Thursday, October 26, 2017

Just For Today


In this vivid passage from Exodus, the Lord sternly warns His people they shall… “not molest or oppress an alien….... or wrong any widow or orphan” because, God reminds them, “they were once aliens in the land of Egypt”. It is God who reminds the Israelites to keep this memory of the harsh treatment they received at the hands of the Egyptians alive in their “collective consciousness” so that they treat the weakest and most vulnerable members of their society with the respect and dignity they deserve. God goes on to make this pledge to them…. since the aliens, widows and orphans have no one to protect them or defend them…. then, “If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surly hear their cry and my wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword.” Wow!

Jesus makes it clear that the weak and vulnerable have a special place in the Kingdom of God. By all that He says and does, Jesus reveals them to be a “protected class of people” whom God will look after and see to it that they are not harmed or exploited or left to fend for themselves…or else‼

Were these words that we read in Exodus only intended for the people of antiquity or does the Lord speak to us and warn us to care for the aliens, widows and orphans among us today? If we do sense that the Word of God speaks to each and every generation, do we feel that we are insulated from God’s promise to listen to their cries and to act on their behalf? Is God, right this very moment, listening to the cries of the weak and vulnerable who are crying out to Him…the father who has been out of work for the last 18 months and is desperate for a job… those losing their homes to foreclosure, the children who suffer the ravages of war, poverty and disease…. for those who live day to day but can’t get to see a doctor because they have no money and no medical insurance…. and for the aliens and immigrants among us today? Will God not remember His promise? There are millions of our brothers and sisters who are weak and vulnerable and in need of our help…in need of systems that are fair and just and that recognize the dignity we all possess as children of God. How should God act toward us if we fail to do what is right?

Let us offer this prayer today… that just for today we may do all within our power to help those in need with a meal, a listening ear, some words of hope and encouragement, to be agents of change for the good and well being of others. Just for today let us cooperate with the Lord by helping those who cry out to Him. Just for today let us seek to build the kingdom of God right where we live, work, and worship.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Thursday, October 19, 2017

So Many Blessings


Deacon Tom Writes,
“So Many Blessings”



I imagine the Pharisees were feeling pretty happy with themselves thinking they had trapped Jesus with their cleverness. “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar on not?” Jesus dodges the ideological controversy surrounding this question with a practical and rational response.  Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God”. Pretty cleaver answer, isn’t it? But one that also gives us plenty to think about, as Jesus’ answer seems to suggest that we are indebted to both Caesar and God; we live in this world while holding ourselves accountable to the higher standards required of the Kingdom of heaven,

It is not complicated to fulfill our civic responsibilities. We vote, serve on juries, and obey the law. We may run for office or serve on committees that support local elections. 
All and all it is fairly simple. When we claim to be good citizens we may at times be called upon to show proof that we indeed are upholding our civic responsibilities. The same goes for our spiritual lives. We have received many spiritual benefits or perhaps “blessings” is a better description. Yet, if we reflect about our lives, do we ever recollect that we are indebted to God for all that we have received? In all truth we have an obligation to God that requires some sort of “repayment”? If we answer yes, then how do we go about doing this? How can we ever repay God for all that he has done for us? Fortunately we Catholics have many ways of doing this. We can say the Rosary or a Novena or we can sit silently before the Blessed Sacrament. We can go live in a monastery or in a Catholic Worker house. We can read the Liturgy of the Hours or Lectio Divina or even volunteer at a soup kitchen or at Hospice. We can protest the injustice in our world caused by war, poverty, and hunger by working with people who suffer from those conditions.

We Catholics have many ways to show our love for God with the thought that we are trying to repay him for the love he has shown to us. And if we look to Psalm 116 we will see that it asks the very same question, “How can I repay the Lord for all the good done for me”. Then the Psalm goes on to give us this answer…. “I will lift up the cup of salvation…. I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the Lord.” The Psalmist points to the one way that seems the most fitting to thank God for the many blessings given us and that is by our coming to Mass and actively participating in the Liturgy. There we give God the perfect gift, the most worthy sacrifice possible and one of his own choosing – Jesus himself. And, when the Mass has ended, we are sent out to engage the world bringing God’s love, mercy, and compassion to everyone we meet. This, I believe, is a most fitting response to the bountiful blessings that come to us from the hand of God.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Monday, October 16, 2017

