Category: Announcements, Homilies, Sermons and Prayer Requests

1^st Reading:        Wisdom 9: 13-18

2^nd Reading:            Philemon: 9b-10, 12-17

Gospel:                Luke 14: 25-33

Homily:                Myrtle Hendricks-Corrales

The German phrase Sitz im Leben is used in scripture scholarship.  It means the social setting or social context or circumstances in which a text or teaching was created.  Knowing the history of Israel, the culture, and the social mores of the time enables us to have a deeper understanding of scripture.   Let’s look at the story of Abraham and Isaac.  First Abraham and Sara are delighted that God has given them a long-wanted child in their old age; then incongruously to test Abraham’s faith, God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.  Just as Abraham is about to sacrifice his son, a messenger from God interrupts him and a ram appears.  Abraham releases Isaac and sacrifices the ram.  This story has traditionally been presented as Abraham’s overwhelming trust in God. However, the Sitz im Leben at the time was that there was human child sacrifice—so perhaps we should look at this story as God presenting the ram to Abraham to instruct him that God does not want human sacrifice.  

Another example is the Good Samaritan parable.  At that time Israel was divided into two kingdoms:  Judah in the South and Samaria in the North.   The Samaritans intermarried with their captors, the Assyrians, and over time no longer thought it was necessary to worship in Jerusalem.  The Jews in the South hated the Samaritans, considering them half-breeds and no longer Jews.  The Samaritans returned the hatred.   When Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, his disciples are not surprised that the priest and the Levite do not stop to help the victim because if they had touched a dead body or blood, they would not meet the purity laws required to worship in the synagogue.  Knowing the animosity felt toward Samaritans, we can understand the disciples’ surprise that a worthless, half-breed, adulterated Jew would be kind and aid the victim.

Today, in Paul’s letter to Philemon, we learn that enslaved Onesimus is in prison with Paul, probably because he attempted to flee to freedom.   Because enslaved people were an accepted part of the culture, that is the Sitz im Leben, Paul does not request Philemon to free Onesimus—he sends Onesimus back to his master, back to his enslavement.  Yet, Paul is radical in his request that Philemon not treat Onesimus as a valuable piece of property but as a person of equal status, to receive him as a beloved brother.

The gospel may appear harsh in declaring that to come to Jesus, one must hate their father, mother, and other family members.  Love/hate is a word pair used in the language of international treaties in the biblical world.  In covenant contexts, love/hate denotes not deep-seated feelings but rather one’s loyalty or disloyalty to an overlord.  The person who “loves” the overlord is faithful, while the one who “hates” the overlord rebels against him.  Nevertheless, while recognizing the use of love/hate in this context, Jesus is very clear in warning his disciples that situations will arise that will test their loyalty with him or with members of their family.  Jesus demands that he and the work of justice be first in the affections and commitments of his disciples.  He requires careful reflection of the costs of discipleship and the willingness to pay.

If new texts were added to the scriptural canon today, what would be the Sitz in Leben?  How different would the message be from the existing Hebrew and Christian scriptures?  Our contemporary prophets still call for justice for the poor, the end of greed, the termination of corruption in governments, the end of violence, no war, equality, and dignity for all.    Much of what would be stated today would repeat most of the biblical message, except for one of our crises in the world today, the Sitz in Leben of our destruction of creation.  This new entry into the canon would be a desperate cry to save the Earth, to bring us to ecological responsibility.  It would be a call for healing and proper care of creation, the common home for plants, animals, and other living creatures who have much to teach us about caring for the amazing gift of God’s creation. 

The PAX Community knows that the world needs to rethink the assumptions about progress and development and to transform the way we live accordingly.  We stand with the poor, the marginalized peoples who suffer the most from environmental racism and climate change.  We also stand with indigenous peoples who are being evicted from their land and homes. 

We know the ugly history of genocide and the dispossession of our own indigenous people in our country and throughout the world.  Sadly, indigenous people in the name of progress are still being evicted from their homes and lands.  I recently viewed a documentary on an indigenous tribe in Brazil, the Kokama people (Jungle Mystery: Lost Tribes of the Amazon – Netflix).    The Brazilian government notified the Kokama that for economic growth, their land will be deforested, and they would have to find new homes.  Devastated by this development, the tribe protested to the government declaring that they had been on their land for centuries.  The government responded that if they could prove that the tribe has lived on this land for 500 years, the government would not destroy their homes. 

Now for decades, members of the tribe have found ancient pottery in the rain forest surrounding their village.  They collected and stored the pottery in a special shed.  Not trusting the government or archeologists, they had never shared their findings for fear of the pottery being taken from them.  The Kokama learned that a European archeologist was studying the rainforest and the indigenous people.  They invited her to their village to view the pottery, with the hope that she could date the pottery.  Not having the needed expertise, she convinced the chief and the tribe to bring in an expert on pre-Columbian pottery.   It was such a touching scene to observe the tribe’s anxiety and nervousness as they surrounded the scientist as he examined the pottery.  When the scientist declared that the pottery was at least 1500 years old, the chief wept, the people wept.  Their land, their homes were saved.  The Kokama had a good outcome, but it does not happen for all people in the rainforest where 20% percent of the Brazilian rainforest has been destroyed.

In this Season of Creation, let’s recommit to work and reflect on what the cost of true discipleship is in the complex ecological, social, economic, and cultural crises facing the Earth community today.  There is a great need for the Earth to have time to rest, restore, and recover from the lack of stewardship and the destructive damage from climate change.  We must be mindful of the fragility of creation, commit to leaving a small footprint on the environment, and be advocates encouraging our government to support global collaboration and cooperation to save the Earth. Just as Jesus demands to be first in the affection and commitments of his disciples, the crisis of the Earth demands our full commitment and true discipleship in this time of urgent global crisis. We are members of a vast and profoundly interdependent web of life.  The precious gift of God.  We must work now to save Earth. 

The PAX Community is fortunate to have the Caring for Creation Mission Group that continually inspires us and provides opportunities to enjoy and protect our Earth.  During this Season of Creation, the Caring for Creation Mission Group will provide us with films, reflections, education, liturgies, and tools so we can all work to save our Earth.

I end with words of hope adapted from the song “If I Can Dream” written in 1968 by Walter Brown.  The song is a wish for a better world, which can be attained by the strength and commitment of every person who does not abandon the desire and hope for a better world, by people who will not give up. It goes like this:

There must be lights burning brighter somewhere.  Got to be birds flying higher in a sky more blue. 

If I can dream of a better land where all my sisters and brothers walk hand in hand, tell me why can’t my dream come true?  

There must be peace and understanding sometime.  Strong winds of promise that will blow away all the doubt and fear. 

If I can dream of a warmer sun where hope keeps shining on everyone, tell me why won’t that sun appear? 

We’re lost in a cloud with too much rain, we’re trapped in a world that’s troubled with pain. 

But as long as humanity has the strength to dream, we can redeem our souls and fly.

This song was made famous by Elvis Presley.

