Category: Announcements, Homilies, Sermons and Prayer Requests

Early each week Marian Klymkowsky sends out our weekly announcements in an email to the PAX-list serv. This email includes announcements, upcoming events, a summary of the homily (sometimes from notes taken), and member prayer requests. If you would like to join the PAX list serv, please contact Dan Mulholland, who administers the list.

Pax Christi – USA:   January 13, 2023

HOPE AND COURAGE by Joe Nangle OFM

Where there is no vision, the people perish.  (Proverbs 29:18)

Write down the vision

Clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily.

For the vision still has its time,

Presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;

If it delays, wait for it – it will surely come, it will not be late.  (Habakkuk 2:2-3)

The institution of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in 1983 speaks to the enormous impact this black preacher had on American life. At the same time there are areas in this country which use the day to minimize King’s greatness. In Mississippi and Alabama for example the day is officially recognized as honoring Robert E. Lee as well as Dr. King! In Florida and Tennessee, the King Day is observed on Lee’s actual birthday!

These aberrations, together with ploys to mitigate the impact of this prophet on American life, such as naming the holiday “Civil Rights Day” or “Human Rights Day” reemphasize the ongoing opposition to King’s accurate critiques of this country. More on that later.

Doctor King was a visionary, a person who had a dream, a desire, a conviction that the United States could become its better self despite our terrible failings.

This weekend we will rightfully enjoy and celebrate once again Dr. King’s soaring rhetoric in his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech. To listen again to its delivery, unscripted and with the inimitable cadence of a black preacher, is to thrill to its vision for America:

“I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (sic) are created equal”.

At the same time many are calling for reflections that go beyond those inspiring words. They point to Reverend King’s observations about American life which continue to infuriate people like those in the so-called Freedom Caucus of the Congress or those who describe themselves as MAGA adherents.

For this year’s celebration of our American prophet, it will be useful – even necessary – to reflect on those observations in the light of our country’s current history. They are as relevant today as they were sixty years ago.

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” [The recently confirmed federal budget allocates an astounding $847 billion for “defense”]

“We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but the positive affirmation of peace.” [In addition to the $28 billion rightfully spent on arming Ukraine, how much investment has our country made in achieving peace there?]

Capitalism: “…with this system a small privileged few are rich beyond conscience and almost all others are doomed to be poor at some level.” [720 billionaires in the U.S./total population: 333 million; 2,700 billionaires world-wide/ total population: 7.8 billion.]

As a religious leader Doctor King was scathing in his assessment of the churches in the U.S. This strikes one as equally relevant to the churches today – and for us in particular as members of the American Catholic Institutional Church.

“…so often the contemporary Church is a weak ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound…so often it is an arch defender of the status quo.” [Where is the voice of the Catholic hierarchy in the face of the current scandalous divisions in U.S. society?]

“…called to be the moral guardian of the community, the Church has at times preserved that which is immoral and unethical; called to combat social evils, it has remained silent behind stain glass windows.” [A commentary on our “feel-good” pastoral approach to ministry.]

Two final thoughts.

First, the recent custom of calling the third Monday in January a “A National Day of Service” with squads of volunteers doing public cleanup work across the country is both a fitting and practical. However, let it not distract us from recalling King’s still-relevant analyses of America.

Second, in the face of a largely domesticated Church, Pax Christi – USA continues to have the obligation to sound a Kinglike prophetic word today.

https://paxcommunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ChristmasCandlelight2022.jpg

1^st Reading:        Isaiah 9:1-6

2^nd Reading:        Titus 3: 4-7

Gospel:                 John 1: 1-18

Homily:         Vince Cushing OFM (summarized from notes taken)

I have just a few words and they are quite simple. I would title my reflections “Looking at the crib is not enough for an adult Christian” when trying to express what Christmas is truly about.

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke provide lovely narratives about the birth of Jesus in a manger.  They are each a wonderful understanding of Christmas, but when I think of Christmas anymore, I think about the Gospel of John which is quite different.  Why does he write differently (about the birth of Jesus)?

The Gospel of John was written some 60 years after the birth of Jesus. It reflects 60 years of discipleship among Christians who were mostly converts from Judaism as they embraced a more mature understanding of who Jesus was/is and the role he plays in their (our) lives…Jesus was someone who came amongst – and stayed amongst – them (us).

