Third Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle A

22 January 2011
Comments (10)

Reflecting on Matthew 4:12-23, I Corinthians 1:1-3

What would it be like to just leave it all behind?  Say, for example, that you and your brother were in your father’s fishing boat, mending the nets, and the Rabbi came close to your boat and called you each by your name?  What would it be like to just jump off the boat and go with him?

They left their nets behind

Or what if you were a tax collector for the Romans, counting two for them and one for you, and the Rabbi passed by your booth?  What would it be like to just walk away, with the chips still on the table?

Or what if you were in the middle of an argument with your kid, and you were right and she was wrong, and this was finally your chance to wipe that smirk off her face, and instead the Rabbi looked straight into your heart, and you just stopped, and held your tongue, and actually listened―actually heard her and put yourself into her world and her place of powerlessness?

Or what if somebody liked to talk about his candidates and his take on immigration reform, and instead of feeling your heart rate go up and your face getting red, instead of saying I’m for Obama! or I’m for Palin!, the Rabbi entered the room, and you saw and felt the fears and frustrations of your friend, and you walked away from the argument and walked into an actual, real friendship based on real listening and real hearing?

What if the Rabbi was walking toward you right now, calling your name?  My guess is that, if you’re reading this, he already has.

In what ways do you feel yourself bending to the will of the Rabbi?

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).

10 Comments to “Third Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. beckyJanuary 22, 2011 at 9:23 pm

    I HOPE THAT I WOULD KNOW THE VOICE AND HEED HIS CALL. MAY BE THAT’S WHY AFTER WE FALL WE GET RIGHT BACK UP AND FOLLOW THAT VOICE,A LITTLE WISER AND A LOT MORE HUMBLED. AND WITH A GOOD CONFESSION UNDER OR BELTS WE GO FORWAED. BUT THAT IS IF WE ARE TRYING TO HEAR THAT VOICE AT ALL. BUT WE OR I MEAN MANY OF US ARE LITTLE MULES. WE PULL BACK AND REFUSE TO GIVE IN TO THE CALL OF THE LORD’S WILL. UNTIL WE FALL SO HARD AND FAR THAT WE ARE LOST, AND THEN THE ONLY VOICE WE CAN HEAR IS HIS. WE LEARN THAT IF WE DON’T BEND WE BRAKE. AT LEAST THAT HAS BEEN MY EXPERINCE

  2. brebis galeuseJanuary 23, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    I think the most important message this week is in St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. We must belong to Jesus. We need to ignore anything that takes us away from Jesus, including any devotions we have to saints and even the Blessed Mother. If these devotions don’t lead us to Jesus, they are merely distractions. Focus, always, on the message of Jesus Christ and live accordingly. It’s simple. It’s just not easy.

  3. Tony CenedellaJanuary 24, 2011 at 11:36 am

    It would take a special person to leave all behind and follow a complete stranger.
    But with Our Lord’s guiding hand and “Trust in the Lord” as we now know it at least it may be tolerable.

    Personally, I would have a difficult time doing this. The Lord woud be calling with many graces!

    Tony Cenedella – Highlands Ranch, CO

  4. CrisJanuary 24, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    For me there is no argument about the fact of the call and the origin of the call. The call however goes through “interpretation” and at times the various interpretations are enriching and at other times in a tension with one another, even conflicting.I experienced this yesterday while attending a workshop on “Who Speaks for Islam?” I noted one gentleman who came and tried to demonize all Muslims and yet in speaking to him before the workshop, he was sincerely doing various ministries in his parish. Did the Church of his youth socialize him into this?
    Does he see himself as following Jesus leaving the nets?
    – – Cris

  5. defensorJanuary 24, 2011 at 10:04 pm

    I have come to know Jesus, through his Mother, and have had a closer relationship with Him. I was called many years ago, I just didn’t listen. so when I started praying my Rosary, I answered the call. She knows what he likes better than I do. I have a few spirtual advisers,His Mother, all the Saints. thanks for letting us express ourselfs.

  6. clm1127January 25, 2011 at 3:30 am

    I have been very blessed to have a faith filled daughter who will soon graduate from Franciscan University. We are also planning her wedding to a wonderful young man. Their hometowns are 1000 miles apart, and I would so like to have them choose HER hometown, where I live, for the beginning of their home. That is not happening, and I am certainly “bending toward the Rabbi”, to allow them to make the decision they hear from God, and to keep my silence and pray for the wisdom they have demonstrated thus far, and hear the voice of God guiding me as well.

  7. beckyJanuary 25, 2011 at 7:24 pm

    I have learned that when I don’t bend to the Lord’s will I brake. I just am a hard headed person and think I am strong enough to pratice my “free will” until I fall on my face, sometimes I fall so far and hard, the Lord’s call is all I hear. Which shows me His faithfulness to His people and His mercy to all.

  8. BobbieJanuary 26, 2011 at 9:54 pm

    Someone at work said, “I like the shape of your earrings.” They were octagonal and I wore them occasionally when I was in the mood for “something different.” After hearing this week’s gospel, I’ve been thinking more and more of what it means to leave behind the things that seem important. So, I cleaned the earrings, wrapped them in a soft tissue and brought them to her. She was totally surprised. “Do you really mean it?” she asked when I told her they were hers.
    I’ve done this before when a woman came up to me in a drug store and said that she liked the metallic butterfly pin I was wearing. I took it off and gave it to her. She was shocked that a complete stranger would give her a gift. She put on the butterfly and glowed like the pin’s shiny surface.
    This is not my usual practice though it feels very freeing. The Rabbi seems to be telling me to “let go” and the last nine months have been exactly that, letting go of employment, salary, the use of my gifts and talents, a sense of security, people I enjoyed being around, physical flexibility, self-esteem. For me, bending to the will of the Rabbi means letting go with grace, putting everything into his hands, trusting him to lead.
    At 60 years old, I am preparing for that ultimate call. I’ve decided I don’t want extra baggage to make that trip. I’m trying to let go of resentment, bitterness, grudges, all the things that hold on to me. I want to leave all that “stuff” behind so that I can freely follow with more flexibility and bend to his will. I’m convinced it takes practice in the little things. Bend. Bend Bend. What I find so loving on the part of the Lord is that He may bend me a little but he does not break or crush me.

  9. MichaelCarlosJanuary 29, 2011 at 3:22 am

    I am struck by the beautiful consonance between the original occupation of Christ’s first four disciples and the mission to which He called them. Think about it: both sets of brothers worked in what was essentially a family business; they produced a basic staple of sustenance for their community; and every day’s production depended on a combination not only of effort but also providence. What better preparation could they have had?
    The question this raises for me is what Christ would find in MY daily work to serve as a foundation for discipleship if he appeared in the office tomorrow and invited me to drop everything to follow him. I spend my days worrying about things like server uptime, load balancing on the web servers, deadlines for development projects, and all things technical. Hmm. I don’t have an answer, but maybe my work this week is to reflect on this question more prayerfully and look for the hidden places in my daily life where my faith and the call to live the gospel can find expression. 

  10. brebis galeuseJanuary 29, 2011 at 12:51 pm

    Beautiful, MichaelCarlos, just beautiful! Thank you.

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2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle A

17 January 2011
Comments (5)

Reflecting on John 1: 29-34

In this first post-Christmas week it’s fun to think about the dates the Church has chosen to remember the conception and birth of both Jesus and Mary.  The Feast of the Annunciation is March 25th, so of course Jesus is born a perfect nine months later. Mary’s birthday of September 8th is a perfect nine months after her immaculate conception on December 8th.  Ah, yes.  Isn’t that how all pregnancies end, with a birth just exactly nine months later?

That I may decrease, and he may increase.

Since the real dates of these events are unknown, the Church used the opportunity to teach certain theologies.  One of the loveliest moments in the liturgical calendar is the feast of the birth of John the Baptist, that key New Testament figure whom the Gospel lingers over again today.  Since Mary visited Elizabeth when her cousin was six months pregnant and stayed three months until the birth (Luke 1:26-56), that puts the birth of John the Baptist (June 24th) right around the summer solstice.  So, as the days begin to decrease the great herald comes into the world―that I may decrease, and he may increase―and as the days begin to increase (December 25th) the Light to the nations is born.

I love it when scripture and the liturgical year kiss.

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 “2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle A”

  1. brebis galeuseJanuary 17, 2011 at 1:37 pm

    I am going to begin a new tradition, which I have been thinking about for a few years. Instead of celebrating my birthday, I plan to celebrate my conception day. After all, that’s when I first began to live! I have a friend who will turn 90 on November 18 this year. I plan to send her a Happy Conception Day card next month. Pregnancies may not be exactly timed from conception to birth, but what does that matter? I heard a long time ago that Japanese babies are considered one year old when they are born . . . so why not celebrate the beginning of our lives from conception?

  2. BobbieJanuary 17, 2011 at 9:37 pm

    Kathy, your reflections make God’s sense of timing very energizing. In line with what you said about the kissing of liturgy and scripture, I am always excited when I hear the Word proclaimed during Mass and it seems I’ve never heard it before. Year after year, I’ve heard the message and then suddenly, I hear it for the first time. If this isn’t God’s timing, I don’t know what is. Suddenly I am ripe for the Word of God to penetrate and be alive in me, to pierce my soul and move me. Why didn’t it happen three years ago when the same readings were proclaimed, or when I read the text in preparation for liturgy? Suddenly, it is as if the entire universe focuses on one phrase or one story, and it becomes clear to me that God is speaking to me. The ears of my heart and soul perk up and pay attention in the here and now. My resolution for 2011 is one word, LISTEN, listen to God, to myself, to others and to the universe.
    The world suggests we make ourselves bigger, better, more, but John’s message, “that I may decrease, and he may increase,” is certainly a powerful attention getter. What a contradiction to the cultural message that infiltrates our every day. Other than losing weight, who wants to decrease? And yet, John reminds us to be who we are supposed to be, the one who points to the Light while standing in the shadow. Do I dare listen to John?

