My Words Will Not Pass Away

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Melanie Rigney

“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace. But the wise shall shine bright like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.” (Daniel 12:2-3)

You are my inheritance, O Lord!  (Psalm 16)

But this (priest) offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin. (Hebrews 10: 12-14, 18)

“Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:28-32)

Piety

Jesus, hold me tight.

Study

Anton Kern [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

It is perhaps the most challenging time of the year. The days are short, and will be getting shorter still for the next month. While we’ve had a pleasant reprieve the past few weeks, we are certain the cold is coming. In winter, we hold fast to the knowledge that spring is coming. In fall, we hold fast to the knowledge that… winter is coming. That the craziest weeks of overbooking, stress, and exhaustion are coming. That we are likely to cut short our prayer practice because all this other stuff is coming.

It was one of the most challenging times of my teen years. My “best friend” had encouraged me to break up with my boyfriend… and they promptly began dating. There was a lot going on at home. I’d stopped going to church, and no one seemed to notice. And yet—when I recently encountered a schoolmate I hadn’t seen for forty-plus years, that wasn’t the focus of our conversation. We talked about where we’d been since then and where we are today: relationships begun in hope and ended in ashes. New relationships born. Less than fulfilling jobs, and jobs that challenged our skills and provided meaningful work. Where we’d failed… and where we’d succeeded. Little of it had turned out as we were certain it would be during that challenging season.

Perhaps it’s the same lesson Mark 13 shares with us today: things do change. We don’t often know how or when those changes will come; but we know they will, just as surely as fall follows summer and winter follows fall. And we know that if we hold fast to the Lord, we can persevere through it all… for His Word will not pass away.

Action

Contact someone you haven’t seen in ten or more years. Explore together the places the Lord has taken you in the meantime. Pray for confidence and faith to embrace His will today, tomorrow, and always.

See To It That Justice Is Done

Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

When peaceful stillness compassed everything and the night in its swift course was half spent, Your all-powerful word, from heaven’s royal throne bounded, a fierce warrior, into the doomed land, bearing the sharp sword of your inexorable decree. And as he alighted, he filled every place with death; he still reached to heaven, while he stood upon the earth. Wisdom 18:14-16

The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. Luke 18:6-8A

Piety

Paris Cardinal André Vingt-Trois called for unity among those in the city in a statement Friday, and said he is asking Catholic parishes to observe days of mourning and prayer on Saturday and Sunday.

“Faced with the violence of men, may we receive the grace of a firm heart, without hatred,” Vingt-Troisasked. “May the moderation, temperance and control that has been shown so far, be confirmed in the weeks and months to come; let no one indulge in panic or hatred.”

“We ask that grace be the artisan of peace,” he asked. “We need never despair of peace if we build on justice.”

Study

We contemplate the role and actions of the Lord as both the destroyer filling every place with death.  We recall the death on the cross, the death of the Passover, the death of the Egyptian army chasing Moses through the Red Sea and the death of Holy Innocents.  Stretched between heaven and earth sits the Lord both as judge and source of life. 

Despite the images of death, the Word of God brings us Good News.  “For all creation, in its several kinds, was being made over anew, serving its natural laws, that your children might be preserved unharmed.”  God the destroyer battles mightily with God the deliverer of new life.

What emerges is the gracious God granting the prayers we send forth granting us justice speedily, not reluctantly like the dishonest judge. His grace will lead us home.

Action

“But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

In the light of the French attacks, I do wonder what the Son of Man will find.  Despite the promise of grace, justice and answers to our prayers, will the Son of Man find people asking solely for revenge as President Hollande said, ““To all those who have seen these awful things, I want to say we are going to lead a war which will be pitiless.”  However, a different sentiment emerges from the Vatican and Pope Francis who joined leaders around the world in condemning Friday night’s horrific terrorist attacks in Paris, saying they left him “shaken and pained” and are inhuman and unjustifiable.

Vatican spokesman Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi also separately called on people to resist allowing the terrorists to make them frightened or fearful but to instead seek the “message of mercy, that love of God which leads to mutual love and reconciliation.”[i]

Please pray for the people of France and everyone who is a victim of senseless attacks that fill every place –restaurant, stadium, concert halls and streets – with death.  May the attacks end and the love of God prevail.

