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How Near Is The Kingdom Of God?

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As we draw near to the end of Ordinary Time, preparing to enter into Advent, the Gospel readings are… serious. Jesus is giving serious warnings about the destruction of Jerusalem, about signs in the sun and moon and stars, about wars and the persecution of his followers. And understandably, his followers are asking the obvious questions: When will this happen? How will we know? What should we do?

We naturally feel unsettled by these descriptions. It is not comforting or empowering to think of things falling apart and ending. And yet, in yesterday’s Gospel, when Jesus described people dying in fright and the powers of the heavens shaking, he tells his followers to “stand erect and raise your heads” rather than fearfully cower in a corner. Why? “Because your redemption is at hand” (Luke 21-28).

As he speaks of these things, Jesus uses words and imagery that his listeners would understand as referring to the Day of the Lord predicted by the Old Testament prophets. This was seen by Jews as the coming of the Messiah, the end of the Old Covenant, the dividing point of all of history. Jesus is helping us to see that the Day of the Lord is more than a day: it extends to the end of time, as the experience of the first Christians – persecution, growth, war, and disaster – is repeated by every generation until Jesus returns. Jesus IS with us. Jesus WILL return in glory. And Jesus WILL reign over all eternally.

There is another lesson here. In today’s short Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that these things will certainly come because his word is Truth. No matter what is happening in our human lives, in the culture, in the natural world, in our families, in our hearts, HIS WORD IS TRUTH. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will NOT pass away.” His word is meaningful and everlasting and absolutely stable. More stable than the sun and the moon and the mountains and the sea, more lasting than our own ideas and hopes and agendas, more meaningful than all our own activity.

All of human history is moving toward a final, climactic moment when Christ returns in glory. Each of our personal contributions to that history will be made known when Christ establishes “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1), and takes his place on the eternal Throne of Love. By placing these readings at the end of the liturgical year, the Church invites us to ponder the awesomeness of our eternal destiny, the seriousness with which we must attend to our baptismal calling, and the great Gift of Love that God gave us in sending His only-begotten Son to save us.

With this as our backdrop, we are better “prepared to prepare” – this Sunday we enter into Advent, when we focus our efforts on joyful preparation for our celebration of this Gift of Jesus at Christmas!

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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To Be Human

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“And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high because your liberation is near at hand.”

Did you know that “Son of Man” was the name Jesus claimed for himself more than any other? In the 4 Gospels, it appears over 80 times. 80! That’s a lot!

Why would the Son of the Most High, who was present at Creation, who is the Word of God, why would he claim the title, “Son of man” more than any other?

Jesus was fully God and fully man. “…human nature was thereby elevated to a personal union with the Word; and this dignity is given, not on account of any merits, but entirely and absolutely through grace, and therefore, as it were, through the special gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Divinum illud munus, 4) When, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God became man, all of humanity was given a dignity never before present. Simply by the fact that Jesus walked the earth, we, the created, were raised up. No longer mere servants, through Jesus, we become adopted sons and daughters of our Creator.

When Jesus repeatedly acknowledges his humanity, he brings divinity to the world. No longer is God some unknown, unknowable, unseen force. God has trod where we trod, lived where we live, and understands from first-hand experience what it means to be human, to work, to serve, to eat, sleep and do all the things that we humans need to do to survive. Jesus came to humanize us, to take us beyond mere survival, so we can be more fully who we are meant to be.

So too, we who are the followers of Jesus, we are called to continue Jesus’s mission on earth. As the body of Christ, we are his hands and feet, and eyes and ears, his tongue speaking the divine presence of his humanity into the world.

Woo, that sounds good, but what does it mean? In real live practical terms, not just strung together words on a page, what does it look like on the street? It is our vocation to love (CCC 1604). To love our neighbor is to humanize them, to acknowledge their inherent dignity, and to treat them as who they are in God’s eyes. We smile. We make eye contact. We refrain from language that highlights differences or groups of people into “us” and “them.” We talk to people, not about them. We exercise self-discipline when we are driving or waiting in line and not treat others like they are simply impediments to getting to where we are going. We have to work at remembering that they are whole beings created by and loved infinitely by God. We not only provide food for those who don’t have it, but we also work on the systemic injustices in our society that leave people on the fringes. We need to get real about our human rights, and if even one person is deprived of their God-given dignity, we take it as our personal responsibility to right that wrong.

