We can be welcoming to others by giving them the welcome of a listening heart.
"Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For Christ’s life of service was to show that God is faithful to God’s promises, and to enable all to praise God for God’s mercy. May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace by means of your faith, so that your hope may continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:7-13)
Each of us is called to invite others to turn toward God. Each of us can invite others to think more deeply about the meaning of their lives. Each of us can invite another to share our search for a deeper knowledge of the love of God. Each of us can invite another to pray. Each family can invite others to experience a hospitality in their home that clearly flows from Christian love. Each of us can invite another to share a community experience or come to our parish Eucharistic celebration.
Who would you love to invite?
Peace and Love,
Sue
"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
The Holy Spirit is promised to all of us.
"And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, 'which,' He said, 'you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.' Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father hs put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'" (Acts: 1:4-8)
• being assembled together with them. Jesus often communed with His friends and disciples over a meal: at the feeding of the five thousand, with tax collectors and sinners, at the Pharisee's house, at the Last Supper, and after the Resurrection
• wait for the Promise of the Father. The Holy Spirit was the gift of the Father and the gift of Jesus the Son
• not many days from now. A few days would pass before Pentecost
• at this time restore the kingdom to Israel. From what Jesus said in Matt. 19:28, the disciples thought that He might overthrow the Romans and restore the physical kingdom to Israel
• Holy Spirit has come upon you. Jesus means that the Holy Spirit will show His control of their lives with visible manifestations: the blowing of a violent wind, the appearance of tongues of fire, and speaking in foreign languages
• witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.The book of Acts follows this strategy. The Jerusalem witness in chapter 2 gives in miniature form God's worldwide ministry: the "Jews...from every nation" (2:5) who heard and believed carried the message far and wide. In the rest of Acts the gospel spreads to Jerusalem (3:1-8:1), to Judea and Samaria, up to Antioch of Syria (8:1-12:25), and to the ends of the earth (13:1-28:31)
The Trinity is a description of the unique relationship of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If Jesus had stayed on earth, his physical presence would have limited the spread of the gospel, for physically he could be in only one place at a time. After his ascension, he would be spiritually present everywhere through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was sent so God would be with and within his followers after Jesus returned to heaven. His Spirit would comfort them, guide them to know his truth, remind them of Jesus' words, give them the right words to say, and fill them with power.
Jesus wants to fill all of us with his Spirit just as he did for the Apostles on Pentecost. Just ask Jesus to be with you as you begin your day. Some amazing things could happen.
Peace and Love,
Sue
"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)
• being assembled together with them. Jesus often communed with His friends and disciples over a meal: at the feeding of the five thousand, with tax collectors and sinners, at the Pharisee's house, at the Last Supper, and after the Resurrection
• wait for the Promise of the Father. The Holy Spirit was the gift of the Father and the gift of Jesus the Son
• not many days from now. A few days would pass before Pentecost
• at this time restore the kingdom to Israel. From what Jesus said in Matt. 19:28, the disciples thought that He might overthrow the Romans and restore the physical kingdom to Israel
• Holy Spirit has come upon you. Jesus means that the Holy Spirit will show His control of their lives with visible manifestations: the blowing of a violent wind, the appearance of tongues of fire, and speaking in foreign languages
• witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.The book of Acts follows this strategy. The Jerusalem witness in chapter 2 gives in miniature form God's worldwide ministry: the "Jews...from every nation" (2:5) who heard and believed carried the message far and wide. In the rest of Acts the gospel spreads to Jerusalem (3:1-8:1), to Judea and Samaria, up to Antioch of Syria (8:1-12:25), and to the ends of the earth (13:1-28:31)
The Trinity is a description of the unique relationship of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If Jesus had stayed on earth, his physical presence would have limited the spread of the gospel, for physically he could be in only one place at a time. After his ascension, he would be spiritually present everywhere through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was sent so God would be with and within his followers after Jesus returned to heaven. His Spirit would comfort them, guide them to know his truth, remind them of Jesus' words, give them the right words to say, and fill them with power.
Jesus wants to fill all of us with his Spirit just as he did for the Apostles on Pentecost. Just ask Jesus to be with you as you begin your day. Some amazing things could happen.
Peace and Love,
Sue
"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)
Friday, February 26, 2010
Who will believe what has not been shared?
"I hear of your love and of the faith which you have in the Lord Jesus and in all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may promote the knowledge of all the good that is ours in Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love because the hearts of God’s people have been refreshed by you." (Philemon 1:4-7)
Each of us is called to share the Good News we have heard and believed. Each of us can tell others of the ways that we have experienced God in our lives. Each of us needs to listen with respect to each other’s story of faith. Each of us can speak of these faith stories to each other as family and as a large Christian community. Each of us must share our faith, our hope, and our love with those who have not heard about or do not experience these gifts of God.
Each of us is called to share our faith. We can no longer leave this work to the ordained, vowed, religious, and church professionals. The mission of the laity in the workplace, the home, in social settings, and in the political arena is to proclaim and share the Good News. Take some time to reflect on the four elements of the evangelization cycle by looking at your own life experience in relation to the scriptures. Discover your own response to the call to evangelize.
