Pentecost

Our readings for Pentecost Sunday are:

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

• One in the Spirit
• Many of you remember Andy Anderson.  He was educated in the Franciscan tradition, and he used to say that "when we spoke of ecumenism, we were thinking of the Jesuits."
• What does unity really mean within Christianity?
• What would be the benefits of achieving such unity?
• How would the Holy Spirit's influence help make that happen?
• What can/should we do to help bring such unity to pass?

• The joy of abundance
• Where do you see God sending out His Spirit in your family, our parish, our Church today?
• Who are some folks that you see actively supporting that work?
• What is their secret, how are they able to do that?
• How can we be more like them?

• Gifts
• Matthew Kelly writes that each of us has a genius.  Genius can be defined as a "great creative or mental ability."
• What's your genius?
• What are you doing to put that genius at the service of others?
• How are you growing your genius?
• How does your genius manifest itself in your life work?

• Or - Is there a genius in the house?
• How successful are we at finding and nurturing the gifts, the genius that we have as a community?
• How can we be better at that?
• Is the fostering of the genius in others, itself a genius?
• Why do you think that so many don't feel challenged in their faith?

• Finding peace
• What are some things that rob us of peace?
• Are any of those mortal, or are they just annoying?
• How important to our walk in faith is inner peace?
• How can we minister peace to one another?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I doing to bring about better understanding within my community?
2. Where is the Spirit of God leading me this week?
3. Where am I stretching my faith?
4. What am I willing to do to find peace?

Sent

For some, the universality of the Latin Mass spoke volumes.
God is present to His faithful in every Church, every Mass.
God has been faithful to His people through every age.
Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Then changes swept through, the sacred words are spoken
In dozens of languages in Los Angeles alone
And some, some feel abandoned, cut adrift from what was sure
And left to somehow pick up what pieces they could find and move on.

The sense of abandonment that comes with change
Can bring confusion, mourning, desperate attempts at preservation
Of what was solid, enduring, comfortable.
But Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

There is a unity that binds us together, far stronger than language.
No matter where you go in this world, or when you look
There are broken hearts, shattered lives, hopelessness stalking the streets
And Jesus is there, beckoning anyone who will follow His lead.

Follow Him to the darkest corners, to the hopeless ones
And be His healing hands, be His body broken for the little ones
That call will always be there, no matter where we go
That call unites us to one another, past, present and future.

That cry for mercy is truly universal.

Shalom!

The Ascension of the Lord

Our readings for Ascension Sunday are:

1. Acts 1: 1-11
2. Psalms 47: 2-3, 6-7, 8-9
3. Ephesians 1: 17-23
4. Matthew 28: 16-20

• Moving on
• Have you ever had a time in which you had to give up one thing for something else?
• How did you discern that the time had come for that transition?
• Did you mourn what you lost in the process?
• What helped you through that process?

• The joy of the Lord
• How would you define true joy?
• Where does it come from?
• Does joy endure, or is it merely the product of present circumstances?
• What brings you joy in your life?

• Revelation
• Is God revealing Himself to us continuously, or is all that done now?
• If God is still engaged in ongoing revelation, who is He revealing Himself to these days?
• How is that revelation coming to us, His people?
• Is God revealing Himself to/through our hearts or our heads?
• Or - Spirit of Wisdom
• Enlightenment can be defined as seeing things in a new way, a truer way.
• Who are some voices of enlightenment in our day?
• Is this enlightenment a matter of returning to a truer view of God, the world, and our place in it, correction to erroneous beliefs that have crept in, or an ongoing unfolding of God's revelation?
• If we are truly following Jesus with all our hearts, are we guaranteed to be free from error in our beliefs?

• Without a doubt
• What causes doubts of our faith?
• Is that necessarily a bad thing?
• Can doubt ultimately improve our relationship to Jesus?
• Are questions necessarily a bad thing?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I clinging to that I need to let go of?
2. Am I willing to take joy in the same things that bring God joy?
3. When was the last time that I sat with Jesus, looking for His take on my day?
4. Am I patient with the questions in my life?

Sent

My doubts are some of the best parts of me.

