Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Red Carpet Night - April 16, 2009
The Red Carpet Night
DATE.DANCE.DINE. PRAISE
on April 16, 2009, 4:00pm, Venue TBA
Dear Party People,
Ready for the RED PARTY???
Wanna know more about it?...
I’m sure you don’t wanna miss any single event of it…
…so come early and have more fun!
See yah!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Daily Reflection - April 25, 2009
April 25th, 2009
by
Robert Berry
by
Robert Berry
One of my most favorite memories growing up, was the playing of a game called “Follow the Leader”. This was a fun game as long as everyone was able to take their turn at being the leader, and as long as the leader gave clear instructions and played by the rule. As Christian leaders, we should follow the lead of Jesus as he showed us how to love and care for one another.
In I Peter chapter 5, the leaders of the church are encouraged to be imitators of Christ by performing their duties as servants to the people of the church. They are to be as shepherds to their sheep, where they show their love and concern towards them by feeding them and protecting them. These leaders are to serve with a willing spirit as well as live a life of good examples before God and the people. It is important for the leader to serve with humility. This same spirit of humility should be seen within the people of the church toward the leaders. The young members should show respect to the older members by virtue of their years of experience being lead by God. For God loves us so, that he provides our needs. God keeps his promises to us, to the point of giving his only son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for our sins.
God is the best example of a true leader, and he wants the best for us. Let’s follow his lead.
Daily Reflection - April 24, 2009
April 24th, 2009
by
Ken Reed-Bouley
by
Ken Reed-Bouley
| Friday of the Second Week of Easter |
Have you ever hosted a party or event at home or for work and had no idea how many people would come or if you would have enough food? Creighton University hosted an event a few weeks ago when we were in such a situation. Last year Project Homeless Connect Omaha brought together at Creighton’s Kiewit Fitness Center 500 volunteers and more than 300 homeless guests for a variety of services from medical and dental to housing and haircuts. But what if the recession pushed our guest numbers significantly higher? Would we have enough food to be hospitable as well as volunteers and services to be helpful?
In John’s version of what is commonly referred to as “the multiplication of the loaves and fishes,” Jesus was not worried about how to feed more than 5000 people who followed him to a mountain precisely because he was performing signs such as healing the sick. In fact, Jesus accepted the potential crisis as an opportunity to test his disciples “because he himself knew what he was going to do.” But the disciples were clearly worried about how to feed so many people and no doubt what the crowd might do if they were disappointed in Jesus and hungry after following him to this remote area.
Some scholars point to the significance of having the followers recline to eat (a position usually reserved for the privileged of the day) and the disciples doing the serving. Others suggest that the miracle of the multiplication may have been Jesus physically creating more food or perhaps that the sharing of the fish and bread evoked generosity and hospitality in the followers who began to share with fellow sojourners around them the food they brought for the day’s journey.
For me the significance lies in the twelve wicker baskets of bread gathered after everyone had had enough to eat, “fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” Here are a few lessons I draw from the gathered fragments:
- Live out of a sense of abundance rather than scarcity; “there’s always room for one more at the table”
- Don’t waste food and other resources (a lesson of sustainability and stewardship)
- Trust in the basic goodness of others; create opportunities to make it easy for people to be generous and they will generally follow through
- When we live out of a sense of abundance, community, generosity, and stewardship, we can often accomplish more and with fewer resources than we think we need
Participation did in fact grow this year for Project Homeless Connect Omaha: more than 600 volunteers and over 500 homeless guests. We did not multiply any bread or fish, but we did bring together many generous people, with a sense of community and stewardship, who did create something good through their sharing of talents and resources. Overall it was a good day, but our local and national communities have a long way to go to properly structure our society to have an abundance of jobs, healthcare and a home for all. This gospel reading calls us to make our society one in which resources are so abundantly shared that we never need an event like Project Homeless Connect to satisfy people’s basic needs.
Daily Reflection - April 23, 2009
April 23rd, 2009
by
Joan Lanahan
by
Joan Lanahan
| Thursday of the Second Week of Easter |
OBEY GOD’S WILL
Look at those feisty apostles. They break out of jail, thanks to an angel, and when confronted by the Sanhedrin, the religious authorities, have the gumption to reply,
“better for us to obey God than men.”
What was their grave deed: preaching of God’s love in Jesus.
“Obey” is an interesting word. It means “to follow commands or guidance, or abide by” another’s word. So, the apostles were following Jesus’ command to preach and teach his loving word.
“God’s will” is a phrase that causes many so much confusion and struggle. We desire to serve God’s will but often it is so difficult to know what that means for us. There is nothing simple about it though; I humbly simplify it to mean “to love as God loves us”.
John tells us,
“the one whom God sent
Speaks the Word of God”
Over and over in the gospels Jesus loves, speaks of loving and receives others’ love. You know how hard it is to love.
A friend, who is wife and mother, has spent the last several years supporting her husband through hard times. Then a daughter fell into her hard times and is now working at recovery as another daughter deals with the harshness in her life. It seems never ending.
Another Mom and Dad are trying to support their 40 year old son who is dealing with a horrible disease. His anger and discouragement and struggle to deal with his body and mind could consume their family. They continue to give him loving kindness and care.
Another woman, burnt out from 30 years of teaching takes care of elderly persons in their homes. She does the bodily care and menial household tasks with a smile and good humor.
What do all these people have in common? They are trying to love those around them. Sometimes it is tough and their pain seems unbearable and never ending. They too cry for help and God sends them others who support them.
“God hears the cry of the poor” always. Maybe we don’t all have angels who release us from prison, but we can find helpful hints from others’ insights and wisdom and support.
So, God’s Will is an invitation to love despite the cost. Remember the promise
“whoever believes in the Son has life eternal”.
Eternal life begins here, loving one another.
Daily Reflection - April 22, 2009
April 22nd, 2009
by
Susan Tinley
by
Susan Tinley
| Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter |
It is just nine days since we have celebrated Easter Sunday. The celebration continues really throughout our lives, but it is more prominent in our thoughts and liturgies during Easter Season.
What an amazing gift God has given us. He sent his Son to redeem each of us. We can easily see ourselves as insignificant, just because of the sheer numbers of people who share this planet with us now, not to mention throughout history. We can see what we do as insignificant in comparison with the brilliant, the great, the famous and those known for their holiness. We can see our insignificance in so many ways, but God does not see any of us as insignificant. He sent his Son for you individually and for me individually.
What a love that is! All we have to do is accept that love. We make the choice. God does not choose whether to love us. He loves us - of that we can have total confidence. We make the choice whether to accept his love and live in his light or reject his love and live in the dark. It seems like it should be so easy.
