A message from Father Pete

Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 We are now in a new Church year … Cycle C in the Readings. With the Advent Season comes a time of waiting and hope. All around us our culture and businesses are displaying the sights, sounds and decorations galore, focusing on Christmas. Am I looking at the calendar and what I have to do -- shopping, decorating, card writing and a thousand more things? Or am I focused on the birth of Our Lord God, breaking through to be with us in love? The readings still remind us to continue preparing, as the last two weeks' readings have, for the final coming of the Lord. It’s hard to focus on the Lord with all the seasonal distractions. Lets try this: I focus on the time I was expecting a visit from someone very important to me. It could have been a long-awaited concert, a sensational speaker, a person from my childhood, or a dear relative or friend who is so special. My days were spent in excited anticipation, and the time is ne...

Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 93:1; John 18:33-37 We live in a world of various forms of government: democracy, dictatorship, royalty, tribal clans, even populist rule. Some of us have have lived during one or more of these forms of government. I have only lived in a democratic government. Today’s readings focus on the rule of monarchy, the Kingship of Jesus and what it means. In the first reading the Jewish people are tribal/clan oriented. Then they are under the rule of powerful kings who come and conquer the tribes of Israel. They eventually plead with God to send them their own king to rule them. They assume the kings will be powerful leaders who will protect the people from slavery, solidify their standing among the surrounding nations and lead them closer to their God. Jesus is the promised king and Messiah. The people have “ideas” and “hopes” for His Messiahship, but none match God’s plan. Jesus, the great host of God’s kingdom, invites the people to a new direction characterized...

Daniel 12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-14, 18; Mark 13:24-32 We’ve travelled this way before. It is not new ground for us. Next week we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Church year, and on Nov. 28, we begin our celebration of Advent for the Birth of our Savior. This week's readings are apocalyptical: the type of literature that contains mysterious revelations usually hidden in symbolic language. The subject matter of an apocalypse deals with the heavenly world and the future, especially the final judgment. This can be studied in The Judgment of the Nations found in Matthew 26:31-46. Other Biblical examples are found in chapters 7 through 12 of Daniel and in the Book of Revelation. This topic, the end of the world, generates many questions while unusual signs abound. Jesus says, “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see ‘the So...

1 Kings 17:10-16; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44 No matter how much or how little I have, God calls me to give all of what I have received. I am called to give my entire life to God. This is not just because I am a Catholic priest, but because I have been created in love, sustained in that love through countless trials and difficulties by the Holy Spirit. I have been gifted to share these gifts with the people God has placed in my life. I find it a wonderful spiritual reflection during prayer to make a list of my gifts of humor, patience, caring and compassion. In humility and gratitude I must include the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. These special gifts are given to all, and I know they are always present … I do not reflect on them nearly as often as I should. They show me how present the Holy Spirit is with me and helping me. There also are the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit, ways in which God is operat...

Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28-34 How far do I feel that I am from the Kingdom of Heaven? Jesus told the scribe in today’s Gospel that he wasn’t far from the Kingdom of Heaven. When asked what I think He would say to me, I get nervous. I feel I’m doing well but as Paul writes in Romans 7:15-19, “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I concur that the law is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. … For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.” So It seems that I’m on a different path than the scribe in the Gospel, but actually I’m on the same path ... just putting the question in a different way. The scribe wants to know which of all the commandments is the most important. Jesus probably does a “double take” here since many of the other religious leaders see Him as a threat and this man sees an opportunity to learn from the best. So he asks a q...

Jeremiah 31:7-9; Hebrews 5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52 What do I want from God? My response would be: a lot! While reflecting on this, I have to ask further clarifications because it’s good to examine my own motivation. Do I want things mainly for myself or for those I love? Do I consider a wider audience than just family and friends? Do I feel I have to be in a  “holy mode ” … a less-than-a-sinner mode ... to be able to ask God for help? Is my appeal for things rather than help in living the life I’m called to live? Do I believe that God loves me so much that He wants me to have all I want and need? Am I selfish in my wanting? Do I limit asking God because too many ask God continually and I can get along by myself? Does my God fulfill my every wish, my every want, my every need? Do I want a God who fixes my problems and cures my ills and brings happiness? Is my wish list too incredible for God? Does my wish list contain things that can become obstacles to faith? Is my image of God the s...

Isaiah 53:10-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45 Who do I trust when the going gets rough? Who is the person who seems to be my confidant? Could I single out the qualities of these people or this person if they're the same? What makes them different ... completely trustworthy? Could it be the confidence they have in themselves and in me? Could it be their ability to sort through life’s difficulties in a thoughtful, non-hurried way? Do they have the quality to be a leader who is well-respected, honest and caring? Could it be their lives that have weathered many storms without being overcome, while still maintaining a positive and calm outlook on the present and future? In reviewing this list I would say, all of the above! The blessedness of these questions is that all of us have been in these situations and hopefully have found a wisdom figure who has brought us to the other side of our dilemmas. What are my qualities for this Wisdom Figure? Cynthia Bourgeault is an Episcopal priest...