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Then I Pray

31/10/2019

A Reflection on the Second Reading for November 3rd, 2019:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 THESSALONIANS 1:11-2:2

1 11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfil every good resolve and work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet him, we beg you, brethren, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

We cannot do it alone. I know this in my head but it just doesn’t reach my heart and soul all the time. I think I can do it all and if I can’t, well then I just might throw in the towel. Sometimes I not only feel that I cannot run the race, but that I don’t want to run the race. Then I pray; not asking for anything but His presence. He is all I need and I believe it. That this doesn’t stick but has to be done over and over again, new every morning, means I don’t give up. And, I ask for prayer, and I pray for others. Intercessory prayer is a longing to move another’s heart toward the only One who can meet all our needs. If Jesus is not “glorified” in me, how can He be known by those for whom I pray. I need, we all need, humility, to come to the realization and knowledge that holding on to our sin and our control and our feeling that we will never be holy, is pride of a sort. I, I, I… too much "I"!! In real estate there are three important things: location, location, location. In life there are three important things: Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus.

"Intercessory prayer is a longing to move another’s heart toward the only One who can meet all our needs."

Saint Paul prayed earnestly for everyone he encountered, not just those who were close to him. The early Christians believed Jesus was returning soon; probably in their lifetime, but they were to keep watch, pray, and discern, and not be anxious for anything. We also are to live like that. He will return and establish a new heaven and a new earth. The Kingdom of God is within us. He’s coming back, and He’s already here. Amen!

Judy Savoy

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He Loves Us

30/10/2019

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A Reflection on the Psalm for November 3rd, 2019:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

PSALMS 145

R. I will bless your name forever, my King and my God.

1 I will extol thee, my God and King, and bless thy name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless thee, and praise thy name for ever and ever.

R. I will bless your name forever, my King and my God.

8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.

R. I will bless your name forever, my King and my God.

10 All thy works shall give thanks to thee, O LORD, and all thy saints shall bless thee!
11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and tell of thy power,

R. I will bless your name forever, my King and my God.

13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.
14 The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.

R. I will bless your name forever, my King and my God.

I read the psalm with difficulty this week. "I will extol thee, my God and King, and bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day I will bless thee, and praise thy name for ever and ever." To bless someone is to say good things about them. I actually read that this week and thought, "Nope. That's not me." The truth is, in various ways — through my thoughts, my actions, and my words — I don't always praise God and bless His name as enthusiastically as the psalmist seems to. I often get bogged down in the pain of the world and the pain in my life and at some points blessing God's name is pretty far from my mind. I think this makes sense and I think God understands our pain, our sadness, and even our disillusionment. As Christians we are called to be not of this world, but we are called to live in it and to love the people in it. As a result, there will inevitably be pain and sadness because bad things happen.

It's easy to feel guilty about not always wanting to praise God. I know I should do it, but I don't always want to. I think that guilt comes to me so easily because I'm prone to building God in my own image. As humans, we are so transactional in nature. From a human perspective, it's so hard to wrap my mind around a love that is truly unconditional. The most beautiful human relationships can come really close to being unconditional, but they never quite get there. But it's not so with God. He loves us. End of sentence. As the Jesuit, Father Greg Boyle writes, "God is just too busy loving us to have any time left for disappointment." The psalmist even points to this aspect of God's character this week: "The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love."

"He loves us. End of sentence."

God is so gracious and merciful. He understood our pain and sadness so much that centuries after this psalm was written He sent His son Jesus to die on the cross to reconcile us to Him. And that's astounding. But the world is still a sad place to be at times. And it's okay to be honest about that because God is still gracious and merciful. My friend is always talking about the "already, but not yet" nature of the world we live in. We live in this tension where Jesus has already come into the world and brought the message of hope and love, but all the brokenness of the world has not yet been restored to the way God intended it to be. It’s a beautiful and a hard place to find ourselves. So when the state of our world and the state of our lives call for more lamenting than praising we're invited to bring that to God too. We're invited to bring that to the One who is gracious, merciful, compassionate, and faithful; confident that He is big enough for our questions, "upholds all who are falling”, knows our pain, and loves without condition.

Thanks be to God. Praise God.

Morgan MacKenzie

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Connection Reflection

29/10/2019

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A Reflection on the First Reading for November 3rd, 2019:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

WISDOM 11:22-12:2

The whole world before you, O Lord,
Is like a speck that tips the scales,
And like a drop of morning dew that falls on the ground.
But you are merciful to all,
For you can do all things,
And you overlook people’s sins,
So that they might repent.
Lord, you love all things that exist,
And detest none of the things that you have made,
For you would not have made anything if you had hated it.
How would anything have endured
If you had not willed it?
Or how would anything not called forth by you
Have been preserved?
You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord,
You who love the living.
For your immortal spirit is in all things.
Therefore you correct little by little those who trespass,
And you remind and warn them of the things through which they sin,
So that they may be freed from wickedness
And put their trust in you, O Lord.

