December 17, 2008
Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
By Melanie Rigney
Jacob gathered his sons and said: “You, Judah, shall your brothers praise—your hand on the neck of your enemies; the sons of your father shall bow down to you.” (Genesis 49:8)
O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king’s son; He shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. (Psalms 72:1)
(T)he total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations. (Matthew 1:17)
Piety
Lord, I honor my ancestors and all they did so that I might have Your life in me today. Help me to understand and value my place in the genealogy of the Body of Christ and endow me with Your love that I might share it today and with future generations. Amen.
Study
My sister called recently with a question about her nine-year-old son Matt’s history project. “I know we all belong to Daughters of the American Revolution,” she said, “but I’m not clear. Were all our ancestors from that time on the colonial side or did we have Tories as well?”
I quickly assured her that all eighteen were indeed pro-Revolution (at least until the Constitution came along and several of them moved to Quebec, but that’s another story) and noted that Matt also may be the fourteen great-grandson of a Mayflower passenger, but that proving it out would require a lot more time and effort than either she or I have right now.
The conversation came back to me as I read the Gospel for today. The daughter of our possible Mayflower ancestor, Thomas Rogers, was born in England, lived in Holland as a child, then came to New England after her father died that first brutal winter in Plymouth. We’ve been quite the traveling tribe ever since: Connecticut to Rhode Island to New York State and back to Massachusetts; Wisconsin to Illinois and back to Wisconsin; then to South Dakota and, in Matt’s mother’s case, to Illinois, then to South Carolina and back to Illinois. Four hundred years of family history and while our exterior lives are very different, I daresay our internal struggles probably have looked very similar.
As an amateur genealogist, Matthew 1:1-17 troubles me a bit. I mean, Jesus claiming lineage to King David through Joseph, his adoptive father? And only three names listed for the Egyptian exile period that lasted more than two hundred years? But I’ll let scholars and genealogists smarter than I explain those issues and reconcile the differences between Luke’s and Matthew’s genealogies. (Check out http://www.rtforum.org/lt/lt131.html if you’d like their takes.)
I’d rather think about the people in each of those generations that preceded Mary and Joseph: great kings and depraved ones. Great leaders and weak ones. People who lived in the lap of luxury and those who struggled for their daily bread. The one commonality was that as descendants of Abraham, they were promised in Genesis 22:18 that “all the nations of the earth shall find blessing” in them.
Did they wonder whether it would be their particular line through which the Messiah would come? Perhaps. But I’ll bet most were more concerned about asking God to help them and their loved ones get through daily life, as David does in today’s Psalms reading and as we do centuries later by helping with history projects, Giving Trees, food pantries, and the like. Like Jacob’s sons in today’s first reading, none of us has the exact same gifts. But like those sons and David and his son, each of us is called to make the most of what we’ve been given.
Action
Think about one of your family faith-based Advent or Christmas traditions: lighting candles, crafting wreaths, or going to Mass together. Share with one of your loved ones today your memories of how this tradition began.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Draw Near
December 16, 2008
Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
I will change and purify the lips of the peoples that they all may call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one accord. Zephaniah 3:9
He changed his mind and went. Matthew 21:29
Piety
For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Deuteronomy 4:7
Study
What makes us change? In the eternal before and after test of Christianity, what makes us willing to change from the way we were to the way the Lord would like us to be? Consider fireplaces and free will.
Fireplaces first. Did you ever set up the logs and ignite a fire in the fireplace to warm a room. If you want to benefit from the warmth, you sit by the fire. Near the fire. Not in the back of the room. Draw near and you will change from cold to warm.
When you go to church, do you sit in the middle or the back of the church? If so, you might have a hard time benefiting from the light and heat of the Word of God. You are exposed to it like the fire in the fireplace. But if you really want to experience the warming touch of the Lord, you have to draw near to him…like when you present your gifts or walk up to receive Eucharist.
Now for free will. Considering that we enjoy the gift of free will, no one, least of all the Lord, will ever force us to change or force us to draw near. Yogi Berra had an expression: “If somebody doesn’t want to go to the ballpark, no one is going to force him not to.” It is the same thing with Jesus. “If somebody doesn’t want to be a friend of Jesus, no one is going to force him not to.” That is why we have the gift of freedom.
It is not that the Lord will not welcome the change. Of course he will. Just like the Father welcomes home the Prodigal Son as he draws near to the family estate.
Zephaniah gives us an inkling of the reason in today’s passage from the Hebrew Bible. In commenting on the psychic distance between, he says, “She hears no voice, accepts no correction; In the LORD she has not trusted, to her God she has not drawn near.” (Zephaniah 3:2)
Action
We have not drawn near. If we are distant, we can not hear any reason from the love of the Lord to change. If we are distant, we have no reason to trust the Lord whom we do not know. If we are close, God will hear us and we will hear God. So if we intend to seek change and purification, we have to get close to the fire. If we stand too far away, we will never feel the warmth and love of our God.
For thus says he who is high and exalted, living eternally, whose name is the Holy One:
On high I dwell, and in holiness, and with the crushed and dejected in spirit, to revive the spirits of the dejected, to revive the hearts of the crushed. I will not accuse forever, nor always be angry; For their spirits would faint before me, the souls that I have made. Because of their wicked avarice I was angry, and struck them, hiding myself in wrath, as they went their own rebellious way. I saw their ways, but I will heal them and lead them; I will give full comfort to them and to those who mourn for them. Isaiah 57:15-18
Is it any wonder why Jesus wept? He wept because we did not change out minds despite his healing offer.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Teach Me, O Lord
December 15 2008
Monday of the Third Week of Advent
By Beth DeCristofaro
Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle: The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eye is true, the utterance of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, of one who sees what the Almighty sees. (Numbers 24:15-17)
Teach me your ways, O Lord…He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way. (Psalm 25:4, 9)
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (Matthew 21:27)
Piety
O Gracious God, thank you for your unending compassion and kindness. Show me how to emulate you so that I might walk with you. Teach me to share kindness, show compassion, seek justice, and always act humbly in your name.
