Sunday August 6, 2023

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

For our religious leaders. May their faith help transfigure fear into love and service within the Church. May hope birth new life in all who fear their future.

We pray to the Lord.

For our loved ones who live in hopelessness. May beauty, nature, and art inspire their lives in the light of Christ. May we all be transfigured into God’s servants of kindness and gentleness.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who hide their faces in shame and guilt. May forgiveness abound in our lives and healing become our home. May our faces reflect the light and tenderness of Christ Jesus.

We pray to the Lord.

For people struggling to raise their children. May we rely on the gift of our communities to offer our children wonder, delight, and encouragement. May we lift up parents and children with courageous support.

We pray to the Lord.

For our journey of faith when illness and disease make a home in us. May Christ ease our fear when we are in pain.  May healing calm our anxiety and restlessness.

We pray to the Lord.

For hope among our nations in times of war. May the people of Ukraine find courage along with financial and material support from other nations and peoples.

We pray to the Lord.

For steadiness along our path of faith. May we surrender to the love God has for us. May trust become our walking stick. May love be the signs we follow on our pilgrimage.

We pray to the Lord.

For generosity in our support for God’s beloved poor. May housing become our goal for all people. May food be shared at all tables under heaven.

We pray to the Lord.

For our loved ones who have journeyed home to the Kingdom. May we learn patience in our grief. May our loved ones rest in God’s light and fidelity.

We pray to the Lord.

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July 30, 2023

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

For beauty and integrity within our Church. May our leaders reach deeply into the mystery of God within their hearts and come to know the pearl of faith and the value of human life.

We pray to the Lord.

For life without war and violence. May we seek the peace of Christ within our nation and world. May our inner turmoil be washed away in prayer and reflection.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who live without rest or comfort on the earth. May our beloved poor who sleep on concrete and who search for food in dumpsters find true rest and solace. May they find shelter, nourishing food, and gentle healthcare.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who blame others for the outcome of their lives. May all people come to know the pearl of God’s love within their hearts. May we all find hope within our emotions, within our hearts, within our decisions.

We pray to the Lord.

For our children who hesitate to express themselves. May our children not be afraid of their true gifts and talents. May they not censor their true gifts and inner resources.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who cannot trust God. May we all learn to let go of control and live in God’s grace and faithfulness. May our angry cease and our resentments turn into hope.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who face ill health and questions about their future. May they discover the pearl of God’s healing and fidelity.

We pray to the Lord.

For healthy vacations and rest for families in summer months. May our relationships rest upon respect and love in our weeks of rejuvenation.

We pray to the Lord.

For eternal rest for our loved ones who have died. May they discover forever the pearl of great price, the glory of God’s everlasting face.

We pray to the Lord.

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I am grateful to Give Us This Day from Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, for publishing this reflection, “A Prayer”.

A Prayer

Jesus, I often feel lost in a swamp where there is no foothold. I float aimlessly, wounded and hungry. Nurse me with food of mercy even when I resist such nourishment. From the watery depths, I weep. Draw me out of the abyss, dry my wounds, and guide me to dry land.

Jesus, you speak harsh words among the people you healed and offered forgiveness. You raise your voice, not in judgment, but in disappointment that your love is not noticed or accepted. My heart says you seek as a concerned shepherd. In your arms we find home.  

Jesus, we often do not listen to your voice of mercy. We reject your gift of love, your mighty deeds, even in our anguish. We think we control life all on our own. We think we know what we need. Help us journey to our hearts where your mighty deeds might be nourished, appreciated, and lived. As you shout in bewilderment about those who turn away from you, help us turn to love.  

Jesus, we hear your woes. Open our hearts to hear your daily voice of tenderness. Invite us to solid ground. In our affliction, offer your saving presence to protect us. We do not want to disappoint you when you reach out to us in love. We will remain openhearted. We will walk with you to dry land, to home, to the place of encounter where we all shall witness the vision of your face. Amen.  

            Fr. Ronald Patrick Raab

Ronald Patrick Raab, CSC, is presently on sabbatical. Learn more at: ronaldraab.com.

July 23, 2023

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

For our prayerful leaders and guides. May our mentors, educators, and spiritual directors guide us into the mystery of God’s presence within us. May we find by grace alone the pearl of great price.

We pray to the Lord.

For families who struggle to find healing.  May their tensions and disagreements be healed. May they discover the beauty of their relationships.  

We pray to the Lord.

For the people of Ukraine. May violence and destruction cease. May the people and land heal from such trauma and loss.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who hesitate to believe in God’s mercy. May the smallest seed of hope grow without measure in every heart on earth. May we all surrender to God’s fidelity within us.

