Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - Lead, Follow or Get out of the Way_082326

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Lead… Follow… or Get Out of the Way!”

 

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

We lose track of the fact that God has a plan for us and that plan will not be compromised. In today’s first reading, Isaiah recounts what happened to Shebna, the Master of the Palace. He was “thrust… from his office” for disgracing his master’s house. Eliakim, a faithful steward, was given his authority and the privilege that went along with it. God alone is the source of “wisdom and knowledge” says St. Paul, and everything is ordered according to His ways: “everything is from him and through him and for him.” Shebna apparently didn’t figure this out. By acting as if he was in control, he brought shame and disgrace upon him and his family.

 

It is noteworthy to reflect on how Christ approached this reality that everything is from, through and for God. If everything is, in fact, ordered in this way, then we can get a better understanding of why Jesus embraced the role of “servant.” He understood that his purpose was to serve God alone, for whom all things were made. What a profound love Jesus had for the Father, to offer his life completely to doing the Father’s Will and teaching us to do to do the same.

 

In our world where nearly everyone wants to be in charge, call the shots, be the big enchilada, what does scripture tell us? “Get out of the way!” We are in a constant struggle with our own flawed desires to be in control, to have things our way, to have others behave the way we want them to. Scripture gives us the “statutes” or better yet the “way” we must embrace in order to put our egos in check and learn the humble road of service to the people that Jesus would have us serve by loving, forgiving, being virtuous and genuine. We need to act as if Jesus were walking here among us today (which, by the way, he is!). It is faithful, loving service on that order that changed the world for the better and made others remark, “See how they love one another.”

 

We live in a time when an epidemic of faithful service is needed to stem the horrific evil that is touching so many lives in our world. Now is the time for all who call themselves “Christian” to “lead…. follow…. or get out of the way.”

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: Paul, A Biography by N.T. Wright. In this definitive biography, renowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author N. T. Wright offers a radical look at the apostle Paul, illuminating the humanity and remarkable achievements of this intellectual who invented Christian theology—transforming a faith and changing the world.

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Lecture - N.T. Wright - How Paul Invented Christian Theology. N. T. Wright approaches the Apostle Paul as the world's first, and greatest, Christian theologian. Much of his lifetime study has had Paul, his life and writings, as the focus. He has offered detailed insights into Paul's life and times for over 30 years, beginning with his dissertation on Pauline Theology and Romans and continuing through his recently released, two-volume Paul and the Faithfulness of God. In between those writings, Wright has produced over 60 books, many of which have dealt with Paul, and another one is soon to be released, Paul and His Recent Interpreters.

 

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - What Would Jesus Do?_081626

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“What Would Jesus Do?”

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

“Observe what is right, do what is just.” Sounds sooooo simple, doesn’t it? But somehow, in the midst of the complexities of life, there are times when knowing the “right” thing to do or knowing the “just” thing to do does not translate to what we “actually” do. Some people use the acronym “WWJD” to help them overcome their hesitation to doing what is right and just. You may have seen their formula for success written on a bumper sticker or two as you drove along to work or dropped the kids off at school. Do you recognize these letters: WWJD? They stand for this message “What Would Jesus Do?” Perhaps we could use a new acronym to guide our thought process when we are confused about what the “right” or “just” action to take is: JDWJD - Just Do What Jesus Did!

 

Jesus is always teaching his disciples how to live and act in ways that are pleasing to God. Today we encounter Jesus teaching us about breaking down barriers that separate and divide us from one another, barriers that stand in the way of our practicing the central tenet of our faith and becoming one with each other as we are called to do at our Eucharistic Banquet.

 

In today’s gospel Jesus and the disciples encountered a woman whose daughter was tormented by a demon. The disciples can’t be bothered with her, and they advise Jesus to “Send her away.” Pretty harsh response from the Apostles, isn’t it? But, what else could they possibly do with her? She isn’t “one of their kind,” not one of the “chosen people.” Isn’t that how we deal with the difficult people in our lives; those individuals who we wish would just “go away;” those people who are different from us, always challenging us and our ideas, beliefs, practices. That seems to be how we react to people who are always making demands of time, our finances, or “who keep calling out to us” for something or who simply don’t have the same likes, attitudes, lifestyles  or politics as we do.

 

Fortunately, Jesus has a better grasp on what’s the right thing to do. He listens to the Canaanite woman and is able to recognize the depth of her faith, although it is not that of the Jewish people. He is able to see what strong faith she has. He is moved by this faith and the woman who possessed it and he grants her favor. Her faith and the very presence of Jesus in this woman’s life, even for this brief moment, was life altering for her and for her daughter who was healed.