As we sit down to celebrate Thanksgiving today, let us acknowledge that all we have, who we are, and how even the fact that we are breathing is a gift from our all-knowing and all-loving Creator. Because we have enough awareness to acknowledge that gift, we also have a responsibility to lift up the person next to us. We can no longer be okay with just doing our own thing and letting the person next to us to their own thing. We are obligated by our devotion to Jesus to love the person next to us, even to love them so far that our love humanizes them and helps them be more fully who God created them to be.

The thing is, all this doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We don’t have to take care of the whole world all at once. We can start small. As St. Mother Teresa said, “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.” We can do this, human to human.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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A Lenten Approach To Advent

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I am intrigued by the readings leading up to the First Sunday of Advent. After celebrating the Solemnity of Christ the King, in which we hear the Gospel taking place at the crucifixion, the Gospels this week continue with a theme of destruction, persecution, desolation, and other heavy, dark images.

But Advent is a time of hope. A time of light and joy awaiting the birth of the Savior, Jesus. Why would this week leading up to Advent be in such stark contrast? Isn’t that more geared toward the season of Lent?

Let us remember the reason why God became man, why Jesus came into the world. Adam and Eve were living in the state of original holiness, walking alongside God in the Garden of Eden. Created with free will, they failed to trust God and made a choice that led to the state of original sin instead. Humanity fell into sin and darkness, the consequences of which are death. Our relationship with God was broken, shattered, severed. There was no way we could reestablish this relationship on our own.

Wanting to reconcile man and woman, who were created in His image and likeness (Gen 1:27), God sent His only Son into the mess and chaos. Not only did Jesus show us how to live, but He also embraced death so that we wouldn’t have to. Through His death and resurrection, the gates of heaven opened, and humanity is invited back into relationship with God.

You see, the hope of the resurrection begins with the hope at the Nativity, for which Advent prepares us. And there is no resurrection without there first being death. It is important to remember that connection as we enter this preparatory season. So as we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord Jesus at Christmas, may we always keep darkness in mind, for darkness is where light enters the world.

(Side note: I hope the line in the first reading “gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords” gets everyone in the mood for tomorrow. Many prayers and blessings to all of you as you gather around the table for Thanksgiving with your loved ones, and may we carry this attitude of gratitude all through the coming liturgical season. However, may we also never forget those who go without on Thanksgiving and all days and heed the call to serve the poor.)

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Erin is a Cleveland native and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. Following graduation, she began volunteering in youth ministry at her home parish of Holy Family Church. Her first “big girl” job was in collegiate sports information where, after a busy two years in the profession on top of serving the youth, she took a leap of faith and followed the Lord’s call to full-time youth ministry at St. Peter Church. She still uses her communication arts degree as a freelance writer and statistician, though. You can catch her on the Clarence & Peter Podcast on YouTube as well as follow her on Twitter @erinmadden2016.

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Awesome Signs Will Come From The Sky

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We are in the “end times” of the Liturgical Year of the Church. If you, like me, closely follow the entire Liturgical Year (Advent to the Feast of Christ the King), we see that it follows a clear path. Awaiting the arrival of Jesus into the world; his ministry and teaching; Lent, our time of purification while approaching Christ’s suffering in Holy Week and the triumph of his resurrection at Easter; into Ordinary Time when we deepen our faith in and knowledge of Jesus. It all has a purpose.

These last few days before the start of Advent, focus on the “end times.” The long, descriptive reading from Daniel (kinda scary) about kingdoms being destroyed and nothing will stand, and the apocalyptic words of Jesus in the Gospel telling of wars, insurrections, and false prophets, not to mention earthquakes, famines, and plagues! It’s enough to send you back to bed, cover-up, pull your pillow over your head and hope for the best!