  3. leehemmingerJanuary 18, 2011 at 4:41 pm

    A lovely vision, a kiss between scripture and the liturgical year. Thanks, Kathy. It had never occurred to me to celebrate a day of conception, but I always sent flowers to my mother on my birthday, to thank her for giving me life. That was more important to me than receiving flowers from others on that day. At first it was a rose for every year, but there came a time that was just too extravagant! Age requires changes in many things.

  4. clm1127January 19, 2011 at 5:25 am

    Just to put a very contemporary spin on this thought: My daughter took advantage of her friend’s conception day to play a joke on her. She posted “Happy Conception Day” on her friend’s wall, and asked all the friends to Facebook the mom to thank her for bearing her friend for those nine months. It really was intended to be funny, but I LIKED the idea!

  5. CrisJanuary 19, 2011 at 3:28 pm

    Scripture and Liturgy kiss – – beautiful and profound.
    Happy Conception Day – – great idea!
    Critique of the culture which is obsessed with self-magnification – – keen observation and prudent warning.

    Thanks, everyone.

    Cris

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The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord – Cycle A

8 January 2011
Comments (11)

Reflecting on Matthew 3: 13-17

 

We watched Him three years ago as he stood with the rest of the sinners, waiting to be dipped in the cold waters of the Jordan.  It was just the beginning of the dry season, so the river was full and running fast.  We had come out to see John, and to hear him preach about repentance.  He reminded us of Elijah, seeing him like that out in the desert with his garment of camel’s hair, raging against the very people who thought they were God’s favorites.

It’s the dry season again now.  John has been dead for awhile, beheaded by the king who didn’t like being called a sinner.  John knew the risks.

Come to think of it, Jesus was always with sinners.  When he was just a little boy he had visitors from the East who weren’t even Jewish.  He called his disciples from fishing boats instead of from the Temple.  He ate with tax collectors and even prostitutes.  And now he has been crucified, with a sinner on his right and on his left.

It’s as if he wanted us to know, from that very day of his baptism, that he is with us always, even as we stand in the cold waters and wait for redemption.

 

 

Sharing God’s Word at Home:

In what ways are you activating the graces of your baptism?

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).

11 Comments to “The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord – Cycle A”

  1. ChrisJanuary 8, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    I subscribe to “Minute Meditations” from americancatholic.org. Today’s touched me, a beautiful statement of the balance between faith and humility. So, I want to share it with you all.

    “We must be humble enough to recognize that we are not the center of the universe, but faithful enough to know that God frequently acts as though we are.”
    — from A Franciscan Christmas

  2. bcsieg@msn.comJanuary 8, 2011 at 7:32 pm

    Kathy, I love your articles in our Most Precious Blood bulletin. I cut them out and send them to my parents in Iowa. Thank you for sharing your inspiration.Love, Carol (Goodwin) Siegrist

  3. beckyJanuary 9, 2011 at 10:58 pm

    Thank You Chris for sharing that very wise meditation. You know it is at times like this I feel like a new born colt trying to stand up on shakey legs. I wish I were as faithful to my Baptismal vows as our Lord is with His mercy and forgiveness. There are some days that I mess up so well I’d have live in the Jordan River. I remember when I first came back I spent a lot of time tell God I didn’t have the faith to be a good Catholic. And He nudged me a little and said good, but know that I had His support I grew strength. Until my leg stp shaking.

  4. Steve GivensJanuary 9, 2011 at 11:59 pm

    The story of Jesus’ baptism has always been one of my favorites…a reminder that he was and is among us. Thanks for putting us into the story in such a creative way.

    Steve

  5. vivianJanuary 10, 2011 at 1:11 am

    …we are all sons and daughters…

  6. brebis galeuseJanuary 10, 2011 at 3:37 am

    Listening carefully and always questioning for clarification are important graces.

    I take the Eucharist to assisted living facilities and feel selfish because I am privileged to be able to bring Jesus to these people. The appreciation they have humbles me in ways I couldn’t begin to explain.

    I like the idea, Chris, that sometimes God acts as if I am the center of the universe. Thanks for sharing that!

  7. clm1127January 10, 2011 at 4:29 am

    I appreciate this lesson in Christ’s humility! He allowed his cousin, who knew exactly who He was, to baptize him, like all the others. And so his ministry began, as he demonstrates that he has chosen to endure what any of us could endure. He truly walked the walk!

  8. CrisJanuary 10, 2011 at 3:12 pm

    Activating the graces of baptism…in my case probably in the most subconscious fashion. Example: yesterday a friend asked me to compose a prayer service for grieving parents whose son, 31 years old, died in California and found 2 days later. Parents were too distraught to be present but we prayed as the baptized community in Christ. Later that evening, we gave the sorrowing parents a call…
    Cris

  9. DonnaJanuary 10, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    One of my greatest Baptismal blessings activated by Jesus in my life, has been being a Catechist in the RCIA program in my parish. These people whom God has sent, searching for Him, they have been such a blessing to me.
    This journey of faith begun with the Waters of Baptism. God Carried me when I thought I was alone. He directed me to the Catholic Biblical School and blessed me with wonderful teachers!
    Thank you Jesus for the waters of my Baptism! Thank you for all the great teachers! Thank you for this column of sharing!

  10. BobbieJanuary 10, 2011 at 11:33 pm

    I’m always thrilled to watch babies being baptized at Mass or to see the newly baptized at the Easter Vigil. The excitement is always about them and their families. I am happy to welcome them into the community and to congratulate those involved. Everyone is so proud, in a good way.
    It never fails to strike home for me that that though I was baptized when I was three weeks old, I have had many opportunities to say yes to this sacrament. When we have the renewal of baptismal vows at Mass, when I participate in Eucharist, whenever I say that I am a Catholic or a Christian, it’s like having someone tap me on the shoulder and ask me the very question that is part of this week’s reflection. How do I live as if I am a baptized person? How do I allow grace to be activated?
    Grace is God’s life. The truth is, grace is all around but I can be the biggest stumbling block, preventing it from happening standing as an obstacle to its flowing energy.
    On the way to work today I was listening to Christian radio which reminded me how important it is to live with intention and attention. For me, these attitudes are ways to activate grace. If I am living my life with intention, then I live as a disciple responding to the call of baptism. When I pay attention, I am aware of how God is moving in me and calling me to serve. It’s circular in its movement and perhaps even spiral as it moves deeper and deeper inside my soul, and then like rippling water, it reaches out. Intention and attention are transformative powers that allow me to say yes to the God who is ever present to me, to the person next to me who is a reflection of God, to the universe that invites me to participate in co-creation, and even yes to my need for forgiveness.

  11. brebis galeuseJanuary 11, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    Bobbie,

    Thanks for the image of “rippling water,” which I tend to forget, but which perfectly illustrates the graces of baptism. The ripples of grace that reach others from the graces in the waters of our baptism. I so appreciate this powerful reminder! You made my day!

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Solemnity of the Epiphany – Cycle A

1 January 2011
Comments (7)

Reflecting on Isaiah 60:1-6.  Matthew 2:1-12

More and more, we found ourselves searching the skies.   For the past two years we felt drawn to this particular Star, this particular Light.  It called to us, even in the daylight, and at night it drew us to Itself so intensely that one night we just set out to follow It.

Adoration of the Wise Men - Murillo (1617-1682)

Its light never dimmed, and we felt its heat and healing so strongly that we were actually pulled into It ourselves, so that we shone with a Light we’d never known we possessed.

We arrived in Jerusalem and found ourselves in the land of the Jews, those ancient people we had heard so much about.  Where is your newborn King? we asked, for we too had been longing for him.  King Herod, that violent murderer whose evil deeds had also reached us in the east, summoned us and told us to look for Him in the tiny city of Bethlehem.  Bethlehem!  The very city where their great King David was born!  Then the Star appeared and led us to the very house where we found the tiny King and his mother.

We were radiant at what we saw; our hearts were throbbing and overflowing with joy.  We offered our gifts to the King who called us from a faraway land, from our loneliness and darkness, into His own wonderful light.

We’ve been different ever since.  Our sadness, our emptiness, our addictions, our resentments, our lack of hope for the world and for ourselves―all of that melted away when we found Him whom our hearts had sought.

We didn’t return to Herod.  We went home another way.  That’s what being transformed by the Light can do for you.

Sharing God’s Word at Home:

Are there places, people or things you have left behind in order to follow Him?

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).

7 Comments to “Solemnity of the Epiphany – Cycle A”

  1. anneJanuary 2, 2011 at 5:27 pm

    This is my year to travel a different path. To take a different road. The one thing I know for certain is that with the star as my guide, if I am willing to follow it, there is nothing but adventure and learning ahead for me.