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[i] http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-condemns-paris-attacks-inhuman-vatican-says-world-needs-mercy

So It Will Be

Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin

By Colleen O’Sullivan

All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan…  For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen.  (Wisdom 1:1,5)

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.  Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge.  (Psalm 19:2-3)

Jesus said to his disciples:  “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all…  So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”    (Luke 1716-17, 30)

Piety

For the beauty of the earth;

For the beauty of the skies;

For the love which from our birth over and around us lies:

Lord of all, to thee we raise this our joyful hymn of praise.

(For the Beauty of the Earth, John Rutter)

Study

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Our Scripture readings for today were written millennia ago, but in many ways, they could have been written only yesterday.  The author of the Book of Wisdom writes about the wonders of creation – fire, wind, stars, water, etc.  People in his day certainly noted the beauty of the world around them, but they didn’t go far enough in their consideration of how it all came to be.  They deified the elements themselves and somehow missed seeing the God who is behind all of it.

We don’t make gods out of the elements nowadays; we are so busy we don’t even notice the world around us half the time.  Our eyes are glued on Facebook, Twitter, video games and whatever else we find on our iPhones and other high-tech gadgets. One of the nicest things about the 30-day retreat I went on last year was the opportunity to put all that aside and to literally smell the flowers and the sea instead.  One morning during that time, my retreat director and I sat on a bench in a garden and talked about the beauties of creation.  She was into the macro-aspects of God’s handiwork, the size of the universe, the number of solar systems, etc.  I, on the other hand, see the beauty of God’s work on a much smaller scale.  I am fascinated by the intricacies of any one cell in our bodies and how it knows what type of cell to become, how to work with like cells and how, as a group, they, in turn, work with other kinds of cells to make us function as human beings.  But, whether we’re into the big picture or the tiny details, how could anyone really think all this came into being without a Creator behind it?  The trick is not to take it all for granted but to take the time to “smell the roses” and give our world some thought.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is talking to his disciples about the day he returns to the earth.  He says there will be many people who are unprepared for his coming.  He’s right.  Not much has changed in the centuries between then and now.  We still tend to live as though we’ve got an eternity of days stretching out ahead of us in this world.  The disciples didn’t want to hear Jesus talk about his impending suffering and death.  We don’t like to think about our own deaths.  Jesus’ return seems so far off, it’s not even on our radar screens.  The Scriptures are full of references to the transient nature of life on earth, but we have invented a plethora of ways to ignore them.  More than any parable Jesus ever told about not knowing the time or the place, September 11^th brought home to me the necessity of trying to live each day as if it might be our last, because the truth is, it might be. One of these days, it will be.

Action

The message I take from these two Scriptures readings paired together is to wake up.  Wake up and appreciate the world in which God has placed us.  Too many of us are missing the beauty of the earth, the beauty of the skies, and the amazing power and love of the God who fashioned all of it. 

Wake up.  Live today as if it were your last day.  No one has an eternity of tomorrows in this life.  If there’s someone you’re at odds with, go and resolve the situation.  Forgive them.  If there’s something you need to do before you die, don’t put it on a bucket list.  Do it.  If there’s anything you need from someone, go and ask them for it.  Don’t procrastinate.

When you have time, download or purchase a copy of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Sí on the environment.  Once we have taken the time to notice the created world, we will want to take care of what God has entrusted to us.  The encyclical is beautifully written and very readable.  

The Kingdom Grows

Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr

By Beth DeCristofaro

For (Wisdom) is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness. And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring; And passing into holy souls from age to age, she produces friends of God and prophets. … Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well.  (Wisdom 7:26-27, 8:1)

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

(Luke 17:20-21)

Piety

Your word, LORD, stands forever;

it is firm as the heavens

I will never forget your precepts;

through them you give me life.

94I am yours; save me,

for I cherish your precepts.

        (Psalm 119:89, 93-94)

Study

Jesus emphasizes that in His teachings, preaching, ministry to those sick or outcast the promised Kingdom has arrived.  Later Jesus foreshadows His own death as he admonishes his followers that you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.  Of course they also did not understand that through Resurrection and coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus will institute the Kingdom of God in the Body of the Church and the bodies of those who follow Him.  His Wisdom, His Word, reaches from end to end mightily down through the ages.

St. Josaphat was a Bishop of the Eastern Rite who died because of his holy commitment to building the Kingdom by bringing the Eastern Church back into communion with Rome. The people who killed him disagreed with the direction of the church in Vitebsk so turned their differences into hate and violence.

