Weekly Reflections

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14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 5, 2020

Gospel: Matthew 11:25–30

Theme: Jesus lifts our burdens

Gospel: Matthew 11:25–30

Theme: Jesus lifts our burdens

Matthew 11:25–30

At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,* and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Music Meditations

Companions for the Journey

What is a Yoke?

We are not talking about the inside part of an egg, but a wooden frame fitted on working animals to evenly balance the load it has to carry. Unfortunately, the Jews of Jesus’ time felt the double yoke--the double burden of civil rules and religious strictures.

Judea was ruled by Roman authorities and puppet kings, both of whom took advantage of the ordinary Jews through fear and exploitation. Any group who angered the puppet king was subject to massacre or wholesale punishments which were fearsome.

Many lived in fear that the exemption from certain religious practices of Rome would be revoked, that Jews would then be labeled atheists, and subject to capital punishment. Fewer than 3% of the population lived well, and over 70% lived at subsistence level or below. There was no safety net for the poor, for the widows, for the ill, the orphaned, the unlucky. Diseases brought on by poverty were devastating and alienated people from comfort or care. People died young leaving elderly parents who had no one to care for them or wives and children who had no means of support. In an agrarian society such as this one, the success of the crops depended a lot on luck and the vagaries of the weather in a fairly arid climate. Much of what was grown was either confiscated or taxed, which left most eking out a hardscrabble existence. Each time new taxes were levied, whether to fund the lifestyles of the ruling elite, or to fund the building and maintenance projects of such a vast and growing empire, and the personal coffers of the Roman rulers, the yoke on the individual got heavier and heavier.

Many of the Jewish traditions and strictures were also burdensome. Especially to the poor: there we 613 rules in the Torah, and it was hard to keep track of them all, much less obey all. Religious strictures around ritual cleanliness and forbidden foods placed an unequal burden on those who found it economically difficult or physical impossible to follow. The rules governing the Sabbath were especially strict: no cooking or cleaning from sunset on the eve of the Sabbath until 24 hours later; no work of any kind; no fires could be lit; fasting from early evening until the next morning, etc.etc. Then there was tithing to the Temple authorities, as well as the required yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem which was both dangerous and expensive. (The route between Galilee and Jerusalem ran through the no-man’s-land of Samaria, where bandits abounded and where the non-Samaritan Jews were robbed, beaten, and even killed.) When a pilgrim did manage to reach Jerusalem, there was the matter of safety while sleeping and eating with other pilgrims, and there was the problem of seriously inflated prices for the animals which were required for ritual sacrifice, and were required to be purchased there. Finally, there was the fear that ordinary people would get caught in the crossfire between the various religious factions that often despised one another.

The present time carries burdens of its own. The rise in economic inequality in the US is tied to technological change, globalization, decline of unions and the eroding value of the minimum wage. Much wealth is concentrated in the hand of the 1%, and the middle class is said to be eroding. This means that many people may experience reduced economic opportunity and less mobility in the face of mounting inequality. This leads to economic and educational segregation, and diminishing political influence of those not in the top 1%. This generation of young people are said to be much less optimistic about life than the prior several generations. Research has shown that the wider the economic disparity, the greater the polarization between political, religious and social groups.

Our Church, thank God, has often been there for us with of words of love and inclusion, with the joy of the sacraments, with words, music and ritual to sustain us in times of pain and uncertainty. Some of the great saints and religious writers have been beacons of hope and wisdom in the darkness. However, we must acknowledge that, particularly in the past, the Church had been known to place burdens of guilt and exclusion on those whom it had deemed to be breaking the rules—everything from barring those not “properly and respectfully” dressed from attending Mass to refusing the Eucharist to those who defied the rules publically or privately. In between, writings from church authorities and screeds from the pulpit have excoriated unmarried mothers, gays, those who could not physically or economically have more children, divorced and remarried Catholics, “feminists”, and the like.

Jesus’ words remind us that he came to help us shoulder our burdens, to comfort us when we are rejected, and to show us God’s love and care. This is not to say that his own words were not sometimes hard to hear: “Love those who hate you; do good to those who hurt you; forgive seventy times seven; do not judge others.” But if we understand that these are words of encouragement, of belief that we always can be better and do better, we will see that they are meant to free us, not entrap us. They are meant to inspire us to develop spiritual and moral courage. Jesus’ yoke helps us hold our tongue or to choose encouraging words, to be giving to a person in material need, giving another the benefit of the doubt, keeping close to Jesus in prayer. An easy yoke means we are not afflicted by an onslaught of greed, envy, resentment, or hardness of heart. Jesus’ yoke is the joy of a quiet conscience. And the overriding message of Jesus is always that we are loved, appreciated, honored by God. God only wants what is best for us—our joy, our happiness, our peace. Jesus’ becoming human like us is a testament to God’s great desire to walk with humanity and know humanity’s trials from the inside out. Our burdens, whatever they may be, are made lighter by the conviction that we are God’s own; we are beloved, no matter what. We are invited to let go and let God be in control of the events. We need to resign as general managers of the universe.

A teacher, after reading this gospel section, asked the students: “What is the yoke God puts on us?”.