  2. beckyJanuary 2, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    Just like any addiction, the addiction to be a people pleaser was/is a very strong addiction for me. Trying to win the approval from the more unpleasable people. Putting them before any moral or sane code of ethics,and even before God Himself. It is something I still struggle with, I’m better at it but it still shows up now and then. Learning to not value other’s opinion of me more then my Lord’s will for me. Living for Eternity not these few minutes on earth, not buying into the New-Age thinking that truth is subjective to each person’s belief. Learning and believeing there are places called Heaven and Hell. And findind an unbelieveable comfort in knowing the stability of God. He isn’t the wishy washy Being that I once believed He was. I hope this won’t offend anyone, but I think anyone who believed as I once did will relate.

  3. CrisJanuary 3, 2011 at 12:18 am

    Places I left behind? The Philippines upon declaration of Martial Law of 1972, my wife and I fled leaving behind 250 wedding gifts from the marriage celebration 5 months earlier. To leave a country meant leaving behind family, friends, relatives, tropical climate, ethnic food, familiar symbolic sites, one’s native tongue, one’s routine, etc., etc., but if I had not left at the instigation of the Spirit, I would never have met you and all these cyber friends on top of the other friends from Virginia, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, Colorado, etc…… – – Cris

  4. MichaelCarlosJanuary 3, 2011 at 1:31 am

    Nestled between Isaiah’s exuberant prophecy about the glory of Jerusalem and the beloved account of the Magi, today’s second reading sits there almost unnoticed, whispering Paul’s history-changing proclamation that the Gentiles (all peoples!) share in the promise made to the people of Israel. Jesus chose Paul to shatter the notion that there can be any “outsiders” when it comes to the offer of salvation through Christ’s death and resurrection.

    How does this relate to Kathy’s question? I think what I had to leave behind was the belief that any one person or institution owns the authoritative and exclusive right to interpret the revelation of Jesus or decide who can be saved. Each of us bears the burden — and privilege — of wrestling each day with how to live the gospel. We look to the church’s teaching and traditions and prayer to help us on our journey. We reflect on the holy Word of God. We look for models of holy living. But in the end, we look in our own hearts and listen for the stirring of the Spirit to guide our choices. And paradoxically, leaving behind the notion that there is only one authoritative interpretation has brought me back to a stronger love of the beautiful Catholic tradition in which I was formed.

    Like Anne, I pray for the courage to find where the star is leading me this year, and I pray for the strength to leave behind whatever new thing that path demands.

  5. brebis galeuseJanuary 4, 2011 at 1:46 pm

    I agree with MichaelCarlos that we “listen for the stirring of the Spirit to guide our choices,” but I have to add that we need to take the responsibility to learn church teaching and scripture, so that we recognize the Spirit’s guidance. St. Paul knew that the authentic teaching comes from Jesus. Not all people or institutions teach Christ’s complete message. Groups have dropped teachings with which they disagree and formulated their own teaching, which is incomplete once they drop the teaching of Christ.

    Take care not to leave behind an authentic teaching of Christ. We wouldn’t be good disciples, if we ignored parts of the message with which we disagree; rather, we should pray and listen to the Spirit to help us understand that with which we don’t agree.

  6. MichaelCarlosJanuary 4, 2011 at 4:53 pm

    I don’t think we’re disagreeing here. My comments specifically reference an informed conscience, which is founded as I said on the church’s teaching, its constitutive prayer, the saints as models of holiness, and of course the primary source of the scripture. I don’t in any way propose that a subjective/personal conviction can stand without the support of all these sources of authority.

    But still I would maintain that no human institution, not even one established by Christ, can be free from the possibility of error. The Spirit continues to perfect our understanding throughout history. It is our responsibility, both individually and corporately in the churches, to discern that revelation. For me, that communal enterprise is found in the Catholic church, but others will follow Christ where his star has led them, and Paul’s message today reminds me that we don’t get to decide who is invited to salvation or what path He has chosen for them.

  7. BobbieJanuary 4, 2011 at 7:34 pm

    I never thought I would choose to do it, but I’ve left behind black and white thinking. When I was younger everything was just that, black or white. Then I began to pray that I might be able to pay attention to shades of gray and learned that there are also shades of black and white. When the slightest light enters the blackness of night, it is no longer dark. Strike a match in a windowless room and you can see.
    Living in the “shades” teaches me compassion and inclusivity. When I lived in black and white, I was “always right.” Or at least I thought I was. Now I’m able to listen and embrace. For me, it’s a way of following Jesus that I couldn’t do before. Call it growing older, maturing, contemplating the experience as Mary did, meeting the newborn King as the magi did. For me, it welcomes the message of the Epiphany. Jesus came for all people, all creation.
    Where will it lead? I don’t know, but I’m open to the newness and the surprise. I am far more willing to live in the question now rather than insist I am secure by holding on to an answer. As I type this, the word parable keeps popping up. Questions, possibilities, hopes, dreams, challenges,… There’s more and I know that Jesus leads me to it because he himself is the Light.
    So there’s more to leave behind, my prejudice, my stubbornness, my insecurity, my doubts, my shame, my disbelief, my judgments, and my anger. Those are part of my darkness and a NEW LIGHT has come.

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The Nativity of the Lord – Cycle A

25 December 2010
Comments (15)

Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas this year?  Because I’m sure I saw more presents for you, hidden under the tree and tucked away in secret places where you can find them at just the perfect time.

Here’s one addressed to you from “Heartfelt Compassion”.  This present will open itself for you.  You’ll feel your heart break open as you feel “’with passion” the daily struggle of a relative whose addiction has already strained the bonds of love in your family.  It’s okay.  Feel that tenderness and love for your broken relative once again.  It’s Christmas for them too, with all its promises of God with us.

This next gift goes with it, so open up “Kindness” too.  This is SUCH a perfect gift for you because it will keep surprising you all year!  Watch for that thoughtful stranger who says, “I can see that you’re in a hurry and just have a few things to buy.  Jump ahead of me.”  It will show up in the surprise letter of gratitude from an old friend, or the sweet gift of taking out the trash which your spouse does every single day without saying a word.  Or maybe it will be your adult child, who calls and says, “Remember how hard I fought to get you to let me hang out with my friends when I was fourteen?  I’ve never thanked you for holding your ground and keeping me safe.”

There are lots more presents, and they all have your name on them.  They are from Emmanuel, who promises to be with you in every struggle and every joy of the coming year.  Merry Christmas.

Sharing God’s Word at Home:

What is your favorite memory of God’s presence with 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).

15 Comments to “The Nativity of the Lord – Cycle A”

  1. beckyDecember 25, 2010 at 4:04 am

    KATHY MY FRIEND THIS IS SO WARM AND BEAUTIFUL. WHAT A GOLDEN HEART YOU HAVE. GOD BLESS YOU AND MERRY CHRISTMAS. I AM SICK AND CAN’T GO TO MASS TONIGHT OR TOMORROW AND I WAS DOWN AND THIS PICKED ME UP! LOVE YOU BIG,
    BECKY

  2. MichaelCarlosDecember 25, 2010 at 4:20 am

    So many happy Christmas memories fill my heart tonight on Christmas Eve, but I cannot forget this: the hushed and darkened church before Midnight Mass when the choir sang those achingly familiar hymns; the bags of groceries for the food pantry piled around the nativity scene; seeing the white and gold vestments after a season of somber purple; the drowsy smiles of family and friends. And when I was old enough to pay attention to the prayers of the liturgy, my most cherished memory is waiting each year for that glorious Solemn Blessing as a sort of reward for staying awake: “When he came to us as man, the Son of God scattered the darkness of this world, and filled this holy night with his glory.” It felt so TRUE in the dark hours before dawn in that Colorado winter. Being there with my family in the parish I loved was sure proof of the nearness of God.

    And, of course, Kathy was there too with that heavenly, soaring voice that blessed the night. I will always associate her ministry — then and now — with another line from that night’s blessing: “May he fill you with joy and make you heralds of his gospel. Amen.” For surely her work on this site is nothing if not proclaiming the gospel, sharing the joy that is so alive in her.

  3. brebis galeuseDecember 25, 2010 at 1:16 pm

    You are so correct, MichaelCarlos — I have been convinced for years that Kathy smiles in her sleep! What a great message, Kathy, and Merry Christmas! It is a gift in itself to be aware of all the “little” and even not so little kindnesses God provides for us through other people every day. I LOVED your examples. Becky, feel better soon. Sometimes, when I’m sick, I think it helps me appreciate all the times I’m NOT sick and am able to be where I want to be when I want to be there. A gift of life from God. It’s the greatest gift! Merry Christmas to all of you — the blessings on this website — who enrich my life every day.

  4. beckyDecember 25, 2010 at 6:02 pm

    THANK YOU BREBIS, I HOPE THE ANTIBIOTICS KICK IN SOON. NOW THAT I READ THE QUESTION LET ME TRY THIS AGAIN. I LIKE MICHAEL’S REMEMBER THE BEAUTY OF THE MIDNIGHT MASS THE CHOIR LOFT FILLED WITH THE VOICES OF ANGELS, I’M SURE THEY HAD TO BE! KATHY UP FRONT THE DARK CHURCH AND THE SUDDEN HERALD OF THE NEW BORN KING, RAINING DOWN ON US. GOOSE BUMPS RAN FROM HEAD TO TOE EVER SINGLE YEAR. I WAS BLESSED TO BE IN ON THE PREPARATIONS THAT LED UP TO THOSE MOMENTS TOO, HOURS OF MAKING COPIES AT THE RECTORY AND WHATEVER I WAS ASKED TO DO JUST MADE IT MORE MEANINGFUL TO ME. FATHER WOULD ORDER PIZZA A PIECE ON THE RUN TO FUEL OUR AMBITION, PEOPLE RUNNING AND WORKING ALL CHRISTMAS EVE DAY FOR THAT MOST GRAND CELEBRATION OF THE OF GOD’S SON TAKING ON FLESH A GOD A MAN. OH YES KATHY YOU ARE IN SOME OF MY MOST WARM MEMORIES OF CHRISTMAS. AND MY FAVORITE SONG “MARY HAD A BABY” OF COURSE.