Reading the scriptures in these days sounds much like the state of the world today. Twenty-four-hour news cycles bring us everything going on in the world. We have wars everywhere, countries (kingdoms) fight other countries, religions against other religions, ideology battling ideology, and natural disasters. But is this unique to our time? Certainly not. Throughout human history, there have been wars and grave disagreements, and nature wreaking its havoc. And, yet, here we are, in 2019, still here, albeit still battling each other. Major wars in the world or major wars in our relationships with others. It’s all the same, on and on and on.

So, where is the good news? Where are the awesome signs?

Daniel tells us, “In the lifetime of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people.” And our Alleluia verse from Revelations reminds us: “Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

The marvelous and wonderous sings in the sky will be our constant faith and hope in Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Our Way, Our Life and Our Deliverer from everything that can, and sometimes will happen to us. Nothing can hurt or destroy us as long as we cling to him who promises us all good things in the end. Oh, we may be beaten at times, suffering from the effects of the circumstances surrounding us. But our bodies cannot be pushed into the ground as long as our hearts and souls belong to Jesus. We will be delivered to the crown of life in the end.

In spite of all we see and hear going on in this world, we can find peace. Much of that peace will come in the form of our loving assistance to those who genuinely are suffering the effects of the wars and the natural disasters. Where do they get their hope? They get it from their faith in God and from our generous assistance to their needs, helping to relieve suffering and rebuild lives. We are the bright, wondrous signs in the sky!

Don’t let the false prophets, harbingers of “end times” wear you down to where you do nothing but sit tight and await the Second Coming, or your natural end of life. None of them has been right yet, and none of them ever will. Instead, use your time to bolster your faith and exercise your freedom to live in faith with courage. No one need live in fear of the end. You need only to know that God will be with you to strengthen you in your trials. Oh, you can still run to your bed and cover yourself in fear, but then you will not see the Wonderous Signs in the sky, where God’s kingdom alone will endure.

God Bless.

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Jeanne Penoyar, an Accounts Manager at Diocesan, is a Lector at St. Anthony of Padua parish in Grand Rapids, MI. Jeanne has worked in parish ministry as an RCIA director, in Liturgy, and as a Cantor. Working word puzzles and reading fill her spare time. Jeanne can be reached at jpenoyar@diocesan.com.

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I Gave You All

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When speaking about this Gospel, Pope Francis said, “Faced with the needs of others, we are called to deprive ourselves of essential things, not only the superfluous; we are called to give the necessary time, not only what remains extra; we are called to give immediately and unconditionally some of our talent, not after using it for our own purposes or our own group”

Today’s Gospel is one of those readings that hits me in the gut–hard–every time I read it. God, by giving His only Son as a ransom for our sins, taught us how to love sacrificially and unconditionally. The image of the Crucifix is the image of love because it is an outpouring of love that allows for us to be cleansed from our sins and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The image of the poor widow who offers her whole livelihood is the image we should imitate when we offer ourselves to Christ at the foot of the Cross.

Christ presents this poor widow as a model of charity and generosity. In a time when widows were considered totally defenseless, Christ raises her up as an example of how to live a virtuous life. He chose to point out a woman who is the meekest of the crowd because he sees her, not for her poverty, but for the love and faith she shows. She does not do so in order to gain praise but rather to give praise. In giving her whole livelihood, she submits herself to the Will of God and trusts in His goodness and mercy.

My favorite part of this Gospel is that it serves as a reminder that Christ knows each one of us. He knows our hearts. He knows exactly how much we have and exactly how much we give. We have no need to impress Him or try to prove our worth by means of grand gestures. In the same way that he saw “wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury,” so too, “he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.”

We take nothing with us when we go, so why do we spend so much of our lives collecting things? We collect clothes and movies and books. We save up for the fastest car or the biggest house or the best vacations. But the fact of the matter is, one day we are going to answer God’s question of, “And what did you save for me? What did you collect for me?”

