Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Who we are...
BAD HABITS are NOT who we ARE but rather, they're what we've done and can choose not to do and do differently in the future! 1 John 3:1-3
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Ascension Parallels to Graduation
One of the books that we've been reading, reflecting, and exploring during the Easter Season is The Acts of the Apostles. The title of this book quite easily could have been The History of the Early Church, The First Followers, Principles of our Faith or some other clever title, but it's not! The key is Acts the book is about how the Apostles and first believers lived out the faith and it is meant to strengthen and encourage us, the Church today, to live out our faith to the fullest.
Ascension Readings
When it comes to living out our faith we can react or live like many high school and college graduates. We are in the season of grads and speaking of grads, it seems that we tend to get 3 types of graduates. First are the ones who say "we're done and not looking back," the second say, "I'm moving on to the next phase of my life," in a very status quo kind of way, and then lastly we have those who upon graduation go forth in a very passionate and excited way ready to tackle life and do great things. In our faith there are some who come to Church on Sunday to simple check off the obligation box for the week, while others know their faith matters but are not that active and then there are those who like a passionate and excited graduate will go forward to actively live out their faith. The active living or participation in our fatih is the goal, ideal, and key to living the Christian life to the fullest.
At this juncture between Ascension and Pentencost where do you find yourself in regards to actively living out your faith? What gifts or fruits of the Holy Spirit do find to be present and active in your life now? What gifts or fruits of the Holy Spirit do you need to pray about or access more in your life? We are meant to live our faith to the fullest, to ACT upon our faith, may the commissioning of Christ to go forward to make disciples in His name and the strengthening of the Holy Spirit be with us to help us live the faith we are called to live.
The 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
1. Wisdom
2. Understanding
3. Knowledge
4. Counsel
5. Piety
6. Fortitude
7. Wonder & Awe/Fear of the Lord
Derived from Isaiah 11:1-3
Ascension Readings
When it comes to living out our faith we can react or live like many high school and college graduates. We are in the season of grads and speaking of grads, it seems that we tend to get 3 types of graduates. First are the ones who say "we're done and not looking back," the second say, "I'm moving on to the next phase of my life," in a very status quo kind of way, and then lastly we have those who upon graduation go forth in a very passionate and excited way ready to tackle life and do great things. In our faith there are some who come to Church on Sunday to simple check off the obligation box for the week, while others know their faith matters but are not that active and then there are those who like a passionate and excited graduate will go forward to actively live out their faith. The active living or participation in our fatih is the goal, ideal, and key to living the Christian life to the fullest.
At this juncture between Ascension and Pentencost where do you find yourself in regards to actively living out your faith? What gifts or fruits of the Holy Spirit do find to be present and active in your life now? What gifts or fruits of the Holy Spirit do you need to pray about or access more in your life? We are meant to live our faith to the fullest, to ACT upon our faith, may the commissioning of Christ to go forward to make disciples in His name and the strengthening of the Holy Spirit be with us to help us live the faith we are called to live.
The 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
1. Wisdom
2. Understanding
3. Knowledge
4. Counsel
5. Piety
6. Fortitude
7. Wonder & Awe/Fear of the Lord
Derived from Isaiah 11:1-3
But a shoot shall
sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The
spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of
understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and
of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by
appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide.
Fruits of the Spirit:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control
Galatians 5:19-26
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality,
impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of
envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Sacraments Building Community
What
are the names of the sacraments that serve to build up communion in the Church?
Someone
who is baptized and confirmed can receive moreover a special mission in the
Church in two special sacraments and thus be enlisted in the service of God:
Holy Orders and Matrimony.
The
two sacraments have something in common: They are directed to the good of
others. No one is ordained just for himself, and no one enters the married
state merely for his own sake. The sacrament of Holy Orders and the sacrament
of Matrimony are supposed to build up the People of God; in other words, they
are a channel through which God pours out love into the world.
What
happens in Holy Orders?
The
man who is ordained receives a gift of the Holy Spirit that gives him a sacred
authority that is conferred upon him by Christ through the bishop.
Being a priest does not mean just assuming an
office or a ministry. Through Holy Orders a priest receives as a gift a
definite power and a mission for his brothers and sisters in faith. (YOUCAT
questions 248 & 249)
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
CALLED - Discern & Ask!
In social media we see all sorts of signs, pictures, and because of Twitter and other social media that causes us to say a lot with a little, new acronyms and words have popped up, some have actually become words in the dictionary. Some of these acronyms are now common place like LOL (Laugh Out Loud) or TTYL (Talk To You Later), while there are others that are more recent like, TBT (Throw Back Thursday), but at the end of the day these messages that are being sent out, must be discerned to know what they mean.