Astoundingly, in China, two friends, one who has no arms and one who is blind have together planted more than 10,000 trees on a flood plain for the benefit of future generations.  They have saved their village from flooding and managed erosion while eking out a small living from the wages paid by the local government.  Not Catholic, not Christian, these and other people have been working for the good of God’s children, striving in the image of his goodness.  

http://www.dailygood.org/story/1024/elderly-blind-man-and-his-armless-friend-plant-over-10-000-trees-in-china-jenny-zhang/

Action

As I look around, who do I see who is Christ to me?  To who am I Christ and how am I building His Kingdom?  Missing my arms, eyes, or even losing my friends is no obstacle for any Friend of Jesus, God and prophets. 

Put to the Test

Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop

Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you, because judgment is stern for the exalted–For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test. For the Lord of all shows no partiality, nor does he fear greatness, Because he himself made the great as well as the small, and he provides for all alike; but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends. Wisdom 6:5-8

And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.  He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?  Luke 17:15-17

Piety

Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

Study

This passage from Luke will always be a favorite since it was the Gospel reading at the closing Mass for the Men’s 104^th Cursillo on October 14, 2001 at Holy Spirit Parish.  I was one of (coincidentally) ten freshly minted babe chicks sitting there in my Sunday best when Deacon Jack Ligon looked out in his homily and saw us as the ten lepers.

Jesus’ mercy on us began the prior Thursday evening when we showed up at the curbside of Missionhurst and entered the darkness of the “quiet” night.  Jesus was there at the driveway to meet us just as he met the ten lepers while crossing the border of Samaria and Galilee. 

After the healing took place, only one returned to give thanks.  The one who returned was not one of the Jewish lepers (who Luke implies should have better understood the healing that took place).  Instead, it was the Samaritan who rose above the petty national differences like his good countryman who assisted the man mugged, robbed and left for dead in a ditch. 

Action

Do we get it?  No matter if your Cursillo weekend was one month ago or fifteen years ago, does the message still resonate with you?  We are “put to the test” daily.  Are you getting a passing grade?  Or do you need extra credit?  A study group?  A private tutor?

How well are you living the Christian life in your practices of piety, study and action?  How are you growing in love of God and in love of your neighbor?  How are you growing in gratitude and generosity? 

What We Were Obliged to Do

Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

By Melanie Rigney

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are at peace. (Wisdom 3:1-3)

I will bless the Lord at all times.  (Psalm 34:2a)

Jesus said to the Apostles: “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’” (Luke 17:7-10)

Piety

Lord, may I always be grateful for the privilege of serving You.

Study

There’s entitlement, and then there’s hope. Which motivates you in your relationship with the Lord?

Hugues Taraval [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons.

In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus reminds us of our position: beloved servants of the Father, but servants nonetheless. Jesus challenges us not to pat ourselves on the back about all our good deeds in ministry but rather to be prepared always to serve the Lord as well, no matter how weary or worn we might feel.

Are we rewarded every day in large and small ways by God? It might be more accurate to say God blesses us every day in large and small ways. The quality of those day-to-day blessings isn’t determined by the size of our works. We don’t get to a certain level as we might in an online game and get a big reward of points or extra playing time.

That’s not to say our efforts aren’t noticed and appreciated by God, just as the master in the parable likely noticed the servant’s work. But after all, he or she was only doing what was commanded. And so it is with those who follow Christ. Showing our faith through love, in helping others and in worship, is what we are obliged to do. We’re not entitled to blue ribbons or big trophies from God when we serve Him well here on earth. We hope living in a manner He finds pleasing and blessing Him at all times will win us something far better after this.

Action

Consider discussing with your prayer group or a friend why the teaching of this parable seems so different from that of the prodigal son. Which do you find more challenging?

Contributing All

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Beth DeCristofaro

She answered, "As the LORD, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die." … the LORD, the God of Israel, says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" (1 Kings 17:12, 14)

Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." (Mark 12:42-44)

Piety

God, you blessed the widow with deep faith in you, and she offered you all she had.  We pray:  Let us know the joy of giving, O God.  (From “Give Us This Day,” November 2015, p. 86.)

“The Widow’s Might”, JESUS MAFA, Cameroon, Africa

http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=4839

Study

These readings can prompt us to look at our own paucity in order recognize how we might best give our whole livelihood by loving from our places of deepest distraction or resistance to love.  My junior year of college was spent in France.  Among many positive lessons I learned about was that of not having enough.  Yes, I was in France, studying in Universite! 

