R E F L E C T I O N S: November 2009

Monday, November 30, 2009

Blessed are the eyes that see

Good News Reflection
Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
December 1, 2009

Today's Readings:
Isaiah 11:1-10
Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
Luke 10:21-24
http://www.usccb.org/nab/120109.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_12_01.mp3

Blessed are the eyes that see

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples: "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see." It would seem that today we are not so blessed, because we were born two thousand years too late to see Jesus in the flesh, face to face. But let's consider what we have seen with our own eyes.

Every day, if we're able to celebrate Mass, we see Jesus in the Eucharist. Well, no, we don't see him with our physical vision. It requires faith – and belief in thesupernatural power of God – to recognize that the bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus during the consecration prayers. The eyes of our souls see him.

Every day, we see Jesus in others if we look past the garbage of sinfulness and unhealthy behaviors that they carry around like prized possessions. Jesus is not plainly visible; true vision requires faith. If we have true faith, the eyes of our souls find him within each person.

Every day, if we prayerfully observe what God is doing in our lives, we see the hands of Christ reaching out to us, embracing us, helping us, feeding us, taking our burdens upon himself, and healing us – through the people around us. The eyes of our souls see his love coming to us through others, and we realize that we are being blessed.

We're blessed because we live in the joy of Christ. His light has penetrated the darkness of the world in which we live, and this is reason for great joy. His light has overcome the darkness that once caused us to stumble and wander off onto wrong paths. Because of this light, we can see! We can see that God truly loves us, we can see that he is helping us, we can see the next step that he wants us to take on our journey toward heaven.

In our private prayer times, Jesus visits us directly. But this is too quiet. There's no physical touch. It's only mystical. Sometimes we experience supernatural joy in these moments, but we need more than that. We are flesh and blood creatures who need a flesh and blood God in order to feel his hugs.

So Jesus also comes to us through others. He helps us to escape from darkness through the invitation of those who live in his light. When we have difficulty seeing how the Lord is answering our prayers, for example, he puts someone in our path who can show it to us or guide us to it.

However, to benefit from his visits and see his presence and feel his hugs and hear his voice, we have to open ourselves to Christian community. The Church is, after all, theBody of Christ on earth.

What do you need to see today? God has blessed your vision, but if you still can't see him, watch for him to shine his light through someone else – perhaps even the person you least expect to show the glow!

© 2009 by Terry A. Modica
This work is NOT in Public Domain, and should NOT be copied without permission.For PERMISSION and info on how to copy this reflection, go to:
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Please help with a donation, including non-financial support. Good News Ministries affects countless lives around the world, including in countries where people have no Catholic Mass and where Christianity is persecuted. continue...
Join the cause on facebook and help spread the message!

Note: Good News Ministries is a non-profit organization that accepts donations as support for its ministries but does not charge for anything. Catholic Digital Resources™ is Terry Modica's publishing house providing professional writing services; the income from this will eventually support the future growth and projects of Good News Ministries. Please spread the word; tell your DRE, RCIA Director, pastor, etc. about what's available for parishes at Catholic Digital Resources™.

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Our vocation of joy starts at home

Good News Reflection
Monday of the First Week of Advent
November 30, 2009

Today's Feast: Saint Andrew, Apostle
Pray for family relationships:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Andrew.htm

Today's Readings:
Romans 10:9-18
Ps 19:8-11
Matt 4:18-22
http://www.usccb.org/nab/113009.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_11_30.mp3

Our vocation of joy starts at home

As Christians, we all have the vocation of continuing the ministry of Christ. Through baptism, we have been joined to his purposes. We are called and empowered by his Spirit to serve as his hands reaching out to others, his feet going to the places where we can do the work of God's Kingdom, and his voice speaking the good news that will lead people to salvation, and to his healing love, and to the deep and lasting peace that only he can provide.

In other words, we all have a vocation that brings joy to others. The world becomes a better place because we are apostles of joy.

