Weekend of 9/29-30/12 …There are MANY messages in this weekend’s passage of the Holy Gospel. The first that comes to my mind is “tolerance.” In the beginning of this Gospel passage, the disciples are complaining to Jesus that there is someone “outside of their group” who is performing healings in the name of Jesus. They were obviously outraged that someone other than themselves was getting some notoriety as related to Jesus. “Tolerance” is a word for which most people don’t have a good image. It doesn’t mean “putting up” with someone or having great reservations about someone. Christian tolerance invites us to respect the differences we encounter in others and affirm what is good in others, even when we might harbor a bit of jealously for their gifts. When we are “tolerant,” we have joy in the light of Christ shining through the loving words and deeds of others. Perhaps the main message in today’s Holy Gospel is the emphasis on giving “good example” and the avoidance of giving “scandal.” We give scandal and become stumbling blocks to others: when we are unkind or unjust in our treatment of them, when we humiliate them by hurting their pride and damaging their self-image, when we discourage, ignore, or refuse to accept them, when we become judgmental of those who perhaps are still struggling in their faith. Actually, Jesus speaks harshly about those who give bad example especially to the young. He says that it would be better for them if “a millstone were tied around their neck and the stone thrown into the sea.” Whew! I did a bit of research on millstones and found out that they are stones used in grist mills, for grinding wheat or other grains and they typically weigh 3300 pounds. And so….if one was tied around your neck and it was thrown into the sea…it would be “curtains” for you!!! Jesus is especially concerned about any bad example we might give young people. We all know how impressionable young people are…they pick up our actions, our language etc. like a sponge. And Jesus is reminding us that He holds as sacred the innocence of children…and we better not lead them astray. Keep this in mind as you move from one day to the next. Offer the children GOOD example, not bad! An Intolerant person: The following anonymous piece offers a profile of such a person: “When the other person acts that way, he’s obnoxious…when you do it, it’s nerves. When she is set in her ways, she is obstinate …when you are, it’s just being firm. When he doesn’t like your friends, he’s prejudiced…when you don’t like his, you are simply showing good judgment of human nature. When she tries to be accommodating, she’s polishing the apple…when you do it, you’re using tact. When he takes time to do things, he’s plodding and slow…when you take forever, you’re being deliberate and careful. When she finds fault, she’s cranky…
when you do, you’re discriminating.” Sister Kate’s “Gospel Question for the Week”: Are you patient and understanding with other people?
Weekend of 9/22-23/12 …The message in this weekend’s passage of the Holy Gospel is straightforward and can be summed up in a phrase that you can probably quote, “If anyone wants to be first in the Kingdom of God, then that person must be last and the servant of all on earth.” In other words, if we want to become great in the sight of God, then, we must surrender our lives in the service of others….just as Jesus did. How do we do this in our day to day living? We do it by: embracing the vulnerable in our midst, the defenseless children, the despairing poor, the terrified mentally ill, the marginalized, the disabled and the hungry. At St. Michael’s, we do this everytime we bring socks for the children who need them…everytime we bring food for the shelters…everytime we bring Christmas gifts for the people who would have nothing at Christmas except for our donations…everytime we buy Fair Trade coffee so that the farmers of Central and South America can build schools for their children…everytime we bring a contribution for the Damien Dinner so that the homeless, the addicted, and those with the HIV virus can have a full and healthy meal etc. As I have often said to you, we offer you MANY opportunities to reach out to the needy here at St. Michael’s. We don’t expect everyone to seize EVERY opportunity…but, we hope that everyone will seize SOME opportunity. And when you do, you are responding to this weekend’s Gospel. True greatness consists in serving others and this service is never self-centered. It lies in the ability to see and respond to the needs of others and it presupposes compassion and sympathy. At the screening of the film Mother Teresa during the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations in 1983, the Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar rose from his seat to introduce Mother Teresa to an elite gathering of the representatives of all member countries of the U.N. He needed only one sentence for his introduction: "I present to you the most powerful woman in the world!" On March 3, 1976, conferring on Mother Teresa a high honor of India Mrs.Indira Gandhi, who was at that time prime minister of India, said: “I feel myself dwarfed when I stand before this holy and mighty woman who heroically showed the world how to practiceChristian love in sacrificial and humble service.” For many years, the world watched, admired and adored this weak and elderly nun, always dressed in a blue-bordered white sari, as the incarnation of humble and sacrificing Christian service. She was the living proof of Jesus' words in today’s Gospel that real greatness lies in serving others. She did this with love and compassion. Sister Kate’s “Gospel Question for the Week”: Does being a “servant” of others resonate with how you practice your faith?
