Bloom with Abundant Flowers

December 16, 2007

Third Sunday of Advent – Gaudete Sunday

The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. Isaiah 35:1-2

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. James 5:7-8

As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. Then why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. Matthew 11:7-9

Piety

Prepare our hearts and remove the sadness that hinders us from feeling the joy and hope which his presence will bestow. Amen. (From Creighton University)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/121607.shtml

Jesus has such a tangible “earthy” and social impact. The beauty described by the prophet Isaiah and freedoms promised by Jesus in the Gospel by St. Matthew make us wait in restless anticipation like a child anticipating the visit from St. Nick. How ironic that John the Baptist, the prophet greater than all others, is imprisoned when he hears the Good News of Jesus and his ministry!

The New American Bible notes explain that Jesus’ response to the disciples is taken from “passages of Isaiah that picture the time of salvation as marked by deeds such as those that Jesus is doing. The beatitude is a warning to the Baptist not to disbelieve because his expectations have not been met.”

These same passages from Isaiah are the basis for what some theologians call the Nazareth Manifesto also outlined in Luke 4:14-30. This passage is a public statement by Jesus that sets the agenda for his ministry telling us what he is going to do like what he recounts today.

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, To announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God, to comfort all who mourn. Isaiah 61:1

Today in Matthew 11, we hear Jesus express some of the outward signs that provide evidence of that ministry. According to David Couchman on his website “Facing the Challenge,” Jesus adds a new dimension to the Isaiah prophecy – His presence!

Jesus very clearly says that his agenda is different. Remember this is his manifesto. He says I have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the mission God has appointed for me. And he defines his mission in terms of preaching good news to the poor, and doing works of deliverance.

It is the day of the Lord's favor - this is an allusion to the Old Testament year of Jubilee: the time for debts to be cancelled. Why is it the day of the Lord's favor? Because Jesus is here. If he is not the Son of God, this is the most paranoid claim imaginable.

Jesus’ manifesto is inclusive, not exclusive. It is not that God is interested in the poor rather than the rich, or the prisoners rather than those who are free. In that culture, the poor and the prisoners were seen as the ones God was not interested in. If God blessed you, you would be rich and free. But Jesus says no, God is interested in everyone: the poor as well as the rich, the oppressed as well as the free, the non-Jew as well as the Jew. It is a message for the marginalized, and it overturns preconceived ideas and prejudices.

What more remarkable way to underline this message than by sending it your own cousin who sits in a Roman prison unknowingly awaiting what we know will be his execution? What more remarkable way to point us toward Jesus’ own torture, execution and Resurrection when all who are imprisoned by sin will be released?

Action

What has those around us imprisoned? What can we do to set them free so they can rejoice?

What has us imprisoned? How can we be set free to grow like the flowers of spring and rejoice?

Why do we come to church? What do we expect to see? Who do we expect to meet?

Make a list of what keeps you or those you love locked up. Resolve to address one of those issues in the coming year and outline your own expectations.

Recognize Him

December 15, 2007

Saturday of the Second Week of Advent

How awesome are you, ELIJAH! Whose glory is equal to yours? You were taken aloft in a whirlwind, in a chariot with fiery horses. You are destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to reestablish the tribes of Jacob. Blessed is he who shall have seen you before he dies. (Sirach 48:4, 9-11)

“Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” Matthew 17:11-12

Piety

Jesus, as we prepare for you to come back into the world, let us prepare for you also to come back into our lives. Help us to heed the message from John the Baptist and make way for your arrival. Let us offer to you our very lives and hopes this holiday season and ask as you return to bring us ears that we may truly hear, hearts and minds that are open to your calling, and hands that will be about your work on earth. Help us to repair our relationships with our sisters and brothers now and in the future. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/121507.shtml

We end this week, the halfway mark of Advent, much as we began it on Sunday. Then we reflected on John the Baptist, the voice crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord, setting this right.

The prophet Ben Sirach reminds us of the prophecy that Elijah would come again to help people get their relationships and lives repaired and prepared for the coming of God. These prophecies were well known to the people living during the time of Christ’s coming and life on earth. According to Matthew, this expectation was fulfilled in the Baptist's ministry through both outward signs and the message John delivered.

Outwardly, people could readily see how the clothing worn by John the Baptist (“clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist”) reminded them of the austere dress of the prophet Elijah. Upon hearing John’s message, they also could connect what was said of Elijah: that he would come back “to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” (Malachai 3:23)

If they did not understand this as they experienced it and heard the message, then Jesus was there to shake them into awareness of the past and further prophecy of what was to come. “I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” Matthew 17:11-12

Action

Is Jesus shaking you? What is He saying to you? What message is he trying to get across to you during this Advent season? Is he trying to get you to take a break from the malls and commercialization of this holiday and remember that he is truly there? The Magi did not bring gift cards from Safeway to the Christ child. They offered items rich in symbolism for the newborn King.

So instead of wondering what we should get for Uncle Joe, perhaps we should be more like the Magi and be concerned about what we should offer up to Jesus. Or even better, what we should ask Jesus to provide for us?

Like a River

December 14, 2007

Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, priest and doctor of the Church

If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea; Your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, Their name never cut off or blotted out from my presence. Isaiah 48:18-19

The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, “Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” But wisdom is vindicated by her works. Matthew 11:19

Piety

Let us pray: Dear God, you never said it would be easy. You only promised that it would be worth it! Help us to live a life focused on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching as the authentic basis for loving each other. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/121407.shtml

As the popular song went while I was a teenager: “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. All good things – including rose gardens – flow from the Lord. Yesterday the readings showed how the Lord would take barren landscapes and beautify them. In today’s readings, the promise of Advent – the coming Lord – vows to transform our very lives with wealth and justice and generations of descendents. Yet this transformation does not come WITHOUT a price. Indeed the price tag is quite high.

