Sts Peter and Paul

29th June, 2008      Sts Peter and Paul

 

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Sts Peter and Paul went through their lives and minitry strong in the belief that God was with them, that God was accompanying them on their pilgrimage of life…..   guiding them and supporting them in the mission and their proclamation of the Good news…

 

time and time again, they were saved from imprisonment and death….  and continued on their way, boldly proclaiming the good news….  but they were not under any illusions…..   although they often praised God for his constant love, protection and grace…..  and were grateful for the times they were saved from death…..   they knew that being Jesus’ friends and disciples was not about having permanent protection from suffering, imprisonment and death…. after all, their Master and the founder of the message  they proclaimed… suffered the most terrible fate on the Cross……   being a disciple is not a guarantee of safety or absolute physical protection….  it is not, as we know too well, a charm to prevent all illness or even death…..    but nevertheless…. our discipleship does give us hope and trust… that God remains with us, in the ups and downs of life…. in good times and bad………   in sickness and in health….  in peace and in times of turmoil……….    God is with us… to lead us to eternal life, where we will share eventually in the fullness of Jesus’ Kingdom and have eternal life…  this life begins now… and can be experienced profoundly in so many ways here and now……… but we know the fullness is to be experienced only in the world to come.

 

We Catholics believe that the Pope is the successor of the special role of St Peter… as the foundation stone on which Christ builds his church……    and so, it is timely that we celebrate this feast as the church in Australia prepares to host the World Youth day pilgrimage in Sydney.  The pope will visit our land, and we will join our prayers to those of our pilgrims who will travel down from here to Sydney to be part of the celebration of unity and faith…..    we too, will get to host, less than two weeks…. the international pilgrims who will visit our area… and we will all celebrate and encounter the richness of the universal church….   a church including people from every race, language and culture…..    all one In Christ….   

 

but of course…   in many ways, World Youth day is a living symbol… a to n expression of something much, much bigger….   it’s a chance to celebrate our identity… our membership of the Catholic Christian faith family….   and, as one pilgrim has written…” World youth day has the potential to be great if it is seen as part of a long-term strategy by the church to engage young people….  to enkindle in us all the fire of the Good News that drove the apostles to the ends of the earth in Jesus name…..   and inspired and enlivened them to establish permanent local communities deeply embedded in the principles, life and values of Jesus’ Kingdom….   World Youth day is an encounter and expression of our need to encounter eachother in faith…  for the leadership of the church to meet the young people f the church… and to listen… really listen to each other…. with open hearts…. hearts tuned to the gospel………  if that is not done.. then, as another WYD writer put it recently… unless that happens, then it will have been little more than an expensive gathering of young people…. and please God (with the Spirit of God at work)… it will be a LOT more than that.  

 

St Paul, the apostle to the Gentile nations would be so proud today… as he looks at all that Christ has achieved in and through his church…..   he would be the first to remind us to celebrate our ‘unity in diversity’

 

When Jesus asks ‘who do people say I am….. and then asks the even more important question….  ‘who do YOU say I am’    Simon replies….   “You are the Christ, the son of God.”   It is really important for us to see why Jesus then immediately says his next words…..   you could almost add a “because” into Jesus sentence…..  “Because you say that I am the Christ, the son of the Living God, you are Petros….YOU are the rock on which I will build my church.” 

 

The church is founded upon the rock of the reality that Jesus is THE Christ… THE son of the living God…. and that Jesus is God the SON……    as important as it is that Peter proclaimed these words…..//  … even more importantly is that he proclaimed the central POINT of our Faith… it is BECAUSE Jesus is the Son of God that we are who we are… // that we Christians live as we live…..//   and it is BECAUSE of who Jesus is that we share in the actual divine life and relationship of God by uniting ourselves in mind, heart and communion to Jesus…….    

 

and this changes everything….  it gives us the grace, the love and the freedom to live and to act as Jesus did……    and in so many ways….  by our words, actions and lives…  to set prisoners free… to declare God’s favour to each other…. and to cancel so many types of debt that we can hold over one another……    to BE, as Peter, Paul and the apostles are….. GOOd news to the poor…..

