14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Isaiah 66: 10-14c
   
2. Psalms 66: 1-3, 4-5, 6-7,16, 20
   
3. Galatians 6: 14-18
   
4. Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20
   

• God with us
  
• To the Jews, the Temple, and by extension Jerusalem itself were both sign and symbol of God's presence among them, that God had not abandoned them.  Fear of being abandoned runs through many of us I suspect.  Fear of being abandoned by God Himself is deeply terrifying.
• What evidence do you have that God is in, a part of, the very fabric of your life?
• If you were Job, and all of those things were to somehow be stripped from you, would you still believe that God was with you?
• If you firmly believe that God will never abandon nor forsake you, how has that changed your life?
• How should it?
  

• The kindness of God
  
• You hardly ever hear someone described as "kind".  Seems like sort of a wimpy virtue.  Courageous, stalwart, even mighty all sound like better virtues.  In the psalms, God is often praised for being kind and merciful.
• Why do you think that those ancient Israelites were so impressed that their God is kind and merciful?
• Are you impressed that our God is kind and merciful?
• How has He shown kindness and mercy to you?
• Where have you shown the same to others?
  

• All things new
  
• We are told that we are a new creation.  Last I looked, I still see the same tired, baggy face looking back at me in the mirror.
• Try to imagine yourself without Jesus.  Maybe you'd still be married, probably to someone else, you'd still be working, maybe even the same job, so what would be different?
• Thinking about it from that vantage point, are you glad that you are where you are?
• Why?
  

• Leaving it behind
  
• It's easy to miss the forest for the trees in life.  Between getting the oil changed on the family car, making the mortgage payment, getting to work on time, making the soccer game that promises to be the height of the season can all seem like so much noise in our lives.
• If that's true, if all of these things that take up so much of our time and energy are just in support of something else, what is that something else in your life?
• Suppose you are told that you have a week to live.  You resolve to spend that time reviewing your life to see what sense you can make of how you've spent your time on this planet.  What would you like to be able to say about your life?
• What part/parts of your current existence could you let go of if you thought that would help you focus better on your life mission?
• Or, is it possible that some of these annoying never-ending chores somehow are your mission?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Have I ever abandoned God?
2. Where have I missed an opportunity to show true kindness?
   
3. How am I stepping into God's newness in my life today?
   
4. Where might God be calling me to find Him in unexpected places?
   

Shalom!

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. 1 Kings 19: 16b, 19-21
   
2. Psalms 16: 1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
   
3. Galatians 5: 1, 13-18
   
4. Luke 9: 51-62
   

• Succession plan
  
• Most of us go from week to week without giving much thought to who will pick up the baton when we hang up our spurs, but we ought to.  None of us lives forever, but the Kingdom that we serve will.
• If God called you into something new, and you had to give up a ministry that you are presently in, how long would that transition take?
• Whom do you think would be the ideal person to replace you?
• What can you do to help make sure that they are ready when the time comes?
  

• An inheritance like no other
  
• In ancient Israel, ideal was that the only transference of land was by inheritance.  In a way, where you were from defined you.  So it is with us, but we inherit from God because Jesus has made us God's children.
• Lots of people feel entitled to things, treatment, respect.  What are you entitled to as a child of God?
• How do you know that you are a child of God?
• Do you ever feel abandoned by God?
• How do you explain such feelings when you are a child of God?
  

• Freedom
  
• We value our freedom.  At times willing to die to defend our freedoms.  Just what does freedom entail?
• What are the most important freedoms that you enjoy today?
• What are some freedoms that you wish that you had?  Maybe it is freedom from worry, freedom from work that grinds you down, maybe freedom from a disease, freedom from too many possessions, ...
  
• How would your life be better if you were more free?
• How would your life with Jesus be better if you were more free?
• What are you doing to get there?
  

• Leaving it behind
  
• At some point in our lives, it becomes less about avoiding serious sin and more about choosing the best alternative in favor of other alternative(s) that are good in their own right, but not the best alternative, the one that God is pointing us to.
• What are some good things that you have had to give up, in favor of better things?
• How did you make that decision?
• How did that change your life?
• Do you ever wonder what might have happened if you had decided the other way?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where is God calling me to mentor others?
2. How is God offering me a share in His life that I may not see just now?
   
