Sunday Scripture Reflections . . .

 

 

XVIII Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Gilberto Cavazos-Gonzalez

CTU Chicago, IL

Readings:
Ex 16:2-4, 12-15
Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54
Eph 4:17, 20-24
Jn 6:24-35

 

Curious to explore the connection between today’s readings and the Olympics, I turned to Magisterium AI. This Ecclesiastical Artificial Intelligence, with its vast knowledge base of “more than 6,700 documents of the Catholic Church that fall within the Extraordinary and Ordinary Magisterium,” was the perfect guide. The results it presented were not only insightful but also pleasantly surprising, sparking a new perspective on the familiar readings.

I will spare you what it said. Feel free to ask it yourself. I will, however, begin with its opening statement.

The readings from Exodus, Psalm 78, Ephesians, and John profoundly reflect on the themes of sustenance, identity, and transformation, which can be beautifully paralleled with the spirit of the Olympics.

I am not much into sports, but as we enter the final week of the summer Olympics, I can appreciate the hardships and struggles, the abstinences and fasting, the training and exercise, as well as the camaraderie and team spirit needed to become an athlete worthy of the Olympics. Magisterium AI calls this “a beautiful metaphor for the Christian Journey.” St. Paul would undoubtedly agree as he encourages us to “put away the old self” and “to be renewed in the spirit.” The new self we are called to be in Christ demands abstinence and fasting, training and spiritual exercise, fellowship, and community building.

While the “Olympics celebrate the triumph of the human spirit,” our Christian journey celebrates the triumph of the Spirit of God in our lives, the Bread of Life that is Christ Jesus and God’s faithfulness and generosity. While the people grumbled and complained in the wilderness, God stretched out his generous hand and fed them with manna. This “bread from heaven” is the “bread of angels” given to humankind by our divine trainer.

Just as all Olympic athletes rely on a trainer to guide them, we, too, have a spiritual guide in Christ, Jesus. A good coach understands their sport because they have trained in it and played it. Our Coach, Jesus, is no different. He lived our struggle, faced our temptations, and learned obedience as he lived and preached God’s Reign. In doing so, he became the “bread of God” that comes “down from heaven and gives life to the world.” His teachings and example serve as a constant source of guidance and inspiration on our spiritual journey.

All trainers provide their athletes with proper nutrition, nurturing and caring for them during their Olympic journey. Christ, Jesus, does the same for us, his athletes. He nurtures and cares for us in the Eucharist. In this way, he is our proper nutrition, the bread of life and the chalice of salvation. He invites us not to adoration but to imitation. The journey he traveled is our journey; his way is our way. His life enhances our own, making us a “new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.”

I began with Magisterium AI’s first paragraph, so I will end with its final thought. It is a good one reminding us that we are not Olympians, we are a Eucharistic people.

As the world watches the Olympics, may it also be a reminder of the greater race we are called to run as Christians. Let us seek the true bread that gives life, embrace our identity in Christ, and strive for the eternal prize that awaits us. In doing so, we become a Eucharistic people, nourished and transformed by the love of God, ready to face the challenges of life with faith and perseverance.

 

Sunday Reflection . . .

 

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time     Readings: 2 Kgs 4:42-44 Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18 Eph 4:1-6 Jn 6:1-15   I am standing next to Phlip and to Jesus as I turn and look at the crowd that is following. Jesus, too, sees the crowd coming. The sheer magnitude of it may even take his breath away as he encounters the needs of his people in the flesh. Those physical needs are held alongside the needs he knows live within them. Philip and I both hesitate – we do not have enough. What it takes is more than what I have at hand to tackle the great challenge that is heading my way. I close my eyes and can see the mountains of laundry. The tiny socks that inevitably lose their mate. The clean sink that just invites dirty dishes to create a new mountain. The counter in my inbox, moving ever upward in the number of unread emails. Days that speed by while my to-do list refuses to shrink. The hurting of the world before my eyes. News feeds constantly populate breaking stories of violence and war. People who are hungry for food, for shelter, for safety, for a life that is full and free from danger. I open my eyes and I still see all of it. It’s too much. How many day’s wages are needed to begin to chip away at the struggles and suffering I cannot unsee? The seemingly incessant crowds of people suffering and crying out keep my eyes seeing the crowds and the piles. They keep my mind convinced that there is not enough for my own needs, let alone the needs of God’s people. “Have the people recline.” Jesus’ answer to the crowd of need and desire descending upon them is an invitation to rest. While I settle into worry, Jesus invites us all to rest. I see the few loaves and fishes: “What good are these for so many?” Where I see lack, Jesus creates abundance. The loaves and fishes I see become more than enough – there are fragments left over. The invitation to rest softens what I am capable of seeing in front of me. Standing next to Philip and Jesus, I can see crowds that have moved from suffering to satisfaction of body and soul. As I imagine myself next to Jesus watching the crowds, I can choose to trust that what we have can be enough. I can choose to imagine the ways what we have can be multiplied for the good of others.   Ellen Romer Niemiec, MDiv Director of Enrollment Management CTU  Chicago

 

Prayer of Quieting . . .

