Thoughts on sowing seeds

 

Our Gospel story this Sunday is one that is very familiar: the sower and the seed. It is a parable that pictures, in a way, the journey of our life with God and God’s constant working to reach our hearts and open them to love and freedom. The “sower” scatters seed generously—hopeful that there will be a rich harvest.

It is not difficult for us to find ourselves in the parable, as we realize that our journey has been sometimes one of being like rocky ground, not yet ready to receive the seed; like well-worn paths where the seed cannot yet find a resting place; the thorny ground where the seed is choked off by our anxieties and distractions.

But, more importantly, we also can see ourselves as being that rich soil, when we have been gifted to understand and embrace the Word. We realize that our lives do bear fruit and the gifts of the Spirit urge us toward hearts open to achieving the purpose of God’s “sowing” work.

In the words of Paul: God’s hope that creation will be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. And the promise from Isaiah: “the word that goes forth from my mouth shall not return void but will achieve the end for which I sent it.” This is the grace we can pray for each day.

-Fr. Len Kraus, S.J.

Thoughts on distractions

 

Simple Quiet Rest

From: A Cry for Mercy: Prayers from the Genesee

Why, O Lord, is it so hard for me to keep my heart directed toward you? Why do the many little things I want to do, and the many people I know, keep crowding my mind, even during the hours that I am totally free to be with you and you alone? Why does my mind wander off in so many directions, and why does my heart desire the things that lead me astray?... The only thing you ask of me is not to hide from you, not to run away in despair, not to act as if you were a relentless despot. Take my tired body, my confused mind, and my restless soul into your arms and give me rest, simple quiet rest.

Reflection Question: How might you offer your tired body, confused mind, and restless soul to God today?

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. - Psalm 62: 1

Thoughts on healing

 

Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 9:18–26

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus demonstrates his miraculous power to heal the sick and raise the dead. He cured a woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years who came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. And he took the hand of the official’s daughter and raised her from the sleep of death. Christianity is, first and foremost, a religion of the concrete and not the abstract. It takes its power not from a general religious consciousness, not from an ethical conviction, not from a comfortable abstraction, but from the person of Jesus Christ. It is Christ—in his uncompromising call to repentance, his unforgettable gestures of healing, his unique and disturbing praxis of forgiveness, his provocative nonviolence, and especially his movement from godforsaken death to shalom-radiating resurrection—who moves the believer to change of life and gift of self. And it is the unique Christ—depicted vividly in the poetry of Dante, the frescoes of Michelangelo, the sermons of Augustine, the stained-glass windows of the Sainte-Chapelle, and the sacred ballet of the liturgy—who speaks transformatively to hearts and souls across the Christian centuries.  Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Independence Day

 I was reminded by my parish priest during his comments in his homily at the July 4th Mass I attended, that Missouri was never under the rule of the British.  While most everyone in the United States celebrates Independence Day on July the 4th, most of what is now the United States did not belong to Great Britain in 1776.  Missouri for example, was first settled by the French Canadians in 1764 but quickly fell under the rule of Spain until France took it back in 1800 under the Treaty of San Ildefonso.  In 1803 it became known as the Missouri Territory as part of the Louisiana Purchase, and did not become a state of the union until 1821.  So while we all celebrate July the 4th as the birthday of the United States, you have to look to your own state's history to determine when it actually became a part of the union, which for Missouri was August 10, 1821.  This begs the question:  why don't states make a bigger deal about the anniversary date of when they became a part of the United States?  Why don't we in Missouri, celebrate August 10th with fireworks?

Scott

Thoughts on the Fourth of July holiday

 

As an American citizen, today the US remembers and celebrates the Fourth of July as a national Holiday. It's a great celebration around the country where families and friends come together for festivities. It's a great day! As I'm getting ready to celebrate with my family, I kept remembering the Bible verse: "I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men: 2 For kings, and for all that are in high station: that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life in all piety and chastity. " - 1 Timothy 2:1-2 I know so many of us are from all around the world; some are celebrating the Fourth of July while for some of you, it's another date on the calendar.  But what unites us is our Catholic Faith and the duty to pray for those in leadership positions. What is more patriotic and Christian than to pray for those in authority of the country? Especially after these past few weeks, prayers seemed to be needed for all nations more than ever. So together, let's offer up this prayer below for peace throughout the world, God's mercy upon each nation, and the Reign of Our Lady to come.

We pray, O almighty and eternal God, who through Jesus Christ has revealed thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of your name. We pray Thee, who alone are good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, the pope, the vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our own bishop, all other bishops, prelates and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise among us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct your people into the ways of salvation. We pray O God of might, wisdom and justice, through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with your Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the president of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness and be eminently useful to your people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of your divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty. We pray for his excellency, the governor of this state, for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled, by your powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability. We recommend likewise, to your unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of your most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal. Finally, we pray to you, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of your servants departed, who are gone before us with the sign of faith and repose in the sleep of peace; the souls of our parents, relatives and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation, and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance. To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech you, a place of refreshment, light and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen. This prayer was written by Baltimore Archbishop John Carroll in 1791. May God bless each and every one of you. And may Jesus and Mary grant peace and harmony to all the nations! In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Christopher P. Wendt International Director Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima

Thoughts on leadership

 

The Way Out is the Way In

From: The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society

Christian leadership is accomplished only through service. This service requires the willingness to enter into a situation, with all the human vulnerabilities…. This is a painful and self-denying experience, but an experience which can indeed lead man out of his prison of confusion and fear. Indeed, the paradox of Christian leadership is that the way out is the way in, that only by entering into communion with human suffering can relief be found.

Reflection Question: Who might need your service and willingness to enter into their suffering today?

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction. - 2 Corinthians 1:3–4

Henri Nouwen (1932–1996) was a priest, professor, and spiritual writer. He authored over 40 books on the spiritual life and spent his final years at L'Arche Daybreak, a community for people with intellectual disabilities. Drawing from his own journey of vulnerability and faith, he invites seekers into deeper intimacy with God, themselves, and others.

More Books by Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on faith

 

Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 8:5–17

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus celebrates the trust of the centurion who asked him to heal his servant: “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.” We can say with the centurion that the Lord is a rock, a stronghold, a firm place to stand. The God who is not one more shifting and indefinite creature but rather the ground of being itself is a power upon whom we can rely, a covenant-maker whose word we can trust. In his very freedom and sovereignty as our Creator, God is a parent in whose lap we can serenely find our rest. Undoubtedly, what has made religious belief such an indispensable part of human consciousness and behavior is just this assurance of safety that it brings. There is nothing in the cosmos that will not, finally, disappoint us. There is no place in the universe that will not, finally, be shaken. But God, the self-sufficient ground of existence itself, can be trusted not to disappoint and not to betray. “No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that rock I’m clinging,” says the author of the hymn, witnessing ecstatically to this divine faithfulness. Bishop Robert Barron