Study
God chooses the most unlikely people to be His mouthpiece. Moses stuttered. Jonah ran away. Balaam, in Numbers, is one of the enemies of
In a recent radio interview, Frank Schaeffer, son of a widely popular Evangelical minister and a founder of the religious right spoke about why he left that movement. Among other reasons, he rejected the cult of personality which characterizes much of the evangelical movement. Now a Greek Orthodox, he finds the principals of the Orthodox Church to be rooted in and speaking truth in ways in which his evangelical upbringing was deficient. Those who are called to be the mouthpiece of God must put aside their own desires, needs and wants.
We are all called to build God’s Kingdom. Most of us are not tasked as Jonah to save a city or bring a people to freedom as was Moses. But we are all called to speak God’s love in our actions and deeds. This calls for us to empty our own egos and allow God to break through. It was not about Moses. It was not about Jonah, or Balaam. Schaeffer came to understand it was not about him. And it is not about us. It is about God and God’s great love for each of his children. God reaches out to us in any myriad of wonderful ways.
Action
Who in your life has spoken God to you? A tough teacher who called you to a deeper insight into yourself? A coach who brought forth something in you which you previously did not trust? A friend or an opponent who pointed out a mistake or a sin from which you could be penitent and grow closer to God? Give thanks for them.
To whom do you need to speak God’s love today? Take time to be still with God so that you can hear God and speak God rather than yourself. Henri Nouwen explains why we must take time to be with God and practice listening to God: “The word authentic means ‘from the author.’ I usually realize after I have said something when it has come from a superficial part of myself - it's as though the real me has not authored it!” (Breaking Bread) Thank God for using you, in your imperfections and uniqueness, to speak His love to someone else.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
One Among You
December 14, 2008Third Sunday of Advent
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.
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 61:1-2
He said: “I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord,”’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” John 1:23
Piety
Rejoice always.
Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.
May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24)
Study
The robe of salvation is Christ. Spirituality is putting on the mind and the heart of Christ. Isaiah 61 is a description of The Messiah who is to come. When Christ opens the scroll of Isaiah on his return to Nazareth and claims this passage as true of himself, the people react to what he has said. They were going to throw him off the cliff until he used his strength of soul to pass through them. Christ perceived himself as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah.
The ways we find ourselves like Christ constitute our spirituality. Our souls need to rejoice in the greatness of Christ. His greatness makes of our littleness his greatness. We live the Spirit of the Lord each time we reach out to the poor, every time we heal the brokenhearted or proclaim the glad tidings to the poor. The mind set of Christ can be found in the genius of Paul. He challenges us to pray without ceasing.
Our lives become prayer when we model them on Christ. The Contemplative in action is one who breathes out Christ. The saint is an update of Christ. The call God puts on us is to be a transparency of Christ. The challenge is in the living of our lives as Christ would if he were lucky enough to be us. Our freedom and our love of Christ gradually reveal to us how to be a Christ today. Our destiny unfolds through our prayer and brings us the chance to discover ourselves in Christ. Our spiritual reading brings a deeper awareness of how to be like Christ. Our choice to live the love of Christ makes us one with each other and constitutes our part of the mystical body of Christ.
Action
A Christian is called by God to be a real Christ in all they say and do. St. Francis is reputed to have said “Preach always and occasionally use a word.” We preach by the actions of our lives. The ways we reach out to the poor of our lives gives Christ hands and feet in what we are doing. How far we go by our lives to share the goodness of Christ does not happen by accident. Accountability is lived out when we share each week with our friends what we plan to do for Christ and what we did in his name.
Our Apostolic actions need to be more than what happens by accident in our lives. We need to plan in order to do more than what convenience and accident makes possible. We need to be voices like the John of the Gospel crying out in the desert of our world that Christ is in our land.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Whatever They Pleased
December 13, 2008
Memorial of Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr
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 48:10-11
“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
Relying on Your goodness, O God, we humbly ask you, by the intercession of your servant, Saint Lucy, to give perfect vision to our eyes, that we may serve for your greater honor and glory. And we pray for the salvation of our souls in this world, that we may come to the enjoyment of the unfailing light of the Lamb of God in heaven.
St. Lucy, virgin and martyr, hear our prayers and answer our petitions. Amen. (From Catholic Culture Online)
Study
“Whatev…”
“I couldn’t care less.”
“So what? Who cares? What’s in it for me?”
Elijah was met by a people who did whatever they pleased. Jesus also met resistance from many of the leaders he encountered. Funny…it was the people with the least knowledge and power and influence where Jesus had the most impact. Simple folks. Poor folks. Fishermen. Shepherds. Carpenters. Little Drummer Boys. Orphans. Widows. Lepers.
Jesus wants us to turn out hearts…yet we prefer to keep our hearts set on what pleases us…not what pleases God. It is the Ideal talk all over again! We have too many “important” things on our schedules. Beefing up our retirement plan (see what that got you this year!). Getting a more important job. Getting a bigger car. Getting a fancier house or a lower mortgage payment. We are a nation of go-getters, not go-givers.
Remember Lazarus…not the brother of Mary and Martha who dies and was brought back to life. Remember the OTHER Lazarus. He was in heaven with the Lord after a life which dished him out nothing but the worst. His rich neighbor never even shared with him the scraps from his table. That rich man who ignored the needs of the poor was in torment. He wanted Lazarus to deliver some relief. Even just a drop of water for his parched tongue. But he could get no relief across the chasm between heaven and hell.