Introduction:      Megan Hookey

Welcome to the PAX liturgy for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. The planning team was immediately taken with a line in the first reading: “every sage is a good listener.” Father Vince also shared that Pope Francis has said that “listening is the first step in pastoral care.” These two statements became the foundation for our planning – from the music to our homily. We considered how do we, individually and collectively, see and listen to: women, immigrants, the poor, the unhoused, LGBTQ and those who are marginalized. (It was also noted in the Prayers of the Faithful that a Greek philosopher, Epictetus, said we are perfectly designed with two eyes, two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.) Thus, the theme for our liturgy today is Listening: to help us see and respond to the many faces of, and paths to, human hospitality.

1^st Reading:        Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29

2^nd Reading:            Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24

Gospel:                Luke 14:1, 7-14

Homily:                Vince Cushing OFM (paraphrased from notes taken)

When our team gathered, we initially looked at a number of themes:

• Humility
• Hospitality
• Listening
• A New Covenant (in terms of hospitality)

Eventually, we focused on Hospitality and attentive Listening.  These provide a foundation for a good pastoral way of living. 

Let me begin with the question of Hospitality.  It is interesting that Jesus models an expansive notion of hospitality.  As a faithful Jewish person, he was keenly aware of the Jewish customs surrounding Hospitality: an opportunity for people to come together and share a meal.  It certainly involved washing of hands, and because people wore sandals, it may have involved the washing of feet.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is talking at a dinner with the leading Pharisees, the movers and shakers of his day.  He choses to give them an example of hospitality: “…when you have a reception, invite those who are poor or have physical infirmities, or are blind.” I feel quite at home with today’s Gospel – I am to an extent quite lame and I don’t hear too well.

As Christians, we know what hospitality means according to Jesus.  Our nation knows… (yet) The governor of Texas is shipping people as cattle to New York City, “They’re your problem not ours.” Such a callous way to deal with immigrants.  Jesus talks about receiving (welcoming) people as fellow human beings looking for meaning, acceptance, and belonging in their lives – and for the future (education) of their children. (We need a) thoughtful, caring, giving approach to accepting everyone in our midst.

The universal church has an issue with the role of women in the church, which puzzles me.  About 20 years ago the Bishop of Joliette, ND was charged to write (an official) church document on women.  He said, “I can’t do it.”  He was dealing with a church in an unhealthy way, (one with) a pernicious masculinity.

It was considered a breakthrough when Washington Theological Union allowed women to come to class about 35-40 years ago.  What a patronizing approach.  We found women were, in many ways, leading the classes academically.  (We heard) the cry of women to be nurtured, feed, and accepted in the Church.  There is also the question of women in society elsewhere: Latin America, Africa, some Community countries.

St Paul says (Galatians 3:28) we are neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, men nor women, but are all one in Jesus Christ.  Pope Francis has had a good deal of anguish about clericalism in the church which is understood as something male.  (What’s needed is) equal opportunity, freedom, deep human respect, acceptance of the family of the human race.  Our church and the whole world still struggle with this.  American is trying to change, but with difficulty. (It’s important to realize) priests have no power; the whole community (of faith) is inspired by the Holy Spirit. When we pray at PAX, we pray together.

(When it comes to) welcoming the human family – immigrants – we can’t seem to craft a good policy.  Jesus was a refugee; he went to Egypt and knew the meaning of being in exile.  The Church is good on issues officially, but the rubber doesn’t hit the road at the local parish.  When training candidates for the priesthood, the message is: You job is to say Mass and get people in and out to clear the parking lot.

I’d like to encourage us to be people of genuine hospitality – not in the narrow sense – but as a transformative cultural experience in society seeking to remove the barrier faced by women, immigrants, and refugees.

On the issue of active listening, we see this in therapy where the therapist is really listening to us to help us understand what makes us tick.  Years ago, I studied French in Quebec City and the teacher would say to me, “ecoutez”, listen how you are speaking.  It was not just a comment on my New York accept but a suggestion to listen for the nuances and accents.  Ecoutez is a model for all of us.

My background in in formation (education).  We teach a lot of information which is good and necessary, but a lot of the education I received was not good and had to be jettisoned.  We were (are) not taught to listen.  We need to hear what is truly in a person’s heart so they feel accepted.  Pope Francis has said listening is a key component of ministry. We were taught to preach not to listen to what people need.

Protestantism began with Martin Luther’s 95 propositions.  He was deeply Catholic and correct.   He was pushed out of the church because he challenged the church about indulgences and – sometimes mistakenly – authority.  He said the Gospel being preached was not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

One reason I prefer to be with PAX is you are a gathering of devout and open Christian people.  You have practiced great hospitality and you’ve also listened. I had a wonderful though painful experience with Charles Schehl two weeks before he passed.  I was stunned by the conversation.  He called various people he wanted to talk to.  He said he was happy and his Christian life in PAX had been most nourishing.  Under your own grace, PAX came up with an awareness that hospitality is essential to your community, each other, the larger Christian community, and to the world.  PAX is a blessing and a template of what a church should/could be.  A last word of encouragement: keep doing what you do.  This about life and how you live it.

Meditation:                  Barbara Spangler

Today’s liturgy both challenges and reminds us to listen – not only with our ears, but our eyes and heart. Here are a few reflections that we hope will inspire us to remember the power of listening:

Tom Cordaro, Pax Christi USA’s Ambassador of Peace, asks Who do you think is justified before God?

Sirach tells us that the Lord hears the cry of the poor.  Should Americans hear these words as a comfort or as a warning? If God does hear the cry of these poor, what does that mean for us. Sirach warns, “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds.”

Cordaro shares that Pax Christi members have been walking with our immigrant brothers and sisters in the struggle for comprehensive immigration reform for many years. Sometimes we are tempted to despair. Let’s keep our hearts focused on the promise, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.” And let us never tire of the journey.

Pope Francis has, over the years, often spoken of the importance of listening. In 2016 at the 50th World Communication Day he said: I would like to encourage everyone to see society not as a competition between strangers but above all as a home or a family, where the door is always open and where everyone feels welcome.

For this to happen, we must first listen. Communicating means sharing and sharing demands listening and acceptance. Listening is much more than simply hearing. Hearing is about receiving information, while listening is about communication and calls for closeness. Listening allows us to get things right, and not simply to be passive onlookers, users, or consumers. Listening also means being able to share questions and doubts, to journey side by side, to banish all claims to absolute power, and to put our abilities and gifts at the service of the common good.

Listening is never easy. Many times, it is easier to play deaf. Listening means paying attention, wanting to understand, to value, to respect, and to ponder what the other person says. It involves a sort of martyrdom or self-sacrifice, as we try to imitate Moses before the burning bush: we have to remove our sandals when standing on the “holy ground” of our encounter with the one who speaks to me (cf. Ex 3:5). Knowing how to listen is an immense grace, it is a gift which we need to ask for and then make every effort to practice. “

And then again, in the fall of 2021 when Pope Francis opened the two-year synod process, he challenged our church to master the encounter. He said, “Let us ask in the church, are we good at listening? How good is the hearing of our heart?”  “Do we allow people to express themselves, to walk in faith even though they have had difficulties in life, and to be part of the life of the community without being hindered, rejected or judged?” “Let us not soundproof our hearts,” the pope implored. 

