Weekly Reflections
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 17, 2025
A warning that the life of a Christian will not necessarily be peaceful or tranquil
Gospel: Luke 12: 49–53
I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already!
A warning that the life of a Christian will not necessarily be peaceful or tranquil
Luke 12: 49–53
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Lord, you told anyone who would listen that you were distressed—or stressed—about the eventual outcome of your commission from the Father. Help me in my times of personal stress, over decisions that must be made, over divisions in my family or community, over possible pain and loss. Help me to be strong and courageous, as you were, but at the same time, understanding of those who do not share my convictions.
Companions for the Journey
From Living Space 2025, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
Commentary on Luke 12:49-53
We have some passionate and disturbing words from Jesus today.
First, he expresses his deep desire to cast fire on the earth. In the imagery of the Old Testament, fire is a symbol of God’s powerful presence. We remember Moses at the burning bush, the pillar of fire that accompanied the Israelites by night as they wandered through the desert to the promised land, as well as the tongues of fire that hovered over the disciples at Pentecost.It is this Pentecostal fire that burns men’s hearts and draws them to change the direction of their lives. For Jesus’ wish to be fulfilled, we have to play our part in helping to spread some of that fire of God’s love everywhere.
Second, Jesus expresses a longing for his ‘baptism’ to be accomplished. Baptism here refers to his immersion in the terrible suffering and death by which we will be liberated. In fact, the ritual of baptism, where the person to be baptised was immersed in the baptismal pool, was seen as a parallel to Jesus’ going down into death and emerging to the new life of the resurrection. It is about this that Paul speaks.
Third, Jesus says he has come not to bring peace, but division on the earth. At first sight, this is a hard saying and it does not make any sense. Is Jesus not the Prince of Peace? Did Jesus not say at the Last Supper that he was giving his peace to his disciples, a peace that the world could not give and that no one could take away? Did he not say: Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matt 11:28)
Was not the final greeting of the Risen Christ to his disciples in the upper room: Peace be with you. (John 20:21)
Yes, but he also warned his disciples that, after he was gone, they could expect a rough ride. They would be hauled before rulers and governors; they would be beaten and jailed and put to death. People would think they were doing well in ridding the world of them. In that sense, Jesus was certainly not going to bring peace. And, by the time this Gospel was written, Jesus’ prophecy had been well borne out—and there was a lot more to come.
The break-up of families, father against mother, parents against children, in-laws against in-laws, was unfortunately only too common as one or more members in a family decided to follow Christ and be baptised. These must have been very painful experiences which no one wanted. Anyone who has studied the history of the Church, all the way back to its beginning and in many places throughout the world, knows how many families were torn apart by their accepting Christianity. In the Gospel, we see it in the story of the blind man who attached himself to Jesus and whose parents, terrified of the authorities, wanted to have nothing to do with it. It is surely an image which was quite familiar to converts in the early, not to mention the later, Church.
Jesus had warned that those who wanted to follow him had to be ready, if necessary, to leave home and family and enter into a new family of brothers and sisters. To follow the way of truth and love, of freedom and justice is always going to arouse the hostility of those who feel threatened by goodness.
But is it right to break up one’s family? We might counter by asking which is the more loving thing to do: to be true to one’s convictions and one’s integrity, or to compromise them for the sake of a merely external peace?
The one who leaves a family for the sake of Christ and the Gospel shows a greater love for one’s family and will never cease to love them, no matter how viciously they may react to the choice the Christian has felt it necessary to make. In the long run, truth and love will prevail—they must.
Finally, hostility, division and persecution, provided the Christian is not directly responsible, does not take away the peace that Jesus spoke about. On the contrary, it is only by being true to one’s convictions and one’s integrity, whatever the price that has to be paid, that peace can be experienced.
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already!
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
- At the end of this gospel reading we all respond “Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.” Do we feel like praising God at the end of this reading?
- What was my first reaction to Jesus saying that he has come to set the world on fire?
What could that possibly mean? - Does it bother me that Jesus says he has come not to bring peace, but division?
How does that statement square with “Love those who hate you” from chapter 6 of this gospel? - What does this passage have to say about peace at any price?
Am I someone who values peace, even when it comes with a price?
What price will I NOT pay for the sake of peace? - Do I feel like I am living in a Luke moment in our political and cultural divisions?
- Are there divisions in my family about some teachings of the Church, or the church leadership at any level?
- Are there divisions in my family over politics?
How do we handle dueling convictions at family gatherings? - Am I estranged from anyone in my family because of religious, political, career or lifestyle choices?
- Is there competition in my family or among my friends, colleague?
From First Impressions, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Enter today’s firebrand Jesus, who attacks such superficial security, who calls us to God’s peaceable dominion. Here a new set of values governs the community of believers, where the citizens do not purchase their worth and esteem before God, but are given them as gift.
Jesus will continue to preach and live the peace given only to those who love and strive to live in a community of concern for their sisters and brothers; who work to tear down walls of division created by a near-sighted world.
How comfortable is our American ethos of rugged individualism with this Jesus?
How comfortable am I with this Jesus? - Is the energy for goodness and the zeal for reform of our lives, apparent in the words of Jesus, evident in my church today?
Is this energy for goodness and zeal for reform of my life evident in me today? - Have I ever had to make difficult ethical or religious choices?
Did a specific ethical or religious choice I made cost me family or friends?
Was that cost hard to bear?
