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Lenten Journaling Insights: Turning Toward God

Posted in Lent, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for March 9, 2025:

All in one place:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030925.cfm

In the context of each Bible book:

  1. Deuteronomy 26:4-10
  2. Psalm 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
  3. Romans 10:8-13
  4. Luke 4:1-13

What stands out to me from this week’s readings:

  • Most of the first reading is a reminder of how God led the people of Israel into the wilderness to deliver them from enslavement in Egypt. Moses reminds the people that because God freed them, everything they have comes from God. Therefore, a portion of whetver they have should be given back to God.
  • The verses from Psalm 91 provide further poetic reminders of God’s providence.
  • The epistle continues and expands theme from last week. Faith and the life that comes from it take root and grow in the heart.
  • In the Gospel passage, Jesus’ example teaches that life comes not from Him serving himself. Demonstrating power or sacrifice just for the sake of sacrifice or power isn’t holy. An offering made out of love is. It has much more potential to heal wounds.

What I’m saying (about the readings and beyond) this week:

It surprised me that God as provider and liberator stood out to me this week. As I got ready to draft this section, thinking about what had surprised me, I went back to the Gospel passage looking for the reference to angels ministering to Jesus. I thought that reference would be another lesson in God’s providence, and it is. But it’s not in this week’s gospel passage. It’s in Matthew 4:11, and it comes after the temptations. That chapter in Matthew begins telling us that “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” (1). But the Luke passage begins with “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil” (Luke 4:1). This is Luke’s way of telling readers and hearers that the Son of God is not entering alone into an unfamiliar, harsh environment. He won’t face temptation without providence from God.

Thoughts on my Tuesday journaling experience:

Outside of this week’s readings, I’ve begun the journaling I wrote about in this section last week. A couple of the books, rightly, I think, invite their readers to start the process of using the book before Lent begins. Doing this has given me a deeper appreciation of what the upcoming season is really about. Prompts have gotten me thinking about what actually stands in the way of my relationship with God and with others. Hint: it isn’t chocolate, and it is in the game or a TV show. Prompts have made me want to get begin practices that I’ll (hopefully) continue through Easter and beyond.

Thoughts on my Wednesday journaling experience:

While the journaling prompts in each book is different, each one has tended to draw a similar answer out of me. That’s helpful. It clarifies what I see the need to surrender. It also highlights the areas of my life where I’m seeking renewal. Answering similar questions that are asked in different ways is also beneficial. It lets me see my answers in a different light each time I record them. Maybe recording the same ideas multiple times in different ways will help habits that are spiritually healthier stick.

I’m setting an intention this Lent to see the season or as a continual process of turning toward God rather than away from what is not God. Yes, turning toward one thing often requires turning away from another. However, my desire is to make the acts of turning toward awareness my emphasis.

Thoughts on my Thursday journaling experience:

Try to keep an open mind and heart. Leave room for adjusting your plans. Be careful about not letting your plans take over your life so that they work against their intended purpose. Be careful that your plans don’t take away from the good you are already doing before you began them.

Mindfulness is a lot harder to maintain than the avoidance of chocolate. Distractions are everywhere, all the time, and they aren’t just external. Recommitting to mindfulness is something that happens over and over again throughout the day. It’s not something a person “gets right.” Returning to mindfulness again and again makes sense for Lent. Practicing mindfulness is just that — practicing. Practicing it is like falling and getting up again and again.

Thoughts on my Friday journaling experience:

Silence isn’t always empty or quiet. It can be filled with presence and sounds I rarely notice — like a variety of bird songs.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

Ana Gonzalez, OP relates this week’s readings to the suffering that goes on in the world around us. Her reflection reminds us of the spiritual purpose behind Lenten practices. They are meant to deepen our relationships with God. By doing so, they deepen our relationships with others.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, you did not make us to die in spiritual deserts. Help us not to wither this Lent but to grow instead. Help us to grow in relationship with you and in solidarity with others. Instill in us gratitude for the ways the natural world and spiritual realms provide for us.

Scripture translation used:

“First Sunday of Lent — Lectionary: 24.” Daily Readings, Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2nd typical ed, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2025, https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030925.cfm.

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Nourishing the Soul: Tending the Spiritual Orchard

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for March 2, 2025:

All in one place:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030225.cfm

In the context of each Bible book:

  1. Sirach 27:4-7
  2. Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16
  3. 1 Corinthians 15:54-58
  4. Luke 6:39-45

What stands out to me from this week’s readings:

The Old Testament passage says to me that what a person says and does reveals what’s important to him or her. What a person does is even more revelatory than what she says. So is how a person responds to temptations and hardships.

