Today’s Thoughts: Three years ago around this time, I was in Sierra Madre, California at the Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center giving a married couples weekend retreat. When I arrived at the Retreat Center Friday around noon I encounter a sign that said, “Beware of Wildlife.” There were pictures of a mountain lion, some coyotes, a bear, a rattle snake and a few other animals I was sure that I didn’t want to meet. The Retreat Center is in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and at times the wildlife from the mountains makes its way on to the property, so the retreat staff makes sure everyone know what they might encounter.
As I got settled in my room I wondered just what was is store for me on this weekend. I had been looking forward to the warm weather and some time outdoors, but how was I going to take walks fearing for my life? How was I going to enjoy the retreat if I feared what might greet me around every corner? I have to admit I am not a good wilderness person. The Gospel today tells us that Jesus was driven out into the wilderness, the desert by the Spirit. Once out there he encounters wild beasts, Satan and probably a lot of other not too kind things. Yet it was the wilderness, the desert where Jesus was able to pause and put the journey of his life into perspective. It was the wilderness, the desert where Jesus is able to prepare himself for the journey ahead of him to Calvary. Jesus entered the wilderness, the desert and came out a stronger, more determined, more powerful proclaimer of God’s Good News. He came out of the wilderness, the desert knowing that it was now his time of fulfilment. Jesus came out of the wilderness, the desert ready to proclaim the kingdom of God. Ready to challenge anyone who would listen to repent and believe in the Gospel. Yes, sometimes the wilderness, the desert can be a scary place. A place to be aware of wildlife, devils and many other things. It can also be a place of quiet, prayer, aloneness and God. It can be a place to gather strength, energize our life and prepare to live the Good News. I had a wonderful weekend with 43 married couples at the edge of the wilderness. We prayed, reflected, sought God’s forgiveness, found ourselves in God’s presence and listened to the Good News. All of us are afraid of the things we often find in our own wildernesses, but we also know that God is always with us, taking care of us, loving us and helping us to keep moving because each new day is our time of fulfilment. Last Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, we enter the wilderness, the desert of Lent and were pushed into it by the Spirit. There can be a lot of wildlife to be aware of and there can be temptations by devils in the wilderness of Lent. However, there are also be times of prayer, of forgiveness and God’s loving presence that help us to change our life, believe in the Gospel and make our way to the kingdom! Have a great Sunday everyone! Also have a blessed and holy Lent – and may the love of Christ’s Passion be always in your heart!
1 Comment
Today’s Thoughts: "Repairer of the breach...Restorer of ruined homesteads." (Isaiah 58:12) Do we not have a picture of these titles in the Gospel today from Luke? Jesus invites Levi (Matthew) to follow him. Jesus invites a tax collector a profession that made the people involved hateful to society. Yet, Jesus brings them into the community of faith. Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners and the religious leaders are taken back, Jesus brings those who are thought to be outside the community into the community. Yes, Jesus in the true "repairer of the breach and restorer of ruined homesteads.
However, these words and this story are not just about Jesus. Isaiah is speaking to us. Jesus is laying down an example for us. We are to be the repairers of the breach and restorers of the ruined homesteads. It is our job as members of the faith community to reach out and make those on outside welcome within the community. It is our job to offer God’s mercy. So often we find within the faith community people who find it much easier to judge, to exclude, to criticize, to question the actions of people then to reach out and help, then to be merciful. So often we find people within the faith community who create the breach and ruin the homesteads. As people of faith we live with the hope that the words of Isaiah are fulfilled in the person of Jesus, but we also live with the challenge that as a disciple of Jesus we need to keep that hope alive. It has been said that through what God "does" we come to know who God "is." I think this can also be said about us. Through what we do for others as a people of faith people, people will come to know who we are. As we continue this journey of Lent let us respond to Jesus' invitation to follow and give life, mercy and hope to life as repairers and restorers! Have a blessed Saturday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Who shall know the mind of God? No one really, God's thoughts are not our thoughts; God's ways are not our ways. I find the reading from Isaiah rather interesting today. It confirms for me something about my faith that I have struggled with for many years, the idea of doing things to be seen rather than doing things to make a difference.
In recent years there has been a movement among some to kneel down or bow profoundly when receiving communion. There are those in high places who commend this practice and there are others who think all should be doing this. Now I truly believe that when we receive communion we should do it reverently. That said there are many ways to be reverent. If we were to apply Isaiah's words in the first reading to the action of receiving communion, they might sound something like this, "Do you call receiving communion in this way what I want? This rather, is how you are to receive communion, I want you to receive and then take me into the world, help others, be the presence of God everywhere you go. In other words, as Isaiah reminds us God is not about rituals, God is about actions. However, we receive communion is not the point – it is what we do once we receive the Lord. It is how we treat people that makes all the difference. God does not put a lot of importance in the "show" of things, in the "how" we do it, in the "what" we look like when doing it, in how many people see it, in the how reverent it is. God puts value in the way we live our faith, the way we interact with the world, the way we treat others, the way in which we bring God's compassion and mercy to the world. In the Gospel, the religious leaders are once again hung up on the rules, regulations and rituals but Jesus is about the living of life. Jesus is about recognizing God in our midst. Lent keeps reminding us that our thoughts are not God's thoughts and our ways are not God's way, yet we have the opportunity to recognize the presence of God in our life and change the way we think and the way we act so that we are about God and not ourselves. Have a great Friday everyone. Today’s Thoughts: "Today I have set before you, life and prosperity, death and doom...I have set before you, life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life..." Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy presents to the people, presents to us two roads for the taking and suggests to us that we choose the road of life.
