The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph - Family Life or Family Strife?_123123

Deacon Tom Writes,

Family Life or Family Strife?

The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Year B

You can’t expect to be on a championship team if you aren’t willing to give it all you’ve got…. plus some. Anyone who’s played sports or whose kids are athletes has heard the coach say, “Give me all you’ve got”!!! Those who want to make the team bad enough will strive to increase their performance so they can achieve their goal. Our human nature is such that we will do whatever it takes to get whatever we want, if, that is, we want it bad enough. 

St Paul’s Letter to the Colossians envisions a quality of life so desirous that we are willing to give everything we’ve got, plus some, to attain it. He is giving us incredible insight on how to live wholesome, faith-filled lives rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, a life that yields peace, thankfulness, gratitude and harmony for ourselves and those with whom we share our lives, starting with our own family. 

 

Paul is creating within us the desire to be God’s family. He is giving us the image of what it is like to accept this generous invitation. In a world that was brutal, suspicious, violent, insensitive, uncaring, (gee, it seems nothing has changed!) Paul offers a vision of hope that flows from our identity of being a part of God’s family. He says, “Put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. (We must) bear with one another…forgive one another…settle disputes justly”. What an alternative vision compared to the harsh world around them and the world around us today. Is it any wonder why Christianity grew so rapidly?    

“I have set before you life and death”, we read in the Book of Deuteronomy. “Choose life”, we are commanded. That life that we are called to imitate is modeled after the Holy Family. That is where Jesus came to know and experience the love of a mother and of a father. That is where Jesus came to know of God’s love for Him. Amid the day-to-day life of the Holy Family, Jesus’ conscience was shaped; His love and dependency on God fashioned; His love for God’s Holy People realized. In the safety and security of the Holy Family, Jesus was able to discern the Father’s call. 

As we celebrate this Feast of the Holy Family, let us strive to create an environment for our children and one another that is healthy, safe, loving, respectful, joy-filled, generous, and full of laughter. Let us give our children and one another the space and atmosphere where we can all come to know God’s love, hear His call, and grow together as His children, members of God’s Holy Family. 

May this New Year bring you and your loved ones the

Joy, Peace and Holiness of the Christ Child

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

 

Please Visit  www.deaconspod.com  and listen in as Paulist Fathers Deacon Affiliates engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those thinking of coming into or leaving it. 

OTHER RESOURCES

 

Recommended Reading:  Blessed Among Us: Day by Day with Saintly Witnesses by Robert Ellsberg

Since the early centuries, Christians have held up the saints as models of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Blessed Among Us explores this eclectic “cloud of witnesses”—lay and religious, single and married, canonized and not, and even non-Christians whose faith and wisdom may illuminate our path. In two stories per day for a full calendar year, Ellsberg sketches figures from biblical times to the present age and from all corners of this world—ordinary figures whose extraordinary lives point to the new age in the world to come.
  
Blessed Among Us is drawn from Ellsberg’s acclaimed column of the same name in Give Us This Day, a monthly resource for daily prayer published by Liturgical Press

 

Recommended You Tube: Blessed Among Us: Thea Bowman Based on the book "Blessed Among Us: Day by Day with Saintly Witnesses" by Robert Ellsberg, this monthly video series of prayerful meditations on lives well-lived continues with Servant of God Thea Bowman (1937-1990), a religious sister who transcended racism and prejudice to leave a lasting mark on U.S. Catholic life in the late 20th century. Check out this YouTube site to find a treasure trove of Catholic Witness who lives support and encourage our faith through our day-to-day challenges.

 

 

Christmas Day_B - When Heaven Came Down To Earth_122523

Deacon Tom Writes,

“When Heaven Came Down To Earth”

The Nativity of the Lord, Year B – Mass During the Day

In the stillness of the night in a remote village, the sound of a newborn baby’s cry interrupts the silence. No ordinary child by heritage, his ancestors include Abraham, Jesse, David, Solomon and Amos, towering figures who had safeguarded the promises given to them by Yahweh that He would one day come down from heaven and live among His people. All creation celebrates this moment in time. Stars in the sky light the way. Angelic Beings sing with joy. Wise men set their course to find him. Nothing in the history of the world before or after this singular moment has had a greater impact on humanity than when heaven came down to earth.   

We look back two thousand years and celebrate this joyful event today as we look forward to the dawning of this new day and the promises it has in store for us… the promises of hope that we have for our children, grandchildren and, for some of us, our great grandchildren…. the promises we have that our loved ones who are suffering will find comfort and rest…. the promises that our broken world may find some peace and that all that divides us will be cast aside.