According to researcher and social worker Brené Brown, our “reason for living and existing” is “connection”. From a secular and social science perspective, connection “brings purpose and meaning to our lives”. As a science major, I agree – humans are undoubtedly hardwired for relationship, particularly according to what we know about biology and psychology.

I also agree as a Catholic, and I perceive “connection” as the equivalent of “communion”. But my faith leads me to look beyond human relationships, as they never fully satisfy. We are made to be connected to, in communion with, God. This is the crux of St. Augustine’s famous quote from his confessions, “You have made us for yourself, Oh Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you”. We know as Catholics that we are separated, that our relationship is broken by sin.

Brown describes some of the effects of sin by addressing shame. All healthy human beings experience shame to some degree throughout their lives. Shame is “the fear of disconnect… the belief that I am bad… that I am a mistake”. “Shame”, Brené explains, “unravels connection. [We ask the question,] is there something about me, that if other people know it or see it, that [will mean that] I won’t be worthy of connection?”

The author of Wisdom knows shame but they present truths and ask beautiful questions that undermine the lies that shame tries to offer us.

“For you would not have made anything if you had hated it.
How would anything have endured
If you had not willed it?”

When that little accusatory voice tries to say to us, “God hates you. You are a mistake”, let these verses be our sword. They remind us that God, who is all-powerful and outside of time, knew the choices we and our ancestors would make… the choices we will make and that our descendants will make. He knows all – He sees our hearts right now. And He lovingly willed us into existence, willingly loves us, actively invites us into relationship with Him. His mercy and love are revealed simply in our being.

"For us to experience connection we must allow ourselves to be seen – we must be vulnerable."

For us to experience connection we must allow ourselves to be seen – we must be vulnerable. Brown’s research leads her to discover that it is vulnerability that unlocks creativity and gives us the capacity to love and lead and essentially live full lives. It is incredibly uncomfortable, sometimes unbearably risky. However, to be vulnerable is to be courageous and be willingly known.

What should allow us to do this with God is His assurance that He “loves all things that exists” and that He wants us to be “freed” and to “put our trust” in Him.

The greatest example of vulnerability that Christ gives us is on the cross – where He takes on all our shame, and casts aside all fear of disconnect to make full communion with Him possible. There is no fear in love, and because of the cross there is no need for shame.

Kendra Lang

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Ego Aside

25/10/2019

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A Reflection on the Gospel for October 27th, 2019:
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 18.9-14

Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and regarded others with contempt:

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’

“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

“I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

When my son was six years old, he nearly won a race. It was sports day at school and James was running for the Red team. If the Red team won, valuable points would go toward a much coveted trophy.

As a doting Mom, I was of course on the sidelines along with my other Mommy friends ready to cheer James on. The pistol went off and the little ones ran. True to form, James was fast, but the little girl in the next lane was gaining on him. Suddenly the little girl fell. She didn’t look hurt but to my horror James stopped and started to cross his lane to help her up. All the Moms (myself included) yelled at James, “James run! Don’t stop, run!” My little son was confused. He looked at me and the other moms gesticulating for him to move. For a moment he didn’t know what to do. Then he did as he was told and he ran — but he didn’t run as fast. His joy was gone.

When I reflect on this episode, I still remember the consternation written all over his little face. Today as a Christian, I regret my attitude then, because in this case my little boy with his undeveloped, non-adult ego was reflecting Jesus in a beautiful way. He was willing to put his ego aside, along with earthly praise and glory to help the little girl in the lane next to him.

In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus speaks of pride and humility. Saint Augustine believed that all sin is twisted good. So it is with pride. My adult ego pridefully fears rejection. I need community and I need love. This is a good desire because God wants me to be part of a loving community, but the twisted good occurs when I become so caught up in my own friendships I fail to notice the person in the lane next to me who could use a friend because they have been hurt, brushed aside, or left out. During these times I need/want to cross over to the other lane to allow the Christ in me to be Christ for them. I need to do this because I have been in that place of rejection. You see, when I couldn’t love myself, God lifted me out of a pit of darkness and showed me that despite my deep hurt and failures I have worth and purpose. When I keep my eyes on Jesus I am able to share this experience with others. This treasure of mine, however, is in a clay pot (2 Cor 4:7). I fall regularly so I need Christians to pray for me, come along side me, support me, love me, and encourage me in my Christian journey. A Christian community is not a clique, because Jesus died for the outsider; the Samaritan woman and the tax collector. In the terms of today, He died for the least “fun” person we know. He died for you and He died for me.

Liz Galsworthy

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Then I Pray

A Reflection on the Second Reading for November 3rd, 2019:Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

He Loves Us

A Reflection on the Psalm for November 3rd, 2019:Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Connection Reflection

A Reflection on the First Reading for November 3rd, 2019:Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ego Aside

A Reflection on the Gospel for October 27th, 2019:Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Archives

A Reflection on the Second Reading for November 3rd, 2019:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the Psalm for November 3rd, 2019:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the First Reading for November 3rd, 2019:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the Gospel for October 27th, 2019:
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time