Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

17 September 2011
Comments (6)

Reflecting on Isaiah 55:6-9, Matthew 20:1-16a

I’m quitting. We’re all quitting. You’d quit too if you worked all day in that blazing sun, pulling those weeds and trying to plant crops in that hard ground. All day long I worked! I was one of the first ones there this morning. I got on the truck and ate the tortilla Maria made for me while they drove us out to the fields. I didn’t stop until lunch. And you know how hot it’s been. But I worked in that heat all day, and all day long the laborers kept coming.

Are you envious because I am generous?

And they got paid first! When I saw what they got I thought he must have upped the pay scale, but no, he paid me just what he promised.

But it’s not fair that the workers who came late, all the way up until 5 in the afternoon, got paid the very same thing I did! If that’s the way it works then from now on I’m showing up at the end of the day too.

“Are you envious because I’m generous?” he asked us when we complained. Well, I can tell you that his ways are not the ways of doing business! And his thoughts are not the thoughts of somebody who wants to keep his workers working hard for him!

I’m mad. I’m frustrated. But I’ve been thinking about all the things God has given me in my life that I didn’t earn. I want to get to know this guy better, whose ways are not my ways and whose thoughts are not my thoughts.

Name some of the things you have received from God that you didn’t earn.

What would YOU like to say about this question, or today’s readings, or any of the columns from the past year? The sacred conversations are setting a Pentecost fire! Register here today and join the conversation.

I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).

6 Comments to “Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. brebis galeuseSeptember 17, 2011 at 7:24 pm

    The fact that I was born.

  2. brebis galeuseSeptember 18, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    And I’m still alive.

  3. CrisSeptember 18, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    That fact alone of the awareness that I received things from God that I did not earn – – -what a gift!

    ….I know this scripture passage is not a template for an economic structure but it is an indispensable posture of the heart for a Christian Manager/CEO/Supervisor/etc.

  4. butterflymomSeptember 19, 2011 at 1:32 am

    The Bible and Friendship with Jesus. What a gift to be able to commune with him and talk with him. And the Bible to guide my thoughts and heart. And the forgiveness that comes from the cross of Christ. That is what I am most thankful for, is that I don’t have to die a horrific death for my sins and that Jesus took my place because He loves me. He has truely given so much and asks so little in return. Who am I to complain when it seems that I am laboring harder than another. When it all boils down, I have received all I need and I should be thankful that God is filling up other’s plates with all they need.

  5. beckySeptember 19, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    My mother’s voice rings out in my memory when those word come up “It’s not fiar, who ever said life was fair?” Only now that I’m older do I see blessings in the unfair and the fair. They are what has formed me and to some degree I see God’s hand in those hard times so I can grow stronger in faith. So my crosses are my unearned gifts.

  6. howjudSeptember 19, 2011 at 10:51 pm

    Where do I begin? It is everything the God gives me that I haven’t earned. Sometimes all I have to do is ask God but even when I don’t talk to God He gives blessings. We just have to stop and smell the roses and get out of Gods way. Thankfulness is important.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

10 September 2011
Comments (5)

September 11, 2011

Reflecting on Sirach 27:30-28:7

Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

Matthew 18: 21-35

Let me add my astonished voice to the millions of voices who must have said today, after hearing today’s Gospel, “Of all the days in history for these readings to come around!  God is clearly in our midst.”

Think about it.  Forty-two years of Sunday Masses have gone by since the new lectionary was received by the Church on the First Sunday of Advent, 1969.  That’s 2,184 Sundays.  Jesus’ great parable about the necessity of forgiveness has only appeared on fourteen of those Sundays, and one of those is today, on the tenth anniversary of the event which challenged our willingness to even speak of forgiveness, much less try to activate it.

September 11, 2001 is the date that will live in infamy for most Americans because more of us living today were of age on that date than were of age on December 7, 1941, and the generation who lived through that awful day in 1941 was equally shocked when those towers came down.

On this tenth anniversary of the temporary triumph of hate, let the memories come.  Let the shock set in again, and the sadness.  And then turns your eyes upon Jesus, and who speaks so intimately to the world today through Matthew’s Gospel account, and whose kindness is new every morning.

And hear old Sirach, reaching out to us in time today: Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight…The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail.

Who will speak the wisdom of Jesus, the Reconciler, in our age?  If not us, who?  If not now, when?  Let’s let our voices ring.  Let’s seek the way of peace together.  Let’s roll.

How has the event of September 11, 2001 impacted your relationship with God?

What would YOU like to say about this question, or today’s readings, or any of the columns from the past year? The sacred conversations are setting a Pentecost fire! Register here today and join the conversation.

I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).

5 Comments to “Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. beckySeptember 13, 2011 at 6:19 am

    9/11/01 Put something in my heart that took a long time to come to terms with, “fear”. But I”m a chatter every where I go I chat with people. One day in along line at the Post Office there was a Muslim woman and her young daughter. she spoke well for her people and faith. There was no anger or hate in her voice. She told about the hunger in her country and the fear they live in daily. And how extreme proverty brings on extreme measures in people, right or wrong people want tp make a change and sometimes follow leaders along the wrong paths. She asked who did I follow? Who would I vote for and when I looked for spiritual direction where did my faith lay? I was dumn struck, I wasn’t back in the Catholic faith yet and my political veiws were not certain. I was numbly walking through life. So that little voice that had already been calling me back to the Catholic Church softed me up a little more. Some of my fear eased that day and I started follow Jesus a little more. What can I say I”m a work in progress!

