The Last Shall Be First

August 18, 2009

Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

By Beth DeCristofaro

But Gideon answered him, “Please, my lord, how can I save Israel? My family is the lowliest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father’s house.” “I shall be with you,” the LORD said to him… (Judges 6:15-16)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. … “For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Matthew 19: 23, 26, 29-30)

Piety

I will listen for the word of God; surely the LORD will proclaim peace to his people, to the faithful, to those who trust in him. Near indeed is salvation for the loyal; prosperity will fill our land. Love and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss. Truth will spring from the earth; justice will look down from heaven. (Psalm 85:9-12)

Study

What is success anyway? Jesus words are pretty ominous to us in the Land of Opportunity. “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” (Matthew 19:27) Peter asks. God does seem interested in the least of us – Gideon, David, Peter, Matthew, the slow-learning Cure of Ars (St. John Vianney), a conscientious objector farmer named Fraz Jagerstatter, a little, wizened, sharp-tongued nun named Theresa.

What are our successes? Where do we place our security? As we look around the globe and even closer to home, it seems that we place our dreams, hopes and identities into rather insecure securities. Land can be taken away – or ravaged by drought. Personal fortunes are precariously balanced on economic conditions or our own health. Families can let us down and our professional skills are never enough all the time. Our cherished dreams might never come to fruition. But for God all things are possible.

Dietrich Bonhoefferer said: “It is grace to know God’s commands. They release us from self-made plans and conflicts. They make our steps certain and our way joyful. God gives his commands in order that we may fulfill them and ‘his commandments are not burdensome’ (1 John 5:3) for him who has found all salvation in Jesus Christ. Jesus has himself been under the law and has fulfilled it in total obedience to the Father. God’s will becomes his joy, his nourishment. So he gives thanks in us for the grace of the law and grants to us joy in its fulfillment.”
(From Psalms: The Prayerbook of the Bible, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Augsburg Fortress Press, 1970, p 31-32. )

Action

Where in my life am I clinging to successes and securities instead of to God’s law and promises? What am I holding onto so tightly that I become my own obstacle to growing in God? Where am I parsimonious rather than joyful and generous in God’s love?

Treasure in Heaven

August 17, 2009

Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Even when the LORD raised up judges to deliver them from the power of their despoilers, they did not listen to their judges, but abandoned themselves to the worship of other gods. They were quick to stray from the way their fathers had taken, and did not follow their example of obedience to the commandments of the LORD. Judges 2:16-17

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Matthew 19:21-22

Piety

O God, in your love you have given each of us gifts and talents to serve the common good. Help us to use them generously and lovingly, for we are you children. Free us from the desire to serve only our own interests, and help us to grown in the spirit of love that makes us sisters and brothers. Amen. (From the People’s Companion to the Breviary Volume II. This is for morning prayer today.)

Study

Although there are other passages in which Jesus enumerates the greatest commandments, today’s encounter with the rich young man gives us a version of those New Testament commandments. Later in Matthew, Jesus lays down the two greatest commandments: He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39

For us to love God with all our heart, with all our soul and with our entire mind, we can not have any distractions pulling us away. Not the fancy car or boat, not the 401K, not the nice jewelry or the bigger house. Not the softball league, the Redskins season tickets, and not the nice prom dress. Without these kinds of possessions, we will get rid of everything that keeps us from God.

A few years ago, when I first met the Catholic poet and activist Rose Berger, she said something about her way of life. She always wanted to be able to open her home to anyone from an old friend to a homeless beggar. To be free for this and not worry about any of her “stuff,” she vowed not to acquire anything that she would be sorry to lose.

We may not be able to emulate that pledge, but it has freed Rose to be able to have no distractions. Once we cut our ties to all of these kinds of attachments, then it is easy to love our neighbor as ourselves. We will never be jealous of their possessions. We will never be jealous of their relationships. We will not be tempted to steal anything because of false desires. Thus freed, nothing will keep us from loving our neighbor as we would like others to love us.

Action

Christianity is not a Sunday exercise. Christianity is a daily challenge. Christianity is a way of life, not just a way of faith.

We may contemplate today’s Gospel and dismiss it as the type of instruction which is only followed in monasteries and convents. However, if we take it to heart, we can start freeing ourselves from the possessions that “hold us so tight.”

Another life style choice Rose Berger elected may be a first step for us. Whenever she buys a book or movie or music, she gives away something else already in her collection. The next time you are browsing the shelves at Borders or the pages of www.Amazon.com, think about what you can cast off when you bring home the latest best-seller. It might take a little longer to get rid of all our possessions this way, but in the end, we will leave them behind one way or another.

Be Filled

August 16, 2009

Twentieth Sunday Ordinary Time

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.

Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding. Proverb 9:5-6

Watch carefully then how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord. Ephesians 5:15-17

Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever. John 6:57-58

Piety

‘Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” For the second week in a row we pick up the refrain. How personal can we get with Christ? How close do we ever get to anyone? We are challenged to love the Lord our God with all our mind, heart and feelings. With all the strength of our mind and our heart, we are invited to feed on the Lord that we might grow in Christ’s life within us. Our piety flows out of our life in Christ. We are called to understand the will of the Lord for us. What it takes to live as wise people requires us to make the most of the opportunity Eucharist brings us. Wisdom has set her table for us. The seven columns of the house of Wisdom are the Sacraments. We advance in wisdom by eating at the table of the Lord. The life of Christ that lives in us comes from the Sacraments. God has put on a great feast for us and he calls us to come to the table of his Son.

