"I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,
and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of spirit and power,
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God." -1 Cor. 2:3-5
09/01/2014 Monday of the Twenty-second Week of Ordinary Time
This passage from St. Paul in today's readings says two things to me. The first thing is that he is telling the Corinthians that he did not come with over the top rhetoric and brilliant oratory. He came to them and taught them through demonstrating the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. He's telling them that you can sometimes talk until you are blue in the face and the onslaught of words will not lead anyone to a desire to know more and build a relationship with Jesus Christ. But if you live in such a way that demonstrates His love to others and shows your joy in living out His plan, you will naturally draw people to Him because you are letting His power speak through your actions. There is a catch to this method though. Your compassion, love and joy have to be genuine. If you're just putting up a false front and portraying your Christian life as a bowl of cherries, then people will see through that and it could damage any chance they might have had at connecting with Jesus.
And that brings me to the second thought that this passage provoked in me. St. Paul mentions 'weakness and fear and much trembling'. Does that sound like a club you feel like joining? I would doubt it, but it does put forth a clear view of Christianity, at least sometimes. Following Jesus will not fill your bank accounts as some preachers say it will, nor will it sweep all of your problems under the rug as some of the Facebook memes would imply. Having a relationship with Jesus does not mean that you have your very own magician bending the laws of the universe to your whim. It means that when you go through those difficult times and don't feel strong enough, you always have someone there beside you. Portraying life as a Christian any other way could cause someone to just drop the whole thing when the going gets tough. It is like the seed that takes root, but does not survive because the roots are weak and shallow.
May we always show through our lives the comfort, compassion and confidence that says we are walking with God, and may people see that in us not only when life is a bowl of cherries, but also during the times when we get stuck with the pits.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Sunday Mass Readings 08/31/2014 or The Feast of the Three Saints Takes on a Sharper Focus
"Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life? " -Mt. 16:24-26
08/31/2014 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
On the island of Sicily, in September, 252, three brothers were marched into the capitol of Lentini. Under orders of the governor of Sicily, the three brothers, Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino, were tortured for months and told to denounce their faith in Jesus Christ and worship the pagan gods of Rome; and for months, they refused. Finally, on May 10, 253 the governor of Sicily, Tertullo, ordered the three brothers put to death. One was tied to a post and had his tongue ripped out, another was burned on a gridiron and the third was put into a cauldron of boiling oil.
Every Labor Day weekend since as long as I've been alive, my family has gone to the Feast of the Three Saints in Lawrence, Massachusetts which honors the martyred brothers. The feast this year will be the ninety-first celebration held in Lawrence and will be bittersweet for our family as this is the first year that we will be there without my grandmother who passed away in June. For that matter, this will be the first Feast of the Three Saints that has been held in Lawrence without my grandmother there. She forbid us all from mentioning her age, but if I cheat a little I can tell you that she went to the first Feast when she was just three years old.
As a child, the feast was fun every year. It was a chance to spend time with family, gather the streamers and drive my parents crazy begging for money to play the games or buy a toy. On the back of the float on which the statues of the saints ride, there was a case of different gifts from over the years in thanksgiving for miracles that had come at the intercession of the three martyred brothers. One of those was a sculpture of a heart on a cross that was given for me and I would always look to see if I made the cut every year.
The truth is, however, that I never truly understood what the feast was about, until a few years ago. As Catholics, we are regularly accused of saint worship, in some people's opinion, bordering on idolatry, but I realized while thinking about this one year, that the feast isn't a form of idolatry, just like asking saints to intercede and pray for us is not worshiping them. The feast is like a victory parade for the soldiers in God's army. These are three young men who easily could have saved themselves by denying the truth that Jesus Christ had come to us as a savior, had been crucified and had risen from the dead, but they didn't. Through months of torture they refused to deny the truth until finally they laid down their lives for Jesus Christ. And here we are, celebrating their memory, their courage and their witness to Jesus almost 2000 years later. Surely in giving their lives for Him, they found their lives with Him in eternity and have inspired many through the centuries to come to Jesus, pick up their own cross and follow Him.
As I celebrate these three brave young men tomorrow I will be missing my grandmother. I will also be thankful that when I think of losing my life for Jesus' sake it involves spiritual death to sin and not torture and physical death; and I will say a prayer for those in parts of the world where this type of bravery is still being acted out today; for those who do not have the luxury of thinking figuratively about laying down their lives for Christ, but deal with it as a concrete physical reality where it truly is life or death.
Saints Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino, pray for all of us but most especially for those Christians who face today the brutality and agony that you faced. Pray for their strength and courage and pray for peace.
God bless,
P.D.O.
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life? " -Mt. 16:24-26
08/31/2014 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
On the island of Sicily, in September, 252, three brothers were marched into the capitol of Lentini. Under orders of the governor of Sicily, the three brothers, Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino, were tortured for months and told to denounce their faith in Jesus Christ and worship the pagan gods of Rome; and for months, they refused. Finally, on May 10, 253 the governor of Sicily, Tertullo, ordered the three brothers put to death. One was tied to a post and had his tongue ripped out, another was burned on a gridiron and the third was put into a cauldron of boiling oil.
Every Labor Day weekend since as long as I've been alive, my family has gone to the Feast of the Three Saints in Lawrence, Massachusetts which honors the martyred brothers. The feast this year will be the ninety-first celebration held in Lawrence and will be bittersweet for our family as this is the first year that we will be there without my grandmother who passed away in June. For that matter, this will be the first Feast of the Three Saints that has been held in Lawrence without my grandmother there. She forbid us all from mentioning her age, but if I cheat a little I can tell you that she went to the first Feast when she was just three years old.
As a child, the feast was fun every year. It was a chance to spend time with family, gather the streamers and drive my parents crazy begging for money to play the games or buy a toy. On the back of the float on which the statues of the saints ride, there was a case of different gifts from over the years in thanksgiving for miracles that had come at the intercession of the three martyred brothers. One of those was a sculpture of a heart on a cross that was given for me and I would always look to see if I made the cut every year.
The truth is, however, that I never truly understood what the feast was about, until a few years ago. As Catholics, we are regularly accused of saint worship, in some people's opinion, bordering on idolatry, but I realized while thinking about this one year, that the feast isn't a form of idolatry, just like asking saints to intercede and pray for us is not worshiping them. The feast is like a victory parade for the soldiers in God's army. These are three young men who easily could have saved themselves by denying the truth that Jesus Christ had come to us as a savior, had been crucified and had risen from the dead, but they didn't. Through months of torture they refused to deny the truth until finally they laid down their lives for Jesus Christ. And here we are, celebrating their memory, their courage and their witness to Jesus almost 2000 years later. Surely in giving their lives for Him, they found their lives with Him in eternity and have inspired many through the centuries to come to Jesus, pick up their own cross and follow Him.
