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Solemnity of PentecostFocusThirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 24, 2021FocusAs Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples…Bartimaeus, a blind man,…began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."… Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied, "Master, I want to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
One-Minute Homily
> The corrosive impact of “fake news” not only affects the news; it also distorts our basic attitudes and fundamental assumptions about reality. It is a moral and social evil that destroys even our desire to know the truth.
> The blind man in today’s Gospel stands in contrast to so many people -- in Jesus’ time and now -- who have lost the desire to know the truth. Unafraid, Bartimaeus proclaims “I want to see!” “Show me the truth!” His faith in the truth dispels his blindness and changes his life.
> The polarization which divides our families, our society, and the church itself these days, is a sign that too many of us have lost the desire to see the truth; we persist in our chosen blindness, reinforced by “fake news”, in order to protect ourselves from uncomfortable realities and unwelcome change.
> The Eucharist proclaims uncomfortable and unwelcome news: the Lord of the Universe desires only a humble and contrite heart, filled with compassion and mercy.
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Why do people tell lies? What happens when everyone lies?
> Question for Youth: Can you think of times when you were tempted to lie in order to protect yourself from uncomfortable truths or unwelcome changes?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What are the truths that we are hiding from? What stops us from shouting out, “I want to see!”
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here• • •Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 17, 2021Focus
Jesus summoned the twelve and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all….”
One-Minute Homily
> In an society and economy built on competition rather than cooperation, it is almost impossible for people not to lord their advantages over others. The same is true of a hierarchial church, where clericalism creates the impression that some members are more important than others.
> In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples that service is a fundamental component of being Christian. Serving others, not wielding power or wealth or influence, is what distinguishes the follower of Jesus.
> The challenge for us is to integrate service into the very fabric of our being; it cannot be a nice extra, which we engage in when we have extra time or resources. If what we do in life does not somehow serve the common good, especially the needs of those who have less, we have compromised our identity as disciples of Jesus Christ.
> Bread broken and shared, wine passed from one to the other, should always remind us that Jesus did not die just for some and that God’s love is not reserved for a few.
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: What kind of things can you do that help others and show them God’s love?
> Question for Youth: As you make decisions about future careers and lifestyles, are you considering choices which will serve the common good and not just enrich yourself?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: How do we counteract the temptation to lord our advantages and privileges over others?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 10, 2021Focus
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up...and asked him, “...What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him….“...Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven….” At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
One-Minute Homily
> Anyone who has stood at the bedside of a dying person and held their hand can never forget the moment of passing, when the dying person gently releases the loved one's hand -- a final gesture of “letting go” which brings the dying process to a final close.
> In today's Gospel Jesus explains to the rich young man that the key to entering the Kingdom depends upon rehearsing for this final act of “letting go.” In the end, following all of the rules fades in comparison to our ability to detach from all of our possession, to become poor and to depend on God’s mercy.
> The innate desire to possess which emerges in childhood becomes toxic in a consumerist society, but it’s not just material possessions that impede our ability to abandon everything but trust in God. Our pride, pretentions, entitlements, independence, security, self-sufficiency and righteousness are also possessions which prevent us from “letting go,” caring for others, and living in the Kingdom.
> The Eucharist reminds us, as Paul says, that Jesus "did not regard equality with God something to be grasped," “but emptied himself,...coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance."
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Why do we sometimes feel bad when we give something away or share something with someone else?
> Question for Youth: The process of becoming adults usually includes acquiring the necessary knowledge, experience, connections, and resources; can you imagine how these “possessions” sometimes impede our ability to love and care for others?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What are the possessions which impede us, as individuals or communities, from “letting go,” caring for others, and trusting in God?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 3, 2021Focus
He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her….” Now people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me…for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. …”
One-Minute-Homily
> Many of us know from personal observation the pain, heartache and suffering which divorce inflicts on the couple, the children, and as we are beginning to realize, on society itself. At the same time, we probably also know the relief and peace which divorce brings to some couples and families.
> In this week’s Gospel, Jesus again expresses his special concern for “the little ones” -- not just children, but adults as well – for anyone who is devalued, abandoned, or rejected by society, including spouses and children who are abandoned for another.
> The challenge for us as followers of Jesus is to examine who the individuals or classes of people are whom we “divorce”? How do we cooperate with the ways in which society devalues, alienates and abandons certain people because they are different, make us uncomfortable, or make demands on our time and resources?
> At Eucharist, the Opening Prayer (traditionally called the “Collect”)reminds us that we are all members of one family, responsible to and for one another.
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: How do you feel when friends decide that they no longer want to be your friend, and leave you for another?
> Question for Youth: Young people make a lot of choices about relationships; can you break off a relationship without making the other person feel rejected or inadequate as a person?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What are we doing to welcome those who have traditionally been abandoned or devalued by society or the church?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 26, 2021Focus
"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off…. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off…. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna….”
One-Minute-Homily
> People will do almost anything for those they love—defer a degree, postpone a career, quit their job, move far away from family and friends, forgive infidelities, endure long years of declining health—because in the face of love, no sacrifice is too much.
> In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses a jarring analogy of hands and feet and eyes to remind the disciples that no personal sacrifice is too much in the service of the “little ones” – not just children, but anyone who is displaced, forgotten, devalued, and ignored.
> Today’s Gospel reminds us that what we sacrifice for the least among us, what we do to honor the value they have in God’s eyes, is the final measure of discipleship – and salvation. In the face of love for the least (what the church calls the “preferential option for the poor”, no sacrifice, however painful, is too much.
> Week after week, the Eucharist reminds us that we are a community called to sacrifice our comfort, our complacency, our self-assurance on behalf of the least among us.
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: What’s the most important thing you have? Would you give it away to help someone who really needed it?
> Question for Youth: Young people are just learning what it means to sacrifice for the love of another. Do you find Jesus’ example helpful or perplexing?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: As individuals and as a community, we make lots of decisions; do they reflect the kind of sacrifice Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 19, 2021Focus
They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. [He] said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child…said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”
One-Minute-Homily
> Who’s the best,…the richest,…the strongest,…the smartest,…the fastest? For a society rooted in the “self-evident” truth that all are created equal, we spend a lot of time and energy dividing people into categories like winners or losers, important or not important, friendly or dangerous.
> In today’s Gospel we learn that the disciples, too, argued about who was the greatest. Jesus reminds them that in God’s eyes we are all like little children for whom everything is given; they have, and have earned, nothing in their own right.
> As disciples we must believe—and live as if-- the distinctions we make between people are artificial and untrue. Our mission is to reduce the inequity created by these distinctions, not add to it. In the end, we are all God’s children who have nothing, and have earned nothing, apart from God’s generosity.
> The Eucharist reminds us that we are all members of the Body of Christ—God’s family, if you will. Distinctions and comparisons are overshadowed by our common heritage.
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Have you ever met someone who seemed very different from you, but when you got to know them you realized that you were very much the same?
> Question for Youth: There is a lot of pressure on young people to excel at being unique, different, or better than anyone else. Do you hear in the Gospel a different message?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: In what ways do we deliberately and intentionally look beyond the arbitrary and artificial differences which distinguish and divide us from others?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 12, 2021Focus
He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected…, be killed, and rise after three days.… "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it."
