tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47632943827375299122024-03-05T12:07:23.180-06:00parishpriestto create a sense of beauty in those whose life is sordid and ugly; giving them power to see for the very first time...immeasurably generous is God's favor to us.parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.comBlogger1757125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-50385592776517698992017-06-17T15:33:00.002-05:002017-06-17T16:00:20.745-05:00Corpus Christi: God is near Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16; Psalm 147 Praise the Lord, Jerusalem; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58<br />
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"What great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us?" (Deut 4:7). This saying of Moses from the old Testament requires its true sublimity only in the Church, in God; new people. <br />
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For in Israel, God humbled himself in his speaking to Moses and thus had drawn near to his people, but now he himself has taken flesh, has become a man among men, and has remained in such a mysterious way that he places himself in our hands and in our hearts in the Eucharist.<br />
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God is so near that he could be no closer.<br />
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Receiving communion means entering into communion with Jesus. St Paul reveals this insight to us in the second reading, "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of christ?"<br />
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The Eucharist means, God has answered: The Eucharist is God as an answer, as an answering presence. This is why we bow our heads before receiving his presence. Any genuine human love invites us into an element of bowing down before the God-given dignity of the other person. In the Eucharist we have communion with Jesus and his greatness thus there remains a spirit of adoration necessary before this answering presence that draws near to us. <br />
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In the Eucharist God is so near he could be no closer.<br />
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"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and i will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my body is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." John 6:51-58<br />
<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-80361726563240531792017-05-20T15:39:00.005-05:002017-05-20T16:06:24.458-05:00The Action of the Spirit Acts 8:5-8,14-17; Psalm 66 Let all the earth cry out to god with Joy; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21<br />
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We have been reading over the season of Easter from the Acts of the Apostles. The acts of the Apostles details not os much what the Apostles are doing but rather what the action of the Spirit looks like in the Apostles as they journey forth.<br />
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It isn't so much what the Spirit is doing to the apostles and the Early Church but rather what the Holy Spirit is doing with them. The Acts of the Apostles or the action of the Spirit is about how Jesus becomes king, his kingdom begins to reign and be established on earth.<br />
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Jesus influence touches the corners of the world by and through the lives of men and women of faith.<br />
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The Holy Spirit is called the paraclete or the prosecutor: the Spirit through men and women of faith engage the powers of the word and pass judgment on them through the power of speech, word. This is why St Peter says in today's second reading we should give a explanation for our hope. Just as a prosecutor tries to persuade the jury so we by our life and words seek to persuade the world of God's invitation to life and love.<br />
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The Action of the Spirit is to sanctify Christ as Lord in our heats. That is to make in our hearts a place for Jesus to reign, to give direction, to give guidance so that His spirit triumphs over the spirit of the world in our personal lives. Peter ask us to dedicate our heart to the Lord. In the first century our heart was the center of life which included our emotions, desires, intelligence and reason, will, and sensibilities. <br />
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All of this is meant to be ruled by Jesus and his Spirit. How often do we let the Spirit of the world rule our emotions and will and desires. <br />
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St Peter ges on to say that we should be always ready to give explanation to anyone who asks for a reason for our hope." The word hope is used for expectations. <br />
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How often I have met with couples struggling in marriage and leaning toward divorce and many of them will tell me, "This is not what I expected." What marriage life had become is not what they expected. I ask them, "what did you expect?" Then i remind them of their vows. The vows are beautiful. The vows made are about true expectations, the expectations we have should always be expansive and all encompassing and never narrow and restrictive,: "good times and bad, sickness and health, love and honor all the days of my life." The problem is that most couples don't expect enough. The expectations they have are set by themselves and not by the Spirit of God at work in and through them. We are told that all things work for Good for those who love God. Out side of abuse and harm, we should expect more and more to unfold with the Sprit's guidance. <br />
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The Spirit is describes at the Advocate in today's gospel. The word advocate means prosecutor, the one who plead another's cause. The Spirit is pleading Jesus's cause in and through our life to the world. Our life of love passes judgment on the spirit of the world. We can to be of the world if we are called to transform it by life in the Spirit.<br />
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Lastly Jesus tells us that, "And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him." In loving him, we come to meet him. Think about that. We don't wait to love until we encounter Jesus. Rather in loving as he commanded we open ourselves up to encountering him deeply and truly in our life. In loving him he reveals himself to us. What a gift and blessing for us as we allow the Spirit of God, the action of the Spirit to influence our heart, our emotions, our desires, our intelligence, reason and will. <br />
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Todays gospel ends on verse 21 of chapter 14 of John's gospel. But if you read the next verse Judas of Iscariot ask Jesus, "how is it you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world." Jesus' answer is simple. Through us, the world we will come to know him. As we love him and he reveals himself to us then he also reveals himself to the world. This is the action of the Spirit at work in our lives. <br />
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What does Jesus want? He wants the world to encounter him. How does that happen? It happens though us who believe and love as he commands. And this is our expectation, our hope, our life and joy inner daily journey.<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-41729250643983801802017-05-20T14:10:00.000-05:002017-05-20T14:10:59.453-05:00Mother's Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33 Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12<br />
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"So that you may announce the praise of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."<br />
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"Whoever believes in me will do the works I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father."<br />
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Today in Mexico, Mother's day is celebrated. This weekend we shall gather to celebrate Mother's day in the US. Many countries throughout the world have set aside a day to honor and give thanks for Mother's.<br />
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Poems and songs and reflections and homilies and catchy phrases all abound in an attempt to show gratitude and honor to the mother in our life, our families, our society, an din the world around.<br />
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Mother's provide for us our first home. The womb welcomes us in the the most vulnerable of times, the most essential of times in growth and development, in our need for security and comfort, in our desire for life and love in the womb we find that place offered to us as we begin to become ourselves.<br />
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What can there be said about Mother's that has not already been said? What can be written that has already not been written?<br />
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When it comes to mother's originality is not important for each mother is original. The mother is sent as the original ambassador of life and love. Some seek it out. Some long for it. Some refuse it. Some welcome it. Some cherish it. Some hide it. Some embrace it. Some scorn it. <br />
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Motherhood and mothers like Christ have received praise and rejoicing and back lash and cursing. It is a strange reality we find ourselves in at this time in history.<br />
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But we pause to take notice on this mother's day of the office of love motherhood fulfills and we are grateful.<br />
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Blessings to all mothers.parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-15982771164421849232017-03-18T09:36:00.001-05:002017-03-18T09:47:18.039-05:00NEVER ALONE NEVER AT NOONJohn ch 4<br />
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Today we experience the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.<br />