As I celebrate these three brave young men tomorrow I will be missing my grandmother. I will also be thankful that when I think of losing my life for Jesus' sake it involves spiritual death to sin and not torture and physical death; and I will say a prayer for those in parts of the world where this type of bravery is still being acted out today; for those who do not have the luxury of thinking figuratively about laying down their lives for Christ, but deal with it as a concrete physical reality where it truly is life or death.
Saints Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino, pray for all of us but most especially for those Christians who face today the brutality and agony that you faced. Pray for their strength and courage and pray for peace.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Daily Readings 08/30/2014 or Exercising Fiduciary Responsibility in the Marketplace of Souls
"Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.’" -Mt. 25:24-25
08/30/2014 Saturday of the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary Time
Today's readings start out with St. Paul telling the Corinthians, in essence, that God did not choose the rich and powerful to spread His message. He chose the weak, the 'fools', the lowly and despised of the world and He gave them the strength, wisdom and courage to spread the good news. It worked because they trusted God to help them 'harvest' if you will, and build up His kingdom. He even exemplified this Himself when He came to us as an infant, born to a virgin and a carpenter from a backwater town and then defeated not only the powerful men of the time, but death itself, by laying down His own life on the cross.
In the gospel reading of the talents, we have servants who are given fiduciary responsibility over some of their master's wealth. The parable then goes on to show what happens when they do not use what the master gives to them. The servants who take their talents and multiply them are rewarded and the servant who hid his talent is punished. God gives each of us different blessings and talents. His desire is that we use those gifts and talents to increase His numbers by sharing the good news of salvation. We take our gifts and by trusting them back to Him and using them to fulfill His plans for us and for others, we multiply the members of the Body of Christ. If, however, we receive gifts from God and hide them underground (or even under a bushel basket) then we are not living up to our full potential.
I used to think of this parable only in terms of wasting the talents that God gave you. Tonight, however, when I read it, I was struck more by the fear of the servant who hides his talent. Perhaps it's not that the master is upset because the servant didn't make a return. Maybe He's angry because the servant acted out of fear and not out of a desire to build up the master's wealth. May we always be willing to use the gifts God gave us to build up the spiritual wealth of His people and proclaim His kingdom and salvation.
God bless,
P.D.O.
‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.’" -Mt. 25:24-25
08/30/2014 Saturday of the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary Time
Today's readings start out with St. Paul telling the Corinthians, in essence, that God did not choose the rich and powerful to spread His message. He chose the weak, the 'fools', the lowly and despised of the world and He gave them the strength, wisdom and courage to spread the good news. It worked because they trusted God to help them 'harvest' if you will, and build up His kingdom. He even exemplified this Himself when He came to us as an infant, born to a virgin and a carpenter from a backwater town and then defeated not only the powerful men of the time, but death itself, by laying down His own life on the cross.
In the gospel reading of the talents, we have servants who are given fiduciary responsibility over some of their master's wealth. The parable then goes on to show what happens when they do not use what the master gives to them. The servants who take their talents and multiply them are rewarded and the servant who hid his talent is punished. God gives each of us different blessings and talents. His desire is that we use those gifts and talents to increase His numbers by sharing the good news of salvation. We take our gifts and by trusting them back to Him and using them to fulfill His plans for us and for others, we multiply the members of the Body of Christ. If, however, we receive gifts from God and hide them underground (or even under a bushel basket) then we are not living up to our full potential.
I used to think of this parable only in terms of wasting the talents that God gave you. Tonight, however, when I read it, I was struck more by the fear of the servant who hides his talent. Perhaps it's not that the master is upset because the servant didn't make a return. Maybe He's angry because the servant acted out of fear and not out of a desire to build up the master's wealth. May we always be willing to use the gifts God gave us to build up the spiritual wealth of His people and proclaim His kingdom and salvation.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 08/29/2014 or When Somebody asks You to Prove God Exists, Let Your Inner Child Explain it to Them
"Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel,
and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,
so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning." -1 Cor. 1:17
08/29/2014 Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist
Have you ever tried to explain what Jesus means to you on a purely intellectual level? As St. Paul points out here in his letter to the Corinthians, it can very quickly drain the message of all it's meaning. Some people will use this as an excuse to say that they don't believe or that it is silly to believe in God and Jesus. They act like we are the simpletons or the unwise. Quite frankly, they sometimes act as if we're lunatics.
Well, let me start off by pointing out that we are in good company. Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist. Surely, there were many people who thought John was nuts. He was living out in the wilderness, eating locusts and honey and proclaiming that he was making straight the paths for the messiah. (Keep in mind, by the way, how often we may have walked uncomfortably by people like this in the streets and quickened our step a little bit.) Think too of all the martyrs who were killed simply because they would not deny the unbelievable notion that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead after he was crucified.
So how then do we explain our relationship to Christ with others without ending up in a padded room wearing a tailored coat with the sleeves in the back? The only way left is not to try to explain who Christ is, but who he is to you. And no, I don't mean to say that Jesus Christ can be different things to every individual. First off, he is not a thing, he is a real being and we are not to make him in our image, we were made in his and must strive to conform to that as closely as we can. But in explaining what our relationship with God is like and by witnessing to how we have seen the Holy Spirit move in our lives, we explain God with a passion and a sincerity that people can truly feel.
God transcends intellectual understanding and as much as we try to contemplate Him using only our minds, we will always fall short. True faith cannot be cultivated on a solely intellectual level. Which is not to say that there aren't intellectual reasons for God's existence. But it's like trying to explain how I know my wife was meant to be my wife. Sure, I could make a list on a piece of paper, maybe even one side of pros and another side of cons, but that's just a laundry list. A list like that isn't going to verify for me that my wife is meant to be my wife. It is the relationship that my wife and I share every day that shows we were meant to join our lives together and raise our family. Come to think of it, in a world where 6 in 10 marriages end in divorce, who knows, maybe a lot of people think that's crazy too.
In the end, like most people who heard St. John the Baptist, they might ignore us as they look for 'signs' or some other intellectual verification and some might come to believe with their heads. Remember though, Jesus tells us that we need to believe like little children so let's try to get back to that. Let us express our belief in a loving, living God and a loving, living savior with the wide-eyed amazement and unbridled joy that children have. Knowing how merciful God is while still so powerful certainly does merit a large measure of joy and amazement and that kind of enthusiasm is hard to deny or to resist.