And so, we take that final thought – let us not soundproof our hearts – as a charge for our daily life.

1^st Reading:        Isaiah 66: 18 – 21

2^nd Reading:      Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13

Gospel:                Luke 13: 22 – 30

Homily:              Joe Nangle OFM

(During our) Planning – (we wrestled with) some ultimate questions about Heaven/Hell, Salvation, Redemption, God’s judgement. We reached a kind of negative consensus – most of these questions remain with God. Who can know the mind of God? God’s very name is mercy!

Closer to home we decided on the theme based on Isaiah, “I come to gather nations of every language…” and Luke, “They will come from the East and the West, the North and the South and sit at the table of God’s kingdom.” Therefore (today’s theme): How Open are Our Doors? It lends itself to a serious examination of conscience.

Like most every similar questions there are three levels:

First, the personal – as a person of White Privilege do I recognize the clamor of “the others” – Blacks, Latinos, Asians Middle Easterners – even when it makes me (feel) uncomfortable and perhaps unjustly criticized?

Second, the communal – in my circle of friends and communities the same question: How Open are Our Doors? It often provokes heated arguments and even broken relationships.

Finally, the national level. Much of the deep and dangerous divisions in our nation today flow from a sense of defensiveness viz a viz “those people.” It is ultimately being gripped by fear, feelings of terror, that we are going to be overrun – displaced by “those people.”

And yet our experience is telling us that “those people” bring a vitality and newness to this aging American society. My own experience with the Latino Community at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish: Their sense of community at every level; their different expressions of religiosity (some not necessarily to our taste perhaps); a work ethic – not only willingness to work very hard but the capabilities they bring to their work; family (I think most of them would reject placing their elderly in a “facility”), capacity for celebration – music, dance; gratitude to the U.S. despite horror stories about their crossing and discrimination here.

PAX has had the benefit of “Others” over the years. Perhaps we’ve become accustomed and loved them; we are one with them in this Community: Rosa, Maria Teresa and Theo, the Rudenko family, Luis and Amalia, Caridad. Think of what they have brought to PAX and to our American society! Yet it is just such wonderful people that are so feared and discriminated against in many parts of our country today.

There was a book written some years ago by a Harvard professor: (its) thesis (is) that all empires which could not assimilate immigrants failed. She mentioned the Roman Empire, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, British Empires – all failing because they failed to receive and take advantage of the gifts being offered by immigrants.

By way of conclusion – a story (stories are always so helpful in making the point. Some days ago, I went to Costco to pick up a hearing aid which had been repaired. I left the car quite a distance from the store in order to get some exercise going and coming. On departure, I completely forgot where I had parked in that huge lot and walked back and forth for quite a while looking for it. Finally, pretty worn out, I asked a man who was packing his car if he could help me find mine. He said he would go to find the officials who are assigned to such situations, but returned saying that none of them was to be found. But he said he himself would go on foot looking for my car and just as the officials arrived to help, this Good Samaritan returned telling me he had found it. The man who was definitely from an African country, obviously a recent immigrant to the U.S. and when I tried to thank him for helping this old white American he simply replied, “that’s what you do, isn’t it?”

1^st Reading:        Jeremiah 38: 4-6, 8-10

2^nd Reading:       Hebrews 12: 1-4

Gospel:                Luke 12:49-53

Homily:                Tuck Grinnell (paraphrased from notes taken)

A short bio about the prison statement (copied below).  Franz Jägerstätter was an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II. Jägerstätter was sentenced to death and executed on August 9, 1943 for his refusal to fight for Nazi Germany. He was later declared a martyr and beatified by the Catholic Church. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_J%C3%A4gerst%C3%A4tter)

Edith Stein was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a Discalced Carmelite nun (Saint Teresia Benedicta a Cruce). She is canonized as a martyr and saint (Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross or Saint Edith Stein) of the Catholic Church. While  sent to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands for safety, she and all baptized Catholics of Jewish origin were arrested by the Gestapo on August 2, 1942 and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where they were murdered in a gas chamber on August 9, 1942. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Stein).

Franz is quite a challenge for me.  He is such an example: everyone told him to just go along, they exerted every kind of pressure on him.

From today’s Gospel we hear:

Jesus said to the disciples: “I have come to light a fire on the earth. How I wish the blaze were ignited already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think I am here to bring peace on earth? I tell you, the opposite is true…

Although we know from Luke’s Gospel that Jesus prayed three times asking God to take “this cup” from him – he is committed to complete his mission.

Are we willing to step into the arena for the truth thereby awakening truth to people we are ministering to (journeying with)?  I’m ashamed for the times I have walked away from true discipleship.  Jesus didn’t walk away – he accepted his mission.

Community Dialogue: (reprinted with permission)

Instances when our faith has been costly

Diana: From the age of 6, I lived in two homes: in New York during the school year with my Mother and Grandmother and in Indiana during the summer with my Father and Stepfamily.  I had trouble adjusting to my Father’s family and would get homesick during the summer.  In third grade I had the most wonderful teacher, Mrs. Duffy, who introduced me to the Catholic faith – which became another home for me.  My father was a Methodist who played golf on Sundays.  My Stepmother was a Christian Scientist.  Neither would take me to church on Sundays and made it known I’d have to get there myself.  I did and the reward was I did finally begin to feel more comfortable with my Father’s family.

Megan: I am a cradle Catholic.  I was a pre-teen when PAX formed and my family was a part of PAX in the early 1970s.  We really thought we were on to something.  Then came the separation from St. Luke Catholic. My parents hosted a community discussion where the pastor told PAX members the parish was no longer going to do things PAX’s way and he was not going to be our shepherd!  We were a church divided and I was shaken.  It’s been a privilege to see PAX move forward from that beginning.  To paraphrase Vince Cushing, PAX is what the Catholic faith needs.

Marian: I’ve heard, “Christian living is by its nature subversive.” I attended Catholic school (“Holy Angels”) until we moved from Philadelphia to the suburbs – when I started public school.  My father is Ukrainian (he emigrated at age 17 during WWII) and my family started attending a Byzantine Rite Catholic Church.  Masses were in Church Slavonic and I didn’t get much out of them.  I went years without going to church.  My husband is Methodist and we tried “church shopping” but were each looking for something different.  My faith only deepened when I found PAX.  I always remember the shock of hearing Joan Urbanczyk saying things like, “I don’t believe in Hell; I don’t believe in a God who would sentence people to Hell” and “We are either all saved, or no one is saved.”  I’ve been spiritually nourished at PAX ever since. (When thinking about the cost of discipleship – for me, it’s accepting fallout from speaking truth to power in any given situation – interpersonal, communal, or political.)