Matthew notes how Jesus had to endure the sneers and jeers of the people who watched him cavorting with sinners. Isaiah notes that prosperity only comes through following the commandments. Vindication is not handed to us like a gift wrapped up in a bow. God may not ask us to travel across the desert to Bethlehem on the back of a mule while pregnant. God may not ask us to raise a child that is not of our own flesh and blood. God may not even ask us to die on the cross. But God will ask us to pay some kind of price in personal toil, suffering or tribulations.

The greatest saints experience such trials, such “dark nights of the soul.” Recently, we even read that despite the depth of Mother Teresa’s faith and works, she also experienced years when she felt abandoned by God.

All this is the path to realize the promises of salvation. Following through on such promises also is reiterated in today’s reading from the Good News. According to the Notes to this passage in Matthew provided by the New American Bible:

“The meaning of the parable and its explanation is much disputed. A plausible view is that the children of the parable are two groups, one of which proposes different entertainments to the other that will not agree with either proposal. The first represents John, Jesus, and their disciples; the second those who reject John for his asceticism and Jesus for his table association with those despised by the religiously observant. Matthew 11:19c (her works) forms an inclusion with Matthew 11:2 ("the works of the Messiah"). The original form of the saying is better preserved in Luke 7:35 ". . . wisdom is vindicated by all her children." There John and Jesus are the children of Wisdom; here the works of Jesus the Messiah are those of divine Wisdom, of which he is the embodiment. Some important textual witnesses, however, have essentially the same reading as in Luke.”

Hearken! However, there still remains no free lunch. Hearken! The price for such prosperity and vindication is to listen and act. Hearken!

Action

Make the world sweeter for cocoa farmers and coffee bean growers so that they suffer fewer trials and tribulations. Buy and use fair trade coffee and chocolate this year in your home and workplace.

Cocoa farming is a precarious business. The trees are vulnerable to various diseases and pests and although chocolate is one of the world’s favorite treats, the cocoa price often dips below the level at which it pays enough for cocoa small-scale farmers to survive.

So when farmers have a greater financial stake in their work and the bog corporations pay them a higher rate for their product, they can make a better life for themselves and their families. Read more about “fair-trading here. Then stop by Farrell Hall at St. Mary of Sorrows this weekend after Mass to buy some fair trade coffee or chocolate.

Fear Not; Accept It

December 13, 2007

Memorial of Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr

I will open up rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water. I will plant in the desert the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; I will set in the wasteland the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine, that all may see and know, observe and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah 41:18-20

Whoever has ears ought to hear. Matthew 11:15

Piety

St. Lucy, in this season of promise, as we wait for the fulfillment of promises and hope we ask you to intervene for our sakes with the Lord of goodness. Help us to accept what comes out way as you did – with faith, not fear. Pray with us that God will open our eyes to appreciate the beauty of this world; open our ears to hear His word; open our mouths that we may spread the Word; and open our hearts to act on His commands. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/121307.shtml

Santa Lucia is the patron saint of the mariners in Naples (O dolce Napoli) and the gondoliers in Venice near the church bearing her name. She was martyred in the Middle Ages after pledging her dowry to protect the poor of Sicily and refusing to enter into an arranged marriage with a non-Christian.

The familiar (to some) Italian song, Santa Lucia, is a tribute to St. Lucy. The song (sung by Caruso, Pavarotti, Perry Como and Elvis Presley among others) is an invitation of a sailor in Naples to have people board his boat and enjoy the view of the town as the sun sets. According to tradition, “it is night and the moon is reflected in the sea. He tells us of the indescribable magic that one can feel while watching the boats in the sea; how they sail softly, driven by a gentle breezes. The boatman invites people to board his boat saying how you will admire the sea and the city of Naples.”

Just as the song celebrates the evening light that casts the bay of Naples into a beautiful scene, St. Lucy is known as the “Queen of the Lights” because her feast day was traditionally held on the shortest day of the year (Winter Solstice). After her feast, the days lengthen and light became more plentiful.

Just as the light better illuminates the world, Isaiah shares with us how the Lord will turn the wastelands into luminous landscapes. No matter what means or methods which humanity resorts to delay or avoid the coming of the Kingdom of God, we are as powerless to stop its coming as we would be to stop the sun from rising in the morning.

Nothing can stop what was prophesied from becoming reality. Jesus too reminds us to accept it. Just as St. Lucy did not fear her fate at the hands of civil authorities, Jesus reminds us, too, not to fear the kingdom which John the Baptist announces.

Action

According to the website Catholic Culture, “Today's feast can easily be harmonized with Advent themes. The very name Lucy pulsates with light, a living symbol amid the season's darkness (the days are now the shortest of the year). As a wise virgin Lucy advances with a burning lamp to meet the Bridegroom. She typifies the Church and the soul now preparing their bridal robes for a Christmas marriage.”

Choose one of the customs for St. Lucy's feast and try it with your family. See Celebrating for the Feast of St. Lucy, Swedish Lucia Feast, and St. Lucia Devotions.

My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord

December 12, 2007

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

By Melanie Rigney

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord.” (Zechariah 2:14)

“And Mary said (to Elizabeth): ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.’” (Luke 1:46-47)

Piety

Lord, give me the faith to see and proclaim your greatness in the gifts in all forms that you give me.

Study

Today's Readings

Our Lady of Guadalupe

When do we become skeptical about miracles? Why do so many of us, like Thomas, require visible proof of the presence of holiness among us?

According a Web site devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe (http://www.sancta.org/intro.html), a “Lady from Heaven” first appeared northwest of present-day Mexico City in 1531. She identified herself as Mary, and asked that a church be built on the site. But the local bishop wasn’t sure; he needed a sign. So Mary gave him a couple: roses on the hill in mid-December, and an imprint of her image on a cactus cloth. They say the cloth should have deteriorated in twenty years; it shows no sign of decay even today (see image).

Sure, there’s a sucker born every minute. Sure, a fool and his money are soon parted. But a little suspension of disbelief is a good thing... and may be a glorious thing.

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast,” the White Queen told Alice in Through the Looking Glass. Think about the number of things you believe every morning before breakfast that you would have thought impossible just ten years ago: the ubiquity of the Internet. A woman as the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Three-dollar a gallon gas. Is it really so difficult to believe that God sends visible signs of holiness to earth?