God bless,
P.D.O.
and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,
so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning." -1 Cor. 1:17
08/29/2014 Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist
Have you ever tried to explain what Jesus means to you on a purely intellectual level? As St. Paul points out here in his letter to the Corinthians, it can very quickly drain the message of all it's meaning. Some people will use this as an excuse to say that they don't believe or that it is silly to believe in God and Jesus. They act like we are the simpletons or the unwise. Quite frankly, they sometimes act as if we're lunatics.
Well, let me start off by pointing out that we are in good company. Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist. Surely, there were many people who thought John was nuts. He was living out in the wilderness, eating locusts and honey and proclaiming that he was making straight the paths for the messiah. (Keep in mind, by the way, how often we may have walked uncomfortably by people like this in the streets and quickened our step a little bit.) Think too of all the martyrs who were killed simply because they would not deny the unbelievable notion that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead after he was crucified.
So how then do we explain our relationship to Christ with others without ending up in a padded room wearing a tailored coat with the sleeves in the back? The only way left is not to try to explain who Christ is, but who he is to you. And no, I don't mean to say that Jesus Christ can be different things to every individual. First off, he is not a thing, he is a real being and we are not to make him in our image, we were made in his and must strive to conform to that as closely as we can. But in explaining what our relationship with God is like and by witnessing to how we have seen the Holy Spirit move in our lives, we explain God with a passion and a sincerity that people can truly feel.
God transcends intellectual understanding and as much as we try to contemplate Him using only our minds, we will always fall short. True faith cannot be cultivated on a solely intellectual level. Which is not to say that there aren't intellectual reasons for God's existence. But it's like trying to explain how I know my wife was meant to be my wife. Sure, I could make a list on a piece of paper, maybe even one side of pros and another side of cons, but that's just a laundry list. A list like that isn't going to verify for me that my wife is meant to be my wife. It is the relationship that my wife and I share every day that shows we were meant to join our lives together and raise our family. Come to think of it, in a world where 6 in 10 marriages end in divorce, who knows, maybe a lot of people think that's crazy too.
In the end, like most people who heard St. John the Baptist, they might ignore us as they look for 'signs' or some other intellectual verification and some might come to believe with their heads. Remember though, Jesus tells us that we need to believe like little children so let's try to get back to that. Let us express our belief in a loving, living God and a loving, living savior with the wide-eyed amazement and unbridled joy that children have. Knowing how merciful God is while still so powerful certainly does merit a large measure of joy and amazement and that kind of enthusiasm is hard to deny or to resist.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 08/28/2014 or The Journey of a Thousand Miles Ends With a Rejoicing Samurai?
"He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." - 1 COR 1:8-9
08/28/2014 Memorial of St. Augustine
I spent this past weekend camping with my family in the beauty of northern New Hampshire. Well away from any city, as most of us usually do, I noticed the sheer number of stars in the sky. I wrote a bit about it and perhaps I'll share that once I manage to unpack my things from our camping trip. In the mean time, the synopsis of my thoughts as I tilted my head back to stare at the canopy of stars above me, was how amazing it is that a God who can create the vast universe and all these stars, sought fellowship with us. In fact, He continues to seek us each on an individual level even today.
We (I) have a tendency to focus on what we are doing wrong and this can often appear to others who are non-Christian or even non-theist altogether as a type of self-loathing as if we are constantly dwelling on how we are filled with evil and begging for forgiveness.(remember yesterday's post about the 'dead men's bones and all types of filth')
Now, there is a grain of truth to this in that, as Christians, we are called to try to grow ever closer to Christ's example for our lives and since we don't have the luxury of being fully human AND fully God, we will never achieve this perfectly as He did. But it is the process of constant improvement that benefits us and all of those around us. In karate-do we call the concept 'kaizen' and that too is a pursuit by which even though we will never arrive at perfection, we benefit from the journey toward that elusive goal itself.
This is not done because we think we are worthless slugs. It's actually quite the opposite. We try to achieve Jesus' example of perfection because we recognize that we are creations of God. We see that the creator of this unfathomable universe also created every one of us, loves every one of us and died for every one of us. That doesn't make me feel worthless, that proves to me that every one of us has a value that could never be measured and a dignity that cannot be dismissed. From the moment of our conception, to the time we return to Him, God is faithful to us and He does call us to fellowship with His son Jesus Christ so that we too may call ourselves children of the Most High. We need to be sure to step back occasionally and just simply let that blessing wash over us and feel the incredible JOY that it brings!
God bless,
P.D.O.
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." - 1 COR 1:8-9
08/28/2014 Memorial of St. Augustine
I spent this past weekend camping with my family in the beauty of northern New Hampshire. Well away from any city, as most of us usually do, I noticed the sheer number of stars in the sky. I wrote a bit about it and perhaps I'll share that once I manage to unpack my things from our camping trip. In the mean time, the synopsis of my thoughts as I tilted my head back to stare at the canopy of stars above me, was how amazing it is that a God who can create the vast universe and all these stars, sought fellowship with us. In fact, He continues to seek us each on an individual level even today.
We (I) have a tendency to focus on what we are doing wrong and this can often appear to others who are non-Christian or even non-theist altogether as a type of self-loathing as if we are constantly dwelling on how we are filled with evil and begging for forgiveness.(remember yesterday's post about the 'dead men's bones and all types of filth')
Now, there is a grain of truth to this in that, as Christians, we are called to try to grow ever closer to Christ's example for our lives and since we don't have the luxury of being fully human AND fully God, we will never achieve this perfectly as He did. But it is the process of constant improvement that benefits us and all of those around us. In karate-do we call the concept 'kaizen' and that too is a pursuit by which even though we will never arrive at perfection, we benefit from the journey toward that elusive goal itself.
This is not done because we think we are worthless slugs. It's actually quite the opposite. We try to achieve Jesus' example of perfection because we recognize that we are creations of God. We see that the creator of this unfathomable universe also created every one of us, loves every one of us and died for every one of us. That doesn't make me feel worthless, that proves to me that every one of us has a value that could never be measured and a dignity that cannot be dismissed. From the moment of our conception, to the time we return to Him, God is faithful to us and He does call us to fellowship with His son Jesus Christ so that we too may call ourselves children of the Most High. We need to be sure to step back occasionally and just simply let that blessing wash over us and feel the incredible JOY that it brings!
God bless,
P.D.O.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 08/27/2014 or Look at those evil guys over there! HAHAHA, oh wait a minute, that's a mirror!
