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Solemnity of PentecostMay 31, 2020Focus
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked where the disciples were...Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." ...[H]e showed them his hands and his side.... Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
One-Minute-Homily
> Forgiveness is not a transaction or a “deal”; it is not a contractual agreement based on specified conditions, even sorrow or repentance. It is a gift, freely offered and freely received. I can forgive you even if you are not sorry.
> In today's Gospel, Jesus reminds us that his disciples are the agents of God's forgiveness--people experience forgiveness if we offer it to them; they don't if we deny it to them. The initiative is in our hands; it depends on us, not on them.
> God offers forgiveness freely to each of us; we are forgiven—that is a given, and it makes a difference if we are able to accept it. The challenge is to accept it and to offer it freely and unconditionally to others, whether they "deserve" it or not, whether they accept it or not.
> "Peace be with you," we say to one another at Mass; it presumes we are willing to freely accept and freely offer forgiveness.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of a time when someone forgave you for something you did?
> Question for Youth: As we grow up, forgiveness becomes more challenging because people assume we are "old enough to know better." Do you find it more difficult to receive and give forgiveness?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What conditions do we or our faith communities place on forgiveness? Do people experience God's peace as forgiveness freely given without conditions?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes hereSolemnity of the Ascension
Find a schedule of live-streaming for Sunday Mass here
• • •May 24, 2020Focus
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “…Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
One-Minute-Homily
> Although we often deny, repress, or ignore it, doubt is always part-and-parcel of human commitment--and faith. If the truth be told, we are never completely sure; honest doubt is what keeps us from surrendering to fanatical passion or blind obedience.
> In today's Gospel, Matthew notes that at the end the apostles worshiped Jesus but they doubted--from here on they would live by faith, which Paul says is “the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.” Faith is a response to things we cannot know for sure.
> As Christians we are challenged to act with prudence and humility; faith distinguishes us from radical political and religious movements which become dangerous because their judgments are based on what they claim is absolute certainty. This is the difference between ideology and faith.
> We may teach them what Jesus commanded, but in the end it is the perception that “I am with you” that brings them -- and us -- to the Eucharist.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you do when you are not sure about something?
> Question for Youth: Growing up is filled with uncertainty. Are you comfortable with doubt or does it paralyze you? Does faith help you be humble and prudent?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Can we acknowledge the doubt which goes hand-in-hand with faith? Do our faith communities act with prudence and humility in a way that validates people’s imperfect faith?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Sixth Sunday of EasterMay 17, 2020FocusFifth Sunday of Easter
Jesus said to his disciples: "...I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth.... ...[Y]ou know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.”
One-Minute-Homily
> An orphan is a person who is stranded, disconnected from family or community, alone and unattached. Orphans have no one to protect them or advocate for them--a condition often imposed on children and adults alike by our current social and economic system.
> Jesus assures us that we are not meant to be orphans, alone and unattached. Over and over, Jesus assured that disciples that he would not abandon them. He and the Father continue to be present with us in the Spirit, who is our Advocate, who inspires and protects us.
> Love is the Spirit which unites the Father, Jesus and us, just as it unites parents and children; it is a presence and bond which transcends time and space. We are challenged to love others, to protect and advocate for the most vulnerable—for the orphans who are stranded and disconnected from the community.
> The Eucharist expresses and creates this relationship; gathered around the table, we are connected, attached, united in love--even in times like now when we cannot be physically present to one another.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you know or can you imagine what it would be like not to know and see your parents?
> Question for Youth: During adolescence, our relationship to our parents begins to change much as Jesus' relationship to the disciples changed. How do you experience this changing relationship to parents and family?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: How and why do we feel like orphans in the faith community? What attitudes, customs, or rules make others feel like orphans in our families, communities or parishes?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •May 10, 2020FocusFourth Sunday of Easter
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. ...I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me...."
One-Minute-Homily
> Although every individual is unique, each of us also reveals to others something about the family, ethnic group, nationality or religion to which we belong. When people meet us they also meet our mothers and fathers, our aunts and uncles, our siblings too.
> Jesus says we can know who God is and what God is like by knowing him--Jesus reveals God to us; he and God are one. There is a place for each of us in the Father’s Kingdom because the Father’s love transcends time and space and human limitations or conditions.
