Thoughts on Pentecost

 Pentecost

Throughout the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, God and Jesus Christ always take the initiative calling and inviting the people and us into relationship with Him. Sunday's Gospel is John's version of Pentecost and happens on Easter evening. The risen Lord appears to his apostles who are hiding in the room where they had celebrated the Last Supper. They are filled with fear, despair, discouragement and confusion. Jesus greets them with "Peace" twice and then breathes the Holy Spirit upon and into them. He sends them and us to be his witnesses, to be peacemakers and reconcilers in our families, our workplaces, our neighborhoods and communities. On this feast we pray for the grace to be increasingly aware of the Spirit's presence within us, responding to the Spirit's guidance and invitations.

Fr. Ralph Huse, S.J.

Thoughts on community

 

Community is Heart Calling to Heart

Friendship, marriage, family, religious life, and every other form of community is solitude greeting solitude, spirit speaking to spirit, and heart calling to heart. It is the grateful recognition of God’s call to share life together and the joyful offering of a hospitable space where the re-creating power of God’s Spirit can become manifest. Thus all forms of life together can become ways to reveal to each other the real presence of God in our midst. Community has little to do with mutual compatibility. Similarities in educational background, psychological makeup, or social status can bring us together, but they can never be the basis for community. Community is grounded in God, who calls us together, and not in the attractiveness of people to each other. . . . The mystery of community is precisely that it embraces all people, whatever their individual differences may be, and allows them to live together as brothers and sisters of Christ and sons and daughters of his heavenly Father. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on the Ascension

 Jesus' Ascension

Jesus prepared his apostles and us for his departure by assuring us that he will always be with us. He is no longer in the sky but wherever we are, in our daily ordinary reality, our time and space. He asks us to continue his mission of witnessing to his Father's kingdom, to its reality here and now and inviting others into it. Our faith tells us that God welcomed His Son back into the fullness of His Kingdom and now waits to welcome us back home when it's our time. In the meantime we depend on and trust in the Lord Jesus' inspiration and strength to lessen our selfishness and make choices and decisions that are more like his, more generous, loving and compassionate. Those are the hallmarks of His Kingdom and that's what the Lord Jesus feels like. Thy Kingdom come. Alleluia!

Fr. Ralph Huse, S.J.

Thoughts on rosaries

 

The Rosary: Something for Everyone

Think of the rosary as being like the ocean: There’s something in it for everyone, whether you consider yourself a veteran mystic longing to go deeper in prayer with our Lord, a novice struggling to learn how to pray, or someone seeking the Lord’s help, right now, with something going on in your life. The deep-sea explorer and the child making sand castles on the beach can fully enjoy the same ocean while playing at different levels. And this is true with the rosary.

—from the book Praying the Rosary Like Never Before: Encounter the Wonder of Heaven and Earth
by Edward Sri

More thoughts on prayer

 

God Invites Us Into Unceasing Conversation

Prayer is not introspection. It is not a scrupulous, inward-looking analysis of our own thoughts and feelings but it is a careful attentiveness to the Presence of Love personified inviting us to an encounter. Prayer is the presentation of our thoughts— reflective thoughts, as well as daydreams, and night dreams—to the One who receives them, sees them in the light of unconditional love, and responds to them with divine compassion. This context of thinking in the Presence, of conversation and dialogue with Love, is the joyful affirmation of our gentle Companion on the journey with God who knows our minds and hearts, our goodness and our beauty, our darkness and our light. The Psalmist prays the prayer for us (Psalms 139:1–3; 23–24): O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising, you discern my purpose from afar. You mark when I walk or lie down, all my ways lie open to you. . . . O search me, God, and know my heart. O test me and know my thoughts. See that I follow not the wrong path and lead me in the path of life eternal. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on Mary

 

Mary's Story

Mary's Story. That is the great gift the Scriptures give us in the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke. And it is those stories and a few other short vignettes in the Gospels of Mark and John that form the basis of what we call mariology, the study of the theology that derives from the story of Mary and her son Jesus. And her son Jesus was and is the reason, the root, and the complementarity that makes her story complete… That is why we lift up our hearts and pray, as Christians have prayed for centuries, “Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

— from the book Nourishing Love: A Franciscan Celebration of Mary
by Murray Bodo, OFM

Thoughts on following Jesus

 

In today’s Gospel, we return to the days before Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection. Surrounded by his disciples, Jesus reveals his relationship with God the Father and what it means for the coming generations of followers. “If you know me, then you will also know my Father,” said Jesus. “From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Here, Jesus also foreshadows the momentous events to come. He shares that although he will soon be going to join the Father, there is already a place in his home for the disciples. The disciples are confused. Thomas asks Jesus how they will know where to find him and his Father. Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father so they may understand. But Jesus cannot show the disciples what they have already seen. He cannot make them understand what is right in front of them. Instead, Jesus offers words of hope for the future that they are to pave in his name. “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these…” Today’s Gospel resonates deeply with us at CMMB. It reminds us that those who follow Jesus can do great works and make tremendous impact over time, even across generations. In fact, the great works of the disciples are among the very reasons we join you each Sunday to reflect as a community of faithful followers. Today, as we witness the health challenges faced by our brothers and sisters around the world, it can be easy to forget that every action we take today builds a better tomorrow. And with you, we make progress every single day. Thank you for joining us on this journey. In grace and peace, CMMB—Healthier Lives Worldwide CMMB

Thoughts on Joseph (Yes, that Joseph)

 

St. Joseph the Worker, Pray for Us

While the work of raising a child is not always easy, Joseph’s task was even weightier. Mary and her son didn’t need just any man; they needed this one, the one whom God had chosen for them. Joseph gave himself completely to this holy undertaking. Was he aware of what was taking place? We don’t know. We do know that every opportunity Joseph had to instruct Jesus was an opportunity to grow in the knowledge of God. Imagine being the one to teach the Son of God how to use a hammer or the one to watch anxiously the first time Jesus used a saw. The work in Nazareth, while truly the stuff of ordinary life, was carried out by an extraordinary man. This work wasn’t only for Mary and Jesus but also for all women and men united with God in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph continues his work for us in the Church today.

— from the book Joseph, the Man Who Raised Jesus
by Fr. Gary Caster