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth." -MT 23:27
08/27/2014 Memorial of St. Monica
So after telling his followers to do as the scribes and Pharisees say and not as they do, Jesus admonishes the scribes and Pharisees for keeping the appearance of righteousness, but being filled with "dead men's bones and every kind of filth".
It sounds harsh, but in a way, I feel like all of us live up to this description sometimes. On the outside we may be smiling and being nice when we talk to that one person who really gets to us, but inside we are pushing down seething anger and aggravation.
I know for me it happened when we got the mortgage for the place where we live now. We were in the middle of all the legwork to get the documents in order for the underwriters (most, okay, ALL of which was being done by my wife, with my two young daughters in tow) and things kept getting pushed back. Not very far, mind you, but in the midst of a high pressure situation and having started a new job and seeing the runaround my wife was doing to pull everything together, I was very angry with our mortgage broker and the anonymous, faceless 'underwriters'. After everything was settled I would find myself refraining from the Eucharist until I went to Reconciliation and confessed a deadly sin that I had never truly felt until that time. I had felt wrath. I wanted there to be severe and painful retribution for the people causing this stress and anxiety to my family when we were just trying to get a place to live.
It was not just, it was not charitable and it was not healthy that I felt that way. There was evil and dead men's bones rattling inside me. And that's not the only example I could site of when I have felt like a scribe or a Pharisee. So we may look at them with disdain in the gospel story, but let's not discount the idea that they are there as an example of what evil, hypocrisy and filth we can be capable of. They are a warning for all of us.
God bless,
P.D.O.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth." -MT 23:27
08/27/2014 Memorial of St. Monica
So after telling his followers to do as the scribes and Pharisees say and not as they do, Jesus admonishes the scribes and Pharisees for keeping the appearance of righteousness, but being filled with "dead men's bones and every kind of filth".
It sounds harsh, but in a way, I feel like all of us live up to this description sometimes. On the outside we may be smiling and being nice when we talk to that one person who really gets to us, but inside we are pushing down seething anger and aggravation.
I know for me it happened when we got the mortgage for the place where we live now. We were in the middle of all the legwork to get the documents in order for the underwriters (most, okay, ALL of which was being done by my wife, with my two young daughters in tow) and things kept getting pushed back. Not very far, mind you, but in the midst of a high pressure situation and having started a new job and seeing the runaround my wife was doing to pull everything together, I was very angry with our mortgage broker and the anonymous, faceless 'underwriters'. After everything was settled I would find myself refraining from the Eucharist until I went to Reconciliation and confessed a deadly sin that I had never truly felt until that time. I had felt wrath. I wanted there to be severe and painful retribution for the people causing this stress and anxiety to my family when we were just trying to get a place to live.
It was not just, it was not charitable and it was not healthy that I felt that way. There was evil and dead men's bones rattling inside me. And that's not the only example I could site of when I have felt like a scribe or a Pharisee. So we may look at them with disdain in the gospel story, but let's not discount the idea that they are there as an example of what evil, hypocrisy and filth we can be capable of. They are a warning for all of us.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 08/23/2014 or Would You Board a Cruise Ship if the Captain Was Wearing Waterwings?
"The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice." -MT 23:2-3
08/23/2014 Saturday in the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time
They don't practice what they preach! How horribly hypocritical! Well then, that's a good reason for us to totally ignore them and do whatever we want!
How often is this our attitude? When I was little I had a cardiologist who was a smoker. Can you imagine that? A pediatric cardiologist who smokes! That is totally absurd! But you know what, he was not only an incredibly kind, patient, loving and remarkable man, he was also an incredible cardiologist.
We see this in the lives of so many saints as well. As the old saying goes; "Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future!" As human beings, we are not perfect. But there is nothing to say that God cannot speak and act through us despite those imperfections. The bible is a book FULL of examples of this. The Old Testament has a string of questionable characters. St. Paul persecuted Christians before his encounter with Christ and becoming the greatest evangelist for His good news. Peter denied Christ to save his own skin out of fear, but he became the rock upon which Christ would build his church and our first pope.
The message is double-sided. First, make sure you give everyone a fair shot. Sometimes you have to listen to what people say independent of the source. Nobody has a patent on good ideas and God can point you along your path using any signpost He wants.
The other side of this is to remember that you too are an imperfect vessel. But your imperfections do not keep you from being an instrument of God. He is capable of bringing you through anything He calls you to do. As followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to try to improve our imperfections and follow Jesus more perfectly every day but that doesn't mean we need to keep our mouths shut until we reach perfection. We need to share our journey with others and help to lead them closer to God as well.
Everyone have a good weekend and don't forget this Sunday is, well, Sunday, so get to Mass! You never know what God has waiting there for you.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Quick housekeeping note- I am taking a few days away from the computer as I have been logging major screen time lately and need to get back in touch with the real, organic world. I should be back and writing again on Monday night.
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice." -MT 23:2-3
08/23/2014 Saturday in the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time
They don't practice what they preach! How horribly hypocritical! Well then, that's a good reason for us to totally ignore them and do whatever we want!
How often is this our attitude? When I was little I had a cardiologist who was a smoker. Can you imagine that? A pediatric cardiologist who smokes! That is totally absurd! But you know what, he was not only an incredibly kind, patient, loving and remarkable man, he was also an incredible cardiologist.
We see this in the lives of so many saints as well. As the old saying goes; "Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future!" As human beings, we are not perfect. But there is nothing to say that God cannot speak and act through us despite those imperfections. The bible is a book FULL of examples of this. The Old Testament has a string of questionable characters. St. Paul persecuted Christians before his encounter with Christ and becoming the greatest evangelist for His good news. Peter denied Christ to save his own skin out of fear, but he became the rock upon which Christ would build his church and our first pope.
The message is double-sided. First, make sure you give everyone a fair shot. Sometimes you have to listen to what people say independent of the source. Nobody has a patent on good ideas and God can point you along your path using any signpost He wants.
The other side of this is to remember that you too are an imperfect vessel. But your imperfections do not keep you from being an instrument of God. He is capable of bringing you through anything He calls you to do. As followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to try to improve our imperfections and follow Jesus more perfectly every day but that doesn't mean we need to keep our mouths shut until we reach perfection. We need to share our journey with others and help to lead them closer to God as well.
Everyone have a good weekend and don't forget this Sunday is, well, Sunday, so get to Mass! You never know what God has waiting there for you.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Quick housekeeping note- I am taking a few days away from the computer as I have been logging major screen time lately and need to get back in touch with the real, organic world. I should be back and writing again on Monday night.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 08/22/2014 or Tag, you're it! No, you're it! Oh yeah, well what about that OTHER thing it says in Leviticus!?!?
