Tag: Beth Price

For me the day after Thanksgiving has no special meaning or space like an annual routine. As the years have passed, so has what the day holds. There have been times when I’ve been bundled (along with my sisters) into the car to visit family, as well as times when I’ve done the bundling with my own children.

Some mornings I’ve quickly put together a crock pot of chicken chili to share with my co-workers during a harried retail lunch on the fly. There have been many day after Fridays that held brief quiet moments of breakfast prep before the ‘gang’ invaded the kitchen. These last few years have been times to sip my cup of tea while the busyness continues on around me.

The readings are very fitting for today. I say that because the kingdom of God is here among us. Here God lives among his people (Ps 84:3 and Rev 21:3b), in every situation, every day. It is up to me if I choose to be a positive influence in His kingdom.

The psalm today speaks of the soul yearning and pining for the courts of the Lord as the heart and flesh cry out for the living God. He is here, present among us in the Eucharist. He is present in the Gospel. He is present in each and every person.  His kingdom is all arounds us.

There is no question that the situations in our world are challenging. The alleluia exclamation today tells us to, ‘stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand’. It is a conscious act to choose to be free from the darkness of thoughts and actions. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a great practice that helps me through the struggle of my day and thoughts falling apart. I also find great comfort in the Stations of the Cross.

Know that the situations will change and time will go forward. Listen to the song Together. Know how you look upon the world really does make a difference. Know that His kingdom is at hand.

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Today the Church celebrates St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. Mother Cabrini was the first citizen of the United States to become a saint. She worked with immigrants, established schools and hospitals, and served the poor and neglected. The readings are a fitting tribute to her and her way of life. Mother Cabrini was dedicated to service through love. She and the Missionary Sisters worked tirelessly at the turn of the 20th century, which was a time of many challenges.

The readings today are challenging. The longer I have prayed with them, the more unsettled I’ve become. Why? It’s because of the times in my life that I know I haven’t had my focus on the law of Love from our Lord and Savior.

All the times I’ve been judgmental towards some folks or dismissed issues which may not have directly affected me but have had negative consequences on others or my surroundings, is part of my conscious awareness of what I have done and failed to do in the eyes of the Lord.

I must be very intentional in what I say and do. The readings today drive home the point that intentions should be of the Love the Lord commanded and Christ sacrificed loving all humanity. I have to choose Love in every situation. I don’t want to be like one of the people lost in the flood during the time of Noah, or like Sodom, or Lot’s wife as is written in the Gospel

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us in #1604…“God who created man out of love also calls him to love – the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.”

To choose Love, is not the easy way. It is intentional, this call to Love. It is the way of truth. It is the way to the Father, through Jesus Christ, to redemption.

Read the following lines. Take them into your prayer while looking at them through the eyes of a different examination of conscience.

What do you choose?

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“…I hold you in my heart, you who are all partners with me in grace…how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God”. Phil 1:7, 8-11

This excerpt from the First Reading has been on my mind (and in my heart) for a very long time. I have shared with many that I hold them in the community of my heart. It’s a phrase a spiritual director shared with me during one of our first meetings. It has become part of my prayer life, to intentionally pray for those in the community of my heart. This community includes and is not limited to: family, friends, mentors, teachers, all those who have had direct contact with me throughout my life, including those who have been part of daily life encounters, work projects, prayer lists, the situations and underlying issues for which I have said I would think and pray.

I do not take things off my prayer list. My list becomes part of the community of my heart which encompasses all of His creation. This is echoed in the Psalm Response, “How great are the works of the Lord.” It’s a natural segue into the Gospel Reading from Luke in which Jesus, again, asks the Pharisees and those dining with him, “….Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath… who among you, if your son or ox falls in a cistern would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”

Who among you would not reach out to a brother, sister, or any member of the human family, to give food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, whatever assistance that is needed?  We are all related. We are called to increase in love and in knowledge of every kind of perception to discern what is of value in our life, our world, for all our sisters and brothers.

Pray with me as St. John Paul II did with these words:

Oh God, You are our Creator. You are good and Your mercy knows no bounds. To You arises the praise of every creature.

Oh God, You have given us an inner law by which we must live. To do Your will is our task. To follow Your ways is to know peace of heart. To You we offer our homage.

Guide us on all the paths we travel upon this earth. Free us from all the evil tendencies which lead our hearts away from Your will. Never allow us to stray from You.

