What Gets You Up in the Morning?

What Gets You Up in the Morning?

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest

By Colleen O’Sullivan

As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord.  (Exodus 34:29)

Jesus said to his disciples:  “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.  When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”  (Matthew 13:44-46)

Piety

“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way.  What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.  It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.  Fall in love, stay in love and it will decide everything.”

(Attributed to Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Superior General of the Jesuits 1965-1983)

Study

Born in 1491 in the Basque region of northern Spain, St. Ignatius of Loyola, or Iñigo as he was known then, came to be quite full of himself as a teenager and young adult.  After 10 years as a page and courtier in the household of the Treasurer of Castile, his head was filled with visions of knightly grandeur and beautiful young women.  When the Treasurer fell out of favor, that life ended and Ignatius became a soldier, but his military career was cut short by a serious wound suffered in battle at Pamplona against the French.

Back at the family home recuperating, he found himself bored to tears.  He thought he could pass the time by reading popular novels full of his favorite topics, knightly exploits and beautiful young ladies.  Alas, there were no such books to be found in Loyola, only a life of Christ and a book on the lives of the saints.  Funny how God works sometimes! 

With nothing better to do, Ignatius started reading.  After a while, he admitted to himself that he wasn’t getting the usual kick out of daydreaming about impressing and wooing young women.  In fact, he was finding it much more fulfilling imagining himself doing great deeds for God, like the saints he was reading about! 

Ignatius’ life truly never was the same again.  All the vanity of his youth was put aside.  He was transformed, just as Moses was transformed by being in the presence of God.  As Fr. Arrupe notes, what or whom we love becomes our reason for getting up every morning and determines how we spend our days.  Like the man in the first parable in today’s Gospel reading, Ignatius let everything else go and sought only the treasure he found in Christ.  Ignatius went on to put together his well-known Spiritual Exercises and to found the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, as they are popularly known.

Action

What gets you up in the morning?  What gives you joy?  For what treasure will you give up everything else?  Is it God, or do you value something or someone else more?

The Good Seed Flourishes

Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

By Beth DeCristofaro

(Jesus) said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.  The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.  Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.  (Matthew 13:37-40)

Piety

Gracious God, you created salt which livens up my food.   Help me put on faith and be grateful as my life takes on new flavor.

Help me each day to put on hope so that every day will be enlightened and my horizons will not be dark. 

Help me put on love that my life will be like a house built on rock, and my journey will be joyful because many friends journey with me.

Each day may I put on Christ, my friend in whom I can always trust and be full of his love.

And, Lord Jesus, inspire me to offer the witness of faith and the service of charity to others so that I will carry to this world a ray of Your light.

(Taken from Pope Francis’ address to youth in Brazil, July 25, http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1303225.htm )    

Study

The National Catholic Reporter recently posted a story about two teens from Alaska whose hard-earned money to attend World Youth Day vanished when the travel agency coordinating the delegation’s trip went bankrupt.  The story described the enthusiasm and work with which the teens originally made the money and then the commitment of Alaska’s bishops and donors who re-raised enough that the entire teen delegation were able to go to Brazil.

In Brazil, the Pope visited a slum in which dedicated Christians and particularly Catholics help the poorest of the poor.  His message:  “The Church is with you.”  Jesus’ parable comes to mind as He offers a picture of patience to the faithful – not patience with poverty but patience knowing that the justice and mercy of God will prevail.  In building the Kingdom Jesus asks that we recognize the needs of our neighbors just as He did.

These are very small gardens numerically but these groups constitute vibrant, dedicated and faith-filled “good seed.”  Amid all the hurt, poverty, violence in the world, God’s Word bears much fruit. 

Action

How do I manifest as “good seed?”  How do my actions, my words reflect my relationship with God through Jesus and thereby help others who might have doubts, concerns, or fears?  How do I practice loving, active patience in a world of good seed and bad?

