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Is This Heaven?

31/7/2025

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, August 3rd, 2025:
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Colossians
3: 1 - 5, 9 - 11

Brothers and sisters: if you have been raised with Chrst, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.

In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Chrst is all and in all.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

The first thing that came to my mind when I began to pray with this reading from Colossians is the movie called Padre Pio (not the one with Shia Labeouf). When Padre Pio arrives at the novitiate house where he will begin his life as a Francsican, there is a sign next to the door that says, “You have died and your life is hidden in Christ with God,” which comes from today's reading.

When I was beginning my vocation in religious life, this verse was tough to hear. I wanted my vocation to go the way I thought it should, even if I had no real clue what a religious vocation should look like. My idea was easier (for me) but definitely not directed toward holiness or eternal life!

An important piece to all of this is the gift God pours out upon each of us: The grace to draw closer to Christ, the grace to live in the world but not of the world, the gift of sacraments that heal and restore me when I mess up but also strengthen me to battle against those things that are not from God.

This isn’t magic; I play a part in my salvation because of the free will God has gifted me. I seek the things above every day in prayer, by starting my day in prayer and finding ways to turn back to that prayerful focus throughout the day; my soul’s attention is then more often turning to the Lord.

Seek the things that are above and give God permission to live and move within you. The grace that comes from the Lord draws me ever closer to this “dying to the world and being hidden in Christ.”

If you are reading this and haven’t been striving for this life in Christ, now is the perfect time to begin!

Sister Teresa MacDonald

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Where Is Home For You?

30/7/2025

1 Comment

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, August 3rd, 2025:
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Psalm 90

R: Lord you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

You turn man back to us, and say, “Turn back, you children of Adam”
For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past or like a watch in the night.

R: Lord you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning;
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.

R: Lord you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.
Turn, O Lord! How long? Have compassion on your servants!

R: Lord you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

One of my default get-to-know you questions is: Where is home for you?

There are a variety of responses. Some name their city. Others state a neighborhood. And others still will give an exact location. I ask the question because it inevitably leads a person to share a small piece of their identity—a small glimpse of who they are. For me, who we are is formed in the safe spaces that we call home. It’s in that safe space that I can just be me. And home is the space I can call my own.

Recently I was house-sitting for a friend. It’s a house that I have hung out in, shared meals with them in, simply opened the back door and walked in—many times. I have always felt welcomed there. My friend left directions and helpful hints about the house and their cat, and in part of that note, she wrote: Make yourself at home!

And well, I tried. But it didn’t quite feel like home.

Maybe it was because it’s a big space for just one person… and a cat.

Maybe it was because I didn’t always know where anything was.

Maybe it was because my schedule was busy and l ended up only being there to feed the cat and at night to sleep. Possibly a combination of all of the above.

Yet ultimately I think it boiled down to the fact that it was, and is, their space—not mine.

Home is more than a literal place. It is also a feeling. Countless memes, inspirational quotes, greeting cards, and Hallmark Christmas movies tell us that. But so too does our God, because He offers us a home in and with Him. And has done so for generations, just as the psalmist writes: Lord you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

It re-iterates for me that God didn’t create me just to take up space. God created me so He could be in relationship with me. A living, breathing, growing relationship that fosters the gifts God uniquely gave me to use to witness Him to the world. Our gracious God constantly and consistently offers me (and you!) a spiritual home that is not only a safe space but a place to root myself; a place that feeds and nurtures who I am. Because God has plans for me and He does not and will not leave me ill equipped to fulfill those plans! After all that is what I was made for.

So part of my role in this relationship is to know where my home is; know where I dwell; know that I have a home in which my identity is rooted and springs forth.

That home is in and with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit from whom my being was created, finds ways to grow, and gains the strength to make my home with God, regardless of wherever I physically find myself.

Aurea Sadi

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All But This Is Fleeting

29/7/2025

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A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, August 3rd, 2025:
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ecclesiastes
1.2; 2.21-23

Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,
vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

Sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another
who did not toil for it.
This also is vanity and a great evil.

What does a person get from all their toil and strain,
their toil under the sun?
For their days are full of pain,
and their work is a vexation;
even at night their mind does not rest.
This also is vanity.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

My beautiful granddaughter doesn’t understand that many evenings, although I am at home, I am still working. She will open the door to the room I use as an office in our shared home, and regardless of what I am doing, I hear her sweet voice asking, “Nanny, can you play with me?”. Lately she has been opening the door and saying, “Nanny, I know you’re probably going to say no because you’re working, but can you play with me?”.