  2. CrisSeptember 13, 2011 at 2:06 pm

    Who will speak the wisdom of Jesus, the Reconciler, in our age? I did that last October when I gave a mission to one of the parishes in Virginia, a small town surrounded by at least 6 institutions of higher learning. I explicitly brought up the 911 event and how 300 Muslim scholars dis-avowed the extremism of the terrorists. Results? I lost quite a few for my next session. Some found it a hard saying. Was it worth it? Of course. The ego of the speaker must always bow down before the Gospel. – – Cris

  3. clm1127September 14, 2011 at 3:28 am

    He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.

    – George Herbert

    I received this quote on a daily inspirational feed I get…the day AFTER that gospel. I have been examining my life, trying to decide how this same message, on two successive days, needs to speak to me. I feel I can forgive, but not necessarily trust the forgiven. So then, have I really forgiven? I am really struggling with that question, and an answer!

  4. brebis galeuseSeptember 14, 2011 at 2:48 pm

    Dear clm1127,

    Don’t confuse “forgive” and “forget.” They are not the same and shouldn’t be linked. You can forgive without putting yourself in harm’s way in the future with the person who hurt you. When we forgive, we let go of the wrong that was done — we are not obsessed with it — it is for ourselves that we forgive. We must also be self-protective to avoid future pain.

    People earn trust. When they have violated our trust, they must earn it back, and it’s more difficult each time they hurt us. That should not stand in the way of forgiving, however.

  5. clm1127September 14, 2011 at 11:19 pm

    Brebis, thank you! That differentiation between “forgive” and “forget” helps!

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

5 September 2011
Comments (2)

Reflecting on Matthew 18:15-20

I friend of mine, the mother of two young adults, once said this:  I think my kids love to watch “Friends” because the characters in that television show openly confront each other (hilariously, of course) and don’t have any hidden resentments.  But in real life nobody really relates that way, and so my kids leave all kinds of things unsaid, even with each other.  They were so much closer when they were kids, before they learned to hide their feelings.

It’s true, isn’t it?  The challenges of social interactions are so great that many conversations never happen, and decades-long resentments are never voiced, which means true intimacy is never approached.

Jesus knows a thing or two about intimacy, and gives us this bold suggestion: just open your mouth and say what’s on your mind.  Now, this is very risky.  Chances are great that the person whom you want to be closer to, but can’t because of whatever it is that’s bothering you, will listen respectfully, thank you for your “feedback”, and then check you off their list of their most intimate friends because they are inwardly seething.

And that’s where God’s words to Cain, sick with jealousy of his brother Abel, come in handy: Why are you angry? If you act rightly, you will be accepted; but if not, sin lies in wait at the door: its urge is for you, yet you can rule over it (Gen. 4:7).

At moments of great grace, sin crouches at the door.  Honesty is agonizing, but no great marriage or community ever thrived without it.

Have you ever had the grace to let a friend know that you have been hurt by them?

What would YOU like to say about this question, or today’s readings, or any of the columns from the past year? The sacred conversations are setting a Pentecost fire! Register here today and join the conversation.

I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).

2 Comments to “Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. beckySeptember 7, 2011 at 3:41 am

    I wish that my answer to Kathy’s question were easy. I was raised to not voice my feelings, so there have been so few times that I felt free to do so. That is what has amazed me when reading the Bible. The right words in the right tone always come from the Lord. I don’t seem to have that talent, when I have ever tried to speak my mind, I feel foolish. As I have said before I withdraw and try to fade away when hurt or angry, I have asked the Lord how can I speak out when I really don’t know the hearts and minds of others. So far He hasn’t lead me to the answer. I can speak out for the rights of victims with some grace, just not for myself.

  2. brebis galeuseSeptember 10, 2011 at 1:48 pm

    When I was a child, and my feelings were hurt, if I said anything, I was ridiculed and told that I “shouldn’t feel that way.” It took counseling and a number of years to understand that feelings cannot be right or wrong, they are just feelings. As an adult, I am finally able to talk to those who hurt me. The one thing I won’t allow anyone to do is to minimize my feelings.

    I don’t ever tell anyone that they “shouldn’t feel” the way they feel.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

27 August 2011
Comments (9)

Reflecting on Mt 16: 21-27

Today, on this feast of St. Augustine, it’s good to read some of the things he had to say about today’s difficult Gospel:

We know what great things love can accomplish, even though it is often base and sensual.  We know what hardships people have endured, what intolerable indignities they have borne to attain the object of their love.  What we love indicates the sort of people we are, and therefore making a decision about this should be our one concern in choosing a way of life.

How absolutely brilliant, and yet so simple.  Figure out what (and whom) you love, and then choose your way of life.  Any career, any lifestyle will have its struggles, but if you choose a life in Christ you can be sure that it will come with a cross fit just for you.

