R E F L E C T I O N S: October 2010

Friday, October 29, 2010

How great are your works for the Lord?

Good News Reflection
Friday of the 30th Week of Ordinary Time
October 29, 2010

Today's Readings:
Phil 1:1-11
Ps 111:1-6
Luke 14:1-6
http://www.usccb.org/nab/102910.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_10_29.mp3

How great are your works for the Lord?

You are a gift from God to the world! You are a gift in every way that you do good and use your talents, your finances, what you learned from your past experiences, your training and skills, your compassion, your knowledge, your Spirit-supplied wisdom, your unique personality, your right choice of words, your helpfulness, your – anything that is you that reflects God's goodness.

Through the words of St. Paul in today's first reading, Jesus is telling you personally: "I give thanks to my Father every time I think of you – which is constantly." He is telling you: "Our Father has begun a good work in you and he will carry it all the way to completion. Rely on him!" He is saying: "I am praying that your love will continually increase and change this world through what you know and perceive about the ways of God."

Jesus recognizes that you are a very important gift to the world. Because of your uniqueness, you are extremely valuable. No one else can do what you can do, the way you can do it. No one else has your particular set of talents and experiences and insights. In partnership with the Holy Spirit, you are awesome!

Satan is free to do evil whenever God's gifts for the world (God's children) say no to using their giftedness in cooperation with God's plans. What are the excuses we use? I'm too busy. I'm too inadequate. I'm too tired. I'm too scared of how I might suffer if I do that. I'm too focused on my own projects. I'm too in need of attention from others. I'm too unwilling to change.

It's the curse of "too-someness". Blessings are found in the "two-someness" of partnering with God. After Christ ascended from the earth, the Holy Spirit descended to the earth so that we could become the Body of Christ – we are his hands, his feet, his vocal chords, his smile, his presence in the world. Today's responsorial psalm is true because God works his wondrous deeds through us: How great are the works of the Lord!

Look at how Jesus, in today's Gospel reading, dared to use his giftedness when society dictated that he shouldn't. We need to let go of our perceptions of when and how it's okay to be gift for the world. You are very valuable! You are already doing good with the gifts you have. Become aware of Jesus patting you on the back and being very pleased with you. Read again today's first scripture and put your name in there, to make it a personal letter from Jesus to you.

Now, is there anything holding you back from doing ALL that you can do in partnership with God? May your love abound more and more!

For help in discovering your "two-someness", see my e-book: "Knowing God's Will and Doing it Well" - http://catholicdr.com/ebooks/GodsWill.htm

© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Successful faith in a family of sinful saints

Good News Reflection
Thursday of the 30th Week of Ordinary Time
October 28, 2010

Today's Feast: Sts. Simon and Jude
Pray for those in desperate situations:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Jude.htm

Today's Readings:
Eph 2:19-22
Ps 19:2-5
Luke 6:12-16
http://www.usccb.org/nab/102810.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_10_28.mp3

Successful faith in a family of sinful saints

You and I are members of the same imperfect household. It's a growing family, often a squabbling family, that includes the saints in heaven as well as the unfinished saints who still live on earth. In today's first reading, St. Paul says that we form a building, the foundation of which is the apostles and prophets. The capstone is Jesus, and he keeps our Church from falling apart despite our human failings, divisions, and weaknesses.

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus discerns which of his disciples should be trained as future leaders of the Church. Today we celebrate the sainthood of two: Simon who was called a Zealot because he was zealous about obeying both Jewish law and Canaanite law, and Jude (or Judas) the son of James and a relative of Jesus. They are both good examples of how Christians can be so imperfect yet so very effective in ministry.

Jude had a pastoral approach to ministry. He wrote his New Testament letter after experiencing hardships in his ministry. His letter includes a strong encouragement to persevere in difficulties. However, he didn't always have this wisdom. Back at the Last Supper, he had tried to convince Jesus to show himself to the whole world after his resurrection (see John 14:22). Wouldn't that have made Jude's work as an evangelizer much easier!

Successful ministry is neither easy nor convenient. And praise God for that! It's the trials and hardships, when used for the glory of God, that produce the compassion – the pastoral approach – that's found in those who are leader-servants like Christ.

Simon had a legalistic approach to ministry. He promoted scrupulous obedience to religious and civil laws. But he learned that the Law of Love is the bottom line and the highest goal of all other laws, rules, and regulations. Jesus taught him that a successful evangelizer meets people where they're at and then lovingly invites them to conversion.

Whenever we look at any Church law from the angle of its loving benefits, we can lead others directly to those benefits without forcing obedience through scoldings and threats of hell. Legalistic obedience doesn't convert hearts to God's love. Compassionate outreach produces a humble response, which then opens the sinner to learn the real value of Church laws, which then produces obedience.

We all belong to an imperfect household, but the Church has survived 2000 years of scandals and divisions and other human failings, because Jesus is the capstone. We are all at different stages of holiness and spiritual growth, but we are equally siblings in God's family, held together by the unitive presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist – Hey Saint Jude! Jesus IS showing himself to the whole world, post-resurrection!

