Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time_Year B - How Low Can You Go?_102024

Deacon Tom Writes,

“How Low Can You Go?”

 

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Remember the lyrics to Chubby Checker’s song, Limbo Rock? “Jack be limbo, Jack be quick, Jack go unda the  limbo stick.”  The idea was to contort yourself from one side of the “limbo stick” to the other. The challenge was to see “How low could you go?” We had a lot of laughs trying, but not too much success!

 

Today’s readings provide us with profound insight into the revolutionary nature of the Kingdom Jesus laid the foundation for during his ministry. It comes as the Apostles are arguing about who was the greatest, who would be first when this kingdom came to full stature. To their dismay, Jesus makes it clear that what he has in mind isn’t about choosing a CEO or EVP; rather, it’s about attracting servants. Jesus is challenging his followers to conduct their lives in such a way that to others they would appear to be “the slaves of all.” By their outward acts of service, Jesus’ followers would reject the vestiges of power and privilege that governed the prevailing society. For the Apostles, as for us, Jesus’ teaching that the rules that govern the Kingdom of God are vastly different than those we are accustomed was, and remains, quite a shock. In this world the great ones lord it over their subjects; in God’s realm, the greatest ones are the servants of all.

 

Jesus isn’t making small talk. We know from the way he lived and, especially, by the vicious death he suffered that he meant what he said about Servanthood. He was the faithful servant who came into our broken and troubled world to bring us the Good News of our Father’s love. It is a love that the Father intends for us to share with one another... willingly... graciously...indiscriminately.

 

It is in the spirit of Servanthood that Jesus takes on the role of the Suffering Servant who, in the words of Isaiah, “through his suffering…will justify many.”  Most of us are not called to suffer the way Christ did, and thank God for that! But we are called to share the suffering our brothers and sisters in Christ experience today by being aware of their poverty, how they are victimized and exploited by our society and then to respond, as best we are able, as moved by the Holy Spirit. We share in Christ’s suffering when we put ourselves into these desperate situations and we stand there as a sign of God’s presence. We witness to God’s presence when we make the decision to cooperate with the abundant graces God has placed in our hearts. The lower you go to serve God’s children, the higher you rise in the Kingdom of God where Jesus tells us that “as often as you did it for one of my least brothers and sisters, you did it for me.”

 

St. Paul reminds us that Jesus experienced all of our human condition in their entirety. He suffered the abuse, rejection, ridicule of the people he came to redeem; he suffered the rejection of family who thought he was out of his mind; he suffered the loss of beloved friends. He suffered the injustice of capital punishment! He experienced the full spectrum of our human drama, and he did so willingly... “tested in every way” Paul writes. Why? Because of his great love for us. And, the Kingdom he sets in motion is that place, the only place, where the love we see in Christ’s life and death calls us to follow him by “giving our all” to being “servants of all.”

 

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: A Consistent Ethic of Life - Navigating Catholic Engagement with U.S. Politics by Professor Steven P Millies. The consistent ethic of life is a fully Catholic engagement with the difficult challenges that conscience encounters in our time. This short book is a resource for parishes and general readers to rediscover the consistent ethic now in this challenging, divided moment of our history.

 

Tracing the historical development of the consistent ethic from the early 1970s up to recent days, A Consistent Ethic of Life encourages readers to adopt an attitude that calls them to be partisans for life above the partisanship of our politics.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  A Consistent Ethic of Life Presentation at Old Saint Mary’s, Chicago, Illinois. Listen in us for a powerful presentation by Professor Steven P Millies guide us on the longstanding doctrine of the Church and how we might begin to begin to turn the tide on the politics of polarization and division.

 

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - O Sapientia_101324

Image: eastdailyoffice.wordpress.com

 

Deacon Tom Writes

“Choose Wisely”

 

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Have you ever had the chance to watch a little child try to decide which coin to take when given a choice between a nickel and a dime? Quite often, the child will choose the nickel because it’s bigger. The poor lad hasn’t learned to distinguish monetary values. Today’s reading from the Book of Wisdom is intended to teach us about what constitutes real value in our lives so that we may know how to make wise and not fall victim to the ways of the world. Here is today’s reading from the Book of Wisdom again.

