Palm Sunday (B)

Short Reflection for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion (Mark) Readings: Isaiah 50: 4-7; Philippians 2: 6-11; Mark 14: 1 - 15: 47 Selected Passage: “Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying: ‘Aha! You would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross’. Likewise, the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among themselves and said, ‘he saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe’.” (Mark 15: 29-32) Reflection: The crucified Christ is the powerful symbol of God’s love - ‘greater love than this no one has… to give one’s own life for his friends’. Jesus calls us his friends and we are ransomed from our sins by his blood. The ‘Suffering Servant of Yahweh’ embraced all sufferings unto death that all creation may have life and life to the full. Thus in our sufferings, sins, trials and difficulties, especially this time of Pandemic, we look at the one exalted in the Cross to receive life and healing. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD... Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps: 1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ… 2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…! It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

The Agony in the Garden

THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN – THE SPECIAL PLACE OF LONELINESS The passion of Jesus refers to the helplessness he had to endure during the last hours of his life, a helplessness extremely fruitful for him and for us. The first component in that helplessness begins in the Garden of Gethsemane, immediately after he has celebrated the last supper. The scriptures tell us that he went out into the Garden with his disciples to pray for the strength he needed to face the ordeal that was now imminent. In describing Jesus’ suffering during his passion, the evangelists focus little on his physical sufferings (which must have been horrific). Indeed, Mark puts it all in a single line: “They led him away and crucified him.” What the gospel writers focus is that in all of this, Jesus is alone, misunderstood, lonely, isolated, without support, unanimity-minus-one. What’s emphasized is the agony of his heart that’s ultra-sensitive, gentle, loving, understanding, warm, inviting, hungry to embrace everyone but which instead finds itself misunderstood, alone, isolated, hated, brutalized, facing murder. That’s the point that has been too often missed in both spirituality and popular devotion. In Gethsemane, Jesus’ agony is not that of the son of God is frustrated because many people will not accept his sacrifice, nor even his agony the all-too-understandable fear of the physical pain that awaits him. The agony in the Garden is many things, but first of all, it’s Jesus’ entry into the darkest black hole of human existence, the black hole of bitter misunderstanding, rejection, aloneness, loneliness, humiliation, and the helplessness to do anything about it. The agony in the Garden is the black hole of sensitivity brutalized by callousness, love brutalized by hatred, goodness brutalized by misunderstanding, innocence brutalized by wrong judgement, forgiveness brutalized by murder, and heaven brutalized by hell. This is deepest, black hole of loneliness and it brings the lover inside us to the ground in agony begging for release. But, whenever our mouths pushed into the dust of misunderstanding and loneliness inside that black hole, it’s helpful to know that Jesus was there before us, tasting just our kind of loneliness. To read more click here or copy this link into your browser http://ronrolheiser.com/the-agony-in-the-garden-the-special-place-of-loneliness/#.YE-YL11KjDY www.facebook.com

Agaainst an Eternal Horizon

AGAINST AN ETERNAL HORIZON A few years ago, I was watching a discussion on television between a prominent religious commentator and a panel of theologians representing a number of Christian churches. The commentator asked the panel this question: “Should it make any difference in the way you live whether or not you believe in life after death?” Everyone on the panel and the host himself agreed that it shouldn’t. In their view of things, whether or not you believe in life after death shouldn’t make any difference practically in the way you live. Each asserted that they believed in individual immortality, but each also said that this didn’t, and shouldn’t, influence their daily actions in a practical way. What’s wrong with that idea? Simply put, when we stop believing in life after death, we tend to put too much pressure on this life to give us the full symphony. When we stop seeing our lives as being completed by something beyond the present world, it becomes natural to become more frustrated with the limits of our lives and to begin to demand, however subtly or unconsciously, that our spouses, children, friends, careers, jobs, and vacations give us something they can’t give, namely, complete fulfilment, full meaning, final satisfaction, joy beyond frustration, ecstasy, heaven. None of us goes through this life without our share of bitter disappointment, crushed potential, broken dreams, and daily frustration. Our lives are never the way we dreamed them to be. There’s always a huge gap between our dignity, our desire, our potential, and the actual state within which we find ourselves. There are no perfect lives. There is no heaven this side of eternity. Unless we can somehow place our present lives against a horizon of an after-life that completes it, the punishing limits, daily inadequacy, and brute mortality of this world will eventually drive us to depression, bitterness, or violence. Outside of a vision of life after death, we can’t come to full peace with this life, the sophisticated stoicism of so much of contemporary theology and spirituality notwithstanding. To read more click here or copy this address into your browser http://ronrolheiser.com/against-an-eternal-horizon/#.YDUcNWpKjt0 www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser

4th Sunday of Lent (B)

Short Reflection for the 4th Week of Lent (B) Readings: 2 Chronicles 36: 14-16. 19-23; Ephesians 2: 4-10; John 3: 14-21 Selected Passage: “And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.” (Jn. 3: 19-20) Meditation Lent is a special season to LOOK at the VERDICT on our own life. Our good deeds are our witnesses that we belong to the light. The true sacrifice that the Lord requires of us is good deed extended to our neighbors in need. Evil persons preferred darkness and hate the light. Beware! Cf. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD... Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps: 1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ… 2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…! It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

3rd Sunday of Lent (B)

Short Reflection for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (B) Readings: Exodus 20: 1-3. 7-8. 12-17; 1 Corinthians 1: 22-25; John 2: 13-25 Selected Passage: “Jesus said, Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace." (Jn.2: 16) Meditation: Lent is a special season to cleanse our life of the many “merchandise” that has made God’s abode in us a MARKETPLACE. God’s grace is a GIFT; it is NOT for sale. The kingdom of God is not a merchandise. Cf. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD... Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps: 1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ… 2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…! It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

The Power of Powerlessness

THE POWER OF POWERLESSNESS There are different kinds of power and different kinds of authority. There is military power, muscle power, political power, economic power, moral power, charismatic power, and psychological power, among other things. There are different kinds of authority too: We can be bitterly forced into acquiescing to certain demands, or we can be gently persuaded into accepting them. Imagine four persons in a room: a powerful dictator who rules a country, gifted athlete at the peak of his physical prowess, a rock star whose music and charisma can electrify an audience and a newborn, a baby, lying in its crib. Which of these is ultimately the most powerful? The irony is that the baby ultimately wields the greatest power. A little baby can touch hearts in a way that a dictator, an athlete, or a rock star cannot. Its innocent, wordless presence, without physical strength, can transform a room and a heart in a way that guns, muscle, and charisma cannot. Around a baby, as most every parent has learned, we not only watch our language and try not to have bitter arguments; we also try to be better, more loving persons. Metaphorically, a baby has the power to do an exorcism. It can cast out the demons of self-absorption and selfishness in us. This is the way we find and experience God’s power here on earth, sometimes to our great frustration, and this is the way that Jesus was deemed powerful during his lifetime. The entire Gospels make this clear, from beginning to end. Jesus was born as a baby, powerless, and he died hanging helplessly on a cross with bystanders mocking his powerlessness. Yet both his birth and his death manifest the kind of power upon which we can ultimately build our lives. God’s power forever lies within our world and within our lives, asking for our patience. Christ, as Annie Dillard says, is always found in our lives just as he was originally found, a helpless baby in the straw who must be picked up and nurtured into maturity. But we are forever wanting something else, namely, a God who would come and clean up the world and satisfy our thirst for justice by showing some raw muscle power and banging some heads here and now. But that’s not the way intimacy, peace, and God are found. To read more copy this address into your browser http://ronrolheiser.com/the-power-of-powerlessness/#.YD5Zy11KjDY

2nd Sunday in Lent (B)

Short Reflection for the 2nd Sunday of Lent (B) Readings: Genesis 22: 1-2. 9. 10-11; Romans 8: 31-34; Mark 9: 2-10 Selected Passage: “And Jesus was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them." (Mk. 9: 2-3) Meditation: Lent is a special season to have an “experience” of our own TRANSFIGURATION” or “metamorphosis” (the Greek word for Tansfiguration). We have to be transformed from our old ways to new ways in Christ. Often this transformation is characterized by (1) return to the Lord or penance; (2) prayers & fasting; and (3) almsgiving. Cf. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD... Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps: 1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ… 2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…! It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Short Reflection for the 4th Sunday in the Ordinary Time (B) Readings: Deuteronomy 18: 1-20; 1 Corinthians 7: 32-35; Mark 1: 21-28 Selected Passage: “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” (Mk.1: 22) Meditation: The Gospel invites to reflect on the meaning, “to teach as one having authority”. There are two sources of this authority – first, Jesus proclamation of the reign of God was seen both in his words and deeds; second, his great love for each one of us. And he calls us his friends and he would lay down his life as ransom that we may have life to the full. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD... Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps: 1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ… 2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…! It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Short Reflection for the 3rd Sunday in the Ordinary Time (B) Readings: Jonah 3: 1-.10; 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31; Mark 1: 14-20 Selected Passage: As Jesus passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew and he said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of people." (Mk.1:17) Meditation: Jesus continues to call ALL. His invitation is to become his companions and co-workers in building God’s kingdom. The real challenge is: are we willing to abandon everything and heed his call? In building God’s kingdom, no one can remain bystander. The first disciples heard the call; they abandoned everything; and followed Jesus. Today, Jesus invites us to do likewise. Cf. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD... Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps: 1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ… 2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…! It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