As we approach Thanksgiving this week may we be grateful for all the blessings in our lives and may we take the opportunity to love sacrificially and unconditionally because, as St. Mother Teresa said, “I have found the paradox; if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” The sacrificial love we show will only produce more love.

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

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Expectant Faith

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I think sometimes we lose the depth of scripture because we have 2,000 years of theological insight and historical data to help us interpret what is being said. The beautiful then becomes commonplace, just another story we have heard over and over again. But put yourself in the place of the early Christians for just a second, or better yet, put yourself in place of the good thief on the cross.

Here, everyone is screaming for a sign. “If you are truly the Son of God, save yourself.” These taunts seem very similar to those of Satan in the desert, don’t they? Perhaps not a coincidence. The accusers get louder, and Jesus does nothing. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords lets it all happen. Now, of course, we know from 2,000 years of theological insight and because of the historical fact of the resurrection, that Jesus had a plan, but the good thief did not.

Let that sink in. Here is a man on death row who has heard some ramblings about Jesus but does not have a relationship with him. Here he is in his last moments, and what he sees with his eyes is that Jesus does not have real power, but what he knows in his heart is much different. Despite what it may look like or appear to be, God was working in this man’s heart. He was allowing his heart to open enough to have expectant faith that what Jesus said in his public ministry for three years was all true. This leads to one of the most profound expectations of faith we hear in scripture, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Notice, this wasn’t a question; It wasn’t a plea for forgiveness; It was a cry of belief, of pure faith. It was this faith that saved him. The evidence was stacked against him, but he cried out with an expectation that God was who he said he was. The Church knows this reality when it comes to the Eucharist. The Eucharist is hard to believe in because it still looks like bread and wine. Even the Church has the famous line written by Aquinas, “Faith will tell us Christ is present when our human senses fail.”

Could you imagine what would happen if every Catholic approached communion with this expectant faith? “God, everything around me is trying to say that you don’t exist, and you don’t care, but with your grace, I can open my heart and cry out AMEN!” The word amen actually means I believe. How often do we approach the Eucharist and either doubt God’s power or just let it become commonplace like those 2,000-year-old Gospel stories? Let’s all take a cue from the good thief and cry amen with expectant faith, that God is who he says he is, and he is truly present to us in the Eucharist. Give it a try. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Follow the Thread

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When I was studying for my Master’s degree in leadership, I remember one of my professors emphasizing not to get hung up on the complaints that people bring, but to listen behind the questions and follow the thread of what they were saying to get to the real issue.

Jesus is a beautiful example of this style of leadership in today’s Gospel. The Sadducees and the Pharisees approach Jesus to try and trip him up with a question about the resurrection, marriage, and Jewish Law. They don’t like this itinerant preacher who is drawing such crowds and they want to discredit him. They come up with a convoluted “what if” which is intended to trap Jesus into questionable teaching regardless of the answer given.

But Jesus doesn’t get hung up on their question. He listens behind the question to address the underlying issue. You see, the Sadducees and the Pharisees were uncomfortable bedfellows. While the Pharisees were the experts on Jewish Law and insisted on a very literal interpretation, the Sadducees were an elitist type of aristocrat. They also interpreted the law in a very literal sense, but they maintained their position at the top of the pecking order by cooperating with the Roman order. They became so convinced of their place in the scheme of things, that they had lost faith in the resurrection. They believed that the messianic kingdom was already in place. Belief in the resurrection, both among the Pharisees and others, was growing and this belief was motivation to not accept the social order of the day and to look for the kingdom to come. Belief in the resurrection was a threat to the Sadducees’ way of life.

To our modern ears, the whole exchange sounds lengthy and full of odd sounding phrases which can be mystifying. Part of this is because Jesus doesn’t answer their carefully crafted question, he goes behind the question to the real issue. They didn’t believe in the resurrection and their lack of faith keeps them focused on preserving the social order. Marriage has become a means for fulfilling the law rather than a sacramental relationship instituted to image God’s love to the world.

