March 7, 2019

March 7

March 7, 2019:  Thursday after Ash Wednesday

See over a dozen connections with today?
Legend below
Listen
For the gospel
Pope Francis homily:  Moses placed before the people a challenge, a choice between life and death, an appeal to their liberty.  Note his expressions:  If you “turn away your hearts,” “won't listen,” and “are led astray and serve other gods.”  When your heart is turned away, when you take the wrong road, you lose your sense of direction.  A heart without a compass is a danger for the person and for others.  A heart takes this wrong path when it doesn't listen, when it lets itself to go astray, carried away by gods.

 At times we become deaf in the soul and don't hear the Lord.  Watch out for the “fireworks” that call us to idolatry.  Lent helps us go along the path to encounter the risen Christ.  “Not listening to the Lord” and his promises means losing our memory.  When we forget what the Lord has done in our lives and in the Church, his people, we go on with our own strength, self-sufficient.  Ask for “the grace of memory,” as Moses exhorted the Israelites to do, to remember what the Lord had done for them.  When all is well, we're in danger of forgetting the journey.  Well-being has the danger of amnesia, forgetting what the Lord has done, the graces he's given us, and I believe it's my own merit, and my heart starts to turn away.

 “Remember the former days.”  Memory loss is selective:  we remember what's convenient, not threatening.  The Israelites remembered God saved them, but they started to complain about the lack of water and meat, and thought about what they had in Egypt, forgetting that they ate at the table of slavery. To go forward, don't lose the history of salvation, the history of Jesus with you.  Don't turn back; don't get carried away by idols.  Idolatry is preferring something more comfortable, forgetting the Lord.  Ask for the grace to preserve the memory of what the Lord has done, how he loved me; then go forward.  “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.”  Jesus, who has accompanied me up to now, will accompany me till I appear before him in glory.

 Read

  • Dt 30:15-20  Moses:  “I've set before you life and death, blessing and curse.  If you love God and walk in his ways, you'll live and grow, and the Lord will bless you, but if you turn away, you'll perish.  Choose life and live.”
  • Ps 1:1-4, 6  "Blessed are they who hope in the Lord."
  • Lk 9:22-25  The Son of Man must suffer and be rejected, be killed, and be raised.  “To come after me, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.  If you lose your life for my sake, you'll save it.  What profit is there to gain the world but forfeit yourself?”
Reflect

  • Creighton:  Following God's word leads to a blessed life; turning away and not listening, to death.  Many are seduced by preachers who say that if you ask God, you'll have riches and health, but Moses said that a strong society would only occur if they followed God’s commandments.  The gospel goes on to say that to follow God, you must deny yourself and take up your cross daily, sacrificing your needs for others' benefit. How do I follow God's commandments, and why?  Am I expecting blessings as a reward, or am I serving the Lord out of love without expectations?
    The wicked are like chaff
  • One Bread, One Body:  "Love; obey; stay":  Moses offered a three-fold plan:  love God, obey him by heeding his word, and stay with him, holding fast.  Jesus offered the same plan:  "keep my commandments," and stay with me.  The best way to do that is to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow in his footsteps.  If we do, the Lord promises we'll stay with him forever....
  • Passionist:  What some see as giving up, others see as choosing life.  Is that what Jesus means: “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it”?  By being willing to give up habits that once looked life-giving, I open the possibility to discovering they aren’t.  Whatever I decide to give up for Lent, may it be in line with Moses’ exhortation: "Choose life…."
  • DailyScripture.net:  "Take up your cross daily and follow Christ":  Jesus' obedience reversed the curse of Adam's disobedience; his death won pardon, freedom, healing, and new life.  We lose what we gain and gain what we lose. When we try run our life our own way, we lose it to futility.  Only God can free us from our ignorance and sinful ways. When we surrender to God, he gives us new life. God wants us to be fit to serve him. When the body is weak, we try to nurse it to health; how much more should we work towards spiritual health.  Will you part with anything that might keep you from following Christ?  Each decision we make shapes us. Some may gain all they aim for, then discover they missed the most important things.  Disciples will give up all they have in exchange for true happiness and life with God.  The cross leads to freedom and victory. What cross is Christ commanding me to take up today?  Where does my will cross his?  The cross involves the sacrifice of laying down my life daily for his sake, possible only because God's love has been poured into us....
Dress legend
  • 'Walker' tie pin:  Walk in the Lord's ways (1st reading), not in the way of sinners (psalm)
  • 'Scroll' pin:  Blessed those who delight in the Lord's law (psalm); if you keep God's commandments...  (1st reading)
  • 'Heart' pin:  ...but if you turn away your hearts... (1st reading)
  • 'Golden calf' tie pin:  ...serve other gods, you'll perish (1st reading)
  • OneLife LA button:  I set before you life and death; choose life (1st reading)
  • 'Tree' pin:  One who delights in the Lord is like a tree... (psalm)
  • Blue shirt:  ...planted near running water... (psalm)
  • 'Fruits' tie:  ...that yields its fruit in due season (psalm)
  • 'Cross' pin:  "Deny yourself, take up your cross..." (gospel)
  • 'WWJD' pin:  "...and follow me" (gospel)
  • 'Olympics' tie pin:  What's the profit of gaining the world but losing yourself? (gospel)
  • Purple suspenders:  Lenten season
Posted by at No comments:

