Friday, March 27, 2009

Sunday Reading Reflections:

Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year B
Sunday, March 29, 2009


Jeremiah 31:31-34


The prophet Jeremiah presents the God of Israel as a God who forgives and is even prepared to forget the sins of the past. The people will be God's garden: the seed planted within them is God's Law. They will be God's own billboard: the Law of forgiveness and mercy will be written in their hearts.

Hebrews 5:7-9

This reading confronts us with the humanity of Jesus who, in the face of suffering and death, prayed 'aloud and in silent tears to the one who had power to save him'. These words recall the gospel accounts of Jesus' agony in the garden of Gethsemane. The strange anomaly is that Jesus' agonised prayer was 'heard' and yet he was not spared the pain of a violent death. Suffering was the means through which Jesus learnt to obey and to become the source of salvation for all who in their turn learn to obey.

John 12:20-33

Among those who go up to Jerusalem to worship at the feast of Passover are some 'Greeks'. They probably belong to a group known in the early church as 'God-fearers'.

These people were a bit like RCIA candidates in relation to Judaism. They were certainly interested in Judaism and, because of their active interest in the Jewish faith and traditions, were possibly better informed about many of the Jewish traditions than those who had been members of the Jewish community all their lives. God-fearers seem to have been among the first Gentiles to join the early Christian Jewish movement, ie the Jews who accepted Jesus as Messiah [or Christ].

For Jesus, the arrival of these God-fearing Greeks signals his 'hour'. Earlier in John's gospel, Jesus has insisted that his hour or his time had not yet come. Now that his message receives universal acknowledgement, or in the words of the Pharisees now that 'the world has gone after him' (John 20:19), he can announce that the hour of his glorification has come.

Characteristically, Jesus uses a potent agricultural image to capture the transformative nature of his imminent death: like the grain of wheat, he must go into the earth and die in order to bear fruit. The same is true for his followers: to be concerned only with self-preservation is to 'lose' one's life; to give one's life in the service of others is to 'keep it for eternal life'.

In John's gospel, Jesus' death is also his being lifted up in glory and the moment of his death becomes the moment of drawing 'all' to himself. The 'all' embraces all people. It also allows an ecological interpretation: in his death and exaltation, Jesus gathers the whole created world to himself and into the mystery of God's transforming love.

by Sr. Veronica Lawson RSM (East Ballarat)

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Sunday Reading Reflections:

Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year B
Sunday, March 22, 2009

First Reading:
2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

This passage provides a brief moralising summary of Israel's infidelity. Their sufferings are interpreted as God's punishment for their sins. The Chaldeans and Persians, enemies of Israel, are depicted as God's agents in the process of teaching Israel how to be God's people.

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:4-10

In this little extract from the letter to the Ephesians, the author reminds the community of the extraordinary gift they have received of God's boundless love and outpouring of mercy. Just as God has raised Jesus to life, so also those who are 'in Christ' already share in that same life. As 'God's work of art', they are to live in a way that reflects the grace they have received.

The Holy Gospel According to St. John 3:14-21:

The gospel for today features a number of typically Johannine themes: life, eternal life, believing, seeing, God's love, salvation, judgment, light, darkness, the world.

John loves to play on words. We need to keep asking: how is this word or expression to be understood in this particular context? In John's gospel, the characters often misunderstand and this gives Jesus the opportunity to lead his hearers to a deeper or different understanding of his words.

As 21st century readers or hearers, we operate out of a symbol system that belongs to a different time and place, hence the need to explore the traditions informing the stories.

The first two verses of today's reading evoke the ancient Israelite tradition of the bronze serpent (Numbers 21:5-9). According to the story, the Israelites are unhappy with their lot in the desert. They complain about the food or lack thereof and blame both God and Moses. Their situation worsens with the outbreak of a plague of poisonous snakes whose bite has killed no small number of them. The people interpret the plague as punishment for their sin of speaking against God. They ask Moses to intercede with God. God instructs Moses to make an image of a fiery serpent and set it on a pole: anyone affected by snakebite has only to look upon the image to find life and healing.

And so it happens: the bronze serpent is lifted up and those who 'see' or 'look upon it' find life.

Life and death, seeing and believing in God's love and mercy are at the heart of this story. The gospel writer taps into the collective memory of the emerging Christian community: just as the serpent was lifted up and the people found life, so will Jesus be lifted up and those who believe will find life. In John's gospel, seeing is often equated with believing and believing leads to 'life'.