[The rich man in torment] said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him [Lazarus] to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’” Luke 16:27-31
Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Lucy (Santa Lucia) who refused to give in to the demands of a spurned suitor for sexual favors. Lucy called upon the saints and the Holy Spirit to protect her virginity from those who would sell her into prostitution. When the Holy Spirit protected her with fire, she was tortured and her eyes were damaged. God restored her sight and she was then martyred through death by beheading.
Lucy reminds us how the saints rejected what was in it for them and replaced that with the pursuit of what was requested by God.
Action
Light a candle today to honor the light and fire that marked the life of St. Lucy. Listen to Enrico Caruso sing that famous Napolitano song to “Santa Lucia.”
Thursday, December 11, 2008
May It Be Done
December 12, 2008Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. Zechariah 2:14-15
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38
Piety
Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear any sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve or be disturbed by anything. (Words of Our Lady to Juan Diego)
Study
Are you one of the chosen people? How do you know?
In the beginning, the “church” might have been seen as only the church for the Jewish people. However, Jesus tried to quickly dispel that notion by meeting with the Pharisees and the Samaritans. Nicodemus came under cover of darkness so the other Jewish leaders would not notice his encounter. However, the woman at the well encountered Jesus right in the middle of the day in the town square so no one could help but notice.
Through the centuries, missionaries tried to force conversion upon other people throughout the world to no avail. We saw Nicodemus change as we encountered him again and again in the Bible. We saw the woman at the well change and lead all her village in conversion.
These lessons come to bear today as we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Catholic Online explains:
"Missionaries who first came to Mexico with the conquistadors had little success in the beginning. After nearly a generation, only a few hundred Native Mexicans had converted to the Christian faith. Whether they simply did not understand what the missionaries had to offer or whether they resented these people who made them slaves, Christianity was not popular among the native people."
"Then in 1531 miracles began to happen. Jesus' own mother appeared to humble Juan Diego. The signs -- of the roses, of the uncle miraculously cured of a deadly illness, and especially of her beautiful image on Juan's mantle -- convinced the people there was something to be considered in Christianity. Within a short time, six million Native Mexicans had themselves baptized as Christians."
Whether it was Saul (Paul) being struck blind or miracles happening in the life of poor Juan Diego, Jesus invites all – no matter where born – to conversion. Today, as we ponder the miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe, remember that this miracle would not have had any impact were it not for the witness and testimony of Juan Diego whose feast day we celebrated on December 9.
The conversion miracle began with the simple words of the Nazarene virgin 2008 years ago: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” The angel appeared to Mary and set about the work of the Lord through her action. God chose Mary to begin his work on earth. He used her to help us get to know her son.
The spiritual works of mercy continued in the year 1531 when God acted through Mary to reach out to Juan Diego and to dwell among the people in Mexico. When Juan saw Mary, she said to him that she was the Virgin Mary and asked Juan to tell the bishop to build a church on that site. She said, “I vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be present and give my love, compassion, help, and defense, for I am your most devoted mother . . . to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries, pains, and sufferings.” Once again, God used Mary to help people encounter Jesus. Catholic Online reminds us:
"Mary appeared to Juan Diego not as a European Madonna but as a beautiful Aztec princess speaking to him in his own Aztec language. If we want to help someone appreciate the gospel we bring, we must appreciate the culture and the mentality in which they live their lives. By understanding them, we can help them to understand and know Christ. Our Lady of Guadalupe is patron of the Americas." (From Catholic Online)
Action
The “Guadalupe event” (conversion miracle) continues today as we praise the patron saint of the Americas. Seek out a Mass in your area to commemorate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. She is the patron of all of the Americas not just the Hispanic portion. So join the broader community in this special Mass.
St. Mary of Sorrows will be celebrating our annual Virgin of Guadalupe Mass at 7 p.m. Friday evening in the Worship Center. The parish will have a procession of children carrying roses to Our Lady on the altar. Children and grandchildren are welcome so they can be a part of the procession. Mass will be followed by a reception in Farrell Hall. Come and worship.
See and Know
December 11, 2008
Thursday of the Second Week of Advent
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
All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. Whoever has ears ought to hear. Matthew 11:13-15
Piety
Lord, you provide such stimulating sights that we can not help but to open our eyes. You provide such wondrous words that our ears learn toward you in hope of getting your grace to enter into our very being through our senses. Help us to get in touch with you through our senses so that we can fully experience your divine presence and dwelling in us. As we prepare for your coming into the world, let us open up all of our senses so that we may be ready and willing to accept your messenger and your message. Amen.
Study
Today’s readings seem to be less about something to “study” and more about something to be sensed…and enjoyed by all the senses. Isaiah paints a pastoral landscape where there was a wasteland. He wants us to use the imagination of our eyes, our ears and all of our senses to get in touch with God’s creation-gift.
Deserts turn into marshland.
Dry ground sprout springs.
Trees decorate the earth’s surface.
Wastelands fade away replaced by forests and cypress groves.
As we gaze into the verdant valleys and mountains that the Lord provides, we know that He has provided this so we might understand his power, his creation and accept it.
Action
Ave you ever hiked up to the top of a mountain? Maybe you walked up
Whether in these locations or someplace else, remember the awesome sense you experienced seeing the world laid out before that mountain for you to see. The gift of those creation vistas as like the gifts recalled to by Isaiah today. Such beauty was carved out of nothing by God and set before our feet, our body, our eyes.