March 6, 2019

Ash Wed.

March 6, 2019:
Ash Wednesday

See 17 connections with today?
Legend below
Listen
  • NEW In secret/ Celoni:  sheet music, written for today (gospel)

For Psalm 51 (of the many settings)
Pope Francis

General audience:  Jesus has come.  There are many signs of the kingdom, but the world is still marked by sin and many hearts remain closed, so we implore, “Your kingdom come”!  People who don't reconcile or forgive, war, human trafficking, and other forms of exploitation all prove that many still live with closed hearts.  When we pray, “Your kingdom come!,” we say, "We need you everywhere; be among us!”

 Jesus announced a message of joy: “The kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  He doesn't push people to conversion by sowing fear of God's judgment; he announces that the positive signs of his coming Kingdom are manifest.  He took care of the sick, of those who were excluded such as lepers, of sinners.

 Why does his kingdom come so slowly?  God is patient!  He wants to establish his kingdom not with violence but gentleness.  Pray the Our Father; pray God's kingdom come amidst our sins and failures.  Give these words to those defeated and bent by life, to those who have fought for justice, to all the martyrs, to those who have concluded that they've fought in vain and that evil dominates the world.

Lenten message:  Don't let this season of grace pass in vain; live as God's children acknowledging and obeying his law, especially regarding our brothers and sisters and creation.  Prepare with mind and heart renewed; sin leads us to consider ourselves as god of creation and use it for our own interests.

 "Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of God's children."  Leave selfishness and self-absorption behind; turn to Jesus’ Pasch.  Stand beside those in need, sharing our spiritual and material goods.
Welcome Christ’s victory over sin and death, and attract its transforming power to all creation.  Embody the paschal mystery more deeply and concretely in your personal, family, and social lives by fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.

 Fasting is turning away from the temptation satisfy our voracity.  Prayer teaches us to abandon idolatry and self-sufficiency.  By almsgiving we escape from the insanity of hoarding in the illusory belief we can secure a future that's not ours.  If we follow this journey, we can rediscover the joy of God’s plan for us and creation:  to love him, others, and the whole world and so find true happiness.  We must renew our faces and hearts through repentance, conversion, and forgiveness.  Creation's longing will be fulfilled when all people enter into the “travail” that conversion entails. Full text

Homily:   Lent is a wake-up call for the soul, a time to slow down in a fast-paced and directionless life, to fast from what distracts us.  The Lord says, “Return to me” because we've wandered off.  Lent is the time to rediscover the direction, not lose sight of the goal.  If we're distracted on a journey, we won't get far.  Ask, "Am I seeking the way forward, or am I satisfied living in the moment, just thinking of feeling good, solving problems, and having fun?"  Our path must lead to the Lord; we're not here to find possessions....

