Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - The Pause That Refreshes_070526

                          Image credit: achristianpilgram.wordpress.com

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Pause That Refreshes”

 

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

The second chapter of Genesis begins with these words:

“Thus, the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. So, God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation. Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation”.

 

Two activities are evident in this passage: God Works; God Rests.

These are the first two activities through which God chooses to reveal himself to us. First, the Creator of all brings forth and orders all creation from its primordial darkness. Then, HE RESTS. Do you think that God is trying to tell us something here? Do you think it’s important to discipline our lives so that we have time to work and to rest? 

 

Jesus looked and saw the people around him who suffered miserably from their day-to-day burdens and He wanted to free them; He wanted to lighten their loads. But how could He possibly do this? In today’s Gospel St. Matthew reveals how Jesus accomplished this. He told them, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest¨. How could these words help alleviated the misery and suffering that comes from everyday life, back then, and perhaps more so now?

 

When we find our rest in Christ, when we set aside time from our busyness to spend time in God’s presence, we are renewed, revitalized, yes, we are refreshed and recreated mentally, physically, and spiritually. For it is in that solitude and quiet that the Creator of the cosmos brings order and clarity, acceptance, and patience, soothing and comfort into our conscious lives, into our relationships, into the very fiber of our beings. When we acknowledge our dependence on the Almighty, we are then able to focus on the real meaning and purpose of our lives, and then we can reach out to help others through their valley of fatigue. It’s not magic! It’s a matter first and foremost of God’s plan for each of our well-being and then that of our own simple spiritual maturity that leads one to this inner transformation. Coming into God’s rest enables the soul to discover God’s Will for us. It is there we surrender our life with all its burdens, anxieties, and worries for the life God has in store for us, “where the yoke is easy, and the burden light”.

 

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.

 

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OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism has been one of the bestselling religious histories of the past two decades and a mainstay for scholars, students, and others looking for a definitive, accessible history of Catholicism. A good Summer Read!

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Authentic Happiness and Human Flourishing Series - Week Four - In this four-week series, Dean Steve Thomason draws on resources from Martin Seligman, Berne Brown and Richard Rohr, using scientific work to explore elements of human experience that lead to authentic happiness, flourishing and deep meaning, and set all that against a backdrop of the gospel as good news, inviting all people into the fullness of life.

 

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - From Shame to Fame_062826

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“From Shame to Fame”

 

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

The Shunammite Woman the Prophet Elisha visits today has a condition that she shares with other notable women in Sacred Scripture such as Sarai (Sarah) (Gn 16:1), Rebekah (Gn 25:21), Rachel (Gn 30:1), Manoah’s wife (Judges 13:2), Hannah (1 Sam 1:11), and Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin (Lk 1:6-7). They were women who were childless in their elder years.  For the women of antiquity having a child was not a matter of choice. It was a matter of necessity, so much so that for a married woman not to have a child was considered to be a defect. Being a childless Hebrew woman placed her in a shameful, unbearable place in her society where she was pitied and shunned by others.

 

It is no surprise then, at least to people of faith, that given the hopelessness and desperation these women find themselves in (the men, apparently, did not share the humiliation and shame of their wives ... dah!!!), it is no wonder that we see the hand of God intervene in the plight of these women. For, in the words of Psalm 34, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

We know what an important role these women played in Scripture.  Can you imagine how different our bible stories would be without Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and Benjamin, or Sampson, or Samuel, and even John the Baptist? Yet, all these amazing characters were the progeny of women who, at least for a time, thought that they were forgotten by God.

 

Elisha’s intervention on behalf of the Shunammite Woman when he prophesied that she would bear a son is part of the bigger picture in which our faith tells us that God has a plan for each one of us too, no matter how desperate a situation in which we find ourselves. It is a good plan, one for which another of the Major Prophets, Jeremiah writes, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope” (Jer 29:11). As distressed and hopeless as this situation was for these heroic women of the Bible, God was able to advance His plan for our benefit and to bring about a goodness that our limited minds could hardly conceive. The problem we face today is one of belief! Can we imagine that God still has the ability to bring about good from the apparent desperate and impossible situations we find ourselves in today?

