To find this Sunday's readings (yesterdays) follow this link: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111112.cfm
My priest Fr. John was back in town so he gave us a good homily yesterday and I would've posted it but I spent the day with my parents and didn't have time when I made it home.
What I got out of this weeks Homily
We need to become like the widow in the gospel, willing to give her last two pennies in order that God might hear her. There are two things we need to do in order to become like her.
1) Life will give us opportunities to give of ourselves and sometimes the gift of ourselves is more than the gift of our money
2)We need to trust more in God that He will provide for us no matter what- being free of fear is what true faith is, fear is often cited in the gospel as the opposite of faith
Jesus compares the widow to two groups of people: scribes and the rich who are tithing as well
Scribes and rich people are completely external (think a Christmas present without anything inside) whereas the widow gave from her heart, from her need.
Our challenge in becoming like the widow is that sometimes we substitute pious gestures for true conversion, or if we have the true conversion we keep it locked inside. We have to fight both these temptations!
Often in scripture we see that it is through the simple God's works are done. Both the gospel today and the OT reading show widows, women who stretched themselves in order to show the faith they had in God. We need to learn to stretch ourselves as well.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
What oh, what do you say?
When your heart wants one thing and your mind tells you it's a really bad idea?
When you want romance and someone offers you comfort instead?
When you want something that can grow into love and all you get is an offer to make out?
When you really want to take them up but you know that it violates everything you believe in?
These choices are hard, but that's why you have morals... in order to know what to do when every choice seems like the right thing to do, but you know they aren't. I am worth more than comfort. I am worth a great romance. I am worth dying for and I will treat myself as such for once in my life. I will have the courage to say that I am not going to settle for less than what I know and want, and the truth is that in spite of my biological clock, in spite of my intuition and my longing for comfort, at the end of the day I want love. I want a relationship that will end with me coming home to be with the same man day after day, year after year until we are in heaven standing before the Lord. I want someone to say that I am worth it, because for the first time in my life I know I am and I will not settle for less!
When you want romance and someone offers you comfort instead?
When you want something that can grow into love and all you get is an offer to make out?
When you really want to take them up but you know that it violates everything you believe in?
These choices are hard, but that's why you have morals... in order to know what to do when every choice seems like the right thing to do, but you know they aren't. I am worth more than comfort. I am worth a great romance. I am worth dying for and I will treat myself as such for once in my life. I will have the courage to say that I am not going to settle for less than what I know and want, and the truth is that in spite of my biological clock, in spite of my intuition and my longing for comfort, at the end of the day I want love. I want a relationship that will end with me coming home to be with the same man day after day, year after year until we are in heaven standing before the Lord. I want someone to say that I am worth it, because for the first time in my life I know I am and I will not settle for less!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Okay So I've finally decided what I want this blog for
At first I was just thinking it would be an online journal, however that didn't work out... mostly due to my extreme lack of motivation. I just don't see what value my thoughts of my life would be to anyone. However, I've finally come to an idea that I think might work :-D
I am going to be posting weekly (sometimes more than that) blogs recapping the Sunday homilies that I hear and what it's inspired me to do in the week following.
So here we go:
Today's readings can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110412.cfm
This is what I got out of the homily this week:
Christianity is God searching for humanity. This makes it different from every other religion created by mankind in search of God (think of the Native Americans and Egyptians especially, they were searching for something they didn't know.)
Jesus will lead us to His Father without delay.
Father K. gave an interesting anecdote about a soldier during the civil war to illustrate this.
He was the only man in his family, his older brother had just died and he went to the president in order to ask to be excused from his tour of duty so he could cultivate the field for his mother and sisters. He gets tot he White House and the security detail turns him away without a second thought so he goes and sits down on a bench nearby, really downhearted. A young boy comes over and asks him what's wrong and he explains about his responsibilities and what he had come to Washington to accomplish. The boy takes him by the hand and leads him past the security personnel straight into the oval office.
Lincoln looks up and says, "What can I do for you, Tad?"
"I think you need to hear what this young man has to say," is his response.
Lincoln inclines his head and listens as the soldier tells his story again. Lincoln immediately gave him approval to go home.
Fr. K. then goes on to tell us that we need to pray that we might learn to love ourselves in order to be able to love each other and God more.
And finally, a prayer I wrote just before receiving the Eucharist:
Lord, help me know Your love for me
that I may love myself as You do.
What You love, may I love.
What You hate, namely my sins,
allow me to hate as well,
that I may never offend you again. Amen.
I am going to be posting weekly (sometimes more than that) blogs recapping the Sunday homilies that I hear and what it's inspired me to do in the week following.
So here we go:
Today's readings can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110412.cfm
This is what I got out of the homily this week:
Christianity is God searching for humanity. This makes it different from every other religion created by mankind in search of God (think of the Native Americans and Egyptians especially, they were searching for something they didn't know.)
Jesus will lead us to His Father without delay.
Father K. gave an interesting anecdote about a soldier during the civil war to illustrate this.
He was the only man in his family, his older brother had just died and he went to the president in order to ask to be excused from his tour of duty so he could cultivate the field for his mother and sisters. He gets tot he White House and the security detail turns him away without a second thought so he goes and sits down on a bench nearby, really downhearted. A young boy comes over and asks him what's wrong and he explains about his responsibilities and what he had come to Washington to accomplish. The boy takes him by the hand and leads him past the security personnel straight into the oval office.
Lincoln looks up and says, "What can I do for you, Tad?"
"I think you need to hear what this young man has to say," is his response.
Lincoln inclines his head and listens as the soldier tells his story again. Lincoln immediately gave him approval to go home.
Fr. K. then goes on to tell us that we need to pray that we might learn to love ourselves in order to be able to love each other and God more.
And finally, a prayer I wrote just before receiving the Eucharist:
Lord, help me know Your love for me
that I may love myself as You do.
What You love, may I love.
What You hate, namely my sins,
allow me to hate as well,
that I may never offend you again. Amen.
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