"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." -MT 22:37-40
08/22/2014 Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Here they go again. Those crazy Pharisees and Sadducees, they are always trying to beat Jesus with the 'Gotcha' game. Moses let us divorce Jesus. What do you think? Why'd you heal that guy on the Sabbath? Why are your disciples picking grain? Huh, Jesus, what do you say to THAT one, smart guy..... and on and on. But they never win.
In this instance Jesus basically tells them, hey, you can have all the laws memorized and committed to your photographic memory, but if you don't have love in your heart for others and seek out the desires God has for you, you're going nowhere. The other thing that this gospel reading brings to mind for me is the idea of Jesus' yolk being easy and light and not a burden. You notice he doesn't say that the other laws aren't important, he says they all depend on these two. You see, when you love the Lord and your neighbor, the commandments do not feel like a burden or even a restriction.
Let me give an example. I have absolutely no desire to go on a rampage and wreck all the cars in a parking lot with a baseball bat (as therapeutic as that may seem some days) so for me to refrain from doing that and comply with the law is not a big issue.
Because I love God and try my best to orient my life toward His plan for me, the commandments aren't restrictive rules bearing down on me from some taskmaster, they are guidelines from a loving father. And my compliance with them is not for fear of retribution or the damnation of my immortal soul, it is an expression of love and gratitude to my creator for all of the blessings I have. When I fail, and I do so often, I don't fear God's wrath as much as I feel like I let down someone who loves me; someone who would die for me.
Oh, by the way, the 'gotcha' game has not gone away. Just check out any of the mainstream media's reporting about what Pope Francis allegedly said this week, watch any online commentary about any of the hot-button moral issues or between atheists and believers. Snippets of the bible are passed back and forth venomously, never more than two lines at a time and never in context, whether historical or literary. They try to 'get' us and we try to 'get' them and in the end neither of us 'GETS' the others at all.
Sadly, when it comes to encouraging civilized dialogue, I am short on ideas, (perhaps owing to Sicilian and Irish heritage) so most of the time I just keep quiet. It's sort of the other extreme from the venomous exchange, and in many ways, it too is neither loving to God, nor my neighbor.
God bless,
P.D.O.
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." -MT 22:37-40
08/22/2014 Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Here they go again. Those crazy Pharisees and Sadducees, they are always trying to beat Jesus with the 'Gotcha' game. Moses let us divorce Jesus. What do you think? Why'd you heal that guy on the Sabbath? Why are your disciples picking grain? Huh, Jesus, what do you say to THAT one, smart guy..... and on and on. But they never win.
In this instance Jesus basically tells them, hey, you can have all the laws memorized and committed to your photographic memory, but if you don't have love in your heart for others and seek out the desires God has for you, you're going nowhere. The other thing that this gospel reading brings to mind for me is the idea of Jesus' yolk being easy and light and not a burden. You notice he doesn't say that the other laws aren't important, he says they all depend on these two. You see, when you love the Lord and your neighbor, the commandments do not feel like a burden or even a restriction.
Let me give an example. I have absolutely no desire to go on a rampage and wreck all the cars in a parking lot with a baseball bat (as therapeutic as that may seem some days) so for me to refrain from doing that and comply with the law is not a big issue.
Because I love God and try my best to orient my life toward His plan for me, the commandments aren't restrictive rules bearing down on me from some taskmaster, they are guidelines from a loving father. And my compliance with them is not for fear of retribution or the damnation of my immortal soul, it is an expression of love and gratitude to my creator for all of the blessings I have. When I fail, and I do so often, I don't fear God's wrath as much as I feel like I let down someone who loves me; someone who would die for me.
Oh, by the way, the 'gotcha' game has not gone away. Just check out any of the mainstream media's reporting about what Pope Francis allegedly said this week, watch any online commentary about any of the hot-button moral issues or between atheists and believers. Snippets of the bible are passed back and forth venomously, never more than two lines at a time and never in context, whether historical or literary. They try to 'get' us and we try to 'get' them and in the end neither of us 'GETS' the others at all.
Sadly, when it comes to encouraging civilized dialogue, I am short on ideas, (perhaps owing to Sicilian and Irish heritage) so most of the time I just keep quiet. It's sort of the other extreme from the venomous exchange, and in many ways, it too is neither loving to God, nor my neighbor.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 08/21/2014 or When the Holy Spirit Lights you up Don't Stop, Drop and Roll, Set the World on Fire!
"A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me." -PS 51:12-13
Wednesday of the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time
Have you ever noticed that there are some things that, no matter how hard you try to improve them, no matter how much resolve you can muster, eventually you fall back into the same negative patterns. It can happen with sin, and does thanks to the fall in the garden and our subsequent concupiscence. But it need not apply just to the things that imperil our immortal soul.
It's like a diet. I know I should only eat healthy food and I know I need to get off my, you know what and exercise and I may manage to start and possibly hold it together for a few days or dare I say, a few weeks even. Eventually though, I want a large Italian sub, with french fries and a chocolate milk to wash it down. The temptation is there, and, poof, I give in.
Food is one thing, but it's the unhealthy diet of sin and negativity that is most dangerous for us. It's that fear that we will fail; that part of our brain that only hears the voices telling us we're not good enough. Sometimes it's even our own voice inside telling us the same thing.
Do you really think that's what God wants for us? Does he want us to be fearfully sitting alone in a room not taking the chance on touching others' lives? Or do you think He might have something more planned for us?
So the words of the psalmist ring on, asking God to fulfill in us what we know we can be with His grace:
"A clean heart create for me, O God"
Lord please help me to be stronger against temptation to sin. Give me a clean heart that desires only to do your will for me, positively and enthusiastically spreading your good news.
"A steadfast spirit renew within me"
Give me the courage to be the bold, amazing, wonder of creation that you made me. The persistence to be the best version of myself, the man you created me to be!
"Cast me not out from your presence"
Please draw me nearer to you Lord so that I can feel your love for me burning and radiate that glow to others.
"and your Holy Spirit take not from me."
Give me the wisdom to see your plan for me and the courage to pursue it. When I am feeling weak, or beaten, or not good enough, sustain me with the power of your Holy Spirit so that I may become unstoppable!
Take time today to listen to God's plans for you and ask for the courage to fearlessly set out on that journey.
"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." -St. Catherine of Sienna
God bless,
P.D.O.
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me." -PS 51:12-13
Wednesday of the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time
Have you ever noticed that there are some things that, no matter how hard you try to improve them, no matter how much resolve you can muster, eventually you fall back into the same negative patterns. It can happen with sin, and does thanks to the fall in the garden and our subsequent concupiscence. But it need not apply just to the things that imperil our immortal soul.
