Today’s Thoughts: A sad moment in the Gospel (Matt. 19: 16-22), the young man just cannot let go of the world. He could not respond to Jesus’ call, Jesus’ invitation. There was too much to lose.
Thomas Merton talked about call, vocation in this way, “Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation does not come from a voice out there calling me to be something I am not. It comes from a voice in here calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original selfhood given me at birth by God.” Perhaps the young man could not hear the voice within. Perhaps he was too focused on a prize outside himself. Perhaps he really did not know his true self, the treasure that he was. Two questions for each of us today. Do we know our true self? Do we know and accept the treasure that we are? Have a blessed and holy Monday everyone!
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Today’s Thoughts: One of the wonderful things about Sacred Scripture is that occasionally, you can encounter a passage that is rich on many levels and certainly our Gospel passage today from Matthew is one. We might consider the Canaanite Woman’s faith and the healing of her daughter as our central theme today. Certainly, any story about a person’s faith can be of great help to us.
However, given all that is going on in our world these days especially around division, mistrust, racism, prejudice, hate, and misconceptions I think there is another level or layer to our Gospel story that can be helpful. The Gospel of Matthew was written for an early Jewish Christian community. A community that was steeped in tradition and one we might say had one foot in their Jewish roots and one in their new Christian tradition. Like us they lived also in a world of change. In our second reading today from St. Paul we hear Paul challenge his Jewish roots with the presence of the Gentles, a presence that is here to stay. God through his prophet Isaiah reminds Israel that his presence is not just for them but for everyone. All who have faith will be welcome on God’s holy mountain. Three communities of faith within our readings today, with different traditions, different paths of getting to this point in time. Many notions, ideas, views of life coming together and not always smoothy. Derogatory terms used to describe one another, “dogs”, and I am sure a host of others. Mistrust and the demand that things be done a certain way all being stirred into the pot of life and the faith community. Throughout Matthew’s Gospel there are moments, scenes that touch on this struggle of the developing Christian community and today’s story is one of those moments. Jesus seems overly harsh with the Canaanite woman. He is there only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. You cannot give food that is meant for the children to the dogs! Yet, the persistence and the faith of the woman changes the scene. Healing takes place. Jesus is not about a certain few, the elite, or privileged few. Jesus has come for everyone. Matthew reminds his community throughout his Gospel of this fact. He works at helping them see beyond their own small little world to a large one. Change is never easy, but it is necessary. If something is alive then it must grow, it must change for if it does neither then it’s not alive – it is artificial or dead! We all struggle with change. especially the older we get. We all struggle with new ways of looking at life. We all struggle with traditions changing when we want everything to stay the same. Faith becomes the key ingredient to helping us overcome the evils of untruth, prejudice, hate and the “isms” drive division between us. Faith helps us with our misconceptions, and our fears. Faith helps us to let go and let God – let God heal, forgive and love! Have a blessed and holy Sunday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Today I am thinking back to a pilgrimage I made nine years ago to Lourdes and other places in France. One aspect of that journey that I reflect on from time to time is the gift of children in life. Whether it was my encounters with families, especially children at Lourdes and at other points during the pilgrimage or thinking of the children that are important in my life these days, like my four grandnieces and grandnephew. St. Bernadette and St. Thérèse of Lisieux where both children when they were profoundly touched by God.