 The ashes help us find direction; they remind us that what we chase after and worry about won't remain.  Earthly realities fade like dust in the wind.  Possessions are temporary; power passes; success wanes.  Today's culture of appearance, persuading us to live for passing things, is a deception, like a blaze that once ended leaves only ash.  Lent is the time to free ourselves from chasing after dust and to rediscover we're created for God, heaven, and freedom.  Ask, "What do I live for?"

 Almsgiving, prayer, and fasting return us to lasting realities:  Prayer reunites us to God; charity, to our neighbour; fasting, to ourselves.  We must invest in what doesn't fade:  God, my neighbor, and my life.  Focusing on the Almighty in prayer frees us from the life where we find time for self but not God.  Charity invites us to focus on others, frees from the vanity of acquiring and of thinking things are good only if they're good for me.  Fasting frees us from attachment to things and from heart-numbing worldliness.

 Appearance, money, career, or hobbies can distract us and cause us to lose direction, but if we're attached to what lasts, we rediscover ourselves and are freed.  Lent liberates us from vanity, healing us from addictions that seduce us and turning us to what abides.  Gaze on the Crucified, life’s compass, directing us to heaven.  From the cross Jesus teaches us the courage involved in renunciation and urges us to free ourselves from selfishness, from always wanting more and being closed to the needs of the poor.  Living as he asks is hard, but it leads us to him.  If we take the path of love, we'll embrace eternal life and be be full of joy.

To Brazil bishops' conference:  Lent invites us to prepare ourselves, through fasting, almsgiving, and prayer, to celebrate our Lord's victory.  To integrate these practices into our journey towards Easter, your campaign proposes “Fraternity and public policies,” with the motto, “You shall be redeemed with justice, with righteousness.”

 “Public policies” guarantee citizens' common good.  All persons and institutions must feel they promote the wellbeing of everyone and everything, so they attain their perfection.  Christians must seek more active participation in society as a concrete form of love for others.  May this Lent help all Christians be open and see in the needy the flesh of Christ waiting to be recognized, touched, and assisted with care.

