Sixth Sunday of Easter Lectionary Reflection May 21, 2017

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Barb Born

May 21, 2017: Sixth Sunday of Easter

Catholic Social Teaching: Life and Dignity of the Human Person
It is from the inner wellspring of love that the values of truth, freedom and justice are born and grow. Human life in society is ordered, bears fruits of goodness and responds to human dignity when it is founded on truth; when it is lived in justice, that is, in the effective respect of rights and in the faithful carrying out of corresponding duties; when it is animated by selflessness, which makes the needs and requirements of others seem as one’s own and intensifies the communion of spiritual values and the concern for material necessities; when it is brought about in the freedom that befits the dignity of men and women, prompted by their rational nature to accept responsibility for their actions. These values constitute the pillars which give strength and consistency to the edifice of life and deeds: they are values that determine the quality of every social action and institution. (205) Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Readings
First Reading: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
Psalm: 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
Second Reading: 1st Peter 3:15-18
Gospel: John 14:15-21

Catechism of the Catholic Church
Because the Holy Spirit is the anointing of Christ, it is Christ who, as the head of the Body, pours out the Spirit among his members to nourish, heal, and organize them in their mutual functions, to give them life, send them to bear witness, and associate them to his self-offering to the Father and to his intercession for the whole world. Through the Church’s sacraments, Christ communicates his Holy and sanctifying Spirit to the members of his Body. (739) From the Daily Roman Missal, Introduction to the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church:

John 14:16, 26
The documents referred to here constitute the milestones of the path travelled by the Church’s social doctrine from the time of Pope Leo XIII to our own day. This brief summary would become much longer if we considered all the interventions motivated, other than by a specific theme, by “the pastoral concern to present to the entire Christian community and to all men of good will the fundamental principles, universal criteria and guidelines suitable for suggesting basic choices and coherent practice for every concrete situation”.
In the formulation and teaching of this social doctrine, the Church has been, and continues to be, prompted not by theoretical motivation but by pastoral concerns. She is spurred on by the repercussions that social upheavals have on people, on multitudes of men and women, on human dignity itself, in contexts where “man painstakingly searches for a better world, without working with equal zeal for the betterment of his own spirit”. For these reasons, this social doctrine has arisen and developed an “updated doctrinal ‘corpus’ … [that] builds up gradually, as the Church, in the fullness of the word revealed by Christ Jesus and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 14:16,26; 16:13-15), reads events as they unfold in the course of history”.(104)

John 14:21, 23-24

The Church has the right to be a teacher for mankind, a teacher of the truth of faith: the truth not only of dogmas but also of the morals whose source lies in human nature itself and in the Gospel. The word of the Gospel, in fact, is not only to be heard but is also to be observed and put into practice (cf. Mt 7:24; Lk 6:46-47; Jn 14:21,23-24; Jas 1:22). Consistency in behaviour shows what one truly believes and is not limited only to things strictly church-related or spiritual but involves men and women in the entirety of their life experience and in the context of all their responsibilities. However worldly these responsibilities may be, their subject remains man, that is, the human being whom God calls, by means of the Church, to participate in his gift of salvation.
Men and women must respond to the gift of salvation not with a partial, abstract or merely verbal acceptance, but with the whole of their lives — in every relationship that defines life — so as not to neglect anything, leaving it in a profane and worldly realm where it is irrelevant or foreign to salvation. For this reason the Church’s social doctrine is not a privilege for her, nor a digression, a convenience or interference: it is her right to proclaim the Gospel in the context of society, to make the liberating word of the Gospel resound in the complex worlds of production, labour, business, finance, trade, politics, law, culture, social communications, where men and women live. (70)

For complete text visit: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html

Reflection
Are you always ready to tell your story? The particulars of your life woven with profound exclamations of belief. Aspects of your life that cultured meaning, purpose and hope, so you no longer just existed, but started to live. By telling anyone that asks you to explain the basis of your hope, faith ceases to root in theological doctrines and becomes relational. Your relationship to God flowing into a relational conversation with others. You explain transformation without drawing listeners into theological jargon. The my experience invites others into your story. How comfortable would you be telling your story to anyone that asked for the reason of your hope and joy? Could you even talk with clarity to your closest family and friends? Do we really need to be able to verbalize our story, let it escape our inner being, for it to really become our story? Otherwise is it just percolating, brewing to venture forth in the future, for we have not taken ownership of our story thru expression?

As we gain voice to tell our story, we must also listen to others’ stories. Taking the time to listen without judging, acknowledging their courage and struggles for where they are at the present moment. So the tape measure of religiosity or piety pinnacles have no place in our conversation. In telling and listening to stories, we accompany one another on the journey of faith, the essence of life. There the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth’s presence honors the dialogue. A place where we declare what God has done for us, refused not our prayers, lavished us with kindness and we express our love for God by keeping His commandments in the stories of our lives.

Individual Reflection: 1st Peter 3:15-18
Read a biography, the story, of your confirmation saint. Ask their intercession for the strength to tell your story.