In Aramaic, the word for child, servant, and slave is the same, which reflects the cultural attitude of first-century Palestine. But Jesus says, “for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” What a switch! Jesus is turning the social structure upside down! What does Jesus see that the learned and clever cannot see? Children are vulnerable and totally dependent. Because they lack power and control, they live in trust. Relying totally on their parents, they learn and grow. This is the stance that Jesus took when he taught his disciples to pray. We need to do the same. We need to value the gift of children in our lives. They should not be silenced, or abused, or hidden away, or seen but not heard. They should be in our midst always reminding us to be vulnerable, dependent, trusting and loving. They need to remind us to have joy always in our hearts! Have a great Saturday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: “The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.” (Pope Francis)
I thought of these words by Pope Francis as I read today’s Gospel (Matt. 19: 3-12). In recent years there has been a lot of discussion within the Church about family life, marriage and the divorced and separated and I would guess that many who lean toward a more traditional or legalistic view of the Church might point toward today’s Gospel as a reference point in saying that we should not change our stance on marriage especially in terms of the divorced and separated. Yet, I often wonder if that is what Jesus had in mind when he spoke these words. Now to be sure there is no way to know what Jesus meant or was thinking when he challenged the Pharisees and his disciples with the words found in today’s Gospel however, if we consider the whole of his life and ministry we might point to the words of Pope Francis as a way to look at Jesus’ words today. I am certain that Jesus’ words highlight the sacredness and importance of marriage. Making a lifelong commitment speaks volumes about two people’s love. Jesus’ life was a lifelong commitment of love for us. However, Jesus’ life was also about mercy, forgiveness and encouragement. Think about his conversation with the woman at the well. Did he tell her to go, get her life in order then come back and see him about the “living water?” No, he looked past her struggles, her relationships and welcomed her into the mercy of God and as the story goes it made all the difference. We all make mistakes, some small and some big. At times we think we are in love when we really aren’t. We believe we have found the right person and yet we haven’t. We try to do our best and sometimes no matter how hard we try it just isn’t our best. We say forever and sometimes it isn’t. We work hard at relationships but sometimes they are beyond our control because the other person walks away. Don’t you think God, who knows all these things, is still willing to sit and talk with us at the wells of our life? You better believe he is! So why aren’t we as a Church just as willing? The Eucharist is an altar of sacrifice and a table of forgiveness. The Eucharist is a place of welcome for everyone who believes. The Church is Eucharist thus we need to be a community where God’s mercy is freely given where all are welcome, forgiven, loved and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel! Have a blessed and holy Friday everyone. Today’s Thoughts: “God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.” (Pope Francis) These words from Pope Francis come to mind as I consider the Gospel for today (Matt. 18:21 – 19:1). Peter wants to how many times he must forgive a brother who has sin against him and Jesus’ answer is always. God never tires of forgiving us so why should we tire of forgiving our sisters and brothers.
This is not easy our human nature seems to always push us in the direction of not forgiving. We think we will feel better if we can extract our pound of flesh, if we can get back at the person, if we can inflict an equal amount of pain and suffering. Yet time and time again it doesn’t work, it doesn’t satisfy and often we feel even worse. Even though we don’t understand it God’s way is better. Mercy, forgiveness, joy and love are the essentials elements of a satisfying life. They help us to not get stuck but to move on so that we can enjoy all the moments of our life. Remember God never tires of forgiving us. Have a holy and blessed Thursday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matt. 18:20) Perhaps said a little differently by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Where a people prays, there is the church; and where the church is; there is never loneliness.”
The focus of the Gospel today is church. It is a community gathered in God’s presence. In that presence, we can seek help, we can deal with struggles, we can get to the truth. In that presence, we can morn and celebrate. In that presence, we are never alone. While some might hear the word church and think building or institution, church is really people, Church is community. Church is the presence of God made visible by the gathering of two or three in God’s name! Have a blessed and holy Wednesday everyone. Today’s Thoughts: Nine years ago, at this time I had just returned from a pilgrimage to Lourdes. Recently I have thought a lot about that journey and how it changed my relationship with Mary. She was very present during my travels seven years ago especially during my time in Lourdes. While some might wonder why we pray through Mary to Jesus or the Father, or the Holy Spirit, it became very evident to me while in Lourdes that Mary has played and continues to play a very important role in my relationship with God and in all our relationships with God. The richness of her life, her presence and her place in the Body of Christ, in the Church and in the living of everyday life is very important. She is a touch stone to the presence of God in our life. I am glad to celebrate the gift of her love for us today on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.
