Today's Readings
Welcome again to Pope Francis!
I must admit that I too was wrapped up in the coverage of this major step in the history of OUR Faith. He's the Pope of firsts, the first Francis, the first from the Americas, and the first outside Europe (in modern times - Thanks Renee!). He's the Pope of prayer, as he stepped out of the norm and asked us to pray for him before giving his first Papal blessing on us! He's a Pope for the Poor, as he brings a history of ministry that focuses on those thirsting for God's love and society's acceptance. He has lived his faith for all to see, a simple man, with basic values, in a simple existence. You know he's got the world's attention when the news focuses on the fact that he lived in an apartment and not a chancery, and made his way to work each day on a bus, and without a chauffeur.
In choosing his name, Pope Francis seems to have chosen to follow the example of St. Francis of Assisi. One CNN article identifies St. Francis as "A great, great Saint", quoting Pope Pius XI when he said that "there has never been anyone in whom the image of Jesus Christ and the evangelical manner of life shone forth more lifelike and strikingly than in St. Francis.". (See the CNN full article) In St. Francis's own vision, he was called by Christ to "go and repair my church in ruin", so he gave up everything and followed his faith, "preaching the Gospel, and only using words when necessary." (Read about St. Francis)
Other's are joyful because Pope Francis is a Jesuit! Time Magazine notes that he is "an accomplished intellectual [playing a] “leading role during the Argentine economic crisis” as a “potent symbol of the costs globalization can impose on the world’s poor." My little understanding of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, would say that Pope Francis would encourage all of us to see God in His creation, especially the poor. Work for God's Mission as a true and authentic disciple for Christ. Know that Christ gave himself, and God gave His son to show us LOVE, and call us to a meaningful conversion! "The three phrases instilled in every Jesuit child — Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam (“For the Greater Glory of God”), Cura Personalis (“Care of the Whole Person”) and “Finding God in All Things” — are three of the conclusions reached after the [Ignatian] Spiritual Exercises." (See the full TIME article)
Pope Francis also has ties to St. Francis Xavier. "One of the 16th-century founders of the Jesuit order, Francis Xavier was a legendary missionary who spread the faith as far as India and Japan — giving the new Pope's name further resonance in an age when the Church is struggling to maintain its numbers." (ZeeNews.India) I couldn't help but focus in on the Pope's comment that his fellow cardinals went "to the other end of the world" to find a Pope!
Finally, it wouldn't be a GregBlog if I didn't try to make a connection with Today's Readings. On the surface, the message today cries that we need to get back to Lent! But there seems to be a connection today as God calls on Moses to recognize that His people are a "stiff neck" group, unwilling to follow His ways. Similar to the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, God is ready to pack up and go home. "Let me alone," God said, "that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them." (Exodus 32:10) But Moses "implored the Lord", and asked for another chance for His people. The Lord agreed, and down the mountain Moses went with the Law in hand, ready to REFORM God's people.
Pope Francis is not Moses, nor is he Francis of Assisi, or Xavier... He is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ, of Argentina by way of Italian immigrant parents. He seems to love serving the poor among us! With his Jesuit education, he is NOT a push over, as I am sure he knows his faith, and the strong tradition of the Church. He has come with the Law in his hands, and he will simply ask that we IMPROVE our ways, as we continue to do what we do for the greater glory of God, caring for ALL His people, finding Him in all things!
+AMDG+
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Monday, March 4, 2013
From Pretender to Surrender....
Today's Readings
The GregCast was out on the road March 4th in West Hartford, CT serving the Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School's XBSS Retreat! This video, and blogpost was used for the presentation. Things went well and we got some good video from the evening's presentation that I hope to share on an upcoming GregCast over on YouTube. Pray for me, as I am praying for you!
The GregCast was out on the road March 4th in West Hartford, CT serving the Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School's XBSS Retreat! This video, and blogpost was used for the presentation. Things went well and we got some good video from the evening's presentation that I hope to share on an upcoming GregCast over on YouTube. Pray for me, as I am praying for you!
This world of ours cares, but only to a point. They love, but only if things go their way. They give, but only what's been budgeted. They try, but only until it starts to hurt just a little. They allow their hearts to be moved, but then harden quickly in the face of challenges and change. In other words, this world of ours has gotten good at wanting to maintain control over their own image, and our life's actions and outcomes as well. The world would rather us stay in the dark as, Mr. Grohl put it, "just another soul for sale."
I would like to offer that God wants us to be free... Free to smile, free to choose, free scream, free to retire, and free to live! My friends, "what if I said, I'm not like the others? What if I said Im not just another one of your plays?" I am free to be determined! I am free to survive the struggle! I am free to never surrender to the darkness of sin and death! Like Mr. Grohl, "I'm finished making sense by pleading ignorance"... I'm echoing the voice inside your head that you refuse to hear! I'm the face that you have to face, mirroring yourself!
Memo to the world: "You're the pretender... And what if I said, I will never surrender?"
