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Same Prayer but Different

31/10/2024

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, November 3rd, 2024:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Hebrews
7.23-28

The priests of the first covenant were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but Jesus holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself.

For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Sometimes I wonder if the repetition of prayer or liturgies or devotions is necessary. I mean, God is outside of time and space, so does it all pile up on Him or get boring to hear over and over again?

Thoughts like this are solid proof that I am a sinful human! Not because they are terrible thoughts, but because they express a lack of understanding about the transcendence of God, the love of God, and the immeasurable mercy of God.

Everyday, as a religious, I am required to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. For those who do not know, this is a series of prayers/psalms/scriptures that are prayed throughout the day, which all priests and religious are required to pray daily. It is a four-week cycle with subsections, and when you begin this prayer for the first time ever, it seems you will never understand the layout and process. But then, one day you realize that not only do you know the process but you have actually memorized bits of it because of the repetition.

I will admit that there are times I am less focused on the prayers and just sort of “getting it done” (I’m probably the only person who struggles like that…). This daily prayer, along with all the other prayers we all pray throughout the day or week, is repetitive and can feel a bit useless at times.

The reality is that the prayers we pray and the praise we offer God are not meant to build up God and make Him feel good about himself. These prayers are a source of spiritual food, a breath of wind to refresh our souls! God uses the tiniest prayer that I offer from my heart to draw me closer to Him and to open my heart to receive Him more completely.

Our second reading for this Sunday expresses all this in a beautiful way when it reflects on the priesthood of Jesus as compared to that of the priests who came from the first covenant. They were sinners just like anyone else, and so the sacrifices they offered were limited and imperfect. But Jesus is the perfect priest: “Jesus holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him.”

We repeat our prayers so that our hearts and our souls may heal from sin, and it is this ongoing healing that prepares us for the salvation Jesus, our great high priest, desires to give each of us. It is a gift that is freely given – but it is never forced, so I must ask and I must permit God to save me.

One of the things I have come to love about repetitive prayer is that I do not need to come up with new, better, or different ways of calling God, of hearing Him, of experiencing Him. When I open my heart to the Lord, I am renewed in these same prayers, these same words.

I, like the priests of the Old Testament, repeat the offering for the good of my soul. I am flawed and lacking, but my prayers are there as a healing aid for me. And God, in His goodness, accepts them every time!

Sister Teresa MacDonald

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It’s Not About Me

30/10/2024

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A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, November 3rd, 2024:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Psalm 18

R. I love you, O Lord, my strength.

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the source of my salvation, my stronghold.

R. I love you, O Lord, my strength.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.

R. I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation. Great triumphs he gives to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed.

R. I love you, O Lord, my strength.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Jesus is coming. Look busy.

Lately, I feel like this phrase describes my days. These words immortalized in gifs, memes, and old-school bumper stickers are funny because they’re true. Jesus has much that He wants – dare I say needs – me to do, so there is much I should be doing. And as an added bonus, the Lord made me a planner. I have always loved planning events, trips, projects, meals. You name it, I will plan it! I love sketching out the bones of a project then adding in all the necessary elements. It keeps me… busy.

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

Jesus entrusted me (and you!) with His mission to spread the Good News and make disciples. I do that through my words and actions. However, on my busy days, my focus is on action. After all, actions are visible and they speak louder than words. But if I keep filling my every moment with actions, no matter how good and faith-filled they are, I edge out the space necessary for God. The space God needs to speak to me and the space necessary for me to listen to God’s Word so I can more fully know His desires for my life. Sure, I may hear Him. But if I want to truly hear and listen, I have to slow down. I need to stop the multitasking, because that’s just busyness. My busyness. Not God’s. And my busyness depends on my strength. Not God’s.

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

If I am a follower of Christ, my strength is not self generated. It comes from somewhere. It comes from Someone. Yes, a healthy lifestyle including the right food and exercise helps bring about human strength. But true, supernatural, mountain-moving, heart-transforming strength comes from the Lord. My strength has its origin in Him. Not me.

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

I often say to ministry friends: You can’t strengthen others if you don’t have any strength yourself. I have not always heeded my own advice. When I depend on my own strength I will always reach my limit. I am, after all, human. Yet the Lord’s strength is infinite. The psalmist brings that out quite clearly in this passage. It is this same strength that God gives to me without my asking or earning it. So really, it isn’t about me being busy but rather me creating the space for God to get busy.