 

Jesus told us that we would be able to do greater things than he if we only had a little faith. It shouldn’t surprise us then of the remarkable power our presence has in the life of others. This is because God abides in each of us. We have his power to reconcile ourselves with one another; we have the power to cast away loneliness and fear; we have the power to bring the presence of Christ everywhere we go, even to those who “keep calling out to us” and who refuse to “go away.” We have the power to do many of the things Jesus has done. All we need to get started is to ask ourselves in any given situation, “What Would Jesus Do?” and then DO IT!

 

Enjoy the Day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton. "Without a life of the spirit, our whole existence becomes unsubstantial and illusory. The life of the spirit, by integrating us in the real order established by God, puts us in the fullest possible contact with reality — not as we imagine it, but as it really is."

 

Recommended YouTube Video: The Lifelong Journey of Discovering God and Ourselves: Thomas Merton and the True Self. Fr. Dan Horan O. F. M leads us into Merton’s foundational work on discovering our true identity as we seek to answer the two questions: Who am I and Who is God. Good listening here with another of the contemporary Franciscan Friars, Fr. Dan Horan.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - The Language of God _080926

 

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

The Language of God

 

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

Elijah is awestruck to realize that God presented himself in the “tiny whispering sound.” After hearing this sound Elijah “hid his face in his cloak.” Perhaps this is why so many of us struggle with our spirituality today. It is so difficult for us to find quiet space and idle time in our busy lives. We have so many demands being made of us at us during our waking hours. We feel “bombarded at times. Technology has delivered so many digital highways to entertain us 24/7. There is no “free” time; there is no shortage of things to do. More than ever before, our very well being requires that we make a conscious decision to seek out a quiet place and set ourselves apart from the rapid pace of life. I don’t see any other way of being able to hear that “tiny whispering sound” through which God reaches out to us so he can be a part of our lives. Our spiritual lives require that we  make a conscious decision to let him into our lives.

 

In his autobiography, Seven Story Mountain, Thomas Merton tells how he was able to find true freedom not in the world but rather within the confines of the four walls of a monastic cell. It was there in the silence of the Trappist Monastery that he experienced the “tiny whispering sound” that enabled him to find himself and to find God.

 

Now we all aren’t as fortunate as Thomas Merton to be able to head off to the solitude of a Cistercian Monastery. But, as fate would have it, Covid-19 created the necessity for us to break out of our daily routine and subject ourselves to a self-imposed isolation to various degrees. Although this action was imposed on us because of medical necessity, it did give many the chance to imitate Merton in finding that quiet place and setting aside some of that period of isolation to hear the “tiny whispering sound” of God piercing through the din of the world to make his presence known to us. For it is only in this silence, this strange language of God, that we are able to hear his voice. “In silence” it is said, “we hear the voice of God”.

 

God bless and keep you always!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it. 

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: American Catholics: A History of the Roman Catholic Community in the United States by James Hennesey, S.J. Written by one of the foremost historians of American Catholicism, this book presents a comprehensive history of the Roman Catholic Church in America from colonial times to the present. Hennesey examines, in particular, minority Catholics and developments in the western part of the United States, a region often overlooked in religious histories.

 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Catholics in America by Ryan Reeves Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Historical Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Here he gives a brief summary of the Catholic experience in the early days of America.

 

 

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - Pushing Through the Darkness_080226

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

Pushing Through The Darkness

 

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

Jesus gets some bad news in today’s gospel.  He hears that his close friend and cousin, John the Baptist, has been brutally murdered. It is only natural that He wanted to escape to a quiet spot and grieve. We all know this feeling, the need to withdraw, get away to our favorite place and just “be” and recover from whatever it is that has stopped us in our tracks, sucked the oxygen out of us or dropped us to our knees. It’s good for us to know that Jesus is just like us in this way. When He hears about John, Jesus needs time to process the loss of someone that He loved so much. 

 

But that’s not what happened! Jesus’ followers wouldn’t give him the chance to get away. When Jesus saw that the crowd pursuing Him, “his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.” Jesus’ sorrow and pain at the loss of John is redirected outward to others who were suffering in so many ways. As Jesus grieves the loss of a loved one, He acts with compassion and mercy to alleviate the pain and suffering of others. 