A little girl answered: “It is God putting his arms around our necks and giving us a hug”.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…

My yoke is easy and my burden light

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • How am I burdened by the unknown?
    Do I talk to God honestly about what is worrying me?
    Is there resistance in me to sharing this with Jesus?
    What causes this resistance (shame, guilt, pride, stubbornness)?
  • Do I consider myself one of Jesus’ “little ones”?
    What would give me “rest”?
  • Being really angry with someone is a deep burden. Can I bring my troubles and failings in this regard to Jesus?
  • Do I think Jesus understands weaknesses, struggles or disappointments?
    Did he have any in his life?
    What can I learn about better behavior from watching Jesus?
  • How can prayer give me perspective?
    How can prayer lead to acceptance?
  • What do I really want? What are my deepest desires? Are they a comfort or a burden to me?
  • Are there religious or civil rules that are personally burdensome and troubling to me?
  • Do I know of someone who is particularly burdened right now?
  • What is my personal comfort zone (what situations have to exist for me to avoid stress)?
    Am I out of my comfort zone often? Right now?
  • How does lack of control over the events of one’s life become a burden?
    How great is my need for control?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

We can divide our human burdens into three categories.

The first is the burden of daily irritations—standing in line at the post office, wearing a mask outside, being on endless hold listening to bad elevator music, trying to figure out legal forms, watching bad behavior of an out-of-control child, being the embarrassed parent of said child. The list goes on. And the more stressed we are, the more these irritations are, well, IRRITATING!

The second burden includes some serious worries like money, illness, job loss, a bad relationship, hurts we can’t heal, anger that won’t go away. Some of these issues may be ours or they may be serious issues for someone we love. In any event, these things burden us and sometimes, make us a burden to others.

The third burden runs the deepest, often because we suppress it. It is the burden of personal identity. Who am I? We live in a world that tells us we are what we have; we are what we do; we are what we look like; we are what degrees we possess; we are what others say about us. We put an awful lot of energy into maintaining our beliefs about identity. It is exhausting. And scary. What happens when I lose what I have, lose what I do, or lose what I look like? What happens when I have shaped my identity to impress or please others? How does this erode my sense of my true self? Jesus’ temptation in the Desert was basically all about these identity issues. How did he respond? What difference did it make to Jesus what others said about him? How did his relationship with his father (His ABBA) sustain him in difficult and burdensome times?

Questions:
Which of these burdens is troubling me most right now?
Do I believe that God wishes to lighten my personal burden?
Do I believe I am beloved of God?
Do I believe that what I have or do does not matter to God?

Prayer:
I ask God for the reassurance of being blessed
I ask God for patience with myself and others
I ask God for hope: trust that God is looking out for me

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

This Sunday’s psalm is 145. It is a message of hope in these troubled days. Read it to yourself several times, picking out the phrases which have the most meaning for you. Then write your own thank-you note to God for the times you have been sustained when you have felt burdened or troubled:

Psalm 145

1I will extol you, my God and king, and bless your name forever and ever.
2I will bless you day after day, and praise your name forever and ever.
3The LORD is great and highly to be praised; his greatness cannot be measured.
4Age to age shall proclaim your works, shall declare your mighty deeds.
5They will tell of your great glory and splendor, and recount your wonderful works.
6They will speak of your awesome deeds, recount your greatness and might.
7They will recall your abundant goodness, and sing of your just deeds with joy.
8The LORD is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
9How good is the LORD to all, compassionate to all his creatures.
10All your works shall thank you, O LORD, and all your faithful ones bless you.
11They shall speak of the glory of your reign, and declare your mighty deeds,
12To make known your might to the children of men, and the glorious splendor of your reign.
13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; your rule endures for all generations.
The LORD is faithful in all his words, and holy in all his deeds.
14The LORD supports all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.
15The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
16You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17The LORD is just in all his ways, and holy in all his deeds.
18The LORD is close to all who call him, who call on him in truth.
19He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and he saves them.
20The LORD keeps watch over all who love him; the wicked he will utterly destroy.
21Let my mouth speak the praise of the LORD; let all flesh bless his holy name forever, for ages unending.

Poetic Reflection:

This poem from Ed Ingebretzen, S.J. reminds us that God does not wish to burden us, but to comfort and mother us:

“From Narrow Places”

From narrow places
the strength of our voice
rises:

our every breath
is prayer,
the great poem of need,
a constant scattering
of praise.

Early
we reach to God
in the claim of our hearts,
while he,
our father,
mothers us
in his

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13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 28, 2020

Gospel: Matthew 10:37–42

Theme: To be a disciple is to identify with Jesus

Gospel: Matthew 10:37–42

Theme: To be a disciple is to identify with Jesus

Matthew 10:37–42

37 Whoever prefers father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever prefers son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
38 and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40 Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
41 Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward.
42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.

Music Meditations

Companions for the Journey

Adapted from a commentary in 2014 by Alice McDermott:

We all like to be rewarded for our efforts. Gold stars on our school papers as children. Praise from parents and teachers as we get older. Money as payment for our expenditure of our time and talents in our work. Perhaps being recognized publicly with a plaque or round of applause for our community service. We all appreciate recognition and benefits from our actions.

Jesus is promising a reward for those who welcome prophets and righteous persons to the community, and for those who offer small kindnesses to the vulnerable in their midst. That reward is participation in the kingdom of God, which has both a present and a future component.

