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Dear Preachers:
PRE-NOTE: Patricia Bruno, OP, writes a monthly reflection for our
preaching webpage. She draws from the scriptures, poetry, and current events.
This month she reflects on a new book on Ukraine and the power of faith and
Christian humanitarian efforts there.
Go to:
https://preacherexchange.com/ and click on
“Stories Seldom Heard.”
The
Babylonian leader Nebuchadnezzar had completely destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BCE
and taken many Jews into exile. When the Babylonians were conquered by the
Persians they permitted the exiles to return to Jerusalem. But when the first
wave returned and saw the destruction of the city they told those still back in
Babylon to stay where they were – there was nothing to return to.
Isaiah had a different perspective: he encouraged the exiles to return and
rebuild Jerusalem. In today’s passage Isaiah puts a vision of what could be if
the people rebuilt their city. Prophets are not naïve. They see the reality
around them; but still, they call people to do the seeming-impossible, to trust
God despite the odds.
Many rejected Isaiah’s vision for the future. They were stuck in the past.
Thankfully God does not give up on us, but persists with loving gestures and
words. To use a modern expression, Isaiah is telling the people, “God is crazy
in love with you.” Or, as he puts it, “As a young man marries a virgin, your
Builder shall marry you, and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall
your God rejoice in you.”
Isaiah describes God’s intense love for us by using wedding imagery. God will
not be a cool, or distant ruler. When the promised restoration comes about God
will rejoice with the people and they will be one with God in a life-giving
relationship. When things go horribly wrong for a people, or nation, the
question arises, “Where is God? Doesn’t God care what is happening to us?” Just
being optimistic in hard times is not enough. Our positive thoughts, or our own
efforts, are not enough to save us. Isaiah is assuring the exiles and us, that
God will not sit idly by when we are in need.
God fulfills Isaiah’s hopes and manifests loving concern for us in Christ. The
gospel account of the wedding at Cana was the beginning of the “signs” God gives
us in Jesus. Even when Jesus was taken and killed, God would not be deterred in
God’s love for the people. Isaiah’s message of God’s love for us is shown in
Jesus, the divine bridegroom now made flesh. He is at a wedding feast. In the
“sign” of his miracle he is announcing that the time of salvation has begun. Now
the promises made by the prophets of forgiveness, healing and new life have come
to pass in him.
God’s passionate love for us has taken flesh in Jesus, beginning with his “first
sign” at Cana. If the Messiah were going to make his initial appearance, what
better occasion than a wedding celebration, one of the most joyous occasions of
a couple’s life, a wonderful setting to represent the blessedness of the
Messiah’s arrival.
In Jesus’ time wedding customs, like most of ours, were elaborate, but
different. The ceremony took place late in the evening, after a great feast. The
couple did not go away on a honeymoon, instead they opened their home to family,
friends and neighbors. They hosted a party that usually went on for a week. In
the light of their strenuous lives, such an event was a wondrous occasion for an
entire town, or village, to break from their arduous life and celebrate. So, the
prophets and Jesus taught about the wonders of God against the backdrop of a
wedding celebration.
God’s passion for us is not cool. Instead, God keeps coming back with
forgiveness; searches us out and keeps seeking intimacy with us humans, to save
us from ourselves and fetch us back from whatever exile we have chosen.
We messed things up, certainly Israel did again and again. They even killed the
prophets God sent them. But God can’t be shaken off. How do we know? Because
Jesus arrives at a wedding feast in Cana and, as we heard the prophet Isaiah, we
realize it isn’t just an ordinary wedding of an unknown couple in a small
village whose location is lost to history. Jesus’ presence at the wedding and
what he does there, announces that the long-awaited Messiah has arrived. The
bridegroom has come to claim his bride.
Jesus is the host at this banquet; he provides us a super-abundance of wine
(100-250 gallons!). Well, there is a lot to celebrate! It’s just as the prophets
promised: God is an extravagant lover and at the end time will provide a banquet
with plenty of food and choice rich wine. This wedding banquet is an
announcement that a new time and deeper relationship with God is being offered
to us.