One might wonder what would ever lead us to reject this most fantastic gift. But what is most awesome about all of this is that when we are foolish enough to reject his gift, it is still there for us. He does not take away the redemptive power of his Son. His love is there for us to accept. In that love there is total comfort and security, no matter what else is going on around us. There is nothing in our human experience that can begin to compare to the gift of Easter.
“Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.”
Psalm 34
Daily Reflection - April 21, 2009
April 21st, 2009
by
John P. Schlegel, S.J.
by
John P. Schlegel, S.J.
| Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter |
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles notes “The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.”
The obvious question to reflect upon today is how has/does the resurrection of Jesus influence our actions and aspirations? In today’s climate of economic uncertainty, natural disasters, international warfare, and your own personal problems, what is the impact of the risen Lord in your life?
St. Paul preached that the resurrection is the very core of Christianity; it is the belief around which the church grew. If Jesus is not raised from the dead “than all is in vain,” he wrote. For Paul resurrection is first of all about new life now. It is about putting on Christ in baptism and then putting on Christ everyday thereafter.After the resurrection Jesus was alive not dead. It is the living Christ we experience at baptism and when we receive the Eucharist. Jesus comes into us and imbues us with his very life. In today’s Gospel Nicodemus did not understand that, like us, he “must be born from above.”And that “no one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man…and everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” This is our Easter gift, the indwelling power of Christ. As Paul noted “…yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.”
To put this Easter gift in the words of the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins:
“In a flash, at a trumpet crash,
I am all at once what Christ is, since he was what I am, and
this Jack, joke, potsherd, patch, matchwood, immortal diamond,
is immortal diamond.”
Daily Reflection - April 20, 2009
April 20th, 2009
by
Jeanne Schuler
by
Jeanne Schuler
| Monday of the Second Week of Easter |
The Spirit Among Us
A change had come. The doors to their hiding place were unlocked and the fearful ones now walked the streets freely. They spoke boldly and touched those broken with love. Those who saw this were amazed. The authorities rumbled and ordered them to be silent. When the two apostles were released from custody, their companions cheered. As they prayed for courage to continue, the building swayed. God’s spirit was moving among them. They were not alone.
Nicodemus came to Jesus at night with his questions. He was a man of standing in the community. An expert on ritual, he was captivated by what eluded his fine understanding. Of course, with his reputation, these visits were secret. Nicodemus was stuck in the middle; he could draw no closer, neither would he forget. The spirit passed overhead as he pondered his quandary.
As Dante embarks on his journey through hell, he first enters the plain of Acheron, where the spiritually indifferent ones are left behind. These souls cannot cross the river and face judgment. Neither hell nor heaven wants them, so they are blown about forever like tumbleweed. His is a harsh view of those who waver and never take a stand.
Nicodemus tried to go it alone and got stuck in a holding pattern. We need one another to face the spirit. Like the winds that bring spring to the plains, the spirit moves among us when we gather in our need and fear and hope. Then we come alive. That day we are reborn.
Daily Reflection - April 19, 2009
April 19th, 2009
by
Larry Gillick, S.J.
PREPRAYING
by
Larry Gillick, S.J.
| Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday |
We are praying within the Easter experience of being renewed and enlivened. We are invited to pray for the awareness of all the gifts God has given this world through its being created and blest by the redemptive love of Jesus.
We pray for the freedom to hold our gifts in common with our sisters and brothers. We hold them gently and generously as having been given and given to be shared. We pray to be more receptive to the movements of the Holy Spirit as we attempt to stay out of any of our favorite tombs.
REFLECTION
The more we are aware of who we are and accept who we are and who we are not, the less “envy” directs our attitudes and choices. In our First Reading, the early believers were moved through their being grateful, to distribute all their possessions and share them with the needy. They were inspired by the Holy Spirit and their belief in the Resurrection of Jesus to a freer way of looking at life on this earth.
In his book, “Mountains Beyond Mountains”, Tracy Kidder quotes a Haitian saying that God gives the gifts, but doesn’t share. The sharing is up to us. “Envy” is an abiding sense that we are not enough and must buy, achieve, construct, or fabricate some dressing or pretense that will fool others, but not ourselves. Instead of a joyful spirit, the envious person smiles only at those who are fooled.
Adam and Eve had to dress themselves to avoid the shame of their being naked. They had to accumulate and preserve their personal “things” by which they and others would identify them. It seems that the early Christian Community was in a divesting spirit, because they were growing in their identities, personal and communal. God had given them the gift of the Holy Spirit to affirm them as beloved human beings. The early apostles held on to nothing except their belief in Jesus and the “power of His Resurrection.”
There are the materially needy who wait for God’s sharing through us. There are the others who need the blessing and comfort and encouragement of us who have become aware of and accept the sacramental name the Spirit offers us through Baptism and the other Sacraments. We accept who we are not, with some difficulty, I grant that. We are breathed into so as to move us beyond our mountains of fear and doubt. “Envy” is slowly replaced by blessed gratitude. When Christ has given us Himself and thereby too, given us ourselves, then grateful sharing becomes our personal subtitle.
The Gospel we hear is a continuation of the Adam and Eve story. God has come looking for them, but they were ashamed of who they knew themselves to be. They were in hiding, as shame is want to do. They individually and collectively had lost their original names. Humanity who would follow their wandering, would continue the search for their name.
Jesus enters a similar group of human beings, lost and hiding for fear. The “lost-and-found” department is now open for business. Jesus is the Finder and meets them in a condition in which they all would wish were different.
Instead of accusation, there is “Peace be with you.” The disciples “rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” They were divested of their fear, shame, and old names. They were now “apostles” or “those sent”. In a real sense, that is the name of “the Christ”, and He passes that name and personal subtitle on to His early church.
Thomas is a perfect picture of “envy”. He, as with Adam and Eve, wants to eat of the apple of certainty. Jesus affirms Thomas’ need to know, but blesses all of us who want to eat of that apple, but trust the experiences of others and the grace to live beyond the mountains of fear and doubt.
This very morning I participated in a fund-raiser, a run of five kilometers. It was a rather cool morning, but students and faculty from the Creighton Dental School lined up for the “fun” run. I run that distance four times a week, no problem. So off we went and according to our watches, the turn-around should be in sight. After ten more minutes we began to wonder if we were getting slower than we thought.
Thirty-four minutes into the run, which was turning into not being “fun” we arrived at the five K watering hole. The young dental-student got her miles and kilometers mixed up - ah yes, these Americans!
Not only did we have five more k’s to run, but we felt a demand for an explanation. She said cheerfully that we got twice as much for our ten dollars. We had trusted what we were told and our energy to complete our morning’s mission. It just about completed us.
Trusting what we are told without seeing signs is most difficult for us “envious” pilgrims. We kept watching for the faster runners to be passing by us going back to the beginning. We wanted certainty so that we would be comfortable that we would make it. We felt we had a right to know!
