Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - First Things First_110324

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

We have so many demands upon our time that we can hardly keep track of them. Fortunately, we have the technology to remind us where we have to be and when we have to be there. We have electronic calendars, email reminders and cell phones, I-pads and

I-pods. We leave ourselves voice mail messages, stick post-its on the refrigerator. All this busyness and the technology to keep up with it is a part of the great reality in which we live, but it comes at a price. And the price that we pay seems increasingly that we crowd so many other important things out of our lives, like God! …. Really, who has time for God given our demanding schedules?

 

Working God into our daily lives has become a challenge for us today, but it hasn’t always been that way. From the very beginning the Jewish people were encouraged to place God at the center of their lives – physically, spiritually and mentally. Moses laid this obligation before the people in what has become the famous Jewish prayer, the “The Shema” which begins with the command, “hear, O Israel!”

 

 

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all you soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today”

 

These words that God spoke through Moses were a simple message intended to help the people find their happiness in this world by cooperating with God’s plan. Keep it simple; put first things first God says; live according to my plan; love me above all else…… with every fiber of your being.

 

Today we are busy. We are busier today than yesterday, and it doesn’t stop: the laundry, the shopping, the portaging the kids to sporting events and school plays, the extra projects at work... phew...and on and on it goes. If you have any doubts, just ask someone you know who’s retired! “We don’t have time,” they complain. “We don’t know how we got things done when we were working” you’ll also hear.

 

The challenge we face today is consciously putting God first in our lives. And, to do that, we have to increase our awareness that he is present in all those activities that fill up our day. We need to develop a mind, heart and spirit that is tuned into God’s presence... in those little and big things that fill up those limited and priceless minutes of our lives. It’s a matter of practice…of building the habit of inviting God into all the activities of our day, into all that busyness that so often overwhelms us. Invite God to be with us during our evaluation at work. Invite God to be with us when we’re running the kids or grandkids to soccer or piano lessons; invite God to join us in the Dentist’s chair or when we’re getting the oil changed. All the activities of our day are opportunities to draw close to God and to show him that we are mindful that his desire is to be a part of the lives of those who love him. Inviting God into all our daily chores will make those insignificant things we do throughout the day more meaningful and help us experience the presence of God in all that we do.

 

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: Living Justice by Fr. Thomas Massaro. Rooted in the life and ministry of Jesus and the message of the New Testament, the Church proclaims: "Justice is constitutive of the Gospel." Building upon the broad tradition of Catholic social teaching. Living Justice offers a fresh discussion of contemporary issues (disarmament, human rights, the option for the poor). Through Scripture, Tradition, world events, and living examples of heroism and holiness ranging from the simple to the extraordinary, Living Justice develops your understanding of Catholic social teaching and inspires you for service

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  Living a Christian Life in an Age of Distraction, a lecture by Jesuit Thomas Massaro critiques our attempt to live out our Christian vocation in the midst of all the distractions, commitments and business of our everyday lives.   

 

 

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - The Courage to Beg_102720

Image credit: maryricehopkins.com:Bartimaeus3

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Courage to Beg”

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Today we hear the familiar story of Bartimaeus, a man whose disability sets the stage for his encounter with Jesus. It’s an ordinary day; Bartimaeus sets up on the side of the road to do the only thing he is able to do…Beg. His blindness makes him vulnerable and without the help of others, his life would go from bad to worse. How excited he must have been when he heard the crowd approaching! Perhaps, he might have thought, their generosity would get him through a couple of days, please God! But in reality, a greater gift awaited him.

 

In some ways we are like Bartimaeus. We routinely set out each day trying to secure the necessities of life, to earn enough to pay the mortgage, the orthodontist, buy groceries, fill the gas tank of the car. Yes, we need these things to provide for our families. That’s keeping it real. But there is more to life than the things that money can buy. Ironically, Bartimaeus, the blind man, helps open our eyes to the fact that our very well-being, over very existence depends totally on someone else, and that someone else is God.

 

It takes courage for Bartimaeus to continue calling out to Jesus when those around him demand his silence. It seems that blind Bartimaeus recognizes Jesus’ true identity as the “Son of David.” He cries out, not for a handout to get him through the day, but for God’s mercy (read pity) that will open for him a whole new way of life and satisfy all that is lacking within.

 

We all stand in need of God’s mercy, for his healing, for the gift of sight to see the awesome works of God around us and even in our lives, to peer into the mysteries of life, relationship and to know their true value. We have so many needs; there are so many things to pray for. Prayers that break the silence to ask for God’s guidance, protection and his mercy so that we might make it through today and have hope for tomorrow; prayers that silence the rumble of war and that bring peace to our troubled world; prayers for those who are abused and neglected who are often silent victims.   

 

Like Bartimaeus, let’s not be silenced by the world around us. Instead, let us call out “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on us” and see what wonders lie in store.

 

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: Community of Missionary Disciples - the Continuing Creation of the Church by Stephen B Bevans, SVD.  This book unpacks Vatican II’s statement that the church is “missionary by its very nature” and addresses the author’s insight that the church is never “founded” once and for all, but is continually called into being by God’s mission across time and place.

Recommended YouTube Video:  Community Of Missionary Disciples with Father Steve Bevans, SVD - This is a video of the presentation Father Steve gave at Saint Catherine -St. Lucy & St. Giles – Oak Park, Illinois. Spent some time with Fr. Steve for some insight as to the continuing unfolding of the mystery we call “capital church”.

place.

 

 

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.