What's Happening:
Where am I supposed to be? Usually this question is easily answered with a look at the calendar or a clock. Maybe if you are traveling, it might require a map or the latest GPS enabled phone or device. What if you want to know where it is that God thinks you should be? I know from the moment I was born, God has had a path for me to travel, the end destination is to be with Him forever. The path God would like me to be on doesn't exactly appear on any map, there isn't a calendar of events, and although directions are available and plenty, which one is the one I am supposed to choose?
People leave the church because they want to travel their own direction. People come back to the church because they are lost. Twice in the last ten days I have found myself right where I am supposed to be, at church. The first was at 11:25am on July 4 at Mary Our Queen. The second was at 4:55pm on July 11 at Saint Columbkille. It had little to do with me, it had everything to do with the people I was with
and what they need.
I pray the prayer of
Saint Francis of Assisi every day. There is something unique about this prayer from almost every other prayer I do or have prayed regularly, it is the word "make". "Lord
make me an instrument of your peace..." Not 'please', not 'if it be your will', not 'when I get around to it', make. What a simple, stunning, and deep way to put your life entirely at God's command. This is the way that I try to eliminate any variance in my travel towards Heaven. I take chance out of the equation and let God
make me be his instrument of peace.
It's not easy, and it could mean giving to God every earthly dream you have, but the rewards of serving, knowing, and loving your neighbor, and the peace that accompanies doing so, far exceed the simple pleasures the world offers us. How do I know where I am supposed to be? It is the peace of Jesus which tells me, the peace that can only come from Him.
Jen, Kat, Patrick, Kit, Me, Teri, Brianne, Katie, Frank, Joe, Frank. Brianne's wish came true, more ladies than gentlemen., 200 East 6th Street, Papillion. I have been to Saint Columbkille on several occasions. It is one of the closest parishes to where I work, so a group of us often attended Holy Day Masses there. I must confess to being a bit perplexed by the design of the church, and what the architect was attempting to do. The interior of the church is dominated by a large brick wall behind the altar with the risen Christ behind it. It always seemed a little too dominating to me, and I wondered why, surely the architect would have understood this. Indeed he did, it seems going to Mass at noon leaves out an important element in the design of the church, the westward facing skylights.
Suddenly, the risen Christ was bathed in the warmth of the sun, and Mass was not dominated by a brick wall, but instead by the image of Christ hovering in the sky above the altar.
You can see all my pictures from Saint Columbkille here.
Near the end of the Mass there was a guest speaker, Shannon Zurcher, who is doing missionary work for
FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) Her mission work will be at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where Frank went to college ... so we had an instant 'in' with her, but we didn't need one, she was friendly and enthusiastic. Mass Chaos' own Jen was involved with the University of Nebraska - Omaha FOCUS group. FOCUS is the kind of serving organization that helps young people start, restart, and keep their relationship with the church. Frank included her e-mail address and a photo of her in his blog post. If you are looking for a mission or an organization to support, this one is a good one.
Gospel:
"But because he wished to justify himself..."
Luke 10:29
This weeks Gospel reading is the story of the Good Samaritan. We all know this one, there is a man in need, the people who should be helping him, ignore him. Along comes someone who is unclean, and he helps him out. Yes. But why are we hearing Jesus tell this story in the first place?
Immediately prior to this (starting at Luke 10:25), a man asks Jesus how to get to heaven. Jesus asks the man what he thinks he should be doing, the man answers. Jesus then tells the man (in Luke 10:28) "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."
Why is there any other discussion about anything??? Why? Because the man wanted to justify himself. Really? Seriously? How much effort is wasted on self-justification? It's like an episode of "What not to say to Jesus."
Even if you manage to justify yourself to another human being, literally, you cannot justify yourself to the Father. If it were
possible, then there would be no reason for Jesus to have climbed Calvary and have stretched out His arms between heaven and earth. My sisters and brothers, love your God with your whole being, love your neighbor as you love yourself. Period. You can easily run out of excuses, reasons, and self-justifications. You cannot run out of love, for the more that you have for your God and your neighbor, the more love that the Spirit will fill you with.
Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is being deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
Jenny and Becky as they travel to Cambodia.
My friend B., who is struggling with herself lately.
My friend R., who does not know how to change her life.
Frank who is looking for meaningful employment.
Marcus who is discerning where to take his life next.
Me for the courage to do what God is putting in front of me.
Next:
July 18th: (unofficial) Saint Mary's in West Point.
July 25th: Mary Our Queen
Peace, Eric