John talks about Jesus in a special way: The Word made flesh.  “The Word” is a special term laden with meaning.  It expresses the very grammar of God, spoken to us in words we can understand, words destined to be part of our lives and which will transform our lives.  John speaks of what God has done for us: You and I were baptized in Jesus Christ, confirmed in the Holy Spirit, and are nourished by the Holy Meal (Eucharist). We need to look at Jesus’ generosity and ministry to fully understand God.

When I was a youngster attending a parochial school, we were all sinners who needed to be saved.  What a strange message for a 10-year-old boy who didn’t even know what sin was.

Christian faith does not mean we are all born sinners in need of repentance.  God loves us and God/Jesus has a personal encounter with our life.  Christmas isn’t only about Jesus, but also about us and God in our life.

And the Word became flesh and stayed for a little while among us…. Jesus chose to pitch his tent among us, (became a) Tabernacle for the people in historical times.  In our time, the temple of Jesus (resides) in our humanity, soul, lives.  The Word is not an abstract doctrine.

Greek texts use the word “sarx” which means flesh.  The deep character of our lives, our faith, and our being are penetrated by God; we are in a deep personal relationship with God. Christmas is the seed of God in your out life, in our encounter with Jesus.

God has called us to a way of life.  Jesus said, “I came that you might have live and more abundantly.” “I am the Way, the Truth, the Light” for us to live out in our human existence.

This is the vocation of a Christina light and life.  The grace of God is working within us and ought to effect the way we live, love, care,….

The real problem is although the Gospels spoke about this, we have succeeded in ignoring the message.  Pick up the daily newspaper to confirm this.  Look at…the terrible human abuse, extreme hunger, sexism, terrible greed – not things that foster life.  What does foster life come from the human heart transformed by Jesus.

In the earliest years of the Church, Christians understood the Glory of God is the human person fully alive. Our hearts, minds, and work of our hands reflect how God has loved and blessed us. 

I have spent most of my life trying to understand who I am and who God is. It’s a simple as that. And yet I am not a simple person.  I’m now retired and I find retirement quite difficult. I can’t walk, my hearing has gone, I’ve had cataracts, and I hope it stops there.

Meditation:         The Work of Christmas by Howard Thurman

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among others,

To make music in the heart.

1^st Reading:        Isaiah 7: 10-14

Reflection:          Marie Dennis

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

YHWH spoke to Ahaz, “Ask for a sign from YHWH; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!” But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not test YHWH!” Then Isaiah said, “Listen, O House of David! Is it not enough for you to weary those around you, must you also weary YHWH? Therefore, the Holy One will give you this sign: the young woman will be with child, and give birth, and the child will be given the name Immanuel. The word of the Lord.

The signs are everywhere that we are on the threshold of a new way of being, a new paradigm, a new logic for life. What we are birthing will be closer to the beloved community. It will be richly, beautifully diverse, and decidedly nonviolent. It will not depend on weapons or violent force. It will not perpetuate systemic or structural violence. This new way of being, this new paradigm, will nurture inclusive human dignity, respect for the integrity of creation, and the kind of right relationships toward which Isaiah was pointing.

This new paradigm will be based on a completely different understanding of our place as humans in the whole Earth community — and a recognition that we are latecomers at that to a spectacular cosmic reality that we are just now (thanks to the Hubble and Webb telescopes) beginning to see. It will recognize that diversity and relationality are imbedded in the cosmos and essential to survival on this planet. And it will clearly identify and reject violence in all its forms.

I see this shift happening everywhere. I know thousands of people, communities like the Pax Community around the world, who are giving their lives to making the Promise we celebrate in this holy season real.

I see it in brilliant work to root out systemic racism, voter suppression and structural injustice; to end the death penalty and mass incarceration; to redress centuries of oppression against Indigenous communities; to break habits of exploitation that are destroying the earth; to learn and promote restorative justice practices; to welcome migrants and refugees; to rid the world of nuclear weapons; to fundamentally rework U.S. budget priorities; to celebrate diversity and promote unwavering inclusion and respect for the rights of all people no matter how they identify, believing that radical inclusion is the foundational message of the Sermon on the Mount.

Isaiah said: “The Holy One will give you this sign: the young woman will be with child, and give birth, and the child will be given the name Immanuel” – God with Us. Yes, the signs are everywhere; we are on the threshold of a new way of being, a new paradigm, a new logic for life. May it be so! 