Weekend of 9/15-16/12 …Sister Kate’s “Gospel Question of the Week”… Today’s Holy Gospel explains the basis of our faith…the acceptance of Jesus as our Savior. In addition, it delineates the conditions of being a disciple of Jesus, namely: denying oneself, taking up one’s cross, and following in the footsteps of Jesus. Sound easy? That’s NOT the case! True Christian discipleship demands absolute integrity from the disciple, a willingness to endure suffering, and an alert readiness to follow Jesus byloving one another without exception. If we choose to follow in the footsteps of Christ, then we have to be ready to “carry the cross…the cross of Jesus.” The cross obviously comes with pain and suffering. Our sufferings become the “cross of Jesus” when we suffer WITH him by: dying to our self-centeredness, serving others selflessly, enduring the stress of day-to-day life without complaint, and offering our sufferings to God in reparation for our failings. Jesus needs to become a living, personal experience for each of us as disciples. We move closer to this awareness, with the grace of God, by our listening to Him through the Scriptures, by our daily, personal prayer, and by our reception of the Eucharist. All of these strengthen us to hand over our lives to Jesus through loving service to others. Why is this so important? Because we believe that Jesus is present in every person and therefore by serving others, we serve Christ Himself. It was the 19th century British essayist, Charles Lamb, who snatched the 17th century playwright William Shakespeare from his undeserved obscurity, returning him to the limelight of fame. Charles Lamb was once involved in a discussion on the question, who is the greatest literary genius of all time? Two names finally emerged: William Shakespeare and Jesus of Nazareth. Lamb put an end to the debate when he said: “I’ll tell you the difference between these two men. If Shakespeare walked into this room right now, we would all rise to greet him, but if Christ came in, we would all fall down and worship.”There is the essential difference between Jesus of Nazareth and all other great people you can think of. Jesus Christ is God, and all others, no matter what their deeds, are but fools strutting on the stage for a brief time and then exiting. Today’s Gospel describes who Jesus really is and the unique conditions for Christian discipleship. Gospel Question for the Week”: How would you rate yourself as a disciple of Jesus?
Weekend of 9/8-9/12 …Sister Kate’s “Gospel Question of the Week”… Did you know that all three readings on any given weekend have a common theme? Sometimes it’s difficult to see what that theme is and other times it’s blatantly obvious. This weekend’s theme is a bit obscure, but upon some additional scrutiny, I think that the central theme of today’s readings is an invitation to us to become humble instruments of healing in Jesus’ hands. Humility is a word that has a bad rap in our society. Most people think of humility as a “weakness.” Nothing could be further from the truth. A person of true humility is a very strong person who honestly recognizes his/her strengths and weaknesses and KNOWS full well that every strength comes from a loving God. In our journey to become humble servants of God, we are invited in the readings to open our ears to hear the word of God and to not hold back from conveying the good news of God’s love and salvation to others. In the Gospel passage, Jesus heals the man unable to speak. This miracle has great relevance to us, because any of us can have perfect hearing, and yet not hear the word of God…have perfect speech, and yet be unable to make an act of faith. Some of us may find it hard to speak to God in prayer and harder still to hear Him speaking to us through the Gospel. This may be because many of us are still of the opinion that once you “make” your Confirmation, there’s nothing more to be learned about our faith…we kind of go on “cruise control” when it comes to our faith. We’re satisfied with what we have learned in “religion classes” about the 7 sacraments, the 10 commandments of God…etc. We don’t want to hear more about our faith through further study of the Bible or the homilies each weekend. Think about it…there are many “Catholics” who are highly qualified in their professions but are basically illiterate in their faith. How sad this is! So, let us imitate the dumb man in today’s Gospel passage by seeking out Jesus, following him away from the crowd, and spending more of our time in coming to know Him better and better as we keep our ears open to the Holy Gospel and experience Him directly in our lives in personal prayer. Our growing awareness of the healing presence of Jesus in our lives will open our ears and loosen our tongues. An elderly gentleman had had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor, and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%. The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again." The gentleman replied, "Oh, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will three times!" Gospel Question for the Week”: Are your ears open to the “Word of the Lord” speaking to YOU?