Study

We learn to appreciate Eucharist by our taste for it. The different flavors of ice cream speak to our taste buds. Absence lends enchantment. The sacrifice of not eating ice cream makes me miss it. Knowing and loving the taste of it creates desire. It is an extra of eating and I can live without it. It is one of many things that make up a meal and give nourishment. It is a sweet of life that could be harmful if you took too much of it. Eucharist is the food of life. There is no substitute for it because Christ is the embodiment of the love of God. He comes down from heaven as the real manna of the Father. We could never get too much of Christ. Christ is one of us, but without sin and he gives us his meaning of life. Many things can enrich life and add joy to good living. Eucharist has counterparts in our lives in how we feed one another. We can only be Eucharist for one another by the goodness of our lives. The food we give comes from the love of our hearts or the labors of our bodies. It is not our real flesh and body. The bread and the wine that Christ offers us is his real flesh and blood. He gives us his life. We study how he comes to us by exploring the meanings of the symbols of his Gift to us of Eucharist.

Action

Eucharist becomes action in us by the way we share our lives with each other. What we do for one another becomes the truth of Christ’s love for us when we give our lives for another. Many of us need diets in our lives because we take too much of good things. Eucharist is never a subject for a diet in our lives. We can never get too much of Eucharist. It is not to be rationed because it is the food of everlasting life. It nourishes us with God’s life. It enlarges our hearts. The more we are Eucharist for one another, the more Eucharist we have to give. The only way we can hold unto God’s love is to give it away. Jesus has life because of the Father. We have and give life because of the way we become Christ to each other by the good we do. The good we do as Eucharist for one another, will never be interred with our bones. Eucharist is forever. It contains within it the promise of everlasting life because it is Christ’s life we take to ourselves by Eucharist. It is Christ giving us the forever of love. What could taste better?

A Place Prepared by God

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Mass during the Day

She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God. Revelation 12:5-6

Blessed are you who believed. Luke 1:45

Piety

The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers. Luke 1:53-55

Study

Jesus was not looking for anyone to worship him. He was looking for people who would listen to him and who would believe with the faith of their heart and soul. Such faith is not limited to just internal expression. Such faith cries out to be acted upon in the example that Mary set for us in her life.

If we did not already have Mary, God would have had to create her. Without Mary, there is no Jesus. Mary is love. Mary is example. Mary is inspiration. Mary is the light that does not just point the way…Mary is the light that leads the way. More than any of the prophets, Mary combined piety and action to become the first one who “believed” in a new way.

What did her life of faith-in-action get Mary beyond a front row view of her son’s execution? Mary’s belief-in-action got her a special place prepared by God. This was not Elizabeth providing hospitality for Mary before her visit to a town in Judah. That hospitality was being performed by the Lord himself.

First, the Lord prepared Mary as the first place for His son to dwell within her physical body. But that’s not all.

Then, the Lord prepared a meaningful place in Bethlehem where Mary could deliver her son into the world.

Then the Lord prepared a place where Mary and her Holy Family could be safe from the ravages of Herod.

Then the Lord prepared a place where Mary and her family could return to live among friends.

Then the Lord prepared a place in Cana where Mary could prompt her Son to begin the public signs that would mark his ministry. Is it any wonder that setting was at a place that was a celebration of love?

We could go on and contemplate every place that the Lord prepared for Mary up until her Assumption and coronation. Why did the Lord work so hard to serve this servant? The Lord prepared a place for Mary because she heard the word of God and observed it in her daily life and in her “yes.” Mary understood all of this.

As we listen and contemplate the amazing words of the Magnificat today, listen to her sing of the hospitality of the Lord! The Mighty One has indeed done great things for her and the precious infant in her womb. “The hungry he has filled with great things.”

Action

How does your household get ready for a special visitor? If the guest is staying the night, do you prepare the guest bedroom so they will be warm and comfortable? If the guest will be joining you for a meal, what special dinner might be prepared (especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter)? You prepare a special place and special experience so their visit is happy and memorable.

Elizabeth prepared a special place when Mary visited her in Judah. Martha prepared a special place for Jesus on his visit to Bethany.

Carry on the tradition. Who can you prepare a special place for today? How can you extend “holy hospitality” to a special guest?

How can you give thanks for the special place the Lord has prepared and provided to you?

God’s Love Endures Forever

August 14, 2009

By Melanie Rigney

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr

“I gave you a land that you had not tilled and cities that you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.” (Joshua 24:13)

Praise the Lord, who is so good; God’s love endures forever. (Psalms 77:12)

(Jesus) said, “Whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." His disciples said to him, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” He answered, “Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.” (Matthew 19:9-12)

Piety

Lord, let me not become complacent or indifferent to the gifts You have given me and the life You desire me to lead.

Study
AmericanCatholic.org on St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe

The story goes that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the young Rajmund Kolbe bearing two crowns—a white one for purity, a red one for martyrdom. She asked if he’d like to have them. He chose them both. And, as it turns out, he lived them both.

Maximilian Mary Kolbe was ordained at twenty-four and dead at forty-seven, having survived torture at Auschwitz and three weeks of dehydration and starvation. Finally, they injected him with carbolic acid on this date in 1941.