In the quiet of the evening, He came into the world to be its light.  But the world received him not, back then and still today when we choose resentment over forgiveness; when we choose self over other; when we choose deceit over virtue; when we choose that which does not nourish nor give life over the Eucharist, source of all life; when we choose darkness over light.  And yet, He chooses too; He chooses to come again and again into our broken lives, into our fractured world, peddling His goods… peace, justice, purity, love. One day we’ll get it right… That’s the promise. That’s our hope on this new and beautiful morn.  

May the joy of the Christ Child and the Holy Family be ours this Christmas and may the Son of God and Son of Mary grant us the deepest desires that lie within our hearts.  

Merry Christmas!

And a Healthy, Holy and Joyous New Year!

May the joy of the Christ Child and the Holy Family be ours this Christmas and may the Son of God and Son of Mary grant us the deepest desires that lie within our hearts.

Enjoy Every Moment!

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 RESOURCES

 

Recommended Reading:  The Power of Now – A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhardt Tolle. Much more than simple principles and platitudes, the book takes readers on an inspiring spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self and reach the ultimate in personal growth and spirituality: the discovery of truth and light. The author leads the reader on a journey that is thrilling, and along the way, he shows us how to connect to the indestructible essence of our “Being” and how to live fully in the present.

 

 

Recommended You Tube: Bethlehem -  Psalm 2 - Psalm Sense with Fr. John Geaney, Paulist Fathers.  Fr John reminds of us the Reason for the Season. Listen in!

 

Fourth Sunday of Advent_B - A Wonderful Mystery_122423

Image Credit: Ignatian Solidarity Net

Deacon Tom Writes,

A Wonderful Mystery

 Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B

 St. Paul uses the one word that succinctly summarizes this Advent Season and the most holy event it precedes, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The word he uses is “mystery”. The Mystery of the Incarnation, the mystery of God enshrouding Himself in human flesh is the mystery of God’s abiding love for us. Because of this love, “Christ emptied himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:7). Fully God, fully man, Jesus enters human history to reveal the fullness of God’s love for all creation.

We read today of two people who were drawn into this mystery of God’s self-revelation to the world. They are David and Mary. The Prophet Samuel tells us that David wants to build a dwelling for God. But God has other plans. Yes, David will establish a house for the Lord, but not in the way that David envisioned it. The household that the Lord will establish through David will be one that will last forever. It will be a household that includes Joseph and Mary and that finds its completion in Jesus who fulfills that promise by becoming a “dwelling place” for all.

On this Fourth Sunday of Advent as we hope for an end of the violence in Israel and the Ukraine, our hearts are yearning for the Divine to come to us. We turn away from the noise and clatter and frenzy of the world to hear the deep silence within give way to the chant, “Come, come, Emanuel, come Emanuel” as we invite the Holy Child into our lives, that He may abide in us and we become Temples of the Holy Spirit.

What is our heart’s desire this Christmas day? What is it that will make us complete? What will it take to fill our emptiness? My guess is that material things can’t come close to satisfying the cravings of our human spirit. What we really want, what will satisfy our innermost longings are the gifts that only God can give us, such as: calming our restless spirits, consoling our loss of a loved one, filling us with an inner peace, bringing us true joy, and, perhaps, a bit of happiness. Or, perhaps, we are in need of help so that we can let go of old grudges and to jettison old hurts or memories. We are in dire need of spiritual or emotional comforts and healings.

It is not possible to imagine that the infant whose birth we await desires that we remain in the constant state of hopelessness and despair. On the contrary, He came to set us free from all that would keep us bound up. He came to proclaim, “release to the prisoners”. That includes freeing us from our own self-imposed bondage(s).

May the mystery of God’s love revealed in the Infant Jesus free us from all that keeps us from loving Him and from loving one another.

May you experience a  most wonderful Christmas and a New Year filled with Christ’s abiding Peace and Joy!

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 thinking of coming into or leaving it.
 

 

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: Reasons to Believe - A Personal Story  Belief is difficult. Sometimes we need to see to believe. Jesus was gentle with Thomas and his doubts. He allowed him to touch His wounded heart. Is He doing the same for us now, in this new millennium? As a compelling and thought-provoking witnesses to their faith, Ron Tesoriero, lawyer author, and Michael Willesee, investigative journalist, take a look at several Eucharistic Miracles and build a powerful fact-based-case for belief in Eucharist

 

Recommended You Tube: Eucharistic Miracles of Buenos Aires - Bread to Human Heart by Robert Ellsberg, Editor of Orbis Books on the release of her recent book, Father Ed The Story of Bill W.’s Spiritual Sponsor. Wonderful overview of this timely book.

 

Third Sunday of Advent_B - Rejoice_121723

Deacon Tom Writes,

Rejoice!

Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee quoting the words of the Prophet Isaiah that we hear today on this Third Sunday of Advent. They are worth reading again:

“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God…” (IS 61:1- 2a)

This is the “Good News” that has been celebrated generation after generation since this prophesy was fulfilled by Christ 2000 years ago. Jesus is the one who brings us the good news that our captivity has come to and end; he teaches His disciples the good news that lifts our broken spirits pummeled by sickness, sin, and death. Jesus is the one who frees us from everything that imprisons us or has robbed us of our human dignity. Jesus restores our genuine freedom. Jesus comes to our rescue announcing that God’s favor is upon us. On our part, we wait in hope; we wait patiently for Emmanuel to come into our lives. So, we wait… and watch.

Advent is a wonderful time of year. It is a season of hope and anticipation. It is even more so this year as we face so many challenges and difficulties of epic proportions as Covid-19 has imposed upon us an isolation beyond anything most of us have experienced previously. Our world has grown cold. It is a world very much in need of the “fire of God’s love”.

As we light the rose candle this Gaudete Sunday (R-E-J-O-I-C-E), this Third Sunday of Advent, we rejoice in God’s nearness to us. We rejoice because the Light of Christ approaches and the days of darkness are dispelled in our sight. We rejoice because Christ comes to fill us with the fire of His love. We rejoice because our time of deliverance is at hand. We rejoice because Our Savior comes to do what the world cannot do – give us the joy and happiness that can only come from Him; joy and happiness to be shared with one another; joy and happiness that will last forever.

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 RESOURCES

 

Recommended Reading: “Open Mind, Open Heart” by Cistercian Father Thomas Keating. A deep and thorough overview of the Christian contemplative tradition, a process of interior transformation, a conversation initiated by God and leading, if we consent, to divine union. Herein a restructuring of consciousness takes place which empowers one to perceive, relate and respond to everyday life with increasing sensitivity to the divine presence in, through, and beyond everything that happens. Fr. Thomas gives step-by-step guidance in the method of Centering Prayer, a movement of divine love designed to renew the Christian contemplative tradition.

Recommended You Tube:  “Stillness and the Fruit of Attention” YouTube: 79 The Most Excellent Path, Part 1, with Thomas Keating who leads us on the spiritual journey – Formation in the Christian Contemplative Life.

 

Second Sunday of Advent_B - Waiting in Hope_121023

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Waiting in Hope”

 

Second Sunday of Advent, Year B

Last week we read the Prophet Isaiah raising this prayer to God on behalf of God’s chosen ones who had long desired the Lord’s mighty presence to be with them: “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down”. Today Isaiah repeats that plea instructing the people, “Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by His strong arm…”.

These two readings from Isaiah express a wonderful mystery of our faith, not that we have to implore God to be by our side; not that we have to beg Him to come down from His lofty mountain and connect with His people. The mystery of our faith is that He is already here… that God is with us right at this present moment. Yet, at the same time, we have not yet fully experienced His presence; we are a people waiting for the Lord to return in glory and bring His Kingdom to its completion. Advent is a time to reflect on His presence in our daily lives and to know that there is more to come…And so, we wait in hope! We look ahead to the day when God’s fullness will totally reign in our hearts and in the world. We wait for that day when a new heaven and the new earth will replace the old order; we wait for the day when the justice, peace, and the realities of God’s Kingdom replace the disharmony, chaos and pure evil that are the dominant forces at work in our world today; we wait for our lives to be more complete and fulfilling with the gifts of God that satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts.

Advent is a season of expectant hope. It is a time when we dream new dreams about becoming the person God has called us to be. It is a time when the Spirit of Hope leads us to new beginnings. Who do you want to be when that new heaven and new earth arrives? Do you want to be a more caring person? Do you want to be more gracious, more thankful and more prayerful? Or, perhaps, we want to leave behind memories of the past that are painful and full of sorrow. The beauty of Advent is that we get to fill in the blanks… and be filled with the hope that, with God’s help, we can accomplish all we dare to hope. Advent is a time of waiting, a season of hope, for God to come into our lives and fill us with the true gifts of this season… peace, joy, love, those gifts that come from the Holy Spirit.

Each of us has the opportunity to reclaim Advent as a special time of hope. Each of us can make this a spiritual season by looking inward and hoping that the promises God holds in store for each one of us will become our reality… promises of newness, renewal, of our well being. That’s what hoping is all about. .

May this Advent journey be a time of new beginnings, new hopes and new joys. May God’s gift of new life set us free to seek the giver and share the many gifts He has in store for those who place their hope in Him.

Enjoy the day and the season!
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 RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: “Channel of Peace, Stranded in Gander on 9/11” by Kevin Tuerff tells the story of a stranded traveler’s encounter with boundless acts of generosity and compassion from total strangers. This is a great read during these challenging times.

 

Recommended You Tube: a short reflection on “Stillness and the Fruit of Attention” by Fr. Lawrence Freeman, OSB that encourages us to develop the practice of contemplation in our lives.