 

I prayed, and prudence was given me;

I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

I preferred her to scepter and throne,

And deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,

nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;

Because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,

and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.

Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,

And I chose to have her rather than the light,

because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.

Yet all good things together came to me in her company,

and countless riches at her hands.

 

The teacher of Wisdom informs us that other virtues accompany Wisdom for those who pursue Wisdom. Prudence and Perseverance, Patience and intense Prayer are found in Wisdom’s company. That explains why Wisdom is so rare and elusive, while foolishness is seen all around us, like pollen during ragweed season. Foolishness appeals to the here and now, feeds upon our egos and disillusions, and makes no demands upon our character. Foolishness endures because it is so captivated by the glitter of the physical reality around us and is so easily enticed by the things of this world… the riches, temporary fame and fortune, success and the pleasures that fail to give lasting joy and happiness. The Wisdom described above is a manifestation of God’s very identity and his essence. It is a part of God’s very being. God shares his Wisdom, a very part of his nature with those who ask for it, with those who seek lasting riches found only in the things from above. When one possesses this form of Wisdom, they abide in God and God in them.

 

If we seek the things from above, we will never be disappointed. God’s Wisdom will guide us on our earthly journey and enlighten us along the way so we, unlike the little child who is deceived by the belief that bigger is better and makes the wrong choice, won’t settle for second best. May we have the Wisdom of God at work in us so that we always and easily choose wisely.

 

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: The Catholic Church and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Mathew Kappadakunnel is an invitation to respond to the prophetic call, stemming from Baptism, to promote the dignity of all people based on the belief that each person is created in the image of God, particularly those who suffer racial injustice. Kappadakunnel confronts racism writing from his own personal spiritual journey with a prophetic voice, grounded in a deep faith, with experiential insight, and a theologically informed perspective.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  Why Ignoring Racial Justice Hurts Our Faith: Catholic Insights. Listen in us for a powerful discussion on why ignoring racial justice hurts our faith as Matt shares his personal journey as a Catholic of Indian descent, reflecting on his experiences with racism and the lack of response from church leaders following the tragic death of George Floyd. Join in to this conversation to learn, and grow together in our faith.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - R-E-S-P-E-C-T_100624

Deacon Tom Writes,

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

 

Twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

Aretha Franklin’s recent passing filled the airways with one of her blockbuster hits, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.” One simple word behind which summarizes the basic obligation and duty we own not only to one another but to the entirety of creation around us.

 

In the calling forth creation Genesis recounts this majestic moment when, after naming all the animals God created and finding no suitable partner for “man”, God creates “woman”. If we were to travel to the end of the cosmos and, arriving there, find an ancient text that recorded these same words, I wonder how we back on earth would interpret those words today in the fuller context of the same passage of our first reading.

 

That there was no suitable “partner” for the man is telling. Man’s partner does not come from all prior life that man was given dominion over. Rather, man’s partner is “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” How difficult would it be to see the creation story of this distant world organized around a partnership between two created beings, sharing the same flesh and blood, whose purpose in life was to become “one flesh?”

 

I suspect that if this distant civilization evolved from with this understanding of partnership and purpose it would have would have built a society much different than ours who have this same text as our foundational narrative. Our interpretation is much different and we are just coming to terms with the problems our poor judgment has sewn throughout time memorial.

 

Respect is a duty we owe to one another. It is the profound recognition that we are “created beings” whose origin is same beneficent creator who has made us “little less than god” Ps 8:6 in the sense that we are all destined to share in His very being for all eternity.

 

If we only understood the meaning of the word “respect.” If we only knew the meaning of the Creation Story, what a different world we would be living in. Fostering respect for one another is the way out of many of the problems we confront in our society today. This is certainly rich soil to cultivate. Interestingly, in a recent article in America Magazine online confronting the negative caricature facing Georgetown Prep in the aftermath of the Judge Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court, Fr. James Van Dyke, S.J. the school’s president remarked, “the problem facing the larger culture among both men and women that we sadly cannot seem to address—a fundamental lack of respect for persons as such”.

