Thursday, July 10, 2025

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - Habitual Excellance_071325

Image Credit – Lee Porter: The Good Samaritan 1, 1993 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Habitual Excellence!”

 

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

 

Today’s gospel tells the story of the Good Samaritan in which Jesus gives us a graphic example on how we must act to fulfill the greatest of the commandments. The Samaritan is a virtuous man; he acts with compassion, gentleness, generosity, humility, self-sacrifice, self-discipline, justice, courage, respect, and patience. His actions are unlike those of the priest and the Levite who ignore the victim on the side of the road and go about their daily concerns.

 

Why do we do the things that we do? The simple answer is that we get in the habit behaving in a certain way. Habits are our way of responding to certain situations. I suspect helping others came naturally to the Samaritan. He had, as we say, a habit of lending a helping hand. We acquire habits through our repeated action. We start out behaving a certain way and, as we repeat those same actions, they become habits. Habits can be for the good or, as we perhaps know too well, for the bad. Throughout our childhood, hopefully, we are taught to act with kindness so we can develop the habit of being kind. The same goes for being polite, courteous, friendly, and compassionate, etc. As we grow to maturity, again hopefully, we have acquired greater capacity to act more virtuously. Our life’s activities reflect the qualities of our interior moral life – we are either acting according to the good virtues we have stored up or the vices that oppose them.

 

The Greek word for virtue means “habitual excellence” which suggests that virtues need to be practiced constantly. St. Thomas Aquinas, the foremost proponent of an ethics of virtue, said that through repetition virtues bring about a “modification of a subject.” In other words, practicing virtue makes us virtuous.

 

The power of the virtues is that through their possession and exercise we reach the intended purpose of our lives which happens to be the very question the scholar of the law asks Jesus today, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

 

To help us in our efforts to inherit eternal life, the Fathers of the Church have handed down some very good tools to help guide us. We have three “Theological” Virtues – Faith, Hope, and Charity and four “Cardinal” Virtues of Prudence, Fortitude, Justice, and Temperance.

 

There is much suffering in our world today that cries out for an increase in the practice of these virtues by people of all faiths. May the story of the good Samaritan motivate us to live more virtuous lives so we can be Good Samaritans to our brothers and sisters who suffer as they wait for help to arrive.

 

Enjoy the Day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended ReadingPrayer of Heart & Body by Thomas Ryan CSP A practical "how-to" guide for persons who want to learn how to meditate or practice yoga in a way that is consistent with their Christian faith.

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Fr Tom Ryan, CSP Take Your Prayer to a Deeper Level. A wonderful opportunity to learn more about an ancient form of prayer by joining Fr Tom Ryan CSP on a guided meditation and prayer session.

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - Busy As a Bee_0700625


Deacon Tom Writes,
“Busy As a Bee”


In today’s gospel Jesus gives his disciples some instructions before sending them out to the towns and villages he intended to visit. He tells them “Go on your way; behold I am sending you like lambs among the wolves. Carry no money bags, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way…” It’s no wonder “the laborers are few!” And yet, surprisingly, 72 responded to the call; 72 brave souls willing to venture out into the world, materially unprepared in every way to confront the challenges they were sure to meet along the way.

What a test of faith. Imagine these disciples starting out on a journey with no money, no carry-on, nothing but the clothes they were wearing. Sounds unrealistic, doesn’t it? But that’s the urgency that Jesus gave to his ministry – announcing the Good News that the Kingdom of God was at hand and it is also a great sign of Jesus’ trust that his disciples would be provided for. People longed to hear this message and Jesus was eager to spread the word that indeed Kingdom of God had arrived. “Be as busy as a bee” seems to have been Jesus’ mindset in spreading the Good News. Nothing was more important, so no need to waste time with the things of this world…money, baggage and extra clothes. God will take care of everything. God will provide; He always does.

We all could take lessons from these first eager co-workers of Jesus by ourselves trusting in God more and relying upon our possessions less; trusting in God’s Divine Providence and care and knowing he is always by our side, especially when things seem to not be going our way. What a wonderful world it would be if we could dedicate our lives to promoting the Kingdom Jesus proclaimed as we went about our day-to-day activities; if we were his laborers tilling the fields. We would truly have reason to rejoice as we too would drive out the demons in Jesus’ name, the demons of poverty and ignorance, the spirits of want and greed, the delusions of those seeking power and authority over others for their own selfish gain. With the love of Jesus in our hearts we might overcome the racial, political and economic issues of our times that divide us and cause so much bitterness, suffering and even violence. It really doesn’t take much effort on our part to be a willing co-worker of Jesus, a simple “Yes, Lord” will do, and then placing our trust in God’s Divine Providence. Oh, would that not lead to “heaven on earth?” Yes, we would have reasons to rejoice and be glad for all the good things we could do in Jesus’ name, if, and it’s a big if, we choose to abandon our own vestiges of power and go about our daily business with the only things we need, the Minds, the Hearts and the Love of Jesus, our Lord.


Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles_C - Keep Your Eyes on the Prize_063025


Deacon Tom writes,
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize


Our willingness to suffer for a cause, for something we are deeply committed to is a testament to the strength and dedication of our belief.  St. Paul says that he… “is being poured our like a libation”.  With this expression St. Paul is saying that he has done all he could possibly do to spread the word about the kingdom of God and make disciples of all nations.  What a difference between the Paul who stood by and watched Stephen being stoned to death and the Paul who pours himself out on behalf of Christ as one of His first missionaries.  Paul was changed man because of his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. 

 

Change is difficult for most of us.  The stories of St. Peter and St. Paul we hear today reflect the experiences of men who were changed to the core by their personal relationship with Christ.

 

St. Matthew records that Peter recognized Jesus as, “the Christ, the son of the living God” and he experienced Christ for the reality of whom He is, the“Word Made Flesh”. There is a difference in knowing some things about someone and actually knowing that person in a personal and intimate way.  In today’s gospel, Peter receives a gift from God that enables him to “see and understand” who Jesus really is, and this insight changes him forever.

 

Peter’s experience can be ours if we truly desire it.  The Father will give us the gift to know Christ personally if we just ask Him for it.  This most precious gift enables us to experience Christ in a deeper and more profound way.  It calls us into a love affair with Him such that we desire to know all we can about Him and seek to do everything within our power to please Him.  This in turn allows us to be conformed into the person of Christ.  This is what St. Paul meant when he wrote these words to the Galatians: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”.  This become possible only by keeping our “eyes on the prize” and knowing that the prize we seek in this life is to become more Christ-like in all our thoughts, words, and actions.  Then we too, like St. Paul, will one day claim the crown of righteousness that awaits us.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

OTHER RESOURCES


Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

Recommended Reading: Do Not Judge Anyone” Desert Wisdom for a Polarized World by Fr. Isaac Slater, O.C.S.O. Too often Christianity has been hijacked by the superego and the good news of grace has been compromised by fear and the rationalization of violence. In “Do Not Judge Anyone” Cistercian monk Isaac Slater reflects on the desert fathers’ teachings and practice of not judging with a focus on contemporary life. Interweaving sources from East and West, ancient and modern, Slater finds profound points of contact between the first monks and figures like Dostoevsky and Simone Weil, and in the teaching and witness of Pope Francis. “Do Not Judge Anyone” offers a radical, refreshing, and deeply hopeful vision of the gospel for the twenty-first century. 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life – Period 2 - Here is Fr. Rohr’s presentation on the Second Half of Life







Saturday, June 21, 2025

My Apologies_062125

 



It is my sincere hope that readers of this weekly reflection on the Sunday Readings find it helpful on your spiritual journey. I must apologize to you that over the past month or so I have not met my commitment to update this post by 4PM every Thursday. Like many, life gets hectic at times. I hope that as things have settled down somewhat for me now I will have future posts available again by 4PM on Thursdays. Thank you for your understanding.

In Christ, 

Deacon Tom

Thursday, June 19, 2025

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ_C - There's Plenty to Go Around_062225

Deacon Tom Writes,
“There’s Plenty to Go Around!”


Can we ever be satisfied… with anything? We want faster, bigger, better, more of everything and we want it right now. We don’t want to wait to have it or work long and hard to get it. Have you noticed how some people have reacted to the ongoing supply chain disruption from Covid, Tariffs, Strikes, avian flu in the case of recent egg shortage? Some people are visibly upset; others are outraged; other will rush out and buy a ton of whatever to make sure they can weather the storm;and then others don’t seem dismayed at all. But this last group appear to be the exception. The truth is that we have been consummate consumers driven by immediate gratification. We have swallowed hook, line and sinker the clarion call from Fifth Avenue, from self-help gurus, from the media, and even from some pulpits that, “We can have it all and we can have it our way... right now.” Tell-tale signs that our expectations are not realistic and are a red flag that something has to change.