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Things to note<br />
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Never alone and never at noon. This was the protocol for women in the time of Jesus going to a well to get water.<br />
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They would go in groups, Safety in numbers. They would go when it was cool, less of a risk to faint or pass out. They would go at dawn or dusk. Never lone and never at noon.<br />
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But this woman is alone and it is noon. This in itself suggest according to biblical scholars that the woman was dealing with shame in her life and perhaps wanted to hide from ridicule. She was ether shunned by the community or she was shunning her self because of guilt and shame. Her lifestyle wasn't the norm and thus open to judgment.<br />
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She wanted to get o the well, get the water, and get home with out any interruptions. She was looking to avoid confrontation and avoid notice and go on her merry way.<br />
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Then there is this interruption. There is a man at the well. Not only is there a man but he wants to talk and he wants water. She has a choice to make. She can enter int o the interruption and receive it as a gift or she can let frustration boil over into anger and demand her time and her plan to be kept unscathed by such interruptions.<br />
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How many unexpected interruptions come our way. How many interruptions do we have in our daily routine or our plans for the day. How many annoying realities interrupt us. Maybe not just in our daily routine but perhaps in our life. Perhaps, sickness or failures or surprises. <br />
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Like the women we can get defensive, we get angry, we can try to blame or manipulate or we can receive and enter into the conversation God is wanting to have with us.<br />
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This is what Jesus wants when he ask for a drink, he is asking for communion, he asking for a deeper relationship. He wants to get to the dirt and he wants things to get personal. In is in the dirt that seeds are planted and able to germinate. How quickly Jesus moves form the surface to someplace more meaningful, way more personal. <br />
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Maybe This is exactly what every interruption in our life is about; it is about getting more personal; maybe it is about moving beyond the surface; maybe its about getting to the dirt so that God can till the soil of our lives and prepare for a more meaningful encounter with freedom.<br />
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In it all, Jesus never points the finger or condemns but he elevates and invites the woman to more personal reality, getting to the dirt so that she might find true freedom. We see this when she bodly goes to the community and invites then to come and see.<br />
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What Jesus does for this woman and giving her freedom from shame and guilt and from her own self perhaps he wants to do for us. He wants us to do this for one another. We can't live on the surface of our lives, we have to get to the dirt, get personal only then can true freedom be discovered and God ultimately be encountered.<br />
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She invites us to get deeper and more personal. <br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-62033215654283597882017-02-16T08:43:00.002-06:002017-02-16T08:43:55.271-06:00NOAHGenesis 6-9<br />
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Over the past few days in the Liturgy we have been introduced to Noah. It is in and through Noah that God's extends an opportunity of life and love through all of humanity.<br />
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On Tuesday we encounter the reality in which God is grieved by humanity and chooses to wipe out from the face of the earth all that He had created.<br />
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God was disappointed in the one's he loved. We have all been in that place, that place of disappointment and frustration with the decisions our loved ones had made.<br />
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Like God our hearts have been grieved. <br />
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Love is broken but not beaten, however, for in Noah humanity gets a reprieve, a second chance. <br />
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We are told that Noah stood out from his generation, from his society. He was upright and pleasing to the Lord. Thus, in Noah God sees a seed bed of goodness, hope, mercy and forgiveness.<br />
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Thus, to Noah and his household creation gets a second chance.<br />
God extends an opportunity of newness rather than let the disappointment determine his course of actions. Love is broken but not beaten.<br />
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Yesterday in the Liturgy we encounter the water subsiding and Noah stepping forth from the Ark after a seriously long time being pent up as they say. The first act is to erect an altar and make a sacrifice of praise and thanks to God.<br />
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Now it is a good and desirable thing to give thanks to God when things go our way. It is good to give thanks and praise when things are pleasing to us and what we expect out of life. But this is just one part of life. <br />
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We also must endeavor to give praise and thanks to God when things are not necessarily going our way, when the circumstances are difficult and displeasing. Here too in this environment praise and thanks must be a pleasing aroma to God.<br />
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When we thanks God for goos things the happen to us we are loving God for our sakes. But when we thanks God when things are displeasing then we learn to love god for his own sake and this id the path way of maturity in the life of Faith.<br />
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Each day in all circumstances, like Noah, we must erect an altar of praise and thanks to God in our hearts and allow it to truly become the source of strength for our life and love as we journey forth.<br />
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In today's liturgy, creation begins anew. Noah's sons are told to 'be fertile and multiply and fill the earth." These were the same words give to our first parents. Except this time something is different. There is a consequence to the fall that continues to effect humanity. We are told that "dread and fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all creatures that move about the ground and all fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered. Every creature shall be yours to eat..."<br />
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In the beginning , there was no fear between man and animals but rathe harmony. There was also no eating of flesh only plants. Now things have been turned upside down. The flood can not undo the fall. The external waters on the earth still do not effect the internal reality of man. We need something more.<br />
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The bow in the sky though reminds Noah and his family of God's promise to never destroy the world by flood it also reminds them that something more is need, something more shall come, on the horizon of tomorrow as the future unfolds an answer to the internal struggle of man from the fall shall be given. Until then, the not yet of redemption lingers.<br />
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Which brings us to the gospel. Jesus ask the question, "who do you say that I am?"<br />
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And the answer harkens all the way back to the time of Noah, "you are the Christ the son of the living God." You are the one who will come to bring redemption internally where the external waters of the flood failed. Jesus says he will give us life giving waters. He comes to empower us and restore us.<br />
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The rainbow in a way points to Christ.<br />
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Hope has arrived in him. He is bringer of the new covenant and establishes his church which is the the new ark by which redemption becomes fully accessible not only to man but to all of creation as we are told by St Paul, "all creation yearns for the children of God." once we have been was he din Jesus, something int he world is changed for the better, for ever. <br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-43307201123340286522017-02-04T14:07:00.000-06:002017-02-04T14:07:30.343-06:00SALT AND LIGHTIsaiah 58:7-10; Ps 112 The just man is alight in the darkness to the upright; 1 Corin 2:1-5; Matt 5:13-16<br />
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We continue to fool along in the Sermon of the mount through our Sunday readings as we anticipate the coming of the season of Lent.<br />
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Last week we were invited to heed the Beatitudes the ingredient so holiness for those who seek to follow Christ. Today we encounter these words, "You are the salt of the earth...you are the light of the world...a city on the mountain..."<br />
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But i believe in order to full grasp these words we have to fast forward to the end of the sermon of the mount where we are told, "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock...But it did not collapse...And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand... And it collapsed. (Matt 7 24-27 two foundations)<br />
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The foundations we build must be founded on a purpose and a plan. We have to now what the foundation is going to be used for. I believe these lines we encounter in today's gospel are telling us the plan and purpose of Jesus words in the sermon. They are meant to get us to be salt and light for the world.<br />