  5. beckyDecember 25, 2010 at 11:19 pm

    UMM! THIS IS WHY I SHOULDN’T WRITE A COMMENT WHILE RUNNING A FEVER. SORRY EVERYONE!

  6. gregonofrioDecember 26, 2010 at 5:24 pm

    Kathy,

    Your words touched our hearts in a special way this Christmas.
    God bless you!

  7. mikeandbetsyDecember 26, 2010 at 8:52 pm

    Kathy,
    Thank you for all your reflections this past year, and ESPECIALLY the ones from the last four weeks. They just keep getting better and better. I will keep praying with each one of them individually, because they tug at a different part of my heart and encourage me to grow in different places of my life. Advent has come and gone, but we can always ask the Lord for more of His presence, and we can can always grow more to encourage Him, right?
    My favorite memory of God’s presence is once hearing a sermon about Jesus inviting Matthew to follow him, and later, eating at Matthew’s house. Something dawned on me, while I was hearing how important, even holy, in Jesus’ culture, eating with someone was. That when Jesus ate with “sinners” (which we all are), it meant something wondrous that I didn’t entirely understand. It then came to me that I could ask Jesus to eat with my son and his ex-wife, and it would help my grandson as well as them. Somehow I KNEW Jesus heard me when I asked. He WOULD eat with them together, a meal for their spirits, my grandson’s, and mine. I kept praying for it all week and longer, and thought of the table, the bread, etc. I knew Jesus was present to us. I knew the result was not mine to know, in the direct way something is known. But in the months to come, or years, I would possibly attribute something good to that with a question mark. The only thing I could know for sure is that Jesus DID HEAR my prayer and was surely answering. I don’t think I’ve been as certain about anything in my life.
    That’s my favorite memory of His presence.
    This is a belated wish for a wonderful Christmas season for Kathy and everyone who shares on the web site. Thanks to everyone for everything you write on here. I’m grateful for everyone’s thoughts and reflections, and the sharing of your hearts.

  8. adminkDecember 27, 2010 at 7:07 am

    Dear friends,

    I came down tonight to check on the site to make sure all of your comments had been posted, and now I find myself with a heart full of all the love that you have pointed straight in my direction.

    I began this website guessing (rightly) that the primary users would be graduates of the Denver Catholic Biblical School, who are experts at small-group sharing of the Scriptures. But I realize that the sacred liturgical feasts bring to the site those of us who share the same deathless DNA: a gut-deep love of the Prayer of the Church, the liturgical year, and the music which has owned us since our own First Noel.

    And so Becky and Gregory and Michael Carlos, my beloved friends who shared those most joyous years of my life in the 1980s at St. Rose of Lima Church in Denver, were among the many warm contributors this weekend. Thank you for your loving words to me tonight. You have placed more Kindness and Heartfelt Compassion under my tree than I can even absorb.

    And Bishop Evans! And John Dold! And Jack Loughran! And Mary Frances and Bill! And Helen and Chuck! And Vivian! And Lily! And how will I ever stop if I start re-membering?

    And thank you, every single one of the dozens of you who have reflected this year, and then taken the time to share with our hundreds of readers your own deep insights into the Scriptures we all love. Your contributions have been my Christmas presents from you every day all year.

    And thank you, wonderful Peg Williams, for creating and managing this beautiful website and making this long-held dream of mine come true every day. Peg, so many people ask me about the creative genius behind this website. Here she is, world. If you want to see her in action, go to http://www.hebconnect.com and watch how she connects people from Heritage Eagle Bend. She’s presently connecting many thousands of people in communities all over the U.S. with her chain of “connects”.

    And so, as we begin this Year of Matthew we ask ourselves if God is really with us. Here’s my answer: In every dream. In every star. In every silent night.

    Let’s keep watch together.
    Kathy

  9. CrisDecember 27, 2010 at 5:03 pm

    Kathy,
    You have this special gift of always uncovering that which is essential.
    By doing so, you serve as a compass for us to look always to the True North.
    God bless you for being a source of grace for many of us.
    Cris

  10. leehemmingerDecember 27, 2010 at 10:29 pm

    Your reflections have been your Christmas gifts to me each week, Kathy; and your sunny smile that belies all the trial and sorrow that touches you; and your warmth and welcoming to all, at all times. I went to midnight mass this year with great anticipation, realizing that my advent and waiting had begun to move into the background almost as this 2010 Advent began. Christ was filling my heart, taking away the despair that had taken up residency there, and His coming was a truly physical experience. The joy of Christ’s coming again was indescribable: I am redeemed, again, just as unworthy as all the previous redemptions by the great love of Our Lord. I awoke Christmas morning full of peace and joy; and then the phone call came. My mother had died almost at the exact moment I had wakened. Sadness, yes. But, I rejoice that my mother, a woman full of life and laughter in years past, has been released from a crippled body and mind, to party again. And, she was called home in time to share in the jubilant celebration of Christ’s birth, to be able to dance again right there among all the angels and saints! Hallelujah! The gifts of friendship, love, compassion, kindness, support have been flowing into my life moment by moment these past two and a half days. And I am filled with gratitude, for God IS with me, and my mom is with me.

  11. adminkDecember 28, 2010 at 1:09 am

    Lee, all of the readers on this site send our warmest condolences to you on the death of your mom. How exactly perfect that she went to God on Christmas Day, and at the very same time you had wakened after a late night at Midnight Mass. Watch for miracles now as she, no longer confined by time and space, is able to intercede for you and help you. We will all watch with you.

  12. vivianDecember 28, 2010 at 5:04 am

    Dear Lee, my heart goes out to you at the death of your mom. I know the pain and grief of your loss and will hold you close in my heart.
    I had many gifts under the Christmas tree, blessings of health, of the joy of family and friends around my table to share a meal, sharing stories of holidays past, looking forward to a new year, many gifts of love and treasure. One of the best is the reuniting of friendship with my sister, estranged for nearly five years. Oh, the joy of the phone call a few weeks ago, the path of love and forgiveness, the looking forward to the future, a new year of the joining of our families again. The star is shining ahead for each of us. Kathy, you have shined your light on all of us, given us an opportunity to share, to continue on the path, not in the dark, but in the bright sun! I love you ~ Vivian

  13. brebis galeuseDecember 28, 2010 at 3:34 pm

    Lee, I am sorry that you have to face this terrible grief of losing your mother. Kathy is correct, however, in that, if you pay attention, you will receive much consolation from friends AND your mother. Listen closely and never doubt the communion of saints, which is a remarkable grace from God!

  14. BobbieDecember 29, 2010 at 7:42 pm

    My heart goes out to you, Lee. Even though belief in Jesus gives us hope, it is still difficult to let go. My mom died several years ago at the beginning of December. She loved Christmas and all the decorations. While she was in the hospital, she kept asking me about my progress with decorating. Every year we put up the tree together and talked about all the ornaments, where they came from, what memories they held, how old they were. Since my mom’s death, whenever I put up the tree myself, I have a spiritual conversation with my mom.
    Years before, when my dad was sick with cancer that was not yet diagnosed, he pulled all his energy together to decorate because my mom had hurt her back and couldn’t. It was a labor of love and his last Christmas with us. I remember his courage in the midst of his physical suffering.
    A Polish tradition that is very important to me is breaking “oplatek” or the Christmas wafer on Christmas Eve. At a meatless meal with special foods, everyone gets a piece of the wafer. We go from person to person, breaking a piece of the other’s oplatek and wishing each other whatever comes from the heart. It’s an opportunity for well-wishing, giving of self, reconciliation, forgiveness and healing. Done in the midst of prayer, it always speaks to me of God’s presence. Because this has been a part of every one of my December 24th celebrations, Christmas wouldn’t feel right without this ritual.

  15. BobbieDecember 30, 2010 at 6:12 pm

    Kathy, thank you for all the wisdom that you share. I loved the idea of all those “other” kinds of gifts under the tree. I hope that you found what your heart and soul desire wrapped in beautiful paper and bows. What a different world it would be if we all engaged our kindness and compassion gifts this coming year. Blessings to you and all those you hold dear.

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Fourth Sunday of Advent – Cycle A

18 December 2010
Comments (12)

Reflecting on Matthew 1:18-24

Do you know this old joke?

Johnny:  Mom, I get to play St. Joseph in the Christmas program!

Mom:    Go back and tell Sister you want a speaking part.

It’s true.  Joseph doesn’t utter a single word in any of the Gospels, and if it weren’t for Matthew, with his unique memory of St. Joseph’s saving role in the protection of Mary throughout her pregnancy―and  of the Mother and Child after the birth, with the dangerous flight into Egypt and eventual return― we wouldn’t know much about St. Joseph at all.