 

Our spiritual senses, if they are well developed, will tune us in to the fact that there is a problem with this type of behavior and warn us that this is not the natural order of things. No created thing, no human being can completely satisfy us or our hearts desires. It is only God who can satisfy the deepest longing of our hearts as we know from the famous saying of St. Augustine, “Our hearts will not rest until they rest in you”. Today we contemplate the wisdom of God as we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. God, the architect of the universe and the one who sustains all that exists within it, designed us to seek the ultimate good, which, of course, he is by his nature, by his very being. He “hard wired” us, so to speak, so that we would come looking for him, seeing his image in all creation, and putting aside all else in our search for the “real thing,” the ultimate goodness, the one and only giver of life and of all that is.

 

Those who were fortunate to be around Jesus listening to him speak about the Kingdom of God may not have fully realized the gift they were given: the bread of life, food that would satisfy completely. What’s our excuse? As Catholics there is no more profound mystery of faith than what we experience when we receive the Eucharist – the Son of God coming into our lives and dwelling within us and satisfying us completely. God becomes, in a sense, the very fuel that energizes us to do our part in helping bring about the reign of God in our times, in our lives, and in the world around us. What we receive we are meant to pass along to others as our part of making Christ present in the world.

 

That God would become really present in the bread and wine during the Consecration remains as difficult a teaching today as it was when Jesus first revealed it. Recall how many walked away because this teaching was too difficult? Jesus asked the apostles, “Will you leave me also.” And Peter responded, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

 

The gift of the Eucharist reveals God’s desire to be a part of the very fiber of our lives. We give God our thanks for this precious gift by sharing our faith and our lives with one another as we await the fullness of his long-awaited kingdom on earth.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacs engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those thinking of coming into or leaving it.

 

Recommended Reading: Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. One of the most famous books ever written about a man’s search for faith and peace. A Journey of Faith and Transformation, Exploring Vulnerability, Forgiveness, and the Quest for Spiritual Fulfillment in the Midst of a Turbulent World

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life - Here is Fr. Rohr’s presentation on the First Half of Life.

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity_C - We Are God's Delight_61525

                                     

Credit: Southern Crab Nebula:  STScI-2019-25  

Deacon Tom Writes,

“We Are God’s Delight”

 

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Year C

 

The reading from the Book of Proverbs summons our imagination to that moment in time when God, the master craftsman, is busy laying “the foundations of the earth.” Witnessing this extraordinary event is this mysterious figure, “The Wisdom of God.” God’s Wisdom is “poured fourth”, personified, given a physical reality, in order to be by God’s side as his craftsman to assist in bringing forth creation. God’s Wisdom is euphoric at what is happening, “being God’s delight day by day, playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; finding delight in the human race”. The Wisdom of God is such a cooperative, willing, and light-hearted assistant, and one so eager to find delight in God’s masterpiece of creation, the human race.

 

Today’s readings give us insight into the Holy Trinity whose feast we celebrate today. We recognize God, as the Creator, calling into existence the entirety of the cosmos. At work also is the Wisdom of God, God’s delight, the Holy Spirit, that “mighty wind” who swept over the waters of creation in Genesis. In the Gospel today, Jesus, the Logos, through whom all creation came to be, is completing his mission on earth. Before he leaves, however, he imparts to his disciples the Spirit of Truth that will continue to guide and teach them as they continue Jesus’ work of advancing the Kingdom of God here on earth.

 

The Trinity will always be a mystery for us, in this life and the next. We know that we will never be able to comprehend God’s essence completely. Yet, we do share in God’s very nature by virtue of our participation in the Sacramental life of the Church. In that divine community we encounter Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who delight in our human family.   

 

The celebration of Trinity Sunday is a sign that our Easter Season is behind us. We have reentered Ordinary Time at a critical moment when our world is challenged in many ways, divided according to many ideologies, ethnicities, beliefs, colors, languages, hopes and desires. Jesus told his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit to remind them of all he had taught them and to guide them through all the ups and downs of life. As we move beyond our Easter Celebration let us endeavor to live in the light of the Holy Spirit and act as disciples of Christ by loving one another, forgiving those who have caused us sorrow and pain and serving one another as Christ taught and gave us the example to follow.

 

In the days to come, may we be aware that in Baptism we too have received Jesus’ spirit, “the Spirit of truth. May the “Spirit of Truth” that abides in us help us to see ourselves, our loved ones, and even those we may hold in little regard as “God’s delight” also.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it. 