I Have Come to Believe

I Have Come to Believe

Memorial of Saint Martha 

On the next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a grave sin.  I will go up to the LORD, then; perhaps I may be able to make atonement for your sin.”  Exodus 32:30

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  She said to him, “Yes, Lord.  I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”  John 11:25-27

Piety

 "For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces."
— "As Kingfishers Catch Fire" by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Study

How far have we come in just a week with our sister Martha? 

On the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Gospel reading recounted the story of Jesus’ visit to Martha and Mary.  Martha was concerned about getting help in her hospitality duties and asked Jesus to intervene.  After all, we are a faith in which people often intervene for us with the Lord.  Moses did so in the first reading.  We have the apostles.  We have the Blessed Mother. 

But admonishing Mary was not the kind of intervention that the Lord offered.  Instead, he reminded Martha that her sister had chosen the better part.  But there is still a “best part,” as Fr. Thomas Keating has written.  That best part is the unity of the service to others and the service to the Lord. 

Today, on the Memorial of Saint Martha, we see the change that has overcome her with the belief in the Lord and the resurrection. 

Action

How do you reconcile your spirituality and action – what Fr. Joe McCloskey refers to as the Contemplative in Action?

There is an online retreat on Centering Prayer and Lectio Dvina offer by the website www.SpiritualityandPractice.com.  In honor of the change we see in Martha’s life and outlook, it might be a way to take what we do with Your Daily Tripod and dig a little deeper in all the parts of your life.  You can check out the link to this workshop here:  http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/ecourses/ecourses.php?id=45&key=co

How Much More

How Much More

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2013 C

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

Still Abraham went on, “Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?”  The LORD answered, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty.”  But he still persisted: “Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.  What if there are at least ten there?”  He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”  Genesis 18:30-32

You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.  And even when you were dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross.  Colossians 2:12-14

What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?  Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?  If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”  Luke 11:11-13

Piety

Piety is a state of being with the Lord.  The Contemplative in Action has made life into a prayer.  Piety is the simplicity of doing everything for the Lord.  Prayer is the conscious awareness of making holy the name of God by our lives.  When the Apostles asked the Lord to teach them how to pray, the “Our Father” was what he gave them.  The “Our Father” is the greatest teaching on prayer the world has ever known.  It makes of prayer the active work of bringing about the kingdom of God in our lives.  It opens our heart to doing everything for the Lord.  Heaven and earth meet as the work of our lives makes heaven out of earth.

Study

Our study is the how of the daily bread that we are asking for.  We look at our world which contains all that we could ever ask for as the gift of God to us.  We ask for what we already have.  Our study teaches us how to ask.  Awake or asleep the Lord is gifting us with his love that surrounds us in all of life about us.  Our study takes us into the simplicity of God’s love for us.  God does love without missing a beat on what love is all about.  Because God is love, all that comes from God in each moment is his love.  We feed on God’s love in Christ to become Christ for one another.  We are buried with Christ in our Baptism to rise with him in his Resurrection.  We live the resurrection of Christ by our goodness.  He is our foothold in heaven even as we by our all too often feeble efforts are his presence in a special way here on earth.  Christ teaches us how to be his forgiveness here on earth.

Action

We are constantly asking the Lord to forgive us our trespasses because every sin is a stepping on the love of Christ.  We open ourselves to forgiveness by the very way we forgive each other for being less than Christ.  We are meant to be the love of Christ for each other.  In Christ we have our being.  In our love for one another, Christ has his life in us.  How we live our lives with each other in harmony and happiness is the truth of how well we accept Christ in each other.  We do not have to be consciously aware that we are the love of Christ.  Wherever there is love, God is there.  This is the teaching of St.  John, the beloved Apostle.  We pray our best when we are the love of Christ for one another.  Prayer goes from words into action when we give people the freedom to be themselves.  We love best when we live our lives for the sake of each other.  Altruistic love is the making of the needs of another our need.  We love Christ in what we do for our neighbor.  Our prayer becomes action when we do our best to be loving people.