2^nd Reading:        Romans 1: 1-7

Reflection:          Mary Blissard

When Fr. Joe suggested that we each reflect on our reading, I recalled a priest at the “folk Mass” at old St. Luke’s named Fr. Fred. Some of you may remember him- Fr. Fred heartily embraced and supported the lay participation in all aspects of the mass. He was approachable and affable, (and) over 50 years ago he initiated dialogue homilies where he would ask someone, what do you think about this particular reading? What did it mean? How do you respond? Maybe it wasn’t only the teenagers who hoped they wouldn’t be called on, but that certainly made me listen attentively and consider what I could say if I were picked to respond.

In humility, and a little imposter syndrome, I offer these thoughts on Paul’s letter to the Romans. During our planning, Fr. Joe pointed out that this message of Paul to the Romans was considered very counter- revolutionary to what was happening at that time. There was great separation in the mixed community of Rome, with Jewish and non-Jewish converts looking at each other with mistrust or worse. Paul considered and carefully phrased his letters as a call to faith to ALL nations, and later said, “the path to faith is what is preached and what is preached comes from the word of Christ.”

I imagine that Paul had the faith not only in his mission, but also in individual’s and nations’ choices, that led him to hope, the kind of hope we feel during Advent that a new way is possible. This is the state of our current narrative in today’s world. Sen. Corey Booker wrote this about hope: “Hope confronts. It does not ignore pain, agony, or injustice. It is not a saccharine optimism that refuses to see, face or grapple with the wretchedness of reality. You cannot have hope without despair, because hope is a RESPONSE.” And then this is what strikes home to me in Paul’s message, as Booker says, ”Hope is not a feeling, it’s an active conviction that despair will never have the last word.”

I emphasize that it is action fostered by our faith that leads to hope. For the PAX community, it is the engaged action in contributing thoughtfully to the synod, to outreach in the community, and to dialogue with one another in the mass and zoom services.  In recent past, Fr. Joe has lauded the persistence of the PAX community and uplifted the servant leadership – apostleship – that Paul calls for. Fr. Joe reminds us that the first requirement is Love, in and around the community, and of course, to Listen, and ask, “what is the vision?” We can’t be passive in our quest.

The here and now of what is happening – in the world, in our nation, and our neighborhoods, as well as in the church, calls for some counter- revolutionary thinking. It’s not just believing or holding a faith, it’s the action of sharing the Good News with all, and that choice is where our power lies. Our prayer today is “make us your living voice.” Amen.

Gospel:                 Matthew 1:18-24

Reflection:            Mary Lou Melley

“Suddenly the angel of God appeared in a dream and said to Joseph – do not be afraid to wed Mary.  It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived the child, she is to have a son. Joseph did as the angel had directed.”

I discovered, through the years, that a few personal situations arose over which I had no control.  The only step forward was to say, “Thy Will be Done” as Mary says in the Magnificat and as Joseph did “as the angel directed.” 

When I was ready to deliver my 4^th child, I was very concerned since medical difficulties had arisen during my second and third deliveries.  I knew that all precautions had been addressed, but the result was uncertain and unknown.  That’s when Mary’s words “Thy will be done” came to me:  faith, hope, (and) trust in God. 

“For nothing is Impossible with God.” There were complications, but they resulted in my healthy fourth child and, in a short time, my recovery.’’ “My soul does magnify the Lord.”

Meditation: The Magnificat

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him 
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

1^st Reading:  Isaiah 35:1-6, 10

Reflection:           June Zhu

“Courage, do not be afraid.”  This sentence struck me when we were planning.  I was thinking about those brave young people in China who were holding a piece of white paper to protest the Chinese government’s strict surveillance and intrusion during COVID-19 lock down. Their action inspired the world.  Their action gave me hope that, someday, freedom will prevail there.

2^nd Reading:           James 5:7-10

Reflection:           Lois Merrill

Our second reading tells us to be patient.  The definition of patience is: The capacity to accept or tolerate or delay trouble       and sufferings without getting angry or upset.  The reading speaks of the farmer who awaits the precious yield of the soil, looking forward to it patiently while the soil receives the winter and spring rains.  In which ways must we be patient in our everyday lives?

When on has a health issue, one must often patiently await the results of laboratory tests, minor surgery outcomes – some of these may take days or weeks.  Can we do this calmly, not judging anyone if it takes longer than anticipated?

