New Year’s Resolutions

When you see the title of this blog, you might think that I’ve gotten wackier! It’s only November, so why talk about New Year’s Resolutions?

Here’s why.  We are ending a year right now…it’s the Church Year. It ends with the Feast of Christ the King.  This past year we heard Luke’s Gospel proclaimed nearly every weekend, including today with the wonderful story of the repentant thief.  But next weekend a New Year begins with the First Sunday of Advent and its focus on Matthew’s Gospel.

 

So take some time today to remember some highlights of Luke’s Gospel. Maybe you could even read his whole Gospel in one sitting and notice Luke’s special themes. 

       

Questions:  Is there a story in Luke’s Gospel that especially touched you this past year?  Was there a church celebration that was particularly memorable?  How did you grow closer to God last year?  What especially nourished your spiritual life? 

      

Now make some New Church Year Resolutions.  What can you do this next year that will help your spiritual life?  What new spiritual practice would you like to start this year? Maybe you could read the weekend Gospel before coming to Mass.      

                                                    New Year’s Resolutions

When you see the title of this blog, you might think that I’ve gotten wackier! It’s only November, so why talk about New Year’s Resolutions?

Here’s why.  We are ending a year right now…it’s the Church Year. It ends with the Feast of Christ the King.  This past year we heard Luke’s Gospel proclaimed nearly every weekend, including today with the wonderful story of the repentant thief.  But next weekend a New Year begins with the First Sunday of Advent and its focus on Matthew’s Gospel.

 

So take some time today to remember some highlights of Luke’s Gospel. Maybe you could even read his whole Gospel in one sitting and notice Luke’s special themes.

       

Questions:  Is there a story in Luke’s Gospel that especially touched you this past year?  Was there a church celebration that was particularly memorable?  How did you grow closer to God last year?  What especially nourished your spiritual life? 

      

Now make some New Church Year Resolutions.  What can you do this next year that will help your spiritual life?  What new spiritual practice would you like to start this year? Maybe you could read the weekend Gospel before coming to Mass.      

                                                      New Year’s Resolutions

When you see the title of this blog, you might think that I’ve gotten wackier! It’s only November, so why talk about New Year’s Resolutions?

Here’s why. We are ending a year right now…it’s the Church Year. It ends with the Feast of Christ the King.  This past year we heard Luke’s Gospel proclaimed nearly every weekend, including today with the wonderful story of the repentant thief.  But next weekend a New Year begins with the First Sunday of Advent and its focus on Matthew’s Gospel. 

So take some time today to remember some highlights of Luke’s Gospel. Maybe you could even read his whole Gospel in one sitting and notice Luke’s special themes. 

     

Questions: Is there a story in Luke’s Gospel that especially touched you this past year?  Was there a church celebration that was particularly memorable? How did you grow closer to God last year?  What especially nourished your spiritual life?

      

Now make some New Church Year Resolutions. What can you do this next year that will help your spiritual life?  What new spiritual practice would you like to start this coming year? Maybe you could read the weekend Gospel before coming to Mass.      

                                                              New Year’s Resolutions

When you see the title of this blog, you might think that I’ve gotten even wackier! It’s only November, so why talk about New Year’s Resolutions?

Here’s why. We are ending a year right now…it’s the Church Year. It ends with the Feast of Christ the King. This past year we heard Luke’s Gospel proclaimed nearly every weekend, including today with the powerful story of the repentant thief.  But next weekend a New Year begins with the First Sunday of Advent and its focus will be on Matthew’s Gospel.

 

So take some time today to remember some highlights of Luke’s Gospel. Maybe you could even read his whole Gospel in one sitting and notice Luke’s special themes.

       

Questions: Is there a story in Luke’s Gospel that especially touched you this past year? Was there a church celebration that was particularly memorable?  Did you grow closer to God last year?  What specifically nourished your spiritual life during the year?   

   

And then, make some New Church Year Resolutions.  What could you do next year to help you grow spiritually?  What new spiritual practice could you start this next year? Maybe you could read the Sunday Gospel before you come to weekend mass.    

                                                                  Hope

The city of Jerusalem was demolished by the Romans around the year 70 A.D. It was after that calamity that the Gospel of Luke was written down. So Luke wrote this text in the face of persecution, trials and hostility. He models his text on Mark’s Gospel (Mk 13:1-37).  But Luke’s version of the trials to come is more hopeful.

   

Jesus says that His disciples should not be afraid to give testimony to their beliefs and their way of love. Encouraging them He says: “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” 

We also live in a time of division, conflict, and blame. Just think about our politics!