The bottom line is God's love for the world, the whole cosmos, and God's compassion and mercy, despite the tendency of humans to mess things up.

by: Sr. Veronica Lawson RSM (East Ballarat)

Friday, March 13, 2009

REFLECTIONS on the Sunday readings:

Lent comes around each year and presents us with its usual challenge to take stock of our lives, to see more clearly what is in our hearts, and to discover what might be calling us out of our comfort zones. It is a time for personal as well as group reflection, a time for entering into 'the wilderness' and grappling with the mysteries of life, as well as a time of preparation for Easter when we renew our baptismal vows and celebrate the greatest mysteries of our faith.


Third Sunday in Lent, Year B
Sunday, March 15, 2009


1st Reading: Exodus 20:1-17
This reading presents 10 covenant 'words' that sum up early Israel's way of life.


God's people are to worship only one God, a rather novel idea in the ancient world. Israel's God cannot be manipulated by magical incantations. A day to remember the God who liberates is a welcome change for slaves whose way of life permits no rest. Honouring one's parents involves taking on their values as worshippers of the one God.

Some aspects of God's 10 'words' are situation bound: the prohibition on killing was originally restricted to killing other Israelites; adultery concerned sexual relations with the wife of another Israelite; to steal was to kidnap another male Israelite; to give false witness was to tell lies in a court of law and thus be responsible for the death of another; to covet what belonged to another was to plot and scheme to get it, and wives were then the property of their husbands.

Israel's legislation was intended to protect God's people. It came to be interpreted more broadly and more inclusively through the centuries.

Today Christian churches tend to put Christian morality into the framework of Israel's commandments. The early legislation provided an alternative wisdom in its time. It was revisited and interpreted anew in the light of new realities. It is important not to reject the old out of hand, but rather to seek out the wisdom at the heart of the ancient 'law' code.

Lent invites us to examine our core values and our way of life.

2nd Reading: 1 Cor 1:22-25

Paul's message to the people of Corinth is also about an alternative wisdom. Some of the Corinthians place a higher value on philosophical speculation than on the implications of accepting an executed criminal as their messiah. Paul is scathing in his criticism of these would-be sophisticates. He challenges their view of wisdom.

The Holy Gospel: John 2:13-25

This gospel foreshadows the death of Jesus. As a devout Jew, Jesus goes up to Jerusalem at Passover. His final going-up will be the occasion of his death and resurrection.

The setting is Judaism's most holy site, the Temple. Jesus acts decisively to draw attention to the true purpose of God's 'house': while there is legitimate commercial activity associated with temple worship, the temple is not a marketplace.

The disciples partially understand. The Jews' request for a sign provides Jesus with the opportunity to play on the word 'temple'. The temple is his body, to be destroyed and raised up. 'The Jews' misunderstand. [Note that 'the Jews' refers to those who reject Jesus as messiah, not to the whole people of Judea or all the Jewish people].

The narrator provides an explanation and indicates that the disciples will eventually understand and come to belief. We travel the journey to Jerusalem with those who partially understand. We remain open to a deeper wisdom in the light of resurrection faith.

by Sr. Veronica Lawson RSM (East Ballarat)

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Sunday Reading Reflections:

March 8th, 2009
by Larry Gillick, S.J.
Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality
PREPRAYING

The grace we ask for has to do with our two senses of hearing and seeing. We pray to distinguish between the Word of God and projecting our selfish desires into God’s Word. Hearing differs from listening and we pray to allow the Word of God into the center of our lives where we can listen to it and to what that Word calls us.

We are invited also to pray for seeing better in Christ’s Light so to become familiar with the path that leads to true life. The light for which we pray is not the same as clarity of course. Our readings for this liturgy and the spirituality of Lent call us to a faith and a listening which lead to our trusting God.

READING REFLECTIONS:

The First Reading and the Gospel for this liturgy present us with two experiences of liturgy, in a way. There is a going up, a preparation or calling together, a central act of faith, a “Word of God”, a surprising revelation of the “real presence of God, and a going onward.

We hear first of the terrifying story of Abraham’s being tested by God. He is called to take his only son, Isaac, to a distant place and sacrifice him by the knife and then burning him on an altar which Isaac would help build. Abraham takes his son who helps carry the fire and the wood and off they go in a journey of trust. Upon arrival at a divinely-pointed-out hill, the dirty deed is set in motion, no questions asked, except by Isaac who asks about the lamb to be slain.