Dick: One day when I was in the first grade our pastor, Fr. Fred Gettlefinger, strode into our classroom and enchanted us with stories about the early priests and religious women who opened up Nelson, Larue, Marion and Washington counties in Kentucky to the spread of Catholicism. When Fr. Gettlefinger finished his talk he asked, “Would any of you boys like to become a priest?” From that day on I felt called to be a priest. I entered the seminary when I was 14 years old. In my second year high school I failed two courses: plane geometry and second year Latin. I had to retake these two subjects in summer school. When I returned for my third year of high school, I was enrolled in Latin with Father Charlie who was the seminary registrar. Once again I had a hard time with Latin and second-year algebra. About two months into my junior year Father Charlie came and sat beside me in study hall one morning and said to me, “Richard, I don’t know what we’re going to do with you; you’re not doing well in my Latin class.” I told him my problem was I had five classes in a row and a hard time doing the homework. He thought for a moment and said, “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do, I’m going to let you drop second-year algebra and I will give you the needed credit for graduation by crediting you for your  public speaking class (which none of my classmates received).” I was jubilant until it began to dawn on me, “Dick,” I said to myself, “you’re not going to make it if you don’t start taking your studies seriously.,,you’ve got to bear down and learn how to learn.” It was very difficult; but I did indeed learn how to learn. If it were not for Father Charlie taking the time and caring enough to give me a second chance I may never have been ordained. And, as I said, the only thing I ever wanted to do and to be in my life was to be a priest!

Rosa: Many of you know me so well.  I consider PAX my family because I am alone here from Chile.  When I married Ben, so many PAX members helped us.  Ben was a Methodist; I never asked him to join PAX – he did it himself.  PAX is unique.  There are so many PAX pilgrims who are no longer with us and I still ask them for help.  I’m thankful for PAX – you gave me a new life and I am still grateful.

Marie: I haven’t thought about discipleship in terms of cost.  It was very much in the PAX community that I heard a call with respect to a lifestyle and lifetime.  My first move was from McLean to a farm and then to the Assisi Community.  There were tremendous costs along the way.  When we moved the Assisi Community into a pretty rough neighborhood in Washington D.C. there were many who thought it was insane. Indeed, it’s not been easy.  But, it’s often the inconsequential things, letting go of small things in life – and the cost is pretty ongoing.  A month doesn’t go by that I don’t ask, “Can I do this another month?”  Then, on reflection, there are so many gifts and relationships that I also wonder, “It this really a cost?”

Mike M (posted in the chat box): Thank you planners.  Here is an exhortation from Marie in 2005 that fits in with our theme you may find inspiring.  

• Open your heart; say yes; take some risks; cross borders; keep growing;
• Try to look at reality through the eyes of those who are poor, living on the margins of life, excluded;
• Make a life’s commitment to something you believe in, something that gives your life meaning;
• Integrate your values into the work you choose to do and into the way you live;
• Just take the next right step – you’ll know where to go once you get there;
• Find community – create or recreate it if you have to; and
• Remember, always remember, that your life is a work in progress. Let the Spirit of the Living God lead the way.

Read more at: https://discover.trinitydc.edu/ministry/marie-dennis-64/

Tuck: This is not just something to think about the past but an invitation of the present.  After our mass today, when we all go home, think able what cost are you willing to pay going forward.

Prison Statement:

Mass planners asked members to read the following “Letters and Writings from Prison” by Franz Jägerstätter prior to today’s liturgy. Franz Jägerstätter (1907 – 1943), an Austrian peasant and devout Catholic, was imprisoned and later executed for opposing the Nazis and refusing to serve in Hitler’s army. He was beatified in 2007.

“Now I’ll write down a few words and they come to me from my heart. Although I am writing them with my hands in chains, this is still much better than if my will were in chains.

God sometimes shows his power, which he wishes to give to human beings, to those who love him and do not place earthly matters ahead of eternal ones. Not prison, not chains, and not even death are capable of separating people from the love of God, of robbing them of their faith and free will [see Rom. 8:31-39]. God’s power is invincible.

“Be obedient, and submit to authority.” These words are flying today at a person from all sides, especially from people who no longer believe anything that exists in Sacred Scripture and that God has commanded us to believe. If someone were to concern himself with what these people are saying, then he would assume that heaven is in fact in this world. For instead of being concerned about saving me from serious sins and directing me toward eternal life, these people are concerned about rescuing me from an earthly death.

They always want to prick my conscience concerning my responsibilities for my wife and children. Is the action that someone does somehow morally better because this person is married and has children? Or is the action better or worse because thousands of other Catholics are doing it? Has smoking a cigarette also become a virtue because thousands of Catholics are doing it? Is someone permitted to lie in taking an oath just because he has a wife and children? Did not Christ himself say that whoever loves wife, mother and children more than me is not worthy of me? [see Luke 14:26]. On what basis do we ask God for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit if we should adhere to blind obedience in any case?

I believe that someone can calmly adhere to blind obedience only when one will surely not harm anyone else. If people were totally honest today–as some Catholics are, I believe–they would have to say, “Yes, I see that the acts that I am required to do are not morally good, but I am simply not ready to die [for refusing to do them].”

If God had not bestowed on me the grace and power to die for my faith–if this is demanded of me–then I would be doing the same as the majority of people are doing. God can give someone as much grace as God wants. If other men and women had received as much grace as I have obtained, they would have perhaps done much more good than I have done.”

Meditation:  Psalm 34

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Introduction:      Courtney Bennett

The process of mass planning never disappoints and hopefully today’s reflections will similarly inspire food for thought, and in my humble opinion, offer hope.  The beauty of not remaining alone with the challenge of readings, their sometimes violent imagery or the depiction of a God that feels foreign or uncomfortable was surely one of my takeaways from this week’s planning. We will listen to today’s readings that present images of darkness, impending doom, severe punishment yet unfathomable salvation and unshakable faith.  For today’s theme, we agreed to ask the very personal question of “What is your faith asking of you?”

We will begin our gathering with the song “We are Called, We are Chosen” and at first glance I pause and say whoa –  you mean I’m chosen but not others? And go down a rabbit hole of doubt and being rubbed the wrong way by a separateness that I do not believe serves anyone well. I can then “choose” to stay in that fearful anxiety ridden space of feeling separate or disconnected from a loving God, OR turn toward a less fearful mindset of faith.  To stay in one polarity alone does not help resolve or alleviate these doubt-filled spaces.  To join with others to share, make sense, fine tune, gather information, and find companionship as we wrestle speaks to the unity that is found in the push and pull, the positive and the negative, that exists in most things. Their relationship is solid and quite often dependent.

We will end our gathering with this same refrain “We are Called, We are Chosen” and hopefully find ourselves more connected to, more celebratory of our own faith and how we share in that hope-filled place of gathering for sharing and communion with one another.

1^st Reading:        Wisdom 18: 6-9 

2^nd Reading:           Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19          

Gospel:                Luke 12: 32-48             

Homily:                Tuck Grinnell (paraphrased from notes taken)

Hebrews chapter 11 has always struck me; sometimes my faith gets weak.  “Faith is the reality of all that is hoped for; faith is the proof of all that is unseen.”

I love the example of Abraham and Sarah, both called to search for a (promised) land they would never know, with their descendants “heirs of the same promise.”  How could these promises be fulfilled when they had no children and were past childbearing age, indeed “as good as dead.” And what about the call to sacrifice Isaac, their only son – how could their descendants then be “heirs to the same promise.” How did they keep trusting/seeing into the future.  The Jewish people inherited the promised land some 400 years later.

