tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689975334184713232024-03-14T06:39:24.993-07:00St. Valentine Independent Catholic Church BlogWhat if we could meet Jesus again for the first time?
The Jesus we know is the resurrected, exalted Son of God, very God of very God, worthy of glory and honor and praise. We all say "Amen!" to that affirmation of faith.
Yet, there is another side to Jesus that we must not forget. It is this very human Jesus that we meet in the four Gospels. It is this Jesus who came to show us God's love. it is this Jesus who died to set us free. It is to this Jesus that I dedicate this blog.Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.comBlogger392125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-15770670932844475042013-09-09T15:09:00.001-07:002013-09-09T15:09:33.460-07:00Discipleship<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;"> </span></span></b></div>
<img __objrefid="9" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=59729022&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: both; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 280px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Gospel Luke 14:25-33</span></b><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">23rd Sunday Ordinary Time </span></b></i><br />
<b><span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">September 8, 2013</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>On one occasion when a great crowd was with <em>Jesus, he turned to them and said, "If any of you come to me without turning your back on your mother and your father, your loved ones, your sisters and brothers, indeed your very self, you cannot be my follower. Anyone who does not take up the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. If one of you decides to build a tower, will you not first sit down and calculate the outlay to see if you have enough money to complete the project? You will do that for fear of laying the foundation and then not being able to complete the work; for all who saw it would jeer at you and say, 'You began to build what you could not finish.' <span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>Or if a nation is about to engage another in battle, will they not sit down first and consider whether, with an army of ten thousand, they can withstand an enemy coming against them with twenty thousand? If they cannot, they will send a delegation while the enemy is still at a distance, asking for terms of peace. In the same way, none of you can be my disciple if you do not renounce all your possessions."</em> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><strong><i> </i></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>The reality doesn’t match the picture. The truth often falls short of the imagination. How often has it been that we saw a brochure or an advertisement of what we intended to buy, order or where we intended stay and when we have bought the item, ordered the food, or arrived at a hotel, we were disappointed? Nothing is like the disappointment of being short-changed.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>Today, Jesus lays before us the reality of discipleship and not the imagined picture of it. Luke tells us that “great crowds accompanied Jesus and he turned and spoke to them: Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple”. The cost of discipleship is measured in such practical terms as “unless a grain of wheat falls onto the ground and dies, it remains but a single grain”. </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><strong>In short, discipleship is sacrifice.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>Take up your cross and follow Christ. But, the truth is that many of us are followers of Jesus from a distance. Why? The definition of discipleship is made more difficult by a certain caricature of it. In the 70s and 80s, it was customary to paint Jesus as a political revolutionary and therefore the idea of discipleship was perhaps more a reflection of Che Guevara, the ideal political revolutionary than the historical Jesus ever had been. </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><strong>If discipleship were about political agitation, it marginalizes a lot of people—who will fall within the category of the “politically useless”. From a psychological point of view, it doesn’t take a lot to move from feeling useless to being useless. Useless people give up hope in themselves.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>The truth is that there is a cost to discipleship which we ought to reckon with. Discipleship is sacrifice, whether paid for by blood or otherwise. The reality is often we pay less with blood than with a life of constancy, consistency and commitment. In fact, faithfulness demands so much more than blood. It is easy to die in an instance—in a hail of bullets but much more difficult to die over a lifetime of faithfulness. </strong></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><strong>Thus, Christian discipleship is not lived in the abstract or to lived somewhat in a vacuum. It also turns discipleship into something unattainable and thus keeps us at an uninvolved distance. But, discipleship is nearer than we think. All we need to do is to focus on where we are and we will find the answer to how best we can exercise our Christian discipleship.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>For example: marriage. It is one of the best forms of discipleship today. Christ loves us so much that he gave his life for us. A man and woman bound by the bonds of marriage is the best reflection of the union between Christ and the Church. We live in an era which tries to promote intimacy without complications. The reality is that there are no perfect couples just like there are no perfect disciples. There are a lot of struggling couples. It is in the struggles that discipleship is lived out and perfected.In fact, the prayer of blessing over couples celebrating their marriage anniversary acknowledges that “amid the joys and struggles of their life, God has preserved the union between them”. </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><strong>The trials or tribulations we face are rich grounds upon which the seeds of discipleship can take root.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>In an earlier part of Luke’s Gospel Jesus said: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me”. Thus, discipleship does not take us out of the ordinary. Instead, discipleship is exercised in the mundane everyday existence that we lead. A teacher is called to discipleship through faithful teaching. A harassed mother tending to her brood is answering to discipleship. An aged father or mother you are landed with is discipleship. When there is disability in the family, often when the parents are gone, you shall have to bear the burden of caring for an adult but disabled sibling; that is discipleship. </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><strong>In fact, nothing in the ordinary is outside the boundary of discipleship. </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>Today, in a world which exalts the exciting, the glamorous and the sensational, there is a grave need to reclaim discipleship from the amazing, extraordinary and the unusual. Discipleship is not the preserve of a few but the arena for the many. We don’t need to hate our family because ordinary life provides enough opportunities for abnegation, renunciation and sacrifice in the exercise of discipleship. Hating mother or father is not the measure of discipleship because Jesus is not concerned by the size of our sacrifice. Instead, the depth of discipleship is measured by the size of the heart that makes the offering. </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>Let us ask Christ in the Eucharist to give us hearts big enough so that we may dare embrace his discipleship with heroic courage and quiet fortitude.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<div align="left">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> Mass: 10AM Every Sunday</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost, Pastor</span></b></div>
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"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-28716758977349031132013-08-11T16:11:00.004-07:002013-08-11T16:12:10.539-07:00Do not be afraid any longer. <br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;"> </span></span></b></div>
<img __objrefid="21" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=59729022&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: both; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 280px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Gospel Luke 12:32-48</span></b><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">19th Sunday Ordinary Time </span></b></i><br />
<b><span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">August 11, 2013</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><i>Jesus said to his disciples:<br />“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.”<br />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.”</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><strong><em> </em></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>One night a house caught fire and a young little byways forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters." Hearing this, the boy jumped. He jumped, because he trusted his father. </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>The Christian faith enables us to face life or meet death, not because we can see, but with the certainty that we are seen; not that we know all the answers, but that we are known. Faith is not merely us holding on to God - it is God holding on to us. And He will never let us go!</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>Today is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time; and all the three Scripture Readings of today invite us to dwell upon the theme of our need for a lively faith and hope in the things to come. </strong></span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><strong>Faith is the confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see; and also the test of our faith is its endurance for the long haul, in good times and in bad times. </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>FAITH OF ABRAHAM: </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>In the Second Reading of today, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews speaks about two faith-filled people, Abraham and Sarah. He recalls how our early faith ancestors placed their trust in God. Abraham and Sarah left their comfortable home and set out for an unknown land because God called them. When God promised them that their 'descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sands of the sea,' they were old enough to be great-grandparents and Sarah too was sterile. Even though for so long they saw no fulfillment of the promise, they believed. They had the virtue of faith, a lasting confidence that God's word would be fulfilled someday.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>And when God finally granted them a son, He asked Abraham to sacrifice him and still continue to believe, to trust, and to hope that the promise would still somehow be accomplished. Abraham, faithfully listening to the word of God, 'hoped against hope' that his son would be restored to him, even as he was willing to sacrifice him. It is shocking, even disgusting, to think that somebody was willing to sacrifice his own son to God. Essentially, Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son is an act of trust, of faith, in which he was proved right. We consider Abraham our father in faith, and he is a model for our own times – he took great risks; he had no agenda other than his faithful obedience to the God in whom he trusted completely. We might ask whether we are models of faith in light of this passage.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>FAITH OF THE ISRAELITES: </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>The most memorable event in the early history of the Israelite people was their exodus from Egypt. Because the Israelite people believed, God saved them. God led them out of slavery and saved them from their enemies. </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>Today's First Reading from the Book of Wisdom recalls God's special care and protection of the Israelite people. The author sees God's people as 'the holy children of the good' who have cooperated with God's plan for salvation. Today's passage presents an account of the tenth plague during the night of the Passover, when the angel of death struck down the firstborn of the Egyptians and spared the Israelite people who had sprinkled the blood of the lamb on their door posts. God was liberating them from slavery and they put their trust in the power of their God to save them.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>God is always faithful to his promise. But He acts with divine wisdom and divine love, which is far above our ability to understand or see. We are challenged to put our trust in the promises of the Lord and never waver, never doubt his goodness, his power, and his love.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>FAITH OF A DISCIPLE: </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>Today's Gospel from St. Luke begins by taking up the theme of last week, viz. setting store on our treasure in heaven rather than being bound to our material treasures here on earth. Here Jesus speaks of material possessions as capturing the heart, not allowing one to be free to follow him. So he challenges his disciples to reveal what it is they really value, following him or being caught up in material wealth. But the actual theme of today's Gospel is 'remaining faithful as we wait for the return of the Lord.' Jesus uses two parables to make the point: </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>First there is “the Parable of the Watchful Servants, "where Jesus encourages his disciples to be vigilant and ready for action as they wait for the coming of the Master. That he will come is certain, but when he will come no one knows. The Lord comes unexpectedly into our lives every day through events and people we meet. But the ultimate, expected coming of the Lord in our lives is the moment of death. We should be watchful to recognize the Lord and be prepared to meet him in the little unexpected opportunities of everyday life. This is the best way to prepare for the ultimate encounter with the Lord at the hour of death. </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><strong>In the second parable, “the Parable of the Faithful or Unfaithful Servant,” Jesus reiterates the lesson of the first parable under the heading of faithfulness. He portrays two different attitudes of disciples in the absence of the Master. The wise disciple remains steadfast at his duty post even in the master's absence. The foolish disciple takes to a complacent lifestyle and takes the law into his own hands. The day of reckoning comes with the master's return. The faithful servant receives a promotion, the unfaithful one is 'cut to pieces' and given a place with the unbelievers. </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>The Gospel completes this teaching in Jesus´ words to be ready at all times for the end, and to live each day as if it were the last; to live each day before God and to render fully to him what he expects from each one of us. </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>To summarize, to be a disciple of Jesus is to be fundamentally a man or woman of faith, someone who trusts completely in God throughout all the 'ups and downs' of life, someone who desires to do what God wants him to do even though he can’t precisely figure out what that is. It's the desire that’s important. Significantly, therefore, when Jesus challenged his disciples, he prefaced his teaching with a counsel against fear. “Do not live in fear,” the Lucan Jesus advised in today’s gospel. Faith, not fear, was to be the guiding force in the lives of Jesus’ disciples. Faith would enable them to set their hearts on that never-failing treasure with the Lord; faith would empower them to live in a constant attitude of preparedness, ready to recognize and welcome Jesus, who promised to return for them at a time and in a manner they would least expect. Faith would keep them aware of and attentive to their responsibilities; faith would prompt them toward the mutual love and support of their brothers and sisters which was to characterize them as Jesus’ own.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>As Christians, we have been given a great deal - a lot of it on trust. Our faith is given to us as a treasure for heaven - but we don't always cherish it as one. We know that our lives - our gifts - our families are all treasures - but, again, we don’t always give them the respect and love they deserve. One day, we will be called to account for how we have looked after what we have been given. We will also be asked how we have helped others.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>Another way we Christians can prove that we are a people of faith is to live every day as though we expect Jesus to return. Jesus challenges his followers to be always ready for his return, to live as if the end were near: to build a true treasure, not fleeting wealth, giving freely, being generous and living in the sight of God at all times. The world often lulls us into lethargy and comfort, and we forget that we are people on a journey and this is not our permanent home. We forget that we are living above all for the life to come and that this world, as good and beautiful as it is, is not our final destiny. </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>Today's gospel urges us to be awake and on the watch like servants awaiting the master's return home from a wedding banquet. Watchfulness means living in such a consistently moral and obedient way that we are always ready to give an account to God of how we have lived. Since no one knows when the final judgment will happen, the wise person will always be prepared for it.</strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><strong>Finally, we are called to be faithful servants. </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><strong>In today's Gospel, we are given the promise that when the master comes he will reward his faithful servants. Actually, being a good and faithful servant requires us to have a relationship with God based on trust that his words are life-giving, that they are true. It means to be open to his life-giving word. This is not an empty phrase. Being open to God is essentially about being a good host, waiting for him to arrive and listening to what he says. This openness and trust is one of the most fundamental elements of the Christian life. We need to realize daily that we are waiting for God. “Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds him doing so.” </strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<div align="left">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> Mass: 10AM Every Sunday</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost, Pastor</span></b></div>
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-23668630065008879062013-07-27T19:41:00.000-07:002013-07-27T19:41:11.321-07:00Teach Us to Pray!<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;"> </span></span></b></div>
<img __objrefid="14" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=59729022&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 280px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Gospel Luke 11:1-13 </span></b><br />
<b><b><i><span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">17th Sunday Ordinary Time </span></i></b></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">July 28, 2013</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><em><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of the disciples asked him, "Rabbi, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples." Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say:</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span></em></span><br />
<span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><em>Abba God, </em></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Hallowed be your name, </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">your kingdom come. </span></span></span><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Give us each day our daily bread.</span></span></span></em><br />
<span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><em><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Forgive us our sins </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">for we too forgive all who do us wrong; </span></span></em></span><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><em>and subject us not to the trial. </em></span></span></span><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><em> </em></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><em><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Jesus said to them: "Suppose one of you had a friend to whom you went in the middle of the night and said, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, for some friends of mine have come in from a journey and I have nothing to offer them,' and the friend answered, 'Leave me alone. The door is shut now and my family and I are in bed. I can't get up to look after your needs ' - I tell you, even if not out of friendship, then because of your persistence, your friend would get up and take care of you and give you as much as you needed.”</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">"So I say to you, 'Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.' </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial black;">"For whoever asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; whoever knocks, is admitted. What parent among you will give your son a snake if he asks for a fish, or hand your daughter a scorpion if she asks for an egg? If you, with all your sins, knowhow to give your children good things, how much more will your loving God in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?"</span> </span></span></span></em></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><i> </i></b><b><i>Ask and You Shall Receive</i></b><b><i> </i></b>So I say to you "Knock and it shall be opened to you", "Ask and you shall receive. "These are promises from the mouth of Jesus that continually perplex people. Everyone, having heard these words as a youngster, has thought to themselves, <i>"If I just pray and believe hard enough, I will get whatever I ask for."</i> What's more, many adults still think this way. But all stories about people who hold magic genies in their power end up in a bad way; those who can have anything they want always send up disappointed, disillusioned and most times, worse off than when they started. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;">So just what did Jesus mean when he said, "Everyone who asks receives, everyone who searches finds"? I think we can most accurately understand what he meant by examining the five petitions of the Lord's Prayer, which St Thomas Aquinas has pointed out to be the most perfect of prayers, for it teaches us all the things for which we might rightly ask and it teaches us the order in which they should be desired. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;">"Our Father/Mother God Who art in heaven, hallowed be <i>Your</i> name"<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Disciples, first of all, recognize that God is the Source of All and the fullness of life. <span style="font-size: small;"></span> We acknowledge that everything of all creation as well as of all human accomplishment owes itself to the Almighty's genius and Loving providence.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> We acknowledge frequently, humbly and gratefully, that life and life's pursuits are all gifts, for which God's Name deserves every mortal's constant praise.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Furthermore, because of Jesus' Resurrection, as St Paul tells us in the 2nd Reading,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>all of our sins have been forgiven, 'we are alive together with Christ", and now have<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> the authority and grace as daughters and sons,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>to address God as a loving Parent and Friend, Who we know<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> is ready to give us everything that is good for us. <span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><i>"Your</i> Kingdom come,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><i>Your</i> will be done".<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>God is more gracious than a friend who reluctantly gets up in the night to help us, but God's graciousness does not guarantee that we get what we think we want.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>I was in 2nd grade when I first began to understand that even though a whole church community could pray for something worthwhile and good to happen, we are sometimes given what we need instead, a mystery that we see best in retrospect.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>At the time, my beloved classmate Catherine was suffering greatly with her leukemia, and <span style="font-size: small;"></span>when after months of suffering she finally went home to heaven, our wise and gentle Sister Bonaventure helped us see how peacefully and brightly Cathy had lived up until the end, and <span style="font-size: small;"></span>how as young as she was, gave us all, kids and grown-ups alike, the example of how we <span style="font-size: small;"></span>could go through our troubles in life, counting on Jesus to be with us.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Although none of us then, and none of here today have gotten most of the things we've prayed for,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> we have in retrospect, discovered more than what we were looking for, and<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> have been graced beyond our expectations by what was behind the door on which we were knocking.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;">When we make this petition, "<i>Your</i> Kingdom come, <i>Your</i> will be done",<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> we are asking God to change us from thinking that God is obligated to us because <span style="font-size: small;"></span>of our religious acts of worship or service. ..we are asking that God make us, instead,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> into instruments for the Divine Will to be accomplished on this earthly kingdom.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><span style="font-size: small;">" </span>Give us each day<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> our daily bread".