My mind goes to images of Jesuits tied to rafts and sent over waterfalls in South America.  I can also conjure up stories of the great suffering of Catholic missionaries imprisoned in China for decades, or Franciscan Father Maximilian Kolbe offering to die in place of a stranger at Auschwitz.

But of course the real crosses are the daily ones, the aggravating ones, the ones that form us and give clarity to our decisions about whether we will make eye contact with that guy holding the sign on the corner, or pick up the phone when the lonely neighbor calls again.

What cross do you pick up and carry with love because of WHOM you love?  Let’s talk about it together here on the website.

What would YOU like to say about this question, or today’s readings, or any of the columns from the past year? The sacred conversations are setting a Pentecost fire! Register here today and join the conversation.

I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).

9 Comments to “Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. DonnaAugust 28, 2011 at 2:25 am

    Wow! that is such a good question Kathy! I’ve never had a good mother-daughter relationship with my mom. Now she is 89 years old and wants to live in her home. I pray for patience and I bite my tongue when she becomes so negative and only seems to remember the bad things in her life. I help clean and mow her lawn, take her shopping and try to show her love and care, because I love her and know that is what Jesus would want me to do.
    Donna

  2. beckyAugust 29, 2011 at 2:58 am

    This is a good quistion, I don’t know how to anwer it. I have had many responsibilities in life I didn’t always mind them but there were times that I didn’t carry them with the love and grace that Jesus would have liked me to. Now I love my family and friends with all my heart. But soetimes the cross of their illness or personality becomes too hard to bare and then I have to do the most loving thing I know to do. I put in the Lord’s hands and I have to realize, is this my cross of love or is it my ego? Can I do this with the love of Christ or will I do them more harm in the long run? Am I doing this for that person or am I worried about what others will say if I don’t pick it up? Am I helping or enabling? When we grow up in disfunction discerning what is a cross doesn’t come easy. I just push on and do the best that I can and hope it’s God’s will.

  3. brebis galeuseAugust 29, 2011 at 12:01 pm

    Becky,

    I grew up in dysfunction, too, but just recognizing that dysfunction makes it possible not to continue it. I think the worst thing would be to come from a dysfunctional family and never know that, so you would carry it on in your life. Obviously, you think about it. Using the terms “enabling” and “discerning” are keys to your recognition, because dysfunctional people don’t use those terms intelligently, if at all. When we have burdens that are hard to bear, we ask for and accept the grace to love and live in that love every day.

    Months after my son died, I went to Confession and told the priest that I was nothing but a hypocrite, because I was just going through the motions. He said, “You’re not a hypocrite.” I asked him how he knew that, and he replied, “Because, if you were a hypocrite, you wouldn’t be worried about it.” It’s the same for you. You aren’t enabling, or you won’t continue to enable, because you’re thinking about it.

    Praise God!

  4. sandyeroybalSeptember 1, 2011 at 6:28 pm

    My son who is 37 years old is living with us. He has not held a job for more than a couple of weeks for 4 years now. I know he is depressed and he will not go and get any help. He leaves my home and stays with his brother when I tell him he needs help. I feel he is getting more depressed every day. He tells me to get rid of his pictures at home. I think I may have to call the police and have him taken to a hospital. He says he can’t get help because he has no health insurance. I also grew up in a dysfunctional home and also a dysfunctional marriage. I pray for the right thing to do!! But doing nothing is not the right thing to do. People tell me to kick him out, maybe they are right, but he still needs help. I need help! My family needs help! I am calling mental health and making an appointment for me. I pray for guidance and courage and wisdom every day. I continue on and do the best I can do. I pray for God’s will. I feel I am enabling him and not helping him. We all have different crosses to carry.

  5. brebis galeuseSeptember 1, 2011 at 7:09 pm

    Sandy,

    Please be assured that I will pray for you and your son. I am relieved that you are going to get mental health assistance. It is easy for everyone else to tell you to kick your son out, but that may not be the best action. Please follow through and call for help. We all have a tough time seeing options when we’re in the middle of situations like the one you describe.

    God, be with Sandy as she sorts out the difficulties she and her son are facing. Let her feel Your comfort and give her strength to do what she needs to do, whatever that may be. Make sure she knows of Your love every day. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

  6. beckySeptember 2, 2011 at 5:52 am

    Thank You Sandy for being so brave to share with us. What makes dealing with persons with depession hard is we don’t know how to take the steps needed to get help.There were times that lifting my head up off my pillow felt like it was too much efford. I was one who pulled away and tries to fade, I am the kind of person who can’t take the stress of too much attention. I’ve been on both sides of this as the depressed one and the observer of a depressed person. I have found that for me tough love seldom works. The thing I have learned about my cross of suffering is that no matter which side I’m on, the cross is lighter when I ask the Lord to carry it with me. Also I have had as a care provider had to realize that I cannot change the other person, the thing that helped me a few years ago cope after my favorite nephew killed someone while in a stupid drunkn fight, I spent hours at the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. And in the silence of that Chapel the Lord worked through me and with me so that the months of court and tears that my nephew pourred out were met with a grace beyong my usual ability. my depression lifted and I was better able to help him through. It was like it became the Lord words answing my nephew’s questions not mine.