Action

Don’t be as ambitious as the White Queen. Believe before breakfast in one impossible thing today: that you can ease the suffering of a troubled friend; that you can spend two hours shopping with a member of your parish in whom you do not always see Christ; that an extra $50 donation to your Parish, Cursillo, or another worthy cause won’t strap your budget. Then prove to yourself that it’s possible.

God Stands Forever

December 11, 2007

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

“Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. Matthew 18: 12-13

Piety

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im3_IG-D5PY&feature=related

Prepare ye the way of the Lord.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/121107.shtml

As our time of preparation continues, we can really feel the richness of Isaiah’s prophecy. Everything is right there in Isaiah 40: from the faith to move mountains to the image of the Good Shepherd. Isaiah earns his stripes as a prophet. He foretells the Good News. He even calls it such.

Go up onto a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
Cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!

And he gets it all right. Except for one thing, which Isaiah seems to get wrong: The Lord our God comes with power.

While we know the Lord does have power, no one recognizes it because he comes into the world in the most vulnerable, powerless form he could possibly take – the infant child of a homeless, refugee couple who don’t even have a proper room at the inn or doctor or midwife to care for them.

Yet despite this vulnerable baby, the word of God revealed to us has certainly stood the test of time. And in his powerlessness, he had all the power he ever needed.

Action

How are you preparing to have a spirit-filled Christmas?

Why not ditch that artificial tree in your basement for a live tree? There is still a great selection available from the Knights of Columbus for sale on the property of the Historic Church on Route 123.

Why not add someone in a homeless shelter to your Christmas gift list and get that person what they truly need this year?

Why not make sure you keep Christ in the season with appropriate religious cards and greetings?

See My Faith, Oh God

December 10, 2007

Monday of the Second Week of Advent

By Beth DeCristofaro

…fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; Then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing. (Isaiah 35: 4-6)

I will listen for the word of God…Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. (Psalm 85: 9, 11-12)

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 5:20)

Piety

In stillness I listen for your Word, O God. Open my blind eyes so that I might see you. Open my deaf ears that I might hear you. Heal my lameness so that I may follow you. Open my mute tongue so that I may sing your praise. Help me see, hear, act and speak kindness, justice and truth for your Glory. Help me listen in stillness for your word, O God.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/121007.shtml

Isaiah’s beautiful poem speaks hope to those in exile and those left behind, bereft in a land destroyed by the conqueror. God will cause the lethal desert to bloom with life and God will smooth a road to liberate them.

Jesus liberates the paralyzed man from his spiritual and physical handicaps. In his healing, the man realizes the glory of God as do the witnesses: astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.” (Luke 5:26) However, the Pharisees and teachers of the law did not acknowledge the incredible thing they had seen; they were closed to the glory of God.

During the Advent season, we have another chance to open ourselves to the unlooked for and undeserved gift from God that is faith. Can we sing joyfully as the psalmist does? Can we exult, in spite of the deserts within ourselves, or the disabilities which block and bring pain to our lives, the exile which others sometimes inflict on us, and the God-ignoring culture in which we live, that God heals and forgives us? All we must do is to say “yes”?

Action

Find time away to be alone with God. Listen. Let God help you look at the desert, the exile, the disbelief, the doubting parts of yourself. Let God help you look at these hurting, divided places with God’s own kindness, justice and love. Let God help you find your place next to the crib of Jesus, the new born Light of the World.

Prepare the Way of the Lord

December 9, 2007

Second Sunday of Advent

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6

In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea (and) saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: “A voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’” Matthew 3:2-3

Piety

Praying the Jesuit Examination Of Conscience

1. Thanksgiving

Lord, I realize that all, even myself, is a gift from you.

Today, for what things am I most grateful?

2. Intention

Lord, open my eyes and ears to be more honest with myself.

Today, what do I really want for myself?

3. Examination

Lord, show me what has been happening to me and in me this day.

Today, in what ways have I experienced your love?

4. Contrition

Lord, I am still learning to grow in your love.

Today, what choices have been inadequate responses to your love?

5. Hope

Lord, let me look with longing toward the future.

Today, how will I let you lead me to a brighter tomorrow?

Adapted from Through All the Days of Life, a collection of prayers compiled by Fr. Nick Schiro, S.J.

The voice of John rings out in the Gospel of today saying; “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” It seems there is always something in our lives that needs fixing up. The making of the “Examen of the Consciousness of Christ” in our lives slips away all too easily.

It is a practice that is kept up by discipline. Each night it is worthwhile to check back on the day to see where Christ was close to us in the people that came into our day. How did I welcome Christ in my neighbor? It is a question that brings awareness to the fore of our closest moment to Christ. It gives us meat on the bones of our closest moment to Christ that we witness to in Group Reunion. It allows us to have more than one moment to choose from in the myriad of ways that Christ comes into our lives in the person of the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick strangers of our lives. The fixing up of our spiritual life is not a matter of a once only question. We are called to find Christ in our lives in every moment. Prayer is our conscious awareness of Christ brought out in the ways we look back on a day and see and appreciate how good God is to us in our friends and neighbors.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/120907.shtml

Christ is there in everyone if we know how to look. Study is how we look for Christ in our lives. It is too easy to take Christ for granted; too easy to turn one’s back on Christ and forget to look beyond appearances to find him. Study is how we improve the focus of our hearts on Christ.

The Examen is a study of the events of the day in the light of his love.

The Examen is an important form of prayer in our lives. Christ’s example of how to live life challenges me to see how I could be better. This opens my heart to an acknowledgement of my weaknesses. I see how I could have done better. This is what study reveals to us. Action follows study.

Action

I can do something about what is wrong in my life and the world around me. Study reveals the call of the Lord to do something about what is wrong with our world. I do not have to wait for someone to say; “Do something.” As I read the letter of Paul to the Romans, I hear him ask God to allow us to think in harmony with one another that we may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I thank God for the voice of John in the poor people of our world. The voices crying out from their pain are continually inviting us to make our contribution for a better world. What needed to be done needs to be continually done that our celebration of life be a Sacrifice of Praise to the God who went out on the limb of the Cross that each and every one of us would know how loved by God we are.