Remarkable! But beyond rent and tuition, I had very little to live on.  I lived in anxiety that I would not have enough to eat every day.  Today, I still feel myself holding back when asked to donate because of the implanted desire to hold onto a few coins even though my financial status is far from those days.  I no longer want.  There is, however, a small, remaining sense of what the widows in today’s readings might have felt as they dropped coins into the basket or rolled out the last ounce of flour for flatbread.  What comes next if now I have nothing? 

What I am still learning is that God is always next and now and forever.

Action

With Jesus, we can give all.  We can offer over the anxiety of hunger to feed someone hungrier than ourselves.  We can be impelled by fear that our civil rights are threated to volunteer with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America in order to reduce violence.  We can trust God instead of our need to control by giving more space and time to others allowing them to blossom.  We can give over our worry about fundamentalism or divisions within religions by taking part in ecumenical dialog thus strengthening both civic and sacred communities.  We can see our deepest vulnerabilities as the place where God is protectively present and do what God would do.  Love with our All.

Trustworthy in Small Matters

Saturday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?  Luke 16:10-11

Piety

Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

Study

Today Luke focuses his laser on wealth once again pointing out the incompatibility of serving God and being a slave to riches. “To be dependent upon wealth is opposed to the teachings of Jesus who counseled complete dependence on the Father as one of the characteristics of the Christian disciple.” 

Guarding against greed and choosing generosity instead is a theme woven throughout Luke’s Good News.  From the very first chapter in the Canticle of Mary, we hear:  “He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.” (Luke 1:52-53).  The theme plays itself out in many stories – the good Samaritan, the rich man and Lazarus, the poor widow, the good steward, the Pharisee and the tax collector, etc.

If we are to be good disciples, them our attitude about money must mirror the attitude of Jesus.  Being trustworthy in today’s reading means using money correctly and not giving in to blind greed.  Dishonest wealth and how we use it prevents us from being open to helping others and from being open to the gifts God wants to provide to us.  To be trusted with true wealth, we must handle the small issues that arise every day to be generous because we cannot love both God and money.

Action

What role does money (lack of it or abundance of it) play in your life?  It manifests itself in our possessions, in our bank and retirement accounts, and in our charitable behavior.  As we approach the end of the year, have you made a plan for your volunteer work over the holidays and your charitable giving plans?

Intentionality in All Things

Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

By Colleen O’Sullivan

Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on another’s foundation, but as it is written:  Those who have never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall understand.  (Romans 15:20-21)

“And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.  For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.”   (Luke 16:8)

Piety

O Lord, may I use whatever wisdom you’ve given me to further your Kingdom, not mine.

Study

Shrewdly.  Wisely.  Astutely.  Cleverly.  Prudently.  All adverbs used in different translations of today’s Gospel to summarize how the chief steward deals with the unfortunate discovery of either his dishonesty or his lack of management skills. 

The first thing we’re told about him is that he has squandered his employer’s wealth.  He isn’t a good caretaker and he’s about to lose his job.  We can almost reach out and take hold of his fear.  He’s not a young twenty-something with a long earnings future ahead of him.  Who’s going to hire him?  He can’t go out and do manual labor; he’s not strong enough.  He doesn’t want to become a beggar; that’s below him.

“What to do?  What to do?” He frets.  Then, he comes up with the answer!  He summons each person owing a debt to the master of the household.  As they show up, he offers to tear up their promissory notes and let them write new ones for smaller amounts.  One by one, the various debtors take him up on it.  He’s smiling inside, because now he has many homes to go to in his days of unemployment.

He’s nothing more than an utter scoundrel!  So how could the master commend him as shrewd, wise, astute, clever or prudent?  Because he is!   Granted, in this instance, he’s only looking after his self-interests, but for someone about to be shown the door, he’s taken care of his future pretty well.  He’s got a plan.  A number of people now owe him favors and he’ll never be out on the streets.

Jesus knows we’re all pretty good about having a plan for getting through this life.  Hopefully, it doesn’t involve putting others in our debt.  Maybe it’s only as far-reaching as how to pay this week’s bills.  Perhaps it’s how to get your children through school and launched out into the world.  It might be your long-term plan for funding your retirement.  Whatever, we’re full of objectives and ways to survive on this earth.