<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>This petition asks us to recall the total dependence upon God that the<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> Israelites experienced in the desert, of having to pray and wait each morning for 40 years,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>for the manna to appear like dew on the land, .<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Like God's people of old, wandering on their journey, we are to ask only for <span style="font-size: small;"></span>that which is essential and wholesome to our life--not for luxuries and extras.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Mother Teresa once said, "God made the world rich enough to feed and clothe all human beings".<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>So we pray, "Give bread to <i>us</i>; not to me only, but to others in common with me.", asking God to create compassion and charity in me for all those whom God needs me to feed.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Finally, we remember that when Jesus was tempted to <span style="font-size: small;"></span>break His fast and turn stones into bread, He told Satan, that<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> "one does not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from God."<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Most importantly then, we ask God to give us hearts that hunger all over again every day,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>for the true Bread of Life, Jesus Himself, that we might be fed daily in Word and Sacrament.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;">"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>trespass against us".<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Which is to say that we will follow the standard set by Jesus' teaching and example.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>When he was asked how many times we must forgive someone He answered '70 x 70 times',<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Which is symbolic language for 'limit-less' times, for not even counting at all.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>And because His dying words from the Cross were <span style="font-size: small;"></span>"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,",<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>He charges us to have forgiving hearts when we are most hurt by the betrayal and cruelty<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>of others, especially those who we thought loved us the most.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;">"Lead us not into temptation, but <span style="font-size: small;"></span>Deliver us from evil".<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Since God would never 'lead us into temptation', it's odd that we make this petition,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> but it is in fact a plea for the grace of God to so fill us that we<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> never succumb to the pride of thinking that we can earn our salvation by our works.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>It is an appeal that we will be drawn to seek God's strength in all of our future unforeseeable trials,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>especially in those times of fear or despair when we might forget to pray.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;">Because most of us have been saying the Lord's Prayer since we've been knee-high, the power of its longing has been lost in the millions of repetitions of it in our lifetimes. But Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God among us, gave us this prayer specifically to summarize and to encourages us in the Good News of His Gospel. To believe in and to call for the coming of God's Kingdom, to daily come to God with our basic needs as individuals and as community, to pray both to be forgiven and to forgive as we know ourselves forgiven by God, and to pray to not be tested beyond our capacity to endure in faith--this is how the followers of Jesus were to live . With perseverant prayer in this manner, asking for the Holy Spirit, we shall indeed receive.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Reverend Mary Wagner</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
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"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-59461620073994049852013-07-17T08:49:00.004-07:002013-07-17T08:49:32.549-07:00Meditation on the parable of "The Good Samaritan" (Luke 10:25-37). <span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> </span><br />
<strong>There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply,<br /><em></em></strong><br />
<em><strong>“</strong></em><em><strong>You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength,<br />and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”</strong></em><br />
<em></em><br /><strong>He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;<br />do this and you will live.”<br /><br />But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” <br />Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. <br />They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”</strong><br />
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<b><span style="color: #89191c; font-size: medium;">We have all heard the parable of "The Good Samaritan". Most of us have heard it so many times, that we no longer listen when this Gospel is read. We have heard it so many times that we think we know what it means. The Good Samaritan is someone who takes care of someone in need, right! However, if you really meditate on this parable, you will find that is goes much deeper than that. So, the question we must ask ourselves, have we really understood this parable, or what Jesus is trying to tell us about our duty as his follower? </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #89191c; font-size: medium;">In the following Lectio Divina, Monsignor Francesco Follo does a wonderful job of explaining its meaning. I would suggest reading this several times and let it sink into your heart. </span></b><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;">Lectio Divina: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time,Year </span><span style="font-family: arial black;">C</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><i>By Monsignor Francesco Follo - </i><span style="font-size: small;"></span>PARIS, July 12, 2013</span> - </span><br />
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<i><b><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">1) Four characters and a place to be identified </span></b></i><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>When we listen to the parable of the Samaritan four questions come up.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>Who is the priest? </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">I am that priest.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>Who is the Levite? </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">I am that Levite.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>Who is the wounded man?</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">I am the wounded man.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>Who is the Samaritan?</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Jesus. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">What does He do? </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">He becomes our neighbor, He takes care of me so that He becomes like me: He is wounded, naked, crucified for me and I’m healed, my dignity is given back to me and I’m brought back to life.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">The priest and the Levite had finished their service in the Temple of Jerusalem and were going home. They saw the wounded man but didn’t stop. Perhaps they thought that he was already dead and didn’t want to touch him because it was an impure act to touch a dead body (Lev<i> 21:1). </i></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Perhaps they feared to become themselves victim of an assault. These fears were stronger than compassion. As priest and Levite they represented the wise men that had to incarnate the commandment of God’s love. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">What about love for neighbor? </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Unfortunately cult and compassion were two different things. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>And what is the inn? </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">It is the Church.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><i><b>2) Who is our neighbor?</b></i></span><br />
<i><b><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">(</span></b></i><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><i>1<b>) </b></i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>We are used to the expression” Good Samaritan”; it seems a common saying but is not so obvious. It is an oxymoron (a contradiction). </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">(2) <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>For the Jews, the Samaritan was heretic, separatist, more despised than the pagans. For a Samaritan it would not have been possible to consider them neighbor. Jesus doesn’t say that the wounded man must be helped because he is the neighbor but He “dares” to <i>donate to </i>his countrymen a Samaritan as the example of human and divine compassion for a happy and eternal life. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>This “gift” has been so well understood by the Church that Jesus has been forever indicated as the “Good Samaritan” and the Church becomes “neighbor” to suffering humanity.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Christ and the Church with Him bend over the weak and wounded man to save him because God’s kingdom has this “<i>cost</i>”: <u><i><b>compassion</b></i></u>. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>The son of God, the incarnate Mercy, carries God’s blessing in becoming neighbor to mankind that is by Him pitied, nursed and healed for the Kingdom of God. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>To make us understand the greatness and the intensity of this proximity,</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Jesus uses various parables: the one of the good shepherd that saves the sheep condemned to death ( John10:10), the one of the son of the owner of the vineyard that arrives after the prophets that were sent in vain (Jh 10;Lk 20:9-18) and that one of the Samaritan that tells of a traveler that doesn’t avoid a wounded man but with compassion kneels next to him and removes him from the road. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>Let’s imagine the scene and let’s become the wounded man that is rescued by the Samaritan who arrives after the priest and the Levite that didn’t want or couldn’t help him, maybe because he was unknown to them or not belonging to their family or their tribe.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Here we can see mirrored the history of salvation in which Jesus is a despised Samaritan, reveals what other techniques of salvation have forgotten and builds where these techniques have failed. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>In Christ, God became near to mankind with a simple and human figure. The God that we now know is not "<i>too high up nor too far away” </i>from us and His law is very close to us. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">It is in our mouth and in our heart so that we put it in practice (first reading of theRoman Rite). Only doing what Christ has done we can truly encounter our neighbor (God) and our neighbor (men and women). Our heart matures only in welcoming the Other, and the other has only one “nice flaw”, it needs to beloved. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>At the end of the parable Jesus reverses the second question of the doctor of the Law (the first one had been “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”).</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">(3) He had asked: “Who is my neighbor?” <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>The question seems to have been made to convince Jesus that “to love God” is without limits but that “to love the neighbor” has well defined limits. I think that the question implies that we can choose the neighbor we must love with the possibility to refuse the ones that are not worthy to be loved. Jesus revolves it: </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">(4)”Which of these three, had compassion for him?” It is important not only to know on whom we must have compassion but also to know who has compassion for us. Today He wants to teach us not so much who is our neighbor as to make us understand Who comes near us lying on the road. In the foreground there is not the one who organizes his compassion and distributes it to the one he thinks deserves it, but the one who is in need and waits for a sign of compassion by a Traveler that approaching him and nursing him becomes his neighbor.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><i><b>3) The price of the Kingdom of God: compassion. </b></i>If on the above lines I suggested to identify oneself with the wounded man so that we can understand that our neighbor is Christ. Now I propose to identify oneself with the Samaritan to be near to the wounded humanity that desires to rise up but cannot do it alone. The priest and the Levite didn’t stop as the Samaritan did because their eyes were not those of the Lord. On the contrary the Samaritan has God’s eyes and looks at the humanity as Jesus does: <i>“Christ, the Son of God, looks at the human pain and uses this pain to reveal his love and to incarnate his mercy. </i></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><i>How much “descending” must be done in me if only the pain can reveal God’s love to me! How much charity must be done by God if He had to go with us on our Calvary so that we can believe in Love!” (</i>Father Primo Mazzolari, <i>Time to believe</i>, Brescia1964, page 103)</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>This love is moved and has compassion (to suffer with), a word that- even if less stronger than the Greek word that indicate a ”moved womb”- indicates not the giving of the wealthy person to the poor or the rescue of the healthy person of the ill one, but it means living together the passion for the life of the brother or the sister whose humanity has been wounded. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>The etymology of the word compassion pushes us to live it, feeling the pain of the other as if it were ours. The doctor of the Law has understood it very well. Jesus then confirms his answer and invites him to do the same. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Charity is a mission in compassion; it is to follow Christ in our daily life. To do so Jesus asks for complete availability and pushes us to work for a common cause, and to enter into a history and a stability of life. This is the way to eternal life: to go the same way that Jesus has described and done in coming to live in the place of our illness. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>We should ask Christ to give us a gaze and a heart like his. While reason wants to measure the gift of God based on what she can understand, Christ reveals to us His unimaginable tender Heart. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Many people in the Church have understood and welcomed this heart and his tenderness. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>I’d like to cite the example of a Missionary of Charity that I met in Rome. She was an Italian nun who at 60 had left the Congregation where she was General Counselor to become a nun in the Missionaries of Charity. Mother Theresa of Calcutta welcomed her and with maternal concern advised her to go to Calcutta when the weather would have been less harsh. After a month of getting accustomed to the new life, she sent the “new” sister to work (or as Mother Theresa used to say, “To do apostolate”) in the House of the dying. In this House of mercy there are many small rooms where the dying is assisted with love. On the walls of every room there is written a phrase from the Gospel. The Italian nun started to wash the wounds of an ill person while looking at the wall where it was written: “This is my body”. At the end of her “apostolate” the nun returned to the convent for dinner. Mother Theresa asked her: ”What did you do this afternoon?” The nun answered: ”I’ve been with Jesus for three hours’”. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Like a Samaritan following the steps of the Samaritan she had bent over the man with whom Jesus identifies himself: <i>“I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was a prisoner, I was ill, and I was naked. I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’(Mt25:35).</i></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>Let’ s live in mercy and let’s practice compassion kneeling in front of our neighbor as Jesus did washing the feet and on the Cross as many men and women do when they wash the material and spiritual wounds of their brothers and sisters. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>Looking at us in this communion of reciprocal mercy the others will be able to “read” the Gospel and to “see” it in action. Through our life in Christ, truth is given to those of wisdom and love to the hearts. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>God puts himself in our hands of mercy. We are the only ones responsible for this mercy and let’s not delegate this responsibility to others. Every one of us has the duty to carry in his/her heart the Living God who never imposes but proposes calling us to live his pilgrimage and to open the door He is knocking at: “<i>Behold, I stand at the door and knock:” If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me” </i>(Rev 3:20)<i>.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>What I’ve said is valid for all Christians, religious and lay people. In what way is the vocation to be a Samaritan specific for those who consecrate themselves? They must show with their life that cult and compassion are not in contrast. To a nun who was asking to Saint Vincent de Paolis: ”<i>If I’m in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and a poor person knocks at the door what should I do? Should I continue my adoration or go to the poor</i>?” The Saint founder of the Daughters of Mercy answered: “You<i> don’t abandon God if you abandon God for God”.</i> That not only means that in the poor there is God and consequently we can stop praying to help the needy. It means also that in a virginal consecration to God, one has eyes so pure that he or she sees God in the poor and serves Him in mercy and in praise.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">(<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><i><b>4) The Inn of “ All are welcomed” </b></i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>In today’s parable Jesus also says that the Samaritan took the wounded man in the “All are welcomed," today translated as an inn.”</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">This “All are welcomed” is a fragile house suspended between Jericho and Jerusalem that is born wherever a person is willing to welcome everybody. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>God welcomes everybody into the profound sign of love. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>The Church welcomes all in a maternal way. In this “public lodging” the suffering person is nursed in the same way a mother bends over her child to take care of him. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">This taking care (that in the Greek word indicates how a mother bends over her child)means that it is a concern that becomes action. The Consecrated Virgins are called in a particular way to this service of maternal care. The Rite of Consecration invites them to dedicate themselves to nurse the physical and moral sores of every brother and sister wounded in the body and in the soul because thanks to a pure heart they see in the face of a suffering person the Face of faces: that of Christ.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><i><b>---</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><i>(1) </i>The <i>neighbor</i>, in Greek “<i>pleison”,</i>in Hebrew “ <i>re’a”,</i>indicates “one who is near, who lives nearby and with whom we share something. For the Jew it was his countryman because he was a member of the chosen people and at maximum they could include the ones who had converted to Judaism.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><i>(2) </i>An oxymoron (it is a Greek word from <i>oxus</i>= pointed and <i>moros</i>=blunt) is a rhetorical figure that is made by the union of two opposite contradictory terms or anyway in strong antithesis between them. The result is that of an apparent paradox. For example lucid madness, silent tumult, deafening silence, parallel convergences, senseless sense and disgusting pleasure. If some oxymoron has been devised to capture the reader’s attention, others are born to indicate a reality that doesn’t have a name. This can happen because a word was never created or because the code of the language, for its formal limits, must contradict itself to indicate some deep concepts. This is the case of the expression “good Samaritan”.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><i>(3) </i>The Jewish doctors of the Law counted 613 precepts, 365 negative (one for each day of the year) and 248 positive like the numbers of the bones. It indicated that the law every day enters in <i>a negative way</i> inside a man to purify him, to remove the negativity of evil and to penetrate in a positive way into the bones, the structure of the body, to structure man into right.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>(4) The Greek text says <i>splancnizomai </i>“to be moved, to be caught in the deep of the womb”, in the deep of the soul, the maternal womb, loving womb typical of God whose look toward us becomes compassion. Today we translate it with “to have compassion” weakening the original vividness of the text. Because of the lightning of mercy that strikes the soul of the Samaritan, he becomes neighbor going beyond every question and every danger. The question has changed, it is no longer a matter to establish who our neighbor is or who is not. It concerns me. I must become neighbor to the other so that he or she is important for me like “myself”.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>(5) In the Greek writing, it is uses the word <i>pandocheion </i>that means “to welcome all” and it is a house between Jerusalem, the celestial Jerusalem, and Jericho. This house that welcomes all is the symbol of the Church that welcomes everybody.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>(6) In Greek the word <i>epemelethe</i> means to take care, to worry, to vigil, go out of one’s way.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>--<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
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"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-36362038403117241792013-07-08T07:21:00.000-07:002013-07-08T07:21:13.575-07:00How do we show Hospitality?<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong><br />
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;">Gospel</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="color: #209860; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;">July 7, 2013</span></strong><br />
<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> <a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/luke/10:1"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Luke 10:1-12, 17-20</span></a></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;">At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.”<br /> The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power to ‘tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><span style="font-family: arial black;">Hospitality. We define it today as the way we treat our guests cordially and make them feel at home. It is the way we receive our guests and perhaps the way we entertain them. We go to a hotel and we see hospitality suites and we may say that we were treated hospitably. We have hospitals, which take care of and treat and cure sick people. So hospitality is still a part of our way of life and something to be treasured in our culture. In the time of Jesus, and even in the Old Testament, there is a slightly different understanding of hospitality. The meaning and concept of cordiality and comfort is still the same, but it is extended far beyond what we would feel comfortable doing today.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial black;"> <span style="color: black; font-size: small;">We certainly don’t extend our hospitality to anyone who walks up to us and asks for it. Some of us find it hard to be hospitable to street people who beg for money or for strangers who seem to demand or expect it from us. In Biblical times the populations were smaller and everyone was related to everyone else within somewhat large areas. Leaving towns and traveling to another town left travelers at great risk of robbery or beatings. There were no motels to stay at, or hotels or hostels. If you traveled you were entirely dependent on the kindness of strangers – which is why you attempted to know everyone who might be related to you or who might owe you a favor. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">When Jesus said he was sending his Apostles out as lambs among wolves, he was referring to the fact that they would be itinerant travelers and would literally be at risk of robbery and beatings. That is why he did not want them to take much with them. “Carry no money, no bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no-one along the way. ”If they had nothing that could be stolen they would be better off. When they reached a village or town, however, they needed to depend on hospitality. And people were expected to give it. Early Bible stories are based on the concept of hospitality. If you remember the story of Sodom, it was really a story of how the town was inhospitable. The angels of God disguised as men were not given hospitality, except by one person, who in order to be hospitable offered up his daughters to save the visitors from the inhospitable and savage townsmen. God destroyed the cities for that crime of in hospitality. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Jesus then tells his disciples how to act when they enter a village. They are to rely on the kindness of strangers and relatives. They are to preach and heal and for this they are to be taken care of – “the laborer deserves his payment.” If the townspeople do not take care of the disciples, they are to go to a very public place in the town like the town square, and shake the dust off their feet, which means having no more to do with the people there, and leave their inhospitality to God. Jesus then tells them to remember what God did to Sodom for their crime against their fellow men. Jesus is being very consistent herein his teachings because his concept of the kingdom of heaven on earth involves treating each other with love.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> So hospitality in Jesus’ sense involves treating everyone, even strangers, with respect and giving them back their due. He also expects the strangers or visitors to earn their keep as well. It is a reciprocal arrangement. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">The kingdom of God is the constant and main theme of all of Jesus’ teachings. In the Gospel today he teaches his disciples that when they go into a town, they are to state their theme immediately that “the kingdom of God is at hand for you.” And the heavenly Jerusalem is the main symbol of what Jesus taught. When Jesus explains to the disciples what gifts he is giving them, “the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy” he is talking about all those things that are in opposition to the kingdom. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">He isn’t meaning serpents and scorpions literally although they were in abundance when you were traveling in Judea, but he is metaphorically meaning the forces of evil. So Jesus has given the disciples the power to forgive sin, to heal both physically and spiritually and the power to cast out devils and be victorious over the works of the devil. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">What can these readings mean for us this week? Can we consider what it means to be hospitable in Jesus’ terms. How can we bring peace to others? How can we practice the love that Jesus says we ought to show to each other? Can we set our sights on the heavenly Jerusalem by beginning the kingdom of heaven on earth through our relationships with others? All of these questions are things which we can ponder this week as we try to live the life of Jesus and follow his way in our own lives. </span><br />
