February 24, 2013

Bulletin February 24, 2013

2^nd Sunday of Lent C

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28-36
Lent continues…how am I doing? So often I get frustrated that the Lenten plans and hope-filled promises I made would just make this the ‘best Lent’. I have to keep reminding myself that this isn’t what Lent is all about. Lent is about the motivation that I have to be a disciple; it’s about the attentiveness I have and the awareness of God’s presence in every moment and aspect of my life and it’s about my own sincerity, not that I do things ‘perfectly’ but that I am doing ‘sacrifices’ to be grateful and close to the Lord. Today’s gospel of the Transfiguration fits in perfectly with this faith journey.
What is the most important message in this beautiful Gospel scene? Peter said, Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”. Nice words…he was totally overwhelmed with the experience of seeing the transfigured beauty of Jesus. Jesus is God and shows His divinity is this the important message of the scene? Luke continues, “But he did not know what he was saying.” So often this is me, having an insight and rushing to conclusions. Luke continues, “While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.’”
This is the key…of course I want to listen to Jesus. I want to do everything that He tells me; I want to live up to His expectations and to follow Him wherever He leads me. Definitely! This is so important…but if I reflect on this short sentence from the Father it says so definitively that JESUS IS SPEAKING TO ME….then I have to say, ‘what is He saying? How do I know His voice? What am I to do?’ I really have to be still and aware to listen and ‘let God be God to me.’ I have to slow down to let this happen. I need time for silence, to reflect and to pray. So often I ask, ‘how exactly do I do that? How do I pray…how do I listen…how do I be silent? It seems I spend more time on the questions than I do with the ‘doing’. It is not complex at all; St.Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower in ‘Story of a Soul’ called it The Little Way; Mother Theresa called it the Simple Path. So how do I do it?
The first point that I have slowly learned over the years is that the best way for me to pray is to just do it. Whatever way I feel comfortable in praying is the right way for me to pray; but I have to bring myself to the prayer. I can and do recite many different prayers that I have collected down through the years in addition to praying the Divine Office each day but still there has to be time for me with God. AND, I do not have to do all the talking. How important that is! And I find it so very easy just to carry on conversations with God as I move through the day. Driving is an amazing time for prayer because of the other drivers who might need special prayers because of the way they are driving or where they are rushing to with whatever is worrying them and even just to look at the beauties that surround. There is so much noise in my world that I like to ‘turn it off’…like in the car, no radio or cd’s; at home, turn off the TV, not spending ‘crazy time’ at the computer…reading and being still. I find each day there are so many different ways that ‘silence’ just makes me more aware of the presence of God and in this awareness I can listen with the heart…that is the important part of listening, with the heart.
‘Mother Teresa, A Simple Path’ is a wonderful book that continues to help me. Here are some random selections from Mother Teresa and some of her sisters:

• “I always begin my prayer in silence, for it in the silence of the heart that God speaks. God is the friend of silence—we need to listen to God because it’s not what we say but what He says to us and through us that matters.”
  
• “A clean heart can see God, and can see the love of God in others. When you have a clean heart it means you are open and honest with God, you are not hiding anything from Him, and this lets Him take what He wants from you.”
  
• “From what I have found, there is just too much noise in modern life--and because of this many people are afraid of silence. As God speaks only in silence this is a big problem for those searching for God. Many young people, for instance, don’t know how to reflect and just act instinctively.”
  
• In cities these days there is so much chaos and physical violence, a lot of anger, frustration, and shouting, just the opposite of the peaceful countryside or the sound of a waterfall. People try to fill the emptiness they feel with food, radio, television, and keeping busy with outside activities. But this emptiness can only be filled by the spiritual, by God. If we give time for God to enter this space, then our hunger can be more easily satisfied by just being with God in prayers. From this place we can grow stronger in our relationship with God and in our spiritual life. But it is a hard thing to be prayerful in our society, which feeds us with so many distractions.”

So I reflect on:

• I can see Lent in one of two ways: negatively as a time of deprivation or positively as an opportunity for growth. Which helps me be closer to God?
  