First Sunday of Advent_B - Rend the Heavens_12/03/23

Image Credit: A Peaceful Christmas from Charlie B, Italia, dec.2006

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Rend the Heavens”

The First Sunday of Advent, Year B

No one likes waiting! We anxiously await hearing from the doctor about the last CAT Scan; waiting for word that we were hired for that new job that will advance our career; waiting to get the acceptance letter from the college we desperately want to attend; waiting for that special “something” that will electrify our lives and elevate our spirts to grasp that happiness for which our hearts long... Yes, we don’t like it... but we wait. This Sunday we begin a New Liturgical Year, one that call us into a period of, guess what? “Waiting”, but a different quality of waiting, a waiting of the soul, an entry into a time of “holy longing” for that event that has been prophesized throughout Holy Scripture, the arrival of the Prince of Peace. We wait in expectant hope for the heavens to open and for the presence of the Lord to fill the earth. Waiting is a sign of our faith, just as it had been for the people of Israel. The waiting, longing, hoping for arrival of the Messiah was an essential mark of their faith also. They awaited the Messiah, a King, a Warrior, a Liberator who would save His people from foreign oppression, who would usher in a Kingdom of Justice, of Mercy, and Peace and restore Israel to its promised glory as the Light to the Nations. Generations lived and died without out this desperate longing being fulfilled in the fullness of time. Yet, generation after generation kept watch. And now, it’s our turn. It is our turn to keep not only the watch but the faith to believe that this ancient promise will be fulfilled… at any moment.

It is for this long-awaited Redeemer and Savior of the world that we Christians keep a vigilant watch that distinguishes these next three weeks as a most special time of the Church year. It is a time when we watch and wait in hopeful anticipation for the heavens to open and the coming of our Lord and Savior; a time of longing for His return as He promised. We wait while we seek God’s peace and consolation to come into our lives because there is so little of it in our world today. We are desperate for God’s peace. We truly hunger for His joy and consolation. There is an emptiness in our lives that cannot be filled by all the creature comforts this world has to offer. And so “we wait”.

Isaiah knew this. He begged God, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down”! And, do you know what? God did just that! He became one of us in every way except sin. Jesus, Son of God, entered into the human drama as a tiny infant born into our world of material poverty, into a world at war, a world of scarcity and want, a world of fear and anxiety. Isn’t this the situation we see in much of the world around us today!

The problems of the world didn’t go away when Christ entered into it. And they still haven’t. No one person has the power to fix what is wrong with the world. The only way to fix the world is to fix ourselves. And Christ showed us how to do that.

When we were baptized, we were called by name and anointed with the Sacred Chrism to share Christ’s work. St. Luke quotes these words from the Prophet Isaiah to describe the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee:

“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners”.

May this Advent season be one of joyful waiting, waiting for the Spirit of the Lord to fill us with His Presence so we may be the instruments of His peace, the bearers of His glad tidings, the healing balm for those who are brokenhearted and discouraged, and witnesses and agents of hope and encouragement for all who are bound up. And may He who came down from heaven, take away our emptiness and fill us with His Spirit of Peace and Wisdom.

Happy Beginning of Advent!
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: A Living Gospel: Reading God's Story in Holy Lives. In his latest work, Robert Ellsberg, the author of many acclaimed works on the saints, looks on the “living gospel” that is written in human lives.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  A Living Gospel - Reading God's Story in Holy Lives  Produced by the Henri Nouwen Society, this 5-part meditation video series is designed to offer a focused reflection on our spiritual journey. Over five weeks this summer we will release a new video on the Society’s YouTube channel. In each video, Robert Ellsberg, friend and publisher of Henri Nouwen, will share insights and practices to enrich, deepen, and strengthen your spiritual life. Reflecting on the lives of Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, and Henri Nouwen, you will be invited to reflect more deeply on your own journey and vocation.

 

 

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe_A - Sheep to the Right; Goats on the ..._112623

 

Image credit: holytrinity-oca.com

Deacon Tom Writes,
“Sheep to the Right; Goats on the...”

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year A

 

By way of history, Pope Pius XI established the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 to counterbalance the growing movement toward secularism that arose in the early 20th century. In Germany there was a rise in exaggerated nationalism and the emergence of Nazism. At the same time there was a rising tide of Communism, atheism, totalitarian governments that demanded total sovereignty over people, substituting a nation or an ideology in place of God. This led Pius XI instituting today’s Feast as a way to make us aware that nations can never have complete sovereignty over what belongs to God.

