Gift: Counsel (Right Judgment)

Reading:  May the Lord make you increase and abound in love
for one another and for all,
just as we have for you,
so as to strengthen your hearts,
to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.  Amen.  (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

Observation:  I did a search for abounding in love this morning because my son was sitting on my lap while the in laws were leaving.  He loves to watch the videos that I find for opening prayers at Religious Education and Youth Ministry meetings with the kids.  We also just look at random videos of kitties or dogs that he loves as well.  I guess the message that I am receiving this morning is the way to be abounding in love is to give the people around me what God is calling me to give them.  The increase that I believe Paul is talking about in his letter to the Thessalonians is the joy that comes from following the Lord.

Personification:  Joy  Now that the extended family is out of my house, I feel like I am being called to share the fruit of joy with my family in a real way this morning and for the rest of my life.  I guess I realize how good I have it to be surrounded by a family that shares my faith that we serve an awesome God.  Don’t get me wrong, I know that we give each other reasons to have our doubts sometimes, but I believe that is not only a part of our humanity, it is also essential for faith to have those doubts.

 

Gift: Understanding

Reading:  “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth.  Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.“  (Luke 21:34-36)

Observation:  I am very happy that I found this video reflection today from Father David at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  (Here is the video…)  He does a great job explaining the fact that we should be looking at today like it is New Year’s Eve, because on the liturgical calendar today marks the end of the year.  Since Jesus is talking about in this Gospel reading what we should not be doing in order that we would not be prepared for the end day, I am going to focus my attention today on where God would expect his Son’s disciple to be on the last day.

Personification:    Love (Charity)  In order to display the fruit of love and charity to everyone today, I would need God’s grace in a very real way.  Since I have the in-laws over today and it never seems to go according to plan, what I am feeling called to today is to love them all regardless of their circumstance and maybe God will reward me by allowing to have some quiet time with Him tonight.  We have already opened up our home to them, my challenge now is to continue to make them feel welcome and loved, even their dog.

Prayer:  Lord, help me to show your love and charity to everyone that I come in contact with today.  Please allow me to show the fruit of love in a real way to my wife’s family.  I ask this, as always, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Gift: Wisdom

Reading:  As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.  (Daniel 7:13-14)

Observation:  After reading this first reading to my boys this morning, my son started singing, “You are the everlasting God”.  I find that interesting since the visions preceeding these verses were quite an ominous vision of the world controlled by different forms of beasts.  I find it important to note that after these verses that I chose for my journal today, the author of Daniel does not stop talking about the four beasts and even talks about the fear that he still possesses even after seeing the vision of the son of man receiving his dominion that would be an everlasting dominion that would not be taken away.

Personification:   Humility (Gentleness)  I will try and display the fruit of humility to everyone that I meet today and for the rest of my life.  My only act of confidence will be in the fact that the will of God will be done in our lives.  I will try and not act as if the knowledge of when the king will return is within my understanding and true wisdom exists only in the knowledge of what God is doing in my life.

Prayer:  Lord, help me to understand your will for me in my life and what you are calling me to at this present moment of my life.  Please direct my will to be in communion with yours at all times.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Gift: Fortitude

Healed ten lepers going to show themselves to the priest…one gives thanks?

Reading:  Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?  Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?“  Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”   (Luke 17:17-19)

Observation:  I am reading this Gospel story this morning like a parable.  I don’t know if it is meant to be read because of the actual events, but I am reading another message this morning, a subtext if you will.  I wonder if they all knew that Jesus had already healed them, or for what else would they be going to show themselves to the priest.  This foreigner does not continue to the priests because he is not one of them, but also because he realizes that he must give thanks to the one who saved him from this awful affliction.  Why did the others not return to give him thanks or at least give him thanks before they left?

Personification:  Joy  Today is Thanksgiving Day, so it seems only appropriate that I act with the fruit of Joy in my heart towards all things.  My family will start off this morning with giving thanks to God at Mass at Saint Alice Catholic Church.  It seems a little self serving that we will be able to receive his body and blood in Communion, but I would hope that I could do so with Joy in my heart and show everyone this morning and for the rest of my life, what it looks like to be thankful that God saved me from my sins by sending his only begotten Son to die for me and offer himself to me in Communion every day.