  7. MichaelCarlosSeptember 4, 2011 at 1:44 am

    Having grown up a huge introvert, I am an inveterate reader of other people’s emotions and moods. Add to that a hidden burden as a child of feeling different and often despairing, but with a burning desire to belong, to be better, to be happier. That hope would finally bring me through the darkness to a place of love, community, and a true embrace of who I was created to be. 

    That’s a long introduction for my answer to Kathy’s question. Whom do I love? I love the fragile and yearning person hidden behind the public faces we construct to navigate through our lives. It’s there in even the most uncharitable and judgmental person no less than in the people who seem to exist anonymously in the halls of our workplaces, in the lines at the grocery store, and even in the accomplished and admirable people who seem to have it all. Knowing what it is to feel invisible, or awkward, or isolated, or just wanting someone to acknowledge something great I did, it changes how you must respond to others. It obligates me to find something to cherish in everyone, which can be a cross sometimes, believe me. But it does indeed affect life choices from the most trivial to the most fundamental, and I never stopped to realize those decisions are rooted — in the end — in nothing but love. 

  8. clm1127September 5, 2011 at 12:05 am

    My priest’s homily this weekend centered on each of us being “our brother’s keeper”. Now in response to Kathy’s question, I think of who or what I love, and what I do to keep them in Christ. I spoke with my brother today, who routinely reviews our entire family in his conversations. And we love them all, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, in spite of their faults and behaviors. We love our families enough to keep their secrets, and visit them when we would really rather stay home. And yet we have an obligation to help them by sometimes turning away from their bad behavior…what a fine line to walk! My personal cross is caring for my son who is in prison. I love the person, but not the action. In examining this, I have explored the possible causes of his behavior, yet more crosses and skeletons in the closet. So, beyond being my brother’s keeper, I am my son’s keeper. I keep him close in my heart and close in prayer, helping ready for his release and whole world of new opportunity, hopeful new behaviors learned from his years of reflecting on his past life.

  9. easleykwSeptember 5, 2011 at 8:41 pm

    Sandy, I just read about your cross to bear with your son. My heart goes out to you as we had a son who suffered from depression. He couldn’t seem to find his niche in the world, despite counseling and encouragement. He had finally gotten a steady job and was wanting to make some good decisions for himself when he suffered a tragic auto accident. A truck ran into his car, no alcohol or drugs, just one of those true “accidents”. He had just turned 26 on Sept. 3 and the accident occurred exactly 14 years ago today (Sept. 5). He died in my arms 3 days later. We would have celebrated his 40th birthday this year, so it’s been a poignant weekend. Kevin’s death taught us was how important it is to love, even when the situation looks so bleak. He and we suffered a lot of years through his depression, unemployment, isolation and his journey to discover his purpose in life. Others told us to kick him out, make him stand on his own. I’ve never regretted that we chose a different path: to accept him as he was, continue to offer him support, try not to “enable”, but to love him as only parents can. When I learn of other parents struggling with their children, I can only advise – they are God’s gift to you, in whatever lifestyle, form or behavior. Love is the response God calls us to give. I will pray for you and your son. I trust God will show you how best to “carry your cross” and demonstrate that love to your son while you can. He is a precious gift.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

20 August 2011
Comments (4)

We’re never gonna figure it out. That was actress Meryl Streep, talking with an interviewer a few years back about her own quest to know God.  And she’s right.  We’re never gonna figure it out.  But the search fills our lives with beauty and meaning.

We catch a glimmer of the divine, and the electricity from that encounter keeps us going for the rest of our lives.  St. Paul’s encounter with Jesus on that fateful Damascus road lasts just a few seconds; the remaining thirty years of his life are spent looking forward to the day when he will meet Jesus again in eternity.

Fourth of July fireworks interfere with migratory patterns and thousands of birds fall from the sky, birds we never noticed, birds we never knew were there.  And they are just the tiniest fraction of the birds of the air―one hundred billion— that our Heavenly Father feeds every day.  Oh, the depth of the riches of God.

The human heart is restless, yet deeply touched and comforted by a random call from a friend, a rainbow over the highway at rush hour, a persistent intuition that we are never alone. Oh, the depth of the knowledge of God.

Who do you say I am? Jesus asks.  Search your heart for your answer.  It’s the only thing you ever really need to figure out.

In what ways do you experience the depth of the riches of God?


What would YOU like to say about this question, or today’s readings, or any of the columns from the past year? The sacred conversations are setting a Pentecost fire! Register here today and join the conversation.

I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).

4 Comments to “Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. beckyAugust 20, 2011 at 7:58 pm

    I can say that there have many times that I have been touched and protected by God’s great and uneding mercy and love. I was in a terrible car accident the whole side of the back fender was gone and the gas tank hanging with gas going everywhere, and I survived! I had blood clots go to my lungs, I woke up in the night and couldn’t breathe, and I survived, I am not deserving of these blessings and yet I receive them only by the grace of God. I have been poor and had to work hard for my living, For every struggle there has been the hand of God showing me the rich and beatiful treasure of life.