As we celebrate today, I turn to some words by Pope Benedict in offering you some faith food for the journey of life today… “Mary is a woman who loves. How could it be otherwise? As a believer who in faith thinks with God's thoughts and wills with God's will, she cannot fail to be a woman who loves. We sense this in her quiet gestures, as recounted by the infancy narratives in the Gospel. We see it in the delicacy with which she recognizes the need of the spouses at Cana and makes it known to Jesus. We see it in the humility with which she recedes into the background during Jesus' public life, knowing that the Son must establish a new family and that the Mother's hour will come only with the Cross, which will be Jesus' true hour (cf. John 2:4; 13:1). When the disciples flee, Mary will remain beneath the Cross (cf. John 19:25-27); later, at the hour of Pentecost, it will be they who gather around her as they wait for the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14).” (Pope Benedict XVI) Happy Feast of the Assumption of Mary everyone and may the spirit of Mary enliven your journey of faith! Have a blessed and holy Tuesday. Today’s Thoughts: “I discovered later, and I'm still discovering right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. By this-worldliness I mean living unreservedly in life's duties, problems, successes and failures. In so doing we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously, not our own sufferings, but those of God in the world. That, I think, is faith.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
The Gospel (Matt. 17:22-27) today for the most part is a confusing one, yet I think Bonhoeffer’s reflection on a life of faith touches the spirit of today’s Gospel. We are not exempt from life; it is part of who we are. Life asks us to participate, and it is by faith in God that we find the way to participate, to live in this world. Have a blessed and holy Monday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Often in talks that I have given the subject gets around to images of God. One of the points that I make is that to me the images of God in the Old Testament are the images of our childhood and the images of God in the New Testament are the images of our adulthood. Now, I know that this is a very simplistic statement and that there are many theologians and scripture scholars who would very empathically disagree with my statement. However, in a general way I think what I say about the Old and New Testaments is true.
As I see it the God we encounter in the Old Testament is a superhero. He creates out of nothing. He separates seas. He wins battles. He is a bigger than life God. While the God we encounter is the New Testament is Jesus and the many wonderful images that he shares with us – a Father, a Good Shepherd, a forgiver of sins and so on. Now with all of this said if we look at the images of God in our readings today – my theory is completely upside down! The superhero is from the New Testament and the intimate God is from the Old Testament. In our Gospel today, Jesus walks on water and in our reading from the First Book of Kings, God is a tiny whispering sound or in some translation the sound of silence. The point of our readings today is that no matter how we encounter God, whether as a superhero or in an intimate conversation God is always there for us. Jesus is there for Peter and the other disciples even though their faith is not the best and God is there for Elijah even though he is struggling with his faith too. If we are open to any kind of encounter with God we will always have the chance to walk away on the right path and stronger in our faith. Have a blessed and holy Sunday everyone and don’t forget to give God a little time today because you never know when you will meet him along the way! Today’s Thoughts: Faith is the focus of our readings today. In the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy (6:5) we hear – “Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” The journey of faith is about going all in. Faith is not halfway. Faith is not the minimum. Faith is our whole, heart, soul and strength.
Now this way of living life is not easy. I believe as human beings we are prone at times to do the minimum. What can we do to get by? What is the least we can do and still get into heaven? Take the commandment – Keep Holy the Lord’s Day. When that commandment was given to us it meant the whole day. Over the centuries we have reduced it and reduced it. Today, at times, some Catholics look to get to mass before the Gospel is read and hang around until communion begins. The minimum. However, I have never found that in print. Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy, Loving our Mother and Father, Loving God, and all the other commandments are about our whole heart, our whole soul and our whole strength as the Book of Deuteronomy tells us today. In our Gospel today, we see what happens when we don’t apply the challenge of Deuteronomy. Jesus becomes exasperated with the people and his disciples because of their lack of faith. The disciples are still not all in. They are still hedging their bets with Jesus and thus they struggled driving out the demon from the young boy. Faith demands a commitment. We cannot be lukewarm we cannot do just the minimum. Faith can be as small as a mustard seed, but we need to be all in with our whole heart, our whole soul and all of our strength. Have a holy and blessed 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
April 2024
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