Did I see the hand of Jesus on my back, comforting and sustaining me?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
From Dom Cingoranelli, a Benedictine Oblate:
Living in a Luke 12:53 moment? I use that term to refer broadly to our current cultural milieu. We live in a time when we find serious division, even within families, over many current issues. In the Gospel, Jesus refers to differences between those who follow Him, and those who do not. Of course, differences within families and other groups have existed since Jesus walked the earth. And now we live in a time characterized by extreme division on so many levels. This issues can be over religious differences, political differences, personal choices, and cultural divides. It doesn’t matter where you stand on any of the issues I’ve mentioned. Just consider yourselves blessed if your family remains unified, even with differences of opinion among the family members on these issues. More and more families, though, are finding fissures in the foundation of the family unit. If you are one of them, you already may have tried resolving differences, albeit with less than outstanding success. What to do, then? For one thing, monitor your own behaviors to avoid creating a wider crevasse. Be charitable in your responses, be open to discussion. And pray. In any event, never give up. With God all things are possible.
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style: Imagination:
I recall the famous story of Mary and Martha when Jesus visited them in their home. One sister sat at the feet of Jesus and welcomed him through her undivided attention. Another sister welcomed Jesus through her hospitality, which meant she missed a lot of what Jesus was saying. Now imagine that Jesus has gone, and the two of them face each other, having publicly displayed their different priorities and approaches. Play over in your mind that probably slightly acrimonious discussion about what each should have done or said. I put myself in Martha’s situation. Have I ever felt that a parent or sibling was not contributing his/her share? Then I put myself in Mary’s shoes. Was priority ever something that was not approved of by some friends or family? Which sister do I most identify with?
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
From Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
Jesus can bring division among people--those with him and against him. He can also bring divisions inside each of us. Prayer is a time to sift with him the different desires and actions of our lives. In prayer we ask the grace to know him more, love him more, and serve him more faithfully in our lives.
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
This gospel of Luke is often hailed as a gospel of mercy and love. Consider Chapter 6:27 passim:
Love your enemies’ do good to those who hurt you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly… If you love those who love you, what credit can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit can you expect? For even sinners do that much….. Be compassionate as your father is compassionate. Do not judge and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Now consider today’s passage: 12:49 passim
I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! Do you suppose I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; father opposed to son, son to father, mother to daughter, daughter to mother, mother-in-law to daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law to mother-in-law.
Does this passage of threats belie that description of this gospel as one of love and mercy? Why does Jesus often say “Peace be with you”? How do you reconcile the two points of view? Should we consider the situation of Luke’s audience of 75 CE as possibly different from the situation Jesus’s actual followers were in in 30 CE?
Closing Prayer
“A Story that will save us”
Tell us a story that will save us (and that will have been enough) all the great songs have been prayed save only one Tell us a story that will save us Go down Lord, & bring us home May our promises free us not chain us May what we desire fill us not entrap us May those persons we love finish us not bind us Go down Lord, & bring us home You are our history, Lord We neither begin nor end outside you May you be for us not weapon, not answer, but cause of peace May our questions show us not division but the smallness of human answers. Go down, Lord & bring us home May our words create Not destroy May our hands nurture Not break May our dreams lead and encourage us Not trap us in despair Go down, Lord & bring us home We are anxious about many things We are lost in many ways Go down, Lord & bring us home.
—Rev. Ed Ingebretzen, S.J.
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 10, 2025
Do not be afraid, for God has given us the Kingdom. However, much will be required of the person entrusted with much.
Gospel: Luke 12: 32–48
Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it.
Do not be afraid, for God has given us the Kingdom. However, much will be required of the person entrusted with much.
Luke 12: 32–48
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
“Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Jesus, help me to remember where my real treasure lies. Help me move my focus off material security, security based n human relationships alone, even personal security, all of which can be fleeting. Help me to avoid being distracted by worries about the future, regrets about the past; help me to see clearly where my heart lies—with you. Keep my heart and soul in readiness for your message. Help me to trust in your immutable goodness. Give me gratitude and honesty.
Companions for the Journey
From First Impressions. A service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Bear with me for a moment, for we need to pay extra attention to the structure of today’s gospel. This will help our preparation strategy and may simplify our message. Today’s lectionary selection is more complex than in previous weeks and is a preaching challenge. This week we don’t have a neat focused package, for example, a parable or a miracle story. Instead the passage is in pieces. The first section (vv. 32-34) carries over and concludes a previous discussion in Luke on possessions. We heard part of it in last Sunday’s parable of the rich fool and his greed (12:13-21). The section right after that is about anxiety and possessions, but we skipped over it in the lectionary’s Sunday sequence. It concludes with the first three verses of today’s reading. After these opening verses, the focus shifts to the teaching on preparedness and Jesus’ return.
Remember the context. Jesus has already said that he does not want us preoccupied by fear and anxiety in fulfilling our daily needs. While the world presumes that possessions can guarantee us a secure future, Jesus says such concerns will not really help in daily life, will not “add a moment to our life span” (v. 25). God cares for the needy and will provide for them. But how? Are we being unrealistic and naive expecting God to take care of those in need? No, because we are a community. We live in a life-partnership and those who have must provide not only for themselves, but for those who have not. So, in the opening of today’s selection we are asked to sell our belongings and give alms. (As Raymond Brown comments, “Sell your possessions and give alms is very Lucan in its outlook.”) God helps others through the care we give to one another. We also live in a God-partnership. With our sights set on God’s reign, which is a gift to us from a gracious God, other needs should fall into place. We, in the meantime, must realize that our true treasure is within, where lies the “inexhaustible treasure that no thief can reach, nor moth destroy.”