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Our focus isn't abut getting as much as it is about giving so that the world might come to know the beauty and goodness of Christ himself.<br />
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Salt and light are not created for themselves. They are useful in so far as they are used for other realities. Salt does not flavor itself. Light does not illumine itself.<br />
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What does salt do: it preserves and brings out flavor but it also kills. We say someone is salt of the earth that means that are exhibits and examples of fundamental goodness. We also say that when we salt the earth then we poison the ground and destroy.<br />
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The same goes with light. Light illumine. It illumines both the beauty to be celebrated and the ugly to be exposed and eliminated. <br />
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This is what we are called to do in the cultures we live in; we are called to illumine the beauty and invite it to be held in high esteem and imitated; we are invited to preserve the goodness and season life so that goodness can be experienced all the while destroying that which is hideous.<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-82347966486342949162017-02-04T13:03:00.000-06:002017-02-04T13:03:19.531-06:00Discipline the disciple Hebrews 12:4-7,11-15<br />
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The Lord disciplines those he loves.<br />
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These are the words spoken to us from the letter of Hebrews as we begin this month of February.<br />
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The Lord disciplines those he loves. <br />
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It is no accident that the word 'discipline' and the word 'disciple' have a very similar root.<br />
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The word disciple means to be a follower and a learner. Discipline means to train someone to follow rules and to prepare someone interiorly as well as exteriorly.<br />
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The link is obvious and not easily overlooked.<br />
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It simply means that everything we experience in life has built in it by th grace of God a learning opportunity.<br />
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Every joy, every struggle, every bit of tension and anxiety, worry or fear, love and celebration all of it is a learning opportunity for us to become more clear in discipleship.<br />
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In particularly, the hardships. They too are, in the hands of God, a tool that is meant to chisel and shape us more perfectly into the image of Christ himself.<br />
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God wants to perfect his love in us. <br />
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At the end of each day as we look back on the day that was we should invite the Holy Spirit to show us what we were meant to learn that in the discipline experienced we might stand more perfect a disciple of Christ.<br />
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Pax et Bonumparishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-91133423268964787452017-01-21T11:37:00.000-06:002017-01-21T11:37:12.057-06:00Inaugural addressIsaiah 8:23-9:3; Ps 27 The Lord is my light and my salvation; 1 corinthians 1:10-13,17; Matthew 4:12-23<br />
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Inaugurations are always fantastic. What is most fascinating is not so much the one being inaugurated but the reactions of everyone else to the one and his words. <br />
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I have been particularly amused by the left and right and their critique of President Trumps Inauguration. His balls have been smaller compared to Obama's they say. His speech was the worst ever others have pined. Many are appalled and others are excited. Who is to say what will unfold as this administration moves forward but there will be plenty of critiques for sure that lie hidden waiting to leap forth.<br />
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As the buzz of the inauguration lingers and the news print and internet blogs pronounce their own sentences, this weekend in the Liturgy we encounter another inauguration address. On this second weekend of Ordinary time, Jesus commences his public ministry, He steps out of the hidden life of Nazareth and moves into the crossroad of Capernaum, its no Trump tower, but it certainly is a change of pace from little boring Nazareth.<br />
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Jesus picks his place so that the majority of people might encounter his message and mission. This is what his public life is about: a showcase of his message and mission and reach into the lives of all.<br />
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Surely, a busy crossroads and cosmopolitan like Carpenaum is more suitable than the quite hidden place of Nazareth.<br />
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The place is prime. Not unlike the capital of DC, it draws a crowd regularly and it is is ideal for the inauguration and inaugural address.<br />
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What of his inaugural address that begins his public ministry. It isn't a lengthy discourse. Unlike most inaugural addresses that last anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, some even longer. Jesus' words are short, sweet and to the point.<br />
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"Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand."<br />
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That's it. No fancy rhymes. No subtle images or metaphors. No lengthy descriptions. Just a few short words sets the tone of Jesus' mission and message. The address has been spoken. Let the critics take heed. <br />
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"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."<br />
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Repent means to change. It is not just an idea but an invitation. In fact it isn't just an invitation it is a command. Change. It is time. The waiting is over. There is hope. Our past no longer determines our future. Our follies and foibles do not constitute our substance. Christ now stands on the threshold of possibilities and transformation and invites us, commands us to come and let the kingdom break through into our hearts, minds, and lives.<br />
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The unchanging God has given us a command to welcome change in to our life by sending his son to begin the process of restoration. Things do not have to keep going as they are. There is in the air a movement, a force, a light that beckons. Repent! <br />
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This repentance isn't proclaimed with a sour note of guilt or shame. Rather it is promised with an air of certainty and finality. It issues forth with a resonating force of joy and hope. The gloom is lifted and light shines forth.<br />
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St Augustin says that "God has made himself our debtor not because he has accepted anything from us but by promising us such great blessings." The great blessings is rooted deeply in the invitation and command to change. We do not do it on our own but rather we receive that change as simply as we receive the one God has sent. <br />
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The kingdom has come in Jesus himself. Heaven has come to earth. Change is a real possibility not because of our doing but because God has bridged the gap and has stepped into our time and space.<br />
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Not only has Jesus proclaimed his inaugural address he also comes to choose his cabinet, so to speak. He begins by calling Peter and Andrew, James and John. The first four to make up the twelve. <br />
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Jesus doesn't want to bring about change on his own; he wants co workers. He involves us in the process of transformation. The contours of the kingdom of heaven no longer are to be found geographically in the terrain on which he stands but rather the contours take shape in the interior of man whose heart now is shaped by the word of God himself.<br />
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In the Judaism, it was permissible to cease one's livelihood and to break family ties for the sake of the study of God's word, torah, the law. When Jesus says "follow me" he is inserting himself as the word of God, the torah, the law. The first disciples understand this at a deep and profound way. In following Christ, in imitating him, they study the Word, the law and allow themselves to be shaped a new.<br />
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This is the beauty of the calling of the disciples. They cut ties with all that they know so that the word of God and the new law that is Jesus can shape them and transform them and thus through them the world around can also benefit.<br />
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They show case their freedom as they move forth. <br />
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Are we free? Are we free to follow His command? What holds us back? What keeps us from experiencing the change God wants for us as a blessing on a grand scale?<br />
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Just as Jesus' decision is decisive and the disciples decision is decisive so we too if we are to let the kingdom come and break through into our lives must also be decisive.<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-8507257912573594722016-12-15T07:36:00.002-06:002016-12-15T07:36:43.053-06:00OPENIsaiah 54:1-10<br />
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"Enlarge the space for your tent, spread out your tent cloths unsparingly; lengthen your ropes and make firm your stakes; you shall spread abroad to the right and to the left."<br />