As we enter the winter season of grey skies, dark early nights, and cold temperatures, it is hard to remember these landscapes. But you can get a memorable sense from some of the photos at this web site. http://panoscapes.com/FullImage.php?Image=P246H. That the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of
What kind of thank you note do you have for someone who will provide a gift such as this free for you to enjoy through photographs or personal visits? Write a thank you note to the Lord in your prayers today.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
For the Weak He Makes Vigor Abound
December 10, 2008
Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent
By Melanie Rigney
The Lord is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound. (Isaiah 40:28-29)
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Psalms 103:1-2)
Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Piety
“I sing the Body electric; The armies of those I love engirth me, and I engirth them; They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them, And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the Soul. Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves; And if those who defile the living are as bad as they who defile the dead? And if the body does not do as much as the Soul? And if the body were not the Soul, what is the Soul?” (“I Sing the Body Electric,” Walt Whitman)
Study
Hello, my name’s Melanie, and I’m a sing-aholic. Not that I do it well, mind you ... still looking for my two-note range ... but when I really want to praise the Lord and I’m by myself, I throw in a CD from Godspell (which uses today’s selection from the Book of Psalms as the inspiration for the beautiful “Oh Bless the Lord, My Soul”); Jesus Christ Superstar; or Handel’s Messiah (whose libretto includes the highlighted passage from today’s Gospel reading) and belt out those tunes.
All but my very closest parish friends would be shocked to learn this. I’m a staple at our early Mass, which doesn’t even include a sung great Amen unless our pastor himself is presiding. I find a powerful worship experience there in the quiet. But when I chose that Mass as my spiritual home, one of the big reasons was that I didn’t want total strangers to think I was a freak when tears ran down my face during the singing of the Gloria or the Holy, Holy. Words move me. Music overwhelms me.
But every once in a while, it’s good to let people see us overwhelmed—by God’s infinite grace, by the love of the Body of Christ, and by the liturgy. What’s the point in holding back if we find joy and give praise in an off-key tone, or in a witness that sometimes lacks subject/verb agreement, or in a dance that lacks perfect form? God will understand and provide strength where we may feel faint or inadequate. He loves us as we are, even if we may not be Kennedy Center material. And a good share of our audience, large or small, will celebrate our joy if not our skill.
Walt Whitman’s “I Sing the Body Electric” celebrates all aspects of the body, those society conventionally considers attractive or erotic as well as the more utilitarian (knee-pan, bone marrow, nostrils, and the like) and concludes:
O I say, these are not the parts and the poems of the Body only, but of the Soul,
O I say now these are the Soul!
And as for me? While I’ll never totally give up that quiet Mass experience, I think I’m moving toward a time where I’ll be strong enough to share some flat notes and tears on a more regular basis with my brothers and sisters in Christ. For are these not also the parts and poets of the Body—and the Soul?
Action
Sing the Body of Christ electric in the coming week. You might consider adding your voice to the Diocese of Arlington’s Filipino Misa De Gallo/Simbang Gabir celebrations. Check out home.catholicweb.com/filipinoministry/index.cfm/NewsItem?ID=71399&From=Home or the St. Charles Borromeo Web site, where a nine-day Misa De Gallo novena begins next Wednesday. Or look for a sing-along Messiah near your home. No matter the form in which you choose to sing the Body, do it with God-infused vigor.
Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent
By Melanie Rigney
The Lord is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound. (Isaiah 40:28-29)
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Psalms 103:1-2)
Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Piety
“I sing the Body electric; The armies of those I love engirth me, and I engirth them; They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them, And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the Soul. Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves; And if those who defile the living are as bad as they who defile the dead? And if the body does not do as much as the Soul? And if the body were not the Soul, what is the Soul?” (“I Sing the Body Electric,” Walt Whitman)
Study
Hello, my name’s Melanie, and I’m a sing-aholic. Not that I do it well, mind you ... still looking for my two-note range ... but when I really want to praise the Lord and I’m by myself, I throw in a CD from Godspell (which uses today’s selection from the Book of Psalms as the inspiration for the beautiful “Oh Bless the Lord, My Soul”); Jesus Christ Superstar; or Handel’s Messiah (whose libretto includes the highlighted passage from today’s Gospel reading) and belt out those tunes.
All but my very closest parish friends would be shocked to learn this. I’m a staple at our early Mass, which doesn’t even include a sung great Amen unless our pastor himself is presiding. I find a powerful worship experience there in the quiet. But when I chose that Mass as my spiritual home, one of the big reasons was that I didn’t want total strangers to think I was a freak when tears ran down my face during the singing of the Gloria or the Holy, Holy. Words move me. Music overwhelms me.
But every once in a while, it’s good to let people see us overwhelmed—by God’s infinite grace, by the love of the Body of Christ, and by the liturgy. What’s the point in holding back if we find joy and give praise in an off-key tone, or in a witness that sometimes lacks subject/verb agreement, or in a dance that lacks perfect form? God will understand and provide strength where we may feel faint or inadequate. He loves us as we are, even if we may not be Kennedy Center material. And a good share of our audience, large or small, will celebrate our joy if not our skill.
Walt Whitman’s “I Sing the Body Electric” celebrates all aspects of the body, those society conventionally considers attractive or erotic as well as the more utilitarian (knee-pan, bone marrow, nostrils, and the like) and concludes:
O I say, these are not the parts and the poems of the Body only, but of the Soul,
O I say now these are the Soul!
And as for me? While I’ll never totally give up that quiet Mass experience, I think I’m moving toward a time where I’ll be strong enough to share some flat notes and tears on a more regular basis with my brothers and sisters in Christ. For are these not also the parts and poets of the Body—and the Soul?
Action
Sing the Body of Christ electric in the coming week. You might consider adding your voice to the Diocese of Arlington’s Filipino Misa De Gallo/Simbang Gabir celebrations. Check out home.catholicweb.com/filipinoministry/index.cfm/NewsItem?ID=71399&From=Home or the St. Charles Borromeo Web site, where a nine-day Misa De Gallo novena begins next Wednesday. Or look for a sing-along Messiah near your home. No matter the form in which you choose to sing the Body, do it with God-infused vigor.