The second part of today’s passage, beginning with verse 35, has to do with being prepared for the Lord’s coming. Recall where we are at this moment of Luke’s gospel. Beginning with 9:51, Jesus has turned his face to Jerusalem where he will be crushed by evil. This decision is now directing the narrative and enters in some way into moments along the road to Jerusalem. Luke’s community needed to be reminded: though Jesus seems to be gone and things were going poorly for his community, nevertheless, he is with us now and he will return. This reminder is important. If the disciple were to look around at the world, with all its ambiguities and outright injustices and suffering, one might ask, “Who’s in charge here anyway?” Based on today’s passage, Jesus would invite us to believe that our present and future destiny are in our loving Parent’s (“Your Father’s”) hands. This parental God is gifting the “little flock” with the fullest life, the really essential life, the “reign of God.” (“Your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.”)
The first disciples were mired in the present moment. Most were poor. Like their contemporaries, they were living from day to day in a harsh world. (The cruel treatment of the servant in charge in the parable gives the reader a sense of the harsh realities of the world in which Jesus lived and from which he drew his stories.) And they were suffering. They may have been so absorbed in their present distress that they couldn’t look up to envision anything different in their future. Believing in Jesus’ return would help put daily life in perspective. The community faced daily struggle, persecution and the passing of its members, without seeing the victory of their faith. Nevertheless, Luke is telling them that the Lord will return. In the light of this hope, early Christians could look at their lives through the lens of expectation. He will come again.
If that is so, the seeming victories in modern society, especially in the first world, its pride, accomplishments and privileges for the few, are illusionary and temporary. The powerful and rich seem triumphant. Nevertheless the caring community of Jesus is called to be less anxious about its own welfare and more concerned about those in need. The comfortable and the competent are the ones who are really on shaky and insecure footing. For with the Lord’s return, their powerful rule will be revealed for the illusion it is. Jesus likens his return to a thief’s breaking into a house. It will come as a complete surprise to those not prepared for it, to those living in false security and distracted about other things.
While we wait, we servants have been put in charge, given responsibility. Our gaze isn’t distracted by a restless search for more possessions. (Remember the teaching last week on greed?) We realize that what we really need has been given us free of charge. “Don’t be afraid any longer little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the reign of God.” Freed from anxiety, even the striving we thought we had to do to gain God’s pleasure, we can turn our attention elsewhere and tend to the servants’ real concern—the care of the household. We attend diligently to those who suffer, are unloved, undergo injustice and who need guidance in learning the ways of God’s household. Remembering Jesus’ promise to return, also empowers the disciple in the struggles each of us face. Guided by today’s Word, we remember that even defeat is not the last word. It wasn’t for Jesus in Jerusalem and it won’t be for us who follow him there.
Are we so worn down by present concerns and stresses that we see little possibilities for the future? We conclude, things are the way they are and little feels like it can change. Can anyone break the cycle of daily routine that makes life such a drudgery? For example, there’s the “sandwich generation,” overworked parents who are squeezed in the middle by constant concerns for both their children and their elderly parents. A recent study found working mothers as the most stressed members of our society: sleep deprived, trying to balance both home and work schedules. What does this passage of expected return (and relief!) mean to them?... That the daily and necessary labors have meaning..... That the responsibilities that ask fidelity and perseverance are the very tasks that are in accord “with the master’s will”—as the parable puts it. We were cautioned previously about greed. But for these struggling servants, greed is not their concern as they try to remain faithful in the “second and third watch” of their stewardship. Not losing hope and seeing what they are doing as a form of discipleship might be more the issue for these hard working nuturers.
There are other servants, “further on down the road,” who also are called to keep vigilance in their discipleship. They are an older generation with different responsibilities, called to discipleship at another stage of their lives. I had dinner recently with a retired couple, with 35 grandchildren. They were still doing what they were doing 5 years ago when last I saw them—being faithful to their Christian calling. They attend church frequently; he is a eucharistic minster, she a lector. They visit a couple of shut-ins, older parishioners who can’t get to church too often. He belongs to a meditation group, she presides at weekly communion services. They continue their involvement in social issues: working to get local corporations to clean up groundwater pollution in their neighborhood and trying to close the School of the Americas in Georgia. Regardless of their age, they call themselves “involved disciples.” They say they have “widened the tent” of the Lord’s work. They don’t have to worry about the hour the Lord returns, as the figure has it, they have been faithful for the much that has been entrusted to them.
These parables are not meant to be an escape clause. We cannot shirk our responsibility as disciples with our gaze fixed on some future return of Jesus. “All will be taken care of in the next life.” Rather, we are called to tend to what is not well in this life. Jesus’ strong reminder that he will return like a thief who catches the unprepared, should keep us on our toes, focused on what occupied Jesus’ attention while he walked among us: healing the sick, welcoming strangers, eating with outcasts and forgiving wrongs done against us. We cannot succumb to a dualism that focuses on our destiny with God, while the current distress of the world God created in love goes unaddressed.
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it.
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
Meditations
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
I read Mark 10:1-22 (the man with great wealth). I imagine that I am the man who approaches Jesus with a question: ”What do I do to earn eternal life?” Am I sincere? Then I imagine His response to me: (keep the commandments). At that point, I look around and see all of His disciples watching this exchange. How do I feel? Can I honestly say, for example, that I have faithfully kept all of the commandments, which are telling me what NOT to do? But what a challenge when Jesus faces me with a challenge to go beyond avoiding sin, but to do something radical, something that would change my live forever! When Jesus goes a step further and tells me to sell all that I have, give the proceeds to the poor and follow Him, how do I respond? Why do I respond the way that I do? What attachments (is it money, family ties, work undone or something else) might hinder me in giving up everything to follow Jesus? What are my emotions at this point? I speak to Jesus about my inability to commit the whole way, and maybe ask for the strength to do a little bit more than I am doing. And I remember that Jesus loves me, no matter what choices I make.