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"My love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the LORD, who has mercy on you."<br />
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Listen to these words again spoken by the prophet.<br />
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Enlarge the space for your tent. Make room for more not less. Open wide and let others in. Do not let you small minded judgments keep people out of your life. <br />
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If God is our husband as Isaiah says, then we taken his name, we take on his lifestyle. God's name is generous and magnanimous. We too must become what we celebrate in God.<br />
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He has open eternity to us. The passage is made wide by the opening of his son's side. <br />
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How do we open up to others? How do we welcome then with a love and peace that harkens back to the God above?<br />
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Raise a glad cry…break forth in jubilant song…<br />
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Risk opening up to others, to all, to whomever comes your way. See in it the mannerisms of the Father toward us.<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-88610099288569533732016-11-29T09:03:00.000-06:002016-11-29T09:06:51.962-06:00JESSE TREEThere once was a tradition that instead of decorating trees with balls and lights and just random things, Christians would take the opportunity to each day reflect on salvation history, trace the streps of god becoming man and create an ornament that represented that reality then hang it on the tree. Each day a new ornament would be created a the journey of Advent brought ever closer to the unfolding of salvation history in the Christ Child, God become flesh.<br />
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why not rediscover the beauty of this tradition.<br />
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I invite you to go to loyola press.com and type in Jesse tree or click on the link<br />
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<a href="http://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/liturgical-year/advent/the-jesse-tree" target="_blank">JESSE TREE</a><br />
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And begin to decorate your tree an your life with the unfolding beauty of God's plan of salvation. Se if it doesn't spark a new wonder in this season of Advent for you and your family. Family trees are important they tells us much about ourselves and where we come from. The family Tree of Jesse is important for it tells us the most important things about us and our family in regards to sin and grace and fall and redemption. <br />
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Don't delay.<br />
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Come, Lord Jesus. <br />
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Pax et bonumparishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-72037563751415290052016-11-23T16:54:00.002-06:002016-11-23T17:14:01.745-06:00THANKSRevelation 15:1-4; Ps 98 Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God! Luke 21:12-19<br />
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Here are a few words from St Paul: For although they knew God they did not accord Him glory as God or give Him thanks. Instead they became vain in their reasoning. Their senseless minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools..." Romans 1:21ff<br />
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What was the result of this thanklessness?<br />
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"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever...." Romans 1:25ff<br />
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If we pay attention to St Paul, Thanksgiving to God empowers the intellect to truly grow in wisdom where as thanklessness undermines the process and leads us in the path of foolishness.<br />
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We are told in the psalm for this evening, "to sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds." The song may be new in so far as we now recognize the wondrous deeds of God but in reality it is a very very old melody. For this new song we sing is the old song of thanks that as echoed forth from the dawn of creation. Since the first moment of light that scattered the darkness and the first sound of wind rushing upon the waters, thanksgiving as resounded as the only response creation has to the one who gives so freely.<br />
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Is there any other more fitting song than "Thanks be to God."<br />
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As we are told by the psalmist, "Let the sea and what fills it resound, the world and the who dwell in it; let the rivers clap their hands, the mountains shout for joy."<br />
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This is the old song that becomes new for us daily in our journey.<br />
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Jesus tells us in todays gospel, "They will seize you and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute..."<br />
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What will be this testimony? What will be this wisdom of tongue that will leave all powerless to refute or resist?<br />
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What if it is simply put the word of thanks to God pressed upon our lips regardless of circumstances. What if the song of thanks is the only defense worthy of the gift we have received from Him, God almighty.<br />
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Pax et Bonumparishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-70368205906638494642016-11-20T07:47:00.001-06:002016-11-20T07:54:29.895-06:00SAVE YOURSELF2 Samuel 5:1-3; Ps 122 Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43<br />
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It is often theorized or debated or discussed or even theologized what was Jesus' last great temptation. There was a movie some decades back entitled in fact the Last Temptation of Christ.<br />
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There is much to consider in this regards or nothing at all. <br />
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But I do believe in today's gospel as we enter in tot he Feast of Christ the King, we do perhaps get a glimpse into a temptation, not saying it was the last or the greatest.<br />
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Here are the words of those who taunt Jesus from below, that is while their feet are firmly on the ground and Jesus' feet are set firmly to wood by the nails:<br />
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"The rulers sneered at Jesus and said"he saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the christ of God…Even the soldiers jeered at him, As they approached to offer him wine they called out, "if you are the King of the Jews, save yourself." <br />
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"Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us."<br />
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Three times is short span of minutes maybe slightly longer Jesus heard that eerily enticing invitation, "SAVE YOURSELF!"<br />
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Just as in the beginning his publicly ministry he was tempted thrice so now at the end he must again face a temptation of thrice magnitude.<br />
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Save yourself.<br />
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The beauty of our King is he doesn't reign for himself. He doesn't seek himself in love. He does not save himself. He refuses to save himself for the sake of saving us. <br />
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This is the Kingly Love we celebrate on this day as we get ready for Advent.<br />
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Ponder that reality at some point today.<br />
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How often do we save ourselves? How often do we hear that early enticing invitation and act on it? Perhaps you can't imagine but then there is fault in our imagination.<br />
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Every time we justify our actions even if we know they are wrong we are saving ourselves and not letting Him be our savior.<br />
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We do it subtly and not so subtly over and over again.<br />
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When the opportunity of goodness toward the other arises and we justify ourselves in not acting we are giving into the temptation.<br />
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To enthrone Christ in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies means we stop justifying our actions and we start letting Jesus hold sway in our lives. <br />
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He is King. Let us enthrone him daily in our hearts, minds, wills, bodies. With him, we too must refuse to save ourselves and only then can true liberation and kingly love and peace begin to reign fully.<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-27360409516757511352016-10-28T14:03:00.000-05:002016-10-28T14:03:00.917-05:00SIMON AND JUDEToday we celebrate the feast of SIMON and JUDE, apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.<br />
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Jesus, we are told, after praying called the disciples and maned the twelve as apostles.<br />
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They went from following Jesus to now being ones sent forth ahead of Jesus to announce the goodness of the Father's merciful love.<br />
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The word apostles means to be "Sent." It is often associated with sending a letter or a message. You could say the apostle would be considered the modern day mail carriers.<br />