Yet, we know from Sacred Scripture that Jesus rejected the notion of being a King. St. John tells us that when asked by Pilate if He was a King, Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”

So, just what does Jesus’ Kingdom that is “not of this earth” look like and how do we show our fidelity to it? The answer is explicitly revealed in today’s gospel from the twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew’s gospel. The image is stunning. All the people who have ever lived throughout time, the inhabitants of “all the nations”, are gathered before the “Son of Man”, that is, the King, who separates them into two groups, “the sheep on his right and the goats on his left”. Those on His right He finds favor with because they have acted justly; they have fed the hungry, given water to the thirsty, clothed their neighbor, visited the sick and imprisoned. In other words, they were able to show mercy and compassion to others during their lifetime by helping them with the necessities of life. Those on His left, however, are damned for they had no sense of the needs of the other. All their efforts were self-directed. They had no consideration for the suffering and wanton deprivation of their neighbors. They cared not for the widow and the orphan; they commoditized and victimized the weak and the vulnerable. Each group goes on to share in the joy or suffering they helped create in this life.

Given the outcome from this “judgment” scene that St. Matthew depicts, we can easily conclude that the King ruled over a kingdom that required its citizens to care for one another’s material, emotional and spiritual well-being; a kingdom whose people were instructed to see to it that no one suffered from want of food, clothing, shelter, or loneliness, or fear of being forgotten, or of being a stranger. We can deduct from Matthew’s text that the Kingdom of God favors those whose suffering and poverty go unnoticed by the world. In God’s eyes they are the “blessed” who will inherit the earth.

We do well to reflect on today’s readings, the last of our Liturgical Year. They speak of a time to come when, as we hear, all will stand in judgment and render an account for our actions and attitudes. They invite us to reflect seriously on how we have treated the poor and marginalized around us and, if needed, to make any changes the whisper of the Holy Spirit may direct. At the least, today’s readings should remind us that Christ is our King who calls us to: live the beatitudes, stand besides our brothers and sisters who suffer injustice, persecution, victimization, or deprivation, work alongside those trying to bring a sliver of hope to our world where hope is so desperately needed.

It is fitting that the Feast of Christ the King marks the end of our liturgical year. It enables us to move into the Season of Advent anticipating the day when God’s justice and peace will break forth upon the earth. That time when all the kings and prime ministers and presidents, all the rulers who have ever ruled this world, will pay homage and tribute to the one from whom they received their power and to whom they must eventually render an account.

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: Laudate Deum  Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis to All People of Good Will on Climate Change.

Recommended YouTube Video:  Presentation of the Apostolic Exhortation: "Laudate Deum"  Pope Francis anticipated that he was writing this second part of his famous document on the care of the common home "to bring current problems up to date". Given in Rome, at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, on 4 October, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, in the year 2023 which also marks the close of annual “The Season of Creation”, the five weeks dedicated to care for the environment celebrated from World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (September 1) and the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4).

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - From Servants to Sons and Daughters_111923

Deacon Tom Writes,

“From Servants to Sons and Daughters”

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

The Parable of the Talents is a cautionary tale that has been appropriate for all ages and especially to our own when the common perception is, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer!” Money, the economy, our social status are so very important to us that they can at times be an obstacle to our physical and spiritual well-being. That’s why Jesus frequently uses them as the subject matter for His parables. His perceptive and unique insights into wealth, possessions and our attitudes toward them captured the attention of so many of the people of His time.

Today’s story is about a man as he makes arrangements to go away on a journey. He entrusts portions of his estate to his servants to manage in his absence. He doesn’t give them any instruction on how to manage his affairs but he does allocate the amount that each will manage according to their abilities. Because of this we may conclude that the Master had some expectations about how each of his servants would manage the portion of the property he entrusted to them. It’s obvious that the Master was looking to increase his wealth by virtue of the fact that praise and more responsibility is given to those who achieved sizable returns. The thought that his money would sit idly by and not get so much as shekel’s worth of interest from the bankers was beyond his imagination.

If we are able to imagine this parable with some spiritual insight, we might easily see that we are the players in the very script we hear today. We are the servants, at least from God’s perspective. And, He has entrusted us with many talents. They are God’s gift to us. What we do with them is our gift to God. It seems from today’s lesson that God is pleased when we are willing to go all out for His kingdom; when we are willing to put the effort and energy into living those values that Christ taught us and actually incorporate them into our lives and giving good witness to those around us. As they say in the financial world… “No risk, No reward.” Make no mistake about it, trying to live the gospel values in our day is putting ourselves at great risk of rejection, humiliation, and even death in some corners of the world today.

Being timid, hording or squandering the gifts God has given us stifles the spreading of His kingdom and condemns us to a life of deprivation...we will reap what we sow! We would do a much better job of building up the kingdom if we came to see ourselves not as servants managing someone else’s property, but rather as we really are, sons and daughters of the King who one day stand to inherit the riches of His entire kingdom.