As early as the second century, writers began adding their own imaginative additions to the scant information given in the Gospels about both Mary and Joseph.

In those books we learn that Joseph was a widower with several children; hence the several occurrences of the New Testament phrase “the brothers and sisters of the Lord”.  (That’s one reason he is often drawn as an old man in Nativity scenes.)  In these stories, Mary lived in the Temple.  When she was fourteen all the unmarried men from the royal lineage of David were summoned so that her spouse could be chosen.   Calling on the prophecy from Isaiah that we heard last week―a branch shall come forth from the family of Jesse, a blossom shall bud from that tree―they all brought branches and extended them.  And sure enough!  The Holy Spirit descended on Joseph’s branch.

That’s why St. Joseph is often depicted in art as holding a branch with a blossom on the top.

Never mind that St. Jerome later said “phooey” to the stories by simply translating “brothers” as “cousins” and ending the need to create stories to line up with theology.  There’s something charming about it anyway.

Sharing God’s Word at Home:

What customs do you share about St. Joseph?

This column was written in my head while having a fascinating conversation with my friend and greatest teacher, Sr. Macrina Scott, OSF, who once again opened me up to the wideness and depth of our Catholic traditions, some of which made it into Scripture!

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).

12 Comments to “Fourth Sunday of Advent – Cycle A”

  1. Steve GivensDecember 20, 2010 at 11:30 pm

    As always…interesting. I didn’t know some of this…

    Have a wonderful, blessed Christmas.

    Steve

  2. brebis galeuseDecember 21, 2010 at 2:48 am

    Since only two of the Gospels have infancy narratives, it’s no wonder that we have so little information about St. Joseph. One of the customs to which I don’t subscribe is the “house seller” St. Joseph. I tried it once, and was severely admonished by my late pastor and good friend Father John D. McCormick (Father Mac), “get out there, dig up poor ol’ St. Joseph, clean him up and give him a place of honor in your home!” That was the end of that custom for me.

  3. ChrisDecember 21, 2010 at 5:46 am

    LOL! brebis, that’s a great story. Made me laugh out loud! I can remember my mother telling me that custom. Had forgotten about it till you brought it back up. Thanks for the memory.

    Merry Christmas everyone!

  4. beckyDecember 21, 2010 at 7:28 am

    I really don’t know any thing other then the one Drebis shared. I was raised with a deep respect for Saint Joseph, my mom just loved him.It was from her I saw what great and heroic acts he did for us. I never thought of how by his taking Mary as his wife and by changing the course of his life and by saving their life, he let God work through him and the faith he had in God shows us that in the course of unbelievable or unlikely situations amazing things come to light. Merry Christmas!!!

  5. CrisDecember 21, 2010 at 4:07 pm

    My wife and I buried the statue of St Joseph in trying to sell the house in Littleton to move to Dallas. When we finally sold the house, we accidentally decapitated the statue through mishandling. To this day, we stil laugh about this and ‘am sure, St Joseph is still giggling about this funny incident. – – Cris
    PS: Oh and the sequel is this: Guia tried to glue back the head and loaned the statue to another friend selling their house.

    Have a blessed Christmas, everyone!

  6. brebis galeuseDecember 21, 2010 at 6:38 pm

    Kathy,

    Please accept my apologies for turning this into a comic conversation. I wasn’t thinking about that when I wrote my initial comment. As a convert, I just didn’t have any other customs about St. Joseph about which to write.

  7. beckyDecember 21, 2010 at 9:51 pm

    YOU KNOW WHILE WE SHOW RESPECT FOR OUR RELIGIOUS ITEMS, WE NEED TO KEEP IN MIND THEY ARE MAN MADE AND MISHAPS DO HAPPEN. IN MY FAMILY WE HAVE BROKEN, CHIPPED AND LOST MANY TREASURED STATUES, ROSARIES AND SO ON.IT IS THIS THING WE CALL THE HUMAN CONDITION. MY GRANDMOTHER USE TO PUT A STATUE OF MARY IN THE WINDOW TO BRING GOOD WEATHER. I THINK WHAT WE ALWAYS QUESTION IS THAT FINE LINE BETWEEN FAITH AND SUPERSTITION. AND IT REALLY OKAY TO NERVOUSLY LAUGH AT THINGS WE EMBARRASSED ABOUT, IT’S A GREAT STRESS RELIEVER. SO BREBIS DON’T TAKE ON THE FEELING THAT WE AREN’T BEING UPRIGHT THIS WEEK, MAYBE WE ARE JUST CLEANSING OURSELVES OF GUILTY AND UNSURE FEELINGS.

  8. BobbieDecember 22, 2010 at 4:20 am

    Well, the “bury a statue of St. Joseph” tradition seems to have a place with a lot of realtors, too. I’ve actually seen kits with a statue and prayers.
    When we moved to Colorado, we still hadn’t sold our house in New Jersey. A real estate lawyer completed the process for us, so Joseph is still buried out in that back yard, ready for the next sale of the house. However, 17 years ago we put a statue of him in the kitchen so that he could be honored in our new house. He’s still stands on that ledge.
    I know of a bursar (treasurer) of a religious community who always put money or fruit in front of Joseph’s statue. It was her way of reminding the saint that the sisters needed money. She was asking his help in providing the finances.
    Since Joseph is the patron of workers, I should have prayed to him for a job. It seems I could still do so in order to get a position that uses my gifts and talents, one that helps me make a decent living.
    Another tradition holds that Mary and Jesus were both at his bedside when Joseph was dying. He is the patron of a happy death. I hope to remember that in my final hours and ask him to bring his family to make that journey to heaven with me.

  9. clm1127December 22, 2010 at 4:35 am

    I enjoy the image of Christ in the movie “The Passion of the Christ”, where Joseph is teaching him how to be a carpenter. That is one of two scenes that make me remember how human Christ was, that his father taught him an earthly skill and occupation!

  10. DonnaDecember 22, 2010 at 8:10 pm

    Great conversations about St. Joseph!
    I find myself praying to St. Joseph for all the foster fathers in our world who are trying to raise children with love and I ask St. Joseph to bless all men and fathers in our world. How we need models of holy men for our families today!
    Blessed Christmas to all!
    Donna

  11. leehemmingerDecember 23, 2010 at 5:20 pm

    As I have meditated on this week’s reflection by Kathy, I am aware of the many ways in which scripture teaches us compassion, acceptance, forgiveness and love. Joseph might not have been expected to protect Mary and Jesus considering the laws of his time. But, the Holy Spirit gave him the support he needed to do the loving thing. Jerome and others may have changed a word here and there to support their position, but the basic message always seems to come through.
    My sister and brother-in-law have been trying to sell their house in Minnesota so they could move back to Denver for five years. Poor Joseph remains on his head in the frozen tundra and the house is now off the market!
    (Being technologically challenged, this comment was accidently posted to the patience reflection this AM, and then copied and pasted to the appropriate page. Forgive the duplication!)
    Merry Christmas.

  12. Jen RadosevichDecember 24, 2010 at 4:03 am

    I love St. Joseph! Perhaps because he is everything I’m not–silent, strong, un-judging. I remember a really powerful conversation a few years ago (I was reminded of it by clm1127’s comment about Joseph in the “Passion of the Christ”). My friend was talking about Joseph and said, “Who was it that first taught Jesus to say the Passover prayers? Where do you think he learned how to forgive the woman caught in adultery? Could it be that Joseph told the story of how he had had the option to expose Mary’s unexplainable pregnancy?” I love the idea that Jesus learned the words of Consecration at the Last Supper from Joseph and was able to send wagging tongues and hands filled with stones away because of the forgiveness and tolerance he learned from Joseph.

    On a more personal note–St. Joseph was one of the saints I asked to intercede for me to find my husband. Paul and I were married this past May 1st–the feast day of St. Joseph! He is a gift–Paul and St. Joseph! :O)

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Third Sunday of Advent – Cycle A

11 December 2010
Comments (10)

Reflecting on James 5:7-10

It’s easy to tell someone to be patient, and so hard to actually do it.  Our children need us to watch them closely, but they also need enormous amounts of “looking the other way” as they mature and eventually find their way in the world without us.

Our aging parents need our patience.  As they deal with the greatest losses in life―loss of health, loss of memory―they need us to care for them, finding creative ways to help them recover strength and well-being in an increasingly unsettling world.

We need to be patient with ourselves, too.  Real change―changes in how we eat, how we live, how we regain strength after surgery or an illness―will surely come.  Just as the farmer awaits the yield of the soil by waiting for both the early and the late rains, we watch ourselves for the changes we work on little by little through the years.

Last spring I had an ingrown toenail removed.  The whole event took about six months.  The new nail grew in as the old nail died.  I could actually see the boundary between death and new life every time I examined my toe. We don’t see that transition as clearly in other parts of our lives until, one day, we look at someone we love and ask, “When did you get so tall?  So beautiful?  So self-assured?  When did you grow into yourself?”

Patience, people.  God is surely at work in us, giving us grace and insight as the years go by.  Watch for the changes in yourself that signal that the Lord has been near all along.

Sharing God’s Word at Home:

How can you help God help you make a real change?

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).

10 Comments to “Third Sunday of Advent – Cycle A”

  1. beckyDecember 12, 2010 at 1:51 am

    I have learned the hard way that God really doesn’t need my help. I have learned that many times my two cents aren’t very helpful at all. See I use to be one of those people who said “if I were God,I’d” I have learned that God is in the lead, and I follow, but when I try to lead I get oh so lost! yes I learned that God guides my quite unknowingly where he can best use me. Sometimes it as simple as a smile to someone feeling very alone and invisible that has made a big difference.

