It's an occasion for us to recall to mind our own resurrection that we experience as people of faith in God. By dying and rising to life with Christ now in our Earthly pilgrimage, living as disciples, as did Mary, we share in the hope that one day we will enter Eternal Life in God's presence. From God comes salvation, and through Christ, we experience it fully. And we are full of joy, as were Mary and Elizabeth in the Gospel reading.
Friday, August 15, 2014
August 15, 2014: Assumption of Mary
This feast commemorates when Mary was taken up into Heaven in body and soul.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
August 10, 2014: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This world is so full of trouble, and our own lives are, too. Yet God remains ever present to us, in a quiet, calm way, like when Elijah senses a soft voice that is God's presence, after a violent wind, earthquake, and fire.
In the midst of rough waters on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus comes to be present to His disciples in the boat, summoning forth their courage against fear, and the doubt that He was walking toward them.
We learn to recognize this presence manifest in a sense of calmness, and reach out by faith, beyond our fears, to embrace it. We see that our loving God desires to grant us salvation, through Jesus Christ, manifested first in the Jewish people, as St. Paul writes of so gloriously.
In the midst of rough waters on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus comes to be present to His disciples in the boat, summoning forth their courage against fear, and the doubt that He was walking toward them.
We learn to recognize this presence manifest in a sense of calmness, and reach out by faith, beyond our fears, to embrace it. We see that our loving God desires to grant us salvation, through Jesus Christ, manifested first in the Jewish people, as St. Paul writes of so gloriously.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
August 3, 2014: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
God always stands ready to provide for us. In the Gospel reading, even in the midst of the heartbreak of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus is moved to care for the people who stream to Him, and goes so far as to feed them.
The disciples were concerned over how they could feed so many people, yet Jesus opened the way for the people to be fed. The story shows how God truly provides--not just for our physical needs, but the needs of our whole being, body and soul.
That's what the reading from Isaiah alludes to, when God calls the people to come and eat, then adding He would renew the covenant with them, bringing them into a relationship with Him that would prosper them fully.
We have a God who cares for us, out of love so powerful and strong, which nothing--nothing--can overcome, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading, listing off various powers, even spiritual, and physical realities.
The disciples were concerned over how they could feed so many people, yet Jesus opened the way for the people to be fed. The story shows how God truly provides--not just for our physical needs, but the needs of our whole being, body and soul.
That's what the reading from Isaiah alludes to, when God calls the people to come and eat, then adding He would renew the covenant with them, bringing them into a relationship with Him that would prosper them fully.
We have a God who cares for us, out of love so powerful and strong, which nothing--nothing--can overcome, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading, listing off various powers, even spiritual, and physical realities.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
July 27, 2014: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend, I spent part of my Saturday afternoon watching a fantastic movie called National Treasure. In seeking after a great hidden treasure amassed over centuries, and guarded by the Knights Templars and Freemasons, Ben Gates has to go through one of the United States's great national treasures, the Declaration of Independence, going so far as to steal the document from the National Archives. In so doing, he also recognizes the document's values, for what it represents, and especially for the ideas it contains that created the United States.
As I sat at Mass on Sunday morning, I couldn't help but think about how fitting it was to watch a movie about treasures with the readings speaking about treasures. Namely, they speak about the great riches of God. In light of who He is, all earthly riches treasures don't seem so valuable.
King Solomon senses this when God comes to Him in a dream and offers to grant him whatever he wishes. Solomon doesn't ask for any earthly pleasures, but asks for wisdom and a heart that can effectively aid him in ruling the great and vast people of God.
The people in Jesus's parables encounter treasures, small things in the realm of something larger. But they have such great worth, which compels them to sell everything they have to lay hold of those items of great worth.
So great is the Kingdom of God, that we give up everything else in life to lay hold of it, a constant effort throughout our lives. As St. Paul speaks of in the Epistle reading, we know that God has called us, and as we seek His Kingdom, He is transforming us into His great treasure. So even as we have to face evil and trouble in this world, we await the day God gathers the righteous into His fold, truly glorifying them.
As I sat at Mass on Sunday morning, I couldn't help but think about how fitting it was to watch a movie about treasures with the readings speaking about treasures. Namely, they speak about the great riches of God. In light of who He is, all earthly riches treasures don't seem so valuable.