Beyond Criticism and Anger

 

BEYOND CRITICISM AND ANGER – THE INVITATION TO A DEEPER EMPATHY

Beyond anger, beyond indignation, and beyond justified criticism of all that’s dishonest and unjust, lies an invitation to a deeper empathy. This invitation doesn’t ask us to be stop being prophetic in the face of what’s wrong, but it asks us to be prophetic in a deeper way. A prophet, as Daniel Berrigan so often said, makes a vow of love not of alienation.

But that’s not easy to do. In the face of injustice, dishonesty, and willful blindness, all of our natural instincts militate against empathy. We should feel anger and indignation in the face of what’s wrong. It’s understandable too that we might also feel some hateful, judgmental, thoughts towards those whom we deem responsible. But that’s a beginning but it’s not where we’re meant to stay. We’re called to move towards something deeper, namely, an empathy which previously we did not access.

At the truly bitter moments of our lives, when we’re feeling overwhelmed by feelings of misunderstanding, slight, injustice, and rightful indignation and we’re staring across at those whom we deem responsible, anger and hatred will naturally arise within us. It’s okay to dwell with them for a time, but after a time we need to move on.

The challenge then is to ask ourselves: How do I love now, given all this hatred? What does love call me to now in this bitter situation? Where can I now find a common thread that can keep me in family with those at whom I’m angry? How do I reach through, reach through the space that now leaves me separated by my own justified feelings of anger? And, perhaps most important of all: “From where can I now find the strength to not give into hatred and self-serving indignation?

While not denying what’s wrong, nor denying the need to be prophetic in the face of all that’s wrong, empathy still calls us to a post-anger, a post-indignation, and a post-hatred. Jesus modeled that for us and today it’s singularly the most needed thing in our society, our churches, and our families.

To read more click here or copy this address into your browser http://ronrolheiser.com/beyond-criticism-and-anger-the-invitation-to-a-deeper-empathy/#.X_XxZeBME_8
www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser

Feast of the Holy Child

 Short Reflection for the Feast of Sto. Nino (Feast in the Philippines)

Readings: Isaiah 9: 1-6; Ephesians 1: 3-6; Mark 10: 13-16

Selected Passage: “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belong the kingdom of God.  Truly, I said to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Mark 10: 13-14)       

Reflection: The call of the gospel today is to accept the kingdom of God with child-like spirit. To them, belongs the Kingdom. The characteristics of being child-like are the following: TRUST, NO MALICE, and NO SELF-INTEREST.  We believe in Jesus with child-like TRUST.  And the Feast of Sto. Nino invites us to this child-like attitude in our following of Jesus. Cf. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

 DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD...

Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:

1.  Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ…

2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 

3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…!

It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

 

Vatican and al-Azhar Declaration on Human Fraternity

 The Document jointly issued by the Vatican and al-Azhar..

A DOCUMENT ON HUMAN FRATERNITY FOR WORLD PEACE AND LIVINGTOGETHER

We reflected also on the level of poverty, conflict and suffering of so many brothers and sisters in different parts of the world as a consequence of the arms race, social injustice, corruption, inequality, moral decline, terrorism, discrimination, extremism and many other causes.

From our fraternal and open discussions, and from the meeting that expressed profound hope in a bright future for all human beings, the idea of this Document on Human Fraternity was conceived. In the name of God who has created all human beings equal in rights, duties and dignity, and who has called them to live together as brothers and sisters, to fill the earth and make known the values of goodness, love and peace;

In the name of innocent human life that God has forbidden to kill, affirming that whoever kills a person is like one who kills the whole of humanity, and that whoever saves a person is like one who saves the whole of humanity;

In the name of the poor, the destitute, the marginalized and those most in need whom God has commanded us to help as a duty required of all persons, especially the wealthy and of means;

In the name of orphans, widows, refugees and those exiled from their homes and their countries; in the name of all victims of wars, persecution and injustice; in the name of the weak, those who live in fear, prisoners of war and those tortured in any part of the world, without distinction;

In the name of peoples who have lost their security, peace, and the possibility of living together, becoming victims of destruction, calamity and war; In the name of human fraternity that embraces all human beings, unites them and renders them equal;

In the name of this fraternity torn apart by policies of extremism and division, by systems of unrestrained profit or by hateful ideological tendencies that manipulate the actions and the future of men and women;

In the name of freedom, that God has given to all human beings creating them free and distinguishing them by this gift; In the name of justice and mercy, the foundations of prosperity and the cornerstone of faith;

In the name of all persons of good will present in every part of the world; In the name of God and of everything stated thus far; Al-Azhar al-Sharif and the Muslims of the East and West, together with the Catholic Church and the Catholics of the East and West, declare the adoption of a culture of dialogue as the path; mutual cooperation as the code of conduct; reciprocal understanding as the method and standard.