According to AmericanCatholic.org, his passion was challenging religious indifference, founding monasteries in both his native Poland and Japan. Kolbe’s era was a difficult one for the Church; his experience as a Franciscan showed him too many of the ordained had either settled into complacency or left the order.

"The most deadly poison of our times is indifference,” he wrote. “Its victims are found not only among worldly people, but in our own ranks as well. … Life begins to make sense when we recognize and acknowledge God’s infinite goodness and our absolute dependence on Him. Our response will be praise and total love expressed in obedience.”

Some things about our Church may not make sense to us, including the strong barriers to remarriage after divorce, the celibacy requirement for priests, and the prohibition of women as priests. Some things about our lives may not make sense to us, including beautiful sunrises, marvelous friendships, and physical or mental talents. It’s one thing to search for answers and explanations and meanings, and quite another to become indifferent to both the wonders and the challenges of the life God’s provided. Indifference to Him makes us coarse, uncaring and unfeeling. Challenge that indifference where you find it.

Action

Speak up for God. Share the story of today’s saint with a non-churchgoing friend or neighbor, and let God’s love help you to gently challenge any indifference he or she expresses.

A Living God in Your Midst

August 13, 2009

Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses. Now command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to come to a halt in the Jordan when they reach the edge of the waters." So Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD, your God." Joshua 3:7-9

At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.' Matthew 18:26

Piety

Father, Be patient with us today. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil so we can pay you back in full. Amen.

Study

How do we know that the living God is in our midst?

The Israelites knew because Joshua alerted them to the sign that they would see when they waded into and across the Jordan River. However, do we get a sign when we drive across the Roosevelt Bridge into the city? Or the Key Bridge? Or the Memorial Bridge? Or the Cabin John Bridge? If we look out over the railing, is Jesus walking on the surface of the water? If not, is he on the banks of the shore looking for us to join Him and to follow Him?

Joshua invited the Jews to cross the river using a very similar invitation to the one Jesus used elsewhere in the Good News according to Matthew. “Come and listen to the word of the Lord.” Come and listen to the parables. Come and listen to the beatitudes. If you want to know when the Son of Man is in our midst, we have to listen and understand the message. Through understanding, we must carry it out with our action.

One such action that will put in the Word in our midst is when we imitate the Lord. Our Gospel concentrates on challenging us to one particular aspect of Christian life: forgiveness. Then Peter approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22

Forgiveness is at the heart of the Father’s reaction to humanity throughout history. It is at the heart of the most meaning-filled stories in our faith history. The Good Samaritan had to look past his problems with the Jews in order to minister to the man attacked and left in the ditch. The “prodigal” father had to look past the selfishness of his son to welcome him home. The savior had to look past the crime of the man executed next to him in order to bring that man to heaven.

Jesus says we have no choice except to forgive because we will face desperate times. By concentrating on acts of forgiveness, we learn that such behavior will open up for us a path to heaven. If we expect the Father to forgive us, then we have to have forgiveness in our hearts.

“So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” Matthew 18:35

Action

Who will you forgive today?

Face to Face

August 12, 2009

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. He had no equal in all the signs and wonders the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land, and for the might and the terrifying power that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel. Deuteronomy 34:10-12

Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:19-20

Piety

Father, unlike your son Jesus, your servant Moses dies a peaceful death in your presence. Grant that we may imitate his humility, obedience, and servant leadership to you and your people. Through prayer, help us to build a community and church that invites you to dwell in our midst until we are reunited with you in your house. Amen.

Study

The disciples and Moses share a unique bond. Moses knew the Lord face to face. So did the disciples. Now, in today’s Gospel, we learn that we can share in this kind of close relationship to God.

The key to this relationship is community. While the Church teaches how each individual is to behave, we also learn that we can share in the kind of relationship Moses had by gathering in community for prayer. Through prayer, we can learn to share in the intimate connection between the “church” (small c) and the hope and promise of the coming kingdom of heaven. Matthew points out that in order for us to share in this kind of intimate relationship with the Lord, we have to first have our relationship with each other in order. Then, when we gather in an authentic loving prayer, whatever we ask of the Father in that love will be granted.

This is no magic panacea for earthly happiness. In humility and obedience, Moses followed the Lord his whole life. When they finally had almost reached the Promised Land, Moses was granted the ability to gaze upon that land but never to set foot on it.

The LORD then said to him, "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that I would give to their descendants. I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over." So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the LORD, died as the LORD had said. Deuteronomy 34:4-5

How unfair! After all Moses did to serve the Lord and to lead his people to safety, how unfair was that treatment. Moses would never got to enjoy any time in their final destination.

However, he shared in a better reward. He was able to take his personal, face-to-face relationship with Jesus to another level. With his death, Moses got to share in an even better final destination -- the prize of heaven. As Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary points out, “Sometimes God reserves the brightest discoveries of his grace to his people to support their dying moments. Those may leave this world with cheerfulness, who die in the faith of Christ, and in the hope of heaven.”

Action

Health care is a basic right for all, from conception to natural death, according to the social teachings of the Catholic Church. Please act now to let your leaders know that reform must not be vehicle for ‘abortion rights’ agenda. Contact your member of Congress and tell them to follow President Obama’s pledge to preserve conscience rights.