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The letter the sent is God' message to the world.<br />
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But each of us share in a similar mission. We are also sent forth. We also have received a message from Jesus to broadcast to the world. Our life becomes that "letter of recommendation" that St Paul speaks of in his writings.<br />
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Do we consider ourselves a letter of recommendation for others for the world?<br />
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Also, Simon is called the zealot. Jude's nameThaddeus means the brave one. They had nicknames that indicated something of their character and perhaps something of want God used so that they could bring forth the message more clearly and profoundly.<br />
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Simon lived his passion for the chosen people. Jude was willingly to go boldly in the face of opposition. His brave heart empowered him through difficulties. <br />
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What would be the nickname others give u sin regard to living our our faith life an bringing forth the message of the goodness of the Father's merciful love?<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-59958348115580076802016-10-19T16:39:00.000-05:002016-10-19T16:39:43.664-05:00STEWARDEphesians 3:2-12; Isaiah 12:2-3,4,5-6; Luke 12:39-48<br />
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To preach the inscrutable richness of Christ. This is what St Paul says his purpose and mission in life was. <br />
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How about us? Do we preach with our lives the inscrutable richness of Christ?<br />
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Everything else pales in comparison to this one reality that holds all of reality together.<br />
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Jesus invites us to be prudent stewards in today's gospel, "Who then is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute food allowance at the proper time? Blessed his that servant the master finds doing so upon his arrival,"<br />
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We are all stewards of the inscrutable richness of Christ. For a moment we should remove the dross and the things that are of least important and direct our attention to that which matters most of all.<br />
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But first we must ask Jesus to reveal to us his richness in case we have forgotten or never truly experienced it. It is the encounter that makes the mission possible.<br />
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Paul encountered the inscrutable richness of Christ and does was able to give to others what he first experienced.<br />
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We too must ask the Lord to reveal his richness to us. Then we might become stewards of such beautiful grace to others.parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-91204044040831943782016-09-28T17:06:00.001-05:002016-09-28T17:12:06.202-05:00PRAISE and FOLLOWJob 9:1-12,14-16; Ps 88 let my prayer come before you, Lord; Luke 9:57-62<br />
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We continue to read from the book of Job. In today's segment, Job finds his voice, he finally speaks up. This is Job's second time to speak up after his friends tear into him.<br />
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The first time job complains. He just complains a lot. Go read chapter 6 and you will find comments such as, "for the arrows of the Almighty are in me, and my spirit drinks in their poison" and much more.<br />
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But now we find job with a different sentiment in his mouth. Here after his second friends commentary, Job stands differently; he begins not with complaint but rather with praise. Here is a man who has lost everything and with every reason to complain and shake his fist at the heavens he dug deep within and he formulates a litany of praise to God, "God is wise in heart and mighty in strength...he alone stretches out the heavens..."<br />
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It is praise rooted in the reality that before God no man is justified. No man can stand on his own merit before the Lord. In this reality check can praise truly begin to be authentic and healing as it becomes for job.<br />
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In the gospel today we hear the words of Jesus, "Follow me."<br />
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What is this but an invitation to learn, to watch, to keep close attention. It is a pathway of apprenticeship. Only in staying behind Jesus can we truly know him and love him. Only in staying behind Jesus can we actually begin to imitate him in our own lives. The best perspective is always from behind. <br />
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True leaders in faith are those who never take over the driver seat but refer the back seat and let Jesus drive.<br />
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What excuses do we use to keep from following? What excuses do we come up with to justify taking the lead?<br />
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Like with Job, praise resounds the greatest when we lean in from behind and stay close to the footsteps of the one who calls out "follow me."<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-82826951757267772732016-09-07T16:27:00.000-05:002016-09-07T17:09:49.135-05:00JESUS FREAK1 corinthians 7:25-31; Ps 45 listen to me, daughter; see and blend your ear; Luke 6:20-26<br />
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Because all the early Christians assumed that the second coming of Jesus was imminent, all stable human institutions were under judgment and were approached with caution.<br />
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The expectation of the second coming colored the perspective of the early Christians. sometimes unfortunately this expectation is lost to us and we go about our business as usual. This business as usual approach can be destructive. Also, just living with the expectation of the second coming as if it were everything can also be destructive.<br />
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The proper attitude is to keep both in tension as we journey through life.<br />
It is the expectation of the coming of Jesus that empowers the daily grind of living and loving to be elevated, to become supernatural experience of charity, hope, and of faith as we anticipate tomorrow as another day to work vigorously for the vineyard.<br />
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This is why the church holds in great regard the beauty of the sacrament of Marriage as a source of grace not only for the couples themselves but for the world. In the sacrament the couples become a witness to divine love. This is not as st Paul describes an affliction to run from but an affection or pressure that purifies and makes holy.<br />
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We turn to Jesus in the gospel. We encounter the beatitudes. Blessed are the poor, the hungry, weeping, those who are hated account of the son of man. Rejoice and leap for joy.<br />
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Recently i came across a christian song that was popular when i was in college. DC Talk was the all the rave as christian bands went and one of their songs was entitled, "Jesus Freak."<br />
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Here are a few of the lyrics,<br />
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"<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>What will people think</b></span><br />
<div class="_Nvn" data-mh="-1" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.24; margin-bottom: 13px;">
<b>When they hear that I'm a Jesus freak</b><br />
<b>What will people do when they find that it's true</b><br />
<b>I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak</b><br />
<b>There ain't no disguising the truth</b></div>
<div class="_Nvn" data-mh="-1" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.24; margin-bottom: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Kamikaze, my death is gain</b></span></div>
<div class="_Nvn" data-mh="-1" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.24; margin-bottom: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>I've been marked by my maker</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>A peculiar display</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>The high and lofty, they see me as weak</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>'Cause I won't live and die for the power they seek</b></span></div>
<div class="xpdxpnd" data-mh="80" data-mhc="1" style="-webkit-transition: max-height 0.3s; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.24; margin-bottom: 13px; max-height: 80px; overflow: hidden; transition: max-height 0.3s;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>People say I'm strange, does it make me a stranger</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>That my best friend was born in a manger</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>People say I'm strange, does it make me a stranger</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>That my best friend was born in a manger"</b></span></div>
<div class="xpdxpnd" data-mh="80" data-mhc="1" style="-webkit-transition: max-height 0.3s; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.24; margin-bottom: 13px; max-height: 80px; overflow: hidden; transition: max-height 0.3s;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="xpdxpnd" data-mh="80" data-mhc="1" style="-webkit-transition: max-height 0.3s; line-height: 1.24; margin-bottom: 13px; max-height: 80px; overflow: hidden; transition: max-height 0.3s;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">It made me think of the beatitudes. </span></span></div>