4th Sunday of Easter readings (A)
This sort of discernment is what we must do in our relationship with God. God gives us messages and signs everyday; some are obvious and others are not. In order to communicate with God we must always engage in prayer and practice The Gifts of the Holy Spirit in our life which help us to be attuned to God's presence. Sometimes when we receive a message it might need further reflection or thought, in other words, discernment to understand what God is telling or asking of us. Discernment is an everyday (24/7/365) operation in the Christian life, it never stops, sometimes the discerment can be about simple everyday events, sometimes about major decisions or life choices such as our vocation. Whatever the case is, the Gospel is quite clear that Jesus calls us by name which means everyday (admit it or not) the truth is, we are being called!!! We are His sheep and are called to listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd.
Listening to the Good Shepherd will help us make the choices we need to make. Jesus also said that He is the gate, meaning there is a particular entrance, a particular way of life that a Christian is called to embrace. Making the right choices comes only through proper discernment.
Another part of the equation of discernment is asking questions. Even if we should hear the message clearly and understand what it means on the surface, always dig deeper below the surface. For example, I was out with some friends and one friend was helping me navigate parts of the west side of Cleveland that I was not familiar with (native Eastsider! ;-))... during the journey, we were approaching a three-way intersection my only options were left and right and so, I asked my friend which way do I go? He said, "just stay straight." I was alarmed and said, "that's not an option, I'm not intending on crashing into anything!" My friend replies, "I mean, stay in the lane you're in, which turns into the left hand turn lane and turn left." ... In this case, I knew, or thought I knew what, "just stay straight," meant, but in reality it needed further questions to discern. This is like the command to love one another as God loves us; we hear it, know it, but asking everyday how to love is the question that goes below the surface.
God is calling us, everyday, may we take time to listen, discern, ask in order that we may grow closer to Christ and allow our witness to bring others to Christ.
4th Sunday of Easter readings (A)
This sort of discernment is what we must do in our relationship with God. God gives us messages and signs everyday; some are obvious and others are not. In order to communicate with God we must always engage in prayer and practice The Gifts of the Holy Spirit in our life which help us to be attuned to God's presence. Sometimes when we receive a message it might need further reflection or thought, in other words, discernment to understand what God is telling or asking of us. Discernment is an everyday (24/7/365) operation in the Christian life, it never stops, sometimes the discerment can be about simple everyday events, sometimes about major decisions or life choices such as our vocation. Whatever the case is, the Gospel is quite clear that Jesus calls us by name which means everyday (admit it or not) the truth is, we are being called!!! We are His sheep and are called to listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd.
Listening to the Good Shepherd will help us make the choices we need to make. Jesus also said that He is the gate, meaning there is a particular entrance, a particular way of life that a Christian is called to embrace. Making the right choices comes only through proper discernment.
Another part of the equation of discernment is asking questions. Even if we should hear the message clearly and understand what it means on the surface, always dig deeper below the surface. For example, I was out with some friends and one friend was helping me navigate parts of the west side of Cleveland that I was not familiar with (native Eastsider! ;-))... during the journey, we were approaching a three-way intersection my only options were left and right and so, I asked my friend which way do I go? He said, "just stay straight." I was alarmed and said, "that's not an option, I'm not intending on crashing into anything!" My friend replies, "I mean, stay in the lane you're in, which turns into the left hand turn lane and turn left." ... In this case, I knew, or thought I knew what, "just stay straight," meant, but in reality it needed further questions to discern. This is like the command to love one another as God loves us; we hear it, know it, but asking everyday how to love is the question that goes below the surface.
God is calling us, everyday, may we take time to listen, discern, ask in order that we may grow closer to Christ and allow our witness to bring others to Christ.
Why Confession (Reconciliation)?
But we have Baptism, which reconciles us with God;
why then do we need a special sacrament of Reconciliation?
Baptism
does snatch us from the power of sin and death and brings us into the new life
of the children of God, but it does not free us from human weakness and the
inclination to sin. That is why we need a place where we can be reconciled with
God again and again. That place is confession.
