September 1, 2010
Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. For we are God's co-workers; you are God's field, God's building. 1 Corinthians 3:7-9
After he left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them. Luke 4:38-39
Piety
A Future Not Our Own: The Romero Prayer
By Ken Utener
It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Study
We all have a job to do. However, we should not get so wrapped up in doing our job that we lose sight of whose work we are really carrying out.
St. Paul knew that he was just the “one who plants and the one who waters.” He realized that it was God who was the source of growth.
Peter’s mother-in-law also had a job to do. Even before Peter was called to follow Jesus, she was cured of her illness and served the Lord. Her work was a beginning, a step along the way which led to something much greater.
Action
There are twelve men (including the two spiritual advisors) who have begun to prepare for the fall Cursillo under the guiding hand of “master gardener” and Rector Mike Green. The rest of our community may not be there to deliver the Cursillo experience to the candidates who will assemble October 8-11 at the San Damiano Retreat Center. However, we can participate in the work they do, we can help water the seeds of this weekend through our prayer and support of the team in formation.
Please visit the team page. Offer your Palanca for the team in formation and talk to God now about candidates you would like to sponsor on the weekend. http://arlingtoncursillo.org/CursillosSubweb/m121/m121.aspx