The Weeds Appeared As Well

Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

When Moses came to the people and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all answered with one voice, “We will do everything that the LORD has told us.”  Exodus 24:3

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field.  While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.  When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.  Matthew 13:24-26

Piety

Our piety is the sowing of the wheat. 

Our sin is the sowing of the weeds.

Our reconciliation is our separating the wheat from the weeds.

Our redemption is Jesus burning our weeds on the cross.

Study

If Jesus were around today, he would probably fashion a parable of the dandelion or kudzu.

Not being a gardener nor a landscaper, nonetheless, many people in my family have raised vegetable gardens, planted shrubbery or decorated with trees and flowers.  The weeks are persistent.  Even just in the front yard, crabgrass, dandelions, clover and the “Virginia creeper” vines grown in abundance.  They are pesky and persistent.  Why can’t the good stuff grow as easily? 

When I first moved to the South, I was introduced to the abundance of kudzu which blankets the trees along Interstate 85 with green leaves.  Evidently, someone had visited Japan or China and brought some back not knowing how it would spread.  Kudzu grows so fast that it kills trees and shrubs by the heavy shading that results – blocking out the light of the sun needed to grow and live.

One of the only ways to get rid of kudzu is to remove the root crown. For successful long-term control of kudzu, it is not necessary to destroy the entire root system, which can be extremely large and deep. It is only necessary to use some method to kill or remove the kudzu root crown and all rooting runners – thus cutting off the supply of nutrients to the root system. Easier said than done. 

The proclamation of Moses in today’s first reading was also easier said than done.  “We will do everything that the LORD has told us.”  Yeah…Right!  People have been picking off the buffet line of the Bible as long as there has been a Bible.  We find a passage we like and cling to it alone – ignoring the harder messages that appear elsewhere.

Action

What are some of the weeds in the garden of your life? 

Instead of whacking at the entire length of the kudzu in your life, how can you attack the root crown of these behaviors to change them before they cast too heavy a shadow on the light of the Son needed to grow and live?

Easier said than done?  Not if you attack them ONE ROOT CROWN at a time.

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

The Law of the Lord IsPerfect

Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

By Melanie Rigney

“You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them.” (Exodus 20:3-5)

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. (Psalms 19:8)

“But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” (Matthew 13:23)

Piety

Lord, help me to trust in Your ways, for this simple servant cannot hope to understand them completely.

Study

Let’s be honest. We’ve all worshipped another god at some time in our lives. Maybe it’s the god of money or power or prestige. Maybe it’s the god of parenthood or romantic love or something material, like our dream home or that fancy car. Maybe it’s the god of public opinion or being thought of as a subject matter expert or the go-to person for your ministry. Or maybe it’s the god of self-pity and self-indulgence.

It’s no surprise that this list is starting to sound like the capital sins. The Catechism terms pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth/acedia capital sins “because they engender other sins, other vices.”

The worship of other gods can often start out simple and well intentioned. After all, we need to be good parents and ministers. We need enough money to pay our bills. It’s nice to be appreciated by the boss and co-workers. But the problem begins when those desires begin to move ahead of God on our priority list.

As Matthew notes in today’s Gospel reading, the seed that flourishes needs more than rich soil. It also needs someone who hears the word and understands it. While we may not always understand God’s ways, we all are smart enough to know when our desires begin to block what He wants. May we also be smart enough to go to Him for help as soon as we realize it’s happening.

Action

Write down everything you have to do today. Where does time for prayer and study rank? Now redo your list, starting with God instead of shoehorning Him in where you can.

Cries From the Desert

Cries From the Desert

Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

By Colleen O'Sullivan

Here in the desert the whole assembly of the children of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.  The children of Israel 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”… When Aaron announced this to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, they turned toward the desert, and lo, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud!  (Exodus 16:2-4a, 10)

They tempted God in their hearts by demanding the food they craved.  Yes, they spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the desert?”  Yet he commanded the skies above and the doors of heaven he opened; He rained manna upon them for food and gave them heavenly bread.  (Psalm 78:18-19, 23-24)

Piety

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours.

