Tag: woe

• John 14:26-27: Prayer for Understanding

  
  

  Tuesday, March 16, 2021

  John 14:26-27

  Prayer for Understanding

  But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  (John 14:26-27)

  We crave to be heard and understood yet all the while God’s counsel is before us. As we continue our Lenten journey with the prophet Amos, let us listen for the wisdom sent to us on the wings of the Spirit.

  First Word: Put away black-and-white thinking. May we learn to see both sides of every story, listen to both hearts in every argument. Holy Spirit, bring us your counsel.

  Second Word: Step away from corruption and nepotism. May we have the courage grapple with dishonesty in ourselves and others. Holy Spirit, bring us your fortitude.

  Third Word: Be open to transformation and redemption. May we be open to the healing presence of God. Holy Spirit, nurture in us a loving awe of the Lord.

  First Woe: Be wary of the ease with which violence creeps into our lives. May we grow to understand how violence insinuates itself into our lives. Holy Spirit, send us deep and lasting wisdom.

  Second Woe: Be prepared for deep mourning that threatens to drag us into darkness. May we grow in faithfulness and devotion to God. Holy Spirit, instill in us fidelity and piety.

  Third Woe: Turn away from your worship of little gods and turn toward the Living God. May we grow in our awareness of false teachers and preachers. Holy Spirit, engender in us deep knowledge of God’s ways.

  We crave to be heard and understood; let us listen for God’s Word . . . and let us ask for understanding of the world’s Woes. Let us give thanks to God’s prophet Amos who speaks to us today.  As we continue our Lenten journey, let us pause to listen . . . to reflect . . . and to pray, in Jesus’s name, and in unity with the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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  For more information and images of the Holy Spirit, click on the images above.

  For more on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, including a link to a more in-depth discussion, go to: http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/f/FAQ_Gifts_HS.htm  

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  March 16, 2021

  awe of the Lord, counsel, fear of the Lord, fortitude, gifts of the Holy Spirit, knowledge, piety, understanding, wisdom, woe

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• Jeremiah 45: Living as Remnant

  
  

  Jeremiah 45: Living as Remnant

  Wednesday, May 1, 2019

  During Easter Week we have celebrated our return from Captivity, our release from all that holds us back.  Today we return to Jeremiah to take a last look at what it means to live as remnant either when we are left behind as others are taken from us, or when we live in exile from all that we love.   Written on December 15, 2009 and posted today as a Favorite.

  In today’s Noontime reading we can see clearly that God is in charge.  He can, and will, break down what he has built and pluck up what he has planted.  Baruch, the man who wrote down Jeremiah’s oracles in about the year 605 B.C.E., is promised here that his own life will be spared.  Baruch will be a part of the remnant who will receive life as a prize of war in every place to which he may go. 

  Being remnant is difficult work which calls for perseverance and patience with both the world and self.  Today’s first reading at Mass is from the prophet Zephaniah (3:1-2, 9-13) who also cries out woe is me!  He, like Baruch, is overwhelmed by the madness and corruption he sees around him and he writes of the rebellious and the polluted who hear no voice and accept no correction.  They have not trusted in the Lord and to them God has not drawn near.  They leave behind them, in the wake of their churning lives, many who are brokenhearted, many who see great possibility, many who are ignored by those in power.

  From today’s MAGNIFICAT mini-reflection: The prophet Zephaniah makes clear that the world is in sore need of the redeeming presence of Christ who will be revealed not among the powerful who use their power for evil but among the poor and powerless who seek the Lord in poverty of heart.  These are the remnant who remain faithful through all hardships. 

  As we have already said, being remnant is difficult work and just this morning I was thinking of how many times in our lives we are called to share a vision we have . . . only to be ignored by those who have it in their power to do good . . . but who have something else in mind.

  How do we live as remnant in the face of so much ignorance and willful neglect of the spirit?  We empty ourselves of our own goals and agendas.  We open ourselves to the Word of God who longs to dwell within each of us.  And we take this presence with us in every place to which we may go. 

  This is the only certain way to live as remnant because to live with our own agendas means that we are one of those who oppress . . . and it also means that we are lost.

  This is imperative: That if we wish to conduct a life worth living, we must remain always in . . . for . . . and with Christ.  For this is the only way to live as remnant.

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  A re-post from April 16, 2012.

  Cameron, Peter John, Rev., ed. “Mini-Reflection.” MAGNIFICAT. 15 DECEMBER 2009. Print.

  Image from: http://catherinewhite.com/rough-ideas/2008/12/5—remnant—winter-solstice.html 

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  May 1, 2019

  Baruch, captivity, life as prize of war, woe, Zephaniah 3:1-2 & 9-13

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