One-Minute-Homily
> No one, except persons with certain pathologies, likes to suffer. We go out of our way to avoid pain and suffering. We make elaborate plans to provide for our comfort and avoid future suffering. Even most of our prayers are prayers to relieve or prevent suffering.
> In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns the disciples that suffering is a constitutive part of following him. Taking up our cross, as he did, means sacrificing our own comfort for the care of others – going out of our way to show compassion, which means “suffering-with” someone else.
> That does not mean that disciples should make a fetish out of suffering, particularly unnecessary suffering. But it does mean that we should accept the suffering which befalls us because we are imperfect and sinful people, and the sacrifice which is necessary to help others bear the suffering which befalls them.
> The Eucharist is a living symbol of a God who, like a loving parent, puts no limit on how much he is willing to sacrifice for his children.
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Can you think of some ways you have or could do something difficult to help another person?
> Question for Youth: Growing up is painful because it means learning to care more about other people. Do you find encouragement and support in Jesus’ example?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What would be the result if we compared how much we do for ourselves and how much we do for others, especially those who bear an unfair share of pain and suffering?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here• • •Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 5, 2021Focus
People brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment…. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” — that is, “Be opened!” — And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.
One-Minute-Homily
> The fact is, some of us don’t know when to be quiet and some of us don’t know when to speak up. Or maybe it’s more honest to say we all have trouble sometimes knowing when to speak up and when to keep quiet, and we can make a terrible mistake if we misread the situation either way.
> In today’s Gospel we witness Jesus curing a man who couldn’t hear and couldn’t speak. In some sense this man was probably a symbol of the Jewish People themselves, whose ability to hear and speak God’s Word Jesus intended to restore.
> There is a lesson here for us as disciples of Jesus Christ, both as individuals and as a church. By the grace of God we must learn to listen carefully to the people and the world around us, and to discern carefully when and what to say in a way that encourages and invites instead of offends and condems.
> Our regular participation in the Eucharist – in both the Word and the Sacrament – enables us, over time, to hear and to speak as Jesus himself would.
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Do you ever talk when you’re not supposed to? Do you ever wish you could say something but are afraid to?
> Question for Youth: Along with age comes both the ability and the opportunity to say what you think. What do you do in situations where you want to share your faith but are intimidated by peers?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we intentionally developing the ability to listen more carefully and to discern how and when to share our faith in ways which are not offensive and hurtful?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here• • •Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 29, 2021Focus
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders…?” He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.”
One-Minute-Homily
> The sexual abuse scandal in the church has taught Catholics that people in authority may say one thing but do another. A long list of events over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries taught us the same thing about civil authorities. Now we wonder if everything we hear is “fake news.”
> Gathering from today’s Gospel, this is not a “modern” problem. Jesus calls out the religious leaders of his time who honored him with their lips but whose hearts led them in another direction. He calls them hypocrites, and he goes on to warn us that our true intentions, for good or evil, come from the heart.
> This is not just a problem for people in authority; it’s a challenge for all of us. Our broken human nature disorders our desires; we hope and wish for things which are harmful to ourselves and to others. Salvation comes not in merely suppressing those desires, but in allowing God’s love to heal and transform them.
> Standing in line for Eucharist reminds us that we are all, individuals and community alike, pilgrims on a journey of healing and transformation. It takes time, and patience, and hope.
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Do you ever have the feeling that you want to do something that is not good? What helps you not do it?
> Question for Youth: One of the challenges of becoming adults is learning to engage in honest relationships. Have you noticed how God works through these relationships to heal our disordered desires?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Calling out people’s hypocrisy and punishing people’s failure, is not the mark of discipleship. Are we willing to walk with others along the road to healing and conversion?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 22, 2021Focus
Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "…The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life." … As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.
One-Minute-Homily
> Growing and changing is hard. Faced with the prospect of having to change how we think, what we believe, or how we act, many of us would prefer to stay as we are – or in some cases, to return to the way things used to be, to what is familiar and comfortable.
> Jesus offered people a new way of life, and a new way of understanding God, their relationship to God, and their relationship to each other. As today’s Gospel indicates, many of them found this too hard to accept. Instead, they returned to their former lives.
> The Gospel challenges us to grow and change as individuals, as a society, and as a church. It is something new and unfamiliar, and sometimes it’s difficult to imagine and accept, but salvation moves in only one direction – forward, toward the Kingdom. Redemption demands growth and change.
> “The Lord be with you,” the celebrant says to us at Mass. Perhaps the inversion of that greeting would be just as appropriate: “May you stay with the Lord.”
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: What’s hard about growing up?
> Question for Youth: In the process of becoming adults, we grow and change a lot. In what ways do you see your faith growing or changing?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we tempted to accept things the way they are – to take refuge in what is familiar and comfortable? Are we responding to the invitation to grow and change as individuals, as a society, and as a faith community?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Solemnity of the Assumption
August 15, 2021Focus
Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice…“Blessed are you who believedthat what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled. And Mary said:…[M]y spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant…. The Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name.”One-Minute-Homily
> We are often told that the major task for the later years in life is learning to die well, which is to say, preparing in the end to surrender everything confidently to the mercy of God. But the truth is that life is full of little deaths and we are preparing for the end day by day, year after year.
> The feast of the Assumption reminds us that the whole of creation -- and each of us -- are destined one day to be assumed (or incorporated) into the Kingdom being prepared for us by our Creator. In the midst of loss and hardship, even death, we can trust in the mercy of God.
> The challenge for us is to surrender confidently to the things we cannot change: the loss of control, and power and influence, accidents and poor health, broken relationships – and in the end, life as we know it – confident that God will not abandon us.> The Eucharist is the living sign of Jesus, present among us here and now; our participation in Eucharist is in itself an act of surrender to a loving, compassionate God.For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Have you ever had to do something that you really didn’t want to do or give up something you really didn’t want to give up?
> Question for Youth: We think of being young adults as a time when we can begin to do what we like, but we also have to give up some things in the process. What does Mary’s Assumption tell you about that?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we live like people who accept our limitations and losses – people whose example encourages those who are struggling to accept their own losses and have confidence in God?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 8, 2021Focus
The Jews murmured about Jesus…and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring among yourselves…. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
One-Minute-Homily
> How often is our life changed because we listened to another person? At the same time, we have to ask how often our life is changed because we haven’t listen to someone else – because we didn’t imagine that they had anything important to say, or because we dismissed what they said as foolish or irrelevant?
> Many Jews had the same problem with Jesus. They knew him only as the son of Joseph and Mary -- simple people like themselves – and he said crazy things like “I am the living bread who came down from heaven...whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
> In many ways, it seems crazy to say that Jesus is really present among us, body and soul, in the Eucharist and the community gathered around the Eucharistic table. And yet for those who believe, the real presence of the Divine among us changes our lives; it gives us a new way of looking at reality; it changes how we think, how we feel and how we act.> The Eucharist is a living sign and symbol that we have been embraced by the Divine, by living Bread from heaven; therein lies the power to live in a way that will never end.For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Who are the people you listen to? Is Jesus one of them?
> Question for Youth: People have lots of advice for young adults—some good, some not. Do you sense that Jesus has good advice that will help you become the person you want to be?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do our words and actions show people that the “living bread come down from heaven” makes good sense in our lives? Or do we sound and look like crazy people who believe foolish things?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 1, 2021Focus
Jesus…said, “…Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you…. This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent…. I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."
