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Deacon Tom Writes,

“Christ the King”

 

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

 

Pope Pius XI established the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 in response to the growing sense of secularism that arose in the early 20th century. Germany was experiencing the rise of Nazism and exaggerated nationalism. There were populist movements toward communism, atheism and totalitarian governments elsewhere that demanded total sovereignty over people, substituting a nation or an ideology in place of God. This led Pius XI to institute today’s Feast as a way to make us aware that nations can never replace God in claiming sovereignty over the people.

 

Yet, we know from Sacred Scripture that Jesus rejected the notion of being an earthly 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.” (John 18:36)

 

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 to this may be hidden in the choice of today’s gospel that is taken from St. Luke’s account of Jesus’ death on Calvary. (Luke 23:35-43) In Jesus’ perfect surrender of himself on the cross, we get a glimpse of the Kingdom to which we have been called along with a sense of the nature of the Christ’s Kingship. His is a kingship of suffering the insufferable, a kingship of forgiveness in the face of terrible injustice, a kingship of surrendering self and any authority or power we may have in this life into the hands of God the Father. Christ is king for those who live the beatitudes; he is king for everyone who suffers with those who suffer injustice, persecution, victimization, or deprivation; he is king for those who side with the immigrants, refugees, widows, the powerless, afflicted, disenfranchised; he is king for anyone who attempts to bring a sliver of hope to our world where hope is so desperately needed. If our loyalties and fidelity lie elsewhere, be assured, we do not belong to the kingdom Jesus inaugurated and is running its course before our very eyes.

 

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 come to completion on this earth. That time when all the kings and prime ministers, chancellors, presidents and all who have ever ruled this world, will pay homage and tribute to the one from whom they have received their power and their authority and the one to whom they too must one day render an account. 

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

 

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius may be the best way to prepare ourselves to receive the Christ Child into our lives this Christmas.   

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Meaning of Life: Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. A Philosopher’s view of Frankl’s Man’s search for Meaning.  prayerful reflection on the people, events and happening of the day and where you met Jesus in them.  

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Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Days to Come’”

 

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

 

Seeing Christmas decorations in the stores and hearing the countdown to Christmas since early September is a sure sign that our holiday shopping season has arrived. In the spiritual realm it is a reminder that this current Liturgical Year is drawing to a close. As it does, Sacred Scripture invites us to consider “the days to come”. Today we hear the first of several prophetic warnings about the judgment that will take place in “the days to come”. The Prophet Malachi issues a warning that the proud and evildoers will be punished, and those who fear the Lord and follow his ways will be rewarded in “the days to come”.

 

Jesus, too, sees that in “the days to come” there will be a judgment rendered upon Jerusalem, a day when the magnificent Temple standing before him will be leveled…. “So that not one stone will be left upon another”, a painful image for the people of his day.

 

What Malachi and Jesus both envision for us today is that the days of this world are numbered. The clock is running...tic, toc. History, with its wars, famines, revolutions and plagues will give way to a new chapter in the Creator’s plan in “the days to come”. These readings remind us that everything around us is temporary. The world and all that has been developed over the ages in the course of human achievement and progress will one day fade away. What will not fade away, however, is God’s judgment!

 

In these last several weeks of our Liturgical Year, we are challenged to prepare ourselves for “the days to come” by setting our hearts and minds on the things that matter, on the things that will endure, Jesus and the kingdom he inaugurated. As citizens of God’s kingdom, we are invited to live a healthy and mature spiritual life that leads to a deeper relationship with God; we are encouraged to develop a discerning spirit so that we know how to make the right choices for ourselves and our families; we are asked to conform our lives to Christ’s so that we live and act justly and do what we can to comfort and help the poor and the needy.

 

Following Christ’s example can be costly, as Jesus makes clear in the gospel today. Being a witness of the gospel can cause us hardship, suffering, and distress. Just try speaking out against capital punishment or advocating the principles of our Catholic Social Teaching. Watch what happens if you welcome a political refugee from Venezuela into your home.  That’s because the gospel stands in contrast to the world around us, a world that is often indifferent, wasteful, unjust and, oh, by the way, passing.