<div class="xpdxpnd" data-mh="80" data-mhc="1" style="-webkit-transition: max-height 0.3s; line-height: 1.24; margin-bottom: 13px; max-height: 80px; overflow: hidden; transition: max-height 0.3s;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="xpdxpnd" data-mh="80" data-mhc="1" style="-webkit-transition: max-height 0.3s; line-height: 1.24; margin-bottom: 13px; max-height: 80px; overflow: hidden; transition: max-height 0.3s;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Poverty, hunger, tears, </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">outcast...Jesus freak in deed. </span></div>
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-52204975992687621362016-09-07T07:43:00.004-05:002016-09-07T16:52:54.575-05:00Does the Spirit make a difference1 corinthians 6:1-11 Ps 149 The Lord takes delight in his people; Luke 6:12-19<br />
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I heard someone say the other day that if God were to remove his Spirit from us it would take 3 months before we ever noticed it.<br />
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It was a striking statement to make and a more striking reality check for myself. <br />
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I began to ask myself whether or not i would notice. Not only would i notice but do i notice now, the difference God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit, makes in my life.<br />
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What about the rest of us? Is there a difference living in the Spirit as opposed to living without the Spirit? Would we notice if God removed his Spirit from us?<br />
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St Paul is asking the very question to the early Christians in the community of Corinth.<br />
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He is reminded them that as believers who are baptized that the Spirit of God is empowering them in such a manner that they have a greater capacity to see and judge more clearly than the rest.<br />
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Hear again his words, "How can any one of you with a case against another dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment instead of to the Holy Ones?"<br />
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St Paul believes that those who have been giving the Spirit of God at baptism have a capacity that others do not. In other words, the Spirit does make a difference.<br />
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It is a good opportunity to see if we allow the Spirit of God to make a difference in our life. Are we aware that we are different because of the Spirit of God that animates our life? Do we let that Spirit guide us forth?<br />
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If you are not sure if you are living a spirit led life then look at Galatians chapter 5: fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, generosity, faithfulness, self-control.<br />
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Jesus chooses the twelve in today's gospel. After choosing them we are told that he stands on "a stretch of level ground" with them. Jesus incorporates the twelve as coworkers, human agents, partners in building and spreading the kingdom. He empowers them to do what he himself does.<br />
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Their is something different about us when we let the Spirit lead us forth.<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-63081408418773924062016-08-29T07:31:00.001-05:002016-08-29T07:31:29.347-05:00BORROW YOUR LOVEJeremiah 1:17-19; Ps 71 I will sing your salvation Mark 6:17-29<br />
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Today in the life of the Church we celebrate the beheading of John the Baptist or the passion of John the Baptist. John is the precursor to Christ. He had one job and that was to point to Christ, "Behold the lamb of God." <br />
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In fact if anyone could ever claim a Messiah complex, it could have been John the Baptist, for every one thought he was the Messiah. Yet, rather than give in to the ego's drive for notoriety, he simply pointed to Christ and proclaimed "I must decrease, he must increase."<br />
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Thinking about John the Baptist and his martyrdom and I think about the words of St Therese, "For me to love You as You love me, I would have to borrow your own love." This was St Therese's expression to Jesus in regards to her desire to return to Him the love she herself experienced.<br />
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To Love you as you love me, I would have to borrow your own love.<br />
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The only way we could ever love God in the way he has loved us is with the very love with which He has first loved us. <br />
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Perhaps this is the experience of every martyr, everyone who has laid their life on the line.<br />
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What if the witness of martyrdom is in fact the borrowing of God's love so that God can be loved in the way he has loved us?<br />
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What if this is truly passionate love?<br />
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Today ask God to see how much he loves you. Today ask God to borrow his love so that you may love him with the love he has loved you.<br />
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Celebrate John the Baptist this way.<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-79515950240476320142016-08-28T05:39:00.002-05:002016-08-29T05:24:02.467-05:00HUMILITY Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Ps 68 God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor; Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24; Luke 14:1,7-14<br />
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The readings for today invite us to ponder a new Humility. There are many fascinating definitions of humility. There are just as many fascinating stories of people encountering humility in their life.<br />
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Both Jesus int he gospel and the first reading zero in on humility in a very concrete way. Yet, i believe it is the second reading that really holds the underlying truth of humility for us to embrace. I hope i can explain a bit as this blog unfolds.<br />
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First a tale of two authors. Douglas Adams wrote a scify fiction called a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe back in the 1970's. I spent some time reading it. It is a fascinating jaunt through the universe. Any novel that includes a depressed Robot surely is worth the read.<br />
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But in the novel, the author describes the best torture device: Total Perspective Vortex. This torture device is created by a husband who is being nagged by his wife to have a better sense of proportion.<br />
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He creates this device by which once someone is inside they are given in a momentary glimpse the full vastness of the unimaginable seemingly infinite stretching of all creation and that there on a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot is a note that says 'you are here'. It is torture device that enables the person to come face to face with the ugly truth of just how small they really are.<br />
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Usually this device, at least in the book, would leave the person mad because of this reality check.<br />
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Growing up this has always been the sense of humility that i understood. Humility is about smallness. It is a reality check in which we recognize our true self, and we are aware of the many short comings and failings that go to make up our life in such a way that we truly realize we are not better than anyone else. Though out defects may be different none the less they remain.<br />
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when we can hold on to our smallness then we can embrace the power of humility in our life. This is good start.<br />
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But as Christians I think humility is the opposite. It isn't looking at our smallness but rather our bigness, what we are created to be, what will become of us, what is our destiny.<br />
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This is what ultimately humbles us.<br />
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C S Lewis as a good take on this bigness that has been given to us.<br />
"There is no ordinary men. You have never talked to a mere mortals. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations…these are mortals. To our life theirs is like the life of a gnat. But it is immortals that we joke with, work with, marry, snub, exploit, gossip about, betray, hurt, love….Next to God himself, our neighbor is the holiest object presented to our senses. If he is a christian neighbor then he is holy in a par excellence way for Christ, the glorifier and Glory himself, is truly hidden in him."<br />
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There is no ordinary men. You have never talked to mere mortals.<br />
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This is really the case of humility. We don't just stop at our smallness but look at our greatness, our destiny.<br />
This is why the end of the gospel is so telling, "you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Life is big. It is bigger than the here and now. <br />
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St Paul is trying to get us to understand this in the second readings. He poses the question, 'who do we approach when we approach God?"<br />
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He distinguishes between the mosaic covenant and the Davidic Covenant in Christ. In the Mosaic covenant God revealed himself in a way that scared the people, "blazing fire and gloomy darkness and storm and trumpet blast and voice such that those who heard begged that no further message be given."<br />
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Sounds horrific enough. But what of the covenant with Jesus. <br />