> By living as the Body of Christ on earth, each of us--and the families and faith communities to which we belong--can reveal the eternal God to others by imitating Jesus. People can encounter and experience God’s mercy and love in us, if only imperfectly, when we believe and act as Jesus did.
> Eucharist reveals to us a God who desires to share his love and care by gathering the family around the table where we are nourished by word and sacrament.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: When and how do you act like Jesus?
> Question for Youth: When and where are you most challenged to "act like Jesus would"?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we and our faith communities reveal the same God Jesus revealed to us -- or a God shaped more by human values, perceptions, conventions and fears?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
May 3, 2020FocusThird Sunday of Easter
So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
One-Minute-Homily
> When we encounter difficult times or face important decisions, we often confide in a close friend--someone who knows us, who cares about us, and desires the best for us; someone we can trust to be honest but understanding.
> Using the example of a good shepherd, Jesus says he is the good friend and protector we can we can confide in. We can trust that he desires the best for us; we can depend on him to guide and protect us.
> If we listen carefully to God's advice in Scripture, the wisdom expressed in church teaching, and what we have learned from our own experience, we can depend on a well-formed conscience to guide and protect us and those who confide in us for support.
> The Eucharist reveals to us a God and a community who desire the best for us; we can depend on their guidance and protection.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Who cares for you and protects you?
> Question for Youth: Because our relationships are shifting and changing at this age, it is sometimes hard to know whom to trust. Who are the people you can trust? Does your list include the Lord?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we experience the faith community as a place where people care about us? Are we people others can depend on us to be honest and understanding?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
April 26, 2020FocusSecond Sunday of Easter
[On] the first day of the week, two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus. ...[A]nd it happened that while they were conversing...Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.... As they approached the village...they urged him, "Stay with us...." So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him....
One-Minute-Homily
> We don’t normally eat with strangers; we feel uncomfortable about eating with someone we don't know, don't like, or don't trust. Eating together – “breaking bread” is a very personal and intimate sign of a relationship between people who know and love each other.
> Although the disciples were probably impressed with the wisdom Jesus shared along the road to Emmaus, they recognized him in the breaking of the bread--a simple but profound act of sharing among friends.
> Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we know God in the people who befriend us and the people we befriend. It is in our relationships that we come to experience a personal and intimate relationship with the God revealed to us in the breaking of the bread—a God who knows, likes, trusts and loves us.
> This is what we miss most during this time of social isolation when we can only watch the Eucharist—being together, breaking bread,
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Who do you eat food with? How do you feel about the people you eat with?
> Question for Youth: Think about your friendships; in the process of becoming adults, we befriend a lot of strangers in the hope of finding one who can embody God’s love, care for us.
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we growing in our appreciation for how much God knows, likes and loves us? Does our attitude and behavior at and outside of Eucharist reveal God's love and care to others?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of live-streaming for Sunday Mass here• • •April 19, 2020Focus
On the evening of that first day of the week...Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.... Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with them…. He said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands...and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later...Jesus came...and stood in their midst.... ...[H]e said to Thomas, "…See my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving….” Thomas...said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
One-Minute-Homily
> "Show me." The truth is, we are all a little skeptical about taking anyone at their word these days, especially if we have been deceived or misled by someone--or an institution--we trusted. We are likely to demand evidence that we can accept “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
> So-called “Doubting Thomas” often gets a bad rap because he demanded no more than what had already been given to the rest of the disciples, but he becomes an example for us who demand more proof than faith can provide.
> The things we believe in are not things that can be “proven” in the conventional sense--like God's unexplainable mercy. Our faith is based more on intuition than proof, and on the witness of others who encourage us to believe what we can only hope is possible.
> When we take the Eucharist into our hands, we cannot see Christ; we believe in his presence because we have sensed it, experienced and encountered it, in the Body of Christ around us.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you "believe" in that you cannot see?
> Question for Youth: As we grow, we begin to "test" the truths others have told us; what truths are you "testing" right now?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Have we placed our faith in the kind of proof which, in the end, is not convincing because it tries to prove too much? Like human justice instead of God's mercy?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of live-streaming for Sunday Mass here• • •
Solemnity of EasterApril 12, 2020FocusOn the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb...and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved.... So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.... When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in...and he saw and believed.
One-Minute-Homily
> In the midst of tragedy and loss, it is often hard to imagine that things will ever be OK, much less better. And yet our experience shows that often times we look back on difficult situations as times of growth and grace. Sometimes things turn out better than we could hope.