What can we do?  We can look into people’s hearts and not so much at their politics. We can try to build bridges with others as we look for the common ground. We can affirm people and not focus on what we think are flaws. We can reach out to people and genuinely care for those who live on the margins.  And we can look into our hearts and ask God to help change us too.  

  

What step can you take to build a bridge with someone you see as an unlikely friend? 

                                             Eye Has Not Seen, Ear Has Not Heard

                                     What God Has Ready for Those Who Love Him

I’ve never written a blog with such a long title! You may recognize the words. They are from a song refrain that we occasionally sing at mass. They are also appropriate words for us to consider as we look at a theme in this weekend’s First Reading and Gospel texts.

   

The first reading is from the Old Testament book of 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14.  It is the only place in the Old Testament which mentions the idea of ‘being raised from the dead’.

   

And the Gospel text, Luke 20:27-38, is the only place in the Gospels where Jesus says anything about the Resurrection as such. Jesus’ only other references to the resurrection are in His predictions that He will suffer and ‘rise again’. And then, of course, there are the descriptions of His Resurrection appearances which are wonderful but unexplainable.

So what can we say about ‘resurrection’? I read this commentary:“Trying to describe ‘resurrection’ is like a butterfly describing flight to a caterpillar...or a professor describing ‘college’ to a preschooler. How can Jesus describe afterlife to those who only know this life?”   

Read the title of this blog again. Take 5-10 minutes just peacefully thinking about it.

                                                   Zacchaeus Is Out on a Limb

This weekend’s Gospel text tells the story of Zacchaeus who climbs a tree to see Jesus.  Zacchaeus is a person with a position of importance as the ‘chief tax collector’.  But somehow God’s spirit is at work in him and he wants to see Jesus.

I imagine that Jesus was touched to see a ‘man of importance’ climb a tree in order to see Him.  That was an undignified thing for an adult to do in Jesus’ day. But Jesus sees it as an act of faith. And then Jesus does the unthinkable. He invites Himself to dinner at Zacchaeus’ house. 

    

Zacchaeus is elated! And he immediately makes an ongoing commitment to repent and repay anyone he has defrauded and to be especially generous with the poor.

When’s the last time you went out on a limb and took a risk to do something unthinkable because of your faith?  Do you generally give people the ‘benefit of the doubt’? Think of a time when you were given a second chance…a chance to start over in your life.  Who stands by you when you need someone to believe in you?

                                            A Pharisee and a Tax Collector at Prayer

We hear another great parable this weekend. Jesus tells the story of two people who go to the temple to pray. (Lk 18:9-14)

A Pharisee prays to himself with an unbowed head: “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity-greedy, dishonest, adulterous, or even like that tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.” (Lk 18:11b)

Then we hear the prayer of the tax collector who stands off at a distance and prays with a bowed head: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner. “ (Luke 18:13b)

Read their prayers again.  And then reflect on the following questions.

To whom is the Pharisee praying? Did you notice how often he uses the pronoun ‘I’ in his prayer?

What is the significance of the Pharisee who prays with an unbowed head and the tax collector who bows his head to pray?

    

Why does Jesus tell this parable?  What does He want you to get from it? When you come to Church this weekend what will be the first prayer you’ll say?

                                                  “Lord, Increase Our Faith”

This weekend’s Gospel (Luke 17:5-10) begins with the Apostles telling Jesus to increase their faith.  Their request for more faith only makes sense when we look at its context.

Just before the Apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith, Jesus says: “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him.  And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and he says he’s sorry seven times, “you should forgive him”.  And that’s when the Apostles say: “Lord, increase our faith.”

The Apostles can’t believe that forgiveness should be given so frequently. But Jesus insists that we must always be ready to forgive…just as God always forgives us.  Forgiveness is the mark of a true disciple! And it's a requirement for all of us who are on The Way.

 

God has given me countless second chances.  How many second chances has God given you?

 

Today’s Gospel concludes by reminding us that we are disciple/servants. We should not expect special treatment for doing only what is required of us. 

What is required? Three things. Love God and others as God loves us.  Forgive each other as God forgives us. And especially care for the poor and those living on life’s margins.

                                                 Making Friends with the Poor

In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus tells the story of a rich man who has a beggar named Lazarus at his gate…a beggar whom the rich man never notices.  When both of them die, Lazarus is in the bosom of Abraham and the rich man is in the netherworld.

    

Then the rich man tells Abraham to send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool the rich man’s tongue. When the rich man finds out that’s not possible, he has the gall to tell Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his relatives!

 

The rich man never talks directly to Lazarus.  And right there is the nub of the problem.

Do you have friends who are poor?  Are there poor people living in your neighborhood? How good are you at welcoming people who live on the fringes of life?

