Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Ash Wednesday

Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18
Style over substance may be a popular approach to modern life, but it does not work with God. Our Parent sees what is real whether we like it or not. Let this Lent be the birth of a new lifestyle: Truth.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mark 2: 1-12
And still more miracles today. Why? Because some in the crowd could not believe Truth with their own ears. So Jesus gave them a little magic show to prove his authority. Perhaps we were still too childish to listen then, but there is no excuse for such attitudes now. Grow up and stop looking for signs. No amount of proof can take you to the Kingdom; only faith and love will do.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mark 1: 40-45
Again with the miracles. If they were not done, would it have been "impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly"? If he had simply preached Truth would the response still have been that "people kept coming to him from everywhere"? We all know the sad answer. What will it take for us to choose substance over style? When will we crave the Real, rather than the bright and shiny?

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mark 1: 29-39
Let us be honest with ourselves today. What do we believe in: the Word or the miracles? If Jesus preached, but did not heal, would we have listened? Is not Truth good enough by itself? What proof do you demand from our Parent today? What proof would you demand if the Child of Life was standing in front of you? Can any magic make Love more real than it already is?

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Deuteronomy 18: 15-20; 1 Corinthians 7: 32-35; Mark 1: 21-28
For too long our family has been plagued by notions that the spiritual is better than the material, that we must flee the world and the flesh to truly love and serve God. I say to you that such ideas are nonsense. Who do you think created the material? Who do you think created our flesh? We are meant to be together. Celibacy may be of practical necessity in some cases, but it is certainly not a higher calling. Yes, the world and flesh are full of distractions, but it is precisely there that the One is to be found. The Kingdom does not lie in the extraordinary, but in the average and the mundane. There is truly the delight of the Spirit. Time is not passing away, but even if it were, Father would want us to revel in her creation until the very last second. That is "adherence to the Lord." Do not expect miracles to prove that what I say is true. Listen to the authority of the Spirit that dwells within you; she will not lead you astray.