The psalm passage says to me that to be just is to do more than praise God or say kind words to another person. It means rooting one’s perspective and actions in God. The first reading points to the potential for distance between appearance or words and what’s in a person’s heart. The psalm points to what results if there is no distance between what’s in the heart and the good a person speaks or shows to the world.

The epistle points to Christ and the Spirit that comes from Him as the relationship that closes the distance. God transforms hearts prone to frailty and wounded by sin through Christ. Christ transforms through the Spirit through day-to-day experiences, through sacraments, and by again and again, offering forgiveness for sins. His offering and act of solidarity on the cross makes it possible for us to receive all these other gifts. To paraphrase the last sentence of this week’s epistle, His giving of Himself in suffering, to the point of death, and beyond has the potential to make everything we do part of His healing mission. What we do becomes part of this mission when what we do is grounded in the Spirit He has given us to share with Him and with others.

But, the Gospel passage reminds us, we can share that Spirit only if we invite it to work in and through us again and again. We can help others see only if we allow the Spirit to help us see. The passage reinforces the message of the selection from the Old Testament. The effects of a person’s words and actions reveal a person’s true nature.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

Sr. Quincy Howard shares with us a reflection on this week’s readings. Her words offer an eye-opening look at the ways we grow our food. I never realized how the taste of fruit has changed over time until I read her reflection. After describing farming methods, she uses them to examine how we tend our souls and the souls of others.

What I’m saying (about the readings and beyond) this week:

Well-known Scripture passages can become overly familiar. Passages Christians turn to during Lent and Easter are no exception to this tendency. So this Lent, I thought exploring different reading materials might be helpful. These could provide journaling prompts, meditations, and reflections. This approach might help me see familiar words in new ways.

I’ve looked at some options and haven’t settled on just one or even two. Besides, I’m hesitant to follow one collection of reflections too closely on this blog because I want to encourage you to look into the books yourself. I invite you to see which one, if any, deepens your perspective and your relationships with God and others. I’m thinking of pulling a bit of inspiration for my Lenten posts from this book, and a bit from that one. Here are the titles I’m considering journaling or meditating with, in case you’d like to follow along with me:

I’ve listed the books in no particular order, but so far, the last one on the list intrigues me the most because the author, Sr. Josephine Garrett, in addition to having a religious vocation, is a trained mental health professional. A sample I read indicates that she brings all facets of her vocation into the book’s meditations, reflections, and prompts. I plan to start Lent by looking into each book in the list above, but I have a feeling I’ll end up following along with just one or two.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, enlighten my heart so that what comes from it participates in building Your kingdom of love. Amen.

Scripture Passage Source:

“Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time — Lectionary: 84.” Daily Readings, Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2nd typical ed, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2025, https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030225.cfm.

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Lessons in Love and Mercy: Embracing Divine Kindness

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Readings for February 23, 2025:

All in one place:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022325.cfm

In Context:

  1. 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23
  2. Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13
  3. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49
  4. Luke 6:27-38

What’s the message I’m getting from this week’s readings:

. . . love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:35

What I’m saying (about the readings and beyond) this week:

To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.

Luke 6:29

This verse stands out to me because, as I read it, I can’t help but think how it can be misused. It can be interpreted as telling someone got to protect him or herself from abuse. But I don’t think this is the intended message. The verse I chose to highlight in the first section is the intended message.

In the New Testament, Jesus sometimes uses figurative language and even hyperbole to make a point. Remember the instruction in Matthew 18:9. It tells us to pluck an eye out if it causes us to sin. Do we really think Jesus wants us to do this? I don’t think so. The point of those verses is to tell us to avoid what we know isn’t good for ourselves, others, and for our relationship with God.

Other ways to express this week’s message might be: Don’t retaliate. Don’t take revenge. Don’t take advantage of others. Don’t be selfish. Taking any of this advice is different from accepting abuse. David had the opportunity to retaliate in this week’s first reading. He didn’t because he wasn’t being attacked. If he been under attack, he’d have been within his rights to protect himself. He could defend himself and/or remove himself from the situation. People have a right to defend themselves and other vulnerable people in their care who are in danger. They also have the right to remove themselves and others from such situations.

This week’s readings remind us again of the difference between wants and needs. They advise us not to withhold from someone something he or she needs because we want it.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

Diana Macalintal’s reflection on the readings for February 23 is just what I need right now. I don’t think I’m alone in this assessment. She begins and ends her reflection with a personal story that involves her and her godson. I could picture the events unfolding as I read about them, and I found the little boy’s as well as Ms. Macalintal’s response so relatable. Click here to experience for yourself what I mean.