• I ask myself: Do I often or at least occasionally miss my blessings because I am preoccupied with my burdens or shortcomings?
  
• Can I recall a time when I missed something beautiful and special because I was preoccupied with another matter?
  
• What do I hope God will change in me this Lent? How have I opened myself to God’s presence?
  
• In Luke’s account, as in Mark’s and Mathew’s, the Transfiguration follows Jesus’ first insistence that He must bear the cross, and that His followers must do the same. How am I doing with my crosses? Am I bearing them, trying to get rid of them or complaining?  
  

February 17, 2013

Bulletin February 17, 2013

1^st Sunday in Lent C

Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13
Lent 2013…what are the readings telling me today as I undergo another journey to realize God’s closeness and His love? Moses gives a synopsis of the great Passover and the establishment of the Covenant. What did it mean to the wandering Jewish nation and to me? It is all about giving God the very best I have to give. Moses is telling the people that they should give the first-fruits of the land to God as a sign of their gratitude for the wonderful harvest. Then these ‘gifts’ would feed the ‘alien, the orphan and the widow.’ This is nice when I read it but it gives me a lesson much deeper for my Lenten reflection. If I gave all the ‘first fruits’ then I would be showing my gratitude…true…but it also would amount to a great deal of trusting in God. What would happen if after the initial harvest, blight came upon the crops, or a severe drought or whatever farmers fear in crop growing? They wouldn’t have stored up for the future and they would be at the mercy of the elements. They had faith…in giving their ‘first…best’. Where is my faith at; where is my trust in God at? If I want to have a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Lord, how much am I willing to ‘give up’? Do I just give up my regular ‘sacrifices’ like deserts, sweets, chocolates, stopping at Burger King Etc? Am I giving up some of my ‘always watch’ TV programs or sports events so that I can do some deeper spiritual reading? Am I taking time to look into what is going on in my heart and mind? Do I realize that this means looking at what I do, my motives, actions, failings and my sin? Am I looking at the things that tempt me and lead me astray? Do I trust that God is with me and that all I need is to put myself at His disposal? Isn’t this exactly what Jesus did as He “was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil?”
Power, possessions and pleasure are the three big temptations that Msgr. Chet Michael says always lead us away from the Lord and so consume people that they close out God and the workings of the Spirit. If Jesus was tempted in this way, shouldn’t I always be on the look out for these? Yes, but I shouldn’t exclude others that can so easily corrode me: greed, the desire to get all that I can, the desire to get even, even to the extent of revenge and telling how awful someone else is because of what they did to me and then of course are the ‘temptations of the flesh.’
It is very important that I look at these this Lent but just as important is for me to reflect on what ‘I am doing’ for the Lord. Am I giving the Lord some of my precious time? Am I spending my time in mindless matters and ‘saying’ that I should be reading, reflecting, praying, going to Jesus’ words in the Gospels but still not doing any of this? Actually this is the ‘thing’ that I never seem to devote my Lent’s to. It is a very subtle temptation of the devil: I think I am doing well on the ‘giving-ups’ but I’m not doing any of the ‘doings’. So in reality my efforts are really only ‘show acting’. As one author says, “This is the kind of temptation that can get us to not God our first-fruits, but instead give Him our leftovers --- our leftover love, our leftover generosity, or leftover mercy, and our leftover time.” I am absolutely guilty of all of these. This really doesn’t ‘do anything’ to God but it certainly ‘does something’ to be; it makes me satisfied with doing less or not doing at all and this rationalization makes me feel OK. But am I OK? No, because I am not growing closer to the Lord and I am not letting the grace and help and guidance of the Spirit to enter into ‘my space.’

In “Luke, A Devotional Commentary” is the following meditation which puts my Lenten journey into a beautiful perspective: “Until Jesus came among us as a man, no one---not even the most beloved prophets of God---had succeeded in resisting all temptation and following the Lord’s commands perfectly. So, how did Jesus succeed where so many others had failed? It is easy to think of Him as special BECAUSE He was God’s Son, yet scripture tells us that He was like us in every way, except that He did not sin (see Hebrews 4:15).