It's like a diet. I know I should only eat healthy food and I know I need to get off my, you know what and exercise and I may manage to start and possibly hold it together for a few days or dare I say, a few weeks even. Eventually though, I want a large Italian sub, with french fries and a chocolate milk to wash it down. The temptation is there, and, poof, I give in.
Food is one thing, but it's the unhealthy diet of sin and negativity that is most dangerous for us. It's that fear that we will fail; that part of our brain that only hears the voices telling us we're not good enough. Sometimes it's even our own voice inside telling us the same thing.
Do you really think that's what God wants for us? Does he want us to be fearfully sitting alone in a room not taking the chance on touching others' lives? Or do you think He might have something more planned for us?
So the words of the psalmist ring on, asking God to fulfill in us what we know we can be with His grace:
"A clean heart create for me, O God"
Lord please help me to be stronger against temptation to sin. Give me a clean heart that desires only to do your will for me, positively and enthusiastically spreading your good news.
"A steadfast spirit renew within me"
Give me the courage to be the bold, amazing, wonder of creation that you made me. The persistence to be the best version of myself, the man you created me to be!
"Cast me not out from your presence"
Please draw me nearer to you Lord so that I can feel your love for me burning and radiate that glow to others.
"and your Holy Spirit take not from me."
Give me the wisdom to see your plan for me and the courage to pursue it. When I am feeling weak, or beaten, or not good enough, sustain me with the power of your Holy Spirit so that I may become unstoppable!
Take time today to listen to God's plans for you and ask for the courage to fearlessly set out on that journey.
"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." -St. Catherine of Sienna
God bless,
P.D.O.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 08/20/2014 or Being part of God's flock isn't BAA-d in fact, it's Shear Joy!
"For thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep." EZ 34:11
Daily Mass readings 08/20/2014 Memorial of St. Bernard
Ah, how I do enjoy being referred to as a sheep!
No, seriously, I do. If my shepherd is the Creator of the Universe and the Author of Life, I am blessed to be a woolly member of His flock.
This passage in Ezekiel is great because he is telling us exactly what the Lord is going to do for us. He is going to come down and take care of business on his own. The imagery of a shepherd trusting his flock to others and then coming himself to save them from mistreatment is uplifting and really should confirm for us how much God wants to draw us back to Himself. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God is telling us that He will come after us because we are worth being pursued.
And the psalm for today is a familiar one as well, Psalm 23 (which I wrote about here). The prophecy gives way to a description of God's love for us and desire to be in relationship with us, blessing us and protecting us. Again, that sounds like a pretty good shepherd to fall in with, no?
What I really like about both of these readings is what it tells us about Jesus. First, the prophecy of Ezekiel foretells exactly what Jesus does when he comes to us. He runs out the old guard and their overbearing ways and shows us that our relationship with Him is not a legalistic exchange of 'x' for 'y', but it is a spiritual exchange of love where we become a part of His love for us all. But even if it were not enough that Jesus lives out and fulfills Ezekiel's prophecy, these readings give Jesus the opportunity to tell us in plain words,who he is. "I am the good shepherd." JN 10:11. Jesus is telling the apostles in very plain language that he is God. He and the father are the same, consubstantial as we refer to it in the creed during Mass.
I know it's not in the readings for today, but when Jesus says that, he is verifying that he is God and that he has come here to pursue us and bring us back to Him.
A couple of years ago we were listening to the girls' CD that they had gotten from Vacation Bible School and there was a song with the lyrics:
"Here is our King
Here is our love
Here is our God who's come
To bring us back to Him
He is the One
He is Jesus"
It was written by the David Crowder Band
Here is the Kingdom Rock VBS version
In that moment, the truth of it all hit me so hard I got choked up while I was trying to sing along. (and if you've heard my singing, then you would know anything that puts an end to that is a blessing)
I then decided that it had been too long since I had been to the sacrament of reconciliation because if He came here to share in our suffering and die so that we could be forgiven, I could at least take the time to stop in and let Him forgive me.
You see there, in the end, it always goes back to God pursuing us for that relationship with Him. As a Catholic I feel abundantly blessed that we exercise that relationship in such a palpable way through the sacraments that Christ left His Church.
Come to think of it, I'm kinda overdue for reconciliation again. I best make that a priority.
God bless,
P.D.O.
I myself will look after and tend my sheep." EZ 34:11
Daily Mass readings 08/20/2014 Memorial of St. Bernard
Ah, how I do enjoy being referred to as a sheep!
No, seriously, I do. If my shepherd is the Creator of the Universe and the Author of Life, I am blessed to be a woolly member of His flock.
This passage in Ezekiel is great because he is telling us exactly what the Lord is going to do for us. He is going to come down and take care of business on his own. The imagery of a shepherd trusting his flock to others and then coming himself to save them from mistreatment is uplifting and really should confirm for us how much God wants to draw us back to Himself. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God is telling us that He will come after us because we are worth being pursued.
And the psalm for today is a familiar one as well, Psalm 23 (which I wrote about here). The prophecy gives way to a description of God's love for us and desire to be in relationship with us, blessing us and protecting us. Again, that sounds like a pretty good shepherd to fall in with, no?
What I really like about both of these readings is what it tells us about Jesus. First, the prophecy of Ezekiel foretells exactly what Jesus does when he comes to us. He runs out the old guard and their overbearing ways and shows us that our relationship with Him is not a legalistic exchange of 'x' for 'y', but it is a spiritual exchange of love where we become a part of His love for us all. But even if it were not enough that Jesus lives out and fulfills Ezekiel's prophecy, these readings give Jesus the opportunity to tell us in plain words,who he is. "I am the good shepherd." JN 10:11. Jesus is telling the apostles in very plain language that he is God. He and the father are the same, consubstantial as we refer to it in the creed during Mass.
I know it's not in the readings for today, but when Jesus says that, he is verifying that he is God and that he has come here to pursue us and bring us back to Him.
A couple of years ago we were listening to the girls' CD that they had gotten from Vacation Bible School and there was a song with the lyrics:
"Here is our King
Here is our love
Here is our God who's come
To bring us back to Him
He is the One
He is Jesus"
It was written by the David Crowder Band
Here is the Kingdom Rock VBS version
In that moment, the truth of it all hit me so hard I got choked up while I was trying to sing along. (and if you've heard my singing, then you would know anything that puts an end to that is a blessing)
I then decided that it had been too long since I had been to the sacrament of reconciliation because if He came here to share in our suffering and die so that we could be forgiven, I could at least take the time to stop in and let Him forgive me.