Jesus starts right out by telling them they don’t know what they are talking about. “The children of this world take husbands and wives.” This life is only a preparation for what is to come, the world where “in the resurrection from the dead [they] do not marry because they can no longer die.”

The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God’s covenant with man: “Authentic married love is caught up into divine love.” (CCC 1639) Marriage is an image of God’s unfailing love. “God who created man out of love also calls him to love-the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.” (CCC 1604) Marriage is not about status or social convention, marriage is the image of “the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man.” After the resurrection we will no longer need the image of God’s love because we will be finally at home in the actual presence of His love!

Jesus shows them again how little they know, “…being children of the resurrection they are children of God.” Jesus isn’t here to establish a kingdom with a hierarchy of nobles and peasants, Jesus came so that we might be part of the family, children of God.

I think too, we need to be careful to not be modern day Sadducees and Pharisees. Too often (especially on social media) we get into debates about things which may not really matter in the long run. Should we hold hands or keep praying hands during the “Our Father”? Do we kneel to receive communion or do we reverently bow and accept the gift of our Lord and Savior? I am not entering into the fray or claiming one is better than the other, but I do think that if Jesus was responding, he wouldn’t be as worried about the position of our hands as the formation of our hearts. He might also be surprised that we are even paying attention to what others are doing instead of focusing our own heart and attention on Him. Let’s not get caught up in the social order of today, but prepare our hearts for the kingdom to come.

After all we are family, God’s family. And in families there is room for all sorts of ways of doing things. There is room in the Catholic family for quiet worship and loud praise. There is room for hand holding and for holding our hands in prayer. We can disagree on these things but we still come home for the holidays. We still have a need to be in relationship with one another and with the one who created us. So the next time you get a question, try to slow down and listen beyond the question to what lies behind it. Follow that thread and you will find it is the thread of God’s love which ultimately connects and binds us to each other and to Him.

Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, pray for us!

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Straight Forward

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The Gospel today is really straight forward. Jesus entered the temple area. Jesus drove out those selling in the area because they were making the temple a den of thieves, not a house of prayer. Jesus taught in the temple, and the people were hanging on his words. Meanwhile, the chief priests, scribes, and leaders were seeking a way to put Jesus to death. Why, you ask, because His words were not in line with the teaching and understanding of the era.

Jesus’ teachings were radical in his time. 

He spoke of loving one another. He taught of giving glory, honor, and praise to his Father. He spoke about forgiveness. He taught us prayer (the Our Father) and social justice by taking care of our neighbors as we would take care of ourselves. He did what he knew was the right thing to do, and there were still those who wanted to trap him and have him killed.  

Fast forward to the world today. Jesus’ teachings are still radical. When I openly admit to following Christ Jesus as a Catholic Christian, I get mixed reactions. Once, I was in the customer waiting area while having my car serviced. I was preparing for an upcoming catechetical session and had a few resources out, including my bible. A man, also waiting, mentioned how nice it was to see me exercising my faith and asked me a bit more. When I mentioned that I was Catholic, he put up his hand as a stop sign and would not engage in any further conversation. He even got up and moved away from me.

I have had people giggle or clear their throats while I’ve said a prayer before a meal. I’ve had a family member tell me, “We don’t say, ‘I’ll pray for you anymore,’ but ‘I’ll manifest that for you.’” I pointed out that doing so negates the power of God to intercede. She smiled and said that it’s more inclusive to manifest something for others. I smiled and stated that all are created in God’s image, and He hears all our thoughts and prayers. 

Still, I am not afraid to be a witness about my faith, God, His Son Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. I have not always felt that way, and some of my past actions may not have been in line with my faith now. I have made mistakes, judged others, and committed many sins. My salvation – and yours, begins with our loving, patient, forgiving Father. When I go to Him with a sincere, contrite heart, He is always waiting. Even through all my trials, I have stayed true to my heavenly Father.