 

As our Liturgical Year ends, we look forward to “the days to come”, when all that is temporary and lacking gives way to the plans that God has in mind for those who persevere in following his ways. Today, we wait in hope for “the Lord to come and rule the earth with justice.”

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests 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: Letters From an Understanding Friend by Isaias Powers, C.P., draws the reader into Christ's loving care to experience his love and compassion.

 

Recommended YouTube Video  Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI on Catholic Social Teaching. This is an excerpt from his lecture series "Simply Being Good-Hearted is Not Enough: A Spirituality of Charity, Justice, and Prophecy." I hope you will find this very interesting.

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome_C - Holy Space_110925

Lateran Basilica, Rome

 

Deacon Tom Writes

Holy Space

 

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

 

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. It is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, and to Jesus Christ, our Savior. It became the Mother Church of Christendom around 313 A.D. when the Emperor Constantine gave it to the Bishop of Rome. Many Councils, referred to as Lateran Councils, were held within its walls in the early days of the church. It was there that much of the dogma of our faith that we profess today was formulated.

 

I have seen this beautiful church and indeed it is a masterpiece. The architecture, the decorations, the adornments are works of art description. This is true for many of our basilicas and cathedrals. Many of our churches are a sight to behold. Yet, what gives them their real beauty is not the adornments. It’s not the gold and silver decorations, nor the famed renaissance paintings, nor the jeweled sacred vessels. What makes these grand structures so magnificent is the One in whose name and memory these houses of worship were built - the Lord, God Almighty. 

 

We know from our Old Testament history that David desired to build a house for the Lord and that his son, Solomon, is credited with building the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem. But buildings come and go. The temple that God wanted to establish among His people was made of human flesh. It was Christ, the God-Man. Salvation History is the story of God visiting His people and creating within them “holy space” that would be the living, breathing temples of His Holy Spirit.

 

Whenever we enter into this “holy space”, we come into a communal celebration to share in the banquet Christ has prepared for us through His sacrifice on Calvary. We enter into a mystery that is beyond us and that summons within us a faith that rises above our understanding. Within this “holy space” we are joined by other believers to be nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ and enlivened by the Words of Sacred Scripture. Then, reenergized by God’s love for us, we are commissioned to take our gifts out into the world and share them eagerly with everyone we meet. The gifts we receive inside our “holy spaces” will atrophy and die if we do not bring them to each and every person we encounter; if we do not used them in every situation we find ourselves, if they are not a part of all our decisions and judgments we make in the course of the day. We are the church, the living, breathing, holy spaces God desires to dwell within and fill with His Glory.

 

Enjoy the Day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests 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.

 

 

Recommended Reading:  John the Baptizer by Bonnie B Thurston. This "narrative biography" of John the Baptist, drawn primarily from New Testament texts, introduces the reader to the life of John the Baptist in the Gospels and Christian spirituality.

With more verses devoted to him than anyone except Jesus, John the Baptist appears some ninety times in the New Testament. This book introduces the reader to John's life, especially its importance in the ministry of Jesus, the development of the early church, and his enduring spiritual significance. This is a good read for our upcoming Advent Season.

 

Recommended YouTube Video: What is Contemplative Prayer and Why is it so Needed? with Fr. Richard Rohr "A Long, loving, look at the Real" – If you have not yet discovered contemplative prayer for yourself get ready. Soon you'll want to be doing nothing else! In this video Fr. Rohr dives into the essence of a contemplative inner life, what it is, how to start and its historical context in the Christian story.... Check out his daily meditations at cac.org for more. This particular issue is all on contemplative prayer:

 

 

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day), Year C - All Souls Are Called to Be All Saints_110225

Deacon Tom Writes,

All Souls Are Called to Be All Saints

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day), Year C

 

 

Celebration of the Feast of All Souls had its origin in the Benedictine Monastery in Cluny, France. In 998 A.D. Odilo, the Abbot, instructed his men to pray for the souls of the dead on the day after All Saints Day when the Church honored the lives of holy women and men. This practice was quickly embraced by the faithful and by the 13^th century had spread to Rome. By the 14 century it was a universal feast of the church. Today we celebrate what is officially known as, “The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed”, commonly known as “All Souls” day.