“Envy” is a human burden. It can confine us to prisons of fearful comparing. It can result in such inferiority that all attempts at anything is terrifyingly tense. It isolates us and mistakenly names us “loser”. Jesus rose to raise us from the gravitational pull of “envy” to the upright walking, (or running) the journey of believing.
“And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.” 1 John, 5
Daily Reflection - April 18, 2009
April 18th, 2009
by
Ray Bucko, S.J.
by
Ray Bucko, S.J.
| Saturday in the Octave of Easter |
There is a story about a Greek philosopher who one day was seen talking to the statues in the marketplace. When people asked him why he was talking to the statues he replied that no one who was alive would listen to him.
We cannot believe if we do not listen, if we dismiss the testimony of our ancestors in faith. In today’s Gospel the risen Jesus appears to Mary and to the two disciples along the road. Mary and the disciples witnessed their experience but the people to whom they witnessed did not believe.
But more than hearing is at stake here— belief is based not simply on an autitory process but on an experiential one. Many of us (that would be me) identify with Thomas in the Gospel – he would not believe unless he experienced the risen Lord. I suspect Tom was from Missouri, the show-me state. I’m from New Jersey, the gardenia state – or is that garden state?
In our first reading the Sanhedrin see that two ordinary men, Peter and John, cure a man through the power of Jesus. Rather than believing in the power of Christ the Sanhedrin ignore this manifestation and plot against the disciples.
Both these stories hinge on the key task of witness. In the first story, the Sanhedrin, although they recognize the miracle, seek to surpress the witness given by Peter and James. In the second story, Jesus asks the disciples (that would be us) to go out and witness to the world. There is an interesting reversal here – the apostles in the first reading are successful in their witness while the disciples in the second reading are unsuccessful. Jesus does not rebuke the disciples for providing an ineffectual witness but rather he rebukes their hearers for not believing and in turn invites them to bear witness.
There is always a third reading at the daily liturgy, one that is in the process of being written—our own lives. We have the option of talking to the statues in the church- they are very patient! We can also tell others, bearing witness to the risen Lord. Ignatius of Loyola gives us this principle: love shows itself more clearly in action then in words. Instead of talking, we can do something. We witness through action as we do through words.
Last Sunday I was the presider for a community in Omaha. Upstairs we celebrated the liturgy – the deacon gave a beautiful sermon on how people had rallied to his assistance when he was sick . Downstairs volunteers were making sandwiches for the homeless. Because of my own vision impairment the deacon and parishioners helped me navigate both spaces – and the stairs between.
That day the resurrection was proclaimed loudly through the breaking of the bread and the making of sandwiches, through those who reached out to help the deacon and the deacon and others who reached out to help me.
Go and make disciples of the whole world. We can do that best by ourselves being disciples. Whether we talk to the masses or to the marble statues, people will watch what we are doing. What seems like a tall order (make disciples of all nations) begins with living a generous life, part of which is allowing others to be generous to us.
Daily Reflection - April 17, 2009
April 17th, 2009
by
Deb Fortina
by
Deb Fortina
| Friday in the Octave of Easter |
Acts 4: 1-12“…Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them,…all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed.’...”
Psalm 118: 1-2, and 4, 22-24, 25-27a “…The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.….”
John 21: 1-14 “…This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.”
Saint Benedict Joseph Labre. (d. 1783) was known for his insistence on staying out of the mainstream, choosing to live in complete poverty, even homeless at times. He only kept what he needed for the day, and gave the rest to the others for whom he shared his time and space. He is a very unique individual, with an unusual path towards sainthood, though clearly deserved. Of him it was said he held this uniqueness all through his life, starting in childhood. He came from a large family, and although his family wanted him to become a priest, and sent him to study with an uncle who was a priest, Benedict Joseph thought he wanted to become a monk. He tried the life of many orders and monasteries, but this was not the Lord’s will for him, and he was about doing the Lord’s will. Read much more about him at this site: http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/stben.htm
Our Easter readings today come across with such vibrancy, and remind us of our connectedness across the ages as we look in on their trials of Faith and compare them to our own in our world today. Peter and John from the reading in Acts are all charged up with a strong sense of mission and purpose. You can almost feel Peter’s energy across all these years reaching up to motivate us today. As the Spirit gave them courage; we too are encouraged to stand up for our Faith today. These men are brought in and detained until the next day for questioning, basically for curing a man in Jesus’ Name who had been crippled. Peter is so enthused that he has their attention that he boldly proclaims from which his power came, from Jesus Christ crucified, died, buried and risen from the dead. Like then, we face challenges to our Faith today, and like them, we have access to that same Spirit to aid us in our stand. Some of our challenges are universal across all counties and all people. For me in our country today, the problem that causes me to carry the heaviest load is what seems to be a return to support for abortion on demand. When things get so big, you know you can’t fix them, you resolutely resort to prayer, and then you pray some more
Especially in this Octave we celebrate Jesus conquering sin and death, and in the Gospel he is appearing to the Apostles for the third time since his Resurrection from the dead. So, I’m reminded today of the One I am following, the One who conquered sin and death, and I’m reminded that that early Church, which was established by Jesus was put here to help me follow my Faith. Like the apostles who were a little fuzzy the day Jesus showed up while they were fishing, we too get a little fuzzy from time to time. Our Church is here to help clarify, shine light into the darkness, when the issues become bigger than us. In our Psalm reading, we hear “the stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.” Jesus was rejected too, and we know we can expect a similar treatment, but not alone. So, I am consoled to stand firm with the Church on all the Pro-Life issues; because we know we are standing with Truth. Somewhere deep inside of me, the Spirit still groans and gives life with each breath.
Daily Reflection - April 16, 2009
April 16th, 2009
by
George Butterfield
by
George Butterfield
| Thursday in the Octave of Easter |
Today is Thursday within the Octave of Easter. It’s as if the Church does not get enough Easter on the day itself so it spreads it out over eight days. During that time the readings for Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours focus again and again on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This is one of the few times of the church year when there is no Old Testament reading. Instead, we hear the story of the resurrection community.
There are several aspects of the Acts reading that are thought provoking. A man is healed, Peter and John wonder why people look at them, as if they could heal him, and then Peter talks to the crowd about Jesus. You were complicit in the death of the Holy and Righteous one, the very “author of life,” Peter says. The God of their fathers, on the other hand, has glorified Jesus and it is through Jesus that the man has been healed. Peter then calls upon the people to turn to Jesus. If they do, their sins will be forgiven, they will experience times of refreshment, and God will send them the Christ. Jesus is coming, Peter says, but must remain in heaven “until the times of universal restoration.” I like to borrow John Milton’s language to describe human history in three parts: paradise, paradise lost, and paradise restored. In Jesus, that which is broken, lost, messed up is being restored. The apostle Paul refers to the creation as “groaning” and waiting for the revelation of the children of God. Jesus has begun the restoration and will conclude it but, in the meantime, you and I live in a world that groans and longs for our lost paradise. What then are we to do between the now and the not yet? We trust in Jesus, turn from our evil ways, and fulfill the promise made to Abraham that through his descendants all the nations will be blessed. We have been called to be a blessing in this world and that begins with God raising up Jesus and sending him to bless us. Blessed by Jesus, we become a blessing, but only if we are converted. To Peter, a converted person is one who listens to Jesus.
