Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Built To Last_063024

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Built To Last”

 

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

The author of the Book of Wisdom writes that “God formed man to be imperishable….in the image of His own nature.”  In Jesus we get to see the image of God dwelling among His people. Jesus is tireless in preaching the kingdom of God. Mark relates the story of Jesus as He encounters people in need of healing. Returning to the Jewish side of the lake, after curing the man who was possessed, Jairus implores Jesus to come to his house where his daughter lies near death. As Jesus begins His journey, He senses “power had gone out from Him”, power that had been usurped by the hemorrhaging woman who found herself healed.

 

Jesus brings about much healing in the Mark’s Gospel. It is interesting to note that the word that Mark uses for the healing is the Greek word “sōzō” which not only means “to heal” but also “to save”. In other words, Jesus not only heals people from their sickness but also, he saves and restores them to the original state they were created, as “imperishable” beings made in the image and likeness of God and destined to share eternity with Him.

 

A challenge we face in our busy world is that there are so many activities and so much technology available to entertain us that we have little time for spiritual reflection or for any other reflection for that matter. And so, we go from one activity to another, from work to recreation, get a little sleep, cut the grass, do the shopping, bring the kids to this thing or that…. We are so fatigued at the end of the day; we go to sleep only to rise the next morning and begin all over again. For most people, this is “living the dream”. But are we really experiencing God in any of the things we do?

 

We all long for the presence of God that touches and heals us and brings us His salvation. But in order to find it, we must experience the presence of God in the ordinary events that are a part of our day to day lives. If we think about it, eternity has already begun…. for, as the Book of Wisdom reminds us, we were made in the image of God’s own nature… so we can trust that we have been made to go the distance. We are “built to last”.

 

Happy 4^th of July…Enjoy this special day and give thanks to God for the freedoms we enjoy and that we are blessed for years to come! 

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: A Concise History of the Catholic Church by Thomas Bokenkotter  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 Three - 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.

 

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Stormy Weather_062324

Image credit: Wikimedia-org-Brueghel, Pieter I

Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee_-_1596_- 062115.jpg

Deacon Tom Writes,

Stormy Weather

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

The gospel paints quite a picture for us today. A nice day on the water suddenly turns into a heart-clutching event. The disciples are “terrified” and fearful that they are about to die. They wonder how Jesus can sleep through this violent storm. Indeed, they ask him outright, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing”? After Jesus calms the sea, it’s his turn to ask the tough questions: “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith”?

We all experience tempests in our lives. Oftentimes they terrify us and challenge our faith. Doubt, uncertainty, guilt, fear and regret raise havoc with our faith. When we are in such a state, we question why God doesn’t reach out and save us from our misery. “He’s sleeping”, we may think, or “He just doesn’t care”. We may even begin to rationalize to the extreme… “God’s not helping because he doesn’t exist” ... Or at the least, “We doubt that he will come to our rescue”. If we let these thoughts gain control over us, they can lead us to utter despair or worse, a complete crisis of faith.

Yet, what do we hear in today’s gospel when the apostles were overcome with fear? We are told not to fear, not to doubt, but rather, “Quiet! Be still”! Listen for that quiet voice within where God speaks to our hearts. When we are overcome by the overwhelming circumstances we can’t avoid, there is something we can do… and that is to listen for that quiet, still voice within us…the promptings of the Holy Spirit who is “nearer to us than we are to ourselves”, in order to tap into an endless supply of Christ’s abiding love to help us persevere until the storms of uncertainty pass us by.

You may recall the expression, “That which does not kill me makes me stronger”. This is true in matters of faith as well. As we grow in our faith, we gradually begin to understand that it is during those dark and uncertain moments that we experience God’s abiding presence, when we are most aware that God is “near to the brokenhearted”. We recognize God’s presence more and more in our lives the more we are tossed about by the sea of life and especially when things are not going our way. Perhaps that’s because when everything around us has failed… when our friends have abandoned us; when we lose our jobs or health or loved ones, and all our life’s work crumbles before our eyes, it is then that we begin to realize that we don’t have the power to fix what’s wrong in our lives or the lives of those we love. It is when we are out of options that we turn to God. It is in times such as these that we are more open to receive what Christ has to offer us…his love, his compassion, his mercy and his promise to be with us when we are most in need.

All of the tempests in our lives have the potential of bringing us closer to Christ if we let them. If Christ truly becomes our rock and our salvation, we will overcome all the stormy weather we encounter as we navigate the waters of this life while keeping our bearings on the only one that maters, Jesus.

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: Thoughts in Solitude By Thomas Merton addresses the necessity for quiet reflection in an age when so little is private. Thoughts in Solitude stands alongside The Seven Storey Mountain as one of Merton's most urging and popular works. Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, is perhaps the foremost spiritual thinker of the twentieth century. His diaries, social commentary, and spiritual writings continue to be widely read after his untimely death in 1968. 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Authentic Happiness and Human Flourishing Series - Week Two - 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.

