So Far Transition Has Been Smooth

[Theologian in Training]

I am having an incredibly difficult time trying to come with something to preach about this weekend. Please send a prayer or two upwards on my behalf.

I really don't want to wind up giving them garbage....but I honestly have nothing

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote]Well to say that it was thought provoking is an understatement. Many of the young people were struck by even in the midst of devastation, God's mercy and love could be seen in what was saved (churches vs the casinos)[/quote]

Keeping in mind that God only allows evil for good, we also recall that greater evil anticipates greater good.

Hurricane Katrina is especially interesting. Why?

Katrina-from the Greek [i]Kat'harinan[/i], "according to purity" or "in accord with purity."

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' date='Sep 16 2005, 11:14 AM']I am having an incredibly difficult time trying to come with something to preach about this weekend. Please send a prayer or two upwards on my behalf.

I really don't want to wind up giving them garbage....but I honestly have nothing
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I will pray, but in the meantime, I suggest checking this out.

I especially see a "humility to accept mercy and not the pride to abuse it" angle coming out of this...

[url="http://www.salvationhistory.com/library/scripture/churchandbible/homilyhelps/ordinary25_a.cfm"]Sunday Readings Commentary[/url]

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='Raphael' date='Sep 16 2005, 12:22 PM']Keeping in mind that God only allows evil for good, we also recall that greater evil anticipates greater good.

Hurricane Katrina is especially interesting.  Why?

Katrina-from the Greek [i]Kat'harinan[/i], "according to purity" or "in accord with purity."


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Actually, she is referring to a quote from someone from Missouri who related how the casinos were smashed against the walls while the only thing remaining there was the Church and a statue of St. Michael overlooking the water.

My pastor actually did not like that reference, but I pointed out to him that I really did not say it.

Thanks for the prayers.

God Bless

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' date='Sep 16 2005, 11:53 AM']Actually, she is referring to a quote from someone from Missouri who related how the casinos were smashed against the walls while the only thing remaining there was the Church and a statue of St. Michael overlooking the water.

My pastor actually did not like that reference, but I pointed out to him that I really did not say it.

Thanks for the prayers.

God Bless
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Yes, but I mean the hurricane as a whole...it left the Cathedral in New Orleans, too...

I just thought it was a bit ironic...

[Theologian in Training]

Thank you for your prayers. However, something I have been slowly learning is that the hardest to preach about are the parables, so I chickened out and did the Second Reading. Enjoy!

God Bless

The Carmelite nun and mystic, St. Teresa of Avila, in a poem of hers, keenly aware of the desire St. Paul speaks about in our second reading today said: “I am living and yet I am not really living, for I place my hopes on such a higher life that I am dying because I do not die.”

Life is Christ and death gain.

Another saint and mystic, Padre Pio, also driven by the same desire once asked his spiritual director for permission to pray for his own death. Of course, the spiritual director refused him his request, but believe it or not, what Padre Pio asked, and what St. Teresa wrote about is actually indicative of a struggle many of the saints faced; The longing to depart this life and be with Christ, but the knowledge that there is the need to remain, in the flesh, as it were, because God still needs them there.

It sounds strange, but, at the same time, it makes sense. For, if Christ is the object of a saint’s love then why wouldn’t they want anything more then to be united with Him? After all, they have prepared themselves, given of themselves, emptied themselves and have purified their love so much, that their only desire is to experience that love in eternity.

It could almost sound morbid if it was not such a beautiful expression of a simple faith. For these men and women in innocence and trust had such firm belief and strong love that their one goal, their only goal was to be with Christ. And, even despite this, they knew that work still had to be done and so humbly accepted that work, and lived in a way “worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”

And that is why they are our models, and why they show us the potential even we can attain.

Yes, it seems like a pious ideal and one most certainly not suited for us today, but that is precisely why we must strive for that ideal. The saints were mere men and women, like you or I, they struggled, they sinned, they lost sight of what was most important, but they persevered, and in that perseverance they learned to love, and that became their motivation for doing anything, to please their beloved and to find Him in everyone they met.

They teach us the way, and show us how we must learn to let Christ be magnified in us. Perhaps, not to the point where we would desire to depart from this world, as it were, and leave it all behind, but, like them, desire to love Him always in our lives and in our work, so that when we do depart and see Him face to face it will be as if we never departed but merely went from one life to the other.

