"Speak, Lord, Your Servant Is :Listening"

In the opening prayer of today' liturgy we pray"  "O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen."  Jesus models this in today's Gospel, Mark 1: 29-39.  He enters the house of Simon and Andrew.  Immediately, he is told about Simon's mother-in-law's illness. And just as immediately, Jesus approaches her, takes her my the hand and helps her up. He healed her, as he did many others who were brought to him that evening.  When Jesus saw a need, he responded in a positive way. What about you and me? do we act when we see a person who needs our help? Or do we say: "Not now; I'm busy." Or "Not now, I'm tired."  "Not now; can't you see that I am reading the paper!"

In the first reading of today's liturgy, Eli teaches Samuel to respond to God's calling.  Three times the Lord called Samuel, awakening him from sleep. Samuel, not yet familiar with the Lord, thinks it is his master, Eli, calling him.  With Eli's counsel, Samuel learns that it is God who is awakening him from sleep.  Eli had the strength to do what must be done--direct Samuel appropriately.  Later, we will see that Samuel also has the strength to do the Lord's bidding.

You and I are called in many ways. The call to be the Lord's servants came to us first in Baptism, then was reconfirmed in any of the sacraments we received since that day at the baptismal font, brought there most likely by our parents and godparents.  Like Simon (Peter) and Andrew, as adults,  we may be called to intercede for others. Like Eli, we may be asked to counsel another to listen to the Lord's voice. Or the Spirit may be calling us to take time out to pray/meditate, sit in quiet. Also, throughout the day we are called to follow the Spirit's lead: our employer has a special project that needs our attention, a coworker needs support; we need to stop and do grocery shopping before coming home from work. Once home,  a child needs help with his/her homework, a spouse needs help preparing the evening meal or cleaning up afterward,  chores need to be completed and the person doing the chores would like support; a relative or coworker calls and needs to talk. A small son or daughter wants you to play a game with him/her. A spouse needs an errand run after supper! Tired? Probably not as tired as the Lord was at the end of his busy day!

With Samuel, let us learn to say: "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening".  Help me, Lord, to be attentive to your voice, to recognize your voice and "see what must be done and gain the strength to do what [I] have seen."

An Abundance of Graces from our God

St. Paul reminds us in today's first reading, 2 Cor 9: 1-10, that "God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work....The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness." Engaging in good works means dying to selfishness, pride, greed, and so much more that blocks graces that God wants to give us in "an abundance", as we are reminded in today's Gospel, John 12: 24-24, where Jesus says to us:  "Amen, amen, I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me."

In what good works was I involved today?  In what ways did God supply the seed I needed or multiply the good I did today?  How did God "increase the harvest of [my] righteousness" today? To what, today, did I die in order to produce the fruits of honesty, humility, kindness, compassion and love?

Knowing the Grace of God in Truth (Colossians 1: 1-8)

In  today's first reading,  Colossians 1: 1-8, Paul says to the Colossians, "...we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the holy ones because of the hope reserved for you in heaven....Just as in the whole world it [the Gospel] is bearing fruit and growing, so also among you, from the day you  heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth..."  You and I have come
"to know the grace of God in truth" because that truth is/was spoken to us through our parents, teachers, pastors, associate pastors, friends, counselors, co-workers; through our very selves, through creation itself, through the goodness in our lives and the good you and I have and are doing each day and will do today, as well as the good others do.

Like Jesus, in today's Gospel, Luke 4: 38-44, we, too, leave our places of worship and encounter issues that need to be addressed, that need our compassionate responses, our healing touch (a smile, a listening ear, an errand run or a good deed done on their behalf, a service rendered). We may confront "demons" today, as Jesus did in the people that others brought to Him or which are within ourselves (pride, deceit, lust, abuse of power and control, jealousy, envy, avarice, impatience, imprudence, and so on).   We may also be pressured by the crowd to give in to demands that we know are not the will of God for us. Jesus says to the crowd: "No, I have been sent to proclaim the good news of the reign of God to other lands, to other peoples. I cannot stay here."    We may not be called to other lands but to another task that is beckoning us.  Sometimes, we may find it hard to "depart" for that to which we are called--what will others think if I leave this conversation, this crowd; if I don't continue to join in or go where the crowd insist on going?