The Cardinals of the Church will gather this week, and they are called to open their hearts to the will of the Holy Spirit, and the purpose of God's mission, to allow for His Church to continue to grow as evangelizer of the Good News, empowering us all to become the disciples that they we were born to be!
It's time to consider that being in the light of Christ is a better place to be. It's time to come out from under that bushel basket that wants to hide you. It's time to respond to God's love, and fall in love with His service. And even though it sounds like a contradiction, its time to promise that you'll never surrender to sin and death, so that you can truly live and surrender yourself to God's will.
Reflect...
- Who are you, and who do you follow?
- What are the hopes and dreams that will help you truly live?
- Will you trust the Spirit, and waters of your creation to make yourself a vulnerable witness?
- Will you cross the boundaries and allow for faith and forgiveness?
- Can you commit to sharing God with everyone you meet?
- Can you handle following The Way, The Truth, and the Light?
When you fall...
- Will you allow our Lord to catch you?
- Will you get back up?
- Will you?
Sunday, February 24, 2013
A Practice Homily: Trans-Figure-What?
This "Practice Homily" Series is offered in conjunction with my journey towards becoming a Deacon in the Catholic Church. While I still have a little less than a year to go, our formation program has called us to begin writing homilies, or reflections on specific Sunday readings.
Today's Readings
As we walk this Lenten journey together, I must admit that I love the people that God has brought into my life! I consider myself greatly blessed by God in the many wonderful relationships and friendships he has nurtured. The love of my parents, my wife and our children has given me the confidence that there are people who are with me every step of the way. Equally, I feel blessed by some very close friends, who know me better than most, and would do anything they could to support me, especially in times of need. Equal still, are the blessing of the many, many wonderful people that I work with, and see on a regular basis, as we share our efforts in doing our part to live and grow in community. We all have varied levels of relationships. Some are more intimate and special than others, yet all have their place in making our lives meaningful. Knowing that, our goal today is to explore how our call to deepen our relationship with God and His Son Jesus Christ will only serve to benefit us, and what it is that He is trying to reveal to us.
Our first reading from Genesis offers a look at the unique and special relationship between God and Abram, specifically their covenant to one another. Today we see God reaffirming his promise to Abram to make his descendants as numerous as the stars, but God also seeks a reaffirmation of His own, seeking some reassurance of Abram’s commitment to the relationship. Abram responds, performing an ancient ritual sacrifice called “splitting”. This special ritual, which was traditionally used as a way of ratifying a contract, calls for one party to offer the symbolic sacrifice of an animal, split in two, as a way of offering himself and all that he has as a commitment to the covenant. The covenant is ratified when the other party walks between the split animal, acknowledging the sacrifice. In a sign of trust and his deep relationship with God, Abram splits a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove, and a pigeon, and with much faith, waits for God patiently through the night, falling into a deep sleep, only to be awoken to see the fire that is God walking between the split sacrifice, sealing the covenant promising his descendants land of their own.
In today’s Gospel account of the Transfiguration, we see a unique coming together of God’s Law, His promise, and His Son, as well as another example of a true friendship. In this case, we focus on the special relationship between Jesus, Peter, James, and John, and how it is built on trust. Unlike the other disciples, these three came with Jesus because their relationship had grown, and their trust was mature enough to handle all that was about to happen, for in an amazing crescendo of God’s Word and grace, Christ gave them, and all of us, a glimpse of a new exodus from the enslavement of sin, and a new covenant for everlasting life.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that Luke’s Gospel likes to emphasize the action of the Holy Spirit and the importance of prayer in Christ’s earthly ministry. One unique to quality of the Gospel of Luke is that Jesus always spends time in prayer before major events like the Transfiguration. The Catechism says that Jesus’ prayer make for “a humble and trusting commitment of his [own] human will to loving will of the Father.” (CCC #2600) In this case he prays with His disciples Peter, James and John atop a mountain, a symbolic place for divine encounters. The divine encounter of the Transfiguration most likely happened on Mt. Tabor near Nazareth. (Concise Dictionary of Theology) It is called the Transfiguration, because “While [Christ] was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.” (Lk. 9:29) Jesus was transfigured, which literally means that he changed form and appearance into a more beautiful and spiritual state of being. (Oxford Dictionary) The disciples, who had fallen asleep, awoke to a dazzling light and saw the transfigured Christ talking with Moses, representative of God’s Law, and Elijah, representative of God’s promise through the Prophets. This confirmed yet another special relationship, foreshadowing a new exodus and all that would take place in Jerusalem. Peter, James and John were blessed to witness this the intimate relationship between Christ, Moses and Elijah, because of their close relationship and their faith in Jesus Christ!