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
Instead of merely lamenting the state of our culture’s moral decay, in a global indictment, pick just one way in which you have been negatively influenced by the values of contemporary culture (Remember, not everything in contemporary culture is bad or depraved). Resolve to choose the dictates of Christ rather than the dictates of society. At the end of the week, reflect on your success or failure in this endeavor. Have you tightened up any lose ends of your life?
Poetic Reflection:
Read the following poem by Mary Oliver. What are her priorities in this life?
“Messenger”
My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.
Poetic Reflection:
“In The Evening We Shall Be Examined On Love”
-St. John of the CrossAnd it won’t be multiple choice,
though some of us would prefer it that way.
Neither will it be essay, which tempts us to run on
when we should be sticking to the point, if not together.
In the evening there shall be implications
our fear will turn to complications. No cheating,
we’ll be told and we’ll try to figure the cost of being true
to ourselves. In the evening when the sky has turned
that certain blue, blue of exam books, blue of no more
daily evasions, we shall climb the hill as the light empties
and park our tired bodies on a bench above the city
and try to fill in the blanks. And we won’t be tested
like defendants on trial, cross-examined
till one of us breaks down, guilty as charged. No,
in the evening, after the day has refused to testify,
we shall be examined on love like students
who don’t even recall signing up for the course
and now must take their orals, forced to speak for once
from the heart and not off the top of their heads.
And when the evening is over and it’s late,
the student body asleep, even the great teachers
retired for the night, we shall stay up
and run back over the questions, each in our own way:
what’s true, what’s false, what unknown quantity
will balance the equation, what it would mean years from now
to look back and know
we did not fail.—Thomas Centolella (from Lights & Mysteries)
Closing Prayer
“A Story that will save us”
Tell us a story that will save us (and that will have been enough) all the great songs have been prayed save only one Tell us a story that will save us Go down Lord, & bring us home May our promises free us not chain us May what we desire fill us not entrap us May those persons we love finish us not bind us Go down Lord, & bring us home You are our history, Lord We neither begin nor end outside you May you be for us not weapon, not answer, but cause of peace May our questions show us not division but the smallness of human answers. Go down, Lord & bring us home May our words create Not destroy May our hands nurture Not break May our dreams lead and encourage us Not trap us in despair Go down, Lord & bring us home We are anxious about many things We are lost in many ways Go down, Lord & bring us home.
—Rev. Ed Ingebretzen, S.J.
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 3, 2025
A warning against consumerism and any kind of greed
Gospel: Luke 12: 13–21
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.
A warning against consumerism and any kind of greed
Luke 12: 13–21
Saying Against Greed
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Parable of the Rich Fool
Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
“He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Lord, you are my Good Shepherd. Keep me from wanting what I do not need. Help me to be generous with my. Time and my worldy possession, for they are only here on loan. I am only here on loan.
Companions for the Journey
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.
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
Meditations
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style:
(source unknown) Here’s the problem: it’s too easy for you and me to read this parable and think, Oh, that doesn’t apply to me, because I’m not rich. Let me give you some statistics on wealth and poverty in the world today. If you make 25,000 dollars a year, you are in the top ten per cent of the world’s most wealthy. If you own a house or a car, if you never have to worry where the next meal is coming from, if you have clean water, you’re in the top ten per cent. Did you know that there are over one billion people in the world who live on less than one dollar a day, and two billion who live on less than two dollars a day? Over 20,000 children die every day of starvation or preventable disease. If you’re not worried about your kids starving to death and you’re able to get them basic medical care, you are rich according to the standards of today. So this does apply to us, and this is not an isolated saying of Jesus. Jesus actually says a lot about wealth, a lot about riches. This is found over and over again, especially in the Gospel of Luke. So, the challenge for each of us is to determine what in our lives is truly necessary, what is comfortable, and what is downright excessive. Where can I loosen my grip on stuff, and tighten my grip on compassion and service?
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
I reflect on the dangers of wealth, how it can insulate us from the cares of this world, but also from caring about others. It can make us arrogant, callous, and cruel. It can make us anxious, selfish and greedy. No one who has money never has enough (Eccelsiastes). It can lead us to believe that we live by a different set of rules than the hoi polloi around us. It can lead us to put our happiness in things we acquire; getting and spending we lay waste our lives. How does the desire for wealth square with Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom?
(from Songs of Life: Psalm Meditations from the Catholic Community at Stanford p.94, by Anne Greenfield)
Meditation in the Auagustinian Style/Relationship:
I read Psalm 49: “In their riches, people lack wisdom; they are like beasts that are destroyed.” Do any of the verses in this psalm possibly refer to me? Rewrite this psalm in the first person and meditate on what needs to change in your life.
Literary Reflection:
Did you know there’s a character in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress named Little Faith? Little Faith was from the town of Sincere, and on his journey to the Celestial City he took a nap in a place called Dead Man’s Lane, which was the haunt of thieves and murderers. While napping there he was robbed by three thieves whose names were Faintheart, Mistrust, and Guilt. It was only through a man named Great Grace that Little Faith was rescued. Great Grace came and he chased the thieves away, the robbers who had stolen Little Faith’s spending money. They’d taken his money, but they didn’t get his most valuable jewels or his certificate for entering through the Celestial gate. But Little Faith was so discouraged by his losses that he failed to draw comfort from his most valuable assets.