After He was baptized by John in the Jordan River, Jesus was led to a face-to-face confrontation with Satan. In obedience to the Spirit, Jesus actually took the offensive against temptation instead of avoiding it! Here, at the very beginning of His ministry, He attacked the power of Satan with the word of God, the ‘sword of the Spirit’ (Ephesians 6:17). And, for forty days in the Judean wilderness, Jesus remained steadfast, relying solely on His Father’s promises.

Think of how, during those forty days, Jesus relived His people’s history. Like His ancestors---who spent forty years in the desert---Jesus was tempted to relate to God on merely human terms or to abandon Him altogether. However, where the Israelites failed, Jesus succeeded. He lived ‘in the shadow of the Almighty,’ and the Lord was His ‘refuge’ ((Psalm 91:1-2).

Thanks be to God that Jesus has come! He has reversed the pattern of sinful humanity, freeing us from bondage to sin and death! Today, because of Jesus, we can know the same victory He knew. Because we have received His Spirit, we can face times of temptation patiently, relying on the power of God within us. Should we fail, we have the precious gift of repentance, which restores us immediately to God’s love and protection. By imitating Jesus’ humility and trust in the Father, we can learn to stand our ground and share in His triumph.

Holy Spirit, fill us with your power and word so that we can resist temptation. Make us more like Jesus, obedient children who please their heavenly Father.”
So I begin this Lent realizing that I need a ‘lonely place’ to reflect and pray. So often I live very foolishly and not spiritually because of my stupid wants and desires ‘ruled’ by my habits. Noise is all around me…I have to realize that in the quiet is where I find God. One spiritual writer wrote, “The hermit goes into the desert, not to lose himself, but to find himself.” In solitude we meet our demons, our addictions, our lust, our anger, and our need for recognition and approval. And we don’t go into the wilderness to escape from others, but to find them in God, ‘Only in solitude and silence can I find the gentleness with which I can love my brothers and sisters.’ (Thomas Merton)”
I thank you Lord for bringing me to this Lent of 2013 where I can focus on my time with You. Let my journey be concentrated only on the day I am in and not on the whole of Lent; a day at a time is a fine way to be in touch with You.  

February 10, 2013

Bulletin February 10, 2013

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Isaiah 6:1-2, 3-8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:-11
On this last weekend before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, I look at myself and reflect on how I feel about me. The answer seldom changes when I do this. No matter what positive or negative mood I am in I always feel that they is so much farther that I have to go in my relationship with the Lord and how lacking and uninspiring I am in spreading the Good News of God’s love. But I’m not alone in this…most people in their spiritual journey feel they haven’t even begun to be the people that they feel they need to be and what God wants them to be.

Enter the readings today, Isaiah, Paul and certainly Peter feel the same way.

• Isaiah said, “Woe is me, I am doomed? For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts!”
  
• Paul told the Corinthians, “Last of all, as to one born abnormally, He appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”
  
• Peter fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
  

I look at these three giants and say, ‘I don’t have a chance.’ What good am I? What am I doing that is any good? Am I progressing or regressing? Is there any hope?’ Yes there is hope and I’m looking at me and not at the Lord. I think the readings this week come at a very opportune time. They have a positive message for me in my life and can help me in the direction of my spiritual life this Lent. So often Lent has conjured up thoughts, feelings and devotions that reinforce my unworthiness and my inability to do anything positive for the Lord. They also lead me to giant ‘beating myself up’ feelings. Let is directed so often to me and not to the Lord.
The readings today tell me that I have a vocation to live a holy life. Isaiah, Paul, Peter have been called by God to serve Him in special ways. But there isn’t a person ever created who has not received the same call. An angel touched the lips of Isaiah with a burning ember so he could speak to the people. Paul says that his conversion from persecution to God’s ‘champion’ was all from the Lord. And Peter was to be a ‘fisher of men.’ This was their vocation.
My vocation is responding to the call of priesthood. My friend, Sr. Berenice- has responded to the call of being a religious sister for 70 + years. There are so many wonderful people God has placed in my life who have responded to live out their vocations in the married life. These are tremendous people of faith. So many don’t say this, but deep down realize that they have created a ‘partnership’ of sorts with the Lord in raising their children and helping each other through the drudgery of daily living. Other wonderful people live out their lives in the single sphere bringing their care and concern to others. Each has a role in God’s kingdom. Each has been blessed in so many ways, ‘if I could only count the ways’ and I can’t. They all have a commonality: they are loving people and to be a loving person they have to realize that they are loved; by others, of course, but especially by God. How does the devil tempt us all? By making us feel we are not doing enough; or we are horrible people; or we are taking maybe one step forward and at least two or three or more backwards. THIS IS JUST NOT TRUE!