Prayer:  Lord, I pray that this Eucharistic celebration at our church be one that truly shows that we are thankful to you for bringing us this far and your grace fills my heart with the joy that comes from you.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Gift: Counsel (Right Judgment)

Rembrandt’s ‘Belshazzar’s Feast’ (1635) captures the scene of fear. (National Gallery, London)

 

 

 

Reading:  MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it;  

                       TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;

          PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” 

Then by order of Belshazzar they clothed Daniel in purple, with a gold collar about his neck, and proclaimed him third in the government of the kingdom.  The same night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was slain:  (Daniel 5:26-30)

Observation:  I was struck this morning by how it would feel to have Daniel reading these words to me.  Since I am not a king like Belshazzar, I hope my judgment is not so quick but I know that God could very easily be saying, “Mene, Tekel and Peres” to me.  The truth is that I know that God has numbered my days, as he has numbered all of our days and if I was measured up right now, I would be found wanting.  Also, Jesus promised that as long as we are his followers, our families will be divided up against us.  So, as much as it was a prophecy for King Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, it could just as easily be written of me today.

Personification:  Goodness  In order to display the fruit of goodness in my life, I must work in conjunction with the will of God.  The only good that exists in this world is from the good that comes from the one who is all good and deserving of all my love.  I will, with the help of his grace, sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.  This part of my reflection today comes from a prayer I have said a few times before, the Act of Contrition. (see prayer below)

Prayer:  O, my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you. I detest all my sins because of your just punishment, but most of all because they offend you, my God, who are all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Gift: Fear of the Lord (Wonder and Awe)

The foundation stone – upon which the temple did stand…

Reading:  “All that you see here–the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”  (Luke 21:6)

Observation:  The prophecy must have been hard to hear for those people that centered their lives around worshipping God in the temple of Jerusalem.  As much as hearing it was hard for them, I should react in great amazement at the fact that it has turned out exactly as Jesus predicted.  More than the Old Testament Bible prophecy that many scholars say could be related to many different things throughout history, this prophecy was exactly related to what will happen to the building that they were standing in front of.

Personification:  Peace  I will work today and for the rest of my life to display the fruit of peace that comes from knowing that God is in control of everything, including me.  If I am truly a disciple of Jesus Christ, then my actions are not under my own control, they are under the control of the Father.  I pray the Our Father prayer, as Jesus taught us, to show my sincere hope that His will is done in my life and not my own.

Prayer:  Our Father, Who is in heaven,
Holy is Your Name;
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

I ask this, as always, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

(note from website that I copied the prayer from this morning)

The Our Father is based on these passages from the Bible: 

 Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4

Gift: Piety (Reverence)

The prophet Daniel from the Sistine Chapel…Artist…Michelangelo…

Reading: Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief chamberlain had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days. Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then see how we look in comparison with the other young men who eat from the royal table, and treat your servants according to what you see.” He acceded to this request, and tested them for ten days; after ten days they looked healthier and better fed than any of the young men who ate from the royal table.  (Daniel 1:12-15)

Observation: This morning I am hearing from this first reading that I actually listened to first at our Communion service at the chapel today.  Since I did not get a chance to journal before I left this morning, but it was nice to actually hear the reading this morning for a change rather than reading it for myself.  It was on hearing the Lector this morning say that Daniel and his companions only needed vegetables that I felt like they were showing what an example of faith looks like, as it relates to what kind of food you put in your body.

Personification: Self-Control  I will take this reading this morning as a wake up call to what types of things that I choose to put in my body.  It will take the fruit of self-control and the grace of God to choose to eat what I know is right versus what I know I would really enjoy to eat.  Moderation is the key here, so that I don’t make everyone around me feel guilty for eating whatever they want.