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"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-47183238882494822532013-07-02T07:49:00.003-07:002013-07-02T07:49:32.113-07:00On Being Truely Free<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong><br />
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;">13th Sunday in Ordinary Time</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"> June 30 2013</span></b><span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> Gospel <a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/luke/9:11"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Luke 9:51-62</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. <br />On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.<br />As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him,<br />“I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”<br />And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” To him Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>13th Sunday Ordinary Time</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>June 30, 2013 (Year C) </b><b>on Being Truly Free</b><b> </b><b> </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>All of today's readings consider individuals' responses to God's call in their lives. They invite us to reflect upon the fact that answering 'yes' to God's call is the only path to freedom and joy. Elisha was a prophet in the northern kingdom f Israel in the 9th Century BC, who as we see from the 1st reading, was chosen by God to be Elijah's successor, so that the Jewish people would be assured of the continued proclamation of God's word among them. The twelve yoke of oxen which he slaughtered and with which he fed his people, indicates that Elisha was fairly prosperous and that he gave up a great deal to follow Elijah. And the fact that he burned all his plowing equipment indicates that he wholeheartedly chose God as his inheritance and God's work as his future.</b><b> </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>It is this kind of total commitment, and even more, that Jesus is asking of would be followers, as he journeys with His disciples toward his own destiny in Jerusalem. Jesus has 'set his face' to make this journey because He has been called to do so. Justas his Galilean ministry began with a rejection in the Temple, so his journey to Jerusalem begins with a rejection too, this time from the Samaritans, and in both cases, Jesus simply moves on, for in the Christian way of life there is no room for violence and getting even, despite that fact that He, the most peaceable person in all of human history will suffer the most violent death. Later along the road to Jerusalem, to the one who proposes to follow him "wherever he goes", Jesus promises nothing but hardships ahead (nowhere to even lay His head, no place to call home, nothing to count as possession), as if to say that "wherever" the journey takes us, it is a destiny that even He cannot control. </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>Jesus' strange reply next, to the man who wanted first to bury his father before following Him, indicates the urgency to get on with proclaiming the reign of God and that it is not a matter of first we'll do this and take care of that, and then, we'll concentrate on our relationship with God and what it means for our life. Jesus' very point is that it is in the very midst of ours and our neighbors grieving and tragedies and sufferings that we're called to give witness to the hope found in a loving, provident God. Whereas Elijah allowed Elisha to say his family farewells before following him, </b><b>Jesus' answer to the man in the Gospel who wanted to do the same is that "no one who puts their hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God" </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>This unsettling reproof of Jesus' illustrates the point that discipleship is a commitment that supersedes family obligations and goodbyes, and that Jesus said long before this, that "my mother and brothers and sisters are all those who hear God's word and obey it." The exchanges between Jesus and these three would-be disciples remind us of the cost of discipleship, and of the readiness we must have to accept rejection, poverty, the sacrifice of our previous priorities and a break with our pasts. The Gospel doesn't tell us if any of these three individuals ended up following Jesus. Like us, they had intellect and free will and could choose for themselves what they would do.</b><b> </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>Freedom is commonly understood as "I am free to do anything I want, when I want to do it, and how I want to do it and nobody is going to tell me what to do. After all, it's a free world, isn't it?" No doubt that in the coming week, most Americans will celebrate our freedom from English rule, our 1776 Declaration of Independence, with that concept in mind. But Paul speaks in the 2nd reading, of an entirely different concept of freedom, indeed our greatest freedom--i.e., the "liberty by which Christ has made us free." [Gal. 5:1] -- it is both the gift and the goal of our lives. The gift is that we are freed from the demands of the Old Law, the tyranny of sin, and the power of death itself; the goal, is that we are set free in order to love as Christ did. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>That's why Paul reproves the Galatians to stop "biting and tearing one another to pieces", pointing out that freedom does not mean giving 'free rein' to our physical and emotional cravings. Rather, to live in true freedom is to live, 'guided by the Spirit", in harmony with God's will for the Good. In Paul's vision of humanity, we are either slaves to self (working for wealth, status, or pleasure-- none of which last beyond the brief span of our lives anyway) or else having responded to God's grace, we desire only to love as Christ did.</b><b> </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>The wonder of God's grace, is that as I meditate consistently on the enormity of God’s love in relation to my nothingness on my own, a miracle takes place—the Spirit makes my heart fill more and more with gratitude to God such that I more and more desire only to share God’s love with others. The more I live my life focused on the amazing grace of God, the more the Spirit motivates and empowers me to live a lifestyle of self-giving love. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>The result is that when we act in accordance with a sense of the true and the good that God has put in our hearts, we actually grow in inner freedom. Paul knew such liberty while waiting to be executed. Regarding himself as a 'prisoner of Christ,' he used his incarceration to help other inmates discover what it means to be an eternally forgiven, dearly loved member of God's family (Philem. 1:10). Barred windows and doors represented his kind of confinement. For us, it might be physical paralysis, terminal illness, inescapable poverty, or prolonged unemployment. Whether we are on the cusp of life or in its twilight, we will all endure imprisonments on our life journeys--Will we be able to live lovingly and freely in the midst of them???? Will we remember that true freedom is not aright, but a grace?</b></span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Reverend Mary Wagner</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<div align="left">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> Mass: 10AM Every Sunday</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost, Pastor</span></b></div>
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-28219405537453075422013-06-23T14:22:00.001-07:002013-06-23T14:22:24.418-07:00Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow him. <b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;">12th Sunday in Ordinary Time</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"> June 13 2013</span></b><span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> Gospel <a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/luke/9:11"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Luke 9:18-24</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”<br />Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” <br />Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” </span><span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><em> </em></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: small;">Jesus tells in today's Gospel that we must take up our cross daily and follow him. We follow him because that is exactly what he did. Fortunately for most of us, we will not be nailed to it as he was. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: small;">There is not a person on this Earth that has not or will not experience suffering in their lives. Just like death, we cannot escape it, hide from it, or avoid it. Suffering may come to us when we least expect it and we must be prepared to deal with it. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: small;">So, how do we do that? Well, as followers of Jesus, we do it with the knowledge that God will give us the strength to endure our suffering, no matter how bad, how long, or how often it occurs. We should not turn from God when we suffer; we should turn to God for help and strength. God does not cause our suffering; it may come from others or it could even occur because of decisions we have made. I guess the point is, we should not blame God for what we endure. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: small;">Jesus came to teach us that God loves us. He took upon himself our human condition and experienced all of the suffering we experience and then some. We have a great example to follow in Jesus; a God who knows first hand about human failings and human suffering. In healing the sick and forgiving the sinners, he tried to alleviate the pain and suffering of others. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial Black;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is also what we are called to do as followers of Jesus. We gather in community and help one another.</span> <span style="font-size: small;">We must support one another in times of trial and accept the support of others when it is our time to experience our own pain and suffering. We are the body of Jesus and as such we are called to respond to others as Jesus responded to his followers, friends, and community, with love, compassion and forgiveness. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: small;">So as you go through this week, my prayer for each of you is that you recognize God's presence in your life when life turns sour; and that you recognize the pain and suffering of others around you and become Jesus for them.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: small;">May God bless you all.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: small;">Reverend Sue Provost</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> Mass: 10AM Every Sunday</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost, Pastor</span></b></div>
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"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-44650426844100047122013-06-04T07:01:00.003-07:002013-06-04T07:01:48.727-07:00The Body and Blood of Jesus is his gift to us. <br />
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;">Corpus Christi Sunday</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"> June 2, 2013</span></b><span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> Gospel <a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/luke/9:11"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Luke 9:11b-17</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><em>J</em></span><span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><em>esus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured. As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, "Dismiss the crowd<br />so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here." He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves." They replied, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people." Now the men there numbered about five thousand. Then he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty." They did so and made them all sit down. Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets. </em></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>This is a pivotal week, for me. Taking communion every week was one reason for becoming Catholic. I was going to be married Catholic and could not imagine not being able to take communion as our first meal. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">It would be not long after my confirmation that I was given confirmation of my faith in the importance of the Body and Blood. St Michael’s was a small parish; so there usually was the pastor, one of the nuns and the reader serving at the altar. The reader usually got forgotten for the wine. One week, as I was driving to church, I realized that I was going to miss out on the wine because I was reading. Well, I thought, the Body will be enough. Can you imagine my surprise when the nun came over to me with the cup? And yes, that was the only week I remember receiving the full communion when I was to read.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>This is also a somewhat pivotal week in the Liturgical calendar. We are seeing the Sunday Schedules to be listed as Ordinary Time; that is numbered in order. Ordinary Time though becomes regular and routine. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">The first reading is from the Old Testament, the second is from the New Testament, the prediction and the fulfillment. Our first reading shows that bread and wine has a history (and a history with Gentiles). </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">Our second reading shows us Jesus giving new meaning to the bread and wine (we heard the last couple of weeks, Jesus say “I make all things new”). This can be comforting. Yet when we fall into a routine we can get forgetful, and do things without thinking. This has happened to me with communion. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>The Body and Blood which was bread and wine become bread and wine again because I am approaching and receiving in rout. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">Many little kids have more understanding and put forth more effort in their approach when they turn and look up to their parent and ask if they are holding their arms just right. The parents are many times are saying, “yeah, yeah, that’s good, shhh. ”<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>Luke, on the other hand he went for a blessing not only to the person giving the Body, but also to the person giving the Blood. The Eucharistic Ministers at the 8 AM mass got used to it, but the first couple of times it momentarily confused the minister with the Blood. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">This helped to keep me focused on the true meaning of communion. Then not long after Luke received his first communion, it became routine again. So I had my pocket prayer book to have Luke and I say before and after prayers. I started focusing on our physical posture when approaching communion in hopes that that would keep the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">It reminds me of a Peanuts comic strip. Charles Schultz was a minister like a deacon of his congregation. Much of his work is a homily. His Sunday strip would be a well-disguised message. One comes to mind where Charlie Brown tells Lucy to keep the bat trademark up so as to not crack the bat. Well she does not crack the bat, but she did miss the point of why she was at the plate. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>Our Gospel reading reminds us why we come to the plate: (LK 9:11B-17)</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">1. That communion fills us full with plenty leftover.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">2. That He had been giving communion throughout his ministry</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">3. That this is the way to recognize God’s faithful followers </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>The second reading reminds us: (1 COR 11:23-26)</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">1. That Jesus gave us communion at Passover</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">2. That like the first Passover when the angel of death passed over the Israelites that followed the directives given to Moses, we will avoid true death when we follow Jesus.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>The first reading reminds us: (GN 14:18-20)</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">1. That communion is for all, even a Gentile King, because he recognizes and believes in God the Creator.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">2. That victory over death is celebrated by the breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> I pray that even though I have made you laugh and that I may have seemed to ignore the solemnity of this day; <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span>That when you find yourself coming to communion as a habit and you do without thought you will remember this homily and receive the body and blood of Jesus with faith, understanding and the solemnity that Jesus gave it to us.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial black;">Homily written by Linda Pilato</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> Mass: 10AM Every Sunday</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost, Pastor</span></b></div>
<br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-14953258891747379272013-05-27T22:40:00.003-07:002013-05-27T22:40:16.031-07:00Feast of the Holy Trinity<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong><br />
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;">Trinity Sunday</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;">May 26, 2013</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> <a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/acts/2:1"><span style="color: #0066cc;">John</span></a> 16:12-15</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><em>Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine;<br />for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."</em> </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">The Feast of the Holy Trinity which we celebrate today, arose as a response to the 4th Century heresy of Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">We proclaim our belief in the Holy Trinity in our Sign of the Cross, our Creeds, and in many parts of the Mass.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">We have all entered into salvation having been baptized in the Name of the Father (ie., the Creative Parent God) and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Our faith as Christians, as followers of Jesus, indeed rests on the Foundation of our belief in the Holy Trinity. --the doctrine of which itself has 3 parts: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black;"><span style="color: black;">1. </span><span style="color: black;">We do not believe in three Gods, but in One God in three persons-- with each of the persons of the Trinity, <u>being</u> God, whole and complete, such that each of them is the Same Reality of divine substance, essence and nature which had no beginning and will have no end. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black;"><span style="color: black;">2. </span>]<span style="color: black;">We also believe that the three Divine persons of the Trinity are really distinct from one another--thus, the person of the Parent God is distinct from that of the Son, the Son distinct from the Parent, and the Spirit is distinct from the Parent and Son. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black;"><span style="color: black;">3. </span><span style="color: black;">Finally, the Three Divine Persons of the Trinity are relative to each other, such that a perfect and complete "Tri-unity" exits amongst Them -- an interrelatedness of perfect harmony and peace--of perfect Love. They possess in common and they act in common -- what a model for us!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">All our readings today contribute to our understanding of this fundamental belief in a Triune God -a God Who is:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black;"><span style="color: black;"><b><u>Sovereign</u></b>: having established the heavens, drawn circles around the deep, made firm the skies, assigned the limits to the seas, laid the earth's foundation, and continually creates and sustains life (1st Reading Proverbs 8:22-31)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black;"><span style="color: black;"><b><u>Sympathetic</u></b>: from the word's two parts 'sym' (with) + pathos (feeling, suffering)....For although God is transcendent and powerful, God chose to live and love among us, to feel and suffer all things with us, bearing oh so much more than any of our sufferings, and indeed, bearing the sum of all mortal suffering of all time(2nd Reading Romans 5:1-5 -- " so through our Lord Jesus Christ...we [can]boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black;"><span style="color: black;"><b><u>Sufficient</u></b>: "Everything that the Parent God has belongs to me and the Spirit will take what is mine and reveal it to you." (today's Gospel, John 16:15)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">The doctrine of the Trinity, ie., Three Persons in one God, is the CENTRAL MYSTERY of the Christian faith </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">because it is the mystery of God's very self......and while we can never fully understand this Mystery, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">we are called to live its reality because we are created in the Triune God's Image.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">Our Baptism in the name of the Trinity </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial black;">immerses us into this <u>unity of Divine Relational Love </u>and throughout our lives as Christians </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;"> we confess God (the Source of all Good) as well as call upon God in time of trouble...</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">Our troubles and persecution, as Paul reminds us in today's 2nd Reading, give way to glory as we grow in imitation of Christ's sacrificial Love thru the power of the Spirit, thus becoming part of and co-creators by our gifts, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;"> of the Triune Love of God.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">Sister Joan Chittister's Creed, <u>In Search of Belief, </u> pp. 205 - 209</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">(with some adaptation)</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">I believe in one God Who made us all and whose divinity infuses all of life with the sacred.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">I believe in the multiple revelations of that God alive in every human heart, expressed in every culture, and found in all the wisdoms of the world.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">I believe that Jesus Christ, the unique Son of God, is the face of God on earth in whom we see best, the Divine justice, Divine mercy, and Divine compassion to which we are all called.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">I believe in the Christ Who is One in being with the Creator and Who shows us the presence of God in everything that is and calls out the sacred in ourselves.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">I believe in Jesus, the Christ, who leads us to the fullness of human stature, to what we were meant to become before all time and for all other things that were made.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">Through Christ we become new people, called beyond the consequences of our brokenness and lifted to the fullness of life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">By the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus was born of Mary, a woman pure in soul and single-hearted--a sign to the ages of the exalted place of womankind in the Divine plan of human salvation.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">Jesus grew as we grow through all the stages of life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">He lived as we live, prey to the pressures of evil and intent on the good.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">He broke no bonds with the world to which he was bound; he sinned not.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">He never strayed from the mind of God.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">He showed us the Way, lived it for us, suffered from it, and died because of it so that we might live with new heart, new mind, and new strength, despite all the death to which we are daily subjected.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">For our sake and for the sake of eternal Truth, he was hounded, harassed and executed by those who were their own gods and who valued the Sacred in no other.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">He suffered so that we might realize that the Spirit in us can never be killed, whatever price we have to pay for staying true to the mind of God.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">He died but did not die because He lives in us still.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">"On the third day" in the tomb he rose again in those he left behind and in each of usas well to in hearts that will not succumb to the enemies of life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">He changed all of life for all of us thereafter. He ascended into the life of God and waits there for our own ascension to the life beyond life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">He waits there, judging what has gone before and what is yet to come against unending values, and, in behalf of eternal virtue, for the time when all of life will be gathered into God, full of life and light, steeped in Truth.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">I believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of God on earth, who keeps the Christ vision present to souls yet in darkness, who gives life even to hearts now blind, who infuses energy into spirits yet weary, isolated, searching and confused.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">The Spirit has spoken to the human heart through the prophets and gives new meaning to the Word throughout time.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">I believe in one holy and universal church, bound together by the holiness of creation and the holiness of hearts forever true.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">I acknowledge the need to be freed from the compulsions of my disordered life and I acknowledge my need for forgiveness in the face of frailty.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">I look for life eternal in ways I cannot dream of and trust that God, the Source of All, goes on creating in this world and in us forever. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black;">Amen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black;">Homily written by Reverend Mary Wagner</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<div align="left">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> Mass: 10AM Every Sunday</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost, Pastor</span></b></div>