There are people who will listen to what I have to say about God, and some will not. I want to leave you with this song from King and Country, ‘God Only Knows’ what is in our hearts and in our minds. He knows the real you and who will listen and act. He knows who is drawn to His voice.

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Beth is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She brings a unique depth of experience to the group due to her time spent in education, parish ministries, sales and the service industry over the last 25 yrs. She is a practicing spiritual director as well as a Secular Franciscan (OFS). Beth is quick to offer a laugh, a prayer or smile to all she comes in contact with. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.

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Hope and Action

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It’s the end of the liturgical year with its amazing readings that remind us of three things: 1) God has a purpose that unfolds in history; 2) individuals, groups and nations can thwart that purpose but cannot overturn it; 3) hope requires taking the long view if we are to act courageously and effectively for the coming of the Kingdom.

I can imagine Mattathias standing with his sons on the edge of the mingling and nervous crowd as the king’s messengers set up the altar of sacrifice. At that point, did he have a clear plan for what he should do? What did he feel? Angry? Devastated? Defeated? Afraid? Determined? Uncertain? Because it isn’t really about Mattathias that the Church has given us this reading. This reading is about us who live in this tumultuous era of disorienting defeatism. Watching the world and national news unfold in tweets and posts and commentary is almost too difficult to comprehend. The changes that are engulfing the globe are not straightforward. They are complex and inexorable. With “fake news” added in, it is almost impossible to know what really happened before it was twisted into the service of someone’s agenda. We might find ourselves standing on the sidelines, wondering what is going to happen and, perhaps, what is this going to mean for my family and me.

It was clear that Mattathias and his sons knew one thing. They knew who they were and had already decided to remain faithful to the covenant of their fathers. “God forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandments. We will not obey the words of the king.”

They did not seem to have a plan for what they would do next. It was when a “certain Jew” came forward to offer sacrifice on the altar that Mattathias sprang into action, filled with zeal, and tore down the altar, marching through the streets calling forth the zeal of the others in the city, leading them to the mountains where they would continue their resistance. This example of Mattathias and his sons is a delicate and unmistakable intertwining of hope and action. Hope is an essential foundation for a response, for zeal, for action. But hope doesn’t replace action. Both are needed.

In confusing times of uncertain change, we can follow Mattathias example. He may not have known exactly what part he was meant to play in the history of his people, he may not have known the next step he should take, but he had the hope that in the long view of salvation history, God has a plan that cannot be defeated. Because of that hope, he could risk facing what needed to be changed with purposeful action at the service of God’s glory.

Jesus, in the Gospel, weeps over Jerusalem, which has not known the time of its visitation. His sorrow did not lead to hopelessness, and his hope was not mere wishing it was different. It led him to lay down his life for the salvation of the world so that God’s Kingdom would come; his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

These November readings are not the cozy, comforting readings of earlier months. As we approach the Feast of Christ the King and the Advent-Christmas meditation on the amazing mystery of God’s birth in time, these readings help us find our feet in this world in the light of the Kingdom and the world to come.

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Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is the author of the newly released title: Reclaim Regret: How God Heals Life’s Disappointments, by Pauline Books and Media. An author and spiritual mentor, she offers spiritual accompaniment for the contemporary Christian’s journey towards spiritual growth and inner healing. She is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey.

Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com

Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/

For monthly spiritual journaling guides, weekly podcasts and over 50 conferences and retreat programs join my Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/srkathryn.

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All We Need, And More

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Does your parish church have stained glass windows? Then you will appreciate Pope Benedict XVI’s observation that from the outside, the windows look dark and dull, but when you are inside the Church, they are richly and brilliantly illuminated.

That is another kind of parable for the lesson of Jesus in today’s Gospel. We see Jesus Himself as the “nobleman” who went to obtain a kingship, giving ten of his servants a gold coin worth 100 days’ wages before he left, giving them specific instructions to “engage in trade” with them. After he became king, he returned to check the “return on investment,” as it were.

