Ordinary Time Cycle A

The Baptism of the Lord Cycle C

01/04/2022

January 9, 2022

Please note that the first and second reading have 2 options which the presider may select.
This past week has been our last week liturgically of the Christmas Season. One of the reason that the season lasts so long is so that we can celebrate the different showings or manifestations of the Lord. .

For sure we celebrated his birth and the showing or manifestation of Jesus to the Shepherds, to the poor

Then last week we had the manifestation of Jesus to the Magi, the pagan population, the non believers

This Sunday we experience the manifestation of Jesus at His Baptism by John as the one in whom ..."the Father is well pleased"

Both options for the first reading are from Isaiah. Again they show a God who has great concern and compassion for His People. Readings like this can certainly help us in those times of difficulty, just as they did for the Israelites in the slavery of Babylon for whom they were written. God did not abandon them and He will not abandon us, never. It can be us who abandon God. But He is always there to welcome us back.

Jesus has come into the world to save all humanity, pagans, non believers, sinner, saints, everyone. This liturgical season of Christmas has been the time we have reflected on how great is God's compassion and mercy on all of us, saint or sinner; non believer or believer.

Again, in both options for the second reading, we hear of God's great love for each of us. We hear that God is there for all. Wow! What mercy and what patience and compassion! We are given chance after chance to find the way to eternal life.

Finally, we hear in the Gospel the Baptism of Jesus by John. Jesus comes to show humanity the way to eternal life. He takes on our condition, our pain and suffering, our ups and downs, to show us the way to eternal life. He makes Himself "vulnerable'.

This past week I came across a podcast from On Being with Krista Tippett that speaks about current research that says how important being vulnerable is, because it is where real growth can happen in each of us as humans. I almost always run away from being vulnerable. What about you?

Certainly Jesus constantly made Himself vulnerable in taking on the human condition. He did not escape rejections, abandonments, persuasions, sufferings, etc.

Imagine, Jesus was willing to take on the vulnerability of being human to gain salvation for each of us. Was that what made His Father so pleased with Him.

“You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased.”

My Personal Comment

Being vulnerable is what I escape from, almost always.

I think Jesus is showing me the way to my spiritual growth.

I will need to pray for the will to be more vulnerable.

What do you think?

If you wish....email me

[email protected]

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Below is Something Extra

...that I came across that had meaning for me.

I know that Jesus came for everyone. But there is a difference between knowing something as a fact and knowing it in a way that really hits home.

God loves the loser, the nerd, even the person in the 10 items or less checkout line with 25 item. God loves the driver who did not single a left turn. Jesus loves people who have attitude, people who don't have a kind word for anyone or anything. Jesus came for this person, and would would come if this were the only person in the world.

I can include myself in the " everyone" for whom Jesus came. That's not always easy because lots of times I think of myself as the nerd or the loser.

But Jesus came for me. My job is to believe it.

Taken from THE LITTLE BLUE BOOK
Advent & Christmas Seasons
2012-2013

Posted at 12:11 PM in Current Affairs, Food and Drink, Music | Permalink | Comments (0)

Twenty First Sunday Ordinary Time. Cycle A

08/18/2020

August 23, 2020

Review the Readings

Listen to the Readings

In the first reading, Isaiah introduces us to King Hezekiah's servant,

Shebna, who had lost his position as second in command because he had

let his power go to his head. He decided that power and wealth were the

most important things, not God, and he had decided to overthrow King Hezekiah.

We too can find our place in this reading. Sometimes, don't we think like Shebna, that if we just had more

money, more power, more health, more youth, etc, life would be better?

We may think that we place God first in our lives, but if we take a hard look at ourselves, we may discover

that at times we do place the things of this world first.

Isaiah tells Shebna that he will loose everything and God will select someone else to take his place.

King Hezekiah remained faithful to God, and trusted all the events that were taking place.

We know that at our baptism God has called us by name and chosen us to be a part of his Church,

the Body of Christ. Sometimes it may seem that He has made some sort of mistake in choosing us.