This text comes after Jesus’ promise that those who lose their life for his sake will find it (Mt. 10:39). It’s an answer to the question, “What is our reward for risking the loss of our lives as we know them for you?” Or, as Simon Peter so pragmatically puts it, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” His question and Jesus’ answer show up three times in almost exactly the same wording in Matthew 19:27, Mark 10:28, and Luke 18:28. In Matthew 10:42, Jesus refers to “the reward of the righteous.” It appears to be a bountiful compensation for the sacrifices we have made in this life, one that has both a worldly and eternal life component (Mt. 19:29; Mk. 10:29-30; Lk. 18:29-30).

What are those addressed by this text going to be rewarded for? Since Jesus sends his disciples to act on his behalf, those who receive them also receive Jesus (10:40a). And in receiving Jesus they also receive God, the one who sent him. Underlying this saying is the shaliach conception of ancient Jewish law, according to which a man’s duly authorized messenger “is as the man himself.” (Hare, Interpretation Commentary on Matthew, 118) The one sent out represents the one who sent him, so that to receive a disciple of Christ is to receive Christ and to receive Christ is to receive God. (Argyle, Cambridge Commentary on Matthew, 83-4)

Participation in the kingdom of God is the reward of the righteous person. It is not wholly extrinsic like the gold stars and the round of applause. The righteousness Jesus is talking about in Matthew carries with it an intrinsic reward, one that is an integral part of the action of welcome and kindness. Such righteous acts participate in and point us toward God, toward the Kingdom which is now and not yet.

Those who receive the disciples also receive the same benefits or reward they receive, the blessing of participation in the kingdom of God as outlined by Jesus by way of Matthew in the Beatitudes (Mt. 5:3-10). The Beatitudes have a future, but also a present reference. The poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake—all participate in the present in the blessings of divine presence, comfort, wisdom, forgiveness, which are the realities of the reign of God now and forever.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…

Whoever receives you receives me

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • Have I ever been in relationship that was so all-consuming that I lost myself in the process?
  • When could there be a conflict between our love for another and our love for God?
  • To what/whom am I attached so firmly that it interferes with my relationship God or with others in my life?
    Has there been an attachment to a person, a habit, a conviction or a principle that has estranged me from others or my own self?
  • Have I ever received opposition for my beliefs from someone I loved? What did I do?
    Have I ever suffered the rupture of a relationship because of my relationship with Jesus?
  • Do I truly see myself as a disciple of Jesus? What is the cost to me for being a disciple?
  • Am I ever motivated in my actions by the hope of a later reward or is my motivation rooted in a desire to be closer to Jesus right now?
  • What, exactly, is my relationship with God, with my fellow disciples, with the desperate?
  • What is my role of “welcoming others” that I see in this reading?
  • Do I expect happiness, or at least a cessation of anxiety or unhappiness as a result of doing God’s will?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Participation in the Kingdom of God is the reward of the person who is a true disciple. What follows are some quotes from thinkers who seem to have taken seriously the message of Jesus in this passage. They are talking about giving one’s life away for some purpose beyond oneself that, paradoxically, results in a gain. As Christians we would call that the reward of the righteous. Which of the following do you agree with? Do any surprise you? Examine your motivations for doing God’s will and making sacrifices in the process:

  • “The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it”—John Ruskin
  • “Happiness is a virtue, not its reward”—Baruch Spinoza
  • “If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed”—Albert Einstein
  • “Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the other secondary effects to take care of themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward”—Thomas Merton
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

We are rarely asked for a cup of water. We live in a more complex society, but the same care and generosity to which Jesus calls us in verse 42 to are found in all walks of life. There are those who work for clean healthy water in a thousand hidden ways, for instance maintaining a city water system, or caring for public hygiene, as civil servants, plumbers, activists, engineers, scientists, and street cleaners. Wherever people devote themselves to the service of others by caring for the environment, by creating safe and good schools, by working toward affordable healthcare and affordable housing for everyone somehow, by making our governmental systems, local and national, ensure safety for all, we are, in effect, giving someone who needs it a drink of water.

So verse 42 is a metaphor for doing things for others in the name of Jesus. And the rewards promised by Jesus are entrance into the Kingdom of God. Our first job, then, is to be aware of the opportunities and desperate needs that are out there. But we need to go further. Undeterred by the sheer enormity of the task, we must start somewhere. Do I look for the grand gestures instead of offering a simple “cup of water”? How does giving someone a cup of water play out in practical terms: is it a hug, or a listening ear, or giving someone a ride, or giving a small donation to an agency like CRS? Do I believe that each act of mercy, no matter how insignificant, can make a difference that really matters? Mother Teresa said that we are not called to do great things, we are called to do small things with great love. We need to go beyond studying the issues to actually help in in some small way to alleviate the thirst for water, for food, for justice, for safety. What can I do? What can I do this week?