As to our families – younger children require patience with dressing and listening. Do we do this lovingly or just try to hasten the event. We must remember children mimic our actions – as we address their needs, so will they aspire to be like us.

Our older children also will lean on us at some point. Can we not judge their decisions but listen to them as they go forth? If they make mistakes, we need to patiently help them adjust their path.

With the elderly, it will take time to assist them with walking, dressing, and helping them with decisions. Most of all, taking the time to listen to them as their memories slow down…take extra time to let them slowly express their ideas.

Moral virtue comes from patience because it contributes to happiness and living well. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a thoughtful outlook on life. Yes, we are not in control…thus patience is the answer!

Gospel:                 Matthew 2-11

Reflection:            Bob Merrill (summarized from notes taken)

The second paragraph of today’s Gospel tells us:

“…YHWH is coming to save you.”

Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened,

the ears of those who are deaf will be cleared,

then those who are lame will leap like deer,

and the tongues of those who are mute will sing for joy.

Who are the Have Nots? Who are the Haves?

We right here are the Haves – we are lucky by the quirk of birth to have been born Haves.  Within the U.S. income distribution, we represent the top 5 – 10%.  People who earn the remaining 90 – 95% of income are the Have Nots.  Within the world income distribution, we represent the top thousandths of a percent.

We need to keep the Have Nots in mind this holiday season.

Homily:               Tuck Grinnell (summarized from notes taken)

For the second time, I was going to bring a hideous plant to mass today,

but I forgot.  It’s an orchid with gray feelers.  It’s pretty ugly when not in

bloom. Orchids produce incredibly beautiful and abundant blooms, and

then they rest for about four months.  It’s like our lives.

In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist is at the end of his life, he’s in prison,

and beginning to have doubts.  He sends a message to Jesus asking,

“Are you ‘The One who is to come’ or do we look for another?”  Jesus

 tells John’s disciples to go back to John and testify to the miracles they

are seeing.

Sometimes life looks ugly, but with God’s promise what dies blooms.

Communion Meditation:  The Yellow Bus

I pick the children up at the bottom of the mountain where the orange bus lets them off in the wind. They run for the car like leaves blowing. Not for keeps, to be sure, but at least for the time being, the world has given them back again, and whatever the world chooses to do later on, it can never so much as lay a hand on the having-beenness of this time. The past is inviolate. We are none of us safe, but everything that has happened is safe. In all the vast and empty reaches of the universe it can never be otherwise that than, when the orange bus stopped with its red lights blinking, these two children were on it.  Their noses were running. One of them dropped a sweater. I drove them home.

1^st Reading:        Isaiah 11:1-10

2^nd Reading:       Romans 15:4-9

Gospel:                 Matthew 3:1-12

Homily:               Jesus Rivera (summarized from notes taken)

“Justice” comes up a lot in our Advent readings.  “Justice” and “judgement” have a negative connotation (for most people).  If a bad person is judged negatively, things (usually) go poorly for them.

“Justice” is being in vibrational alignment with God and with love. “Vibrational” means for your whole life.  “Alignment” means being with God. 

From today’s Gospel we hear:

It was John that the prophet Isaiah described when he said,

“A herald’s voice cries in the desert:

‘Prepare the way of Our God, make straight the paths of God!’ ”

When we are one with love, we are who we truly are (meant to be).  John the Baptist got it, he was vibrationally aligned with Love, Jesus, God.  He was on fire and could get you to realize what/who you (truly) are.

In our first reading, Isaiah tells us what life in vibrational alignment is:

The Spirit of YHWH will rest on you:

a spirit of wisdom and understanding,

a spirit of counsel and strength,

a spirit of knowledge and reverence for YHWH….

In our second reading from Romans we hear themes of patience, strength, and encouragement and are called to accept one another as God accepts us.  When I am in vibrational alignment with God, I hope others are as well.  You are my sister, my brother; you are special to me.

Here’s a little story about vibrational alignment in everyday life:

A 7- or 8-year-old girl suffered from panic attacks.  One day during an attack, she ran outside and lay down on the ground.  It was raining.  When her mom saw her, she went outside and laid down next to her daughter and held her hand.

I imagine this child thinking, Who is this person who – wanting me to feel better – lies down with me, takes my hand, while I’m having a panic attack?  When we are aligned with God, we are aligned with each other also.

