Psalm 113: The Lord lifts up the lowly. Charcoal by: Ronald Raab, CSC
Psalm 113
From the dust the Lord lifts up the lowly,
from the ash heap raises the poor,
to set them in the company of leaders,
yes, with the leaders of the people.
To the childless wife God gives a home
as a joyful mother of children.
“Resurrection Morning” Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC
“See, I am near,”says the Lord. “See, I make all things new.”
Gospel Acclamation Matthew: 5:10
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
August 28, 2016
Dear Believers,
Next Sunday, September 4, the Roman Catholic Church will celebrate the canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. This is an extraordinary event in that most canonizations take place at least fifty years after the death of the individual. For Mother Teresa, so many people remember her work and prayer. Her religious community remains in mission to serve people most in need.
I remember very well the day Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. This was an amazing day for the Catholic Church and our world. Her simplicity of thought, presence and speech formed me in ways I still cannot articulate. I remember that Mother Teresa was asked about world peace and the best way to promote it in our Church and world. She replied, “Go home and love your family”.
I certainly did not understand her reply as a young seminarian in 1979. I wanted something more. I think the world wanted something more academic, more complicated and more thorough. My heart now clings to such an idea as I live out my priesthood. I believe that our children are the best antidote to violence, hatred and neglect. The problem is that we just need to raise them to become such people.
Luke’s gospel (14:1, 7-14) today states, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Not only is Mother Teresa a model for this gospel text but also she invites us to be such people in our world.
Christianity is very complicated today. We are so divided. Some people want the Catholic Church to stand up for issues in our world and others walk away from such a notion even here in our parish. Some people think our church affairs belong only in the sanctuary while others want radical change in the ways we live the mission of the gospel. Some people want change in one area of life while others want change in the complete opposite way.
I still believe the one thing that unites us in the Church is the love of Jesus. The other thing that unites us is our children and how we raise them to befriend faith and the people in our world who most need us. I invite you into this unifying life of the Church.
As we know, Mother Teresa also struggled in her personal life of prayer. She did not always feel the presence of Jesus. Yet, she was compelled by the love of God to continue her mission to serve people. This is so important in our efforts to live our lives of faith as well. We must continue to do the right things, to live out the mission of the Church even though on some days we may not feel like it. We must continue on bringing our children to Mass even when there is resistance. We must form them in the love of God even when this seems to be so counter-cultural. We must find ways for our families to be involved in service even when we think we cannot make a difference. Jesus needs us to live our lives in the world with faith and integrity.
Here is a litany that I wrote for our community to ask for Mother Teresa’s intercession:
Response: Jesus, love us and send us forth in peace
Mother Teresa, you modeled simplicity of spirit…
Mother Teresa, you opened your heart to love…
Mother Teresa, you let go of your past…
Mother Teresa, you understood your true vocation…
Mother Teresa, you inspired others to follow your lead…
Mother Teresa, you spoke with integrity…
Mother Teresa, you gave up everything to start anew…
Mother Teresa, you showed us true poverty and injustice…
Mother Teresa, you understood the needs of people…
Mother Teresa, you held the bodies of the dying…
Mother Teresa, you challenged the world to wake up to people…
Mother Teresa, you entered into relationship with all people…
Mother Teresa, you lived a life of peace…
Mother Teresa, you followed your gifts and talents…
Mother Teresa, you lived and served with humble faith…
Mother Teresa, you spoke truth to the world…
Mother Teresa, you ministered to the ill, the fragile and helpless…
Mother Teresa, you model for us how to serve today…
Mother Teresa, you show us how to love our children in our time…
Blessings,
Fr. Ron
Sacred Heart Church: Painted with junk. By: Ronald Patrick Raab, CSC
Painted this image of Sacred Heart Church this morning. I used only cardboard, utensils and a credit card. A church created with junk.
On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 28, 2016
LISTEN NOW: CLICK HERE (This week’s show does not have the usual opening and closing due to technical difficulties.)
Our posture in prayer is always one of humility because there is so much in life that is unresolved and unfinished. God is God and we are not.
Dear Believers,
Luke’s gospel (13:22) today continues to invite us into the Kingdom of God. Our hearts, lives, attitudes and priorities are all challenged to remain focused on God’s Kingdom. We are to let go of our grasp of everything on this earth that keeps us from such a witness to God.
Jesus said, ”Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but not be strong enough…” This image of the narrow gate is the person of Christ. The cross of Jesus is the path to the Kingdom of God. In some ways, it is not that we must be strong enough, but weak enough or vulnerable enough, to find Jesus in our lives.
