harmony

the first reading from pauls first letter to the thessalonians (4: 9-11), says  "aspire to live a tranquil life; to mind your own affairs" 


it never ceases to amaze me how much gossip disrupts this ideal.  gossip  brings no tranquility; by definition, it is contrary to minding our own affairs.  let's pray for the grace to live this type of tranquil harmony

"home"

well, i am going to seattle later today

i always see it as home-- it is where i was born, grew up and all my family still lives there

it has changed since i last lived there-- the summer of 1991when i did my clinical pastoral education at swedish hospital and martin de porres shelter.  but it stays  the same too.

as  a missionary, i have had the pleasure of calling many different places "home"  but it is always temporary

like living in this world

we are all on borrowed time;  home is where the heart is

"fear" the Lord

Fear the LORD = wonder and awe before God and God's works.  this is the ultimate respect and honor


being scared of God doesnt contribute to a healthy relationship-- just as in our human relationships.


those who have  a capacity for wonder stay open to the world of goodness and have hope for beauty to break through

open hearts

our hardness of hearts leads to us losing focus on the ideals of our faith-- like in marriage (Mt 19: 3-12)

there are many other consequences that our hard hearts causes.  if we examine all the deadly sins (envy, greed, lust etc), a hard heart is lurking somewhere in the background

allow the HolySpiritto shape our hearts to an openness to God's will today

how often must i forgive?

the question:  how often must i forgive?

the answer: always

the reason: healing-- mostly one's own

the question:  how long will i choose to hold on to my own hurt?

paradox

gospel paradox: to find life we must lose it; death brings life.  i love the way God turns things around for us!

for the kingdom...

gospel reflection: become humble like a child?--- just say "yes"!

doing what we know

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”  even when we have strong religious experiences of Christ, these words can still be difficult to do

deny self

know thyself--- it will be the only way if we are to deny our false selves.  only then can we carry our crosses well

"satan"

in matt 16: 13-23, peter knows jesus' identity  but then jesus calls him "satan".  peter was trying to sway jesus away from his mission-- to go to jerusalem, suffer die and rise.

satan always tries to tempt us away from God and God's will and mission

peter just didn't understand; he had to experience it all first and then needed the power of the Holy Spirit to help him really KNOW and then have the power to share it effectively



it all led peter to his own suffering, death and resurrection

are we so different from peter?

persistent prayer

the woman in the gospel today persisted in her prayer to jesus and her faith was the source of her daughter's healing.  how can we persevere and continue to present jesus with the desires of our hearts for our loved ones?

fear? nawww

everytime that Jesus says "do not be afraid" (like in today's gospel), it comforts and strengthens me


faith is about learning old lessons from a current perspective...


martin luther king jr said: "fear knocked at the door.  faith answered.  there was no one there"