1^st Reading:        2 Samuel 5:1-3

2^nd Reading:       Colossians 1:12-20

Gospel:                 Luke 23:35-43

Homily:               Ted Keating SM (from his outline and paraphrased from notes taken)

PAX mass planning is the best kind of faith sharing.

I had a homiletics teacher who encouraged teaching the tensions vs the comfortable interpretations.

In 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in his encyclical letter “Quas Primas,” in response to growing nationalism and secularism around the world. (https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/upload/Christ-the-King-2013.pdf)

World War I was just an introduction to Word War II, nothing was resolved; the world was rearming itself.

For Pius XI, Christ was the King of goodness and love.  What does “King” mean to us?  In today’s first reading, we hear David was preferred to Saul: David won more battles.  David the warrior as the Messiah? Confusing.  In today’s gospel, Jesus is nailed to a cross by people who think they know better than him: Jesus as the tortured and murdered Messiah for His people. Another confusing image of King.

For a better sense of Christ, we turn to Teilhard de Chardin for whom Jesus was the model and image of the creation and of God Creator: the alpha and omega of the universe.

Our second reading is a wonderful hymn to Christ.

(I’m sure we’re all) Struck by the incredible violence of this liturgical year ending — the war in Ukraine, drought and starvation in West Africa due to climate change, the Covid Virus, refugees.

Daily and Sunday readings emphasize the fragility of the creation, stars, temple, and earth itself. They are preparing us to enter more fully a new year of Grace. 

We are the first generation of human history to see that the world will end. Yet we are comforted by the illusion of strength and stability in nature.

Until the very end of Jesus’ life, the apostles/disciples asked whether they would be made the new leaders.  They didn’t understand.

Christ is both model and image: of how he came to us and how he was treated.  We have no answer in Christianity to tell us what suffering is all about. Believing Jesus was sent to die and suffer to relieve us of our sins only reinforces treating others badly.  In pastoral counseling, you have to enter into the suffering of others.

During a dialogue homily with the Greenbelt community, I mentioned Karl Rahner’s phrase “all is grace.”  A woman said, “I refuse to accept that.  You can’t tell me there is grace in Ukraine.  It’s just words – even if true – they don’t work.”

Such suffering when we let ourselves soak it up (with the difficulties of seeing it every night) puts us right into the mindset of impossibly accepting so much suffering in the world.  It feels blasphemous when we face terrible suffering in ourselves, those we love, and like this woman who has taken in with the fullness of compassion and empathy the terrible suffering of the innocent in the Ukraine War, and finally in all of history like the Holocaust.

Like nothing else, needless innocent suffering tends to turn us on God in rage.  Either God is not all-powerful and doesn’t care, or not all-powerful and cannot be depended upon—the cry of the atheist.

At first blush, we cannot see how this suffering makes anyone who is victimized more whole.

We are often told this kind of rage with God is healthy and needed for future healing.  But we can’t be blazé about it or we dishonor the suffering and grief of victims.  We have to face it.  How can you do this? Permit this? It’s the first stage of grief. No easy faith options.

But the rituals, the Word of God, and the religious culture of our Christianity is called to go deeper, and deeper, and deeper.  Some say that until this happens to us, we have not fully matured into grace.

In one way or another, bit by bit we contemplate on the life of Jesus and His own rejection, betrayal, torture, and humiliating death. 

On the night Marlin Luther King Jr was assassinated, Robert F Kennedy had to give a speech.  He quoted from Aeschylus:

“And even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart, until in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”

So, with this we enter our Advent season searching for the light, and our new Liturgical year of finding the truth about life and love.

Martin Luther King Jr on suffering:

“Suffering can be a most creative and powerful social force…The nonviolent say that suffering becomes a powerful social force when you willingly accept that violence on yourself, so that self-suffering stands at the center of the nonviolent movement, and the individuals involved are able to suffer in a creative manner, feeling that unearned suffering is redemptive and that suffering may serve to transform the social situation.”

Finally, a poem by John Updike: Fever

I have brought back a good

Message from the land of 102 degrees;

God exists.

I had seriously doubted it before;

But the bedposts spoke of it with utmost Confidence,

The threads in my blanket took it for granted,

The tree outside my window dismissed all complaints,

And I have not slept so justly for years.

It is hard, now, to convey

How emblematically appearances sat

Upon the membranes of my consciousness;

But it is truth long known,

That some secrets are hidden from health.

