Fourth Sunday of Advent_C - I Come to Do Your Will, O God_122224

Deacon Tom Writes,

“I Come to Do Your Will, O God”

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C

Isn’t it strange that the one thing that can keep us furthest from God’s love is the very gift God intended to draw us closest to him? It’s this unique gift of “Free Will” that flows from God’s unimaginable love for us that enables us to say “No” to him. When we misuse this gift, we are free to reject him completely; we can ignore him when it is convenient to do so; we can even deny that he exists. Imagine that! Once we liberate ourselves from our Creator, we are completely free to live our lives with reckless abandon trying to find substitutes for those very things God intended us to have from the beginning – our complete joy and happiness. But striking out on our own to find “the good life” usually has dire and “unintended” but predictable consequences.

Of course, God did not intend for us to use the gift of “Free Will” to reject him. In giving us this gift God revealed something about himself. He revealed his unconditional love for us and for all his creation. No “normal” parent gives their children something that would harm them. The giving of gifts reflects the deep love parents have for their children. Genuine giving is an intimate sharing of parents’ desire for their children to experience joy and happiness here in this life, to reach their full potential as they mature into adulthood, and one day to enter into eternal life for which we were all created.

In the Second Reading today, St. Paul quotes Jesus’ words letting us know that he is aware of the gift he has received from God, and that he knows how to respond to that gift. He responds to the precious gift of free will by saying “Yes” to God. In the Gospel, Mary is visiting her cousin Elizabeth to share with her the good news of how God responds to her saying, “Yes” to him. Both Jesus and Mary use the gift of their free will by submitting themselves to God and disposing themselves to do all that God asks them to do. Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist know and teach us that this is the only way for us to fully experience all that God has promised us in this life….and, to look forward to the life that is to come.

As we prepare to exchange gifts this Christmas, let us recall the gifts that we have received from God. And, let us respond joyfully to the many other gifts we have been blessed with over the years by echoing Jesus’ words, “I come to do your will, O God” and then, sit quietly and await his response in silence.



God bless and keep you and your loved ones close to him, now and always. And may the Christ Child fill you with his peace and love.



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. An interesting presentation on Eucharistic miracles occurring today. 







Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Third Sunday of Advent_C - What Shoud We Do?_121524

Deacon Tom Writes

“What Should We Do?”

Third Sunday of Advent, Year C

 

John the Baptist was like a magnet drawing people out into the desert. They came because they were looking for something, and perhaps, because John was so very different than anyone they had ever heard or seen, they may have thought that he had what they were looking for. So, they came and listened. Some even went so far as to be baptized, a sign that they bought into what he was preaching - lock, stock and barrel!

 

The baptism that John was preaching called for a change of heart. Those who felt called to take John up on his offer had to leave their old ways behind and start out fresh, as if it was a new beginning, or at the least, a new mindset. Those who desired to change their ways asked John an obvious question, “What should we do?” And so, to the Tax Collector, John says, “Stop collecting more than is prescribed.” In other word, do whatever is the right thing to do in all your business affairs. To the Soldiers who asked what they should do, he answered, “Do not extort…do not falsely accuse…. be satisfied with your wages.” That’s the equivalent of saying don’t abuse your power or misuse your authority. People from all walks of life came to John for his advice and it would basically be the same, “Stop the injustice; start doing what is right.”

 

John is preparing the people for the one who is to follow him, Jesus. John lays the foundation of justice that Jesus will build on. The call to justice requires that we look within and see how we have contributed to the injustices that surround us and to have a change of heart and recognize that we need to change our ways.

 

John calls us to conversion, a change of heart that comes from within. When we experience this conversion, we too begin to ask the question, “What should we do?”   While we still have some days of Advent remaining, let’s pause and ask Jesus to help us answer this question from within so we may always “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

 

Enjoy the Day!

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 on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from 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: a short reflection on “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

Second Sunday of Advent_C - Love Changes Everything_120824

 Image: Giotto Nativity

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Love Changes Everything”

Second Sunday of Advent, Year C

 

Paul tells his brothers and sisters in Philippi of his great love for them and he prays for them “…always with joy in my every prayer for you.”  He says further, “And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more” [so you may] “discern what is of value.” Paul emphasizes that love is the most important virtue in his letter to the Corinthians, in one of his most famous quotes, “So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love” 1 Cor 13:13. “Love”, as a song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber expresses so well, “Changes verything”!