Monday, December 08, 2008
In His Arms
December 9, 2008Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent
A voice says, "Cry out!" I answer, "What shall I cry out?" Isaiah 40:6a
What is your opinion? 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
God, comforter-in-chief, as await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, help us to work and pray to bring about your new social order. Lord Jesus, finder-of-the stray, give us the means to bear God’s comfort to those around us who are lost or abandoned by society. Holy Spirit, set us free from our comfort zone to go out with you and to put the lost on our shoulders and bring them into your arms. Amen.
Study
“Comfort, give comfort to my people.”
As Jerusalem is freed from exile and slavery, who will deliver comfort? Maybe the prophet has a strong man in mind…a soldier, perhaps. Or maybe a powerful politician. Certainly a strong member of the community can offer protection from terror.
“Fear not! Here comes the power!”
We await the king who will come to protect the weak and the powerless, the widow, the orphan, the stranger.
“Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm.”
Now you are talking. After all those years under the thumb of Egypt, finally we are getting protection. I can not wait to see our new leader crowned. Who will it be? Who will walk in that door to lead us out of our fear? He is coming. Our protector is revealed. He is…
A shepherd. A shepherd? A shepherd! Is this a joke? No. That can not be. What strength does a mere shepherd offer? Who sits in fear of a shepherd? He sits out in the hills all day with his animals. What will he use to protect us? He has no sword…it has been beaten into a plowshare. He has no political might. He has no rank in the army. He has no position in the temple. He has no money in the marketplace. After all this waiting for a king, God sends us exactly what we do not expect.
We have a tendency to focus on our wait for God throughout Advent. Five weeks we wait every year for the rebirth of our strongman. Yet how long has God waited for us. God gives us what we do not expect. “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, Carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.” (Isaiah 40:11) Do we give God what he expects?
Action
How do we react to the people who disappoint us? To the people who bother us? To the people who waste our time? Probably not the way the Good Shepherd does. Instead, we have a tendency to dismiss those who do not meet our expectations. “Get lost!” We tell them to go away so we can get back to our priorities.
Can you remember a time when you were truly lost? Not just taking a wrong turn on the highway. Not just some television show, desert island, Tom-Hanks-movie kind of lost. But have you ever been totally unable to get any bearings about where you are and how to get back to someplace and some people who are familiar? Maybe as a child, you wandered away from your parents in a shopping center or museum? Or maybe as a parent, you got temporarily separated from one of your own children?
If you have experienced this, then you know the absolute panic that sets in. The fear. The tears. The worst-case scenario rolling through your brain. Getting lost or being lost is no fun. It is certainly no joke. What saves us? Maybe a store clerk (acting as an angel) brings you to the office and they page your parents and they come to get you.
God probably has a right to be angry with us for straying from the path he laid out and for telling his other lambs to “Get lost.” Despite that human emotion, God has a funny way of showing his anger. Instead of letting the stray lamb get lost, he puts everything else he has at risk to find us. God doesn’t make a very calculated decision based upon risk management. He allows all of his “assets” to be abandoned and he sets out to protect the one at the expense of the many.
God does not want us to be lost. He wants us to trust in his ways. Let God find you today and bring you back so you can help him find others who are lost.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
According to your Word, Lord
December 8, 2008
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
By Beth DeCristofaro
He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself." Then (God) asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!" The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me--she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it." The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it." (Genesis 3:10-13)
(God) destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved…. In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will. (Ephesians 1: 5,6, 11)
(The angel said) for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:37-38)
Piety
Mary, we humbly and gratefully acknowledge your “Yes” which opened the world to salvation. You brought the Word of God to flesh within your own body. Guide us to know and love the Word more completely as you did. In accepting God’s will you rejected fear and undertook a path you could not see and had not anticipated. Guide us to also choose God’s will when we are doubtful and do not see the way clear. Mary, in saying “yes,” you opened your heart to unlooked for joy and sorrow. Stand with us as we humbly and trustingly bear the crosses of our lives. Remember us always to your son Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Study
After millennium, one might think the tendency to refuse guilt and blame someone else for our sins could be part of our genetic code. After all, our fore-parents, Adam and Eve, wasted some precious moments with God playing the “It’s not my fault” game which toddlers, school kids and (face it) many adults play to this day. Rather than accept the freedom and trust, which God’s gift of free will offers, they chose to hide and dissemble. In fact, they chose something other than God.
Mary did none of these things. In order to follow God’s will, Mary faced the option of a world turned upside down and reached into the fear, into the uncertainty, into the irrationality and placed herself into the hands of God. Although he was not speaking directly of Mary, Fr. Jean Pierre Caussade might have been describing her witness as he said “…let us be resigned to our frailty and dependence on God, who would never reduce us to being unable to walk on our own feet if he had not the mercy to carry us in his arms. What need have we of light, O Lord, to see, feel, have confidence, inspiration or judgment since we are in your hands?…We will remember only to love you, avoid all sin, both grievous and slight, and fulfill our duty. That is the only responsibility, dear Lord, you leave to your beloved children. You, yourself, take charge of all the rest.”
In Mary’s “yes” we can find strength to also plunge into the unknown of each and everyday. Free will is a gift trumping any genetic hard-wiring. We can choose as Mary did. Mary put aside herself, her expectations for her life as wife, mother and devout Jew to choose “Yes, I will” rather than “I couldn’t because he/she made me do it.” St. Paul reminds us that we are pretty special: (God) destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will.