> Confronted with the crucifixion and death of Jesus, surely his followers must have wondered how things could ever be OK. Only gradually did they realize that what came out of his death was resurrection--a new kind of -- and everlasting -- life. That's the nature of what Christians call "the Paschal (Easter) Mystery."
> The challenge to us as followers of Jesus is to imagine -- and believe -- that something better is possible, in spite of the pain and suffering we and our loved ones experience in this life. The “new normal” will be something totally new and far from normal if we are willing to believe and to hope.
> We literally get a taste of this new life -- the Easter Mystery -- every time we participate in the Eucharist.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of a time when you were surprised by something very good?
> Question for Youth: People say "no pain, no gain." Can you think of ways in which you have experienced that fact in your own life?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do people recognize us as persons of hope and trust -- as persons and communities who believe in the Easter Mystery?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• Find a schedule of live-streaming for Easter Masses here• • •Palm Sunday of the Lord's PassionMarch 29, 2020Focus
The disciples…brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and [Jesus] sat upon them. The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.”
One-Minute Homily> We often invest our hopes and dreams in people who turn out to be someone less than we expected. Refusing to see or accept people for whom they really are, we demand that they be the persons we want or need them to be--usually a guarantee that we will be disappointed.
> The crowds who greeted Jesus along the road got the story half right – he was indeed the Messiah they were hoping for, but not the kind of Messiah they expected. Soon enough, disappointed by the truth, they would be shouting “Crucify him!”
> Often enough in this world, we are tempted to sacrifice our integrity in return for acceptance, success, influence or security. Our challenge as disciples is to be the persons we have been called to be, not the persons other people expect us to be.> Week after week, the Eucharist reminds us of our true identity, the persons we are meant to be—the Body of Christ.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you ever pretend to be someone different than you really are?
> Question for Youth: Adults have a lot of expectations for young people; do you struggle to be the person you really are?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: When and how have we sacrificed our true identity for success, or acceptance, or security?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here.
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• Find a schedule of live-streaming for Holy Week services here• • •
Fifth Sunday in LentMarch 29, 2020Focus
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.... Jesus said, "Take away the stone."... So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me." And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands.... So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."
One-Minute-Homily
> Most of the time, most of us pretty much take life for granted. Until we are old or get sick, or our lives are threatened by something like a pandemic, we don't think much about death, and we don't think much about what's important and what isn't.
> In this week's Gospel, Lazarus and his sisters have a life-and-death experience. Jesus restores Lazarus to life--a life-and-death experience which no doubt helped Lazarus and his loved ones appreciate what is really important in this life and the life to come.
> The challenge for us as Christians is to recognize the life-and-death experience which the coronavirus pandemic presents to us and our loved ones. This is an opportunity not just to think about what’s important, but to actually do something about it--to make choices like our lives depended on them, because it does.
> In its own way, the Eucharist is a near-death experience--it clarifies the difference between this-life and new-life, between here-and-now, between what's important and what is ultimately-important.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What gives you life and makes you feel safe these days?
> Question for Youth: Growing up entails so many choices; in what ways do you experience some tension or confusion between what's important and what's really important?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we and our communities a source of hope for people during the pandemic? Does our presence help people recognize the difference between what's important and what's really important?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here:
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Fourth Sunday in LentMarch 22, 2020Focus
As he passed by Jesus saw a man blind from birth…. [H]e spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam”…. So he went and washed, and came back able to see. …[Jesus said to him], “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe?” Jesus said to him, “…the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe,”…. Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”
One-Minute-Homily
> Even as young children in school, we are embarrassed to admit we don’t know the answer. The world expects us to know everything; it encourages us to pretend that we have all the answers, and it shames people who admit that there are mysteries they do not understand.
> The blind man in this week's Gospel comes to believe in the Savior, even though he cannot explain what happened to him; by contrast, the religious leaders, who presume that they already know everything, lack the ability to believe in something more.
> Faith should not contradict what we know, but in the end it will always depend more on trust than on knowledge. The challenge for us is to admit that there are important mysteries we cannot completely explain and hopes we cannot justify without faith.
> The Eucharist is perhaps the greatest mystery of all -- an expression of our trust in the Divine really present among us.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do you feel when somebody asks you a question and you don't know the answer?