The psalmist seems thoroughly amazed that God cares so much about humans. Why is it, O Lord, considering how glorious you are, that you are mindful of us? You actually care for us. Then, as if that were not enough, you have made us just a little less than the angels, crowned us with glory and honor and made us like you: rulers over everything you have made. The psalmist can think of only one explanation for this: “O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!”
This is a message that disciples of Jesus have been commissioned to take to the ends of the earth. How do we do it? Luke tells us how the earliest disciples did it. Like us, they had troubles, questions, doubts, and, on occasion, were even terrified. How then did they take the good news of Jesus to their world? First, Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. They had power to share their faith because Jesus was in their minds. Second, in the breaking of the bread, they recognized Jesus. They saw him in the most mundane of things. Finally, in the midst of their greatest doubts, they remembered the words of Jesus: “Peace be with you.”
Understanding – recognition – memory; blessings to cherish during the Octave of Easter and beyond.
Daily Reflection - April 15, 2009
April 15th, 2009
by
Nancy Shirley
by
Nancy Shirley
| Wednesday in the Octave of Easter |
We are now basking in the afterglow of Easter. We have struggled through Lent and have arrived at the reward. When I read about the early disciples, I wonder how they did survive it all and understand any of it. I’ve been through numerous Lents yet at times, it is as though each one is new and the miracle of Easter is a welcome and refreshing end. We know the “rest of the story” yet the difficulty in reaching it sometimes amazes me. Perhaps I’m just a slow study. Oh, I eagerly embrace the wonder of this glorious time yet it is mind-boggling that I still have to work so hard at all that is expected of me – shouldn’t I have figured this out by now??
In this economic climate of struggle, we hear St. Peter’s words and are reminded of what the important things are in life. Our healing from our ills regardless of how they present themselves is far superior to all the routine treasures of the world. Finding peace and joy trumps everything else, always! While St. Peter performs a miracle in curing the crippled man, the greatest miracle is the outcome of faith in our lives. Living a faith-filled life and all that it entails rewards us in ways too numerous to count. I received an e-mail not long ago that showed a man carrying a cross (amid many others also carrying crosses). The man stopped and pleaded to God to “lighten” his cross and so he was able to cut some of it down. This continued a few times and soon his cross was small in length. However, when the time came to use the cross as a means over a great abyss, his cross was too short while others easily laid their crosses over the divide and passed to the other side. Our faith that we can carry the burdens put upon us is, indeed, our saving grace. We will make it to the other side if we continue to believe and pray.
While I’ve heard the gospel many times in my life, it struck me in a different way this time. No doubt because of some readings and discussions I’ve been blessed to be involved in lately. The part that I “heard” the clearest this time was that related to the burning feeling inside. It reinforced to me the notion of the divine within us all. As Father Dick Hauser recently pointed out at a discussion, God is not separate from us but there within us in the form of Grace waiting for us to grow aware of it. I see it as a discovery of the authentic self – all that we are meant to be. Believe me, I need to be the first to admit I do not always act or think as though there is anything divine as a part of me. However, when I open myself through prayer and love, I can feel the “burn.” I can allow that authentic self to emerge, to be the one that interacts with family and friends, colleagues and strangers. As our gospel speaks of the disciples walking with a physical being that was, indeed, Christ, let us each day remember that we, too, walk with Him. Let us be aware of it to the depth of our souls and feel the Grace that is so generously bestowed upon us. Only then can our actions be congruent with the authenticity of our being.
Let us rejoice as Easter people filled with hope and blessed with Grace . . . let every word, thought, and deed reflect our authentic self and embrace that in others. Alleluia!
Daily Reflection - April 14, 2009
April 14th, 2009
by
Tom Bannantine, S.J.
by
Tom Bannantine, S.J.
| Tuesday in the Octave of Easter |
The joy that we experience at Easter is enhanced by the gospel accounts of the joy felt by those who were privileged to see the risen Jesus on Easter day. Today St. John directs our attention to Mary Magdalene who, according to the gospel accounts, was the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection.
There is a tradition in the Church that even before his appearance to Mary Magdalene Jesus visited his mother Mary. But the gospels are silent about such a visit. However, when I contemplate this gospel reading about Mary Magdalene I always think also of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What joy she must have felt on seeing her risen son! The lives of the two Marys offer an interesting contrast: the sinless Virgin Mary and the repentant sinner Mary Magdalene. And yet they are very much alike in their love for Jesus. Their love of Jesus bound them in a friendship reserved for the very closest of his followers.
During her life after she met Jesus and was forgiven her sins, Mary Magdalene became one of his closest followers. She proved her love and her loyalty over and over again. At the time of the passion and death of Jesus, Mary and the other holy women followed him through all the terrible events that led to Calvary. They stood grieving at the foot of the cross as Jesus suffered and died. And during the time that Jesus was in the tomb, Mary and the others learned the location of the tomb and prepared spices and perfumed oils for the body of Jesus. In all of these events Mary Magdalene demonstrates how totally devoted to Jesus she was. And Jesus rewarded her devotion with his appearance to her on Easter morning.
The scene of the meeting of Jesus and Mary Magdalene in the garden is one that has always moved me very much. It reveals Mary Magdalene as very human and very devoted to Jesus. When Jesus appears Mary is weeping. She is terribly distraught that the body of Jesus has been taken away, and is frantic to try and find out where it is. In the early morning light and with the tears in her eyes, she fails to recognize Jesus. She mistakes him for the gardener. Here her words reveal her devotion and her concern to find the body of Jesus so that she can clean and prepare it for a proper burial. She is determined to find and take possession of the body because of her great love for Jesus. And then we have the very tender moment when Jesus reveals himself to Mary. He speaks her name. But I think that he speaks her name in such a way and with such inflection that Mary recalls other occasions when Jesus called her by name, and she knows that this is Jesus. Immediately her tears are turned from sorrow to joy. Immediately she believes that Jesus is risen and lives. And then she does something else that is very human. She is so beside herself with joy that she wants to hold on to Jesus and never let go. Jesus has to gently tell her to let go of him. But then he also gives Mary an important task. He makes Mary his messenger and sends her to his disciples in Jerusalem to announce his resurrection. And Mary is a wonderful messenger because she is so full of joy and so clearly proclaims her belief in the resurrection.