For a printer-ready hand-out of this reflection, please go to Catholic Digital Resources:
http://catholicdr.com/calendar/October/Simon-Jude.htm

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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Strength to reach the narrow gate

Good News Reflection
Wednesday of the 30th Week of Ordinary Time
October 27, 2010

Today's Saint: Frumentius
Pray for strength when plans change:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Frumentius.htm

Today's Readings:
Eph 6:1-9
Ps 145:10-14
Luke 13:22-30
http://www.usccb.org/nab/102710.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_10_27.mp3

Strength to reach the narrow gate

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus says that some "will not be strong enough" to enter the narrow gate into heaven, and so our worry is: Will my faith weaken between now and the day I die?

Yes, it's likely that it will. But weak faith is not what keeps us from entering heaven. Faith is a gift we received from the Holy Spirit when we were baptized. It's always strong enough, because the Holy Spirit is strong enough.

Those who find a locked door at the entrance to heaven are weak – very weak – in their desire to do God's will and to love as he loves. They want to be their own god. They don't want to live for eternity under the authority of God who is completely holy and completing loving.

It takes effort – spiritual strength – to submit to God's will, especially when our will contradicts his. Selfish desires pull us toward sin, and spiritual strength is needed to resist that pull. While the world floats lazily downstream in the currents of self-serving whims and immoral trends, we have to swim against the tide if we want to remain with Jesus and follow him to heaven.

Only those who rely on the Lord for strength can swim upstream successfully. This requires daily determination. If we stop and rest, if we take any sort of break from spiritual growth and repentance from sin, we get caught in the downstream currents.

Notice that Jesus did not say that few are strong and most are too weak to enter through the narrow gate. He never answered the question, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" Instead, he pointed the listeners toward the narrow gate. The reason the gate is narrow is not because it's used only rarely. Rather, it's because there are many ways to reach hell but only one path into heaven. Jesus said, "I am the way...."

Are you determined to follow Jesus by imitating all of his holy, loving ways? Then you WILL enter heaven, because that's where he's leading you. Even when you weaken, God knows the true desires of your heart. If you want to spend eternity with him, you will. If you want Jesus to show you the way, he will.

We don't need to be perfect to get into heaven; we only need to desire forgiveness for our sins and to seek God's help in being holy.

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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The true meaning of submissiveness

Good News Reflection
Tuesday of the 30th Week of Ordinary Time
October 26, 2010

Today's Readings:
Eph 5:21-33
Ps 128:1-5
Luke 13:18-21
http://www.usccb.org/nab/102610.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_10_26.mp3

The true meaning of submissiveness

A little bit of goodness goes a long way. It spreads like ripples in a swimming pool. Dip your toe in the water, and you create a ripple that makes its way to the other side of the pool, bounces off the wall and returns back to you. By the time it reaches you, the little waves look different than the original ones you'd sent out, but they are waves nonetheless.

So it is with the goodness we spread when we submit ourselves to one another. This is the meaning behind the message of today's first reading, which is one of the scripture readings recommended for weddings. Many couples choose not to use this scripture because they misunderstand it. They read it apart from the Gospels and assume that it tells the wife to be inferior to the husband and that wives must always give up their own desires and goals when conflicts arise between the two of them.

This is far from the truth, as is made clear by what Saint Paul says about the husband's role in the marriage. For a man to love his wife the way Christ loves the Church, he has to be a lover who is also a servant. This is what the wife is to submit herself to: To be served by her husband the way Christ serves us!

The husband, as head of the family, is the high priest of the home, making self-sacrifices like Jesus did. He's to be a good shepherd who pastors the family into lush fields of spiritual nourishment, like Jesus the Good Shepherd. He's to be a loving provider who takes care of the needs of his family, and he's to be a holy prophet who delivers God's wisdom to them – like Jesus.

THIS is what the wife is to submit herself to, and nothing else. If the husband treats his wife this way, it's a no-brainer that she will want to submit to his caring priestliness! I know that in my role as wife I am most able to reach my highest potential when my dear husband, Ralph, is being Christ for me. Also in my role as director of Good News Ministries: If not for Ralph's sacrifices offered in love, I would not have been free to build Good News Ministries as I have done.

Marriage is not a soul-crushing superior-inferior relationship; it is equality in true love. We are Christ for each other.

When a husband is NOT being Christ to his wife, she's under no obligation to submit to his sinfulness or worldliness. She is still called to love him and to do good to him, but if he's abusive or unfaithful, she might have to love him from afar.

The same Ephesians 5 principle carries over into other relationships involving headship: parishioners and their priests, employees and their bosses, citizens and their government leaders, and dependent children and their parents. Each person who has authority over us is called to be Christ for us, and we are called to submit to this. Holy submission means mutual respect and cooperation.