   

In the light of this weekend’s readings I know that I have to do a better job of reaching out to people who are poor. And I also have to live with less myself. 

   

Today’s the feast of St. Vincent de Paul. It’s a great day to write a check to the St. Vincent de Paul Society! It won’t solve everything, but it’s at least a way to make a difference.

                                                  Using the Gifts God Gave Us

This weekend’s readings from the prophet Amos and from Jesus’ words in Luke’s Gospel focus on the proper and improper use of the gift of money. We might not think of money as a gift, but everything we have, including money, ultimately comes from God. And our job is to be good stewards of all God’s gifts.

In addition to the gift of money, what other gifts has God given you? Think about that for a few moments. Use a note pad or sheet of paper to start making a list of your gifts. Keep that list on your kitchen table for the next week…and add to it on a daily basis.

Share your list with someone who knows you well and who loves you.  Ask them if they see other gifts that you don’t see in yourself.  And then make it a point to tell them some of the gifts that you see in them.

Of all the gifts on your list, which two or three gifts do you treasure most?  

What gifts do you use on a daily basis?  What gifts do you hardly ever use? At the end of this exercise, thank God for showering you with so many gifts.

 

                                              What is the Cost of Discipleship?

This weekend’s Gospel and the second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to Philemon raise key questions about discipleship. To prepare for mass this weekend take a little time to think about the following questions. 

What is a disciple of Christ?  And more specifically, what does it mean that you are a disciple of Christ?

What expectations does Jesus have for His disciples? Make a list of the requirements that you think Jesus sets for those who want to be His disciples. 

What are the costs of discipleship? And, more specifically, what does it cost you to be a disciple of Jesus?

If Jesus would tell you that there is one thing more which He hopes you will do to be a better disciple, what would that one thing be?

Name some ‘disciples’, whom you personally know, that are really good disciples. Make it a point to let them know that you appreciate them.  

                                                                     Humility

Two of this weekend’s readings address the issue of humility. A text from the book of Sirach says: “Conduct your affairs with humility and you will be loved more than the giver of gifts.”(Sirach 3:17) And in the Gospel, Jesus says: “Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled and the one who humbles himself shall be exalted.”(Luke 14:11)

A basic definition of humility is: knowing who we are and who we are not.  Think about that a little bit.  Who are you?  Who are you not?

Every day in my morning prayer I get to a point where I say:“Thank you God for loving the total package that I am.”  And then I list a number of my failings that always include: self-centeredness, pride, laziness, anger, jealousy, gluttony, greed etc.

Then I thank God for some good qualities that I have. Those include: a tender heart, a creativity, a desire to be a good disciple, a reflectiveness, a sense of humor, etc. And I end the prayer as I began it: “Thank you God for loving the total package that I am.”

 

Knowing the total packages that we are and, recognizing that God loves those packages, is about as humble of a prayer that we can make.

Take time to humbly pray: “Thank you God for loving the total package that I am….”

                                          “Strive to Enter Thru the Narrow Door”

About 12 years ago I finally realized that I needed to get in better physical condition. So I finally got serious about exercising and eating healthier. And that has helped a lot.

I thought of that in light of this weekend’s Gospel. In response to a question about how many people will be saved, Jesus said: “Strive to enter thru the narrow door.” (Lk: 13:24)

"Fitting thru the narrow door” made me think about getting in shape spiritually. So I've thought about daily spiritual exercises can help us fit thru the narrow door.  

Here are 5 possible components of a daily spiritual exercise routine.

   

-Set aside a reasonable amount of time to pray each day.

-Be conscious everyday of the loving things you can say or do for others.

-Make a daily effort to remember the poor in some way.

-Willingly carry a cross each day. 

   

-Be grateful hourly.  

                                                     Setting the Earth on Fire

In this weekend’s Gospel text Jesus says something very startling.  He says: “I have come to set the earth on fire.” (Luke 12:49) He clearly does not mean this in a literal sense.  He is much more focused on bringing ‘passion’ and ‘fire in the belly’ to this complacent, self-centered and weary world. 

What kind of fire does Jesus want to set within you?

When have you experienced some fire in your belly?    

What does it mean when we say: ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. And kindle in us the fire of your love’? 

Recently I was at a party with some younger children.  As evening came we noticed the fireflies. And the children were mesmerized by them and they ran after them. Those fireflies brought so much joy.  

What kind of fire will you bring to this world in the week ahead?

                                            Our Treasures and Our Hearts

In this coming weekend’s Gospel, Jesus says ”Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”  (Lk 12:34) I just returned from a three-day mini-vacation with my sister. In recent years we’ve planned a summer outing to catch up on family stuff and talk about things that matter in our lives. 