Poetic Reflection:

We turn to a tried-and-true reflection written by Thomas Centollela, a former Stegner fellow. He encourages us to do even more than the minimum of giving a cup of water to “one of these little ones.” How can you live “further in?”:

“At Big Rec”

A few hours spent in the dry rooms of the dying.
Then the walk home, and the sudden rain
comes hard, and you want it coming hard,
you want it hitting you in the forehead
like anointment, blessing all the days
that otherwise would be dismissed
as business as usual. Now you’re ready
to lean on the rail above the empty diamonds
where, in summer, the ballplayers wait patiently
for one true moment more alive than all the rest.
Now you’re ready for the ancient religion of dogs,
that unleashed romp through the wildness, responding
To no one’s liturgy but the field’s and the rain’s.
You’ve come this far, but you need to live further in.
You need to slip into the blind man for a while,
tap along with his cane past the market stalls
and take in, as if they were abandoned,
the little blue crabs which within an hour will be eaten.
You have to become large enough to accommodate
all the small lives that otherwise would be forgotten.
You have to raise yourself to the power of ten.
Love more, require less, love without regard
For form. You have to live further in.

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12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 21, 2020

Gospel: Matthew 10:26-33

Theme: Do not be afraid

Gospel: Matthew 10:26-33

Theme: Do not be afraid

Matthew 10:26–33

“So do not be afraid of them. Everything now covered up will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the house tops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of human beings, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of human beings, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.” 

Music Meditations

Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions”, A service of the Southern Dominican Province:

Matthew’s community must have been going through an experience similar to Jeremiah’s in the first reading—living and speaking about their faith were causing pain and fear among them. Like Jeremiah, they may have even been quite vocal in their bewilderment and disappointment because things weren’t turning out the way they had hoped. Otherwise, Matthew would never have recorded these frank and consoling words of Jesus. Jesus is reminding his followers that because of him, they will suffer persecution. The saying about the sparrows has ominous tones: God knows when even a minuscule sparrow “falls to the ground.” There is a hint here of the disciples themselves having to face even death (“fall to the ground”) as Jesus’ followers. I don’t know if I have to fear being killed or imprisoned for my faith; but living that faith does have its costs and may even cause pain, or at least daily sacrifice and inconvenience.

They are not to be afraid because of the small, seeming insignificance of their project in the light of the world powers around them. Now—the good news is “concealed” and “secret,” known by only a few. Now—Jesus speaks in “darkness” and his message is “whispered” to them. But someday all will be “revealed” and “known.” In our modern world of high speed internet access, million-dollar television commercials and “gliterrati,” living out our faith in Christ can make us feel out-shouted, overridden and insignificant. Judging from the more dominant voices and forces around us, our Christian approach to life can seem diminutive and without influence as the world makes decisions that affect the destinies of present and future populations and of the planet itself.

Jesus promises his message will be “proclaimed on the housetops.” How? Some people in our history have been very forthright proclaimers, they have been like people standing on roof tops for all to see and hear. But most of us are afraid of such heights and our call might be less spectacular, but still requiring courage. I read this Brazilian proverb recently, “Your head thinks form the spot you plant your feet.” We have planted our feet with Christ and he invites our heads to think and our hearts to feel from that spot. We must, if we are standing with Christ, acknowledge him by lives and words that are recognizable as having him as their source.

Jesus predicts a sign by which we will know we are being faithful to him—when we are standing on his side of honesty, concern, forgiveness, trust, community, etc—we will stir upon opposition. His message will stir up strife. He is aware that, just as he found resistance to his teaching, so will his followers. So he tells them, “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body…,” for they have power, but only over the body. God’s power is more sweeping and total, in fact, Jesus says, God “…can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” But the disciple is not to fear, because God cares about each of us and every part of us, right down to the hairs on our heads. If birds fall under God’s care, how much more do we?

This reminder about God’s care for us isn’t a guarantee we will have an easy ride as God’s servants. Jeremiah has already voiced the feelings of abandonment, disappointment and dismay one might feel in the face of the rejection God’s witnesses often experience. Jesus uses the example of sparrows falling and dying and God’s concern for them, to reassure us that in the face of trials and even death, God will care for us. Jesus is not going to leave us alone, however, he will not exempt himself from our struggles. He says he will “acknowledge” us before God. This image suggests he stands with us and claims us as one of his own. When the going gets tough, he is right in the thick of things with us.

Last week Jesus once again called us and sent us out. If we have reflected on our lives this past week, we know being sent into the world to live our beliefs in Christ is “easier said than done.” It’s a rough world out there for those who want to practice their faith. We come back here this Sunday for a breather from some harsh realities; but also to be refueled so we can do what we know Jesus would have us do.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…

So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • What part does fear play in the actions of the world, say, in economics, in political decisions, in war, in individual defensive behaviors?
  • What frightens you most and causes you to lose hope at times?
  • Do you have a special image (like the sparrow) that restores your confidence and hope?
  • Where do you find Christ in your life and in the world around you?
  • Have you ever at any time allowed someone or something to control you so that you were unable to speak the truth? How did you feel?
  • Have you ever been intimidated by peer pressure so that you did something you did not want to do or failed to do something you thought you should do?
  • Have you ever had an opportunity to acknowledge to Jesus before others? How did it turn out for you?
  • Can you remember that you do not have to have an answer for everything in the world that is difficult or confusing? Can you trust in God and let God take care of the things that you cannot?
  • Describe a time when you were anxious about an event and it turned out fine.

