Jesus quotes Isaiah the prophet, recalling the need for the Lord to be at the center of our hearts. Once God is at the center, everything else we say and do fits into proper perspective.
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Category Archives: Ordinary Time
6th Sunday of the Year: How suffering affects our relationships
Study: Reflect on wounded relationships in your life. What needs to be done to bring them healing?
Pray: Ask the Lord for the grace to bring healing to the relationships in your life, especially where suffering has caused misunderstanding or fear has led to doubt and uncertainty.
Serve: Are there people in your life that are struggling in their relationships? How can you be a bridge that fosters unity and reconciliation?
Mass Readings – 6th Sunday of the Year
Last week I focused on the personal nature of suffering. When we are in pain, when we hurt, we can easily focus on ourselves. This is not necessarily a bad thing; suffering can help us confront reality and strive for healing and wholeness. In our suffering we are aware of blessings that we may have taken for granted – our sight can become sharper as we realize the gifts that have been lavished upon us.
There is another dimension of suffering, however. Suffering commonly affects relationships; when one person suffers, it is often the case that others suffer as well. Consider the following:
- Physical suffering can keep us from human touch/contact
- Intellectual distress can cause us to lash out in doubt and misunderstanding
- Emotional anguish can prevent us from connecting with others because of fear and anger
- Spiritual suffering can obscure our values and beliefs with God and others
There are countless examples, but the point is clear – the pain and anguish a person suffers can directly affect relationships with God and one another. Suffering can become an obstacle that blocks us from the very persons who can bring healing and relief. Often the greatest wound from suffering is isolation: in our weakness we withdraw from the very people who can help us the most.
The 1st Reading, Responsorial Psalm, and Gospel today reveal both the obstacles of suffering and the bridges that God makes possible through healing grace. In the face of suffering the Lord comes, not just to bring healing to a person, but healing to the relationships among persons. God longs not only to renew our lives but the lives around us as well. Where suffering brings isolation the Lord brings unity – drawing us together in reconciliation and love.
This communal aspect of suffering thus begs two questions for our consideration:
- Is suffering affecting relationships in my life right now?
- How can I invite the Lord to bring healing/reconciliation?
When the Jesus healed the leper in the Gospel today, he did more than give the man back his health – he gave back his relationships as well. The man (formerly cut off from human society) is now restored to his family, his friendships, and his participation in the community. His life has been restored.
As we look to our own encounters with suffering we keep an eye to the ways in which our relationships are harmed/healed. May we call upon the grace of Christ to touch our lives, and bless the lives of those around us.
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Note: This post was originally published on February 9, 2015.
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5th Sunday of the Year: We focus on our faith in the midst of suffering. Catholic Inspiration
Suffering, for all its challenges and burdens, is a part of human life. How do we face it? How do we find the strength and wisdom to keep going? When we bring our faith in Jesus Christ into the center of our lives we find the courage and conviction to continue on as the Lord guides us through this life to the life to come.
Mass Readings – Sunday of the 5th Week of the Year
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
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Daily Mass: Do you need to rest? Catholic lnspiration
Jesus invites the disciples to rest after they return from their mission. It’s a good reminder that there is always more work than we can possibly accomplish; our task is to make sure that we balance our lives with the rest we need so that we can keep serving the Lord.
Mass Readings – Saturday of the 4th Week of the Year
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Daily Mass: The Lord sends you! Catholic Inspiration
Just as Jesus sends the Twelve Apostles with his authority, so also the Lord sends us – empowered with his grace – to continue his mission in the world. We do it together; we trust in God; we are attentive to each opportunity; we let Christ work through us!
Mass Readings – Thursday of the 4th Week of the Year
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Daily Mass: Jesus encounters hometown hardships. Catholic Inspiration
Jesus returns home with his disciples, but the people – limited by their thinking – cannot see him by the light of his ministry. The Lord’s rejection reminds us that we, too, have a community of our own…and we can either build it up or tear it down.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 4th Week of the Year (St. John Bosco)
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Daily Mass: Christ is the source of our healing. Catholic Inspiration
Jesus heals two people in the Gospel today, revealing his power as the Son of God. As his disciples we continue the Lord’s healing work as we draw strength from Christ…the source of our healing.