 

Twefth Week of ordinary time, a, 22/6/08

22nd June, 2008      12th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

 

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Poor Jeremiah,   he was only doing God’s will…..  and awful people were doing everything they could to close him down.   Jeremiah was speaking God’s message  - calling for Justice, and faithfulness, and repentance and obedience to God’s law….. and this got him immediately offside with those who were personally benefitting from BEING unjust and selfish.  So, instead of listening to his message, Because it was hard and challenging and required a mindset change….   they did what people have done throughout the generations….. they took the easiest option and tried to shoot the messenger…..    Jeremiah’s enemies did everything they could to abuse him, contradict him….   lie about him so that he would be discredited, laugh at him and attack him……..    the wonderful thing is…. jeremiah just kept telling his message, he ignored the attacks and the lies…..(although it hurt him and got him down)…… and he put his faith in God and kept going……  

 

Jesus is the ultimate example of this complete faithfulness…… his enemies knew that there was only one way they could stop him proclaiming and living his good news message of inclusion, justice and love… and that was to destroy him… to kill him and discredit him…….  But the Word of God in Jesus cannot be silenced… and it rose up again…..   showing once and for all that the opposing forces of lies, injustice and violence… were real, but ultimately empty threats…

 

Saints and real heroes …are people who can endure any hardship, bear any indignity, face any danger, (even death)… not because they think they can’t be hurt….   no…. but because they know that what they struggle for is the TRUTH… and it is RIGHT…. and it is REAL….    and that they know their souls are safe   -

 

(and Jesus knew this perfectly….    do not be afraid of those who can harm your body……    rather fear the one who has power over your very soul).

 

 

Of course, Jesus had a right to fear physical harm…  there were people out there trying to kill him……   but he believed in something much bigger that physical safety in this lifetime…. 

 

Jeremiah had people trying to kill him…. he was right to be concerned….   for us today, the dangers are often not physical…  although occasionally in this country.. and in others places its more common….   there are people still risking their lives and freedom for the cause of justice and truth……  

 

but for many of us.. the dangers we face are more subtle…  often spiritual…  

 

When we have everything that we need, then we can be wordlessly tempted to think that we do not need God. When we look at our world today, we see that the richer nations believe less. We must be careful not to generalize, but that surely looks like the trend.

 

Jesus preaches a very different Gospel. Jesus tells us that real happiness comes from belief in God, from seeking the will of the Father, from giving to others, from sharing what we have with those who do not have, from respect for marriage, from praying and from forgiving.

 

Jesus does not invite us to have absolutely nothing, but always the challenge is there: What are you doing with what you have? Are you loving God and loving one another? What are you doing in your daily life? Are you seeking only your own pleasures or are you seeking the Kingdom of God?

 

So often we long for material pleasures, reassurances and the delights of this world! Jesus invites us to recognize that there is another world in which the values do not exclude pleasure and delight, but in which other values are much more important. When one persons sins, others are encouraged to sin. When one person chooses to live according to the will of God, others can begin to grasp that there is another world. Jesus had a remarkable gift of convincing others of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is God, of course, but He invites us also to share His life and share that gift of convincing others of the Kingdom of God by our manner of living.

 

 

Okay, we may not live in a world where people are trying to kill us…..   but…  there are so many ways of ‘neutralising’ a person…. the most insidious of all is forms of aggression that seem to have been perfected in this modern world…..   we can destroy a person with our words…..    with lies and distortions…. how easy is it to say something about another that makes others think less of them,….  killing their reputation with either outright falsehoods… or even more insidious, by subtle innuendo…..   this is another way people try to remove those who threaten  them…..  

 

But Jesus assures, us….   things spoken in the dark will be brought into the light….   things whispered … will be shouted from the rooftops….   I believe that the truth will often be revealed eventually….   but not denying the damage that can be done in the meantime….   and in any case, Jesus, our role model… assures us not to ever be spooked by the power of lies and threats…..    he showed us to keep going, keep trusting and keep living and proclaiming the truth… and that those who try to oppose.. are doing so because they are threatened by the truth….  but, ultimately,  they will not win. (but let us make no mistake… enormous damage might be done in the meantime… so we need strength, grace and love…to perservere… 

 

 

I have a saying, and I truly believe this… whenever you are doing a thing that is right and good… inevitable someone will come along and tell you to “Stop!”    - we must ignore them,…..    or… as Jesus did…   see their opposition for what it is….  fear and threat… and keep going…

 

May we love the Lord our God and may the way we live show forth clearly that the Kingdom of Heaven is in our midst, especially in the face of opposition or ctiricism. . May we live now in such a way that gives testimony to the love of God and to life everlasting. May we have no fear!

