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Get into the ring! How this works...

This is easy! Each week on Thursday I post my homily idea...my main focus for preaching this coming Sunday. What I am hoping for is a reaction from people in the pews. Does my "focus" connect with your daily life, faith, and experience? Or not? Either affirm the direction I am going in (by giving me an example from your life) or challenge me, ask for clarification! Questions are the best! Reaction rather than reflection is what I'm looking for here. Don't be afraid, get in the ring. Ole!



Saturday, November 16, 2013

Nov 17th Homily prep

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 5:30 Sat, 11:00 am and 6:00pm Sunday

What is your suffering saying?

It is the manner of our suffering, the way we endure or persevere the tough stuff,  that speaks most loudly of our relationship to Jesus Christ.   "No whining on the yacht" is the classic line one of our parishioners has coined meaning that our complaining about discomfort is "oxymoronic" - doesn't make sense.   What our complaining does reveal is our level of or lack of connection to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.

So, how's your suffering?  What is it revealing about your friendship with Jesus?  Or lack thereof?

6 comments:

Peg said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Peg said...

A classier way of saying 'no crying in baseball' or 'I do not like your hat' which is what we tell our grandkids and say to each other in rough times. Celebrating my mom's wonderful and faithful life today. THere will be lots of stories and of course tears. Your words will be grounding me today. Just what the heck are we whining about anyway?

JoyFuralle said...

Love it, LOVE IT, L-O-V-E I-T!!! Can't wait to "hear" the homily, although I've heard it all week within from the difficult stuff of this SUPER-busy week.

In taking care of a friend, we go to the oncologist who gave us the news: biopsy revealed lymphoma requiring chemo. So the doctor tells us all the specifics, asks if we have questions. I make the comment about why we initially came cuz Dee was VERY tired all the time & her voice was raspy. The Dr. tell us her tiredness will improve drastically & the throat will clear up. So there we're sitting, absolutely THRILLED and HAPPY, and the set-up nurse comes in to tell us about the upcoming procedures & chemo, etc. She is VERY somber, and Dee says, I'm so happy you could take us so quickly & soon I'll be less tired. Me, I'm practically doing handsprings, with the fact that symptoms are finally pointing to SOMETHING. The nurse had a hard time understanding our joy... but Dee & I know...it's the Lord!

anon 1 said...

I just had a conversation with a young adult man, who is suffering now in the most profound way he has yet experienced in his lifetime. We talked about the effect he can choose for this to have on him: that he can try to mask the suffering (with addictions), or become embittered by it – or face it, and even use it in a way that benefits another. The suffering is real – he wept as we spoke – but these were choices he understood and had been thinking about even before our conversation. I don’t know that he is able to see this way of suffering as a connection of friendship with Jesus – yet this teaching of the Matador’s is a beauty. If he could grasp it, he could even better hope for the peace, love, and justice that can result.

Anonymous said...

The way I grew in this connection with Christ and His Kingdom was that every time I "felt" a complaint "coming on" I would lift my heart and open my mind to Jesus and instead of the complaint (interior most of all), I would say inside: Jesus, I love you. This small act of "thinking" and "feeling", has truly brought me closer to Christ and the furthering of His Kingdom. And has made my whole life brighter, more loving, and more joyful. I encourage everyone to try it.

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