Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
"What are you going to do with it?" is a question I find myself asking fairly often. My 5-year-old and 4-year-old will come and ask for some of the craziest things. I often want to know their intent before I give them a thing. I'm afraid of them using a gift poorly. The blind man in today's Gospel shows us a gift used well.
Upon encountering Jesus and asking for his sight, the blind man finds himself healed. As immediately as his healing took place he fixed his eyes on Jesus. The passage tells us that, "He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God." This passage invites us to ponder two principles of receiving gifts from God well.
One, all gifts should turn our eyes back to the giver. The often-used analogy is that of a newly engaged couple. If the engagement ring is the true object of love and not the giver of the engagement ring, we would likely think that something is amiss in that relationship. Likewise, we should seek to ensure that God's gifts do not become stumbling blocks in our relationship, but instead, they should be objects that draw our affection toward God and lead us to glorify God, follow Jesus, and rely on the Spirit.
Two, How we respond to our gifts bears witness. The blind man could have simply taken the gift of his sight and gone back to begging. Worse yet, he began to use his new sight for irreputable affairs, such as stealing. In that case, then those who witnessed the healing would not have been brought to faith, but to doubt. They would have found Jesus' understanding of people wholly insufficient to this day. We bear the burden of making wise use of our gifts so that we may show the Lord's wisdom in providing for the others.
Today ponder Jesus' words to the blind man, "what would you have me do for you"? Explore your answers honestly and paying enough to ensure you have all that I need.
- Spencer Hargadon
Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Gospel ends with a rattling question - “When the Son of Man comes - will he find faith on earth?” This question makes me stop and pause. When the son of man comes, what will he find? If he were to come today, I think he would be saddened and disappointed by what he would find - divisiveness, name-calling, fighting, death, fear, anxiety, apathy and so much more. But would he find faith?
Friday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
“Be like the sunflower that follows every movement of the sun, and keep your eyes always turned towards our good God.” As I sit here reflecting on the readings this evening, the sun is setting out my window and this quote from St. Julie Billiart keeps reverberating in my thoughts. This summer, following the Memorial Day tornadoes, being surrounded by constant reminders of the devastation, we did everything we could to instill new life and energy in our environment. One of the things we did was to plant several sunflower seeds in the landscaping bed by our driveway where we had a large pine tree uprooted and leaning against the house from the might and energy of the storm. Over the course of the following month, we watched as a series of sprouts emerged and grew to eight beautiful sunflowers towering over the struggling bed of shrubs and mulch. I was struck by the beauty of the sunflowers, while the sunflowers reveled at the beauty of the sun. Each morning, as I departed for work, the sunflowers faced the East toward the sunrise; every evening, as I returned home, they had shifted their sight to the West as the sun was approaching the horizon. Our first reading today reminds us of the source of this goodness and beauty:
Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Today's first reading from the book of Wisdom (7: 22b-8:1) is a beautiful, poetic writing about the nature of Wisdom, which is usually identified as the Spirit of God, that provides insight into what might be called the feminine dimensions of God. Here is just a taste of it: “For she is an aura (also translated as breath) of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty...For she is fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars.”
Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin
About a month ago, I suffered a traumatic injury to my mouth. I was trimming tree branches in the yard when suddenly a long, sturdy, elastic branch swung up with great force and caught me on the chin. I’ll spare you the gory details, but the blow caused significant damage to my chin, upper front teeth, and lips. Thankfully my dentist was able to see me quickly, and he restored a dislodged tooth to its proper spot, bonded loose teeth, and stitched a gash in my lower lip. God worked through his hands to begin the work of restoration. Thanks to God’s mercy, my lips and chin healed much more quickly than I would have imagined. I’ve been gushing gratitude ever since for God’s protection, healing, and loving care.
Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
In the six verses that precede the reading from Luke for today, Jesus gives instructions to his disciples about how to follow him. The first takes the form of a warning: do not become an obstacle or stumbling block to someone else’s faith. In other words, don’t do anything that might encourage someone else to turn away from God. If I give someone else reason to doubt God or I encourage them in some way to sin and, thus, be in wrong relationship to God, I am a stumbling block to their faith. The second is a call to hold accountable the brother or sister who sins and, even more, to forgive them no matter how many times they sin so long as they repent each time. That could mean enduring a whole lot of someone else’s sinning and offering up a whole lot of forgiveness to boot!
Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop
So this all started very differently. I thought I knew everything I wanted to say and had all my transitions plotted out. Then I reached Jesus' words on forgiveness and it all got derailed. Instead of talking about trust, and discipline, and knowledge I want to share the most helpful visual I've ever received on why we struggle to forgive. Jesus sets a high standard for forgiveness and we are usually on board with it but let's talk about when we are not.
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Water is an amazing part of creation- a substance which we cannot live without, although we often take water for granted. Today’s readings describe water as it flows and gives life to all things. Just like water, God’s Spirit flows out and gives life, allowing God to have a dwelling place within all of creation. Just as we need water to survive physically, the Spirit provides the life that we require to be disciples of Christ. It is through the presence of the Spirit within us that we become temples of God-His holy dwelling. We are called to be like water- flowing out into the world to bring new life and abundant blessings through the work of the Spirit within us.
Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
I was tempted to avoid today’s gospel passage from Luke, The Parable of the Dishonest Steward, and reflect instead on the first reading, but it called out to me as too important to ignore. Both confusing and challenging, it seems to demand that we take account of how we are using or “spending” our time, talent, and treasure. Maybe even questioning what it is that we truly treasure.
Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
As I read today’s gospel about the parable of the lost sheep and coin, I couldn’t help but relate to the feelings the shepherd and the woman must have felt when each found the lost sheep or lost coin. I remember vividly the paralyzing feeling I had years ago when I lost my three-year old daughter for several minutes at the 2nd Street Market. I had asked her to throw something away in the garbage can which was directly behind her while I turned to feed a snack to her baby sister. When I turned around she was gone. As each second passed, the panic set in. Hundreds of horrible thoughts ran through my mind. As I wandered around the market for what seemed like an eternity (probably a total of 3 minutes), I finally spotted her carefully throwing away her trash in the only garbage can she remembered, which was about 20 to 30 yards away. Pure joy and relief came over me when I saw her. I ran and hugged her!
Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Love is the fulfillment of the law. Period. End of discussion. Enough said. That’s really all we need to reflect upon today. LOVE is the fulfillment of the law. This statement from St Paul in our first reading summarizes our life in Christ. I encourage you to return to the first reading from Romans and read it slowly, prayerfully, meditatively. If you practice Lectio Divina, I invite you to engage the text in that way. Spend some time in whatever way feels right to you, reading the passage several times. Read it out loud at least once. I sense the Holy Spirit wanting to spend time with each of you, each in your own way, with this scripture. I’ll offer just a couple thoughts, praying that they become jumping off points for your own reflection and prayer.
Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
One thing that some Christians like to think about is how we get to heaven. Who gets in? What do they have to say, do, or believe to be allowed in? Is it all about who we know (Jesus), or what Sacraments we’ve had? A disciple of Jesus says in today’s Gospel as he enjoys a meal with Him says, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” Maybe this person was complimenting the meal they just had, or maybe he was looking forward to the fulfillment of the Kingdom. We don’t know, but what is clear is Jesus’s answer: The Kingdom of God is going to be like a great dinner party. The thing that we can sometimes forget about God is that the Divine Will shall be accomplished whether we help or not. When the Lord says there will be a party, you can bet that it will happen. For you and I, our parties will not happen unless the people we invite show up. God is not okay with that arrangement. The Kingdom is something to celebrate; if those who are invited first don’t show up, God will find someone else with whom to celebrate. The party can’t be stopped!
Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus instructs us to invite the poor, crippled, blind and lame when we have a banquet. As I thought about this passage, this message seems so far from my real life experiences. I find it difficult in the midst of busy schedules to gather with family, friends and neighbors, so how am I to put into practice what Jesus is suggesting. I think that there is a broader meaning to this teaching. It seems that Jesus is calling us to be generous with our hospitality, compassion, charity, and healing with all people- not just those who are able to reciprocate our giving. Jesus is calling us to give without expectation to all those that we meet, so we can imitate His giving and love.