One-Minute-Homily
> What would you do if you were hungry, homeless, unemployed and someone gave you $50? Any of us might be tempted to buy something that would dull the pain, but the more sensible thing to do would be to buy food – because you can’t do anything about the other problems if you’re starving to death.
> In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the crowd that he is the “Bread of Life.” In effect, he says believing in him is the first and most important thing to do in an unfinished, imperfect and sinful world -- because without the “Bread of Life,” we are slowly but surely spiritually starving to death.
> Hunger, homelessness and unemployment are just the tip of the iceberg in an imperfect, unfinished and sinful world. Our task as disciples is to live with the trust, hope and compassion Jesus taught us, and in the process to introduce others to the Bread of Life – transforming what we believe into how we live.> The People of God assembled for Eucharist are the Bread of Life among us; they are the ones who affirm and sustain us in living lives of faith, hope and charity.For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Why do you think Jesus chose food as a sign of God’s presence and love?
> Question for Youth: What sustains you in this crucial time when you are growing and changing? Do you rely on what the faith community teaches and practices?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we listen carefully to others? Do we recognize their needs? Does our example become the “Bread of Life” for them?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 25, 2021Focus
When Jesus…saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said…, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" Andrew… said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish…. Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining…. When they had had their fill,…they…filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments…that had been more than they could eat.
One-Minute-Homily
> Most people are generous; some people are even extravagantly generous. But our generosity is mostly limited to what we can afford (which means what we don’t really need or can comfortably live without ). More often than not, our generosity is limited to what we think the other person “deserves.”
> Today’s Gospel gives us an example of God’s generosity – unconditional generosity which assumes that people deserve what they need; a generosity which in fact produces an abundance – in this case, twelve wicker baskets full, the Gospel says.
> The challenge for us as disciples is to learn to be as generous as God is – a generosity based on what other people need, not just on what we can easily afford, or what we think people deserve. We must learn to trust that if we were generous in that way, if we believed that people deserve what they need, there would be more than enough to meet everyone’s needs.> The Eucharist is a living sign of God’s unconditional generosity; there is no “means-test” and no need to prove that we deserve it.For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Can you think of a time when someone shared something with you, or you shared something with them, and it made you feel very good?
> Question for Youth: As we grow older, we begin to realize that sharing and generosity are the foundation of good relationships. Do you see God’s generosity reflected in your own relationships?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we good models of God’s unconditional generosity, or do we measure what we give by how much we can afford – or how much we think others deserve?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here• • •Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 18, 2021
Focus
The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by your selves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
One-Minute-Homily
> We live in a society that does not really value rest – so much so that even on our time off, we are often busy doing things we didn’t get done when we were “working.” Retired people say they are busier than ever; organized sport seems more like work than recreation; and even vacations become more work than rest.
> In today’s Gospel, Jesus takes the disciples off to a deserted place to rest. Long before anyone invented the word “burnout,” Jesus realized that human beings need to balance work with rest, reflection and prayer.
> We often think that workaholics are only those people who work too much, but we all need to examine how much we are conditioned by a society and economy that over-value production, reward only perpetual effort, and allow rest, recreation and reflection only to a privileged few who have presumably “earned” it.> Eucharist – giving thanks and praise – is not just something we manage to squeeze into a busy weekend. It should become a way of living day-by-day, a habit of taking time away for rest and prayer.For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Do people you know work too much? Do you know people who take time to rest and play?
> Question for Youth: Now is the time you are setting a pattern for your life as an adult; are you learning to balance work and rest, recreation and prayer?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we take advantage of people in our families and faith communities who are good workers? Do we model and respect a lifestyle which balances work and play, reflection and prayer?
Learn More• Read Sunday's readings• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 11, 2021Focus
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two…. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. He said to them, “Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance.
One-Minute-Homily
> It is easy to become consumed by things and burdened by responsibilities. At some point, we may discover that we are so burdened that we have few options to respond to new opportunities and new challenges – even to abandon unhappy and unhealthy circumstances.
> In today’s Gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples to take few provisions along on their journey, and to move on quickly from any places where they are not welcome and cannot do their work -- in other words, to travel light and stay focused on their mission.
> The challenge for disciples today is to avoid becoming so weighted down with various responsibilities and possessions – traditions, habits, expectations -- that we are unable to recognize or respond to new opportunities to hear and share the Good News. In other words, traveling light and maximizing our freedom to adapt to the unexpected in constantly changing circumstances.
> “Go in peace,” the celebrant says at the end of Mass – in other words, be at peace; be ready, able and willing to hear and share the Good News in new and unexpected situations this week.
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: How much stuff do you pack if you’re going to visit grandparents or going on vacation?
> Question for Youth: Some young people can’t wait to settle down; others want to maximize their options and avoid eliminating possibilities. Which are you?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we strike others as people who are too busy taking care of things that we don’t have time to hear their story and respond to their needs?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 4, 2021
FocusJesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? … Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary….?" And they took offense at him…. So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there.
One-Minute-Homily
> Many young people who leave home for school or work experience a kind of culture shock when they return. People continue to treat them as they did before, completely ignoring, resenting or rejecting how they have grown and changed while away.
> In today's Gospel, Jesus returns to his hometown where he is remembered only as the carpenter's son. His family and neighbors do not recognize his real identity or his mission -- in fact, they are offended by him. As a result Jesus is unable to perform any "mighty deeds" there.
> The challenge to us as disciples is to allow Jesus to be Jesus, and to have faith in the God he reveals to us -- in spite of our assumptions about who he is or ought to be. For instance, if we expect only a stern and judging God he will not be able to work mighty deeds of mercy and kindness among us.> The Eucharist reminds us that our God is a living God; our experience at Eucharist should confirm what we believe, but also challenge us to open our eyes and ears to learn more.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of a friend who has changed since you first met them? Can you accept how this person is different now?
> Question for Youth: These years are years of growth and change, both in our understanding of ourselves and our understanding of the faith; are you aware of how you are growing and changing?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we individuals and communities who can grow and change in our understanding of God and of our faith, or are we only comfortable with what we have always known?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 27, 2021FocusThere was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years… She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured." Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.One-Minute-Homily
> Not everything happens up close and personal. There are people who make a difference in our lives, even though we don't know them very well or see them very often. Their presence, sometimes just their existence, touches us, inspires us, gives us hope.
> In today's Gospel we see two people who did not know Jesus very well -- the synagogue official and the woman with a hemorrhage. Both believed that Jesus could make a difference in their lives -- and he did, even at a distance.
> We can make a difference in people’s lives even if we don't know them very well. To be good disciples, we need to be aware of how our lives touch other people's lives even from a distance – people we don’t know up close and personal, but people who are impacted by what we say and do as individuals and as a community.> The Eucharist reminds us that the Lord is present to us and desires to make a difference in our lives, even if we don't know him very well.For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Who are the people who inspire you?
> Question for Youth: Young people often feel distanced from the faith community; can you still have faith in Jesus from a distance as the people in today's Gospel did?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we people whose mere presence gives hope and inspiration to those who feel distanced from the church or from the Lord?Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here• • •Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 20, 2021Focus
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?”