Jesus very clearly states the reason He has been sent to this world. Am I as clear as Jesus was in terms of what my mission is--why I am where I am today?  Did I, today, prepare myself to address the issues that will come by way today by taking time to pray, as Jesus did?  Am I faithful to "the grace of God in truth" that I have come to know and which is stretching to bear fruit and grow within me?

God's Awareness of the Good we Do

In today’s first reading, Hebrews 6: 10-20, St. Paul says to us: “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones.”  What a statement!  “God is not unjust.” He notices, is aware of,  the work everyone does in serving and continuing to serve others! He notices plumbers, electricians, garbage collectors, chefs, domestic workers, unit clerks, nurses, doctors, teachers, teacher aides, bank tellers, parents, grandparents, baby sitters and on and on and on.  Then note, too, what St. Paul says: God does not “overlook…the love you have demonstrated for his name by serving” others.  We all need to be noticed and appreciated. It is an innate human need. And God does not disappoint!

We are told by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians 2: 10 that “[w]e are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it.”  In doing good, we are cooperating with who we are in our very essence: servants of God doing the good on earth that we are intended to accomplish for the glory of God’s name.  Wow! May you and I serve with grateful hearts and appreciate the service of others.

God-given Talents Used Well

Today's Gospel presents the parable of the talents: one person was given 5 talents and made 5 more, another 2 and earned 2 more and one person given 1 talent and, out of fear, buried it.  What do I do with the talents the Lord has given me? To I develop them and thus add skills to my life and increase my ability to be of service, to build up the Kingdom of God or do I bury my talents, do nothing with them, withdraw out of fear or, blame others or situations for the situation I am in, find excuses for my lethargy, inactivity, my sitting on the sidelines while life passes me  by? The choice is mine to make. If I choose to share my talents and thus gain more, I will experience the happiness of the Master. If I do otherwise, I will wallow in the pit of self-pity, continue to feel deprived, sinned against, and unhappy with life.


"Blessed are those," the responsorial Psalm (128) states, who fear the Lord," that is, who reverence the Lord and give back by developing the talents God has given him/her, "who walk in the way of the Lord." That way, we know from the Scriptures, is being fully involved in life, as Jesus and Mary were, being engaged in relationships in such a way that people's lives are transformed, healed, forgiven, made whole, supported by the assistance I can give and the joy I spread.

Placing My Trust Rightly

In today’s first reading, James 5: 1-6, St. James has strong words for those who become rich by cheating the poor and refusing to share their wealth to make the world a better place for all peoples The Scriptures do not condemn wealth. What is sinful is taking advantage of the poor, exploiting the poor, denying them just wages and thus jeopardizing their ability to shelter, feed, clothe and educate their families. What is also being condemned is trusting in one’s wealth, putting all one’s energies in accumulating and consuming material goods as gods in themselves upon which their salvation depends. “This,” the psalmist says, “is the way of those whose trust is folly, the end of those contented with their lot: Like sheep they are herded into the nether world; death is their shepherd and the upright rule over them,” in eternity, that is. But even here on earth, living selfishly is hell in itself.

Jesus says to us in Mark 8: 35: “Whoever would save their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for the sake of the gospels’ will save it.” Am I willing to be “broken bread” and “poured-out wine” for others? Am I willing to give service to others, helping the poor and oppressed, addressing injustices, sharing my wealth with the less fortunate? Jesus says to us in today’s Gospel, “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” And that reward, for rich and poor alike, is eternal life. “God will redeem me from the power of the nether world by receiving me” (Psalm 49), the psalmist says to each of us.

The spiritual journey

In today’s Gospel, Mk 10: 32-45, James and John ask Jesus to grant them the privilege of sitting “one at your right and the other at your left” when they enter His glory.  Jesus gently confronts them, saying: “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” Being a disciple of Christ is about serving others, not about privilege and honors and being served, as Pope Francis would remind us, no doubt.  As servants, we will, like Jesus, be ridiculed, misunderstood, even spat upon at times, sometimes scourged with harsh words. It is our role to “wash the feet of others,” not have “our feet washed.”  Honor will be heaped upon us in eternity, not here.  How difficult it is to learn this lesson.  Like James and John, we will, from time to time, need to be reminded by Jesus that we will drink of the same chalice He did, though probably not crucified literally as He was.  Each time we die, that, is dying to the self-centeredness displayed by James and John, we, too, will rise again.  Each time we endure the crosses of life, as Jesus did, we will experience angels ministering to us as they assisted Jesus in Gethsemane.  Each time we take up our crosses in faith and hope and love, we will be encouraged by His mother and helped by “Simons”, as Jesus was.  We will rise to a stronger, richer life as the power of Jesus’ resurrection flows through us each time we have the courage to “drink the chalice that Jesus drank.”