 

The arranging of All Saints Day and All Souls Day back-to-back gives us a great opportunity to reflect on our lives in light of our Christian vocations and our mortality. As we recall the lives of those who have gone before us, we can’t help but know that one day we will follow in their footsteps. What kind of life do we want to live? What spiritual legacy and witness do we want to leave? What did we learn from the lives of the Saints and the holy people have gone before us?  Do you see the wisdom of connecting the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls?  To make the relationship between these two feasts practical, we have to overcome a general misperception that the Feast of All Souls is only about paying homage to the great saints, the likes of St. Francis, St Augustine, St. Thomas or St. Peter. The Feast of All Souls encompasses a much wider vision.

 

Just after converting to Catholicism, Thomas Merton was asked by a friend what he wanted to be, now that he was Catholic. “I don’t know, I suppose I just want to be a good Catholic”, Merton replied. His friend responded with this challenge: “What you should say is that you want to be a saint!” Merton was dumbfounded. “How do you expect me to become a saint?” Merton asked him. To which his friend said: “All that is necessary to be a saint is to want to be one. Don’t you trust that God can make you what He created you to be, Thomas”?  Merton was silent.

 

These words must have taken root in Merton’s heart. For he would go on to become one of the great spiritual thinkers and writers of the last century, and, in the eyes of many, he was indeed a saint.

 

This brief exchange between Merton and his friend speaks so simply and profoundly to our calling as Catholic Christians. We should want to be saints. And to be a saint, all we need is to want to be a saint.

 

The Church elevates the lives of the Saints to give us a good example of ordinary people who have attainted extraordinary holiness.  These men and women have dedicated their lives to being witnesses of the faith through sacrifice, service, and prayer. Often, they suffered great pain, rejection, torture, and even death in professing their love and devotion to God. It is right that they be honored and their intercessions sought by the faithful throughout the ages.

 

At the same time, our church also recognizes the ordinary acts of courage and dedication on the part of those living the faith day in and day out…. that is, the “All Souls”. We believe in the “Communion of Saints”, that body of believers who, in addition to those “major” Saints, have professed their faith in God by their daily perseverance and their constant prayers. Included in this group are our family, loved ones, and friends, all those people who got up every day, took care of their families, and lived a good life, struggled to do the right thing…one day at a time. When things were good, they were faithful…When things were bad…they were faithful. In remaining faithful in good times and in bad, they handed on to us the legacy of our faith, our Catholic “Tradition”.

 

As we remember our loved ones and those who have gone before us and their sacrifice, their witness encourages us to imitate the good example they gave us. We call them to mind now as they share their reward for hearing and responding to their call to be saints.  We turn to them that they may ask God to help us answer our call to holiness so we may join them when our pilgrimage on earth comes to an end.  

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests 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:  Alive in God by Timothy Radcliffe, O.P. How can Christianity touch the imagination of our contemporaries when ever fewer people in the West identify as religious? Timothy Radcliffe argues we must show how everything we believe is an invitation to live fully. God says: "I put before you life and death: choose life."

Anyone who understands the beauty and messiness of human life--novelists, poets, filmmakers and so on--can be our allies, whether they believe or not. The challenge is not today's secularism but its banality.

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Deacon Tom Writes,

All Cried Out

 

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

 

This picture of a Syrian boy bruised and bloodied during the battle for Aleppo several years ago has haunted my mind since the moment I first saw it. But new, more graphic ones now flood the airwaves and social media as a new set of victims emerge from Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and Haiti. More victims, more suffering, more violence and despair.