In today's Gospel reading, we see Jesus calling people into apostleship. Saint Andrew was the first Apostle (see John 1:40-42), and although he would later lead many others to Christ, the first person he evangelized was his brother, Simon (who became Peter our first pope). Can you see the joy he shared with his brother?

The most difficult people to evangelize are usually our own family members. We're too close. We care so much about them that we're too hard on them. And since they knew us before our conversion, we don't have much credibility.

Apostleship means being sent forth to do whatever God calls us and gifts us to do. Today's first reading describes the need: The message must go out! And it describes our importance: How beautiful are the feet of those who carry the good news to others!

It starts in the home. We could be the best evangelizers in the world or the best at what we're gifted to do, but if we can't bring Jesus to our families, something's wrong. Our priorities are out of order or we're a bad example of what it means to be Christian.

In other words, when the people who are closest to us don't see our beautiful feet, it's because they're distracted by our voices that sound like nagging or condemnation.

Being good apostles and terrific evangelizers does not mean that we're going to be successful at changing the hearts and minds of family members. "Not everyone has heeded the good news." But it's at home where we learn to love others unconditionally. It's at home where we become good at forgiving. And it's at home where we're tested and strengthened in serving others with joy.

Fulfilling our vocation of joy in the home is more about what we do than what we say. How well do you imitate Jesus when you're with family? Consider every interaction as an opportunity for them to meet Jesus, even if they stubbornly refuse to recognize him in you.

They already know that you follow Christ and go to Mass and believe that participation in church community is important. You don't need to remind them. Simply concentrate on bringing more joy into the relationships. If you're a good reflection of Christ, eventually, this WILL make a difference. Maybe not as fast as you'd like, but this hardship will help you grow even more fully into the image of Christ.

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Sunday, November 29, 2009

Good News Reflection FOR NEXT SUNDAY: December 6, 2009 Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Good News Reflection
FOR NEXT SUNDAY: December 6, 2009
Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Parish bulletins, faith-sharing groups, RCIA:
For professionally published, printable copies of this reflection,
please go to Catholic Digital Resources:
http://catholicdr.com/calendar/December/Advent2.htm - Preview a sample

Next Sunday's Readings:
Baruch 5:1-9
Ps 126:1-6
Phil 1:4-6, 8-11
Luke 3:1-6
http://www.usccb.org/nab/120609.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_12_06.mp3

The readings for the Second Sunday of Advent will remind us that this liturgical season is a time of spiritual preparation: Aside from shopping for gifts, decorating, and stacking up the Christmas cards, what are we doing – spiritually – to make Christmas more of a rebirth of Christ in our lives, a holy day instead of a non-Christian holiday?

What are we doing during Advent to let Jesus restore our joy?

In our responsorial Psalm today, we proclaim: "The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy!" Do you feel the joy when you mouth these words?

To you, Saint John the Baptizer is proclaiming: "Prepare the way of the Lord!"

What kinds of preparations do you personally need to make so that you can experience the joy that comes from truly relying on Jesus?

What are you doing to straighten out the messes in your life, i.e., the areas of sin that continually distract you from a closer, stronger intimacy with Christ? "Make straight his paths!"

What depressing or discouraging valley of hardship needs to get filled with the joy of the Lord? If it seems hopeless, it's because you haven't yet opened yourself to let Jesus into this area of your life. If you already do have hope but fear or anxiety is stealing your joy, this indicates that your focus is more on the problems than on Jesus your Savior.

What mountain of debt or difficult obstacle needs to be made low by trusting in the Lord and using his digging tools? This Advent is meant to be a time of becoming more familiar with those tools as you pay more attention to the instructions provided in theteachings of Christ.

What's twisted and warped in your thinking, like a road that winds through a jungle of confusion? The Holy Spirit's guidance can correct and lead you straight to holiness! What's rough about you? What's edgy and sharp and rubs others the wrong way? Jesus wants to smooth you like a diamond polisher!

In other words, in what ways do you still need to see the salvation of God? And what are you going to do about it?