Family Reflection: Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16-20
Ask someone that is a role model for your family to share their story with you. If they would agree, make a video to share on your social media

Prayer: Prayerfully in praise, thank God for your faith journey

Blogs to Visit:
http://marynow.wordpress.com/
As we reflect upon Mary’s presence in the mysteries of the Rosary, we are blessed to know her. For her journey, a timeless trek, calls us to surrender, continuing conversion, humbleness and justice now.
https://peaceonjustice.wordpress.com/
Weekly lectionary reflections, for faith sharing groups, parish bulletins, newsletters or personal prayer, from the synergy of the Word we hear and the rich tradition of Catholic Social Teaching.
https://cst74life.wordpress.com/
Catholic Social Teaching offers seven principles for upholding life in our thoughts, decisions and actions.
http://idocst.wordpress.com/
How we do Catholic Social Teaching.
https://csmresources.wordpress.com/
Creation sustainability ministry resources in the spirit of the St Francis Pledge.
https://smrep.wordpress.com/
Social Ministry Resources Engaging Parishes: Monthly and liturgical seasons resources for use with parish websites, bulletins and newsletters

Involvement Opportunities
List one or two upcoming events, legislative action alerts or social justice websites

By Barb Born April 30, 2017 The reflection maybe used in parish bulletins, newsletters or for faith sharing groups without copyright concern.

Fifth Sunday of Easter Lectionary Reflection May 14, 2017

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Barb Born

May 14, 2017: Fifth Sunday of Easter

Catholic Social Teaching: Rights and Responsibilities

[W]e all must strip ourselves of this worldliness: the spirit opposing the spirit Beatitudes, the spirit opposing the spirit of Jesus. Worldliness hurts us. It is so very sad to find a worldly Christian, sure — according to him — of that security that the faith gives and of the security that the world provides. You cannot be on both sides. The Church — all of us — must strip herself of the worldliness that leads to vanity, to pride, that is idolatry. (Pope Francis Quote10/4/13) From USCCB Pope Francis Quotes:
http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/upload/pope-francis-quotes1.pdf

Readings
First Reading: Acts 6:1-7
Psalm: 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19
Second Reading: 1st Peter 2:4-9
Gospel: John 14:1-12

Catechism of the Catholic Church
Christ, high priest and unique mediator, has made of the Church “a kingdom, priests for his God and Father.” The whole community of believers is, as such, priestly. The faithful exercise their baptismal priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ’s mission as priest, prophet, and king. Through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation the faithful are “consecrated to be . . . a holy priesthood.” (1546) From the Daily Roman Missal, Introduction to the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church:

John 14:6
The Church moves further into the Third Millennium of the Christian era as a pilgrim people, guided by Christ, the “great Shepherd” (Heb 13:20). He is the “Holy Door” (cf. Jn 10:9) through which we passed during the Great Jubilee of the year 2000. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6): contemplating the Lord’s face, we confirm our faith and our hope in him, the one Saviour and goal of history.
The Church continues to speak to all people and all nations, for it is only in the name of Christ that salvation is given to men and women. Salvation, which the Lord Jesus obtained “at a price” (1 Cor 6:20; cf. 1 Pet 1:18-19), is achieved in the new life that awaits the righteous after death, but it also permeates this world in the realities of the economy and labour, of technology and communications, of society and politics, of the international community and the relations among cultures and peoples. “Jesus came to bring integral salvation, one which embraces the whole person and all mankind, and opens up the wondrous prospect of divine filiation”. (1)

Fostering a social and political culture inspired by the Gospel must be an area of particular importance for the lay faithful. Recent history has shown the weakness and radical failure of commonly held cultural perspectives that prevailed for a long time, especially on the social and political levels. In this area, particularly in the decades following the Second World War, Catholics in different countries have been involved at high levels, which shows with ever greater clarity today the consistency of their inspiration and of their heritage of values. The social and political involvement of Catholics, in fact, has never been limited to the mere transformation of structures, because this involvement takes place at the foundations of a culture that receives and listens to the reasoning made by faith and morality, including them as the basis and goal of concrete planning. When this awareness is lacking, Catholics themselves are condemned to cultural dispersion and their proposals are rendered insufficient and limited. An urgent priority today is also found in the need to present the patrimony of Catholic tradition, its values and content, and the entire spiritual, intellectual and moral heritage of Catholicism, in culturally up-to-date terms. Faith in Jesus Christ, who described himself as “the way and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6), prompts Christians to commit themselves with firm and ever new resolve to building a social and political culture inspired by the Gospel. (555)

John 14:9

The benevolence and mercy that inspire God’s actions and provide the key for understanding them become so very much closer to man that they take on the traits of the man Jesus, the Word made flesh. In the Gospel of Saint Luke, Jesus describes his messianic ministry with the words of Isaiah which recall the prophetic significance of the jubilee: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk 4:18-19; cf. Is 61:1-2). Jesus therefore places himself on the frontline of fulfilment, not only because he fulfils what was promised and what was awaited by Israel, but also in the deeper sense that in him the decisive event of the history of God with mankind is fulfilled. He proclaims: “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). Jesus, in other words, is the tangible and definitive manifestation of how God acts towards men and women. (28)

For complete text visit: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html