While the hearts of some are overwhelmed with sorrow and grief, such grief apparently is not sufficient to bring the fighting to an end.

 

Kids have a way of letting their faces show their emotions as this picture depicts quite vividly. I look at it and I feel a sense of horrific loss: the loss of another generation of children who have inherited the legacy of war, poverty, hopelessness and desperation. One can only believe that these horrible conditions are helping to condition young minds into believing that the future holds no hope for them or their loved ones. In the absence of  a new vision emboldened by hope and roadmap for peace, the violence and devastation will continue. 

           

The Old Testament reading from Sirach today stresses, “The Lord is a God of justice” who “hears the cry of the oppressed”. Sirach writes further, “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds… and the Lord will not delay”. 

 

This reminder that the Lord is a God of Justice should inspire us and encourage us never to miss an opportunity to reach out to the hopeless and despairing. Those who believe in God’s justice seek to cooperate with him in helping to answer the cries of the poor. Faithful people do not lose hope! Rather, they look to inspire and generate hope in the most desperate of situations.

 

Thank God for the many volunteers whose personal sacrifice and efforts engender hope to people who remain in the war-torn cities, the many refugee camps, and those fleeing the devastation. Catholic Relief Services is a global organization with a vast network of outreach providing much-needed assistance to places where it is desperately needed. Supporting such relief agencies financially is one way for us to overcome indifference to the suffering of others and to put into practice the Corporal Works of Mercy. Also, don’t forget to continue to offer prayers and sacrifices for an end to this and other conflicts around the world. Remember, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor” and one day he is sure to ask us if we did and how we responded.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests 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:   Learning to Pray by Fr. James Martin S.J. who has written a brilliant introduction to prayer that will help us encounter the Living God who desires to encounter us.

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Hear Fr. Keating talk about the Divine Love we can discover through contemplative prayer. The Most Excellent Path, Part 3, with Thomas Keating

 

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - Prayer in Action_101925

Deacon Tom Writes,

Prayer In Action

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Francis Cardinal Spellman gave us his unique perspective on prayer when he borrowed a line from St. Augustine, “Pray as if everything depended upon God and work as if everything depended upon you.” In today’s readings we see Moses and the woman plaintiff working very hard to get the results they wanted. Prayer is very much a part of the solutions we experience in life. But, as we read today, so is being active in pursuing the desired outcome.

We know that God wants us to pray because prayer is essentially a communication, a dialogue between us and God. It is a necessary and essential ingredient of building a deepening relationship with God. Jesus was a man of deep, intimate prayer with his father. The gospels tell us that Jesus often went off early in the morning and prayed. It was through his prayer life that Jesus was able to know what God asked of him and formulate what his response would be. Jesus’ prayers animated all his thoughts and actions.

It is this understanding of Jesus and his ministry that gives rise to Cardinal Spellman’s insight calling us to prayer inspired action. This is a very practical example for anyone trying to live the gospel message. How else can we do what Jesus asks us to do? Can we truly expect to love our enemies if we are not prepared to take some steps toward bringing about a peaceful reconciliation? Do we think that we can merely say a prayer that someone we have hurt will forgive us and, zap, everything will be all right? Or praying for the hungry in the hopes that others will feed them? I seriously doubt it. Forgiveness, reconciliation, peacemaking, changes in our attitudes and behaviors, all the real activities of spiritual maturity, take both much prayer and much work. That is probably why St. Paul said to “Pray without ceasing”, and why we have the “spiritual exercises” of St Ignatius. They encourage us to pray and work for a Godly balance in our lives. This will enable us to discover God’s priorities for us this day and to discover his Presence in ourselves, in others and in everything around us while keeping us from being overwhelmed by it all.