These coins can be seen as the talents and graces we are freely given. The Lord gives us everything and invites us to freely put our gifts and our lives in his service and the service of others. He asks us to use what we have (without comparing it to what others have!) to engage fully in life, to help others, and to glorify God. To those who do this generously, Jesus promises a generous reward!

But if we refuse to use what we have been given, it will be as if we have chosen to remain outside the church building in the cold, seeing it as a stone mountain into which we dare not enter. From outside, we cannot see the light streaming in through the colored windows, or enter into the hymns of praise rising up from the People of God or partake of the rich banquet of the Body and Blood of Christ. We, therefore, keep ourselves separated from communion with God and His family!

Many things can keep us from fully engaging our gifts: fear, selfishness, ingratitude. We may not really know what we have or what we can do; we may be using our energies to satisfy our own wants and forgetting to look at ways to serve others; we may be blinded by a conviction that we really don’t have enough to give; we may be afraid of the risks of taking our spiritual responsibility seriously; we may be focused on counting the costs. All of these attitudes and more can impel us to “wrap our coin in a handkerchief” rather than “engage in trade”!

Where do we begin to shift engagement? We can begin by making sure that our relationship with God truly has first place in our lives. Then we can take a look at the duties and responsibilities before us, in our family and at work, and assess whether we are doing all we can for the people around us. Next, we can look at our parish, to see where we might be of service to further the mission of the Church!

We need not fear that we will run out of anything. If we are doing what God calls us to do, we are given more! When we engage our gifts and talents in His service, we will always have all we need.

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Distance

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I have heard today’s Gospel reading many times, as I’m sure you have as well. We hear of Zacchaeus, a well-known tax collector that took more than his share from the people. Still, Jesus tells him to come down from the tree and states that Jesus will be staying at his house. Everyone else is appalled. How could Jesus associate himself with a tax collector of all people! Doesn’t he know?!

Well… Here’s the thing; Jesus was insanely radical.

Today, many of us are blessed to know Jesus’ name. Many people associate Jesus with traditionalism and being conservative. At the time, Jesus was this amazing man with super crazy ideas. He rebuked the church officials. He publically spoke against laws. He touched the lepers. He chose to stay with well-known sinners. Jesus encouraged the inspection of traditions and the introspection of one’s own self.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus does this again in a way that we think we are familiar with because we have heard the story. In our own lives, it is alien and almost taboo to us. This is because we often like to distance ourselves from the people we see as “bad” or the “other” when, in reality, there is not much difference between any of us. That is not to say that there are not any differences, but there are often more similarities than differences. 

Still, we tell ourselves that if someone has a vastly different lifestyle that we cannot associate ourselves with them. I often hear the term, “guilty by association,” but no one ever talks about the joy and love of God rubbing off on other people. 

I know that in my life, my faith and trust in God has changed the hearts of others. I have dated people that knew nothing of Catholicism, and through (a lot of) patience and non-judgemental conversation, they now know and understand their own faith that much more. I have had friends that I drag with me to Mass and then had them tell me, “I didn’t know that’s what you believe.” I have had family members that have stopped practicing their faith, hear me talk about how much I love being Catholic, and having that Catholic community, then text me that they started going back to Mass. 

My favorite instances are when I am at a smoky bar or a rock concert, a drink in hand, and begin talking about my faith with the people around me. It normally begins with people asking where I work, and then I usually get the once-difficult question of, “How can you work for a Catholic company after everything with the priests?” I explain that priests are flawed people too, that Judas was Catholic, that this is all coming to light because we are honoring the truth, that God/Jesus/Holy Spirit and his followers are two separate things. 

Then I listen to what they have to say.

It is through patient conversations, not arguments that I see the tiny spark of a conversion of heart. This does not happen from a distance. It happens with friends, family, and strangers that we come in contact with every day. As we approach the holiday season, we must welcome the sinner and be a witness to our faith and our God just as Jesus did, regardless of how different we think they are. 

Not sure how to start the conversation? Below are some resources:

Veronica Alvarado is a born and raised Texan currently living in Michigan. Since graduating from Texas A&M University, Veronica has published various articles in the Catholic Diocese of Austin’s official newspaper, the Catholic Spirit, and other local publications. She now works as the Content Specialist in Diocesan’s Web Department.