The contemplation of the scene in the garden adds greatly to the joy that I experience at Easter.
Daily Reflection - April 13, 2009
April 13th, 2009
by
Marcia Shadle Cusic
by
Marcia Shadle Cusic
| Monday in the Octave of Easter |
“Joyful Easter”, to all of us on this first Monday after Easter. We have been reading the death and resurrection story of our Saving Lord, Jesus Christ. Today we read, about Peter calling out to members of his Jewish community to be witnesses to the death and resurrection of the man they knew as Jesus, truly the Son of God. This reading calls us to embrace and to live the values and ideals that Jesus taught, now recorded for us in scripture.
Today I did wonder why some of the people of the time believed that the Savior had been born, died and rose from the dead? And why did some people deny the death and rising of Jesus, thus denying that God had lived among them? Certainly Jesus taught a new way of loving others and did perform miracles in front of many people and yet some of the people of that time and in today’s world deny the fact that Jesus was and is God.
As Christians living in 2009, I wonder if we have the freedom and the courage to proclaim our belief in God, in Jesus His Son on earth. I wonder about our financial crisis today and if it has occurred because people have turned away from the teachings in scripture. In today’s Gospel reading we read about the fear of the chief priests who told the soldiers, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
I wonder how and why certain individuals decided to steal money from others or to line their own pockets, at the expense of others. I wonder if these people too, made their decisions in order to, “Keep out of trouble”. I wonder about the values and ideals that Jesus taught and again “why” people have turned against these values and ideals. Today’s’ financial crisis actually encourages me to openly express my joy and trust in God and encourages me to express, embrace and live according to the teachings found in scripture. I am encouraged to remain strong, being mindful of what Jesus taught us and then to live and to expect others to live according to the word of the Lord.
Daily Reflection - April 12, 2009
April 12th, 2009
by
Larry Gillick, S.J.
by
Larry Gillick, S.J.
PREPRAYING
We have been prayerfully preparing for this celebration for weeks. These more recent days we have been getting up close and personal with the drama of Jesus’ receiving more totally Himself and our human family.
Today we receive the blessings which flow from His fidelity. Preparation is over, the reception is just beginning.
REFLECTION
For the next seven weeks, we will hear much of the struggles and growth of the early Christian community. The Acts of the Apostles, written, apparently, by the author of the Gospel of Luke, is a collection of events which form the fallout from the rising from the dead of Jesus. The little groups of believer’s moves out from its birthplace of Jerusalem and begins the extension of Christ’s resurrectional embrace of all creation and all humankind.
The Gospel of Luke portrays Jesus as moving ever so slowly up towards the heights of Jerusalem. The Acts display the Holy Spirit as dispensing God’s grace downward from Jerusalem to spread like “Good news” to the ends of the earth. Jesus’ Easter rising begins the movement by beginning God’s second creation of creation.
We hear in today’s First Reading Peter’s short biography of Jesus. He, Peter, has been summoned by a devout centurion named Cornelius who during his prayer had a vision. He is told to fetch Simon, known as Peter, who will help him understand the vision. Peter arrives and speaks to those assembled the words of today’s First Reading. What Peter speaks is a compilation of the major aspects of his belief in this new way. It is almost a sort of outline, topical sentences of which each one will be developed in later writings and preachings. It is important to note that Peter assumes that everyone has heard all he is saying. It is the author’s method to keep presenting and reminding the readers of the basic “company line”.
Our Easter Gospel is a story of Hide and Go Seek. Mary Magdala goes to the tomb and finds emptiness. The stone has been removed from the burial opening and Jesus is gone. When she informs Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved, they run and find emptiness as well, except they find evidence that Jesus had been there in a burial posture. “Now-you-see-him, now-you-see-him-differently” continues during these Easter days. For us it can seem like a game; for Jesus it is a process of inviting his followers to deeper faith. He seems to hide, then appears, then vanishes and all so that his followers will keep seeking.
It is this “seeking” which is so central to Easter grace. Jesus is the primary seeker and his foundlings are ourselves. He moves through the "Resurrection Narratives" collecting, consoling, confronting, and eventually missioning the early believers, or doubters. In turn, we are the seekers as well. We are invited to keep looking for Jesus, even in the emptinesses of life. Jesus is “translocational”. We would like to grab hold of him, but he would say to us, “Do not cling to me, but go to my new body, my different, but real presence in community, in relationships, and within your own emptinesses”.
C. S. Lewis, in his wonderful book, “ Surprised by Joy” wrotes that real joy is more in the seeking than the finding. We might have trouble with that idea until we live it awhile. What do we find when we find what we have been seeking? Eventually we will find that every answer leads to the next question. Every good and more than wonderful experience, relationship, ecstasy, does end or has certain little holes in them. So there is an empty tomb in all of life’s joys that invites us to “seek” and you shall find. What will we find? We will gracefully discover the invitation to seek some more. Is that a terrible tricky game that that the Divine Magician is playing on us? Maybe!
We are believers because we do not know, but we grow more deeply as humans the more we keep reaching towards, looking for, hungering after, and always in a spirit of gratitude.
Everything ends, including this Reflection and where it ends, Jesus is waiting to find us and be found. He has risen, but not disappeared. He has risen from the dead to bring life to the seekers. I hope you can watch a group of little children at an Easter Egg Hunt and notice their joy is in the looking for and if they find one, they will want to find one more. So again, by little children do we learn basic human truths. Alleluia!Friday, April 3, 2009
Daily Reflection - April 11, 2009
April 11th, 2009
by
Rev. Richard Gabuzda
by
Rev. Richard Gabuzda
| Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter |
Into Union with Him
For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
Whether for the first time or after many times, whoever comes to this blessed Vigil tonight cannot help but thrill in beholding the Easter candle’s flame, spreading from candle to candle, filling and flooding the place in which we gather on this holy night. This quiet, but dramatic gesture reminds us that there are to be no spectators tonight, but only participants, all sharing in the blessed light, the blessed Life, that is Jesus risen from the dead.
St. Paul’s language puts this so boldly and moves us to confess clearly that the Resurrection is not an event “out there,” something which happened merely to Someone else. It is meant to be our experience. But how does this happen? The resurrection experience happens only for those who have “grown into union with him,” with Jesus, “through a death like his.” We cannot “make this happen,” we can only receive it, through, with and in Jesus. But it surely must come through “a death like his.”
Perhaps this Lent has been for us a journey into “death,” into letting go of things, circumstances, perhaps even people who have blocked the path of Life, and have prevented our growing “into union” with Jesus. If so, the promise of this holy night burns brightly: you, too, shall live! Perhaps this Lent has found us “holding on for dear life,” clinging to other loves and satisfactions that still block our path. The Risen Jesus calls to us: Do not be afraid. Die with me, so that with me you may have life!