 

 

 

(adapted and taken from Monastery of Christ in the desert, and also 2008 A Book of Grace Filled Days, and also additions by Paul Kelly).

15th June, 2008 11th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

15th June, 2008      11th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

 

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This weekend’s Gospel has a word that one could spend a lifetime reflecting upon:   it says  “At the sight of the crowds, Jesus' heart was moved with compassion for them // because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.”

 

Compassion is at the heart of Jesus’ message of Good news.  It is a timely reminder, that being followers of Jesus means not ‘having all the answers’  or being God’s fix-it people…… but it is about joining ourselves to Christ who is the “compassion of God”.   - 

 

First and foremost, what people encountered when they met Jesus, was not a man with all the answers…..  but a man with the compassion and love of God ……  and this transformed, healed and freed them…..

 

I was reading a reflection  the other day and it was about how a man and his family struggled to cope when their sister was badly injured in an accident… he wrote:

that some of the nicest people said the worst and most unhelpful things to him at that time….   “its all God’s will and you just have to accept it.”….  “God never gives a person a cross they can’t handle” …..”God must have been trying to teach you a lesson”….     “we will only find out in heaven what she did to deserve this.”   ……. and so on…. and that was just his friends…..  

 

In the end…..   being Christian is about love…. and compassion….. not helpful advice……..   and we see, as the example of this…. time and time again…. jesus… in there…. boots and all ….. with the poor, the sick, the sinner, the outcast……    and why…..  not to make a point….  not to teach a lesson…. but because his heart broke when he saw their suffering… and he couldn’t help but be in there with his beloved…….    suffering with them…….

 

would it not be a better place if we are known (most of all) for our compassion…..  even our foolish tendency to compassion…..  beyond reason…..  

 

It reminds me that Christianity… is really not a head trip….  its not about rules, concepts and practices….. but really…… its about a person…….   its always about the person……..   firstly, the person and values of the person called Jesus…. and secondly….  (but just as important)  … the people we meet……. and he places we find each other in….

 

 

Also, our relationship with God, so close, through the invitation of Jesus….  has come about not from us meriting it or deserving it….  no, no, no…..  far from it….. if we were to get what we deserved… it would not be a pretty picture……  we have a deep and abiding relationshop with God because of God’s gratuituous…. ridiculous… and preposterously generous love…….    and so,….. our actions, values and decisions too can flow from gratuitiousness rather than self interest…….    self-interest and self-indulgence really has no place in the Christian message…..  counting the cost…..   getting our fair share….  wanting ‘our cut’   ends up making no sense when we look face to face with the compassion of Christ….. who gave witout counting the cost….. without caring what was in it for him………   Lord… let us do the same…….

 

every time we receive communion…. we are saying AMEN……  YES LORD… to the values of Jesus…  and to receiving Jesus into our hearts and lives…….   this is such a priceless treasure……    and its why we pray silently after receiving hold communion….  with thoughts like this……   ‘lord, as we receive your body and blood… may we become more and more like you, / may we love more and more  like you do, with every passing day…..  and may we never be parted from you…….  in thought… word… or deed……

 

(Ideas taken from Sharing the Word. Gustavo Gutierrez;  Preaching to the Converted, Richard Leonard,  Abbot’s homily, Monastery Christ in the Desert).

 

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extra weekday reflections:

 

Monday, June 16

 

Bottomless pockets

 

People often seek guidance about how to respond to the “spare change” people who camp out on city streets. They also want to know what to do with the mountains of solicitations they receive in the mail. Obviously, if we gave every single time we’re approached, some of us would be asking for spare change ourselves before long. But the secret truth we don’t like to acknowledge is that most of us could give far more than we do. The best advice I’ve received is: Give till it scares you. That’s the threshold where the faith walk begins.

 

Today’s readings: 1 Kings 21:1-16; Matthew 5:38-42

 

“Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.”

 

 

Tuesday, June 17

 

Breaking even

 

The love to which Christ calls us is not a zero-sum game. But we often treat it that way. We are polite to the coworkers who are polite to us. We send birthday gifts to those who remembered ours. Perhaps we only give that amount of affection to our spouses that we can be sure he or she will reciprocate. When we treat people according to the way they treat us, our love is a slave to the wills of others. It can never flow freely. We seek to break even in our love, when all we do is allow the other party to dictate its limits. This attitude is so contrary to the love of Christ, who loves each according to his own will, his own grace. Pray today that your love will flow through the freedom Christ has given us.