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

Compassion on this world.

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.

(St. Teresa of Avila, 1515-1582)

Study

After having encamped at an oasis offering date palms and fresh springs, the Israelites are again on the move.  In today’s reading from the Book of Exodus, they are in the desert.  They’re hungry.  They wish they were back in Egypt as slaves, because at least there they had something to eat.  I’m afraid that if I had gone to the lengths God did to help them escape from Pharaoh, I would have been wanting to rain down rocks on them, not manna from heaven.  But the good news of this story is that God’s ways are not our ways.  God is merciful, patient and compassionate.  God hears the cries of his people and sends them sustenance.  As a reaffirmation that he is always with them, he lets his glory shine through the cloud of his presence, which is following them every step of the way on their journey to the Promised Land.

Deserts exist in every time and place and, at one time or another, in each of our lives.  In the desert we are tempted to give in to despair.  At this very moment, millions of hungry and starving people around the world wonder if they will be here tomorrow, and, if not, what will happen to their children.  Across northern Virginia, people knock on church doors every day, looking for food for their families.  Immigrants in our midst without documentation live in constant fear of discovery and deportation, of possible separation from family.   Here and across the nation, men and women are losing jobs and facing the specter of foreclosed mortgages and unpaid bills.  Behind the closed doors of some of the homes in our neighborhoods, abuse and violence rule the day.  The desert is the place where we give voice to our pain, where we cry out to the Lord.

The desert is also the place where, so often, we encounter our God, where we come to know the Lord.  For it is in the desert, contending with our demons and voicing our fears, that we discover we are heard.  Our God is listening.  We are loved. 

Action

God always hears the cries of the poor and the struggling, and sometimes he asks you and me to be part of his response.  There are many, many ways in which you could reach out to those calling out in the desert.  Here are two suggestions:

·         Almost every parish has a food pantry and a designated Sunday for collecting groceries.  Many families are just one job loss away from needing help with food, so be generous when you see this in your church bulletin.

·         If you feel called to work for affordable housing in our area, consider becoming involved in VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement), www.voice-iaf.org.

Be My Sister, My Brother

Be My Sister, My Brother

Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

By Beth DeCristofaro

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so turned it into dry land.  When the water was thus divided, the children of Israel marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. (Exodus 14:21-22)

… stretching out his hand toward his disciples, (Jesus) said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”  Matthew (12:49-50)

Piety

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows where
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there

For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

If I'm laden at all
THEN I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share

And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy, he's my brother
            (The Hollies,  B. Scott - B. Russell)

Study

Next month, the Baseball Hall of Fame will honor three inductees: a former umpire, a past owner and a 19^th century catcher/third baseman.  Where are the living, modern players?  As someone said to me recently, “We are in the era of the steroid.”  Many great players of the moment have records that were enhanced through the use of illicit and illegal drugs or chemicals.  They cheated.   More and more players are being linked to this practice.  Rather than giving their all, they boosted themselves around the demands of the game and their competition.

Jesus does not want record-setting “best” Christians.  Jesus wants our freely given, frail and faulty souls.  Jesus asks us to “do the will of my (our) heavenly Father” rather than choose an end-run to gain human reputation, or focus on idols of fame, power, money, etc.  And he points to how this is done in stories such as the social outcast Good Samaritan who sees a stranger as neighbor.  The father of the Prodigal Son who rewards the son’s home coming with exuberant forgiveness.  A poor widow who spends from the depths of her love as she gives two coins to the temple.  He chooses an unlikely but priceless disciple in the Woman at the Well who by all standards had led a morally questionable life. 

Jesus doesn’t promise a hall of fame but eternal life.

Action

Today would have been the 56^th birthday of my younger brother had he survived at heart attack at age 37.  At the time of his death, we were estranged.  He was a difficult personality and I was more interested in being “right” than either forgiving or being patient.  Although he was my brother, I did not treat him as a brother in Christ.  I truly believe that Jesus is more patient and loving with me than I was with Mike. 