Questions for Personal Reflection:
Which of the above questions stand out most for you? What will you do with this to prepare the way of the Lord so that he bring his joy more fully into your life?

Questions for Community Faith Sharing:
Name a tradition you grew up with that prepared you for Christmas. How did this affect your spiritual growth? What's your favorite way of preparing for the holy celebration of Christmas? Why?

STARTING ON MONDAY, if you're a member of the "Emmaus Journey" e-group, share your answers by writing to EmmausJourney@gnm.org
* To join and become a member, go to:
http://gogoodnews.net/GNMcommunities/EmmausJourney/

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Friday, November 27, 2009

What's changing?

Good News ReflectionFriday of the 34th Week in Ordinary TimeNovember 27, 2009
Today's Readings:Daniel 7:2-14Daniel 3:75-81Luke 21:29-33http://www.usccb.org/nab/112709.shtmlUSCCB Podcast of the Readings:http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_11_27.mp3
What's changing?
This is my last reflection for Liturgical Year I. With the start of Advent on Sunday, we enter into a new liturgical year (at daily Mass, it will be Year II; on Sundays it will be Cycle C).
The Gospel reading for today is a fitting way to end the old and start the new. Jesus is speaking about the growth and blossoming of the kingdom of God. Everything on earth will eventually pass away – it's all temporary – but whatever grows in the kingdom of God is permanent.
What is passing away in your life? In this are the seeds of a new life, a new healing, or a new maturity for your walk through the garden of God's kingdom on the road toward heaven.
What seeds have already sprouted from past changes in your life? Take a prayerful moment to notice how you've grown. Appreciate what has happened. Identify the buds that are ready to burst forth. How will they glorify God?
What fruits have you been producing for the kingdom of God? What buds have turned to flowers that have become blessings for others? These flowers indicate how beautiful you are to God (yes! you are beautiful!), and, like the flowers of a cherry tree, they will be transformed by the creative power of God into something even more beautiful: good fruits that will nourish others with a pleasant flavor and healthy spiritual vitamins.
What are the fruits already being produced by your life in Christ? Think of anything you do that benefits someone else. This is how God interacts with your world and changes it for the better. This is how Jesus redeems and sanctifies where you live, work, and play. It all starts with a seed that sprouts from a change in your life.
Today is the ideal opportunity to reflect on your growth, because it will make your Season of Advent (days of preparation) more meaningful. Nurturing the soil of your growth and weeding it will enhance your Season of Christmas (days of new birthings of Christ where he's been missing from your daily life) and will produce more of God's permanent kingdom in you.
Change is usually painful. It's the dying of something old. It's the cracking of a seed hull. Transitions seem scary, because we don't know what's going to happen next. But through it all, Christ is steady, God is faithful, his word remains solid and certain. The more we pay conscious attention to God's kingdom, the easier it becomes to look beyond what's passing away.
Look past what's transitional, and keep your eyes on Jesus and his permanent love for you. Confusion comes from uncertainty, which came from not knowing what to expect next because the scenery looks different today. The path through this ever-changing garden of growth is found by quietly centering ourselves on the irrevocable word of God and on the unfailing presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Change should not be feared. It's means that the kingdom of God is near in a new way!
© 2009 by Terry A. ModicaThis work is NOT in Public Domain, and should NOT be copied without permission. For PERMISSION and info on how to copy this reflection, go to:http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections/copyrights-DR.htm
Seeking a past reflection?Click this button to register for the searchable Archive Library of the Good News Reflections. One week access is free as a special gift to subscribers of these emailed reflections.
WAS THIS FORWARDED TO YOU BY A FRIEND?To sign up for your own subscription, go to:http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections
Why do I need you as a partner in my daily ministry?Please help with a donation, including non-financial support. Good News Ministries affects countless lives around the world, including in countries where people have no Catholic Mass and where Christianity is persecuted. continue... Join the cause on facebook and help spread the message!
Note: Good News Ministries is a non-profit organization that accepts donations as support for its ministries but does not charge for anything. Catholic Digital Resources™ is Terry Modica's publishing house providing professional writing services; the income from this will eventually support the future growth and projects of Good News Ministries. Please spread the word; tell your DRE, RCIA Director, pastor, etc. about what's available for parishes at Catholic Digital Resources™.
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Thursday, November 26, 2009