Nothing Will Be Impossible For God

December 8, 2007

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Lord God then called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38

Piety

God, remove from our path the temptations that cause us to turn our attention away from you. Take from me Father, all that keeps me from you. Lord, set before me the tasks that you need me to accomplish in your Holy Name. Give to me Jesus all that leads me to you.Holy Spirit, remove all the detours from our pathway. Set us free so that we may give our life to you as shown by Mary and Joseph. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/120807.shtml

God will seek us out no matter what we do or our condition in life. When God sees you out, what a difference your attitude and openness toward God makes!

Even though God must have known that Adam and Eve had eaten the apple, he still went looking for them. Yet they had given in to temptation and were naked and afraid.

Just as he sought out Eve who became the mother of all living things, God also sought out Mary for her predestined role. However, Mary’s attitude did not try to challenge God or to take God’s place. She listened, obeyed and acted upon the instructions from the Angel. “May it be done to me according to your word.”

Action

As we enter Advent, let us be as open to the word and work as Mary was. When you pray, open your hands to see what responsibility God will place in your care this season.

Even if we don’t think we can succeed, nothing God asks of us will be impossible for God to accomplish even if God has to use our hands to get the work done.

God needs help caring for some special people this weekend. The retreat for people facing serious illness takes place this weekend. Many of the team members are Cursillistas.

Saturday from 8:30 p.m. until 10:30 pm, there will be a party for the men and women on this retreat. Unlike the Cursillo party, everyone is invited to stay and mingle and enjoy.
Help is needed with any of the following:

· Prepare food and deliver to the Retreat House and stay for the party if possible

· Set up for the party (7:30 - 8:30 pm) and stay and enjoy the party

· Give a monetary donation to help defray the cost of the food which I already purchased -- $175 is needed in total). A minimum donation of $5 will help immensely.

Directions to the Dominican Retreat House:

From Fairfax, travel 123 north past Tysons Corner
Turn left onto Old Dominion Road

Take 2nd left turn to the Dominican Retreat House, 7103 Old Dominion Drive, McLean, VA 22101-2799 (Phone 703-356-4243)

God bless and please pray for the men and women on this retreat and the team serving them.

And Their Eyes Were Opened

December 7, 2007

Memorial of Saint Ambrose, bishop and doctor of the Church

But a very little while, and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard, and the orchard be regarded as a forest! On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 29:17-19

When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” Matthew 9:28-29

Piety

Master, we want to see. Yet there are so many idols blocking our vision – including ourselves. Help us overcome our personal and social blindness to the needs of your children around us not only in this Holy Advent Season but throughout the year. Give us the faith to put your Word to work in your world. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/120707.shtml

There is yet another sensational new “pseudo-reality” show clogging the airwaves called Phenomenon. In one recent program, one of the alleged stars put on a blindfold and stuck his hand into a row of clay jars. One jar contained poisonous snakes. He was supposed to be clairvoyant and not stick his hand in with the vipers. But he was not and he was bitten. Were people (like me) watching to see if he would succeed or hoping he would fail? What difference would it make to anyone except the network accountants and the commercial sponsors?

We can try to be God-like (all-knowing and all-seeing) but we will never succeed alone. You know what that got Lucifer. When we make ourselves blind, we succeed in only one thing – making ourselves blind. Only God can cure that blindness and give us the sight that he gives to Bartimaeus.

Isaiah tries to get us ready for the real thing. He predicts the kind of upheaval and change which the world will know when Jesus walks with us. Forests of cedars will be converted into orchards! The deaf will hear! The blind will see! Despite the foretelling, the people are not ready for Jesus changing everything in their world. Yet the blind men on the road are ready for Jesus. They are ready for faith. They are ready for sight. They are ready for a miracle.

Maybe we should call Phenomenon’s producers and tell them to dramatize the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.

Action

Jesus tells the blind men not to tell anyone what happened. (Jesus warned them sternly,
“See that no one knows about this.”) Yet they can not contain their joy and word spreads far and wide. (They went out and spread word of him through all that land.)

We on the other hand are asked to be prophets and tell the world about our faith yet how many of us keep silent. We want our faith to be private despite the weekly (daily) dismissal mission – “Go in peace to love and serve the world!”

Take a public stand on a cultural issue like the commercialization of Christmas. Thanks to Susan Raposa for alerting me to the "Open Letter to Christmas Culture Warriors" from Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good here: http://www.christmascampaign.org/letter.php.

Let some corporation or department store know that you don’t appreciate their advertising (Best Buy, are you listening? Please ditch that commercial about driving by Grandma’s house to hurry home to open presents!).

Stand up against how Hollywood depicts and exploits religion and faith in the movie “Hitman.” The sheer unmitigated violence of the commercial and trailer while the hymn “Ave Maria” plays in the background and the sign of the cross is mocked are both revolting! If that’s not bad enough, 20^th Century Fox even promotes the movie with the teaser line: “It is said that a man will walk this earth with the power to strike down evil wherever it hides to bring us peace.” This not only distorts this description of Jesus in the month that we join Christians worldwide celebrating His birth but also replaces our Savior with the acts of a sinner who turns to violence, exactly the opposite of the Gospel message.

The Footsteps of the Poor

December 6, 2007

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is an eternal Rock. He humbles those in high places, and the lofty city he brings down; He tumbles it to the ground, levels it with the dust. It is trampled underfoot by the needy, by the footsteps of the poor. Isaiah 26:4-6

Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. Matthew 7:24-25

Piety

(From “Simply simple prayer” by William R. Matthews which appeared in Spiritual Life, Winter, 1999 .)

“We pretend prayer is a complicated act. Simple is a gift, says the old Shaker hymn (as is Shaker furniture, solid and beautiful in its design and construction).”