Where are places in your life for you to do the will of our Heavenly Father and truly live as Jesus’ brother or sister?  Pray for the courage and conviction to do so.

Rest in peace, Mike.

The Better Part

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2013 C

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

Looking up, Abraham saw three men standing nearby.  When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, he said: “Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant.  Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree.  Now that you have come this close to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way.”  Genesis 18:2-5

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church, of which I am a minister in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.  Colossians 1:24-26a

Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me.”  The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”  Luke 10:40-42

Piety

When a guest comes, Christ comes.  Welcome him.  The Benedictines make a big thing of hospitality.  They treat the guest as Christ.  Our piety is a mixture of Martha and Mary.  Christ takes the reality of who we are and works in all of us as we are.  Activists are always at work doing what they think needs doing.  Contemplatives work at what must be done so that they might be free to pray.  The pure Contemplative makes work subservient to prayer.  They work hard and fast that they might be free to pray.  The Contemplative in action makes work prayer.  Such a one allows the Lord to work a 100% in their work.  They work as if all depends upon God and they pray as if it all depended upon them.  Mary in our gospel story is the pure Contemplative.  Mary in the words of Christ has chosen the better part.  She sits at the feet of Christ listening and relishing the presence.  Whether we are pure Contemplatives or not we all need some sitting at the feet of Christ.  Prayer can turn our work into prayer. 

Study

We need to increase our awareness of the different ways we can be close to Christ.  Eucharist gives us the chance to be pure contemplatives.  We have the chance in every Eucharist to be taken up into Christ even as we take him into ourselves.  Eucharist allows us to grow into Christ.  We know we are created in the image and the likeness of Christ.  Eucharist, our going to Communion, allows us to become Christ to our family and friends.  When we make up what is wanting to the suffering of Christ in his Church we become Christ to our Church by being the suffering of Christ for his Church.  Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament becomes a wonderful chance to listen to Christ as we adore the gift he gives us iof being one of us even as we lose ourselves in becoming his life to our world. 

Action

Our deepest joy can be found in filling up what is wanting to the suffering of Christ’s Body, the Church.  Vatican II defines the church as the people of God.  Pious XII called the Church the Mystical Body of Christ.  How we see ourselves in Christ is a gradual becoming awake to the truth of ourselves.  We can never fully know ourselves before we have found ourselves in Christ.  The great actions of our lives will live out the call to preach the gospel of Christ by our lives even as we occasionally use words.  Our actions bring to completion the Good News of Christ.  God so loved the world that he gave us his son so that in his death on the cross we might see the length, breadth and depth of God’s mercy and love for us.  God loves us so much that he sends us his son to be one of us.  We are by our actions and sacrifices capable of being Christ to our world.  Our spirituality puts on the mind and heart of Christ.  In our Resurrection we will become the fullness of what we see in Christ.  

Upon Him

Upon Him

Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The children of Israel set out from Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the little ones…This was a night of vigil for the LORD, as he led them out of the land of Egypt; so on this same night all the children of Israel must keep a vigil for the LORD throughout their generations.  Exodus 12:37, 42

Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.  He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.  A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory.  And in his name the Gentiles will hope.  Matthew 12:18-21 (Isaiah 42:1-4)

Piety

Jesus, in your compassionate sacred heart, you bring justice and freedom to the oppressed.  Although I will never know the slavery experienced by Moses and his people in Egypt, I remain subject to being enslaved by the forces of the world that make we want to seek out riches and more. Send your Spirit upon me to free me from what ties me up.  When released, inspire me to bring your justice to others.

Study

Today’s readings from sacred scripture and the Hebrew Bible are rich in salvation history.  First, we have the overlapping reference to the prophecy of Isaiah restated in the Good News according to Matthew.  This establishes that the spirit of the Lord is upon Jesus.  The passage also echoes the Nazareth Manifesto of social justice outlined in Luke’s Gospel. 