While feeling that I am at a ‘dead end’ in my life and especially my spiritual life and that I can’t go any further; I must listen to what God is saying. He loves me; He loves all; He thanks each one for spreading what I and others feel is nothing; but to God is all wonderful and special. Fr. Anthony Kadavil in Teaching and Preaching Resources says it powerfully to me, “The fact of the matter is, in the spiritual life there are no dead-ends. They don’t exist. Their apparent existence is but an illusion. Put another way, our stories are not over. The last pages have not been written. And yet, what I am advocating is more than just a reiteration of ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, and try again.’ No, that saying implies that the good things in life, the things we want to achieve and experience will only happen exclusively through our own efforts. Today’s Gospel passage reveals something altogether different.

You see, God seems to be inviting us to embrace two things. One--- to always hold out hope that the best things are yet to come, provided we have the trust and courage to move beyond what is comfortable, familiar, and safe – to ‘step out of our vehicles and press on’, (in keeping with the same metaphor). In this sense, it does involve not giving up or throwing in the towel. It requires something of us, a commitment and an action on our part.

The big difference however (and the second part of God’s invitation) is that we don’t dare go it alone --- we can’t and we shouldn’t. Rather, as we continue our journey (in faith) through each apparent dead-end, we do so with the Lord at our side, with Jesus in our boat – heeding His advice, His guidance and His inspiration. And like Simon Peter, what await us are things beyond our wildest imaginations, experiences we can only dream of.” This is faith. This is why God created me and each person. The bumper sticker of long ago survives forever, ‘God doesn’t make junk.” God makes each person in love and loves and gifts them; me and you. So what do I need; be thankful for all; bring the troubles to the Lord and rest in His peace. To paraphrase Pope John XXIII‘s night prayer, ‘It’s been a very busy day, I’m going to sleep, You take care of my messes and my joys and turn them into Your way for all. So I reflect on:

• What does it mean to me when I say “Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Do I believe that God can and want to do this?
• On our own, we can only go so far. With God, who knows what’s around the next corner? Am I willing to ‘let go, and let God and go with Him?’
• What call from God might I be resisting today?
• Ugo Betti said, “To believe in God is to know that all the rules will be fair and there will be wonderful surprises.”
• Lord, help this Lent to be a time to reflect on the gifts with which you have blessed me. Let it be a time that I am grateful. Let it be a daily ‘task’ of sharing and loving. Thank You. Amen.