For those who come to the baptismal waters tonight, Jesus truly makes them one with him, in his dying and rising. For those who renew their baptismal promises, Jesus promises that we can grow deeper still, into union with him.
Daily Reflection - April 10, 2009
April 10th, 2009
by
Joan Blandin Howard
by
Joan Blandin Howard
| Good Friday of the Lord's Passion |
“I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart.” (Hosea 2 16b)
It is a beautiful reminder that in this season of Lent God has an intimate invitation for me.
.
Ash Wednesday reminded us that although we come from dust and will return to dust – apparently worthless, we are in fact priceless in the heart of Jesus.
Over and over again the readings of Lent speak of life, of living, of commitment, of sacred relationship. Lenten readings remind us of God’s faithful presence, pure justice and gentle mercy. We recall the invitation to love our neighbor. To love ourselves. To love God above all. We are assured that God’s steadfast love will lead to glorious joy. But also, the readings catch us up in the struggles – very human struggles. How could it be that this loving God would ask a loving parent, Abraham, to sacrifice his son, Isaac, his “only one, whom you love?” We stand with Joseph as he listens, hears and responds to the messenger and takes Mary as his wife, rather than turn her over to the law. We witness the child Jesus mesmerized by the teachings, forgetful of his family and staying behind in the temple. We are invited to participate in the celebration of the Last Supper when Jesus reminds us to do this in His memory – to heal the sick, feed the hungry, cloth the naked, to laugh and rejoice together, to pray and to listen, to break bread and eat together in His name. We are invited to kneel with Jesus prayerfully weeping in solidarity with him and with those over whom he weeps: the poor, the outcast, the orphaned, the sick and the dying, and all who feel alone, desperate and forgotten. We are being invited to continue his gentle, loving ministries. Each one of us is invited into the struggle of identity and commitment. We have witnessed a God who quenches thirst and satisfies hunger. We have heard of God who destroys and builds up. We have witnessed the gentle Jesus in conversation with the Samaritan woman. The just and merciful Jesus in dealing with lost and forgotten. The stories are endless and we are being invited to listen on a deeper more personally intimate level and to respond. The stories are stark reminders of the peace that follows surrender, of the freedom that comes with commitment, of love that flows from faithfulness. They are about relationship and invitation.
Today, as I walk the busy city streets, meander country villages and farmers’ fields, visit the sick or imprisoned, nurse my infant or feed an enfeebled elder, or sit at the foot of the cross I might pray:
How have I been present to the weeping Jesus this Lent? As Jesus wept over Jerusalem who or what specifically was I being invited to notice and be with?
How has the gentle merciful Jesus been present to me in my struggle this Lent?Who/Where am I in this story of unfolding love, mercy, justice and peace?
What is my story of struggle, identity, commitment, peace and freedom?
“If today you hear His voice, harden not your heart.” (Psalm 95)
In these final hours of Lent, what is it that I have heard whispered in my heart these past few weeks? What tender, loving, caressing words meant only for me?
Daily Reflection - April 09, 2009
April 9th, 2009
by
Andy Alexander, S.J.
by
Andy Alexander, S.J.
| Holy Thursday-Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper |
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet.
I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. John 13
This day is a very special day in the Christian world. It marks the end of Lent and the beginning of the Sacred Triduum - three very sacred days in our faith tradition. The celebration this night is so special that in each parish community there may only be one liturgy (except where a special consideration is made for the elderly with an earlier liturgy). For a very long time in our tradition, this celebration is so special, we hope everyone can be together in one celebration on this night.
Tonight we celebrate the gift of the Eucharist. We might celebrate the Eucharist every day, or certainly every Sunday, but tonight we celebrate its gift to us and its meaning in the context of the life giving story of Jesus' passion, death and resurrection for us. And, tonight, we celebrate the gift of ministry. We are not only the gifted tonight. We are given a lesson in how we are to give ourselves to and for each other. Tonight we celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the gift of Priesthood to the Church, but on this night we solemnly reflect upon the gift of priesthood that we all receive from Jesus, as those who are bathed in him in Baptism.
This is why on this special night we act out the Gospel. We need to act it out to feel it, to let the experience of seeing it happen touch our hearts. By surrendering to his Passion and Death on the Cross, Jesus washes our feet. By being broken and given for us in the Eucharist, Jesus is giving us an example and a commandment for how we are to be broken and given for each other, by washing each other's feet.
The foot washing teaches several things. It is not easy to have our feet washed. They smell. They are not always very attractive. It is a part of our bodies that we rarely let others touch or caress. And, it is not easy to wash the feet of another. This is all a powerful drama representing the power of love. It is not easy for me to let you love me. It is not easy for me to love you. Parts of me are not very acceptable. I'll let you love certain parts of me, but rarely will I let anyone close to the "smelliest" and most unattractive parts of me. And, when I love you, I often will love you when you are most presentable or attractive. When you put me off or when you are not at your best, I don't do so well at loving.
Jesus loves us unconditionally, that is, without condition. He loves us, not because we deserve it. He loves us because we need loving. He tells us to love the same way. Tonight we are given his Eucharistic, self-sacrificing example of how to love each other. "This much," he says. "Love each other this completely, this freely, loving the most unattractive parts of each other, where love is needed most."
Tonight, when we watch this example of his love for us, and when we receive the Eucharist together, let us let Jesus love us. We can pray in our hearts, "Lord, I so desire for you to love me. I don't want to hold back, hold away from you, those unpresentable parts inside of me. I don't want anything covered up, anymore. I want to be transparent and free before you. Wash all of me with your love." And we might ask, "Lord, let your body and blood bring me into the most intimate communion with you tonight. Fill my heart. Push out all of the fear and anxiety, all of the anger and frustration, all the pettiness and lust. Fill me tonight, Lord, so that I might be filled with your peace and learn how to love others this way. Help me to give myself to those closest to me in the days ahead. Help me to be self-sacrificing, thinking of their needs first. Help me to serve them and care for them and to delight in losing myself in feeding their hungers. And, Lord, let me hear the cries, the hungers and thirsts of so many more of your people, not only close to me, but in my city and throughout the world. On this special night, let me taste your desire that we all be one, through our sharing of this Eucharistic love."
Daily Reflection - April 08, 2009
April 8th, 2009
by
Eileen Burke-Sullivan
Wednesday of Holy Week
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34
Matthew 26:14-25
Irish literature is replete with the character of the betrayer – a friend, family member, - insider – who betrays the hero or heroine, usually unto death. The “judas” figure of history is without any question one of the most despised and despicable roles of all of human history. On this “spy Wednesday,” as this day in Holy Week used to be called, we are told the story of the actual human act of insider betrayal that made it possible for Jesus to be “taken” by the government and put to a tortured death.