Read
  • Jl 2:12-18  Return to me with fasting and weeping; rend your hearts.  The Lord is gracious, merciful, kind, and relenting.  Proclaim a fast; gather the people; say, “Lord, spare your people, and don't make your heritage a reproach.”  Then the Lord took pity.
  • Ps 51:3-6ab, 12-14, 17  "Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned."  I acknowledge my offense.  Create a clean heart for me.  Don't cast me out from your presence.  Give me back the joy of your salvation.  Open my lips, and I'll proclaim your praise.
  • 2 Cor 5:20-6:2  We're ambassadors for Christ.  Be reconciled to God who made Jesus who didn't know sin to be sin, so we might become God's righteousness.  Now is a very acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.
  • Mt 6:1-6, 16-18  “Don't do righteous deeds so that people see them.  When you give alms, pray, or fast, don't call attention to it like hypocrites do.  Do it in secret; your Father will see and repay you.”
Reflect
  • Fr. Jim Clarke homily video:  Welcome to the Lent/Easter season:  Live authentically.  Open your heart.  Fast from what's out of order.  Be a person of charity.  Listen to God and be transformed.
  • Creighton:  Today's readings remind us of our need for ongoing conversion focus on Jesus.  Lent is a joyful season though many think of it as somber or gloomy.  We think of giving up things rather than of the joy of living out Christ's call.  Lent is, liturgically, a preparation for the celebration of Baptism, entrance into the person of Christ.  Each day I'm invited to deepen the reality of being in Christ and keep it alive, to deepen my relationship with Christ, whose Paschal Mystery beckons me to center my life on God’s love in the person of Jesus, rescuer and redeemer.
  • One Bread, One Body:  This Lent may we return to the Lord with our whole heart, receive his grace, mercy, and blessing, do penance in fasting, weeping, and mourning, walk with those preparing to be baptized, prepare to renew our own baptismal promises,"be reconciled to God" and others, and imitate Jesus in his fast.  Imitation of Christ is the essence of life (Thomas á Kempis).
  • Passionist:  In Laudato Si, Pope Francis points out that the inequality of our brothers and sisters and the destruction of our earthly home are intertwined; consumerism and focusing on status destroy our planet.  We must care for the suffering both of others and of the earth.  Do I make almsgiving a top priority?  Do I make sacrifices to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, heal the sick?  Do I waste electricity?  Can I live more simply?
  • DailyScripture.net:  "When you pray, fast, and give alms":  God wants to set us ablaze with his Spirit that we may share in his holiness and radiate gospel joy.  "There are two kinds of people and two kinds of love:  one holy, the other selfish; one subject to God, the other trying to equal him" (Augustine).  We are what we love.  God wants to free us from all that would keep us captive.  The Spirit is ready to transform and lead us.
Now available :-)
Jews considered prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as cardinal works of the religious life, key signs of a pious person, three pillars on which the good life was based.  Do you pray, fast, and give alms to draw attention to yourself or give glory to God?  The Lord warned his disciples against preoccupation with looking good and seeking praise.  True piety is loving devotion to God, awe, reverence, worship, obedience; it's a gift and work of the Spirit that enables us to devote our lives to God desiring to please him in all things.
In God alone do we find life, happiness, and truth. "When I'm completely united to you, there will be no more sorrows or trials; full of you, my life will be complete" (Augustine).  The Lord wants to renew us and give us hearts of love and compassion.  May we seek God in prayer and fasting, generously giving to those in need, and so grow in love for God and neighbor.
Forty is significant in the scriptures:  days Moses went to the mountain seeking God's face, years the Israelites were in the wilderness preparing to enter the promised land, days Elijah fasted on the way to the mountain of God.  We're called to journey with God and prepare for Easter.  The Lord gives us nourishment and strength to seek him and prepare for spiritual combat and testing. We must follow the way of the cross to share the victory of the resurrection.  Lord, pour out your Spirit that we may grow in faith, hope, and love and embrace your will more fully.
Dress legend
  • 'Phone' tie bar:  'Call' an assembly (1st reading)
  • 'Children' pin:  Gather the children! (1st reading)
  • '?' tie pin:  "Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” (1st reading)
  • 'Boundless mercy' button:  The Lord, gracious and merciful, took pity on his people (1st reading); "Be merciful..." (psalm)
  • 'Heart' pin:  "Rend your heart"; "return to me with your whole heart" (1st reading); "create for me a clean heart" (psalm); harden not your hearts (gospel acclamation)
  • 'Angel with trumpet' pin:  "Blow the trumpet" (1st reading); don't blow a trumpet when you give alms (gospel)
  • 'Musical notes with "joy"' pin:  Give me back the joy of your salvation (psalm)
    • 'Car with mouth' pin:  Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise (psalm)
    • 'Dove' pin:  Don't take your Holy Spirit from me (psalm)
    • 'Clocks' suspenders:  "In an acceptable time I heard you.... Now is a very acceptable time..." (2nd reading)
    • 'Prize' pin:  "They've received their reward" vs. "Your Father will repay you" (gospel)
    • 'Hands' tie:  "When you give alms, don't let your left hand know what your right is doing" (gospel)
      • Washed face (not shown):  When you fast,...  wash your face (gospel)
      • Ashes on forehead (not shown):  Ash Wednesday; "you're dust and shall return to dust"
      • Purple shirt:  Lenten season
      Posted by at No comments:

      March 5, 2019

      March 5

      March 5, 2019:  Tuesday, 8th week, Ordinary Time / Mardi Gras

      See about a dozen connections with today?
      Legend below
      Listen
      Pope Francis

       March prayer intention:  There are more martyrs today than in the first centuries, persecuted for speaking truth and proclaiming Christ.  This happens particularly where religious freedom is not yet guaranteed, but also where freedom and human rights or protected in theory.  Pray that Christian communities, especially persecuted ones, feel close to Christ and have their rights respected.

       To Latin America Pontifical Commission:  Politics is a vocation in favor of the common good.  The Christian vocation stems from community.  The first sign of community is friendship among members, finding each other through the incarnation of Christ, who taught us to transform a fearsome, at times selfish “I” into “we.”

       Being a Catholic involved in politics means being part of a community.  The political involvement of the Christian comes from the desire to build upon the common good.  The Christian involved in politics can bring politics into the light of the Gospel, and so make sure people act as protagonists of their own stories.