Reflection
How do we define our mission of faith? Our individual faith journey, our parishes, our dioceses, our universal Church do we seek a balance between expressing prayer, articulating the Word of God and service? A trinitarian approach in worshipping our Trinitarian God that increased the number of disciples in the early church. But do we incorporate a balance of prayer, the Word and service today? Can we become fixated on one component, trivializing the importance of the others? Jesus modeled the importance of the three components and we should let them mold our faith today. Strengthened by prayer, nurtured and inspired by the Word, we become attentive of ways to offer loving service within our parishes and beyond to the greater community. Then we become living stones building a spiritual house, the Kingdom of God, with Jesus as the cornerstone. Drawn forth form the shelter of our dismal and dark caves of self-pity, judgment and fear, we roll forth into the light. Stones of many sizes and shapes, but perfectly crafted by the Creator, so they fit into their unique place. Each with a unique task that will be manifest with attentiveness to prayer, the Word and service, Each formed with a distinctive composition. The softness of sandstone, freely crumbling to mortar stones together. The porosity of lava to let living water refreshing flow thru them and share the refreshment with others. The hardness of quartz to define issues and issue a call for justice. Each stone complementing each other. Each stone precious in God’s sight, should be affirmed, welcomed and included by the other stones. For if one stone is ignored, marginalized and dismissed, the spiritual house’s integrity is compromised, endangering the viability of the other stones. We must have faith about our role as a unique stone, realizing our Father has prepared many dwelling places for all His unique stones, now and in our eternal home, that we will know through following Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. That belief strengthens us to the works of Jesus and even greater ones, since He now abides with the Father.

Individual Reflection:1st Peter:2:4-9
What type of unique stone are you? How do you struggle to be your unique stone God has created? Live this week accentuating the unique stone you are.

Family Reflection: John 14:1-12
The history of Mother’s Day is rooted in peace. How can your family claim the original intention of Mother’s Day in your family, parish and community?
History of Mother’s Day: http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mothers-day

Prayer:
As Jesus sought the quiet of the desert,
teach us to pray.
As Jesus washed the feet of his disciples,
teach us to love.
As Jesus promised paradise to the thief on the cross,
teach us to hope.
As Jesus called Peter to walk to him across the water,
teach us to believe.
As the child Jesus sat among the elders in the temple,
teach us to seek answers.
As Jesus in the garden opened his mind and heart to God’s will,
teach us to listen.
As Jesus reflected on the Law and the prophets,
teach us to learn.
As Jesus used parables to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom,
teach us to teach.
~from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers
From: http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/prayers/litany-of-the-way-prayer-for-the-journey.cfm

Involvement Opportunities
List one or two upcoming events, legislative action alerts or social justice websites

By Barb Born April 27, 2017 The reflection maybe used in parish bulletins, newsletters or for faith sharing groups without copyright concern.

Fourth Sunday of Easter Lectionary Reflection May 7, 2017

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Barb Born

May 7, 2017: Fourth Sunday of Easter

Catholic Social Teaching: Call to Family, Community and Participation
Faith and reason represent the two cognitive paths of the Church’s social doctrine: Revelation and human nature. The “knowing” of faith understands and directs the life of men and women according to the light of the historical-salvific mystery, God’s revelation and gift of himself to us in Christ. This understanding of faith includes reason, by means of which — insofar as possible — it unravels and comprehends revealed truth and integrates it with the truth of human nature, found in the divine plan expressed in creation. This is the integral truth of the human person as a spiritual and corporeal being, in relationship with God, with other human beings and with other creatures.
Being centred on the mystery of Christ, moreover, does not weaken or exclude the role of reason and hence does not deprive the Church’s social doctrine of rationality or, therefore, of universal applicability. Since the mystery of Christ illuminates the mystery of man, it gives fullness of meaning to human dignity and to the ethical requirements which defend it. The Church’s social doctrine is knowledge enlightened by faith, which, as such, is the expression of a greater capacity for knowledge. It explains to all people the truths that it affirms and the duties that it demands; it can be accepted and shared by all. (75). Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Readings
First Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Psalm: 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
Second Reading: 1st Peter 2:20b-25
Gospel: John 10:1-10

Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Church is, accordingly, a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to which is Christ. It is also the flock of which God himself foretold that he would be the shepherd, and whose sheep, even though governed by human shepherds, are unfailingly nourished and led by Christ himself, the Good Shepherd and Prince of Shepherds, who gave his life for his sheep. (754) From the Daily Roman Missal, Introduction to the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church:

John 10:9
The Church moves further into the Third Millennium of the Christian era as a pilgrim people, guided by Christ, the “great Shepherd” (Heb 13:20). He is the “Holy Door” (cf. Jn 10:9) through which we passed during the Great Jubilee of the year 2000. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6): contemplating the Lord’s face, we confirm our faith and our hope in him, the one Saviour and goal of history.
The Church continues to speak to all people and all nations, for it is only in the name of Christ that salvation is given to men and women. Salvation, which the Lord Jesus obtained “at a price” (1 Cor 6:20; cf. 1 Pet 1:18-19), is achieved in the new life that awaits the righteous after death, but it also permeates this world in the realities of the economy and labour, of technology and communications, of society and politics, of the international community and the relations among cultures and peoples. “Jesus came to bring integral salvation, one which embraces the whole person and all mankind, and opens up the wondrous prospect of divine filiation”. (1)
For complete text visit: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html