Prayer: Lord, help me to control my appetite for the desires of my eyes, and give me the grace necessary to only eat those things that I know are providing for the building up of the temple that God created in me.  I ask this, as always, in the name of the Father and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Gift: Understanding

Reading:  Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.  They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.  That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”   (Luke 20: 34-38)

Observation:  This was Jesus’ response to a question from the Sadducees about marriage in the next life.  I am hearing this morning that the Word of God is telling me to not be so sensitive about what others tell me about their faith.  Someone had noted in a picture that my wife did of an incredible young man that passed on to the next life at the end of last summer, that the wings she put on him are not accurate, since we don’t literally get wings we go to heaven.  It made me feel wierd every time I showed the picture to anyone, as if I was teaching something about our faith incorrectly.  However, this Gospel reading today shows that Jesus used this reference of being like angels, to explain those that are deemed worthy of the coming age.

Personification:  Long-suffering (Positive Attitude)  I will work on my ability to deal with other people today while displaying the fruit of long-suffering or positive attitude.  As always, it will take the grace of God to be able to deal with some people that come at me as if nothing I ever do is right.  I know that I must be willing to listen to everyone, but I need God’s grace to understand that it is not the will of God for me to be constantly second guessing the decisions that I make in order to be overly sensitive to opinions that aren’t even rooted in the Word of God.

Prayer:  Lord, please give me the strength to stay positive about the decisions that I make in direct response to the will of God, and help me to not second guess your directions.  I ask this in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Gift: Knowledge

Reading:  Then Jesus entered the temple area ¹¹ and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.’“  (Luke 19:45-46)

Observation:  I found it interesting this morning that I was focusing on the fact that Jesus went to the temple area to proclaim his authority first.  Before he did anything else, he declared his authority by going to the temple.  If you look up the scripture notes from the first verse, it notes that Malachi had predicted that Jesus would go to the temple to proclaim his authority.  For me, it shows how even the Lord would need to go to church in order to show that he was sent by God.  The same can be true for us, it is only by going to church that we not only hear the Word of God and when we are disposed to so, receive the Body and Blood of Christ into our own bodies in the Eucharist, we also proclaim the authority that is passed to us by the Lord’s resurrection.

Personification:  Faith/Fidelity I want to be able to display the fruit of faith and fidelity to our Lord and Saviour by going to him in Communion whenever it is possible.  To be the personification of the fruit of faith and fidelity today, I will need the grace of God as well as the direction of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the goal of being faithful to the call of being in communion with my brothers and sisters in the Lord at our Communion Service today and then Mass tomorrow morning at St Mary’s.

Prayer:  Lord, give me the grace to be faithful to your church in receiving Communion today and daily for the rest of my life.  I do not mean this as a vow, but rather a request to be truly given the grace necessary to make this possible.  I ask this, as always, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Gift: Fortitude (Courage)

Why is it so hard to see Jesus weeping, but easy to visualize his laughter?

Reading:  As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes.  For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.  They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”  (Luke 19:41-44)

Observation:  To me, this morning’s Gospel is talking specifically to all of the followers of Jesus, not just Jerusalem.  Personally, I can see Jesus crying over me, because I don’t understand what it takes for peace in my life.  I know that the Word of God is revealing it to me everyday, yet I still try and rationalize and justify my own actions because of what other people’s expectations are or because of my lack of internal fortitude to follow the will of God completely.  I don’t want to see the world destroyed like Jerusalem was, so for my part, I will try and follow his example and try and bring peace through love to the part of the world that this little worthless sinner can effect.

Personification:  Peace  Jesus revealed to us how to bring peace to the earth.  I am feeling called in a special way this morning to be displaying the fruit of peace to everyone that I meet today and for the rest of my life on earth.  I take solace in the fact that once I have passed on to the Father, if I am allowed to stay in His presence, he will have made me a perfect instrument of His peace.

Prayer:  Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . . hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . . joy
O, Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled . . . as to console
To be understood . . . as to understand,
To be loved . . . as to love
For it is in giving . . . that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying . . . that we are born to eternal life.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.