In Ms. Macalintal’s reflection, she also mentions details from the gospel accounts of Christ’s passion. These references remind me that I meant to wrestle with the events of the passion in the last section. I’ll just do that here instead of pretending I haven’t yet read her words.

So what do the events of Christ’s passion have to say about an individual who is having violence inflicted upon him? It’s an uncomfortable question because in the accounts of Jesus’ suffering and death, He doesn’t flee, and He doesn’t defend himself — not physically and not even verbally — at least not directly. I’m tempted to respond to these depictions with, “That’s because it was his mission and ministry to bear the consequences of our sins and weaknesses to the point of death so that these consequences might not have the final say in our lives and deaths. There’s only one Savior. To suffer and to die isn’t the mission of the rest of us.”

But isn’t it? At some point, in some way, just not in the same way Jesus did? No matter how much we try to avoid and resist it, life brings pain to us (along with pleasure) in many ways. Does this reality mean that to seek holiness is to seek pain? No, I think one understanding of what it means to be holy is to define it as being aware. To be holy means not pretending that what brings pain and what brings pleasure, what brings sorrow and what brings joy doesn’t exist. To be holy is to be awake, and to be awake is to be honest.

While I don’t have direct personal experience with the topic, it seems to me that forms of abuse are built on distorting who the people involved are. It seems to me that abusers operate under the illusion that they are entitled to more power than they actually are. It’s this sense of power that they crave. What gives them this sense power is making their victims believe their abusers have this power and making victims believe they deserve to be abused or that the abuse is somehow related to love.

In the passion accounts, Jesus never loses sight of who He is. He never agrees with what His abusers and attackers accuse Him of and say about Him. Rather, He asks His Father, to forgive them for what they do and for their blindness and ignorance as to what they are doing (Luke 23:34). He knows who really has the power during His crucifixion, even when he doesn’t feel that power accompanying him. Ultimately, He and the Father have that power.

When I think about the passion this way, I see it not as Him allowing himself to be robbed of his dignity and his life, but as Him giving us these two gifts freely. In His offering to us he shows the ultimate solidarity with every human frailty. He offers communion with Him to every human and to all of creation. I suppose having the freedom to do this is what gives Him the power to offer all the forms of surrender that Ms. Macalintal points to in her reflection.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, help us discern what we need and what we want we can better provide for others what they need. Also help us to pray for as we find it most difficult to pray for. Amen.

Scripture translation used:

“Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time — Lectionary: 81.” Daily Readings, Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2nd typical ed, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2025, https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022325.cfm.

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Reflections on Privilege, Faith, and the Beatitudes

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for February 16, 2025:

  1. Jeremiah 17:5-8
  2. Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 & 6
  3. 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20
  4. Luke 6:17, 20-26

What stands out to me from this week’s readings:

Contrasts stand out. I see contrasts between fertility and barrenness, between emptiness and fullness, and between sorrow and joy. The readings tell me that making room for God makes room for life and growth. In contrast, putting all one’s trust in the ways of human beings, especially in individual humans, is misleading. It prevents a person from being part of a circle that expands easily   so he she can grow and embrace life. It leads to dissatisfaction instead of openness and depth because no human is all-knowing or all-powerful.

What Someone Else Is Sharing about This Week’s Readings:

The readings for February 16 inspired Julia Murphy to reflect on the effect privilege can have on a person’s relationship with God. She reflects on this topic through the memory of a service immersion trip experience. She also points out that, regardless of how a person is or isn’t privileged, the Beatitudes aren’t telling the people who receive them to be passive. She reminds us that God calls us to wake up so we can tell the difference between wants and needs. Once we’ve discerned what’s needed, God calls us to cooperate with each other and with the prompting of the Holy Spirit to address our needs and the needs of others.

What I’m Saying:

Before I read Julia Murphy’s words, I didn’t know what to write in this section other than to repeat the themes of the text in different ways. The passages seem pretty self-explanatory, and especially in the case of the Beatitudes in the gospel passage, so familiar. What could I say about the Beatitudes that’s more than a list of “shoulds?” How does my gut react to the Beatitudes?

When I went back to this week’s gospel passage seeking answers to these questions, the passage reminded me of something that stood out when I first revisited it. The reading makes a point of telling us that when Jesus preached about the Beatitudes, he didn’t stand on a mountain or in a boat. He’s not depicted as looking down on the great crowd of his disciples. He’s not separated from them by the framework of a boat. Rather, we are told “he stood on a stretch of level ground” (Luke 6:17). I get the idea He was scanning the crowd as he spoke, meeting the eyes of this individual, then that one. I imagine Him seeming to each person as if he spoke only to him or her.