When I doubt that I really understand God's will in my life,
That's when His presence is most felt,
Encouraging, coaxing, showing mercy
As I take one tentative step after another.

When I doubt my own strength and courage,
He assures me that He stands ready to be the courage I need
That strength is more than the raw ability to move mountains,
But the ability to put feebleness to work when and where it's needed.

When I doubt my own intentions and purity of heart,
He helps me see myself for what I truly am,
My weaknesses, my insights, my failings, my occasional boldness,
And shows me how to offer it all up in His service, whole or not.

When I doubt that I can live the questions any longer,
He shows me that sometimes, a well asked question
Has more power than any full throated answer,
And that sometimes the greatest offering is utter honesty.

I doubt that I'll ever understand this God,
But He assures me that's not really necessary for discipleship.

Shalom!

6th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the sixth Sunday of Easter are:

1. Acts 8: 5-8, 14-17
2. Psalms 66: 1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
3. 1 Peter 3: 15-18
4. John 14: 15-21

• What is and is not a sacrament
• It has been said that a sacrament is "an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace."
• If that is true, when might Christ have instituted the sacrament of Confirmation?
• Is that the only occasion in which God anoints with His Spirit?
• What is the best way to continue to celebrate our Confirmation in our day to day lives?

• Be careful what you ask for
• Think of a time when a person came into your life, and you thought of them as an answer to prayer.
• In the most general sense, what are we really looking for from God when we pray?
• How does God answer those prayers?
• How can you be an answer to someone's prayer?
• How can we be preparing to be that answer to someone's prayers?

• Suffering redeemed
• Just what does it mean to "give your suffering up to Christ".
• How can our suffering possibly benefit Christ?
• How is it that the Mass can be described as an eternal unbloody sacrifice?
• In what sense is that sacrifice still being offered?
• How can we participate in that offering?
• Or - Following Jesus
• What are some things in your life that have had to be put to death/lost as you drew closer to God?
• When you faced that loss, was it abrupt and harsh, or gentle and merciful?
• How do you know that it is God who is asking you to give these things up, and not just cruel fate, bad luck, or rotten karma?
• Why do you think that God asked you to give that up?

• Without seeing You, we love You
• Moses gave the children of Israel ten commandments, how many did Jesus give us?
• How does our love for Jesus strengthen us in obedience to His commandments?
• How does our obedience strengthen our love for Jesus?
• How are you growing in your love for Jesus?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. A sacramental is some object in this world that points to God.  Has my life been at all sacramental this week?
2. What drives my prayer life, and why?
3. How am I better for having been to Mass this week?
4. How am I getting to know Jesus better?

Belonging

In Death of the Hired Man Robert Frost tells us
"Home is where, when you go there, they have to take you in"

To the one with no home, no kith, no kin who cares enough to take them in
Homelessness slinks along the road ahead of them

Like the stench of leprosy
Cutting them off from the rest of us with an invisible curtain.

Such abandoned and forgotten find a friend in Jesus
So often shunned, ignored, abandoned in His life.

Jesus walks among the orphaned, clothed in mercy, kindness, love
Unafraid of the rejection clinging to them, for He too knows rejection.

Jesus tells us that He will never leave us abandoned, orphaned, alone
If only we follow Him.

Touch the leper, pierce the curtain of hopelessness
Tell the marginalized that they are important, have dignity, are loved.

How very odd that the best way to find ourselves
Is to seek those who are lost, who have lost all hope, lost their true identity.

Shalom!

5th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the fifth Sunday of Easter are:

1. Acts 6: 1-7
2. Psalms 33: 1-2, 4-5, 18-19
3. 1 Peter 2: 4-9
4. John 14: 1-12

• Delegation
• Renewal movements come along from time to time, and often they look to the genesis stories to find the unvarnished meaning of their community, to once again lay claim to their ultimate identity.
• How would you describe the Church to someone who had never heard anything about us?
• How would you explain our local church to that same person?
• What truly sets us apart from the rest?

• Kindness personified
• How would you define kindness?
• Have you ever found it hard to be kind to someone in your life?
• When has God been kind to you in the past?
• What do you think that kindness cost God?

• Claiming your inner priesthood
• Do you feel chosen?
• And what have you been chosen to?
• How does that affect your daily life?
• Does anyone else know that you're chosen?

