Thoughts of the Heart

January 17, 2009

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help. Hebrews 4:15-16

Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus heard this and said to them (that), "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." Mark 2:16-17

Piety

Father, you know what is on my mind. Send your mercy and grace to ease my worries. Jesus, you have experienced my weaknesses. Help me overcome them. Freed from problems in my mind and my body, Holy Spirit, guide me to approach the Lord and follow him with the other sinners. Amen.

Study

When you have a friend, one way you get to know your friend is you hang out with [him/her]. Each of you invites the other along to special occasions as well as routine matters. When you children graduate or achieve some milestone, you throw a party and invite your friend. She or he does the same. But you do not need a special occasion just to sit with your friend over a cup of coffee or a beer just chatting about the ebb and flow of daily living.

When we cross into the New Testament, we leave behind a god whom the people could not even name and inherit a God who wants to spend every moment with us. He wants to make his home in our hearts. He approaches us and invites us along with a friendly “Follow me.”

People who are already friends with Jesus know that they have God’s love, grace and mercy. So instead of spending time with the them, it is more likely we might find Jesus today sitting at the bar at Brion’s Grille, or catching up with the local Fairfax Harley Owner’s Group or walking among the fans who spend their Sabbath at FedEx Field rather than St. Mary of Sorrows. The people who are already at Church don’t need an appointment with the doctor. But the people who are not there need a special invitation to enter into a relationship with Jesus one step at a time.

Action

Remember the Cursillo mantra from your weekend: “Make a friend. Be a friend. Bring a friend to Christ.” Today we watch Jesus strike up a friendship with Matthew and those who gather at Matthew’s house. Jesus does not mind what others say about the company he keeps. Rather than let the slings of the Pharisees bother him, Jesus turns it, like he turns everything, into a teaching moment.

With whom will you be hanging out with this weekend? The Ultreya at St. Mary’s on Saturday night? Mass on Sunday morning at your favorite church? Maybe you are planning to join a service project on Monday (the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday)? Maybe you will watch a football game or inaugural event with friends.

What ever you do, remember to bring the message of Cursillo to your friends. There is plenty of room in March on the Woman’s Weekend and in April on the Men’s Weekend for more candidates.