Last week, Cardinal Justin Rigali, Chairman of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, wrote to the members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee urging them to amend “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act” (H.R. 3200) to retain longstanding government policies on abortion and conscience rights.

Cardinal Rigali reiterated criteria for “genuine health care reform” set forth by Bishop William Murphy, Chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Domestic Policy, in his letter to Congress on July 17. He described health care as “a basic right belonging to all human beings, from conception to natural death” and said that “the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is working to ensure that needed health reform is not undermined by abandoning longstanding and widely supported policies against abortion funding and mandates and in favor of conscience protection.”

"Much-needed reform must not become a vehicle for promoting an ‘abortion rights’ agenda or reversing longstanding current policies against federal abortion mandates and funding,” he wrote. “In this sense we urge you to make this legislation ‘abortion neutral’ by preserving longstanding federal policies that prevent government promotion of abortion and respect conscience rights.”

“Several federal laws have long protected the conscience rights of health care providers,” Cardinal Rigali added. “President Obama recently stated that he accepts these current laws and will do nothing to weaken them. Congress should make the same pledge, by ensuring that this legislation will maintain protection for conscience rights.”

Humble, Like a Child

August 11, 2009

Memorial of St. Clare

By Beth DeCristofaro

(Moses said) …the LORD has told me that I shall not cross this Jordan….Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the LORD, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:2, 6)

The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:1-4)

Piety

"They say that we are too poor, but can a heart which possesses the infinite God be truly called poor?" (Attributed to St. Clare)

God of Mercy, You inspired Saint Clare with the love of poverty. By the help of her prayers, may we follow Christ in poverty of spirit and come to the joyful vision of your glory in the kingdom of heaven. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives, and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
(http://www.2heartsnetwork.org/Clare.htm)

Study

So many stories in the Gospel give us glimpses of God’s infinite love become personal and individual. Matthew recounted Peter’s leap out of the boat and attempted walk on the water. We met a woman who faced down Jesus to demand the “scraps” of his gifts which would heal her daughter. And we have been following the Israelites and Moses, pursuing an invitation from God during many trials in the desert. Today we see God’s champion, Moses, not reap the reward of herding, cajoling, and even, at times, bullying the Israelites through 40 years of wandering and faith building. So what’s that about?

Instead of setting my trajectory toward God, I can set my sights on something less and lose my way – wander in the desert. Sometimes doubts cloud or even determine my actions. For example, I do not let my elected officials know my thoughts because I doubt it will do any good. Or I do not get involved in a community activity because the people for whom it is targeted should stop being so demanding of my time, money and resources. My self-interest colors the way I see the less fortunate: why don’t they pay taxes like the rest of us and get jobs so they can get their own health care? There are times when I hold back or qualify my loving actions, my Christian actions. Perhaps I am churlish as I do the housework, steaming about the fact that “no one else cleans up around here” and making darn sure that my family knows my dissatisfaction.

My stories will never be written down (I hope!) but they can enlighten my growth in God if I pay attention to them. God’s love is free and all encompassing. God asks that my free will be directed toward loving – toward leaping out of the boat and walking on water with him. Toward taking not only the scraps, but the main course and best wine of my life and giving it to others, including those I visualize as dogs. If I root myself and trust in God’s love, God’s presence, what does it matter if I am cleaning a house, working in a hospital, or paying extra taxes so an immigrant elder or poverty-stricken child can see a doctor when needed? Moses was not able to enter the Promised Land but God’s love wasn’t removed from him. In fact, in spite of dashed dreams Moses knew – and proclaimed – God’s special love of him! He was rooted in God’s love which was not depended on getting the “just reward” he was promised. His reward was God’s favor.

Action

In what ways am I standing at the brink of God’s promised love and refusing to step into it? How can I lovingly and with confidence take that leap, open myself to every possibility of God’s love even if it seem to be giving rather than receiving? Am I seeking the good in the other, personally and in my social and economic choices? Read Matthew’s passage about childlike humility and read the papal encyclical Caritas in Veritate this week.

Give thanks for the opportunity to see God anew – and for our new babe chicks!

An Abundance for Every Good Work

August 10, 2009

Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr

Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 2 Corinthians 9:8-9

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me. John 12:25-26

Piety

“While being roasted on the grate, Saint Lawrence said to the most cruel tyrant: The meal is done, turn and eat; but the riches of the Church, which you seek, the hands of the poor have carried away to the treasury in heaven.” (From Benedictine Daily Prayer: A Short Breviary)

Study

The behavior St. Paul encourages the Corinthians to imitate is rooted in God's behavior. From the Hebrew Bible throughout history, we have witnessed countless stories that teach us that God is capable of overwhelming generosity. So St. Paul encourages us to be cheerful givers. God will provide in abundance, both supplying our natural needs for food, clothing and shelter as well as improving social justice. Even though God can not be outdone, Paul challenges us to godlike generosity.

When Jesus says that the “Father will honor whoever serves (imitates?) me,” we know that such service has two dimensions. First is providing praise to the Lord and second is translating that praise into actions which express our love for our sisters and brothers. This has no relationship to service to country or organization or political leader. The service Jesus wants to see grow is the service to those most in need of his mercy.

Action

“You may have an abundance for every good work.”

What are we to do with the generous gifts which the Lord showers upon us? Rather than using these gifts for our own comfort, instead we are instructed to use them to support our good works.