One-Minute-Homily
> Many adults can remember how as a child they were terrified by storms—rumbling thunder, flashes of lightning, and rain pelting against the window pane. Only the soothing voice of a parent or sibling could calm us – this too will pass, and all will be well.
> In today’s Gospel, the disciples are like young children – terrified by the storm at sea. Jesus calms the storm – and their fears. But like many Gospel stories, the incident is a metaphor for the life of faith.
> As adults we discover that there are a lot of things worse than thunder storms – things more terrifying, more complicated, more deadly; things no parent, no lover, no doctor can calm. Only faith reassures us that this, too, will pass, and all will be well. The truth is, we too will pass, and all will be well.> Eucharist is a calm port in the storms of life, where the voice of the Lord present among us calms our fears.For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: Can you remember times when you were very scared? Who helped you stay calm and unafraid?
> Question for Youth: As we grow up, we have to face many of the things parents protected us against as children. Is your faith one of the things that helps keep you calm in times like that?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we people who remain calm and trusting, even in scarey times? Do we allow the Lord to calm the storm through our words and our behavior?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 13, 2021Focus
Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear...."
One-Minute-Homily
> In the late spring or early summer, unattended lawns seem to suddenly blossom with dandelions. Whether you admire them or detest them, you have to admit that it is pretty amazing how suddenly they appear and how quickly they multiply. Has anyone ever planted a dandelion?
> In today’s Gospel, Jesus suggests that the Kingdom of God is something like that – God has scattered the seed on the land, and if left unattended it will sprout and grow, almost mysteriously, and eventually produce a full harvest.
> The challenge for disciples is not to become like fussy homeowners uprooting and poisoning the pesky dandelions. We have to allow the Kingdom to take root where it will – “of its own accord,” the Gospel says -- even though God’s plan defies our control and our very narrow ideas of what the Kingdom should be.
> Sunday after Sunday the Eucharist challenges us to trust that the Kingdom will sprout and grow – we know not how – if we stop killing it.
For Discussion or Journaling
> Question for Children: When you see a dandelion, so you ever think that God is like a gardener and he has planted the dandelion to show us how much he loves us?
> Question for Youth: Over and over in the process of growing up, unexpected things happen; often they look like obstacles, but sometimes they turn out to be surprising opportunities. Can you identify some of these unexpected experiences in your own life?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we prepared to allow the seed God has scattered to sprout and grow of its own accord? Or are we busy trying to shape the Kingdom into our own narrow vision of what we think or hope it should be?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
June 6, 2021
Focus
While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.”
One- Minute Homily
> Most of the time we eat meals with people to whom we are related, with whom we have a connection, or share a common bond. Eating together nourishes our relationships. We do not usually eat with strangers or enemies, unless we are trying to form a new relationship.
> Jesus used meals as a way of creating a new relationship with God's people -- especially the lowly and despised, the sick and the poor. He instructed his disciples to remember his example and to do the same, nourishing our relationship to him and to each other.
> Our challenge as disciples is to follow Jesus’ command -- reaching out to the people around us, sharing God's love and mercy, nourishing our common relationship to one another as God's children, redeemed through Jesus Christ. At this table there are no strangers and no enemies.
> The Eucharist commemorates this relationship. As the pandemic lockdown showed us, our relationship suffers when we do not take time to commune with one another.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you ever feel left out or unwanted when it comes time to eat?
> Question for Youth: In the midst of nurturing old relationships and making new friends do you make time to commune with the Lord?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we welcome the strangers among us--in our families, our neighborhoods, our community, our parish? Do we accept them as they are? Do we allow them to change us?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Solemnity of the Holy TrinityMay 30, 2021
FocusThe eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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...."One-Minute-Homily
> We all have different roles in life and multiple responsibilities. At one and the same time, a single person who is also a child, a sibling, a spouses, a parent, a friend, an employee. Although others are aware of our various roles, they usually know and relate to us primarily as one or the other.
> The early Christian community eventually concluded that the Divine Being revealed to them by Jesus Christ was one God who is known to us -- and relates to us -- in three distinct ways, or as the tradition said, as three distinct “persons” -- Creator, Redeemer, and Spirit.
> At different times in our lives, under different circumstances, we may experience God more as Father, Son or Spirit. These relationships shape how we pray, and also how we portray God to others. But God is always more than one or the other, and always so much more than we can imagine – a God of unconditional love.> The Creed which we proclaim at Mass reminds us that the three "persons" of the Trinity are "consubstantial" -- which is to say, they are all manifestations of the one Living God revealed to us by Jesus.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you think of when you think of God? What kind of person is God most like?
> Question for Youth: Our image of God tends to change as we grow up; do you see God more as a parent or a friend?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What image of God do we portray to the people around us? Is it a God who is compassionate and inviting, or a God who is stern and judgmental?Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •Solemnity of PentecostMay 23, 2021FocusOn the evening of that first day of the week...Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "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 to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
One-Minute-Homily
> Successful parents eventually realize that every child is unique. There is never one rule that fits all; you have to adjust your expectations and hopes to the unique circumstances of each child and every situation -- to be at peace with the way things are.
> In today's Gospel, Jesus breathes on the disciples and imparts his Spirit. It is his Spirit which will enable them to decide when to forgive and when to retain -- in other words, to adjust rules and expectations to new situations and individual circumstances.
> It is the Spirit of the Lord which allows each of us to recognize the unique and special circumstances of every person we meet, and to adjust our expectations and judgment accordingly. It is this same Spirit which allows the church to grow and change, adjusting to new situations and individual circumstances as well.> "Lord have mercy," we pray at Eucharist -- confident that the Spirit empowers us to live and learn, even when we make mistakes.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do you know what is the good thing to do when there is no rule telling you what to do?
> Question for Youth: As young people mature, they often outgrow the rules which guided their behavior as children. How do you decide now what is the Christ-like thing to do?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we people who recognize the uniqueness of each person? Do we rely on rules or the Spirit to adjust our expectations to fit their particular circumstances?Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here• • •Solemnity of the AscensionMay 16, 2021FocusJesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature...." So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.One-Minute-Homily
> We are accustomed to dividing everything into binaries -- either-or, good-or-bad, right-or-wrong, here-or-there, black-or-white. So it's natural that we would think of a separation between heaven-and-earth, time-and-eternity, life-here-and-life-there.
> When trying to describe the Ascension, the Gospel writers described Jesus as being "taken up." But not before instructing them to go forth, "into" the world where he would continue to be present among them. The Ascension is only the next step in the mystery of the Incarnation, of God present among us.
> Sometimes it's uncomfortable to think that Jesus is really here among us -- sitting next to us at the table, standing nearby when we're at our desk, laying next to us in bed. Confounding our habit of dividing reality into separate categories, he is as much "here" as he is "there."
> The Eucharist reminds us that the Ascension describes a change in how Jesus is present, not where he is present.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of times when you feel someone's presence, even if they are not physically present?
> Question for Youth: Often in the early stages of a new relationship we are constantly aware of a new friend or lover, even when they are not with us. Do you experience Jesus that way?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Where and when are we most aware of the Lord's presence? Are we limiting his presence only to the times and places which feel most comfortable to us?
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 Easter
May 9, 2021FocusThis is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.... This I command you: love one another."One-Minute-Homily
> It sometimes seems like we no longer even know who our friends are. People are so polarized on political or religious issues that we just avoid interacting. We’re reluctant to perform even customary acts of kindness toward strangers for fear of offending them.