  2. anneDecember 13, 2010 at 4:25 am

    They say patience is a virtue. I believe patience is a gift from God, that is always waiting for us just to recognize it is there. I many times must remove the log from my eye to see the small gift of giant possibilities before me.

  3. MichaelCarlosDecember 13, 2010 at 4:59 am

    “They will meet with joy and gladness,
    sorrow and mourning will flee.”

    That is the promise in the amazing passage from Isaiah about what will happen when our God comes to save us. But we know that God has already come in the person of Jesus to ransom us. So where is the joyfulness? The end of sorrow? Am I impatient to experience this? Absolutely. But Kathy’s reflection is a beautiful reminder that the coming about of real change happens in God’s time. Sometimes it is dramatic and sudden. But mostly it happens in the imperceptible accumulation of one decision at a time, one small effort after another to recognize grace or to be a source of grace for another. 

    The hope and courage and real love I see in THIS community is effecting a change in me, and I am so grateful for the prayers and encouragement I find here. I believe that our shared journey in this new liturgical year will be a source of that joy and gladness promised by the prophet. That I will see a change in my own heart as we reflect together on the saving Word of God and how it grows in us. That I will become more attentive to the ways I can bring about the Kingdom. I just need a bit of patience. 

  4. CrisDecember 13, 2010 at 4:13 pm

    Some people think I’m patient but ‘am average. ‘am patient perhaps 60% of the time and impatient about 40% of the time.
    But when I think of the Hebrew people who were in Babylon
    for close to 60 years of captivity, my patience comes to nothing compared to their faith. – – Cris

  5. leehemmingerDecember 13, 2010 at 5:31 pm

    being a person raised in a “faithless” home, it always astounds me to realize how many of my mom’s quotes were instrumental in forming me. We didn’t go to church or pray as a family, but I am filled with a multitude of “ism’s”, one being “patience is a virtue.” Growing up that was always one of the directions from mom that stuck with me, and I repeated to my own children. But, it just doesn’t come easily. Maybe that’s why it’s a virtue: we must work at it, opening ourselves up to God, surrendering to allow him to work through us. I always believed it would become easier in aging, but I still find myself wanting to hurry things along; get well quicker, change societal structure and the systems that control lives, bring an end to war. None of these things move fast enough for me, and it’s a constant source of frustration until I remember to let go and let God. Then, the frustration subsides for a time, until the next event that triggers impatience. Having always been an activist, my first instinct is to do something to right a wrong, take the initiative to speak out, offer ideas to promote the change that I think is needed. How arrogant is that? “God, I open myself to you and trust my humanity will not distance me from your love; that the change in me will come from your presence within; that my patience with all your creation and its flaws will become more visible in this life.” Cris has made the perfect connection with the Hebrews in Babylon: our patience can only come from our faith.

  6. brebis galeuseDecember 13, 2010 at 11:46 pm

    Becky, I think God does need your help, as He needs help from all of us. We are the hands God uses to accomplish change He wants in this world. He cannot accomplish change in this world without us, and we won’t be motivated to make any of those change without HIm. It is by our teamwork with God that the world is made a better place. We need to listen, be aware always of what He wants us to do on HIs behalf.

    Never shortchange who you are by thinking that God doesn’t need you . . . and me . . . and all who are open to HIs graces.

    Prepare ye the way!

  7. ChrisDecember 15, 2010 at 8:26 pm

    I think we need to be careful with the difference between “need” and “want”. God does not truly _need_ anything. As our all powerful, all knowing God, He can do anything. However, he does desprately _want_ us (because he loves us) to be the active part of his plan for all humanity.

    The Catechism states:
    “Of all the divine attributes, only God’s omnipotence is named in the Creed: to confess this power has great bearing on our lives. We believe that his might is universal, for God who created everything also rules everything and can do everything. God’s power is loving, for he is our Father, and mysterious, for only faith can discern it when it ‘is made perfect in weakness.'”

    I agree with brebis’ comment “We need to listen, be aware always of what He wants us to do on HIs behalf.”

  8. adminkDecember 16, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    Hi everyone, it’s Kathy here. I keep coming back to the site this week because your contributions are so, so rich.

    I love Michael Carlos’ sentence here: But mostly (patience) happens in the imperceptible accumulation of one decision at a time, one small effort after another to recognize grace or to be a source of grace for another.

    How beautiful. I’m struck recently with the changes in our spirits which happen little by little, year by year, as we make the decisions to “recognize grace and be a source of grace for another.”

    I had an interesting experience two days ago. My nice doctor, responding to me PLEAS for a sleep aid that works for my epic insomnia, wrote me a prescription six months ago for Trazadone. When he handed me the prescription he said, “You’ve been through a lot. You deserve to have this.” I didn’t think much about that at the time.

    Fast forward to two days ago. I woke up after a nice long sleep, and I was THRILLED to realize that I had actually slept the whole night without taking the sleep aid. I had been too tired the night before to open the bottle (I know) and had fallen asleep and stayed asleep the whole night. Wow! I’m going to try it again tonight and see if I have solved my sleep problems and can get off of altogether!!

    Within a few hours I was droopy. It was seventy degrees out, Ben was home, we went for a gorgeous nine-mile bike ride. The combination of those three “graces” would normally put me over the edge with ecstasy, but by the time we got home I was teary and blue and just kind of “flu-y”.

    I went to bed at 7pm, exhausted and sad for no reason I could imagine. I took my Trazadone, and woke up yesterday feeling WONDERFUL! My cheerful spirit was totally revived, the blues of the day before had disappeared, and I had no trace of the flue symptoms of the day before.

    Hmmm….what could have caused such a dramatic difference???
    That’s right. My pharmacist-husband now confesses to me what my doctor meant when he said, “You deserve this.” Unbeknownst to me all these months of blissful sleeping (and living)later, Trazadone is a mild anti-depressant! And going one night without it had brought on the blues, tiredness and flu.

    And it had worked up in my system little by little, day by day, without my noticing that it was giving me a little boost. (I thought that finally getting great sleep every night was the sole reason why I feel so great.) But take it away for just one night, and yuck!

    So I naturally thought of that farmer who watches the soil during the early and the spring rains, and one day the shoot just begins to rise. Little by little, things change us.

    It doesn’t make me feel too comfortable, knowing that if I ever feel that I can sleep on my own I will have to painfully wean myself off Trazadone. But it does give me tremendous compassion for those who struggle with depression, and now that I’ve had one day of it I have a teeny sense of what so many great people struggle with every day.

    So I “recognize grace”—the grace of medicine that created a drug that has restored my sanity after years of insomnia, and the grace to recognize that I have been given a small glimpse of the challenges that so many brave people face every day. i resolve to be much more present and loving and understanding, and will stand in watchful hope with all the people I love who struggle with depression.

    Isn’t Advent wonderful?

    Blessings—Kathy

  9. BobbieDecember 22, 2010 at 5:26 am

    How can you help God help you make a real change?
    A new friend by the name of Lindsay said, “That’s easy. Even God can’t drive a parked car.” Hmmm…
    As I thought about the image, I recognized that road signs suggest good ways to cooperate with God. It’s important to yield to the God who loves me. Surrendering is not always easy but I have to trust that the God who created me sustains me, nourishes me and embraces me. And when it comes to other people in my life, sometimes they may have the right of way.
    Stop signs are red so that they stand out. They remind me to pause a while, to be still and present in the moment. It’s about looking both ways and all around, and accepting more than just my own opinion. This teaches me to not live with an “either/or” but a “both/and” attitude, to be less judgmental and more inclusive. I tend to run around too fast with too many different things to do, so stopping to breathe in the power of the Holy Spirit is essential to my hearing what God has to say to me. I can get caught up in my own self-importance so “just wait a minute” is a brief refresher course in humility. Not only have I had to pause, but I’ve also had to sit at a red light and wait for the light to change to green. And in those amber moments I wonder what God is cautioning me about and what transformative power is occurring.
    I try not to drive above the speed limit, but even I lose patience and accelerate to pass the person in front of me, who might be going too slowly for my taste. I’m probably in a hurry to accomplish something. I learn how to pray for that person’s concerns, even if it’s just a quick prayer from someone who’s driving in the fast lane.
    For a while it seemed as if there were a lot of curves in my life, with uneven pavements. It’s made for some rough miles. But when I reflect on what’s happening, I realize that I am under construction. Both God and other human beings are working on me. Knowing who I am, it can take a long time.
    Here in Fort Collins, the train runs right through the middle of the city. Those railroad crossings ring a bell. Some thing bigger than I am is passing through, and if I’m not patient, I will miss the significance of the moment and of the One who is inviting me to notice. Most of the time, there are plenty of cars sitting and waiting, it’s an exercise in community building, possibility and hope (that the train really isn’t too long.)
    God and I are one, so I merge into the heart of God, even as we are unique. This God directs me and leads me to make only right turns. Sometimes, I still go the other way, because I stubbornly choose the opposite direction. Thankfully there aren’t any signs posted that say no U-turns.
    For me, there is only one way to God, and that’s being in relationship with the Holy One, who regularly fills me with premium grace. I “check my soul” through reflection on Scripture and examination of consciousness. And then, when I really am cooperating with the Spirit, I allow God to take the driver’s seat.