Central to our faith and essential to our spiritual growth and maturity is the constant need to maintain a proper balance of prayer and action in our lives. Doing so will deepen our relationship with our Lord who desires our constant love and who seeks to be our life long companion.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests 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: Beginning To Pray By Metropolitan Anthony Bloom Beginning to Pray has established itself as a modern spiritual classic. Hailed by both Catholics and Protestants, it was written by an Orthodox archbishop for people who had never prayed before, and has been read and loved by persons at all levels of spiritual development.

"The realm of God is dangerous," says the author. "You must enter into it and not just seek information about it... The day when God is absent, when he is silent―that is the beginning of prayer."

Recommended YouTube Video: The Most Excellent Path, Part 2, with Thomas Keating Hear Fr. Keating talk about the Divine Love we can discover through contemplative prayer.

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - Actions Speak Louder Than Words_101225

Deacon Tom Writes,

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

 

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

 

In St Luke’s Gospel for the Twenty-eighth Sunday, we witness one of several occasions when Jesus encounters Samaritans during his travels. You may recall that Jews and Samaritans despised each other. It was a religious rivalry fueled by differences from the past, such as where they worshiped, and how they interpreted scripture. These differences do not hinder Jesus from witnessing to the Samaritans about the Kingdom of God as in the story of the Woman at the Well or in today’s account of the Curing of the Lepers. In both stories it is the Samaritans, the outsiders, who are receptive to Jesus’ message and are thus able to receive the grace Jesus has in store for them.

 

Isn’t it amazing that Jesus is able to look beyond labels, divisions and even animosities and see the human needs present in those whose paths cross his? Jesus doesn’t proselytize. He doesn’t say, “Hey, become a good Jew first, then I’ll cure you or then I’ll tell you the Good News.” Not at all! Jesus lets his actions rooted in his ministry of inaugurating the Kingdom of God speak for him. And what do his actions say?

 

Powerfully, the very fact that Jesus speaks to the lepers gives them a sense of dignity and breaks the isolation that has been imposed upon them by society. Their self-worth is affirmed when Jesus acknowledges their presence and instructs them to go and show themselves to the priest. When they listen to him, they are cured.

 

What immense joy, what amazement this must have given them. But, as we know, unfortunately only one returns to the source of that joy, and that one is the outsider, the Samaritan. The others may have been equally as thankful and went on their way praising God as they rushed home to their families and loved ones. This one Samaritan, however, had the heart-felt gratitude to return and thank Jesus for bringing him back to life in the fullest sense of the word.

 

Our Samaritan friend we encounter today reminds us to give thanks to God for restoring our lives to completeness by loving us and inviting us to let his love shine through our lives into the hearts and lives of everyone we meet.  

 

Enjoy the day

Deacon Tom      

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests 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 20th Anniversary Edition by Cistercian Father Thomas Keating This is a marvelous introduction to centering prayer as Father guides us how to say "Yes" to God's grace so we can "Be still and know that I am God.”

 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Hear Fr. Keating talk about the Divine Love we can discover through contemplative prayer. The Most Excellent Path, Part 1, with Thomas Keating

 

 

 

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - Plugged In_100525

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Plugged In”

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

 

Imagine we could harness the power Jesus associates with faith. If a tiny amount of faith could transform the physical environment, and one could move mountains, there would be no limit to the good that people with just a bit of faith could accomplish.  So why do we have so many conditions that cause us hardship, sorrow, regret and grief?  Is Jesus somehow chiding His disciples for lacking faith? 

 

The sudden urge the Apostles had for more faith is revealing. Was it because they are finally beginning to realize they needed to step up their game in order to follow Jesus; or they needed more faith themselves just to grasp Jesus’ revolutionary teachings about love, forgiveness and the cost of discipleship?  A little of each, I suspect. 