  2. susieAugust 21, 2011 at 5:51 pm

    regarding your article dated August 20, 2011 about the fireworks that kill thousands of birds and interfere with their migratory patterns – there’s another killer out there that many are not aware of – that is the man made windmills in Southern California- they kill many of God’s creatures on a daily basis -at least with the 4th of July, it’s only one day a year.

  3. BobbieAugust 23, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    One of the most wonderful gifts of my life is the time that I spend as a spiritual director/companion. I listen in awe to the stories that directees tell me and the way their story is part of God’s story. I recognize with humility how graced we are by God’s presence and the riches bestowed upon us. What a privilege it is to companion them in their joy and sorrow, their wonder and doubt, their strength and struggle. It is all part of God’s abundance. Their blessings become mine.

  4. brebis galeuseAugust 24, 2011 at 10:05 pm

    I experience the depth of the riches of God every morning that I wake up. I try to remember to say a little prayer of thanksgiving for another day, adding, “What a nice surprise!”

    http://www.todaysepistle.com

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

13 August 2011
Comments (6)

I like to get into the mind of that mother in today’s Gospel and notice how her love for her daughter gives her the adrenaline to kneel in front of Jesus, address him as Son of David and her Lord, and match wits with him until he unleashes his mercy and power.

O Woman, great is your faith!

And there isn’t a mother out there who isn’t doing this every day.  Lord, my son is bipolar and can’t hold down a job.  Lord, my daughter is chronically depressed.  Lord, my children don’t go to church and haven’t baptized my grandchildren.  Lord, I’ll do anything, say anything, be anything you want me to be.  Please just heal my child.

And I think the story is a set-up, of course.  Jesus ignores her at first.  Finally, after she has done everything she can to flatter and honor him, he throws out the ultimate challenge: why should he heal her Canaanite daughter ―a “dog” in his racist Middle Eastern culture—when his mission is to the Jews alone?

And she returns his volley like no one else in Matthew’s gospel: Lord, even the dogs get the scraps from the table. Now, what happened next didn’t get recorded, but can’t you imagine the two of them just roaring with laughter?  Jesus, delighted that she saw through his little test of her faith, congratulates her on the faith he is trying to instill in his own Hebrew race.  And I’ll bet she took him aside and said We felt your love before you ever reached the city gates.  Blessed are you for seeking us out and bringing us into your kingdom.

In what ways have you persevered in prayer throughout your life?

What would YOU like to say about this question, or today’s readings, or any of the columns from the past year? The sacred conversations are setting a Pentecost fire! Register here today and join the conversation.

I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).

6 Comments to “Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. brebis galeuseAugust 16, 2011 at 2:50 pm

    Lord, thank you for keeping my sons safe in Your loving arms. If it be Your will, may I rest with them when my earthly work is finished.

    On my way to perfect . . .

    http://www.todaysepistle.com

  2. BobbieAugust 16, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    Oh, wow, Kathy! What struck me even more than the question was your comment about what the woman may have said, “We felt your love before you ever reached the city gates.” So often I try to send love into situations before entering them. I consciously direct love and light to places of confrontation, situations where I know it will be difficult for me to deal, groups in which I usually disappear and become invisible. Recognizing that God is already there gives me courage to deal with the fear of the unknown especially in what my imagination construes as being an unpleasant encounter. Knowing that I, too, can trust God’s love to be present colors the possibility that God is seeking the best of who I am and will help me not only heal, but also flourish.
    I just love this Canaanite woman who teaches me to persevere in prayer, especially when everything seems dark, dreary and unlikely to change. At the same time, I know that as I continue to pray, sometimes my prayer changes without me even knowing it. When my brother’s cancer returned, I prayed and asked others to pray boldly seeking a miraculous cure. In retrospect, someplace along the line I began praying for healing, which is so different. Finally I prayed for mercy. There were no other words to pray. In the four years, my prayer changed for my brother and his situation. I didn’t even realize it happened until after he passed away. I can only believe that in the midst of the pain of watching someone I love suffer so much, the Spirit of God was groaning in me in a way that only God knew and comprehended.

  3. brebis galeuseAugust 16, 2011 at 6:53 pm

    Bobbie,

    I related to your comment in ways I cannot explain.

    Years ago, our pastor called me over to a conversation he was having with another person. “Come and meet the only person to ever go to Lourdes and come home and get sick,” he said.

    “You don’t know that,” I responded. “I had a friend who had breast cancer. She went to Lourdes and came home and died. But, isn’t that the ultimate healing?”

    When my son was undergoing treatment for leukemia, I prayed more than I have ever prayed in my life. I know, in my heart, I wanted him to be healed to be here with me. When he died, I realized that he is more fully with me now than he ever could have been had he survived the bone marrow transplant. It’s totally different, and I miss his smiles and jokes and bone-crushing hugs. When I pay attention, however, he has many messages for his ‘mudder.”