 

Christ gives us a good example here.  We relate to one another in our common experiences of life… the good and the bad, the happy and the sad.  The good times and the happy events seem to take care of themselves.  We want to come together and share those moments of joy. On the other hand, the sad events of life, the sicknesses, the disappointments, the deaths or the loss of things that are important to us are all very difficult for us to take and it helps when others stand by our side in these dark experiences in our lives. On these occasions we tend to isolate and withdraw from everyone else.  But even when we are suffering ourselves, like Christ, we must not neglect the need of others. It is by giving of self during these times of darkness that we experience God’s goodness just as Christ did.  For the multiplication of the loaves would not have occurred had Jesus withdrawn into himself. The crowd would not have experienced this astonishing miracle that gives us a foretaste of the mystery of the Eucharist.  Jesus endured his own time of darkness and ended the darkness of others because he trusted God in all things. He asks us to do the same as we continue our journey of faith and as we struggle to overcome the divisions we face on so many fronts.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is a satirical look at Christian morality, argued from the perspective of a senior demon, Screwtape, training his nephew, Wormwood, to corrupt a human soul. The core message is that evil is subtle and insidious, targeting people through mundane temptations, distractions, pride, and apathy rather than dramatic villainy.  This is a great leisurely read with a profound message.

 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: The Screwtape Letters Lecture Series. Taken from the C.S. Lewis Study Program, this six-part video study guide of one of C.S. Lewis's most popular and profound works. Dr. Jerry Root, the C.S. Lewis Institute Christopher W. Mitchell Senior Fellow for C.S. Lewis Studies, guides us through The Screwtape Letters by highlighting the central themes and underlying issues to cultivate a clear grasp of Lewis’s insights into how the forces of evil work against human beings

 

 

 

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - A Very Special Request_072626

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“A Very Special Request”

 

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

There are times when we all struggle with making the right decision about some weighty problem we face. Many times, we don’t like the options that we have to resolve the problem either. But there inevitably will come a time that we have to make a decision and move forward, hoping that, with our planning and praying, things will work out for the best.

 

Solomon is a good example for us to consider when we face difficult decisions or are dealing with some of the more complex problems in life. I suspect that Solomon was a bit anxious about following in his father’s footsteps as King of Israel. I’m sure that he gave much thought to how he would fit into his big shoes and worried about the type of king he would be both consciously...and subconsciously.

 

It seems that Solomon really wanted to be a good king. He wanted to be a leader who would place God’s people above his own narrow interest, just like his father, David, before him. He worried, perhaps, that he would not be “a man after God’s own heart” as was said of his father. It’s not surprising then that when given the chance, Solomon has a very special request for the Lord. He asks for an understanding heart with which to govern God’s people.

 

Solomon’s desire to be a just and wise Sovereign is a reminder that when we make unselfish choices in life there is a ripple effect that touches the lives of so many others and in some way are pleasing to God. I believe that we are all basically good people, all of us, even if at times “all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Rom 3:23 as St. Paul tells us. We fail to live up that that better version of ourselves that following in the footsteps of Jesus asks of us. We do bad things but that doesn’t make us bad people. We are all God’s children, and He doesn’t abandon us when we turn inward and walk away from Him… Thank God! We, His Children, can be benevolent and kind; we can make choices beyond our own narrow self-interest; we can rise to serve the common good and strive to love one another in fulfillment of the Great Commandment. Solomon’s prayer reminds us to look to God for help in making the right choices in life and, if we do that, all that we do will be pleasing to him.

 

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.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: Doing the Truth in Love: Conversations about God, Relationships and Service by Fr Michael Himes.  An engaging theology of God/human relationships and service to assist readers in reflecting more faithfully and more theologically on their own lives as they engage in pastoral ministry or service projects. †

 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Finding Hope When Life Doesn't Go as Planned with Fr. Michael Himes. Fr. Himes was a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, New York and served as a theologian at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. He served as professor and academic dean of the Seminary of Immaculate Conception on Long Island, New York, and as associate professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. He was a well-known author and lecturer. In this YouTube Video he discusses how to find hope with life doesn’t go as planned. Who hasn’t had that happen at one time or another?

 

 

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time _Year A - Good Ground for Hope_071926

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Good Ground for Hope”

 

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

In today’s First Reading the author of the Book of Wisdom in speaking of God says, “You gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.” Suppose you were asked to make a list of those things in your life that make you hopeful, what would you write down? You may have a litany of things that give you hope. You may answer that a loving and understanding family is the cause for your hope. You may say the bright promise that the future holds in store for you and those you love fuels your hopeful attitude. Or you may draw your hope from seeing the bright optimism on the faces of the young people in your life. There are many sources of hope in our lives but unfortunately, we don’t often think about them. I wonder if we did take the time to list them, would any of us have the least inkling that being reconciled to God is the source of our hopefulness or that our hope lies in God’s willingness to forgive (and forget!!!) our sins?

