CLICK HERE to read my latest article from The Priest Magazine, November 2024, published by Our Sunday Visitor, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

October 20, 2024

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

For Francis, our Pope, and ___, our Bishop. May they lead with humble service for the common good. May they bask in God’s tenderness and show us the way to the Father’s love.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who serve with faithfulness. May we serve the well-being of our neighbors. May our actions be more than satisfying our own needs. May God transform us in the dying and rising of Christ Jesus.

We pray to the Lord.  

For the future of our planet. May we become servant leaders toward the welfare of our earth. May we work diligently for sufficient food, clean water, and resources for our next generation.

We pray to the Lord.

For people struggling for a healthier life.  May pain ease and our spirits rejoice in Jesus Christ. May our lives surrender to the healing remedy of God.

We pray to the Lord.

For people seeking baptism next Easter. May we seek the baptism of mercy in the waters of conversion. May we live our commitments by sharing the cup of suffering with all humanity.

We pray to the Lord.

For all who seek shelter and security. May we provide sufficient housing for people who live on streets and in deep woods. May our shelters claim our families lost by poverty.

We pray to the Lord.

For our nation in this election season. May we all seek the common good and may our future be on the solid ground of love, compassion and kindness.

We pray to the Lord.

For all who are ill. For healing among our relatives and friends. May our bodies know God’s tender care.

We pray to the Lord.

For our loved ones who have died. May they live now in the eternal presence of Christ Jesus.

We pray to the Lord.

CLICK HERE to read today’s scriptures

CLICK HERE TO listen to today’s reflection

October 13, 2024

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

For Francis, our Pope, and ___, our bishop. May they speak aloud the questions of us. May they discover hope for our day and comfort for every community.

We pray to the Lord.

For those who carry the wounds of war. May scars of memory give way to a threshold of love. May the injured in body and spirit be lifted in grace and assured peace.

We pray to the Lord.

For the young who ask enormous questions. May we carry our questions in gentleness and learn to live out the answers with love and mercy.

We pray to the Lord.

For people faced with impossible burdens. May we learn to carry the cross of ill health, mental anguish, and homelessness with hope for our future. May we discover the possibility of God’s presence and concern.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who search for wisdom. May all facing difficult decisions, lonely times, fragile relationships find the deep and powerful love of God. May wisdom prevail in our longing.

We pray to the Lord.

For our children who teach us how to live. May we seek awe and innocence in our prayer and a deeper dependence on God. May we learn to listen with patience and integrity.

We pray to the Lord.

For people facing loss of jobs, homelands and resources because of natural disasters and tragedies. May we walk with others along paths of healing. May wisdom find a home in us.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who seek healing in their grief. May all who carry burdens of ill health be given new chances of hope, love and tenderness.

We pray to the Lord.

For our loved ones who have died. May we rejoice among those who now see Christ for all eternity.

We pray to the Lord. 

CLICK HERE to read today’s scriptures

CLICK HERE to listen to today’s reflection

Saint Francis of Assisi challenges us to hold on to life with gentleness. The sacredness of all life is observed among the birds of the air, the sea creatures, and the beauty of our faces. Our work toward caring for all creation begins in prayer. We surrender to such beauty so that God’s face may be revealed in our world. We seek the Kingdom of Heaven even in the chaos of how we have treated our earth. We surrender to the joy of God’s Kingdom, since God desires us to create our earthly home in reflection of what is to come in heaven.

We are not creators of the earth. We do not own our environment. We cannot possess its complexities or fully comprehend the interdependence of all life. All life comes from God.  Our place is to bask in the joy of the earth and find our ways to sustain life.

In this collage, I use the juxtaposition of trash and the beauty of zebras to illustrate how we either share in our earth’s future or help to diminish our resources. Saint Francis of Assisi may help us understand our place upon the earth and to honestly care for everything that keeps us alive. This litany reflects on the gift of water as miracle to renew our generations.