 

Today’s readings urge us to reflect on not only how we treat others but how we view them. For in Christ, we are all “One body”.

 

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: Why God? by Richard Leonard, S.J. is a collection of stories and is divided into four parts: Church; Liturgy and Sacraments; Society; and Faith and Spirituality. Through these very personal and engaging stories, the author provides insights into the way God works through people and often unexpected places and events. These true stories speak of the power of God working in creation and through the unlikely individuals and places that we discover God's transforming love.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  Fr Richard Leonard, S.J. YouTube Presentation, "Why God?",  Stories to Inspire Faith

 

 

 

 

 

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time-B - Envious Hearts_092924

  

Image from:zazzle.com

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Envious Hearts”

 

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Both Moses and St. Luke shed some light about a serious sin that we all experience from time to time, the sin of envy. In the spiritual realm this is such an insidious offense that it ranks as one of the seven deadly sins so named because they tend to attract one to a deepening cycle of sin. We hear today how Moses responds to a complaint brought to him by two of his tribesmen. What bothered them was that several others of their group were prophesying even though they had not been in their company when they received the “spirit. Moses sensed that the demonic spirit of envy or jealousy was at work with those who lodged the complaint. Instead of chastising the two who had received the gift of prophesy while away from camp, he instead responds, “Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"

 

In a similar way, the Apostles see that someone not in their group is casting out demons and report that to Jesus. Jesus wisely cautions His disciples “Do not prevent him.” Jesus knows that any good work done in His name will produce good fruit.

 

Very often our fragile human nature shows itself in the ugliest of ways. In these two incidents from Sacred Scripture, we notice how one group of individuals is offended because others appear to have gotten something that they did not deserve. In the first reading the Spirit came to rest on two men who left camp and the “crowd” is upset with this; in the gospel a stranger was empowered to cast out demons without being an Apostle and again the “crowd” of disciples are offended. Envy is at work in both these events. In both instance the intention of those who complain is to get someone – Moses or Jesus – to issue a cease-and-desist order to the perceived antagonist. Rather than get their way, our teachers today hold a class that remains applicable for us today.

 

Our sequential, linear, humanly limited minds constantly seek to put God in a box. We want to control God. We want Him to be predictable and to be fair; fair, that is, as we perceive fair to be. But God is above all our thinking and our wildest imagination. God’s ways are simply beyond us and we need to grow into that realization.

 

God is at work all around us, in all faiths, in all peoples, in all circumstances. God’s Spirit works in the hearts of the faithful everywhere. God is the reality through which we live, and move, and have our being. It is not jealousy that should fill our hearts when we see good being done, but rather a deep sense of awe at the wonders God is unfolding minute-by-minute, day-by-day all around us. Even by those who look, act, believe, and worship differently than we do. Better than keeping a jealous eye on what others appear to be doing is for us to act like one on whom God’s spirit has been bestowed. Why? Because it has been!

 

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: Thoughts Matter by Sr Mary Margaret Funk In this highly regarded series that includes Tools Matter, Humility Matters, Lectio Matters and Discernment Matters, Sr. Meg offers the foundational theories and practices of the early monastic way of life while pointing out why and how this inner work is as fresh and necessary today as ever.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  The Heart of Centering Prayer: Part 4 of 4 by Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault who brings insightful teaching on being silent in the presence of the Divine

 

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Who's Numbero Uno_092224

Image from – lailas blog.com 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Who’s Numero Uno”

Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

One of telltale signs that we struggle to embrace Jesus’ message “to become the least is the fact that we do all that we can to be the first… to be the best… the greatest, the center of attention. We want to be in the limelight; we want the bigger piece of the pie. Yet, today, Jesus’ instructions are clear:  the only way we get to the head of the line is by waiting on those in line! “If anyone wishes to be first”, he says, “he shall be the last of all and the servant of all”. That’s how things operate in the Kingdom of God. It was the behavior of His closest disciples that prompted Jesus to pass this teaching on to us. In today’s gospel we hear that an argument broke out among his disciples as to who was “Numero Uno”. This happened right after Jesus revealed what’s going to happen to Him when they get to Jerusalem. “He will be handed over to men and they will kill him…but in three days he will rise”

 

How callous of His followers to be so dismissive of Jesus’ horrific prophesy! Imagine how anguished we would be if, while we were bearing our souls to a close friend, they were disengaged and self-absorbed. There is just no imaginable way to describe how hurt and distraught we would feel‼!