The question today is What is Your Faith Asking of You? Charles (Schehl) has shared with us that his time on earth is short.  What is his faith asking of him?  He is no longer eating yet he is deeply thankful for his children and this community.

For me, fear has (sometimes) kept me from seeing – as has anger or resentment.  For others, it’s possessions that keep them from seeing clearly.  What challenges do you face? What do you see even though it’s far off or even seems murky to you now?  I find my life is becoming more and more oriented on eternal life.  I feel more like Abraham and Sarah – better able to look beyond the present.

Community Dialogue:   reprinted with permission

Rhonda: I am recently divorced – not by my choice.  My partner said, “I want a divorce” and I am being challenged to let go of my want/need to understand why.  I am not capable of understanding.  I have realized God is not asking me to understand.  My faith tells me to go forward, it asks me to just love.

Molly: I think this is often the message, “How am I going to handle this?”  I had back surgery almost 12 years ago after 18 years of back pain.  I’ve realized I don’t have to ask the question “How am I going to do this for the rest of my life”, I’m already doing it.  I still have some pain issues, but instead of asking the question I have learned to lean on God.

Marian: I believe Dag Hammarskjold said “Life only demands from you the strength you possess.  Only one feat is possible – not to have run away. For me, my faith asks me to be present and an active participant in the world. Sometimes, I can only bear witness to the challenges and sufferings of others. Sometimes, I can lift others up and bring their situation to the attention of others who may be able to help. And sometimes I can directly intervene and offer actual assistance. My faith asks me to be open and willing to do whatever I can whenever I can to help others in need.

Mary Lou – Recently I’ve lost more and more dear friends and relatives.  Last week, I visited a friend who, for 3 years, has Alzheimer’s and she expresses herself through her eyes.  As In the reading, the Master has given all of us our life. I acknowledge that the source of life is God even as our lives will end. I like to start my day with “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.”  

Leslie: I try to remember Steve (Brown)’s prayer “Let Go and Let God.” I feel like I have to be in charge of everything.  The past two weeks I’ve had bad sciatica in my left leg, which has left me hobbling around.  It’s as if God has made me slow down. Never before have I been forced to slow down, I’m always busy.  I’ve heard God before, but now I’m listening and learning not to do everything I think I should be able to do.

Rosa: I feel God has always been with me since I was born; I’ve always felt surrounded by God’s love.  I have been so lucky with my family and this community which is my family.  I bother God all the time.  The help I’ve received has been amazing. So many PAX people have embraced me and continue to do so. God is my companion and helper.

Tuck: I’m struck by what Courtney said at the beginning of our liturgy and hopefully we will find ourselves in a hope-filled place; a unity found in the push/pull of all things.  Thank you for your sharing.

Introduction (Nellie Ohr)

Good morning, and welcome to our hybrid PAX liturgy for the 18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time! At our wonderful Mass planning session with Fr. Joe, Mary Linda, Rosa, Katy, and Megan, we settled on the theme “From Illusion to Conversion.” More than once in the readings for today, we found the idea that the trappings of wealth and worldly success are illusory, as false visions of success. Fresh on our minds were the hearings of the Jan 6 Commission.

• We remembered Liz Cheney, who last month cautioned her Republican colleagues. “There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.” [1] She was asking them to choose between illusory political success and integrity.
• And we remembered last week’s testimony, where a young aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, admitted her horror and disillusionment when she realized what was going on. People like this young aide were seemingly intoxicated by the trappings of power, until a horrific event made the scales fall from their eyes. She seems to have experienced an extreme moment of going from illusion to conversion. 

But all of us may find ourselves intoxicated with the trappings of wealth, success, and power, in large or small ways. Our lives are a daily process of conversion. And conversion leads to hope and trust in God. Poor people who don’t know what the day will bring have hope because they trust in God rather than trusting in material security. Our gathering song asks God to lead us from falsehood to truth and fear to trust. Please join in singing.

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1^st Reading:                 Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23

Responsorial:              Love is revolution

Our responsorial is drawn from postings on a bulletin board at Harvard that Nellie Ohr spotted. The planners felt these sentiments were timely and apt and, summed up much of the spirit of our second and third readings.

When the old world ends, the new world begins. In the old world, money was power. In the new world, spirit is power. You choose to make the world better or worse with every act.  This is your power.  R

Race, nationality, class, gender physical appearance – these matter in the old world, not in the new. The most important things in the new world are the quality of your awareness and the strength of your relationships.  R

The old world ran on greed. The new world runs on human connection.  R

The world is changing. Learn to travel light. When the water rises, all your stuff will not help you. The things you own will mean nothing anymore. The people you know will mean everything.  R

Be ready for the change. Pay attention to your community. Help where you can. We will survive by taking care of one another.  R

You have been told that you have no power, but that is a lie. You have the power to do right by other people. Selfishness is suicide.  R  

2^nd Reading:               Colossians 3:1-5; 9-11       

Gospel:                   Luke 12:13-21

Homily:                 Joe Nangle, OFM (paraphrased from notes taken) 

During our planning we settled on social analysis and not just how today’s readings affect us as individuals.  Thinking about PAX, I’ve been privileged these many years to celebrate with you.  While many PAX members are privileged, you are counter cultural as well.  You have put aside the vanity of material goods. It’s been a wonderful journey with you.

One of the downsides of the January 6^th Congressional hearings is the realization that greed is a large part of our culture.  Pope Francis urges us to be countersigns to our prevailing culture.

You’ve all received Charles Schehl’s email (via the PAX listerv) [reprinted later in these announcements]. As a physician, Charles knows his life is coming to an end and he is saying good-bye.

I recently attended the home baptism of one of Charles’ grandchildren and was able to give him the Sacrament of the Sick.  I’ve never had a more inspiring experience of someone taking the journey home.  Charles is calling all his friends to say good-bye; he recognizes what a great gift it is to be able to do this.  I hope I may have the same opportunity when I pass from this life.

Our medical-industrial society is so insistent on our staying healthy.  Yet, we know moving toward the end of life is inevitable.

Creed: From translated work of Ignatius Brady OFM: The Prayers of St. Francis 

St. Francis travelled to forestall the Crusades against Muslims.  He was received by the imam; they spent a long time together. Islam has 100 names (approximations) of God – recognizing there is no way to describe God. When Francis returned to Italy, he wrote this creed.

You are the holy Lord the only God, who works wonders, You are strong. You are great. You are most high. 

You are the Almighty King, you O Holy Father. King of heaven and Earth. 

You are three and one, the Lord God of Gods. 

You are good, all good, the highest good, Lord God living and true.

You are love, charity. 

You are wisdom, You are humility, You are patience, You are beauty, 

You are meekness, You are security. You are quietude, You are joy.

You are our hope and gladness. 

You are justice, You are temperance. You are all our riches to the full. 

You are beauty, You are meekness. You are protector, You are guardian and defender  

You are strength, You are refreshment. You are our hope, You are our faith. 

You are our charity, You are all our delight. You are our eternal life:

The Great and wondrous Lord, God Almighty, Merciful Savior! 