  4. howjudAugust 17, 2011 at 1:44 pm

    My prayer life is very important to me. I read the liturgy of the hours every morning. I have since I graduated from CBS (Catholic Biblical School). This reading was tough to understand at first but now I see the importance of persistence and unrelenting faith. I am constantly tested throughout life especially right now when I am called to be a big part of a new program for men called That Man is You at COTM. I pray that I will speak from my heart and follow the example set for me by so many friend and teachers I’ve had at Catholic Biblical School. I’ve definitely “increased my territory.” Thank you Kathy and Ben

  5. CrisAugust 17, 2011 at 4:32 pm

    Thank you Bobbie and Brevis for such profound faith. – Cris

  6. beckyAugust 18, 2011 at 9:30 pm

    When my father fell into a coma in 1980, the tention at the hospital was so thick that it was like walking in quicksand. What made it harder yet is I wasn’t very close to my dad, we were just getting to know each other, my mom and dad separted before I was born. My cousins and dad were much closer, I felt like a stranger around these people. I was the Canaanite woman so to speak, our feelings were different and our faith were really different. I wasn’t asking the Lord for dad’s reovery, I knew that he was gone, he was brain dead and all that laid there was his poor damaged body, half the family were begging him to pull through and half were comforting him with words of assurence that it was okay to let go and go to Heavan. I wasn’t sure what to pray for there were so many levels of pain there, I just wanted his suffering and the family bickering to stop. I went off alone and called my mom and from this very unlikely women who had divorced and had very few warm memories or feelings for this man came the wise answer, she said he is your father go tell him you love him and how your believe in God’s mercy i far greater then anybody’s wants, feelings or believes, then go pray alone for God’s mercy on Your dad. I did and 20 minutes later he passed. I learn that God’s mercy isn’t what we want to happen but what needs to happen. That once you put in His hands there is a great lifting of pressure because He always does the most loving thing for all concerned. He also put dear Kathy there to comfort me through his funeral. The Canaanite woman went into a land unfriendly and risked trusting Jesus to act fairly, I’m sure small groups were standing there thinking how dare she come here and ask him for anything the Dog. And as his mercy unfolded before their eyes, they saw that this Son of God loved all people saints and sinners.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

6 August 2011
Comments (3)

Reflecting on Matthew 14:22-33

When you find a Scripture text that touches you deeply at one time in your life, pay attention.  You have made an intimate connection with God, and now that that Scripture has taken root in you it will grow and surprise you with new insights throughout your life.

I was on a boat on Lake Galilee with 30 pilgrims from the Denver Catholic Biblical School when today’s Gospel befriended me. The priest with us offered this beautiful insight: You can say that Peter was overly impetuous. You can say that when it really mattered he denied Jesus, and then left him as he endured the cross. But it was Peter’s profession of faith that was the Rock (Petra) on which the Church was built.  Peter’s faith compelled him out of that boat because Jesus commanded him out, and then, when the darkness and wind terrified him, he reached out toward Jesus instead of back to the safety of the boat.

Isn’t that beautiful?  The boat, the most valuable possession for his family’s fishing business and the only place of stability on that huge lake, was just behind him.  But in his moment of panic Peter still trusted Jesus more than the safety of the boat.  He reached out for him, and was caught by the Master of the Sea.

In the years that followed that moment on the lake I’ve experienced some difficult health challenges.  But the power of this story has sustained me, and every day I reach out to him who is my only true safety.

Have you ever felt the loving arms of Jesus catch you?


What would YOU like to say about this question, or today’s readings, or any of the columns from the past year? The sacred conversations are setting a Pentecost fire! Register here today and join the conversation.

I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).

3 Comments to “Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. BobbieAugust 8, 2011 at 5:18 pm

    Someone once asked the question: “So which would you rather be, a wet Peter or the guys back in the boat?” This speaks to me about taking a risk with Jesus and really having faith.

  2. beckyAugust 11, 2011 at 4:00 am

    One night I was suffering one of my depressions, I looked at my life and thought “what have I done with this life? No marriage, no kids and so on. I felt like Job if it could go wrong it did. And then a warmth came over me and that quiet whisper came to me and said ” how much faith do you have that I am working through these troubled times for your good?” My faith was indeed weak and I felt a million miles away from God, but at that sound of His voice asking me to trust that thing would change and He had a plan for me I just felt like may be I could walk on water.

  3. clm1127August 12, 2011 at 3:45 am

    Dealing with my son’s issues has certainly kept me in a free fall. One year I felt like I could no longer bear it, and that going to church was definitely no help! But then, I decided I needed to finish CBS, and found the summer reading assignment so I could prepare for the year. The book? It was about Job! The man in the Bible who endured the most trials…was teaching me that trials are just a part of life. And God is there to face them head on with me, and take me through it! He always sends a sign to let me know that, and at that particular time, the assignment was just what I needed to keep me going!

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

30 July 2011
Comments (6)

Reflecting on Romans 8:35, 37-39

Have you ever felt the absence of the love of Christ?  Because Paul promises us in that beautiful second reading today (Romans 8:35-39) that nothing can take us from his love.

Let’s see.  Not chronic migraines or sciatic pain.  Not rheumatoid arthritis.  Not bald heads and nausea.  Not even the recurrence of cancers we had prayed were gone.

Not the loss of our house. Not the loss of our retirement fund. Not the loss of our health, our strength, our vigor, even our memory.

Not sadness for our children who don’t go to church.  Not the loss of our sense of safety for ourselves and the world.  Not our horror as we read about atrocities towards children.  Not the loss of those we love.  Not the loss of love itself.  Nothing can take us from his love.