Action
If, like Mary, we each day practice turning ourselves over to God, trust and certainty in God will come more naturally. Like air, God surrounds us. Do we breathe God? Like water, God is indispensable. Do we bathe our soul in God? Or do we hide in the underbrush because we feel ashamed, proud, self-sufficient, afraid, blind or way-too-mortally-human? Caussade also uses the beautiful image “the soul cries out: Every moment I seem to be falling down a precipice. I know that I am surrendering myself to God, that I can achieve nothing unless I cease to act on the strength of my own virtue.”
As we prepare the way of the Lord in Advent, pay special attention to the irrational, unexpected opportunities which God gives you. Mary’s “yes” changed her life expectations in Nazareth but it also altered lives, hearts and minds across the whole world. Leap into a precipice should it yawn before you. Close your eyes and let God take charge of all the rest. “Yes, Lord”
Image credit: John William Waterhouse, The Annunciation, c. 1914.
Reference: The Sacrament of the Present Moment, Jean-Pierre De Caussade, translated by K. Muggeridge, Harper One, 1982, p. 94 and p. 93.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
We Wait
Second Sunday of Advent
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.
See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep. Isaiah 40:10-11
But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him. 2 Peter 3:13-15a
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark 1:2-4
Study
The Sacrament of the Present Moment has to do with the fact that one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day when you are with the Lord. The now of our lives always touches the eternal Now of the Lord. The definition of heaven as the “Eternal Now” by St. Thomas Aquinas reveals the importance of the now of our lives. How to live each moment waiting for the coming of the Lord is helped when we think of how brief life on earth is before the wonders of eternal life.
What am I willing to do to be happy forever? What question does the thought of the Second Coming of the Lord bring for you?
John the Baptist says of himself: “I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.” His humility and ours clash. Advent is a time of expectancy and getting ready. But what can I do? The Lord gives us his life in Baptism. The least born to the kingdom of heaven by Baptism is greater than John. We have Christ’s life within us. How we live the fullness of that life is fed by the Eucharist when he comes to us again and again with his life and love to be our food for eternal life. We all have the responsibility to prepare the way of the Lord. We all can make straight his paths.
Action
Like a shepherd Christ feeds his flock; He gathers us in his arms. He calls us to prepare his way. Our good works during Advent can make a highway for our God. The image of the valley being filled in so that the road of the Lord can be followed with ease delights my soul. The good works during Advent in a time of such great need by so many people can be preparing meal, buying presents of what is needed for the poor. The giving trees of many parishes will need more donors than usual with so many unemployed at this time. Making work for others so that they can earn something for their children is the best of all the gifts we could give. The Apostle Peter encourages us to be without blemish before God.
Let us call on the mercy of God for ourselves and offer the mercy of God to those who need us. We are nothing without the Lord. He needs our arms and our feet to bring his gifts to those who need us. As we prepare for the birth of Christ let us make a special effort to be born again in the simplicity of
Friday, December 05, 2008
This Is the Way, Walk in It
December 6, 2008
Saturday of the First Week of Advent
O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep; He will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you. The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst. No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, while from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: “This is the way; walk in it,” when you would turn to the right or to the left. Isaiah 30:19-21
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Matthew 10:6-8
Piety
Why is your way so straight, your path so difficult, Lord? No wonder there are so few laborers in your field. You always break the normal human conventions and do everything according to some other standard…the will of your Father not the community where you dwell. We have no way to understand your unrequited love and generosity on the cross. We see you there every day. Even when we turn to the left and to the right, you open your hands for the nails, you endure each blow of the hammer. Hanging there for us, you continue to seek out your lost sheep like the good thief. Even when you know we not only will not repay you in any way, but will deny your love, your kindness and your sacrifice. Help us to practice the humility and obedience of giving without cost just as we have received from you without cost. Amen.
Study
What does covenant really mean? I always considered it like a contract which binds two or more parties together in some kid of commercial relationship or transaction. Standard references like Roget will give you the word “contract” as a synonym covenant, it also provides other words: promise, pledge and agreement. However, covenant has a very different connotation in the Biblical context. A covenant, in its most general sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action.
More specifically, a covenant, in contrast to a contract, is a one-way agreement whereby the "covenanter" is the only party bound by the promise. A covenant may have conditions and prerequisites that qualify the undertaking, including the actions of second or third parties, but there is no inherent agreement by such other parties to fulfill those requirements.
Consequentially, the only party that can break a covenant is the covenanter. Some of us can visualize a covenant to be like the deed restrictions that bind a homeowner to do certain things (get paint colors approved by the homeowners’ association) or not do other things (install playground equipment in the front yard or prop up that old car on cinder blocks).
In scriptural history, we benefit from two such promises. The original covenant of God to his people was made through Abraham. God said that He would bless Abraham's descendants making them more numerous than the stars. It put no requirements on the people. We know that God wants our love, our praise and our attention in return yet he does not make that a pre-condition of the covenant.
The “new covenant” was introduced with Jesus. Jesus' pain and sacrifice on the cross atones for the sins of all mankind. God so loved the world that he sent his son to die for our sins. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-17). We are asked to believe but there are no strings attached.
Isaiah gives us some sense of the one-sided giving nature of the covenant God has made/promised to his people.
The Lord will give you the bread you need
and the water for which you thirst.
No longer will your Teacher hide himself,
but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:
“This is the way; walk in it,”
when you would turn to the right or to the left. Isaiah 30:20-21
He will give rain for the seed that you sow in the ground, and the wheat that the soil produces will be rich and abundant. On that day your cattle will graze in spacious meadows; the oxen and the asses that till the ground will eat silage tossed to them with shovel and pitchfork. Isaiah 30:23-24
All God asks of us is belief and to be like Him. Even when he commissions the disciples, he sends them out with no "quid pro quo" – “something for something.” He instructs them simply: Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Matthew 10:8-10
Action
We are so used to reciprocity. “I scratch your back, you scratch mine.” We are very good at collecting chits. Who owes you a favor? Can you give without cost this season and beyond? Give a “quo” and do not expect a “pro quo” in return.