 

God, you have been with me all through the day, stay with me now.  As the shadows lengthen into darkness let the noisy world grow quiet, let its feverish concerns be stilled, its voices silenced.

In the final moments of this day remind me of what is real, true, and good. But let me not forget that you were as present in the stresses of the day just past as you are now in the silence of this night.

You have made me for day and for night, for work and for rest, for both heaven and earth. Here in this night, let me embrace and not regret the mysterious beauty of my humanity. Keep me in the embrace of your unconditional love through the night, and the day to come.

Surround us with your silence and give us the rest that only you can give     . . .  peace now and forever. 

(Adapted: My Day Is Ending, Evelyn Underhill . . . original source unknown)

 

 

Prayer of Trust . . .

 

 

 

Dear God,

Speak gently in my silence.

When the loud outer noises of my surroundings

and the loud inner noises of my fears

keep pulling me away from you,

help me to trust that you are still there

even when I am unable to hear you.

 

Give me ears to listen to your small, soft voice saying:

"Come to me, you who are overburdened,

and I will give you rest . . .

for I am gentle and humble of heart."

Let that loving voice be my guide. Amen.

 

- Henri Nouwen

(Source Unknown)

Mary Magdalene ~ Faith-filled Friend . . .

 

 

 Artist: Gheorghe Tattarescu - Image Source Wikipedia

 

MARY MAGDALA’S EASTER PRAYER

(Posted by Ron Rolheiser, OMI)

I never suspected
            Resurrection
                        and to be so painful
                        to leave me weeping
With Joy
            to have met you, alive and smiling, outside an empty tomb
With Regret
            not because I’ve lost you
            but because I’ve lost you in how I had you –
                        in understandable, touchable, kissable, clingable flesh
                        not as fully Lord, but as graspably human.

I want to cling, despite your protest
            cling to your body
            cling to your, and my, clingable humanity
            cling to what we had, our past.

But I know that…if I cling
            you cannot ascend and
            I will be left clinging to your former self
            …unable to receive your present spirit.

Sunday reflection . . .

 

