First Sunday of Advent_C - To You, O Lord, I Lift My Soul_112821

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, however, 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

Thirty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B_ The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe - My Kingdom is Not of This World112121

Deacon Tom Writes,

“My Kingdom Is Not of This World”

The Solemnity 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

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - The Passing of Time and Place_111421

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 to see how prepared we are to render an account of our lives to the God of all creation.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Only In God_110421

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” and “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

Image credit: wikimedia.org-Hand_gottes.jpg

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - First Things First_103121

Deacon Tom Writes,

“First Things First!”

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, Ipads and Ipods. 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 your 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

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B_102421 - The Courage to Beg

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

Image credit: maryricehopkins.com:Bartimaeus3

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - How Low Can You Go?_101721

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 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, this 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