Edited September 17, 2005 by Theologian in Training

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' date='Sep 17 2005, 10:42 AM']Thank you for your prayers. However, something I have been slowly learning is that the hardest to preach about are the parables, so I chickened out and did the Second Reading. Enjoy!
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Get the hand of it with the parables, Deacon, and you will do very well in your life's ministry, I assure you of that.

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='Raphael' date='Sep 17 2005, 11:52 AM']Get the hand of it with the parables, Deacon, and you will do very well in your life's ministry, I assure you of that.
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So you think it is OK?

BTW, I edited it a bit. Every word counts

God Bless

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' date='Sep 17 2005, 10:55 AM']So you think it is OK?

BTW, I edited it a bit. Every word counts

God Bless
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I like it, but I'm wondering if there could be more to it. Maybe a part on the importance of detachment. St. Paul says that death is gain...and we know the line, "brother, remember thy death." Detachment from ourselves, being masters of our lives and desiring Christ as our last end, not letting anything keep us from Him, keeping in mind our deaths, that we all must die, and that we should therefore strive all the more for this closeness to Christ and not letting anything keep us from Him.

It could also be added that this is what purgatory does...rips us away from our attachments...so we can participate in this life to achieve that and better prepare ourselves so that we may pass more easily into the next life, the fullness of life.

I don't know...I've been thinking on this subject every once and a while. Sometimes I am hit so hard at Communion that I've prayed, "Lord, let me go now...just take me for yourself, everything I leave behind will be taken care of...I just want you." Of course, that's not my constant attitude, because I haven't reached the point where that's constantly in mind, but it's powerful to feel that readiness. I realize, of course, that God has much more for me here, and I know that I will enjoy the rest of my life here, too...but this is one of the reasons I love the Suscipe Domine by St. Ignatius Loyola...it's so...well, in line with everything you've said...I just think it may be of benefit to others to explain this even more so that they can see why it's so wonderful.

That's just what I think, though. You're the Deacon. :

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='Raphael' date='Sep 17 2005, 12:07 PM']I like it, but I'm wondering if there could be more to it.  Maybe a part on the importance of detachment.  St. Paul says that death is gain...and we know the line, "brother, remember thy death."  Detachment from ourselves, being masters of our lives and desiring Christ as our last end, not letting anything keep us from Him, keeping in mind our deaths, that we all must die, and that we should therefore strive all the more for this closeness to Christ and not letting anything keep us from Him.

It could also be added that this is what purgatory does...rips us away from our attachments...so we can participate in this life to achieve that and better prepare ourselves so that we may pass more easily into the next life, the fullness of life.

I don't know...I've been thinking on this subject every once and a while.  Sometimes I am hit so hard at Communion that I've prayed, "Lord, let me go now...just take me for yourself, everything I leave behind will be taken care of...I just want you."  Of course, that's not my constant attitude, because I haven't reached the point where that's constantly in mind, but it's powerful to feel that readiness.  I realize, of course, that God has much more for me here, and I know that I will enjoy the rest of my life here, too...but this is one of the reasons I love the Suscipe Domine by St. Ignatius Loyola...it's so...well, in line with everything you've said...I just think it may be of benefit to others to explain this even more so that they can see why it's so wonderful.

That's just what I think, though.  You're the Deacon. :
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I was thinking about doing that, however, I already spoke about the important of detachment in another sermon. I am trying to make sure I am not too repetitive.

Also, when I introduce Purgatory, which I will, I need to find Scriptures that back me up strong, otherwise they will give me a hard time, which is fine, but so will my Pastor. And, like it or not, at the end of the day he is the one that gives my evaluation to the seminary, so I have to be subtle.

I also figured I could use We have here no lasting city, but all of these can be used for other sermons. One thing I have learned is when you write a sermon you will have many ideas, you need to focus on one and drive that point home otherwise you will lose them and make your sermon full of content but lacking in substance.

Just my own thoughts.

Thank you for the suggestions though.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' date='Sep 17 2005, 01:37 PM']I was thinking about doing that, however, I already spoke about the important of detachment in another sermon. I am trying to make sure I am not too repetitive.

Also, when I introduce Purgatory, which I will, I need to find Scriptures that back me up strong, otherwise they will give me a hard time, which is fine, but so will my Pastor. And, like it or not, at the end of the day he is the one that gives my evaluation to the seminary, so I have to be subtle.

I also figured I could use We have here no lasting city, but all of these can be used for other sermons. One thing I have learned is when you write a sermon you will have many ideas, you need to focus on one and drive that point home otherwise you will lose them and make your sermon full of content but lacking in substance.