As the new “Cursillistas” from the Women’s 129th Cursillo (Arlington, VA diocese) begin their Fourth Day, invite them into your group reunion, parish reunion and support them in their journey. See their smiling, joy-filled faces from the Closura at St. Francis in Triangle, VA linked at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lighthousekeeper/sets/72157621995217572/

Be Imitators of God

August 9, 2009

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.

[Elijah] lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. He looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, “Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!” 1 Kings 19:5-7

This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. John 6:50-51

Piety

“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” The refrain for this Sunday is an invitation to love. To love another so much that you would want to eat them up. The truth of genuine love is an invitation to oneness. How can I love another and not want to share their life? How easy is it to be with people who make us comfortable! We enjoy another for what pleasures us in their way of thinking and acting. Love goes a lot further. When we love another we become the giver in how we share our life with the other. The ways that we try to make the other comfortable and how we help them are reflections of our love for another. How much of self we share with the other is a good measure of our love. Christ gives all of himself. Eucharist is total gift. Christ holds nothing back of himself. He is willing to be all of us in our very act of communicating. Christ brings us into himself by our sharing Eucharist. He gives us life everlasting as the promise of the ultimate meaning of Eucharist. He would have us with him for all eternity.

Study

Love includes sacrifice. Parents give their lives for their children. A job that there is not enough pay for is parenthood. Christ by his sacrifice takes to himself all our sinfulness in his dying for us on the cross. The Tree of Glory is shared by us when we sacrifice ourselves for our friends and our families.

Love includes the good and the bad of another. We love the person, not necessarily what they do. The claim Christ has on our hearts comes from the Father. Unless the Father draws us to Christ we would never come to see His cross as the glory of God’s love for us in his Son. Because the Father draws us to his Son, the Son will raise us up on the last day. Our claim on heaven is our closeness to Christ. There is so much about Christ that we come to love by realizing that all love is a reflection of Christ in our brothers and sisters. Therein lays the Challenge: “to be imitators of God as beloved children.” Thus we live in love as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God. How we sacrifice ourselves, bring the joy Paul talks about in Col. 1, 24; thereby we fill up what is wanting to the suffering of Christ’s body, the Church. We become present to Christ by our oneness with the hungry and the thirsty of life. We become Christ‘s presence to our world.

Action

The Body and the Blood of Christ open our hearts and help us to reach beyond our limitations to the problems of our world. Eucharist makes us sensitive to how Christ would handle the problems we face in life. Communion graces us with the energy and the love necessary to make a difference in our world of indifference. My years of communicating almost every day created a hunger for what Christ is in my live. How could I be any different than the Christ that would empty himself out of Godness to be so completely one with us? We are truly saved by the humanness of Christ. It is too easy to say that God can not suffer and forget that it is Christ in his humanness that is putting himself out for us. The call to do likewise is the call for divine likeness in our hearts that would cuddle up to Christ that we could be totally his.

Move from Here to There

August 8, 2009

Memorial of St. Dominic

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5

He said to them, "Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

Piety

According to a meditation in the breviary for today, a frequent and special prayer of St. Dominic was that God might fill him with that genuine love which is so effective in providing for and procuring the salvation of people. St. Dominic thought that he would be truly a member of Christ’s family when he would be totally dedicated with an undivided heart to helping save souls, just as Jesus gave himself wholly to the work of our salvation.

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

Study

The words from the Hebrew Bible today teach us that “since the Lord alone is God, we must love him with an undivided heart.” Jesus went on to cite this as “the greatest and the first commandment.”

Embracing the words is an important first step. However, we can not stop there with some interior hold on the love of God. The other lesson from Deuteronomy is that we must let the words come alive in our exterior lives. “You shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5

This passage and what comes next nearly predicts the founding of Christian gift shops and book stores. You can imagine the wrist bands, doorposts, tattoos, and other product line extensions that some enterprising marketer could develop when reading this passage.

Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Teach your children.

Speak out about the friendship that Jesus has in your life.

Don’t be afraid or ashamed to wear outward signs showing your devotion to God personally or to post such messages on your home, car or office.

If we just had a small amount of such faith, then nothing would be impossible…not even moving mountains. Is it any wonder why Jesus seems so exasperated with his disciples? After all Jesus has done and taught, they still keep asking him to do the heavy lifting – in this case curing the son who is disturbed. Jesus does what he is asked. Do we return the favor?

Why were the disciples not successful? Some bibles (not the NAB) add a key clause at the end of this reading. “But this kind of faith does not come about except by prayer and fasting.” So while the disciples are worried about why they can not drive out demons and cure the sick, Jesus teaches them the means to accomplish such healing.

Action

What holds us back from having and exercising a faith the size of a mustard seed?

Perhaps we are not giving the Lord our undivided attention. The commandment in the Hebrew Bible is explicit. “You shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5

Does something else have a hold on our heart?

Does something else have a conflicting command on our soul?

Does something else compete for our physical energy and strength?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, what is it that holds, conflicts or competes with God for your undivided attention? If you can divorce yourself from these worldly demands, what mountain will you try to move? The mountain of homelessness? The mountain of disease (AIDS, breast cancer, heart disease, etc.)? The mountain of mental illness and anguish?

Jesus urges us to use our faith to perform good works.

