September 24, 2009
Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Now thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways! You have sown much, but have brought in little; you have eaten, but have not been satisfied; You have drunk, but have not been exhilarated; have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed; And he who earned wages earned them for a bag with holes in it. Haggai 1:5-6
But Herod said, "John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?" And he kept trying to see him. Luke 9:6
Piety
(From www.crs.org)
As Catholics, we recognize that prayer is of the utmost importance, an invaluable contribution to helping the poor overseas. We invite you to join us in bringing to Our Lord the following intentions and thanks.
Disaster response: Natural disasters focus our attention on our brothers and sisters like few other events. Let us pray that many are spared these traumas during this season, and that God equips Catholic Relief Services with willing and able hearts and hands when disaster strikes.
Zimbabwe: Let us pray for the 20,000 orphans of Zimbabwe who are served by CRS programs, that God grants them strength and direction as they navigate their lives without the support of parents.
Mexico farmland: Thank you, Lord, for resilience, and for rising damaged land back to productivity after the floods which struck Mexico two years ago.
Typhoon Morakot: Let us pray that the people of Taiwan whose lives were threatened and disrupted by this storm will recover quickly. And we thank God for the Daughters of Charity who are working amidst the damage.
Study
Curiosities and Priorities.
Herod’s interest in hearing about Jesus calls to mind the night-time visits of Nicodemus to hear from Jesus. Even though Nicodemus was a Pharisee, he was intrigued by the teachings of Jesus. Even though he did not want his fellow Pharisees to know of his interest, Nicodemus would sneak over to listen to Jesus under the cover of darkness.
In a similar way, Herod was attracted to the preaching of Jesus even though he personally condemned John the Baptist to execution. Listening to Jesus was almost like a guilty pleasure. Herod would never want his people or the politicians back in Rome to know what he was doing. After all, he already had rejected John’s message of repentance. Even though Herod was not yet ready to turn away from his lifestyle, nonetheless, he was drawn in to Jesus’ preaching on the very same theme of change that John established.
Yet John’s message was not really that new. In the Hebrew Bible today, we read from the beginning of the book of Haggai. Five centuries before John and Jesus walked and preached, Haggai was exhorting the Jews to “Consider your ways.”
The task at hand was to build a temple suitable for the Lord. Although the Jews were literally building the temple, we too must prepare a place for the Lord. Yesterday, we heard Jesus mark out a space for us in his house. He offered us a place to unburden ourselves from things that weigh us down.
Now, he is asking us to prepare a place for him rather than staying in our expensive, paneled suburban homes watching our flat paneled televisions.
Action
The prophet asks us today, “Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?” Haggai 1:4
Look at the world. There are signs all around us of how the world is a broken place. Are we going to react to the Lord’s call for us like Herod – showing curiosity while continuing along the same old ways we have followed? Or will we be like John the Baptist and fully commit to the message the Lord wants us to proclaim with our lives?
Take courage. The Lord is with us to guide us along the way. As we consider our ways, perhaps now is a time to consider accounting for your ways and turning to the Lord for forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation freely given.
"Take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD, and work! For I am with you, says the LORD of hosts. This is the pact that I made with you when you came out of Egypt, And my spirit continues in your midst; do not fear!” Haggai 2:4-5
So what would we do differently afterward? Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced more than 250,000 Catholics have signed up for the Catholics Confront Global Poverty initiative, a renewed nationwide effort to address the root causes of global poverty through education and advocacy. In less than seven months, the program has reached one quarter of the goal to mobilize one million Catholics.
Launched in February 2009 on the heels of Pope Benedict XVI's 2009 World Day of Peace Message on "Fighting Poverty to Build Peace," Catholics Confront Global Poverty calls on Catholics to learn about and share the stories of those struggling to rise above extreme poverty, to pray for the poorest members of our human family and to advocate with policy makers on behalf of poor people worldwide.
"The global financial crisis is having a devastating impact on people here and the poor around the world, and the progress that has been made could be wiped out for decades to come," said Ken Hackett, CRS President. "In a world where an estimated 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty, the message of the Church is clear. As Catholics, we are called to help our brothers and sisters in need."
With the release of his latest Encyclical Letter, Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI reiterated his plea for richer nations to stand with people living in poverty and take action, especially in light of the global financial crisis.
Are your ready to become a part of this initiative? Will you approach it with curiosity or with priority?