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Pentecost, Mass During the Day_C - Lord, Send Out Your Spirit, And Renew the Face of the Earth_060825

 

Photo: Weeki Wachee Sunset_tjc

Deacon Tom Writes,

Lord, Send Out Your Spirit,

And Renew the Face of The Earth

 

Pentecost Sunday, Mass During the Day, Year C

 

If you are among the diminishing number of Catholics that attend church on a regular basis, I think you would agree that we don’t show much enthusiasm about being there.

 

The event that set the world on fire, spiritually that is, has become routine, ho-hum, ordinary. That event, Christ sending his spirit into the world to complete the work he had begun, seems to have fallen on deaf ears. And perhaps you have notices this too, that our world, our communities, our schools and shopping malls and homes are at a loss because of this. Things change, we all know that. New ideas, trends, philosophies, come and go. I get that. But to surrender our faith, our core beliefs centered on God’s unconditional love for his creation in favor of the glitter and trinkets the world has to offer, well, I don’t get that. More than ever, we are in need of Divine intervention, help from above to guide us and direct our hearts and minds and enlighten them as to who we are and what God has called us to be. On this special day, a day that for these past two millennia has been called the birthday of the church, we pray to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, whose help we are most in need. We pray for the Spirit of God to come into our lives and revive our hearts so we may know God’s presence at work within us and in our world, renewing us and filling us with his love.

 

This Pentecost we pray that the Spirit of Jesus Christ will awaken in us a desire to know God and to do his Will. Yet, we really don’t need to ask for this gift…. Jesus told us that he would send… “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name -- will teach you everything and remind you of all that (I) told you” JN 14:26. Our need is to be open to receive this Spirit of God deep within the fiber of our being. We need the Holy Spirit so that we can meet the demands of Christian discipleship … that is to grow daily in the knowledge and love of God and in service to our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who breathes into us the knowledge of God’s love so that we, in turn, can love and engender love in others as Jesus taught us. For indeed… “we have been given the manifestation of the spirit for some benefit” …. and that benefit is to realize God’s abundant love not only in ourselves, but in others also giving them the opportunity to discover God’s love for themselves.

 

Jesus sent his disciples into this world that hungered for the love and peace that only God can give and to find rest from the toils and anxieties of life. We have these same needs today! Can there really be any question about that as we witness the horrific suffering in our world, the political divisiveness, the economic disparity, and the hopelessness engendered by the degradation of the human spirit? We are in desperate need of the gifts of the Holy Spirit...wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord so that we can live together and realize our full potential as children of God. These gifts of the Spirit transform our lives and conform us to the life of Christ in every way. Too difficult? Yes, for us left to ourselves, but not for Christ to accomplish in us. That is the transformative power of Holy Spirit this Pentecost for all who strive to be disciples of Christ today. As Christ sent his first disciples into the world to dispel the darkness and give it hope, he now sends us into the world so we can continue to be people of hope…. who forgive and love one another, who act justly and work for a justice in this world, who look forward to the fullness of God’s reign. We, like those who have gone before us, have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit and, so empowered, are sent into the world to be witnesses of God’s love and to cooperated with his own Spirit so that together we can renew the face of the earth.

 

Enjoy the day

Deacon Tom


 Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it. 

 

OTHER RESOURCE


Recommended Reading: Against an Infinite Horizon - the Finger of God in Our Everyday Live by Ronald Rolheiser O.M.I - is one of Fr. Ronald Rolheiser’s most beloved books in which he leads us to a deeper experience of the beauty and poetry of Christian spirituality. In this reflective work Fr. Ron asks us to view our lives against the infinite horizon of God's love and power.        

 

Recommended Podcast: Desert Fathers in a year podcast with Bishop Erik Varden. Erik Varden is a Cistercian monk and the Bishop of Trondheim in Norway. Bishop Vardan has become a leading Catholic voice through his writings that engage our secular culture using the language of beauty to point us to the centrality of our search for God, even when we look in the wrong places.

 

A Catholic convert during his studies at Cambridge, he discovered the monastic tradition and the Desert Fathers, inspiring his own vocation at Mount St. Bernard's Abbey in England where he eventually became abbot.

 

He guides us through the insights won in the spiritual combat of the ancient desert which direct us to what we need most today: the love of Christ that conquers all obstacles.