3. Where can I be more free?
   
4. Is there room in my life for what God wants to offer me next?
   

Shalom!

Corpus Christi

Our readings for Corpus Christi Sunday are:

1. Genesis 14: 18-20
   
2. Psalms 110: 1, 2, 3, 4
   
3. 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26
   
4. Luke 9: 11b-17
   

• Affirmation
  
• Most of us go through life wondering if we "doing it right".  In our modern way, we look for omens of one sort or another, be they approval from our boss, customers, colleagues, friends, family, ... to help us tell whether we are on the right track.  None of us wants to be barking up the wrong tree in life.
• What does it really mean to be "doing the right thing"?
• What do you feel are God's obligations towards you when you do the right thing?  Are you entitled to affirmation of any sort, at the very least a warm feeling?
• What can you conclude when there is no external sign that you're doing the right thing?
• Do you have the faith to go on anyway?
  

• Priests and kings
  
• Jesus has many names - prince of peace, lamb of God, redeemer, ...  Two of those names are priest and king.
• Here in the US, the functions of king are a little hard to relate to.  What does it mean to yo to say that Jesus is King of the Universe?
• What would you say his duties are in that capacity?
  
• Think as broadly as you can.  What does a priest do?
• How is Jesus still fulfilling that role today, in your life?
• Do you have any share in those duties of king and priest?
  

• Proclaiming versus reading
  
• Words can be treacherous,  slippery.  It is high praise to say of someone that they always speak with authenticity, that they are always sincere.  Our actions are even closer to who we are, where we live.  We are a living Gospel.
• If someone were to ask a close family member or close friend of yours "what have you learned about God from watching <your name here> live their life" what would they say?
• What would you want them to say?
• How can you make that happen?
  

• Living abundance
  
• Most of us are trained to live a "life raft" economy.  There are only so many resources to go around on the life raft, and we need to make those last as long as possible because once they are gone, we perish.  God, for his part, operates from a paradigm of abundance.
• We've all heard the phrase "God will provide" used in various circumstances.  What does that mean to you?
• We've also heard the phrase "God helps those who help themselves" which seems much more practical.  What do you think that means?
• Matthew 6: 19-24 presents an other worldly attitude towards our possessions and how to treat them.  Does giving yourself away seem like a sustainable strategy?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Why do I crave affirmation?
2. How is God king and priest in my life, and through me, in the lives of others?
   
3. How can I proclaim the Gospel better in my life?
4. Where is God calling me to greater generosity?
   

Shalom!

Feast of the Holy Trinity

Our readings for Trinity Sunday are:

1. Proverbs 8: 22-31
   
2. Psalms 8: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
   
3. Romans 5: 1-5
   
4. John 16: 12-15

• Enjoying your work, working at your leisure
  
• We all think that we know what work is.  Work is what we do to achieve some other goal, be it housing our family, putting food on the table, getting a house in a neighborhood with a good school district.  Play is something that we do strictly for ourselves, that we enjoy for its own sake.
• Really?  What would life be like if work and play overlapped, even merged in your life?
• What would that do to the sort of "job" that you took for a career?
• How would that color your attitude toward your education?
• Would you ever retire?
• What would it mean to retire?
• Do you think that God's work of creation is over?
• Do you think that God has fun?
  

• Co creators
  
• Southern California is home to some truly stunning scenery.  Half Dome in Yosemite, Death Valley and many other sights have a soaring majesty that take your breath away, fill you with a sense of wonder, and, if you are lucky, usher you into a time of prayer.
• When humans construct a bridge across a bay, is that creating in the same sense that God creates a sunset, plants a volcano, directs the course of a river?
• Should we only build what is beautiful, inspires those who live/work/travel there, or are practical considerations more important?
• What have you created/built lately?
• Is it likely to ever inspire anyone to prayer?
  