It's a gift to be simple

It's a gift to be free

It's a gift to come down

Where you ought to be

And when you see yourself in a way that is right

You will live in a valley of love and delight!

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/120607.shtml

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21

Matthew picks up right where the readings from Luke left off in the last liturgical cycle reinforcing the themes of listening, obedience and action during the Advent season.

Jesus will come to know his share of rejection on his way to becoming a cornerstone. Until then, he warns that many of us also face the possibility of rejection. Here we have a clear warning that those who do not listen and act will be rejected from heaven. The natural order of the world is upset, reversed, stood on end, time after time and today’s readings give just the latest example. Today’s headline writers would have a field day with this story just like they revel whenever the rich and powerful make a misstep.

Those in High Places Humbled…details at ten.

Lofty City Turned to Dust…right after these words from our sponsor.

Sometimes rejection happens in a big and noticeable manner especially if you have economic power (Michael Milken, Kenneth Lay, Bernie Ebbers), political standing (Larry Craig, Bill Clinton, Marion Barry), or athletic prowess (O.J. Simpson, Pete Rose, Tanya Harding, Michael Vick), or show business talent (Michael Jackson, Madonna, Alec Baldwin).

When have you felt rejection from a social, business or family group? Our rejection may not be so public. The rejection we know may come from being dismissed from a job, losing out on a promotion, or not being picked for the special assignment by the boss. We can deliver rejection, as well, in our tone of voice, the look in our eyes, or a dismissive gesture.

Today, our culture thrives on the battle to separate the winners or losers. From Survivor China to the Amazing Race, from the Iowa Caucuses to the NFL Playoffs, from the Beijing Olympics to Ultimate Cage Fighting, everything boils down to who will win, who will be out, or who will Trump fire net. But is the ultimate sin really whether we get voted off the island? Do we really care if “the tribe has spoken” or what they have said?

Our job is not to follow what the tribe says or the crowd does. Instead, we are asked to follow the Holy One who will go before us to open wide the gates to the Kingdom of Heaven. When you arrive, will those doors be swinging open? You have it in your control if you do the “will of the Father.”

Action

Jesus is not selling you cars, or diamonds, or DVDs or sporting goods this month. He has a very different message. Can you hear it through the commercial banter? If you hear his voice, what can you set on rock?

Instead of making Christmas a commercial success, make it a spiritual success. Try celebrating this Christmas in a little more simple fashion this year. Visit the Simple Living website for Ten Tips for a Simpler, More Meaningful Christmas. http://www.simpleliving.org/indexoth.php?place=archives/Calendar/Calendar.php#December

They All Ate and Were Satisfied

December 5, 2007

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

By Melanie “Grasshopper” Rigney

“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.” (Isaiah 25:2)

“You set a table before me as my enemies watch; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Psalms 23:5)

“Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets full.” (Matthew 15:36-37)

Piety

Lord, feed my soul, and let me pick up the fragments left over to share with my brothers and sisters.

Study

Today's Readings

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Back in 1990, two accomplished motivational speakers decided the inspirational stories they used in their presentations and workshops would make a great book. Some 140 publishers disagreed. But the speakers didn’t despair. They knew there was something to their idea. They saw over and over again the audiences’ reaction to the stories, their own and those of friends and colleagues. One of the men explained the concept this way: his grandmother had always told him her chicken soup would cure any bodily ailment. He knew the book would have the same healing powers for the soul.

Finally, in 1992, a small publisher in Florida decided to take a chance on the men, and the first Chicken Soup for the Soul books came off the presses in June 1993. The Chicken Soup series now boasts more than 148 titles published in forty-five languages and more than 100 million copies sold for Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. In the publishing world, Jack and Mark are poster boys for sticking with a good idea, for not letting rejection discourage you from pursuing your dream. The passion and perseverance they exhibited can also be an example to us as Catholic Christians.

Being a Catholic can be tough. People misunderstand the role of saints in the Church. They think we’re a little weird because we believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. They don’t understand how papal infallibility works and think the pope controls our every move.

But amid the misunderstandings, our souls can be constantly fed—not by the inspirational stories of Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and their friends, but by the Lord himself. In the story of the loaves and fish, there were as many loaves left at the end as there were in the beginning—yet everyone was fed. In today’s first reading, Isaiah says the Lord promises for all people “a feast of rich food.”

If we but listen to what Jesus said—especially the two greatest Commandments, to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves—we will always be fed spiritually. And there will always be room for us to bring along a friend to a table.

Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield believed through 140 rejections in two years that their stories would heal people’s souls, and their financial rewards are obvious. Imagine the reward we will receive by living our belief in Christ, who nourishes us through every rejection. Let His Love feed you.

Action

It can be hard to let Christ feed your soul when your stomach is empty. Today, make a financial or in-kind donation to an organization such as Our Daily Bread (www.our-daily-bread.org) in Fairfax County, the Arlington Food Assistance Center (www.afacinfo.org), or So Others Might Eat (SOME; www.some.org) in the District. Or, volunteer to help with food distribution or pickup. Or, give a grocery store gift card to your parish’s version of a Giving Tree for needy families. Watch these “loaves” multiply.

A Bud Shall Blossom

December 4, 2007

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent

But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. Isaiah 11:1-4

“All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” Luke 10:22-24

Piety

God, as we prepare for our first snow of the season,

Help us to remember and imagine the warmth that you promise to send

A warmth that will thaw the ice of winter and the coldness in our hearts

A warmth that will soften the soil and allow a shoot from the stump of Jesse

To enter into our broken hearts, broken relationships and broken lives

Let us see the beauty that you unlock

Let us revel in the Word that you reveal

Let us respond in gratitude and love to your loving warmth and warming love. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/120407.shtml

Do you find it hard to think of a bud blossoming at this time of year? With night time temperatures hovering in the 30 degree F range and chilly rain knocking the last brown leaves off of the beechnut, oak and dogwood trees in my backyard, flowers are the last thing that comes to mind right now. However, now is the time that gardeners make ready the ground and the seeds which will spring forth in March and April, breaking our long winter’s nap. Now is the time to plant trees that will blossom in spring.