Are you like Little Faith? Are you more anxious about financial needs than you are grateful for spiritual blessings? Do losses of temporal wealth so distress you that you’re unable to draw comfort from the Scriptures’ assurances of God’s love and care and faithfulness? Have faintheartedness and mistrust or unbelief or guilt robbed you of peace of mind? If so, then Jesus’ exhortations for you, little faith. He’s saying, don’t fret. Don’t be anxious. Your Father knows what you need; he cares for you; he will take care of you.
(By Brian Hedges, the lead pastor of Redeemer Church in Niles, Michigan)
Poetic Reflection:
How does this poem by Donald Justice reflect the theme of this gospel?
Incident in a Rose Garden (2)
The gardener came running,
An old man, out of breath.
Fear had given him legs.
Sir, I encountered Death
Just now among our roses.
Thin as a scythe he stood there.
I knew him by his pictures.
He had his black coat on,
Black gloves, a broad black hat.
I think he would have spoken,
Seeing his mouth stood open.
Big it was, with white teeth.
As soon as he beckoned, I ran.
I ran until I found you.
Sir, I am quitting my job.
I want to see my sons
Once more before I die.
I want to see California.
We shook hands; he was off.And there stood Death in the garden,
Dressed like a Spanish waiter.
He had the air of someone
Who, because he likes arriving
At all appointments early,
Learns to think himself patient.
I watched him pinch one bloom off
And hold it to his nose–
A connoisseur of roses–
One bloom and then another.
They strewed the earth around him.
Sir, you must be that stranger
Who threatened my gardener.
This is my property, sir.
I welcome only friends here.Death grinned, and his eyes lit up
With the pale glow of those lanterns
That workmen carry sometimes
To light their way through the dusk.
Now with great care he slid
The glove from his right hand
And held that out in greeting,
A little cage of bone.
Sir, I knew your father,
And we were friends at the end.
As for your gardener,
I did not threaten him.
Old men mistake my gestures.
I only meant to ask him
To show me to his master.
I take it you are he?
Closing Prayer
Jesus, help us to keep our priorities straight. Help us keep our eyes focused on you and on the needs of the kingdom, which are far beyond our own. Teach us to be content with the things we have, especially our relationship with you and our relationships with our friends and family. Even in times of financial distress or uncertainty, let us know that you will always be there for us, that you will not leave us to fend for ourselves alone. Give us gratitude for the good things we have and give us the wisdom not to seek that which is in excess or that which is ultimately not good for us. Teach us to be generous.
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 27, 2025
How and when to pray
Gospel: Luke 11: 1–13
How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy spirit to those who ask him?
How and when to pray
Luke 11: 1–13
He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”
Further Teachings on Prayer.
And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.
The Answer to Prayer.
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Lord, teach me to pray as you did, with utter trust in the father’s love and care. Help me to treat you, Lord, not as a dispenser of favors and punishments, but as a confidant and friend. Give me patience when the answers to my prayers are not what I expected. Help me to be open to messages I may not want to hear, but especially open to messages of concern and comfort. Please listen to my pleas on behalf of those who are suffering in any way. In short, Jesus, help me strengthen my relationship with you.
Companions for the Journey
From “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Today’s gospel has several segments, but they come under a general rubric: a teaching on prayer. What’s striking about the passage is something we might just take for granted—Jesus prayed. Jesus and his disciples are journeying to Jerusalem and he has told them that suffering awaits him and those who would follow him. Prayer is a major theme in Luke’s gospel and today we are reminded how important prayer was for Jesus. He was on familiar terms with God and the intimate way he spoke of God aroused the ire of his opponents. His disciples have heard how he has spoken about God, have seen him pray on numerous occasions and now ask him to teach them to pray. They must also have sensed how important prayer was in Jesus’ life.
They aren’t asking for a catalogue of prayers, an “approved list” of Jesus’ favorite prayers, or a list of required prayers that disciples should pray if they are to qualify being called Jesus’ disciples. They sense that the relationship Jesus has with God is unique and they want to learn about it and share in it. Jesus doesn’t disappoint them because the prayer he prescribes, “the Lord’s Prayer,” while exceptionally succinct, reveals the familial relationship he has with God. He wants to reveal and share this relationship with his followers.
First, he teaches them a prayer. It begins with Abba/Father. He is telling his disciples that for them, God is not a distant potentate, not a God on a smoking mountain somewhere. Rather, God is close, like a tender and loving parent. Jesus could have stopped right there, for he is not telling us some secret code name for God that, if we use it, will get us special favors. Rather, he is inviting his disciples to believe in the God he intimately knows, a God who is a close and loving parent, one who is bound to us and cares for us the way parents tend to and love a little child. What he revealed would have been enough for his disciples to learn and act upon. He has resealed the relationship we can have with God. He has opened a way for us to approach God in prayer with a sense of trust that, because of Christ, we too share in an intimate relationship with God. Jesus’ life was not without pain, disappointment and death; but he was sustained through it all by his faith in his Abba. That is what he is offering his disciples when he reveals his God to us. What follows is, as they say, “just a footnote,” to what he has just said.
The prayer Jesus teaches has brief statements that reflect what he has said about God: “When you pray, say Abba/Father, hallowed be your name.” So, believing what we do about God, we want God’s name to be hallowed. God is loving creator of us all and is holy. We want the rule of this loving God to be over all creation and all human affairs. May all life be guided by and obedient to God’s ways. Having praised and acknowledged the goodness and holiness of God, the prayer turns to naming our personal needs. What Jesus has told us about God enables us to pray with confidence that each day we will be given the bread we need—our “daily bread.” God is the One who can and will provide with what we truly need to live the life Jesus calls us to live.