I like to think about Paul.  By the time he wrote this letter to the Romans (probably the spring of 57 AD) he himself had already endured danger from rivers, danger from bandits, …danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea… sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold and naked (2 Corinthians 11: 26-27).

It sounds like Paul was remembering his own suffering throughout his courageous missionary journeys.  It comforts me that the author of these words―For I am convinced that neither death nor life…neither present things nor future things…will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord—suffered so deeply himself.

Nero executed him for this faith.  And now he, and his words of comfort, lives forever.

In what ways have you been sustained by the love of Christ?

My dear friends, this might be a good time for us to remember all whom we love who are struggling to feel the power of God’s love.    Where do we begin?  Where do we end?  Let’s do something different this week.  Let’s use the collective power of the hundreds of prayerful people who visit this site to pray for those who are suffering.  Maybe we could just place their names here and we can all pray for them this week.  I’ll start: please pray with me for the lioness of  faith and solidarity with those who are poor, Dorothy Leonard.  Dorothy has had a recurrence of an early stage ovarian cancer from 9 years ago.  Lord, the one you love is sick.  We ask you to hold her and heal her in your way.  And touch all whom we love who struggle to find your love today.  We trust your Word.  Nothing can take us from your love.  AMEN.

What would YOU like to say about this question, or today’s readings, or any of the columns from the past year? The sacred conversations are setting a Pentecost fire! Register here today and join the conversation.

I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).

6 Comments to “Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. CrisAugust 1, 2011 at 6:01 pm

    I’d like to pray for Nelia Pobre whose husband died last Wednesday night of pancreatic cancer. The couple was just visiting from the Philippines to be with their son Froilan who is also suffering from the same cancer. A few years before this, another son of theirs died from pancreatic cancer. And yet during our faith sharing, she mentioned that her suffering was minuscule (gesturing with her fingers the length of 1/2 inch) compared to the sufferings of Christ. – — Cris

    PS: Thanks for Bobbie’s sharing regarding the Pearl of Great Price and the twist done on the parable.

  2. brebis galeuseAugust 1, 2011 at 9:52 pm

    Please pray for my friend Mary Ann Swafford, who is battling ovarian cancer, my friend Cheryl Lara, who also has ovarian cancer, and Marge Lay who had a double mastectomy last month for breast cancer.

  3. mikeandbetsyAugust 2, 2011 at 4:41 pm

    Please pray for 81/2 year old Jack. He has to bear the pain of being separated from his Mom. He wasn’t prepared for it and has no idea when he will live with her again or even see her again. He struggles with school and has to go to a new school in a new area.
    Thanks.

  4. beckyAugust 2, 2011 at 6:14 pm

    Please pray for people with drug addictions. May the Lord stir within them who feel so alone,that they self medicate themselves to end their pains of abuse and abandoment. There are so many to name, so I ask forYour healing those who suffer world wide.

  5. BobbieAugust 2, 2011 at 6:26 pm

    My brother passed away on June 10th. Rest in peace, Doug. You suffered with such dignity.
    I ask prayers for all of us dealing with grief.
    I heard yesterday that my aunt Jean was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which has spread to her lungs and liver. She is also dealing with blood clots. Healer God, have mercy.

  6. SusanAugust 3, 2011 at 6:52 am

    Please pray for my girlfriend Paula, who is being treated for Lymphoma. She has been suffering from another illness for 23 years, one that has compromised her liver and her immune system. She has been taken off the medicine that controls that illness, in preparation for chemotherapy.

    Pray fervently for her healing, and ask Pope John Paul II to intercede and perform a miracle by healing her of all her illnesses, with no need to depend upon medication, and to return her liver to a normal condition. Amen.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

23 July 2011
Comments (3)

Reflecting on Matthew 13:44-52

It’s easy to spot the pearl of great price in people’s lives.  Each of us signals, just by getting up in the morning (or not), what we are willing to give up in order to have what we have.

Parents are the perfect examples of grace-filled people willing to give up much in order to have children.  I watch them in fascination.  The intense love they have for their kids, and their lifelong presence and support of them, provides a daily meditation for me on the depth and breadth of love, and of course its Author.

I’m also fascinated with what professions require of people.  Think back on the days when you were a student.  Can you remember your desk, filled with textbooks, and all those fun novels shoved to the side while you pursued your pearl of great price? And that sacrifice was worth it, wasn’t it?

Good health is another pearl that requires immense sacrifice in order to attain.  There are hundreds of delicious foods that must be ignored every day in order to feel and look better.  And there go those novels again, determinedly shut, and the gym shoes come on for another lovely walk in the park.

Could we take a minute to reflect on those who have chosen priesthood or Religious life?  Think for a moment of the sacrifices made every step of the way towards that goal, and then the daily sacrifices to live those vows.  They had to walk away from so much in order walk into the grace of ordination or Religious life.  Today might be a good day to thank them.

What would YOU like to say about this question, or today’s readings, or any of the columns from the past year? The sacred conversations are setting a Pentecost fire! Register here today and join the conversation.

I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).