This story, and the day that commemorates, it also brings into focus one of the elements of the Passion of the Lord that surely must have been most humanly painful to him. Betrayal by strangers, failure to be loved and protected by those who do not know or seem to understand us is difficult to bear, but somehow understandable. What overwhelms us with sorrow is the traitorous act of one who we trusted to love and protect us. It is this that makes the cruelty of parents, the hatred of siblings, the treachery of a friend, rejection by co-religionists or co-partisans, and the adultery of a spouse seem far more heinous than acts of abuse or violence by strangers or “others.” To be turned-on by “one of ours” is infinitely more humanly painful because it strikes at something deep within us that makes life meaningful and joyful – and that is the ability to trust another.
I am not speaking here of naïve trust, but rather that mature trust of one who loves and trusts while knowing that another may fail, but hopes that she will not. If we honestly look at our own lives and experience we will discover that the most emotionally painful moments of our lives are those times when we recognize that someone we thought loved us and had our best interests at heart, in fact cared for someone else more or cared only for himself. Or perhaps we now realize that the most painful moments of our lives are those when we betrayed the loving trust of another and caused them the suffering attendant upon this day.
The liturgy, as every form of Christian prayer does, invites us to enter the mystery through our own experience. Here it is of being the betrayed or the betrayer – or, for most of us who have lived a few years – something of both! We can find ourselves in the Judas role, selling out the goodness of friendship, loyalty, compassion, truth for a better paid position, a better “name,” an association with more famous people, a more glamorous spouse, or any number of other very good reasons, and feeling the agony of self-loathing at our consummate disloyalty. Or we might better enter the prayer of the day by experiencing again the heart stab of betrayal by someone we thought truly loyal to us. In either case an intimate relationship with Jesus challenges us to respond to the human reality of betrayal differently than ordinary human literature. Whether our association with the events recorded in today’s Gospel is with Jesus’ suffering or Judas’, the invitation is to greater love: to loving forgiveness on the part of Jesus and to repentance and the reception of forgiveness as Judas did not.
Today’s readings and prayers offer us many avenues for entering more deeply into the mystery of Holy Week, I would conclude by offering two: first, a meditation on Jesus’ humanity and the incredible pain he must have known at Judas’ treachery – and then how deep must be his entirely human emotional pain at like betrayals of any of us who claim his Name and the power of his Spirit given in Baptism. Secondly, a meditation on the wondrous opportunity to suffer in Jesus’ name if I have been betrayed by someone close, and the even greater opportunity to forgive in Jesus Name and through the power of his Spirit. Either meditation challenges us to become both more fully human and more divinized through Christ.
The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. (Is 50.4)
by
Eileen Burke-Sullivan
Wednesday of Holy Week
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34
Matthew 26:14-25
Irish literature is replete with the character of the betrayer – a friend, family member, - insider – who betrays the hero or heroine, usually unto death. The “judas” figure of history is without any question one of the most despised and despicable roles of all of human history. On this “spy Wednesday,” as this day in Holy Week used to be called, we are told the story of the actual human act of insider betrayal that made it possible for Jesus to be “taken” by the government and put to a tortured death.
This story, and the day that commemorates, it also brings into focus one of the elements of the Passion of the Lord that surely must have been most humanly painful to him. Betrayal by strangers, failure to be loved and protected by those who do not know or seem to understand us is difficult to bear, but somehow understandable. What overwhelms us with sorrow is the traitorous act of one who we trusted to love and protect us. It is this that makes the cruelty of parents, the hatred of siblings, the treachery of a friend, rejection by co-religionists or co-partisans, and the adultery of a spouse seem far more heinous than acts of abuse or violence by strangers or “others.” To be turned-on by “one of ours” is infinitely more humanly painful because it strikes at something deep within us that makes life meaningful and joyful – and that is the ability to trust another.
I am not speaking here of naïve trust, but rather that mature trust of one who loves and trusts while knowing that another may fail, but hopes that she will not. If we honestly look at our own lives and experience we will discover that the most emotionally painful moments of our lives are those times when we recognize that someone we thought loved us and had our best interests at heart, in fact cared for someone else more or cared only for himself. Or perhaps we now realize that the most painful moments of our lives are those when we betrayed the loving trust of another and caused them the suffering attendant upon this day.
The liturgy, as every form of Christian prayer does, invites us to enter the mystery through our own experience. Here it is of being the betrayed or the betrayer – or, for most of us who have lived a few years – something of both! We can find ourselves in the Judas role, selling out the goodness of friendship, loyalty, compassion, truth for a better paid position, a better “name,” an association with more famous people, a more glamorous spouse, or any number of other very good reasons, and feeling the agony of self-loathing at our consummate disloyalty. Or we might better enter the prayer of the day by experiencing again the heart stab of betrayal by someone we thought truly loyal to us. In either case an intimate relationship with Jesus challenges us to respond to the human reality of betrayal differently than ordinary human literature. Whether our association with the events recorded in today’s Gospel is with Jesus’ suffering or Judas’, the invitation is to greater love: to loving forgiveness on the part of Jesus and to repentance and the reception of forgiveness as Judas did not.
Today’s readings and prayers offer us many avenues for entering more deeply into the mystery of Holy Week, I would conclude by offering two: first, a meditation on Jesus’ humanity and the incredible pain he must have known at Judas’ treachery – and then how deep must be his entirely human emotional pain at like betrayals of any of us who claim his Name and the power of his Spirit given in Baptism. Secondly, a meditation on the wondrous opportunity to suffer in Jesus’ name if I have been betrayed by someone close, and the even greater opportunity to forgive in Jesus Name and through the power of his Spirit. Either meditation challenges us to become both more fully human and more divinized through Christ.
The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. (Is 50.4)
Daily Reflection - April 07, 2009
April 7th, 2009
by
Mike Cherney
by
Mike Cherney
| Tuesday of Holy Week |
For me Holy Week is often a time of anguish. On Ash Wednesday I was reminded how I think about Lent. I cannot remember what the person distributing the ashes said, but I remember they were words of hope. I realized instead I wanted to hear the traditional “Remember man that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Lent brings me to terms with my human weaknesses. I find myself insubstantial in body and frail in will. Today’s Gospel reinforces my sense of human weakness in general. We read about the events preceding two of Jesus’ own apostles turning against Him. Jesus predicts Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial.