• Without seeing You, we love You
• When you think of someone in your life who illustrates Jesus, who might that be?
• How does their life show you Jesus?
• What have you learned from them?
• How might you pass that along to someone else?
• How might that relate to apostolic succession?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How is my life serving Christ by serving others?
2. Would anyone describe me as kind?
3. How am I living out God's call in my life this week?
4. What am I passing along to others in my life?

Not in my job description

Somehow, Jesus was never frustrated that things kept popping up in life

That were not on the agenda for the day.

You never see Him tapping His watch and telling His disciples

Telling them it was time to go, time to be to the next appointment

Instead, Jesus always seemed able to surf the chaos, ride the wave

Of events as they came His way, regardless whether they were planned in advance.

Of course, that must have been tough for His advance team.

But they seemed to have learned, eventually, to roll with the punches.

And they learned humility when things didn't turn out the way that they had hoped.

And best of all, they learned what's genuinely important.

Maybe Jesus knew it would all get done eventually,

Maybe He felt that attitude was more crucial than checking boxes on a list.

I only wish I could see His Day Planner.

Shalom!

4th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the fourth Sunday of Easter are:

1. Acts 2: 14a, 36-41
2. Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b-43, 5, 6
3. 1 Peter 2: 20b-25
4. John 10: 1-10

• Corruption
• What do you think is the most attractive aspect about our parish community, your family, your own life?
• Would you say that's because of Jesus?
• Is that attractive aspect enough to make others try to follow Jesus so that they can experience that grace themselves?

• Want vs. want vs. need
• Like most of the English language, the word want has evolved to mean merely a desire, no matter how ill-founded or petty.  It used to mean a poverty.
• Is want all relative?
• How would you define enough in your life?
• What would it take to make you feel secure?
• What are the odds that Jesus feels the same way that you do about security?

• Deep humility
• The Jesuits distinguish three types of humility.  The deepest seeks to set aside anything that is not bringing them closer to Jesus, no matter what the cost.  There is a certain passion that carries this sort of humility, few live this way.
• The hard part is to suffer for Christ, rather than make a martyr of ourselves.  Have you ever seen someone with a martyr complex?
• What is the difference between such a person and a "real martyr"?
• How can we best keep our suffering real?

• Hearing God's voice
• When are some times that God's voice in your life changed your perspective, your actions?
• How did you figure out that it was God?
• What makes it hard for us to hear that voice?
• What can we do to become more attuned to that voice?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What about my life this past week would draw others to Jesus?
2. Am I willing/able to trust Christ for all of my wants?
3. Does my love for Jesus run deep enough to compel me to walk with Him, no matter the cost?
4. Where is God calling me today?

Shalom!

Third Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the third Sunday of Easter are:

1. Acts 2: 14, 22-33
2. Psalms 15: 1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
3. 1 Peter 1: 17-21
4. Luke 24: 13-35

• Dynasty of another sort
• Dynasties have ever been our answer to mortality.  As long as there is an unbroken line of ancestors back to the founder, we feel secure that essential elements of the kingdom, the order, the parish are intact, because of that continuity.
• Do you think that we tend to try to create dynasties today, maybe without literal bloodlines to hold the generations together, but other ways?
• Are all of those dynasties good, or bad?
• How can you tell when a dynasty has outlived its usefulness?

• The path of life seems buried under the debris of life ...
• Think of a time when you were really moving in the Spirit.
• How did that feel at the time?
• How did you get into that state?
• What keeps you from getting into that state, that feeling again?

• Legacy or ball and chain
• What are some of the real assets that you feel have been handed on to you from your parents, earlier generations, your culture, the Church?
• Are those assets best preserved by keeping them just the way that they have always been, without ever changing them?
• What are some of the liabilities, limitations, false goals that you have inherited from those same folks?
• How do you tell the assets from the liabilities?

• Transformation
• Jesus didn't change the Scripture, but He did show those early disciples another way of looking at those Scriptures.
• Who are some of the folks doing the same thing today for Scripture and Tradition?
• How do they get the ability and authority to transform our thinking about God's revelation in our lives?
• Who is it that is tasked with testing and certifying such folks?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I willing to be an agent for change in the world around me?
2. How much closer to God do I really want to get?
3. Am I willing to give up what is futile in my life?
4. What are some of the things in my life that prevent me from seeing Jesus?