Special Blessing for Joe Nangle to commemorate his 90^th birthday:

Mytrtle Hendricks Corrales: After 15 years in Bolivia and Peru living with and ministering to the poor, the powerless, the disenfranchised, you made a poignant, definitive decision that you needed to bring the call for social justice to the United States, to bring about a change here that would affect the lives of so many in need.                                                                                                                                                         

You carried in your heart the lives of Rose, the homeless man who when given food, immediately shared it with a friend, the mother who gave birth in a cold, bare concrete building under construction, young Jose hit and killed by a bus and his family’s struggle to respect his dear body, and so much more about the lives of the sacred people you served.  While they are in your heart still, you transplanted their lives and their struggles to our hearts. 

You have never wavered in your prophetic voice calling for justice, denouncing war, violence, greed, and the lack of dignity for much of humanity.  You combine your strong, truthful prophetic voice with compassion so that your sometime difficult challenges are heard and pondered.

The PAX Community is grateful for the gift of your vision, your ministry, your pastoral care.  We are all better for having walked with you.  In gratitude and love, PAX blesses you.

Shane MacCarthy: Father Joe, the gifts you have shared with us as a Community and with us individually are many. These are examples of your gentle pastoral ministry, specifically referenced by members of our Community:

• Twenty years ago you simply listened and listened and reopened the doors of the Church for one of our members.
• In reminding us of the poor and disenfranchised, we in some way…and in some manner…are able to look at our lives differently. 
• You confess to us of the failures of some of your brother priests, and, for this sinfulness, you have asked our forgiveness.
• You know us as families, as individuals, each with our unique needs, and somehow, without inserting yourself, you kindly and gently address those needs. 
• You have given us a sense of what it means to be a Mission Church, of being sent and sharing our lived-out experience in faith

Father Joe, on the occasion of your 90^th birthday, we express our thanks to you for being Our priest, Our pastor, Our friend.  In gratitude and love, Father Joe, PAX bestows its heartfelt blessing.

Vince Cushing, OFM (from notes taken): The blessing of St. Francis (Numbers 6:24-26), written in Francis’ own hand, is found within the Basilica of St. Francis.  It was written perhaps in the early 1200s.  St. Francis wrote this blessing and gave it his disciple Brother Leo telling him to guard it until Leo’s death.  Brother Leo kept the prayer faithfully for 46 years.  And it is this blessing, originally given to Brother Leo, which we now give to Joe:

May the Lord bless you and keep you;

May He make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

On July 31, 2022, the PAX Community celebrated Fr. Joe Nangle’s recent 90th birthday with a special liturgy and coffee after Mass. At the link below, you can view the special blessing offered during that liturgy by Myrtle Hendricks-Corrales, Shane MacCarthy, and Fr. Vincent Cushing.

https://paxcommunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PAX.Blessing.Fr_.Joe_.Jul31.2022.mp4

Introduction:

Today’s readings suggest that one way of looking at our relationship with God is as an ongoing conversation, where we are assured God listens to our needs and prayers.  We are empowered and encouraged to be insistent, and to be persistent in what we ask of God, and Jesus tells us God will answer us with mercy and love.

Through the Synodality process, we now find ourselves in a dialogue – that is, a more targeted conversation — with the larger Church.  We have been encouraged to express our vision of what Church is and what Church does as we prepared – as a Community – our contribution to the Synod on Synodality.  We hope that our voice – insistent and persistent – will be heard and contribute to real reform in the Church.

1^st Reading:        Genesis 18:20-32

2^nd Reading:      Colossians 2:12-14       

Gospel:               Luke 11:1-13

Homily:               Ted Keating SM (from his notes)

The Planning Committee was deeply aware that today the mind of the community would be on the Synodality Document and process.

The document is excellently written and theologically grounded in the nature of the Church and its Eucharist.  (PAX) Should try to publish it as an example of life in the IECs (Intentional Eucharistic Communities).  Their existence is not well known in the broader Church and this document shows forth the nature of life in the IECs and their contribution to the dialogue.  America Magazine or NCR?

Our discussion on the readings was inspired by the Synodality process.  These readings help with deepened insight into the process.

Abraham cannot be seen otherwise than holding God accountable for God’s constant reference to being a God of mercy and forgiveness.   There are psalms that do this as well.  “God, we had a deal—You said that you are a God of mercy and forgiveness, and look how you are treating us now–me/us now.”

Strongly supports our prayers of anger at God that we should share.  God is not so small or over-sensitive that we can’t be heard. 

• Rahamin—“Womb love” of a mother for an infant, also refers to brother and sister who have shared a womb. It designates a physical response—not a concept but a compassion felt in the depths of the person—it is always the word used for Yahweh’s forgiving love of his people—Yahweh is a God of mother-loving compassion for his people.

The Gospel reading is obviously about Jesus teaching us how to pray as he prays. 

Abba God—

Made holy be your name throughout all the world

Hasten, Hasten the coming of Your reign for which we live in hope crying out Maranatha. (Maranatha is translated as, “Come, Lord!”)

Give us this day the daily bread for our lives in which we hope for our transformation into the Christ upon whom we feast

We hereby forgive all those who have injured us, betrayed us, abused us, marginalized us, treated us unjustly, and deprived us of our needs to live a human life.  You know how hard this is and frequently beyond us except for your grace.  You have said that it is not possible for us to see our way to your mercy without our efforts to forgive, daily.  It is our first step in living lives of witness to your grace.

Free us from the temptations to the evil that we abhor.

Paul VI, who will soon be canonized, is the one who began the Synods until they were taken over by Vatican functionaries and a Pope who did not seem to think that we could trust true dialogue with the Church.  He also emphasized the role of dialogue in the Church throughout its layers from the Pope, the Vatican, the local Churches, the laity, etc.  For the early efforts at the renewal of the Church of those days, he coined the phrase that dialogue is the new word for love.  There was great work done in those early years of renewal on the process, the necessary skills, and the commitment to dialogue.

Sylvia (Diss) made great contributions to PAX in the 1990’s forming a group to work with the principles and skills of dialogue.

The prayer that Jesus teaches us today is a prayer of conversation with God even in the frustrations we encounter with not being able to live up fully to the commitments involved.  But if Abraham can enter into conversations with God, so can we.  It is not all light and glory.  It is living into the call to conversion with all the daily reminders of the horrors and betrayal of the innocent in the world around us.  How can God ask us to pray this prayer after the nightmare of the ideologies of the 20th Century?

But notice the final words of the Gospel. What could it mean except if God cannot always give us what we wish, “God will always give the Holy Spirit to those who ask God”?  In a Church in which the Spirit is so overlooked, here is what we receive (as Aquinas writes).

• Wisdom – The gift of wisdom perfects a person’s speculative reason in matters of judgment about the truth.
• Knowledge – The gift of knowledge perfects a person’s practical reason in matters of judgment about the truth.
• Counsel – The gift of counsel perfects a person’s practical reason in the apprehension of truth and allows the person to respond prudently, “moved through the research of reason.”
• Fortitude – Also called “courage.” The gift of Courage allows people the “firmness of mind [that] is required both in doing good and in enduring evil, especially with regard to goods or evils that are difficult.” 
• Understanding – Also called “Common Sense.” The gift of understanding perfects a person’s speculative reason in the apprehension of truth. It is the gift “whereby self-evident principles are known.”
• Piety – Also called “reverence.” Piety is the gift “whereby, at the Holy Spirit’s instigation, we pay worship and duty to God as our Father.”
• Fear of the Lord – Also called “wonder and awe.” …a fear of separating oneself from God…a “filial fear,” like a child’s fear of offending their parent, rather than a “servile fear,” that is, a fear of punishment. Also known as knowing God is all powerful.