> "I call you friends," Jesus says in today’s Gospel. Not servants. Not slaves. Friends. You, I, and the Father are connected to one another as friends who are united by love. You are not our enemy; you do not need to fear offending us as a servant or slave might.
> Disciples must start with the assumption that the people around us are friends, not enemies, capable of loving and being loved. We may have many differences, but we share this common origin as friends united in the love of the Father and the Son. This common bond should override all our differences.> We do not customarily -- or comfortably -- eat with strangers. The Eucharist is a meal for friends: all of us, Jesus, and the Father, our differences notwithstanding.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: When you see someone new, do you think of them as a potential friend or possible enemy? How would Jesus think about them?
> Question for Youth: At certain times in our lives we are not sure if we can even trust our friends. What bridges that lack of trust in your life?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Does our attitude begin with the assumption that people we don't know are much more likely to be friends than enemies, regardless of appearances?Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 2, 2021FocusJesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.... Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit...."One-Minute-Homily
> We know what happens when a plant gets cut off from its roots, when a tree limb is cut off of the tree, when a child is separated from its parent, when any human person is separated from family, friends and community. Each in their own way wilts, shrivels, and dies.
> In today's Gospel, Jesus uses the example of a grape vine to explain how the church, like the rest of nature, is interconnected -- it is a family or community rooted in him. If we get disconnected from those roots, we lose our ability to produce good fruit.
> This is a challenge for all of us, not just young people who want to be "spiritual but not religious." We need a faith community to nourish, enrich, support and challenge our faith and the behavior which flows from it. We need to provide that nourishing community for others.
> This is a challenge for all of us – and not just young people who want to be "spiritual but not religious." The pandemic may have altered how and when we connect to the faith community, but it also proved how much we need a community to nourish, support and challenge our faith; it reminded us, too, of the responsibility we have to provide that community for others.> The Eucharist is the faith community assembled for prayer and worship. Even if it is poorly celebrated, it reminds us of where we are nourished and in whom we are rooted.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you remember when you were young being sad or afraid to leave mom or dad to go to school?
> Question for Youth: Young people are at the age where they are re-negotiating their relationships to family and church; do you see the pros and cons of being rooted in a family and a faith community?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do people experience a relationship with us as something which nourishes their ability to produce good fruit, or does it confuse and discourage them?Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •
Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 25, 2021Focus
"I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.... This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own...."
One-Minute-Homily
> Every parent knows what it feels like to hear a shout from the other room, "Mom, help!" ... or a late-night phone call, "Dad, can you help me?" Day after day, year after year, a parent’s life is disposed for the protection and care of their children. That’s how a child comes to know that they are loved.
> In today's Gospel, Jesus calls himself the "Good Shepherd" who lays down his life for the sheep. Here is the God who disposes of the Divine life for the welfare of the children -- a twist on nature, where the shepherd usually ends up leading the sheep to slaughter.
> The point is that the "Good Shepherd", like a loving parent, lays down his life so that we might know God’s love for each and every one of us. The challenge for us is to accept this love, to be transformed by it, to be grateful for it, and to affirm it with others, friend and foe alike.> The Eucharist reinforces this fact; here is the Good Shepherd -- like the good parent -- who feeds and nourishes us so that we may have life in its fullness.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What are some of the good things your mom or dad does for you because they love you?
> Question for Youth: Young people often feel that parents try to protect them too much. Can you see behind this the Good Shepherd who would rather die than have his loved ones hurt?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: How are we specifically being called to be Good Shepherds, willing to sacrifice our security and comfort for others right now?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Third Sunday of Easter
April 18, 2021Focus...[H]e stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. ...[H]e said to them, "Why are you troubled? ... Look at my hands and my feet; it is I myself...." While they were still incredulous for joy... he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it....
One-Minute-Homily
> Some people can eat anywhere, anytime. But many of us lose our appetites if we are stressed, distraught, or grieving. “I’m not hungry” we say when we are upset or worried. We’ll sit down and eat when everything is back to normal.
> In today's Gospel, the Risen Jesus appears to the disciples, wishes them peace, and asks for something to eat. It's a sign that he is alive and well; there's no need to be worried or distraught. This is, as they will discover, the "new normal," the Risen Lord present in a new way.
> As disciples, our challenge is to recognize the Risen Lord whenever and wherever he is present to us. He is not buried in sacred places; he is not hidden behind tabernacle doors. He is present, even in the things that depress us and worry us, in our joy and in our grief.> The Eucharist is our experience of the Lord sitting among us, sharing a meal, and wishing us peace. “You live in me and I in you”--this is the new normal.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Where do you think would be the most unusual place to meet Jesus? What would you give him to eat?
> Question for Youth: What are the things that worry and distress you? Can you imagine Jesus being present, assuring you that these things will pass?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do other people experience the Risen Lord when they encounter us? Do they feel the incredulous peace of knowing the Lord lives among us?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Second Sunday of Easter
April 11, 2021Focus
Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
One-Minute-Homily
> We live in an age of doubt. We are taught from young on to question everyone and everything. Many of us are skeptics by nature; we have a tendency to doubt someone else’s impressions, especially about things that seem too incredible to be true. “Show me,” we say.
> John’s Gospel does not say whether “doubting Thomas” actually touched Jesus’ wounds. For him, seeing was believing – which is actually no more or less than what the other disciples had experienced a week before. Thomas is all of us who have learned that faith is not blind.
> The truth is, most of us require some kind of evidence to believe that what we are told about Jesus is true. We look for that evidence in how Christians actually live. Do they act like people who have seen and believed? The people we seek to evangelize expect no less than that from us—how we live should reveal the fact that we have indeed encountered the Risen Lord.
> To believe that what we say about Eucharist is real, people must see us acting like the Body of Christ in real life.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What signs do you see that tell you God loves us and cares about us?
> Question for Youth: Young people question everything they’ve been told; what evidence have you seen that shows that what people say about Jesus is true?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: If seeing is believing, do other people see in us evidence that what we believe is true?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •
Solemnity of Easter
April 4, 2021Focus
Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter…. 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
> There are a lot of things in life which seem final and irrevocable -- certain choices, medical conditions, some legal actions, personal commitments, taxes (if you’re an honest person). And of course death, the final irrevocable thing about life.
> But the story of Easter -- the resurrection of Jesus Christ -- assures us that death is not final and irrevocable after all; in fact, through the eyes of faith not much of anything in this world is final and irrevocable -- except love. Only love endures, St. Paul says, in a reading frequently chosen for weddings (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:7).
> The challenge for us as "Easter People" is to live like we believe that God's love and mercy transcend time and space -- and death. Everything else shall pass -- incorporated into the Kingdom, or discarded as unnecessary. But God’s love endures, as do we who have come to know that love. Therein lies the reason for our "Alleluia!"> God did not intend only to raise Jesus from the dead. God intends to raise all of us too, and reaches out through Eucharist to lift us up.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you know anyone who has died and is now living with God?
