Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - Pushing Through The Darkness_080220

Deacon Tom Writes,

Pushing Through The Darkness

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Jesus gets some very sad 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 was 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 are connected with 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  For the multiplication of the loaves would not have occurred had Jesus withdrawn into himself.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 on our journey of faith and as we struggle to overcome the divisions we face on so many fronts.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - A Very Special Request_072620

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 with some weighty problem we face. Many times we don’t like the options that we have either. But, at some point we have to decide 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. 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 is pleasing to God. I believe that people are basically good , all of us, even if at times we fall far short of our “better selves”. 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

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - Good Ground For Hope_071920

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 are able to 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. He does not want us to be stifled or overcome by our sinfulness. He has called us to an “abundant life,” and he 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 of 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 that hope with everyone around us.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - The Master Gardener_071220

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 till 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. It is like a seed that must find fertile soil within us if it is to take root and grow and be productive according to plan. 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. 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, and even share with those who are not well rooted in spiritual matters.

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

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - The Pause That Refreshes_070520

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 we are able 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 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

Image credit: achristianpilgram.wordpress.com