Take Up His Cross

August 7, 2009

Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

By Melanie Rigney

"... the Lord is God in the heavens above and on earth below ... there is no other. You must keep his statutes and commandments ... that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you forever.” (Deuteronomy 4:39-40)

I remember the deeds of the Lord. (Psalms 77:12)

Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)

Piety

Jesus, I humbly ask for your help in bearing with grace the crosses large and small in my life.

Study

Some of us can lose ourselves in the mystery of the cross. How could Jesus have loved God—and us, just mere mortals with plenty of issues and baggage—to go through those humiliating, excruciatingly painful, indefinable isolated final hours? We look at a crucifix or we contemplate the Sorrowful Mysteries as we say the Rosary on Tuesdays and Fridays and we wonder, how did he do it?

Some of us can lose ourselves in the mystery of our own crosses. Why do we or people we love get sick? Why are we never the ones who get the promotion or win the lottery or catch the traffic light when we’re in a hurry? We look in the mirror or we contemplate our woes with eyes closed and we wonder, how do we do it?

Different crosses, surely. But each with its own pain—and each journey with the same destination, the Heavenly Kingdom.

“The goal we each seek is the cross we each choose,” Joan Chittister wrote. But I didn’t choose my cross, you might say. I didn’t choose to have a degrading job or kids with addiction problems or my own mental challenges.

Oh, but we did choose that cross, to do our best to live a Christlike life here on earth. And sometimes that means showing the love of Christ and faith in God in the most difficult of situations. Sometimes, the cross gets heavy. Sometimes we stumble and fall. But with help from Christ and community, we struggle on.

And sometimes, we get to the place where we can accept and appreciate what Thomas a Kempis said in The Imitation of Christ: “Why then do you hesitate to carry a cross that will bring you to the heavenly kingdom? If you gladly carry your cross, it will carry you and bring you to your desired goal where you will experience no more pain; but this will not be here below.”

Action

Someone you know and have trouble loving is struggling with his or her cross. Provide a kind word or other assistance today.

As I Watched

August 6, 2009

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14

We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:18-19

Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. Mark 9:7-8

Piety

“I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near.” Numbers 24:17

Study

If you are looking for the Lord, look around. You’ll find him!

As we meditate on the Transfiguration of the Lord, we could just as well be celebrating a second feast of the Epiphany. January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany when the shepherds and magi and the little drummer boy first encountered God in the form of a human baby. August 6 becomes the second Epiphany when for the first time, some of the disciples encountered Jesus in the light of his glory and majesty for the first time.

An epiphany is a sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something. When Peter, James and John looked upon the glowing figure of Jesus surrounded by Elijah and Moses, they did not know what to do. They knew it was good to be there but they had no idea of the action they should take next.

If you are looking for the Lord, don’t trouble yourself with busy work like building tents like Peter and his companions were tempted to do. Just listen for the voice of God to reach your mind, your hearts and your ears. Rejoice in the fact that is it just good to rest in the presence of God.

The disciples who went with Jesus up the mountain had never had such a close encounter of this kind. They did not know what to do so their initial reaction was to be very “Martha-like.” As the new law united with the old law on top of Mount Sinai, God guided them to the next step – attentive listening to the Word as revealed by Jesus. That Word will spur us to piety, study and action but only if we put ourselves fully in its presence and let the message sink in to our very being.

Action

Too often, we are not just content to be with those who are present to us and to participate in the sacrament of the present moment. We have to be sending text messages, getting cell phone calls, reading our e-mail, opening our “snail” mail and listening to our voice mail. We are more present to those who are a distance away from us than we are to those who are right in front of us.

IMHO, perhaps the worst invention in history that removes us from celebrating the sacrament of the present moment is the “Hold” button on your phone. Instead of giving attention to the person you are with or the person you already are talking to, you hold them off and pay attention to another caller.

The Transfiguration says to us, “Stop!” Take some time to go away alone with the Lord. You don’t have to head up Mount Sinai. You might find the Lord in the people you encounter on the banks of the Rappahannock River, the Chesapeake Bay or the Tidal Basin. Look for the Lord in those around us in cars, pushing shopping carts, or waiting at the Metro/VRE/MARC train station. Listen to Word he shares with us. Then, put that loving word into action.

Tonight, more than 20 candidates and the team are assembling for the 129th Cursillo for the Diocese of Arlington. They are taking some time to be fully present to the Lord. Let us all offer up some time this weekend to be present to them through the Palanca clock, writing letters, and participating in the appropriate weekend activities and closing.

Mananita: Participants should gather at 6:45 a.m.Sunday morning in the parking lot at Camp Happyland for morning song.

Closing: The closing time is 4:30 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi School Lunch Room. Please be seated by 4:15p.m. The team and the candidates should arrive at approx. 4:30 p.m. Please bring heavy hors d’oeuvres or drinks to share and drop off at the back of the lunch room prior to the ceremony.

Directions and details are at http://arlingtoncursillo.org/cursillosSubweb/w129/w129.asp.

Suffering for Your Faithlessness

August 5, 2009

Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

But as for you, your bodies shall fall here in the desert, here where your children must wander for forty years, suffering for your faithlessness, till the last of you lies dead in the desert. Forty days you spent in scouting the land; forty years shall you suffer for your crimes: one year for each day. Thus you will realize what it means to oppose me. Numbers 14: 32-34

He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour. Matthew 15:26-28

Piety

“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!”

