Feast of the Holy Family Sunday

Our readings for the Feast of the Holy Family Sunday are:

1. Genesis 15: 1-6; 21: 1-3
2. Psalms 105: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9
3. Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19
4. Luke 1: 26-38

• Shaped by belief
• What are some intangible things that you believe in that make your life richer?
• How did you come to believe those things?  Because you needed to believe them, because you wanted to believe, because everyone around you believed, because you saw what that belief did for and to others?
• Have you shared any of those beliefs with others?
• Why or why not?

• Remember me
• Loneliness comes in many flavors, and comes for many reasons.
• What are some of the ways that you are sometimes lonely?
• Do you think that God is there with you in those times?
• Does that make a difference?
• Do you think that Jesus ever felt lonely?
• Do you think that you can companion Jesus in His loneliness?

• Strength from the family
• Every once in awhile I'd do something and my father would say "and here I used to wonder why male alligators eat their young."  I guess that was meant to inspire me not to envy alligators.
• Through the years, how has your family been a source of strength?
• How has your family been a source of grief for you?
• Do you think it's possible to get one without the other?

• Focus focus focus
• It's easy, and perhaps natural, to read about Anna and wonder if she found that life of contemplation rewarding, rich, lively.
• Finding peace at home can often be difficult.  No sooner do you get everything "done" and a new crop of needs pop up, almost as though they were waiting for an opportune moment.
• How do you find the time, and space, to get perspective on your life?
• What in your crazy life are you most thankful for?
• What things in your life would you love to do without?
• Do you think that it's possible for you to make your life simpler this Christmas season?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. When was the last time that I gave voice to what matters most to me?
2. Who am I reaching out to this week in their loneliness?
3. How am I bringing strength and joy to my family?
4. What am I thankful for in my day to day life?

Shalom!

4th Sunday in Advent

Our readings for the 4th Sunday of Advent are:

1. II Samuel 7: 1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
2. Psalms 89: 2-3, 4-5, 27, 29
3. Romans 16: 25-27
4. Luke 1: 26-38

• Your legacy
• When I was in my early 20s, and very impressed with myself, I stumbled upon my father at home, sitting still, his shoulders slumped, his head down.  I asked him what was the matter, and he said "I'm not leaving you and your sister much of a legacy."  To this day I really don't know what he had in mind as an adequate legacy, but his was a concern that many of us have.
• What sort of legacy would you like to leave behind?
• How is that coming along?
• How would you live differently if you believed that, at the final judgement, we will all know everything about each other?

• Counting on God
• A dear friend of yours has suffered tragically.  You tell them God is faithful, and they ask you why you believe that.
• What would you say?
• Would that belief change if you started suffering tragic losses?

• Strength for the journey
• Have you ever found unexpected strength in yourself?
• What called that forth?
• Do you think that strength was there all along and you didn't know it?
• Where do you think our strength comes from?
• Why? 

• Pondering versus amazement
• Richard Rohr draws a profound distinction between pondering and what is often translated into "amazement" in the New Testament.
• Pondering takes the events, the feelings, the consequences of the day's events and actions to prayer, and seeks to find God's perspective on these things.  Pondering searches for the meaning of life.
• Amazement is all about knee-jerk reaction - the sort of response that is all about getting your word(s) in edgewise, meaningful or not.
• What things are going on in your life lately that cause you to ponder?
• How do you know when it's time to stop pondering and weigh in with action?
• We all get pelted with things in our lives, should we ponder all of them?  What if we get behind on our pondering?  What happens to us if we die with unpondered aspects of our lives?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I doing to gain strength in humilty?
2. Why do I believe God's promises?
3. Where does my strength come from?
4. What should I be pondering today?

Finding Mercy In Unexpected Places

Snap decisions are so much easier.

Assess the problem, apply the rules,

Job done, what's next?

Asking for the story behind the events,

Pausing to learn who is having the problem,

Hearing more than you wanted to know.

Is often painful,

Always time-consuming,

And doesn't always lead to a better decision anyway.

I like to think that God ponders His decisions,

Weighing options, considering alternatives,

Balancing an infinity of conflicting objectives.

And if I'm patient with that process

My decisions will not necessarily be any better.

But I might be better for the process of making them.

My students, who struggle with deadlines

Because of a sick relative, 

Too many units, too many hours at work ...

I cannot solve their problems.

But I can let them know that they are not alone,

I can bring mercy to a lonely stressed out child of God.

Just knowing that someone else cares

Is sometimes more valuable than a "solution".

Maybe in so doing, I can be Christmas to someone who needs it most.

Shalom!