 

If we are challenged by this thought, we can find some consolation in the fact that God is no stranger to working out the impossible for the good. In part that is the very nature of God, who is all good. With all the burdens and sadness that weigh upon our hearts we can find some consolation knowing that the Lord hears our prayers as He heard the prayers of these faithful women of antiquity and as He heard the prayers of His own Son in His time of need. And God, who is forever faithful, will answer each of our prayers in ways that are sure to amaze and bewilder even those who have been blessed with great faith.

 

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: A Concise History of the Catholic Church by Thomas Bokenkotter  has been one of the bestselling religious histories of the past two decades and a mainstay for scholars, students, and others looking for a definitive, accessible history of Catholicism. A good Summer Read!

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Authentic Happiness and Human Flourishing Series - Week Three - In this four-week series, Dean Steve Thomason draws on resources from Martin Seligman, Berne Brown and Richard Rohr, using scientific work to explore elements of human experience that lead to authentic happiness, flourishing and deep meaning, and set all that against a backdrop of the gospel as good news, inviting all people into the fullness of life.

 

 

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - Living Without Fear_062126

  

Image Credit: The Scream, by Edvard Munch

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Living Without Fear”

 

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

Seized by fear...paralyzed by fear ... overcome with fear. These are just a few of the ways to describe the trauma that fear can have on us. At times our fears seem to gang up on us and we feel powerless over them. We fear the loss of a loved one. We fear our own mortality, the loss of a job or economic status, our sanity. We fear losing our youth, our friends, our identity, our independence or pretty much anything that is dear to us. One can say almost without hesitation, we are living in an age of fear, especially of the future and what it holds in store for us going forward.

 

Being fearful, worrying about things over which we have no control, saps us of the energy and vitality that rightfully belongs to today. Jesus is on record for telling us not to be afraid. Today’s reading is one of many of them. “Fear no one”, “And do not be afraid…” The Lord knows that we are like little children and that we need to be told repeatedly that our Dad will always be there when we need Him. He reassures us that our fate is in the hands of our heavenly Father who is more concerned about us than we can ever imagine. God, who cares for the sparrow and watches over the lilies of the fields, cares infinitely more about us. He even counts the hairs on our heads! Comforting thought for the fathers who celebrated Fathers’ Day last Sunday.

 

More than just instructing his listeners on a wholesome way of living, we see Jesus putting these words into practice all through his ministry. We see Jesus pass through “terrors on every side” and not give way to fear. We see Him challenged and persecuted by the religious leaders of his day and He does not weaken or become weak-kneed. When He is beaten and nailed to the Cross, He utters not a word of anger. How is Jesus able to do this? Because, in the words of Jeremiah, Jesus puts his trust in the Lord, “O Lord of host. for to you I have entrusted my cause”.

 

Jesus came into the world to teach us to fear nothing, not even those who can harm us physically. Through His life and activities, He has given us example so that we too can have the confidence to put our trust in our heavenly Father who loves us without limit and who seeks to rid us from every fear that seeks to seize our hearts and would have us live our lives under its power.   

 

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: Thoughts in Solitude By Thomas Merton addresses the necessity for quiet reflection in an age when so little is private. Thoughts in Solitude stands alongside The Seven Storey Mountain as one of Merton's most urging and popular works. Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, is perhaps the foremost spiritual thinker of the twentieth century. His diaries, social commentary, and spiritual writings continue to be widely read after his untimely death in 1968. 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Authentic Happiness and Human Flourishing Series - Week Two - In this four-week series, Dean Steve Thomason draws on resources from Martin Seligman, Berne Brown and Richard Rohr, using scientific work to explore elements of human experience that lead to authentic happiness, flourishing and deep meaning, and set all that against a backdrop of the gospel as good news, inviting all people into the fullness of life.

 

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - A Town Without Pity_061426

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

A Town Without Pity

 

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time_Year A

 

Gene Pitney began his singing career in the sleepy town of Litchfield, Connecticut.  You don’t hear his songs played very much anymore but his loyal fans still sing-along when he pops up on the oldies station.  One of his big hits was “A Town Without Pity” and the refrain goes, “No, it isn’t very pretty what a town without pity can do”. Jesus understood this human drama all too well.  In today’s gospel Jesus has a different venue as Matthew tells that Jesus is moved with pity for the crowd that followed Him because “they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd”.