Jesus simply wishes that we, “the children of light,” would be just as intentional about our faith and spiritual lives.  Look at the apostle Paul.  In today’s first reading from this final section of his letter to the Romans, he talks about the plan he’s used as a guide all throughout his days as a missionary for Christ.  Jesus gave him the opportunity to preach to the Gentiles.  Paul has run with it, always with the goal that “those who have never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall understand.”  

Action

What we’re not intentional about is often the very thing that falls by the wayside.  Jesus knows that.  If we’re honest with ourselves, we know it, too.

Thinking about Paul’s life, when was the last time you intentionally set out to make a friend for Christ?  When was the last time you put planning and effort into being a friend for Christ?  When was the last time you brought a friend to Christ?

Rejoice for the Sinner Found

Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

By Beth DeCristofaro

For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Why then do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sister? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God (Romans 14:9-10)

(Jesus said) Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? … ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)

Piety

Awaken and enlighten us, my Lord, that we might know and love the blessings which You ever propose to us, and that we might understand that You have moved to bestow favors on us and have remembered us.

O Lord, my God, who will seek You with simple and pure love and not find You are all he desires, for You show Yourself first and go out to meet those who desire You?

(http://carmelitesofboston.org/prayer/prayers-of-carmelite-saints/st-john-of-the-cross/ )

Study

A long time ago on a campus far, far away, as a senior I gave a presentation to freshmen on retreat. Public speaking generally left me speechless in those days, but I managed to quote Godspell. I told them that as we had spent days together on retreat learning how much and in how many ways God loves us that we were then appointed to go forth and “prepare ye the way of the Lord” through our choices, our actions, our very lives. In those days, with a future huge and bright before me and filled with the desire to be Christ-like, I was not always sure how to be loving of those who were themselves lost sheep or who misplaced a precious coin.

St. John of the Cross said “At the evening of life, you will be examined in love.” Today, his words touch me with increased poignancy both as I approach the evening of my own life and as I minister to terminally ill persons. I begin to see the path a bit more clearly. Paul’s words take on a different light when I read them with St. John’s insights; and St. John’s words come alive in light of Jesus’ parables. St. John mapped out the “how” more clearly than I did with my brief speech to the retreatants. His quote continues: “Learn to love as God desires to be loved and abandon your own ways of acting.” God gave Himself to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the Eucharist we are fed to flourish in His love. Can we envision angels rejoicing as we repent and partake?

Action

In Cursillo, we ask each other how we love as God desires to be loved. What can we do to make Cursillo community more open and accessible for others? How am I leaving behind my own ways of acting to draw closer to Christ?

Owe Nothing Except Love

Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop

Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.  (Romans 13:8,10)

Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.  Luke 14:27

Piety

They Will Know that We Are Christians by Our Love

By Peter Scholtes

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.

Refrain
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

Study

If you are carrying your own cross, then your hands don’t have room to carry much else.  Jesus knows this and will show us his own example as he marches up the hill with his cross.  All Jesus wants us to carry is love in our hearts, love on our minds, and love in the work of our hands.  Because if we have love, we fulfill our commitments to others.  Paid in full.

As the notes in the New American Bible underscore, total dedication is necessary for the disciple of Jesus. “No attachment to family or possessions can stand in the way of the total commitment demanded of the disciple. Also, acceptance of the call to be a disciple demands readiness to accept persecution and suffering and a realistic assessment of the hardships and costs.”[i] 

Paul reiterates the importance of love over all going beyond the famous passages in Corinthians.  When only love directs our decisions, the interest of family relationships, sanctity of life, and security of property, remain safe.  (Not that property matters if we give it all up to be disciples.)

Debt creates pressure and no one likes pressure. But there is one debt that you will always owe and never be able to pay off fully: The debt of love to others. You’ll never reach the place where you can say, “Now I love others as much as I ought to.” And so, no matter how long you’ve been a Christian and how much you have grown as a Christian, you still have room to grow in love.[ii]

Action

The great countdowns have begun in earnest.  The headlines in today’s paper warn of what not to buy before Black Friday.  The images in social media point out that there are only seven Mondays until Christmas.  Retail outlets fight over who can woo customers by opening on Thanksgiving Day versus who can woo customers by closing on Thanksgiving Day.  One national chain also has its own interest at heart by encouraging people to go outside and engage in sports activities rather than shopping on Black Friday.  Of course, we will have to go there in advance to but whatever equipment is needed for such physical activity.