 

Jesus made many references to the fact that the Kingdom He was announcing was ordered a bit differently than our experience here in this temporal realm. In God’s kingdom …. the first shall be last, the hungry will be satisfied, the broken, crushed, dispossessed and sorrowing will be comforted. And forever, the peacemakers will be held in high esteem….!

 

Those are some powerful promises, and yet, given the state of the world, some of our inner-city neighborhoods, and even our family, one can’t help wonder if we are doing all that we can to ease the plight of the poor, the neglected, those who are suffering through this life? Why aren’t we looking to “store up treasures in heaven” (Mt 6:20) by helping the worst of the worst? Are we confused about the significance of Jesus’ teachings? Matthew, Chapter 25 makes it pretty clear… “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me?” …Or, are we, like the disciples in today’s gospel more distracted with our own concerns and interests than the suffering and hopelessness of many of those around us?

 

It is very difficult to die to self, to take up the crosses of our lives and unite them with that of Christ. That is why we need to learn from the Master, to follow in his footsteps, and practice every day to love and serve each other, as Christ has loved us, even unto death. That is one way to show others who is really “Numero Uno” in our lives.

 

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: A Vacation with the Lord by Fr. Thomas H. Green S.J. A personal directed retreat based upon the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. What a good way to prepare for the transition from Ordinary Time to the speedily approaching Season of Advent.

Recommended YouTube Video:  The Heart of Centering Prayer: Part 3 of 4 by Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault who brings insightful teaching on being silent in the presence of the Divine. 

 

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, B - Better Choices - Better Results_091524

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Better Choices - Better Results” 

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Last Wednesday marks the twentieth-third anniversary of the World Trade Center tragedy. We have all heard stories of the pain and suffering that continues to live in the hearts of the family and friends of those who perished in that tragedy. There is no shortage of tragic stories. We witness so much pain and suffering in our world. Much of it is the consequence of our own poor decisions. There’s nothing new here; “nothing new under the sun”. Tragedy, experiencing a loss of a loved one, a job, a marriage can often give us a chance to stop and reflect upon our lives. It may be time to pause for a moment to look at our own decision-making process and how that has contributed to such anguish, anxiety and negativity in our families, in our local and global communities, in our churches, and, as we see constantly today, in our politics and ecclesiastical institutions.

 

There is a saying that goes like this, “If you always do what you always have done, you will always get what you’ve already got”. So, if we keep eating the cheesecake, we are going to keep adding on the pounds! Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? So, when it comes to understanding and solving the problems in our families, in our communities and in our world, we need a different mindset than fighting fire with fire, or punching back harder when someone strikes us. We need a higher level of thinking to find real solutions. To paraphrase Einstein, genius that he was, he said it this way, “Problems cannot be solved with the same mind set that created them”. Many of the problems of our world, our communities and in our families are of our own making. We have no one to blame but ourselves for the bitter results of our poor choices. Real solutions to any problem that ails us demand that we pursue alternate and elevated way of thinking than the thinking that got us into that bad situation as Einstein so eloquently noted.

 

For us whose faith is centered upon Christ, today’s gospel gives us insight into finding solutions to any problem we face, large or small. Jesus tells Peter, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do”. The invitation here is clear:  elevate your thinking! This may be an oversimplification, true. But, at the same time, it is good advice. For left to our old patterns of thinking, one could reasonably expect more of the same... more war, more violence, more suffering and pain, more erosion of the moral and spiritual fabric of society in a continuing state of decline.