How many times do we make our gift list based upon from whom we expect to get a gift? How many times do we draw up the party invitation list based upon who has invited us to their party? How many times do we cull our Christmas card list based upon who sent us a card last year?
Jesus did not expect anyone to scratch his back. After all, it was too covered in welts from the flogging at the pillar which he endured…for us. He never said it would be easy. He only said that it would be worth it.
Saturday of the First Week of Advent
O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep; He will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you. The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst. No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, while from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: “This is the way; walk in it,” when you would turn to the right or to the left. Isaiah 30:19-21
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Matthew 10:6-8
Piety
Why is your way so straight, your path so difficult, Lord? No wonder there are so few laborers in your field. You always break the normal human conventions and do everything according to some other standard…the will of your Father not the community where you dwell. We have no way to understand your unrequited love and generosity on the cross. We see you there every day. Even when we turn to the left and to the right, you open your hands for the nails, you endure each blow of the hammer. Hanging there for us, you continue to seek out your lost sheep like the good thief. Even when you know we not only will not repay you in any way, but will deny your love, your kindness and your sacrifice. Help us to practice the humility and obedience of giving without cost just as we have received from you without cost. Amen.
Study
What does covenant really mean? I always considered it like a contract which binds two or more parties together in some kid of commercial relationship or transaction. Standard references like Roget will give you the word “contract” as a synonym covenant, it also provides other words: promise, pledge and agreement. However, covenant has a very different connotation in the Biblical context. A covenant, in its most general sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action.
More specifically, a covenant, in contrast to a contract, is a one-way agreement whereby the "covenanter" is the only party bound by the promise. A covenant may have conditions and prerequisites that qualify the undertaking, including the actions of second or third parties, but there is no inherent agreement by such other parties to fulfill those requirements.
Consequentially, the only party that can break a covenant is the covenanter. Some of us can visualize a covenant to be like the deed restrictions that bind a homeowner to do certain things (get paint colors approved by the homeowners’ association) or not do other things (install playground equipment in the front yard or prop up that old car on cinder blocks).
In scriptural history, we benefit from two such promises. The original covenant of God to his people was made through Abraham. God said that He would bless Abraham's descendants making them more numerous than the stars. It put no requirements on the people. We know that God wants our love, our praise and our attention in return yet he does not make that a pre-condition of the covenant.
The “new covenant” was introduced with Jesus. Jesus' pain and sacrifice on the cross atones for the sins of all mankind. God so loved the world that he sent his son to die for our sins. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-17). We are asked to believe but there are no strings attached.
Isaiah gives us some sense of the one-sided giving nature of the covenant God has made/promised to his people.
The Lord will give you the bread you need
and the water for which you thirst.
No longer will your Teacher hide himself,
but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:
“This is the way; walk in it,”
when you would turn to the right or to the left. Isaiah 30:20-21
He will give rain for the seed that you sow in the ground, and the wheat that the soil produces will be rich and abundant. On that day your cattle will graze in spacious meadows; the oxen and the asses that till the ground will eat silage tossed to them with shovel and pitchfork. Isaiah 30:23-24
All God asks of us is belief and to be like Him. Even when he commissions the disciples, he sends them out with no "quid pro quo" – “something for something.” He instructs them simply: Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Matthew 10:8-10
Action
We are so used to reciprocity. “I scratch your back, you scratch mine.” We are very good at collecting chits. Who owes you a favor? Can you give without cost this season and beyond? Give a “quo” and do not expect a “pro quo” in return.
How many times do we make our gift list based upon from whom we expect to get a gift? How many times do we draw up the party invitation list based upon who has invited us to their party? How many times do we cull our Christmas card list based upon who sent us a card last year?
Jesus did not expect anyone to scratch his back. After all, it was too covered in welts from the flogging at the pillar which he endured…for us. He never said it would be easy. He only said that it would be worth it.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
The Work of My Hands in His Midst
Friday of the First Week of Advent
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
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
All around us we see the arrogance and the tyranny of money and the greed and hard heartedness in people. Such attitudes have once again proven deadly. We pray for the repose of the soul of Jdimytai Damour, a temporary worker for Wal-Mart who was killed in the Black Friday rush to bargains, and for his family who are left behind in mourning during what is supposed to be a joyous season. We pray for all the workers who are marginalized. Help them assert their dignity and avoid being caught in the gears of a system which is crashing around them, stomping out their humanity. Help us to recognize that everyone is the work of your hands because you are the potter and we are the clay. Amen.
Study
Isaiah tells us that the blind shall see. What would we think if we were there to hear his prophecy? Would we expect some talented surgeon, a Dr. Michael DeBakey of the eyes to come to save the blind through medical science? Would we dismiss this statement with the rolling of our eyes as the illogical ramblings of a madman? (Yeah. Right. Sure. The blind will see.)
In the primitive world of the eighth century when Isaiah lived, surely no one expected anything like modern science…the best they could hope for was a traveling magician with ointments and lotions to apply.
Isaiah was not talking about medicine, vitamins or some huckster with a shelf of herbs…he was talking about faith. Not some ethereal concept of faith…but a deep personal faith which will be the seed for the restoration of sight in the blind. Faith is what restored sight to the two blind men. And when their prayers were answered, they could no more keep quite than could the town crier with the latest news.
Action
Let’s use Advent to increase our faith and cure our own blindness to the ills in ourselves and in our society. Sometimes, it may take the words of someone whose days are limited on this earth to truly open our eyes. This week, ESPN is commemorating “Jimmy V” Week to raise money for cancer research in honor of the late Jim Valvano, former coach of the
And when people say to me how do you get through life or each day, it's the same thing. To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.