3 Comments to “Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. CrisJuly 25, 2011 at 3:51 pm

    For me, the pearl of great price is my wife. She’s been such a great support to me, the children, my work, our friends, our extended families, our ministries, etc. Of course, it’s not always a cake walk and there have been many times of intense disagreements and marital challenges but it is good to be reminded that overall, I have found this pearl of great price. – – Cris

  2. brebis galeuseJuly 26, 2011 at 10:26 pm

    The pearl of great price is eternal life.

  3. BobbieJuly 27, 2011 at 9:36 pm

    For twenty-three years of my life I was part of the religious life. I have a deep respect for those who have dedicated themselves to vowed life in poverty, chastity/celibacy, and obedience. Yes, there was a tremendous amount of sacrifice involved, but the greatest gift was the experience of community. Praying together, eating common meals, living out a charism and ministry offered strength and courage to the “giving up.” Serving God was the source of joy. And of course, God is never outdone.
    After much prayer and discernment, I realized it was time to move on. So for the last twenty-one years I’ve lived the single life. Within society and even in the church, the single life is misunderstood and under-appreciated. This is a couple’s world with many activities being couple or family oriented. Being single is a challenge. I may seem like an independent woman but frequently, I would like to come home to people who are there for me. How grateful I am for friends who understand me and accept me. Do I choose to be single? Perhaps by default… Perhaps it really is my vocation in life. If I didn’t focus on the “pearl of great price,” on the God that I love, then my life could very well be empty. It would be easy to focus on the fact that I don’t have children or grandchildren and even great grandkids. Being single gives me a freedom to reach out to a wide variety of people with the gift of my life. Without God as the center of my life, I could become very selfish and think myself the center of the universe. It takes a lot of sacrifice and humility.
    I was at a conference when a youth minister reflected on this parable with a different twist. Can you imagine that God is the one who has found a pearl of great price in you and in me? God gives all to claim each of us for we are that precious to this loving God. The best thing is we can’t do anything to earn this value. We are cherished in God’s eyes because God has made us that way. Jesus gave his life for each of us. How treasured we are in the heart of God.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

16 July 2011
Comments (4)

Reflecting on Matthew 13:24-43

The most inspiring experience in my life is the Greenwood Gallery.  My friend Dr. Dan Feiten and his partners at Greenwood Pediatrics began this beautiful gallery in the lobbies of their medical offices decades ago.  Each season they choose several children who have experienced some childhood disease and have them photographed in a beautiful studio.  Their pictures are then hung in the lobbies of the offices, and I write the story about the child and that particular illness.  It’s a way of educating the parents who are in the waiting room about various childhood illnesses, and also to show the resilience and courage of the young patients.

But it’s the conversation with the parents that always gets me.  Here is the mom, exhausted but utterly in love with her autistic child who also has a sleep abnormality that gets him (and her) up several times every night.  Here is the dad, the great champion of his little daughter who has a congenital heart defect.  And here is the child, utterly unaware that he is smaller or slower or sicker than his classmates, laughing and running and loving his life, every, every minute.

When you think about it, the wheat in our lives will always be growing right next to the weeds.  Our talents will be honed through the sting of competition.  Our health will lose its battle with time.  Our perfect children will have to face a world that may not love them as much as we do.  But we all soldier on towards the sun.  Such is our painful, joyful journey back to the Garden.

What tensions of wheat and weeds do you sense in your life?

What would YOU like to say about this question, or today’s readings, or any of the columns from the past year? The sacred conversations are setting a Pentecost fire! Register here today and join the conversation.

I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).

4 Comments to “Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. brebis galeuseJuly 17, 2011 at 8:08 pm

    I used to think that this Gospel described different people. While that is still part of the understanding, I came to realize that it also represents the free choices we each make, which bring weeds into our internal wheat field. We are responsible for “weeding” our individual gardens, so that we may be more wheat than chaff when judgment day comes for each of us.

  2. CrisJuly 18, 2011 at 6:52 pm

    To soldier on towards the sun…. I love that phrase. Reminds me of my Dad who survived the Death March of Capaz and Bataan. He held those wheats and weeds together for 69 years and when he got liberated, he had never uttered a bad word about the Japanese people. – – Cris

  3. clm1127July 20, 2011 at 2:54 am

    Wheat and weeds…as I drove through my Nebraska homeland over the weekend I saw them! They always grow together. It is important for the wheat to win the battle. But, they do always grow together. And so it is with people too, we all carry weeds within us, and God our harvester gathers the crop and burns the weeds. It is our truth as faithful people.

  4. KarenJuly 21, 2011 at 10:52 pm

    Hi Kathy,
    I love the gospel stories of wheat and weeds, sunshine and rain, fertile ground and rocky ground… It is all of God! Wheat AND weeds, soldiering on toward the sun together. Often we are so intertwined that separating one from the other kills both, as in Matthew’s parable. I think too it’s an amazing paradox that sometimes I am the WEED and sometimes I am the WHEAT, and sometimes I’m both at the same time. It is human and holy, all at the same time! (Rohr is really becoming a part of my soul, don’t you think? Or maybe I’m just seeing from a more Franciscan perspective;)

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Previous Page — Next Page »