Hello friends,
This weekend we have Fr. Meinrad Brune, O.S.B. speaking at all of the Masses about the valuable work that St. Meinrad is doing to prepare priests, deacons, and parish ministers for vocations in the Church. It is very appropriate that the Gospel today is about Jesus sending out 72 disciples to preach the Kingdom and do God’s work.
Last week during our vacation bible school the older kids did service projects all week. I thought that it was a great idea. They went to the nursing home to visit residence there. They went to Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland to help sort groceries. They cleaned our Church. They made blankets for kids and parents staying in Kosair Hospital and The Ronald McDonald House. Our kids had a very full week!!!!
The call to service is for EVERYONE. No one is exempt from God’s call to evangelize. You may be called to marriage or the single life. You may be called to pray for the needs of others. You may be called to be on a committee or council to share your perspective and guide the parish there. You may be called to sweat at Habitat for Humanity or in helping maintain the parish grounds. You may be called to one of the worship ministries. You may be called to serve the poor, sick, or needy locally or globally. Or you may be getting the call to serve the Church as a sister, brother, deacon, or priest.
Usually when we get that first call from God we react negatively. We ignore it, or think we’re not worthy or capable of it. But all calls are worthy of some prayer. If we pray on it we will probably find that God is much wiser than us, and He’s calling us for a reason. Once we accept the call from God, and trust that it is truly His calling God will never disappoint us. The resources, time, and energy that we need to work for God day by day always shows up. Discipleship is a great gig! Pray about how God is calling you.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
PS. I get to leave tomorrow to see the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany and also visit Budapest, Prague, and Vienna. So, I'm going to leave the blogging here while I'm gone for two weeks. Please pray for a safe trip for my companions and me.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Imperfect one seeking perfection
Hi folks,
Sometimes I can’t stand myself. I have been on a diet and exercise plan for about four months now. I’ve lost nearly twenty pounds and I feel better. BUT, lately I find myself being less committed to “the plan”. I’ll go for a sweat producing walk in the morning and then “have to have” some Derby pie in the evening. Or, I’ll have a salad for lunch and then eat the biggest and greasiest pizza that you’ll ever find in E-town for supper. Or, rather than take the time to exercise, I’ll play solitaire on the computer. The result is that I’ve lost and gained the same three or four pounds weekly over the last month. I do similar sorts of waffling with my commitments to prayer and work. I know I’m not alone in my inconsistencies and unfaithfulness. I know well that you and I are all imperfect at trying to be perfect.
At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke today (Luke 9:51) it says, “(Jesus) resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” The literal translation of this says that He “set His face toward Jerusalem.” This is one of my favorite passages in the Gospels. When I read this passage, I get a visual image of Jesus putting His game face on. At this moment (right after the Father showed Him His future on the Mount of the Transfiguration) Jesus committed Himself totally to what He knew was going to happen to Him (and for us) in Jerusalem. He is our model for consistency and faithfulness.
“Jesus stayed faithful to His being raised on the cross. He remains faithful to our irresolute turnings toward our own personal establishing of our little kingdoms. Our fidelity is not totally to our commitments, but to His faithful commitment to being our Savior. He saves us from ourselves, our attempts at perfection. How can we live with ourselves who so constantly are not constant? To whom are we faithful? With Paul we moan that all the good we want to do, we do not and those things we would rather not do, well, we easily do them. Our baptismal promises center on Jesus’ being our personal and universal Savior. We live with ourselves, because He does.” (From Fr. Larry Gillick, S.J.)
Thank God that God is bigger than us. He calls us to commit ourselves to Him and His way of life. He also forgives us when we don’t. Discipleship is like riding a bike in some ways. Once we learn to follow Christ, we never forget. When we fall and fail, then we get back up, dust ourselves off, and start the journey again.
PAZ,
Fr. Chuck
Sometimes I can’t stand myself. I have been on a diet and exercise plan for about four months now. I’ve lost nearly twenty pounds and I feel better. BUT, lately I find myself being less committed to “the plan”. I’ll go for a sweat producing walk in the morning and then “have to have” some Derby pie in the evening. Or, I’ll have a salad for lunch and then eat the biggest and greasiest pizza that you’ll ever find in E-town for supper. Or, rather than take the time to exercise, I’ll play solitaire on the computer. The result is that I’ve lost and gained the same three or four pounds weekly over the last month. I do similar sorts of waffling with my commitments to prayer and work. I know I’m not alone in my inconsistencies and unfaithfulness. I know well that you and I are all imperfect at trying to be perfect.
At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke today (Luke 9:51) it says, “(Jesus) resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” The literal translation of this says that He “set His face toward Jerusalem.” This is one of my favorite passages in the Gospels. When I read this passage, I get a visual image of Jesus putting His game face on. At this moment (right after the Father showed Him His future on the Mount of the Transfiguration) Jesus committed Himself totally to what He knew was going to happen to Him (and for us) in Jerusalem. He is our model for consistency and faithfulness.