The fulfillment of this is in the hearing of the Word and putting it into practice because the Lord not only proclaims justice to the people, He delivers it as well.  We also see this manifest in the first reading as Moses leads the people out of captivity into freedom (“brings justice to victory”).

Action

Justice and Jesus.  Just us and Jesus.  These are both frequent themes in the readings.  Jesus brought justice to the world when he was alive.  Today, Jesus needs our help to make that a reality.

Jesus performed his signs among the people but asked them to keep his identity a secret until his time comes.  Where can you bring the light of hope without expecting fanfare?  To your family?  To your workplace?  To your school?  To your travels?

Something Greater than the Temple

Something Greater than the Temple

July 19, 2013

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

By Melanie Rigney

“… I will go through Egypt, striking down the first born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the Lord! But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the Lord as a perpetual institution.” (Exodus 12:12-14)

I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. (Psalms 116:16)

“I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” (Matthew 12:6-8)

Piety

Lord, help me to keep my eyes on you despite the temptations of this world.

 Study

It’s been an interesting time for a number of my friends and me. New jobs. New babies. New relationships. New adventures in ministry. But no matter how exciting or positive the change is, it still is change: uncertain and stressful. What about the people I’m leaving behind? Have I prepared them to go on without me? What will happen to our friendships? And what about the new situation—what if the people don’t like or understand me as well? What if I’m not a good parent or grandparent? What if those the new ministry is supposed to touch say, “Thanks but no thanks,” politely or impolitely?

I’ve had this conversation with people and with myself more times than I can count in the past few months. And Matthew 12:6 is where I always end up in prayer or counsel:

I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.

It’s tempting and so human to focus on ourselves when our lives are in upheaval, positively or negatively. That’s why we ask all those “I” and “me” questions. But truly, it’s not all about us and the little temples we have built, temples of competence and comfort and predictability. It’s about God and where he sends us.

Better, then to pray that he equip us to understand and to do his will than to concern ourselves with whether or not people will give us atta-girls and atta-boys or buy us “World’s Best Grandparent” T-shirts or provide awards and accolades for our efforts. God’s definition of success may be different from ours or the world’s. But his is the only one that matters.

Action

What change or challenge is weighing on your mind and soul? Talk with your group reunion about how you might turn over your worries to God, just for a day.

Find Rest

Find Rest

Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”  Matthew 11:29-30

Piety

Father God, take care of us as You took care of the Israelites who were imprisoned in Egypt and then were lost in the desert. 

Brother Jesus, share our burdens in this life despite our propensity to turn our backs on you when you need us to share your Good Friday burden.

Holy Spirit, gift to us what we need to return to the Father from whatever wrong path we are journeying upon. Amen.

Study

Taken for its literal meaning, today’s Gospel is a reading of hope.  Is Jesus saying to his follower’s that coming after him and returning to the works of the Father are easy?  In the context of this chapter and the messages surrounding it, that would be a hard question to answer affirmatively.

First, this talk comes right after he preaches an “answer” to the question sent by John from prison.  Therefore, the people already know that if John was the greatest prophet and missionary announcing the coming of the kingdom, the people know where it landed John: in prison.

Second, the yoke and burden of following Jesus might be seen as easier than the punishments suffered at the hands of the Roman soldiers who occupy the Holy Land.  Plus, these people also know the heavy burden imposed upon them by the Pharisees.

Finally, when we look at the messages in the chapters around this, we hear Jesus say things like:

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  Matthew 10:37-39

He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.  Matthew 12:39-40

The fact that Jesus recognizes his burden is a yoke also indicates he knows it is not easy.  After all, a yoke is a wooden beam, normally used between a pair of oxen and other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do.  When Jesus says to us, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light,” he was offering to join with us and help carry our heavy load. Jesus does not make extraordinary demands for us to step into his yoke; however, once we are “yoked” together like a team of oxen or horses, our burden becomes his; suddenly it feels lighter than if we were pulling by ourselves.