  10. leehemmingerDecember 23, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    As I have meditated on this week’s reflection by Kathy, I am aware of the many ways in which scripture teaches us compassion, acceptance, forgiveness and love. Joseph might not have been expected to protect Mary and Jesus considering the laws of his time. But, the Holy Spirit gave him the support he needed to do the loving thing. Jerome and others may have changed a word here and there to support their position, but the basic message always seems to come through.
    My sister and brother-in-law have been trying to sell their house in Minnesota so they could move back to Denver for five years. Poor Joseph remains on his head in the frozen tundra and the house is now off the market!

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Second Sunday of Advent – Cycle A

4 December 2010
Comments (7)

Reflecting on Isaiah 11:1-10

Ah, the peaceable kingdom.  How we long for the day when the wolf shall be guest of the lamb, and the calf and the young lion browse together.  But how on earth (and in heaven) do we build it?

Peaceable Kingdom, painting Edward Hicks

I recently came across a letter from my childhood friend Gloria, written on the occasion of my mother’s death.  I’ve saved it all these years because I need to take in the comfort that her words still give me:  Kathy, you loved your mom so well. Don’t make yourself sick in the years to come agonizing that you didn’t do enough. I stand as a witness to your life, and I’m telling you that you loved her well.

And then the peace comes.  And flowing from that peace comes the grace to send similar letters to people I know who may need an extra infusion of love today.  Is there anybody in my life I can let off the hook?  Is there anyone to whom I can say, “That little thing?  Are you kidding?? Don’t even worry about it!  I totally forgot about it a million years ago.”

Is there a friend or relative whose entire DNA is completely foreign to you, whose behavior is consistently grating, whose past offenses haven’t been nearly as itemized and publicized as they should be?  Tap into the grace that is always there―the kingdom of God is within you―and see them as God does, who has been the constant witness to their life and wants to heal them today, through you.

There is no peace until we are each at peace, and it begins now.  Find someone to be extra gracious to today.  And then stand back and watch the kingdom break forth.

Sharing God’s Word at Home:

Have you ever seen someone differently when you look through God’s eyes?

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).

7 Comments to “Second Sunday of Advent – Cycle A”

  1. mikeandbetsyDecember 5, 2010 at 8:48 pm

    I try to stop and think of certain persons differently, drop the irritation or resentment, the lack of forgiveness…and make the effort to understand, to be kinder, to confess my selfishnes. But to see a person through God’s eyes… that seems to only come in a moment sometimes, from grace. It seems like a huge gift. The Holy Spirit visits in graced moments. I’ll see and feel so differently about a person than usual, that I’m sure it’s the Spirit, helping me with my selfishness.
    But Kathy’s message lets me know that maybe I can do more than I think I am able to do for the people around me, on every ordinary day. Instead of thinking it is me who needs to do the work to be kinder and less selfish, until the Holy Spirit visits me in flashes, I realize that God constantly wants to heal and love the people through me. God is continually present to us; opening our hearts is easier than we, as humans, make it. And it’s fun to think how abundantly I can bless those people whom I am in the habit of subtly rejecting because of remembering and focusing on how they have hurt me. I need to stop thinking of seeing people with love as an extraordinary thing, but as an ordinary thing.
    God, help this to be a real Advent for me, for those whom You want me to love, and for all of us. I want to prepare the way for You!

  2. BobbieDecember 6, 2010 at 1:48 am

    A long time ago I was part of a parish where the pastor had some qualities that I found hard to take. It felt like we were always at loggerheads and I would allow the nonsense of our encounters to make me feel angry, “less than,” irritated, argumentative. Everything seemed to lead in this direction when it came to him. During Lent I decided that my Lenten practice would be to pray for him every day. He didn’t change, but in God’s mercy, I did. Instead of all those feelings that ate at me, I found compassion, kindness, and God’s love surrounding him. It was a different way to see and I am so grateful for what the experience taught me. I, too, can be arrogant, unkind, irritating, all those characteristics that I had assigned to him. More importantly, I can heal in the love of God overshadowing all of us.

  3. beckyDecember 6, 2010 at 7:53 pm

    Kathy,Kathy, Kathy, Oh my dear friend you know so much about me, and the words of comfort you offer me are so meaningful. I think I’m somewhat of a split personality, sometimes I can be so underdtanding and say the right things, and there are those times when everthing that comes out of my mouth just never come out right. It’s easier to remember the times I failed to say or do the compassionate thing, because each time I’ve hurt someone I have had such a deep regretful feeling in m heart. I’ve learned that some people have the gift to practice tough love, I’m not that person. it just come off mean and nonproductive. My gift “I believe” is listening, and just sitting near by with tissues and an open ear followed up with a soft hug. Once when a very dear friend did the most unselfish thing a mother could do, she knew she was unable to take care of her 1 and 2 year old as children need to be. she gave them up for adoption. That night we sat all night at Wenchel and drank coffee, while she poured her heart out and cried I was mute and just listened.

  4. Steve GivensDecember 6, 2010 at 8:51 pm

    So very, very needed. Thanks for the reminder…

    Steve

  5. CrisDecember 7, 2010 at 2:29 am

    I think I have a little bit of Becky in me in that I come equipped with a listening ear and a handkerchief since I am not in the habit of carrying a box of tissues.
    A few years ago, I forgave someone offensive not because of my personal encounter with him but because I listened to the person he has offended. Forgiveness is contagious. – – Cris

  6. ChrisDecember 7, 2010 at 2:45 am

    As appropriate as ever, this poem helps me keep perspective.

    God, open my eyes so I may see
    And feel Your presence close to me…
    Give me strength for my stumbling feet
    As I battle the crowd on life’s busy street,
    And widen the vision of my unseeing eyes
    So in passing faces I’ll recognize
    Not just a stranger, unloved and unknown,
    But a friend with a heart that is much like my own….
    Give me perception to make me aware
    That scattered profusely on life’s thoroughfare
    Are the best gifts of God that we daily pass by
    As we look at the world with an unseeing eye.

    by Helen Steiner Rice

  7. brebis galeuseDecember 9, 2010 at 1:20 pm

    Seeing others through the eyes of God is impossible for me. I am too burdened by my human sight and perspective. I am too judgmental of those around me and not judgmental enough when looking inward. Please pray for me.

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First Sunday of Advent – Cycle A

27 November 2010
Comments (6)

Reflecting on Romans 13:11-14

I once had an intense experience of darkness on a freezing Colorado night at the Trappist monastery in Snowmass, Colorado.  Retreatans are invited to walk the mile from the retreat house to the chapel for Vigils at 4:30 am.  In that entire, moonless valley, the single light was a humble bulb over the chapel door.  For those who didn’t stray from the path it must have seemed an easy journey towards the light.  But for me― lost, cold, uneasy in the dark mountains―the absence of a light to guide me seemed thoughtless and almost hostile.

I’ve never forgotten that feeling of abandonment and cold.  There were no stars, and no bright moon to illuminate the path.  My feet were numb, and I had lent my gloves to a person I had only met an hour ago.  I walked several miles alone in that valley, lost, searching the sky for the first violet of dawn.

And it came, of course.  Morning stars pulled the violets and rose from the sky.  The night had advanced, the day was at hand.  And as the morning light awakened the valley I could see it finally―that tiny light just off to my left, the light that had been there all the time, beckoning me to the warmth of the chapel.

I think about that light this Advent, and I wonder how many silent souls are out there in the cold, searching for us, but unable to find us because our light is too dim, too distant, too familiar to those who know the way and too far away for those who are lost.

Sharing God’s Word at Home:

How brightly does your light shine in the darkness?

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 “First Sunday of Advent – Cycle A”

  1. brebis galeuseNovember 28, 2010 at 2:59 pm

    As Father read the Gospel at Mass, I focused more on the Boy Scout motto, “Be prepared,” which is closely connected with making sure my light shines brightly in the darkness. If I keep a priority of being prepared, because Jesus could return in a second, I will enlighten those around me — by my life of preparing in prayer and actions to be ready for that second coming any second. I don’t know how good a job I am doing of that . . . but I trust that God will show me the way by His Light! Then, all I have to do is pay attention and act accordingly. Pray for me.

  2. beckyNovember 29, 2010 at 4:02 am

    The times that I have walked in the dark my mind went into overdrive, every sound in the weeds and every barking dog would unnerve me. but that was a physical darkness, the darkness I walked in that should have shaken me to the core didn’t”until” I was out of it and back in the light of God. When I came out of my first confession, this side of that long dark night of the soul, suddenly things were no long shades of grey, truth wasn’t subjective. right was right and wrong was wrong. I had to look at the playgrounds and playmates in my life and decide what God was wanting of me. It’s not been easy, in fact it’s been hard to discern my thoughts, words and deeds on a Christian level. I think the light that God wants me to be is the light of a loving convert to my friends, who think that Christians are mean, angry judgmental people that no one wants to be. I remember and feel the things that pushed me away from the Faith, and I know that only by owning my actions and then trusting in the forgivingness of God is there true happiness. Being a happy Christian draws people to the light of God It’s not my light but God’s light that draws people to conversion. I’m just one little smiley face night light that God called on.

  3. brebis galeuseNovember 29, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    Thanks, Becky, that is a great reflection! I believe you’re exactly right. Piety isn’t a stern or even solemn facial expression or any of the physical gestures. It truly is in showing people that being Christian is a joyful life. You made my day!