> Question for Youth: Although young people face many decisions which shape their lives in one way or another; does it help or hurt to know that in the end God has the final word?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: If we are truly "Easter People" strangers will notice a difference in our attitude and behavior. Do they?Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
March 28, 2021
FocusThey led Jesus away to the high priest,and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.... Many gave false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. Some took the stand and testified falsely against him.... Even so their testimony did not agree. The high priest rose before the assembly and questioned Jesus, saying, "Have you no answer?" But he was silent and answered nothing.One-Minute-Homily
> It seems a part of human nature to blame someone or something when things go wrong -- even when there are no clear indications that anyone in particular is to blame: Who's responsible? Who takes the rap? Who pays the price? Who becomes the scapegoat?
> In the Gospel accounts for Holy Week we see how the religious and political authorities blamed Jesus for the people's discontent, ignoring the truth which would have revealed to them the real cause of their problems.
> As disciples we have to admit that many of our problems are caused by the fact that we are all imperfect and sinful people, living in an imperfect and unfinished world. Our efforts to deny that truth, or to shift the blame to others who cannot defend themselves – our personal or social scapegoats -- only makes matters worse.> The Eucharist reveals to us the truth that only in a community of mercy and compassion can we begin to address the real conditions which are to blame for so much pain and suffering in our world.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you ever try to blame someone else for something that you've done?
> Question for Youth: Young people get blamed a lot; do you ever feel like you're being blamed for something that is not your fault?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: We all face many problems; are we being honest about whom or what is to blame for those problems? Who are our favorite scapegoats?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here.
• Find a schedule of Holy Week services here.• • •Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 21, 2021
Focus
Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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.”
One-Minute-Homily
> Anything of value requires effort on someone’s part -- hard work, personal sacrifice, and often a willingness to forgo a certain amount of comfort or contentment. Even gifts sometimes require the sacrifice of pride, fear of being indebted or dependent on the gift-giver.
> Salvation is no different, Jesus says in today’s Gospel. Although it is a gift to us, it required the life, death and resurrection of Jesus himself for us to realize and appreciate the gift – a self-giving sacrifice which originates in God’s love, not divine anger.
> For disciples, salvation requires a certain amount of sacrifice as well – a death to self-justification in order, first, to accept the gift, and then a death to selfishness in order to share it with others. It is this sacrifice which makes the gift eternally fruitful, both for us and for others.
> We are reminded of this self-giving, this dying-to-self-for-others, each time we hear these words at Mass: “this is my body, given up for you … this is my blood, poured out for you.”
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of something you have worked very hard to achieve?
> Question for Youth: As we grow, we often begin to realize that what's really important takes hard work and sacrifice; in what ways have you discovered that in your own life?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: In what ways are we being challenged to sacrifice so that others may experience God's gift of salvation?Learn More
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• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective.• • •
Fourth Sunday in LentMarch 14, 2021FocusThird Sunday in Lent
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” ... For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. ...[W]hoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
One-Minute Homily
> We know infants learn to understand themselves and the world around them from adults who imitate the child's expressions and feelings. This process, called "mirroring," helps the infant feel secure, valued, and connected to people who care about them.
> In today's Gospel Jesus explains his role in the Father's plan -- to be "lifted up" so that people might see God's love and mercy revealed in him and come to be saved. There, on the cross, Jesus "mirrors" God's desire to save us, not condemn, us.
> Our challenge as disciples is to see in the cross not only our capacity for sin, but also our capacity for love and compassion -- to see mirrored in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus God's love for us and thereby our ability to reflect that love to others.
> Through the Eucharist we are incorporated into the Body of Christ; through this living Body we too are lifted up to mirror God's love to the world around us.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Have you even looked in a mirror and thought to yourself, "I am a child of God; God loves me"?
> Question for Youth: Who are the people in your life right now who reflect God's love for you? Does realizing that you are loved empower you to love others?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we talk and act like people who mirror God's love and affection for others, even those who may seem to us to be spiritual infants?
Learn More• Read Sunday's readings• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
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Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here.• • •March 7, 2021Focus
Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area.... ...[T]o those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
One-Minute-Homily
> We are so accustomed to living in a market economy that we take it for granted that anyone and anything can be bought and sold if the price is right -- friendship, sex, political loyalty, public policy. Name your price; everyone has a price.
> The cleansing of the Temple in today's Gospel shows us that there is an exception to this rule; God's love and grace -- salvation itself -- is not for sale and can't be bought. There is no spiritual marketplace, there are no salvation brokers; you can’t put a price on grace.
> The biggest challenge for us is to believe that salvation is a free gift. It's God's unconditional love -- a non-negotiable fact, freely offered to everyone, not just those who can afford it or work hard enough to earn it. All we need to do is receive it and allow it to transform our lives.> Eucharist is the most excellent sign of God's love. It is also freely given -- we are not entitled to it because we are saved; we receive it in order to be saved.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you ever feel like someone is trying to "buy" your friendship?
> Question for Youth: Do you recognize situations in which young adults are trying to trade sex for affection?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we give people the impression that God's love and mercy are something that you earn by membership, participation, financial support or moral behavior?
Learn More
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• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Second Sunday in LentFebruary 28, 2021FocusFirst Sunday in LentJesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white…. [They] hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then…from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”One-Minute-Homily
> Revelations can be terrifying. We are left speechless, but only momentarily. When we finally see something clearly, we realize that we have to change. If we wait long enough, of course, the experience passes, life goes back to normal, transformation is delayed.
> The Lord’s transfiguration left the disciples speechless; the Gospel says they were terrified. If they were struggling to understand the Lord’s true identity, the experience left no doubt; but it also revealed a troubling truth about his destiny here on earth.
> Sometimes we come face-to-face with the terrifying truth about who we are and with the nature of the people we belong to. Yes, we are God’s beloved, but believing and becoming who we are meant to be involves sacrifice, suffering, and a kind of death to the way things are.> Every Eucharist reminds us of who we are; it challenges us to accept transformation. It can terrify us; it leaves us speechless.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you like surprises? Can you think of a surprise that made you happy or a surprise that made you sad?
> Question for Youth: Growing up often involves coming face to face with truths that have been hidden for years; what revelations are you experiencing about your faith?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we act like people who have seen a vision and been transformed, or as people trying to preserve the way things are?Learn More
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Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here.• • •February 21, 2021FocusSixth Sunday in Ordinary TimeThe Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."One-Minute-Homily
> Life often enough drives us into the desert -- into lonely, unfriendly, unknown and unwanted situations. Often, however, it is in these desert experiences that we discover something new, deeper, and better about ourselves and emerge the better for it.
> We read in today's Gospel that the Spirit drives Jesus into the desert where he is tempted by Satan but then emerges prepared to launch his public ministry: the Kingdom is near!
> We simulate these desert experiences by prayer, fasting and almsgiving in Lent, but the important thing is to remember the lessons we have learned from our real desert experiences -- in spite of our weaknesses and failures, we are called to trust in a God who will never abandon us however desperate things get.> We should remember this every time we gather at Eucharist. Everyone there has been to the desert, and many of us still languish there seeking hope and encouragement.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of a sad or painful time in your life? Do you remember how God reached out to help you get through this time?
> Question for Youth: Growing up is a desert experience where we are often afraid, alone and confused. What are you learning about who you are and what you want to be during this desert time?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do people experience us and our communities as oases in the desert – as a source of hope and encouragement and support?Learn More
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• • •
February 14, 2021FocusFifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, "If you wish, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, "I do will it. Be made clean." The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
One-Minute-Homily
> Early on in life, we learn that a hand can help us or hurt us; a touch can be soothing or painful, consoling or damaging. In time, we learn that the less physical, more emotional ways that we “touch” people can also relieve pain or cause pain – the power of touch.