       The change the world is going through requires changed language, signs, and methods, not a simple marketing tool, but applying the method God picked:  Incarnation.

       The three factors most vital to the future are women, youth, and the poor:  The future of Latin America has a female face.  In youth lies the nonconformity and rebellion needed to promote real change.  Through the poor the Church portrays its loyalty as the spouse of Christ.  Never stop fighting for the common good.

       Read

      • Sir 35:1-12  To keep the law is a great offering:  works of charity, almsgiving, refraining from evil, and avoiding injustice.  Don't appear before the Lord empty-handed.  The offering of the just rises as a sweet odor before the Most High; it won't be forgotten.  Give generously to the Most High as he has given to you; he'll repay you sevenfold.
      • Ps 50:5-8, 14, 23  "To the upright I will show the saving power of God."  Offer praise as your sacrifice.
      • Mk 10:28-31  "We've given up everything and followed you." / "If you give up house, siblings, parents, children, or lands for my sake, you'll receive a hundredfold now:  houses, sibling, mothers, children, lands, with persecutions, then eternal life.  Many who are first will be last, and the last first."
      Reflect

      • Creighton:  God promised his people to “give back” in abundance.  In Sirach the Lord gives back sevenfold; in Mark Jesus’s promises Peter more than a hundredfold return.  God promises the gift of his love to all.  Are we afraid we'll lose our attachments if we respond?  How do we overcome our fears to embrace God’s will for us?  Dorothy Bernard’s perspective that “Courage is fear that has said its prayers” (Dorothy Bernard). The reward to those not enslaved to disordered attachments is contentment and inner peace.  If we see wealth, honor and power for what they are, we enhance our sense of dignity and become more open to seeing others' dignity and showing them respect and care.  Whoever wants to be first must serve....
      • One Bread, One Body:  "Empty, open hands":  Not coming before the Lord empty-handed means offering the fruit of our service, finances, parenting, work, and life, but in another sense our hands ought to be empty, holding nothing back, casting our crowns before him.  Open- and empty-handed before Jesus, we can receive his abundant grace.  We must be detached from everything, bad and good, sacrificing everything to the Lord.  Our hopes, accomplishments, fruit, and spiritual legacy is all due to his grace.  May we offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice so we may receive everything from him.
      • Passionist:  Today's readings give us insight on how to meet the Lenten calls to almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.  The 1st reading equates giving to the poor and seeking justice with the finest sacrificial offerings.  Almsgiving is sharing our blessings (goods, time, attention...) with those with less. We're urged to give cheerfully and with joy.  Prayer is openness to God’s presence.  “Listen... and I will speak.”  We have to turn our ear to God before we can hear him.  God constantly seeks to be in relationship with us, but we need to pray to complete the conversation; if we're turned to our things, affairs, or wants, how can we hear God?
      Peter's “We've given up everything and followed you” seems out of place without the preceding verses:  Jesus told a rich man who asked him how to inherit eternal life to stop letting his possessions possess him.  In fasting, we're called to give up our attachments, not to starve but to turn our desires to God.  May we be open to God, share his blessings, release our attachments to what's not of him.
      • DailyScripture.net:  "We've left everything and followed you":  We lose what we keep and gain what we give away.  When we lose our lives for Christ, we gain an everlasting inheritance.  But when we follow him, we can expect opposition and persecution.  No earthly possession can rival the joy of knowing God and the peace and unity he gives.  The Lord wants to fill us with the vision of his kingdom of justice, peace, and joy.  Holy Spirit, fill me with God's joy and peace and the assurance of his unfailing love for me.
      Dress legend
      • 'Peace sign':  Those who observe the commandments sacrifice a peace offering (1st reading)
      • 'Happy children's faces' tie:  With each contribution show a cheerful countenance,... (1st reading); if you give up... children... for Jesus' sake, you'll receive 100 times more, with persecutions, and eternal life (gospel)
      • 'Coin' tie bar:  ...and pay your tithes... (1st reading)
      • 'Musical notes with "joy"' pin:  ...in a spirit of joy (1st reading)
      • 'Hand' tie pin:  Don't appear before the Lord empty-handed (1st reading)
      • 'Scales' pin:  The Lord is a God of justice; the sacrifice of the just is pleasing (1st reading); the heaven's proclaim God's justice (psalm)
      • 'Fire' pin:  Your burnt offerings are before me always (psalm)
      • 'Helm' tie pin:  To those that go the right way I'll show God's salvation (psalm)
      • 'Abacus' tie pin:  "The Lord will repay you sevenfold" (psalm); "If you give up house, family, or land for Jesus' sake, you'll receive a hundredfold" (gospel)
      • Green shirt:  Ordinary Time season
      Posted by at No comments:

      March 3, 2019

      March 1

      March 1, 2019:  Friday, 7th week, Ordinary Time

      See 10 connections with today?
      Legend below
      Listen

      For Psalm 119
      Pope Francis
      Read

      • Sir 6:5-17  A kind mouth multiplies friends.  Don't be too ready to trust a new friend; some won't be with you in time of distress or will become enemies.  A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter, priceless and life-saving.
      • Mk 10:1-12 Pharisees / Jesus:  “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?  Moses permitted it.”  “A man shall leave his parents and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one.  What God has joined, no one must separate.”
      Reflect
      • Creighton:  Today's 1st reading speaks of our social interactions and relationships.  “A kind mouth multiplies friends and appeases enemies, and gracious lips prompt friendly greetings.”  Why can it be so hard to model Christ’s love through a kind mouth?  The gospel reminds us of the importance of our commitments, particularly marriage.  How do I prioritize demands on my time with my relationship with my spouse?  Does my daily schedule reflect my values?  Do I share my gratitude with my friends?
      • One Bread, One Body:  "Matrimony and divinity":  May Christian married couples live their love forever and give God glory for such humanly impossible love. May our marriages be sacraments of Christ's divinity, leading others who see the unity to proclaim Jesus as God.
      • Passionist:  Jesus recalled God's intent that the union of husband and wife be a permanent bond of love.  All are called to faithful love; unlimited forgiveness, and seeking others' good, feeding the hungry, seeking justice, making peace.  Jesus’ teaching affirms that authentic human life shows respect and love.  But his understanding of the human capacity for love didn't lead to heartless rigor in the face of human frailty.  He loved and forgave his disciples, even when they failed him.  Today, society is is less supportive of marriage than traditional societies.  Pope Francis encourages pastors to lift up the ideal of faithful, enduring married love and to show compassion, understanding, and respect for those in difficult circumstances.  His Amoris Lætitia both reflects Jesus' teaching about marriage and invokes his merciful and compassionate love for us in our struggles.
      • DailyScripture.net:  "What God has joined together":  Jesus deals with divorce by returning to creation and God's plan for people.  Adam and Eve, symbol for all to come, were created for each other and no one else.  Jesus says Moses permitted divorce as a concession, but Jesus sets the high ideal of marriage for those willing to accept it, as well as the ideal for those who freely renounce marriage for the sake of the kingdom.  Marriage and celibacy are calls from God to live a consecrated life, as people who belong to God.  The Lord gives his followers the grace and power to live a life of love, joy, and holiness....
      Dress legend
      • 'Car with mouth' pin:  A kind mouth multiplies friends; gracious lips prompt friendly greetings (1st reading)
      • 'Money bag' tie pin:  A faithful friend is beyond price; if you find one, you find a treasure (1st reading)
      • 'Helm' tie pin:  "Guide me in the way of Your commands" (psalm)
      • 'Celebrate teaching' tie pin:  Teach me Your statutes (psalm)
      • 'Eyeball' pin:  Open my eyes, that I may consider your law's wonders (psalm)
      • 'Hearts' tie:  Give me discernment, that I may keep your law with all my heart (psalm); Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of your hearts (gospel)
      • 'Scroll' pin:  Moses permitted a bill of divorce (gospel)
      • Flesh-colored suspenders (1 pair, 2 sides):  "Man and wife shall be joined and become one flesh" (gospel)
      • Green shirt:  Ordinary Time season
      Posted by at No comments:
      Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)