You see there, in the end, it always goes back to God pursuing us for that relationship with Him. As a Catholic I feel abundantly blessed that we exercise that relationship in such a palpable way through the sacraments that Christ left His Church.
Come to think of it, I'm kinda overdue for reconciliation again. I best make that a priority.
God bless,
P.D.O.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Daily Mass Readings 08/19/2014 or I lost My Mind Once and Thought I was Really Smart
“‘Our own hand won the victory;
the LORD had nothing to do with it.’”
For they are a people devoid of reason,
having no understanding." -DT 32:27cd-28
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time
I used to be an atheist. For a short time, around the age of 20, I thought the idea of God was a foolish one for weak people. I thought I was really smart, a true intellectual because I had disposed of the need for this 'crutch' and I was still a good person.
I wonder sometimes when that changed in me and I can't pinpoint a day or an event or a specific turning point. My return was really more gradual. A quiet, still, soft voice, you might say, calling me back to Him. To this day I can't explain why God would call me back to His love and mercy. Maybe He is always softly calling all of us and we only hear it when we listen for it.
I do know this. I am a pretty smart guy with a good head on my shoulders and an engaged intellectual curiosity and now when I look around, I can't conceive of how I could not see God's work and power all around me when I was 20 or so.
I think about the monumental tasks we take on. Marriage, parenting, loving, opening ourselves fearlessly and giving to other people from our hearts. All of these things are extremely brave undertakings and cannot be successful without God's help.
But we do live in a nation that is boastful. 'Look at how great we are! God has nothing to do with it.' and we insist that since He has nothing to do with our greatness, that we must push God out of our society, out of our public square. We've become so arrogant that we think God is the bad guy. Does anyone remember the first two people who were deceived into thinking that? Does anyone remember who deceived them?
We think it makes us smart, enlightened and intellectual to push God out. We think it increases our reason, but in the end it will only stunt our achievements to our own, ordinary, human, limits. We become devoid of reason and with it, passes the extraordinary.
God Bless,
P.D.O.
the LORD had nothing to do with it.’”
For they are a people devoid of reason,
having no understanding." -DT 32:27cd-28
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time
I used to be an atheist. For a short time, around the age of 20, I thought the idea of God was a foolish one for weak people. I thought I was really smart, a true intellectual because I had disposed of the need for this 'crutch' and I was still a good person.
I wonder sometimes when that changed in me and I can't pinpoint a day or an event or a specific turning point. My return was really more gradual. A quiet, still, soft voice, you might say, calling me back to Him. To this day I can't explain why God would call me back to His love and mercy. Maybe He is always softly calling all of us and we only hear it when we listen for it.
I do know this. I am a pretty smart guy with a good head on my shoulders and an engaged intellectual curiosity and now when I look around, I can't conceive of how I could not see God's work and power all around me when I was 20 or so.
I think about the monumental tasks we take on. Marriage, parenting, loving, opening ourselves fearlessly and giving to other people from our hearts. All of these things are extremely brave undertakings and cannot be successful without God's help.
But we do live in a nation that is boastful. 'Look at how great we are! God has nothing to do with it.' and we insist that since He has nothing to do with our greatness, that we must push God out of our society, out of our public square. We've become so arrogant that we think God is the bad guy. Does anyone remember the first two people who were deceived into thinking that? Does anyone remember who deceived them?
We think it makes us smart, enlightened and intellectual to push God out. We think it increases our reason, but in the end it will only stunt our achievements to our own, ordinary, human, limits. We become devoid of reason and with it, passes the extraordinary.
God Bless,
P.D.O.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Daily Readings 08/18/2014 or If You are Crying While Driving your Lamborghini, You Should Probably Drive it to Church
"The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions." -MT 19:20-22
Monday of the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time 08/18/2014
The rich young man in the reading has done all of the superficial things he needed to gain eternal life but the thing making it unattainable for him was internal. It wasn't having a lot of possessions that presented the problem for him, it was his attachment to those things that was an issue. He wasn't willing to give all he had to follow Jesus. There was one thing commanded of him that he could not comply with in his heart.
And so it was for us, probably around this time of year, that we were sitting in Mass and our pastor challenged us, asking, "What is the one thing keeping you from getting closer to God?"
My wife and I knew what it was for us and within a couple of weeks we were learning about charting and working towards expressing God's full intention for our marriage. You see, this was the gospel reading that led my wife and I to start practicing Natural Family Planning.
That decision has changed our life, improved our relationship with each other and brought us closer to the true nuptial meaning of God's gift of our sexuality and that is inestimably wonderful. However, the question that Father Gary Belliveau, our pastor at the time, asked, is one that we should all be constantly asking ourselves.
What is in my life right now that I know I need to give up to become closer to God, but with which I am not willing to part?
Judgment? White lies? A bad temper? Selfishness? Envy? Pornography? Attachment to earthly wealth?
What is your false idol?
Another question to ask, almost naturally following that, would be:
How have I twisted God into my own image of what I think He should be, so that I don't feel the need to part with these things?
God bless,
P.D.O.
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions." -MT 19:20-22
Monday of the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time 08/18/2014
The rich young man in the reading has done all of the superficial things he needed to gain eternal life but the thing making it unattainable for him was internal. It wasn't having a lot of possessions that presented the problem for him, it was his attachment to those things that was an issue. He wasn't willing to give all he had to follow Jesus. There was one thing commanded of him that he could not comply with in his heart.
And so it was for us, probably around this time of year, that we were sitting in Mass and our pastor challenged us, asking, "What is the one thing keeping you from getting closer to God?"
My wife and I knew what it was for us and within a couple of weeks we were learning about charting and working towards expressing God's full intention for our marriage. You see, this was the gospel reading that led my wife and I to start practicing Natural Family Planning.
That decision has changed our life, improved our relationship with each other and brought us closer to the true nuptial meaning of God's gift of our sexuality and that is inestimably wonderful. However, the question that Father Gary Belliveau, our pastor at the time, asked, is one that we should all be constantly asking ourselves.
What is in my life right now that I know I need to give up to become closer to God, but with which I am not willing to part?
Judgment? White lies? A bad temper? Selfishness? Envy? Pornography? Attachment to earthly wealth?
What is your false idol?
Another question to ask, almost naturally following that, would be:
How have I twisted God into my own image of what I think He should be, so that I don't feel the need to part with these things?
God bless,
P.D.O.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Daily readings 08/17/2014 or If you get too full, everyone can bring home a doggy bag!