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"You have approached Mt Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, the assembly of the first born enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel."<br />
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Who do we approach when we approach God but not God alone but all those in God. Not only the festal gathering of angels but the sprits of the just made perfect. Thats our destiny. That is you and I.<br />
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It is glory. It is the bigness that awaits us, that we are created for. If you notice, St Paul puts us all on the same tier. God, Jesus, angels, men/women glorified. This is not a merit but a gift.<br />
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This is more humbling than the Total Perspective Vortex. It is isn't that we are a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot, insignificant. But rather our existence has purpose and we are meaningful, significant. we are meant for glory. In the resurrection in the righteous we shall become what we are created to be.<br />
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We are not ordinary. We are not mere mortals.<br />
Next to God Himself, our neighbor is the holiest object presented to our senses. <br />
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This is what is humbling.<br />
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The power of humility isn't that we think of ourselves less or think lessor ourselves but we put ourselves in the proper perspective of what awaits us by God' s mercy that leads us to glory as a gift.<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-47724713306778712132016-08-28T05:39:00.000-05:002016-08-28T05:39:11.362-05:00HUMILITY Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Ps 68 God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor; Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24; Luke 14:1,7-14<br />
<br />
The readings for today invite us to ponder a new Humility. There are many fascinating definitions of humility. There are just as many fascinating stories of people encountering humility in their life.<br />
<br />
Both Jesus int he gospel and the first reading zero in on humility in a very concrete way. Yet, i believe it is the second reading that really holds the underlying truth of humility for us to embrace. I hope i can explain a bit as this blog unfolds.<br />
<br />
First a tale of two authors. Douglas Adams wrote a scify fiction called a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe back in the 1970's. I spent some time reading it. It is a fascinating jaunt through the universe. Any novel that includes a depressed Robot surely is worth the read.<br />
<br />
But in the novel, the author describes the best torture device: Total Perspective Vortex. This torture device is created by a husband who is being nagged by his wife to have a better sense of proportion.<br />
<br />
He creates this device by which once someone is inside they are given in a momentary glimpse the full vastness of the unimaginable seemingly infinite stretching of all creation and that there on a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot is a note that says 'you are here'. It is torture device that enables the person to come face to face with the ugly truth of just how small they really are.<br />
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Usually this device, at least in the book, would leave the person mad because of this reality check.<br />
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Growing up this has always been the sense of humility that i understood. Humility is about smallness. It is a reality check in which we recognize our true self, and we are aware of the many short comings and failings that go to make up our life in such a way that we truly realize we are not better than anyone else. Though out defects may be different none the less they remain.<br />
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when we can hold on to our smallness then we can embrace the power of humility in our life. This is good start.<br />
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But as Christians I think humility is the opposite. It isn't looking at our smallness but rather our bigness, what we are created to be, what will become of us, what is our destiny.<br />
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This is what ultimately humbles us.<br />
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C S Lewis as a good take on this bigness that has been given to us.<br />
"There is no ordinary men. You have never talked to a mere mortals. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations…these are mortals. To our life theirs is like the life of a gnat. But it is immortals that we joke with, work with, marry, snub, exploit, gossip about, betray, hurt, love….Next to God himself, our neighbor is the holiest object presented to our senses. If he is a christian neighbor then he is holy in a par excellence way for Christ, the glorifier and Glory himself, is truly hidden in him."<br />
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There is no ordinary men. You have never talked to mere mortals.<br />
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This is really the case of humility. We don't just stop at our smallness but look at our greatness, our destiny.<br />
This is why the end of the gospel is so telling, "you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Life is big. It is bigger than the here and now. <br />
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St Paul is trying to get us to understand this in the second readings. He poses the question, 'who do we approach when we approach God?"<br />
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He distinguishes between the mosaic covenant and the Davidic Covenant in Christ. In the Mosaic covenant God revealed himself in a way that scared the people, "blazing fire and gloomy<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-28809493738083391642016-08-18T17:11:00.001-05:002016-08-18T17:11:05.392-05:00COME AS YOU ARE DO AS YOU WISHMatthew 22:1-14<br />
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Today in the gospel Jesus gives us a parable, "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.."<br />
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Guest were invited and refused to come. <br />
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This did not go well for the guest. The human heart is very skilled at coming up with reasons to now follow God's will. We all can come up with fifty ways to say no in order to guard our comfort and our lifestyle. What is really at stake is finding that one reason to say "yes" and allow God's will to free us from ourselves.<br />
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In place of the original guest, others from the streets were invited to come and partake of the festivities, to rejoice with the king whose son was getting married.<br />
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They all came. The banquet hall was packed. The king was pleased. <br />
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But there was one who had arrived without a wedding garment. "My friend, says the king, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment? But he guest was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Many are invited few are chosen."<br />
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It is true that we are all invited to come as we are when the invitation is laid at our feet. Yes! True! Very true! But, we are not invited to do as we wish.<br />
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Come as you are, absolutely, but not do as we want.<br />
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This was the probable with the guest without the wedding garment. He thought he could came as he was and do what he wanted. He was not humble enough to allow the king to show him how to be a guest in his house for the wedding. He refused to listen and to be guided.<br />
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Sounds eerily familiar. How many people this day what to be spiritual but they do to what God to give them direction. They come as they are but they also want to do as they please rather they live in a manner that please Him, who invites.<br />
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Pax et Bonumparishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-32677505263919214932016-08-14T18:17:00.002-05:002016-08-14T18:17:33.944-05:00Pay back what you oweMatthew 18:21--19:1<br />
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I want to look at this past tuesdays readings. I have been a bit under the weather as they say. So i have been delayed.<br />
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It is a beautiful gospel for us to meditate on in light of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.<br />
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Peter asks the question, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?"<br />
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Like Peter, we too what to know when we can say enough is enough. We too want to draw the line in the sand and say no more, off with you I am out of mercy and forgiveness.<br />
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But Jesus tells us that seventy-seven times, or in other words, we never have the right to refuse forgiveness to any one. <br />
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We might be shocked at such a sentiment or truth. But when have we ever know God to close the fountain of mercy to us or any one for that matter. The fountain is never closed. God never says enough. God never say no.<br />
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Jesus simply wants us to live in our life toward others as God is toward us which is most perfectly exemplified in the Cross of Christ: Mercy is never closed off but rather it is crucified for the sake of the other.<br />