Since we are still in the process of becoming disciples, we continue to fall short and so we pray for forgiveness for our sins. Because we have been forgiven we forgive those indebted to us. And, because we have not forgiven others we continue to ask for forgiveness. Followers of Christ who call upon God as he taught us to, are assured of forgiveness and there is no excuse for us not to do the same for those who have offended us. It is what God wants; it is what we pray to be able to do.
Along the way we notice that Jesus is teaching us to pray in the first person plural: “give us...forgive us...do not subject us....” The very prayer Jesus teaches us also reaffirms our unity with one another in Christ. Baptism has united us into a praying community and praying “the Lord’s Prayer” continues to strengthen the bonds that unite us. We pray as a community and at the Eucharist each member of the community is fed the same bread—the community’s daily bread.
The prayer ends with an acknowledgment. We know our fragility; we know how easily we give into daily temptation. How will we be sustained in both daily testing and “the final test”—at the end of time? The prayer Jesus teaches us in response to his disciples’ request, flows from what he says at the beginning, “When you pray, say Abba/Father.” It is as if he is saying, “Since your God is your loving parent, here is what you should pray about.” Notice how brief and general the prayer is? Even in the face of daily testing and “the final test,” we place our trust in the God Jesus has revealed to us. He encourages us to believe in our loving Parent. This God will not let us be swept away because of either small or ultimate testings.
The subsequent parable on prayer only reinforces what Jesus has already said—in case we didn’t get it! In the parable of the midnight visitor the peasant family has already retired for the night. The whole family would be asleep in one room and so they would have been disturbed by the inopportune knock on the door and the request for bread. The petitioner is shamelessly persistent and his needs are eventually met. Jesus is suggesting that since a neighbor would respond to a request for bread, even when asked at the wrong time and when the response would have been an inconvenience—how much more would “Abba” respond to the person who prays constantly? God will far exceed even what our “friend” and “neighbor” might do for us.
So we shouldn’t be ashamed to “ask,” “seek,” and “knock,” since we know the goodness of the One we asking, seeking and imploring. But Jesus isn’t teaching us how to pray for whatever we want. He continues his teaching, again reminding us of the One to whom we are praying. No loving parent would give a snake or a scorpion to a hungry child seeking a fish. Jesus’ example of a snake and scorpion is vivid, and we easily get the point. Our Parent knows what we need and will not give us anything that will harm us. Sometimes children reach out for what can hurt them, but a loving parent uses caution and wisdom to feed them what will truly nourish them. Jesus’ brief parables have driven home his teaching. Our God is not harsh or demanding, but is a loving Parent who gives us only what is good for us and is ready to respond when we ask: “How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?”
We are “seekers,” searching for God’s kingdom, yearning for it to come and hoping to recognize it when it comes into our daily lives. For that we need the Holy Spirit, for on our own we can readily miss what is of God. Luke’s gospel is a story about the Spirit: the Spirit brought Jesus into the world and filled him at his baptism. Jesus’ ministry demonstrated what a Spirit-filled and Spirit-directed life looks like. Jesus promises this same Spirit to his disciples and The Acts of the Apostles shows that when the Spirit descends on the community, they too begin to live the Spirit-filled life Jesus lived: the poor were cared for; the dead were raised; the blind and lame were healed; the crippled walked and three times, when the disciples were imprisoned, God opened their prison doors and set them free. The Spirit worked through the disciples to help them live Jesus’ life in the world. When the early church met opposition, it was the Spirit that sustained them and gave Paul and the other disciples the words to respond to their accusers.
Jesus ends his teaching on prayer by inviting us to ask God for the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit who will enable us to pray in the confident and trusting manner Jesus has taught us. Judging from the subsequent account in Acts, of the community’s life after Pentecost, it is also the Spirit who will be an assuring presence, encouraging us to seek and find the divine in our lives and helping us to make the world a place of love and justice for all people. It is the Spirit who moves us to pray and acts to bring about this kind of world when we pray, “Your kingdom come.”
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy spirit to those who ask him?
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
- Do I think of prayer as a real conversation with God?
How do I address God when I pray? - Have I ever found it hard to pray?
Do I find prayer difficult or intimidating? - Do I think there is a “right” way and a ”wrong” way to pray?
- What do I expect when I pray?
- Have I ever had an experience of a meaningful connection with Jesus, His Abba, The Spirit, Mary, or another saint in any prayer experience?
- Credo is translated I believe, and I trust. Both are elements of faith. In my prayer do I really trust God?
- How often do I pray from a communal stance (we us our) as opposed to a singular stance?
Do I pray for myself and my loved ones communally?
Do I pray for myself and my Church communally?
Do I pray for my country any myself communally? - “Give us today our daily bread” may actually mean that we should ask for the bare minimum of what we need, and not hoard to ourselves excess food and wordly goods. Do I agree or disagree?
- What do I hunger for?
What do I think the world hungers for?
What do we as Church hunger for?
What do my relationships hunger for? - What do I have to let go of to make room for what I really hunger for?
- In this parable about the neighbor, we see that he finally gives in, not out of compassion but just to make the supplicant go away.
Do I see God in that way, as someone we can wear down by persistence?
Do I read further and see that Jesus is saying the God is quite different, more loving and more careful? - Have I ever asked God for something and later discovered that if I had gotten what I wanted it would have been very bad for me?