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: The Contemplative Heart by James Finley recognizes the depth and range of today's spiritual yearning and refuses to settle for anything but its most profound possibilities. He opens our everyday living to the contemplative traditions, practices, and teaching that have been traditionally the preserve of the monk, and he does so without diluting them. The Contemplative Heart, enables readers to realize that wherever we live, whatever we do, the richest possibilities of a contemplative life are within our reach-that they are in fact what we have been searching for all along.

Recommended YouTube Video:  The Prophetic Path In this video, Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) faculty member James Finley explores our 2023 DM theme, The Prophetic Path, placing an emphasis on how we can heal from trauma. He reminds us that “we are the generosity of God; we are the song God sings.” Then, James invites us into a rendezvous with God — a grounding and prayerful practice.

Read the Read the Unedited Transcript

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time__A - When the Clock Strikes Zero_111223

Deacon Tom Writes,

"When the Clock Strikes Zero”

 

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Science is shedding remarkable light about the cosmos in which we live. The Hubbell telescope gives us fantastic images of worlds, stars, and galaxies hundred of million, even billions of light years away, images of universes and suns being born and dying. Scientists tell us that our solar system had a beginning and one day our sun will become a super nova that will consume our planet and the others in our universe as well.

That big picture, that notion that all existence is limited and finite escapes us for the most part as we go about our daily lives. Sure, we may watch NOVA or a science fiction movie that explores the theme of a “countdown clock”. But the thought that the days of our lives and those of our loved ones and friends are finite is something that, sadly, doesn’t change our behavior very much.

There is a commercial on TV that pictures men and women walking an eight-foot-long check on a leash as if it was a dog. The check is written out various amounts, usually in the millions. In each case the number represents how much money they will need to enjoy retirement. The commercial is presented by the financial service firm hoping to attract new clients with the hope of helping them reach that rather large retirement savings goal. This is a great marking message to encourage those watching to save for retirement.

How about a commercial like this? The Ad scans people walking alone a busy street, shopping, running for a taxi, jogging in the park, sitting at their desk at work or school. And, on their shoulder is a digital countdown clock revealing how many seconds they had remaining in this life. A person then asks, “And what are you doing with the time you have left?”

I think the Ad Execs would consider a commercial of this nature to be too dark a message for us to handle. And it would be if, shown with the frequency Ads get on TV! But what a provocative message that enables us to connect with the story of the ten virgins in today’s gospel, “Are we prepared for when the clock strikes zero?”

You see, our reading from the Book of Wisdom is our guide on how to prepare ourselves for that last moment when the clock strikes zero so that we can experience the best possible life for all the joys God desires us to enjoy on this side of paradise. By loving wisdom, by keeping vigil with her she will lead us to the object of her and our desire, “O Lord our God”, the bridegroom for whom we keep vigil, and from whom nothing can detract us, the one for whom “our soul is thirsting”.

We have incredible opportunity to accomplish so much good each and every day with Wisdom to guide us and prepare us for when our clock strikes zero.


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: God Is All In All by Fr. Thomas Keating. God Is All in All introduces some mighty themes—including nature as revelation, mystical teachings on interdependence, new cosmologies of religion and science, and evolutionary understandings of what it means to be human—in a much-needed update to theologies Keating describes as “out of date.”

 

Outlining a three-part spiritual journey from recognizing a divine Other, to becoming the Other, to the realizing there is no other, Keating boldly states “Religion is not the only path to God.” Thoroughly Christian and fully interspiritual, this much-beloved outlier Trappist monk offers a message of “compassion, not condemnation” in a contemplative embrace of the cross as a symbol of humility, inviting those who would become co-redeemers of the world to join him in the kind of meditation and contemplative prayer that allows the transcendent self to emerge.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  The Dimension of Listening The beloved and Reverend Joseph Boyle of St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado, who was mentored by Fr. Thomas Keating, explores the dimensions of listening through a series of charming images and profound stories. A favorite prayer of his was from Dag Hammarskjold, “For all that has been, thank you. For all that is to come, yes.”

This talk was recorded at the 2006 Contemplative Outreach Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri.  The theme was "Transformative Listening:  Whose Voice Are We Listening To?" For other talks from this event by Abbot Joseph and Fr. Thomas Keating, go to.   

 

 

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time_AA - That All May Be One_11/5/23

Photo Credit: Lutheran Archbishops Munib A. Younan (L) and Martin Junge (R)

October 31, 2016 at an ecumenical service in Lund cathedral, Sweden. . TT News Agency/Jonas Ekstromer)

Deacon Tom Writes, 

That We All May Be One  

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

On October 31st 1517 some 500 plus years ago, a German Augustinian monk posted his “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” on the door of the All-Saints’ church in Wittenberg, Germany. This document came to be known as Ninety-five Theses. His action followed the arrival of Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar and the papal commissioner for indulgences, who was sent to Germany to raise money to raise money for rebuilding St Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The monk, of course, is Martin Luther. The document that he posted began as follows:

Out of love and concern for the truth, and with the object of eliciting it, the following heads will be the subject of a public discussion at Wittenberg under the presidency of the reverend father, Martin Luther, Augustinian, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and duly appointed Lecturer on these subjects in that place. He requests that whoever cannot be present personally to debate the matter orally will do so in absence in writing.