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"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-71381548214411324372013-05-20T19:48:00.002-07:002013-05-20T19:48:50.920-07:00The Gift of the Holy Spirit<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong><br />
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;">Pentecost Sunday</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: Arial Black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">May 19, 2013</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> <a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/acts/2:1"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Acts 2:1-11 </span></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><em>When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,<br />yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”</em> </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>The reading from Acts sets the tone for today’s celebration. Luke tells how the Church’s universal mission was inaugurated, in the power of the Holy Spirit, as faithful Jews gathered for their Pentecost festival, fifty days after the Passover celebration. Luke was conscious of his task of telling the world what had really happened – as he makes clear in introducing each of his two works. He faced a great challenge, however, as he set out to describe and interpret the vast complexity of the Church’s early development. He met this difficulty by choosing several events that were turning points in the Church’s history, and presenting them in a dramatic way that made clear their profound significance – a device used by other writers of the day.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>Luke’s story of the Church’s first Pentecost is an example of this approach. The Church’s first courageous witness, and its subsequent announcing of the Good New throughout the known world, was a remarkable fulfillment of the Savior’s promise that he would give his disciples courage and power through the gift of his own Spirit (Mk 13:9-11). </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">The universality of the Church’s mission is made clear. The Church’s first witness is to ‘devout people from every nation’ - in the first place to ‘Jews’, but with the mention of ‘proselytes’ among the crowd addressed the conversion of the gentiles is also anticipated. In the continuation of our passage, Peter’s sermon gives a summary of the Church’s early witness.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>It is in the power of the Spirit that the Church takes up its mission.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Today, before all days, the Church invites us to deepen our faith in the Savior’s gift of his own Spirit. Already in the Old Testament, ‘the Spirit of God’ was active as a life-giving force at work in creation. Anointed by the Spirit as God’s ‘Servant’, in fulfillment of the prophecies of the Book of Isaiah, Jesus has led us to know the Spirit as a Person sharing the one divine life with the Father and the Son. Today’s gospel reading is a meditation upon this shared life, and the way in which those who find faith in Christ have the Father and the Son ‘make their home’ in them. Those who have received the gift of Christ’s own Spirit will be led to known how the Savior is the source of hope for the whole world - as the Spirit ‘reminds’ them of all that Jesus said and did..<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>The Spirit is the Spirit of Christ; the Spirit is the very life principle of the Church; the Spirit dwells in each believer as our ‘paraclete’– the companion who stands by us in all our trials, providing whatever is needed to survive every trial. We live ‘in Christ’ because he has given us his own Spirit. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Writing to the Romans St Paul reminds these new converts that, together with the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit will come to ‘live in them’ – renewing their lives, as they set aside their old fears, and find joy and encouragement, as the Father’s beloved ‘children’ who are ‘coheirs with Christ’, sharing the blessings of his resurrection.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>There may be times when we wonder whether these ideals have any place in today's world. If this is so, may the celebration of this Feast renew our confidence in the fact that God does love us; that through the death and resurrection of Christ, we have been offered the opportunity for salvation; and that through the continued presence of the Holy Spirit, such ideals can become facts.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>We have so much more capacity to change the world than we realize, not because of our intelligence, not from our commitment to justice, but from the Spirit that inspires our compassion, stimulates our imaginations, and fills us with the assurance that we are truly the children of God with many rights and responsibilities. Pentecost confronts us with the reality of that Spirit of God dwelling within us. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">The implication of this actuality is too often ignored when in reality the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is central to our Christianity. Our commitment to care for the planet, environmental justice, feeding the hungry, assisting the sick, and speaking truth to the world all flow from the fact that we are the children of God. We have been given the authority to forgive sins or to retain sin because we have received the Holy Spirit (John 20:22-23). We have been given the power to bind or loose things on earth and in heaven. We have been given the keys to the kingdom because we are the children of God (Matt 16:19). Will we embrace these realities and live into the responsibilities that they imply? It is truly something for each one of us to think about. </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<div align="left">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> Mass: 10AM Every Sunday</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost, Pastor</span></b></div>
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<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-69796748464203633062013-05-12T16:22:00.000-07:002013-05-12T16:22:36.013-07:00Feast of the Ascension <br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;">Feast of the Ascension</span></span></b></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial Black;"><span style="color: #209860;"><span style="font-size: medium;">May 12, 2013</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> Gospel </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> <a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/luke/24:46"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Luke 24:46-53</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><em><span style="color: #0071bc;">Jesus said to his disciples:<br />“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” <br />Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.</span> </em></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>The Christian faith is rooted in the revelation of God's intervention in human history. The times when God has intervened in human history have become the central doctrines which form the cornerstone, the bedrock of our faith. They are the incarnation, the resurrection, the ascension and the final one, which we look forward to, the second coming. There is a symphony and interlocking of these truths which constitute the mystery of faith we live and celebrate. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Today we focus on Jesus' penultimate intervention: his ascension into heaven. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>There is a very close correlation between Jesus' ascension and his return, his second coming. We believe that Christ will come again. Jesus himself promised this and it has been the hope of Christians from the very beginning. As the Lord ascended into heaven the angels announced: 'This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven' (Acts 1:11). There is a way in which on this holy feast we celebrate and look forward to the future of humanity. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">The blessed hope of the Church is that we will be redeemed body and soul. On the last day our bodies will be reunited with our souls and we will enjoy forever the beatific vision - the sight of God, holy, beloved and adored. In this new reality we will enjoy the eternal bliss of being in God's presence for eternity. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>The feast of the Ascension that we celebrate today was actually last Thursday – 40 days after Easter. This belief in the after-life is what the beautiful reading from the Ephesians is about today: With the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance… and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power…” (Eph 1.18-19) What a beautiful prayer that is – and such strange imagery: “With the eyes of your heart enlightened.” </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">How can our hearts have eyes, and how can our hearts see? The heart is the seat of love, and so, it isn’t our intellect which needs to see the light - the truth oft he kingdom of heaven- but our enlightenment will come through our hearts in the way we love others and have been loved back. That is what heaven is – a state of love, because as we saw a few weeks ago, God is love.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> The reading from Ephesians goes on to explain that Christ lives but that we have become his earthly body. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Once he left the earth he has given us his Spirit so that we can carry on his work. As the Gospel of Luke says, he has sent us what God has promised, that we will be “clothed with power from on high”. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">In the first reading from the Acts, Luke also uses the idea of a promise, and he explains this power by saying that John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So that, even if Jesus was leaving the physical earth, he was not leaving his followers without help. We will be baptized and clothed with the Spirit.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">The feast of the Ascension is a celebration of the day when Jesus stopped appearing to his disciples and was not with them any more in a physical sense. Now, we take on his body. Now, we need to become Christ for others. This feast of the Ascension, then, is a reminder for all of us, not just of what awaits us when we die, but what we need to do while still alive: how we can become the body of Christ, and how we can be helped, protected and loved by the Spirit – God’s gift to us. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">As we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension today, let us not mourn the fact that Jesus left us on earth, but instead rejoice like the disciples. “They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy…” Because of the promise, the hope and the reminders he leaves us with, we have great reason for joy. Note that the Gospel ends with – “and they were continually in the temple blessing God.” </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">The disciples were Jews – initially they didn’t change their religion or start a new one. What they saw, though, was that Jesus was a special gift from God, God’s own Son, who was equal to God because he was God in some unknown way, and that all praise is of God, who loves us and takes care of us. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>Today, then, we celebrate with joy and confidence our future destiny: Christ in us the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). Jesus' ascension gives us, if you like, a glimpse into our future destiny. We don't often admit it but there is within each of us a desire and longing for permanence and a sense of not quite belonging on earth, a sense that our future lies beyond the grave. We resist the darkness that death is the end and cling to the hope of eternal life. The feast of the Ascension is an opportunity for us to deepen this understanding and appreciate in a new way that God is calling us to live with him forever and become partakers in the divine nature.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<div align="left">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> Mass: 10AM Every Sunday</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost, Pastor</span></b></div>
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-13764589896252640402013-05-05T11:35:00.000-07:002013-05-05T11:35:31.066-07:00Remember: Jesus Sent us an Advocate!<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;">6th</span><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;"> Sunday of Easter </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> Gospel </span><a href="http://usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/john/14:23"><span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">John 14:23-29</span></a><br />
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<span style="color: #0071bc; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><em>Jesus said to his
disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love
him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not
love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of
the Father who sent me. “I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate,
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give
to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be
troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back
to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for
the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so
that when it happens you may believe.”</em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>Today's selection from John's Gospel, continues the
farewell discourse of Jesus. Ideally situated in the Church calendar to
anticipate the coming feasts of Ascension and Pentecost, this gospel tells both
of Jesus' immanent departure and his promise to send the Holy Spirit,-who will
be an Advocate or Paraclete the Latin for 'Helper'. The Holy Spirit will provide
for the disciples all those things which Jesus did for them in his years with
them (teaching, leadership, assurance, etc.) His upcoming departure then, is
not abandonment, but rather a new, and even stronger indwelling Presence, which
will yield the gift of peace.</b><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>We
see just how effective this new presence of the Holy Spirit is in the community
as a whole, when we hear in the first reading, about the first crisis that the
early Church faced. As we know, Paul preached the Good News to the Gentiles and
by baptizing them without requiring them to observe the Law of Moses,
especially that of ritual circumcision, he was able to win over many converts.
So when some traditional Jewish Christians from Jerusalem visited Antioch and
compelled the Gentiles to follow the whole Mosaic Law, Paul opposed it
vigorously, arguing that salvation is won by faith in Christ, not by the works
of the Law. There was so much dissension that Paul and Barnabas had to go on a
peace-mission to Jerusalem to meet with the church there to hash it all out.
This gathering was later called the Council of Jerusalem, the first of the
Church's Councils. After intense debate, it was decided that the Gentile
converts were obligated to observe only those parts of the Law that would
facilitate social contact with the Jewish Christians. Luke makes it clear that
the decision to accept the Gentiles was not handed down from some 'high
authority' or derived from abstract principles, but rather arrived at through a
divine-human collaboration involving 'the whole Jerusalem church' along with
the Holy Spirit. </b><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>Jesus said to his disciples, " Anyone who loves Me will be
true to my word, and the One who sent Me will love them; and We will come to
them and there We will make our home with them." This most certainly indicates
that the gift of the Spirit is given to each of us individually, but a little
later on when Jesus says:"the One who sent me will send the Holy Spirit, who
will instruct you in everything", the "you" is plural, meaning, also, that the
Holy Spirit is given to the community of believers, the whole church. The
Spirit is God's gift of wisdom and grace, then, to each of us and to all of us
together (what we would call today, the <i>sensus fidelium</i>. The early
church's willingness to surrender in community, to prayer and to the Holy Spirit
challenges us (or shall I say, indicts us ?) in that 2,000 years later, so many
Christian faiths are still divided and so parochial. We still have such a long
way to go to in "real"-izing-the vision in Revelation of a holy city wherein
all people from the four corners of the earth universally adore the One and Only
God.</b><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>While we may wonder if we will destroy ourselves while
trying, if we call ourselves Christian we must embrace the principle of and live
the words of the song which say "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin
with me"....There are 5 strategies, each beginning with a letter in the word
"P.E.A.C.E.", if diligently practiced daily and in every 'un-peaceful' situation
by every Christian would<i> de facto</i> lead to a more peace-filled world:
</b><b>PRAYER: Mother Teresa, a contemporary model of the very way to live as
Christ did and recognized even by the secular world as a most peace-filled
person, the winner of the international Noble Peace prize, taught about the
necessity of prayer as the first step toward peace within ourselves and for the
world. "When you pray, you will have faith. When you have faith, you will
love. When you love, you will hear the call to serve. And when you serve, you
will have peace." </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>And
what should we pray for ? the situations that frighten us for sure, but mostly
for the people who have hurt us and betrayed us, that Good will be the end
result. </b></span></span><br />
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<strong>E<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;">NLIGHTENMENT: Thomas Merton, in his <i>Seeds of
Destruction</i>, wrote in 1961 about the necessity of freeing ourselves from the
exorbitant and tyrannical demands of a society that is violent, because it is
essentially greedy, lustful and cruel and he urged us before it became too late,
to recognize the impossibility of being a peaceful people if we submit passively
to the influences of a society maddened by over-stimulation, over-consumption,
voyeurism and speed. Nineteen hundred years before that, St Paul urged the
Philippians in a similar vane--"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if
there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about
these things....and the God of peace will be with you.[Phil. 4:8-9]. Our news
is a constant repetitious bombardment of crisis, cruelty, outrageousness,
banality and mayhem, but if we concentrate on filling our minds with what is
inspirational (which we can find without looking too hard), we will be
subconsciously motivated to emulate the noble. E.g., this week's story about
Carmen Tarleton has inspired thousands to forgive the hurt in their lives (6 yrs
ago she suffered chemical burns over 80% of her body when her estranged husband
doused her with lye...despite years of excruciating pain, multiples surgeries,
permanent disfigurement and blindness, she said, "There is a lot to learn and
take from horrific events that happen.. I want others to know that they need not
give up when tragedy strikes, but instead that they can make a choice to find
the good and allow that to help them heal." There are endless ways to
'light-en' our hearts and fill our spirits with the good and the
healing--nature, music, art, literature (two books recently recommended to me --
"Proof of Heaven" and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.") </span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>APPRECIATION: "Let Christ's peace reign in your
hearts...Dedicate yourselves to thankfulness."[Col.3:15]. "If the only prayer
you ever say in your entire life is 'Thank You', that would suffice." [Meister
Eckhart] Most importantly, we will need to be grateful for the crosses and
contradictions, the disillusionments and disagreements, the setbacks and the
struggles, the sufferings and our dying, all of which enable us to grow back
into God. </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>CHARITY: Goldie Hawn, in an interview for Mothers' Day,
said that "we are only as happy as our least happy child." I immediately
realized that God is only as happy as the least happy person on earth.--.so what
a task we have !! The prayer attributed to St Francis of Assisi gives us some
helpful suggestions..."Lord make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is
hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt,
faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where
there is sadness, joy."</b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b>ENDURANCE: "I have said this, that in Me you may have
peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome
the world.” [John 16:33]</b></span><b><span style="font-family: arial black;"> It has been
said that "It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them "
[</span><a href="http://www.finestquotes.com/author_quotes-author-Alfred%20Adler-page-0.htm"><span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial black;">Alfred Adler</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-family: arial black;">] and that certainly goes for
Christianity--it's a lot easier</span></span><span style="font-family: arial black;"> to fight
for it than to live it. But what the world desperately needs is less people
fighting for Christianity and more people living it. Then and only then, might
we actually have a chance at "world peace".</span></b><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> </span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Written by Rev. Mary Wagner</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith
Community</span></b> </span><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-41307025693115941922013-04-28T16:36:00.000-07:002013-04-28T16:36:33.702-07:00We Must Love One Another as Jesus Loves Us. <strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong>
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<img __objrefid="9" _eventid="evt224" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=57069817&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 310px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;">5th</span><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;"> Sunday of Easter </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> Gospel </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> <a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/john/13:31"><span style="color: #0066cc;">John 13:31-33a, 34-35</span></a></span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;">When Judas had left them, Jesus
said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God
is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and God will
glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also
should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if
you have love for one another.”</span> </em><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">In our readings today, we
see a common theme. That theme is love. Paul and Barnabus showed us their love
today. They went on quite a mission to spread the good news of the Risen
Christ. This was the first of several missions that they would go on. And this
was not just a small circle and a small group of people they went out to. You
kind of loose your sense of scale in this reading. The eastern coast of the
Mediterranean sea. That is where their mission centers around. But it is not
just a walk up and down the coast. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Paul and Barnabus start
out in Derbe, which is in the middle of modern day Turkey. The first Antioch
they stop at is in the Midwest part of Turkey. Perga and Atalia are near the
south-west coast of Turkey. The second Antioch that
is mentioned is not the first one in Midwest Turkey; it is actually a totally
different Antioch in Northwest Syria. The route they were on took them over 400
miles that they had to walk, plus over 300 miles that they had to sail to get to
Syria. The mission that Paul and Barnabus were on was to bring the news of the
Risen Christ to the gentiles along the eastern Mediterranean.