  4. CrisDecember 1, 2010 at 2:59 pm

    I like Becky’s smiley face night light…I believe that sonmetimes in my impatience, I try to shine a glaring light which might be too much for some people..there’s light and there’s light AND there is LIGHT. – – Cris

  5. BobbieDecember 6, 2010 at 2:23 am

    How brightly does your light shine in the darkness?
    Because of having been unemployed for six months without unemployment benefits, I’ve started working as a temp in a position that does not use my skills and talents. Instead, it is a constant challenge to understand how things flow, to pick up speed, to be accurate, etc. Things I could have done easily if I didn’t feel such desperation to work, to succeed. As a matter of fact, this has become a “lesson in humility.”
    I work with people who are more than half my age and have grown up with computers as second nature to them. I have to admire their patience as they help me over and over to “get it.” This feels like another kind of darkness and I certainly don’t “shine” when it comes to the work that I do. I feel like I just about get by.
    But this is what my friend St. Jude brought me to when I finally began to pray to him, asking for a position that would allow me to use my gifts and talents for the honor and glory of God and to make a decent living. Every day I ask God to accept what I do in his honor, because I don’t see how I’m being used in the best possible way.
    Doing ministry, spiritual direction and retreats is what I love doing and what I’m good at. As I type this, people from work are coming to mind who have told me about their spirituality without my asking, who have said that what I did made their day, who trust me with their story over lunch. Perhaps this is where I shine…in asking questions that help people know more deeply who they are. I listen with compassion and notice the little changes that take place in them.

  6. MichaelCarlosDecember 13, 2010 at 5:10 am

    Bobbie, what a beautiful gift you share by being an attentive listener and knowing how to ask the questions that deepen another’s journey to growth and self-awareness. I will be praying that you find work where your talents and vocation can find full expression, but it looks like you already have recognized that you can make a big impact right where you are. So glad to see you joining the conversation again!

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Feast of Christ the King – Ordinary Time Cycle C

20 November 2010
Comments (11)

Reflecting on Luke 23:35-43

We should have seen it coming from the beginning.  One year ago we rotated into Luke’s Gospel, and if we’d paid attention we would have noticed it then, right there in the second chapter.  But we were distracted by the glorious account of the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, and those shepherds running up to Bethlehem to see the things that had come to pass.

Jesus, remember me

We should have seen it coming, this horrible, terrifying death on a hill.  The day he came into Jerusalem on a colt, with his followers singing hosannas, should have jolted our memories.  Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven! They were singing just what the angels sang on the night of his birth!  Something destined from before all things was now unfolding before our eyes.

The King of Kings lies nailed to a cross.  He struggles, he cries, he writhes in agony.  And now we remember the prophet Simeon as he held the baby Jesus in the Temple: And Mary, a sword will pierce your heart too. Ah. We knew this was coming all along.

But now, grace enters into the heart of one crucified next to him.  The torture of the cross opens up a place that has grown hard in his heart.  In his last moments he recognizes the image of the invisible God, Christ himself, who came into the world to deliver us from darkness.  Jesus! he moans.  Remember me when you come into your kingdom!

The crucified King promises paradise to him this very day. And we who, at this distance of two thousand years, know the end of the story, wait in joyful hope at the empty tomb.

Sharing God’s Word at Home:

At what times of your life have you begged Jesus to remember 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).

11 Comments to “Feast of Christ the King – Ordinary Time Cycle C”

  1. brebis galeuseNovember 20, 2010 at 7:16 pm

    At no time in my life have I asked Jesus to remember me, because it has never occurred to me that he could forget me. I remember my friends, and I expect that Jesus remembers his, too. The prophet Isaiah tells us that God will never forget us — even if a mother could forget the child within her womb, God will never forget any one of us. We need to have the confidence that this is true.

  2. brebis galeuseNovember 22, 2010 at 5:08 pm

    I hope I didn’t squelch a discussion with my comment . . . I am hoping that everyone is just busy with Thanksgiving preparations.

  3. beckyNovember 22, 2010 at 8:56 pm

    No Brebis your answer great and Kathy’s reflection and question were strong and excellent too. Some like myself may be thinking how these reading made us feel. Or angain like myself theit computer wants to drive them nuts!
    I am like Brebis, it has never dawned on me that Jesus could forget me. I know that in times of stress, I ask Him ” why?” We are unlike Jesus in that we become targets on mean spirited people and don’t know why. Sometime we forget, that the human feeling of abandoment is human to human or human to God but never God to creation. I have suffer the sin of this human abandoment of God, and I was beyond lonely, the whole world could not fill me up until I went back to my Lord and God.

  4. beckyNovember 22, 2010 at 9:44 pm

    oop! On reviewing my entery, I see I wasn’t clear. Jesus was indeed the target of mean and wicked spirited people, and He knew the truth in their hearts. He knew why, the prophets had told of all His suffering for our salvation. When we are abandoned we usually don’t know why.

  5. CrisNovember 24, 2010 at 12:56 am

    Brevis is right. There is no way Jesus could forget us. And yet behind every prayer is that implicit human assumption about God’s “forgetfulness”. We pray for this or that blessing, or for this or that petition, etc. – – the implication being God may be “forgetting” to accomplish “x” or “y” Are we beginning to scratch the surface of the mystery of prayer and God’s magnanimity? – – – Cris

  6. mamidecincoNovember 24, 2010 at 2:55 am

    When I read the words of the criminal’s prayer, I take it as more a reflection on him than of a reflection of Christ or Christ’s ability. I think it is the man’s DESIRE to be remembered that makes this prayer powerful to me. As you all have stated, God does not forget any of us.

    I guess for me, Kathy’s question would then mean, at what times in your life have you ever desired so greatly to be remembered by Jesus that you cried out for it.

    When I think of the question with this slant, it seems that there have been many times in my life where I beg Jesus to remember me. Most of those times are when I’m feeling desperately alone, shaken either physically or mentally and most definitely spiritually. And I am always amazed at the effects of that simple prayer…Jesus remember me. And I think it’s because of Jesus’ response to the criminal…the promise of paradise that very day. Jesus not only remembers me (even before I pray the prayer) but in the praying, I’m reminded of Jesus’ promise to the criminal and to me.

    ~Kim~

  7. ChrisNovember 24, 2010 at 5:56 am

    I agree with mamidecinco. We might well ask, “Why do I ever need to ask God for anything when He knows everything?”
    The thing of it is, God asks us to come to Him. He wants us to make the choice (free will) to reach out to him. Read Luke 11, 5-13, when Jesus talks about persistance. Part of it also reads,

    “And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
    seek and you will find;
    knock and the door will be opened to you.
    For everyone who asks, receives;
    and the one who seeks, finds;
    and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

    And lest we forget the story of the widow and the dishonest judge? Again, persistance in asking.

    God knows what we need, but we have to ask Him for it.

  8. DonnaNovember 24, 2010 at 6:42 pm

    Recalling also the Scripture, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” in Rev.3:15
    Jesus is there waiting for us to open the door & invite him into our hearts.
    The times in my life with the most heartbreak and anguish, I have asked Jesus to remember me.
    Donna

  9. eileenNovember 25, 2010 at 6:00 pm

    In answer to your question about when I have asked Jesus to remember me, I can say this past year has been it. I have said, Remember me? I am the one that has left you. At other times it’s been, Remember me cause I have a hard time staying so close. But most often it has been, Re-member me into the wholeness that is you.

    Thank you to all and especially Kathy on this Thanksgiving Day.

  10. BobbieNovember 25, 2010 at 11:44 pm

    I don’t usually beg Jesus to remember me, though the Taize chant, “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom,” is a powerful, haunting song for me. I become that person on the cross dying next to Jesus. From the depths of my being, from a space of conversion and a desire to be reconciled, I sing this song. And like that good thief, I hear, “This day, this day….” I expect the miracle of transformation to happen in my life, this day. My faith sees it in kairos not necessarily chronos.
    On the other hand, there are times that I have cried out, “God, have you forgotten me?” or “God, have you forgotten us?” It’s been in the dark night experience when I wonder where God is, when I wonder if God notices me. Perhaps in that lament of “being forgotten” my real cry is “remember me, remember that I am on this planet, remember that I am suffering.” When I ask that useless why question, I’m whining about being forgotten.
    Each time I bewail another natural catastrophe that strikes in the poorest of regions, I watch the world shudder and then reach out. “This is your world,” I moan. God must hear my howling. It’s when we reach out to each other that I know God sees and asks us to use our gifts to the fullest. That’s when I know that God is “re-membering,” putting us back together again.

  11. leehemmingerNovember 26, 2010 at 8:06 pm

    I can’t count the times I’ve cried out to have Jesus remember me. Life brings sorrow, difficulty, illness that can wear down the human spirit, make us feel weak and in need of a stronger anchor. Jesus is that anchor for me; while he is wholly divine, he was also wholly human and I cry out for him to understand my humanity, my weaknesses, and to provide the strength needed for the current moment. God does know my needs, but I guess I’ve always doubted he is a micro-manager, checking in each minute to steer the ship. To ask, seek and knock have served me well, since our time just doesn’t measure in God’s time, and sometimes as I wait I’m not sure he heard the first request, so I have to keep going back and asking for the patience, strength and perseverance to continue the wait. Or, the wisdom to know the answer is already present, just not the one I was hoping for. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

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