 

Advent is, as we are so well aware, a time of preparation...a time to get ready for visits from friends and family; a time to cook and prepare the traditional family meals; a time to write Christmas Cards to distant friends with whom we share fond memories but have not seen in a while because of distance or the busyness of everyday life; a time, oh yes of course, for shopping for special gifts, wrapping them, and decorating the house and Christmas Tree. Whew! We often reap a whirlwind of fatigue trying to get “prepared” for Christmas. Sometimes, perhaps often, we just get too wrapped up - pun intended - and miss out on the “Meaning of the Season.”

 

Advent is a time of preparation, yes. But, while these other efforts are worthy and hopefully driven by our love of family and friends, it is a sad reality that we often fail to prepare ourselves for the most important of friends, family, and loved ones... Emmanuel, the Word Made Flesh. The most beautiful preparation we can make, the one that is most worthy of the Christ Child we anticipate, is to open ourselves up to a change of heart. That is, to open ourselves up to overcome our hardness of heart, our negative judgments of others, our insistence on holding on to grudges and resentments of the past, our unwillingness to forgive those who have hurt us. We are “broken” and we need to be healed from the inside out. The only gift the Christ Child desires is for us to have a change of heart so that we may welcome him into our lives untarnished by the bitter resentments of the past, to offer him hearts that long to be filled with the Peace and Joy of the new born babe.  Love really does change everything. Love changes us from the inside out as Dickens demonstrates in his famous Ebenezer Scrooge.

 

May this Advent Season be different than all we have experienced. May God’s grace increase our desire for those gifts that last forever: a generous heart, a deeper sense of compassion and empathy for those who are hurting this year, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And, may our love increase so that the Holy One may use us when and where the Divine Presence is needed to bring healing and reconciliation to our troubled world.

 

Yes, “Love changes everything” and, when it does, “Nothing in the World will ever be the same.”  Advent is that time of year when we dare to dream that the forces of love can cast out the darkness we see and experience in the world around us and prepare our hearts for the King of Glory to enter within.

 

Enjoy the day!

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 on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from 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 story about hospitality 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_C-To You, O Lord,I Lift My Soul _120124

     

Deacon Tom Writes,

“To You, O Lord, I Lift My Soul”

 

First Sunday of Advent, Year C

 

In the silence of our Advent reflection, the words of the Prophet Jeremiah can stir our hearts with expectant hope and longing for promises to be fulfilled, for the days when, “all shall be safe and dwell secure.” For this to become a reality we must first place ourselves in the presence of the Lord and breath the prayer we hear in the Responsorial Psalm today, “To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.”

 

Every year we all face the challenge of Advent: we need to get everything ready for Christmas, the shopping, the cooking, the visits to family and friends, the writing out of Christmas cards. And when do we stop to put it all in perspective and reflect upon the “Reason for the Season?”

 

This year can be different. We can break the distracting spirit of consumerism…. if we want to! We can take a tip from St. Paul and ask the Lord to make us, “increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” How our lives would change if we were to follow St. Paul’s advice! So, some questions to ask during this Holy Season are these:  What holds us back from attempting to love those people in our lives that irritate us; reconciling with those family members from whom we have intentionally distanced ourselves? What prevents us from seeking the Holy or entering into the Mystery of the Incarnation? Are we afraid of the changes that an injection of love into the fabric of our lives would cause? Are we afraid of what the newborn Babe would ask of us? Are we afraid of the confrontation with self that can take place in the time we spend in holy solitude? There are a lot of reasons why we avoid silence and fill our lives with busyness. But it doesn’t have to be this way. This year can be different!!!

 

Jesus tells us to, “Be vigilant at all times and pray… to escape the tribulations….and to stand before the Son of Man.” This Advent gives us another chance to renew our efforts to center our lives around prayer and to create a quiet space where we can go and rest awhile with a friend, Jesus, who comes to us as a little child bearing many gifts to all who come before him singing the refrain, “To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.”

 

Enjoy the day!