 

Today there is an obvious need for increased faith on our part. We need a deep faith to reshape the landscapes of our hearts and minds so that we realize that God is God and we are the work of His hands. This is a seismic shift in the prevailing wisdom of our contemporary society that feeds us non-stop with the toxic messaging that the individual is at the center of the universe; that holds out an empty wisdom that is relentless in feeding our egos and boosting our pride that “I” deserve the best, that “I’m # 1, that “I’m” a self-made person and everybody else has to take their place behind me.  Faith is the only antidote that enables us to see the bigger picture that places God at the center of everything and to recognize a power above and beyond us…a loving and caring God who invites us to enjoy and share this world and all its riches with one another and who gives us the vision there are greater things to come.  

 

Faith gives us a clear vision of what lies ahead and the obstacles we must overcome to get there. Once the Apostles recognized the road they were about to travel, they asked Jesus for the Faith to carry on. A wise request and one worthy of imitation. For, the more our faith increases, the more we will understand who we are: “we are unprofitable servants” striving to do what we have been asked to do – love, forgive and serve. 

 

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in to hear some Catholic 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: Why God? by Richard Leonard, S.J. is a collection of stories and is divided into four parts: Church; Liturgy and Sacraments, Society, Faith and Spirituality. Through these very personal and engaging stories, the author provides insights into the way God works through people and often unexpected places and events. These true stories speak of the power of God working in creation and through the unlikely individuals and places that we discover God's transforming love.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  Fr Richard Leonard, S.J. YouTube Presentation, "Why God?",  Stories to Inspire Faith

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - The Prophetic Tradition_092825

Deacon Tom Writes,

The Prophetic Tradition

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

The Prophet Amos who speaks to us in our first reading today was a shepherd of Tekoa in Judah during the prosperous reign of King Jeroboam II from 786-746 B.C. For several weeks now we have heard him speak of the injustices against the poor and the complacency of the people of his day. Like all prophets, his messages were very unpopular. Amos told the people that there would be a day of reckoning on account of how they treated the poor. He foretold a time when God would destroy Jerusalem and send his people into exile. The fulfillment of this prophecy took place in 597 B.C., an event history records as the Babylonian Captivity.

Amos belonged to a very special group of Old Testament authors known as the Minor Prophets. Included in this genre of very irritating people are Hosea, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Prophets were irritating because they delivered unpopular messages. The messages they delivered were not their own, but God’s. Prophets encouraged the people to return to God and be faithful to him. Not surprisingly, these individuals also foretold the dismal consequences that awaited the people of Israel for their prideful disobedience and unfaithfulness to God. Inherent in the prophetic message, however, was always a call to turn away from sin and return to the love of God.

 

It has been thousands of years since the Old Testament Prophets spoke out against the evils of their times. Yet, the passage of time has not silenced the need for us today to hear and take seriously the prophetic messages being spoken to us. Fortunately, there are those among us today who continue to speak prophetically about the poor and suffering among us. They remind us that the poor are still being treated unjustly through limited access to quality education and health care; they point out that racism and discrimination still prevail in many facets of our society; they shed light where immigrants are being exploited. Prophetic voices today remind us that we, like the people of Amos’s day, or like the riche man in today’s gospel, do not see the injustice and suffering of those around us. It seems that the real sin we all face today in our comfort and our abundance is that the poor and the needy have become invisible to us or worse yet, we have become indifferent to the “cries of the poor”. We have pushed the suffering souls to the fringes of our society so that our paths will seldom cross or our eyes will never meet.

 

Let us give thanks for the likes of St. Teresa of Calcutta, Nelson Mandela, Thomas Merton, Sr. Helen Prejean, Desmond Tutu, Henri Nouwen, Jean Vanier, St. John Paul II, Martin Luther King Jr., and Dorothy Day to name but a few faithful and courageous souls whose lives and witness have helped keep the embers of the prophetic tradition smoldering in our times. They have helped enlivened the spirits of so many others to continue to do the irritating work of the prophets who have gone before us.

 

May we listen to their words, imitate them and respond faithfully to the "cry of the poor".

 

Enjoy the day!