What do you think about starting anew, building the light again?

Community Sharing: (reprinted with permission)

Molly: Jim (Molly’s husband) and I have renamed 2022 “The year of unfortunate events.”  We’ve come to some peace about it…(and have realized) God is found in the more liminal spaces…That’s where God is for me.

Catherine: I work with children…One was a 6-year-old whose family had fled El Salvador. After talking a bit about Jesus’ death and resurrection, I asked, “Do you think Jesus still suffers?”  He replied, “Only when people suffer.”  We don’t need to look at the cross but the live suffering of Jesus.   Nellie: I liked how today’s Gospel with the Good Thief countermanded all three of the Devil’s temptations to Jesus in the desert at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (Lk. 4:1-13), undoing everything the Devil tried to do. In this scene from the crucifixion, three times people mock Jesus, saying, “If you are the Messiah, save yourself.” This resembles the temptation in the desert where three times the devil tells Jesus, “If you are the Son of God,” then demands that Jesus: 1) command the stones to turn into bread; 2) bow down to worship the devil in order to receive all the kingdoms of the world, which the devil claimed to rule over; and 3) throw himself down and the angels would prevent him from falling. On the cross, Jesus resists the temptation to try to save himself, comparable to turning the stones into bread or expecting angels to save him. Similarly, the good thief refuses to ask to escape death. Instead, the thief does homage to Jesus, recognizing him as the real king. And the thief refuses to give in to despair as a sinner—he believes that Jesus can and will forgive him and make him worthy of paradise. This is mind-blowing: both Jesus and the good thief see past the appearances and refuse to believe the devil’s false claim to have dominion over the whole world. We, too, sometimes face the temptation to think that evil seems to be triumphing over good, or that some people are irredeemable. One of the mottoes I try to adhere to is never, never, never, never to give up on somebody but to stubbornly keep praying for that person.     (For more reflections comparing the Luke 23 reading to the temptation in the desert, see  https://web.stanfordcatholic.org/pray/weekly-reflections/2022/11/15/solemnity-of-christ-the-king-november-20-2022 ,  https://www.cbcgb.org/sites/default/files/sermons/lexington/em/additional/2012/13%20luke%2023-26.23-56%20devotional.pdf, and https://www.e-churchbulletins.com/bulletins/985599.pdf)  

Mike: Thank you for focusing on our experience of suffering.  I want my faith experience and church (to live in) the midst of that suffering. What do we do with (the suffering)? Solidarity.  (It’s) counter-cultural…what do we do with that? We (celebrate) Eucharist as the broken body of Christ.

Leslie: Usually when people suffer they are more vulnerable, they feel powerless, but they are also more open to God…People who inflict pain are worse off…they are further away from God.

Mary Linda:  I think about the people in Ukraine daily and wonder how to express being with their suffering (as Ted has suggested). I feel powerless; there doesn’t seem to be anything overtly helpful to do. Watching TV, the people’s spirit continues in the face of all that is going on. I wish there was a way to join with that spirit.

Al: My problem is how to respond to those inflicting pain on people…I feel I have to respond…how far does one go?

Sylvia: Sometimes you can get involved (by) discerning what we can do: sometimes it is impossible (but) sometimes it isn’t.  It might be sending a donation to Oxfam or getting in touch with our representatives, like we did with the Petition about COP27.

Bob: A segment on the PBS Newshour on Friday profiled about 6,000 to 7,000 workers who died building the infrastructure for the World Cup, while many others only received a fraction of what they were promised and are now deep in debt in their home countries. Hence, what will we experience when we watch the World Cup? Will the death of 6,000-7,000 foreign workers who built the infrastructurefor the Games prick our conscience? Is this what the world is going to celebrate? https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/reporters/20221028-the-plight-of-migrant-workers-in-qatar (link courtesy of Dale Chambers)

Opening Prayer:           Leon Hooper SJ

Welcome to our celebration of the collapse of time, the “End Time,” the definitive End of Time (ET. Pun intended) that we – year to year – evoke during the shortest days of our solar year.  Whether or not those Ends are to be politically delivered or apocalyptically delivered (by warrior, politician, or guardian angel) doesn’t actually seem to be the point of End Time praying. What we are after is the perfection and termination of time. 

The readings for our prayer this morning emerged from four very different communities, communities that offer us four distinct moral images of when and how God has previously been forced, by our human weakness and meanness, to remake what we have done to the heaven and earth that God originally created.

