Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A Collect

The Collect for the Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time reads as follows:

 

Grant us, O Lord, we pray,

that the course of our world

may be directed by Your peaceful rule

and that Your Church may rejoice,

untroubled in her devotion.

 

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

 

 

1.  How is my world currently directed?

2.  What do I need to do this week to bring my world under God's rule?

3.  What does it mean to me to have my life directed by God?

4.  What does God's peaceful rule mean to me?

5.  What does it mean for the Church to rejoice in her devotion untroubled?

6.  What can I do  in my parish to assist the Church to continue to rejoice and be untroubled in her devotion?

Today's Gospel is particularly challenging one for our society today  and it  could benefit from this Scripture passage.  It is even challenging for believers as well.  Actually I found myself thinking at Mass this morning, whilst the Gospel was being read  "' well that's ok God, but the Gas and water and electricity companies wont wait until I can draw on the heavenly bank account"'   Thankfully I caught the thought and refocused on the Gospel as it was being read. 

Recently I had the experience of dreading the commitments I had to do.  I have to say that I did agonize over them quite a lot before the due date. God is good- all the commitments worked out so much better than even I could have hoped.  I also thought of this during the Gospel reading.!!!
I wished I had recalled the words of Christ in this Gospel during that time. Hopefully, I will recall it for another occasion.

Of course God does not mean us not to plan for the future, but to plan in a healthy manner.
''What ifs'' are useful if we pose the question, reflect upon some solutions and then make a choice and move forward. The ''What if's'' paralyse us though if we get stuck in them and worry ourselves sick and do not make any choices.

Living tomorrow instead of today is enslaving and more enslaving than our occupations, are our pre-occupations.  To be pre-occupied means to fill our time and place long before we are there.  This is worrying in the most specific sense of the world.  It is a mind filled with ‘what ifs’.  Much of mankind’s suffering is connected with these pre-occupations. Preoccupations can make people feel anxious, fearful, suspicious, greedy, nervous and morose.  This prevents them from feeling a real inner freedom.  Since the person is always preparing for eventualities, they seldom fully trust the moment.  Much human energy is invested in these fearful pre-occupations.

What we all need to do is to put God first always since God treats us as friends not slaves.

As Lent approaches, I hope that you will have time to review your spiritual life and decide on what you intend to do during Lent. 

May we all come to trust in God's loving providence more during this week.
 

 

 

 





7th Sunday Year A Collect

The Collect for the 7th Sunday Year A reads as follows:

Grant, we pray almighty God,

that, always pondering spiritual things,

that we may carry out in word and deed

that which is pleasing to You.

 



In making this prayer tangible, the following reflective questions emerged:

1. What spiritual things do I always ponder?
2.  What words and deeds do I want to carry out  to please God?
3.  What do I think is pleasing to God?
4.  What  are the benefits and disadvantages of pondering?

In Today's Gospel we hear the commandment to love- to love our neighbour and ourselves. As part of loving our neighbour we also need to love those whom we consider to be our enemies, since they too are loved by God and are our brother or sister in Christ.

Loving one’s enemies can be daunting, but Jesus is not telling us to have warm feelings towards everyone who has ever hurt us.  In some cases, that would be truly impossible!  Love is an act of the will, not a matter of emotion.  Loving our enemies is a matter of reigning in our bitter thoughts, refusing to be mastered by resentment, and consciously choosing to offer people goodness and kindness.. It means choosing to pray a blessing on them, especially the right blessing of eternal life with God. 

By ourselves, we cannot measure up to Jesus’ call to perfection.  But we are not alone.  Christ is in us, and He is our hope of glory.  Ultimately, the call to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect rests in the hands of God. Only He can bring the changes in our hearts that will enable us to fulfil such a high calling.  Our task is to cooperate with His transforming grace.  Jesus was crucified not only for us, but also for those we resent.  If we ask Him to fill our hearts with His mercy, He will bring us closer to His perfection by empowering us to choose to love and bless at all times.

God loves all people.  He wants His gospel to come to each person- even our enemies.  When He set us free from our sins, he commissioned us to bring the Good News of His freedom to others.  Through our decisions to forgive and to love, the Holy Spirit will move freely in his world that so desperately needs him.  The Spirit will enable us to pray for those who have wronged us.

                                                        

We have another week of Ordinary Time before we head into Lent.  If you are like me, I need to get my mind into gear as to what I will do for Lent.  I have to start thinking early. However it is good to see how we are progressing so far this year at this point.