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Let us explore the notion of fear and the power of fear. There was a very popular TV show called Monk, that explored the adventures of an obsessive-compulsive genius detective who had at least 38 documented phobias. On the show’s website a tongue-in-cheek dictionary of phobias was provided. Among the phobias listed were some creative entries:
Altophobia: Fear of heights.
Arachibutyrophobia: Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth
Ballistophobia: Fear of missiles or bullets.
Ecclesiophobia: Fear of church
Frigophobia: Fear of cold
Gamophobia: Fear of marriage
Glossophobia: Fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak
Homilophobia: Fear of sermons
Obesophobia: Fear of gaining weight
Peladophobia: Fear of bald people
Phalacrophobia: Fear of becoming bald
Phasmophobia: Fear of ghosts
Testophobia: Fear of taking tests
We all have fears. Many things we fear for no reason. Some things we don’t fear that we should. In this Gospel Jesus describes the proper locus, or place, of fear. What is it? What things do you fear that you should not, and what things do you not fear that you should?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Julian of Norwich was a medieval mystic who had revelations from Jesus she called “Showings”, and which are considered some of the classic writings of Western Spirituality. This is taken from one of her “Showings”:

And these words: “You will not be overcome”, were said very insistently and strongly, for certainty and strength against every tribulation which may come. He did not say: “You will not be troubled, you will not be belabored, you will not be disquieted”; but he said: “You will not be overcome”. God wants us to pay attention to these words, and always to be strong in faithful trust, in well-being and in woe, for he loves us and delights in us, and so he wishes us to love him and delight in him and trust greatly in him, and all will be well. (Julian of Norwich, Showings, p.315).

It is easy to trust God when things are going reasonably well. Trust in God, and especially hope in God, are harder to come by in times of stress or sorrow. Think of something that is worrying you right now, and try to read over these words of Julian, praying for a greater faith and hope in the God who loves us so much.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

One thing we forget about the psalms is how honest and raw they are. The Jewish people, in speaking with God, in lamenting their situation, do not necessarily use their “inside voices”. This shows us how close the Jewish people felt to God that they could be truly authentic ion their despair and anger, and truly trusting that they would be heard.

In the following psalm, pretend that you are listening to the psalm writer as she is complaining to you. What is the situation that has him so upset and afraid? Which of her complaints to you really sympathize with? Which seem to be exaggerated? Is the exaggeration understandable, give his humanity? Have you ever been in a situation where you have been overwhelmed by despair and fear? If not, can you think of some instances in which someone might feel this way? How do you react to his desire to have his tormentors punished and really hurt? How do you think Jesus would respond to verses 22–28? Which of the verses in this do you identify with; which do you disown? Now imagine that you are God, listening to this kind of anger and fear constantly. What does it tell you about the love and understanding of God that God has so much patience with all of our kvetching? What do you want to say to God in return?

Write you own psalm to God (short or long) about your life right now… Be honest.

Psalm 69

1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
3 I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.

5 You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from you.

6 Lord, the Lord Almighty, may those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel, may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me.
7 For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face.
8 I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children;
9 for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
10 When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me.
12 Those who sit at the gate mock me,  and I am the song of the drunkards.

13 But I pray to you, Lord in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me.

16 Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love in your great mercy turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
18 Come near and rescue me; deliver me because of my foes.

19 You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you.
20 Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none.
21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

22 May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and[b] a trap.
23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.
24 Pour out your wrath on them;  let your fierce anger overtake them.
25 May their place be deserted;  let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
27 Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation.
28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.

29 But as for me, afflicted and in pain—may your salvation, God, protect me.

30 I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
32 The poor will see and be glad—you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33 The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.

34 Let heaven and earth praise him,  the seas and all that move in them,
35 for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it;
36 the children of his servants will inherit it,  and those who love his name will dwell there.

Poetic Reflection:

Read the following poem by Denise Levertov. Are we trusting of God in times of trouble because we have no choice? How does God feel about the weakest and most difficult among us? How do I feel about them?

“Of Necessity”

Running before the storm, the older child
was beautiful, her gold hair flew about her,
her small plump legs twinkled musingly.
It was the other needed help—
wailing, toiling along, a wisp
of misery. Sticky with jam,
her skin damp, her hands
spiders in my hair.
But carrying her, strangely I began
to cherish that discomfort.
The wind blew, the first large raindrops
were falling, the forest we were leaving
leaned darkly after us, waving
in threat or longing.
Quieted, my burden
held fast to me,
patiently trustful. Of necessity.

(from Oblique Prayers)

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The Body and Blood of Christ, June 14, 2020

Gospel: John 6:51-58

Theme: Christ left us Eucharist; we are the body of Christ

Gospel: John 6:51-58

Theme: Christ left us Eucharist; we are the body of Christ

John 6:51–58

Jesus said to the crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.

“Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

Music Meditations

Companions for the Journey

An article by Daniel Harrington, S.J., From America, the Jesuit weekly magazine:

Today we celebrate the feast often called by the Latin name, Corpus Christi, “the body of Christ.” As Paul suggests in 1 Corinthians 10, this term can have two meanings: the body of Christ that we share in the Eucharist, and the body of Christ that we form as the community of believers united with the risen Christ. The two meanings are related, and one gives depth to the other. Their combination reminds us that the Eucharist is profoundly social.

The sacrament of the Eucharist is rooted in ancient Israel’s social experience as the people of God. During its wanderings in the wilderness after the exodus, God fed his people with a mysterious bread-like substance called “manna.” By means of this food, God made it possible for Moses and the exodus generation to survive until they reached the edge of Canaan. As Deuteronomy 8 puts it, “[God] fed you in the desert with manna, a food unknown to your fathers.”