Reflection
Short cuts, cutting corners in life and faith rob us of the fullness of life. Being slackers, not giving 100 percent, we rob God. Our unused gifts of passion, energy and enthusiasm not blossoming to fruition denies creation of potentially transforming experiences. Repenting from just getting by and living refreshed by the depth of baptism’s call, we affirm the Lord is our Shepherd who refreshes our soul. Superficial wants disappear into superfluous memories, for there is nothing one shall want. Courage supersedes evil. Focus on the Shepherd dispels a preponderance to focus on negativity in the world, so we gaze in hope and act in love. Our heads anointed with oil impart the gift of the Holy Spirit in confirmation. Fruits of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control come to fruition.

The Shepherd hurls no insults, only speaking truth and assurance to the sheep following Him. Hearing the Shepherd’s voice, realizing its promise, the sheep will follow no one else masquerading as a shepherd that will rob them of their dignity, hope and the truth. Life is infused abundantly, rooted in Divine parameters. Patience must craft our demeanor as we follow the Shepherd. The concept of time must not be defined by days on a calendar or the digital numbers of a watch, but the appropriate time, the right time of the Shepherd’s unfolding. The patience in journeying not as sheep in a singular nature, but sheep in a collective herd. Our nuances, varying spiritual needs, various gifts leads us to rely on patience for effective collaboration.

The Shepherd guides us on right paths, saving us from corrupt generations over millenniums. Fiscal improprieties, authoritarian dictates, hunger for power in spiritual and civic realms might appear imposing a finality. With the Shepherd’s guidance and assurance, we can see the phoniness of such ruses, how they lack truth. They only lead us to follow the Shepherd with deeper commitment, for we see the power of His truth.

Individual Reflection: Acts 2:14a, 36-41
As you prepare to buy flowers for Mother’s Day, decorate your home or use flowers at your parish, learn about the costs….Not just the money, but the social and environmental costs…

Many cut flowers come from countries like Ecuador, Viet Nam and Kenya, where workers experience harsh and unsafe working conditions. They might earn less than a dollar per day and are exposed to pesticides outlawed in the United States, without afforded the use of protective gear. The end user of the flowers can be exposed to pesticide residue. Our carbon foot print is increased from the transportation and refrigeration of flowers over such long distances. Consider more ethical flower choices:
Purchase locally grown flowers
Buy flowers at a farmers market
Look for fair trade flowers
Use flowers from your garden
Gift a plant
Consider succulents
Make a donation to plant a tree in honor of your mother
Contribute to an organization helping reforest the Amazon or other habitat

Family Reflection: John 10:1-10
Encourage the use of ethically sourced flowers in your church to stand in solidarity with workers and creation

Prayer: Draws picture depicting the 23rd Psalm and place yourself in the picture as a follower of the Shepherd

Involvement Opportunities
List one or two upcoming events, legislative action alerts or social justice websites

By Barb Born April 27, 2017 The reflection maybe used in parish bulletins, newsletters or for faith sharing groups without copyright concern.

Third Sunday of Easter Lectionary Reflection April 30, 2017

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Barb Born

April 30,2017: Third Sunday of Easter

Catholic Social Teaching: Solidarity
Watch a You Tube video of Two Were Bound for Emmaus by Bob Hurd
Reflect on how our journey on the Road to Emmaus and the gift of Eucharist helps us to stand in solidarity

Readings
First Reading: Acts 2:14-22-33
Psalm: 16, 1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Second Reading: 1st Peter 1:17-21
Gospel: Luke 24:13-35

Catechism of the Catholic Church
By means of touch and the sharing of a meal, the risen Jesus establishes direct contact with his disciples. He invites them in this way to recognize that he is not a ghost and above all to verify that the risen body in which he appears to them is the same body that had been tortured and crucified, for it still bears the traces of his Passion. Yet at the same time this authentic, real body possesses the new properties of a glorious body: not limited by space and time but able to be present how and when he wills; for Christ’s humanity can no longer be confined to earth, and belongs henceforth only to the Father’s divine realm. For this reason too the risen Jesus enjoys the sovereign freedom of appearing as he wishes: in the guise of a gardener or in other forms familiar to his disciples, precisely to awaken their faith. (645) From the Daily Roman Missal, Introduction to the, Third Sunday of Easter Cycle A

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church:

1st Peter 1:18-19
The Church moves further into the Third Millennium of the Christian era as a pilgrim people, guided by Christ, the “great Shepherd” (Heb 13:20). He is the “Holy Door” (cf. Jn 10:9) through which we passed during the Great Jubilee of the year 2000. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6): contemplating the Lord’s face, we confirm our faith and our hope in him, the one Saviour and goal of history.
The Church continues to speak to all people and all nations, for it is only in the name of Christ that salvation is given to men and women. Salvation, which the Lord Jesus obtained “at a price” (1 Cor 6:20; cf. 1 Pet 1:18-19), is achieved in the new life that awaits the righteous after death, but it also permeates this world in the realities of the economy and labour, of technology and communications, of society and politics, of the international community and the relations among cultures and peoples. “Jesus came to bring integral salvation, one which embraces the whole person and all mankind, and opens up the wondrous prospect of divine filiation”. (1)

