Category: Parish News & Events

Read the Signs and Act

Bonus Post!

Jesus has some pretty strong words for us in today’s readings. This whole week, it seems Luke is full of the types of readings that we would rather skim over and get on to something more palatable like, “Bring the little children unto me.” Who doesn’t love the vision of Jesus surrounded by a group of cute kiddos?

But today’s reading doesn’t have cute kids or even words that easily morph into a Facebook ready platitude complete with sunbeamed image. Jesus is pretty direct and pretty harsh.

“You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

St. Augustine said that nature, creation is God’s first book. It is through the study of what He created and how He created it that we can come to better know the Creator, our Creator. God speaks to us in and through nature. In the fall, as a result of Adam and Eve’s attempt to become like God without going through God, this “natural” pathway of communication became jumbled and garbled. We touch vestiges of it when we are moved by a sunset or a baby’s smile. At other times, we look at the clouds and simply try to predict the weather.

I have a mental picture of my guardian angel doing a facepalm. “Seriously, Sheryl, you look at the mystery and grandeur of creation and all you can see is if you can fit in a trip to the beach?”

When we look at creation strictly for how we can use it, we are missing the point of the story written into nature. In nature, we can read of the love of our God. We see the handiwork of our Father, who delighted in creating us and supplying all our needs. Our Father, who we turn away from again and again through our own choice with our weakened will and darkened intellect. It is the same story we read in the other book of God’s revelation, the history of Salvation in the Bible. Man thinks he has a better way, and God calls him back.

Which brings us to the rest of this passage. If we read the signs of the times in God’s creation around us, we need to not just read those signs but act on them. Where there is disharmony or unrest, we need to bring peace and unity. We need to reach out to others for reconciliation. The only sin for which we cannot be forgiven is unforgiveness to others. This is a hard pill to swallow! We say it every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, forgive us as we forgive others. Do we really mean this? Do we really do this? What if God grants me exactly what I ask for and forgives me exactly to the extent that I have forgiven others? This is not to diminish any hurt or pain that you may have suffered at another’s hands. It is more a recognition that most of the time, what are the grudges, hurts, and pains we hold onto? It isn’t the big stuff! To bend an old saying, unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting it to hurt the other person. Inevitably, if we harbor unforgiveness, we are the ones who die internally and eventually eternally.

That is what Jesus is telling us in such strong language today. We need to read the signs of our own times and then act on them. If necessary, we need to avail ourselves of God’s ever ready mercy in the confessional and let go of our unforgiveness so that we too may be forgiven.

We will all stand before THE Judge one day. Will he hand us over until the last penny is paid, or will he say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”?

May God bless you today and happy reading!

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

Body Bad, Spirit Good

The body is bad, and the spirit is good is the battle cry of a common heresy that I think is still making the rounds today; it is the heresy of Gnosticism. This is essentially the belief that all matter is evil, and only the spirit is good. The first reading today by Paul is often used to affirm this heresy, and, if you read Paul, you will see many verses that seem to confirm this harmful way of thinking.

Paul was not a Gnostic, even with language as strong as we find today. Paul’s point here is not that our bodies are evil, but rather our body disconnected from the spirit of God, and living only for the flesh is an evil thing. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “It is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit.”

We are a body and soul together. We cannot think of the body just as a shell in which we dwell until the end of time. The Catholic Church professes, and we do the same every week during the Mass, that we believe in the resurrection of the body. That at the end of time, we will not just become a spiritual being, but that we will get a resurrected body that participates intimately in the divine life of God.

There is something beautiful and profound here. That our bodies are important because they are us. We are not different from our body. When we look at the body, we see a person. And because we are all made in the image and likeness of God, when we look at a body, we see God himself.

Think about this mind-blowing reality for a second. Nature can lead us to the thought that there must be a creator because of its beauty. But most of the created world was not made in God’s image and likeness; human beings were. So as easy as it is to look at a sunset and reflect on the more profound mysteries of God, it should be even easier to look at our neighbor or ourselves and see a glimpse of the divine.

As you go throughout your day today, thank God for your body and especially thank him that he became flesh. That all of theology, as we know it, is profoundly practical because the word of God became living and active on this earth; God indeed became a man. This eternal and invisible being decided to show his love to the world through the body, confirming that the body is good. That is a cause for a grand celebration. From all of us here at Diocesan, God BLess!

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Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Rom 7:18-25a

Brothers and sisters:
I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh.
The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not.
For I do not do the good I want,
but I do the evil I do not want.
Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells in me.
So, then, I discover the principle
that when I want to do right, evil is at hand.
For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self,
but I see in my members another principle
at war with the law of my mind,
taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Miserable one that I am!
Who will deliver me from this mortal body?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Responsorial Psalm pS 119:66, 68, 76, 77, 93, 94

R.(68b) Lord, teach me your statutes.
Teach me wisdom and knowledge,
for in your commands I trust.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
You are good and bountiful;
teach me your statutes.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let your compassion come to me that I may live,
for your law is my delight.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Never will I forget your precepts,
for through them you give me life.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.

Alleluia See Mt 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

An Eternal Choice

Psalm 1 always makes me think of Sr. Mary Augusta. For a number of years I sat next to Sr. Augusta in chapel and assisted her with finding the pages for community prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. One Saturday morning, as we prayed Psalm 1, she turned to me with the most mischievous of smiles as we prayed this verse found in today’s Responsorial Psalm:

“He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.”

You see, Sr. Augusta was a mere 98 years old that Saturday morning. And yes, her leaves “had never faded.” She was young at heart. Happy. Blessed.

I wish I knew Sr. Augusta’ secret formula. The moment she made the decision to flourish no matter what happened to her in life. Or maybe it wasn’t a single moment, but a gradual deepening, letting go into greater freedom, as she pursued the Lord.

Both the second reading and the Gospel warn us that the fiery love of Jesus will demand a choice on our part,
a choice that has eternal consequences. As Paul puts it:

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness.
But what profit did you get then
from the things of which you are now ashamed?
For the end of those things is death.
But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit that you have leads to sanctification,
and its end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So let us, as Paul, consider everything else in our life to be rubbish compared with gaining Christ, with being found in him, taken up with his interests, living with his preferences, desiring him above all other things.

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Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is the author of the newly released title: Reclaim Regret: How God Heals Life’s Disappointments, by Pauline Books and Media. An author and spiritual mentor, she offers spiritual accompaniment for the contemporary Christian’s journey towards spiritual growth and inner healing. She is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey.

Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com

Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/

For monthly spiritual journaling guides, weekly podcasts and over 50 conferences and retreat programs join my Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/srkathryn.

Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Rom 6:19-23

Brothers and sisters:
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your nature.
For just as you presented the parts of your bodies as slaves to impurity
and to lawlessness for lawlessness,
so now present them as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness.
But what profit did you get then
from the things of which you are now ashamed?
For the end of those things is death.
But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God,
the benefit that you have leads to sanctification,
and its end is eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Responsorial Psalm PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6

R.(Ps 40:5) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Alleluia Phil 3:8-9

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I consider all things so much rubbish
that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 12:49-53

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Anthony Mary Claret, please go here.

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.