Preparing for the Second Coming

Good News Reflection
Thursday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
November 26, 2009

Today's Saint: John Berchmans
Pray for altar servers
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/JohnBerchmans.htm

Today's Readings:
Daniel 6:12-28
Daniel 3:68-74 (with 59b)
Luke 21:20-28
http://www.usccb.org/nab/112609.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_11_26.mp3

Preparing for the Second Coming

The first part of Jesus' prophecy in today's Gospel reading has already come true. Jerusalem was surrounded by soldiers in the year 70 A.D. The Romans attacked the Holy City when it was crowded with Jews who had come to celebrate the Passover. A few weeks later, the Roman general Titus encircled the city with his entire army and cut off all communication and food supplies. The Jews were trapped.

The resulting famine was disastrous. On July 23rd, a Roman soldier flung a blazing torch into the Temple, striking close to the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary, the most sacred place of the whole world. The fire consumed everything and spread to other buildings. Soon, the whole Temple Mount was nothing but corpses and smoldering ruins. Few people survived. All that remained were the three towers of Herod's palace and the western wall of the mount (now known as the "Wailing Wall").

Jesus had said, "Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." Since the fall of Jerusalem under the Romans, we've been living in the "times of the Gentiles," the completion of which will take place when, as Jesus described next, the Son of Man will come on a cloud with great power and glory (his Second Coming).

Throughout the two millennia (so far) of this age of the Gentiles (and only God knows how much longer this will last; whenever we guess, we're wrong), there have been "signs in the sun, the moon and the stars." We've had devastating natural disasters, and nations have been in anguish and dismay as they always have been since the beginning of humankind. People have been dying from fright since the first disaster, and this will not end until Christ resurrects the whole world from the death and destruction of sin and the contamination of demons.

At the end of the times of the Gentiles, Christ will transform the earthly world into Paradise, evil will be destroyed, and all suffering will end.

The question is: What will we do today about the sufferings and the presence of evil that's on earth now? Are we going to just sit and wait for our divine rescuer? Or are we going to get out of our computer chairs and go into the world bringing Christ to the people who need a rescuer here and now?

For anyone to experience the Second Coming of Christ they must first experience the First. Jesus will be born within them when conversion begins in their hearts. His conception begins when we reveal Jesus to them by giving them his love and by letting them know that Jesus is the source of that love.

Rather than focus on what the Second Coming will be like, we're called to conquer the power of death by sharing Christ with others today.

© 2009 by Terry A. Modica
This work is NOT in Public Domain, and should NOT be copied without permission. For PERMISSION and info on how to copy this reflection, go to:
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How strong is your faith?

Good News Reflection
Wednesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
November 25, 2009

Today's Readings:
Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
Daniel 3:62-67 (with 59b)
Luke 21:12-19
http://www.usccb.org/nab/112509.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_11_25.mp3

How strong is your faith?

How strong is your faith? Don't measure it by how readily your prayers get answered. We often assume that "I didn't get the help I prayed for because I don't have enough faith. If I had prayed more faithfully, God would have given me what I ask for and everything would have turned out better." Or, "I can't hear God, I can't be sure of what he's telling me, because my faith is weak, and that's why my life is not going as smoothly as it should."

No, our hearing might be weak or our ability to trust what the Lord is saying or doing might not be as strong as it should be, but faith is not measured by how easily our problems are solved. Faith is measured, as Jesus points out in today's Gospel reading, by our perseverance.

What are you willing to endure for the sake of the kingdom of God? Where's your breaking point? Can you endure a little longer, go a little farther, and persevere by relying on the strength of Jesus when you don't feel strong enough to continue the journey?