Have I seen the wisdom and providence of God in my life?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
"Entering into contemplative prayer is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we "gather up" the heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us." "Contemplative prayer is the prayer of the child of God, of the forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome the love by which he is loved and who wants to respond to it by loving even more." "Contemplative prayer is the simplest expression of the mystery of prayer. In it the Father strengthens our inner being with power through his Spirit "that Christ may dwell in [our] hearts through faith" and we may be "grounded in love." "Contemplative prayer is hearing the Word of God. Far from being passive, such attentiveness is the obedience of faith, the unconditional acceptance of a servant, and the loving commitment of a child. It participates in the "Yes" of the Son becoming servant and the Fiat of God's lowly handmaid."(#2709-#2719 Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Centering Prayer is one method of prayer, which prepares us to receive the gift of God's presence, traditionally called contemplative prayer. (http://www.centeringprayer.com/) The Guidelines for Centering Prayer Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God's presence and action within. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God's presence and action within. When you become aware of thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.
(Submitted by Anne and Bill Werdel, from the parish bulletin of Sacred Heart Cathedral, Raleigh, NC)
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
Adapted from “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
At this time, our national response to the poor who cry out for daily bread in not good. Benefits have been cut back, the number of homeless is on the rise. "Give us this day our daily bread." We hear the poor crying out to God for help that we as a nation and as a Christian community should do something about. While the economy is again thriving for part of our society, the bishops of North Carolina note that, “we are still haunted by how the least among us are faring. There is too much poverty and too little economic opportunity for all our citizens. Our faith tradition as Catholics calls us to put the needs of the poor and the vulnerable before all else. In our job-oriented economy, this tradition is expressed in the security of gainful employment.”
Jesus said in the gospels: “Feed them yourselves”. What is my church community doing to deal with the issues of hunger and homelessness? Am I part of this project? Should I be? What about hunger for learning? How does my local community serve those with special needs or who have issues at home that make it impossible for them to concentrate, or study, or stay in school?
Poetic Reflection:
An honest prayer from Father Ed Ingebretzen, S.J.:
Our Father, who art in heaven and who are possible deaf: You hear our prayers; you see how impossibly weak they are— these words strung together, woven, stitched , knotted into shapes of futility. If our words were threads We’d dream of gold gowns But wake up wearing burlap. Lord, give us this day our daily hope Do you see? these hands once dreamed; our words once clothed kings.
Poetic Reflection:
Stubborn Prayer
(17th Sunday, Ordinary time)Sometimes we hate To pray either because our Mood will not allow us or because We are angry with God and have Also witnessed too many people Claiming too much or too little For prayer and those that Sell it or demean it seem Almost terminally angry And judgmental **** There may also be A wee bit of guilt about not Praying when we promised we Would and maybe even a kind of Spiritual fraud when we recite Words we do not even mean and Even sometimes we pretend by Giving marvelous speeches to The Father while trying to Hide our true selves From Him as if He Did not know Everything Anyway **** But Luke takes Away any excuses we might Try to invoke when he has Jesus Remind us that prayer must be Honest and communal and asking Without guile that His will be Done but maybe just maybe The most vital aspect is That we keep at it for All requests of the Divine must always Be made by a Stubborn Pray-er
—Father Michael Kennedy, S.J.
Further reading:
There is great and readable book by James Martin, S.J., called Learning to Pray. It is readable and very encouraging as well as informative. Highly recommended!
Closing Prayer
Teach me to go to this country beyond words and beyond names.
Teach me to pray on this side of the frontier, here where these woods are.
I need to be led by you.
I need my heart to be moved by you.
I need my soul to be made clean by your prayer. I need my will to be made strong by you.
I need the world to be saved and changed by you.
I need you for all those who suffer, who are in prison, in danger, in sorrow.
I need you for all the crazy people.
I need your healing hand to work always in my life.
I need you to make me, as you made your Son, a healer, a comforter, a savior.
I need you to name the dead.
I need you to help the dying cross their particular rivers.
I need you for myself whether I live or die.
It is necessary.
Amen.
—Thomas Merton (from A Book of Hours, Ave Maria Press, p. 67)
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 20, 2025
The first step in following Jesus is to listen to His word
Gospel: Luke 10: 38–42
Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.
The first step in following Jesus is to listen to His word
Luke 10: 38–42
Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
"Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me."
The Lord said to her in reply,
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her."
Music Meditations
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Adapted from Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
Lord, I so often identify with Martha, because she is doing what needs to be done, and accomplishing good things. Help me, Lord, to see that sometimes it is better to be than to do. Keep me from settling for what satisfies me and makes me feel justified, and give me the grace to want only what You want.
Companions for the Journey
From “First Impressions” 2007,a service of the Southern Dominican Province,written by Father Jude Siciliano, O.P.:
Jesus and his disciples continue their journey to Jerusalem. Along the way with them we meet various groups of people: the crowds, who are drawn by their own desperate needs or are curious about the spectacle; the “teachers of the law,” who are growing more and more hostile; Jesus’ disciples, enthusiastic but confused because of Jesus’ talk of his coming passion. Just prior to today’s Martha and Mary story a lawyer “tested” Jesus about who constituted “neighbor,” and last week we heard Jesus’ response in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Have Jesus’ followers and antagonists really been listening to what he has been saying? Have we? Today we have a story of someone who shows respect for Jesus and sets an example for us by listening to his word.