> We see an example of the spiritual power of touch in today’s Gospel. Jesus reaches out to the leper and touches him – a dangerous and audacious thing to do at the time, given the nature of leprosy, but therein lies the cure to so much pain and suffering.
> All around us are people in varying degrees of physical, emotional, mental or spiritual pain; they are saying to us, “if you wish, you can make us clean.” Do we have the courage – and grace – to do what it takes, however unpopular or dangerous? Or will we choose a more popular option: indifference?> For centuries, most people just knelt and watched the Eucharist. When we can receive the host and wine today, we realize that Jesus actually wants to reach out and – really – touch us.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How are some of the ways you use your hands to help or hurt other people?
> Question for Youth: Young adults begin to realize that sexual intimacy, has emotional, psychological and spiritual as well as physical components. What are you discovering about the deeper implications of touch?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Who among us, or around us, seeks the healing touch that Jesus depends on us to give them? Why are we ignoring them?
Learn More
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• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •February 7, 2021FocusFourth Sunday in Ordinary TimeOn leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.One-Minute-Homily
> One of the most painful and tragic aspects of the coronavirus pandemic was not only that it kills people, but often that people die alone – separated from the physical presence of loved ones and family, an isolation imposed by the contagious nature of the deadly virus.
> Whatever the literal event behind this week’s Gospel encounter, Jesus illustrates God’s response to anyone in need of healing: he approaches Peter’s mother-in-law (a mother-in-law, of all people!), he touches her, and restores her standing among those who are well.
> As disciples of the Lord, we are challenged to imitate God’s healing embrace of those who are in need of physical, mental or spiritual healing and reconciliation with the healthy community – even those who are estranged from us, and those whom we might think are responsible for their own misfortune.> The Eucharist reminds us that the healing power of God resides in the Body of Christ among us; healing and reconciling are a shared responsibility of the whole community.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What can you do when you see someone who is sick or needs help?
> Question for Youth: As we grow up we begin to meet people who are broken or needy.
Do you embrace them or reject them?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: what is our attitude toward people who are sick physically, mentally or spiritually? Do we reach out with compassion or do we blame them and avoid them?Learn More
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• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
May 23, 2021January 31, 2021FocusIn their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?...I know who you are—the Holy One of God!" Jesus rebuked him and said, "Quiet! Come out of him!" The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, "What is this? ... He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."One-Minute-Homily
> All of us have bad habits, attitudes, and inclinations, some of which are more destructive, evil or sinful than others. The Christian tradition gives the name "original sin" to these sinful inclinations which, like demons, possess us and control us.
> In today's Gospel Jesus demonstrates God's power over our evil dispositions; “even the unclean spirits obey him!” the people exclaimed. In Jesus, God calls out our demons and frees us from our sinful inclinations.
> For most of us, this is a gradual process which may take a lifetime (and perhaps some time after that as well) -- one step at a time, one day at a time, we live in hope of final redemption. And, as people in 12-step recovery programs know so well, we can't do this alone.
> The Eucharist reminds us that Jesus is present in the community; it is through this community that he casts out the demons which possess us.For Reflection or Discussion> Question for Children: Can you think of bad habit or attitude you would like Jesus to help you stop?
> Question for Youth: These are often the years when we discover attitudes or habits which cause problems for us or the people around us; have you identified these in your own life and are you working to correct them?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: are we growing in our understanding of sin as something deeper and broader than individual acts? Are we patient with the time and effort it takes to redeem these attitudes, inclinations and fears in ourselves and others?Learn More
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• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Third Sunday in Ordinary TimeJanuary 24, 2021FocusSecond Sunday in Ordinary TimeAs he passed by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea.... Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.... Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.One-Minute-Homily
> Growth often involves leaving behind one way of life for another. We leave the womb to be born; we leave childhood to become adults; we leave the single life to be married. And in the end, we leave this life for the next.
> In today's Gospel, we again hear Jesus calling the first disciples to follow him. They leave behind their families, their homes, their jobs to do something that must have seemed perfectly natural and completely improbable at the same time.
> Each day we are called as disciples to leave behind one set of values, principles and behavior in order to live out the values, principles and behavior of a disciple. In one way, this seems perfectly natural; in another, it is always a challenge and is sometimes very painful.> The Eucharist is often called "food for the journey" -- a reminder that we are always growing more fully into our call to be disciples, day by day, year by year.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of something you do -- or don't do -- because you are trying to be like Jesus?
> Question for Youth: This age is an important time for making choices which will shape the person you become as an adult; do you think of these choices in terms of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: If people didn't know what church we attend, how would they be able to tell that we are disciples of Jesus Christ?
Learn More
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• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •January 17, 2021FocusBaptism of the Lord
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” — which is translated Christ. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas” — which is translated Peter.One-Minute-Homily
> If it has never actually happened, we can at least imagine what it would be like if our employer called us in and said something like, “You do good work. I’m going to promote you, with more pay, better benefits, and a company truck. Of course, it will mean more work.”
> Jesus wasn’t actually offering his disciples more pay, but he did offer them new opportunities, more benefits, more responsibilities – and maybe even, as in the case of Peter, a new title. They would all later be known as followers of the Christ, or “Christians”
> Over the centuries, people have become Christian for lots of different reasons – to avoid death or damnation, to gain power and influence, because that’s just what people did, to find meaning and purpose, to experience love and hope. The beginning of a new year is a good time for all of us to examine the reasons why we became – and continue to be -- Christians.
> We gather around the table of the Eucharist (when it’s safe to do so) because we have been invited by the Lord and we have said yes to the invitation. We are disciples of the Christ.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: If Jesus were here in person, what might he ask you to do?
> Question for Youth: For some people growing up means being able to do whatever you want; for others it means being able to make a difference in someone else’s life. Do you struggle with the tension between those two motives?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are people confused about why we are Christians? Are our motives pure and are they obvious to others?
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January 10, 2021Solemnity of the EpiphanyFocusIt happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”One-Minute-Homily• • •
> Being named and claimed by someone -- "this is my daughter," "this is my husband," "this is my mother" – has consequences. It defines our identity and informs our behavior; it limits our freedom to be and do whoever and whatever we want to be and do.
> In this week's Gospel, the Father names and claims Jesus -- "this is my beloved Son." This defines the Son’s identity and imposes on Jesus the responsibility to be and do what the Son of God is expected to do, which is to incarnate the Living God in time and space.
> Our challenge is to allow God to name and claim us – to recognize that relationship and to grow in our commitment to be and do what is expected of us as sons and daughters of the Divine. It prohibits us from using slurs and epithets to devalue God’s relationship with others who have also been named and claimed.
> The Eucharist names and claims us as the Body of Christ on earth; it imposes on us the challenge of embodying the Living God in our time and place.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do you feel when people call you names?
> Question for Youth: Growth into adulthood means forming new relationships which shape who we are and what we do. What happens to our existing relationships then?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we struggle seriously to balance the claims we make on others with the claims that others make on them?