We pray to the Lord.

For courage to let go of the past. May we not cling to life as we once lived it. May we find the freedom to live in the present and discover the life God has for us.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who live behind locked doors and closed draperies. May people living with depression discover a flicker of hope that opens light to their souls and relationships.

We pray to the Lord.

For new life among our abandoned poor. May our sisters and brothers who make their homes on the streets discover help and comfort among God’s people.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who are ill and without adequate insurance. May our healthcare systems serve people who most need to experience healing and justice.

We pray to the Lord.

For our loved ones who have died and now rest in the green meadows of the Good Shepherd. May we grieve our families and friends with hope and peace.

We pray to the Lord.

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Wednesday July 12, 2023 Matthew 10:1-7, Ronald Raab, CSC

Dear Believers,

Jesus called the unwieldy twelve. Different sets of brothers, one tax collector, even a man who would later betray Jesus. Jesus called and they followed. Jesus sent them in mission to cure the sick and drive out demons. Jesus’ voice was compelling. The word apostle of course, means, “the one sent”. 

Jesus called them into a relationship with him that was truly eternal. Their call did not melt away in the sun or get washed into the sea. The call was not diminished by their sins, their doubt or even their betrayal. The Kingdom became the new ground upon which they found their identity. The call into the Kingdom of God became more valuable than gold or lofty ambition.   

Last March, I offered a retreat with our Holy Cross Brothers in Austin. I arrived from the airport during lunch. I sat across from a brother who is 95 years old. He immediately admitted to me that he lived his vocation in Brazil for 50 years. He whispered to me that he I left his heart there. Then he said to me that no one had asked him about his life and experiences in his new home in Austin. He breathed in and said that his vocation now is to find his heart in a new way. He told me over sipping his soup that he was afraid of such unknown wilderness.   

We, too, have the experience in our professed religious life of being sent. Now, in our lives God gives us a different mission. We are called more deeply into our souls.  Our hearts discover a new territory of love. Jesus who once called us into the world, calls us now to live with great intention and purpose and even a deeper love. In this place, we are to realize our call does not fade with time or age. The call of God in our lives does not expire or find its completion when we age out of our jobs.  No illness or disease, memory loss or body pain, can separate us from the call implanted in our hearts to follow Christ, to live as religious and priests.  

Our call did not end in the wars of Uganda or in the mountains of Peru. It was not finished when we taught our last college semester or when we left the parish. Our call does not end even though our hearing is impaired or our knees are artificial. Our call as baptized people may look different on the outside as we age, but remains intact in the threads of our souls.    

We can never forget our spiritual calling to follow Christ. We need to help one another. God is still calling us among lost sheep. Jesus is still challenging us to proclaim the presence of the Kingdom of God. Jesus still asks us to repent and to forgive. Jesus still desires us to heal the demons of our inner lives and to touch the mystery of God’s fidelity. Our hearts in Holy Cross House are the territory in which Jesus calls each of us. So, we pray this inner journey.  

As you go and as we age, make this proclamation: “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”

God give you peace.

July 16, 2023

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

For the unity of our Universal Church. May the seeds of compassion grow richly among people who are cast aside, forgotten, and in need of the basics of life. May seeds of harmony spring up forever.

We pray to the Lord.

For farmers and all who tend the earth’s soil. May God plant hope upon our earth to provide food for the nations.  May the seed of peace spring up forever in our lives.

We pray to the Lord.

For the good fruits of our labors. May the actions of all believers bring renewed reconciliation and concord among families and nations of people.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who will vacation this summer. May we all find rest and harmony while the sun is high. May our lakes, oceans, and mountains be reminders of our need to care for ourselves and the planet we enjoy.

We pray to the Lord.

For the good seeds of love planted by Christ alone. May we receive in our daily prayer the richness of God’s fidelity toward us. May we live lightly upon the earth bearing the good fruit of justice and harmony.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who cannot care for themselves. May our ill be loved and the good seeds of God’s healing be manifest in our actions and concerns for the sick and marginalized.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who have been abused and life’s potential taken from them. May God plant hope deeply in the hearts of people who bear the pain of negligence and cruelty. May hope spring up in love.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who bear the sorrow of loss from mass shootings and hatred. May we all pause upon the earth. May we tread lightly so to see the value of all human life.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who have died in recent days. May the seeds of faith lead to the full harvest of God’s Kingdom. May they rest in eternal light and glory in the sight of Christ our Savior.

We pray to the Lord.