To anyone who sees him or herself in the blessed group, he offers encouragement. To anyone who recognizes him or herself in the opposite group, His warnings might imply questions:

If you’re rich, how did you get that way? Who helped you get there? Have they reaped the benefits as well? How can you show your appreciation? How can you share your more-than-enough with those who don’t have enough?

  • If you’re filled, what are you filled with? Does it take care of and treat kindly the body and mind God has given you? Where do you make room for God? For recognizing the injustice in your midst?
  • If you’re laughing now, what are you laughing at? Are you laughing at someone else’s expense? Someone else’s misfortune? Or can you laugh at your own frailty, imperfections, weaknesses? Can you left so that you don’t take them so seriously that you think God can’t work with you through them and despite them.

Many of us who can read these words might be rich by the standards of the much of the world. And yet lack of privilege can take different forms in different people’s lives at different times. Why? Because different factors contribute to each person’s sense of agency and independence. The truth is, a sense of independence isn’t permanent for anyone. We’re born needing others, and we die needing others. So many events in between lead us to ask God and one another for help. And that’s okay. That’s honest.

This Week’s Prayer:

Lord, grant us the grace to make room for You in our lives so we can see and hear as You do. Amen.

Scripture Translation Used:

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time — Lectionary: 78.” Daily Readings, Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2nd typical ed, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2025, https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021625.cfm.

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Four Perspectives on Encountering God

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for February 9, 2025:

  1. Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8
  2. Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8
  3. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 or 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 11
  4. Luke 5:1-11

What stands out to me from this week’s readings:

The following messages:

  • An encounter with God is more than reading about God or learning about God. An encounter with God is tangible. It’s personal and intimate.
  • An encounter with God changes how the person who has the encounter sees him or herself.
  • This new view of himself/herself and the tangible, personal encounter with God is uncomfortable, humbling and overwhelming. These feelings because the person to retreat and to cower.
  • God says, in different ways, “I don’t seek personal encounters with you just to make you uncomfortable. Take heart in My presence. Stand with me in this new perception of who you are. Let Me work through and in the midst of your anxieties and weaknesses. Let me heal your wounds and work through what you’ve learned from them. When you let Me, you can do for others what I do for you.”
  • God says, “If you’re having trouble encountering Me right now, look for those who have encountered Me. You’ll recognize the effects of those encounters. Companions changed by them will remind you of what you’re worth to me. I’ve died with you so you can live with Me.”

What I’m saying (to the readings and beyond) this week:

I had the most visceral reaction to the epistle for this week. It’s embarrassing to admit. Initially, I felt resistant to the passage. I didn’t know how to fit it into the theme I was discerning for this week’s post. The Old Testament passage and the Gospel passage describe profound, face-to-face encounters with God. We aren’t allowed as directly into such an encounter when we read the psalm excerpt. However, it seems to be the words of someone who has had a personal encounter with God. The narrator has experienced God’s providence.

Now St. Paul, the author of the letters to the Corinthians, has had this kind of encounter. But that blinding light through which Christ speaks is not what I read about in this week’s epistle. This passage isn’t where I can read about the details of that encounter. Instead, Paul mentions large number of people who encountered the risen Christ before he did. Then he points out that the risen Christ appeared to him last, “as to one born abnormally” (1 Cor. 15:8).

His assessment of himself bothered me. It’s one thing to feel humbled in the presence of God by becoming aware of the ways your choices fall short of self-giving love. But no one chooses when he or she is born. Why should characteristics a person doesn’t choose mean he or she is chosen last? I reminded myself that when the letter was written, perspectives on birth were very different. Views on disability and many other human experiences were also very different. Still, the phrase was jarring to read. What happened to “the last shall be first, and the first shall be last” (Matt. 20:16)? An answer to this question is that the verse from the Gospel of Matthew reflects a perspective gained later, from a memory recorded later. Matthew was written down after 1 Corinthians. But back to the passage from 1 Corinthians that we’re looking at this week.

The day after I first revisited the passage, I saw the note that accompanies 1 Corinthians 15:9. If I understand this note correctly, it says verses 8 and 9 reflect the attacks his opponents leveled at him. The note reminds me of an important question to ask when reading Scripture: how might the experiences of the human writer affect how the message is expressed? How might God work through the wounds revealed in the expression of the message?

Paul says he was chosen to be an apostle not thanks to his own merit but thanks to God’s grace. This message at the end of the passage means it actually does fit in with the theme I had discerned for the February 9 readings.

Nevertheless, in other ways it still doesn’t seem to fit as well as the other passages do. As I wrote above, the passage doesn’t include much of a recap of what Paul experienced on the road to Damascus. Instead, Paul says indirectly that happened. He says that because it happened, he came to believe and to preach what the other apostles had experienced with regard to Jesus’s resurrection. He seems to want the letter’s readers to persevere in faith based on his words and the words of the apostles. He seems to suggest that a personal encounter with God isn’t essential to a faith that perseveres in difficult times.