I think Judas and Peter were people who were finding themselves in difficult situations. I think about how I respond when I am challenged. I try to avoid trouble. One could argue this is a natural and perhaps even a healthy human reaction. I think both Judas and Peter were exhibiting this type of response. These were the men closest to Jesus, yet they turned away. Were these acts of pure evil? The Gospel seems to suggest that at least in Judas’ case it was. I am not sure. These would be dangerous and even life-threatening circumstances for these men. I need to admit that when I face serious challenges I consider the alternatives. Judas was clearly concerned about the events of the week. He likely was worried about how the authorities would respond to the Jesus situation. He may have felt pressure from his religious leaders. Peter would be challenged in the presence of the civil authorities. It is not clear how much time Judas had to reflect about his actions. My impression is Peter had very little time. In addition I think Peter’s personality would likely encourage him to respond before he was completely ready. My feeling reading the Gospel was that these were two men hurled into situations that would challenge most of us as humans.
The Holy Week and Easter stories do offer hope from the perspective of salvation history. The first reading reflects a Divine call. In a Holy Week context we see Jesus fulfilling the role described in this call. Nevertheless the promise of the Easter Season does not bring much resolution to my Holy Week feelings or to the questions of human response posed by today’s Gospel. More than in the things that will transpire in the next few days of Biblical chronology, I find greater hope in that which is still two months away in the New Testament. The events that draw out my faith will be the events of Pentecost. I believe that it is the arrival of the Spirit that truly offers some resolution to the human conflicts that Holy Week presents. It is in the Pentecost experience that we find hope for overcoming the human weaknesses we find in today’s Gospel. It is through the Spirit that Peter becomes the man that will lead and it is through the Spirit that the words of Isaiah become words that can fit all Christians not just the Christ. The Spirit gives us the same confidence in the Lord that the psalmist expresses.
My prayer today is for a better awareness of Jesus’ special role in the Good Friday and Easter events. I further pray for the Lord’s patience with all of us who show human weaknesses. I finally pray for the strength and renewal that the Spirit will bring.
Daily Reflection - April 07, 2009
April 7th, 2009
by
Mike Cherney
by
Mike Cherney
| Tuesday of Holy Week |
For me Holy Week is often a time of anguish. On Ash Wednesday I was reminded how I think about Lent. I cannot remember what the person distributing the ashes said, but I remember they were words of hope. I realized instead I wanted to hear the traditional “Remember man that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Lent brings me to terms with my human weaknesses. I find myself insubstantial in body and frail in will. Today’s Gospel reinforces my sense of human weakness in general. We read about the events preceding two of Jesus’ own apostles turning against Him. Jesus predicts Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial.
I think Judas and Peter were people who were finding themselves in difficult situations. I think about how I respond when I am challenged. I try to avoid trouble. One could argue this is a natural and perhaps even a healthy human reaction. I think both Judas and Peter were exhibiting this type of response. These were the men closest to Jesus, yet they turned away. Were these acts of pure evil? The Gospel seems to suggest that at least in Judas’ case it was. I am not sure. These would be dangerous and even life-threatening circumstances for these men. I need to admit that when I face serious challenges I consider the alternatives. Judas was clearly concerned about the events of the week. He likely was worried about how the authorities would respond to the Jesus situation. He may have felt pressure from his religious leaders. Peter would be challenged in the presence of the civil authorities. It is not clear how much time Judas had to reflect about his actions. My impression is Peter had very little time. In addition I think Peter’s personality would likely encourage him to respond before he was completely ready. My feeling reading the Gospel was that these were two men hurled into situations that would challenge most of us as humans.
The Holy Week and Easter stories do offer hope from the perspective of salvation history. The first reading reflects a Divine call. In a Holy Week context we see Jesus fulfilling the role described in this call. Nevertheless the promise of the Easter Season does not bring much resolution to my Holy Week feelings or to the questions of human response posed by today’s Gospel. More than in the things that will transpire in the next few days of Biblical chronology, I find greater hope in that which is still two months away in the New Testament. The events that draw out my faith will be the events of Pentecost. I believe that it is the arrival of the Spirit that truly offers some resolution to the human conflicts that Holy Week presents. It is in the Pentecost experience that we find hope for overcoming the human weaknesses we find in today’s Gospel. It is through the Spirit that Peter becomes the man that will lead and it is through the Spirit that the words of Isaiah become words that can fit all Christians not just the Christ. The Spirit gives us the same confidence in the Lord that the psalmist expresses.
My prayer today is for a better awareness of Jesus’ special role in the Good Friday and Easter events. I further pray for the Lord’s patience with all of us who show human weaknesses. I finally pray for the strength and renewal that the Spirit will bring.
Daily Reflection - April 06, 2009
April 6th, 2009
by
Cathy Weiss Pedersen
by
Cathy Weiss Pedersen
| Monday of Holy Week |
“Hope springs eternal…” writes poet, Alexander Pope. Most of us living in the Midwest celebrate the coming of spring with smiles and anticipation of warmer days, and the return of greening vegetation and the budding trees and flowers after a cold, desolate landscape of ice and snow. It is wonderful to have spring coincide with the coming of Easter.
However, this IS Holy Week…a time in the Christian calendar when we prepare to remember and travel the days of Christ’s untimely death, suffering and crucifixion.
But, when I read the texts of today’s scriptures, there IS hope permeating the day’s readings. Initially, this can be puzzling, as we approach the Triduum. Why these readings today?
In the passage from Isaiah God announces that God’s servant shall bring forth justice, yet not breaking a bruised reed or quenching a smoldering wick and that the people have a covenant with God to open the eyes of the blind, and to free captives from prison. As Christians we believe that this servant is Jesus who, in today’s gospel is anointed by Lazarus’ sister, Mary and is sought by the crowds.
These are passages of hope, of anticipation of the wonders that God has brought to us in the person, Jesus. Jesus’ friends and followers are in awe of Lazarus’ raising from the dead…and wonder at what/who this Jesus is, and what is coming next.
What are these scriptures calling me to today…in Holy Week? Yes, I know that in a few days, we, as church, remember the death and crucifixion of Jesus…and so, I read these passages with a ‘knowing’ dread. However, fear is not the tone of these readings. There is a pervasive hope and expectation…an anticipation of what God has in store for/with us.
It is the same kind of hope/anticipation that we hold in the changes of the season, or of a healing relationship, or the coming of a new baby. We trust that it will come, but we must patiently wait…and we are not in charge of its arrival.
It is the promise of a God who loves us and wants fullness of life for/with us. It is a stance of trust, openness and belief in this loving God’s embrace.
And yet, also knowing that with free will, we can reject the promise, the trust, the love…with one another and/or with God - (as those who plotted against Jesus) - and spoil (short circuit?) the fulfillment of life-giving love.
What are we /what am I doing/being this Holy Week to approach God’s loving embrace with a trusting anticipation….a willingness to respond and cooperate with my gifts, but also to allow God to work in my life without my needing to be in full control of the outcome?
Lent, and more so, Holy Week, is a time to step back and allow God to speak…to be with us. As the psalmist prays today: “I believe that I shall see the goodness of God. Wait for God; be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for God!”
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