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Wa Are Always Courageous_061624

Deacon Tom Writes,

“We Are Always Courageous”

 

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Courageous may indeed accurately describe the person who “walks by faith, not by sight”. But first it is helpful to describe what we mean by “faith”. By professing to be Christian we take on the obligation to live according to the standards Jesus taught and demonstrated in the Gospels. In the simplest of terms, it means that we put our heart and soul into living each day mindful of the calling that we have received; we place our trust in God and in His will for us. Walking by faith means that we do the best we can; we make our plans; we put our best foot forward; we navigate the day with a particular vision that keeps us mindful of the inherent dignity of the other person; we are immersed in the belief that “everyone” is our “neighbor”; we don’t ignore that we have done some things that we are not proud of and have hurt others and so we are aware of our sinful nature, our dark side, that is much in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness. Walking by faith means we put forth our best effort and then depend upon God for the outcome. These behaviors are at the heart of what it means to live courageously as St. Paul explains to the Corinthians. We Christians choose to follow the Jesus’ teachings because we know that one day... we will “appear before the judgment seat of Christ”.

 

It takes courage to give witness to the gospel of Christ by living each day in accordance with the values Christ taught us. Being a follower of Christ is easier said than done. It’s easier to preach ten sermons than to live one, as the saying goes!

 

St. Paul was on to something when he spoke of the courage it takes to live a life of faith. It takes courage to have one foot planted firmly here in this world, in terra firma as they say, and the other foot planted in that spiritual realm, the kingdom of God, that Christ preached to help govern and direct our lives. People of faith face much difficulty trying to manage their responsibilities, in attempting to balance the realities of this world…the need to provide for family, to pay the mortgage, to save for college for the kids, and taking care of ageing parents all while living virtuous lives that reflect the gospel values.

 

It takes courage to face our own struggles and at the same time to reach out and help others who face their own set of challenges and difficulties. It takes courage to visit the soup kitchen each week and not feel helpless in the face of the endless need. It takes courage to work for peace and justice with all that we see happening in our communities and in the world. It takes courage to seek the “Truth” of the gospel and to live according to, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” instead of the falsity and outright contempt for the truth we witness each and every day. It takes courage “love neighbor as yourself” and to stand by and up for the immigrant, the marginalized, the outcast. It takes courage to recall that Jesus’ table fellowship with these very people was the reason He was put to death. Yet, our faith constantly encourages us to be courageous and not lose heart in the face of the obstacles, ridicule, even persecution the world puts before us. For Jesus was politically savvy enough to warn his disciples, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first”. (John 15:18)

 

It is so important as Catholic Christians to be constantly aware of God’s love and to remember that God’s grace is always at work in us, giving us the courage to persevere in our faith. Aware of God’s love and presence in our lives and fueled by the Sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation, we are then better able to love and serve our God who first loved us in spite of all of our sins and failures.

A VERY Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers, grandfathers, and all the soon to be fathers.

Enjoy the moment!

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 RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: The Saint’s Guide to Happiness  by Robert Ellsberg. In our search for genuine happiness, the author suggests that some of the best people to show us how to achieve it are holy men and women throughout history who have experienced it—from St. Augustine to Flannery O’Connor, Thomas Merton to St. Theresa of Avila and Mother Theresa. These people weren’t saints because of the way they died or their visions or wondrous deeds. They were saints because of their extraordinary capacity for goodness and love, which—in the end—makes us happy.Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up."

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Authentic Happiness and Human Flourishing Series - Week One - 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

 

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - The Blame Game_060924

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Blame Game”

 

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

When trouble strikes, the one thing we can count on is there will be plenty of excuses and finger pointing. It is part our very nature. We see it at the very beginning of the creation story. The reading from Genesis today reminds us that God set out one simple rule for life in the garden and it didn’t take long for that rule to be violated. Don’t eat from this one tree! Simple enough but it was still too much to ask and too difficult for our first parents to follow. Admittedly, they had some help in breaking the rule. Yet, when all was said and done, the man blamed the woman and the woman blamed the serpent. Denying the responsibility for their misdeeds and placing it on someone else didn’t change the punishment they incurred. But it did form a pattern of behavior that would be passed on to all future generations. We call this behavior “Original Sin.” And we, like our parents, have become good at passing the buck.

We put much of our energy into blaming others, looking for excuses for our shortcomings, our failures, and our sins. Our egos have developed ‘thick skins’ in order for us not to feel the guilt that is the natural consequence of our wrongdoing. Our conscience is what moves us to feel sorry for our transgressions but if our conscience becomes disordered, one’s life becomes totally out of control. Sadly, history documents far too many examples of the suffering and havoc done to innocent victims by those whose consciences have dulled.

What reason could there be for such a pathetic condition as living with a warped conscience? Could it be the same influence that was present in the garden that tripped up our first parents? In the gospel Jesus recognized the influence Beelzebul had and continues to have on the lives of all who have ever lived and that is perhaps why He points to the power Satan has over the world: the power to deceive and distort the “Truth.”

Satan is always in attack mode: destroying the truth, conflicting the truth, blurring the line between what is true and what is untrue, changing the name of what are “lies” to “alternate facts”. The father of lies is very effective at what he does. After all, our first parents fell for his deception hook, line and sinker! And human history has recorded the painful consequences humanity has suffered throughout its pages.

It’s time to choose sides, Jesus tells us today. Choose to be a part of Jesus’ extended family: mothers, brother, fathers, and sisters living in harmony with Jesus who is the “Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

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: Becoming Eucharistic People by Timothy O’Malley Ph.D.

We can’t just talk about Christ’s presence in the Eucharist; we have to believe it, celebrate it, and live it both individually and as a community of the faithful. And we must cultivate a culture in our parishes that treats Real Presence not only as an important Catholic doctrine, but also as the most important part of parish identity.

 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Becoming Eucharistic People with Dr. O’Malley is a wonderful presentation on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist with ample food for thought and reflection. Enjoy!