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

Aurea Sadi

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A Beautiful Promise

29/10/2024

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A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, November 3rd, 2024:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Deuteronomy
6.2-6

Moses spoke to the people:
“May you and your children and your children’s children fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.

“Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your Fathers, has promised you.

“Hear, O Israel:
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

What a beautiful promise this reading gives us! A promise of hope and a plan to secure a place for our children, their children, and their children’s children, in God’s love.

I recently read that Deuteronomy is a framework for parenting, summed up in Moses’ instruction that “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” This got me reflecting on our home life.

We were committed to raising our two, now adult, boys in our Catholic faith. That meant supporting them through attendance at Mass, Sunday School, and the celebration of the sacraments. Our home had the added bonus of being surrounded by Catholic and Christian communities of friends through Alpha, Cursillo, and music ministries. The boys were constantly in touch with men and women who lived out a belief in Jesus through their actions. They also had the benefit of seeing us live out our faith daily. And while only one of them is a semi-churchgoer today, they are both kind, loving, and generous grown men. The oldest of our boys is now a father himself to two beautiful girls, and because they live with us, his daughters are equally surrounded by people who live out loving the Lord with all their heart, soul, and might.

Our eldest granddaughter is full of spice and can ramp up from zero to 60 in a heartbeat. I have learned that if I’m given the chance to sit with her when she has accelerated over something, hugging her and praying a Hail Mary out loud calms her. Asking her if she feels Jesus in her heart can slow the tears. My heart soars when I hear her singing a worship song that she has heard her Poppy practising and watching her dance in the pew as we attend Mass together. I see her learning to thank her parents for simple things that many children take for granted because she is seeing a spirit of gratefulness for acts of service lived out around her. She leads us all in a simple grace at supper time, and recently her mother told us that she does the same when they are out at a restaurant. She is learning that God is with her all the time, not just when we are in the church building.

Watching her embrace a relationship with Jesus and having the privilege of sharing our home with their little family is helping me to grow more deeply in my own relationship with Jesus. Knowing that we now have the same opportunity to welcome her new little sister into the family of God through her upcoming baptism, and that the solid foundation of seeds that are being sown in their hearts during these early years will secure their future with God, is a beautiful promise from Him. How blessed we are to live to see our children’s children live in the light of His love.

Sandy Graves

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Mercy and Healing

25/10/2024

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A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, October 27th, 2024:
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mark
10.46-52

As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.

Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.”

Immediately the man regained his sight and followed Jesus on the way.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

When I read this Gospel passage, I am struck by the immense hope of Bartimaeus as he calls out for Jesus’ mercy. We don’t know anything about Bartimaeus except that he is a blind beggar, but that tells us a lot already. We know that he must struggle more than most just to perform the duties of daily life and that he is not only blind but poor enough to need to beg. Furthermore, because in Jesus’ time a physical ailment is believed to be a sign of spiritual problems or sin, Bartimaeus must often be subjected to disgust and reproach from those passing by him. This is his state when Jesus arrives — and yet Bartimaeus is full of hope!

This quotation from Saint Teresa of Avila has anchored me in the virtue of hope for years now, and so I share it here in full since all of it deserves to be reflected on:

Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end.

It is beautiful that when he calls out to Jesus, Bartimaeus doesn’t immediately ask for healing. Instead, he asks for mercy, calling out against expectations, against convention. Even when he is sternly reproached, Bartimaeus calls out again to Jesus, begging for mercy.

And, of course, Jesus notices Bartimaeus in his need — because Jesus always notices us in our need — and in response to Bartimaeus’ hopeful courage, He heals him. And then we read that awe-inspiring declaration from Jesus after the healing, a message he shares with others in the Gospels after they’ve been healed: “Your faith has made you well.”

May we, like Bartimaeus, be so full of the virtue of hope and so abandoned to the virtue of faith that we call upon the Lord and finally be made well!

Sr. Angela Burnham

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Same Prayer but Different

A Reflection on the Second Reading ​for Sunday, November 3rd, 2024:Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

It’s Not About Me

A Reflection on the Psalm ​for Sunday, November 3rd, 2024:Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Beautiful Promise

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, November 3rd, 2024:Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mercy and Healing

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, October 27th, 2024:Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Archives

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, November 3rd, 2024:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, November 3rd, 2024:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, November 3rd, 2024:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, October 27th, 2024:
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time