Advent is the time to make ready our holy ground for the coming of a shoot sprouting from our branches. Isaiah makes ready our holy ground by introducing us to what we will come to know as the gifts of the Holy Spirit eons before the Holy Spirit appeared at that first Pentecost. It is doubtful that any in Judah eight centuries before the birth of Christ knew the seed that he was planting in these “Immanuel Prophecies.”

Jesus cultivates similar ground – planting in the minds and hearts of his disciples the revelation that the Father has revealed to them what they know about the Son fulfilling the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible with visions that many who have come before – including powerful kings and princes – were unable to see.

Action

We were not there to hear Jesus. However, the Holy Spirit works to reveal Christ to us this Advent season. What is the Spirit planting in your life that will sprout, what bud will blossom in your ministry?

What has God handed over to you? What will you plant during this Advent season? Hopefully you will not dig yourself into credit card debt with stores that promise that is you shop there you will live better (no thank you Wal*Mart) or products that also promise you better living (no thank you Circuit City). Instead, wouldn’t it be nice to see this ad on TV:

“This Holiday Season, we have just what you need for true happiness and everlasting life. Come to St. Mary’s (or fill in your parish name) to live better in this world and the next. We have everything you need to eat and drink. We have gifts that as far as your eyes can see.”

PS: Passed this sign on the way to work – church was on Braddock Road near Little River Turnpike. Missed the name but got the message:

“The greatest gift of all was wrapped in a manger.”

Lord, Only Say the Word and Heal

December 3, 2007
Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, priest

By Beth DeCristofaro

For over all, the Lord’s glory will be shelter and protection (Isaiah 4: 6)

For the house of the Lord, our God, I pray, “May blessings be yours.” (Psalm 122: 9)

Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. (Matthew 8:8)

Piety

My God, I am not worthy to have you enter my roof, yet you arrive there. I am not worthy that you heal my hurts, yet you stoop and relieve my pain. I am not worthy yet you ask that I bring your presence to the world just as you asked your faithful servant, Francis. May I serve you each day knowing that you will enter my roof bringing strength and healing.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/120307.shtml

Where is God in turbulent, brutal times? There are some who say that hurricane Katrina caused such devastation because we “dis-invited” God from our country. There are (a few) people who feel that the war in Iraq is God’s punishment for allowing homosexuals into the military. And certainly, reading the Old Testament, one might see such a God – except the God of the Israelites believes in giving second, third and seven-times-seven chances to the Chosen People. He who remains in Zion and he who is left in Jerusalem Will be called holy: every one marked down for life in Jerusalem. (Is 4: 3) Isaiah’s apocalyptic images include a saving, loyal God. Isaiah’s God acts according to promises made, even to a fickle people.

But Jesus calls us to much more. He responds to the faith of a non-believer, an oppressor to His own people. He rejoices in the faith of a man who recognizes the power and promise of God. He responds to the faith of one asking mercy for another. He responds to one who “comes knocking.” What do we ask of God? Our daily bread? Forgiveness for ourselves and others? The sure knowledge that God is among us despite hurt, sadness and fear? Do we hold it against others if we do not feel God moving in our lives?

In Advent we await the celebration of the earthly coming of God. Our patience and hope is tested – yet strengthened and intensified - if we look for God, knock for God, recognize God’s authority over our own. Can we anticipate joyfully with and for all our neighbors for whom God came? God is much greater than turbulence and violence. God is much greater than our failings and our successes; giving them to God allows us to receive God within our own “roof”.

Action

Take stock of the parts of you most resistant to the Will, the Authority of God. Is it insensitivity to another’s wishes? Is it the need to always be right? Is it a dependence on financial status? Emptiness caused when a loved one hurt you? A physical disability which blocks what you would like to achieve?

Pray that you might be emptied in order to be filled with the promise, shelter and protection of God’s own glory.

Walk in the Light

December 2, 2007

First Sunday of Advent

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.

In days to come, The mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: “Come, let us climb the LORD'S mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD! Isaiah 2:2-5

Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. Matthew 24:42-44

Piety

May this Advent be a special time of uniting our minds and hearts around Christ! May we all bring Christ back into Christmas by making it a holy time! May Christ be alive in all our minds and hearts because of how we share him!

Study

The mountain of the Lord has its beginning in the crib of Bethlehem. We are called to the birth of Christ by the invitation to stay awake for his coming. Life brings us to the mountain of the Lord as the highest of the mountains of life. We begin to climb this mountain by going to the stable of Christ’s birth. We do it by our prayer. We do it by our willingness to find in the little things of life chances to love and chances to make the ordinary extraordinary by connecting the little and the ordinary to what is most special about life. Our walk in the path of the Lord begins by our realization that he is totally like us. No abortion can ever be acceptable when we realize our beginnings and his beginning are one and the same mystery of God’s love entering the world.

Birthdays are wonderful celebrations for the specialness of all beginnings. Four weeks of preparation are hardly enough to say what is dawning for the human race in the Coming of Christ. Each year we celebrate his birth with different levels of expectation. We have great expectations when we do long preparation for a coming. Importance of an event is measured by the work we do to make an event memorable. There are few events in life that influence the lives of those we love more than birthdays that express gladness at the presence of another in our lives. We celebrate what is important to us. The name we give something shows its importance to us. All the places and the shops that have taken Christ out of Christmas, I intend to avoid. Christmas without the name of Christ is only a holiday. Instant gratification is the gospel of secularism. Christmas with the celebration of Christ’s birth is a Holy Day. Advent is all about the making holy the days of preparation for the coming of the Lord.

Action

Piety takes many forms during the preparation for the coming of Christ.

The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary keep the attention of our souls on what is going to happen. Christmas Cards keep those we love in the special place of our hearts. One wonderful practice for Christmas preparation is a prayer for each person we would send a card to as we think of how each person we send a card to, has a place in our hearts. Praying for people by name is hard to do in the world of too much business. Making the addressing and the signing of a card with the Christmas message a prayer gives special attention to the important people of our lives. May this Advent be a special time of uniting our minds and hearts around Christ! May we all bring Christ back into Christmas by making it a holy time! May Christ be alive in all our minds and hearts because of how we share him!