 

May you be blessed during the week.

6th Sunday of Year Year A

The Collect for the 6th Sunday of Year A reads as follows:

 

O God, who teaches us that

You abide in hearts that are just and true,

grant that we may be fashioned by Your grace,

as to become a dwelling pleasing to You.

 



 

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

 

 

1. What does it mean to me for God to abide in my heart?

2. What areas in my life need to be reviewed in the light of being just and true?

3.  Dwell on the word fashioned and consider the synonyms associated with this word to enrich your reflection.

4.What does God's grace mean to me?

5. What does it mean to be a dwelling pleasing to God?

6. What areas of my life need review in reconciliation to receive God's grace?

Mt 5:17-19:

"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.   For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.  Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

  

In the Gospels, Jesus talks about God’s mercy and love.  However, we can tend to forget that He is also a God of justice whose laws we must obey.  God doesn’t want us to follow his commands out of a fear of punishment, or out of a desire to make him happy with us.  The call to obedience goes much deeper.  It has to do with our dignity as the crown of His creation.  God demands our obedience because He has a plan to fulfil, and he has called us to be co-workers with Him in bringing that plan to fruition. 

 

At creation, God told our first parents to ‘fill the earth and subdue it and to have dominion over creation (Gen 1:28).  As heirs of this commission, we are called to make this world – and our heart into a fit dwelling place for the glory of God.  We are called to manifest His character to the world and bring His love into every aspect of life on earth.  The commandments of God are not just chores to which we must diligently apply ourselves.  They are part of our heritage as a royal people (I Peter 2:9)

 

Mt 5: 20-26:

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.'  But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, `You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire.

So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.    Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny".

 

Forgiving and being reconciled with those who have hurt us is probably one the most challenging thing we face in life.  On the one hand, we want to be free of our hurt.  Yet, at the same, time, we feel justified in our anger because we have been wronged.  In many cases, if left to our own resources, we would never be able to bring about true reconciliation.  Here are two approaches which may be useful in helping you forgive the wrong of others who have hurt us.

 

Approach 1:

 

Using Corinthians 13.  Recently I went to a symposium on St Thomas Aquinas.  I wont go off the point here to tell you all about that, but  in amongst all the wisdom and discussion of the day, I brought home this little gem. 

 

In Corinthians 13 on love, it talks about those who brood over the injuries that are done to them.  I have to say that I do tend to fall into this trap at times ( probably more often than I wish). 

Why I found this so very helpful was I pondered on the word brood.  When I brood over something, I more than just dwell on it, it becomes like a stuck replay of the event, the words, the situation.  Then the more I brood, the darker the cloud of my heart, soul and overall well being.  Everything then becomes magnified even more,the injury deeper and a sense of anger, resentment and later hopelessness emerges strongly.

 

Now here is the clincher- If I love myself in a healthy manner, then I do not need to brood since brooding is not healthy to my well being.  If I love myself healthily, then I will let go of the hurt because it is not good for my well being.  This to be is a great starting point when people do hurt us and it is hard to let go and forgive.  Obviously we need to go further than this as God asks us to love our neighbour by forgiving them.  However, I have found so far with this approach that the ongoing situations which had troubled me ( which I had brooded over and over again) have now been let go.  The people are the same.  I am the same in one sense but I feel free.  I have stopped myself from brooding over the situations which have caused me hurt.   I am finding too that I am stopping myself when I want to brood again.

( keep you posted on how this works out long term and whether it is a way to forgiveness).

 

Approach 2

 

 

We need to ask ourselves though, who delights in divisions and broken relationships more than Satan, the ‘accuser of the brethren’ (Rev 12:10). Here, spiritual warfare with Satan can be quite strong.  In his relentless attacks again the people of God, the evil one constantly seeks to accuse us to each other, to remind us of our own and other people’s faults so that we will suspect, blame and accuse them ourselves.  Jesus however, told us to make peace with our accuser (Mt 5:25).

 

We can ‘make peace’ with the devil- and so silence his accusations- by agreeing (to a point) with the thoughts he suggest to us.  When he reminds us of how deeply someone has hurt us, we can say ‘Yes that is true.  I have been deeply hurt.  However, I know the power of the Cross-.  Jesus has forgiven me and has forgiven that person as well.  I have been hurt, but Jesus is my healer and he can restore this relationship.’ 

