Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year C - Sunday, February 13, 2022 (EPISODE: 350)

Readings for Sunday, February 13, 2022
FIRST READING: Jer 17:5-8
Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4+6. "Happy are they who hope in the Lord."
SECOND READING: 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Luke 6:17, 20-26). Alleluia, alleluia! Rejoice and be glad. Your reward will be great in Heaven.
GOSPEL: Luke 6:17, 20-26

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. Item ID: 559112293 - GALILEE, ISRAEL - DECEMBER 3: The statues of Jesus and Twelve Apostles in Domus Galilaeae on the Mount of Beatitudes near the Sea of Galilee in Galilee, Israel on December 3, 2016- Contributor: alefbet
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year C - Sunday, February 13, 2022  by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-sixth-sunday-of-ordinary-time-year-c-episode-350?si=e6093e3e250043f290aa8b5d79d6b4c7&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing  
(EPISODE: 350)
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* (Prologue:  Fr Paul Kelly)
Here we are at EPISODE: 350  of this podcast of the Mass   -   now into our sixth year.   I started recording this series on October 1^st 2016, and now we are up to the grand episode number 350. We have made additions and improvements to the quality over the years, both sound-wise, and musically, and we have also been blessed by the addition of a second voice for the wonderful readings and prayers of intercession.  And, most importantly, God's beautiful and nourishing word is truly such a blessing and a joy to proclaim and to reflect upon each week. We are truly blessed to be (as the reading says beautifully this weekend) "like trees planted beside the flowing waters").
The poor tree planted beside the running stream is rich indeed! 

that  wondrful line in the readings for this weekend. "like a tree planted near flowing waters…. that thrusts its roots into the stream". 'when the heat comes. It feels no alarm. Its foliage stays green.'
is a truly beautiful and restful image.
 
It is what we all are called to become. People who are focused on God—. Brought into union with the Lord. Finding our centre, our balance, and focus in God. And drawing our life and meaning from The river of Life—. God is the source of all nourishment and refreshment. And staying focused. Knowing what is life-giving and what is a dead-end!!! And living in that knowledge.
 
This weekend, as we listen to God's word, ( as we plant ourselves too, beside the flowing and renewing water of God's word), The Gospel today says 'happy are those who are spiritually poor. And oppressed' and woe to those who are comfy and cozy. This version of the gospel spells out that God intends to turn earthly standards and values on their head. The poor, the oppressed, the needy; these are the first in God's values and concerns. So God is preparing us for a different way of thinking, in order to engage us in a different way of acting and living.
 
Sometimes modern listeners can miss some of the subtlety of Christ's message. For example, it does at first glance look like anyone who is well off or wealthy is coming in an enormous serve. But we have to remember that Luke's Gospel, (especially), was addressed to influential, wealthy and powerful people in the Gentile community. Luke is not collecting an orderly account of Christ's life and teaching, in order to bash powerful and influential people from here to kingdom come. The whole gospel is an invitation to people, rich or poor, influential or powerless, to become willing members in the Kingdom, where values are reshaped and a new way of relating is formed. Luke is inviting the influential and powerful to have a new mind and heart.  Luke encourages his readers and listeners to use their influence, their position, and their good fortune to keep in mind their brothers and sisters, whom Christ loved so much, and spent his life and ministry helping.
 
There is another beautiful quote I stumbled across. "The one who loses wealth loses much. But the one who loses the spirit loses everything." It is good to adjust and re-calibrate our priorities, resources, and values; -  Keeping them connected to the source of lasting meanin; God. And God's offer of eternal life.
 
The source of all life, all meaning and all lasting value, Is God. 
 
All that is lasting: love, compassion, and connection with God and union with one another, as one family in Christ, these elements of that life-giving stream that sustains us and directs us, in good times and in bad.
 
I was reading a quote from a person who wrote down thoughts about their life, as they faced their final illness. This writer, by the name of Lee Atwater. Died at a very early age from a brain tumour. He was a man who had amassed enormous wealth and power and prestige in his short life. But admitted himself that he felt a deep inner restlessness. And a "poverty of spirit." He writes: "In my illness, I discovered insight into what was missing in society. And it was indeed missing in me too: A little heart; and a lot of brotherhood. We must speak to this 'spiritual vacuum' that lies at the heart of our society."
 
What are some of the dead-end roads we are tempted to drive down in our lives? What 'things' do we put our energy and time into that are not life-giving or lasting, in comparison with the eternal waters offered by Jesus?
 
Let us be aware, and prayerful, about the things that give us lasting life and satisfaction. And the things that sap our energy and leave us empty.
 