Mass Readings – Tuesday of the 4th Week of the Year
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Photo Credit: The Passion of the Christ, 2004.
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5th Sunday of the Year: Confronting the reality of human suffering
Study: Reflect upon an experience of suffering. How did your faith help you face it?
Pray: Are you or someone you know facing pain or loss? Pray that God gives the grace needed to face it.
Serve: Walking with others on their journey of anguish demands time and attention. Are you being called now to assist someone in need?
Mass Readings – 5th Sunday of the Year
Let’s take a look at these readings:
- 1st Reading – Job speaks from his anguish and misery.
- Psalm – “Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.”
- 2nd Reading – Paul states his need to preach the Gospel.
- Gospel – Jesus heals the sick and preaches to the people.
On the surface of these readings we see the obvious – there are times when we encounter suffering. Whether it’s body, mind, heart or soul…most people on more than one occasion are brought low by pain, struggle or loss.
What’s more, there is no “spin” in the Bible. Instead, we repeatedly see in the Scriptures a raw look at the challenges people face without trying to explain away the hardship. It’s almost as if the Word of God seeks to remind us that the journey of life often stops in places of anguish.
We might be tempted to ask the Lord why. We might try to find reasons why a good and almighty God allows it. Such a reaction is normal and typical.
Here’s the problem. Many of the hardships of life have no easy answers or simple explanations. Much of life is a mystery, and many things will not be explained until the day we stand before the Lord when all is revealed.
Suffering by itself serves no purpose, yet we often recognize that there are many times we “suffer” for something greater:
- The athlete who suffers in practice to perform in competition
- The student who suffers in study to perform academically
- The employee who suffers with work to complete a challenging project
- The friend who suffers for a loved one to bring help and comfort
- The parent who suffers for a child to show compassion and care
You get the point. We often embrace suffering because we recognize that there is meaning and purpose in much that is difficult, challenging and hard.
But what about when we don’t understand? One of the most helpful questions I have ever found in the face of suffering is this:
How does my faith help me face this?
For remember, when our lives are focused on the Lord all things – even suffering – fit into a proper perspective. Christ’s suffering on the Cross breaks the bonds of sin and death; Christ’s resurrection shows us that there is something far beyond the realm of pain and loss.
As Jesus healed and preached Good News we call upon our faith to help us face the difficulties of life with strength. Perhaps we will not know why suffering happens, but God will give us the grace to learn how we will face it.
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4th Sunday of the Year: Power and Authority in human life. Catholic Inspiration
Jesus speaks with power and authority in the Gospel today, revealing that these gifts come from God and require us to use them wisely and well. May we both receive from the Lord what we need and then share our blessings with others to the best of our ability.
Mass Readings – 4th Sunday of the Year
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
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Daily Mass: Finding calm in the storms of life. Catholic Inspiration
Terrified by a violent storm, the disciples call out to Jesus who immediately calms it. Storms are a part of life, and whether physical, emotional, psychological, relational or spiritual we find in the Lord a peaceful strength to face them with confidence and conviction.
Mass Readings – Saturday of the 3rd Week of the Year
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Catholic Inspiration – Podcast Archives of Homilies & Talks- Daily Mass: We respond to the spiritual signs in our lives
- Daily Mass: The Lord sets a blazing fire upon the earth
- Daily Mass: Much is expected of those who have been given much
- Daily Mass: We are vigilant and prepared for the Lord
- Daily Mass: We take care to guard against all greed
- Study, Pray, Serve: 30th Sunday of the Year
- 29th Sunday of the Year: What will we make with the gift of our lives?
- Daily Mass: Will we stand up for the Lord?
- Daily Mass: Do not be afraid!
- Daily Mass: The Lord has made known his salvation