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• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveJanuary 3, 2021Focus
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. …[O]n 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
> Not too long ago, people were forbidden to associate or marry outside their social, economic, religious, ethnic or racial spheres. Now, personal affection has transcended these restrictions in many places, but politicians (and some religious leaders) continue to exploit group animosities to maintain power and control.
> The Christian tradition has long recognized the story of the Magi as a sign that the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ is a universal God whose love and mercy is not restricted to a chosen people.
> It is tempting to think along these lines that God is a God of both “us” and “them”, but the truth is, with the exception of minor and superficial differences, there is no longer an “us” or “them”, and that is the truth we are challenged to believe and proclaim in our personal lives and in our social lives.
> This truth -- more true than we like to admit sometimes -- is revealed to us in Eucharist when we pray “and you, my brothers and sisters.”
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Why do you think kids are mean to people who look, talk or act differently?
> Question for Youth: Peer groups -- people who are like us -- exert a lot influence on how we treat people who are different; how to you experience that kind of pressure and how do you respond to it?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do outsiders sense that we still judge between "us" and "them", between newcomers and oldtime members? What gives them that impression?
Learn More
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• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveFeast of the Holy Family
• • •December 27, 2020Focus
When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,… Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
One-Minute Homily> Although modern society tends to devalue the wisdom of the elderly, time and again experience reveals they know and understand more than we give them credit for. It’s often grandmothers or fathers who perceive something true about a child which escapes their parents’ anxious judgment.
> In today’s Gospel, two elderly people—Simeon and Anna—recognize the child Jesus as the promised Messiah. Perhaps Mary and Joseph had already begun to suspect this, but it turns out that most of the wise Jewish religious leaders never would.
> The challenge for all of us--in our families, in society and in the church--is to appreciate the wisdom and experience of older members. Not being invested in existing power arrangements, they might have wise suggestions about what needs to be changed and improved
> Eucharist is the ultimate medium for change and renewal—each time, each week, it challenges us to adapt to new challenges and experience.
For Discussion or Reflection
> Question for Children: Do you ever feel that a grandparent understand you better than your parents?
> Question for Youth: The closer you get to adulthood, have you discovered the value of an older person’s wisdom and experience?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we open to the insights and wisdom of older members, or do we assume they agree with the way things are?
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• • •Fourth Sunday of AdventDecember 20, 2020Focus
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph… And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you”…. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. …[F]or nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “…May it be done to me according to your word.”
One-Minute-Homily
> How often in life are we confounded by events which are totally unexpected, improbable, even impossible—and usually unwelcome? Our first response is often anger or denial: “This can’t be!” we say. “This isn’t fair!” “This must be a mistake!”
> “How can this be?” was Mary’s only reaction according to Luke, so we are left to imagine the other feelings she had. The immediate shame and embarrassment would be obvious; only time would tell the pain and suffering which she would experience as the mother of this child.
> Only time and experience teach us that unexpected and unwelcome surprises often turn out to be blessings in disguise. Even faith doesn’t make it easy, but it does make the impossible possible. Our challenge as disciples is to give witness to the fact that nothing is impossible for God and those who trust in God.
> We often take the Eucharist for granted, without stopping to realize how improbable, even impossible – and frightening – it is that God lives among us
For Discussion or Reflection
> Question for Children: Can you think of something that happened that seemed impossible and unwelcome?
> Question for Youth: The lives of young adults are filled with surprises—some welcome, some not. What does Mary’s example suggest about responding to these surprises?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: How do we respond, as individuals or communities, to the unexpected and unwelcome? Do our lives witness to our faith in God’s providence?
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• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Third Sunday of AdventDecember 13, 2020Focus
A man named John was sent from God. He came…to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him…. And this is the testimony of John.... "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'make straight the way of the Lord’....I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me....
One-Minute-Homily
> As a general rule, we don't much appreciate advice, but we sometimes value people who understand things in a different and more helpful way. They have insight or wisdom which we value more than advice. They inspire options we would not have see on our own.
> Like John the Baptist, these special people are the voices crying out in the deserts where we find ourselves confused and afraid. Like John, they point to a new option we would not have otherwise recognized. They offer ways we might straighten things out.
> As people of faith, our challenge is both to hear these voices and to be these voices for others – to be people with encouragement and hope, people with vision who believe that there is something better – Some-One-Better -- revealing God's love in the midst of an imperfect and unfinished world.
> Eucharist is a Word of hope too, the celebration of Some-One-Better who is present among us, offering an alternative to the deserts in our lives.
For Discussion or Reflection
> Question for Children: Who is someone who helps you feel better when you are sad or worried? Do you think of them as Jesus?
> Question for Youth: Young people get a lot of unwelcome advice; where do you find encouragement and inspiration in the midst of the confusion and uncertainty of growing up?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we offer more advice than inspiration? Do we act like people filled with despair or hope?
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• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Second Sunday of Advent
December 6, 2020
Focus
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you…. A voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'" John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.... And this is what he proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me...."
One-Minute-Homily
> When something goes wrong, we often say "I'll straighten this out" or "I'll make this right." It's our way of acknowledging that something needs to change, that we’re headed in the wrong direction, that we need to turn back or around.
> John the Baptist calls the people of Jesus' time to change--to turn around, to "repent.” He calls them, as he calls us, to prepare for a new understanding of God and a new relationship with the God who will be revealed by one mightier than himself.
> The God Jesus reveals to us is so amazing--so loving, so merciful, so determined to redeem humankind--that we must regularly stop to correct our inadequate and mistaken impressions of God. Unless we do that, we can’t live in right-relationship with God or with our brothers and sisters.> The Eucharist is naturally an experience of reconciliation; each week it calls us to change, to turn around, to reorder our relationship to God and each other.
For Discussion or Reflection
> Question for Children: What are some things you could change that would make you a better person?
> Question for Youth: Young people face so many options; are you choosing those which reveal a God of love and forgiveness?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What are the inadequate impressions of God which we give people, and what do we need to do to change them?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
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• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
First Sunday of Advent
November 29, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "Be watchful! Be alert! ...[Y]ou do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'"
One-Minute-Homily
> With children, it seems that the longer they wait for something the more excited and impatient they get. Adults, on the other hand, seem to tire of waiting and go on with life; “I don’t have time for this,” we say--running the risk that we will miss what we were waiting for.
> The Lord's coming occurs gradually over time; we run the risk of missing where and how he is being gradually incarnate--made present--here and now unless we are expecting and watching, patiently, at the right time in the right place.
> For us disciples, it’s not just waiting and watching for the end of time (or the end of our lives on earth), but being watchful and alert for the many unexpected and untimely ways in which the incarnate Lord appears in our lives, often when we least expect him, or have given up waiting.> The Eucharist is not just about the Lord's future coming, but about his real presence among us now. If the Gospel says "Be watchful! Be alert!", the Eucharist, in its broadest sense, says "Look here!"
For Discussion or Reflection
> Question for Children: Where do you see signs of Jesus’s presence? Who do you know who acts like Jesus?
> Question for Youth: Young people do a lot of waiting – mostly, waiting to grow up and be on their own. How do you connect this waiting with people waiting for Jesus’ coming?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we focused on the Lord’s presence here and now, outside as much as inside the church? Do we share our experience of Jesus’ coming with others?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
[Last Update: 10.22.21]