What followed were 95 theses criticizing the Catholic Church for corruption in Rome, including the buying of ecclesiastical privileges, nepotism, usury, and the selling of indulgences that would mitigate the temporal punishment that was the residual effect of sins that had been committed.

To understand the nature of the problem that troubled Luther we need to look at our Catholic teaching on indulgences. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that an indulgence is, “obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishment due for their sins." The Church does this not just to aid Christians, "but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity" (CCC 1478). So, while the Sacrament of Reconciliation enables one to be “absolved”, i.e., have one’s sins forgiven, there remains a “temporal punish” attributable to those very sins we have committed. This, of course, serves as the basis or our Catholic understanding of Purgatory as a place where that “punishment” is satisfied prior to our going to our final destination.... to join the angels and saints in the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world.

Going back to October 31, 1517 at the time Luther posted his 95 Theses, the abuse of indulgences was at its height. Yet, the selling of indulgences was never the official practice of the church. Cardinal Cajetan Tommaso de Vio wrote:

"Preachers act in the name of the Church so long as they teach the doctrines of Christ and the Church; but if they teach, guided by their own minds and arbitrariness of will, things of which they are ignorant, they cannot pass as representatives of the Church; it need not be wondered at that they go astray."

Luther Scholars believe that Martin had no intention of confronting the Catholic Church or challenging the authority of Pope Leo X. Martin Luther’s historic action was an intent to rectify a corrupt practice that had found its way into the Church. Unfortunately, history has shown all too clearly how willing we are to remain agents of sin and division by our failure to recognize the consequences of our sinfulness and our refusal to amend our ways through a spirit of repentance and reconciliation.

As we continue on our journey of faith may we pray as Jesus did:
“...so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” John 17:21

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: 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_A - Just For Today_102923

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Just For Today”

 

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

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 surely hear their cry and my wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword.” Wow! Do these words strike us to the heart today as we day to day we listen to and watch immigrants being mistreated and abused across the country.

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 during today…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 those who are distraught they will lose their insurance because our government is desperate to take it away from them…. and for the aliens and immigrants - the "dreamers" among us today? Will God not remember His promise? According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, here are 108.4 million people who have been forcibly displaced from their home and of those nearly 80 have found refuge in low- and middle-income countries. Remember, these are 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? No need to guess! The Hebrew Scriptures may shed some light on how things worked out in the past, and it wasn’t a good ending!

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. Just for today let us work to build the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth so all God’s children may live in peace and harmony and the cries of the poor are turned to tears of joy.

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: Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen. Initially written for a Jewish friend, Life of the Beloved has become Henri Nouwen’s greatest legacy to Christians around the world. This sincere testimony of the power and invitation of Christ is indeed a great guide to a truly uplifting spiritual life in today’s world.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  Life of the Beloved - Henri Nouwen Henri Nouwen was a spiritual teacher of the first magnitude. Born in the Netherlands in 1932, he was called to the priesthood at a young age. Throughout his life Nouwen studied philosophy, theology, psychology and spent much time traveling, living in community and speaking publicly. His work is beautifully suffused with his own personal and intimate experiences of God's love. Watch and listen to this spiritual master on YouTube.

 

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time_Year A_ Our Help Is In the Name of the Lord_102223

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Our Help Is In The Name of the LORD” PS 124:8

 

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

Have you ever had this experience: you are in a difficult situation and you are desperately in need of help but you have no idea where to turn. Then, someone, a complete stranger, comes to your aid, and you are left with this overwhelming sense of amazement. You just know that God somehow had His hands in these events that touched your life.

The story of the Jews liberation from captivity in Babylon at the hands of the Persian King Cyrus is just such an experience. It is a genuine sign of God calling upon a “stranger” to accomplish His plan in an amazing and awesome way. About King Cyrus Isaiah wrote, “I have call you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not”. The Jews were in a hopeless situation; they were being held captive away from their home; their temple lay in ruin; their way of life altered forever. So, they thought! Then Cyrus, the King of the Persians, one not numbered among the tribes of Israel, rises up and defeats the Babylonians and comes to their aid. In 538 B.C. Cyrus issued an edict allowing the return of all the Hebrews to Jerusalem. Better yet, he ordered the rebuilding of the Temple and provided that the Israelites be given a royal subsidy from his treasury. He directed that the sacred vessels seized by the Babylonians when they destroyed the Temple should be sent back with the released captives. Finally, he urged all Israelites to contribute to the restoration of public worship. Isaiah tells how God took Cyrus’ right hand and led him, “subduing nations before him…. opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred”. Isaiah wrote that the Lord summoned Cyrus. The events that followed tell us that responding to the Lord’s call produces amazing results.