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Readings: Jer 23:1-6 Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6 Eph 2:13-18 Mk 6:30-34    Twenty years ago, an escaped Merino sheep who had evaded the shearers for six years, was found hiding in caves in South Island, New Zealand. Shrek the Sheep became a national celebrity and a global headline with the televised shearing of his approximately sixty-pound fleece. In his lifetime he would go on to meet the Prime Minister, bring $100 million to the New Zealand economy, raise tens of thousands of dollars for the Cure Kids Charity, educate children through school trips and books written about his adventures, and bring comfort through his visits to patients in hospitals and elders in nursing homes. Upon his death in 2011, the director of the charity that had benefited from his fame commented, “At the end of the day, it is the death of an iconic Kiwi. He just happens to be a sheep.” According to local reports, a memorial service for Shrek the Sheep was held at the Church of the Good Shepherd. For six out of his almost 17-year life this sheep, temporarily without a shepherd, managed to survive. The lectionary readings for this Sunday turn our attention to a favored motif throughout the Bible, the relationship between shepherds and their flocks.  In Jeremiah, shepherd are metaphors for leaders and the prophet warns of the perils of exploitative leadership and the judgment that will befall those who abuse their positions and power. Psalm 23 finds in the shepherd a soothing image of God who ensures the protection and fulfillment of those who entrust their lives to divine care. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus pities the crowds that follow him and his disciples, like sheep without a shepherd. Though considering the adventures of Shrek the Sheep one really must wonder if Jesus’ concerns are entirely warranted. In all three biblical scenarios, the dependence and vulnerability of the sheep are exposed and the qualities of good shepherding revealed. Jeremiah’s sheep are trembling and fearful, susceptible to being dispersed and misled.  The anxiety of the sheep in the psalm is alleviated by the ever-present company of the shepherd with a sense for locating environments free of stress, want, and fear. In the gospel, Jesus steps into the breach and nurtures those in search of a shepherd with life-sustaining teaching and a meal. The verses that follow today’s gospel reading tell of the feeding of the five thousand. Sheep may be classified as prey, but they are also providers. It is not in a shepherd’s best interests to endanger sheep singularly or collectively. Whether a shepherd is a hired hand or owner, caring for sheep is an investment. Sheep are sources of income; their bodies provide humans with sustenance in multiple ways. A 2019 forum in the interdisciplinary journal Animal Sentience explored in depth the complexity of sheep and the “historical perceptions of sheep that fuel and sustain contemporary media, popular culture, and farming practices.” The conversation underscored the social orientation of sheep and their capacities for learning, cognition, emotion, and personality. They challenged the commodification of sheep. The authors of the lead article also observed that “Christian and other theologies situate sheep in the contemporary consciousness as obedient, passive, and uniform; this view has negative consequences for sheep.” That view has negative consequences for humans as well! When interpreting metaphors that involve sheep and shepherds, it is too often our tendency to focus on the shepherds when in reality the majority of us are the sheep. Consider the consequences on understandings of what it meant to be Church. For example, in a 1906 encyclical Pope Pius X described the Church as “essentially an unequal society, that is, a society comprising two categories of persons, the Pastors and the flock, those who occupy a rank in the different degrees of the hierarchy and the multitude of the faithful…. the one duty of the multitude is to allow themselves to be led, and, like a docile flock, to follow the Pastors.”   In pondering the concern of Jesus for the crowd, that “they were like sheep without a shepherd,” I am reminded of “Sheep Haiku” by one of my favorite poets, and fellow New Yorker, Martín Espada.   A lone sheep cries out: There are more of us than them! The flock keeps grazing.   What if Jesus’ concern is that of a sheep for his own?  What if the teaching he shares is a warning that not all shepherds have integrity “woe to you shepherds”? Beware of false shepherds, of pastoral and political leaders who see you as a commodity to be exploited and manipulated. What if we were to remember that in the New Testament Jesus is portrayed both as a good shepherd and a lamb of God?     Sources: Martín Espada, ‘Sheep Haiku,’ in Alabanza: New and Selected Poems 1982-2002 (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2003), 210. Lori Marino, and Debra Merskin, “Intelligence, complexity, and individuality in sheep,” Animal Sentience Vol 4: 25(1) 2019. Forum articles 25 (1) -25(43), Vol 4 (2019), https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/animsent/vol4/. “New Zealand Mourns Shrek the Sheep,” BBC News, June 7, 2011, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13680884. Pope Pius X, Vehementer Nos, February 11, 1906, #8, https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-x/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-x_enc_11021906_vehementer-nos.html. Tarras Primary School Students and their Teachers, Shrek: The Famous Hermit Sheep Of Tarras (Tarras, NZ: Tarras School, 2004), https://archive.org/details/shrekfamoushermi0000unse/page/n1/mode/2up.

The Grace of Struggles . . .

 

Strength from Adversity

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.

Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.

Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly.

--- Author Unknown ---

 

Peace Prayer . . .

 

A Franciscan Prayer for Peace

Lord, make us instruments of your Peace


In a world all too prone to violence and revenge,

We commit ourselves to the Gospel Values of

Mercy, Justice, Compassion, and Love;

We will seek daily to promote forgiveness and healing

in our hearts, our families, and our world.



Where there is hatred, let us sow Love;

Where there is injury, let us cultivate Peace


Fear and distance prevent people from recognizing all

as brothers and sisters;

tensions lead to violence and mistrust;

We will strive to honor the dignity that God places

in each and every human person.



Grant that we may not seek to be understood as to Understand;

To be loved as to Love



Our failure to understand the other can create exclusion

in all its negative forms –

racism, marginalization of those who are poor, sick, the immigrant;

it can also create situations of domination, occupation, oppression and war.

We pledge to seek the way of solidarity,

to create hearts, homes, and communities

where all people will experience inclusion, hospitality, and understanding.



For it is in giving that we receive, in pardoning that we are pardoned

And in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.



Let us Pray:

Lord God, create in us:

-the Capacity to hear and understand the voices of those who suffer from

every form of violence, injustice, and dehumanization;

-the Openness to receive and honor people from other cultures, languages,

religious traditions, and geographical regions;

-the Creativity to explore new ways of communication and dialogue through

music, poetry, performing arts, and the mass media;

-the Audacity to undertake the building of communities of forgiveness, healing,

and reconciliation.