Just my own thoughts.

Thank you for the suggestions though.
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Your pastor wouldn't like it if you mentioned purgatory?

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='Raphael' date='Sep 17 2005, 03:01 PM']Your pastor wouldn't like it if you mentioned purgatory?
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No, that is probably not fair to say. It is probably my own insecurities, and my desire to want to craft something when the Scriptures explicitly speak about it.

I will definitely speak about it, but right now some of these people are not frequent Church goers. I think I am being led by the Holy Spirit to show them the beauty of belief, before elucidating on what that belief consists of.

I could be discerning wrong, but pray daily for what it is the people need to hear. So far this is where I have been led.

In time, not mine, but God's. I am the instrument through which he plays, I pray I may always remember my place as that instrument.

The other thing is that I like to leave something for them to think about, to put it together themselves, that way their understanding will be heightened but not by me explcitly explaining why.

For example, the thoughts you conveyed in your post based on what you thought about my homily. I don't want them leaving saying "good homily," but "thank you you have given me some things to think about." Because then the Spirit will meet them where He led me to take them.

Just what I have been thinking about myself.

God Bless

Edited September 18, 2005 by Theologian in Training

[Theologian in Training]

I could not preach well today. It was good, helped me put things in perspective. Even if I have been given the words to say, I need to also be able to preach it and convey it as best I can.

Thanks everyone for the prayers

God Bless

[Theologian in Training]

Since you guys seem to enjoy my homilies, this is the one I would have hypothetically preached on Sept 11th had I preached on that day. It is for my preaching practicum class, so I am sure I will be getting a lot of feedback on this one.

God Bless

4 years ago today our lives were changed.

We witnessed the worst that human beings are capable of, watched as our world was changed and we lost thousands in an instant, collectively all experiencing the same things: fear, anxiety, anger, frustration, and most of all, sadness.

In the midst of this all we wanted was to experience some consolation some hope, and we still seek that today.

Yet we turn to the Scriptures and instead we are asked to forgive.

How do we possibly forgive when the memory is so strong, etched into our minds, or when we look at the skyline and only see two lights where two great towers used to stand?

It seems impossible and more idealistic than anything else.

Yet, our first reading tells us: “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.” In other words, our forgiveness of another’s faults brings forgiveness to us as well because the anger we hold towards another not only prohibits us from forgiving the other person, but also from being capable of being forgiven ourselves.

Forgiveness asks us to accept our own faults and in understanding those faults to understand the fault of another. That is why Jesus tells us to forgive seventy-seven times, or, in other words, indefinitely because when we forgive we are accepting the person as they are, with all their faults, knowing we too are capable of the same.

Now, I am by no means trying to imply that we would do the same things these men did, but rather to recognize that all human beings are capable of this when driven to such a point, and although it is a sad reality we would rather not think about, it is a reality nonetheless.

In fact, the late John Paul II, recognizing this, rather than condemning the man that shot him, went to him to forgive him. He did not need to do that, he could have held on to that anger, refusing to see him, but he didn’t.

Granted, it may take us time before we can reach such a point but I think even the desire to want to forgive will eventually lead to some form of reconciliation or, at least some type of closure with the person and the events surrounding it.

Again, I am by no means trying to imply this is easy, but when we hold on, we not only carry the anger and the hurt, we also carry the person with us, which causes the greatest pain of all.

I remember when I was 16 years old. My father was shot and killed at work. Of course, the last thing I wanted to do was to forgive that man. I wanted to hold on to the anger, refusing to find any good in him, because he took someone I loved from this world. I held that anger for a long time, and let it eat away at me. In fact, for a long time I rejoiced in the thought that he was in Hell. Then I thought about something, what brought that man to the point of taking another’s life? Why was his only option to kill my father and then himself? I honestly don’t have an answer, but I do know that if he experienced that level of desperation, he was probably in Hell long before even picking up that gun.

Yet, I don’t know where he is, but I do pray for him as I do my father. It is not easy, but it brings healing and helps me to realize how truly difficult it is to forgive, and the time it takes to reach such a point.


We came to the readings today looking for answers, consolation and hope and, though it may have seemed strange to have such readings, I think in them we have found what we were looking for, and what God wanted us to understand, that true consolation is not found in hating our neighbor but forgiving them, despite the difficulty, fully freely and from the heart. For when we do, then and only then will our bitter grief and tremendous suffering fully subside.

Edited September 21, 2005 by Theologian in Training

[Carrie]

Thank you for posting that Deacon.