Today’s selection from 1 Corinthians 10 is a concise but very rich statement about what we do when we celebrate the Eucharist as the people of God. For most of three chapters, Paul had been dealing with the attitudes of the new Christians toward food associated with pagan rituals and with their participation in rituals involving sacrifices offered to pagan gods. Paul’s advice is complex and somewhat meandering, but quite sensitive to the realities of the historical situation and to the issues of conscience they raised. Toward the end of his argument, Paul calls on the image of the body of Christ to appeal to the social bonds that exist among Christians and to their participation in the Eucharist.

Paul first reminds the Corinthian Christians (and us today) that as members of the body of Christ they constitute one body. The body is a natural symbol and a powerful image. Consider your own body, how all its parts must work together and how no part can be hurt without the whole body being hurt. In antiquity, as today, the image of body was often applied to cities (the body politic) and other social entities. But the body of Christ is not just another social organization or another coalition of like-minded persons united in a voluntary association. It is the body of Christ. Christ makes this body different. Christ comes first. Christ makes the body. His relationship to us forms us into the body of Christ. Our vertical relationship with Christ has as its necessary consequence our horizontal relationship with one another. In that social sense we are the body of Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul relates the body of Christ that we constitute as Christians and the body of Christ that we share in the Eucharist. Sharing the one bread and the one cup is a powerful sign of our oneness in Christ. By participating in the Eucharistic meal we express our unity with Christ and with one another. As members of Christ’s body, we affirm our identity and unity when we receive the Eucharistic body of Christ.

The Eucharist is profoundly social. In fact, Paul in his letters mentions the Eucharist only twice, here in 1 Cor 10:14-22 and in 11:17-34. In both cases it is in the context of dealing with social problems existing among the Corinthians. The social perspective does not diminish the sacredness of the Eucharist. Rather, it should enhance our appreciation of the sacrament and give greater depth to our identity as members of the body of Christ.

In today’s reading from John 6, Jesus identifies himself as “the living bread that came down from heaven,” thus linking himself with the manna in the wilderness and with “the best of wheat.” He goes on to promise that “whoever eats this bread will live forever.” In other words, participation in the life of Jesus, the living bread, is the first installment on or the inauguration of our eternal life with God. Ournparticipation in the Eucharist concretizes and energizes our relationship with Christ and with one another. As members of the body of Christ, we share in the body of Christ.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…

Whoever eats this bread will live forever.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • How do Jesus’ statements about eating his body and drinking his blood challenge you?
  • How easy is it to get snarled up in the theology of the Real Presence on this occasion?
    How can this be an intellectual exercise and a distraction?
    What message do YOU take from this gospel that you can use in your everyday life, your everyday relationship with God?
  • What is the difference for you between doing life and having life?
    What do you want from life?
    Do you think it is what Jesus wants for you?
  • What does it mean to live in Jesus?
  • This passage follows an earlier and very famous one on the feeding of the five thousand.
    How does the motif of God feeding his people enrich your appreciation of Eucharist?
  • What is the reason for keeping people from this table of life we call Eucharist?
    Whose table is it?
    Who gets to decide who is welcome at the table and who is not?
  • When you receive communion, do you think of union with Jesus or union with those around you? Both?
    In what ways do you make the Eucharist truly meaningful for those attending Mass?
  • When you receive the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist, do you reflect on your identity as a member of the body of Christ?
    What is your response to this gift of Jesus?
  • Who are members of the body of Christ?
  • What are our obligations to others in the body of Christ?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Read Matthew 14:13-21 (The first story of the feeding of the four thousand). Imagine the scene in which the people follow Jesus to a “lonely place” and then are stranded without food. Try to place yourself in the story as one of the disciples. At which point do you become concerned enough about all these people that you speak to Jesus? What concerns you? That he crowd will become restless and angry, that it might turn on Jesus and as disciples you might get caught in the middle? Are you afraid that some will fall ill? Are you afraid that some will take food from others? How do you respond when Jesus tells you to handle the problem? What does this story reveal about my attitudes of scarcity vs. abundance? What Eucharistic overtones do you read into this story? What does this say to you about Eucharist and the world? What does this story say to you about bread (real bread) for the world and our obligation to provide it?

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions

Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits
In the Eucharist, we deepen our relationship with Jesus, not mechanically, but by becoming more and more like him over the years. We meet God in this mysterious and dramatic way: God gives himself to us, and we try to shape our lives into a loving gift for god. In heaven there will be no Eucharist as we know it, because our bonding with God will then be complete.

So I ask myself:
How am I fostering my relationship with Jesus?
Have I become more like him? What do I need to let go of or what do I need to do to be more like Jesus?
Do I consider my life a loving gift for God? What can I change about my life that makes the gift of this life of mine more truly loving?