Saint Francis of Assisi: Inspire Our Praise to God Among Droplets and Seas

From dew drops on spring grass…From deep wells of drinking water…From pools of rain on country roads…From blue seas and rocky shorelines…From rain-soaked clothes on children at play…

From droughts and storm flooding…From melting snow to high blizzard drifts along a fence…From a drinking fountain near the school gym…From bottled water carried in a brief case…  

From dams that hold back spring flooding…From fountains in the town square…From forest streams creating their own paths…From country lakes where children learn to swim…From youth drinking from a hose in summer shade…From filling a carafe with cool water from a tap for first morning coffee…

From animals corralling their young aside a spring stream…From a barefoot mother balancing water jars on her shoulders…From rushing mountain streams melting into spring…From reservoirs relinquishing their levels in summer heat…

From our plastics washing ashore along powerless countries…From trash heaps that keep creatures from sipping or surviving…From factories pumping waste into streams…From rivers that flow into unknown places that silence our conscience …From Zebras searching for clean drink…From dirty waters that reveal our uncaring stripes…

From initiating waters that flow at baptism…From sprinkles of baptismal renewal at Easter Masses…From baptismal fonts where water and Trinity merge…From the droplets of holy water that mark our gravesite…   

Amen

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN to my audio reflection from Australia.

From the Centre for Liturgy at Australian Catholic University.

Fr Ronald Raab C.S.C reflects on the connection between Eucharist and justice in light of his ministry. He invites us to be truly transformed by the Eucharist so that we can participate fully in the mission of Jesus Christ in the world.  

Rev Ronald Patrick Raab C.S.C. ministers among the vulnerable and marginalized of society and the Church. He speaks and writes about prayer and service and knowing the love of God through our common poverty.  He is active as a retreat director, blogger, award-winning author, and visual artist. He serves as Religious Superior, Holy Cross House, Indiana.

October 6, 2024

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

For our leaders of faith, Francis, our Pope, and __, our Bishop. May courage be our voice and love become our action. May the gospel live in our sight.

We pray to the Lord.

For a new view of the brevity of life. May we gaze upon the sanctity of our human experience. May we breathe deeply into the joy of living upon the earth.

We pray to the Lord.

For the talents we possess in our bodies. May we treasure most deeply the values we hold and the insights we live by. May we express in our daily actions the bounty of God’s love.

We pray to the Lord.

For courage to express our sorrow. May our grieving hearts be expressed in God’s care for us. May we weep with those who cry and find our home among the lost.

We pray to the Lord.

For hope amidst our adversity. May we treasure our lives even in dark times. May we find the courage to surrender to the light of Christ along our path.

We pray to the Lord.

For married couples. May courage take root in our commitments and hope fill every household. May God inspire love among us.

We pray to the Lord.

For our children and their children. May our next generations discover the beauty of life and the well-being of the young.

We pray to the Lord.

For couples seeking a breakup or divorce. May God heal all losses and may we seek forgiveness and hope in our lives.

We pray to the Lord.

For our beloved dead. May God welcome each loved one home to heaven. May they find eternal joy in the face of Christ.

We pray to the Lord.

CLICK HERE to read today’s scriptures

CLICK HERE to listen to today’s reflection

September 29, 2024

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

For our leaders of faith. May God inspire Francis, our Pope, and __, our Bishop. May hope become food for the Church.

We pray to the Lord.

For assistance and encouragement of people in need. May we support the lives of people who seek shelter and food, education and healthcare.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who have been abused. May God show us the next steps in the healing process of our families. May abuse of all kinds end with our generation.

We pray to the Lord.

For hope among people ravaged by storms, floods and fires. May the needs of people inspire us to rebuild lives. May hope become the brick and mortar of our futures.

We pray to the Lord.

For the end of war and violence. May we seek justice among nations and support families devastated by war. May hopefulness fill every corner of every nation.

We pray to the Lord.

For people in prison. May every heart find freedom and light. May our brothers and sisters in our prison systems know our support and prayer. May faith open windows and hearts.

We pray to the Lord.

For the end of racism, misogyny, and bigotry. May we see people in the light of love. May God bring us together in our common humanity.

We pray to the Lord.

For reconciliation within our families. May peace be born at our kitchen tables. May we speak of love and acceptance. May we reach out to relatives who most need us.

We pray to the Lord.

For our beloved dead. May we sing of God’s wonder as we entrust those we love to the Kingdom of Heaven.

We pray to the Lord.