How much persecution are you willing to put up with at work because of your faith, and are you willing to risk your job when you're asked to do something unethical and you know you should refuse? How much grief from your family are you willing to tolerate (without retaliating) when they criticize you for going to Mass during a family gathering? How in love with Jesus in the Eucharist are you when tempted to leave the Church because priests or other Church leaders cause damage and no healing intervention comes?

Perseverance means going the extra mile for God. If we let hardships, injustices, and persecutions turn us away from that journey, we've given our lives over to the control of the unfaithful. But when we persist on the path of holiness, we walk beyond the trouble-makers. The friends and family and co-workers who do not understand our faith might try to use fear or discouragement to manipulate us, but our faith won't let them have that power.

A strong faith is a determination to be holy regardless of the reactions of others. Determination gives us the stamina and courage to put our faith into action regardless of the obstacles. A strong faith lasts beyond reason, beyond common sense, beyond comfort, beyond worldly wisdom, beyond the natural instinct to seek vengeance for injustices or to quit. And this is the kind of faith that provides us with peace even while we're still waiting for our prayers to make a difference.

If your faith isn't this strong, turn to the Holy Spirit and make him your closest ally and support. Ask for supernatural perseverance. Faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor. 12:9). Since the Spirit of God dwells within us, we have all the faith that Jesus has.

© 2009 by Terry A. Modica
This work is NOT in Public Domain, and should NOT be copied without permission. For PERMISSION and info on how to copy this reflection, go to:
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Monday, November 23, 2009

Living in the here and now

Good News Reflection
Tuesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
November 24, 2009

Today's Memorial:
Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions, martyrs

Today's Readings:
Daniel 2:31-45
Daniel 3:57, 58, 59, 60, 61
Luke 21:5-11
http://www.usccb.org/nab/112409.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_11_24.mp3

Living in the here and now

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus and the disciples discuss the Final Judgment Day. To the world, this will look like the ultimate disaster. But if we refuse to belong to the world, because we belong to the kingdom of God, for us Judgment Day will mean hearing God say, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You are now totally free from evil!"

The end of the world fascinates us. Hollywood movies about it are box office hits. Christian novels about it are top sellers. The predictions of Nostradamus are more popular than ever, and psychics who talk about it attract large followings. And when huge natural disasters hit, many of us try to make sense of them by declaring them to be chastisements against sinners and we start looking for signs that Jesus is coming soon to rescue us from the harm that's been caused by these sinners.

Why all this fascination with the end of the world? We should be more interested in what we can do for Christ in the present than in what he can do for us in the future.

It's in the here and now that we make a difference. Rather than guessing at the warnings of chastisement and the signs of impending doom, we should be spreading Christ's love so much here and now that we lay strong foundations for a better future.

When the disciples asked for clues about the timing of the disaster that Jesus described, he warned them to be careful lest they fall prey to deceptions. He knew that focusing on the future can easily causes misinterpretations and mistaken predictions.

Jesus wasn't being a soothsayer when he warned that the holy temple would get torn down. He was talking about the here and now of his interaction with the disciples: The Messiah had come and therefore the stone temple was no longer needed.

His words can also apply to our own here and now: Our bodies, which are temples of the Holy Spirit, will die and decay, but our Messiah has come. If we follow him, we'll reach heaven. Our flesh and blood temples cannot save us; we need the Messiah. Living in him and through him today will secure our future in the kingdom of God, even if the Second Coming of Christ does not occur in our lifetimes.

In the meantime, we should not fear wars and other human disasters, nor earthquakes and other natural disasters. This is true whether it's terrorist attacks or the personal earthquake of a loved one's death. When plagues of hardships infect our lives, or when famines make us hungry for whatever we lack, we're comforted by remembering that this is normal for this world and we do not belong to this world – we take action to help make the world a better place, but we do not live in fear nor do we wait for Jesus to do the work without us.