3rd Sunday in Advent

Our readings for the Third Sunday of Advent are:

1. Isaiah 61: 1-2a, 10-11
2. Luke 1: 46-48, 49-50, 53-54
3. I Thessalonians 5: 16-24
4. John 1: 6-8, 19-28

• Spirit flying low
• What do you think the anointing of the Spirit does for/to us?
• Does that only come to us via a sacrament, or is every move of the Spirit intrinsically sacramental?
•  How can we be more open to the Spirit's promptings?

• How much mercy do I need?
• How would you define divine mercy?
• Have you ever felt that mercy in your own life?
• How can we become more aware of that mercy?

• A for prophet organization ...
• Who are the prophets among us these days?
• How are their words being tested/vetted?
• What can/should we do to take better advantage of God's message to His people in the here and now?
• How do you know a prophet when you see one? 

• The Messiah is among you
• There is a story about a dying cloister of Jewish monks at: http://www.community4me.com/rabbisgift.html that has always struck me as magical.
• Name some of the ways that Christ is present among us today?
• Which of those is incarnational, that is, they involve Christ coming to us in human form?
• If Christ continues to incarnate among us, how can each of us better fulfill the charism of Joseph, of Mary, of John the Baptist, of Jesus?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I trusting the Spirit for today?
2. How much mercy am I willing to receive?
3. What am I doing to be prophetic in my company.?
4. If I believed the Messiah was in my family, community, parish, what would chang?

Shalom!

2nd Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the Second Sunday of Advent are:

1. Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11
2. Psalms 85: 9-10 11-12, 13-14
3. II Peter : 8-14
4. Mark 1: 1-8

• Where are you?
• The Hebrew people have a cultural memory that spans millennia.  Unlike our Western culture with an attention span measured in terms of the next quarterly report.
• What makes you think that God is with you in all things?  Is it experience, things that others have told you, things you have read ...?
• Has that belief ever been sorely tested?
• Coming out of that time of testing, was your faith made stronger by what you experienced during that time of testing, or afterwards?

• Healing the land
• There is a poignant point in the movie Excalibur where Lancelot realizes that Arthur has found out about the infidelity between Lancelot and Guinevere.  In anguish Lancelot moans "The land is without a king, and the king is without a land" suggesting that the very land is suffering because of recent events.
• Do you think that there is a justice for the land, the earth, the cosmos?
• What role do we have in making that justice happen?
• How does such justice come into our world with Christ?

• Looking forward to ...
• How would you define "the day of the Lord"?
• How can we hasten that day's coming?
• Are we obliged to help others be ready for that day?

Or:

• If things in this life are put here, at our disposal, to teach us of the things of heaven, why is it so easy to get caught up in them, let them become an end in themselves?
• What are "these things"?  Is it just possessions, or does it extend to respect, success, friendships, associations, ...?
• How is it possible to put "these things" into their proper perspective?
• Is there any way to help each other in that work? 

• Between the times
• Sometimes I wonder what it was like in those days to receive John the Baptist's baptism of water, emerge from the Jordan, and then ask the inevitable question "now what?"
• Think of a time in your life when you suddenly saw yourself in a whole new light.
• How did that change your priorities?
• How did that change your actions?
• How did you make that transition, and yet maintain your day to day imperatives like making the mortgage payment, getting the groceries home, ad getting the kids off to school?
• Do you ever wish you were living the monastic life?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Why do I place my trust in God?
2. How am I bringing justice to the world around me?
3. What am I readying myself for?
4. How am I living the prophetic moments in my life?

Shalom!

1st Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the first Sunday of Advent are:

1. Isaiah 63: 16b-17, 19b; 64: 2-7
2. Psalms 80: 2-3, 15-16, 18-19
3. 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9
4. Mark 13: 33-37

• Going to pot in a big way
• The soft clay that a potter starts with has to be worked quickly, because it soon becomes dry and hard.  How flexible are you?
• Do you feel that God ever finishes with us?
• Think of some a time in your life when you had to change.  Was that change called for because you were in a bad place, or just because it was time to move on?
• How can we be more flexible?

• Convincing God
• When you have had something that you prayed for, that really, really mattered to you, how did you pray?
• Do you think that God wants for us to pray for things that are life-giving?
• How are we supposed to learn what those are, for us and others?
• How do we learn to pray with confidence?

• Pray for perserverence
• As we age, our focus changes, hopefully gets sharper, life gets simpler.
• Looking forward to the last few months of your life, however far away those might be, what do you desire most from God?
• Not knowing how you are going to go, how can we prepare now?

• Be alert, the world needs more lerts.
• The world that we live in is awash in a sea of information.  You can follow a limitless number of twitter streams, facebook is everywhere, there are more news feeds than I can count.  How much of that is really necessary for us?
• How do you tell what really matters, and what is just noise?
• How can we shut out the chaff from life without losing touch with those that we seek to serve?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Do I have an attachment to anything?  A person, place, thing, job, ...?
2. What do I know of God's desires for me, for others?
3. How am I building strength for the journey in my life today?
4. How am I simplifying my life?