• Peace in and with God
  
• Peace seems ever more elusive these days, to the point that we have a hard time even defining it, naming it.
• Can you think of a time lately when you felt utterly at peace?
• What brought that on?  Was it a beautiful sight, the touch of a beloved family member, the sound of a friend's voice, your presence in the Communion procession, ...?
• How long did that peace last?
• How long would you have liked for it to last?
• Is that practical?
• Why?
  

• Full disclosure
  
• If you had an hour a day to ask God anything that you wanted to, what would you ask?  And let's say that God promised to be as honest and forthcoming with you as you could handle at the time.
• What do you think those conversations would be like?
• How faithful would you be in that sacred hour each day?
• What would you do with the words that God shared with you?
• What makes you so sure there would be words in this conversation?
• What would have to happen in your life before you started such a dialog with God?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where is God inviting me to fun?
2. What are God and I creating together today?
   
3. Where can I make more room for peace in my life?
4. Where is my prayer-life taking me?
   

Shalom!

Pentecost Sunday

Our readings for Pentecost Sunday are:

1. Acts 2: 1-11
   
2. Psalms 104: 1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
   
3. Romans 8: 8-17
   
4. John 20: 19-23
   

• Getting over your comfort zone
  
• Language divides, but it also unites.  Hearing others of your ilk speaking in familiar accents of familiar things is a comfort.  But God always has bigger plans than we do.
• Who are some of the people or types of people that make you feel most uncomfortable?
• What is it about them that puts you on edge in their presence?
• In your imagination, can you see Jesus reaching out to such folks, ministering to them in some way, bringing healing and wholeness to them?
• Can you see yourself doing the same?
  

• Renewed by the Spirit
  
• We speak of renewal in many contexts.  A couple can renew their wedding vows, you can renew your driver's license, an institution or community can undergo renewal to find new ways to celebrate their essential charism.
• What in your life craves renewal?
• What would be different for you once that element of your life has been renewed?
• What role would/could God and the Holy Spirit take in such a renewal?
  

• Hanging with Jesus
  
• Jesus must have had some good times with His friends.  But those don't ever rate mention in the Gospels.  The only meals that we read about are contentious affairs in which someone is trying to challenge Him about some of His teachings.  You never hear about Jesus having a good day in the temple aside from when he was 12.  So what was it like being His disciple?
• Why do you think that Jesus' suffering was such a part of His ministry?
• Do you think that He could have saved us without suffering?
• Since He suffered so much in His life, what is the point of us suffering in our lives?
  

• Healing love
  
• The juxtaposition of Jesus showing His wounds with the commissioning of His disciples is phenomenal.  Some of us, perhaps many of us, in Jesus' position would harbor thoughts of revenge against those who had treated Him so badly.  Instead, he sends his disciples out to heal and reconcile.
• Where is interpersonal healing needed in your life, family, community, parish?
• In an ideal world, who would be the one who brings such healing about?
• Is there any way, no matter how small, that you might be an agent to support such healing?
• What's stopping you?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation

1. How can I break free of my comfort zone?
2. Where is God renewing me that I might not have noticed yet?
3. Where is God inviting me to suffer with Jesus?
4. Where can I bring healing?

Shalom and a blessed Easter to you!

7th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the 7th Sunday of Easter are:

1. Acts 7: 55-60
   
2. Psalms 97: 1-2, 6-7, 9
   
3. Revelation 22: 12-14, 16-17, 20
   
4. John 17: 20-26
   

• Consolation in time of need
  
• All of us feel that good things come to those who do good.  In fact, we also believe the opposite, that if bad things are coming your way, you must be doing something wrong.  Yet the Christian martyrs tell us otherwise.
• Has there ever been a time in your life when your work seemed to be an utter failure, yet you knew that God was with you?
• How do you define failure?
• How do you define success?
• Do you think that God ever "sets us up" for failure?
• Is God obliged to share His grand plan with us?
  