For complete text visit: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html

Reflection
Sojourning thru life, we venture along a path. Do we try to insulate ourselves from the texture of the path’s surface that the Lord shows us, trying to make it smoother than it really is, by lacing up hiking boots? To insulate us from pebbles and rocks the Lord places on our path to jar our senses to awareness of concerns He implores us to address. Or do we wear athletic shoes with cushioning insoles, so we feel, comfortable and agile on the path, easily navigating around impediments that might slow our agenda and shield us from seeing the faces of those we swiftly swish by? Might we wear flip flops to feel the changing environment, the cold chill of exclusion, the hot intensity of challenging concerns? The farm workers sweating under scorching sun who harvest the lettuce for your leisurely dinner salad, the homeless person trying to sleep without shelter, as you drive past them in your warm car holding a cup of steaming coffee on a cold winter’s morning, the child burning with desire for three nutritious meals each day, but are we cold to the growling of their hungry stomach? But the Lord desires we walk our path proverbially barefoot. Only that way will we feel the experience of the fullness of life He offers, not isolated for our own comfort, less agile to maneuver past HIs promptings. Then we abound in the joy of His presence, for the Lord ransoms us from futile conduct handed down by our ancestors detached from prophetic pasts as they clinged to a life laden with perishable things on their path.

We can converse and debate about the injustices attacking faith, attempts to crucify belief with people walking the collective path of humanity and listen to voices standing at the tombs of prophetic voices that some may seek to silence because they think they are all powerful. We may have to travel the path for first hand encounters with empty tombs to believe God prevails beyond earthly attacks of perceived religious and social authorities, so the truth prevails, justice reigns. We must eagerly venture the path of life so our hearts quickly yearn to believe all the prophets spoke. In belief we invite Jesus to stay with us on our journey and sit with Him at table, yearning for the bread only He can provide, letting His blessing ring loudly and profoundly in our ears. Then we humbly receive His presence and go forth to tell the story of our path to others. We each walk the Road to Emmaus. Let us always invite Jesus to be on that path with us.

Individual Reflection: 1st Peter 1:17-21
On May 1st, the Feast of St Joseph the Worker, reflect on your work in light of the introduction to this day from the Daily Roman Missal: “Human labor, no matter how ordinary can be sanctified, which in turn can sanctify oneself and others making each of the faithful a participant in Christ’s work of redemption.”

Family Reflection: Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
May 3rd is the Feast of Apostles Sts Philip and James. As a family, read James 1:19-27 and chapter 2. Reflect on how you are living those words and prayerfully consider ways to live them more in depth.

Prayer:
Spend time prayerfully at the Blessed Sacrament to thank Jesus for breaking the bread and opening your eyes, as you have journeyed on your Road to Emmaus

Involvement Opportunities
List one or two upcoming events, legislative action alerts or social justice websites

By Barb Born April 19, 2017 The reflection maybe used in parish bulletins, newsletters or for faith sharing groups without copyright concern.

Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday Lectionary Reflection April 23, 2017

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Barb Born

April 23,2017: Divine Mercy Sunday, The Second Sunday of Easter

Catholic Social Teaching: Life and Dignity of the Human Person

“Integral human development and the full exercise of human dignity cannot be imposed. They must be built up and allowed to unfold for each individual, for every family, in communion with others, and in a right relationship with all those areas in which human social life develops – friends, communities, towns and cities, schools, businesses and unions, provinces, nations, etc.” Pope Francis address to the United Nations September 25, 2015

Readings
First Reading: Acts 2:42-47
Psalm: 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
Second Reading: 1st Peter 1:3-9
Gospel: John 20:19-31

Catechism of the Catholic Church
The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: “All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.”82 Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: “So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (1816)
From the Daily Roman Missal, Introduction to the, Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday Cycle A

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church:

John 29:19, 21, 26

The promise of peace that runs through the entire Old Testament finds its fulfilment in the very person of Jesus. Peace, in fact, is the messianic attribute par excellence, in which all other beneficial effects of salvation are included. The Hebrew word “shalom” expresses this fullness of meaning in its etymological sense of “completeness” (cf. Is 9:5ff; Mic 5:1-4). The kingdom of the Messiah is precisely the kingdom of peace (cf. Job 25:2; Ps 29:11; 37:11; 72:3,7; 85:9,11; 119:165; 125:5, 128:6; 147:14; Song 8:10; Is 26:3,12; 32:17f.; 52:7; 54:10; 57:19; 60:17; 66:12; Hag 2:9; Zech 9:10; et al.). Jesus “is our peace” (Eph 2:14). He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility among people, reconciling them with God (cf. Eph 2:14-16). This is the very effective simplicity with which Saint Paul indicates the radical motivation spurring Christians to undertake a life and a mission of peace.
On the eve of his death, Jesus speaks of his loving relation with the Father and the unifying power that this love bestows upon his disciples. It is a farewell discourse which reveals the profound meaning of his life and can be considered a summary of all his teaching. The gift of peace is the seal on his spiritual testament: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (Jn 14:27). The words of the Risen Lord will not be any different; every time that he meets his disciples they receive from him the greeting and gift of peace: “Peace be with you” (Lk 24:36; Jn 20:19,21,26). (491)