Shalom!

Christ the King Sunday

Our readings for Christ the King are:

1. Ezekiel 34: 11-12, 15-17
2. Psalms 23: 1-2, 2-3, 5-6
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 20-26, 28
4. Matthew 25: 31-46

• Finding the lost in our midst
• There are many reasons that making peace is hard to do.  One of them is that the estranged one, the stranger, harbors deep resentment and anger over injury that they have suffered at our hands, and it is painful to encounter that hurt.
• Who are those in your circle of acquaintances, or family members who have left their faith?
• If you felt a strong calling to bring them back, where would you start?
• Why do you think it is that we seem so slow to seek out those who have left?
• How could we make our parish, our community more welcoming, a place where they would feel safe, nurtured, and secure?

• Knowing the shepherd's voice
• Multitasking has been honed to a fine art in the workplace, in our personal lives, in our families, or has it?
• Do you feel that your life is pulled in too many directions, or do you feel as though the various facets of your days, who you are, all contribute towards a central goal?
• In an ideal world, how would you go about getting better "focus" in your life?

• The ultimate sovereign
• Our God is the king of kings, but he has a funny way of showing it.  No pomp, no circumstance, no loud blaring of trumpets attend His arrival.
• How would you define true humility?
• Why do you think that humility is so important to God and His work here on earth?
• How might we be more humble in our dealings with our community, our families?
• If we are humble, do you think that will "infect" the world around us?

• In the end, all that matters is what you gave away
• Who are some of the truly generous people that you have known?
• What were some of their strongest characteristics?
• How do you suppose that they were able to give so generously and not burn out?
• As seasons of our lives come and go, how do we tell when it is time to set aside one sort of giving, to retire from that work, and pick up another?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Would anyone describe me as a peacemaker?
2. How is God bringing focus to my life today?
3. Am I more humble than I was a year ago?
4. Am I going to have given it all away by the time I die, or will there be "loose ends"?

Shalom!

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Proverbs 31: 10-13, 19-20
2. Psalms 128: 1-2, 3, 4-5
3. 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-6
4. Matthew 25: 14-30

• Giving generously
• Who are some of the generous people in your life?
• What of themselves do they give that impresses you?
• Does it matter more that we give generously or effectively?
• What do you think makes a person a cheerful giver?

• Eating the fruit of your labors
• We all feel that life should be fair, that hard work should pay off, that the investments that we make in life should have predictable results.
• Has that worked out in your life?
• What does that tell you about God's work in your life?
• Does it tell you anything about justice?

• Being ready
• There's a story that W. C. Fields was near death, confined to his bed, when an old friend came to visit and unaccountably found Mr. Fields reading his Bible.  The friend asked incredulously "what on earth are you doing?".  Mr. Fields replied "cramming for finals."
• What's wrong with that approach to life?
• Do you think that it's possible to be too ready for eternity?
• Is there a balance that needs to be struck between the day to day and the eternal?
• If so, how do you find it?

• Day of reaconing
• We are a people of grace, so salvation for us is at Christ's initiative, not ours.
• And yet, we know that our lives will be somehow weighed against what God had intended for us.  How do you think that you will come out?
• Do you think that we get any sort of progress report along the way?
• How do we tell if/when we are on the right track in the meanwhile?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Who am I giving my life to?  Who am I giving my life for?
2. What expectations do I have of God?
3. What sort of eternity am I readying myself for?
4. How am I getting the right perspective in life?

Finding your genius

I once worked with a guy, his name was Jeff.

He was pretty quiet, never beat his own drum.

Yet when I had a particularly challenging project,

I'd do what I could to get Jeff on it

Because Jeff always seemed to make things go smoother.

I never really figured him out, try as I might.

I figured if I could somehow teach others his approach,

Soon the world would be a better place for it.

Wherever Jeff went, people got along better,

What needed to be done somehow got done.

And it wasn't just Jeff's direct work at all.

Somehow, he inspired others to lend a hand

Give support, help each other out

Always at just the right time and place.

He was a genuine force multiplier.

I think about him often when I see folks

Talking about the skills they want to acquire,

What they want to do in life to make it rich

Thinking that all they have to do is get 

The right certificate, the right degree.

Where I would say to them, learn from Jeff.

When you get up in the morning, ask yourself

Where you can help the most, 

Where you can lend a hand

Where a quiet boost will do wonders.

If only we lived in a world that valued such.

I think that the Jeffs in the world would come forth

And teach the rest of us how to help each other more

And look for our own glory less.

Jeff is a genius, just not the obvious kind.

Shalom!