That superabundance of wine is a symbol for us. We might have traveled a long
distance, or a short one into exile. But we have returned to this wedding feast,
to again meet our God, the daring and persistent lover: who does not give up on
us; who comes to court us, always welcoming us back, always offering a new
beginning, again and again. God calls us with an endearing name, Isaiah says,
God calls us, “My Delight.”
Jesus is the specific and powerful reminder that God does not give up on us when
we go wandering; when we make foolish choices, when our faith loses its ardor.
Try this on for size: for just a day, or even a lifetime, no matter what
happens, how we measure ourselves, hear God’s loving voice calling us, “My
Delight.” What might that do for our sense of ourselves, our image of this new
year?
Click here for a link to this Sunday’s readings:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011925.cfm
JUSTICE BULLETIN
BOARD
To each individual the
manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.
1 Corinthians 12: 7
Are you
familiar with the term, “charism?” It is a term that can help you find your path
to greatest joy in serving the Lord. The Catechism of the Catholic Church
states, “Whether extraordinary or simple and humble, charisms are graces of the
Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly benefit the church, ordered as they are
to her building up, to the good of men, and to the needs of the world” (799).
Stated another way, a charism is a spiritual gift given by the Holy Spirit that
enables a Christian to bring God’s redeeming love to the world.
Charisms can be administrative abilities, celibacy, craftsmanship, giving,
healing, hospitality, intercessory prayer, knowledge, leadership, music,
pastoring, prophecy, service, teaching, voluntary poverty, wisdom, writing, and
many other gifts. They differ from natural talents in that they have an outward
focus—a charism is a gift that is meant to be given away. Charisms tend to grow
as our relationship with God grows. There is an unmistakable inner experience of
peace, joy, and energy when you exercise your charism. It is like being one with
our divine Spouse. As Jesus came to serve, so we, too, are to serve. Serving
others is the central purpose of charisms and the more we use them, the more
they will be felt. You will not feel stressed or put upon if you perform service
by way of your charism.
Prayer and reflection enable you to discern your special gifts and the following
prayer offered by The Catherine of Sienna Institute is very helpful:
Holy One, you are the Good Shepherd who fills the hungry with good things, who
spreads a table before us, who fills our cups to overflowing, who calls each of
us by name and leads us out. Thank you for all of your gifts. Today I am seeking
to discern those special gifts you have bestowed to make me a channel of your
love for others; and to take these charisms up. Open my eyes to your ways. Tune
my ears to your voice. Teach me what is important for me to know right now as I
reflect on who I am and the meaning of my life. Especially, Lord, make the next
step clear to me and fire me with the desire to take it. In the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. www.siena.org
Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director
Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice
Ministries
Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral,
Raleigh, NC
FAITH BOOK
Mini-reflections on the Sunday
scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also
brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.
From today’s I Corinthians
reading:
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.
Reflection:
We need
a variety of gifts in the Church. How boring it would be if we all had the same
gift or gifts. And how deprived we would be! Paul is reminding us of our God who
sees our needs and addresses them through the gifts of the different members of
the Christian community.
So we ask ourselves:
POSTCARDS TO
DEATH ROW INMATES
“One
has to strongly affirm that condemnation to the death penalty is an inhuman
measure that humiliates personal dignity, in whatever form it is carried out."
---Pope Francis
Inmates on death row are the most forgotten people in the prison system. Each
week I am posting in this space several inmates’ names and locations. I invite
you to write a postcard to one or more of them to let them know that: we have
not forgotten them; are praying for them and their families; or, whatever
personal encouragement you might like to give them. If the inmate responds, you
might consider becoming pen pals.
Please write to:
-
Andre Fletcher #0130628 (12/9/1999)
-
Terry Hyatt #0199877 (2/7/2000)
-
Cerron Hooks #0561692 (2/9/2000)
----Central
Prison P.O. 247 Phoenix, MD 21131
Please
note: Central Prison is in Raleigh, NC., but for security
purposes, mail to inmates is processed through a clearing house at the above
address in Maryland.
For
more information on the Catholic position on the death penalty go to the
Catholic Mobilizing Network:
http://catholicsmobilizing.org/resources/cacp/
On this
page you can sign “The National Catholic Pledge to End the Death Penalty.” Also,
check the interfaith page for People of Faith Against the Death Penalty:
http://www.pfadp.org/
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