For complete text visit: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html

Reflection

Jesus came to the disciples with the greeting of “Peace be with you,” while they fearfully hunkered down behind locked doors. Showing them the reality of his crucifixion, his pierced hands and sides, he again offered them the salutation defining his mission, “Peace be with you.” A peace not imparted to affirm staying sheltered in secure confines, but embedded with mission to go forth into the world, replicating the Father’s sending of the Son. A peace affirmed by the power of the Holy Spirit accompanying the disciples. For the ability to bestow peace in the world, by the disciples of antiquity or disciples of today, that would be limited by human capacities is profound coming forth in Divine proportions. But do we allow unbelief, the desire for physical proof to stymie our unwillingness to receive the peace Jesus freely offers us and let it flow forth into the world? Do we live in the comfort of following shallower paths, instead of Jesus, so we fail to embody HIs peace, thinking such a concept is too radical for practicality?

Like the early believers who devoted themselves to communal life, breaking of bread and prayer, that manifest awe with wonders and signs proclaiming faith, we too must accentuate those three components in our communities of faith, neighborhoods and world. Viewing life as a communal experience, the common good permeates life style, ethics and economics. Voices are not silenced. A dialogue etching peace’s precepts into all imaginable aspects of people’s lives, since the foundation of peace is poured in justice. How often do we break bread sacramentally beyond an obligation and personally beyond platitudes of social niceties? Breaking of bread punctuates community, as the Body of Christ in Eucharistic celebration and socially to strengthen bonds of community in coming together to hear others’ stories and share a common table of life’s mosaic connecting the links of community. Realizing prayer grasps all aspects of life means we talk to God about everything with praise and thanksgiving, sorrow and lament, questions burning within our soul and silence of contemplation. Through prayer, peace manifests its presence, for we come to know the mercy of our loving God who desires we break free from all that restrains us from receiving, living and sharing the peace of Jesus’ invitation.

For centuries, Thomas has carried the chastised label of doubt. He offers us a model. People doubting are searching, not closed to Jesus’ invitation of peace. When we encounter 21st Century Thomases, may we listen to their doubt, walk with them thru their questions and share our stories of encounter with peace. The signs and wonders of God’s presence in the world, not written in a book, but shared communally, in the breaking of bread, sacramentally and tactically, and fruits of prayer. A presence lived with sincerity of heart, enjoying favor with all people, the diversity of humanity. For only in embracing diversity will one be receptive to Jesus’ offer of peace. Otherwise we divide, subtract and fraction the human family instead of multiplying disciples of peace, the balm of God’s mercy. Will we allow ourselves to be ready for God’s peace, to let peace tug on our moral focus and align belief on the basis for Jesus’ life, death and resurrection to let it be the basis for our existence?

Individual Reflection: John 20:19-31
Read Transfiguration: A Meditation on Transforming Ourselves and Our World, by Fr. John Dear. How can you better accept and manifest Jesus’ worlds of , “Peace be with you?”

Family Reflection: 1st Peter 1:3-9
April 25 is the Feast of St Mark. Part of the readings for the day is 1st Peter 5:5b-7. How can your family more fully live these words?
(1st Peter 5: 7 led to my conversion, coming to the Church and I ended up starting RCIA on April 25th !…beyond coincidence ! )

Prayer:
On this Divine Mercy Sunday, spend time in contemplation of God’s mercy in your life.

Involvement Opportunities
List one or two upcoming events, legislative action alerts or social justice websites

By Barb Born April 17, 2017 The reflection maybe used in parish bulletins, newsletters or for faith sharing groups without copyright concern.

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord Lectionary Reflection April 16, 2017

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Barb Born

April 16, 2017: Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

Catholic Social Teaching: Life and Dignity of the Human Person

The Church moves further into the Third Millennium of the Christian era as a pilgrim people, guided by Christ, the “great Shepherd” (Heb 13:20). He is the “Holy Door” (cf. Jn 10:9) through which we passed during the Great Jubilee of the year 2000. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6): contemplating the Lord’s face, we confirm our faith and our hope in him, the one Saviour and goal of history.
The Church continues to speak to all people and all nations, for it is only in the name of Christ that salvation is given to men and women. Salvation, which the Lord Jesus obtained “at a price” (1 Cor 6:20; cf. 1 Pet 1:18-19), is achieved in the new life that awaits the righteous after death, but it also permeates this world in the realities of the economy and labour, of technology and communications, of society and politics, of the international community and the relations among cultures and peoples. “Jesus came to bring integral salvation, one which embraces the whole person and all mankind, and opens up the wondrous prospect of divine filiation”. (1) Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Readings
First Reading: Acts 10: 34a, 37-43
Psalm: 118: 1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Second Reading: Colossians 3: 1-4. or 1st Corinthians 5: 6b-8
Gospel: John 20:1-9

Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God’s grace, “so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”Justification consists in both victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace. It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ’s brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: “Go and tell my brethren.” We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection. (654) From the Daily Roman Missal, Introduction to Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, Cycles A, B and C

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church: No references this week
For complete text visit: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html

Orange grove with thousands of blooming blossoms on each tree

Reflection
An orange grove with thousands of blooming blossoms emits a penetrating, aromatic essence into the air. Once one inhales the air permeated with the sweet fragrance, eating an orange will never be the same. The vivid sensory experience forever transforms the tactile encounter with an orange.