It breaks my heart when I have to tell her I am working on something that has a deadline. She will hang around for a while, chatting with me, picking up things from my desk, vying for my attention, and then reluctantly leave to go back down the stairs. And I return to work.

This beautiful soul is a gift straight from God to me. I was never blessed with children of my own but have been given the privilege of being a stepmother to two now-grown men, and through our eldest, the bonus of two beautiful granddaughters who don’t know me as step-anything. To them I am simply Nanny. I treasure the nights that I haven’t brought work home with me and have the time to curl up and read a book, or play store, or sing songs, or simply hang out. But I don’t make those times nearly frequently enough. Instead, I lock myself up in that room and work long hours for my paying job. I justify it by telling her that my job helps us to pay bills and live more comfortably. She is quick to tell me that she hates my job.

Life is fleeting. The little girl that stole my heart almost seven years ago is growing up so quickly, and I have missed precious moments with her because I am upstairs, busy toiling. I recently made the decision to set my retirement date, and suddenly a lot is coming into perspective for me. After I am gone, no one is going to say, “Well done, good and faithful public servant”. But there may be one who says, “I loved my Nanny”. Perhaps instead of me helping her understand the value of work, she’s teaching me what is important in life instead.

How will this little girl remember me? I want those memories to be of time spent together being silly and having fun. I want her to know how much Jesus loves her and knows every freckle on her beautiful face. I want her to experience the love of Jesus through our time together, and I want that to carry her through the inevitable challenges she will face in this world.

Let us pray: Lord, thank You for the gift of family and community. Never let me again take it for granted, and as I pass from this earthly life, let Your love be the legacy left behind for generations. Amen.

Sandy Graves

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Form Me First, Then Give Me the Thing

25/7/2025

2 Comments

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, July 27th, 2025:
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke
11.1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

And Jesus said to the disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And your friend answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’

“I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

“So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Is there any father among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give the child a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

In Luke 11, Jesus teaches that prayer is less about the words we say and more about the posture of our hearts. Our deepest petitions aren’t for things, but for the Spirit who prepares us to receive all that God in His infinite goodness and majesty longs to delight us with.
This prayer flows from that truth.

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for being the most wonderful Provider – for loving me so perfectly, and for all the incredible ways You move in my life, especially those I cannot yet see or even begin to understand.
It is You alone who satisfies all my needs. In Your perfect love, You withhold nothing good, yet never give me more than I can bear. So rather than asking for the “what,” I humbly ask now for the preparation – that You would form me by giving me:

The spirit of love, so that I may serve You and my neighbour in the way that most pleases You, for even the greatest works amount to nothing if they are not done in love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
The spirit of joy, to be the fuel for my perseverance as You forge me in the fire – that I may carry within me an unshakeable happiness, born of being deeply and unconditionally loved by the Creator of the Universe (James 1:2-3).
The spirit of truth, to trust that my needs will be met abundantly, because when You give, Lord, You give to the nines! You pour out the finest wine and serve us with more bread and fish than we can possibly eat (Matthew 6:31-33).
The spirit of wisdom, that I may not just accept but truly embrace my humanness. You love my weakness because it is at this boundary of my capacity that I am met with Your infinite power (2 Corinthians 12:9).
The spirit of humility, to think of myself less and of You more so that I may conform my will to Yours. I am the blank canvas – You, the artist. I pray that I faithfully play my part as You mould me into the masterpiece You intend me to be (Isaiah 64:8).
The spirit of obedience, to remain as a child that is fully reliant on You and does nothing apart from You, and to take the harder step of obeying those You’ve placed in authority over me (Hebrews 13:17).

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a poor sinner. Not because I am worthy, but because You are good. I pray that I might continue to follow Your lead as You shape my heart and spirit to receive what You already know I need.
Amen.

Vanessa Noujaim

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Is This Heaven?

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, August 3rd, 2025:​Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Where Is Home For You?

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, August 3rd, 2025:​Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

All But This Is Fleeting

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, August 3rd, 2025:​Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Form Me First, Then Give Me the Thing

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, July 27th, 2025:Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Archives

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, August 3rd, 2025:
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, August 3rd, 2025:
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, August 3rd, 2025:
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, July 27th, 2025:
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time