A Meditation on the Franciscan Style/Action:

This excerpt is from Justice Notes for Corpus Christi from the Southern Dominican Province in 2007:

“Whoever eats this bread will live forever”(John 6:51)

Each of today’s readings speaks of being fed and they lead us to think about the growing crisis of world hunger. “Rising food prices are fueling the global hunger crisis. It is taking an immense toll on the world’s poorest people, who typically spend up to 80 percent of their income on food. As many as 100 million more poor people could be made worse off by this burgeoning hunger crisis. After 30 years of progress against hunger and poverty, that is a setback that the United States and the rest of the world cannot afford to let happen.” (http://www.bread.org/learn/rising-food-prices.html [page no longer available])

“The prayer which we repeat at every Mass: ‘Give us this day our daily bread,’ obliges us to do everything possible, in cooperation with international, state and private institutions to end or at least reduce the scandal of hunger and malnutrition afflicting so many millions of people in our world, especially in developing countries.” (Sacramentum Caritatis, Pope Benedict XVI, 2007)

Did you know:

  • 854 million people across the world are hungry, up from 852 million a year ago
  • Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes—one child every five seconds.
  • 35.1 million people in the US—including 12.4 million children—live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger.
  • The U.S. Conference of Mayors reports that in 2006 requests for emergency food assistance increased an average of 7 percent. The study also found that 48 percent of those requesting emergency food assistance were members of families with children and that 37 percent of adults requesting such assistance were employed.

What can you do? Pick a concrete action. Do it.

Poetic Reflection:

Enjoy this lovely act of faith so movingly expressed by Mary Oliver:

“The Vast Ocean Begins Just Outside Our Church: The Eucharist”

Something has happened
to the bread
and the wine.

They have been blessed.
What now?
The body leans forward

to receive the gift
from the priest’s hand,
then the chalice.

They are something else now
from what they were
before this began.

I want
to see Jesus
maybe in the clouds
or on the shore,
just walking,
beautiful man

and clearly
someone else
besides.

On the hard days
I ask myself
if I ever will.

Also there are times
my body whispers to me
that I have.

Poetic Reflection:

This poem is just as appropriate for Corpus Christi as it is for Pentecost and for Holy Thursday. Enjoy.

"Gather the People"

What return can we make
for all the Lord has done in our lives?
We bring bread, wine, our clay dishes
and our clay feet
to this altar
and we pray that we may here
make a beginning—
that somehow in our days
we can begin to see the promises
the Lord has made us.

The promises do not always
glow with obvious light, or
overwhelm us by their obvious truth.
No matter what anyone says,
it is difficult to understand an invisible God
and belief is not always
the easy way out.

So we gather the people
and we tell the story again
and we break the bread
and in the memory of the one
who saves us,
we eat and drink
and we pray and we believe.

We gather, we pray, we eat.
These things are for human beings.
God has no need of them.
Yet he himself gathered the people,
prayed, broke bread
and gave it to his friends.

And so the invisible God became
visible
and lives with us.

(by Ed Ingebretzen, S.J., from Psalms of the Still Country)

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Trinity, June 7, 2020

Gospel: John 3:16–17

Theme: Jesus is God’s love made visible

Gospel: John 3:16–17

Theme: Jesus is God’s love made visible

John 3:16–17

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Music Meditations

Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

Barbara Brown Taylor, a scripture scholar and preacher, quotes Robert Farrar Capon, who says that when we humans try to describe God it’s like a bunch of oysters trying to describe a ballerina. The mystics choose silence or exult in extravagant metaphors to describe their encounters with the Holy One. The God Moses meets on the mountains is revealed as “merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.” This same God is also hidden in a cloud. Though what we say of God is woefully inadequate, the scriptures do try to name the mystery for those of us who grope in the dark—for us oysters.

Today’s gospel makes an attempt to picture God for us and so draw us into the divine mystery. Even if you are not a “chapter and verse” bible expert, chances are you will recognize today’s Gospel citation for it starts with John 3:16. If you have ever watched a football game you have seen someone hold up a sign with that verse listed on it. Just as a kicker is about to kick the ball through the uprights, when the camera is focused on the goal posts and the fans behind it, someone stands up and flashes a sign saying John 3:16 for the television viewers to see. I wonder how many people who see the sign know its reference? Perhaps even the church-goers attribute the sign waving to a fringe group of fundamentalist Christians—one of “those fanatics.” Most Christians intent on watching the game, beer in one hand, chips in the other, may even find it annoying or at least irrelevant to their lives this “John 3:16 thing.”

But in this one verse is a summary of the gospel—God is reaching out to us through Jesus, who is the full sign of God’s love for “the world.” We may not be able to define God or click off all of God’s holy attributes on this Trinity Sunday, but this much we know about God today—God is merciful, gracious and slow to anger. It is summed up for us in the Exodus reading and in our John 3:16 reference. Am I willing to let myself fall into the hands of this God, trusting the Sinai revelation? Or, no matter how I feel about myself, do I believe that John’s testimony is reliable, something to lean on—“God so loved the world...?” Not just the generic, big picture world, but little ol’ me, here on the small piece of real estate I occupy at this moment of time—God loves me.