It
does not seem like a modern thing to go to confession; it can be difficult and
may cost a great deal of effort at first. But it is one of the greatest graces
that we can receive again and again in our lifeit truly renews the soul,
completely unburdens it, leaving it without the debts of the past, accepted in
love, and equipped with new strength. God is merciful, and he desires nothing
more earnestly than for us, too, to lay claim to his mercy. Someone who has
gone to confession turns a clean, new page in the book of his life. (YOUCAT
question 226)
~ from Catechism in a Year
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
THE EUCHARIST IS...
What names are there for Jesus' meal with us, and what do they mean?
The different names indicate the unfathomable richness of this mystery: the Holy Sacrifice, Holy Mass, the Sacrifice of the Massthe Lord's Supperthe Breaking of Breadthe Eucharistic assemblythe memorial of the Lord's Passion, death, and Resurrection the Holy and Divine Liturgy, the Sacred Mysteries Holy Communion.
Holy Sacrifice, Holy Mass, the Sacrifice of the Mass: The one sacrifice of Christ, which completes and surpasses all sacrifices, is made present in the celebration of the Eucharist. The Church and the faithful, through their self-offering, unite themselves with Christ's sacrifice. The word Mass comes from the Latin dismissal, Ite, missa est, "Go now, you are sent."
The Lord's Supper: Every celebration of the Eucharist is still the one supper that Christ celebrated with his disciples and, at the same time, the anticipation of the banquet that the Lord will celebrate with the redeemed at the end of time. We men do not make the worship service; the Lord is the one who calls us to worship God and is mysteriously present in the liturgy.
The breaking of bread: "The breaking of bread" was an old Jewish ritual at meals, which Jesus employed at the Last Supper to express his gift of self "for us" (Rom 8:32). In the "breaking of bread" the disciples recognized him again after the Resurrection. The early Church called their liturgical feasts "the breaking of bread".
Eucharistic assembly: The celebration of the Lord's Supper is also an assembly of "thanksgiving", in which the Church finds her visible expression.
Memorial of the Lord's Passion, death, and Resurrection: In the celebration of the Eucharist, the congregation does not celebrate itself; rather it discovers and celebrates again and again the presence of Christ's saving passage through suffering and death to life.
Holy and Divine Liturgy, Sacred Mysteries: In the celebration of the Eucharist, the Church in heaven and on earth unite in one feast. Because the Eucharistic Gifts in which Christ is present are, so to speak, the holiest thing in the world, we also speak about the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Holy Communion: Because we unite ourselves with Christ at Holy Mass, and through him are united with one another, we speak about Holy Communion (communio = fellowship). (YOUCAT questions 211-212)
The Different Ways We Can Refer to the Eucharist
What names are there for Jesus' meal with us, and what do they mean?
The different names indicate the unfathomable richness of this mystery: the Holy Sacrifice, Holy Mass, the Sacrifice of the Massthe Lord's Supperthe Breaking of Breadthe Eucharistic assemblythe memorial of the Lord's Passion, death, and Resurrection the Holy and Divine Liturgy, the Sacred Mysteries Holy Communion.
Holy Sacrifice, Holy Mass, the Sacrifice of the Mass: The one sacrifice of Christ, which completes and surpasses all sacrifices, is made present in the celebration of the Eucharist. The Church and the faithful, through their self-offering, unite themselves with Christ's sacrifice. The word Mass comes from the Latin dismissal, Ite, missa est, "Go now, you are sent."
The Lord's Supper: Every celebration of the Eucharist is still the one supper that Christ celebrated with his disciples and, at the same time, the anticipation of the banquet that the Lord will celebrate with the redeemed at the end of time. We men do not make the worship service; the Lord is the one who calls us to worship God and is mysteriously present in the liturgy.
The breaking of bread: "The breaking of bread" was an old Jewish ritual at meals, which Jesus employed at the Last Supper to express his gift of self "for us" (Rom 8:32). In the "breaking of bread" the disciples recognized him again after the Resurrection. The early Church called their liturgical feasts "the breaking of bread".
Eucharistic assembly: The celebration of the Lord's Supper is also an assembly of "thanksgiving", in which the Church finds her visible expression.
Memorial of the Lord's Passion, death, and Resurrection: In the celebration of the Eucharist, the congregation does not celebrate itself; rather it discovers and celebrates again and again the presence of Christ's saving passage through suffering and death to life.
