Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
I recently returned from Honduras where I went on a mission trip with a group of University of Dayton students. One day we had the opportunity to visit with a Honduran family at their home. Their house consisted of a very small one room building made of clay. The home had no windows, no water, no electricity, dirt floors, a stove without a chimney, no indoor bathrooms, and very few pieces of furniture. As we talked with this family, they displayed a genuine pride in their home and contentment with their life even in the midst of their meager existence. Today’s readings remind us that material things can sometimes be distractions taking us away from what is truly valuable in our lives. We are reminded that we should find our wealth in God, His mercy, and the salvation that He brings to us.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
When one sees devastation like we have seen in Moore, Oklahoma, it can be very difficult to sit before God without feeling frustrated and terribly sad. It is often very hard to reconcile the greatness of God with the utter misery and pain caused by natural disasters. “Why could God not have stopped such destruction?” that is often our question. Sometimes it is not uncommon for people to get angry with God. In our minds, only God is more powerful than the power of nature. It does not make sense that a compassionate, loving and good God does not positively intervene to stop utter devastation.
Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
As we come to the end of James’s letter that we have been following for some time now, we see that St. James wraps up the letter with an exhortation to his fellow Christians. What we notice about his ending plea is that all things are to be brought to God – sufferings, good spirits, sickness, and sinfulness. This is, however, not possible by ourselves. In order to pray in our sufferings (Jas 5:13), we have to learn how to pray. In order sing a song of praise (Jas 5:13), we have to have been taught such a song. The role of our fellow Christians becomes even more obvious in the last two: the role of presbyters (priests) and our fellow Christians is made explicit (Jas 5:14, 19).
Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Joel and I had lunch with a friend this week who is moving to another state to start a new job. We'll be very sorry not to have him close by: he's been one of those true friends that Sirach speaks about today (Sirach 6:5-17). Talk about testing! He's been there for us from the time of our move to Dayton to when Joel lost his job through the birth of one of our children and so on. And he's always been one of those friends you can call at any time for any kind of help. We try to be that kind of friend to him as well.
Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings are demanding in many ways. We are warned of putting off conversion and being caught on “the day of wrath.” Jesus advises that “if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.” But the deepest challenge of today’s readings isn’t simply about looming wrath or very difficult demands, their deepest challenge (and gift) lies in their juxtaposition of God’s mercy and wrath, gift and demand.
Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Every person is made in the image and likeness of God. Also, every person has been given a set of gifts that are given to them for the benefit of the others. So why is it then that we think we have a right to block others from using their God given gifts? Have you ever heard someone say to another disciple, I would not minister in that manner? There are of course many valid reasons to draw limits. However, the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few.
Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Scripture Readings
I am in India these days. It has been about two weeks since I arrived here. My niece's convocation is over and my brother's family have left. I am at home with mom and dad and enjoying time with them. Yet, I am longing to back to ordinary life. I want to get back to my regular life in Dayton. I want back the ordinary. This experience of mine comes at a time when in the life of the church too we are entering the Ordinary time in the Church. With Pentecost behind us, we are now in the Ordinary time of the liturgical year.
Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
In facing the most challenging situations of life, usually after exhausting our own personal efforts and expertise, we'll often say or hear the words, "all we can do now is pray." There's an altogether positive and healthy sense of surrender in that statement- acknowledging that the outcome is ultimately in the hands of God. However, if we were completely honest with ourselves, there might also be a sense of hopelessness is this statement- perhaps because it's often said in seemingly hopeless situations or because we begin with the worlds "all we can do", as if it's incomplete or should be supplemented with something more. Yet, as disciples- as prayerful disciples- prayer is not a last resort, but a first necessity. As disciples, we recognize the power of prayer.
Pentecost Sunday
On this the Feast of Pentecost, if there is a fact that today’s readings are suggesting, it is this: that Christianity is dependent upon the presence of the Holy Spirit. In today’s second reading from the letter to the Corinthians Paul says, “No one can say, “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:3b). In today’s gospel passage, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit on the apostles and gives them the authority both to forgive or retain sins. (Jn 20:20). In other words, forgiveness of sin is impossible without the power of the Holy Spirit. There are other instances of absolute reliance on the Holy Spirit for Christian living. In Romans 8:26 Paul would say, “…for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.” Paul is suggesting that the very desire to pray is itself a work of the Holy Spirit. It is possible, then, that the our desire to be in church for worship today is the work of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament the very first stirrings of what would finally become Christianity, originated with the power of the Spirit in the womb of a virgin. We can compile a long list of other instances in the Bible where the role of the Holy Spirit is crucial to a life of faith.
Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter
My kids are, to put it mildly, chatterboxes. If they're not saying something, they're singing it, and if they're not singing something, they're shouting it. They chatter about everything and nothing: the color of the grass, what they are eating for breakfast at that moment ("Yes, I SEE that you are eating cereal!"), what they want to play with that day, what their sibling did to them, what they think I've done that is unfair, and so on. Their constant chatter is my constant background noise - and like most background noise, I often tune it out till I hear something - a bang, a thump, a cry - that lets me know I better sit up and pay attention because something has happened that needs my full attention.
Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Have you ever played the “guess how much I love you” game with a child? I remember the loving competition when my children were young, each of us trying to outdo the other in declaring our love. “I love you more than I can say”, “well, I love you more than the whole world,” “ I love you bigger than the sky!” As I seem to recall, they were usually stumped when I would finally say, “I loved you before you were even born.”
Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Good-byes are often not very easy. Sometimes they are of our own choosing and sometimes they are choices are made on our behalf. The challenge can be to allow the Spirit to use all of these situations to help us and those connected with that choice to build up the Kingdom. This often can be easier said than done. When the times get tough, do we turn toward or away from God.
Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
This week, our family has some friends staying with us – friends who have seen us through first jobs, marriage, lean economic years, children, deaths of parents and grandparents and so on. Though we live far apart, we still call each other, and call ON each other.
Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
When I read the today’s Gospel passage I was reminded of a little book I read number of years ago entitled Sleeping With Bread (written by Denis, Sheila, and Matthew Linn). It talks about the spiritual power of gratitude and the benefits of the daily practice of reviewing one’s day in light of God’s grace. I initially picked up the book as I was intrigued by the title. It seems during WWII many young children were displaced from their homes or orphaned and were placed in refugee camps. These children had been deeply traumatized—abandoned, fearing for their lives and not knowing where their next meal would come from. Many of them experienced such fear at night they could not fall asleep. Someone came up with the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold on to as they went to sleep. In this way the child would go to sleep remembering they had had enough food to eat that day, at the same time knowing they would have food the next day as well. This simple act had a wondrous effect for those little children.
Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
(Fr. Satish is on visiting home in India. This homily was preached three years ago on the Feast of the Ascension)On some tired nights I go to Caribou Cafe and sip a latte. Of late, I have noticed that the glass windows at caribou Cafe have writings on them. The company has discovered a neat way to advertise – it has put rather noble sayings along with statements that promote their products on these glass windows. Last week, I picked up this paper napkin. It says, ‘Life is too short: for grudges, fake anything, putting profits before people, over-roasted coffee, waiting for a change to happen, crabby people and wifi you have to pay for!’ On the walls there are other suggestions – ‘Adopt an animal; donate blood’. This is a very clever advertising strategy. If a company puts moral statements along with its advertising, people are inclined to have a positive image of the company. But I think that something even deeper is happening on these glass windows and napkins. Either intentionally or unintentionally, the company is also proposing a particular world-view. It is a world without grudges, dishonesty, and unethical business; it is a world where people are good to animals and stay away from bad people. There is only one problem with this world view as I see it – you don’t need God in this world view. Spirituality, in this world-view, has nothing to do with the divine. Rather, God who created the world, has no place in the Caribou world. In fact, there is whole generation of people out there – people disenchanted with the church, those that dislike religious restrictions, young people disillusioned with the establishment – who find this world-view very attractive and liberating.
Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
In a little more than a week we will celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, when the disciples receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who makes them into the Body of Christ. This feast is the conclusion of the fifty days of the Easter season. For now, we continue to celebrate the great mystery of Easter.
Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Scripture Readings
Like many this week, I have been astounded and relieved and overjoyed at the freedom for the three women freed from captivity in Cleveland. Also like many, I have asked the question: "How can this be? How can these things have remained hidden?" Many of the neighbors have commented on frustration with themselves, wondering if there was something - anything - that might have given a clue. And for most of them, there just wasn't anything at all, but it doesn't stop them, or any of us, from wondering at moments like this: "Could I have done something differently?"
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Today’s gospel passage (John 16: 16-20) reminds me of a time with my children when they were younger. I was preparing to leave for a weeklong trip out of the country, the longest and furthest I had ever been away from them, and they needed some reassurance. They had some questions and didn’t fully understand my leaving. I tried to explain where I was going, although since they had never been out of the country, or even flown on a plane, it was difficult for them to grasp. I tried to reassure them that I would be back, that they would see me again in a little while, but they felt anxious about my departure, possibly unsure about my return, and they asked if they could come with me. I tried to prepare them the best I could, but it was a new experience for them that they didn’t fully understand and certainly weren’t happy about what may have seemed to them like being abandoned.
Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Reverence is a word I find easier to describe than to define. Reverence can be experienced in many places. Adoration is an experience that first comes to mind in thinking about reverence. By placing ourselves before the Blessed Sacrament, we can experience the presence of the risen Lord in way that is beyond explanation.
Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Although being able to hear is an amazing gift, I have noticed that much of our daily living is filled with lots of noise. There is the television where the sound level goes up even higher during the commercials. There are the car radios blasting so loud that at times it rocks the car next to it. And then there are the cell phones buzzing, chirping and ringing. When you add to this the normal noises of people talking, babies crying, machines cranking it is hard to find a place of silence to hear the voice of God. Today’s readings remind us that sometimes it is important to get away from the busyness of life and go to places where we can allow the Spirit to open our minds and speak His words of love and courage.