Tag Archives: Mass

July 16, 2013

16th Sunday of the Year – Listening to Jesus

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

Water lilies

Study:  Where do you find stillness in your life?  Where is a calm spot where you can slow down and listen?

Pray:  Consider making a commitment to praying in a peaceful place for a few days.   How does your prayer change when you can be still and listen to Christ?

Serve:  Can your service help another find peace and stillness?  Can you help others in such a way that they have an opportunity to listen to the Lord?

16th Sunday Readings

One of the great gifts of summertime is the potential for quiet moments in nature:

* Watching a campfire
* Time in the garden
* The beauty of a sunrise or sunset
* The stillness of the water
* The quiet before (or after) a storm

Moments like these are filled with chances to listen – to our hearts, our bodies, our family and friends, and the world around us.  In these quiet moments we slow down to experience the beauty and truth that God showers upon us.

What’s important to note is that these times are not filled with activity, but stillness.  It is in these moments when we are quiet that we actually listen and see God at work in our life.  These insights happen when we stop and pay attention to the wonder around us.

This is what we find in the Gospel today.  Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to his words with complete and utter concentration.  When Martha (who was preparing the food and getting the house ready to welcome the Lord) complained that Mary was not helping, Jesus rebukes her – not because the work was unimportant, but because in life there is also a time and place to listen!

The need to listen is crucial, not only in life but in our life of faith.  We know that we cannot work around the clock; we need time to rest and renew our hearts.  We know that we cannot always be in constant motion (in action or in speech); indeed, there are times when we need to draw strength from the wisdom and beauty of others.

We find these moments in practical ways that are both accessible and powerful:

* Daily prayer (alone or with others)
* Reading the Scriptures
* Mass
* Quiet moments (inside or outside)
* Experiencing nature (see above!)

These are moments when we, like Mary, slow down and allow the Lord to teach and strengthen us.  Today we can pause and allow the Lord to love us; right now we have the chance to listen – hearing the faith, hope, and love we share as we sit at the feet of Jesus.

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July 7, 2013

15th Sunday of the Year – Like Riding a Bike

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

How to ride a bike

Study:  Consider one area in your life that you could improve living your faith.  What would it be?

Pray:  Ask the Lord to give you opportunities to stretch and grow.

Serve:  How might the Lord be calling you to be a Good Samaritan today?  Right now?

15th Sunday Readings

My first bike was lime green.  It had a banana seat with curved handlebars (NOT designed for comfort).  The fenders were made out of industrial steel and it weighed more than I did.  In time I made a little wooden box to fit behind the seat that was barely big enough to hold chewing gum.  I thought it was the most awesome set of wheels in the world.

I still remember learning to ride it.  My family lived out in the country and we had a fairly long driveway.  I started with training wheels until one day my dad took them off.  He walked beside me a couple of times as I practiced and then watched at a distance as I rode (and occasionally fell) on the driveway.

Do you remember when you learned to ride?  At the time it is an exhilarating feeling.  The wind rushes by, the speed is great, and a new found sense of freedom appears.  What a moment!

Yet this discovery happens through trial and error.  Learning to ride a bike takes diligence and determination.  You can’t read it in a book or learn about it by watching television.  Riding a bike happens when we get on the seat and start pedaling.  It happens when we act, and in the process we learn by doing.

In the Scriptures today we are reminded that all the learning and teaching of our faith is only good when it is put into action.  The commands are not difficult to understand, and they do not require extensive explanation.  Yet without hard work, time, and steadfast application they are meaningless; only through action does our faith become real.

The Good Samaritan is a wonderful example.  As this Samaritan – filled with compassion – tends to the wounds and sores of the beaten man, he differs from the Levite and Priest (who knew better and still walked by).  He was a stranger and foreigner, yet he practiced his faith in God with a sincerity that serves as a sharp contrast to the “religious professionals” of his day.

We have opportunities every day to practice our faith.  Kindness, charity, forgiveness, patience, hope, and understanding are but a sample of the ways we show to others the faith we profess.  In the end our faith is not complicated; the challenge is to live each day with the conviction that God calls us to holiness and invites us to live the love of Christ with one another.