Holy and Divine Liturgy, Sacred Mysteries: In the celebration of the Eucharist, the Church in heaven and on earth unite in one feast. Because the Eucharistic Gifts in which Christ is present are, so to speak, the holiest thing in the world, we also speak about the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Holy Communion: Because we unite ourselves with Christ at Holy Mass, and through him are united with one another, we speak about Holy Communion (communio = fellowship). (YOUCAT questions 211-212)
The different names indicate the unfathomable richness of this mystery: the Holy Sacrifice, Holy Mass, the Sacrifice of the Massthe Lord's Supperthe Breaking of Breadthe Eucharistic assemblythe memorial of the Lord's Passion, death, and Resurrection the Holy and Divine Liturgy, the Sacred Mysteries Holy Communion.
Holy Sacrifice, Holy Mass, the Sacrifice of the Mass: The one sacrifice of Christ, which completes and surpasses all sacrifices, is made present in the celebration of the Eucharist. The Church and the faithful, through their self-offering, unite themselves with Christ's sacrifice. The word Mass comes from the Latin dismissal, Ite, missa est, "Go now, you are sent."
The Lord's Supper: Every celebration of the Eucharist is still the one supper that Christ celebrated with his disciples and, at the same time, the anticipation of the banquet that the Lord will celebrate with the redeemed at the end of time. We men do not make the worship service; the Lord is the one who calls us to worship God and is mysteriously present in the liturgy.
The breaking of bread: "The breaking of bread" was an old Jewish ritual at meals, which Jesus employed at the Last Supper to express his gift of self "for us" (Rom 8:32). In the "breaking of bread" the disciples recognized him again after the Resurrection. The early Church called their liturgical feasts "the breaking of bread".
Eucharistic assembly: The celebration of the Lord's Supper is also an assembly of "thanksgiving", in which the Church finds her visible expression.
Memorial of the Lord's Passion, death, and Resurrection: In the celebration of the Eucharist, the congregation does not celebrate itself; rather it discovers and celebrates again and again the presence of Christ's saving passage through suffering and death to life.
Holy and Divine Liturgy, Sacred Mysteries: In the celebration of the Eucharist, the Church in heaven and on earth unite in one feast. Because the Eucharistic Gifts in which Christ is present are, so to speak, the holiest thing in the world, we also speak about the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Holy Communion: Because we unite ourselves with Christ at Holy Mass, and through him are united with one another, we speak about Holy Communion (communio = fellowship). (YOUCAT questions 211-212)
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Where we are & Where we are
The Road to Emmaus... is one of my favorite passages in Sacred Scripture. The Road to Emmaus is one of those passages that touches my spirit and energizes me in different ways every time I read and pray with it. Sometimes this story is the shot in the arm I need when I'm going through a rough time and at other times it pushes me to do more; to crave the heart that is burning for God!
The Road to Emmaus comes on the scene at a great time in the Church Year! Why? Well, because it helps us to understand where we are and it helps us to understand where we are.
3rd Sunday of Easter Readings (Cycle A)
First, where we are... So, spiritually speaking, we're in the post Lenten resolution phase where maybe we're finding it hard to be the person we committed ourselves to being during Lent? Maybe we're not keeping up with the person God is calling us to be? Maybe we're finding ourselves going through some spiritual regression after the Easter Sunday high starts to fade... that whole 'regressing back to bad habits' or 'things we said we won't do anymore' phase... very much like making a New Year's resolution only to break it a couple weeks later. So yeah, we can find ourselves like Cleopas the other disciple who are questioning and feeling downcast and trying to figure out what is going on?... like, what the heck?... has new life set it?... where am I? THE GOOD NEWS is, hope is NOT lost, that Jesus meets us where we are, just like He met Cleopas and the other disciple on the road, He meets us where we are, right here, right now, no matter what!!!! The key is to invite Christ in, truly see Him in the scriptures, truly see Him in the breaking of the bread; and either gain strength in following Christ or recommit ourselves to the person God is calling each and everyone one of us to be! NOW IS THE TIME!
Second, where we are... So, at Mass, why am I in the pew? Why do I come week after week? To give praise to God? YES! But wait! There's more!... In the Road to Emmaus what are we given but a blueprint of the Mass! No joke, legit, for real, seriouly! When we come to Mass and we begin with the Sign of the Cross and the priest says, the Lord be with you ...He's really saying, the Lord be with you in a real sense of knowing not only are you welcome but know that the LORD IS WITH YOU, walking with you, journeying with you and with you no matter what is going on in your life!!!! Just like the disciples on their way to Emmaus we break open scripture and enter into the Eucharist, the breaking of the bread so that we may ENCOUNTER CHRIST - in The Word, Sacrament, & Community! So at Mass, we are invited to enter into the public prayer of the Church we are invited to bring our whole selves into it! We are encouraged to bring our questions, our intentions, our concerns, our joys, our sorrows, our whatevers and to place them on The Altar so that we like the bread, be taken, blessed, broken open, and given for others! How cool, how awesome is that?! That's crazy awesome that Christ invites us to encounter Him in such an intimate way.