 

Reflecting on this thought, we can see that there are two amazing powerful spiritual dynamics at work here. Not only does God in his goodness give us the grace to allow us to seek his forgiveness, but he is also eager to grant us forgiveness. Our Lord is indeed “…good and forgiving.”

 

Our sinfulness stunts our growth, just as the weeds take away from the wheat growing in the field and reduces the bounty of the harvest. God does not want our lives to be diminished by sin. God does not want us to be stifled by the burden of our sins or be overcome by our sinfulness. He has called us to an “abundant life,” and God wants us to “live life to the fullest.” And, he has given us a way to do this.

 

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the good ground for our hope. It is for our own good, our mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Reconciliation is the way we respond to God’s good graces that sustain and nourish us on our earthly journey, and which leads us to the source of all our hope, God himself. Let us spend some time this week taking an inventory of ways we need to be reconciled to God and perhaps each other and then seek the grace of the Sacrament itself. With our hope revitalized in this Sacrament of Reconciliation we will be better able to share not only that expanding hope but also the increased joy we experience in live with everyone around us.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it. 

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy Paperback. With the incredible popularity of recent books championing agnosticism or atheism, many people might never know that such books almost completely ignore the considerable evidence for theism uncovered in both physics and philosophy over the past four decades. New Proofs for the Existence of God responds to these glaring omissions.

 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: How Science Supports Belief in the Spiritual World w/Fr. Robert Spitzer | Chris Stefanick Show. Fr. Spitzer is back, and he has even MORE ways that science supports belief in God. This time, he’s talking about scientific evidence for the supernatural world. 

 

 

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - The Master Gardener_071226

 

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Master Gardener….”

 

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

There are many passages in scripture that compare a seed to the Kingdom of God. Many people still live in agricultural communities where they toil daily to prepare and work the soil, plant the seeds, do the weeding, the cultivating, and the harvesting. Jesus uses seeds as a metaphor in today’s gospel, pointing out what makes all this work worth while:  seeds are prolific. One seed can produce an unbelievable abundance, but only if it is rooted in fertile soil.

 

The same can be said about our faith. Faith is like a seed that must find fertile soil within us if it is to take root and grow and be productive according to the law of nature. We have been given the gift of life by the Master Gardener. He has sowed us into the world where we are to bear much fruit. We all must overcome difficulties and hardships just like seeds must overcome the challenges they face - poor soil, droughts, and infestations and lack of nutrition. Sometimes we feel like we are being trampled down just like the seed that fell on the path. Or, we just need some time to ourselves to rest and recover from the stresses we carry, but our roots don’t go deep enough to get adequate nourishment, like the seed that fell on rocky ground, and we too wither away.

 

Today’s parable carries with it an invitation to pause for a moment and ask ourselves if our lives give us the harvest of joy and happiness that God intends for each of us to have here in this life that God intends us to “live to the fullest.”

 

Every time I see a beautiful garden, I can’t help but think of the time and energy and love that went into it. A beautiful garden doesn’t happen by itself. The same goes for our lives. We can’t come to the fullness God intends for us without the Master Gardener nourishing us, shaping our desires, pruning our bad behaviors, nourishing us with all that we need to thrive. Only in God’s hands can we blossom and come into the fullness of life that the Almighty intends for us. We, for our part, must be receptive to the care the Master Gardener gives us. If we cooperate, we too will reap thirty, sixty, one hundred-fold the joy and happiness that has been planned for us.

 

Enjoy the Day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: Yes, And... by Fr Richard Rohr, OFM contains meditations and prayers for every day of the year, Yes, And… supports the reader on their journey with their Christian faith. It offers a refreshing and open-minded approach to living out your faith. World-renowned spiritual teacher Richard Rohr offers an extensive collection of his thoughts and teachings for the reader to apply to their daily life. This guide supports those on their journey to find spiritual relevance in an open-minded way through excerpts from his many written and recorded works. 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: #28 Christianity and Unknowing: Richard Rohr reflects on the beauty, complexity, pain, and great mystery that weave the infinite cycles of existence. He looks at ultimate truths, binary thinking, and individual awakening while acknowledging humanity as a mere part of the intricate web of life.