If we are not just followers of Jesus, but believers where acceptance of faith transitions to belief, Easter will never be the same. Believers that see the struggles of Via del La Cruz, the injustice, the mockery, the devotion of the women and realize today we must venture beyond living as bystanders, just taking in the sights for entertainment. Believers realizing we have denied Christ, but in our denial, coming to grips with it and experiencing the embrace of His mercy, belief solidifies. Believers watching the women at the foot of the cross and realizing our call lies in not abandoning those crucified today by economic and social injustice and exploitation that withers dignity to factors of production layered into GNP statistics. Believers because we understand the human struggles Jesus faced with eyes opened to the struggles facing humanity today, an unwillingness to dialogue, seeking profits over peace, integrating the lowly so they shed their label and stand welcomed at the human family’s table. Believers because we live with compassion displayed by Joseph of Arimathea in tending to the body of Jesus, we tend to the Body of Christ in the world today. Believers because we know the stone was rolled away and stones impeding prophetic voices today can be rolled away. Believers because we venture to the tomb instead of staying secluded within safe zones. Believers because we believe in our Lord’s resurrection, with hope in our eternal resurrection. Believers because we believe in living the Gospel, not just reading and talking about the Gospel. We live as believers by the grace of faith, not followers with just a cursory understanding of Catholic thought and tradition. Living as only followers of Jesus, we oppress ourselves from receiving the bounty of belief. As believers, Easter is a balm for our soul. We cherish the message and answer the call of discipleship. Living with that focus, Easter is not a holiday, but a celebration of our faith clothed in hope, espousing joy that transfigures our lives so they are never the same. Easter is a day for believers to rejoice and be glad, crescendoing into all the days of our lives with the new yeast of our Lord’s sincerity and truth.

Individual Reflection: Psalm 118: 1-2, 16-17, 22-23
What do your need to address in your life to become more of a believer instead of a follower of Jesus?

Family Reflection: 1st Corinthians 5:6b-8
What can your family do to celebrate and share Earth Day in thanksgiving and joy for the gift of Creation?

Prayer: With thanksgiving, give voice to five petitions for blessings you received during Lent and proclaim a joyful Alleluia after each petition.

Involvement Opportunities
List one or two upcoming events, legislative action alerts or social justice websites

By Barb Born April 12, 2017 The reflection maybe used in parish bulletins, newsletters or for faith sharing groups without copyright concern.

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Lectionary Reflection April 9, 2017

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Barb Born

April 9, 2017: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

Catholic Social Teaching: Solidarity
The love that inspires Jesus’ ministry among men is the love that he has experienced in his intimate union with the Father. The New Testament allows us to enter deeply into the experience, that Jesus himself lives and communicates, the love of God his Father — “Abba” — and, therefore, it permits us to enter into the very heart of divine life. Jesus announces the liberating mercy of God to those whom he meets on his way, beginning with the poor, the marginalized, the sinners. He invites all to follow him because he is the first to obey God’s plan of love, and he does so in a most singular way, as God’s envoy in the world.
Jesus’ self-awareness of being the Son is an expression of this primordial experience. The Son has been given everything, and freely so, by the Father: “All that the Father has is mine” (Jn 16:15). His in turn is the mission of making all men sharers in this gift and in this filial relationship: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (Jn 15:15).
For Jesus, recognizing the Father’s love means modelling his actions on God’s gratuitousness and mercy; it is these that generate new life. It means becoming — by his very existence — the example and pattern of this for his disciples. Jesus’ followers are called to live like him and, after his Passover of death and resurrection, to live also in him and by him, thanks to the superabundant gift of the Holy Spirit, the Consoler, who internalizes Christ’s own style of life in human hearts. (29) Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Readings
Entrance Gospel: Matthew 21:1-11
First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm: 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11
Gospel: Matthew 26:14 thru 27:66

Catechism of the Catholic Church
How will Jerusalem welcome her Messiah? Although Jesus had always refused popular attempts to make him king, he chooses the time and prepares the details for his messianic entry into the city of “his father David”. Acclaimed as son of David, as the one who brings salvation (Hosanna means “Save!” or “Give salvation!”), the “King of glory” enters his City “riding on an ass”. Jesus conquers the Daughter of Zion, a figure of his Church, neither by ruse nor by violence, but by the humility that bears witness to the truth. And so the subjects of his kingdom on that day are children and God’s poor, who acclaim him as had the angels when they announced him to the shepherds. Their acclamation, “Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord”, is taken up by the Church in the “Sanctus” of the Eucharistic liturgy that introduces the memorial of the Lord’s Passover. (559)

From the Daily Roman Missal, Introduction to Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Cycles A, B and C

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church:

Matthew 27: 45 and 51
The entrance of Jesus Christ into the history of the world reaches its culmination in the Paschal Mystery, where nature itself takes part in the drama of the rejection of the Son of God and in the victory of his Resurrection (cf. Mt 27:45,51, 28:2). Crossing through death and grafting onto it the new splendour of the Resurrection, Jesus inaugurates a new world in which everything is subjected to him (cf. 1 Cor 15:20-28) and he creates anew those relationships of order and harmony that sin had destroyed. Knowledge of the imbalances existing between man and nature should be accompanied by an awareness that in Jesus the reconciliation of man and the world with God — such that every human being, aware of divine love, can find anew the peace that was lost — has been brought about. “Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). Nature, which was created in the Word is, by the same Word made flesh, reconciled to God and given new peace (cf. Col 1:15-20). (454)

Philippians 2:8
The unsurpassed apex of the perspective indicated here is the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the New Man, who is one with humanity even to the point of “death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). In him it is always possible to recognize the living sign of that measureless and transcendent love of God-with-us, who takes on the infirmities of his people, walks with them, saves them and makes them one. In him and thanks to him, life in society too, despite all its contradictions and ambiguities, can be rediscovered as a place of life and hope, in that it is a sign of grace that is continuously offered to all and because it is an invitation to ever higher and more involved forms of sharing.
Jesus of Nazareth makes the connection between solidarity and charity shine brightly before all, illuminating the entire meaning of this connection: “In the light of faith, solidarity seeks to go beyond itself, to take on the specifically Christian dimensions of total gratuity, forgiveness and reconciliation. One’s neighbour is then not only a human being with his or her own rights and a fundamental equality with everyone else, but becomes the living image of God the Father, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and placed under the permanent action of the Holy Spirit. One’s neighbour must therefore be loved, even if an enemy, with the same love with which the Lord loves him or her; and for that person’s sake one must be ready for sacrifice, even the ultimate one: to lay down one’s life for the brethren (cf. 1 Jn 3:16)”. (196)

For complete text visit: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html

Reflection
Twice a year we hear the story of our Lord’s Passion to punctuate Palm Sunday and Good Friday. We listen to the details, kneel at the appropriate time, a chronicle of the past calling us to an awareness of today. The entwining of precepts from sacred passages of antiquity provides a foundation for Divine revelation harkening our attention. Where does the story of the Passion lead us in our lives? To a praxis of faith and culture, faith and societal tensions, an invitation that we enter the story instead of closing the missal till Holy Week next year. Will we enter the city froth with tension or stay in the proverbial pastoral countryside? Will we enter the mystery of the feast or retreat to our own meal created incrementally on a plate lacking sacramental transformation? Will we stand up to traitors from the truth who work for pieces of silver over principle? Do we look for evidence of the risen Lord or continually mourn the what ifs of life? Can we move beyond hearing the cock crow of our infidelities and learn to cherish mercy that generates freedom and passion? Do we keep watch over our brothers and sisters, especially those in distress and facing injustice or fall asleep in self-absorbed preoccupations? Do we surrender to God’s will or desire challenges to pass away? Do we attempt to raise awareness of injustice by violence and learn to cease using the swath of proverbial swords to impose our mandates? When asked who we are, do we pronounce we are children of God, members of His whole human family or identify with me, I an individual identity? Will we venture to present day Golgothas to view those crucified today literally and figuratively or shutter ourselves behind the high stone walls of our individual fiefdoms from the reality faced by those exploited? Do we let people come forth from their tombs, self or societally imposed, to enter the holy realm of the Kingdom of God continually crafted, articulated and actualized? Will we acknowledge veils of privilege, clericalism, elitism are desired by the Passion to be torn in two, for if we don’t voice concern and participate in tearing apart injustice, we only give credence to veils neatly pleated in antiquities of exclusion.

The Passion calls us each to crosses of different dimensions and hues, where we must learn to surrender for God’s will to be done. For the Passion of Jesus and the disciples’ accompaniment was an act of faith and an act of faith for us today. A journey of releasing fear, allowing room for courage and trust . We must not permit the Passion to end at the conclusion of Holy Week’s liturgical readings, but see our journey continually meshed in the story of the Passion. Living as disciples faithful to Jesus’ journey of the Passion, allows us to bring forth a hopeful presence when injustice tries to extinguish a world illuminated by Gospel precepts of the Beatitudes and love, so we confess by our words and actions that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Individual Reflection: Matthew 26:14 thru 27:66
Disciple is a passive form of the verb to teach. Who has taught you to be a disciple of Jesus? How do you teach others to be disciples of the Lord?

Family Reflection: Matthew 26:14 thru 27:66
Attend a living Stations of the Cross or have your family portray the Stations of the Cross. Discuss the emotions felt and the relevance to your lives.

Prayer: During Holy Week Reflect on this or another version of Stations of the Cross
https://peaceonjustice.wordpress.com/2016/01/25/year-of-mercy-stations-of-the-cross/

Involvement Opportunities
List one or two upcoming events, legislative action alerts or social justice websites

By Barb Born April 3, 2017 The reflection maybe used in parish bulletins, newsletters or for faith sharing groups without copyright concern.

peaceonjustice

Lectionary reflections related to Catholic Social Teaching

Monthly Archives: April 2017