Reflection for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time/Heritage Sunday

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Celebrating heritage
Making God known to all

Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

St. Paul calls us to remain faithful. Faith is imparted to us by our hearing, by someone who proclaims and models faith for us. This is not any faith – but faith in the one true source of salvation who is Jesus Christ.

Jesus told His apostles and disciples: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”

Someone had to inform us of this fact. Indeed they did – the apostles and disciples set out to every corner of the world and proclaimed what they had seen and heard. They spoke it, they held the liturgy – bringing the sacraments to all, and they witnessed to the truth of Christ by offering their lives without fear. These witnesses, mostly uneducated and formerly fearful, brought the faith to every nation.

Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity in 301. Tiridates III was the first ruler to officially Christianize his people predating the date of Constantine the Great’s personal acceptance of Christianity on behalf of the Roman Empire. Subsequently many nations adopted Christianity and assumed the role of imparting the faith to their people. A mosaic of peoples and cultures went on to make salvation known through faith in Jesus known.

Bishop Hodur saw nations as a tool in God’s hands. Each people is endowed with specific gifts and insights that add to the totality of Christian evangelism.

Religion cannot espouse the dissolution of national and cultural boundaries as its goal — an argument made by those who define everything in terms of separation. Our faith, and the expression of our faith – our religion – is focused on making Jesus known through the gift of nations and cultures. Nations and cultures speak of God who works through them to fulfill Jesus’ command to: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

God speaks to and values every nation and culture. He works through them to make His will known, to offer salvation to every person.

Today we celebrate the individual heritage of every nation and culture. We celebrate the gifts God has given us – those gifts intended to make salvation known, to bring all to know and worship Him who created us for His purpose.

Bible Study for the Week of the Christian Family
  • 10/13 – Genesis 2:21-24 – Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of creation and for the joining of man and woman in love. Grant that true unity may abide in my family.
  • 10/14 – Deuteronomy 6:4-7 – Lord, grant that I may continuously instruct my family in Your way; by my words, teaching, and example.
  • 10/15 – Job 1:5 – Lord, help me to follow the example of Job in praying for my family and in seeking Your mercy on their behalf.
  • 10/16 – Genesis 3:19 – Lord, help me to work diligently for my family, to support and provide for them. Grant Your mercy and help to all who struggle to provide.
  • 10/17 – Proverbs 22:6 – Lord, grant me the wisdom and strength to raise my children in accord with Your will. Protect them and keep them faithful to You.
  • 10/18 – Psalm 127:3-5 – Lord, I thank You for the gift of life, for the children You have given me. Help me to always respect and care for Your gift of life.
  • 10/19 – Exodus 20:12 – Lord, help me to honor and respect my parents in accord with Your will. Lead me to Your promise.

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, I thank and bless You for the gift of family. Make my family a center of love and faithfulness.

Craft Fair Thank You

Thank you so much to all who patronized, donated to, supported, worked at, baked for, organized, and sold crafts at our first craft fair in many years. It as a wonderful success!!! The funds raised support our youth programs, charitable outreach, and the work we do in the name of Jesus.

Thank you to the Rotterdam Senior Citizens Center for allowing use of their facility. Thank you to Stephanie & Bob; Gayle, John, and Becky; Larry & Donna; Liz; Carol and Eileen; Renee, Adam, and Victoria; Claudia & Ed; Kelly; Derek; Pearl; and everyone for your work and donations. Our vendors were a special blessing:

Donna Christianson — Pampered Chef, Cindy Friedman from PartyLite, Jim Billa — Floral Designs, Dian Babin — Cruisin Creations, Sandra Nguyen — Chunkey Funk, Christine Urschell — Mary Kay, Lawrence Demarco — Cecilia Bella, Erin Zoellner — Bath Fitter, Amanda Allen of Veritas Vegan Organics, and Talin Rutan — Unikue Costume Jewelry

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Christian Family

Christian Family - Follow Me

Family
the center of love

And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.

As a young man of 12 (prior to the acknowledged age of maturity for a Jewish young man – the age of 13), Jesus was already maturely aware that He had been sent to carry out His Father’s will, to be close to His Father in heaven in all that He was to say and do. Of course Mary and Joseph did not fully understand that. They would have expected Jesus to still be immature in the knowledge of God.