 

Today’s readings: 1 Kings 21:17-29; Matthew 5:43-48

 

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?”

 

 

Wednesday, June 18

 

Left holding the bag—or the mantle

 

Elijah’s farewell is less about a prophet’s grand exit in an F-4 tornado and more about what remains of him. Like Elisha, the friend and disciple left behind, we may feel the absence of Jesus and overwhelmed by the task he has left us. But Elisha is left with more than memories and a ministry. He has his master’s mantle, and a “double share” of his spirit. In our turn on the planet, we, too, may feel our Master has left us on our own, but Jesus assures us that here on earth we will do the same things he did “and greater besides”—not walking on water or changing water to wine but “righteous deeds,” acts of compassion, justice, and forgiveness.

 

Today’s readings: 2 Kings 2:1, 6-14; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

 

“As Elijah and Elisha continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.”

 

 

Thursday, June 19

Feast of Romuald, abbot

 

Note to myself: Become a saint

 

Sometimes the life of a saint can seem so far beyond our ability to model that we feel defeated before we start. How many of us have thought, “I could get close to God, too—if I didn’t have this demanding job, or these children to care for, or this household to manage. Anyone can pray in a monastery!” Saint Romuald, who spent his life in pursuit of solitude, silence, and contemplation, understands our dilemma. He wrote, “The fact that we cannot duplicate their [the saints’] lives does not change the call to us to be totally open to God in our particular circumstances.” Yes, we are busy. But God is calling us “in our particular circumstances.” How can we be open to God today?

 

Today’s readings: Sirach 48:1-14; Matthew 6:7-15

 

“In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.”

 

 

Friday, June 20

 

Eyes on the prize

 

Perhaps you have heard of a monastic discipline called “custody of the eyes,” which originally was promoted as an aid to chaste living. In our age of total media exposure and graphic representations of sex and violence, we would do well to exercise a measure of this discipline in our own lives. If the eyes are the window to the soul, there might indeed be good reasons to keep the blinds half drawn much of the time. Overexposed eyes can lead to a washed-out soul. Focus on your higher calling and exercise discipline as to where you let your eye wander, for there your heart may soon follow.

 

Today’s readings: 2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20; Matthew 6:19-23

 

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

 

 

Saturday, June 21

 

As you sow, so shall you reap

 

“If we are rushed for time, sow time and we will reap time,” Dorothy Day wrote in her memoir The Long Loneliness. “Go to church and spend a quiet hour in prayer. You will have more time than ever and your work will get done. Sow time with the poor. Sit and listen to them, give your time lavishly. You will reap time a hundredfold. Sow kindness and you will reap kindness. Sow love, you will reap love.” How many of us would try to cope with our busy schedules by actually taking time for something not on our to-do lists? Yet if we trust, God will multiply the time we invest in prayer, love, and generosity into a great harvest.

 

Today’s readings: 2 Chronicles 24:17-25; Matthew 6:24-34

 

“Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

 

 

 

 

 

©2008 by TrueQuest Communications, L.L.C. Phone: 800-942-2811; e-mail: mail@takefiveforfaith.com; website: www.TakeFiveForFaith.com. Licensed for noncommercial use. All rights reserved. Scripture quotes come from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

 

 

 

Contributors: Father Paul Boudreau, Alice Camille, Daniel Grippo, Father Larry Janowski, Ann O’Connor, Sean Reynolds, Joel Schorn, and Patrice J. Tuohy

 

 

Sunday and Weekday thoughts reflections inspired by the Scriptures of the day.

Hi AGAIN EVERYONE. HERE ARE SOME REFLECTIONS FOR THIS COMING SUNDAY AND THE WEEKDAYS OF THE COMING WEEK.  GOD BLESS.

 

FR. PAUL.

 

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Shavuot begins at sunset

No wrapping required

What do you give to someone who has everything? Gift-giving can be a stressful if the receiver doesn't want for anything. When it comes to God, maker of everything, the problem is compounded. Burnt offerings are out of fashion. Does God get bored with expressions of praise? Jesus recalls that Hosea said God wants love and understanding, just as we do. To this end the Jewish community will hold all-night Bible studies on Shavuot, remembering how Moses taught them the mind of God. We, too, grow closer to God by reading what's on the divine mind.

Today's readings: Hosea 6:3-6; Romans 4:18-25; Matthew 9:9-13

"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."