The Martha and Mary account is only found in Luke and so we would expect to find in it and the surrounding accounts, typical Lucan touches. For example, typical of Luke, it features women ministering and listening to Jesus. Also, the story is situated between action and prayer: the preceding story of the Good Samaritan encapsulates the ideal of Christian love and service; while the following account after the Martha and Mary one, has some of Jesus’ teaching about prayer. Are we listening to the cumulated message of these narratives? Does it take prayer to help us discern and follow-through on our call to serve others in need? Will prayer help us recognize the needy so that we not “walk on by on the other side,” as the religious leaders did to the man who had been set upon by bandits? The stories of the Good Samaritan, Mary and Martha and the teaching on prayer are intimately related--- they are of a piece.
What a relief it must have been for Jesus to be “welcomed” by Martha. This is Martha’s only appearance in Luke. Martha’s sister Mary is also in the story and she sits at Jesus’ feet to hear him speak---literally, to “listen to his word.” To sit at someone’s feet was to acknowledge his or her authority. Thus, Mary treats Jesus as one sent with an authoritative word, a prophet. Martha is often described as “the heavy” in this story---the one who is fretting and bossy. But initially, at least, she is the hospitable one who welcomes Jesus and tries to do much to follow-up on her hospitality. Since Jesus is journeying to Jerusalem with his disciples, I wonder if they weren’t close by. If so, Martha had much to do and could be overwhelmed with work and feel abandoned by her sister.
Jesus tells Martha that she is “anxious and worried” about many things. Luke Timothy Johnson (SACRA PAGINA, page 174) says that in the original these terms suggest: being “anxious” about the entanglements of life in the world and “making an uproar.” Johnson goes on to say that Jesus’ response, “there is a need for only one thing,” had been variously interpreted. Some say Jesus is suggesting she could have served fewer dishes, just “one” of a “few.” But Johnson thinks Jesus is responding to the virtue of hospitality, that is, the importance of paying attention to the guest. That’s what’s important. Everything else is secondary. So, Mary made the right choice. Mary’s way of being hospitable was not only to welcome the Prophet in their home but to also listen to his words. She has done what people should do---listen to the one who speaks God’s word---”the one thing necessary.”
Which makes us ask ourselves: how do we offer hospitality to the prophets? How open are we to hearing from the “guests” among us, our God speaking to us? A guest comes from the outside world. They bring us a presence and a perspective we don’t ordinarily get because we are immersed in our daily routine, companions and usual thought patterns. When someone speaks from a different world view, or another perspective on daily life, our first response is to put up barriers; we feel our borders threatened. It is an act of faith and trust in the Spirit within us to pay attention to what we hear and see and to reflect on it. We can sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to his words just by being more attentive to those around us; especially those who are from the “outside,” who initially act and speak in ways foreign to us. Before we bolt the door of our minds and hearts, we might practice hospitality and openness. Who knows what we might hear? Who knows what riches we might experience? Who knows, we might even be welcoming the Prophet---the one sent by God with a word for us disciples.
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.
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
Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
Literary Reflection:
What does the Poet E. E. Cummings have to say about how we humans spend our time in this life, mostly to make “progress” of some sort?
pity this busy monster, manunkind, not. Progress is a comfortable disease: your victim (death and life safely beyond) plays with the bigness of his littleness --- electrons deify one razorblade into a mountainrange; lenses extend unwish through curving wherewhen till unwish returns on its unself. A world of made is not a world of born --- pity poor flesh and trees, poor stars and stones, but never this fine specimen of hypermagical ultraomnipotence. We doctors know a hopeless case if --- listen: there's a hell of a good universe next door; let's go
Poetic Reflection:
Father Michael Kennedy S.J., who has been a pastor at Mission Dolores Parish in Los Angeles, muses on what Martha actually did contribute to this story:
Martha Stalwart
(16th Sunday Ordinary time) The two sisters Martha and Mary are Examples used by Luke to Remind us that that the attitude Of Jesus toward women was truly Remarkable in the first century And even not common today Among our modern cavemen But there is more than one Point the author wants to Make so that the listener Or the reader will See a new side of The Master **** There is the lesson That this first century Woman was able to be at The feet of Jesus just Like any male disciple and This would be a great shock To all who heard the story But it clearly describes the View of Jesus toward women And which Luke more than any Other Gospel writer clearly Shows in the rest of his Work for it is at the Core of who Jesus Really is **** And the other point That is underlined by Jesus is That He listens to Mary’s sister And does not call her out about her Whining but rather points out that She and all disciples need to listen To the Word of Jesus and so Probably she got the message And gave her attention to Jesus so much that after This day perhaps she Was forever known As Martha Stalwart
Poetic Reflection:
Another amusing, but true, perspective from Father Michael Kennedy on Mary and Martha:
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happenstance
(16th Sunday Ordinary time) Just about everyone Has relatives or friends Who almost never help When real help is needed And use some partly true Allegation to worm their Way out of some task or To get out of doing jobs That are too hard for Their precious Hands or their Fragile egos **** But to see this In the Martha and Mary Story is reading back just From our own perspective as We see Martha as offended By the Master and Mary as The lazy sister who is Praised for her simple Adoration when the Truth of the story is Remarkably and Wonderfully Different **** The Lord would Never put down Martha For doing hospitality nor Over praise Mary for Focusing on him for The message is just That if he is at the Core then it makes Little difference Whether we serve like Martha or stare with Enchanted eyes we Still will be doing his Will and both will be Conscious decisions Not a loose pursuit Of life, liberty and The pursuit of Happenstance
Closing Prayer
Jesus, Did you ever feel the fierce force the push the pull of days and nights that were far too full of people and programs you thought willed by one whose way must be fulfilled? When at the end of a difficult day with barely time to pause and pray before the crowds began to press upon you did you also bless each God-given opportunity? If so, Jesus, remember me.
(Winter, Sister Miriam Therese, Womanword 126-127)