Study

We are a grumbling people. When things get tough or don’t go our way, we become a “woe-is-me” Christian. We’ve all done it even if we don’t like to admit it. Today, we learn that grumbling has consequences.

Moses sends his princes into the Promised Land but they grumble about the size and strength of the people who live there. Despite the gifts promised to these people, they don’t accept the gift because they think the price that they will have to pay is too high. Their solution is to fight the foreigners. The writers of the Book of Numbers do not tell us that any other course of action was considered. Did they consider trying to live side-by-side with the inhabitants and share the resources?

Even though the explorers sent out by Moses found that the land flowed with milk, honey and fruit, they felt that they had to possess the land entirely for themselves – not sharing it with the native inhabitants. But they feared the strength of the people already living there. So rather than find common ground, they faced the “tyranny of the OR.” The land has to belong to Moses and his people OR the natives. It could not belong to both.

In our Gospel reading, we encounter a Canaanite woman who has more faith in Jesus’ ability to cure her daughter than the Jews surrounding him. Her faith also exceeds that shown by the Jews wandering the desert with Moses. She could have become the “grumbling Canaanite woman” but instead we encounter her as the “faithful Canaanite woman.”

Jesus initially came to save the Jews. However, as word spread, people from all nations turned to him. Jesus was even caught grumbling today about being pestered by the Canaanite woman. While initially reluctant to cure the daughter of the Canaanite woman, her faith helped to overcome Jesus’ objections to answering her prayers. Despite the insults thrown to her comparing her to dogs, she persists. Her simple prayer, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!” was not enough to move Jesus to action. However, her persistent prayer of “Lord, help me” convinced Jesus to respond to her.

Jesus conquered the tyranny of the “or” by embracing the love of the “and.” He decided not to choose between loving the Jews "or" the Gentiles. He chose to love the Jews AND the Gentiles and the Romans and the lepers and the Canaanites and other strangers. We witness countless examples of Jesus sharing his love with all people.

Action

Jesus could not withhold his love from people who lived their faith no matter what their background. In the Hebrew Bible, we see how the Lord withheld his love from people who grumbled and did not live up to their faith or love up to their faith. However, Jesus could not keep his love-in-action buried like a treasure withheld from others.

What will stop our grumbling? We know that Jesus says we must take up our cross and follow him. What part of cross do we not understand? The cross was the instrument of torture and death in his time. Jesus does not ask us to pick a pillow or a daisy. The challenge is to overcome the temptation to grumble and respond in faith and love to the hardships surrounding us.

What will move us to action?

Water Walking

August 4, 2009

Memorial of St. John Vianney

By Beth DeCristofaro

A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not off from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. (Psalm 51:12-13)

(Jesus) came toward them, walking on the sea…. Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:25, 28-31)

Piety

Insure I do all my good deeds secretly, being sloppily careless in my generosity, so I’ll scatter everywhere the rich seeds inside the love gifts you have given me. (From A Book of Wonders by Ed Hays)

Study

Peter got it! Peter got the wonder. He sensed the overreaching reality of what faith the size of a mustard seed could be and incredibly, Peter acted! At that impulsive moment, Peter got out of the boat with complete confidence in God’s loving care. He benefited in a superhuman moment from “love gifts”. Then, probably predictably, Peter noticed the waves and that humans can’t walk on water…so he began to sink.

It’s so difficult to live fully attentive and immersed in awareness of God. We so tend to be aware of ourselves and conscious of other’s opinions, thoughts, presence. We let doubt creep in because we know that things don’t go well all the time. We know that we can’t make a mountain move. We grab back control from God with pride and insulated by self-assurance that we are in charge. We think that we know the mind of God and are divinely appointed to our opinions. It affects us in so many ways as we let marriages dissolve, allow disagreements to fester, use power instead of love to categorize our fellows. We even censor our prayers as unworthy or a misuse of God’s attention. We will handle this problem ourselves.

Perhaps we should keep Peter’s impulsivity and immense leap of faith in mind more often. God has given us such freedom to choose. We can walk on water or we can sink. Either way, God is there before we are, ready for us. Through prayer, spending time with God and through spending time with others we can practice responding out of the love gifts God has given us. And when we don’t? Forgive ourselves and forgive others, sloppily spreading those seeds as we balance in the waves.

Action

Have we ever seen such crazy times? We have the opportunity to reform systems in our society which will allow more equality. Seek opportunities to continue the “creative engagement” in these issues as Pope Benedict did in his private audience with President Obama. Call your representatives in congress to voice your concern that health care and the financial stimulus be planned for the greater good not just special interests.

How can you jump out of the boat? How do you share your love gifts from God?

