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Seats of Honour

29/8/2025

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke
14.1, 7-14

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, the lawyers and Pharisees were watching him closely. When Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.

“But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus said also to the Pharisee who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

As I was praying with the Gospel for this Sunday, I noticed something that I felt was a mistake. I looked at the passage in other translations to see if I was simply getting a bad translation, but that was not the case. I wondered if anyone else would read the same error as me.

I continued to pray with the passage, thinking that perhaps the Lord was calling me to focus on another aspect (and not the part I felt was wrong). After a few days, the Lord showed me the problem: me!

Okay, so that isn’t exactly how it happened, but let me explain. In this Gospel, Jesus shares a parable that teaches the listeners not to take the seats of honour at table but to take, instead, the lowest seat so that the host may come and say “move up.” The problem is not with the parable but with my pride! Everytime I read that parable, I see myself at a table sitting in the lowest seat, but I am always looking around, expecting to be moved up!

In the translation we use at Mass it says, “He may say ….” There is no guarantee that I will be moved up to a better seat and, if I am seeking to be moved up, that is the same as taking the seat of honour in the first place!

The point of the parable is to instill a desire for humility over pride. Hoping to be moved, anticipating being moved, has no connection to humility.

Jesus goes on to exhort the people at that dinner to strive to give freely without thought of repayment. I find myself as uncomfortable with this second part of the Gospel as with the first. I can actually hear a voice in my head saying things like, “I give and I give, and what do I get in return?” Instead, I am called to give without seeking repayment and, in this giving, I am living the call to feed the hungry or clothe the naked or visit the sick.

The love God calls me to does not seek repayment or honours! We know that love is patient and kind and all the rest, but do I live my life as a witness to this truth? Do I look for the honours and the love to be returned to me in kind? Of course, if honours and love do come to me, humility is accepting them, knowing that it is God’s grace that brings them to me.

Humility and love are the very things I am called to because they are the very things Jesus lived and the very things he witnessed in his Passion and death.

Sr. Teresa MacDonald

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Before and After

28/8/2025

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A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Hebrews
12.18-19, 22-24a

Brothers and sisters: You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable Angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Few things demonstrate dramatic change as effectively as before-and-after photos. They are a staple in advertising campaigns for fitness programs, toothpaste, weight loss regimes and cosmetic surgery, showing us everything we could be and have if we would embrace a particular product or service.

Why are before-and-after photos such powerful tools? Marketing companies say it’s because they inspire people to consider what’s possible and motivate them to achieve it.

In recent years, however, a number of advertisers have recognized that before-and-after photos can motivate people in unhealthy ways. They may foster body shaming and obsession with physical beauty and thinness. Some advertisers are abandoning them in favour of approaches that focus on the journey to health rather than on the bookends of that journey: the sad “before” photo and the sensational “after.”

The Second Reading for Sunday focuses on a journey too, a journey of the spirit. Hebrews 12:18-19 says: you are no longer in a place of darkness and harsh judgment. That was before. Now you are in a place of spiritual safety — the assembly of the first-born — under the protection of God, the Just Judge. You have come to this place through Jesus, who has mediated a new covenant between God and His people. Unlike the blood of Abel, shed for vengeance, the blood of Jesus is shed for love of us and for the forgiveness of our sins. Because of His sacrifice, someday, when our journey with Jesus is complete, we will be like the righteous ones “made perfect.”

There is nothing inherently wrong with the before-and-after model, as long as it motivates us in healthy ways. God wants to reveal our “before” picture, not to embarrass or shame us, but to inspire us toward renewed spiritual health and a journey that sees us growing in maturity to become more and more like Jesus — made perfect.

Through the mediation of Christ, we have entered into a relationship with a loving God, not a God who terrifies us. Jesus demonstrates God’s love for us by dying, shedding His blood, so that we can achieve and arrive at our ultimate destination, which is a life in the kingdom of heaven. And what an amazing journey it is!

Donna Davis

(This reflection was originally published 29 August 2019.)

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Rain in Abundance

27/8/2025

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A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Psalm 68

R. In your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

Let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy. Sing to God, sing praises to his name; his name is the Lord, be exultant before him.

R. In your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity.

R. In your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

R. In your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

After all the disgusting humidity from late spring into early summer, the dry air felt like a relief at first. My dehumidifier was getting a well-deserved break. The murkiness that had invaded the air had finally dried out, leaving behind the crisp smell of a good, hot summer — perfect for running through sprinklers and long, leisurely walks. But then the dryness settled in.

