A lesson of mission forgotten?

This coming Sunday the Church celebrates The Solemnity of Corpus Christi. In yesterday’s post we catch a glimpse of a moment of respite for the apostles after their mission that gives way to crowds of people

12 As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, ‘Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.’ 13 He said to them, ‘Give them some food yourselves.’ They replied, ‘Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.’ 14 Now the men there numbered about five thousand.

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The Whirlwind

Every now and again, someone in the Sacrament of Confession will mention a sin, and comment, “I know it’s wrong, but no one is hurt except me.”

In yesterday’s first reading we heard the first part of the story of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel conspiring to dispossess Naboth the Jezreelite of his vineyard in Jezreel located next to the palace of the King. It is a tale of Shakespearean intrigue, malice, and evil doing. And now for the rest of the story. Continue reading

The Call to Ministry

This coming Sunday the Church celebrates The Solemnity of Corpus Christi. In yesterday’s post we set the stage for a transition from the very public ministry of Jesus establishing his identity and mission to Israel – to one in which the disciples will more deeply explore Jesus’ identity in order to discover their part in his divine mission. We pick up the account as the apostles return from their first mission. Continue reading

St Anthony of Padua

Most people know St. Anthony of Padua as the patron saint of lost and stolen articles, but have you ever wondered why he is that particular patron saint?

The Patron Saint of Lost Things. The reason for invoking St. Anthony’s help in finding lost or stolen things is traced back to an incident in his own life. As the story goes, Anthony had a book of psalms that was very important to him. You have to remember this was before the age of the printing press and so all books were of great value, and besides the value of the book, the psalter had the notes and comments he had made to use in teaching students in his Franciscan Order. Continue reading

Setting the Stage

This coming Sunday the Church celebrates The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, popularly known by its truncated Latin name of Corpus Christi. Each year on this solemnity the gospel is taken from one of the miraculous feeding of the multitudes. This year the reading is from the Gospel of Luke 9:10-17 when five loaves and two fish become the starting point for feeding more than 5,000 people. Continue reading

It makes a difference

We have all kinds of solemnities, feast days, and other special days in the church year. We commemorate happenings in the life of Christ: Mary’s visit from Gabriel, the birth of Jesus, the arrival of the maji, the Baptism of our Lord, the Transfiguration when the glory of Christ is revealed, Palm Sunday, the empty tomb and Resurrection of Easter, the glorious Ascension, the explosive coming of God’s spirit to the church at Pentecost … and then we have Holy Trinity Sunday.  And suddenly it is like we have moved from these great events in the life of Christ, and now…. tadah!!  We are celebrating… well… what are you celebrating this Sunday? Take a moment and make a list of the possibilities. Continue reading

Principles for life

THY WILL BE DONE – Are we completely giving ourselves over to God’s will? And embracing the high adventure of His plan, over our plan, wherever that may lead?

LOVE OUR PEOPLE – Are we loving our people above all else and as if they are Jesus in disguise? Are we detached from things, money, power, honor and comfort, so we are free to love people most fully? Are we helping each person take one step closer to reaching their own dreams in this world and becoming a saint in the next?

DELIGHT and SURPRISE – Are we doing everything that is expected of us…plus more? And delivering joyful, radical service that delights and surprises?

KEEP IT SIMPLE – Do we relentlessly simplify our processes and solutions, so our product and organization stays “lean and mean,” rather than cluttered or slowed by the unimportant? Are we continually asking, “What would this look like if it were simple?”

RADICAL FOCUS – Do we know who we are? Are we focused on the mission? Are we willing to give up everything non-essential? Are we able to cut through the distractions, noise, and busy-ness and just do the hard work that really matters?

GIVE MY BEST – Am I being a good steward of God’s gifts, working hard, taking initiative, and always giving my best?

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT – Is this making us better versions of ourselves? Are we committed to excellence, personal accountability, understanding the why, and getting better at our craft every single day? Are we more disciplined, smart, virtuous, prayerful, faithful, and effective today than we were yesterday?

BE GENEROUS – Are we generous with our gratitude, time, patience, mercy, forgiveness, optimism, and kindness? When in doubt, be generous.

GREATER THAN THE SUM – “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot. Together we can do great things.” — Saint (Mother) Teresa

LEAVE ROOM – Work is a means to an end, not an end itself, and should not be all-consuming. Is our work sanctifying us and benefiting others? Is it nourishing our families, rather than competing with them? Is it enabling and supporting leisure and a rich contemplative life, with plenty of room for silence, prayer, worship and life’s higher things?

St. Barnabas

Today is the Memorial of St. Barnabas one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. In Acts 11:22, the Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to Antioch to proclaim the word of God. While there he apparently heard that St. Paul, former persecutor of Christians, was in Tarsus. Acts 9 tells of the conversion of Saul in the memorable Damascus Road story.  What Acts leaves out and St. Paul provides in Galatians 11, after the experience in Damascus, for three years, Paul was in “Arabia” (Gal 1:17) In the first century this refers to the Syro-Arabian desert, farther north, which includes portions of modern-day Syria and Jordan; likely the region of the Nabataean Arabs, east and south of Damascus. Continue reading

Moving towards Wisdom

This coming Sunday is Holy Trinity Sunday. The selection of the first reading from the Book of Proverbs can be seen as a celebration of Wisdom even in the primordial moment of creation. It is as though the scribes are saying, “Look, we are celebrating in our day, what the Lord has provided for us since the dawn of creation.” The dawn when the Spirit hovered over the chaos. Continue reading

Raqa

In today’s gospel we hear a warning from Jesus about anger and the words we use.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” (Mt 5:21-22)

In Hebrew the word “raqa” means “empty” or “foolish.” Here is a story from the Talmud about “raqa.” Continue reading