He Said the Blessing

August 3, 2009

Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“Why do you treat your servant so badly?” Moses asked the LORD. “Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all this people? Was it I who conceived all this people? Or was it I who gave them birth, that you tell me to carry them at my bosom, like a foster father carrying an infant, to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers? Where can I get meat to give to all this people? For they are crying to me, ‘Give us meat for our food.’“ Numbers 11:11-13

Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over – twelve wicker baskets full. Matthew 14:19-20

Piety

(The Things We Leave Behind by Michael Card)

There sits Simon, so foolishly wise proudly he's tending his nets
Then Jesus calls, and the boats drift away all that he owns he forgets
More than the nets he abandoned that day, he found that his pride was soon drifting away
It's hard to imagine the freedom we find from the things we leave behind

Matthew was mindful of taking the tax, pressing the people to pay
Hearing the call, he responded in faith followed the Light and the Way
Leaving the people so puzzled he found, the greed in his heart was no longer around and
it's hard to imagine the freedom we find from the things we leave behind

Every heart needs to be set free, from possessions that hold it so tight
'Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own,
It's the power to do what is right
Jesus, our only possession, giving becomes our delight
We can't imagine the freedom we find from the things we leave behind

We show a love for the world in our lives by worshipping goods we possess
Jesus has laid all our treasures aside "love God above all the rest"
When we say 'no' to the things of the world we open our hearts to the love of the Lord And its hard to imagine the freedom we find from the things we leave behind

Study

Where do we turn to be sustained? Or where do we direct our grumblings?

As we think about the “daily bread” provided by the Lord in the desert and by Jesus, we think about that phrase every time we meditate on the Lord’s Prayer.

Historically, when a religious community was formed, the members set up the means to take care of the spiritual as well as the temporal needs of the members. Sunday on National Public Radio, there was a profile of St. Vincent’s Archabbey in Latrobe, PA. This was the first foothold for the Benedictine community in the United States. Upon founding the Abbey, Fr. Boniface Wimmer, a Bavarian monk, set up a gristmill which made the daily bread for the monks. Over the years, the monks have sold the bread and also brewed beer on this location.

The products and proceeds sustained the community and those who purchased them. You can “read all about it” at this NPR link. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111473689

Action

Been thinking a lot about the Michael Card song on “The Things We Leave Behind.” Maybe that is because one of our actions this week was to drop off Regina at the Raleigh Durham Airport for her to head down to her mission in Central America. First stop is six weeks in Xela, Guatemala to hone her Spanish and then on to Honduras to work at the “hogar” (orphanage) of Amigos de Jesus.

Despite four years in college and two more years working in Durham, she packed everything for her trip into two checked bags (bagpack plus suitcase) and one canvas carry-on sack.

Jesus said the blessing and broke the loaves. But then he gave the gifts to his disciples to share. They in turn gave them to the crowd. What is clear from today’s Gospel is that long before the disciples gathered back the twelve wicker baskets of leftovers, they also were charged with sharing the Bread of Life.

What are you sharing with the crowd? What is holding you back? Are you weighed down by too many “things” that you won’t need? Free yourself from these so you can be free to share the Bread of Life.

Never Hunger

August 2, 2009

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.

The Israelites said to them, "Would that we had died at the LORD'S hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!" Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not. Exodus 16:3-4

[Y]ou should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth. Ephesians 4:22-24

So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. John 6:34-35

Piety

The Bread of Life captures the notion of what is essential about life in an ordinary way. That bread would also taste wonderful when it is fresh makes our need of the word of God absolute. He would feed us and give us the happiness of meaningful life. Eucharist is the food of life. It is also the perfect way to say thanks to God for all the wonderful things he has done for us. God gives us his Son and the life of his Son becomes our life as the rebirth of Baptism into Christ is fed with new life by Eucharist. Christ makes us his gift to the Father. We are adopted children now, fed with a fullness of Christ, as who we are becomes who Christ is in our world. Jesus, as the bread of life makes us over into his presence in the world. The Jewish people were looking for Jesus because he had fed them with the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. We are looking for Jesus because he gives us the secret of life. He who eats of his Body and Blood will live into eternal life. Jesus, himself, is the bread of life. He feeds us with eternal life. He gives us our destiny to live forever. Why am I looking for Jesus?

Study

I look for you Jesus because you are the mystery of God expressed in human life. You have created me to be your presence in my world by the good that I do. You have offered me a wonderful meaning of life that is found in you as the meaning of my life. You give me form and substance because I have been created in you. You speak to me through all the good people of my life. You offer me yourself as the answer to all my yearnings for more life. You make sense out of the humanness of life by giving it a divine meaning in yourself. How can I dare to do anything wrong when you have told me that if I love you I will keep the commandments? You are continuously touching my life by all the wonders of creation. It is not just me that is given meaning by you. The world itself looks to you for fulfillment. I cannot be any happier without you being with me in all that I do. I have gone without eating for the sake of knowing what it means to really hunger for you. I want to love you so much there would be nothing in my life apart from you. I continue to be amazed that you wait for me to want you. Quench my hunger and my thirst for you Lord by every Eucharist that touches my lips. Feed my heart that is yearning for your love. Be with me in all that I would do in your name.

Action

I come to you Lord because you call out to me in the cries of the hungry, thirsty and the poor of my world. Help me to be generous in what I do in your name. I shall try to give without counting the cost. I shall try to lose myself in the wounds of nails and the spear that pierced your heart. I shall try to love as you have loved with all my mind and heart and soul placed in what I am trying to do for you. I am grateful for the work you send me because it gives me the chance to be Eucharist to those that I serve in your name. I shall try to break the barriers of segregation and hatred by offering love to those that do not like me. I work at giving you my mind, my will and my heart in all that I do. You have given me all that I have. I shall work at returning all to you by my prayer, sacrifice and good works, all done in your name. I shall try to be a transparency of your love in all that I say and do. I give you ‘carte blanche’ to use all of me in your service. I shall try to make people feel that they are doing me the favor by the chance they give me to be of service to the people of God. Then it will be true that I am your Eucharist to my world.