Oh God, judge of all humanity, help us to be included among Your chosen ones on the last day.

Oh God, Author of peace and justice, give us true joy and authentic love, and a lasting solidarity among peoples.

Give us Your everlasting gifts. Amen.

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The themes in today’s readings, beginning with the prophet Abraham saying, ‘through you shall all the nations be blessed’ and the Alleluia, ‘I will draw all to myself, says the Lord’,  have been pulling me to Pope Francis’ new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti.    

Why? The subtitle of the document, Fraternity and Social Friendship, ring true in my heart, just as it did during my first reading of the Gospel. ‘Whoever is not with me is against me, whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Lk 11:23

The Grand Imam, Ahmed el-Tayeb and Pope Francis signed a document in February of 2019 on human fraternity and world peace. The Grand Imam described this joint document as: “… a document that invites all persons who have faith in God and faith in human fraternity to unite and work together so that it may serve as a guide for future generations to advance a culture of mutual respect in the awareness of the great divine grace that makes all human beings brothers and sisters.”

Fratelli Tutti is a document that needs to be read slowly to allow yourself to go deeper into the familiar story of the Good Samaritan, which is the framework of Pope Francis’ writing. John Carr, Director of Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at GU wrote a summary of the Twelve Themes on Sunday and Georgetown University held a forum on the encyclical on Monday.

The Alleluia acclamation today states: ‘I will draw all to myself, says the Lord.’ I believe this is what Pope Francis calls us to throughout Fratelli Tutti. The relationships we have with all of humanity and creation are sacred and entrusted to us through the Divine.

This recurring theme delights my Franciscan heart and soul. Click on the links above, read the documents, and find what is yours to do. Pray with me the words of Pope Francis as we begin this journey and necessary work.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Help us to recognize the evil latent in a communication that does not build communion.

Help us to remove the venom from our judgements.

Help us to speak about others as our brothers and sisters.

You are faithful and trustworthy; may our words be seeds of goodness for the world:

where there is shouting, let us practice listening;

where there is confusion, let us inspire harmony;

where there is ambiguity, let us bring clarity;

where there is exclusion, let us offer solidarity;

where there is sensationalism, let us use sobriety;

where there is superficiality, let us raise real questions;

where there is prejudice, let us awaken trust;

where there is hostility, let us bring respect;

where there is falsehood, let us bring truth.  Amen.

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Time. An interval that constantly ticks forward, one second, one blink, one breath, to the next. There is no judgement or bias, right or wrong. It just continues on.

The lines from Ecclesiastes in today’s reading are lyrical. There is an appointed time for everything. Why then, am I so resistant to something I cannot control? Time moves forward yet I sometimes believe I can hold on to it as a child holds a beloved stuffed animal. There is a time for hugging and also a time for letting go.

As a child who stomps her foot while saying, ‘stop, stop, stop,’ I cannot stop the death of a grandparent or a beloved friend. There is a time to die and there is a time to be born. I cannot stop the rotation of the sun across the sky or how the wind blows over the earth.

The passage goes on to say that God has appointed tasks for mankind to carry out at the appropriate time, into our hearts without our knowing it. We all are called to use the gifts and talents that we’ve been given to do those tasks.

It is a new day. Let us thank God ahead of time, for the gift of this day. Let us do what needs to be done today. Amen.

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The Gospel reading today says  “…the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” Lk 5:35

It certainly feels like it’s been a time of fasting. Our church, family, school, local and national communities are still grappling with the pandemic and its effects on many of the systems that are part of daily life. The last five months have not been like any others in recent history.

The good news is some things never change. God is always with us. He loves each and everyone of us unconditionally. He is waiting for us to turn to Him. We can receive Jesus spiritually, at any time throughout the day. My favorite prayer for spiritual communion is from Blessed Solanus Casey

Dear Lord, please come to me in spiritual communion.

Send your Body and Blood gushing through my veins.

Send your love into my heart, my soul and my mind.

Lift me up to your bosom and infuse me with your Divine Love. Amen

The first reading today reminds us that we are stewards and servants of God. We are not to “make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts.” We are the ones who are called to share His light in this world because we are filled with the light of His life.

As we head into this Labor Day weekend I have two items for reflection. Please listen to Jesse Manibusan’s song We are the Light and ponder these words of St. Francis of Assisi: “We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.”

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