Our psalm images our God fulfilling the kingdom of justice: the Lord comes to rule the people with fairness. Justice will reign. It is the most positive and real image of an end times that we pray this day.

Our reading from Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians is a bit more twitchy. He is having to deal with some folks who are already perfect. They judge themselves as already living in heaven, of themselves being heaven. And they are the most boring of the folks we hear of this day.

If you want an End Times that is less boring, you might want to pay close attention to the end times foreseen by Malachi and by Luke, and possibly by Jesus. Their visions are never dull. And actually can be fun. Check out not losing a hair on your head but losing your head.

In these readings, God reaches to us, the God to whom we bring our hopes, wondering how our wondering might be graced.

Our current encounters with mother nature and human politics are making it easier to find images with which to clothe some of these end time images. We can simply tune in to the Weather Channel or any news channel. We have had elections – or are having our elections. We are enduring a hurricane. We suffer our usual gun deaths. We pray with those who have gone before us, we pray Lord have Mercy.

Lord our God, once again we bring our collective and individual imaginations to the meal to which you call us, for bread that will be broken, and spirits unleashed that will draw us into the life that you share with the one you call Father and Spirit. Hold us, draw us, strengthen us to know you as you know us. Let us be brave enough to see you face to face.

1^st Reading:        Malachi 4: 1-2

2^nd Reading:      Thessalonians 3: 7-12

Gospel:                 Luke 21: 5-19

Homily:                 Leon Hooper SJ

As we began our prayer, I mentioned that our four readings, although they each tag a notion of the end or fulfillment of time, reflect broad ranges of commitments and values, usually agreed to by an identifiable group or by a people at large. We the People. By these common commitments we form the common goods that we are or are not. And these images of what we should be, of what we will end up as, change, sometimes rapidly.

For example, when I was four years old, living in Salt Lake City, I was aware that most households were centered on a monogamous couple who, in those days, were not serially changeable.  Male divorce was a no-no. But I was also aware of a couple-three families in our area that were made up of two wives and one husband. When I returned to Salt Lake several years later, divorce was more possible, even woman-initiated divorce. But also, by then, polygamy was mostly hidden in deep forests.

 The “heavens” of cosmological fame also have been, in our lifetimes open to ethical and religious revision. When we were children, we could wander out into the back yard and be both frightened and fascinated by the twinkling of the stars. (In those days you could directly see stars.) Now we spend $10 billion to hold in our hands the light from those stars. To hold that light and to pass it on. If we really let that light sink in, we will find it to be both terrifying and gorgeous beyond our imaginings.

Last week NASA published contrasting pictures of a part of a dwarf galaxy. The one taken by Hubble was dusty and badly focused; the one by Webb is clear and betrays 1000 times more stars than can be picked up by Hubble. At least 1000 times more gorgeous than the earlier one.

Both our ability to see and our sensitivity to what we see is challenged.

But then what of conscious life in those smashing stars and galaxies. What End Times does our God offer them? We are built to demand answers to such challenges. God is responsible to answer for such.

Which, unfortunately, gets me to something I should mention to you folks. Some of you have noticed that two of my faults have been increasingly imposing themselves on my dealings with you.

One is an increasingly foggy mind, the kind that starts a declarative statement, then….”  And then forgets where the statement is going, getting muddled in the dusty synapses in my head.

Four years ago, I complained about increasing forgetfulness. So, I was offered enrolment in Medstar’s memory clinic. We laid down a base line, four years ago. Last month we ran a cognitional comparison. The resulting comparison looks pretty on a graph, but suggests some cognitive deterioration. But more to the point, it suggests retirement. And when I retire, I will be north of Baltimore. 

So be it.

The end of the liturgical year tries` to pound it in: (1) last week that our individual futures belong to God, (2) in this week’s readings that our collective future belong to that same God, and (3) next week on the feast of Christ the King that the church is eternally God’s.

One last word on the awfulness of some of the Apocalyptic lit: Next time you encounter judgment and falling stars, try reading Revelations 20 and 21. End Times can be gorgeous. And non-brutal.

Barbara Cabrera-Holtz announced that the Social Needs Disbursement Committee will be disbursing funds the week of November 28^th.  If you would like them to consider an organization, please fill out the form she sent on the list-serve (AKA distribution list) and email the form to Barbara by Nov. 25th.  [email protected]