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Seeing is Believing

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I have a confession to make: I don’t notice things. I’ll have spent half an hour with someone, and they’ll finally ask, “So what do you think of my new glasses?” I never realized they were wearing new glasses—or a new haircut, or a new dress, or whatever the fairly obvious to anyone but me change might be. A friend of mine drives a bright aqua (i.e., very noticeable) Jeep, and she’ll say, “I drove right by you this morning and waved,” and of course, I’ll have had no idea. I’d like to think it’s because I’m constantly Thinking Deep Thoughts, but I’m afraid that’s not the answer. I just don’t notice things.

That’s not very nice, of course. People like you to notice; noticing shows that you care about them, that you’re paying attention, that they’re important to you. I do care, and so I’ve tried over time to train myself to notice things. And I end up being ridiculous, commenting on a “new chair” that the person in question has had forever and that I’ve probably sat in many times without noticing. Oops.

Seeing is important. Seeing others, really seeing them, is an essential part of living in community. It enables us to transcend differences, to form bonds, to delight in shared values. And despite my apparent inability to notice the world around me, I always feel that the most traumatic loss of a sense would be the loss of sight. It’s difficult enough to navigate life with my eyes open; I can’t imagine doing it were they to be permanently closed.

And that’s where we start with today’s Gospel reading: with a blind man. You’ve probably noticed the number of blind people referenced in Scripture; diseases of the eye leading to blindness were widespread in the ancient world. There was little those afflicted could do by way of work, so most were reduced to begging. And so it was with this fellow—Mark’s Gospel identifies him as Bartimaeus—who is on the roadside outside Jericho. He is poor, he is blind, and he is clearly a nuisance; when he learns that Jesus is passing and calls out, everyone around tells him to shut up.

It’s a small story, this; someone calls upon Jesus for help, shows their faith, and is cured. There are other similar stories scattered like jewels throughout the Gospels. But this one contains more than one simple storyline, and it’s worth taking a second look—noticing—to see what those storylines are.

First, there’s the fact that this blind man, someone who clearly lived on the fringes of society, knew who Jesus was. He’s not stupid; he’s well-informed and attentive. He notices things. He’s noticed the size of the crowd and knows what that means; and when he’s told who is passing, he knows exactly who Jesus is and what he can do.

Second, he is willing to claim his rights. He shouts; the good citizens around him, embarrassed, try to hush him, but he shouts. He’s determined. He doesn’t let them tell him how he should behave. He doesn’t let them make decisions for him.

Third—and this is particularly interesting—Jesus asks him a question. “What do you want me to do for you?” It probably drew some irritation from the people pressing on with Jesus, anxious to get to Jericho, perhaps thinking longingly of a fire and an evening meal. Of course he wants to be cured! What else could he possibly want? Do it and let’s move on!

They’re right, of course; he did ask to be given his sight, and that’s what Jesus did for him. But Jesus didn’t make any assumptions. He let the man choose. He showed this blind beggar the respect no one else had. He treated him as a valued human being.

What do you want me to do for you?

Have we come so very far from the people who told this blind beggar to be quiet? The poor can be a nuisance because they disrupt our comfortable lives. How do we look at people who are poor, people with disabilities? Do we treat them as valued human beings? Do we even notice them?

Seeing them, truly seeing them, is believing they are sacred, special to God. The more we see, the more we will believe and understand that we’re all children of God, beloved by our Creator and worthy of being noticed. When we can ask of others, “What do you want me to do for you?” instead of assuming we know best what someone else needs, then we too will be closer to Jesus—on that road to Jericho, and in our own modern lives.

It really is all about noticing!

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Jeannette de Beauvoir is a writer and editor with the digital department of Pauline Books & Media, working on projects as disparate as newsletters, book clubs, ebooks, and retreats that support the apostolate of the Daughters of St. Paul at http://www.pauline.org.