 

Or when the devil brings up our own sins- either of the distant or the recent past- we can take a similar approach.  ‘ Yes, I have done wrong. You’re right; I’m not worthy of God’s love.  But He loves me anyway and he sent His Son to free me from guilt and condemnation.  Thank God I’ve been forgiven. The evil one when tempting Jesus used Scripture.  We too can use Scripture as our safeguard and strength in his attack against us.

 

The whole truth, therefore, includes not only our sin, but also the blood of Jesus that has overcome sin for everyone.  If we want to experience peace and freedom, we need to start by accepting God’s forgiveness for ourselves on a very personal level, and then it is more possible to forgive others as well.  Each day we must ask the Holy Spirit to help us as we start taking steps to forgiveness.  Even if they are small, Jesus will pour out unexpected blessings on us.

 

May you have a blessed week loving God, neighbour and yourself healthily.

 

 

 

 



Fifth Sunday Year A

The Collect of the 5th Sunday of Year A reads as follows:

 

"Keep your family safe. O Lord, with unfailing care,

that, relying soley on the hope of heavenly grace,

they may be defended by your protection".

 

 

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

1. Why do I need to ask God for my safety?
2. What does God's unfailing care mean to me this week?
3. Why do I need to rely soley on the hope of heavenly grace?
4. What does the hope of heavenly grace mean to me?
5. What does it mean to be defended by God's protection?
6. What reasons might I give to someone who asked why does the Church use this Collect  as the Opening Prayer for Mass on the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time?

Today's Gospel from Matthew offers us some challenges or we may even feel quite challenged and confronted by it.  When a person feels hesitant about himself/herself or about the Church, it is tempting to retreat to a private world, where his/her faith is his/her business and no one else’s.  It is safer or so it seems.  It is riskier putting the lamp on the lamp stand as it might fall and break or we may fear that other people's criticism may break our personal spirit.    But the risk has to be taken if the lamp is to give light…. God’s light.  But radiating God’s light is not just an end in itself.  We need to radiate God’s light, so that others may give glory, not to us, but where the glory truly belongs- Your Father who is in Heaven. 

 

Are you going to be salt of the earth or a light to the world this week in your life? 

 

Of course we need to be seasoned  and salty in our faith if we hope to be salt of the earth to others for God's honour and glory.  That means keeping our own faith flavoursome.  Remember in the time of Jesus, salt was a key ingredient to keep things fresh, seasoned and flavoursome. 

 

Yesterday I had the good fortune of attending a seminar-Thomas Aquinas symposium.  There were 4 fabulous speakers who had different topics related to our faith and what St Thomas said about them.  It took some effort to arrange my calendar and go interstate to attend.  However, today I feel seasoned and refreshed because of all the words presented yesterday I came home with a key point from each presentation that I can apply to my life.  It has not only refreshed my soul but whilst sitting there yesterday listening, I realised what I needed to do to apply them to my life.

 

So we need to continue to nourish our faith, keep the light lit and keep it seasoned and fresh. Sometimes it might mean we spend a retreat day to hear good speakers on faith topics that interest us. Maybe it means attending week day mass with a different attitude- perhaps a more tuned in response to Mass or it might mean we make a decision to dwell on the scripture- either scripture read during the week at Mass or we focus on the Sunday readings and keep them seasoned in our hearts during the week.   Perhaps it might mean seeking out some quiet time in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.  Whatever you choose, choose something. 

 

Even taking a stocktake of your faith is a great start. It is looking at the stale, the tried and tested which perhaps were relevant for you in earlier years but has become just a habit not a real refreshed help anymore.  It is about being discerning as to what is still refreshing and useful for you and what has just become stale and shows you no more light.

Go to Mass next Sunday knowing that you have tried to live out this Gospel this week.

 

The other challenge is to examine our motivation. It is always lovely to receive compliments and positive feedback. We need to receive this and should accept it graciously. Graciously because it is through the power of God who has made it possible for us to do our task well.  We can thank the person for their kind words but we also can thank God in our hearts as well with a simple Thank you God.

If our ministry or good works is for own honour and glory then it may be wise to think again in the light of today's gospel.  So examining our motivation, attitudes and our way of being is vital if we are to sort out our chaff within ourselves.  Ask the Holy Spirit to show us what we need to see and hear about ourselves this week.

It is interesting to note that World Youth Day in 2002 had as its theme this very Gospel passage.  Perhaps you might like to listen to the theme song from WYD 2002.

 

What will you do to keep your faith refreshed and salty

so that you can be salt of the earth for others? 

 

How will you keep your faith shining brightly as a light to the world this week?