Many years ago, as I was entering religious life my sister gave me a gift; I think it was for Christmas. It was a picture of a road sign, with an arrow pointing in two directions. It is the kind of sign that you find as a road comes to an end and as a driver you have to make a choice to go either right or left. Beneath the picture were the last three lines of Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken. "Two roads diverged in the woods, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." The picture has hung on my wall wherever I have lived over the years and has been an inspiration; it has been a reminder that the journey that I have traveled even though difficult at times has been the right journey. We might say that Moses is presenting to us two roads that diverge in the living of life. That we stand before those two roads that Moses calls Life and Death, blessing and curse, prosperity and doom. There are no signs just the choice of two roads, two ways to live life and we have to choose. Moses suggests that we choose life. In many ways this suggestion is the road less traveled because it is not always comfortable, it is not always self-gratifying, it is not always easy, and it is not always the road everyone else is traveling. The road of life can be filled with crosses, struggles, challenges, steep hills and selfless responses. The road of life has none of the allurements that you often find on the other road, power, wealth, instant gratification, self-importance, status and greatness in the eyes of the world. Yet, on the road of life you also do not find loneliness, judgmentalness, selfishness, greed, anger and death. On the road of life, you will find a community. It is a community ready to help, ready to walk with you. It is a community with a vision, a purpose beyond this life. It is a community of faith, of hope and of love. On the road of life faith will be strengthened, hope will be enlivened, and love will be the order of the day! Yes, as we begin Lent we are presented with two roads diverging in front of us. There is a great crowd walking down the one, no so many on the other. Which road are we going to choose? My hope is that we choose the road less traveled, my hope is we choose life because that will make all the difference! Have a great Thursday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Ash Wednesday 2018 – There is always a bit of tension went it comes to the scriptures at mass on Ash Wednesday, especially the Gospel. Jesus' words all point to a quiet, non-public, personal and hidden commitment to fasting, alms giving and prayer. Yet, right after the Gospel we parade up and get a large cross of ashes that we can wear throughout the day for everyone to see. It doesn't seem right but that is what we do!
I got a little clarity to my struggle with the readings a few Ash Wednesdays ago when a Passionist who was celebrating the community mass articulated my struggle but then said perhaps it is important for us as a faith community to do this as we begin Lent. Ashes are a sign of unity, a sign of belonging and often for us that is important. I had never considered it that way. The ashes we Christians receive today connect us, they bring us together for a common purpose. Now we will each live out that common purpose differently, some more involved than others but we are together, we are connected! Now I still struggle with the fact that churches are full to overflowing today because people want the ashes and we will take them anyway we can get them, often wishing to avoid the mass or service, just give us the ashes. However, each and every Sunday when we have the opportunity to receive the Body and Blood of Christ often we are nowhere to be found and there is plenty of room in the church. I do not think I will ever understand how ashes became more important than Eucharist! Perhaps it is wearing the badge, the outward sign of ashes for all to see that makes us feel closer to God. I don't know! On to more positive thoughts..."Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold now is the day of salvation. [So] a clean heart create for me O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me," words from St. Paul and Psalm 51 that help us to begin this journey of Lent. St. Paul was one for always putting things in the moment not caught in the past or looking too far ahead, St. Paul was always in the here and now. Now was always the time, today this moment is what we should be concerned about. Somehow, some way God will be present to us today, God's Spirit will be alive for us today and we dare not miss it! The journey begins today and every day. The end of the journey is today and every day. The time is now! I have always found the Psalms to be a wonderful book of prayer and if I could make a suggestion for your journey of Lent go to the Psalms and use them as part of your prayer. In fact, I would suggest using Psalms 51 and 139. Alternate them during Lent spending some time with each. In Psalm 51 we seek forgiveness, mercy, joy, hope and God's love. In Psalm 139 we are reminded of God’s great love for us and the intimacy a relationship with God can bring. During Lent, we can live each day in the hope that now is the time and go to prayer in our inner room knowing that we are not perfect, that we struggle but that God is right there with us! Blessing on this Ash Wednesday to all. Today’s Thoughts: “Do you still not understand?” The closing words by Jesus in today’s Gospel are directed at the disciples with him in the boat but they could easily be directed at us today. We just don’t seem to get it at times do we?