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 on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from 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_B_My Kingdom Is Not of This World_112424

Deacon Tom Writes,

“My Kingdom Is Not of This World”

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

Pope Benedict XVI wrote the following comment about today’s Feast of Christ the King:

“Jesus of Nazareth is so intrinsically king that the title ‘King’ has actually become his name. By calling ourselves Christians, we label ourselves as followers of the king. God did not intend Israel to have a kingdom. The kingdom was a result of Israel’s rebellion against God. The law was to be Israel’s king, and, through the law, God himself. God yielded to Israel’s obstinacy and so devised a new kind of kingship for them. The King is Jesus; in him God entered humanity and espoused it to himself. This is the usual form of the divine activity in relation to mankind. God does not have a fixed plan that he must carry out; on the contrary, he has many different ways of finding man and even of turning his wrong ways into right ways. The feast of Christ the King is therefore not a feast of those who are subjugated, but a feast of those who know that they are in the hands of the one who writes straight on crooked lines.”

This reflection from Pope Emeritus Benedict would have us consider the many paths our lives may travel. A few words from St. Matthew’s Gospel serve as a compass perhaps: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt 6:21). For those who have chosen to follow in the footsteps of Jesus we might ask how we pursue the treasures we seek in this life in light of what we perceive to be the divine activity within us. Let’s face it! We have so many choices today and really few, if any, limits on how we pursue them. How do we remain faithful to the gospel values and set priorities between our spiritual and physical needs? To whom will we pledge our loyalties during this life and at what cost? Is our allegiance to the spirit of this world, thinking only about ourselves and our own needs, acting as if it’s all about me, declaring to those with different opinions “it’s my way OR the highway”? Or, will we choose a different path, and live in solidarity with the poor, advocate for the weak and oppressed, seek shelter for the homeless and food for the hungry, ever mindful of the plight of refugees and orphans? Will we see ways to build relationships with those who oppose us or will we seek to annihilate them? This is the ultimate freedom we have today, the freedom to choose to be subjects of the creator and ruler of the cosmos who has … “set us free...to share in the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Rom 8:21).
Jesus was right to tell Pilate that “his kingdom does not belong to this world.” But, as Jesus taught us, the way to the kingdom is here and is a conscious choice whenever we serve those who lack power, privilege and prestige, those very people Christ identified with, served, and redeemed. When we serve them, we declare with our lives where our treasures lie and we give witness to others of our deliberate choice to follow the man whose kingdom is not of this world.

Enjoy the day!
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 on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

OTHER RESOURCES

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 Daily Meditation 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.

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinay Time_B - The passing of Time and Place_111724

 

Image credit: craving4more.files.wordpress.com – where-does-the-time-go

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Passing of Time and Place”

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Our Liturgical Year comes to a close next Sunday on the Feast of Christ the King. As we reflect about the passing of another year, our readings today focus our attention on the “End Times.” The physical laws of the universe tell us that all things must come to an end. That pertains to our world as well. Today we read an account of those days and they paint of pretty grim picture. The Prophet Daniel says, “it will be a time unsurpassed in distress.” Jesus tells his disciples, “the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give it’s light.” 

 

Daniel tells us that during these devastating days, “the wise shall shine brightly….and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.”  Jesus tells his disciples that, “they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds… and he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds.”

 

Today’s readings tell us some truth about the future. Hollywood imagines the “how” in its myriad depictions of “the end times;” our Christian focus is on the “why”.  For we all must consider how we live our lives and prepare ourselves for that day which will be our last day, whenever that may be, in days, or months or years. Through the eyes of faith, we know that we have nothing to worry about on our “last days” if we have been faithful to our Baptismal promises and have used the time God has given us wisely, helping others, sharing their burdens and lightening their loads, comforting them during their times of sorrow. Aware of our shortcomings in this life we trust in God’s abundant love, mercy and compassion that he will come and gather his faithful sons and daughters from the “four winds” and bring us home to be with him forever when our time comes. Our days are numbered, as is all creation. And there will come a time when all that we see will be transformed into the new heaven and earth that awaits us. Today’s readings suggest that we take some time now to see how prepared we are to render an account of our lives to the God of all creation.

 

Enjoy the day!

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 on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Only in God_111024

 

Image credit: wikimedia.org-Hand_gottes.jpg

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Only In God”

 

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

In the course of today’s readings, we encounter several women who have remarkably strong faith. They are women whose actions demonstrate their dependence upon God to provide for all their needs, even for the most basic necessities of life! We know neither of their names only that they share a common bond, that of widowhood. Being a widow was tantamount to being assigned to a most difficult and arduous station of life in the patriarchal society of the bible, and it remains such to this day. The loss of a husband meant a life of poverty. It reduced a woman to a life of begging and dependency upon the acts of charity from others in the community.