Time like this, spent with my sister, is a real treasure. 

Over coffee on the last day I told my sister how I see God in her. She’s a very loving person, always the first one to express support for someone facing trouble. She has a really tender heart.

I think that’s the first time I’ve ever told anyone how I see God in him/her. Have you ever said that to anyone?

What/who are the treasures of your heart? In whom or in what can you see God’s presence?

God is in everyone and everything that God has made. God is in our churches, in our homes, on our streets and in the poor. It’s just that we don’t look deep enough or behind the masks that we and others wear.  Remember: Where our treasures are, there also will our hearts be.

Footnote: August 10^th is the feast of St. Lawrence. According to legend, the Roman Prefect ordered St. Lawrence to produce the wealth of the church in 3 days. So he gathered the poor, the sick, the widows and the orphans and he told the prefect “These are the treasures of the Church!” 

                                                     Guard against Greed

This weekend’s Gospel (Lk 12:13-21) warns us to avoid greed in all forms. Then we hear a parable about a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. And he talks to himself about what he will do with this big harvest. In the end he decides to build larger barns.

After he filled his bigger barns, he said to himself: “You have so many good things stored up for many years. Eat, Drink, Be merry!” “But God said: ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and all the things you have, to whom will they belong?’”

Consider the following issues:  

Do you have more ‘stuff’ than you need?  Analyze your closets, basement, attic, and garage.

Do you think you have too much money?  Write a check to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Consider living in solidarity with the poor for the next week.  What would that mean?

Did you notice that the rich man only talked to himself?  With whom can you talk about greed, self-centeredness and living in solidarity with the poor?

                                                                Teach Us to Pray

His disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray in this weekend’s Gospel text (Lk 11:1-13).  So Jesus taught them the Lord’s Prayer. And then He told them some parables, addressing other prayer-related issues. So here are some questions about your prayer life.

How much time do you spend in daily prayer? How much time do you think you should spend? Did you know that Muslims pray for about 10 minutes…5 times each day?

When you pray, how much time do you spend telling God what you want? And, on the other hand, how much time do you listen to what God wants to say to you? (Truthfully, I’m a lot better at telling God what I want, than I am at really listening to Him!)

Here’s a final point. In a book called 'Vesper Time', Frank Cunningham says: “Gratitude is the first movement in the spiritual life.” I think there's something deeply true in that.   

So here's a final question: How much time do you spend thanking God in your daily prayers? (I’m embarrassed to tell you my answer to that question!)   

Blog homework: Set a timer for 10 minutes and spend all ten minutes thinking of things for which you want to say thanks to God.

                                                             Martha and Mary

This weekend we will hear a familiar story. Jesus is invited to Martha and Mary’s house for dinner.  Martha’s nose gets out of joint when Mary isn’t helping her in the kitchen.  Mary, on the other hand, is enjoying herself just listening to Jesus.  

Martha’s about ready to throw in the towel! And Mary has no idea why Martha’s upset. On the other hand, what does Martha expect? That Mary should leave Jesus sit by himself while she helps Martha dice the onions?  

Meanwhile Mary assumed the position of a disciple by sitting at the master’s feet. She was focused on Jesus.  And it’s true that she chose the better portion, since Jesus was the only Rabbi in His time who had women disciples!

Do you have a little bit of Martha in you? Do you get ‘anxious and distressed’ by the chores at hand? (Martha could easily be my patron saint!) Or are you more like Mary?  Focused on people, but not noticing unattended details…like the lamb becoming a burnt offering!

The good news is that there is room for both Marthas and Marys in Jesus’ life.

We don’t hear the end of the story…but being a good Rabbi, Jesus would have concluded the meal with a prayer of thanks for the food…and for the good company too.

                                                         What Is Your Mission? (2)

This weekend’s gospel tells the story of Jesus sending 72 disciples on a mission trip. (Luke 10:1-9) Their work was to care for the sick and announce the coming of God’s Kingdom.  So it was a mission that included both talk and action.   

So I can’t help but think of the 18 youth from St. Patrick, St. Richard and St. Edward parishes who are currently on a mission trip in Knoxville Tennessee. We had a commissioning ceremony for them and their chaperones last Sunday at the 9:00 am mass at St. Patrick’s Parish. They left for Knoxville on Monday. 

   

These young people are an inspiration for an old goat like me!  They have an enthusiasm and a spirit of adventure and probably they’ve got a little anxiety too. But my guess is that they will return with stories to tell and experiences that they will never forget. 

If you were going on a mission trip at this point in your life, where would you like to go and what would you hope to do?  What gift do you have that would help you change the world? If you would ask God what your mission should be, what would He say?