> Question for Youth: What are some of the questions or mysteries in your life? Are you comfortable living with mysteries you can't fully understand?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Think of some of the ways in which we act like the Pharisees--overly confident that we "see" everything and blind to the need for faith in unexplained mysteries.
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Third Sunday in LentMarch 15, 2020FocusSecond Sunday in Lent
Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar.... Jacob's well was there…. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." The Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew...who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.... Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst...."
One-Minute-Homily
> We all long for acceptance and love, which is to say we long to be known and accepted and valued. In the absence of love and acceptance we will settle for attention, and we will sometimes cheat, lie and steal to get, but attention never satisfies our desire for love.
> In this week's Gospel, Jesus recognizes the Samaritan woman at the well as a real person, in spite of the fact that she is an alien, a woman -- and a sinner. He promises her "living water" -- a symbol of God's unconditional love and acceptance.
> The Gospel challenges us, first, to believe that God knows us and loves us in spite of our human imperfection and sin. Secondly it challenges us to believe that God loves every other human being in the same way, which is how we should value them as well.
> "The Body of Christ"...the Eucharist names and claims us for who we are; it is the living expression of God's unconditional acceptance and love. The challenge, as St. Augustine said, is to become what we are.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you ever feel like you don't belong? How do people help you feel like you are welcome?
> Question for Youth: Teenagers often feel like they don't "fit in;" how do you help others feel accepted and welcome?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What's the biggest challenge about accepting others, even those who are different?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes hereFind a schedule of Lenten services in Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here• • •March 8, 2020FocusFirst Sunday in Lent
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. ...[A] bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."
One-Minute-Homily
> We all need something to keep us going when times get tough -- something to look forward to and to hope for, a vision of better times. We need to know that beyond the tough times, the pain and suffering, better times are coming.
> In this week's Gospel, Jesus reveals himself to the disciples in all of his divine glory and the Father confirms that they can place their trust in him. It was this experience that would sustain them and give them hope in the difficult days which Jesus knew lay ahead.
> Lent reminds us that we are imperfect and sinful people, living in a world where there is much sadness, pain and suffering. The promise of Easter and Resurrection, the promise of the Kingdom and better times – what we call the “Paschal Mystery” is sometimes all we have to give us hope.
> The Eucharist is "food for the journey," but also a living sign of Jesus in all his Resurrected glory.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you hope for when you are sad or afraid?
> Question for Youth: What is your vision for the future? How does your faith help sustain you in tough times?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Where do we find hope in tough times? How do we provide hope for those who are suffering?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •March 1, 2020FocusSeventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert.... The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." Jesus said in reply, "...One does not live on bread alone...." Then the devil...made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down...." Jesus answered him, "...You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test." Then the devil...showed him all the kingdoms of the world...and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve."
One-Minute-Homily
> In our effort to validate individuals and their freedom, we seem to have lost the ability to distinguish between opinions and actual facts--between what is true and what people wish was true. In the realm of “fake news,” you can claim anything as a fact.
> The devil is the master of “fake news.” In this week's Gospel, we see the Evil One tempting Jesus with various untruths about himself and his mission--all of them inviting perhaps, but not true to the Lord's identity or mission.
> The devil tempts us in the same way. We are challenged as disciples of Jesus to distinguish between what is true and what we wish was true -- to recognize the ways in which we are being deceived or are deceiving ourselves and others about what is good and bad, right and wrong, helpful or hurtful.
> Our search for the truth begins with the words of the Creed which we confess at Sunday Mass. This is our antidote to “fake news.”
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Why do people tell lies? Why do you lie?
> Question for Youth: Becoming an adult means discovering the person that we are, and learning to share it with others. Are you tempted to pretend not to be the person you are?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: In what ways, and for what reasons, do we deceive ourselves and others about who we are, what we value, and why we act the way we do?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •February 23, 2020Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.... You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. ...[B]e perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
One-Minute-Homily
> It is hard enough to love people we know, like and trust; it's much harder -- almost impossible sometimes -- to love those we don't know, don't like or don't trust. In fact, it seems perfectly reasonable and natural to dislike those who dislike us.
> In this week's Gospel, Jesus urges his disciples to do what seems both unreasonable and impossible -- to be perfect as God is perfect; to love our enemies, to resist the natural desire for retaliation (which we like to call "justice"), and to pray for those who wish us harm.
