God and the Beauty of Mathematics

July 9, 2011

Obedience: Giving Flavor to the Pursuit of Christ

After St. Paul encountered Christ, he was bound to Our Lord in every way. In all that Paul did, Christ encompassed his entire being. All that he wrote, accomplished and endured was about Christ.

"I have been crucified with Christ and the life I live now is not my own, Christ is living in me" Galatians 2: 19-20.

Paul's life demonstrates that real growth and personal union with God is union with the Church and relationships in the Body of Christ. It begins with submission and obedience to the Lord's will.

Questions to Reflect upon regarding Obedience....

          In your times of prayer or at Mass, what has happened in your life when you've opened yourself more to submit to God's instruction through the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in you?

 April 21, 2011

AN EMMAUS EASTER GREETING

Dear Emmaus Brothers & Sisters,

As we continue our Lenten journey and now enter the Three Days of the Easter Celebration, I want to extend our warmest greetings to each of you and your families on behalf of the Holy Family Men's & Women's Emmaus ministries.

No time of the liturgical year is richer in meaning than what we celebrate at Easter. It fully informs our faith as we relive and celebrate the Passion of Our Lord, His Resurrection and the living Christ’s encounter with the disciples on the Road to Emmaus.

As we reflect on the sacrifice, forgiveness and personal transformation which occurs in our encounter with Jesus it becomes easier as brothers and sisters in Christ to understand the disciple's exclamation, “Were not our Hearts Burning”? 

And so at this Easter time, may the living words of Jesus to “Follow Me” deepen your faith, strengthen your love, and enrich your hearts in the confident and certain expression that "Jesus Christ Is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!"

Be Well and May God Bless and Protect You and Your families.

It is worth making the 5 finger prayer a part of our lives.

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a 'sweet duty.'

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction.

Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion.

They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, 'The least shall be the greatest among you.' Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.
 

  :: Don't tell God how big your storm is, ::

:: Tell the storm how big your God is!  ::

:: Amen ::

 

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Seeking Thanksgiving

The Catechism of the Catholic Church identifies the Eucharist as "a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all His benefits, for all that He has accomplished through creation, redemption and sanctification."  Eucharist means first of all  “Thanksgiving”. (#1360)  

Every time we participate in the Eucharistic Prayer we celebrate the promise of the living Christ through Jesus’ resurrection. 

He explicitly instructed us to:   “Do this in Memory of Me.”

 1.  How do we take the thanksgiving of the Eucharist and make it active outside of Mass?   How do we live that promise and remember that giving thanks is more than what we say but something we do?

 “I am sure of this much: that he who has begun the good work in you will carry it through to completion…”  (Phillipians 1: 6)   

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 Jesus, you and I receive everything from the hand of our loving Father. Even on the night before he died for us, he took bread and gave thanks.  In the second chapter of the Letter to the Philippians St. Paul says:

"Your attitude must be that of Christ." (Phillipians 2: 4)

  2. What is the mind and attitude of Christ as it relates to our participation in the Eucharist and preparation for Thanksgiving?

Questions to Ponder and Reflect Upon:

    ~ Where do you draw your courage, strength and faith when you are called to help someone in the time of need?

    ~ Recount a situation where someone reached out to offer you a helping hand in your time of need. Were you able to see Jesus in their actions of love, obedience or reverence to God?

    ~ Too often we are afraid to reach out for help, afraid it may show our weakness. Instead, we crawl into our cave of loneliness and solitude or find yourself hiding under a rock. Where do you find the strength to carry on  when the burden seems too heavy?

   Powerful Video: Covered in the Dust of Your Rabbi

READINGS

In Matthew 5:14-16,

14

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.

15

Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp-stand, where it gives light to all in the house.

16

Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

Questions to reflect upon:

            Think about your life and/or your week, where do you find the courage to shine like the lamp post for others? How do you think others see Jesus in you?

In Matthew 7:7-8,

7

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

8

For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Questions to reflect upon:

            When has Jesus answered your prayers for discipleship? Was your prayer answered in the same way you asked it or was His answer different from your request?

In Matthew 14:22-33,

22

Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

23

After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone.

24

Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.

25

During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea.

26

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.

27

At once (Jesus) spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

28

Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

29

He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.

30

But when he saw how (strong) the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"

31

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

32

After they got into the boat, the wind died down.

33

Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God."

Questions to reflect upon:

        ~      When have you had doubts about your ability to disciple and how did you overcome them?

The heart of the Incarnate Word

Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony, and his Passion and gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God . . . loved me and gave himself for me."¹¹⁶ He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation,¹¹⁷ "is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that . . . love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings" without exception.¹¹⁸

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116:    Gal 2:20.

117:    Cf. Jn 19:34.

118:    Pius XII, encyclical, Haurietis aquas (1956): DS 3924; cf. DS 3812.

Questions to Ponder and Reflect Upon:

    ~ When have you witnessed profound, overwhelming, acts of love towards someone? (Be specific to the situation or scenario. Was it a single event, or a series of events or acts over a period of time?

    ~ When have YOU felt this profound, overwhelming love and compassion expressed towards YOU? Was it a single event, or a series of events or acts over a period of time?

    ~ What are the commonalities that are present in these profound types of love described above (witness and feeling)? Do the words sacrifice, selfless, humble, strength, commitment play a part in these commonalities? How would you describe the commonalities?

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1 Corinthians
Chapter 12

8

To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

9

to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit;

10

to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues.

11

But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.

John
Chapter 14

26

The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name--he will teach you everything and remind you of all that (I) told you.

Matthew
Chapter 6

25

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

26

Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?

27

Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?

Discernment:

  Questions to reflect upon:

        ~    Describe/reflect upon a significant situation or decision that you needed to make. What steps did you take in order to arrive at your decision?

       ~     Where and under what circumstances have you found that God speaks to you best?

       ~     What do you intend to do to better discern God's will for you in your life?