Tag Archives: Unity

February 9, 2015

6th Sunday of the Year – Suffering: Part II

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

XIR222724

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?

6th Sunday of the Year Readings

Fr. Andrew’s Homily Podcast

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:

  1. Is suffering affecting relationships in my life right now?
  2. 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.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Ordinary Time, Podcast

June 5, 2014

The Feast of Pentecost

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

 

Holy-Spirit-Dove

Study: Where in my life have I experienced God’s grace and strength?

Pray:  What particular needs in my life call for the help of the Holy Spirit?

Serve:  Where can I use the gifts God has given me to serve another right now?

Pentecost Mass Vigil Readings        Pentecost Mass Day Readings

Fr. Andrew’s Homily

The image St. Paul uses in the 2nd reading this weekend is a body.  Composed of different parts which do unique and special functions, the body is united when all the parts come together.  So, too, all of us are united into the Body of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Look at these themes from Pentecost Mass Readings of the Day:

  • The Spirit gives power to communicate across barriers of race and tongue (1st Reading)
  • The Spirit gives life and renews the face of the earth (Psalm response)
  • The Spirit gives different gifts to people for different needs (2nd Reading)
  • The Spirit is breathed on the disciples by Jesus (Gospel)

In other words, the Holy Spirit unites people, renews life, provides unique gifts, and is granted to the Church by Christ.  This is the day that the disciples were empowered to continue the mission of Jesus; filled with the Spirit they will witness the Good News of the Lord through their words and actions.

Their example becomes our model.  The same Spirit that changed their lives comes to us.  The same Spirit that gave them the grace and strength to go forth gives us the power we need to offer our lives for Christ.  God continues to invite us to serve, and the Lord pours forth the Holy Spirit to help us carry out the work of this day.

Are there barriers in our life?  Come Holy Spirit!

Are there parts of life in need of renewal?  Come Holy Spirit!

Are there gifts we have that need to be used and directed?  Come Holy Spirit!

Jesus freely gave the gift of the Spirit to his disciples – may we turn to the Lord with conviction that as we call for the Holy Spirit in our lives we will be given what we need for the work of this day.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
V. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

 

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December 26, 2013

The Feast of the Holy Family

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

Holy Family

Study:  What is going on in my family right now?  What dynamics, concerns, and strengths are we facing?

Pray:  Call upon God’s grace for your family.  Be specific and practical!

Serve:  How can we help bless our families right now?  What can we do to strengthen and unite together as a holy family?

Holy Family Readings

During this holiday season I am amazed at how many people reorganize their schedules and events to accommodate the many family events that happen during this time of the year.  Many people spend long hours on the road, sometimes celebrating Christmas two or three times with different branches of the family tree.

For some people this time of year can be a mixed blessing.  The stress of traveling with uncertain weather, compounded with the hectic expectations of the commercial side of the season, can sometimes lead us to view Christmas as an exercise in frustration.  This frustration is particularly true when we add the unique issues that are part of our own family.

All of us are part of a family.  Some big, others small, some scattered across the globe, others spaced along a couple of city streets.  In our extended families there are people we can’t wait to see, and there may even be some who are difficult to get along with for a conversation.  Within our families there is usually a mixture of joy and sorrow, peace and discomfort, calm and chaos.

Yet like it or not, God has planted us within these groups of people to help us find our place within the larger world.  Our families help define who we are, how we experience life, and what our dreams and hopes are for the future.  With all their strengths and weaknesses, our families help us understand the meaning and purpose of our lives.

The fact that we celebrate the family of Jesus helps us realize that God is present within our families, too.  The “Holy Family” was not perfect.  Hardship and persecution followed them before and after the birth of the baby Jesus.  They struggled and suffered like every other family, celebrating the joys and sorrows that accompany us all through life.

The struggles of the Holy Family help us see that the journey of our own families is not an easy one.  Yet we can take hope that just as God was present to them, so too will the Lord strengthen us.

The feast of the Holy Family can remind us all that God truly walks with us in our own families.  Within the blessings and limitations that exist in our families, we recognize God’s loving touch – shaping our lives and helping us see the “Holy Ones” that God has placed in our midst.

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August 20, 2013

21st Sunday of the Year – Gathered Together

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

Pope Francis WYD

Study:  When in life have I encountered a diverse group of people?  How did the experience change me?

Pray: What in my life needs to be touched by the Lord so I can relate with others as a disciple of Christ?

Serve:  Are there divisions in my life right now?  If so, how can I help bring unity and peace to the people in my life?

21st Sunday Readings

Watching Pope Francis during World Youth Day in Rio brought back memories of my own twenty years ago.  It was 1993 when I traveled to Denver, Colorado to see Pope John Paul II.  I was about to begin graduate theology in the seminary, and I thought that the experience would “be good” for me as I prepared for the priesthood.

I was right.

During that amazing week I treasured many rich and wonderful experiences, but one that will forever remain in my mind was the final mass.  I was leading a group of students who had hiked into the park site the day before, and as the evening passed we visited with people from around the world.

Everywhere you looked there were nations represented by young adults singing, dancing, playing music, and talking.  Walking among the groups I picked out many languages – Spanish, Italian, French, Polish, Swahili, Greek, Chinese – and others I did not recognize.

People were friendly!  If you stayed with a group they would get you to sing or dance with them, or else they would try to communicate – even when a language barrier was present.  On that night we knew in our hearts that despite our differences, we were united together as one family.

Isaiah today proclaims in the first reading that distance, language, and race will not keep God away from the nations of the world.  The Lord will set a sign among the peoples, inviting them to gather and stand united in the midst of God’s glory as one family and one community.

This proclamation reminds us that we, too, are invited to be open to one another, regardless of the differences that may appear.  For just as the Lord calls all together, so too do we recognize the unity we share as children created in the image and likeness of God.

We have many opportunities to express this unity everyday.  Do we show warmth and hospitality to strangers and guests?  Do we welcome others who speak or look differently from us?  Do we cultivate attitudes that respect others, despite our differences?

When we are open to other people, we begin to see as God sees.  We recognize that as the Lord’s children, there is much more that unites us than what divides.  We discover that God’s family is truly blessed by the differences that make us unique.

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Ordinary Time