As I write this, we haven’t had a proper rainfall in almost two months. The grass has turned to straw, and the leaves on the trees have turned all shades of yellow and red, a display usually reserved for the autumn. Our entire province feels like a powder keg, ready to blow at any moment.

And, so, across the province people are watching the weather forecast with increasing interest to see when we can expect the rain to come.

In many ways, I’m not so different than the land I inhabit. I also have experienced times of drought and spiritual dryness: times when I wondered if I would ever feel the abundance of God’s love again, times when the ground of my heart was so dry that it felt like the water bounced off the surface and couldn’t be absorbed.

And my spiritual dryness has never been a punishment, no more than the clouds are punishing the land when they don’t bring rain. For me, the times when I have been spiritually dry have been entirely my own doing. Either through my sin, pride, or weakness, I have pushed God away. I have refused His blessings, refused His goodness, refused His healing. When I have most needed mercy and the abundance of His grace, I have instead chosen my own will and to keep struggling.

But God’s will for us isn’t that we go through these challenging seasons alone. Through the working of the Holy Spirit, we are given joy, protection, and restoration. We are given rain in abundance when the spiritual landscape of our heart is dry and broken.

God’s goodness is reliable and always on time. He is always at the ready with healing and comfort. All I need to do is accept it. All I need to do is open my arms and let it flood into me. All I need to do is stop clinging to the pride and shame that has kept me in this dry, desolate valley, and let Him fill me up with His forgiveness and freedom.

Father, send your rain in abundance. Father, send your grace over this needy soul.

Stéphanie Potter

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Down the Proverbial Rabbit Hole

26/8/2025

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A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sirach
3.17-20, 28-29

My child, perform your tasks with humility; then you will be loved by those whom God accepts. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favour in the sight of the Lord. Many are lofty and renowned, but to the humble the Lord reveals his secrets. For great is the might of the Lord; but by the humble he is glorified.

When calamity befalls someone proud, there is no healing, for an evil plant has taken root in them.

The mind of the intelligent appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the desire of the wise.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

When I was fresh out of university, I had the opportunity to travel to Ghana for a six-month internship with a non-governmental organization. I was part of a group of interns destined to various countries around the world, and our coordinating organization provided preparation sessions in the weeks before we traveled.

We were excited but nervous. I had never been to an African country before, and I was most concerned about showing their culture the utmost respect. I packed clothes so modest I was eventually teased about it by locals. I really wanted a sense of the culture, the people, before I left.

During one of our preparation sessions, the trainer suggested that one of the best ways to research a culture is to learn their proverbs. What a great idea! What do children have drilled into them from the moment they’re born? What does grandma always say? What are the little adages that are never far from the back of their minds?

If we turn the proverbial mirror on our North American culture, you can see what others would learn about us. We’re worm-munching early birds who slowly and steadily win races. If we don’t succeed, we try, try again and practise until we’re perfect. In other words, we’re productivity-obsessed perfectionists who value work ethic and tenacity.

If you spend some time looking up proverbs from around the world, the best of humanity emerges. Every culture, with varying emphases, uphold family, friendship, honesty, service, hospitality, humility, hard work, loyalty, and minding your own darn beeswax.

Of course, in the day-to-day experience of living with another culture, proverbs become an unconscious background to real human interactions and lived traditions. In Ghana, I didn’t need a proverb to tell me that they valued hospitality, generosity, respect, kindness, family, honour, and peace. They showed that to me every day in gestures large and small.

Most of the folk wisdom I heard was from the mouths of children (so who knows how accurate it was), clearly taught by their parents to keep them out of mischief. Don’t play on termite hills or you’ll be turned into a yam. Don’t pick up objects in the street that don’t belong to you or it (or possibly you?) will turn into a yam. Turning into a yam seemed to be the worst possible fate of a naughty child.

One time, a local shared this well-used saying: “Communication is like rabbits.” Apparently, there’s more to that proverb, but everyone says only the first part because the second part is implied. I think about that phrase to this day, and I think I decide on a different meaning each time.

This passage from Sirach tells us that an intelligent mind appreciates a proverb; heeding wisdom from others and our forebears will enlighten and protect our souls. I believe that the empathetic heart seeks a proverb, to learn from another about what matters most to them and how best we can show them God’s love.

Kate Plumb

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Seats of Honour

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Before and After

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Rain in Abundance

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Down the Proverbial Rabbit Hole

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Archives

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time