Share your story of God's love with others.
Peace and Love,
Sue
"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)
Each of us is called to share the Good News we have heard and believed. Each of us can tell others of the ways that we have experienced God in our lives. Each of us needs to listen with respect to each other’s story of faith. Each of us can speak of these faith stories to each other as family and as a large Christian community. Each of us must share our faith, our hope, and our love with those who have not heard about or do not experience these gifts of God.
Each of us is called to share our faith. We can no longer leave this work to the ordained, vowed, religious, and church professionals. The mission of the laity in the workplace, the home, in social settings, and in the political arena is to proclaim and share the Good News. Take some time to reflect on the four elements of the evangelization cycle by looking at your own life experience in relation to the scriptures. Discover your own response to the call to evangelize.
Share your story of God's love with others.
Peace and Love,
Sue
"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)
Thursday, February 25, 2010
On the Journey
Luke 24:13-33 (New International Version)
On the Road to Emmaus
13Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.
17He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
19"What things?" he asked.
"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ[b] have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
33They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together
For the Journey
We turn to Luke's Gospel for his unique resurrection story. Two of Jesus' followers, who failed to see Him in the breaking up of their personal hopes and failed to see Him in the breaking up of His companions, will now recognize Him "in the breaking of the bread."
As a "companion," literally, "with-bread," is how Jesus comes alongside these two dispirited disciples. Their heads are down and they see the earth without any hope for the new life they had sought in the teachings of Jesus. As a companion He joins their darkness and gently leads them through their reflections on what has recently happened in Jerusalem. Their eyes are dimmer than their spirits and they find it hard to believe what they saw happen and what they have heard about His Resurrection. They didn't see it happen, so for them, it didn't really occur.
We watch and listen to their sharing in the rising of Jesus as their hearts burn within them while they listen to this mysterious companion. He is a "collector," a "finder" and He has risen to raise both those who seek for Him and those who take the road back to Emmaus.
We find comfort and great joy in watching Jesus compassionately go out after those who have their hearts and hopes broken. It is so human to doubt and want to turn towards where ever our Emmaus hiding place may be. They freely turned to their own tombs burying their frustrated plans and fractured friendships. Our self-chosen tombs can be such comfortable resting places. These men are going back, and in meeting Jesus they will want, not to go back, but to return.
We have been praying often about our own tombs and hiding places. Their walls of fear, the locked doors of self-negativity and regret, have been abandoned and yet we know their comforts and the easily-found roads back to their ever-opened portals. It is very dark in our tombs and Jesus constantly invites us into the sunshine. The word "consolation" literally means, "with the sunshine" and conversely, "desolation" means "down out of the sunshine".
The men we watch this day experience the warmth of the sun in their being invited out of their darkness. We pray this day with the joys of having been found, having been called out into the sunshine. We also pray with the joy in the awareness that He will always be collecting His followers in the breaking up of their hearts and hopes. He has risen so that we might have confidence in His grace more than our fragile selves.
Dear Jesus,
We read the story of the men on the road to Emmaus. We shake our heads and wonder, how could they see you, someone they love and trust so much, and then not even recognize you? We would certainly recognize you….wouldn’t we?
We feel like we’ve been through so much together. How could we not see you? Well, except maybe when we are worried about how successful we are or how we look to others. Or wondering why we have to speak up about injustices to the poor when we are so busy already. We know we fail to be our best self so often, and we know how often you are there in that failure to forgive and support.
Love and Peace,
Sue
"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)
On the Road to Emmaus
13Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.
17He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
19"What things?" he asked.
"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ[b] have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
33They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together
For the Journey
We turn to Luke's Gospel for his unique resurrection story. Two of Jesus' followers, who failed to see Him in the breaking up of their personal hopes and failed to see Him in the breaking up of His companions, will now recognize Him "in the breaking of the bread."
As a "companion," literally, "with-bread," is how Jesus comes alongside these two dispirited disciples. Their heads are down and they see the earth without any hope for the new life they had sought in the teachings of Jesus. As a companion He joins their darkness and gently leads them through their reflections on what has recently happened in Jerusalem. Their eyes are dimmer than their spirits and they find it hard to believe what they saw happen and what they have heard about His Resurrection. They didn't see it happen, so for them, it didn't really occur.
We watch and listen to their sharing in the rising of Jesus as their hearts burn within them while they listen to this mysterious companion. He is a "collector," a "finder" and He has risen to raise both those who seek for Him and those who take the road back to Emmaus.
We find comfort and great joy in watching Jesus compassionately go out after those who have their hearts and hopes broken. It is so human to doubt and want to turn towards where ever our Emmaus hiding place may be. They freely turned to their own tombs burying their frustrated plans and fractured friendships. Our self-chosen tombs can be such comfortable resting places. These men are going back, and in meeting Jesus they will want, not to go back, but to return.