God’s self-description to Moses as “merciful” comes from a word that describes the feeling a pregnant woman has for the child in her womb or for the children born of her womb. That’s the feeling the Trinity has for us today. That’s the deep down love God had for us that urged God to send Christ to us and enabled us to hear, see and touch that love. John tells us that we are the recipients of this love, all of us—the entire world. So, God spares nothing, no effort is too much to make the point, even going so far as to give the Son into our hands. It’s so incomprehensible, God reached into our world to be one with us and pull us out of the mess we were stuck in. This enfleshed love can come to any of us and transform us. In some strange way, no one is left out of this loving embrace of God revealed to us in Christ. To have been invited to accept love and to reject God’s outreach is to reject a saving hand reaching out to pull us out of the mire in which we find ourselves—we ignore God at our own peril. Condemnation is our own decision, for to be cut off from God is to turn away from life. As we read today’s gospel passage perhaps we are embarrassed by its seeming exclusivity, “God so loved the world that he(sic) gave his only Son, so that everyone who believers in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” We moderns count an ethnic and religious diverse group of people among our friends and business associates. What about all these good people we know, some whose good works put us to shame, who aren’t Christians? Are they going to perish if they don’t claim John 3:16 as their core belief? The passage is balanced by the clear proclamation that this love God has is for the whole world. About those people who have not accepted Christ or have not heard about him, and I am sure those who hold up the signs at football games will not agree with this, they are in the hands of the One who loves the whole world. God can figure out a loving way to include them. We believe the placard that says John 3:16, whether we join those carrying the sign or not. This is what we know about the Trinity today—God has noted all and each of us and totally gives us the divine life to live in us. “Brothers and sisters, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…

God so loved the world that he gave his only son…

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • When you pray, to which person of the Blessed Trinity do you most often do so? Why?
  • Do you often invite God to “come along in your company”? Why or why not?
  • Do you treat the Trinity as an unsolvable theological puzzle or as a model for personal relationships?
  • John’s entire gospel is “God is Love”. What does this passage say to you about God’s love for you?
  • How do you explain the sentence: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life”?
  • Do you believe that “whoever does not believe has been condemned”? How do you interpret this sentence?
  • To love is to give oneself. To whom or what do you give yourself?
    St Augustine said: “Are you looking for something to give God? Give him yourself.” What do you give God (obedience, prayer, Mass attendance, good works, personal sacrifice)?
  • Father William Bausch wrote: “We are at our best, most human, most moral, most divine, when we are in loving relationships. I think of some of my relationships:” Do I give love or merely receive it, do I act lovingly towards even the most annoying people in my lie? Do I believe my loving relationships are a mirror of the loving relationship that is the Trinity?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

This was taken from Praying with Julian of Norwich, by Gloria Durka:
I saw and understood that the high might of the Trinity is our Father, and the deep wisdom of the Trinity is our mother, and the great love of the Trinity is our Lord; all these things we have in nature and in our substantial creation. Thus in our Father, God almighty, we have our being, and in our Mother of mercy we have our reforming and restoring, in whom our parts are united and all made perfect man, and through the rewards of Grace of the Holy Spirit we are fulfilled (excerpted from Julian of Norwich, Showings pp. 293, 295)

  • Reflect for a time on the image of God as our Mother with wisdom and mercy, reforming and restoring us. Does this image offer you a new way of experiencing God’s love?
  • How have you shared your wisdom and mercy lately? Bring to mind some of the ways in which you have been a wise counselor and merciful mother to people in the last week or so.
  • Think about some ways in which you have increased in your own love of God. Compare your love for God with what it was when you were a child. Thank God now for this increasing in your life.
  • Pray for awareness of how you can help someone else think of God’s love as being like a mother’s love—someone in your family, a friend who is distressed, or someone else who is in need of love and loving.
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Read the following hymn from Philippians 2:5–8:

Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Do you see in Jesus a reflection of your own humanity?
Do you seek to emulate Jesus in not desiring rank and power for yourself?
Are you, like Jesus, motivated by love to act as you do?
What are you willing to endure for the sake of someone in your life whom you love? What are you willing to endure for the sake of God whom you love?

A Meditation on the Franciscan Style/Action:

Read 2 Corinthians 13:11–13. Imagine God saying these things to you: Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace…How do you see yourself concretely living out these exhortations? Where do you need some extra help from the Spirit? Pick one circumstance in your life which needs to change, or one relationship which could use improvement and talk to God about ways in which you need to change. Pick one. Do it.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Think of someone you love. How often does she come to mind? Do you have a pet name for him, or do you have several? Does thinking about her make you smile? What do you do that you know makes him happy? How do you picture God (Do you pick one person of the Blessed Trinity, or do you pick all three symbolized by two men (one old, one young) and a bird?) How often during the day do you think of God? What do you call God? (Anne Lamott says she has a friend who calls God “Howard”, as in, “our Father Howard in heaven.”) If you don’t have a pet name for God, try to think of one—it tells you something about your relationship to God. What do you think would make God happy? Do you do it? St. Peter, when asked by Jesus if he loved him, responded in the affirmative, but used the Greek word philia instead of the Greek word agape—a more self-rewarding kind of love, which prompted Jesus to tell him that love for Jesus meant feeding Jesus’ sheep—caring for others. How often does your love for God (or for only one of the Trinity) motivate you to care for others?

Poetic Reflection:

How does this poem help us see different “persona” of God as reflected in the Trinity?

“From Narrow Places”

From narrow places
the strength of our voice
rises:

our every breath
is prayer,
the great poem of need,
a constant scattering
of praise.

Early
we reach to God
in the claim of our hearts,
while he,
our father,
mothers us
in his

—Ed Ingebretsen, S.J.

Poetic Reflection:

Read the poem "Gather the People" (from Psalms of the Still Country) by Ed Ingebretzen, S.J. Do you see in it an affirmation of God’s love for us?

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