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Then we encounter the story Jesus tells to help us put a picture to what he is saying. In the story there is a king looking to collect his debts. A servant owes more than he can pay and begs to be forgiven. The king obliges and forgives the debt that is owed.<br />
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The same servant finds a fellow servant who owes a much smaller amount and retaliates and demands payment rather than mirror the mercy he has received he becomes stingy an bull headed and mean, "pay back what you owe" he demands.<br />
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It doesn't turn out well for that servant. Then Jesus tells us unless we forgive our brother from our heart our Father will not forgive us.<br />
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First all we must know that compared to our offense to God everything others may owe us is always much smaller. Too often we make the offense of our brother bigger than our own offense against God. This is a terrible thing. Do not make things big that are really really small.<br />
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Why bother with much smaller amounts? Forgiveness should thus be easy and readily available when we compare what we do to God and what others do to others. <br />
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Secondly, the servant begs the King to forgive his debt. This is where the analogy fails with our relationship with God. We do not have to beg God for Mercy. His mercy is always readily accessible and available. We just have to receive it. In fact, each day, through out the day we should pause and look up and just say "Lord, I receive for mercy." We should gulp it up whole and entire. Only then can we be givers of the same mercy to others. If we think God is stingy with mercy then we will be stingy and this is in correct.<br />
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Lastly, the servant tells the other servant, "Pay back what you owe."<br />
What do we owe but mercy. Mercy is our debt to God the Father in Jesus Christ through the SPirit. It is our final debt. The only way to pay back this debt of Mercy we have received from the Blessed Trinity is too simply give it back, give it away. So We should gladly pay back what owe and look for opportunities to do so.<br />
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Pax et Bonumparishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-71816178720216235932016-07-23T13:54:00.000-05:002016-07-23T13:54:51.079-05:00Give us this day our daily loveI sit here at my desk preparing for another wedding celebration here at the parish.<br />
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Again, here are few pointers about life together as husband and wife, for what its worth.<br />
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The reading for today is chosen from the book of Tobit and Tobiah and Sarah find themselves praying on their honeymoon and these are the words they use: <br />
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"Lord you know I take this wife of mine not because of Lust but for a noble purpose, Call down your mercy on me and on her and allow us olive together to a happy old age."<br />
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They began their wedding night together with prayer and acknowledgment of Marriage as a noble vocation not just an ordinary event but that which has cosmic effects on the world.<br />
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It reminds of there word of Pope Francis as he addressed the crowd of couples engaged to be married. He said often times people are fearful of forever. They just aren't sure how the former can be achieved in a world that is so disposable and wasteful with commitments to each other.<br />
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Forever is not a question of duration as much as it is a question quality. If you let the Lord in to your marriage and life together then know that just as he multiplies the loaves and fish he can multiply your love and give anew fresh he day.<br />
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He recommended that couples pray daily a simple prayer: give us this day our daily love.<br />
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Here again the Lord is given the opportunity to work daily in the life of marriage his miraculous gift of transformation and allowing love to be fresh and fruitful each and every day.<br />
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This way love can truly conquer every difficulty for the Lord is present in it and working through it: Give us this day our daily love!<br />
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Give it a try!<br />
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Then when it doubt focus on the three A's of marriage: attention, affection, appreciation. <br />
Attention to detail, affection from the heart for the heart, and appreciation that takes nothing for granted.<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-75282582102345917472016-07-17T17:05:00.001-05:002016-07-17T17:05:49.304-05:00One thingGenesis 18:1-10; Ps 15 He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42<br />
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What have you done for God lately? What have you done for God today?<br />
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What do you do for God in your daily life?<br />
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I ask these questions because at some point our life of faith engenders this kind of response to life as St Paul tells whether we live or die we do it for the Lord.<br />
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Think about the thoughts and words and actions that go into this day; of those which will be offered for the Lord.<br />
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Often times we are busy gaging our actions for the Lord, or at least we we think, though much is for ourselves and not for the Lord.<br />
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But at the heart of today's readings is not so much what we are doing for the Lord but what the Lord has done for us.<br />
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What has God down for us, for you and me today?<br />
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Martha is concerned for what she can do for Jesus but her anxiety arises because she has forgotten what Jesus can do for her, the very same thing Mary realizes as she sits at Jesus' feet.<br />
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We can run around on our two feet like martha or we can sit at His two feet and listen for this is the one thing necessary.<br />
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Our anchor isn't what we can do for the Lord but what he can do for us.<br />
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We must listen first to him before we can do anything. Listening to him speak is essential to transforming our society and our culture.<br />
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Being mindful of his presence and action in our life is essential to not getting overwhelmed by the anxiety of living, the worries and work and the load that often is associated with life and love.<br />
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Mary reveals this to us perfectly or rather Jesus reveals this to us in Mary's posture before him.<br />
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Each day, throughout the day ask the Lord to show what he has done. Be mindful of his presence. Surrender the work load of life in to his merciful embrace. Console his heart by trusting his loving gaze that accompanies us daily in our journey and walk such manner that e never forsake the better part but allow it to transform each day a new.<br />
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<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763294382737529912.post-28478341450192815032016-07-08T07:50:00.001-05:002016-07-08T07:56:25.013-05:00MISSION OF MESSINESSHosea 14:2-10; Ps 51 My mouth will declare your praise; Matt 10:16-23<br />
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"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men..."<br />
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Again the apostles are sent on mission or is it they are mission. Listen to the words of Pope Paul VI:<br />
"the church doesn't have a mission; it is a mission" according to now St. Pope Paul VI. What is that mission but simply this to cause the merciful face of Jesus to gaze upon everyone in the world. <br />
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When Pope Francis was elected our pope during an interview about the election he was asked, "who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio and after a pause he said, "a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon." At the heart of this catholic thing we call church and life of grace is an encounter between us sinners and the God of amazing grace.<br />
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This is the task plain and simple. <br />
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As Hosea reminds us in today's first reading,<br />
"Thus say the Lord, I will heal their defection; I will love them freely...I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like a lilly, he shall strike root like the cedar of Lebanon, and put forth its shoots. His splendor like the olive tree and fragrance like the cedar...They shall blossom like the vine and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon."<br />
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I will heal their defection and I will love them freely!<br />
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Pope Francis on his visit to South America told the young people the following,<br />
"<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Make a mess, but then also help to tidy it up. A mess which gives us a free heart, a mess which gives us solidarity, a mess which gives us hope."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Go make a mess!</span><br />
<br />parishpriestbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774328877263400488noreply@blogger.com0