 

The antidote to this dismal future lies in the essence of Jesus’ teaching that is founded upon the dynamic principle of Love. Love of God and love of neighbor. Simple, yet this is the challenge of a lifetime. Love as Jesus loved: selflessly, unconditionally, without ulterior motive or even a desire to be loved in return. Love that forgives all injuries, infidelities, idolatries. It is called agape, where Jesus empties himself because of his complete and total love of God and dependence upon God for all things and for all outcomes. This is the way God, Abba, thinks, acts, and IS. And God invites us to do the same!

 

Change the way we think, act and how we approach our problems from our way to God’s ways and while that might not produce immediate results on a global scale, more than likely we will be much more successful solving problems in our homes and in our communities. A good enough start wouldn’t you agree?

 

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: Discipleship For the Future - Spirituality of the Kingdom by Fr. Frank DeSiano , C.S.P. guides the reader through meditations on the power and importance of the kingdom of God and our role as we are drawn to it as disciples in hope of the future, made possible by the coming of Christ and the gift of the Spirit"

Recommended YouTube Video:  The Heart of Centering Prayer: Part 2 of 4 by Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault who brings insightful teaching on being silent in the presence of the Divine. 

 

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - The Secret to Success_090824

Image credit: dave-burke.squarespace.com/storage/ephphatha.jpg

Deacon Tom Writes

“The Secret to Success”

 

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Jesus has a remarkable encounter with a deaf man as he traveled the countryside of the Decapolis. Petitioned by the man’s friends, Jesus cures him. “Be Opened!” Jesus says two simple words to the deaf man and he is able to hear. His life changed in an instant. There is newness to the world in which he has been living but not fully participating in. In an instant he is complete, made whole, reunited to his community from which he was isolate and ready, perhaps, to begin life anew.

There are many events recorded in Sacred Scripture that demonstrate Jesus had power over the natural world. He changed water into wine, walked on water, calmed the sea. But Jesus’ greatest power lies in his power to heal as we read in today’s gospel. He uses that power to set this man free from the loneliness and isolation imposed upon him by his physical impairment.

The words we hear in the gospel today are powerful, “Be opened”. They challenge us to look into our lives and find those attitudes and behaviors that stand in contrast to the openness to which God calls us. Are we “Open” to forgive someone who has hurt us? Are we “Open” to letting go of resentments? Are we willing to change our behavior and stop believing or thinking that we or our beliefs are better than others?

Be Opened! Not just our ears, but our minds and attitudes also. We are living in a fast-paced, media fueled, 280-character twitter tweets, relationship challenged world and we can’t help but wonder if, when we speak, there’s anybody listening?” Is anyone open to what we are saying when we speak about God’s love for each person; that we are made in God’s image and likeness; that we are infused with great dignity, and our destiny is to share forever in the divine presence?

When we are “Opened” to the Word of God, our lives change, just as the man in the gospel’s life was changed. We don’t know the details on what changed. We only know that everyone was told to keep silent about what happened. Yet, because of their astonishment, they just couldn’t keep this amazing occurrence to themselves. They had to spread the word. And those words did not fall upon deaf ears! Praise God!

God never disappoints. There is nothing in our lives that God can’t use to bring about the good if we turn to Him and trust in Him. That’s the deeper meaning of faith. That’s the “Openness” that God longs for so that He can fill us with every good thing in our time of need. Openness is our invitation to God to come into our lives and holds the secret to success in attaining a peaceful and joy filled spiritual life.

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: Faith and Religion in a Secular Society by Cardinal Jozef De Kesel makes the case that, in the face of the phenomena of secularization, religious indifference, and institutional weakening, it is not by preaching about or idealizing a bygone past that Christianity can expect to regain in Europe, because it risks isolating and separating even more than it is from a culture that no longer waits. The salvation of the Church and the safeguarding of her universal mission depend rather on its ability to facilitate a culture of encounter with all those who want to humanize the modern, pluralist, and secular society, while also asserting its freedom of expression. It is this pastoral option that Joseph De Kesel is already experimenting with in deeply secularized Belgium, which, like France, was once a land of Christianity.

Recommended YouTube Video:  The Heart of Centering Prayer: Part 1 of 4 by Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault who brings insightful teaching on being silent in the presence of the Divine.