“Jesus stayed faithful to His being raised on the cross. He remains faithful to our irresolute turnings toward our own personal establishing of our little kingdoms. Our fidelity is not totally to our commitments, but to His faithful commitment to being our Savior. He saves us from ourselves, our attempts at perfection. How can we live with ourselves who so constantly are not constant? To whom are we faithful? With Paul we moan that all the good we want to do, we do not and those things we would rather not do, well, we easily do them. Our baptismal promises center on Jesus’ being our personal and universal Savior. We live with ourselves, because He does.” (From Fr. Larry Gillick, S.J.)
Thank God that God is bigger than us. He calls us to commit ourselves to Him and His way of life. He also forgives us when we don’t. Discipleship is like riding a bike in some ways. Once we learn to follow Christ, we never forget. When we fall and fail, then we get back up, dust ourselves off, and start the journey again.
PAZ,
Fr. Chuck
Monday, June 7, 2010
"Man up!!!!"
Hi Folks!
A lot of my female friends think that men are wimps. It usually comes up in the conversations that we have over child birth and what a painful ordeal it is. The conversation normally ends and the argument starts when the woman or women say(s) something like, “I have never met a man tough enough to be able to give birth to a child!” They contend that we men whine too much over pain to be able to give birth. They may be right. I definitely don’t want that job and I am very appreciative of the faithful women that I’ve known who have embraced every aspect of motherhood, even child birth.
In this weekend’s readings we have examples of people who have “toughed it out” and done the hard labor of compunction in order to do God’s will and know God’s forgiveness. In the first reading King David get’s dressed down by his friend and priest, Nathan. He tells David that the king has been given blessing after blessing in his life and now he’s at risk of loosing it all because he found another man’s wife more attractive than his own. David even went so far as to have Uriah killed so he could take his wife, Bathsheba, as his own. When Nathan points out David’s sinfulness, David does the “manly” thing and fesses up and says, “I’m sorry!” to God.
Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, tells us that he too has had to die to his former ways in order to let Christ live in his life and not himself. I could think of no better thing to be said about myself than, “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” That is the bar that all of us Christians are called to walk under. More Christ living in me and less me and my selfish way of living is and can be an achievable goal for us all.
In the Gospel Jesus is served by a repentant woman in a Pharisee’s house. The Pharisee is concerned that this good Jewish Rabbi is letting himself be touched (and therefore being made sinfully dirty) by this unclean and sinful woman. Yet Jesus recognizes remorse and conversion when he sees her and forgives of her of her many sins. She, and not the Pharisee, is the one who is given the grace of forgiveness and acceptance from God because of her heart and display of penitence.
From these reading we are given a chance to look at how we “man up”. How easy is it for us to say a much needed “I’m sorry!” to someone in our life that needs to hear it? Who do we need to apologize to this week? When is the last time we came to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to say, “Bless me Father, for I have sinned…”? The owning up to our sinfulness is the tough part of forgiveness. But the grace we receive from God in Reconciliation is worth way more than our small amount of pain. Be tough this week. Tell God and someone else that you’re sorry for a hurt.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
A lot of my female friends think that men are wimps. It usually comes up in the conversations that we have over child birth and what a painful ordeal it is. The conversation normally ends and the argument starts when the woman or women say(s) something like, “I have never met a man tough enough to be able to give birth to a child!” They contend that we men whine too much over pain to be able to give birth. They may be right. I definitely don’t want that job and I am very appreciative of the faithful women that I’ve known who have embraced every aspect of motherhood, even child birth.
In this weekend’s readings we have examples of people who have “toughed it out” and done the hard labor of compunction in order to do God’s will and know God’s forgiveness. In the first reading King David get’s dressed down by his friend and priest, Nathan. He tells David that the king has been given blessing after blessing in his life and now he’s at risk of loosing it all because he found another man’s wife more attractive than his own. David even went so far as to have Uriah killed so he could take his wife, Bathsheba, as his own. When Nathan points out David’s sinfulness, David does the “manly” thing and fesses up and says, “I’m sorry!” to God.
Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, tells us that he too has had to die to his former ways in order to let Christ live in his life and not himself. I could think of no better thing to be said about myself than, “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” That is the bar that all of us Christians are called to walk under. More Christ living in me and less me and my selfish way of living is and can be an achievable goal for us all.
In the Gospel Jesus is served by a repentant woman in a Pharisee’s house. The Pharisee is concerned that this good Jewish Rabbi is letting himself be touched (and therefore being made sinfully dirty) by this unclean and sinful woman. Yet Jesus recognizes remorse and conversion when he sees her and forgives of her of her many sins. She, and not the Pharisee, is the one who is given the grace of forgiveness and acceptance from God because of her heart and display of penitence.
From these reading we are given a chance to look at how we “man up”. How easy is it for us to say a much needed “I’m sorry!” to someone in our life that needs to hear it? Who do we need to apologize to this week? When is the last time we came to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to say, “Bless me Father, for I have sinned…”? The owning up to our sinfulness is the tough part of forgiveness. But the grace we receive from God in Reconciliation is worth way more than our small amount of pain. Be tough this week. Tell God and someone else that you’re sorry for a hurt.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