Stand Before the Son

December 1, 2007

Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Then the kingship and dominion and majesty of all the kingdoms under the heavens shall be given to the holy people of the Most High, Whose kingdom shall be everlasting: all dominions shall serve and obey him. Daniel 7:27

Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36

Piety

Jesus, walk with us in the coming year so that we may be vigilant at all times. Protect us from anxiety, excessive celebration and being distracted from the mission you have for us. Help us always remember to listen, obey and focus on the actions you require, not of our surplus, but of our whole livelihood. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/120107.shtml

The time has come.

What do our readings say to us today? Literally this is Jesus last discourse in Luke before the Passover, arrest, torture and death. So he is warning his disciples to be prepared for the horrors that will unfold in the coming days as he faces crucifixion and they “stand before” Jesus on the cross.

What do they mean? Taken together with the reading from Daniel 7, the message also addresses a more distant time to come. That is a time when the kingdoms on earth pass away and power and majesty is given to the Most High. That is when we all will stand before Jesus for our share of the everlasting.

What does it matter? Jesus’ words in Luke are not just an imminent warning to the disciples. They also are there to guide us in life because we do not know when our time will come. “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth.” Luke 34-35

The poor widow we met at the beginning of this chapter provides the model of the blessed life in Luke. Her detachment from material possessions and full reliance on God leads to her blessedness. Can we not imagine her living a constant life of piety, study and action? Even though she may no longer care for her husband, she does what she can to care for others in her faith community. Her simple offering provides a striking contrast to the pride and pretentiousness of the scribes denounced in the preceding section and also perfectly epitomizes a way of life which will not be caught off guard when “the time has come.”

Action

Think back on the year that is concluding today. How have you listened, obeyed and acted upon the Word of God in your piety, study and action? Are you thinking of special ways to continue that mission in the coming year?

On a traditional New Year’s Eve (December 31), many of us will go out to celebrate at the homes of friends and family members or maybe to local restaurants and pubs. As you celebrate the New Year, how can you plan, throughout the next 12 months, to go out into the world and preach the Gospel as St. Francis urged -- using words only when needed?

Come After Me

November 30, 2007

Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring (the) good news!” Romans 10:13-15

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:18-20

Piety

How beautiful are the feet of those that bring the good news!

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/113007.shtml

As we get ready to begin Advent, it is fitting that we end this year reflecting on the call and mission of St. Andrew. According to today’s reading, Andrew was St. Peter’s brother, and was called with him. In the Gospel of John, Andrew is a disciple of John the Baptist. When Jesus walked by one day, John said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” Andrew and another disciple followed Jesus.

St. Gregory reminds us that “they had not yet seen [Jesus] work one miracle, or heard any mention of an eternal reward, and yet one word from the Lord was enough to make them forget all their possessions. They gave up “even their desire to possess anything.”

The American Catholic article on Andrew explains that, “As in the case of all the apostles except Peter and John, the Gospels give us little about the holiness of Andrew. He was an apostle. That is enough. He was called personally by Jesus to proclaim the Good News, to heal with Jesus' power and to share his life and death. Holiness today is no different. It is a gift that includes a call to be concerned about the Kingdom, an outgoing attitude that wants nothing more than to share the riches of Christ with all people.”

The call of Andrew connects us to the message reinforced throughout this ending liturgical cycle and presents with us the challenge of Advent…to respond personally to the summons we get from Jesus by hearing the message, obeying the message and acting on the message. Advent is a season of following. Andrew and Peter follow. Joseph follows his instructions from both Gabriel (to stick by his wife) and Caesar (to report for the census). The shepherds and kings follow a star to the stable in Bethlehem.

Action

“The Lord looks to your heart, not to your fortune,” explains St. Gregory the Great. “The Kingdom of God costs whatever you have.”

Jesus wants us to follow him. What nets can you leave behind so you can follow him?

As Andrew was called to spread the Good News, what are you preparing to do to spread the Good News.

The voice that goes forth to all the earth is now in our throats. To whom will you proclaim that message?

Enduring Forever

November 29, 2007

Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

I decree that throughout my royal domain the God of Daniel is to be reverenced and feared: “For he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be without end. He is a deliverer and savior, working signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, and he delivered Daniel from the lions' power.” Daniel 6:27-28

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. Luke 21:27-28

Piety

Our Father

Who art in heaven,

Hallow be your name.

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/112907.shtml

The End.

The End of the Liturgical Year.

The End of the Gospel according to St. Luke.

The End of the World.

The End of the Road.

Our lives are finite. Whether our life is cut off abruptly, early like Sean Taylor’s tragic murder this week or whether we live out our days until the end of our natural life, our lives are finite.

Only God is infinite.

However, when we meet our end, God will survive. And we will survive with God. Because of His infinite goodness, God is to be praised, not feared. We might disappear from the face of the earth tomorrow, yet God will endure forever.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise. A new day will dawn and a new cycle will begin. Always we begin again.

Action

Let us vow to live in the least destructive means possible. Reflect on these enduring words from Henri Nouwen:

Our hard and very urgent task is to realize that nature is not primarily a property to be possessed, but a gift to be received with admiration and gratitude. How differently we would live if we always sensed that the nature around us is full of desire to tell us the great story of God’s love, to which it points.

Consider these ideas from Matthew Colwell, Sabbath Economics and Household Practices, (Chapter 4, pages 56-58):

Purchase food from a local farmers’ market.

Use some means of public transportation or share a ride with a carpool or riders in the HOV lanes this week. Walk to Metro. Leave your car behind.

Evaluate or inspect your home for dangerous substances like carbon monoxide, lead paint or asbestos.

Get an area ready for next spring where you can grow your own food. Purchase seeds this winter and start them growing indoors.

Reduce, reuse and recycle.