 

Despite her direful plight, the first widow we encounter in the Book of Kings offers the Prophet Elijah hospitality. She and her young son have only a “handful of flour… and a little oil” and that’s it. The widow and her son are themselves far beyond the bounds of destitution and yet she willingly makes “a little cake” for the Prophet leaving nothing for herself and her son! Yet, “the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry!”

 

In the Gospel Jesus notices what’s taking place at the Temple offering. “Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.”  Jesus comments that this woman did not contribute from her wealth as the others did, “but from her poverty…she contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

 

These women teach us of a deep and trusting faith in God, lessons very appropriate for us today. They teach us not from their head, but from their heart and from their deep-seated experiences of life. Do we give to others from our surplus or from our need? This is a difficult question for us to face honestly as we tend not to reflect too deeply into our own possible shortcomings but, it is an area that is certainly worth the effort. If we spend some time thinking about this question it may lead us to reflect on an underlying struggle we face often in this life – that is, how much do we really trust that God will be there in our time of need, whatever that “need” might be.

 

There is an aspect to these widow’s faith that reflects Christ’s complete self-giving, his pouring himself out completely for our sake, Christ’s “kenosis” as St. Paul writes in Philippians 2:7, in which Christ surrenders his own will to the divine will of his Father. This complete giving of self is a gift from God that scripture reveals mostly in the lives of the poor and lowly ones, such as these widows we encounter today. They teach us that God cannot be outdone in generosity. Their strong faith enables them to trust God completely, to trust only in God in all things, not only for all the necessities of the present moment but for all our future needs also.

 

May our faith grow like that of these two women we meet in scripture today so that like them, we are willing to share generously the gifts we have receive from above.

 

Enjoy the day!

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 on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from 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_B - First Things First_110324

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

We have so many demands upon our time that we can hardly keep track of them. Fortunately, we have the technology to remind us where we have to be and when we have to be there. We have electronic calendars, email reminders and cell phones, I-pads and

I-pods. We leave ourselves voice mail messages, stick post-its on the refrigerator. All this busyness and the technology to keep up with it is a part of the great reality in which we live, but it comes at a price. And the price that we pay seems increasingly that we crowd so many other important things out of our lives, like God! …. Really, who has time for God given our demanding schedules?

 

Working God into our daily lives has become a challenge for us today, but it hasn’t always been that way. From the very beginning the Jewish people were encouraged to place God at the center of their lives – physically, spiritually and mentally. Moses laid this obligation before the people in what has become the famous Jewish prayer, the “The Shema” which begins with the command, “hear, O Israel!”

 

 

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all you soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today”

 

These words that God spoke through Moses were a simple message intended to help the people find their happiness in this world by cooperating with God’s plan. Keep it simple; put first things first God says; live according to my plan; love me above all else…… with every fiber of your being.

 

Today we are busy. We are busier today than yesterday, and it doesn’t stop: the laundry, the shopping, the portaging the kids to sporting events and school plays, the extra projects at work... phew...and on and on it goes. If you have any doubts, just ask someone you know who’s retired! “We don’t have time,” they complain. “We don’t know how we got things done when we were working” you’ll also hear.

 

The challenge we face today is consciously putting God first in our lives. And, to do that, we have to increase our awareness that he is present in all those activities that fill up our day. We need to develop a mind, heart and spirit that is tuned into God’s presence... in those little and big things that fill up those limited and priceless minutes of our lives. It’s a matter of practice…of building the habit of inviting God into all the activities of our day, into all that busyness that so often overwhelms us. Invite God to be with us during our evaluation at work. Invite God to be with us when we’re running the kids or grandkids to soccer or piano lessons; invite God to join us in the Dentist’s chair or when we’re getting the oil changed. All the activities of our day are opportunities to draw close to God and to show him that we are mindful that his desire is to be a part of the lives of those who love him. Inviting God into all our daily chores will make those insignificant things we do throughout the day more meaningful and help us experience the presence of God in all that we do.

 

Enjoy the day!