King Solomon senses this when God comes to Him in a dream and offers to grant him whatever he wishes. Solomon doesn't ask for any earthly pleasures, but asks for wisdom and a heart that can effectively aid him in ruling the great and vast people of God.
The people in Jesus's parables encounter treasures, small things in the realm of something larger. But they have such great worth, which compels them to sell everything they have to lay hold of those items of great worth.
So great is the Kingdom of God, that we give up everything else in life to lay hold of it, a constant effort throughout our lives. As St. Paul speaks of in the Epistle reading, we know that God has called us, and as we seek His Kingdom, He is transforming us into His great treasure. So even as we have to face evil and trouble in this world, we await the day God gathers the righteous into His fold, truly glorifying them.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
July 20, 2014: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our God is an amazing God, and the eloquently-worded reading from the book of Wisdom explains why: By being just and mighty in His very nature, God shows mercy and compassion to people. He even makes possible for us to repent of our sins.
Perhaps this is why God does not rid the world of evil with one fell swoop. He works instead to grow the goodness of His people as they build the Kingdom of God, which starts in small ways, and builds to something great and mighty, like the mustard seed and the large bush that it becomes. For even in the midst of evil, God works mightily in us, as the Spirit intercedes for us, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading from Romans. He is able to leaven the whole batch of dough with a little yeast.
That is why we hope, and strive by faith to build the Kingdom on Earth, until the day when we who have so worked shine so gloriously for our Father.
Perhaps this is why God does not rid the world of evil with one fell swoop. He works instead to grow the goodness of His people as they build the Kingdom of God, which starts in small ways, and builds to something great and mighty, like the mustard seed and the large bush that it becomes. For even in the midst of evil, God works mightily in us, as the Spirit intercedes for us, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading from Romans. He is able to leaven the whole batch of dough with a little yeast.
That is why we hope, and strive by faith to build the Kingdom on Earth, until the day when we who have so worked shine so gloriously for our Father.
Monday, July 14, 2014
July 13, 2014: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Agricultural imagery abounds in this weekend's readings.
As Isaiah says, God's Word comes down to the Earth to accomplish its purposes, just as the rain and snow water the Earth to bring it alive in great abundance.
According to the Gospel reading, this abundance comes when the seed sown by the farmer lands in fertile soil, which allows it to produce a great yield. But when Jesus interprets the parable for the disciples, it is clear that there are different responses to the Word of God, and it is received by many, but is not fertilized and nourished, especially considering how some aren't able to respond and comprehend the Word. So we must give of ourselves in fertilizing the Word of God, so that it produces an abundance.
Indeed, God has sent forth to send His Word forth upon the Earth, to bring it alive. All of Creation is awaiting the day when God restores it to its full beauty, even as we wait for the fullness of our redemption, being accomplished now as God's Word works in us to produce such abundance.
As Isaiah says, God's Word comes down to the Earth to accomplish its purposes, just as the rain and snow water the Earth to bring it alive in great abundance.
According to the Gospel reading, this abundance comes when the seed sown by the farmer lands in fertile soil, which allows it to produce a great yield. But when Jesus interprets the parable for the disciples, it is clear that there are different responses to the Word of God, and it is received by many, but is not fertilized and nourished, especially considering how some aren't able to respond and comprehend the Word. So we must give of ourselves in fertilizing the Word of God, so that it produces an abundance.
Indeed, God has sent forth to send His Word forth upon the Earth, to bring it alive. All of Creation is awaiting the day when God restores it to its full beauty, even as we wait for the fullness of our redemption, being accomplished now as God's Word works in us to produce such abundance.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
July 6, 2014: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus gives us an invitation to come to Him in this weekend's Gospel reading. He invites us into a life in which we are caught up in the great mysteries of God, which He reveals not to the proud, but to the meek and humble. We are forgiven of our sins, and brought to new Life by God's Spirit, the same One who raised Christ from the dead. We are made part of the new reign of God, in which our King reigns with great peace over all the Earth, even in our own hearts.
We are invited to leave behind the old life of sin, and take up this new Life, in which Christ is ever present with us as we bear this life's burdens. We take on his yoke, so that our burdens are no longer so great, because He's alongside us.
We are invited to leave behind the old life of sin, and take up this new Life, in which Christ is ever present with us as we bear this life's burdens. We take on his yoke, so that our burdens are no longer so great, because He's alongside us.
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