Even when it seems like our problems will bring a permanent end to what had been good for us, the fearful omens should not dismay us. Our Messiah is with us! So keep your eyes on Jesus, here and now.

© 2009 by Terry A. Modica
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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Putting our faith into social justice

Good News Reflection
Monday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
November 23, 2009

Today's Saint: Pope Clement I
Pray to stop worrying:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Clement.htm

Today's Readings:
Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20
Daniel 3:52-56
Luke 21:1-4
http://www.usccb.org/nab/112309.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_11_23.mp3

Putting our faith into social justice

Today's Gospel reading challenges us to examine how generously we help the ministries of the Church by contributing financially to the treasury of the Church. When our income isn't enough to pay for everything that we wish we could buy for ourselves, the widow's mighty sacrifice is not pleasing to look at. We naturally distrust the lesson that Jesus taught here.

And thus we cause others to suffer. Our parishes don't have enough financial resources to do all the ministering they could do and should do. And the people who rely on the mercy of charitable organizations are victims of our fear of generosity.

I've noticed that some of the most generous people are those who have the least. Perhaps the reason why they feel freer to share with others the little that they have is because their eyes are not set on big purchases for themselves. Or perhaps it's because they've learned more compassion from being needy themselves.

Some of today's financial hardships come from being foreclosed out of houses that were larger than we really needed, and we assumed debts we never should have considered or we depended on two incomes but one was lost to lay-offs. This lifestyle of overspending is part of a culture that sinfully neglects the needs of the poor. It's time that we paid attention to the Church's teachings on social justice! Our parishes should be teaching classes on this more than often than seminars on how to find a job after a lay-off.

I hope I'm not alone in feeling stirred up about this! Too many Christians have enjoyed a cushy, comfortable, and even greedy lifestyle for way too long. Are we really followers of Christ or not??? I'm not saying that we have to sell everything to help the poor and thus become poor ourselves. What we do need to do is to become socially conscious and be willing to make sacrifices.

The widow gave to God what she could not afford. She made an offering of her entire livelihood, sacrificing not only the coins but her very self. If a gift we give or a good deed we do is easy and comfortable, it's not a sacrifice. Unwillingness to make a true sacrifice is the reason why charitable organizations (including Good News Ministries) cannot help all those who would benefit from their services. It's the reason why parishes don't have enough highly qualified staff to fulfill all the work that Christ has commanded them to do for the continuation of his mission.

And (some will find this unbelievable until they do a little research and wake up to the world that's wider than the one we see everyday) it's the reason why climate change is occurring and already devastating the lives of the poor and vulnerable.

What happened to the widow in the Gospel story after she went home? Did she starve? Wait a minute. Do we believe that God would praise her for making such a huge act of love and then crush her as if her good deed had been foolish?

Let's put our faith into action. I know from personal experience how scary this can be and how faith-building it can be. Join me in making sacrificial trust in God our everyday faith experience. Join me in giving more than we feel is "safe" to give. Instead of assuming that other folks will donate enough money to cover the bills of churches and charities and outreach ministries like Good News Ministries, join me in showing God that we really do love him and trust him.

Please remember the needs and staff of Good News Ministries and visit http://gnm.org/donate.htm (on mobile devices, go to http://gnm.org/donate-mobile.htm). If you cannot donate money, please donate a sacrifice of time spent in prayer for us.

And please, I beg you, pay attention to and take action in the need to help build a better world where respect for life includes protecting the environment. An excellent starting place is the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor: http://www.franciscanaction.org/pledge. And please sacrifice two hours to see the Franciscan Action Network's "Care for Creation National Web Summit" – it's free! View it at: http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=61912

You can see the start of my new website that's devoted to Green Stewardship at http://gogreenstewardship.org/

© 2009 by Terry A. Modica
This work is NOT in Public Domain, and should NOT be copied without permission. For PERMISSION and info on how to copy this reflection, go to:
http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections/copyrights-DR.htm

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