To God who is above all and in all are the glory and the honor. Amen

 

(Previously posted by Chuck Faso OFM

Author unknown)

 

Enter the quiet . . .

 

To all that is chaotic in you,

let there come silence.

Let there be
a calming
of the clamoring,
a stilling
of the voices that
have laid their claim
on you,
that have made their
home in you,

that go with you
even to the
holy places
but will not
let you rest,
will not let you
hear your life
with wholeness
or feel the grace
that fashioned you.

Let what distracts you
cease. 

Let what divides you cease.

Let there come an end
to what diminishes
and demeans,
and let depart
all that keeps you
in its cage.

Let there be
an opening
into the quiet
that lies beneath
the chaos,
where you find
the peace
you did not think
possible
and see what shimmers
within the storm.

~ Jan Richardson, 

paintedprayerbook.com

 

The Grace of Waiting . . .

 

Blessing for Waiting

Who wait for the night to end.

bless them.

 

Who wait for the night to begin

bless them.

 

Who wait in the hospital room

who wait in the cell

who wait in prayer

bless them.

 

Who wait for news

who wait for the phone call

who wait for a word

who wait for a job - a house - a child

bless them.

 

Who wait for one who will come home..

who wait for one who

will not come home

bless them.

 

Who wait with fear

who wait with joy

who wait with peace

who wait with rage

who wait for the end

who wait for the beginning

who wait alone

who wait together

bless them.

 

Who wait without knowing

what they wait for or why

bless them.

 

Who wait when they

should not wait

who wait when they should

be in motion

who wait when they need to rise

who wait when they need to set out

bless them.

 

Who wait for the end of waiting

who wait for the fullness of time

who wait emptied and

open and ready

who wait for you,

O bless.

 

Jan Richardson

Circle of Grace

 

Anointed by Nature . . .Let us pray!

 

A prayer for the world

Let the rain come and wash away
the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds
held and nurtured over generations.
Let the rain wash away the memory
of the hurt, the neglect.

Then let the sun come out and
fill the sky with rainbows.
Let the warmth of the sun heal us
wherever we are broken.
Let it burn away the fog so that
we can see each other clearly.
So that we can see beyond labels,
beyond accents, gender or skin color.

Let the warmth and brightness
of the sun melt our selfishness.
So that we can share the joys and
feel the sorrows of our neighbors.
And let the light of the sun
be so strong that we will see all
people as our neighbors.
Let the earth, nourished by rain,
bring forth flowers
to surround us with beauty.
And let the mountains teach our hearts
to reach upward to heaven.
Amen.
Rabbi Harold Kushner

Humming with Hope . . .

 

Humming In The Darkness

Hope means to keep living
amid desperation
and to keep humming
in the darkness.

Hoping is knowing that there is love,
it is trust in tomorrow
it is falling asleep
and waking again
when the sun rises.

In the midst of a gale at sea,
it is to discover land.
In the eyes of another
it is to see that you are understood . . .

As long as there is still hope
There will also be prayer . . .

And you will be held

in God’s hands.  

Henri Nouwen ~ With Open Hands

Open to the mystery . . .

 

An Unclenched Moment . . .

Gentle me, Holy One,
Into an unclenched moment,
a deep breath, a letting go
of heavy experiences, of shriveling anxieties,
of dead certainties,
that, softened by the silence, surrounded by the light,
and open to the mystery,
I may be found by wholeness,
upheld by the unfathomable,
entranced by the simple,
and filled with the joy
That is You .

God, always gives . . .

 

Several Times in the Last Week

by  Hafiz

 

Ever since Happiness heard your name,

It has been running through the streets

Trying to find you.

 

And several times in the last week,

God has even come to my door –

Asking me for your address!

 

Once I said,

“God,

I thought You knew everything.

Why are You asking me

Where Your lovers live?”

 

And the Beloved replied,

 

Indeed, I do know Everything –

But it is fun playing dumb once in a while.

And I love intimate chat

And the warmth of your heart’s fire.

 

Maybe we should make this poem into a song –

I think it has potential!

 

How does this refrain sound,

For I know it is a Truth:

 

Ever since Happiness heard your name,

It has been running through the streets

Trying to find you.

And several times in the last week,

God has come to my door –

So sweetly asking for your address,

Wanting the beautiful warmth of your heart’s fire.

 

I Heard God Laughing –

Renderings of Hafiz

By Daniel Ladinsky