Jesus clearly points out that He had to be about His Father’s work regardless of whether the world or His human parents saw Him as mature or immature. He shows us that the perceptions of the world do not matter as long as we stay focused on our true work.

How hard it is for us to stay true to God’s work among the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Children’s lives are fully programmed. Youth are busy with studies, sports, extracurricular activities and homework of course. Many parent’s work lives seem never ending now that we are connected 24/7 will smartphones. Retirement doesn’t mean sitting in a rocking chair anymore.

Staying true to God, to our faith in Christ, to the work the Holy Spirit calls us to do, requires an environment that places being in the Father’s presence as the greatest good. All the education, money, talent, and activities in the world are worth nothing if we loose our souls – our relationship to God and our heavenly family – in the process.

The environment that is our support, that shows us the way to eternal success, and that keeps us true and present to God is family –the Christian family. Family that believes in love, which is truly connected to the truth of love, will place God first and foremost in its life. That family will pray together, will worship together, will live in faithfulness to each other, will support and prepare each other for a life that is forever.

What a worthless gift we leave if we only provide for the near term. God’s family – provides forever.

Jesus sat in His Father’s presence in the temple, feeling at home, breathing the air of His own proper place. As families in Christ – centers of love – let us follow Jesus. Let us be present to God, breathe His life as our greatest goal, our desired good, and as our gift of love to each other – parents, children, and grandchildren.

Bible Study for the 27th Week in Ordinary Time
  • 10/6 – Revelation 11:19-12:1 – Blessed Virgin, you did not love your own life, but gave me an example of sacrifice for love of my Lord and God. Through your intercession help me to remain faithful in the face of evil and temptation.
  • 10/7 – 2 Samuel 6:2 – Blessed Virgin, like David you rose and carried the Lord to me by your yes to God. Through your intercession help me say yes to all God asks.
  • 10/8 – Luke 1:39 – Blessed Virgin, through your example and intercession help me to rise up and go to my brothers and sisters in haste; to give of myself as you did.
  • 10/9 – 2 Samuel 6:9 – Blessed Virgin, like David you were astonished when the Lord came to you. Help me, through your intercession, to remain in awe of God’s favor to me, to be humble in His presence.
  • 10/10 – Luke 1:43 – Blessed Virgin, your cousin Elizabeth recognized that you bore the Lord to her. Help me, through your intercession, to bear the your Son to all I meet.
  • 10/11 – 2 Samuel 6:11 – Blessed Virgin, you bore the new covenant, the Ark of the Covenant. Through your intercession, help me to recognize that all salvation is found in your Son, Jesus Christ, the New Covenant.
  • 10/12 – Luke 1:56 – Blessed Virgin, you are my example of faithfulness. Through your intercession, help me to be faithful in all times and places.

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, grant me the grace to carry You into the world revealing Your love.

Reflection for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Lord, increase my…
faith, soften my heart!

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Francis began his life as a confirmed sinner. His father was a wealthy cloth merchant who owned farmland around Assisi. Francis wanted for nothing and was spoiled. He indulged in fine food, wine, and women, and left school at the age of 14. By this time, he was well known as a wild teenager who partied and broke the city curfew. He was also known for his charm with women and for being a great dresser.

Francis did learn the skills of archery, wrestling and horsemanship. While expected to follow his father into the family textile business, he dreamed of other pursuits. Instead of planning a future as a merchant, he daydreamed of being a knight; and if Francis had any ambition, it was to be a war hero like the knights he admired. In 1202, war broke out between Assisi and Perugia, and Francis eagerly took his place with the cavalry.

People aren’t very good at softening their hearts. We are, unfortunately, pretty good at hardening them. Think of someone who holds a grudge, hasn’t spoken with a family member in years, or has closed their heart to the needs of others. We don’t often see them have a change of heart, a softening, unless someone intervenes…

Francis and the men of Assisi came under heavy attack by superior forces and ran. Many were killed. Most of the surviving Assisi troops were put to death. Dressed like an aristocrat and worthy of a decent ransom, Francis was captured. Francis spent nearly a year in a miserable prison cell waiting for his father to ransom him. It was there that he first heard God’s call…

The One who can soften our hearts, who intervenes, is Jesus. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls us to listen, to repent, and to soften our hearts – to have deeper faith. Like Francis, we have to listen for God’s call. We have to accept Him in faith and allow Him to soften our hearts and build our faith. Today’s psalm speaks of the life Francis went on to live once his heart was softened:

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD; let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to him. Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made us. For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds…

The Holy Spirit worked to plant the seed of faith in Francis. We all have that seed of faith in us, the whole world does, but like Francis we have to open our ears to God’s call. We have to let Him soften our hearts, build our faith, so that like Francis we can serve Him in joy.

