Ordinary Time Cycle A

32nd Sunday Ordinary Time Cycle A

November 8, 2020

Thirty Second Sunday Cycle A

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For each of us......Do you have enough Oil

 

 

 

 

This book of Wisdom was written in about the year 150 B.C. by devout Jew in Egypt.  He was attempting to educate his fellow Jews in their own philosophy and not the philosophy of the Greeks that was influencing them.    

 

 

It is a good reminder for me as to how easy it is to turn to the world philosophy of today that says the way to happiness is...

 

Money

Fame

Power

Education

Hot Car

Possessions

Great clothing

etc. 

 

There is nothing wrong with these, but when they become the whole purpose of my life, they can become idols that help me to escape from my problems, my struggles, my cross.

I know that in times of difficulty, of doubt, I need to pray for the gift of wisdom.  To be able to discern and not escape the problems,  my cross.  Many times my struggles, my cross,  are a way of growing spiritually and if I am not careful I will do almost anything to escape and to miss the opportunity to grow spiritually.

 

 

 

 

In the Gospel of this Sunday .we hear the story of the ten virgins.  

 

 

 

 

 

I know that for me in all my daily experiences I have the opportunity to store up oil so I am ready when the bridegroom comes.  

This is not just at the end of my life, but it is every day.

 

Will I have enough oil when He comes inviting me to enter the wedding feast, to experience the kingdom right now?

 

 

In Paul's letter we hear of the concern many had wondering what would happen for those who had died before the coming of Jesus, which they believed was just around the corner.

 

 

 

 

I have come to understand, that for me, it is not to wait to experience Jesus at the end of my life, or at the end of time, but to realized that He comes every day and that I need the gift of wisdom to be able to recognize Him in all the situations of my life, especially those situations which seem difficult and call me to conversion; those times I complain and doubt.  These are always gift of the presence of the Lord showing me who I am spiritually and giving me more oil for my lamp.

 

 Getting Oil...

 

Do I reflect the mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and love of the Christ I have been called by my baptism
to make present in the world?  

Or do I put me first and the other last or second?

 

Now is the time to get oil for my lamp so I am ready.

 

Click below to view video clip

Video Clip ...Fr. Greg Friedman Franciscan...Background on the readings 

 

 

 

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All Souls Day

 November 2, 2020

 

 

 

 

When November 2nd falls on a Sunday the regular readings for that Sunday are not used.  The readings from All Souls Day are used. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you review the readings you will find a choice of many options for which readings the priest will select.

 

 

 

Therefore, not knowing which mass you will attend and which readings will be used,  it is impossible to write a reflection on all the possible readings.

 
 

 

Background on All Souls Day Traditions

 Because we know that death is not the end of life, it is not morbid for us Christians to visit the graves of our loved ones who have died. 

It is good to visit the cemetery, especially on November 2 and then throughout the month of November, when the church celebrates the communion of saints and souls and looks forward to that harvest at the end of time when all will be gathered into the new Jerusalem.

 

 We decorate the graves of our loved ones because we believe that in baptism they have died with Christ and thus Christ will raise them up. So we place on the grave an evergreen wreath or flowers—as a reminder of victory over death and a reminder of the eternal life promised to us in the first sacrament. Or we light a candle at home during November—a reflection of the light of Christ given to each one of us on our baptism day, and a reminder of the wise bridesmaids who kept their lamps lit while waiting for the groom to come so that the wedding could begin.

 

 Remember Mary Magdalene and the other two Marys going to visit Jesus’ tomb. Confident that what they found, you will one day find, make pilgrimages to the graves of your loved ones this month. What a spiritual gift that journey can be!

  

 

 

During the whole month of November we pray for our dead. It is a good idea to make a visit to a cemetery and to pray there for our deceased .

 

 

 

 

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A

 

October 25, 2020 

Cycle A

 

Review the Readings

 

Listen to the Readings

 

 

 

 

We all know the story of how God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.

 

 

 

 

How He made a pact with them on Mount Sinai and promised to bring them to the Promised Land.  

They in turn were to fulfill the rules or laws God gave them  as His People.  

 

 

The first reading gives a brief description of two of these  laws.

 

   

Remember that widows and orphans were the poorest of the poor.  For a wife to have lost her husband and to have no son to care for her, meant she was on the streets with nothing.  

And for children to loose their dad meant they too were on the streets; they were orphans with nothing. 

 

 

 

The truth is that the way to love God above all else is to help those who have nothing, even the alien, the stranger, the impossible person, the one who bugs us.

Jesus says the same in the Gospel for this Sunday.

 

 So, we need to ask ourselves...

Who in your life is the alien?  

Who in your life is the widow or the orphan?

 

Perhaps they are the spiritual widows and orphans

It is so easy to not recognize either of them  in our own lives.  

Look for them because they are all around us.

The person that at times we do not like.  

The person that causes us difficulties.

The person we don't agree with.

The person we don't want to go out of my way for.

The person with a sign as we leave the freeway.

Etc. 

Does God really want me to treat them as I treat myself? 

Does God really expect me to go out of my way or to love them?

 

Deep down we really do know the answer to those questions

Christ found the widow and the orphan in all he encountered, even the enemy; even the ones who caused Him pain and death. 

 

 

 At our baptism we were each called by God to be the body of Christ present in the today's world.

We are to make Christ present to all we encounter in the world, and that means we need to continue to pray to fulfill being able to love God above all else; more than our possessions, our money, our vacation, our car, our home, etc. and to love the other, our spiritual orphans and widows, in other words to love all we encounter.