• God of great and small
• Our God is not confined to any one place, time, circumstance or people.  It's a relief to know that He's that interested, but a challenge to use to never regard someone or some situation as "beneath us".
• When you see a situation that needs remedying, how do you decide whether to get involved, or just "leave well enough alone"?
• Where does prayer factor into that decision?
• If you had more courage, what would you do with it?
  

• Living Water
  
• Maybe water figures so prominently in Scripture because the Chosen were desert people.  God calls us to the waters of rebirth, the Living Water, baptism.
• In your ongoing celebration of your baptism, what have you given up lately so that you can receive something else from God?  Maybe that death was loss of control, or coming to forgive someone who's wronged you, maybe that new life was finding greater trust, greater peace.
• Was that an event or a process?
• How did you get started on that journey?
• What kept you going?
  

• School of love
  
• Loving others is the most important thing that we can do, yet there is no certificate or degree program in loving.
• Are you better at loving than you used to be?
• How?
• How did that change come about in your life?
• What's next?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation

1. Where is God refining me with adversity?
2. Where is God calling me to use courage that I already have?
3. Where/what/how is God resurrecting me this Easter season?
4. Where can I love more powerfully?

Shalom and a blessed Easter to you!

6th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the 6th Sunday of Easter are:

1. Acts 15: 1-2, 22-29
   
2. Psalms 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8
   
3. Revelation 21: 10-14, 22-23
   
4. John 14: 23-29
   

• How do I love you?
  
• Spiritual direction is boils down to helping the other person see where God is moving in their lives, and how they can participate more fully in what God is already about.  Perhaps this model describes some aspect of a loving response that we should have to each other at all levels within the Church.
• Looking back over the past few years, do you see any patterns to what God is doing in your life, any broad themes.  These might be "teaching me humility", or "teaching me to trust more", or "teaching me to be more generous."
• What can you do to help God help you in that/those area(s)?
• Why is it so hard to see such trends in our lives?
• Do you think that such assessments are an important part of our discipleship?
  

• Speaking your language
  
• When I was a young, Wycliffe Bible Translators were held up as a place where missionary zeal, linguistic technology, and opportunity met.  Rather than the old model of forcing a people to learn a European language so that they could read the Bible, Wycliffe Bible Translators would study the people's native language, and translate the Bible into their language so that they could read God's Word in their native language.
• How well do you think you are really understood and appreciated as an individual within the Church?  That understanding might include your position as a parent, son or daughter to an ailing parent, divorced, unemployed, or any other dimension to your state in life.
• How would you like to hear the Gospel Message preached to your state in life?
• How do you think that might happen?
  

• Who needs the sun when you are here?
  
• Lesson 13 of the Baltimore Catechism is on the sacraments, and it starts off with a definition of sacraments: "An outward sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace."  Joseph Martos calls sacraments "doors to the sacred."  At bottom, every sacrament is brokered by means of some material element, the matter of the sacrament, be it the water of baptism, the oils of Confirmation, bread and wine, ...
• Why do you think that God insists on the sacraments having a material manifestation?
• Why do you think that God insists that sacraments are administered by human hands?  Why not just watch a video, say some words, read a passage?
• Who are the ministers of the marriage sacrament?  Careful here, the answer might surprise you.
• What do the sacraments teach you about the physical world around us?
• What do they teach you about us?
  

• Freedom lies in the memory
  
• I fantasize about photographic memory from time to time.  To be able to effortlessly recall everything I've ever learned, heard, read, it would be glorious I think to myself.  Maybe my memory is a gift, a way to teach me humility.  Jesus promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit would help them to remember.
• Do you think that it would have been better if those first disciples included a reporter, someone who knew how important Jesus' words were, and write them all down verbatim as they came from Jesus' lips?
• How much better would it be today if they had a videographer there to record everything?
• Would we still have disagreements among us today about doctrine, theology, practice?
• Why is that?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation

1. Where is God making bold moves in my life?
2. Where is God calling me to be more understanding of others?
3. How can I be more sacramental in the lives of those around me?
4. When was the last time that I took some time to remember what/how God has been good to me?

Shalom and a blessed Easter to you!