> To do this we must first recognize "the other" as one of us -- a child of God, and hence a sister or brother, however difficult that may be. Secondly, we must try harder to understand why the person acts in such intolerable ways; this doesn't make love easier, but it may make it less impossible.
> The Eucharist reveals to us, in word and deed, the long history of God's perfectly unreasonable love for humankind, in spite of our impossible and intolerable behavior.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Why is it hard to be nice to someone who is not nice to you?
> Question for Youth: Young people do mean things to each other, and it hurts. Have you stopped to think what makes a person be so mean?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: In what ways do we think and act as if our love, our understanding, our hospitality is only available to those we know, like and trust?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveFind a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes hereFind a schedule for Ash Wednesday services here• • •Sixth Sunday in Ordinary TimeFebruary 16, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.... You have heard that it was said...You shall not kill;...But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
One-Minute-Homily
> We can make rules that regulate how people act (when they're being watched), but we can't rely on rules to change how people think, feel, value or desire. We can make a law that people have to marry and stay married, but no law can make them love each other.
> In this week's Gospel, Jesus exposes the failure of the law. He says God does not want people who just follow rules and laws; God wants people who have changed what they value and what they desire -- being right with God in our hearts.
> Real conversion happens in the heart. There is always a temptation to be satisfied with following the law and to look like we’re doing what we’re supposed to do, but to be genuine Christians, to be at-right with God, we are always being challenged to desire what God desires.
> The Eucharist is about the personal relationship we experience with Jesus and with each other; personal relationships are rooted in our hearts, not in the law.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you ever ignore a rule if no one is watching?
> Question for Youth: How do you experience the conflict between your desire for freedom and the rules people expect you to follow?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we content to follow and enforce the law? Or do we struggle to change our desires and support others who are struggling to change their desires?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Fifth Sunday in Ordinary TimeFebruary 9, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything.... You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father."
One-Minute-Homily
> We live in a world that in many ways seems dangerous and threatening. As a result, many of us develop a natural tendency to preserve, protect and defend ourselves and what is "ours". Taken to an extreme, this tendency becomes dangerous to both ourselves and others.
> In this week's Gospel, Jesus uses three examples to stress the point that Christians do not have to save, protect or hide what God has given us. We must share God's gifts freely and openly.
> The challenge to us, as both individuals and as faith communities, is to stop hoarding the love, mercy and grace which God has shared so generously with us. What we have been given is meant to be shared. We can risk being vulnerable because, as they say, God has our back.
> We should experience the Eucharist as a living symbol of God's generosity and vulnerability, not something which has to be preserved, protected or hidden.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you have certain things you want to keep for yourself instead of sharing with others?
> Question for Youth: Adolescence is a fragile time; do you have people or things you are protective about and find hard to share with others?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: In what ways are we hoarding, preserving or protecting what God has given us? What makes us afraid to share what we have been given?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •Presentation of Jesus in the TempleFebruary 2, 2020January 26, 2020
Focus
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord... [Simeon] took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “…[M]y eyes have seen your salvation,…a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
One-Minute-Homily
> They say there are few atheists in a delivery room because it is hard to doubt the existence of God once you have held a newborn child in your arms. The wonder, the innocence, and the fragility of a young life suggest that this is nothing we humans can manage on our own.
> The Jewish tradition recognized the sacredness of human life and expressed it by “presenting” or dedicating each newborn child to God forty days after birth. The presentation of Jesus at the Temple in today’s Gospel is in its own way the precedent for the Christian sacrament of baptism.
> The challenge for us as disciples of Jesus is to not reserve the wonder and awe for human life to the newborn baby or helpless child. The old, the weak, the sick and the sinful – “the least of these,” as Jesus said -- are no less God’s children than the innocent young child. Who can know what God ultimately has in mind for any of us?
> The Eucharist reminds us that God holds each of us in his arms, and perhaps looks on us as with the wonder and awe that we experience at the birth of a child.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you feel when you see a new baby?
> Question for Youth: In the midst of the busyness and challenges of growing up, have you stopped to imagine the wonder and awe of the new adult person you are in the process of birthing?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Can we imagine each person we encounter with the wonder and awe we have for the newborn child? Can we imagine that God looks on us as newborn children, full of potential and wonder?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here:
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Third Sunday in Ordinary TimeSecond Sunday in Ordinary Time
Focus
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew.... He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James...and...John.... He called them, and immediately they left their boat...and followed him.