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July 2, 2013

14th Sunday of the Year – God Works Through Us

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

Love one another

Study:  Name three people who have had a real influence in your life.  What did they do or say that made the difference?

Pray:  In your daily prayer, when you pray for people call to mind their faces (preferably smiling!).

Serve:  Who can you help today?  How might you be the living witness of Christ to someone God places in your path?

14th Sunday Readings

In the Gospel today Jesus chooses seventy-two disciples to go out and minister to the people.  They journeyed to every town Jesus intended to visit, proclaiming the Good News and healing the sick.

I’ve often wondered about this commission.  Why did Jesus do this?  We know through the Scriptures that Jesus performed countless miracles, so why did the Lord pick out certain people to share in his ministry?  He certainly didn’t need them, yet they were empowered by Jesus to participate in his work of redemption.

Simply put, God works through people.  The Lord chose these seventy-two individuals to be conduits of grace.  As instruments of God’s power, these disciples not only furthered the ministry of Christ, they became coworkers of God’s plan for the Kingdom.  These people, chosen by the Lord, proclaim the Word of God with a human voice.

Furthermore, God works through people to build a human community.  We do not walk through life alone.  The Lord not only invites us to reach out, but the Lord supports his people in their service.  This is why the disciples went out in pairs; they were able to strengthen each other in difficult moments and celebrate in their joys.

For these reasons the Church exists today.  God calls us to grow together – reaching out to those in need and supporting one another as we follow our path of discipleship.  This is the purpose of our sacraments, our prayer, our Eucharist, and our lives in the larger community.

For when we realize that God works through people we discover that God works through us.  The Lord invites us to be open to the Spirit of Christ.  As we imitate the example of Jesus by the practicing the love he proclaimed, we continue the Lord’s saving work here on Earth.  Our hands and feet carry on the service of Jesus so that healing and hope might continue.

The sending of the disciples reveals that God intends to give us an opportunity to participate in this wonderful work.  May we be open to this invitation, sharing the many gifts and talents we have received as we offer our lives to help build the Kingdom of Heaven.

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June 25, 2013

13th Sunday of the Year – Called to Follow the Lord

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

Blue hills

Study:  What keeps you from trusting others?  What keeps you from trusting God?

Pray:  Is there something in your life that is holding you back from God?  Take it to prayer.

Serve:  Is there someone in your life right now who can use your help following the Lord?  What can you do?

13th Sunday Readings

The scenario looks like this:  a group of people are assembled together on a project and one of the leaders comes up and says, “I need someone to help me.  Any volunteers?”

Several possible responses may occur:

1.  No one says a word but looks at the floor and tries to disappear.

2.  Many people speak up, but they want to know what the task is before they will commit.

3.  One or two raise their hands, but they say that they have other things to do first.

4.  Many people raise their hands, and say, “Yes.  What do you need?”

While we might hope that we are always generous with our time, we know that there are moments when we are guarded and skeptical when someone makes a blind request.  We want to know some basic facts.  What is the task?  How much time will it take?  How much effort or skill?  Who will be working with me?

These questions are reasonable; in our day to day efforts they are the foundation of common sense relationships.  We ask these questions to insure that we are not going to commit ourselves to something that is distasteful, beyond our ability, or overly time consuming.

Yet there are times when we say “Yes!” without a moment’s hesitation.  We agree to a task sight unseen, not knowing the cost.  We are willing to offer ourselves, trusting that we will be able to carry out what we are asked to do.

The key to a willing volunteer is trust.  Trust implies that the one who follows believes in the one who leads.  When we trust another we do not necessarily need to know all the details; we know that the one we follow will not subject us to something that is beyond our scope or destructive to our lives.

In the Gospel today Jesus invites people to follow him, yet he receives many different responses.  Some gave excuses, some misunderstood him, and some turned away – yet the Lord continued to invite them to follow.

This invitation is ours as well.  Christ calls us to follow him, yet he does not tell us the cost.  May our faith help us to trust, that we might have the strength to volunteer all that we have in our journey through life.

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