 

 

 

In Paul's letter, he praises the Thessalonians that they received the Good News and turned from their idols.

 

 

The Thessalonian Christian Community  had begun to fulfill what Jesus was talking about, as we hear in the Gospel reading of this day.. 

 

 

At times, if we are honest with ourselves, we neither love God above all, nor do we love others as ourselves.

It is important not to escape recognizing this.  

It is important not to make excuses.  

 

 

The truth is that we are called to love God above all and we do this by loving the other.  

The two go together.

When we discover we can't do this or we won't do this, we can ask God to continue to work on us and change our hearts but...

But if we make excuses, or say that it is impossible; then we will never let God into our hearts and change us.

The first step, is not to panic, but to ask for the grace to change, and  to never, never, give up.

 

 

 

 

God will never give up on us!

He calls us again and again!

The devil, the evil one,  always tries to convince us

that we will never change!

 

What a lie!

 

 

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Twenty Ninth Sunday Ordinary Time Cycle A

October 18, 2020

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It can be amazing when we stop and think about how God works.  

What a shock it can be to discover that God not only works through religious people, happy people, and in times of great and wonderful events that happen in our lives, but also He can work through saints and sinners, aliens, rich, or poor or through whomever; He can even work through what seems like  failures or disasters.  This Sunday's readings seem to reflect on this idea.

 

In the first reading  we hear of the experience of how God worked in the lives of the Jews in Exile in Babylon.  They were at a point of giving up.  They were sure that God had abandoned them. 

 

 King Cyrus conquered the king of Babylon, and he was a pagan, a Gentile, a non believer in God.  

Would he free the Hebrews?

 

 

How could God possibly work through Him?  

 

This all took place in the sixth century B.C. 

 

What was so amazing was the fact that King Cyrus wanted and allowed the exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their homes and their temple. 

 

He even gave them funds so all that would be done. 

Who would have thought that God would work through a non believer, a pagan king?  

 

 

 

  

Paul writes this letter  while on one of his missionary journeys, sometime around 50 AD. 

He praised this Christian community on how they had made the message of Christ’s mercy, compassion, forgiveness, etc. present to others.

 

 I wonder what kind of letter Paul would write to us?

 

It is so easy  to justify ourselves during the times when we don't have mercy, or compassion, or forgiveness; in other words, when we sin.  We might just give excuses!

 

Paul experienced  what a struggle it could be to be Christian, seeing God work ones struggles and fears; that was one reason he wrote to this early Christian community. 

He encouraged them by letting them know that he was praying for them.

 Sometimes it is so easy to forget that we are all being prayed for daily. In spite of our failures, our lack of charity even to the enemy, our sins, we are encouraged to start again, and not to give in to our frustrations with ourselves, with our failures, or with other difficult people. 

 

God will never give up on us, never!

In the Gospel reading we hear the following message...

 

  Jesus was showing the Scribes and Pharisees, (who believed that God would only work through the holy, religious people,  like themselves), but God works through anyone and any event.  

Jesus wanted them to understand that they should not put limits on how God worked.

 

 

Jesus is letting us know that God certainly works through our faith, but He also works through all types of people, good, bad, or indifferent; He even works through all our human institutions and laws.

 

 

Even when things in government don't go the right way or the way we think, God is at work. Perhaps He is showing  us that in the face of injustice, we often remain silent.  Or maybe He shows us our own sins toward the poor, the homeless, the unjust, the enemy.  Or He maybe He is trying to show us our judgements, our own lack of compassion, or our own indifference, our sins.  

It is always  a gift from God to be able see our sins and then to pray for the grace not remain silent in the face of injustice, prejudices, unfairness, or mistreatment of a particular class of people.

This week is a time, once again, to become aware of how God is working in our lives, through both positive and negative people, and through the events, positive and negative, that we all will face this week.

Pray that we may  see our sinfulness a little clearer, and then experience God's forgiveness, mercy, and yes, His call to each of us once again. 

I have called you by name at your Baptism.  

Don't be afraid.  

Get up.  

Courage.  

Give my mercy and forgiveness to all you meet.  

 

 

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Twenty Eighth Sunday Ordinary Time Cycle A

October 11, 2020

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Will you come???

 

 

 

Isaiah the prophet  spoke to the people about their worldliness and their forgetting what God had intended for each of them.

He tells of a banquet when they will have all they desire, peace, joy, everlasting happiness and contentment.

 

Isaiah was referring to what Christ would make possible for all humans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this reading we hear of Saint Paul's trust in God in his life.

We know that he faced many trials and troubles and did so with great trust in God

 

Trusting that God has a plan for each of us and that is the gift of eternal life.  That plan includes the ups and downs in our lives.

I am sure there are times that we do trust God, but in those times of difficulties do we trust God?

 

 

 

God has created all of us and intents for all of us to one day have eternal life in heaven.

We are all invited, but we have to cooperate with God's plans in our lives here on earth. 

Like St. Paul we must pray to accept the ups and downs that God allows in our lives, and to see that they are all a part of our journey to the Eternal Banquet to which we have all been invited.

 

 

 

 

 

 But we also know that God does not force us to come to eternal life in heaven. We have the option to say yes or no to the invitation. 

 

God always leaves us was free to choose and even sent His Son to show us the way.

 

 

 

It's Free

 

See you there?

 

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