Today we face an unimaginable, life threatening and life changing situations from the ravages caused by natural disasters, tortuous mass shootings in schools, shopping malls, grocery stores. Evidence of the devastation the recent and seemingly ongoing pandemic has caused is all around us... in the loss of lives, in the physical, emotional and financial suffering we or our family or friends and neighbors have or are suffering. This tragedy only exacerbates the everyday problems and difficulties we face in our lives, problems with our relationships, with our kids, our boss, fears of losing our jobs or our health and the political and ecclesiastical discord that threatens the very fabric of our society. We struggle with forgiving those who have hurt us; we struggle with addictions and all sorts of impossible situations. We even struggle with the teachings of our church. We ask ourselves, “How am I going to get through this?” or, “Where can I turn for help?”

It’s always darkest before the dawn, they say. I am sure the Jews held captive in Babylon felt that way. But, then God, who is the master of doing the impossible, comes to their rescue and turns their tears into laughter. Isaiah tells us today to keep the faith. There is no struggle or difficulty God cannot overcome!! There is no struggle or difficulty of ours that God does not want to overcome. But, the lesson from Isaiah’s text is clear…. the Lord called Cyrus by name to do His work, to liberate His Chosen People, to rebuild the Temple and restore Israel to its former glory. The thing is, God has call us by name, today… and he asks us to do the same. He calls us to respond to the needs of those around us… who have suffered tragic loss, who are in desperate need, who have given up hope. How will we decide to be instruments in the hands of our Lord in helping accomplish His plan?

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: Poverty, By America by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Matthew Desmond. The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages? In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow.

 

Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  Commonweal Podcast - How to Abolish Poverty. The fact that nearly 40 million Americans live in poverty is a national embarrassment. But it’s also a choice. If poverty exists, it’s because we “wish and will it to.”

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time_Year A - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner_101523

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

Jesus uses the story of a king who invites his subjects to the wedding banquet for his son and the people reject his invitation outright. What an insult! The King’s outrage is understandable but does not affect his desire to have a banquet in honor of his son’s wedding.

Those hearing Jesus knew they were the ones Jesus was talking about and they certainly didn’t like the way the story ended. Jesus says how the King reacted to those who refused his invitation and then sent his servants out to the highways and byways and brought in others to celebrate this festive occasion.

It’s interesting that history seems to be repeating itself. Every Sunday we are invited to celebrate a special Eucharistic banquet in honor of God’s Son, Jesus. It is a standing invitation to come and celebrate and to be one with each other and God. We gather together to give thanks to God for sending His Son into our world and freeing us from sin and death….AND giving us Eternal life…. But, as in times past, so many people today are just too busy, too tired, too involved with other interests, or simply not interested…. too spent perhaps …to respond to this invitation.

I think it’s by invitation and example that those who come to Mass on a regular basis can help others to see how important it is to center our lives around this most holy banquet. We as Catholics believe that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our lives, spiritual and temporal, for it is within the context of these sacred mysteries that we are renewed and strengthen for all that life throws at us. And for many, life is coming at them hard. If our lives reflect the presence of Christ, others will notice that uniqueness and that may spark some interest for them. If others see that there is a connection between what we receive from the Eucharist and how we handle the misfortunes of life, make sacrifices for our families - running the kids around to soccer practice, religious ed. classes and piano lessons, doing the shopping and chores - contribute to our community, they may want to find the source of that strength and experience the interior joy and peace that comes from the Eucharist for themselves. As they say… “Imitation is the best form of flattery.”

The banquet is prepared, the table is set, we all have our reservations that adds to “Bring a friend.” Do you have someone in mind you would like to invite to this banquet?


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: Return of the Prodigal Son by renown Catholic Priest Henri Nouwen evokes a powerful drama of the classic parable in a rich, captivating way that is sure to reverberate in the hearts of readers. Nouwen probes the several movements of the parable: the younger son’s return, the father’s restoration of sonship, the elder son’s resentfulness, and the father’s compassion. The themes of homecoming, affirmation, and reconciliation will be newly discovered by all who have known loneliness, dejection, jealousy, or anger. The challenge to love as God loves, and to be loved as God’s beloved, will be seen as the ultimate revelation of the parable known to Christians throughout time, and is here represented with a vigor and power fresh for our times.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  Henri Nouwen - Life of the Beloved . Listen to this spiritual master on how to experience the wonder of being God’s “Beloved”.