Month: February 2019

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Free To Love, Free To Live

Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (C): Luke 6:27-38

Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats
Too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking
I had something to protect  – from My Back Pages, by Bob Dylan

 

 

Love your enemies.

Offer the other cheek as well.

Lend expecting nothing back.

We are all quite familiar with these words, and with similar teachings of Jesus found elsewhere in the Gospels. We quote these words. We honor them in various ways. We do not often live according to them, however.  More often, our mottoes seem to be more like this:

Fight fire with fire.

An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth.

I have a right to everything that belongs to me. Continue reading “Free To Love, Free To Live”

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The Fullness Of Our Calling

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)

The Lord will complete what He has done for me.  –  Psalm 138:7

Great things happen when God mixes with us.  – Carey Landry

 

Today, we are invited to consider the stories of three people – Isaiah, in our first reading (Isaiah 6:1-8); Paul, in our second reading (I Corinthians 15:1-11); and Simon Peter, in our Gospel reading (Luke 5:1-11). All three had their lives profoundly changed by their encounter with God. All three received a new calling, a new mission, as a result of these encounters. Or, rather, it is better to say that, as a result of these encounters, all three discovered their true calling, and that their lives up until now had been a preparation for this very thing.   Continue reading “The Fullness Of Our Calling”

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Demons! Really?

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time: Mark 6:7-13

The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.  – Mark 6:13

In the Gospels, Jesus often confronts people who are possessed by evil spirits, and is often casting them out. In our Gospel reading today, He gives the Twelve authority over unclean spirits, and they also drive them out of possessed people. Continue reading “Demons! Really?”

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The More Excellent Way

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C): I Corinthians 12:31-13:13

 

Picture this little scenario.

You go to Mass next Sunday. During the Mass, the priest suddenly stops and proclaims, “The best Catholics are the ones who sit in the front pews!”

You go to Mass the following Sunday, and a different priest proclaims, “The best Catholics are the ones who sit in the back pews!”

If you sit in the middle, you are already thinking, “And what are we – chopped liver?”   Continue reading “The More Excellent Way”