* * * * *
I talked about my family, my family's so important. People think I have courage. The courage in my family are my wife Pam, my three daughters, here, Nicole, Jamie, LeeAnn, my mom, who's right here too. And...that screen is flashing up there thirty seconds like I care about that screen right now, huh? I got tumors all over my body. I'm worried about some guy in the back going thirty seconds, huh?
* * * * *
I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get you're emotions going. To be enthusiastic every day and [as] Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm" -- to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems whatever you have. The ability to be able to work hard for your dreams to come true, to become a reality.
* * * * *
I know, I gotta go, I gotta go, and I got one last thing and I said it before, and I'm gonna say it again: Cancer can take away all my physical ability. It cannot touch my mind; it cannot touch my heart; and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever.
Take a few minutes to listen to the whole speech by “Jimmy V”.
Add “Jimmy V’s” Daily Three to your “To Do” list every day:
- Laugh
- Think
- Cry
That’s a heckuva day. Imagine how those two blind men felt when they could see. I bet there were a lot of laughing, thinking and crying in
“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”
James Thomas Anthony Valvano
March 10, 1946–April 28, 1993
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Only the One Who Does the Will of My Father
December 4, 2008
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
“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
Piety
Jesus, help us to stand firm on the right rocks. Help us to step forward for the right reasons.
Study
Toss a pebble in a pond and the ripples are seen rolling away. Toss a rock into Biblical history, and the ripples are felt for eons. The rocks we encounter today in the writings of the prophet Isaiah and the evangelist Matthew are just two of the important rocks we stumble upon in the Bible. Rocks in the natural world open up a pathway to the supernatural world. Moses brought water from a rock. Rocks in the natural world help us overcome the hurdles we face in the world. David killed his enemies with a rock.
Rocks are easy to visualize – and sometimes harder to pick up and remove. But their solid toughness lends an air of stability when used as a metaphor. Peter built the church upon a rock. Rocks identify the strength and steadfastness of God – the Rock of Israel (Genesis 49:24). Rocks may be either obstacles we face in the path to following Jesus or rocks may be stepping stones in our path of understanding of the Lord.
If faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, how strong was the faith of Moses and David which moved nations? In praise, David recognized that it was not just an inanimate object on the desert floor that saved him but the Rock who is the Lord, the same Lord who helped Moses bring forth the water. And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said, "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my* God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies (2 Samuel 22:1-4). This sentiment also is expressed in scores of Psalms.
The Hebrew Bible miracles gave way to the metaphors used in the New Testament to help people better understand the Word of God. Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame." To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe, "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner," and "A stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall"; for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 1 Peter: 4-8
In Matthew 16:15-18, Jesus once again turns to the image of the rock the beginning of the church: He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, * and on this rock * I will build my church, and the powers of death * shall not prevail against it.
Romans 9:30-33 uses the image of a rock as an obstacle…an obstacle over which we will stumble without the kind of faith exhibited by Moses, David and Peter. That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but that Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."
Action
Action alone is not enough. Jesus is not calling on “the one who does.” He wants the one who does for the right reason…to follow the will of the Father. Thy will be done. Many people perform good works for the wrong reason or for no reason at all. Like in this passage from Romans 9, today’s scripture reminds us that Jesus anoints those who do good works for the right reason…to pursue the “will of my Father.” They shall enter the Kingdom.
This is like the message we heard last year in our readings from the Gospel (Luke 6:46-49): "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."
Do well by doing good for the right reason.
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
“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
Piety
Jesus, help us to stand firm on the right rocks. Help us to step forward for the right reasons.
Study
Toss a pebble in a pond and the ripples are seen rolling away. Toss a rock into Biblical history, and the ripples are felt for eons. The rocks we encounter today in the writings of the prophet Isaiah and the evangelist Matthew are just two of the important rocks we stumble upon in the Bible. Rocks in the natural world open up a pathway to the supernatural world. Moses brought water from a rock. Rocks in the natural world help us overcome the hurdles we face in the world. David killed his enemies with a rock.
Rocks are easy to visualize – and sometimes harder to pick up and remove. But their solid toughness lends an air of stability when used as a metaphor. Peter built the church upon a rock. Rocks identify the strength and steadfastness of God – the Rock of Israel (Genesis 49:24). Rocks may be either obstacles we face in the path to following Jesus or rocks may be stepping stones in our path of understanding of the Lord.
If faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, how strong was the faith of Moses and David which moved nations? In praise, David recognized that it was not just an inanimate object on the desert floor that saved him but the Rock who is the Lord, the same Lord who helped Moses bring forth the water. And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said, "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my* God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies (2 Samuel 22:1-4). This sentiment also is expressed in scores of Psalms.
The Hebrew Bible miracles gave way to the metaphors used in the New Testament to help people better understand the Word of God. Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame." To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe, "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner," and "A stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall"; for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 1 Peter: 4-8
In Matthew 16:15-18, Jesus once again turns to the image of the rock the beginning of the church: He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, * and on this rock * I will build my church, and the powers of death * shall not prevail against it.
Romans 9:30-33 uses the image of a rock as an obstacle…an obstacle over which we will stumble without the kind of faith exhibited by Moses, David and Peter. That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but that Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."
Action
Action alone is not enough. Jesus is not calling on “the one who does.” He wants the one who does for the right reason…to follow the will of the Father. Thy will be done. Many people perform good works for the wrong reason or for no reason at all. Like in this passage from Romans 9, today’s scripture reminds us that Jesus anoints those who do good works for the right reason…to pursue the “will of my Father.” They shall enter the Kingdom.
This is like the message we heard last year in our readings from the Gospel (Luke 6:46-49): "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."
Do well by doing good for the right reason.
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