Jesus can show us how to put ourselves near the flowing waters. To renew and reconnect us to the true source of life. Christ himself! 
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(Homily:  Fr Peter Dillon).
6^th Sunday Ordinary Time Year C 2022

A paradox, by dictionary definition, is 'a seemingly contradictory statement that is nevertheless true'. In today's gospel, Jesus' statements are paradoxical. They seem contradictory, but they're true. The poor are blessed, he says but the rich are unfortunate. Given today's economic conditions, we would have said just the opposite: the rich are fortunate, but the poor (and we always put ourselves in that category) are not. We would have said it because that's our experience, both in our own circumstances and in the world around us. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We say it, but not Jesus. He blesses the poor and curses the rich. As if that wasn't bad enough, Jesus goes on to add other paradoxes. Nobody likes to be hungry, sad or hated, but Jesus calls fortunate people who find themselves in these circumstances. Ours is a religion of paradoxes, and the ultimate paradox is Jesus himself. He made himself poor in order to enrich us. He made himself sin (in St Paul's words) in order to save us. He died in order to enter his glory and bring us life. And there are the continuing paradoxes that should mark our pilgrimage of faith. We must die to ourselves so that Jesus can fill us with his life. We must suffer dryness of spirit before God will refresh us. We must recognize the hand of a good God amid the world's evils. And, finally, we too must die in order to live.

Why so many paradoxes? The paradoxical Jesus and his paradoxical blessings and curses, our personal paradoxes of death and life, of pain and glory?
The answer is in one word Jesus uses in today's gospel. That word is NOW.

The rich are consoled NOW, the full are satisfied NOW, those who laugh are happy NOW. What Jesus curses is not their riches, satisfaction or laughter. Nothing wrong with them in themselves, because they are the very rewards he promises to those who are now poor, hungry and sorrowful.

What Jesus is attacking is the shortsightedness of people who live only for now. Their curse is that they have no future because they do not believe in a future. Condemned to the eternal present. In a sense they are cursing themselves. Jesus is merely pointing out their awful condition. Now is their only horizon, and their selves are their prison. Now people must be selfish people. But they do not even possess fully those selves upon which they lavish so much time and energy. There is a prophetic anger in Jesus' words, almost as if our stupidity upsets him. He must use strong language to shake us out of our complacency. He is asking us to wake up before it is too late, before the future comes and reveals how tattered our riches, how shallow our satisfaction, how hollow our laughter.

Hellfire preaching was once a popular method for inducing in sinners the fear that would bring about conversion. Jesus is not using that method here. He does not want us to be afraid. Instead, he is asking us to be realistic. THINK ABOUT IT. The dark side he shows here is our doing, not his. He merely exposes our pretenses for the shabby defenses they are. They will not last, he shouts, so place your trust in what will.

Learn the poverty that God will enrich. Do not be so filled with self that there's no room for God. Taste the hunger that God will satisfy. Do not stifle the desire that drives you to reach for him. And experience the bitter sorrow of our human condition which Jesus shared. Do not turn your back on those who suffer, do not ignore the evils in our midst. If you do these things, you will be happy indeed.

Today we are asked to give to the poor, the hungry, the weeping and despised in our midst. Not because they are deserving, even though they might be; not because we will feel good about it, even though we might; not because we'll get a spiritual reward, even though we probably will. But to give because chances are we will never see the good that comes of it. To give because it may even go to somebody we might consider undeserving. To give just because it is the thing that the disciple of Christ is called to do.

The beatitudes, as these sayings have become known, are not prescriptions for becoming poor or hungry or sad or afflicted. They are addressed to those who are already involved in committing themselves to the kingdom, and they give instances of what happens when the kingdom arrives in this broken world. They speak of the variety of experiences that people go through as a result of getting involved in God's way of doing things. They are the promise that God can handle the poverty, the hunger, the tears, and the rejection.
They are the promise that God can handle all these things and lift his people out of them. They are the reminder that God is not committed to keeping his people at a level of being hurt and wounded, but rather a vision of a God who reverses tragedy. That is the good News that he has come to bring.

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References:

Homily – fr peter Dillon

Prologue - Fr Paul W. Kelly

Vision – PRAYING SCRIPTURE IN A CONTEMPORARY WAY. YEAR C. BY MARK LINK S.J;

A BOOK OF GRACE-FILLED DAYS. BY ALICE CAMILLE. 2010;

DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF LUKE. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. Item ID: 559112293 - GALILEE, ISRAEL - DECEMBER 3: The statues of Jesus and Twelve Apostles in Domus Galilaeae on the Mount of Beatitudes near the Sea of Galilee in Galilee, Israel on December 3, 2016- Contributor: alefbet


Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year C  (Sunday, February 13, 2022)  (EPISODE: 350)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or/ The Lord be with You)
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{{Hi everyone}} welcome everyone, we gather -  Ponder with reverence, God's word and sacrament. 

My brothers and sisters, we have gathered to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, - so let us pause and reflect upon our sins, so as to rejoice in Gods loving mercy. 
Lord Jesus, you came to gather the nations into the peace of God's kingdom: Lord, have mercy
You come in word and in sacrament to strengthen us and make us holy: Christ, have mercy
You will come again in glory with salvation for your people: Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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PREFACE: Sundays V
EP II
(theme variation: 4 )
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{May God's love, strength, mercy and kindness guide you all this week. }

Go in peace. (glorifying the Lord by your life)
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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

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Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John (Bill) Kelly (1942-2017) -  Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

Sound Engineering and editing -  P.W. Kelly.
Microphones: -  Shure Motiv MV5 Digital Condenser.

Editing equipment:    NCH software - MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software

NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 12.44

Sound Processing:  iZotope RX 6 Audio Editor

[ Production -  KER -  2022]

May God bless and keep you.
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