Trading my sorrows

The brotherhood of grief can be an intimate embrace.
A cozy fellowship of the hopeless can feel so secure -
Secure in the knowledge that we have jointly hit bottom
And we're staying here for the duration.

But to hope, to dream again of transformation
To see new vistas opening up on the other side
Of this present desolation, ah, that takes more than vision
It takes courage, and the ability to be alone.

Far more sensible to give up, settle for the status quo
Succumb to the inevitable,
Than dare to dream of a better day, a resurrected existence
In which God takes our dashed hopes and forges them

Forges the ashes of our previous hopes into something new
That calls forth from us something radically alive
And at the same time transcendently ancient
If only we're willing to let go of what has long been dead.

Lord Jesus, give me, give us, give all of us, eyes, your eyes
To see the possible emerging from the tomb of our fears.
Grant us the courage to hope anew, with strength we never knew we had
And in so doing, let your transformation, your resurrection ignite us.

Shalom!

Divine Mercy Sunday

Our readings for the second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) are:

1. Acts 2: 42-47
2. Psalms 118: 2-4, 13-15, 22-24
3. 1 Peter 1: 3-9
4. John 20: 19-31

• Communal living at its best
• Clearly, the early disciples enjoyed a deep sense of purpose.  If you were to get a moment with one of those first apostles, and asked them what their purpose was, what do you think they would say?
• How would you answer that question?  What is your purpose?
• What do you think has changed about the purpose of the Church at large since those days?
• Is that all good?

• Mercy identified
• Mercy comes to us in the form of forgiveness for our sins.  But that mercy is hard to appreciate, unless you get a good appreciation for what your sin has done to you.
• Where has God healed and restored you in your life?
• What would you be like today had you not experienced that healing?
• What can you do to be that healing presence to others?

• Keeping your eye on the prize
• In the business world, the phrase "keep your eye on the prize" encourages you to focus, don't be distracted by secondary matters, and thus accomplish great things.
• Do you think that your community(ies) have ever lost sight of the truly important and become obsessed with things that are merely there to serve a higher purpose?
• Why is it that we do that?
• Who/what is there to guard us from losing sight of the really important?

• Transformation
• Do you think that the infilling of the Holy Spirit is an event, a transition, a journey, a sacrament, all of the above, ...?
• Do you think that we are filled with the Spirit once and always, more so at sometimes than others, as the situation demands it, when we pray for that Presence, all of the above, ...?
• If you had to identify your anointing, how would you describe it?
• Why should you care?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I generous/generative to the communities to which I belong?
2. Where have I shown mercy in this past week?
3. What am I doing to better discern where God is taking me?
4. Which fears have I shed this last week?

Trading my sorrows

The alchemist's stone was supposed to allow those skilled in such arts
To transform base, common, metals into gold.
Certainly not as impressive as creating something from nothing,
But none the less impressive.

Picture Jesus standing before that angry crowd.
All of them armed with stones, and self righteousness.
Arrayed against Jesus, and one lonely woman caught in adultery.
Ready to purge her from their midst, ensure their purity.

Had I been there, I would have tried to reason with them.
And probably gotten stoned as well in the bargain.
But Jesus, in just a few words,
Turned that anger around, allowed them time for self-examination.

Then, one by one, they dropped their stones, suddenly irrelevant.
Embarrassing almost.
And they walked away, each deep in their own prayer
Leaving the mercy to Jesus.

Jesus never tried to deflect hatred, fear, anger.
Neither did He merely absorb it, deflected it, reflect it back.
But He transformed all of that into a gateway to the sacred,
An opportunity to meet God.

Which may be the truest sacrament of all,
The most amazing alchemy every attempted,
A daring place to stand for His far flung followers.
If only we dare.

Transformation is more than merely a catalog
Of nifty questions and sayings,
One for every occasion.
But a hope, a prayer, an insurrection

To change the world,
All of our attitude and ideas
About what comes our way in life
One heart at a time.

Shalom!