Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, A - A Very Special Request_073023

Deacon Tom Writes,

“A Very Special Request”

 

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

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

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

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

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

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

 

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

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

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

  

Recommended YouTube Video: Finding God in All Things with Fr. Michael Himes. Fr. Himes was a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, New York and served as a theologian at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. He served as professor and academic dean of the Seminary of Immaculate Conception on Long Island, New York, and as associate professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. He was a well-known author and lecturer.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - Good Ground for Hope_072323

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. God does not want us to be stifled by the burden of our sins or be overcome by our sinfulness. He has called us to an “abundant life,” and God wants us to “live life to the fullest.” And, he has given us a way to do this.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the good ground for our hope. It is for our own good, our mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Reconciliation is the way we respond to God’s good graces that sustain and nourish us on our earthly journey and which leads us to the source of all 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 not only that expanding hope but also the increased joy we experience in live with everyone around us.


Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

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

 

 

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

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - The Master Gardener_071623

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Master Gardener….”

 

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

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

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

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

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

Enjoy the Day!
Deacon Tom

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

 

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

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - The Pause That Refreshes_070923

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 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 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 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.