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 on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from 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_B - The Courage to Beg_102720

Image credit: maryricehopkins.com:Bartimaeus3

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Courage to Beg”

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Today we hear the familiar story of Bartimaeus, a man whose disability sets the stage for his encounter with Jesus. It’s an ordinary day; Bartimaeus sets up on the side of the road to do the only thing he is able to do…Beg. His blindness makes him vulnerable and without the help of others, his life would go from bad to worse. How excited he must have been when he heard the crowd approaching! Perhaps, he might have thought, their generosity would get him through a couple of days, please God! But in reality, a greater gift awaited him.

 

In some ways we are like Bartimaeus. We routinely set out each day trying to secure the necessities of life, to earn enough to pay the mortgage, the orthodontist, buy groceries, fill the gas tank of the car. Yes, we need these things to provide for our families. That’s keeping it real. But there is more to life than the things that money can buy. Ironically, Bartimaeus, the blind man, helps open our eyes to the fact that our very well-being, over very existence depends totally on someone else, and that someone else is God.

 

It takes courage for Bartimaeus to continue calling out to Jesus when those around him demand his silence. It seems that blind Bartimaeus recognizes Jesus’ true identity as the “Son of David.” He cries out, not for a handout to get him through the day, but for God’s mercy (read pity) that will open for him a whole new way of life and satisfy all that is lacking within.

 

We all stand in need of God’s mercy, for his healing, for the gift of sight to see the awesome works of God around us and even in our lives, to peer into the mysteries of life, relationship and to know their true value. We have so many needs; there are so many things to pray for. Prayers that break the silence to ask for God’s guidance, protection and his mercy so that we might make it through today and have hope for tomorrow; prayers that silence the rumble of war and that bring peace to our troubled world; prayers for those who are abused and neglected who are often silent victims.   

 

Like Bartimaeus, let’s not be silenced by the world around us. Instead, let us call out “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on us” and see what wonders lie in store.

 

Enjoy the day!

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 on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

Recommended Reading: Community of Missionary Disciples - the Continuing Creation of the Church by Stephen B Bevans, SVD.  This book unpacks Vatican II’s statement that the church is “missionary by its very nature” and addresses the author’s insight that the church is never “founded” once and for all, but is continually called into being by God’s mission across time and place.

Recommended YouTube Video:  Community Of Missionary Disciples with Father Steve Bevans, SVD - This is a video of the presentation Father Steve gave at Saint Catherine -St. Lucy & St. Giles – Oak Park, Illinois. Spent some time with Fr. Steve for some insight as to the continuing unfolding of the mystery we call “capital church”.

place.

 

 

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time_Year B - How Low Can You Go?_102024

Deacon Tom Writes,

“How Low Can You Go?”

 

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Remember the lyrics to Chubby Checker’s song, Limbo Rock? “Jack be limbo, Jack be quick, Jack go unda the  limbo stick.”  The idea was to contort yourself from one side of the “limbo stick” to the other. The challenge was to see “How low could you go?” We had a lot of laughs trying, but not too much success!

 

Today’s readings provide us with profound insight into the revolutionary nature of the Kingdom Jesus laid the foundation for during his ministry. It comes as the Apostles are arguing about who was the greatest, who would be first when this kingdom came to full stature. To their dismay, Jesus makes it clear that what he has in mind isn’t about choosing a CEO or EVP; rather, it’s about attracting servants. Jesus is challenging his followers to conduct their lives in such a way that to others they would appear to be “the slaves of all.” By their outward acts of service, Jesus’ followers would reject the vestiges of power and privilege that governed the prevailing society. For the Apostles, as for us, Jesus’ teaching that the rules that govern the Kingdom of God are vastly different than those we are accustomed was, and remains, quite a shock. In this world the great ones lord it over their subjects; in God’s realm, the greatest ones are the servants of all.

 

Jesus isn’t making small talk. We know from the way he lived and, especially, by the vicious death he suffered that he meant what he said about Servanthood. He was the faithful servant who came into our broken and troubled world to bring us the Good News of our Father’s love. It is a love that the Father intends for us to share with one another... willingly... graciously...indiscriminately.

 

It is in the spirit of Servanthood that Jesus takes on the role of the Suffering Servant who, in the words of Isaiah, “through his suffering…will justify many.”  Most of us are not called to suffer the way Christ did, and thank God for that! But we are called to share the suffering our brothers and sisters in Christ experience today by being aware of their poverty, how they are victimized and exploited by our society and then to respond, as best we are able, as moved by the Holy Spirit. We share in Christ’s suffering when we put ourselves into these desperate situations and we stand there as a sign of God’s presence. We witness to God’s presence when we make the decision to cooperate with the abundant graces God has placed in our hearts. The lower you go to serve God’s children, the higher you rise in the Kingdom of God where Jesus tells us that “as often as you did it for one of my least brothers and sisters, you did it for me.”