Yes Lord

Deacon Tom Writes,
“Yes Lord”


We know that we will never be able to understand or experience the totality of the Divine Being. Yet, God calls us to know Him in an intimate and personal way and desires that we make an effort to form a dynamic relationship with Him during our earthly journey. The Book of Psalms encourages us to seek God by praying, “Make known to me your ways, LORD; teach me your paths (Psalm 25:4). When God made us in His image and likeness, He gave us some powerful tools to help us steward His creation. First, he created us as “rational beings” able to think for ourselves, observe the world surrounding us, question the wisdom and power behind all that is, and ultimately discover the maker of the universe from whom all things came into being. In addition to this gift of reason God gave us “Free Will”. By infusing the power to choose our destiny, God ultimately gave us the poser to accept or refuse His love as we see fit.   

It’s important to know that God intended this gift to contribute to our well-being and happiness as we faced the challenges and hardships encountered during our earthly pilgrimage. When we use our Free Will to pursue things that are of the Kingdom, we enrich ourselves with God’s graces and, at the same time, we give Him the honor and glory that He deserves as creator and the One who sustains all of existence. But it is our choice! This gift, freely given, however, means that we can also use it to our own detriment leaving us alienated from God and lacking the grace to endure the misfortunes of life. It is in considering the ultimate power of this precious gift that we gain insight into God’s profound love for us and His desire that we come to experience the depth of that love.

Today’s gospel is a story that demonstrates our ability to exercise that intimate gift to reject God and turn our backs on Him. We are free to say no to the very invitation we have from God to be united with Him throughout eternity. In our ignorant use of that precious gift, we can, and often do, reject His invitation and go our own separate way. ““No” God, I’ll do it my way”. (Thank you, Frankie♫♫.)

We will never be able to understand God. But we do have many ways we can come to know of His great love for us. The Free Will He has given to us is one of the most powerful signs of that love. The ultimate gift, of course, would be that He sent His own Son into the world to save us from the evil consequences we suffer from our poor judgment in exercising that Free Will.

Let us give God the honor and glory that is due our loving Creator by participating at the banquet of life to which we have been invited and for which we are properly prepared and join in the chorus along with all those who have accepted this gracious invitation...
            “♫♫ Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes Yes Lord ♫♫

Enjoy the Day!
Deacon Tom

Image credit “Yes, Lord”  Darrell Evans



Thursday, October 5, 2017

God Be In My Head

"God Be In My Head ”



The gospel for today sets the stage for Jesus’ death. The parable of the wicked tenants who kill the servants sent to collect the rent and then the vineyard owner’s son foreshadow the events that will soon claim Jesus’ life. The message Jesus is conveying is that God’s plans will not be stifled by those of man. His being rejected by the Jewish authorities allows a furthering of God’s Kingdom. For… “The stone rejected by the builders will become the cornerstone”. God’s plan of salvation is mysteriously broadened so that others may join in the task of bringing about that bountiful harvest the Kingdom of God will produce.

Jesus showed us by word and example how to live fruitful lives. As His disciples it is necessary to engage in meaningful reflection about the quality of our spiritual lives. A question we might ask ourselves is, “How do we know if we are bearing fruit for the kingdom?” One way to fathom this out is to set aside a few minutes at the end of the day and review our day’s activities from a spiritual perspective. This is one of the many contributions handed down to us from St. Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercises. It goes like this: 

1)  Give thanks to God for all that we have.
2)  Ask God for the grace to know our sins and to avoid them in the future.
3)  Reflect on the events of the day to see where we served God or where we have neglected Him.
4)  Ask God to pardon our faults.
5)  Ask God for the grace to be more like Him.

If we are to form a habit of this simple yet humbling practice, we are sure to grow spiritually and that growth will produce a harvest worthy of the kingdom.

As we grow in the love of God, we are able to surrender our thoughts and desires to Him and allow Him to fill us with His thoughts and desires as was captured in this prayer from the middle-ages:

God be in my head and in my understanding; 

God be in my eyes and in my looking; 

God be in my mouth and in my speaking;

God be in my heart and in my thinking; 

God be at my end and at my departing.

Amen

May God open our minds and hearts and bless the work of our hands so that we can advance His Kingdom in our time.

Enjoy the day!
Tom

Image - https://commons.wikimedia.org / Montréal God resting after creation. jpg