At the point of the knife’s being about to enter Isaac who has been bound and placed on the altar, the voice of the Lord’s messenger calls for a timeout. Abraham has proven his faith so that he is not only the father of Isaac still, but the “Father of Faith” and the eternal model for the People of God. A ram is tangled up in a near-by bush and so God has provided the means for the sacrifice rather than Abraham

A promise is then made by the Messenger of God that, through Abraham, as he continues living in faith, his descendants who will increase through this same Isaac, will flourish and possess a land of blessing.
GOSPEL READING REFLECTION:

The Gospel presents us with the “Transfiguration”, or the “the Changing of the Garb”. Peter, James and John go up a hill with Jesus. They have a most intimate encounter with Jesus, God the Beyond, and of course, themselves. Jesus dazzles His followers with some state of glorification. Moses and Elijah are seen conversing with Jesus. Moses is the “man of the Law” and Elijah the “man of Prophesy”. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets and the “voice” again ordains Him as “My beloved Son.” The terrified trio is encouraged also to, “Listen to Him.”

Immediately, there they are, just the four again and nobody else, no other sounds. They leave with this experience and their questions about what all this was about. They are charged also not to speak about it until the “rising from the dead”, and they did not understand this either, but they kept on walking back down from this hill of intimacy.

Most of us orient our lives, in varying degrees, toward and from the Eucharistic liturgy. We try also to be women and men who pray, what ever that means. Abraham and Isaac have an extreme close calling with God. Peter, James and John experience an unusual convention and communion. All five go off into the regular, back-down-the-hill living of their lives. Their faith seems to be strengthened, but at the same time their understanding seems to experience befuddlement. They would naturally be asking themselves about the “realness” of what had just happened.

One of the great joys of human intimacy is that it goes beyond reason. I enjoy asking couples whom I have the privilege to be preparing for marriage, “Why do you love her/him?” The relationships I trust the most are those who fumble around for words which might express some good reasons. Love is not reasonable. When there are many verbal reasons, I suspect this is a transaction and not a transfiguration.

Devotion, prayer, liturgy are such calls to simple and honest closeness, that to try to figure it out and explain it cheapens it and flattens it out into a practice rather than a delight.
As with Abraham, Isaac, Peter, James and John, we go toward a time of being met by the Holy, given something of ourselves by the encouragement and comfort of God’s presence and then sent away, but always the little question, “Was that really real?” “Was I talking to myself, comforting myself, judging myself?” Intimacy does not lead to comprehending, but to the sending, the living, the transfiguring, or changing, because we are so loved.

I love the Eucharist for so many reasons, but the very prime reason is that it defies adequate intellectual explanation and I love that freedom from the factual, the scientific, the demand of my arrogant mind. The Eucharist is more than a transfiguration; it is a total trans from a something to a Somebody. The Somebody’s changing of the other somebodies who gather around the Holy Place is also unexplainable, but real. The closer we allow Jesus to come toward and within us, the more we, individually and communally, are transfigured and re-presented to the world. The world cannot adequately explain our living as His New and Real Presence. We will never know if our prayer was real. Abraham is our Father of Faith and our brothers of faith walked down that hill with questions, doubts and wonderings about what in Heaven’s Name was all that about? Questions do not dampen faith, cheap answers do. Living the faith is the proof of intimacy, just as living out married love intensifies and proves the leap.

“I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living. I believed, even when I said, “I am greatly afflicted.”
Responsorial Psalm, 116

MESSAGE FROM THE HOLY FATHER: POPE BENEDICT XVI

The Holy Father's Monthly Intentions for the year 2010:

http://www.hyscience.com/archives/Pope20Benedict20XVI_1.jpg

SEPTEMBER 2010


The Word of God as Sign of Social Development

General: That in less developed parts of the world the proclamation of the Word of God may renew people’s hearts, encouraging them to work actively toward authentic social progress.

The End of War

Missionary: That by opening our hearts to love we may put an end to the numerous wars and conflicts which continue to bloody our world.

RCAM NEWS:

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CELEBRATION OF THE SOLEMNITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI
Parents of Priests' Day

PARENTS AND FAMILY OF PRIESTS
(On the Year for Priests)

Archdiocese Recognizes Parents of Priests

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About Us:

Philippines
"IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD ..." (John 1:1) The Word service proclaims, not only the contents of the readings, but also the bigger reality that God speaks continually to his people that we are called to a dialogue with God and with one another. To proclaim their inspired content in the midst of the worshipping community is a ministry entrusted to a few. The manner of proclamation is important for the delivery of the message in order to enable the community to enter into the spirit of the Word. The magnificence of this ministry cries out for the excellence that the Word of the Lord deserves. As lectors at the Mass we transmit that Word to human hearts and minds. The readings remind the people of the vision of the Christian community . . . of the things that truly matter.