Or does he? He writes, “I am reminding you… of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand” [emphasis mine] (1 Cor. 15:1). I usually associate receiving with something concrete coming into my possession. I don’t usually associate it with merely hearing. “Receiving” suggests something sinking in, settling. To me, receiving implies more than intellectual acceptance. Furthermore, it’s hard to imagine “stand[ing] in” something merely heard from someone else, even if that something heard comes from people who say they actually saw it. Maybe he’s suggesting that the experiences he’s had and the ones that have been shared with him open the door for the Corinthians to have their own personal encounters with God’s grace.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

Leah Sealey reflects on the readings for February 9, 2025. As she does so, she suggests ways to make encounters with Scripture personal encounters with God. Some of the approaches I’d heard of. Others I hadn’t, such as asking what a passage doesn’t say and imagining myself saying it to Jesus. Usually, I read the reflections from Catholic Women Preach after I’ve written the first section of that week’s post. But I wish I’d read Ms. Sealey’s reflection before I wrote my own this week.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, open the doors of my heart and soul to encounters with You. May I recognize encounters with others as encounters with You, and may others do the same when they meet me. Grant us the grace to experience encounters with You and with others as occasions to experience clarity and compassion. Amen.

Scripture Translation Used:

“Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time — Lectionary: 75.” Daily Readings, Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2nd typical ed, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2025, https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020925.cfm

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Finding Strength in Candlemas Scriptures

Posted in Feast of the Presentation, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for February 2, 2024:

  1. Malachi 3:1–4
  2. Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10
  3. Hebrews 2:14–18 
  4. Luke 2:22–40

What stands out to me from this week’s readings:

For he is like the refiner’s fire,
or like the fuller’s lye. . . .
Refining them like gold or like silver
that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD

Malachi 3:2-3

Since the children share in blood and flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the Devil, and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life.

Hebrews 2:14-15

. . . 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  . . . .

Luke 2:33-34

She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke 2:37-38

What I’m saying (to the readings and beyond) this week:

When I first revisited the Scripture passages for February 2, the first quotation brought to mind the Kelly Clarkson song “Stronger” (What Doesn’t Kill You).” I actually felt that since Jesus took away the fear of death, as the epistle says, what else did I really have to be afraid of? The things people say can’t kill me. Neither the mistakes I make nor their consequences can kill me either, if I trust in the Lord and learn from those mistakes.

I tend to respond in one of two ways when someone disagrees with me:

  • Someone’s criticizing me. I must be in the wrong. I need to do what the critic expects.
  • I’m doing what Simeon said the “sign that [would] be contradicted” wants me to do. That’s why I’m being criticized. The backlash is a good sign.

I think I tend to respond the first way more than the second. But option one might be more accurate in one situation, while option two might be more accurate in another. I find consolation in the message that it’s the [R]efiner’s fire that allows me to “make due sacrifice to the Lord,” to choose what’s right regardless of what others think of my choices (Mal. 3:3). My refinement isn’t finished yet, and that’s okay, as long as I stay open to being refined.

Then last night, anxiety caught up with me, as if to counteract the freedom I’d felt listening to “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).” Plenty of experiences don’t make me feel stronger or freer, even though they aren’t death.

I read in the Gospel passage for February 2 that the prophet Anna had lived a long time, especially for a first-century woman. She spent years not remarrying, as many women might have been expected to do or would have had to do to survive. She spent years fasting, and praying, and waiting. Then baby Jesus came into the temple, she told everyone she could about Him. Anna’s life couldn’t have been easy. But once she’d lived through her experiences, seen Jesus, and heard what Simeon said about Mary and her baby, she refused to be silenced.

We are all social creatures, but not all relationships we have the opportunity to take part in are healthy. The Kelly Clarkson song is about breaking free of a harmful relationship. Other relationships might be healthy but aren’t the right fit for us or aren’t right for right now. I wonder if the prophet Anna had experience with these realities. Were such experiences part of what made her open to those years of fasting, praying, waiting, and trusting in the temple?

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

Anna Robertson explores insights we can gain from the prophet Anna’s appearance in the Gospel passage. She also points out that we may not hear about this prophet at Mass. Including her story in the Gospel passage for the Feast of the Presentation is optional.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, help us to persevere in even the most difficult times. Help us to maintain hope. Help us to discern what thoughts, words, and actions will do the most good in various situations. May we follow where discernment and wise advice leads. Help us to be a source of hope and truth for others. Thank you, Lord for giving us opportunities to be sources of hope, May we show love in concrete ways. Amen.