One-Minute-Homily
> There is a difference between an invitation and a command. We appreciate invitations, although we don't always feel obliged to respond to them, but we resent commands because we often feel like we can't decline them.
> In this week's Gospel we hear an invitation that the disciples apparently thought was too good to decline: "Come, follow me," Jesus says, and they do. Chances are, they had no idea of where he would lead them or what following him would entail.
> The question is, are we treating Jesus' call like an invitation or a command? The truth is, discipleship is like parenting--we have only a vague idea of what it may entail, although we can guess that it will require both sacrifice and faith. Do we treat the invitation as an opportunity or a challenge?
> The Eucharist is not a "command performance;" Jesus renews his invitation each week -- an invitation too good to decline.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do you feel when someone invites you to do something new and exciting?
> Question for Youth: Adults are frequently issuing commands that could also be seen as invitations. Can you think of something important that sounded like a command but is really an invitation?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: How often do we overlook an invitation to deeper faith because it sounds like a command? In what ways do the invitations we extend to others sound more like commands?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •
January 19, 2020Baptism of the Lord
Focus
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world...." John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. ...[T]he one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'”
One-Minute-Homily
> We understand the importance of rules and we expect people to follow the rules, but we are more impressed and scared by people whose spirit empowers them to transcend the rules. People who do more than they have to do—more than is required by the rules – often embarrass us.
> John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the Lamb of God because of the Spirit. The Spirit of Jesus revealed someone who, in the words of Scripture, "fulfilled" the law, someone who was in fact more than the law required or expected.
> As Pope Francis is fond of saying, we are all challenged to grow in our awareness and our desire to follow the Spirit, to live our lives in ways which transcend or transform the law. That means to care more, to share more, to forgive more than is merely required by simple justice.
> The Eucharist should be an encounter with the Spirit of the Living God, which empowers us to live beyond the rules.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Why do people make rules for children to follow?
> Question for Youth: Young people often experience rules in tension or conflict with a deeper, more important value, a passion to be more and do more than the rules require. Have you experienced that in your own life?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we people who are bound by the rules or people who are living beyond the rules? Do we encourage and enable others to grow beyond the rules?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
January 12, 2020
Focus
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now….” After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold,… he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove…. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
One-Minute-Homily
> Even in the age of User IDs and passwords, being named and claimed by someone -- "my daughter," "my husband," "my mother" – tells us who we are and where we are from. It also imposes a commitment which limits our freedom to be and do whatever we want to be and do.
> In this week's Gospel, the Father names and claims Jesus -- "this is my beloved son." It imposes on Jesus the responsibility to be and do what the Son of God was expected to be and do.
> In the sacrament of Baptism the Christian community recognizes us as brothers and sisters. Our challenge then is to allow God to name and claim us as sons and daughters -- to grow in our awareness and response, to be and do what is expected of us as God's children.
> The Eucharist names and claims us as the Body of Christ on earth; it imposes on us the challenge of being and acting like the Body of Christ in our world.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What does your name tell you about yourself?
> Question for Youth: As young adults we are in the process of learning how to be adults in our own right and by our own choice. How are those decisions shaped by those who have claimed and named
us?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we recognize people who are different from us as God’s sons and daughters? Can we say of them, as God does, “I am well pleased”?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Solemnity of the Epiphany
January 5, 2020
FocusWhen Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem.... And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. ...On entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.One-Minute-Homily
> People of vision – people of faith and hope -- often lead difficult lives. Their vision of how things could be or should be seems so contrary to common social, political or religious expectations; they are shunned as impractical dreamers or troublemakers.
> The Magi were obviously people of vision. They followed a star toward a reality few other people could imagine; they were not deterred by the long distance, an alien land, the evil king, or how incredible their vision was.
> As Christians, we too are challenged to be people of vision -- a vision of how life can be. We are challenged to be people of hope and faith even in circumstances which make the vision seem so impractical, so far out of reach, and so contrary to "the way things are."
> The Eucharist keeps the vision alive; it also revives the hope and courage we need to keep living toward the vision.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you think about or feel when you look at the stars?
> Question for Youth: Sometimes young people have a vision for their lives that seems to conflict with the expectations of adults or peers. What can you learn from the example of the Magi?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we people of vision and hope, even when it seems so impossible? How are we coping with the tension between "the way things are" and "the way things could be"?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here
[Last Update: 05.30.20]
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