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in to hear some Catholic 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: Salvation: What Every Catholic Should Know by Michael Patrick Barber. The new What Every Catholic Should Know series is intended for the average faithful Catholic who wants to know more about Catholic faith and culture. The authors in this series take a panoramic approach to the topic of each book aimed at a non-specialist but enthusiastic readership. Forthcoming titles planned for this series include: literature, salvation, mercy, history, art, music and philosophy.

 

At every Sunday Mass, Catholics confess that Jesus came down from heaven “for us men and for our salvation.” But what does “salvation” mean? In this robust and accessible book, Scripture scholar and theologian Michael Patrick Barber provides a thorough, deeply Catholic, and deeply biblical, answer. He deftly tackles this complex topic, unpacking what the New Testament teaches about salvation in Christ, detailing what exactly salvation is, and what it is not. In easy and readable prose, he explains what the Cross, the Church, and the Trinity have to do with salvation. While intellectually stimulating, Salvation: What Every Catholic Should Know is deeply spiritual, and at its core is the salvific message that God is love, and his love is one of transformation and redemption.

 

Recommended YouTube: The Catechism in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz. Like the Bible in a Year series, it is never too late to join Fr. Mike as he leads us through the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This is a wonderful way to learn about the beauty of our faith at our own pace. Give it a try. 

 

 

 

 

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - I Will Never Forget_092125

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“I Will Never Forget”

 

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

 

We would be seriously mistaken to think that cheating the poor and stealing from the needy was a modern-day phenomenon. Sad to say that such behavior has been around for a long time. 750 years before Christ the Prophet Amos chastises those who tinkered with their scales in order to overcharge the poor and needy for their wheat and grain. The Lord has a few caustic words for them, “Never will I forget a thing they have done”!

 

Have you ever heard the expression, “keeping your thumb on the scale”? In whose favor does that work? In addition, those who engage in such a devious practice, as Amos writes, can’t wait for the Sabbath and the Festival of the New Moon to be over with so that they can take advantage of the poor of the land. Such behavior has gotten the Lord’s attention, says Amos, and the Lord, “will never forget a thing they have done”!

 

In the gospel, Jesus tells the story of a manager who has quite the way with numbers. Apparently, he was an unscrupulous steward whose deception was detected by his employer. What the steward lacked in integrity, however, he made up for with his imagination. Before he is fired, he cancels part of the debt that others owed his master. This way those whose debts he had forgiven would take care of him after he was discharged. What a fraud and so cleverly done. That’s why Jesus points him out. As deceitful as this act was, Jesus recognizes that the dishonest steward was very successful in taking very good care of himself.

 

Now, Jesus is not advocating deceitful means in our dealings with the world. Rather, he is suggesting that his disciples be as ingenious and imaginative in ways of building up the Kingdom of God as those who seek to acquire an inordinate share of the things of this world. If just a small token of our efforts were directed toward advancing the Kingdom of God in all our daily encounters. What if f we put into practice this same imaginative vision in doing God’s work in our families and offices, in our political activities or governmental structures or in our schools, where we shop or play, in the way we view the people whose ideologies, ethnicities, political views, socio-economic backgrounds differ from ours. If we put that same cleverness of the unscrupulous servant, do you not think that a more just and peaceful world would unfold before our very eyes. And if you believe that then I suspect two things would follow: one, we would realize that we are missing out on something special and two, we would be more energize to make our contribution wherever we can as best we are able.

 

Today’s readings prompt us to reflect on how much imagination and energy we put into bringing about God’s Kingdom as we go about our daily affairs. Do we see the poor being abused and cheated in any way today and point it out, refuse to participate, seek to put an end to unfair and unjust practices that oppress them? This is an important question for disciples of Jesus to ask themselves today and every day for much in wrong with our world today and silence seems to be the order of the day. As disciples of Christ, we cannot stand idly by and stick our heads in the sand. And why is that? It is because those words of the Prophet Amos also apply equally to us today as to those of his time for, as the Lord says, “Never will I forget a thing they have done.”