Is choosing not to go to Mass as sin? YES! Why? The Church says going to Sunday Mass (or Saturday Vigil) is our obligation or duty or responsibility. Why? The answer is not, "because the Church says so," but rather, the Church says so because... it is in the Sacred Scripture, in the Eucharist, and in the community we gather with, which is modeled by Christ, that Christ Himself is inviting us to encounter Him. So, what's the basic definition of a sin? Choosing our will or some thing over God or God's will. So when we choose not to go to Mass, admit it or not - but it's true - we're really saying, "I don't want to encounter you Jesus," "I don't want to spend time with you," "I don't want to engage my path to enternal life in Heaven." So, therefore, choosing not to go to Mass is a sin because we are choosing something other than God, we're saying no to the encounter.
The Road to Emmaus... it really can help us to know where we are and where we are... may we encounter Christ anew through this scripture passage and the Mass inviting Christ to be with us so that our hearts too may burn with His love and give us the strength, courage, and wisdom to tell the Good News! Amen!
The Road to Emmaus comes on the scene at a great time in the Church Year! Why? Well, because it helps us to understand where we are and it helps us to understand where we are.
3rd Sunday of Easter Readings (Cycle A)
First, where we are... So, spiritually speaking, we're in the post Lenten resolution phase where maybe we're finding it hard to be the person we committed ourselves to being during Lent? Maybe we're not keeping up with the person God is calling us to be? Maybe we're finding ourselves going through some spiritual regression after the Easter Sunday high starts to fade... that whole 'regressing back to bad habits' or 'things we said we won't do anymore' phase... very much like making a New Year's resolution only to break it a couple weeks later. So yeah, we can find ourselves like Cleopas the other disciple who are questioning and feeling downcast and trying to figure out what is going on?... like, what the heck?... has new life set it?... where am I? THE GOOD NEWS is, hope is NOT lost, that Jesus meets us where we are, just like He met Cleopas and the other disciple on the road, He meets us where we are, right here, right now, no matter what!!!! The key is to invite Christ in, truly see Him in the scriptures, truly see Him in the breaking of the bread; and either gain strength in following Christ or recommit ourselves to the person God is calling each and everyone one of us to be! NOW IS THE TIME!
Second, where we are... So, at Mass, why am I in the pew? Why do I come week after week? To give praise to God? YES! But wait! There's more!... In the Road to Emmaus what are we given but a blueprint of the Mass! No joke, legit, for real, seriouly! When we come to Mass and we begin with the Sign of the Cross and the priest says, the Lord be with you ...He's really saying, the Lord be with you in a real sense of knowing not only are you welcome but know that the LORD IS WITH YOU, walking with you, journeying with you and with you no matter what is going on in your life!!!! Just like the disciples on their way to Emmaus we break open scripture and enter into the Eucharist, the breaking of the bread so that we may ENCOUNTER CHRIST - in The Word, Sacrament, & Community! So at Mass, we are invited to enter into the public prayer of the Church we are invited to bring our whole selves into it! We are encouraged to bring our questions, our intentions, our concerns, our joys, our sorrows, our whatevers and to place them on The Altar so that we like the bread, be taken, blessed, broken open, and given for others! How cool, how awesome is that?! That's crazy awesome that Christ invites us to encounter Him in such an intimate way.
Is choosing not to go to Mass as sin? YES! Why? The Church says going to Sunday Mass (or Saturday Vigil) is our obligation or duty or responsibility. Why? The answer is not, "because the Church says so," but rather, the Church says so because... it is in the Sacred Scripture, in the Eucharist, and in the community we gather with, which is modeled by Christ, that Christ Himself is inviting us to encounter Him. So, what's the basic definition of a sin? Choosing our will or some thing over God or God's will. So when we choose not to go to Mass, admit it or not - but it's true - we're really saying, "I don't want to encounter you Jesus," "I don't want to spend time with you," "I don't want to engage my path to enternal life in Heaven." So, therefore, choosing not to go to Mass is a sin because we are choosing something other than God, we're saying no to the encounter.
The Road to Emmaus... it really can help us to know where we are and where we are... may we encounter Christ anew through this scripture passage and the Mass inviting Christ to be with us so that our hearts too may burn with His love and give us the strength, courage, and wisdom to tell the Good News! Amen!
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