We have been praying often about our own tombs and hiding places. Their walls of fear, the locked doors of self-negativity and regret, have been abandoned and yet we know their comforts and the easily-found roads back to their ever-opened portals. It is very dark in our tombs and Jesus constantly invites us into the sunshine. The word "consolation" literally means, "with the sunshine" and conversely, "desolation" means "down out of the sunshine".
The men we watch this day experience the warmth of the sun in their being invited out of their darkness. We pray this day with the joys of having been found, having been called out into the sunshine. We also pray with the joy in the awareness that He will always be collecting His followers in the breaking up of their hearts and hopes. He has risen so that we might have confidence in His grace more than our fragile selves.
Dear Jesus,
We read the story of the men on the road to Emmaus. We shake our heads and wonder, how could they see you, someone they love and trust so much, and then not even recognize you? We would certainly recognize you….wouldn’t we?
We feel like we’ve been through so much together. How could we not see you? Well, except maybe when we are worried about how successful we are or how we look to others. Or wondering why we have to speak up about injustices to the poor when we are so busy already. We know we fail to be our best self so often, and we know how often you are there in that failure to forgive and support.
Love and Peace,
Sue
"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Have you talked to God today?
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you” (John 17:20-21).
Jesus prayed in praise to God, the Father - “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure’” (Luke 10:21).
Jesus prayed prayers of thanksgiving - “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body’” (Mark 14:22).
Jesus prayed in a posture and with an attitude of reverent submission - “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:39).
Jesus prayed in times of anguish – “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’- which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Matthew 27:46).
"Teach us to pray," was the request of the disciples to Jesus. They confessed that they were not able to pray on their own. God wants to communicate with us and wants us to communicate with Him. Just as communication is important for us to develop our human relationships, our relationship with God requires communication as well. Prayer is our way to communicate with God. However, prayer does not always have to be in the form of canned prayers or even in words alone. There are many other forms of prayer.
Things to Do to Communicate with God:
• Sing to God
• Listen to worship music and sing along
• Go for a walk with God
• Journal in a notebook to God
• Study the Scriptures with Him
• Listen to Bible reading on tape
• Take a nap with Him
• At night study the stars with Him
• Write out your prayer as a love letter to God
• Listen to a good sermon
• Read a book on prayer or God's person
• Go for a bike ride in His creation
• Eat a great meal thanking Him for every good thing
• Have a quiet conversation with a friend about Him
• Go fishing with God at your side
• Evaluate your life and ministry with God looking on
• Have a coffee break with God
• Memorize a Scriptural Promise He gives you
• Plan your future goals with his advice
• Meditate on the Names of God
• Watch a bird, stare at the waves, study a bug
• Meditate on the Cross
• Meditate on God’s Creation
• Read the Prayers of the Bible
• Play an Instrument to the Lord
• Do a New Testament Word Study
We know that God is always present with us. Prayer is communication with God as we turn our hearts, minds, spirits, and thoughts toward Him. Prayer is a form of worship. We bow before our awesome God with a humble and contrite heart. We bring God our adoration in prayer and praise to Him. We also seek and find, ask and receive, knock and have opened to us (Matt. 7:7-8).
Have you talked to God today?
Peace and love,
Sue
"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)
Jesus prayed in praise to God, the Father - “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure’” (Luke 10:21).
Jesus prayed prayers of thanksgiving - “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body’” (Mark 14:22).
Jesus prayed in a posture and with an attitude of reverent submission - “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:39).
Jesus prayed in times of anguish – “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’- which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Matthew 27:46).
"Teach us to pray," was the request of the disciples to Jesus. They confessed that they were not able to pray on their own. God wants to communicate with us and wants us to communicate with Him. Just as communication is important for us to develop our human relationships, our relationship with God requires communication as well. Prayer is our way to communicate with God. However, prayer does not always have to be in the form of canned prayers or even in words alone. There are many other forms of prayer.
Things to Do to Communicate with God:
• Sing to God
• Listen to worship music and sing along
• Go for a walk with God
• Journal in a notebook to God
• Study the Scriptures with Him
• Listen to Bible reading on tape
• Take a nap with Him
• At night study the stars with Him
• Write out your prayer as a love letter to God
• Listen to a good sermon
• Read a book on prayer or God's person
• Go for a bike ride in His creation
• Eat a great meal thanking Him for every good thing
• Have a quiet conversation with a friend about Him
• Go fishing with God at your side
• Evaluate your life and ministry with God looking on
• Have a coffee break with God
• Memorize a Scriptural Promise He gives you
• Plan your future goals with his advice
• Meditate on the Names of God
• Watch a bird, stare at the waves, study a bug
• Meditate on the Cross
• Meditate on God’s Creation
• Read the Prayers of the Bible
• Play an Instrument to the Lord
• Do a New Testament Word Study
We know that God is always present with us. Prayer is communication with God as we turn our hearts, minds, spirits, and thoughts toward Him. Prayer is a form of worship. We bow before our awesome God with a humble and contrite heart. We bring God our adoration in prayer and praise to Him. We also seek and find, ask and receive, knock and have opened to us (Matt. 7:7-8).
Have you talked to God today?
Peace and love,
Sue
"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)
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