Scripture Translation Used:

“Feast of the Presentation of the Lord — Lectionary: 524.” Daily Readings, Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2nd typical ed, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2025, https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020225.cfm.

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Finding Refreshment in Spiritual Teachings

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for January 26th:

  1. Nehemiah 8:2–4a, 5–6, 8–10
  2. Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15
  3. 1 Corinthians 12:12–30
  4. Luke 1:1–4; 4:14–21

What stands out to me from this week’s readings:

In the first reading, the people in the temple don’t seem encouraged by hearing God’s law. They seem in awe of it. They seem to accept that it’s trustworthy, that it’s wise to obey it. At the same time, they seem bowed down by it. They seem to focus on how they fall short of fulfilling it. But Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Levites tell them, ““Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep” (Neh. 8:10).

The psalm reinforces that the law of the Lord “is trustworthy,” “refresh[es] the soul ” and is cause for “rejoicing” (Psalm 19: 8-9). The Lord’s words “are spirit and life” (John 6:63).

The epistle presents God as a life giver through the Spirit. The passage also highlights the human tendency to focus on the gifts we lack rather than the ones we have.

This focus affects how the people see who’ve grown up with Jesus see Him. The reaction of the listeners isn’t included in this week’s passage, but when I read past this week’s excerpt, I see that they say the following about what Jesus reads and says:

“. . . all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, ‘Isn’t this the son of Joseph?'”

Luke 4:22

They can’t envision this son of Joseph, who trained to work with his hands, bringing “glad tidings to the poor,” “sight to the blind,” and “liberty to the captives” (Luke 4:18). Perhaps behind their questions is not only that Jesus isn’t prepared for the mission he tells them he’s on. Maybe the townspeople also remember that he was born too soon after Mary and Joseph’s marriage. Their vision of who Jesus is limited by their preconceived notions and biases.

What I’m saying (to the readings and beyond) this week:

Often, I don’t experience the law of the Lord as “refreshing” to the soul (P Psalm 8). l feel smug and indignant when I think of God’s commands and perceive myself as the one whose been wronged. I sometimes feel constrained when I’m tempted to do something that might not refresh my soul or someone else’s, something that could make my reflection less like God’s.

As I reflect on this reality of my experience, I think about what might change my feelings about God’s commandments. I remember something I once heard a priest say in a homily. I’ll paraphrase what he said like this: rephrase the commandments as statements about what we should do.

I don’t remember how he rephrased them, so I’m going to do that in my own words as follows:

  • Remember that the material world is passing away; hold onto and prioritize what isn’t.
  • Remember that you didn’t get where you are alone. Give back those who have given to you.
  • Recognize that a holy and healthy life is one with a routine that balances work and rest, activity and contemplation. Celebrate the resurrection and its message for all of us. Recognize that we all need community. When one of us suffers, we all suffer. This happens whether we realize it or not. When one of our community members is absent, we are all affected, whether we realize it or not. Live as if you know you are made to belong.
  • Take care of the life you’ve been given, and take care of the lives of those around you.
  • Make commitments and enjoy the security and stability of honoring them.
  • Be mindful of what you have. Be happy with others for what they have.
  • Respect others and what belongs to them.
  • Tell the truth with love.

As I read this week’s epistle, I see it can celebrate the beauty of differences. It can teach that the Spirit makes individuals members of Christ’s body. It teaches that these members are indispensable to the function of Christ’s body, no matter how different the gifts of one member may be from another member’s. It can be used as an antidote against envy and resentment.

Still, I can’t help but think how it can be used to justify never speaking out against inequities, never considering change to be necessary. It could be used to justify rigid social structures. It could be used to justify unjust discrimination and the perpetuation of stereotypes. It could be used to confirm biases and preconceived notions. “What? You don’t feel your voice is being heard, I can hear someone with more authority and/or education asking someone with less. What? You don’t feel seen? You don’t feel your gifts are being appreciated to the fullest?” Don’t worry. Jesus uses them fully even if you don’t feel like the Church, or your work, or your family, or the organization you volunteer with does. You’ll know this someday. You’re important to your communities even though you don’t and can’t have high-profile roles in them. Your communities need you to do work their leaders aren’t doing while they’re busy doing other, more visible, things. You’re essential. Be content and at peace with this. “

I think to myself, “What if Jesus had believed He couldn’t fulfill his mission because of who Joseph was? What if Jesus had thought the fact that Joseph was a carpenter meant that the Spirit wasn’t calling Him to His ministry?