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Now the Jewish people who
had settled in this area were not exactly supportive of the idea that the son of
God had come to earth and the Jewish leaders from the Temple in Jerusalem had
him killed. They spread a lot of lies about this Christ fellow to discredit the
work Paul and Barnabus were doing. The Jewish people got so angry at the
beginning of this mission that they dragged Paul outside of town and stoned
him. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">They
thought Paul was dead and left him, but Paul got up and continued to preach to
whoever would listen. Timex must have gotten their
slogan from Paul. He takes a lickin’ but keeps on tickin’. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">It was love for the entire human
race that drove Paul to continue his mission. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">John’s Revelation shows
us God’s love for us. Again we see very vivid imagery. John describes the holy
city of Jerusalem coming out of Heaven from God. He tells us of a new Heaven
and a new Earth. John’s visions were about the fulfillment of the covenant;
the original covenant from Genesis. I will be your God, and you will be my
people. Let me put some of this imagery into context. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">For the Jewish people,
Jerusalem was the center of the world. So when John sees Jerusalem coming out
of Heaven and how beautiful it looked, the way this image makes him feel is that
all people are cleansed and worthy to be with God. This is what most Jewish
people would have felt when hearing this imagery.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">In our Gospel today,
Jesus shows us his love as he comforts the Apostles. Jesus reminds them that
what is about to happen; that event that will give glory to God, is going to
happen very soon, and he tells them to love one another the way he loved
them. John continuously preached that three things
will last: Faith, Hope and Love, the greatest of which is
Love. We have heard Jesus say this before.
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">When he was
questioned by the Pharisees about which of God’s commands was the most
important. Even then he said “Love God above all and love your neighbor as
yourself.” Jesus said to the apostles, and he is
saying to us today, to let your love for each other be the sign of the Christ in
you. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Paul showed us he had a
lot of love. Imagine preaching the Good News of Salvation, and being stoned for
it, then traveling almost 1,000 miles by foot and by boat continuing to preach
the whole way. It certainly was not for his health. And this was just his
first mission. He loved everyone. He loved them so much that he took beatings
and stoning from the very people he wanted to bring to Christ. And he was
Christ to them. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">As Christians we are
called to love one another and that love is a badge of honor and we should wear
it proudly and if we truly do love one another, that love must extend to
everyone, not just the people that are easy to love. We must let our love be a
sign that we believe that Christ is our redeemer and savior. We must not be
afraid to show our love. We must be Christ for one
another. So when we go out into the world today,
remember to love one another, to be Christ for one another, and to wear a good
pair of shoes for the long journey</span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> ahead. <b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> </span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Written by Fr. James Morgan</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith
Community</span></b> </span><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-5323064725343820432013-04-21T15:07:00.007-07:002013-04-21T15:07:48.273-07:00Jesus is the Good Shepherd!<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong>
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<img __objrefid="9" _eventid="evt224" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=56847876&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 336px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;">4th Sunday of Easter </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"> Good Shepherd Sunday
</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> Gospel
</span><a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/john/21:1"><span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;">John 10:27-30</span></a>
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<span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><em>Jesus said:<br />“My sheep
hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the
Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”</em></span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">This Sunday
is the fourth Sunday of the Easter Season, but we also call it "Good Shepherd"
Sunday after the image of the Good Shepherd presented in our readings today.
</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">In our
world today, there are many figures, things, and powers competing to be our
shepherds, to lead us in the way they think we should go. Politicians try to
lead us to toward or away from this or that cause. Universities try to lead us
toward this or that philosophy. The media tries to lead us toward this or that
set of values they think we should embrace or disregard. </span></span><span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">There are so many
influences in our lives. To whom shall we go? How can we tell the good voices
from the bad? Who are the good shepherds?</span><span style="color: black;">
</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">True
shepherds are those who lead their flock with self-sacrificial love. When the
wolves come among them, does the shepherd run away, afraid for his own welfare,
neglecting that of his sheep? Or does he stay, throwing himself among them,
standing guard and confronting the wolves in order to protect the sheep? This
can be a test for anything or anyone trying to shepherd your life. What does
that shepherd do when you are really in danger, a danger that could envelope the
shepherd too?</span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">The story
of the good shepherd that we hear from Scripture, about the shepherd who had one
hundred sheep but was willing to leave 99 of them in order to find the one that
is lost, teaches us a valuable lesson. All of humanity was the lost sheep lost
in the desert, lost in our sins and distant from God. But before we could be
lost forever, Jesus our Good Shepherd left the glory of heaven, so to speak,
left the 99 and came among us to reclaim us as his own, to take our lot upon his
shoulders and carry us home. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Jesus said,
"My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish." Through all the voices crying out to lead
us, can we hear and recognize the voice of Jesus?</span><span style="color: black;">
Today we must show to the those inside and outside of the Church that the Church
is still Good, that Jesus Christ is her Head and Shepherd and through the Church
continues and expands his ministry of healing and forgiveness to all of mankind
for all generations… That the Church is still True, it still loves, still brings
the satisfaction of every deepest human longing. That through the sacraments of
the Church we may still partake of the very Divine Life of God and are sustained
by his own Precious Body and Blood. That the Church still suffers with us, prays
with us, rejoices with us, worships with us, lives with us and is with us when
we die, "wiping away every tear from our eyes." I must do my own part in
restoring this voice where it has fallen short. I must do my own part in
assisting Jesus in saving the lost sheep and calling them
home.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Together,
we can cooperate with the Good Shepherd to help move the Church forward in
truth, honesty, and virtue. Together, we can remain strong so the one lost sheep
might find a faithful fold in which to be refreshed and restored in times of
despair. Together, we can work and pray for peace and unity that can only come
from Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd.</span><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> </span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> St. Valentine Faith
Community</span></b></span> <br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-9659065555408630132013-04-14T07:57:00.003-07:002013-04-14T07:57:51.937-07:00Feed my Lambs; Feed my Sheep!<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong>
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<img __objrefid="11" _eventid="evt355" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=56602761&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 338px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;">3rd Sunday of Easter </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;"> Gospel
</span><a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/john/21:1"><span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial black; font-size: medium;">John 21:1-19</span></a>
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<span style="color: #209860; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><em>At that time, Jesus
revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed
himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael
from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon
Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come
with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught
nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the
disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have
you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast
the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they
cast it, and were not able to pull it in<br />because of the number of fish. So
the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter
heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not
far from shore, only about a hundred yards,<br />dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and
bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon
Peter went over and dragged the net ashore<br />full of one hundred fifty-three
large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to
them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who
are you?” because they realized it was the Lord.<br />Jesus came over and took the
bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third
time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead. When
they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do
you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know
that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon
Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered
him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”<br />Jesus said to him, “Tend my
sheep.” Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?”
and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus
said to him, “Feed my sheep.<br />Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you
will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where
you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would
glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow
me.”</em></span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Our first reading is a great
example of the phrase “No good deed goes unpunished.” It is a brief account of
the hospitality shown by the Sanhedrin after the crucifixion. The apostles
were teaching about the risen Christ, and their stories were not so flattering
to the temple leaders, so the apostles were brought in, interrogated, beaten and
then sent away with a warning not to preach of Christ any more. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Well our Peter certainly has
come a long way in a short time. It was not that long ago, on a chilly night in
Jerusalem, when Peter was questioned about Jesus, and he denied even knowing the
man. Now he and the apostles are ignoring the edict of the Jewish leaders and
they are spreading the word of the risen Christ, and taking quite a beating for
it. And the readings tell us they were joyful to be allowed to suffer for the
sake of their work.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Our second reading provides us
with a glimpse into the Revelation of John, the vision he was given of Christ
returning to heaven.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">A part of this vision we do not
hear of today is that in John’s vision, is that up in heaven, surrounding God
himself, the angels and elders were all sad because they were waiting for
someone to come who would be worthy to open the scroll and break the seven seals
which would release the four horsemen of the apocalypse and bring about the fall
of Rome.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">You can imagine their
excitement when Jesus, the sacrificial lamb, returned to the right hand of God.
Jesus was the one who was worthy to open the scroll.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">John uses a lot of beautiful
and powerful images in his Revelation writings. This vivid imagery is quite
inspiring and John recorded these visions so that the struggling Christian
communities could themselves be inspired. After all, they had lost Jesus but
believed he would come again. Many of them had been awaiting the messiah who
would lead them from the tyranny of Rome, which didn’t happen. John gave the
Christians quite a boost when he revealed his visions.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">We know that John’s revelation
was written long after Christ’s death. John was probably very old when he had
his visions. John grew so old and weak that he would be carried into mass on a
straw mat so that he could preach and teach. And we know that the things he
preached about most were Faith Hope and Love. And the most important of these
is Love. John felt so strongly about this that until his dying day he would
preach love. Love of God and one another. People would come up to him and say
“Rabbi, what else is there to do? What else is there for us to know?” John
would reply “Continue to love and love more.” And we all thought John Lennon
came up with that concept.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Speaking of love, what does
Jesus mean when he asks Peter “Do you love me more than these?” Jesus is
referring to the other disciples he was fishing with that previous night.
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Does Peter love Jesus more than
the other disciples do? Of course Peter responds yes. Jesus asks Peter 3
times in 3 ways if he loved him. After the third time, Peter emphatically says
YES. He just as quickly said yes to Jesus three times, in the same manner that
he denied Jesus the night he was betrayed.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Each time Jesus asked Peter if
he loved Him, Jesus charged Peter to care for his flock. It is Jewish custom
that when questioned like that, being asked three times and being given a charge
3 times, and affirming that charge, Peter entered into a legal verbal contract
to care for the flock. Of course that flock to whom Jesus is referring to is
all of God’s people.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Jesus once said, it takes faith
only the size of a mustard seed to move mountains, and it is on that rock of
faith that he will build his church. Peter had little faith at first, but that
was enough. That was enough to make Jesus happy, knowing that his work on Earth
would continue.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;">Faith, Hope and Love. We see
this illustrated in our readings today. Let us have faith that we can draw
strength in the hope of the coming of our savior, Jesus the Christ, who loves us
always. And let us have the strength to spread that love among each other and
our greater community. Thanks be to God.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #89191c; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: small;">Written by Fr. James
Morgan</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> St.
Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b></div>
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
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<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-29838930814362842882013-04-07T07:37:00.002-07:002013-04-07T07:37:24.326-07:00There is a "Doubting Thomas" in Each One of Us<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> </span></b><br />
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<img __objrefid="9" _eventid="evt227" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=56351341&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 184px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #209860;"> <span style="font-family: arial black;">2nd Sunday of
Easter </span></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial black;"><span style="color: #209860;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> Gospel </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;">John
20:19-38</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0071bc; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><em>On the evening
of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples
were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to
them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands
and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them
again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when
he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy
Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are
retained.” Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when
Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he
said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger
into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a
week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came,
although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be
with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and
bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but
believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to
him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?<br />Blessed are those
who have not seen and have believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the
presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are
written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.</em></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #2e3092; font-family: arial black;">The gospel for today is so important that it is used every
year on this 2nd Sunday of Easter. It is the Good News of Forgiveness and
Mission and Faith. The Gospel begins with the account of the locked doors to
remind us that despite our locked (mental and spiritual) doors , God is always
trying to break through to us--to offer us freedom, healing and salvation.
Jesus, having passed through the locked doors of the Upper Room on the evening
of his Resurrection, stands in the midst of His hiding, fearful friends, and
offers them a blessing: "Peace be with you". </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #2e3092; font-family: arial black;">These are the first words that the Risen Jesus speaks to
anyone, and he speaks it to them, most of whom have deserted him and one who has
outright denied him -- They are highly unlikely words -- for certainly the
terrified group must have been expecting a reprimand instead--These words are so
unlikely, in fact, that Jesus had to give His greeting of Peace 3x for them to
get it, and with each repetition, He offers them (and us) a different gift ..
With His first greeting, Jesus silences the disciples' guilt and their apologies
before they even have a chance to utter them...By speaking pre-emptively, Jesus
is telling us that he holds none of our flaws and failings against us, that all
is forgiven, that he really meant his last words from the Cross "forgive them
for they know not what they do."., and that as often as we have true sorrow in
our hearts for our offenses, He is there, offering forgiveness and mercy, giving
us the peace which only He can give. And immediately after proving to those
gathered that it was really He, by showing them His wounded hands and side,
Jesus at once gives them the great commission to continue his saving work. "As
the Parent God has sent me, so I send you...." </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #2e3092; font-family: arial black;">Just as the Trinitarian God breathed on the waters of chaos
at creation, Jesus breathes His life-giving Spirit on his confused followers
with an immediate creative effect, imparting to them the power to create
reconciliation, the power in Him to build and hold community together. Jesus
makes his disciples responsible for continuing the work of Love and Mercy that
God began in sending the Son. It is fitting to consider, with Holocaust
Remembrance Day being tomorrow, the degree to which we are to forgive, the
magnitude of the mission we have been given [this prayer was found by side of a
dead child at a concentration camp at the end of WWII]: </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #2e3092; font-family: arial black;"><em>"O Lord, remember not only the men and women of goodwill,
but all those of ill will. Do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted
upon us; but remember the fruits we have wrought thanks to this suffering--our
comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the
greatness of heart, which has grown out of all of this. And when they come to
judgment, let these fruits which we have borne be their forgiveness. Amen."
[In Search of Belief, Joan Chittister, p. 190] </em></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #2e3092; font-family: arial black;">Having seen the Risen Lord with their own eyes, the
privileged few of today's Gospel can hardly dis-believe Jesus' Rising from the
dead, but, as we've heard, they had little success in persuading Thomas who
wanted to see for himself. If I had been a disciple in that Room, I'm sure I
would have been a doubter right along with Thomas, and indeed there have been
many times in my life when I have had my doubts about the ability of the Good to
permanently win over evil. And that is alright, for as we see, Jesus does not
rebuke Thomas for his skepticism, and is willing to give him every opportunity
to restore his faith...</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #2e3092; font-family: arial black;">You may recall that, when Jesus decided to travel to Bethany
to raise Lazarus, all the disciples knew then, that Jesus' traveling so close to
Jerusalem meant that he would meet his destined death, and it was Thomas on that
occasion (acting all brave), who said, "Let us go too and be killed along with
him.".... But, of course, after Jesus' excruciating, terrible death, Thomas
understandably suffered a crisis of faith (again, something we all have repeated
bouts with in our lives), and so we can easily identify with his sorrow and
sense of humiliation at meeting the glorified Christ face to face, whereupon he
falls to his knees, crying aloud, "My Lord and My God!" </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #2e3092; font-family: arial black;">Jesus understood Thomas' (and our) faith struggles because He
himself, dying on the cross, felt forsaken, too. Jesus honored Thomas' doubts
because Jesus could see that once Thomas worked through them, he would be one of
the surest voices of the faith, and would eventually found 7 churches in India
before being martyred for what remains to this day the Syro-Malabar Christian
faith. In just 6 short weeks before He left this earth, Jesus succeeded in
changing not only Thomas but many other cowardly disciples into fearless
evangelists, and this is the most convincing evidence for the
Resurrection.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #2e3092; font-family: arial black;">It is astounding to consider that although there was a only a
handful of followers hiding in the Upper Room the night of the Resurrection, by
the Ascension 40 days later (according to Acts 1:15) there are 120 people
awaiting the Spirit of Pentecost, by Acts 2 we read that 3,000 people were
asking for Baptism in response to Peter's Pentecost sermon and after that,
witnesses were proclaiming Christ openly in the streets, in jail cells, in the
catacombs, and in the Colosseum awaiting their deaths. (this is no conspiracy,
for while many people will lie to keep themselves out of trouble, no one makes
up a story to get themselves tortured and killed) </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #2e3092; font-family: arial black;">We today, two thousand years later, believe in Jesus'
Resurrection not because we have seen, but because we know historically as well
as from first-hand experience, the power of faith-filled Love in others who have
believed. "Blessed are they who have not seen and still believe." This is
Jesus' 9th Beatitude ...his final prescription for happiness...which is to
say.... Happy are they who have faith in God, faith in the future which is
eternal, and faith in their ability to overcome the challenges before them. For
they are at peace. We do not touch the Lord’s hands and side as Thomas did, but
we believe that Jesus is alive and that he touches us. "We believe that we
shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" [Ps 27:13] --the
'land of the living' being both the here and now and the ever-after. We
believe, Lord, help our unbelief.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><strong>Written by Associate
Pastor Mary Wagner</strong></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;">St.
Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-75907195845435364172013-03-31T14:33:00.003-07:002013-03-31T14:33:35.024-07:00The Feast of the Empty Tomb<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong>
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<img __objrefid="9" _eventid="evt224" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=56127240&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 375px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #007236; font-family: arial black;">Easter
Sunday</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #007236;"><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> Gospel </span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>John
20:1-18</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><em><span style="color: #89191c;"><b>Early on the first day of the
week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the
stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter
and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord
out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”</b><b> 3 So Peter
and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other
disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in
at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came
along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen
lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head.
The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the
other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and
believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise
from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were
staying.</b><b> </b><b>11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept,
she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where
Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.</b><b>13 They
asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”</b><b>“They have taken my Lord away,”
she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned
around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was
Jesus.</b><b>15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are
looking for?”</b><b>Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have
carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”</b><b>16
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”</b><b>She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic,
“Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).</b><b>17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell
them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your
God.’”</b><b>18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen
the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to
her.</b></span></em></b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>Three non-church-goers
died and met at the pearly gates of Heaven. St. Peter told them that they could
enter the gates if they could answer one simple question.</b><b> </b><b>St.
Peter asks the first man, “What is Easter?” </b></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>The man replies, “Oh,
that’s easy! It’s the holiday in November when everyone gets together, eats
turkey, and are thankful…”</b><b> </b><b>“Wrong!” replies St. Peter, and
proceeds to ask the second man the same question, “What is
Easter?”</b><b> </b></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>The second man replies,
“Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice tree, exchange
presents, and celebrate the birth of Jesus.”</b><b> </b><b>St. Peter looks at
the second man, shakes his head in disgust, tells him he’s wrong, and then peers
over his glasses at the third man and asks, “What is
Easter?”</b><b> </b></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>The third man smiles
confidently and looks St. Peter in the eyes, “I know what Easter
is.”</b><b> </b><b>“Oh?” says St. Peter, incredulously.</b><b> </b><b>“Easter is
the Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover.
Jesus and his disciples were eating at the last supper and Jesus was later
deceived and turned over to the Romans by one of his disciples. The Romans
took him to be crucified and he was stabbed in the side, made to wear a crown
of thorns, and was hung on a cross with nails through his hands. He was buried
in a nearby cave which was sealed off by a large boulder.”</b><b> </b><b>St.
Peter smiles broadly with delight.</b><b> </b><b>The third man continued, “Every
year the boulder is moved aside so that Jesus can come out… and, if he sees his
shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.”</b><b> </b></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>If Jesus had not risen
and had not appeared to the apostles, there would be no Christianity today and
none of these men would have even heard of Easter to get it wrong. After Jesus’
death, all the hopes of the followers of Jesus were dashed. Many of them went
into hiding. This Messiah that they had decided Jesus was, died the worst death
– that of a criminal – and achieved none of the expectations of a Savior. Jesus’
death may have saved the world, but we would have never heard about
it.</b><b> </b></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>This is a major event,
very hard for any of us to comprehend. We cannot find in the Scriptures any
consistent, single or unified explanation of the resurrection. What makes it
believable, for me, is that these people who were in hiding, totally
disappointed, totally lost, suddenly changed. Not just one of them, but all of
them. They had an experience of the risen Lord, came out of hiding, and
understood finally what Jesus was all about all
along.</b><b> </b></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>As a child, I used to
think that Jesus rose and was exactly the same as he was before, only with holes
in his hands and feet. As an adult, I read more carefully the Gospels, and
realize that Jesus raised was not the same as he was before. He could appear and
disappear, he could change his looks so he wouldn’t be recognized, yet he could
eat and be touched. This is something new to grasp. </b></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>In every case, however,
the followers of Jesus recognized him, believed in him and changed. We went from
a group of frightened and scattered followers to a group of excited men and
women, anxious to share their joy, their insights, their love. That is the
miracle of Easter.</b><b> </b><b>We need to not take this for granted. Each
time we hear this story we need to examine it and get excited about it just as
the Apostles did. </b></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>Isn’t this why the church
reminds us each year with this glorious feast, made all the more glorious by the
contrasting days of Holy Week. We need to awaken to this glorious news of the
Resurrection, be as excited as the women who saw the empty tomb, be changed in
the way Jesus’ followers were.</b><b> </b><b> </b></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>Thus, Jesus has conquered
death and so we also can conquer death as well.</b><b> </b><b>We are an Easter
religion. We believe that despite all the evils surrounding us, all of the
natural disasters that hit us, the poverty, hunger and discrimination of the
world, that we will not give ourselves over to that power, but through faith in
the resurrection, we believe that all this suffering will be vindicated, and
that like Jesus, we will be raised up and renewed. We realize that risen life
will come because of our self-sacrificing love of others, with Jesus as our
prime example of that.</b><b> </b></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>Today’s Gospel reading,
you may have noted, is not about the appearances of Jesus, but simply about an
empty tomb. I doubt that any of us will see the risen Jesus in this life. We
have to take our faith from what is unseen – the empty tomb. Faith in Jesus’
resurrection came originally from the empty tomb, the tears of Magdalene, and
the gradual belief of the followers in what had happened. We too must take our
faith from the empty tomb. </b></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: arial black; font-size: small;"><b>Let it be a symbol for us
of the faith that we are all developing, our own gradual understanding like
Peter and the Beloved disciple of what it all means, and a growing awareness
that we too will conquer death and be with Jesus in the kingdom! Philip Brooks,
an Episcopal Bishop, said “The great Easter truth is not that we are to live
newly after death – that is not the great thing – but that…we are to, and may,
live nobly now because we are to live forever.” – Happy Empty Tomb! Happy
Easter! This is the Good News and the Best News that we celebrate
today!</b><b></b><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> </span></b></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> St.
Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2301 E Sunset Road</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-16588244602438377502013-03-24T13:32:00.000-07:002013-03-24T13:32:24.794-07:00We are Transformed by the Cross<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong>
<br />
<div align="center">
<img __objrefid="9" _eventid="evt224" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=55888311&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 188px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> Palm Sunday
</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="color: #5d1e79;">Gospel
</span></span></b><span style="color: #ab4a9c; font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;">Matthew
21:1-11</span></b> <b><span style="color: black;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><span style="color: #ab4a9c;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>When they had come near Jerusalem and
had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two
disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately
you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to
me. If anyone says</b><b>anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.'
And he will send them immediately." </b><b>This took place to fulfill what had
been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your
king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal
of a donkey.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they
brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on
them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut
branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead
of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed
is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest
heaven!"</b><b>When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking,
"Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from
Nazareth in Galilee."</b><b> </b></span> </span></em><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Many years ago I
was standing in a reception line at a fundraising event. Near me was a young man
in his early teens who has spina bifida. He could only stand supported by braces
that he held with both hands. A woman seeking to express great kindness said to
him, “My what a brave young man you are.” To this he replied, “Lady, everybody
has a cross to bear. You can just see mine.”</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>At a certain point
when the line began to thin out I reminded my young friend of his response. A
big smile came over his face as he said to me: “It’s true you know. Everybody
has a cross. We can read about them in the morning
newspaper.</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>”</b><b>Faith,
provides us the prism through which to see reality and the unfolding of our
daily life, what Catholics used to call the prism, the eye of faith. Through
faith we see that God’s plan, Christ’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit are
part of who we are, how we’re supposed to act and react to the living out of our
human condition, how we live out our life.</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Holy Week is a time
the Church sets aside each year so that we can experience in the liturgy the
events of our salvation, renew our faith, strengthen our spiritual life and give
strength to that vision of life that only our faith can provide us. And, as we
make our faith journey we recognize that it is through the eyes of faith that we
see so much more of what God intends for us. Palm Sunday calls us to begin this
spiritual journey. It helps us approach the mysteries of salvation with lively
faith and grow that much closer to Christ.</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>The reading for the
Blessing of Palms sets the stage for our spiritual journey. With the eyes of
faith we can truly grasp what is unfolding as Jesus completes His three- year
public life, as he comes now to this final stage for the last time to the gates
of Jerusalem.</b><b>To the crowds who lined the streets, and to His own
disciples, this was a triumphant moment. Jesus enters Jerusalem and is hailed by
many as the king—the long-awaited messiah, the one who would come in the name of
the Lord and re-establish the Kingdom of David.</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>It is only in the
painful sequence of events during this week that the true nature of Jesus’
kingdom and our part in it become clear. His is a kingdom of the Spirit. We will
be invited to take up the cross as he did. We will be encouraged to see in our
own limitations, suffering, pain and even death a new fuller, richer meaning.
Jesus will hold out for all of us the revelation of the transforming power of
love. So great is His love for us and His Father that he will freely take up the
cross, suffer and die on it for us, for our salvation.</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Christ holds up for
us the cross with this under-standing: If we embrace it with love, as he did,
the cross can be redemptive. Into every life comes a cross. There’s no way to
avoid the cross that each of us must carry. Some are simply “more visible” than
others. Yet no one escapes the ups and downs of the human condition. Sometimes
the cross comes in the form of aging, physical suffering, disease, disability.
Other times it presents itself as a betrayal of a friendship, an abuse of a
relationship. Our cross might simply be the struggle to live out the wondrous
yet demanding promises to love, honor and support one another “all the days of
our lives.” Whatever the cross,</b><b>Jesus tells us we must take it up. We must
carry it. We must pick up our cross and walk with him.
</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Jesus embraced the
cross, and in His great love he transformed it into an instrument of God’s grace
and instrument of God’s power, an instrument of the Spirit. So too can we. We
are able to unite our personal cross to the cross of Christ and, in our love,
transform it and make it into something just as Jesus did. Make it into
something redemptive, transforming, life-giving.</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>In one of the most
familiar and probably most cherished forms of the Stations of the Cross, we find
this invitation to prayer: “We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.” To which
we reply: “Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.” In this
brief prayer Saint Alphonsus Liguori captured the essence of that ancient
creedal proclamation Jesus Christ “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
died and was buried.” All of this for a purpose. “We adore you, O Christ, and we
praise you because by your holy cross you have redeemed the
world.”</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>There is much more
to the statement of faith than the simple recognition that Christ died. If
Christ had not redeemed us by his cross, His death would have had little or no
meaning, certainly for us today. With eyes of faith, the apostles and all
believers after them gaze on the cross and see much more than just the
instrument on which Jesus hung until he died. The death of Jesus is a historical
and theological reality that can be interpreted correctly only with eyes of
faith.</b><b>Toward the end of Luke's Gospel, as Jesus takes His last breath,
the eyes of the Roman centurion are opened and he recognizes the meaning of what
is happening, of what he has just witnessed of what he’s been a part of. And he
says: “Truly this man was the Son of God!” </b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Later, in
explaining more profoundly the theological significance of Jesus’ death, St.
Paul points out that “just as through one transgression condemnation came upon
all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life comes to all” (Rom.
5.18).</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>J</b></span></b></span><span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>esus’ saving actions are the work of a person who is both God and man.
They have, therefore, superabundant value. Jesus Christ is the only one who
could offer God a fitting atonement for sin. It is here that we see the
immensity of God’s saving mercy. Not only does God save us, but he also brings
about salvation in a generous way and in a manner that honors the humanity he
saves. In Christ, God allows a human being to bring him gifts worthy of
salvation.</b> <b> </b><b>Jesus took on human suffering, pain, loss, fear,
anxiety, diminishment and even death. </b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Through the power
of His love he transformed all of these harsh realities into means of grace.
And, by the blood of the cross he won for us our salvation. In so doing, he
invites us to transform our own sufferings, our own limitations, disabilities
and distress into a sharing in His own redemptive love.</b><b>How is it that we
will have the spiritual power, the power, the grace of God to make this
spiritual journey through life, to take up our cross and carry it, to transform
the events of our lives through God’s love? The answer is in the great gift
Jesus left us at the Last Supper.</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>In the Eucharist,
Jesus has instituted the sacrament in which the very passion, death and
resurrection that he would undergo would be made present again in our lives.
This presence enables us to share in the benefits of the cross. We speak of our
dying to sin and rising to new life because we participate in the mystery of
Jesus’ death and resurrection.</b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial black;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>With lively faith,
then, let us approach this Holy Week with the recognition that the cross each
one of us bears can be a real and true gift. To the extent that we see with the
eyes of faith, we allow ourselves to enter that world of redeeming love and
embracing grace. This is the world that Jesus proclaimed as he entered Jerusalem
in triumph on Palm Sunday, fully aware that this was the prelude to both his
death and his glorious resurrection</b><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">.<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span></span></b></span></b> </span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;">St.
Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> 2301 E Sunset Road </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 18</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89119</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-15951488419353130862013-03-17T14:08:00.006-07:002013-03-17T14:08:47.639-07:00Do Not Separate Yourself from God.<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> </span></b><br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<img __objrefid="9" _eventid="evt224" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=55637798&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 188px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> Fifth </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">Sunday of Lent, March 17,
2013</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="color: #5d1e79;">Gospel John
8:1-11</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><span style="color: #ab4a9c; font-size: small;">Jesus went to the Mount of Olives But early in
the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started
coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the
Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in
the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act
of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some
charge to bring against him.<br />Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground
with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said
to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone
at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.<br />And in response, they
went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the
woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are
they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said,
“Neither do I condemn you.<br />Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></b></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Happy St.
Patrick’s Day everyone! The work of St Patrick is legendary, waging a war
against sin and creating a stronghold for the catholic church in Ireland. But
what is sin, exactly? Is it something that we do that is bad or wrong? Sort
of. Sin is anything that we do that separates us from
God. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Does anyone
remember what original sin is? Remember when Satan tempted Eve in the Garden?
Then Eve tempted Adam. That certainly put in a big rift between God and his
people. Eating the fruit was not the sin, but by eating the fruit they
disobeyed God and separated themselves from that love. That is sin. When Adam
and Eve ate fruit from the tree of knowledge, they were expelled from the Garden
of Eden and were cursed to endure pain and suffering and death. That sin, that
separation from God, was passed down to all of us. We all have carried the
burden of Original Sin. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Our first
reading today from Isaiah is quite a prophesy. Like all prophets he sounds a
bit cryptic, but in reality, he is being very clear and to the point. It sounds
so cryptic because he can’t just say God. There were so many prophets
proclaiming a god of one type or another or even multiple gods. He wanted to
make it clear that he was speaking of the God of the Israelites. The God that
led their people out of Egypt. But his prophesy does not speak of God
delivering them from their current Babylonian oppression. It goes far into the
future. It tells those who would listen that God will be changing from an
angry, vengeful god and become a kinder, gentler god. A god that people will
love, not fear. Isaiah is telling his people and is telling us to forget about
the past. Forget the actions of that angry vengeful god and look to the future
to see the marvels that God will do for us. He is telling us that God will no
longer be separate from us, because he will be sending us Jesus, to be one with
us, among us, and we will praise him for
this. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Now we come
to Paul. Long suffering Paul. We are blessed to have so many of his writings
preserved in the New Testament. Of course most of his writings are to the many
early Christian communities and they tend to focus on what they are doing
wrong. Jesus had only recently risen in Glory, but there was growing unrest
among the people that want to follow the teachings of Christ. All of these
groups kept losing their way and straying from the path of Jesus. That’s why
Paul had to write so many letters. In this particular letter, Paul is reminding
the squabbling Philippians and us that he has given up everything of value in
his life so that he can strive to be as Christ like as possible. He struggled
every day to follow Christ’s example because he wanted to share in the
Resurrection. He knew he would not achieve perfection, but he struggled for it
none the less. Progress, not perfection, is what Christ asked of him and asks
of us. Strive to do good works. Strive to make the world around you a little
better. One person cannot change everything, but one person can make a
difference. That is progress. And like many of us, as much as Paul wants to be
in Heaven with Jesus, he is not quite ready to go
now. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>In our
gospel, we get to see where the legacy of the angry vengeful god and Isaiah’s
prophesy of the kind, forgiving, skin on god meet. The skin on god. I like the
image of that. I like the idea of not just figuratively walking in Christ’s
footsteps but actually following the man himself. Jesus spent a lot of time at
the temple teaching and of course this did not enthuse the temple leaders. They
started plotting and scheming and were determined to find a way to discredit
Jesus and get rid of him. They thought they had come up with the perfect plan
to trip up Jesus. When they brought the person whom they had caught in the act
of adultery (apparently the other one didn’t get caught…) they posed the
question to Jesus “What should we do with this sinner?” Well we know what would
have happened if this was Adam or Eve, that angry vengeful god would have cast
down a mighty vengeance and scorched the land and produced plagues and
pestilence. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Jesus’ reply
was so simple and yet so powerful “Let the one among you with no sin cast the
first stone” the crowds could do nothing but turn and walk away, even though
they were plotting and scheming, they all knew that they were sinners too.