Jesus’ disciples didn’t seem at times to be very good at connecting the dots between Jesus’ words and actions. Jesus was always asking them if they understood and at times like the Gospel today we hear the frustration from their lack of understanding in his voice. Even though we have the opportunity to reflect on and the insight of many before us we often find ourselves just like the disciples in the Gospel today. We think Jesus means one thing when it is really about something altogether different. Like the disciples we need to be reminded over and over again just who we are as people of faith and that we are called to live life for the glory of God. One place where we can revive our calling as people of faith is the Eucharist. Here we listen once again to the Word of God, we retell the story of Jesus and we are nourished by the gift of Eucharist and we are forgiven for those times when we fail to understand, when we fail to live out the Gospel. The Eucharist is the table that always invited us to understand, to come back, be connect even when like the disciple we just can’t grasp the message! Have a great Tuesday everyone! "Today we are so busy and in such a hurry, with so many problems, some of which are not important, that we lack the capacity to listen. We are constantly busy and so we do not have the time to listen. I would like to ask each one of you to answer in your heart: You, husband, do you have time to listen to your wife? You, wife, do you have time to listen to your husband? You, parents, do you have time, time to spend to listen to your children, or your grandparents, the elderly? … Listen. I ask you to learn to listen and dedicate more time to this. In the capacity to listen is the root of peace." (Pope Francis)
Today’s Thoughts: In the Gospel (Mark 8:11-13) today Jesus gives us an example of patient perseverance. He is once again tested and challenged by the religious leaders. They want a sign. Now Jesus could have engaged the Pharisees in a heated argument. He could have performed a miracle for them, but he didn’t. Jesus just asked them a question. Why do you need a sign? Why can’t you just believe? Why can’t you recognize God in your midst?
Throughout Jesus’ ministry he was challenged, frustrated and questioned. Each time he confronted the situation differently drawing upon a wide range of human emotions. In today’s story it is the emotion of patience. He feels sorrow for the Pharisees. He is frustrated, but he takes a deep breath and simply asked them to think for a moment. Perhaps today’s challenge in the Gospel is that being patient and persevering is good food for thought for us. Can we be patient with those around us, with ourselves and with God? Can we persevere in this journey of life? Have a great Monday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: I would like to use an image today that I am fond of using in regards to the scriptures. It is the image of a lens. To me the scripture is like a lens that God asks us to look through as he turns it so that we can see things a little differently.
Today we have three lenses, one from the Book of Leviticus, one from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians and one from Marks Gospel. Our lens from Leviticus set up the scene for our Gospel today. We come to know the mosaic law’s view of diseases of the skin and how they can make people unclear and cast them out of the community. The lens from Leviticus helps us understand why Jesus does what he does in the Gospel today. We have come to know that Jesus values life and membership within the community far greater than human made laws. Jesus and the man with leprosy choice life. The man sees something in Jesus that makes him cross the boundary of the law to seek Jesus’ help. Jesus sees the opportunity bring someone back into the community. He sees the opportunity to give someone life again. Finally, our third lens from St. Paul reminds us to do what Jesus would do. Whatever we do we are to bring about the glory of God, we are to bring about life. St. Paul with his life is imitating Jesus and we are to imitate St. Paul. In other word, like the man in the Gospel we are to proclaim the Good News, we are to proclaim the presence of God. Have a great Sunday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Our first reading today is all about selfishness. Jeroboam is only thinking of himself and his position. He wants to maintain his power, so he creates false gods and tempts the people to worship him and his idols instead of God. He creates priests randomly to give people a false sense of power and security. He is sinning and causing the people to sin.
Our psalm echoes this idea about peoples forgetting the God who saved them and worshiping false gods and idols instead. This selfishness was sin and dragging others down also. In our Gospel today, Jesus acts with compassion. It is the exact opposite to Jeroboam’s This is the opposite selfishness. When Jesus realizes the people have all traveled far and have run out of food, he is concerned for their well-being. He knows he cannot send them home to eat because they do not have sufficient food for the trip home. So, what can he do? There are a lot of people and not nearly enough food. I have always believed this to be one of Jesus’ miracles, but it also reminds me of the story, “Stone Soup.” As a single person, none of Jesus’ disciples has enough food to feed everyone, however when everyone adds a little something, a garnish, a bit of carrot, a potato, a drop of broth, together it ends up a flavorful meal, and enough to feed everyone. The Gospel says there were seven loaves of bread and a few fish. Not nearly enough to feed the huge crowd, but they broke the bread and shared the fish. Miraculously, there were seven baskets left over – more leftover than they started with. It is always tempting to hold on to what we have. What will I have if there is not enough. However, if everyone contributes to the ‘soup,’ and no one being satisfied, everyone wins. Instead of selfishly sinning, we selflessly shared, and God makes the impossible possible! Have a great Saturday everyone! |
Fr. Paul R. Fagan, C.P. "Preacher on the Run"Just a few thoughts to help you on your journey through life...let me know from time to time what you think... Archives
May 2023
Categories |