February 3, 2013

Bulletin February 3, 2013

4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13; Luke 4:21-30
When reading different scripture passages we hear the words and they might sound really nice and sweet; but how much do I know about what the author is sharing? Initially, Jeremiah sounds wonderful because God says “before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” I like this because before God created me, He knew I would be a part of His creation, and an important part, as is each person created. It sounds so nice…like I don’t have to worry about anything.
Then Paul explains much more detail what love is all about…so many brides pick this passage and I imagine they view ‘love’ as something so wonderful and perfect that any problem that comes up in their lives, love will be ‘the’ solution.
But then Luke describes the people just not wanting to accept Jesus and my initial reaction like so many is ‘what is wrong with these people…don’t they know their own scriptures and understand who and what the Messiah will be?
I have found these three readings a special reflection on what it means to be a prophet. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines prophet as “One sent by God to form the people of the Old Covenant in the hope of salvation…John the Baptist concludes the work of the prophets of the Old Covenant.” A looser and I feel a fuller definition is that a prophet speaks the word of God. If this is the case, then each church member since they are to be Jesus share in His mission to be a person of love. Mt 5:16 Jesus spells this out in His teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, “In the same way your light must shine in people’s sight, so that seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in heaven.”
Now Jeremiah is not so much a writer as a speaker and he never stopped speaking out against the two major evils of his day: idolatry and injustice: what am I placing above God in my life; and how am I treating each person God created? Jeremiah lived this and it brought him great physical suffering and persecution. This is reality. People do not like to hear that they are not listening to God. ‘Who are you to tell me…I know God loves me and I can do anything I want.’ Jeremiah was relentless and also filled with compassion. He had great sensitivity both to what God asked and what people were searching for. As Dr. Lawrence Boadt, an Old Testament scholar states, “When the people refused to hear his words, Jeremiah felt the anguish personally. But he felt even more the pain borne by the God whom they had rejected.”
I deal with these dilemmas in my own life: of being good when those I’m with do not want to be good; choosing what I want because I want it; or not wanting to correct ‘non-goodness ’because who am I to ‘cast the stone.’ Yet I must be the person who lives Jesus and I can’t do that when I’m not living love. Paul helps with this by giving a much deeper insight into love according to God. Fr. Anthony Kadavil in Teaching and Preaching Resources brings this HOME so perfectly.
“Love is patient…love is kind…it’s not pompous, inflated or rude…it’s not quick tempered, and doesn’t brood over injury…it hears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. Love sounds rather easy, doesn’t it? After all, I’m a pretty good guy right? I try my best to be patient with people. I’m usually kind and polite and don’t ruffle too many feathers. I’m easy-going, often try to steer clear of conflict, and almost always try to avoid hurting others people’s feelings. I must be pretty good at this ‘loving’ thing, right? Love never fails…Well, that’s a whole different story, let me tell you. I can name countless times in which others have failed to ‘love’ me as they should. I’ve been wronged, lied to, deceived, mocked, and cheated more times than I can count. And it doesn’t feel good. That’s a fact. If ‘love never fails’, others around me evidently never got the message. It’s funny how that works. When it comes to ‘love’, most of us presume that we are pretty good at it, and are convinced that others are not. Part of that probably comes from not having consistent expectations. The standard to which we hold others often far exceeds the standard to which we hold ourselves. When others are short with us we think,’ How could they…?’ or ‘That person is a …’ But when we snap at others it’s just because we are ‘having a bad day’. When we hear that others are cheating on their taxes we get all self-righteous and moralistic, but if we do it, it’s ‘not that bad’. Or in a more serious vein—if others are being unfaithful to their spouses, we hope that they ‘get what’s coming to them’. However, if we stray, it’s not quite the same---‘They don’t know what it’s like to be in my shoes,’ we rationalize. Unfortunately, we don’t always look at our behavior and that of others in a fair way. ‘If more people were a little more like me, this world would be a wonderful place.’ I don’t have to tell you that that’s a dangerous place to be spiritually.’”

Paul is telling me that if I am not motivated by love, I am ‘nothing.’ Am I making God’s ways live fully in my life and are others seeing this? Jesus tells me today that ‘no prophet is welcomed in the prophet’s hometown.’ I love the comeback of Dorothy Day in her observation of how Jesus had to bear the resentment of others, “The greatest suffering of Christ was the temptation not to love His fellows anymore.” I know that temptation well. The people of Jesus’ hometown had closed their minds and hearts to the reality of the ways of God and His plan for salvation. I can never do that…then I’m denying Jesus. If I put it off…then I’m denying Jesus. If I let someone else do it, because I’m tired, or afraid, or whatever…then I’m not being Jesus. I’m judged on being Jesus.

So I reflect on:

• How many ways have I professed my faith in Jesus in words and actions of love so far today?
  
• What gifts do I need from the Spirit to do this with the people that I know will be in my life tomorrow?
  
• Whom do I really love? In what ways do I need to grow in love today? Tomorrow? This week?
  
• ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’ was present in the story of Jesus and His home town people and so many of them were relatives. What do I have to work on to be accepting, loving and more?
  
• I so often say that Paul is describing God’s love in this passage, what do I have to work on?