1st Sunday of Advent (B)

 

Short Reflection for the 1^st Sunday of Advent (B)

Readings: Isaiah 63: 16-17. 19. 64: 2-7; 1 Corinthians 1:  3-9; Mark 13: 33-37

Selected Gospel Passage:  “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.  And I say to you: WATCH!” (Mk. 13: 33 & 37)

Reflection: Take heed… Jesus comes in moments and at events we least expect.

Vigilance is NOT doing anything or looking out at the sky but DOING our task and role well and conscientiously. The Lord comes to us in a very ordinary way and often in little things,  Thus we need to be watchful for his coming …

 

Secrets of Happiness

 

SECRETS TO HAPPINESS

The Pope’s commentary on each point was rather lengthy, and I will risk synthesizing his central point in my own words.

1. Proceed calmly.
Move with kindness, humility, and calm. These are the antithesis of anxiety and distress. Calm never causes high blood pressure. We need to make conscious efforts to never let the moment cause panic and excessive hurry. Rather be late than stressed.

2. Respect and take care of nature.
The air we breathe out is the air we will re-inhale. This is true spiritually, psychologically, and ecologically. We can’t be whole and happy when Mother Earth is being stripped of her wholeness. Christ came to save the world, not just the people in the world. Our salvation, like our happiness, is tied to the way we treat the earth. It is immoral to slap another person in the face and so it is immoral too to throw our garbage into the face of Mother Earth.

3. Stop being negative.
Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem. Negative thoughts feed unhappiness and a bad self-image. Positive thoughts feed happiness and healthy self-esteem.

4. Respect others’ beliefs.
What we cherish and put our faith into grows “by attraction, not by proselytizing.”  Beauty is the one thing that no one can argue with. Cherish your values, but always act towards others with graciousness, charity, and respect.

5. Work for peace.
Peace is more than the absence of war and working for peace means more than not causing disharmony.  Peace, like war, must be waged actively by working for justice, equality, and an ever wider inclusivity in terms of what makes up our family. Waging peace is the perennial struggle to stretch hearts, our own and others, to accept that in God’s house there are many rooms and that all faiths, not least our own, are meant to be a house of prayer for all peoples.

To read more click here or copy this address into your browser http://ronrolheiser.com/ten-secrets-to-happiness/#.X6l0bVl7k_8
www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser

Solemnity of Christ the King

 Short Reflection on the Solemnity of Christ the King (A)

 Readings: Ezekiel 14: 11-12; 15-17; 1 Corinthians 15: 20-26; Matthew 25: 31-46

 Gospel Passage: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and fee you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'” (Matthew 25: 37-40)

 Meditation: In the end, the real test of discipleship is ‘believing and attending to the needs of the people I need, that is, caring for and ministering to people, especially the least of our brothers and sisters.  The real fellowship at the table of the Lord is when we are able to break bread with the poor. The true image of Christ the King is NOT Jesus with Crown and scepter and sitting on his throne! That is the Constantinian King! The true image of Christ the King is Jesus with a crown of thorns before Pilate or Jesus Crucified with  INRI label – the sentence for his claim!www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

 DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

 Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.

1st step: Write the text in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

 

 

The Right Answer Alone Is Not Enough...

 

THE RIGHT ANSWER ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH

That might sound abstract, but what it means concretely is that sometimes we can have all the right answers and still be wrong. How? If we are acting in truth how can we be wrong?

The first pitfall is this: We may be acting out of truth and, in fact, doing all the right things, but our energy can be wrong. T.S. Eliot once famously said: “The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.”

We can see this looking at the older brother of the prodigal son. On the surface his devotion to his father lacks nothing. He rightly attests that his life is blameless and a paradigm of filial devotion. He has kept all the commandments, has never left his father’s house, and has done all the required work. The irony is that he fails to notice that he is not in fact inside his father’s house but is standing outside of it and is being gently invited in by his father.

What is keeping him outside since after all he is doing everything correctly? Bitterness and anger. His actions are correct, but his heart is wrong. Bitterness and anger are not the right energy to fuel truth. We can be scrupulously faithful and still find ourselves standing outside of God’s house and outside the circle of community and celebration because of a bitter heart. Gratitude is the energy that ultimately needs to fuel the truth.

Like the older brother of the prodigal son, we can be doing everything right and still, somehow, be wrong. And where this is particularly important in terms of a challenge is in our efforts, both as individuals and as churches, to offer the truth, the right answers, to those around us, be that our own children who no longer go to church or society as a whole. If, inside of our speaking the truth, there are elements of elitism, arrogance, anger, lack of respect, lack of understanding, or worse still, embittered moralizing, our truth will not be heard, not because our truth is wrong but because our energy is.

Truth is not a sledgehammer; it is an invitation that we must respectfully offer others.

To read more click here or copy this address into your browser http://ronrolheiser.com/the-right-answer-alone-is-not-enough/#.X7KxBtt7k_8
www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

 hort Reflection for the 33rd Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

 Readings: Proverbs 31: 10-13, 19-20, 30-31; 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-6; Matthew 25: 14-30

 The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14-30)

 Selected Passage: “For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 25: 29)

 Meditation: Every gift we receive from God has corresponding responsibility. It must bear fruit in plenty so that others may also share in the blessing.  Each one receives gives according to the measure one is capable.  We become responsible and accountable for that gift else we become half-hearted servants.  . The Parable of the Talents is a warning to those who do not produce anything. It is a kind of stripping (recalling) of anything that is left in an unproductive person.

 Pope Francis reminds us that “only one whose gaze is fixed on that which is truly essential can renew his yes to the gift received.” Cf. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

 DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

 Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.

1st step: Write the text in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

 

 

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

 Short Reflection for the 32nd Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Wisdom 6: 12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-14; Matthew 25: 1-13

 Selected Passage “While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' But he said in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.' Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Mt. 25: 10-13)

 Meditation: The parable tells the wise and the foolish virgins.  Both groups went out to meet the bridegroom that took time in arriving. The wise ones went out to meet the bridegroom bringing flasks of oil, as well, while the foolish ones did not. And when the bridegroom arrived, the foolish ones were not around and they missed him. 

 We must, then, imitate the wise virgins who take things seriously, who are prepared to meet the Lord, anytime when he comes. They are prepared at anytime and they don’t scramble for things, when it is time to act. We cannot make God and others wait for us and let us stop being foolish! www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.

1st step: Write the text in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.