Action

Jesus is not recruiting followers with a message of simplicity but rather of reality.  They know that “picking up his cross” is not an easy physical act.  It is an act of torture and execution.  The “promise” of today is not for comfort in this world.  The promise of today’s readings is for comfort in the Kingdom when we rest in the Lord and with the Lord.

We are asked to keep his commandments by listening to what Jesus has to say and acting upon them.  Jesus himself carries out this instruction in full sight of the people, the Romans and the Pharisees.  As the Cursillo talk says of a leader, “A leader knows the way, shows the way and goes the way.”  So we are asked to follow in His footsteps not for the promise of physical comfort but for the promise of everlasting reward.

Surprised by God

Surprised by God

Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

By Colleen O'Sullivan

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian.  Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush.  As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed.  So Moses decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.”  When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses!  Moses!”  He answered, “Here I am.”  God said, “Come no nearer!  Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.  I am the God of your father,” he continued, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.  The cry of the children of Israel has reached me, and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them.  Come, now!  I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”  (Exodus 3:1-6, 9-10)

At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. (Matthew 11:25)

Piety

Lord, open the eyes and ears of my heart, that I may recognize you when you call my name.

Study

The other night I went out to eat with a friend and her 2½ year old grandson.  When we were finished, the waiter gave the little boy his choice of balloon.  Once we got outside, he announced that he was going to launch it (I was amazed at his vocabulary) and to whom he was sending it   We stood there looking up until we could no longer see that speck of red in the sky.  This was done with the utmost sincerity and faith on that little boy’s part that he was sending a gift that would be received.

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus says that God and all that is of God are revealed precisely to those who, like that toddler, possess this childlike sort of trust and openness. Many of us “wise and learned” adults (read, full of ourselves and skeptical) miss seeing and hearing God, even when God is staring us in the face, because of our preconceived notions about the Lord.

Moses, fortunately, still possesses childlike curiosity.  (This isn’t the Moses depicted by Cecil B. DeMille.  This Moses is rather down on his luck.  A Jew raised by the Pharaoh’s daughter, he has had to flee for his life after killing an Egyptian who was assaulting a fellow Hebrew.  He has taken on the lowly job of shepherding the flocks for his father-in-law.)  When he sees a burning bush in the field, he goes over to investigate it.  Moses notices a strange thing about this fire; nothing is actually getting burned up or turning to ash.  As Moses approaches, he is called by name and told to take off his sandals, because he’s standing on holy ground.  As he listens, he realizes that this is God speaking to him words he isn’t sure he wants to hear.  Who is he that God would select him to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt?

This same dynamic gets played out time and again in the Scriptures.  God taps someone on the shoulder or sends an angel to do it, saying I have selected you to be my prophet, my king, the mother of my Son… God is still at it today, appearing to us, speaking to us in ways and places we least expect, calling us to whatever mission he sets before us.

Action

The question posed by the Gospel is will we see and hear God when it is our turn?  Are we what Jesus refers to as “the wise and the learned,” so full of preconceived notions we would miss God if he appeared outside the little box we’ve constructed for him?  Do we really believe God is found in all things? Is there still within us that wonder, trust and openness demonstrated by my friend’s grandson?  It’s always a surprise when God calls us, but are we still open to surprises?

If Everyone Sees the Image of God in Others

If Everyone Sees the Image of God in Others

Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

By Beth DeCristofaro

Looking about and seeing no one, (Moses) slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.  The next day he went out again, and now two Hebrews were fighting!  So he asked the culprit, “Why are you striking your fellow Hebrew?” But the culprit replied, “Who has appointed you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” (Exodus 2:12-14)

Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. (Matthew 11:20)

Piety

Let us not use bombs and guns to overcome the world. Let us use love and compassion. Peace begins with a smile. Let us radiate the peace of God and so light His light and extinguish in the world and in the hearts of all men, all hatred and love for power.

Today, if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other – that man, that woman, that child is my brother or my sister. If everyone could see the image of God in his neighbor, do you think we would still need tanks and generals?