I suspect that Peter must have also had those same

feelings at times in his life.

But he came to know that he was called

by Christ to head God's Church,

and just as surely God has called

each of us to be a part of the Body of Christ, the Church.

It is amazing to see how God works.

He never seems to select the most powerful, the wealthiest, the smartest, etc.

He selects the least.

He selects each of us in our poverty. If and when we put wealth and materials

things first, we become like Shebna in the first reading.

We may think that Peter was a good choice, but wait a minute.

Peter was a fisherman, a bit high strung, not educated, poor, etc.

Judas was the most educated.

But Peter, with all that he lacked, was selected to lead the church that was to make Christ present in the world.

God has selected each of us at our baptism to make Christ present in the world. Knowing that we have

been called, let us continue to pray that we, in those moments when we may think like Shebna in the first

reading, may convert and see that the things of this world are not the most important thing.

Each day in this coming week, let us pray to be faithful to God, and in those moments when we fail, let us pray that we may return to Him, even if that is again and again. We will never give up on our call to make Christ present in the world today.

St. Paul understands that God has chosen him and that God does not

always work as we think He should.

Paul had experienced that in his life.

If we look back into our history, we too will discover the same thing.

What Paul wrote in this part of his letter became a early Christian hymn expressing this same idea that God works in ways that we would not work.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!

How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord

or who has been his counselor?

Or who has given the Lord anything
that he may be repaid?

For from him and through him and for him are all things

.
To him be glory forever. Amen.

As unqualified as we may feel about ourselves, we are sent this week to go out to the unexpected...

...to the homeless and the poor

...to the one who bothers us

...to the one who needs someone to just listen to

...to forgive the one who was wrong and hurt us.

...to the one who just needs our patience

By your very Baptism you are...

and

Be alert for God, in these following days, to ask you to make Him present to others more by our actions

more than by our words.

Return to vicardoug.com

Posted at 11:20 AM in Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)

Christ the King -Cycle C -34th Sunday Ordinary Time

11/20/2019

November 24, 2019

The last Sunday of the Church calendar

in Ordinary Time

Advent Cycle A begins next Sunday, December 1st

Review the Readings

Listen to the Readings

As background to the first reading, remember that Saul was the first king of the Jews, but because he had not followed the laws of God, his kingship would not pass on to his ancestors. At Saul's death, David was chosen by the people to replace him, and they anointed him as king over all of Israel and that kingship would be passed on to his future generations.

It is interesting that David was a sinner and at times turned from the laws of God. Yet, imperfect as he was, he was still given the kingship which would be passed on to his ancestors, and ultimately to Jesus.

The Gospel shows us Christ as universal King, but in a way that can shock us, as it did his first disciples. They were sure that the messiah would be a political king, so they could not believe that Jesus was going to Jerusalem to die.

We see that Jesus is a different type of king from our usual image of what a king is. In all the folk tales we have heard since our childhood, a king is popular, rich, powerful, has beautiful robes, a golden crown, etc.

Now we are given a different picture of Jesus as king, with the sign hanging over his head, King of the Jews.

This was a king who was to be abandoned by his disciples and his closest friends. He was to be rejected. He was poor materially. He was to die among gangsters and criminals.

Could this possibly be a king?

The answer is Yes.

And He has established his Kingdom which all of us are called by our Baptism to be a part, in this life and in the eternal life to come.

We too, like Jesus our King, will face rejections, difficulties, sufferings, betrayals, etc. These are a part of our journey to the eternal kingdom.

The second reading lets us know that we too, as was the Christian community of the Colossians, were called to his kingdom. Paul writes his letter to them, to give them courage to continue in spite of all the difficulties, betrayals, sufferings, etc. they were experiencing. We too need that reminder to continue our journey in spite of all the problems that can occur. At our Baptism, we were called by God to be a part of his kingdom; we were anointed then to be prophet, priest, and KING. We are a part of the kingship of Christ.

Imagine, the way to the king and the kingdom is to share in what Jesus went through, and also it is the way we lead others to the king and his eternal Kingdom.

We are...