Let’s not underestimate the value of contributions that go unnoticed. Let’s look more closely, deeper, for the gifts in ourselves and those around us. Let’s respect the Spirit’s freedom of movement in us and around us.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

Find out what role a colorful beach towel plays in Pilar Siman’s reflection on the readings for January 26th.

This week’s prayer:

Lord help us to see in ourselves the gifts that others may or may not see in us. Help us to be open-minded and creative in how we use the gifts You give to care for Your creation. Help us to trust that when our gifts are employed by cooperate with Your spirit, they will accomplish what You had in mind when You gave them to us. Help us to experience Your commandments as gifts to us. Amen.

Work cited:

The New American Bible Revised Edition, Kindle edition, Fairbrother, 2011.

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The Romantic Dynamics of God’s Love

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, Who Am I in God, Who is God, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Readings for January 19th:

  1. Isaiah 62:1–5
  2. Psalm 96:1–2, 2–3, 7–8, 9–10
  3. 1 Corinthians 12:4–11
  4. John 2:1–11

What stands out to me from this week’s readings:

Today’s readings remind me that God’s nature is relationship – not just relationship between the Persons of the Trinity but with creation. God creates because God’s nature is relationship, and a relationship isn’t something that happens to one person. It’s a bond between at least two.

Today’s readings are about an intimate bond, the most intimate bond, the bond between God and God’s people. The readings characterize this bond as a bond between a bride and a groom. They paint an idealized picture of the bond between newlyweds. In the Old Testament reading, God is the groom who “delight[s]” and “rejoice[s]” in his bride (Isa. 62:4-5). Yes, the bride and groom exchange vows him, but the first reading makes it clear that more than vows, expectations, and a legal bond joins the bride and groom. It’s not a bond that’s imposed. It’s a bond that forms and grows. So is the relationship between God and a person who loves God.

The psalm says the royal groom gives the bride cause to sing His praises and get dressed up. Why? Because the groom is a just and heroic leader who escorts His previously captive, deceived, and abused bride to freedom. When I look at this week’s epistle through the lens of a marriage between an individual and God, the passage says to me that the relationship between God and each person is unique. It comes with pleasant experiences, less pleasant ones, challenges, and surprises. Each person’s relationship with God is unique. Each one of these relationships offers distinct gifts to the world.

Fittingly, given the marriage metaphor developed in the first reading, this week’s gospel passage takes place at a wedding. What stood out to me as I revisited the passage this time was the role of surprise in it. Based on what we find in the New Testament, Jesus knows how his earthly ministry will end, but He’s surprised by encounters He has during it. Maybe he doesn’t know everything all at once. The stories about his infancy and childhood suggest this.

And then His mother comes to Him at a wedding and says the host is out of wine. He seems to wonder what this problem has to do with his ministry and mission. Yet I imagine he knows that any good he does can serve that mission. He also knows relationship is the source and goal of the mission. Interaction between two living beings creates that relationship. So his mother’s request plays a key part in his work on this occasion.

He’s not the only person surprised in the passage. The head waiter is surprised, too, by how much better the second batch of wine, the one Jesus changed from water, is than the first.

And why wouldn’t surprise have an important role in the passage? Continuing to be pleasantly surprised keeps a relationship interesting. Furthermore, being able to accept unexpected developments is crucial in a healthy relationship. Responding to these developments in authentically helpful ways is also essential.

I would think having a basis in more than routine and ritual is also important. When I think about this, it seems significant that Jesus uses jars meant for ceremonial washings. He fills them with the water that will become wine. He takes vessels used for ritual and for external purposes and uses them to provide for the needs of the guests.

A lot of water wasn’t safe for drinking for centuries. Water was for spiritual and practical cleansing, in many cases. According to this source, wine mixed with water was for drinking. So not providing guests with enough wine wouldn’t just have been a serious social faux pas. It was likely also health concern.

Therefore, by making sure the host has more wine, Jesus is providing for those present physically and emotionally. He hasn’t made sure they have more wine so they merely survive. As a good spouse cares, He cares about how the guests feel and wants them to thrive. This passage reminds me of when Jesus says, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10) Like the jars for ceremonial washing, he wants the guests “filled to the brim” with what they need. It’s not enough just to keep the jars – us — from being empty.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

Claire Erlenborn turns to this week’s readings for help with reflecting on what makes “change for the good” happen.

This week’s prayer:

Jesus, I want to fall in love with You. Help me grow in my relationship with you so our relationship can take part in bringing good change to the world. Amen.

Work cited (but Not Linked to):

The New American Bible Revised Edition, Kindle edition, Fairbrother, 2011.