 

Most dictionaries define pity as, a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others. The Marrian-Webster Dictionary uses the word “compassion” to describe the feeling Jesus has when He sees the crowd assembled before him. According to the definition in the dictionary, compassion is the “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.

 

Jesus did not come just to “feel our pain”.  He came to do something about it. And so, He calls his disciples together and He gives them the authority to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.”  And then He sends them on their way. 

 

Before He sent them on their way, however, He told them to pray that the master of the harvest would send more help.  That’s where you and I enter the picture my brothers and sisters.  We are the answer to the prayers of many, many people who throughout the generations have asked God for workers to help Him do His work to end the hunger, the violence, the suffering, and the illusions of power and privilege that have made many places, here and around the world, a Town Without Pity.  We are called to be sympathetic to those who suffer, and we are called to be moved, as was Jesus, to do something about 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: The Saint’s Guide to Happiness  by Robert Ellsberg. In our search for genuine happiness, the author suggests that some of the best people to show us how to achieve it are holy men and women throughout history who have experienced it—from St. Augustine to Flannery O’Connor, Thomas Merton to St. Theresa of Avila and Mother Theresa. These people weren’t saints because of the way they died or their visions or wondrous deeds. They were saints because of their extraordinary capacity for goodness and love, which—in the end—makes us happy.Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up."

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Authentic Happiness and Human Flourishing Series - Week One - In this four-week series, Dean Steve Thomason draws on resources from Martin Seligman, Berne Brown and Richard Rohr, using scientific work to explore elements of human experience that lead to authentic happiness, flourishing and deep meaning, and set all that against a backdrop of the gospel as good news, inviting all people into the fullness of life.

 

The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ_A - All Ate and Were Satisfied_060726

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“All Ate and Were Satisfied”

 

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Year A

 

Can we ever be satisfied...with anything? We want faster, bigger, better, more of everything and we want it when?  Right now, of course. We don’t want to wait to have it or work long and hard to get it. And the message Madison Avenue shouts at us today is, “You CAN have it all!” “You CAN have it your way!” Tell tale signs that our expectations are not realistic or worse than that, they are going to cause us much grief and bitter disappointment when they fail to materialize.

 

Our spiritual senses, if they are well developed, will tune us in to the fact that there is a problem with our instant gratification mindset and warn us that this acquisitive, materialistic drive within us 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. 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 all that exists within it, designed us to seek the ultimate good, which can only be found in Him. The Almighty has “hard wired” us, so to speak, thus enabling us to know Him so that our life’s journey would be a quest to discover Him in all created things and to put them all aside in favor of Him, the one and only giver of life and of all that is.

 

Those who were fortunate to hear Jesus speak about the Kingdom of God did not realize the gift they were being given, the bread of life, food that would satisfy completely. As Catholics there is no more profound mystery of faith than what we experience when we receive the Eucharist – the Son of God comes into our lives and dwells within us and satisfies us completely. God becomes, in a sense, the very fuel that energizes us to do our part to help Him establish the reign of God in our times, in our lives, and in our world.

 

That God would become really present in the bread and wine during the Consecration remains a difficult 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. Let us thank Him for this special gift that we often take for granted and His faithfulness to His promise of "Satisfaction Guaranteed" for those who trust in His Word. 

 

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: Falling Upward: a Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up."

 

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.  

 

 

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - A Merciful and Gracious God_053126

Image Credit: http://aacciaio.hubpages.com/hub/The-Holy-Trinity-in-Christianity 

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“A Merciful and Gracious God”

 

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

 

In today’s reading from the Book of Exodus, God joins Moses on Mount Sinai and reveals some things about Himself. For instance, God tells Moses that He is “Lord”, that He is “a merciful and gracious God”, and that He is, “…slow to anger and rich in kindness and mercy”. What an encounter on a mountaintop in the middle of the desert! And how does Moses respond? He petitions God to “come along in our company”. In other words, Moses wants God to be an abiding presence in the community and a source of pardon, peace, and forgiveness in the midst of His stiff-neck travelling companions.