 

Enjoy the day,

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in to hear some Catholic 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:  Against All Hope by Richard Rohr O.F.M  Fr Richard introduces us to the transforming vision of Saint Francis in an age of anxiety. Written in 2001, Fr Richard’s work has much to say to us today when the virtue of hope is so desperately needed.

 

Recommended Podcast: Turning From Ego to Love – An Interview with Richard Rohr, O.F.M

In this episode, Bishop Curry talks with Richard Rohr, OFM, about what it takes to turn and follow a Christ as big as the universe, choosing the Way of Love instead of the ways of our egos. The two discuss the spiritualities of addition and subtraction and the consequences for our country and ourselves when we spend more time placing Jesus on a pedestal than we do actively following him. The good news in all of this is that, like Fr. Rohr and Bishop Curry, we are all called by Jesus to follow the Way of Love. With God’s help, we can turn from the powers of sin, hatred, fear, injustice, and oppression toward the way of truth, love, hope, justice, and freedom. It is this reorienting of our whole selves - body, mind, and soul - on the love and life of Jesus that leads us away from cynicism and into freedom.

 

 

 

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - Forgiveness_091425

Deacon Tom Writes,

Forgiveness

 

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

 

 

Syria, Iraq, Gaza, Somalia, Sudan and the Ukraine… are just a few of the places where violence rages on such an enormous scale. How are people who have seen and suffered such extreme suffering able to forgive those who have brought such pain and suffering into their lives?  How can man, women, and children whose memories are forever scarred by such violence able to put their lives back together and not follow the ancient paths of revenge and retaliation? Is it possible for such victims to forgive their oppressors in order to end the violence and not pass it on like a virus to future generations?  

 

The people of South Africa and Ireland seemed to have met with some success in ending the violence that destroys people and villages. In the case of South Africa ending apartheid, the legalized segregation of the population into black and white, was crucial in stopping the brutality. In the case of Ireland, years of economic domination gave way in the late 1980’s to a period of economic growth and stability that has been a significant factor helping build a bridge to a new error of peace and cooperation between former adversaries.

 

I don’t think we will ever understand the mystery of suffering, the suffering inherent in our humanity such as sickness and disease or the suffering that is the product of our human desires that causes and imposes suffering on others through war, poverty, physical / sexual / mental / substance abuse.  But I do think that we Christians have a unique way to view suffering, our own or the suffering of others… and that is through the prism of the Cross. If you look at Christ as the victim who represents all the victims who have ever suffered throughout time, before Him and after Him, then we can see in His death that there is no need for further victims. The message of the cross is this:  NO MORE VICTIMS.

 

This message has been slow to take root, but as fragile as that root may be, it is showing signs of life. For we could not experience the reconciliations that have happened in Ireland or in South Africa and in other places where former adversaries now live side by side, unless you have people living the message we hear today in our gospel, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” We are called to love others as God loves us. This is the only way we will have a future. If we are not able to get beyond the violence, the violence WILL consume us. For Christians, violence stops at the cross.

 

This is the real Triumph of the Cross: that we are learning how to forgive others as Jesus did. May God give us the courage, strength, and wisdom to be quick to forgive those who injure us as we pray for an end to all activities that create victims.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom  

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in to hear some Catholic 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: Give Us This Day – a daily devotional with the Scripture reading for the day, daily reflection and a brief look into the life of a saint or a person who lived a holy life. Available in paper or digital format from Liturgical Press.

 

Recommended YouTube: What is Spirituality and How Do We Study It by Dan Horan. In this Fall Lecture, which is part of the Center for the Study of Spirituality's 40th Anniversary Year Celebration, Prof. Daniel P. Horan, PhD, Director of the Center for the Study of Spirituality at Saint Mary's College, offers an introduction to the concept of spirituality, the specifics of Christian spirituality, and a survey of the academic discipline of spirituality studies