 

Monday, June 9

Feast of Ephrem, deacon, doctor

Verses versus heresy

Born into a city of influential Gnostic sects and an educated Jewish population, Ephrem the Syrian (306-373) apparently had little opportunity to promote the orthodoxy of the recently formed Nicene Creed in his homeland. But the gift that he had been given, which no one could deny, was a proficiency in verse. Ephrem schooled himself in the meters and hymn-forms popular around him and adopted them to promote the Nicene message. Saint Ephrem's hymns were so skillfully crafted that they gained renown not only in his own city but in many hymn traditions, subsequently spreading the church's doctrine. What earthly gifts have you been given that you can use to spread the gospel?

Today's readings: 1 Kings 17:1-6; Matthew 5:1-12

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

 

Tuesday, June 10

Jump to it

Today's reading from 1 Kings offers a vivid example of the risk involved in trusting God when the evidence may be scant. How many of us, during a time of drought and famine, would have sufficient trust in God to offer a stranger our last morsel of food, solely based on the promise that if we did so, God would provide for our own needs? It takes a good amount of "salt," as today's gospel puts it, to take that kind of leap of faith. The woman in 1 Kings had the salt. How about us?

Today's readings: 1 Kings 17:7-16; Matthew 5:13-16

"The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth."

 

Wednesday, June 11

Feast of Barnabas, apostle

Help is on the way

Saint Barnabas earned his name—which means "son of encouragement"—because of his work for the early Christian community, taking the recent convert Saint Paul under his wing, representing the original apostles at Antioch, and with Paul going on missions to the Gentiles. Barnabas was willing to do his part, whether leading or supporting others. How can you be a daughter or son of encouragement today?

Today's readings: Acts 11:21b-26; 13:1-3; Matthew 5:17-19

"Barnabas . . . was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith."

 

Thursday, June 12

A show of strength

According to the folks at forgiveness.com, 94 percent of people surveyed in an overseas Gallup poll said it was important to forgive. But in the same survey only 48 percent said they usually tried to forgive others. What's holding us back? The benefits (better physical and mental health) are well-documented, yet somehow we see forgiveness as a sign of weakness—a victory for those who have offended or abused us. In fact, the opposite is true: Forgiveness is a sign of strength. It is how you show your enemies you are not defeated. As Oscar Wilde wisely advised: Always forgive your enemies—nothing annoys them so much! Forgiveness is possible—and for Jesus, it is more important than showing up to church with cash in hand.

Today's readings: 1 Kings 18:41-46; Matthew 5:20-26

"First be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift."

 

Friday, June 13

Hearing a who

The prophet Elijah had a lot on his plate. Defending the one true God, battling kings and even other prophets, and going through quite a bit of hardship on the process. And when he went to talk with God on God's own mountain, conditions were not calm. The wind blew strong enough to split rocks. Then an earthquake rolled the ground. Oh, and there was fire, too—did we mention that? But God was not "in" the wind, the quake, or the fire. Rather God was in a "tiny whispering sound." That was what awed Elijah and led him to cover his face. Sometimes the voice of God isn't found in spectacular special effects but in the smallest, quietest way. Can you hear it?

Today's readings: 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-16; Matthew 5:27-32

"After the fire was a sound of sheer silence."

 
Saturday, June 14
Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Promises, promises

Jesus can be devastatingly clear, maddeningly simple. In our culture, supporting one's word of honor with an oath generally happens only in a courtroom and in bad gangster movies in which hoodlums regularly swear on their "mother's grave." Jesus envisions a spirit so clear and guileless that oaths are unnecessary, and not even the notion of equivocation is entertained. Mary is a model of one who when she said Yes, meant Yes. As a mother she likely taught Jesus the same simple honesty. Following through on what we've promised to God in baptism reflects not only good character but a heart open to the scrutiny of anyone, even the clear light of the Holy Spirit.

Today's readings: 1 Kings 19:19-21; Matthew 5:33-37

"Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one."

 

 

©2008 by TrueQuest Communications, L.L.C. Phone: 800-942-2811; e-mail: mail@takefiveforfaith.com; website: www.TakeFiveForFaith.com. Licensed for noncommercial use. All rights reserved. Scripture quotes come from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

 
Contributors: Father Paul Boudreau, Alice Camille, Daniel Grippo, Father Larry Janowski, Ann O'Connor, Sean Reynolds, Joel Schorn, and Patrice J. Tuohy