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
We recently met with my son’s teacher for a conference. In it, we talked about some successes and some challenges. The biggest challenge she sees for my son right now is his constant desire to try to fit in. As is appropriate for his age, he is attempting to figure out who he is and what group of friends he belongs to and where he fits. In the conference, I was sad for my son, not because I want to take this all away, for it is an essential part of growing up, but because I remember navigating those same challenges myself.
Solemnity of All Saints
When I was a kid, I was infatuated with sports; I loved to play sports, watch sports, and learn about professional athletes of different sports. I collected trading cards of professional athletes. I sorted them, memorized the stats, and studied the fun facts about each player. My parents purchased us a subscription to Sports Illustrated for Kids; I would read the magazine cover to cover every month, soaking in all of the stories and details from the world of sports. The magazine usually came with a small poster of a popular athlete, many of which I would then hang on the wall of my bedroom. I would search the local library for biographies about professional athletes. I wanted to read the stories of their life and rise to fame and success. I immersed myself in the lives of my favorite players, even to the extent that I dreamed of becoming a professional football player one day (despite my scrawny physical stature and average athletic skills). I wanted to be like Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, or Curtis Martin. They were some of the superstars of the sports world.
Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
There are many images of Jesus: Jewish man and carpenter; a healer and forgiver of sins; one who could fish and laugh with his friends and captivate a crowd with his words; the crucified and risen Lord with pierced hands and feet; the judge sitting at the right hand of his father in heaven.
Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
I was so excited when I opened the scriptures and saw that my assignment comes from Romans 8! Verses 26-39 have long been powerful, defining, guiding truths for me. Obviously, the entire Word of God functions that way, but perhaps you’re like me and certain key passages have been especially formative for you. As I opened my Bible just now, I flashed back to my growing up at First Presbyterian Church, Manhattan, Kansas. A spectacular organ graces the sanctuary. The focal point of this breathtakingly beautiful instrument is a vibrant figure framed by scripture. You can view a photo of it here. Starting from the bottom left and moving clockwise, the scriptures flow: In the beginning God . . . To you is born . . . Glory to God in the highest . . . On earth peace . . . Neither death nor life can separate us from the love of God. That final phrase comes from Romans 8:38-39. I’m jumping ahead from today’s text, but that declaration summarizes today’s passage. As a child, teen, young adult, Sunday after Sunday, these truths embedded themselves within me as I sat in church and gazed upon God’s Word. Great power exists in making declarations from God’s Word. That’s the focus of my reflection today.
Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
I was recently with a family holding their newborn son. They invited me to pray with them in thanksgiving for their child. When I asked is there anything they specifically want to pray about? The mother responded, “I would like to thank God for sending us a child when we thought we could not have one. I would also like to God that the baby is healthy.” Then to my surprise, she said, “One other thing, that God allowed me to use even the pain of childbirth to praise God.” We prayed as a family in the back of Church, but I could not stop thinking about her pain connected to praise.
Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
When we have a big decision to make we sometimes say, “Let me get back to you, I need to sleep on it.” Jesus, in today’s gospel, would not be impressed by our conventional wisdom. Luke’s gospel tells us that Jesus went up the mountain to pray and “spent the night in prayer.” For Jesus, having a decision that you sleep on would be inadequate. While I don’t think that Jesus is calling us to insomnia, there are a few thought-provoking implications that come from this passage.
Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
I have the wonderful opportunity to accompany 50 pre-med and pre-dental students on a medical service trip to Panama in January. As part of the class they take to prepare for our trip, we are discussing the importance of reflection and the need for inner work to be done to bring our best selves to those we will work with while on our trip. Today’s gospel reminds us that it is essential for us to spend time and effort focusing on our own flaws and gifts instead of noticing only the errors of others. We need to “cultivate” our own ground in order to be fertile soil for Christ to grow in our lives.