By Your Perseverance You Will Secure Your Lives

November 28, 2007

Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

By Melanie Rigney

Daniel explained the hand writing on King Belshazzar’s wall: “MENE, TEKEL, and PERES. These words mean: MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” (Daniel 5:26-28)

“You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” (Luke 21:17-19)

Piety

Lord, hold me tight so that I may face with grace those who hate me because of my love for You. Let me conduct myself in a manner that I need not be fearful about Your hand writing on my wall.

Study

Today's Readings

A Christmas Carol’s Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come still gives me nightmares:

It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded. He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved.

Back about this time thirty-odd years ago, I was a jolly Ghost of Christmas Present in a junior high production of the Charles Dickens work. But it was Wendy Rogers who stole the show without saying a word, only pointing, as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Scrooge was so busted for his past actions, yet somehow he summoned up the courage after seeing people squabble over his belongings and Tiny Tim gone too soon to ask: “Are these things what will be, or only things that may be?”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus shows us what will be: “They will seize and persecute you…they will hand you over…you will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name.”

But unlike the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Jesus offers comfort amid these apocalyptic words and shows us how we may bear it all: “I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute…not a hair on your head will be destroyed.” The key, he says, is our perseverance, which will secure our lives.

Let us envelop ourselves in Christ’s loving arms and have faith in his promises just as he perseveres in his love for us despite our human frailties. Unlike Scrooge, we know what awaits: the Kingdom.

Action

Make a list of the thing you most fear may happen in your life...the loss of a job, perhaps, or disappointment by a family member or friend. After an hour or so, write down the worst possible outcome if this thing did happen and how you would persevere with Christ’s help. Put the paper away for a few days, then burn it over your Advent candle.

There Will Not Be Left a Stone Upon Another Stone

November 27, 2007

Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold all crumbled at once, fine as the chaff on the threshing floor in summer, and the wind blew them away without leaving a trace. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth…In the lifetime of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people; rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever. (Daniel 2:35, 44)

While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said, “All that you see here--the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” Luke 21:5-6

Piety

Be a gardener!
Dig a ditch,
toil and sweat,
and turn the earth upside down
and seek the deepness
and water the plants in time.
Continue this labor
and make sweet floods to run
and noble abundant fruits to spring.
Take this food and drink
and carry it to God
as your true worship.

Julian of Norwich

The night became very dark. The rain surrounded the whole cabin with its enormous virginal myth, a whole world of meaning, of secrecy, of silence, of rumor. Think of it: all that speech pouring down, selling nothing, judging nobody, drenching the thick mulch of dead leaves, soaking the trees, filling the gullies and crannies of the wood with water, washing out the places where men have stripped the hillside! What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone, in the forest, at night, cherished by this wonderful, unintelligible, perfectly innocent speech, the most comforting speech in the world, the talk that rain makes by itself all over the ridges, and the talk of the watercourses everywhere in the hollows! Nobody started it, nobody is going to stop it. It will talk as long as it wants, this rain. As long as it talks I am going to listen.

(From Thomas Merton. "Rain and the Rhinoceros" in Raids on the Unspeakable. New York: New Directions Publishing Co., 1964: 9-10.)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/112707.shtml

Jesus’ message about the fleeting impact of what humanity has made has echoes the prophet Isaiah:

The earth is utterly laid waste, utterly stripped, for the LORD has decreed this thing. The earth mourns and fades, the world languishes and fades; both heaven and earth languish. The earth is polluted because of its inhabitants, who have transgressed laws, violated statutes, broken the ancient covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants pay for their guilt; Therefore they who dwell on earth turn pale, and few men are left. Isaiah 24:3-6

Now, it is also being reinforced by scientific speculation in recent years. Consider the book by Alan Weisman, The World Without Us in which he predicts that the most lasting impact we would leave behind would be plastic, radio waves and reruns of I Love Lucy. According to a repot on the book by NPR, “Nature, always finds a way to survive no matter what obstacles humans put in its path.”

Another scientific viewpoint is expressed in this October 2006 essay by Lewis Smith:

IF man were to vanish from the face of the Earth today, his footprint on the planet would linger for the mere blink of an eye in geological terms.

Within hours, nature would begin to eradicate it. In 50,000 years, all that would remain would be some archaeological traces. Only radioactive materials and a few man-made chemical contaminants would last longer - an invisible legacy.

Smith concludes, “If, 50,000 years hence, an alien archaeologist were to land on an Earth without man, it might find quite frustrating the paucity of evidence that we were here at all.”

What will endure is the Garden of Eden – God’s creation. Plants and animals would quickly reclaim their place on the globe and environmental problems would slowly disappear – except for nuclear waste.

As peace negotiators assemble today in Annapolis, Maryland to try to bring about the next chapter of resolution between peoples who have been warring for more than 5,000 years, the readings help us to focus on the transience of earthly kingdoms like those around the table in Annapolis and the permanence of God’s creations which will last longer than any of these principalities.

Many of the earliest Christians expected the end of time to happen while they still walked the Earth 2007 years ago. Today, Jesus advises us that it (the parousia) is not coming yet. We have to endure man-made and natural disasters that put entire nations in peril as well as persecutions which will affect us as individuals. Right there in Luke chapter 21 is Hurricane Katrina, the South Asian tsunami, the Arab-Israeli wars, Iraq, Afghanistan, Viet Nam, not to mention the Revolutionary Way, the Civil War and WWI, II and whatever is next.

So much for the lasting value of things made by humanity. Let Thy Kingdom Come.

Action

So what are we to do in the meantime? Throughout this year, Luke has been teaching us the importance of following Jesus day-to-day. Blessed are the peacemakers. What we have heard throughout this liturgical cycle from Jesus through St. Luke has been a constant mantra.

“Listen.”

“Obey.”

“Act.”

A) Bring peace to your part of the world: your workplace, your family, your neighborhood, and your parish.

B) While none of us can get rid of nuclear waste, properly dispose of those things which we do use – from fast food wrappers to newspapers.

C) Use the increasingly expensive energy more efficiently through intelligent use of our cars, our heating and cooling systems and even our light bulbs.

D) Share what you have with those who don’t have it.