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Monday, October 25, 2010

Living as true children of God

Good News Reflection
Monday of the 30th Week of Ordinary Time
October 25, 2010

Today's Saints: Crispin and Crispinian
Pray for wage earners:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Crispin.htm

Today's Readings:
Eph 4:32--5:8
Ps 1:1-4, 6
Luke 13:10-17
http://www.usccb.org/nab/102510.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_10_25.mp3

Living as true children of God

St. Paul says in today's first reading that immorality, impurity, greed, obscenity, and lewd talk are all forms of idolatry. Why? Idolatry means worshipping something other than God. It's obvious why immoral decisions and greed push Jesus out of his rightful place as Lord of our lives, but how is telling a dirty joke or using foul language an act of idolatry?

Paul's list of sins are examples of what is not found in God's nature. We're supposed to imitate Jesus, but these behaviors replace God with unGodly priorities and preferences. God is supposed to be our Father. His nature – our inheritance – should always be our only priority, so that we remain close to him, open to his love and his miracles.

Today's responsorial psalm shows us how to live as the inheritors of God's nature. First we make the decision to avoid sin by rejecting the ways of the wicked. That means staying away from the influences of the insolent and rebellious. At the same time, we decide to prefer God's ways, even if we don't understand why all of his methods and sacrifices and commandments are good. And because we want to understand, we meditate, ponder and study God's ways ALL the time, not half-heartedly and not only when it's convenient.

As our prayer life improves, we receive refreshing nourishment and empowerment from the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This helps us grow well spiritually, and the Spirit's presence within us does not wither nor fade during hard times. Our lives produce many good fruits, i.e., we are successful in every circumstance that honors the Father.

But look at what happens when we let immorality of any sort become our priority or preference.

First, we accept obscenity and suggestive talk as if it's okay and normal. That makes us feel comfortable around the insolent and rebellious, and soon we relax spiritually. We begin to feel drawn to them and their ways. This feels "good", so we succumb to sin and forget to pray, but feeling guilty about it, we find excuses and distractions that keep us from praying, because we prefer to not think about God's disapproval.

In this condition, we soak up the ways of the world, always thirsty for satisfaction but never fully finding it. This unquenchable thirst becomes a desperate addiction recycling the cravings of the flesh. Rooted in these cravings, we lose touch with the loving presence of God, and his absence reinforces the "need" for the addiction.

The fruit of this is destruction. Our malnourished faith withers and fades during hardships. Disconnected from God, we make more and more mistakes and enter so deeply into darkness that our unhappiness increases, thereby increasing the search to find satisfaction in sin – and we spiral downward into hell.

No wonder the wrath of God comes upon the disobedient. He loves us so much that he utterly hates what idolatry does to us.

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Sunday, October 24, 2010

Good News Reflection FOR NEXT SUNDAY: October 31, 2010 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Good News Reflection
FOR NEXT SUNDAY: October 31, 2010
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, 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/October/31stC.htm - Preview a sample

Next Sunday's Readings:
Wisdom 11:22–12:2
Psalm 145:1-2,8-11,13,14
2 Thess 1:11–2:2
Luke 19:1-10
http://www.usccb.org/nab/103110.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_10_31.mp3

Notice the determination of Zacchaeus in next Sunday's Gospel reading. His view of Jesus was obstructed, but that didn't stop him from seeing Jesus. He had an obstacle (the crowd) and a handicap (his short stature), but he refused to allow any of this to prevent him from reaching his goal of getting a clear view of Jesus.

In fact, Zacchaeus was so eager to experience Jesus that he did something drastic: He climbed a tree! Maybe he felt embarrassed hanging onto a tree limb; maybe onlookers thought he was odd. Maybe someone tried to talk him down. Maybe the tree was rough and tore his clothes and scratched his skin. None of that stopped him.

We all have handicaps – prejudices, misconceptions, bad training, spiritual laziness, fears and doubts, and so on – which obstruct our view of Jesus. And we all have a short stature; we are much smaller than God and cannot see what he sees in the hardships we endure. And thus we assume that Jesus has abandoned us, and we feel so very alone.

Instead, we should be like Zacchaeus. In our desire to see Jesus fully, as he really is, we should do everything possible to find a way around all obstacles and overcome all spiritual handicaps.

Notice that once Zacchaeus climbed the tree, Jesus zeroed in on him and gave him personal attention and affirmation. How did Zacchaeus respond? He QUICKLY descended from the tree and welcomed Jesus with DELIGHT. He had so much enthusiasm that he wanted to quadruple the penance for his sins!

Do you see Jesus in the Eucharist at Mass? If Zacchaeus' reaction to Christ's presence isn't our reaction, we need to climb even higher; our view is still partly obstructed.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
What are you "short" on? What in your faith life is too small? What is crowding your life and obstructing an enthusiastic relationship with Jesus? And how can you overcome this handicap so that you can see Jesus and recognize his nearness and hear his affirmation?

Questions for Family & Community Faith Sharing:
Name some signs of spiritual determination that you've seen in others. Why are we able to see Jesus better when we pray more fervently, sing in Mass more enthusiastically, serve others more eagerly, immerse ourselves in scripture more hungrily, care about others more cheerfully, or donate our treasures more generously?

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