What does it mean to be “strong enough”? Our lives today are incredibly complicated. We send our children off to school and wonder how we will pay for their education. We move an aging parent across the country to live here in Colorado to be close to us, then we worry how the relationship will turn out. We worry about our country’s national elections and the future of our values and family life. We are concerned about keeping our jobs, our health, and the fact that our children do not seem to believe in God anymore.
The strength that Jesus is inviting us into is a life dedicated to prayer, love, and mercy no matter our worries and concerns. This strength is better defined as prayerful vulnerability, openness, and a trust in the presence of Jesus in our world. We cannot control the outcomes of many situations today, but we can become a holy and wise people. The peace, tranquility, and love that we are looking for can be manifest within our lives and the lives of our families. We live this mystery through an attitude of openness and gratitude, a new trust that God heals our hearts, forgives our misdeeds, and transforms our outlooks to become followers of Jesus Christ.
Some questions and suggestions for this week:
As we send our children back to school, I invite every parishioner to pray for our next generation. I invite you to pray for our nation on our journey toward Election Day. Join others, strangers and friends, to pray, not with bitterness about a potential outcome, but with an openness and love and trust in God’s fidelity. Pray and do not be cynical.
Pray for our elderly in our community, folks who have given their lives to our parish. Pray for the vulnerable, the weak, and people facing ill health. We all can learn from this vulnerable posture of prayer and concern.
“For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” What does this mean for you?
Blessings,
Fr. Ron
On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Luke 13:22-30
We long to be one with Jesus, not last or first, but one with the living Christ. We come through the narrow gate, the Cross of Christ.
Dear Friends and Parishioners,
Luke’s gospel (12:49-53), challenges us to the core. Just when we think we have a handle on Jesus’ message of working for the Kingdom of God, Jesus shakes us up once again. Jesus says that he has come to set a fire on the earth. He will be the source of division, and he hopes for a great fire to be blazing on the earth.
We know how the truth can divide us. We understand even within our families that life and faith are complicated and the truth may first divide us from one another. Luke is trying to get our attention and remind us of the radical understanding of faith. Faith is very countercultural; faith and the Church are not meant to be static or status quo. We are believers for the long haul and that means we are to put our lives on the line and get with Jesus to continue to push his agenda of faith, integrity, prayer and justice.
True faith does indeed cause turmoil, because most people do not want to change. We tend to think that the Church is meant to sustain the opinions that we already hold. We want the Church just to confirm our lackadaisical attitudes and our own biases and prejudices. Faith, however, causes us to dig deep into the radical notions of how prayer changes our hearts, and allows us to live in a new understanding of forgiveness, compassion and mercy.
As we continue in the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis is also calling for us to live with such fire. Faith is strong and enduring; it cuts deep into our shallow notions of love, hospitality and healing. Jesus wants us to cut our ties with our cynicism, our obtuseness, our coldness toward other people.
Jesus claims this fire within us when we truly give over our lives to faith. For most Christians, we want very much to “control” Jesus—to monitor how he is involved in our parish churches and how mercy and love are distributed. I admit that I see this all the time in the Church. When we resist working for the poor or the needs of our neighbors we are in fact trying to control how the Holy Spirit works. The mercy that Pope Francis is trying to get us to understand is the mercy of a generous, abundant, consoling God. We cannot control mercy and love; we cannot censor or set up rules or communities to govern how God can manage his people. In other words, God is God and we are not.
As we move toward implementing many of the projects and educational opportunities in our strategic plan at Sacred Heart, I hope that a new fire will grab hold of us here in our parish. I cannot be the pastor here without this hope. It has taken my first three years to get things moving—I hope that our parish will continue to move forward, that the Holy Spirit will seize us and bring us continually into a greater trust and love of God.
Some questions to ponder this week:
We are all baptized in Christ. This is the source of the “fire.” What does it mean for you to live out your baptismal commitment to Christ? Where have you grown weak in your prayer and commitment?
Jesus says that division will be apparent in our human relationships. How do you see faith—the Church—being a source of division in your family? How can you pray for harmony and peace? Can you take the risk of genuine faith and the radical lifestyle of Christ Jesus? What are you waiting for?
Blessings,
Fr. Ron
On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR
Sunday August 14, 2016, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke wants to make sure that our focus is on Jesus in our world even if causes heartache and division. The fire of faith needs to be lit and fueled with love.
Broken But Not Divided 