Today’s Good News is that God is ready to deepen His relationship with you, so as to call you to accept His grace and promise of a new life for you, your family, and all those you serve. But we need to become more than just acquaintances, or even “best friends” with the Lord. We need to trust and grow with Him, knowing, as the Psalmist sings, that only He is our light and our salvation! (Ps. 27) In our first reading, God’s covenant with Abram, promises us descendants as countless as the stars, and a land to call our own. The second reading asks the Philippians, and us to join others in imitating those who follow Christ, so as to try and be more like those who have truly deepened their relationship with Him, for in doing so, Paul promises that we will be transformed as “He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body” (Phil. 3: 21) Finally, in our Gospel, and in our upcoming celebration of the Eucharist itself, we see the benefit of having a close relationship with the Lord, as Peter, James and John, and all of us gathered here, are able to witness Christ in all of His glory as he confirms His union with the Law and the Prophets, revealing to us a glimpse of the new exodus, and a new covenant to come.
Today's Readings
As we walk this Lenten journey together, I must admit that I love the people that God has brought into my life! I consider myself greatly blessed by God in the many wonderful relationships and friendships he has nurtured. The love of my parents, my wife and our children has given me the confidence that there are people who are with me every step of the way. Equally, I feel blessed by some very close friends, who know me better than most, and would do anything they could to support me, especially in times of need. Equal still, are the blessing of the many, many wonderful people that I work with, and see on a regular basis, as we share our efforts in doing our part to live and grow in community. We all have varied levels of relationships. Some are more intimate and special than others, yet all have their place in making our lives meaningful. Knowing that, our goal today is to explore how our call to deepen our relationship with God and His Son Jesus Christ will only serve to benefit us, and what it is that He is trying to reveal to us.
Our first reading from Genesis offers a look at the unique and special relationship between God and Abram, specifically their covenant to one another. Today we see God reaffirming his promise to Abram to make his descendants as numerous as the stars, but God also seeks a reaffirmation of His own, seeking some reassurance of Abram’s commitment to the relationship. Abram responds, performing an ancient ritual sacrifice called “splitting”. This special ritual, which was traditionally used as a way of ratifying a contract, calls for one party to offer the symbolic sacrifice of an animal, split in two, as a way of offering himself and all that he has as a commitment to the covenant. The covenant is ratified when the other party walks between the split animal, acknowledging the sacrifice. In a sign of trust and his deep relationship with God, Abram splits a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove, and a pigeon, and with much faith, waits for God patiently through the night, falling into a deep sleep, only to be awoken to see the fire that is God walking between the split sacrifice, sealing the covenant promising his descendants land of their own.
In today’s Gospel account of the Transfiguration, we see a unique coming together of God’s Law, His promise, and His Son, as well as another example of a true friendship. In this case, we focus on the special relationship between Jesus, Peter, James, and John, and how it is built on trust. Unlike the other disciples, these three came with Jesus because their relationship had grown, and their trust was mature enough to handle all that was about to happen, for in an amazing crescendo of God’s Word and grace, Christ gave them, and all of us, a glimpse of a new exodus from the enslavement of sin, and a new covenant for everlasting life.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that Luke’s Gospel likes to emphasize the action of the Holy Spirit and the importance of prayer in Christ’s earthly ministry. One unique to quality of the Gospel of Luke is that Jesus always spends time in prayer before major events like the Transfiguration. The Catechism says that Jesus’ prayer make for “a humble and trusting commitment of his [own] human will to loving will of the Father.” (CCC #2600) In this case he prays with His disciples Peter, James and John atop a mountain, a symbolic place for divine encounters. The divine encounter of the Transfiguration most likely happened on Mt. Tabor near Nazareth. (Concise Dictionary of Theology) It is called the Transfiguration, because “While [Christ] was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.” (Lk. 9:29) Jesus was transfigured, which literally means that he changed form and appearance into a more beautiful and spiritual state of being. (Oxford Dictionary) The disciples, who had fallen asleep, awoke to a dazzling light and saw the transfigured Christ talking with Moses, representative of God’s Law, and Elijah, representative of God’s promise through the Prophets. This confirmed yet another special relationship, foreshadowing a new exodus and all that would take place in Jerusalem. Peter, James and John were blessed to witness this the intimate relationship between Christ, Moses and Elijah, because of their close relationship and their faith in Jesus Christ!
Today’s Good News is that God is ready to deepen His relationship with you, so as to call you to accept His grace and promise of a new life for you, your family, and all those you serve. But we need to become more than just acquaintances, or even “best friends” with the Lord. We need to trust and grow with Him, knowing, as the Psalmist sings, that only He is our light and our salvation! (Ps. 27) In our first reading, God’s covenant with Abram, promises us descendants as countless as the stars, and a land to call our own. The second reading asks the Philippians, and us to join others in imitating those who follow Christ, so as to try and be more like those who have truly deepened their relationship with Him, for in doing so, Paul promises that we will be transformed as “He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body” (Phil. 3: 21) Finally, in our Gospel, and in our upcoming celebration of the Eucharist itself, we see the benefit of having a close relationship with the Lord, as Peter, James and John, and all of us gathered here, are able to witness Christ in all of His glory as he confirms His union with the Law and the Prophets, revealing to us a glimpse of the new exodus, and a new covenant to come.
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