TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK OF THE YEAR
MONDAY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK OF THE YEAR (Luke 7: 1-10) Let God be God. That is the simple lesson for today. Everyone else demanded His physical presence, they were putting God into human structures. Only this “pagan” realized that you cannot capture God. We want so much to be in control, even to the extent of telling God how to do His job. Worse, telling Him what He can and cannot do. Look at the way we pray. So often they are controlling, or trying to control. As the soldier instinctively knew, things work out so much better when we let God be God.
TUESDAY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK OF THE YEAR (Luke 7:11-17) Compassion is the one virtue that we are called upon to imitate. To suffer with, to endure with, all with the implication of being united. The Lord in his human nature is united to us, He was united to the widow. His compassion flowed from a sense of solidarity with her. Compassion is not only for the “tough times” it is the presence of God in our lives. Compassion implies this walking together. It is not something that is turned on and off, but is always present. The message of the Kingdom, is that God through the Lord is walking with His people.
WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK OF THE YEAR (Luke 7: 31-35) Children can be stubborn. It is their way or no way. Stubbornness by its nature is the inability to see other possibilities. More basic it is not being able to give something up, usually an idea or an attitude. Stubbornness is also a way of protecting our self image. To change would be a sign of weakness, we would admit that we were wrong or that there was a better idea. We can be stubborn with God. The difficulty with this is that His stubbornness far exceeds anything we can imagine. The reason being is that His love is so perfect so full that it already is complete.
THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK OF THE YEAR (Luke 7:36-50) Generosity to the Lord is something we really do not think of that often. The woman in today’s Gospel displayed a great generosity. All her actions were focused in on the Lord. She was so focused that she did not even ask to have her sins forgiven. One aspect of generosity is use of time. Do I give the Lord a good chunk of my time? It is so easy to forget Him. Our lives do get cluttered. The prayers we had promised to say, those good deeds we wanted so much to do, are remembered late at night when we are tired. To be generous is to have the courage to do the inconvenient, the non-practical. If it is always convenient it is not generous.
FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK OF THE YEAR (Luke 8:1-3) The fact that women accompanied Jesus on His preaching journey must have caused people to wonder. It was not strange that women would gather around a rabbi but to travel with him was unheard of. Jesus was not afraid to do the right thing. Women as much as men had a right to share in His ministry. It was by doing things such as this that the Lord raised women to a new level. In showing the respect that was their due, He broke down the barriers of prejudice and the walls of marginalization. The family of God which He was going to bring into existence would not stand for inequality.
SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK OF THE YEAR (Luke 8:4-15) Two things come out of this passage. The one is the absolute generosity of God. He does not say: this is the good soil. He just merrily keeps throwing the seeds up in the air and letting them fall where they may. He is not afraid of rejection. This is the meaning of love. The other is the power of the seed. We look at our hearts and put them into the various categories. However, it must be remembered that the Word has a power to make the hard soft, to make roses out of the thorns. The Word touches and transforms. The Word will make its own.
Showing posts with label Liturgy Reflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liturgy Reflections. Show all posts
Friday, September 11, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
• TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR
MONDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:13-22) It is so easy to be awed by the large Churches, majestic liturgies. The libraries that have stored our cultural heritage throughout the years, the museums in which is the history of the western world, are all jewels of which the Church should be proud. It is so easy to identify these with the Church. The Church lies somewhere else. It is in the hearts of the lonely, the forgotten, those who acknowledge their need for God. We should be awed these as the presence of God among us.
TUESDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:23-26) Complacency is a constant threat to our relationship with the Lord. It is the mind set that does not see the possibilities of growth. Or worse, does not want to grow. This attitude is a threat in any relationship. We get too comfortable, it becomes too easy. Complacency does not see the incompleteness within, it has set limits on the working of God. Complacency is a denial of happiness
WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:27-32) Our relationship to the Lord is not a question of “how much we do” but rather of “who are we.” To put it another way, it is a question of being rather than doing. Our actions should be based on a God centeredness. This meeting with the Lord is what fills up the inside. We may do many good things, and I am sure the Lord will be happy with them, but to have them based on Him being the center is the fullness of all we do.
THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.24:42-51) We spend so much time waiting. We wait in the super markets, doctors’ offices, toll booths…we wait for good things to happen, we wait hopefully that bad things will not happen. There seems to be always something for which we are waiting. We can use that “waiting time” or let it go to waste. Waiting is not passive but active. We look to the future and in doing so in some small way make that future present. In looking to our future, the coming of the Lord, we should be the agents of making that future a now thing.
FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR
(Matt.25:1-13) The oil of good works, but more importantly it is the oil of seeing the bridegroom now. We can focus too much on the future and not see the present. Conversely we can live in the present to such an extent that there is no future. We live the future today, we live today in the light of the future. The Lord will come again, the future, we must greet Him today.
SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.25:14-30) We have to let go of some things in order to grow. One basic reality of life is that things do not stay the same.
As Native Americans say: we never put our feet into the same river. The Church of the 1950’s is both the same and not the same as the one we are living in. It is the same because the Creed is the same, the foundation of our faith, it is different because we are being asked to live the Creed in a different way. The great gift of faith is alive, not dead. We can never go back to the “way things used to be”. To try to do that is denying the working of God in His
Church.
TWENTY SECOND WEEK OF THE YEAR
MONDAY OF THE TWENTY SECOND WEEK OF THE YEAR (Luke 4:16-30) About whom is the Lord speaking? Quite obviously it is Himself. Does it stop there? I think not. He is reminding us all that the Spirit has come upon each and every one
• TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR
MONDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:13-22) It is so easy to be awed by the large Churches, majestic liturgies. The libraries that have stored our cultural heritage throughout the years, the museums in which is the history of the western world, are all jewels of which the Church should be proud. It is so easy to identify these with the Church. The Church lies somewhere else. It is in the hearts of the lonely, the forgotten, those who acknowledge their need for God. We should be awed these as the presence of God among us.
TUESDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:23-26) Complacency is a constant threat to our relationship with the Lord. It is the mind set that does not see the possibilities of growth. Or worse, does not want to grow. This attitude is a threat in any relationship. We get too comfortable, it becomes too easy. Complacency does not see the incompleteness within, it has set limits on the working of God. Complacency is a denial of happiness
WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:27-32) Our relationship to the Lord is not a question of “how much we do” but rather of “who are we.” To put it another way, it is a question of being rather than doing. Our actions should be based on a God centeredness. This meeting with the Lord is what fills up the inside. We may do many good things, and I am sure the Lord will be happy with them, but to have them based on Him being the center is the fullness of all we do.
THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.24:42-51) We spend so much time waiting. We wait in the super markets, doctors’ offices, toll booths…we wait for good things to happen, we wait hopefully that bad things will not happen. There seems to be always something for which we are waiting. We can use that “waiting time” or let it go to waste. Waiting is not passive but active. We look to the future and in doing so in some small way make that future present. In looking to our future, the coming of the Lord, we should be the agents of making that future a now thing.
FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR
(Matt.25:1-13) The oil of good works, but more importantly it is the oil of seeing the bridegroom now. We can focus too much on the future and not see the present. Conversely we can live in the present to such an extent that there is no future. We live the future today, we live today in the light of the future. The Lord will come again, the future, we must greet Him today.
SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.25:14-30) We have to let go of some things in order to grow. One basic reality of life is that things do not stay the same.
As Native Americans say: we never put our feet into the same river. The Church of the 1950’s is both the same and not the same as the one we are living in. It is the same because the Creed is the same, the foundation of our faith, it is different because we are being asked to live the Creed in a different way. The great gift of faith is alive, not dead. We can never go back to the “way things used to be”. To try to do that is denying the working of God in His
Church.
MONDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:13-22) It is so easy to be awed by the large Churches, majestic liturgies. The libraries that have stored our cultural heritage throughout the years, the museums in which is the history of the western world, are all jewels of which the Church should be proud. It is so easy to identify these with the Church. The Church lies somewhere else. It is in the hearts of the lonely, the forgotten, those who acknowledge their need for God. We should be awed these as the presence of God among us.
TUESDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:23-26) Complacency is a constant threat to our relationship with the Lord. It is the mind set that does not see the possibilities of growth. Or worse, does not want to grow. This attitude is a threat in any relationship. We get too comfortable, it becomes too easy. Complacency does not see the incompleteness within, it has set limits on the working of God. Complacency is a denial of happiness
WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:27-32) Our relationship to the Lord is not a question of “how much we do” but rather of “who are we.” To put it another way, it is a question of being rather than doing. Our actions should be based on a God centeredness. This meeting with the Lord is what fills up the inside. We may do many good things, and I am sure the Lord will be happy with them, but to have them based on Him being the center is the fullness of all we do.
THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.24:42-51) We spend so much time waiting. We wait in the super markets, doctors’ offices, toll booths…we wait for good things to happen, we wait hopefully that bad things will not happen. There seems to be always something for which we are waiting. We can use that “waiting time” or let it go to waste. Waiting is not passive but active. We look to the future and in doing so in some small way make that future present. In looking to our future, the coming of the Lord, we should be the agents of making that future a now thing.
FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR
(Matt.25:1-13) The oil of good works, but more importantly it is the oil of seeing the bridegroom now. We can focus too much on the future and not see the present. Conversely we can live in the present to such an extent that there is no future. We live the future today, we live today in the light of the future. The Lord will come again, the future, we must greet Him today.
SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.25:14-30) We have to let go of some things in order to grow. One basic reality of life is that things do not stay the same.
As Native Americans say: we never put our feet into the same river. The Church of the 1950’s is both the same and not the same as the one we are living in. It is the same because the Creed is the same, the foundation of our faith, it is different because we are being asked to live the Creed in a different way. The great gift of faith is alive, not dead. We can never go back to the “way things used to be”. To try to do that is denying the working of God in His
Church.
TWENTY SECOND WEEK OF THE YEAR
MONDAY OF THE TWENTY SECOND WEEK OF THE YEAR (Luke 4:16-30) About whom is the Lord speaking? Quite obviously it is Himself. Does it stop there? I think not. He is reminding us all that the Spirit has come upon each and every one
• TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR
MONDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:13-22) It is so easy to be awed by the large Churches, majestic liturgies. The libraries that have stored our cultural heritage throughout the years, the museums in which is the history of the western world, are all jewels of which the Church should be proud. It is so easy to identify these with the Church. The Church lies somewhere else. It is in the hearts of the lonely, the forgotten, those who acknowledge their need for God. We should be awed these as the presence of God among us.
TUESDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:23-26) Complacency is a constant threat to our relationship with the Lord. It is the mind set that does not see the possibilities of growth. Or worse, does not want to grow. This attitude is a threat in any relationship. We get too comfortable, it becomes too easy. Complacency does not see the incompleteness within, it has set limits on the working of God. Complacency is a denial of happiness
WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.23:27-32) Our relationship to the Lord is not a question of “how much we do” but rather of “who are we.” To put it another way, it is a question of being rather than doing. Our actions should be based on a God centeredness. This meeting with the Lord is what fills up the inside. We may do many good things, and I am sure the Lord will be happy with them, but to have them based on Him being the center is the fullness of all we do.
THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.24:42-51) We spend so much time waiting. We wait in the super markets, doctors’ offices, toll booths…we wait for good things to happen, we wait hopefully that bad things will not happen. There seems to be always something for which we are waiting. We can use that “waiting time” or let it go to waste. Waiting is not passive but active. We look to the future and in doing so in some small way make that future present. In looking to our future, the coming of the Lord, we should be the agents of making that future a now thing.
FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR
(Matt.25:1-13) The oil of good works, but more importantly it is the oil of seeing the bridegroom now. We can focus too much on the future and not see the present. Conversely we can live in the present to such an extent that there is no future. We live the future today, we live today in the light of the future. The Lord will come again, the future, we must greet Him today.
SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR (Matt.25:14-30) We have to let go of some things in order to grow. One basic reality of life is that things do not stay the same.
As Native Americans say: we never put our feet into the same river. The Church of the 1950’s is both the same and not the same as the one we are living in. It is the same because the Creed is the same, the foundation of our faith, it is different because we are being asked to live the Creed in a different way. The great gift of faith is alive, not dead. We can never go back to the “way things used to be”. To try to do that is denying the working of God in His
Church.
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