 

This ancient text invites us to reflect on our own experience of God. For instance, do we see God as Our Lord? Do we acknowledge Him as a presence or a reality in our life? Do we feel as comfortable with God as we do a close friend, a trusted confidant, and life companion who always has our best interest at heart? Have we any personal experience that affirms that God is “merciful and gracious”? Can we speak first-hand about God’s pardon and forgiveness? If we are having trouble recalling any personal encounter with God, perhaps it’s time to offer up this prayer, “do come along in my company” personalizing that request Moses made of God during his encounter with the Almighty.

 

Just like the Israelites wandering in the desert, we too may be going through our own desert experience. The severity and the magnitude of the problems we face today have driven many people to despair. There are those who genuinely believe that a “merciful and gracious God” could not sit idly by and watch the wars, the natural disasters, the greed, and violence go on. Their choice is to cut God out of their lives and strike out on their own. This isn’t a phenomenon new to our times; Friedrich Nietzsche, the 19^th century German philosopher, thought that God was the culprit for all of humanities problems giving rise to the expression “God is dead”. But the Christian reality is that God isn’t to blame for the conditions from which we suffer, but rather He is our help in times of need, just as Moses discovered way back when.  During times of crisis and uncertainty, when the Israelites were lost, hungry, homeless, and afraid, God reached out to them and offered to be their companion on the journey that we know as Salvation History. God is anything but dead, and He has never abandoned us. The truth is, we have abandoned God! But that doesn’t discourage the one who gave His only Begotten Son to save us. God is with us through all the twist and turns on our life’s journey and especially when we just ask Him to, “come along in our company.”

 

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: Falling Upward: a Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up."

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Living in the Presence of God Day after Day, Part 2a with Fr. Thomas Keating who continues his discussion on the practice of Centering Prayer.

Pentecost Sunday - Let the Fire Fall_052426

                                                               

Deacon Tom Writes,

Let the Fire Fall

Pentecost Sunday, Year A

           

Today marks the Feast of Pentecost that celebrates the Holy Spirit’s presence in our church. In fact, Pentecost is considered the "birthday of the church”. The term "Pentecost" comes from the Greek word meaning "the 50th day". It is the day Christianity commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection.

 

Pentecost is not just a Christian feast. It is derived from a Hebrew celebration known as, Shavuot, which was held 50 days after Passover and was associated with the first harvest of grain in the spring, in other words, it is a sign of life, a sign or hope, a sign of renewal, ideas and expressions that perhaps have taken on greater significance given the state of worldly affairs. 

 

Pentecost continues to be very important in our Catholic Tradition (capital “T”) because of its identification with the Trinity where God is the Father who created all things; Jesus is the Redeemer of mankind; the Holy Spirit sanctifies all that the Father has brought into being and all that Jesus has redeemed.

 

The coming of the Holy Spirit into our world continues God’s presence among us. The Holy Spirit, our Advocate, our Helper, brings divine power to enable us to overcome our human weaknesses, our bigotries, our hatreds, our idolatries, rivalries, and jealousies. The Holy Spirit is our champion who awakens within us the divine qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, and faithfulness. We call these attributes the “fruits of the Holy Spirit”. It is through these gifts that we ourselves are transformed and are thus able to cooperate with God in bringing about the transformation of the world into the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of peace and justice, a kingdom where Christ will reign forever over a new heaven and a new earth that we have been created to share.

 

Today, more so than perhaps ever before, we pray that the Spirit of God, the Advocate, our Helper, friend, and companion be with us to enlighten our minds and strengthen our hearts so that we may be instruments of God’s peace. We pray that our world may see the dawning of a new day that ushers in the Kingdom of God in its fullness.

 

Come Holy Spirit

Fill the hearts of your faithful

And kindle in them the fire of Your Love.

Send forth your Spirit

And they shall be created.

And You shall renew the face of the earth.

 

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit,

did instruct the hearts of the faithful,

grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolations,

Through Christ Our Lord,

Amen.

                                                                                   

 

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: Here and Now by Henri J.M. Nouwen is not a faint memory, but happening right here and now, spiritual living takes place in the present; the Spirit meets us in the ordinary. These inspirational reflections by Henri Nouwen succeed in convincing us that God’s presence is reliable.

 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Living in the Presence of God - part 1b with Fr. Thomas Keating who discusses the practice of Centering Prayer.