Peace and war begin at home. If we truly want peace in the world, let us begin by loving one another in our own families. If we want to spread joy, we need for every family to have joy.      Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

http://cca.org.hk/home/eve-of-the-international-day-of-peace-2012/ 

Study

Recently I attended the ordination of a Baptist colleague.  The African-American Church was rockin’!  And even so the choir apologized for their lack due to so many members on vacation.  My friend gave a stirring witness about his call to ministry.

Another clergyman got up to share a prayer which also rocked me.  He said that the Trayvon Martin case weighed heavily on his heart as it has on so many hearts around the country.  To the audibly proclaimed “Amens” and “Yes’s”, this man said that he was trying to wait patiently for God to answer his prayers.  He said “No matter where any of us stand on the issue, what will happen will be God’s answer.  May we accept and rejoice that God has heard our prayers.”

Today’s readings show us consequences to our actions.  We see the oppressor, Pharoh’s own daughter, saving and raising a Hebrew baby in spite of her father’s orders to kill all Hebrew boy babies.  We see that same baby as a man, one of our ancestors in faith, kill in the name of a good to save a slave.  But later he witnesses Hebrews using his action to justify their violence.  Jesus rebukes the towns which chose evil even after witnessed his preaching and his miracles.

We know that God’s mercy forgave Moses who rose to save the Hebrews from Egypt.  We know that time and again people such as Lot and Abraham asked for God’s clemency and it was granted.  But we also know that in choosing against God there are consequences.

Action

A man chose and a teenager is dead.  A man chose and he is a pariah himself.  A man chose and a family lost a child.  A man chose and a country is again faced with the consequences of violence and inequity.  Would Jesus rebuke us for our choices?  Are we building the kingdom of God through our choices or are we building other kingdoms - for security, individual rights, ideology…  What and Who do I choose in my actions and my words every day?

Not Peace but the Sword

Not Peace but the Sword

Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread.  The Egyptians, then, dreaded the children of Israel and reduced them to cruel slavery, making life bitter for them with hard work in mortar and brick and all kinds of field work—the whole cruel fate of slaves.  Exodus 1:12-14

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.  I have come to bring not peace but the sword.  For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household.  Matthew 10:34-36

Piety

Study

Today’s readings are not the modern marketing equivalency for effective recruitment of new church members.  Jesus is not enticing people to follow him with cubes of sugar to help the medicine go down.  Instead, he is providing a heavy dose of reality.

This kind of reality is sometimes in short supply on a Cursillo weekend.  We like to reduce our talks to pithy little sentences like these:

• Be a friend, make a friend, help that friend become a friend of Christ.
• You and I are the only scripture that many people will ever read.
• A leader knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.
• Talk to God about people before you talk to people about God.

These nuggets help the medicine of our talks go down smoothly and set up great table conversations.  However, when all is said and done, the reality of the Fourth Day is that we are commanded to “pick up our cross daily” to follow Jesus.    For three days on the weekend experience, we leave behind the pain of daily life – the daily life to which we will return. 

The slavery that the Israelites experienced in Egypt is not unlike the slavery to which we have grown accustomed to in life.  Although we are not being forced to build temples for the Pharaoh, we are building temples to the “gods” of Wall Street, K Street, Hollywood and Vine.  In our altered states, we worship at the flicker altar of ABCCBSMSNBCFOXCNN.  We commit sins of omission with the beasts of iTunes, eBay and amazon.com. 

Action

On a day that the Church memorializes St. Charles Borromeo, we certainly might need a “doctor of the church” to help us deal with the difficult prescription in today’s readings. What chains of slavery are the readings today asking you to break?  What is it that distracts you from the mission Christ wants you to pursue?

·        
·         Drugs or Alcohol?
·         Esteem?
·         Food?
·         Possessions?
·         Power?

How will you use the sword of Christ to break the bonds that tie you to this world?  Because when you are freed from these concerns, then you are free to be the kind of person Jesus would be if He were lucky enough to be YOU!