Following in the footsteps of Jesus is totally opposite following the footsteps of the rich and famous!

And far more enriching. This way of life endures into eternal! life

Trusting the Lord in Times of Disaster

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the apostles that He will be handed over to evil persons who will kill him.  In three days, He says, He will come back to life. They do not, at all, comprehend what  He is talking about. In fact they immediately begin arguing who is the greatest among them in what they thought was a kingdom here on earth  of which Jesus would become King.  Jesus then describes that to be a participant of His Kingdom, we are called to be servants of all, not persons who lord it over others, and that we are to assume the attitude of a little child. A child is completely dependent upon one’s parents to meet all of his or her needs. How utterly dependent upon God am I? To what extent do I assume being a servant of all?  Today’s first reading, Sirach 2: 1-11,  spells out in detail what it means to a servant of the Lord:

 

“My child, if you aspire to serve the Lord,

prepare yourself for an ordeal.

Be sincere of heart, be steadfast,

And do not be alarmed when disaster comes….

[I]n the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient,

since gold is tested in the fire

 and the chosen in the furnace of humiliation.

Trust [God] and [God] will uphold you,

follow a straight path and hope in [God].

You who fear  the Lord, wait for his mercy,….

hope for those good gifts of his,

everlasting joy and mercy….

Love [ God] and your hearts will be enlightened….

Compassionate and merciful is the Lord;

He forgives sins, he saves in time of trouble,

and he is a protector to all who seek him in truth.

How, in the Lord’s name, you might be asking, can you think of God as merciful in light of the tornadic activity tearing across the country.  Why, you ask, would God allow such destruction.   I am to ‘prepare myself for an ordeal”  and “not be alarmed when disaster comes!” Are you crazy, might be the question.

Discipleship is not a piece of cake.  Jesus tells us in the Gospels that in the world we will have troubles, as He did and no servant is greater than his/her master.  God does not cause evil to happen. God does not send tornadoes or earthquakes or tsunamis or any disaster, natural or otherwise.  Those things simply happen on this earth when conditions are in their favor.  God is there to comfort through responders, to show His mercy through neighbors, to reveal His compassion by an outpouring of help to victims, to restore order in the chaos through persons who offer to clean up, through those who give assistance in rebuilding. God weeps with those who weep.  God suffers with those who suffer.   Heros and heroines will come forward in the most devastating of circumstances—God is at work through them.   

Serving the Lord as women religious today

Today is the 25^th day of the month, the day that Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother devote to praying for an increase of vocations to religious life.  Why, you may ask, do you promote your religious community?  Are you not aging? Diminishing? The answer to those questions is “No”!  We are flourishing as a community of women devoted to serving the poor in several countries: the USA, the Caribbean countries of St. Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad, and the Dominican Republic; in the European countries of Austria, Germany and Italy; in Brazil and in Tanzania.  Our mission in Tanzania opened as recently as 2006.  The Franciscan Institute staffed by our Sisters in the Caribbean was created in a 2001 brainstorming session with the Sisters in the Caribbean who were looking to establish a corporate ministry.  This mobile ministry serves St. Lucia, Grenada and Trinidad. We also run a secondary school (high school ) on the island of Grenada. In the Dominican Republic we also serve the people in healthcare, education and community development ministries. In the US we began and continue to serve the needy in several healthcare institutions. Some of our Sisters in the US, as volunteers or staff members of various professional entities, work with Native Americans, Immigrants,  prisoners, the mentally ill and those suffering from the disease of alcoholism and drug addictions.  Others work in education to children ages 4-14. So, every day, we are vibrant and growing more deeply in our commitment to Franciscan values and to the Gospel. Religious today, are like Gideon in the Scriptures: our numbers are smaller but we are strong in the Lord.