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Jesus’ Baptism Continues Christmas Tidings

Posted in Baptism of the Lord, Christmas, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for January 12th:

  1. Isaiah 40:1–5, 9–11 or Isaiah 42:1–4, 6–7
  2. Psalm 28(29):1-4,9-10 or Psalm 104:1b–2, 3–4, 24–25, 27–28, 29–30
  3. Acts 10:34–38 or Titus 2:11–14; 3:4–7
  4. Luke 3:15–16, 21–22

What stands out to me from this week’s readings:

The feast we celebrate today commemorates a turning point. Today is the last day of the liturgical Christmas season. It’s the end of the beginning.

In today’s gospel passage, we see that Jesus has grown into a man. And yet the message of today’s readings is still the message of Christmas. That message is that God is with us. One of the ways God is with us is by being one of us.

In all the gospel passages associated with Christmas, including today’s, most people don’t understand who Jesus is until God reveals the identity of the only begotten Son in unusual ways. These unusual ways include an announcement from an angel, the radiance of a star, and, in the case of today’s story, a disembodied voice.

But the heavens don’t open, and that voice doesn’t speak until Jesus places himself among sinners — this time in a more conscious and open way than ever before. He’s no longer the infant visited by shepherds and astrologers. His ministry is no longer that of a carpenter in a single village. He’s a man now, free to go where He will without making his mother worry that she’s let God down.

Where He goes is to John. He goes to John to model repentance. He models of the death of the old self and the birth of a new one. His coming to John for baptism foreshadows His death and Resurrection that made ours possible. As part of His baptism, He allows Himself to be submerged in the Jordan River. He then lets the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, come to rest on Him. He offers himself to unite the natural world with God. He teaches that all of this world points to God. It points to God for those who are willing and able to follow where it leads.

All the options for this week’s readings do the same. They point to God being in our midst everywhere, at all times if we know how to look.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, help us. You call all people your beloved children. Guide us to treat ourselves and others the way You call us to. Amen.

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Isaiah 60:5 — An Epiphany Reflection

Posted in Christmas, Epiphany, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for January 5th:

  1. Isaiah 60:1–6
  2. Psalm 72:1–2, 7–8, 10–11, 12–13
  3. Ephesians 3:2–3a, 5–6
  4. Matthew 2:1–12

What stands out to me from this week’s readings:

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow . . .

Isaiah 60:5

The Old Testament passage for January 5 describes God’s light drawing the members of the tribes of Israel together and to itself. The verse above, particularly its second line, is what stands out to me from the passage and from this week’s readings.

It doesn’t surprise me that this verse is the one that jumps out at me from all the ones chosen for this week. Romantic themes and imagery are what resonate with me. I watch, read, and write stories about what it means to love.

When I think about the feast we celebrate today, I think of a brilliant light leading wise men who are not Hebrews to baby Jesus. I think of how the magi bring him gifts that don’t seem appropriate for a baby.

Nonetheless, these gifts teach Jesus’ spiritual family members about who He is and what His mission is. I think of how, while what the New Testament passage calls a star leads the wise men from afar to Jesus, the magi don’t tell Herod where to find Jesus. In other words, I engage my mind and its ears and eyes in the story.

But when I read the second line of Isaiah 60:5 this time around, the story of the Magi seeking the infant Jesus took on a new dimension for me. Or at least I received the story’s message in a new way. I imagined the Incarnation of Christ as a physical sensation within me. It

Isaiah 60:5 says the experience of Christ in the flesh cannot be contained in any way, not even within a single time period, space, or culture. And yet it is tangible everywhere.

It reminds me I’m called not just to follow the Light but to let the pain and pleasure of it in. I’m to be a vessel as much as the next person, and the next. The Light has the weight and power of water as much light. It is as much like a swollen river as it is an astronomical occurrence that makes night like day.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

The “Hark!” podcast from America Media explores the history and messages of various Christmas carols. (If you can’t access the link in this section without subscribing to America, I encourage you to search for the podcast and the “We Three Kings” episode in particular in the podcast player of your choice.) Each episode is named for the title of the carol featured in it. This episode about “We Three Kings” discusses the familiar components and interpretations of this week’s gospel passage. It also offers some insights I’d never heard before. Here’s a teaser: maybe the gifts of the magi were for Mary too.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, open the eyes of my soul so I can follow Your light. Make me “be radiant at what [I] see” (Isa. 60:5). Make my heart “throb and overflow” (Isa. 60:5). Amen.

Work cited (but Not Linked to):

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. “The Epiphany of the Lord – Mass of the Day Sunday 5 January 2025: Readings at Mass.” The New American Bible, 2001. Universalis for Windows, Version 2.198, Universalis Publishing Ltd., 13 Dec. 2024, https://universalis.com/n-app-windows.htm.

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