Fruits of the Spirit — Galatians 5:22-23

Charity/agape love;

Joy;

Peace;

Patience;

Kindness;

Goodness;

Generosity;

Gentleness;

Faithfulness;

Modesty — living a humble simple life;

Self-Control — the gift of true freedom;

Chastity/moderating desire relationally

Opening Prayer/Intro:

Happy second day before the beginning revelations of the James Webb telescope. I’m sort of expecting a big sign just 300,000 light years beyond the point of the Big Bang, a sign flashing “Made in Heaven Above.” And we, actually, have a reading that can do some of that heavy lifting for such a cosmological theme. From Paul’s letter to the Colossians, a hymn proclaiming that Christ is at the beginning and at the end of time, holding all that God has made for that Christ and for all creation.

But there are some other heavy lifting materials among our readings. The Gospel proclaims Luke’s version of the double love command, then Luke’s confusing clarification of the parable of the Good Samaritan. And, not to be outdone by the New Testament, the Old Testament blows apart early religious legalism by giving our rules a human heart

So, we have to cover the depth and breadth of creation, and the depth and breadth of the human soul. Let’s get to it. Let us pray, Lord our God, on this ordinary Sunday in an extraordinary time, we pray in the hope that Your boundless mercy and endless loving will embrace all that You have created. Be ours. Allow us, all of us, to be Yours.

1^st Reading:                 Deuteronomy 30:10-14

2^nd Reading:               Colossians 1:15-20

Gospel:                         Luke 10:25-37

Homily:                         Leon Hooper SJ

St. Thomas Aquinas, the thirteenth-century, quite heady Dominican, claimed, several times over, that he would rather be able to feel compassion, than to define it. He, of course, had the smarts and the holiness to do both. Most of the rest of us are a little short in our ability to define the reality of compassion, and/or a bit lacking in our ability to feel compassion. During our planning session, when it became obvious that we were settling on compassion or its lack as our theme, I decided I needed, at least, to try defining the virtue if not embody its practice in our prayer today.

So,…first of all, some definitions, then comments about feeling compassion (mostly from our readings for the 15^th Sunday of Ordinary Time), then, finally, a comment on our not being able to define compassion nor experience it unless we live it. One of those values we learn only by doing them, incarnating them.

So, how do dictionaries define compassion? The easy answer is just a transliteration of the Latin and Christian roots of the term. Cum passio – “passion with”. Compassion is “feel with”, “be passionate with or about” something together. Now that’s simple enough. Or is it?

Getting more venturous, dictionaries, or we ourselves, might offer as possibly similar realities the terms “mercy,” “pity,” and “tenderness” as more or less meaning the same thing as compassion. Pity. Mercy. Tenderness. Yet, if we give those terms some thought – or tap into how those terms feel to us — we notice that compassion evokes a rather distinct sense of the “we” who are doing the evoking.

Not just a distinct “me.” A distinct different “we” gets created. We can pity someone or something – without a bond of a “we” being created. “The poor, dumb turkey. Get her out of my life.” I can pity someone without being compassionate toward them, without making a new “we,” at least a new “we” described in our two readings this morning.

Similarly, we can feel mercy toward someone who is hurting or is hurting us without the sense of “we” that our three readings call for. “The poor, dumb turkey, I’ll sit next to him during dinner.” So can mercy be and still be uncompassionate Mercy.

And we can feel tenderness toward the vulnerable. But, again, mercy and tenderness both lack a “we-ness” that the term compassion insists on. The “com” of compassion means we are one with another in a special sense.

Some claim that the most basic notion of compassion has its roots in Hebraic language and Hebraic history. The Hebrew for compassion is the term rahmain (and here I’m stealing shamelessly from a guy named Michael Downey). As Downey has it, rahmain means entrails or “guts” – (and recall that our sense of anatomy three or more millennia was rather weak). Rahmain’s etymological meaning is “trembling womb.”

Compassion in old Hebrew equals a trembling womb.

The reality that is pointed to here is the felt communication between a mother and the child in her womb. In Hebraic anthropology, they share the one and same passion, more intimately than they will ever be able to recreate after childbirth. Only moms and preborn have the closeness to be fully compassionate.

Downey points out that the Hebraic and early Christian traditions did allow that there were and are some men who can be significantly compassionate. There are, of course, Moses and Jesus. One can’t leave them behind in either tradition. They created senses of “we” that extends as far as the human heart can reach or be dragged, but such male compassion is rare. The prime analogue is mother and the yet to be born child, known mutually as “we.”

Downey doesn’t say anything about that paired sense of “we,” but he can help us with other aspects of compassion. There is another dimension to the term and reality of compassion which is the type of passion usually thought to be the primary, foundational reality of compassion. Compassion is “feeling with another their suffering, pain, weakness, their fragility”. The compassionate person, such as the Samaritan, sees one in pain, (sees even an enemy who would shun him given the chance) and responds as best he can. Fragility, weakness, pain, suffering. And that’s the way we mostly talk about compassion.

And yet, is “passion with” or “feeling with” necessarily born only in weakness, pain, suffering, fragility different?

Here I get thrown back on child-carrying (i.e., being pregnant that is not just a metaphor, but rather as a foundational analogue). A kicking in the womb child is not a weakness, nor a wound. A friend who is currently a week overdue, is fragile and weak, but it is the conversation in which she is involved, that compassion of her and her child, that is a wonder, that gives the rest of us a handle for learning what compassion might be.

Each of our readings is after multiple values that are endangered. Beside the gracious Samaritan, there is the (beaten traveler) – presumably Jew, the “we” of compassion opens us to that possibility whether the (befriended) man wants to admit it or not. The story invites us to invite  both into our house. Compassion invites us to bring both into our inns.

Then again, catch the tone of Deuteronomy.  It is strongly an improvement in the God who wrote the earlier rules and sanctions. Much of Deuteronomy is one rule following another, interspersed with promises of dire punishments for violating those rules. But that which we read this morning is permeated by a new sense of compassion. But here it is God who is learning to perceive compassionately. Curiously, though, it’s is God who is learning from exercises in compassion. The law is to be a com- passionate guide and companion.  It is to be written in their hearts. The rule of law can, in the face of guns and land mines, open our eyes to move beyond regret and outrage. Move us and (all who are) fragile into the inn.

Meditation:  Sharing in the Compassion of God, Walter J. Burghardt SJ

If to be a Christina is to put on Christ, then to be a Christian is to clothe yourself in his compassion.  You can discuss till doomsday exactly where you should play the Good Samaritan: in Thailand or D.C. General [Hospital], on campus or at home.  After all, much of the world has “fallen among robbers” (Lk 10:30) and most of the wounded you must “pass by on the other side” (v. 31). What is beyond argument is what your heart should feel like….