October 2013 Newsletter

Family, family, family – it is all about family, plus craft fairs, coffee hours, our School of Christian Living, welcoming the newly baptized, and those who have joined us at the table of the Lord — that and more all in our new newsletter. Check it out, stay informed and see our action packed schedule. You may view and download a copy right here — October 2013 Newsletter.

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Bible Study for the 26th Week in Ordinary Time
  • 9/29 – Jeremiah 29:11 – Lord, in love You have provided me a future filled with hope, good, and promise. Help me to live in accord with Your plan for me.
  • 9/30 – John 16:33 – Lord Jesus, through Your suffering, death, and resurrection You have overcome the ways of the world and have given me more than the world can promise. Help me to keep my eyes on the future You have given me.
  • 10/1 – Psalm 138:8 – Lord, You are my sole hope. Protect me from all evil.
  • 10/2 – Jeremiah 17:10 – Lord, I stand before You sinful, accused by my failings. Grant me the grace of Your forgiveness. Help me to do better in Your eyes each day.
  • 10/3 – Psalm 37:37 – Lord, in Your mercy grant me a peaceful heart and mind. Assist me in setting aside the anxieties of today. Help me to live in the promise of Your life.
  • 10/4 – Romans 8:28 – Lord, thank you for calling me to faith in You. Help me to love You more and more each day.
  • 10/5 – Ephesians 2:8-9 – Lord, all that is good comes from You. Protect me from pride.

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to live in Your way and realize the destiny You have called me to.

Reflection for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lazarus and the Rich Man

Where are you
going?

They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils; yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph! Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.

Did you ever drink wine out of a bowl? Did you ever really feast without caring? Have you partied, partied, partied without thought of the consequences?

The situation in Israel was like that. They were living large, lying on beds of ivory, stretching comfortably on couches, eating tender lamb and veal, playing music they improvised, drinking wine from bowls, and anointing themselves with the best oils. They gave no thought to their suffering kinsmen.

Jesus was drawing on this parallel in His parable of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man lived large, enjoyed his life, went from success to success, and ignored Lazarus as he walked by him every day. He was indifferent, inhuman. On the other hand, Lazarus begged, but while begging he did not bemoan his situation. He was humble and even the dogs tried to comfort him. In his poverty he maintained his humanity.

The conclusion of Jesus’ parable is the outcomes for Lazarus and the rich man. This should prompt us to consider our humanity, where will our way of life lead us?

Today’s Psalm begins: Blessed he who keeps faith forever. This is what we are called to do, to keep faith and to keep it forever. Listen again to Paul’s call to Timothy:

But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called.

The question isn’t whether doing a “bad thing” will send us to eternal damnation or punishment. It is bigger than that. Jesus’ parable and the story of Israel are stories of people who have lost their humanity. They didn’t just do “bad things,” they lived lives that totally alienated them from life in God. They wiped the idea of God from their minds and hearts. They made themselves cold, self-centered, selfish and self-righteous, inhuman.

We know we fall in sin, but we have taken hold of the salvation Jesus offers us. We listen to His call to be more and more human, to repent of our sin, to make amends, to accept His grace and live lives in tune with His way. We see our humanity as a gift – and we focus on living humanly as God’s people.

It is not up to us to judge anyone’s destination. We must simply remember that lives lived habitually away from God will lead to an eternity away from Him.

Free Lunch on Sunday – September 29th

Please come and join us for Free Lunch on Sunday, this Sunday, September 29th, from 11:30am till 1:30pm. This event is always free and open to all. Enjoy family friendly foods, dessert, coffee/drinks, and more. Free Lunch on Sunday is held at Holy Name of Jesus in our parish hall located at 1040 Pearl St., Schenectady (CDTA Route 353 – Pearl Street stop).

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