Yet all of this misses the point of the seasons we celebrate from Thanksgiving forward.  The point is love, not money.  Gratitude.  Sharing and spending time together with family and friends, with group members and with our parish.

Are you paying off your real debts?

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[i] http://usccb.org/bible/luke/14:25#50014025-1

[ii] https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-90-debt-you-always-owe-romans-138-10

Everything Is Now Ready

Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Melanie Rigney

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:6-8)

In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.  (Psalm 131:1BCDE)

One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.” (Luke 14:15-18)

Piety

Lord, help me to use wisely the gifts You have given me.

Study

It’s a simple concept, really: do more of what you’re good at instead of focusing on how to improve the areas where you struggle.

In the business/human resources world, Gallup’s Clifton StrengthsFinder concept espouses this. You complete a typical battery of questions, and you learn—or, perhaps, relearn—what your top five strengths are: Achiever. Adaptability. Harmony. Empathy. Learner. Self-Assurance. There are more than thirty, all told.

Paul’s message in today’s first reading from Romans 12 is much the same: Use your God-given gifts—ministry, teaching, preaching, and so on. We all have different gifts, gifts that come so easily to us that they don’t seem significant or important to us at all. And yet when we deny their value and fail to use them as the Lord desires, we resemble those dinner invitees described in Luke 14. We find excuses and rationalize why our presence at the table isn’t the most critical thing in our lives. When we do that, we waste our talents and displease God. Better, then, to offer gratitude for the charisms we have received… and put them to work praising the Lord and bringing souls to the Kingdom. Our presence isn’t optional. It’s vital.

Action

Talk with a trusted friend or spiritual adviser about your gifts. Are there ways you could use them more effectively in whatever your current ministry or life situation is?

In the Hand of God

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. (Wisdom 3:1,5-6)

Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5:5)

“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” (John 6:40)

Piety

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come. (Psalm 23:1-2,6)

Study

In death, we are finally freed of our burdens.  There is nothing we want any longer.  On this All Souls Day, we remember those who have gone from this life…especially those who have passed this year.  Bill Downes.  Joseph DeCristofaro.  Helen Landi.  Carlos Otal.  Art De Los Santos.  They were tested in life daily through sickness of themselves and those they loved.  In health. God tried them and found them worthy.

Action

We are surrounded by forces wanting us to want things.  Amazon.  eBay.  iTunes.  Advertisements flooding television and newspapers and magazines.  On the side of buses.  On the gas pump.  In the bathroom.

Experts estimate that we see 3,000 to 20,000 marketing and advertising messages per day. Those higher numbers include every time you pass by a label in a grocery store, all the ads in your mailbox whether you see them or not, the label on everything you wear.[i]   These test our strength for Psalm 23 every hour.  Do you have a strong life in piety, study and action to resist?

How else have you been tested lately?  With illness?  With unemployment?  With money problems?  With failed relationships?  With the death of a loved one?  As gold in the furnace, how is God purifying you? 

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[i] http://www.fluiddrivemedia.com/advertising/marketing-messages/

You're Blessed

Solemnity of All Saints

By Diane Bayne

Piety

Following is a thought-provoking, “piety describing,” translation of Matthew 5:1-12 from The Message (MSG):

“When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

“Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.” 

                                                Matthew 5: 1-12, The Message (MSG)

Study

On the Beatitudes, Richard Rohr has commented:

“Each of these invitations, for that is what they are, are concerned about vulnerable and outpouring relationship, which is necessary for the second half of life, in the same way that the Ten Commandments serve for ego-identity in the first half of life. The Beatitudes are descriptions of a mature human person much more than prescriptions for other-worldly salvation. They offer something astoundingly new to human consciousness, which is a lifestyle based on vulnerability, mutuality, service--and thus a willingness to be usable for God, history, healing, and one another. . . Yet isn’t it interesting that people always want the Ten Commandments on American courthouse lawns but never the Eight Beatitudes? The beatitudes of Jesus are second-half-of-life statements, and frankly ridiculous and naive to first-half-of-life people. They make Jesus sound like a soft, war-protesting, tree-hugging, bleeding heart liberal.”

– Adapted from Loving the Two Halves of Life: The Further Journey by Richard Rohr

Action

Does the above description remind you of anyone you know? Do you find any traces of yourself?  If not, what changes can you make so as to resemble more closely one or more of the descriptions in this Scripture?