It’s not so much a question of your own inner hurt. As time goes on, you experience increasingly what Christ went through – possibly more. For all its rock and roll, for all its quiet joys and occasional ecstasies, human living can tear you apart. The question is, how does this affect you? What does it do to you? ….

To feel hurt is to be human; to link that hurt to others is to be Christlike. But the compassion of the God-man is not only your model to imitate; it is the very source and possibility of your compassion. You compassion not only reflects his; it is a sharing therein, a sharing in the compassion of God.  He makes it possible. The Gospel “Go and do likewise” (Lk 10:37) is not addressed to your native, natural, inborn powers. The command is at the same time a gift. And the gift is the compassionate God deep within you, the God who alone can change you.

From “Sir, We Would Like to See Jesus”

1^st Reading:                 1 Kings 19:16, 19-21

2^nd Reading:                      Galatians 5:1, 13-18

Gospel:                           Luke 9:51-62

Homily:                         Leon Hooper SJ

May the grace and peace of our lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, in the fellowship of the holy spirit be with you. In our readings for this 13^th Sunday of Ordinary Time we will hear and pray about Elijah and Elisha, Ahab and Jesebel, Jesus, James, and John. Three wannabe disciples. Paul and the Holy Spirit. And twelve pair of oxen. To do right by them, let us pray.

Lord our creator and redeemer and sanctifier, today we once again hear of and open all that we are to the power of your love, your care, your holding us in the palm of your hands, We are yours and we belong to one another. As we hear of you in our human past, draw us into your divine future.

Three points to this homily:

1^st point: Happy high summer. Most everyone I know is on vacation. This past week, my sister, Rosalie Anne, moved into Georgetown University’s Jesuit residence, with me, for a four-day visit. To do so, she drove for a couple days from and, then, a couple days to, her and her husband’s home in Lacrosse, WI. This was the second time she has driven the distance since the onset of Covid.

A couple decades ago, soon after our parents both died, she and I decided that each time we got together for any length of time, we would put aside a block of private time to talk, laugh, cry, pray about our 75+ years together. All of this was and is, for both of us, in part, a way of trying to make amends to our parents for the silence of teenager years.

So, for the private moments of last week’s sojourn, our topic was the four years bookended by my leaving home, then her leaving home. Or, somewhat in the vocabulary of today’s readings, our dealings with various late teenage calls to grow up – our successes and failures, our presences and absences to one another.

Now, liturgically, ordinary times (as in the 13^th Sunday of same), are opportunities to look back at our collective past in the Lord. Especially during the summer’s “ordinary-times”, our first readings usually come in two varieties: historical and agricultural. Today’s Old Testament reading from 1 Kings has a bit of both –which our planners picked up on. We talked about oxen and furrows, cutting out of the sod 12 synchronized furrows, without a huge amount of success. None of us had cut a single furrow, much less 12 at a run.

We had more luck with history: kings and prophets/politics. From 1 Kings we heard that both Elijah’s political and his religious dealings were rather bloody, that he was instrumental in killing kings and prophets, and that he even fought prophets both the Yahwistic variety and the Baalist variety. Finally, when Elijah had had enough of that brutality, he demanded of Yahweh that he be allowed to pass on his mantel.  In the face of that demand, Yahweh first reminded Elijah who God is. God is in charge of earthquakes, but is not the earthquake; is in charge of hurricanes but is not the violence of hurricanes, not a fire. Rather. Yahweh is most fully present in the gentle, soft, gentle, murmuring sound.

It seems in fact that Elijah tamed God, made more gentle by way of historical/political metaphors. Only secondarily is God a warrior.

One of Elijah’s earlier evangelizing tricks had been calling down from heaven fire on the bad guys. Jesus’ disciples recommended the same trick against the bad, inhospitable Samaritans. Jesus wanted none of it. Notice that here, just as the later Elijah, our hero (Jesus in this case) goes gentle on us. And rebukes the fiery disciples.

This is all the more remarkable, since Jesus and his disciples had just turned toward Jerusalem, a place deadly dangerous for Messiahs. Jesus and his disciples, men and women, might have been going to Jerusalem nonviolently, but they weren’t going to a nonviolent Jerusalem. And that violence, that pain, that resulting fear plays out in the brutality of Jesus’ response to offers of discipleship. “No one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

No one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God, or

Let the dead bury the dead.

Discipleship costs. It can brutalize the disciple. It can require its own forms of rebuke and exorcism for the sake of the kingdom. While Foxes have holes; Birds have nests – Disciples bear instability at the least.

2^nd point:  At liturgy planning sessions, I usually listen rather closely to the initial discussion of the readings, and to discussion of any PAX happenings or gossip. I keep attention fixed until we come to a theme. At that point I start to phase out, drawing arrows and underlining on my own notes. The rest of the group usually goes on to search out possible music.

Now, I will admit that I should for a variety of reasons pay more attention to the music, particular the lyrics. But I don’t. It was because I did such a dropout that a week later I couldn’t make sense out of Who/What Guides your Plow?

When I paid attention to mass sheet, my short answer to who guides is “I guide my plow,” until I grind it up as kindling for a two oxen goodbye banquet, as with Elisha. The longer answer is the Spirit is the force that takes on my flesh, my self-indulgence, as Paul describes. That is, the reconstituted, burned up plow powered by the spirit of God.

And where is all this talk about Spirit? Well, it is in the songs and creeds the planners planned for, the songs to which I paid little attention. If you want the theme most clearly – listen closely to those creeds and songs.

3^rd point. One last point, just to sharpen our sense of the Spirit of God visible or maybe just hiding in the summer mist. Complex things and events that are held in God’s hands, even if our God disagrees with them:

• Visiting sisters, available parents and grand parents
• Gun control
• The brutalizing and/or engracing of children (via media)
• Those with stakes in Roe v Wade
• Participants in Jan 6 committee

Meditation:  Everything Falls Away, by Parker J Palmer

Parker’s poem is informed by what William Stafford wrote:

There’s a thread you follow. 

It goes among things that change.

But it doesn’t change.

-William Stafford

Poem on next page

Everything Falls Away, by Parker J Palmer

Sooner or later, everything falls away.

You, the work you’ve done, your successes,

Large and small, your failures, too.

Those moments when you were light,

Alongside the time you became one with the night.

The friends, the people you loved who loved you,

Those who might have wished you ill,

None of this is forever.

All of it is soon to go, or going, or long gone.

Everything falls away, except the thread you’ve followed,

Unknowing all along.

The thread that strings together

All you’ve been and done,

The thread you didn’t know you were tracking until,

Toward the end,

You see the thread is what stays as everything else falls away.

Follow that thread as far as you can

And you’ll find it does not end,

But weaves into the unimaginable vastness of life.

Your life never was the solo turn it seemed to be.

It was always part of the great weave of nature and humanity,

An immensity we come to know only as we follow

Our own small threads to the place where

They merge with the boundless whole.

Each of our threads runs its course,

Then joins in life together.

This magnificent tapestry –

This masterpiece in which we live forever.