"“It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour." -MT 15:26-28
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time 08/17/2014
Anyone who reads the gospels and knows about Jesus is pretty aware that he didn't go around regularly calling people dogs. He did, however, often do things and say things to illustrate a point. And being God in the flesh, it's probably safe to assume he could read people's hearts and know how they would respond to his words and actions. This leads me to think that he was using the reference to the Canaanites as 'dogs' to illustrate a point, knowing full well that this woman would respond to him in faith and that he would go on to heal her daughter.
The point he is making is that he intends to open salvation up to everyone, not just the Jews. In a sense, it could come off like he's taking them down a peg saying, look, this woman is a gentile, she is not one of God's 'chosen people', but because she has faith in me, I am going to respond to her. But in a very real sense, he's not taking them down a peg as much as showing them that there just aren't any pegs?
He's not denying the dignity of the Jews in the least. Certainly he's calling out their false sense of superiority and their overblown pride, but he isn't lowering their dignity at all. He is showing them that all people have the dignity of being created in the image and likeness of God, and all people are deserving of that respect.
Considering what Isaiah, one of their own prophets, wrote in the first reading, quite frankly, they shouldn't have been surprised.
But then again, here we are with God, in the flesh teaching us this lesson and we still can't get it right. Well, I guess that's something we can all work on changing this week, right?
God bless,
P.D.O.
and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour." -MT 15:26-28
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time 08/17/2014
Anyone who reads the gospels and knows about Jesus is pretty aware that he didn't go around regularly calling people dogs. He did, however, often do things and say things to illustrate a point. And being God in the flesh, it's probably safe to assume he could read people's hearts and know how they would respond to his words and actions. This leads me to think that he was using the reference to the Canaanites as 'dogs' to illustrate a point, knowing full well that this woman would respond to him in faith and that he would go on to heal her daughter.
The point he is making is that he intends to open salvation up to everyone, not just the Jews. In a sense, it could come off like he's taking them down a peg saying, look, this woman is a gentile, she is not one of God's 'chosen people', but because she has faith in me, I am going to respond to her. But in a very real sense, he's not taking them down a peg as much as showing them that there just aren't any pegs?
He's not denying the dignity of the Jews in the least. Certainly he's calling out their false sense of superiority and their overblown pride, but he isn't lowering their dignity at all. He is showing them that all people have the dignity of being created in the image and likeness of God, and all people are deserving of that respect.
Considering what Isaiah, one of their own prophets, wrote in the first reading, quite frankly, they shouldn't have been surprised.
But then again, here we are with God, in the flesh teaching us this lesson and we still can't get it right. Well, I guess that's something we can all work on changing this week, right?
God bless,
P.D.O.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Why another blog? Well, read it and find out...
Hello all,
I am starting this blog, basically, to keep from 'cluttering up' my other blog....
Wait, that doesn't sound right. Well, a few times, I have tried to write posts for the daily Mass readings a few days in a row and eventually, I stop. I stop not (only) out of laziness and a deep-seated lack of sticktoit-iveness, but also because I don't like a bunch of short posts on the P.D.O. blog clouding the more in-depth, more brilliantly profound posts I write on topics that may not be the focus of the readings that day. (Boy, it was hard to say 'brilliantly profound' with my tongue placed that firmly in my cheek)
So, to work on my discipline and feed myself on the bread of life more regularly, I will be ending my day with the next day's Mass readings and typing down a few thoughts on them. You could read them, or you could not read them. I will share them anyways in case they might pique your interest.
So without further adieu, here I go!
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081614.cfm
"Turn and be converted from all your crimes,
that they may be no cause of guilt for you.
Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed,
and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Why should you die, O house of Israel?
For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,
says the Lord GOD. Return and live!" -EZ 18:31-32
Even in the Old Testament, the prophet Ezekiel is telling us of God's mercy. He lets us know that if we turn from our crimes that they no longer will be a cause of guilt. In essence, our yolk will become lighter (to paraphrase Jesus in the new testament).
Also important in this passage is that God does not want us to die. People often say God will 'send so-and-so to Hell' but in truth, it is our actions and our attachments to them that send us there. God does not desire for any of us to go to Hell, to die in the spiritual sense by choosing our ways over His ways or disregarding His teachings for us. If that's what He wanted He certainly never would have come to us so that we could have the chance for redemption. God pursued us so that we could be saved from our own failings. And all we need to do is to turn away from selfishness and pride and turn back to Him. Our crimes "may be no cause of guilt" for us and we will "make for ourselves a new heart and a new spirit".
It is definitely not easy, but if we can turn from our own desires and instead seek God's plan for our lives, He will run out to us like the father of the prodigal son, opening his arms and saying, "Return and live!"
God bless,
P.D.O.
I am starting this blog, basically, to keep from 'cluttering up' my other blog....
Wait, that doesn't sound right. Well, a few times, I have tried to write posts for the daily Mass readings a few days in a row and eventually, I stop. I stop not (only) out of laziness and a deep-seated lack of sticktoit-iveness, but also because I don't like a bunch of short posts on the P.D.O. blog clouding the more in-depth, more brilliantly profound posts I write on topics that may not be the focus of the readings that day. (Boy, it was hard to say 'brilliantly profound' with my tongue placed that firmly in my cheek)
So, to work on my discipline and feed myself on the bread of life more regularly, I will be ending my day with the next day's Mass readings and typing down a few thoughts on them. You could read them, or you could not read them. I will share them anyways in case they might pique your interest.
So without further adieu, here I go!
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081614.cfm
"Turn and be converted from all your crimes,
that they may be no cause of guilt for you.
Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed,
and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Why should you die, O house of Israel?
For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,
says the Lord GOD. Return and live!" -EZ 18:31-32
Even in the Old Testament, the prophet Ezekiel is telling us of God's mercy. He lets us know that if we turn from our crimes that they no longer will be a cause of guilt. In essence, our yolk will become lighter (to paraphrase Jesus in the new testament).
Also important in this passage is that God does not want us to die. People often say God will 'send so-and-so to Hell' but in truth, it is our actions and our attachments to them that send us there. God does not desire for any of us to go to Hell, to die in the spiritual sense by choosing our ways over His ways or disregarding His teachings for us. If that's what He wanted He certainly never would have come to us so that we could have the chance for redemption. God pursued us so that we could be saved from our own failings. And all we need to do is to turn away from selfishness and pride and turn back to Him. Our crimes "may be no cause of guilt" for us and we will "make for ourselves a new heart and a new spirit".
It is definitely not easy, but if we can turn from our own desires and instead seek God's plan for our lives, He will run out to us like the father of the prodigal son, opening his arms and saying, "Return and live!"
God bless,
P.D.O.
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