conversation go from there?
  

• Called to hope
• Building is a statement of hope.  Building a community, a family, writing a book, are all aimed at the future, a future made brighter because of sacrifices made today.
• What do you hope for from your life?
• What do you hope is being built/created this very moment in your life?
• Do you have to be around to see that thing come to pass for it to be worthwhile?
• Why do you have this hope?
  

• Sacred Silence
• It's hard sometimes to fall silent before God, let His Presence envelope you, and let your presence tabernacle with Him.  It feels oddly wasteful, as though there must be something more important, more urgent that needs to be done.  Nothing could be further from the truth.
• What in your life has ever been inspired to silence?
• What did you get from that silence?
• Was it worth it?
• Could you have received that blessing any other way?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Do I truly embrace the fact that all that I have is gift?
• Do I really believe in God's unremitting love?
• Am I acting out of hope?
• Where might God be calling me to deeper trust?

Great Exodus

The sacrificial offering lies on the burning sand.

Waiting for me and my God to journey through it.

To emerge at the other side covenanted forever.

 

The blood of their freshly sacrificed corpses gleams.

Catching the last rays of the setting sun.

Reminding me that I, too, will soon be dying.

 

Dying to my old ways, becoming a new man.

Born of God, born of a mutual pledge stronger than death.

Transformed by this convent into a child of God.

 

My eyes travel over this familiar country once again.

Reveling in each well worn curve of hill and valley.

Knowing that I will never see it quite this way again.

 

I wonder what this convent will ask of me in the years ahead.

What journeys lie ahead of me.

In wonder, I realize that I no longer care.

 

All that I ask is that each journey, each step -

Brings me closer to God, closer to His destiny for me.

And I know now that I am ready to set my foot upon this path.

 

Shalom!

1st Sunday of Lent

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

1. Deuteronomy 26: 4-10
2. Psalms 91: 1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
3. Romans 10: 8-13
4. Luke 4: 1-13

• Chosen
• Everything is gift.  Every gift has a purpose.  The hard part is to remember that none of what we have is ours to hold but ours to give away.
•  What are some of the biggest blessings, things that you are most grateful for in your life?
• How did those come into your life?
• What purpose do those things serve in your life?
• How do you remind yourself that they are God's and His alone?
  

• Is anyone there?
• Times of trouble isolate us.  We look about and realize that no one has been through quite what we have seen, and we realize that to an extent, no quantity of words will bridge that gap.
• Think of a time of trouble, doubt, panic even in your life.  If someone told you in that crisis "take heart, God is with you" what would you have said?
• If, instead, your best friend declared to you "come all manner of calamity, I will never leave your side, I am with you through it all.  You will never be alone" what would be your reaction?
• When evil befalls you, what do you count on God's Presence to really amount to?
  

• Living in honor
• It seems that there is no sense of shame these days.  But in Jesus' day, shame was avoided, and honor sought at all cost.  Honor received was worth more than gold.  Trouble is, what God finds honorable is often at odds with the culture that we find ourselves in.
• When is a time that you chose honor in God's eyes, over what "made sense" to those around you?
• What made you do that?
• What were the consequences?
• Would you do that again?
  

• Finding trust
• Waiting for God requires trust.  Perhaps the hardest time to trust is knowing that God will provide for us, but not seeing the how, when, or where.
• Think of a time when you cried out to God in need.  And the answer to your prayer seemed long in coming.
• What made you think that God was going to answer that prayer at all?
• What was your expectation of when God was going to meet your needs?
• Were you tempted to take matters into your own hands?
• How did you know that God had something better in store for you?
• How did you know God's answer when it arrived?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Do I truly embrace the fact that all that I have is gift?
• Do I really appreciate God's presence in my life?
• Does my life honor God?
• Where might God be calling me to deeper trust?

Lenten Prayer

Lord, I thank you for all the gifts that you shower upon me.

Family who remind me of who I am, even when I don't want to hear it.

Friends who call forth the best from me, even when I tire of my best.

Your children in need who remind me that we are all one.

And that generosity to them is my surest pathway to your heart.

 

Teach me to be free.

Free of the snares of never enough.

Never enough recognition.

Never enough security.

Never enough control.

 

Help me to give boldly, without regard for the cost.

That I might learn to be free to be Your generosity

To those that you bring in my path.

That I might learn to know the peace that comes.

Of trusting you what what you have first entrusted me.

Shalom!

8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

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

• The potter's kiln
• Richard Rohr says that we never get in touch with our real self until we have been through great loss and/or suffering.  Part of me hopes that he's wrong.  Part of me hopes that my real self isn't really all that important.
• When have you felt tested by some sort of loss or suffering?
• Did you get better, or bitter?
• Why do you think that that experience affected you that way?
• Would you react any differently to that today?
  

• Bearing fruit in old age
• I have lots of things that I never had as a younger man: a bald spot, wrinkles where I didn't even think that you could wrinkle, more and more joints that click, and the list goes on.  I hope that I can look forward to different sorts of fruits as I venture deeper into my golden years.
• What are some of the fruits that God has brought about in your life?
• How did those come about for you?
• Were you looking for them?
• How are those fruits blessing those around you?
  

• Labor in the Lord
• What are some of the things that you have labored over in your life?
• Looking back on that labor now, was it really worth it?
• Is it worth it because of what you accomplished, or who/what you became along the way?
• How do you know if you are, or have been, laboring in vain?
• Is it enough for our labor to just put food on the table?
  

• Soul friends
• Friends are essential.  They bring out the best in us, sometimes in spite of us.  But finding really good friends can be hard.  Nurturing friendships has to be intentional.  A soul friend is someone who you can share deeply with, and whom you trust implicitly.
• Who is someone in your life that you would term a soul friend?
• What is it about them that helps you on your walk with God?
• Have you ever thanked them for that?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me to embrace loss or suffering in my life?
• Where might God be calling me to bear new/different fruit?
• Is my labor at all fruitful?
• Are all of my relationships really good for me?

Your Inheritance

The old man had died poor. 
He had never held on to much.
Instead, he gave it all away.
Saying "you can't take it with you.
So why bother so much now?"

To the first son, he gave a fishing pole.
"Learn to relax a little each day"
Said the attached card.
"And you'll never go to bed with regrets."

 Disappointed, the son left in disgust. 
For his wealth was vast,
And his worries even larger.

The second received a journal.
"Write what you are grateful for."

But the young man would have none of it.
Because he never had enough.

The third son received a smooth, round, pebble.

Seeing it, he clutched it to his chest and sobbed.

"Dad and I would search the stream banks
For the smoothest stones, the ones tumbled by the currents
Until all of their rough edges had worn off.
Until they had become beautiful in the hands of God
Worn and embraced in a thousand trying times and seasons.

And now here he is,
Showing all of us the beauty of trials, the love found only in turbulence."

Shalom!