Adult Initiation & Sacrament Preparation

Humility.  It’s a virtue that seems to have been left behind in our current civil discourse.  To many people being humble connotes a sense of weakness.  Contrary to popular thinking, humility actually takes courage and strength, and affords even greater rewards as our readings this week will show: The Word for the 30 th Sunday of Ordinary Time Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14 Our faith teaches that we must approach our prayer with humility.  Our first reading from Sirach is an example.  Here he reminds us that all our prayers are heard by God, but those coming from the most humble among us “pierce the clouds”.  This sage from the 2nd century BCE reminds us that though we are all equal in God’s eyes, he also hears the cry of those who are marginalized… the weak, the oppressed, the orphan.  This idea has echoed through the ages, including in our Psalm when we sing, “The Lord hears th...

Persistence.  The Oxford Dictionary defines this as “firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.”  Persistence is an important part of our faith tradition, as our readings this week will teach us: The Word for the 29 th Sunday of Ordinary Time Exodus 17:8-13 Psalm 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 Luke 18:1-8 Our first reading is a story from the book of Exodus.  Here Moses and the Israelites, not long after their flight from Egypt, are pushing forward into Southern Canaan where they are experiencing resistance from the nation of Amalek (named for the grandson of Esau, Abraham’s other son… though this may just be a literary device).  As they engage in battle, Moses holds out his hands (as he would in a prayer position) and the battle goes in favor of Israel, but as Moses grows tired and lowers his hands, the tide of battle shifts.  With the help of Aaron and Hur, Moses is able to keep his ar...

Thank you .  It’s a phrase we hear and use every day.  It’s an accepted and expected courtesy for a variety of interactions.  In fact, when we don’t hear it when we expect to, we feel slighted and unappreciated.  Here’s a question:  Does God feel slighted and unappreciated when we don’t give him thanks for his great gifts?  Let’s see what this week’s readings might say on the subject… The Word for the 28 th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2 Kings 5:14-17 Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4 2 Timothy 2:8-13 Luke 17:11-19 Our first reading comes from 2nd Kings.  Naaman, a Syrian military commander, seeks to thank Elisha for curing him of his leprosy (an act that King Joram of Israel isn’t likely to appreciate).  Not only does Naaman wish to give thanks to Elisha, but also to his God.  This is nothing short of a complete conversion for Naaman, who not only sees the glory of God, but recognizes the importance of the land in this covenant relationship....

Patience.  It’s a quality that many people have lost in our world of instant gratification.  Items can be purchased on Amazon and delivered the same day.  Not only have we eliminated that whole strolling through the mall way of shopping, but we’re even eliminating that bothersome next day delivery… because waiting even a day would be just too long.  Studies have shown that we even take for granted that knowledge itself can be instantaneous through our  mobile devices, so much so that our minds are no longer exercised enough to be able to store that knowledge in our long term memory.  Our readings this week, however, tell us a different story… that good things will come but not as soon as we would like: The Word for the 26 th Sunday of Ordinary Time Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 Luke 17:5-10 Our first reading is from the book of the prophet Habakkuk.  A minor prophet from whom we only hear from thi...

One of the gifts of our Archdiocese is our weekly news magazine the Angelus (formerly the Tidings ).  In it you will find contributing columnist Fr. Ron Rolheiser weekly musings on an array of topics.  His column for this week, From Paranoia to Metanoia , is definitely worth taking a moment to read.  Last week we spent some time talking about why there are so many different versions of the Bible, and why we are constantly revisiting our translations of these ancient texts.  As we discussed, language evolves, so if these ancient texts are to remain relevant, or even understandable, we need to occasionally revisit them to make sure they are staying true to the intent of their ancient authors. One of the problems with translations from one language to another, however, is that there isn't always one word or phrase that easily matches the original.  A classic example, especially for scripture, is the word "love."  The ancient Greeks had at least five diffe...

It never fails... As Director of Adult Faith Formation and RCIA, every year I can count on getting at least several telephone calls, or have at least 2 or 3 interviews with couples who are looking to get married in the Church.  Why are that calling me?  Because one of them hasn't received their Confirmation or is not Catholic, and because the priest they're working with has told them that they needed to take care of this before they could get married Pardon me, that's just bull! There is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation that couples have when it comes to this issue, and unfortunately much of that comes from some of our own priests.  Now don't get me wrong... I know quite a number of priests who do know how to address these situation (I've never had to deal with this problem with my pastor nor the other priests in my parish), but when a couple comes to me during an already anxious time to tell me their priest said they needed to do this, it tells me t...

Our daily readings for today (22 September, Thursday of the 25th Week of Ordinary Time) open with the famous opening to the book of Ecclesiastes:     Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,   vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! If this sounds familiar, it should... it was the opening passage for our readings back on July 31st (the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time). I don't normally comment on the daily readings, but this morning my wife, who follows the daily meditations from Give Us This Day   thought I would be interested in their commentary for today's first reading .  In it, the author noted how we are more likely to scramble for money tossed on the ground than we are to scramble for the gift of eternal life.  Going to extraordinary effort to grab at the shiny thing in front of us, instead of looking to things that are more important.  Spending our time with Twitter and Facebook instead of reading a book.  Investing in Lotto tickets inste...