 

St. Paul reminds us that Jesus experienced all of our human condition in their entirety. He suffered the abuse, rejection, ridicule of the people he came to redeem; he suffered the rejection of family who thought he was out of his mind; he suffered the loss of beloved friends. He suffered the injustice of capital punishment! He experienced the full spectrum of our human drama, and he did so willingly... “tested in every way” Paul writes. Why? Because of his great love for us. And, the Kingdom he sets in motion is that place, the only place, where the love we see in Christ’s life and death calls us to follow him by “giving our all” to being “servants of all.”

 

Enjoy the day!

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 on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: A Consistent Ethic of Life - Navigating Catholic Engagement with U.S. Politics by Professor Steven P Millies. The consistent ethic of life is a fully Catholic engagement with the difficult challenges that conscience encounters in our time. This short book is a resource for parishes and general readers to rediscover the consistent ethic now in this challenging, divided moment of our history.

 

Tracing the historical development of the consistent ethic from the early 1970s up to recent days, A Consistent Ethic of Life encourages readers to adopt an attitude that calls them to be partisans for life above the partisanship of our politics.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  A Consistent Ethic of Life Presentation at Old Saint Mary’s, Chicago, Illinois. Listen in us for a powerful presentation by Professor Steven P Millies guide us on the longstanding doctrine of the Church and how we might begin to begin to turn the tide on the politics of polarization and division.

 

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - O Sapientia_101324

Image: eastdailyoffice.wordpress.com

 

Deacon Tom Writes

“Choose Wisely”

 

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Have you ever had the chance to watch a little child try to decide which coin to take when given a choice between a nickel and a dime? Quite often, the child will choose the nickel because it’s bigger. The poor lad hasn’t learned to distinguish monetary values. Today’s reading from the Book of Wisdom is intended to teach us about what constitutes real value in our lives so that we may know how to make wise and not fall victim to the ways of the world. Here is today’s reading from the Book of Wisdom again.

 

I prayed, and prudence was given me;

I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

I preferred her to scepter and throne,

And deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,

nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;

Because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,

and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.

Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,

And I chose to have her rather than the light,

because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.

Yet all good things together came to me in her company,

and countless riches at her hands.

 

The teacher of Wisdom informs us that other virtues accompany Wisdom for those who pursue Wisdom. Prudence and Perseverance, Patience and intense Prayer are found in Wisdom’s company. That explains why Wisdom is so rare and elusive, while foolishness is seen all around us, like pollen during ragweed season. Foolishness appeals to the here and now, feeds upon our egos and disillusions, and makes no demands upon our character. Foolishness endures because it is so captivated by the glitter of the physical reality around us and is so easily enticed by the things of this world… the riches, temporary fame and fortune, success and the pleasures that fail to give lasting joy and happiness. The Wisdom described above is a manifestation of God’s very identity and his essence. It is a part of God’s very being. God shares his Wisdom, a very part of his nature with those who ask for it, with those who seek lasting riches found only in the things from above. When one possesses this form of Wisdom, they abide in God and God in them.

 

If we seek the things from above, we will never be disappointed. God’s Wisdom will guide us on our earthly journey and enlighten us along the way so we, unlike the little child who is deceived by the belief that bigger is better and makes the wrong choice, won’t settle for second best. May we have the Wisdom of God at work in us so that we always and easily choose wisely.

 

Enjoy the day!

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 on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: The Catholic Church and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Mathew Kappadakunnel is an invitation to respond to the prophetic call, stemming from Baptism, to promote the dignity of all people based on the belief that each person is created in the image of God, particularly those who suffer racial injustice. Kappadakunnel confronts racism writing from his own personal spiritual journey with a prophetic voice, grounded in a deep faith, with experiential insight, and a theologically informed perspective.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  Why Ignoring Racial Justice Hurts Our Faith: Catholic Insights. Listen in us for a powerful discussion on why ignoring racial justice hurts our faith as Matt shares his personal journey as a Catholic of Indian descent, reflecting on his experiences with racism and the lack of response from church leaders following the tragic death of George Floyd. Join in to this conversation to learn, and grow together in our faith.