Jesus showed us the kinder, gentler god that Isaiah prophesied and simply said
“Go and sin no more.” </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>He gave
absolution, and did not demand a punishment or penance. Jesus reconnected his
love with the sinner and simply said to maintain that connection. Do not
separate yourself. Sin no more. Are we able to
forgive so easily? Can we re-establish those connections with one another when
we have been wronged, or when we wrong someone? Are we helping the people
around us be better than what they are? Progress. Are we trying to be
perfect? Are we making any progress? If we are getting closer to the finish
line, if we are keeping our eye on the prize, then yes, we are making progress.
We all have our shortcomings and we all fail, and there was a time when those
flaws were unacceptable in God’s eyes. But Christ shows us that we are all
flawed and imperfect. And that is OK. God sees us all as his creation and he
knows we all have different gifts and talents. And that does make us perfect in
his eyes. God looks at us and sees that we are
good. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Amen.<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></span> </strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Written by Fr. James
Morgan</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> St.
Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2670 Chandler
Avenue</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 7 & 8</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89120</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-63519707963531299262013-02-24T17:39:00.001-08:002013-02-24T17:39:30.619-08:00The Transfiguration of Jesus<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong>
<br />
<div align="center">
<img __objrefid="14" _eventid="evt315" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=54893965&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 177px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> Second </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">Sunday of Lent, February 24,
2013</span></span></strong></div>
<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
<strong><span style="font-size: small;"></span></strong>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="color: #5d1e79;">Gospel Luke
9:28-36</span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #ab4a9c; font-size: small;"><em><strong>Jesus took Peter, John, and James and
went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in
appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were
conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his
exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions
had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the
two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to
Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for
you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they
became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice
that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken,
Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone
what they had seen.</strong></em></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Each year of the
three-year cycle, the gospel of the second Sunday of Lent tells of the
Transfiguration. This year we have Luke’s account. Luke’s presents this incident
as Jesus instructs his disciples - preparing them for his journey to Jerusalem
to meet his fate. The liturgical tradition echoes this outlook, inviting us to
learn the lessons of this mysterious incident as we begin our journey of Lent.
</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>In Luke’s account,
in the verses immediately preceding, Jesus has warned the apostles of what lies
ahead: ‘The Son of Man will be rejected and put to death’; more than that,
everyone who wants to be his follower ‘must take up his cross every day and
follow him’ (9:22-23). Luke’s account clearly has these warnings in mind. It is
filled with reassurance for the chosen followers Jesus has brought up the
mountain with him. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Moses and Elijah
(representing the Law and the Prophets, the great bearers of old Israel’s hopes)
are conversing with Jesus concerning ‘his passing which he was to accomplish in
Jerusalem’ (the destiny of Israel was established in the original Passover and
Exodus; in what lies ahead, this great destiny is to reach its final moment - as
the shadows of the old order give way to the reality they prefigure, the Paschal
Mystery). </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>From the ‘cloud’,
so often a symbol of God’s presence in the first Exodus, the voice of God
confirms what Jesus has told them of this new Passover: ‘This is my Son, the
Chosen One. Listen to him.’ As he tells the story of Jesus, Luke often
emphasizes the place of prayer in our Christian life. The Transfiguration took
place in a moment of prayer; Jesus had taken the chosen apostles ‘up the
mountain to pray’. There he communed with God, readying himself for the mission
he was soon to accomplish for the life of the world. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">As we make
the journey of Lent, this example of his – making Jesus truly our brother and
companion– should inspire us to make the journey with him, eager to give
ourselves more fully to that personal mission to which God has called us – in
our families, our parish community and the broader world.<span style="color: black;"> </span></span> </span></strong><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> St.
Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2670 Chandler
Avenue</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 7 & 8</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89120</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-10374357699757638732013-02-17T08:00:00.002-08:002013-02-17T08:00:34.056-08:00The Temptation of Jesus<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong>
<br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">First</span></strong> </span><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;">Sunday of Lent, February 17, 2013</span></b></div>
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<div align="center">
<img __objrefid="15" _eventid="evt291" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=54609730&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=177&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 223px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 177px;" widget="image" /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #5d1e79;">Gospel Luke
41-13</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #ab4a9c;"><em>Filled with the Holy Spirit,
Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for
forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and
when they were over he was hungry. </em></span></strong></span><br />
<em><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #ab4a9c;">The devil said to him, “If you
are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
</span></strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #ab4a9c;">Jesus answered
him, “It is written, One does not live on bread alone.” Then he took him up and
showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.
</span></strong></span></em><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #ab4a9c;"><em>The devil said to him, “I shall
give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I
may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: </em></span></strong><strong><span style="color: #ab4a9c;"><em>You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you
serve.”<br />Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the
temple, and said to him,<br />“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from
here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard
you, and: </em></span></strong><strong><span style="color: #ab4a9c;"><em>With their hands
they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus said to
him in reply, “It also says, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the
test.”<br />When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for
a time.</em></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #ab4a9c;"><em><br /> </em></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #ab4a9c;"><em></em></span></strong></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In Luke’s
gospel today, we find Jesus, freshly baptized, called, named, claimed and set
apart for his very unique ministry in the world. Jesus is aware that his life
has a unique purpose in the heart and mind of the Almighty One. But that is
where his certainty ends - as it does for many of us. There on the edge of the
desert, with the waters of baptism still damp in his curly hair, Jesus continues
to be fuzzy, unfocused, unsure of what his ministry - what his life - what his
call is all about.</b> </span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>Jesus desert sojourn is a profound act of
self-love for he is valuing himself - and God - enough to take the time to
figure out why he is unique and what it is in his human nature that can stand in
the way of God’s purpose for his life. Jesus is pausing to wrestle with the
temptation to do things his way, instead of God’s way. And what he discovers,
there, in that desolate wasteland of lime stone and sand, is somewhat
unsettling.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>Jesus knows when he goes into the desert,
that for better or for worse, his job is to be the Messiah, to be God’s covenant
of love and hope in the flesh. But the Jewish concept of the messiah at that
time it that he will have spectacular power, a prince, the leader of a
conquering army that will set Israel free from Roman
occupation.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>So when the devil beguiles him, Jesus must
be seriously tempted to respond positively. After all, this crafty fellow is
offering him all the techniques for messianic success. Turning stones into
bread, so material comfort can be found. Assuming authority and power over all
the kingdoms of the world, so that political power can be won. Jumping from the
pinnacle of the temple to prove that God’s miraculous power is within
him.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>But Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, knows
that the solution to life’s problems cannot be found in quick spectacles or
manipulative power. Jesus discovers, by contending with the devil and sending
the devil away, that his calling is not to be a superstar, but to be a servant.
His ministry is not to wear a crown but to carry a cross.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>Chances are that the evil one will not
tempt us with such grand enticements. Nevertheless, we face temptations daily.
One of the temptations I would like to focus on today is the urge many people
feel to fight change, especially change in the church. Look it, none of us likes
change and yet change is about the only thing we can count on. Things change,
always have, always will. Yet there are many who have a closed fist desperately
trying to hang on to the past, to the known, to the familiar. And as long as
that fist is closed, what can God put into it?</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>The temptations that Christ receives help
us to see where our own vulnerabilities are. He gives us an example to fortify
us in our own spiritual struggles. While we may be hard-pressed to imitate his
example of fortitude (forty days without eating is not recommended), his
attitude towards whatever would separate him from the Father must find an echo
in our own spiritual efforts. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>Jesus’ answers to all the temptations
revolve around his complete dedication to God. Perhaps we could look at the
individual temptations as symptomatic for different areas of struggle that
afflict us all. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>“Turn these stones to bread.” Material
concerns are in the forefront of many people’s daily lives. After all, if
someone isn’t putting “bread on the table,” hunger will become a real and
present danger. But Jesus’ refusal to turn stones into bread points to authentic
human priorities. If we wish to live as Christ did, we must realize that we do
not “live on bread alone.” While our faith provides us with no shortcuts for
alleviating material needs, it does keep them from taking the first place in our
lives. If we feed our souls on the word of God and, above all, the Bread of
Life, we will ward off that hunger that is far more dangerous than the physical:
spiritual emptiness. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>The second temptation is to power. Pride
is an enemy that wins many battles over us, but not Christ. His total love for
the Father precludes any rebellion against his will in favor of himself. Our
desire for control fans the flames of our pride and has us grasping for more and
more. But Jesus teaches us that our greatest power lies in our submission to
God. It is easy to feel the power of Christ as he dismisses the tempter with
disdainful ease. Despite the counterintuitive sound, we are actually strongest
when we are humble, and when we give God the place he deserves.
</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>Finally, atop the temple, Jesus refuses to
put on a spectacular show of his power. We thrive on celebrity; glossy magazines
stoke the vanity of VIPs and exploit the curiosity of the masses. But vanity
plays itself out in many other, far more subtle ways. Many of our actions, good
ones included, can be contaminated with our desire to be noticed. In the Gospel
for Ash Wednesday, he issued a stern warning about this, referring to the
“hypocrites” who make a big show of their generosity in order to win the
applause of their peers. The more we can shift the focus off ourselves and more
on Christ, the more we will be able to live the spirit of Lent. God must come
first! </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>What is the source of all this resistance
to change and our resistance to God? It is because we are afraid, afraid of the
unknown, afraid of that which is even only slightly different from our own
experience. Where is the faith in that? Where is the trust in Jesus words at the
end of Matthew’s gospel when he said that I must go to the Father but know that
I am with you always, even to the end of time? </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>I suspect that the source of this fear for
many people is because we are really not sure what is going to happen to us when
we die. We fear that either we will simply cease to exist or that there will be
a harsh judging God who will throw us into the pit. For many salvation is not
assured, our ultimate fate is in jeopardy. But this is not the gospel. The
gospel is that through Jesus we have been saved. Our salvation is assured, it’s
in the bank, you know how we say that only three things are certain: life, death
and taxes, well add a fourth, salvation. It’s a done deal folks, and its so
simple. All we have to do is ask for it and we’ve got it. Could it be any
easier?</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>Once we accept the truth of this, we can
begin to trust and let go of what we have known. Once we let go, we can enter
into that promised land where we will find that which we have always been
seeking, God, and that which leads us into an eternal relationship with
God.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> St.
Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2670 Chandler
Avenue</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 7 & 8</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89120</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-12656111041172390262013-02-10T16:01:00.000-08:002013-02-10T16:01:39.495-08:00We, too, must become "Fishers of People".<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong>
<br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> <b><span style="font-size: medium;">5th Sunday in Ordinary
Time</span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;">Sunday,
February 10, 2013</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center">
<img __objrefid="9" _eventid="evt224" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=54382239&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=177&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 128px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 177px;" widget="image" /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #007236;">Gospel Luke
5:1-11</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: #007236; font-size: small;"><em>While the crowd was pressing in on
Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of
Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had
disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one
belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished
speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a
catch.”<br />Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have
caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done
this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They
signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came
and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon
Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord,
for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made
seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of
Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching people.” When they brought their boats to the
shore, they left everything and followed him.</em></span></strong><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">
All three readings today illustrate the initial hesitancy and sense of
unworthiness of those being called to do God's work in the world and yet in all
these encounters with divinity, there is God's affirmation and transformation,
so that those being called become empowered for their
missions.</span></strong></span></span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> In
an examination of the stories of Isaiah, Paul and Simon, we can gain confidence
that we too, are called to experience the presence of God and a resultant
conversion for the greater glory of God's Reign. </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> Isaiah is the recipient of a
terrifying vision in which he comes face to face with YHWH. </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We recall that Elijah hid his face
when he perceived that God passed by the cave where he had taken shelter (2 Kgs
19:13) and that Moses hid his face from the presence of God in the burning bush
(Ex 3:6).</span></span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>For a people
who did not even feel themselves worthy to pronounce the name YHWH, to dare to
look at God would have meant death and so we can imagine why Isaiah's response
was 'Woe is me." Yet, his terror turns to self-assurance once his sin is
forgiven and somehow, in realizing he's in the holy Temple, surrounded by
angels, he knows he is worthy....worthy to live in God's presence.. worthy to
proclaim God's word .he has seen God and lived ! And suddenly the willingness
to be sent, springs from his lips! "Here I am, O God, send me!" With those
words Isaiah signs a blank check, so to speak. He had no idea what the tasks
would be or what the future would hold for him. But he believed in the power
of God, which had filled him with the knowledge that no matter what was asked of
him, he could accomplish it.</strong></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>
Paul, also (we recall) was the recipient of a dramatic, terrifying encounter
with God, having been knocked off his horse and accused of persecuting the Lord
Jesus Himself! Before becoming a follower of Jesus, Paul zealously persecuted
the newly-forming Christian church, trying to destroy it. He traveled the
synagogues, urging the punishment of Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. He
held the coats of those who stoned </strong></span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Stephen"><span style="color: #202020; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Stephen</strong></span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>, the first Christian martyr, to death.
He went from house to house, dragging men and women Christian believers to
prison, where he had them tortured in an attempt to get them to deny their faith
in Christ. When they refused, he voted to have them condemned to death. But
then, while traveling on the road from Jerusalem to </strong></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_centers_of_Christianity#Damascus"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Damascus</strong></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong> on one of his
missions of persecution, Jesus appeared to him in a great light. He was struck
blind, and after three days was restored his sight. In the 2nd reading Paul
reminds us that he did persecute the Church and that he's not even fit to be
called an apostle, and that it is by God's favor, and only by God's favor, that
he is what he is now-- an apostle, and indeed, as it turns out, the hardest
working and biggest promoter of the Gospel amongst the Gentiles all around the
Mediterranean Basin, and the most prolific writer of the New Testament. So we
see from Paul's story that God can transform any of our pasts, no matter how
reprehensible, into lives of good and glory.</strong></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong> We
see, in the Gospel reading, a similar transformation in Simon Peter. After
having fished all night without any luck, Jesus tells Peter to cast his net into
the waters once again. Peter must have wondered, "What does this carpenter know
about fishing?", and perhaps to prove his point that there were no fish, Peter
lowers the nets, only to be astounded by the immensity of the catch. Peter felt
then, just like Isaiah and Paul in the presence of the Almighty, for he fell at
Jesus' knees, pleading, "Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinner...." (as if to
say) I didn't believe in Your power to work Your works through
me.</strong></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>But then
Jesus' merciful encouragement "Do not be afraid...from now on you will be
fishers of people" inspires Peter and all those with him to leave their former
lives and follow Jesus.</strong></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong> And
what does it take for us to be fishers of people? to draw others in our nets to
Jesus? What are the qualities we will need to develop? 1. We'll have to be
aware of where the fish are....and then go out in search of them (realizing most
often, that they are right under our noses where they've been the whole time).
2. We'll have to keep working at it, in all kinds of weather, day or night,
whether we are weary or not. 3. We'll have to keep our nets clean of seaweed
and debris ....the useless collections of junky thoughts and wasteful
attachments. We'll have to wash our nets again and again with the truth that we
are God's children and have God-given destinies. 4. We'll have to keep our
nets mended-- constantly checking for the holes in our character of
discouragement, apathy and self-doubt, taking the care and the time to sew up
the holes of negativity with the strength of God found in the Scriptures,
sacraments, prayer, and faithful friends. </strong></span></span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> Although the three readings we've prayed today
seem to portray instantaneous, complete cooperation with God on the part of
Isaiah, Paul and Peter, we know from the 'rest of their stories', that they
struggled all their lives with remaining confident in and committed to God's
presence in their lives. </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And so it helps us to remember, that God doesn't call the
perfect, but perfects the ones who are called..... </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">and since we are all called, I prefer
to paraphrase this as...God doesn't call the perfect, but perfects the ones who
answer The Call. And finally, let us remember that God doesn't call us to be
successful, but only to be faithful.</span></span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">Homily by Reverend Mary
Wagner</span></strong></div>
<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> St.
Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2670 Chandler
Avenue</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 7 & 8</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89120</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-45401736250843318242013-02-03T18:40:00.001-08:002013-02-03T18:40:34.030-08:00The Love of Christ never fails!!!<strong><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></strong>
<br />
<div align="center">
<img __objrefid="9" _eventid="evt224" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=54136900&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=177&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 228px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 177px;" widget="image" /><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> <b><span style="font-size: medium;"> 4th Sunday in Ordinary
Time</span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;">Sunday,
February 3, 2013</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center">
<b><span style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"></span></span></b></div>
<br />
<b> <span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;">2nd Reading </span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> 1 Corinthians 12: 31 - 13: 13</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><em><strong>Brothers and sisters:</strong></em></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><em><strong><span style="color: black;">Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. And now I will
show you the way which surpasses all others. For even if I can speak in all the
tongues of earth-- and those of the angels too--but do not have love, I am just
a noisy gong, a clashing cymbal. </span><span style="color: black;">And if I have the
gift of prophecy such that I can comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge, or
if I have faith great enough so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. </span><span style="color: black;">If I give away everything I own, to feed
those poorer</span><span style="color: black;">than I, and then hand over my body to be
burned, but do not have love, I gain nothing.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><em><strong><span style="color: black;">Love is patient, love is kind. </span><span style="color: black;">Love is
not jealous, it does not boast, and it does not put on airs. </span><span style="color: black;">Love is never rude or self-seeking; it does not seek its own
interests, </span><span style="color: black;">it is not prone to anger, nor does it
brood over injuries. </span><span style="color: black;">Love does not rejoice over
wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. </span><span style="color: black;">There is no
limit to love's forbearance, to its trust,</span><span style="color: black;"> its hope
and its power to endure.</span><span style="color: black;">Love never fails.</span><span style="color: black;">Prophecies will cease; tongues will be silent; knowledge will
pass away.</span></strong></em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><em><strong><span style="color: black;">For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the
Perfect comes, the partial will pass away. </span><span style="color: black;">When I was
a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, and reason as a child;
but when I became an adult, I put childish ways aside. </span><span style="color: black;">At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then we shall
see face to face. </span><span style="color: black;">Now I know partially; but then I
shall know fully, even as I am fully known. </span><span style="color: black;">There are
in the end, three things that last: Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of
these is LOVE.</span></strong></em><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><em> </em> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">Paul gives an
exhaustive definition of agape love here and does so with an incredible
eloquence that shows that Christ's love is far more than just talk, it is
action. Paul does not give us some long and dull definition of love but rather
He gives us a formula for victorious living. As this comes together for Paul he
seems to be asking an unstated question: How should a Christian
behave?</span> <span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">1. Love is
patient </span><span style="color: black;">The word that Paul uses here refers to the
way we deal with people. Paul says that we are to suffer a long time with other
people. No matter what the evil or injury committed against us. No matter how
others have neglected or ignored us.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">2. Love is kind
</span><span style="color: black;">The word king means to show favor to others and move
beyond hurt and injury. Paul shows that love is strength of grace that allows us
to grant forgiveness.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">3. Love does not
envy </span><span style="color: black;">This is not having feelings against others
because of what they have - spiritual gifts, position, abilities, possessions or
anything else. Love is not begrudging but rather shares in the joys of
others.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">4. Love does not
boast </span><span style="color: black;">Paul says that love does not brag or seek
recognition. The behavior of love seeks to give, to recognize others, to honor
others and applaud when others succeed.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">5. Love is not
proud </span><span style="color: black;">The word here for proud means to be puffed up
or conceited. The behavior of love does not look at oneself as being better than
others. Love is humble and seeks the best.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">6. Love is not
rude </span><span style="color: black;">Love does not act in a way that is disgraceful
or brings shame to the name of Jesus. Love treats people with
respect.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">7. Love is not
self seeking </span><span style="color: black;">The Greek word that Paul uses here
literally means to worship oneself. This is exactly the problem of modern
society because we have become so full of ourselves. The simple reality seeks to
serve others, not to be served by others.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">8. Love is not
easily angered </span><span style="color: black;">Paul uses the word that means quick
tempered or being ready to take personal offense. Love does not allow the
emotions to control and it does not become angry without cause.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">9. Love keeps no
record of wrong </span><span style="color: black;">This means that we cannot think evil
of others and continuously focus on the wrongs that we have suffered because
this will lead to resentment and bitterness. Love endures evil and keeps its
focus on the truth.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">10. Love does
not delight in evil </span><span style="color: black;">Paul says here that love does not
take pleasure in doing what is unrighteous. In other words, if we have the love
of Christ within us, the ability to do what is wrong still exists but we will
make ourselves miserable doing so.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">11. Love
rejoices with the Truth </span><span style="color: black;">Love rejoices when the truth
is finally discovered and when it is victorious. The reality is that we can
rejoice in all situations because when the truth of God is within us we always
have victory.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">12. Love always
protects </span><span style="color: black;">Paul is saying that love has the power to
cover every area of life and to give the needed strength to support every area
of life. Love gives us the supernatural strength to stand and cover the faults
of others.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">13. Love always
trusts </span><span style="color: black;">The word Paul uses here means to have a
perfect trust. Love gives us an ability to have a divine trust that helps us to
see God's work in our lives. It also gives us the ability to see the best in
others.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">14. Love always
hopes </span><span style="color: black;">Paul says that love literally never loses hope
and has every expectation of finding triumph. Love refuses to accept failure and
has bright hope for the best.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">15. Love always
perseveres </span><span style="color: black;">Paul uses a military word here that means
to withstand an attack. This means that the love of Christ is our strength and
acts as our fortress during attack. Love endures every assault that comes
against it and stands firm until the victory is won. The love of God gives us
the ability to love even in the most difficult of circumstances.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">16. Love never
fails </span><span style="color: black;">Paul closes his definition of love with a bold
statement that love never fails. In other words, the love of Christ is always
successful. The power of our lives is found in the reality that Christ's love
gives us the ability to succeed.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> In essence, love describes the very character of Jesus Himself
and if we want to become more like Him we must allow His love to penetrate the
deepest corners of our hearts. We must be willing and open for the overflow to
come and fill us with Christ's love.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">For I am
convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the
present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-38</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">Notice all of
those things that do not have the ability to keep the love of Christ from our
lives.</span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">• The love of
Christ is more powerful than life itself, death cannot even keep it from us.
</span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">• The love of
Christ is more powerful than spiritual beings, even the most diabolic plot from
Hell cannot keep it from us. </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">• The love of
Christ is more powerful than time itself, even when time comes to an end the
love of Christ will remain </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">• The love of
Christ is more powerful than mortal strength, even the greatest power on earth
cannot keep it from us. </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">• The love of
Christ is more powerful than any distance, even the deepest of depths or the
highest of heights cannot keep it from us.
</span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">• The love of
Christ is more powerful than all of creation, absolutely nothing in all of the
universe can keep it from us.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">This list looks
all inclusive and seems to have covered all of the bases. However, there is one
thing that can keep you from the love of God that is found only in Christ Jesus;
you. You are the only thing standing between the overflow of love that falls
from Heaven and your need. You are the person that keeps you from experiencing
the overflow and it's awesome power. You are the only one that can accept the
filling of the overflow.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #007236; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: black;">Are you living
in the overflow of Christ's love? The choice is yours and you can live in the
overflow of His divine love.</span></strong></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> St.
Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2670 Chandler
Avenue</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 7 & 8</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89120</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-50046946661816013432013-01-21T18:26:00.001-08:002013-01-21T18:26:03.765-08:00Jesus at the Wedding at Cana in Galilee<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> </span></b><br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<img __objrefid="9" _eventid="evt224" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=53671350&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #ed1c24;">2nd Sunday in Ordinary
Time</span></span></b></div>
<br />
<b><span style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> Gospel </span></span></b><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #0071bc;">John
2:1-11 </span></b><b><span style="color: #0071bc;"> </span></b></span></b></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em><span style="color: #007236; font-size: medium;">There was a wedding at Cana in
Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also
invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to
him, “They have no wine.”And Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern
affect me? My hour has not yet come.”His mother said to the servers, “Do
whatever he tells you.”Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish
ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the them,
“Fill the jars with water.”So they filled them to the brim. Then he told
them,“Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.”So they took it. And when
the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it
came from although the servers who had drawn the water knew, the headwaiter
called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and
then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good
wine until now.” Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee
and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in
him.</span></em></strong> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Although we are using the Gospel of Luke for
the readings most of the year, today we switch to the Gospel of John for the
story of the wedding feast at Cana. This jump to the Gospel of John is due to
the fact that the Church is dealing with the inauguration of Jesus over the
first weeks after Christmas. In the Eastern church this inauguration is seen
over three events – the Epiphany, the Baptism, and the first miracle at Cana.
Similarly, we follow this pattern as well in the third cycle of readings. We
have been all about beginnings. How better to talk about inauguration than to
have the first miracle of Jesus done at a wedding – a beginning of a young
couple’s lives together. So now we have seen the star, the light, that points
out the Savior, we have seen Jesus’ initiation and acceptance by God in his
baptism and now we witness the beginning of His work of redemption. Today’s
readings pick up all three of these themes.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">It is not by chance that John uses the wedding
at Cana to have Jesus perform his first miracle. Not only is his presence a
blessing of marriage, but he adds to the festivities with his miracle. This is
a rather strange miracle, though. It seems a rather insignificant way to use
one’s powers. Was it really just Jesus rendering hospitality to help a bridal
couple avoid embarrassment? Raymond Brown, a Scripture scholar, sees the
significance of this as Jesus replacing the old with the new. What you may not
realize is that the water that Jesus used to turn into wine was contained in the
jugs of washing water that was used for washing the feet when one entered a
house. Apparently, in each Jewish home there were six jars of wash water at the
door reserved for that purpose. It was part of Jewish ritual that a person wash
the dust off their feet upon entering a house. In this way, the guests made
themselves ‘clean” in order to celebrate with the householder. This is the water
that Jesus then changes into wine. Symbolically, of course, we know that the
wine will become his blood, and for the early Christians then, this became a
sign of the Eucharist – which allows each of us to marry, become one with our
God. Jesus’ first miracle then, is a celebration of the marriage of God and
man, the marriage of heaven and earth, the marriage of divinity with
humanity.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">I would like to say a few words about the story
itself, however, because of Jesus’ curt response to his mother before doing the
miracle. I know that it bothered me, so I did a little research on it. John
Pilch at Georgetown University sees this as very typical of a Mediterranean male
in this period. Children were raised by the mothers and mostly ignored by the
fathers in the Mediterranean Hebrew culture. Boys, especially first born boys,
were highly valued and pampered and spoiled by their mothers and other women
relatives. When the boys entered puberty they often had a rude awakening, Pilch
says, and the fathers took over the discipline, often giving beatings to a child
to prepare him for a harsh world. The boys, then sought to break their ties with
women and demonstrate their independence, especially their mothers. Jesus’
response to his mother could be translated both as a reaction by someone who is
bothered by another or just as a refusal to get involved in someone else’s
business. In light of this, Jesus may have been part of his trying to gain
independence from his mother or it could be that he honestly felt it was none of
their business.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">In any case, Jesus caves in to his mother’s
demands. He was human, remember, and it may be that his mother’s pressure was
too difficult to take. Or, it may be that he came to understand what she was
asking, and saw it as a way to preserve the honor of the wedding hosts, who were
perhaps his relatives.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">The first miracle at Cana, then, begins Jesus
career as a miracle worker. He is beginning to replace the old with the new. In
our Psalm today, we sang “Sing to the Lord a new song!” This is what Jesus is
beginning to do. This new song will eventually replace the Old Law and lead to
our salvation. With this first miracle the disciples of Jesus see the light and
begin to recognize Jesus for who he is. But it is a miracle that looks forward
to God’s true marriage with us in the death of Christ and the establishment of
the Eucharist. With this initiation, Jesus ‘work of his Father’ really
begins.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">What I would like to leave with you today then,
is the reality of God’s love for us, his marriage to us, the reality of our
closeness to God in the Eucharist and that we must constantly be reminded that
we are the ones who continue the work of Christ. How will we do that in this
coming week? What is the new song that we will sing this week? How can we begin
to transform our own little world in our own little ways?</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;">St.
Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2670 Chandler
Avenue</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 7 & 8</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89120</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-868997533418471323.post-36049803845762440202013-01-13T15:39:00.000-08:002013-01-13T15:39:06.777-08:00The Baptism of Jesus<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> </span></b><br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<img __objrefid="11" _eventid="evt293" src="http://sitebuilder.vpweb.com/vp/util/image_preview.aspx?image_id=53379114&type=CustomerSiteUpload&trypng=1&width=250&croptop=0&cropleft=0&cropbottom=0&cropright=0" style="clear: none; cssfloat: left; cursor: default; display: block; float: left; height: 188px; margin: 0px 1.5em 7px 0px; width: 250px;" widget="image" /><b><span style="color: #7c51a1; font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #ed1c24;">Feast of the Baptism of the
Lord</span></span></b><b><span style="color: black;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;"> Gospel </span><a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/luke/3:15"><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Luke 3:15-16, 21-22</span></a></span></b><br />
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T<span style="color: black;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: small;">he people were
filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might
be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with
water,<br />but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the
thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was
praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form
like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I
am well pleased.” </span></em> </strong></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><b><b>All four gospels
begin Jesus' entry into public life with John the Baptist's emergence from the
desert; so it is clear that John the Baptist's mission was essential to Jesus'
own mission. Indeed, the Gospel of John says of the Baptist: "There was a man
sent from God, whose name was John. This man came as a witness, to give
testimony to the Light, that all might believe through Him." And Jesus Himself,
later says of the Baptist, "Amongst those that are born of women, there is not a
greater prophet than John the Baptist." (Luke 7:28). So the Light of the World,
the Light which of all lights can never be hidden, needed someone to give
testimony to Him, needed this holy, radical, ascetic John to give testimony to
Him, the Son of God! Although known as the Baptizer by all his contemporaries
(including even Herod), John did not invent baptism. </b></b></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><b><b>All religions have
practiced some form of ritualistic washing of the body. In John's own day, a
Jew who had been defiled by contact with a Gentile would have to wash to cleanse
themselves of the defilement; and in the 16th chapter of Leviticus we find that
the high priest must "confess all the iniquities of the children of Israel and
shall wash his flesh in the holy place." But this was a generalized confession.
John's baptism was unique in that it demanded that the individual confess their
own sinfulness. Repent! The Kingdom of God is at hand! John's word for 'repent
is 'metanoe-ite' which means a complete change of mind, heart and soul to a life
of holiness and openness to God and he was telling the Jewish people that they
needed to make a profound spiritual change within themselves (from the high
priests on down) to make that Kingdom possible. This in the end is what caused
the rulers of his people to turn against him, and today we see Jesus, having
come upon a turning point in His own life, having arrived at the threshold from
whence he would leave the carpenter's life to embrace the Cross of being the
Savior of nations, He insists on being baptized, to make a public statement
about His life and His beliefs, to reveal the triune nature of God and to
depict the beautiful work of the Trinitarian God in human salvation, to affirm
John's preaching and teaching, to respond as a human being to God's inner call
to live as the Chosen, Suffering Servant of God--in bringing forth justice,
mercy, healing and freedom to those in darkness and
bondage.</b><b> </b></b></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><b><b>Luke's description
of the baptismal scene is striking in the way he underplays the actual water
event at the hand of John, choosing instead to highlight the prayer of Jesus,
the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the heavenly voice proclaiming Jesus as
God's beloved. These emphases are deliberate, revealing Jesus as a model for all
believers. Jesus requested baptism of John not because He was sinful, but
because He wished to join Himself to sinful humanity to show us that God wants
to save us and empower us. It is most important to note that the descent and
empowerment of the Spirit occurred when Jesus was praying! Likewise for us....
it is in prayer and through prayer that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to
join in Jesus' mission. </b></b></span></b><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;">Deacon Mary
Wagner</span></strong><br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><b><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><b><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </span></b>
</b></span></b></b></span></b>
<br />
<b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: medium;"> St.
Valentine Faith Community</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Mass: 10AM
Every Sunday</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">2670 Chandler
Avenue</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Suite 7 & 8</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">Las Vegas, NV 89120</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #0071bc; font-size: small;">702-523-8963 Rev Sue Provost,
Pastor</span></b><br />
<br />
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. " (1 John 4:9-10)<div class="blogger-post-footer">"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
(Luke 9:23)</div>Reverend Sue Provosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03841791322316963255noreply@blogger.com0