This Document, in accordance with previous International Documents that have emphasized the importance of the role of religions in the construction of world peace, upholds the following:

- The firm conviction that authentic teachings of religions invite us to remain rooted in the values of peace; to defend the values of mutual understanding, human fraternity and harmonious coexistence; tore-establish wisdom, justice and love; and to reawaken religious awareness among young people so that future generations may be protected from the realm of materialistic thinking and from dangerous policies of unbridled greed and indifference that are based on the law of force and not on the force of law;

- Freedom is a right of every person: each individual enjoys the freedom of belief, thought, expression and action. The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. This divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and the freedom to be different derives.

Therefore, the fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected, as too the imposition of a cultural way of life that others do not accept;

- Justice based on mercy is the path to follow in order to achieve a dignified life to which every human being has a right;

- Dialogue, understanding and the widespread promotion of a culture of tolerance, acceptance of others and of living together peacefully would contribute significantly to reducing many economic, social, political and environmental problems that weigh so heavily on a large part of humanity;

- Dialogue among believers means coming together in the vast space of spiritual, human and shared social values and, from here, transmitting the highest moral virtues that religions aim for. It also means avoiding unproductive discussions;

- The protection of places of worship – synagogues, churches and mosques – is a duty guaranteed by religions, human values, laws and international agreements. Every attempt to attack places of worship or threaten them by violent assaults, bombings or destruction, is a deviation from the teachings of religions as well as a clear violation of international law;

- Terrorism is deplorable and threatens the security of people, be they in the East or the West, the North or the South, and disseminates panic, terror and pessimism, but this is not due to religion, even when terrorists instrumentalize it. It is due, rather, to an accumulation of incorrect interpretations of religious texts and to policies linked to hunger, poverty, injustice, oppression and pride. This is why it is so necessary to stop supporting terrorist movements fuelled by financing, the provision of weapons and strategy, and by attempts to justify these movements even using the media. All these must be regarded as international crimes that threaten security and world peace. Such terrorism must be condemned in all its forms and expressions;

- The concept of citizenship is based on the equality of rights and duties, under which all enjoy justice. It is therefore crucial to establish in our societies the concept of full citizenship and reject the discriminatory use of the term minorities which engenders feelings of isolation and inferiority. Its misuse paves the way for hostility and discord; it undoes any successes and takes away the religious and civil rights of some citizens who are thus discriminated against;

- Good relations between East and West are indisputably necessary for both. They must not be neglected, so that each can be enriched by the other’s culture through fruitful exchange and dialogue. The West can discover in the East remedies for those spiritual and religious maladies that are caused by a prevailing materialism. And the East can find in the West many elements that can help free it from weakness, division, conflict and scientific, technical and cultural decline. It is important to pay attention to religious, cultural and historical differences that are a vital component in shaping the character, culture and civilization of the East. It is likewise important to reinforce the bond of fundamental human rights in order to help ensure a dignified life for all the men and women of East and West, avoiding the politics of double standards;

- It is an essential requirement to recognize the right of women to education and employment, and to recognize their freedom to exercise their own political rights. Moreover, efforts must be made to free women from historical and social conditioning that runs contrary to the principles of their faith and dignity. It is also necessary to protect women from sexual exploitation and from being treated as merchandise or objects of pleasure or financial gain. Accordingly, an end must be brought to all those inhuman and vulgar practices that denigrate the dignity of women. Efforts must be made to modify those laws that prevent women from fully enjoying their rights;

- The protection of the fundamental rights of children to grow up in a family environment, to receive nutrition, education and support, are duties of the family and society. Such duties must be guaranteed and protected so that they are not overlooked or denied to any child in any part of the world. All those practices that violate the dignity and rights of children must be denounced. It is equally important to be vigilant against the dangers that they are exposed to, particularly in the digital world, and to consider as a crime the trafficking of their innocence and all violations of their youth;

-The protection of the rights of the elderly, the weak, the disabled, and the oppressed is a religious and social obligation that must be guaranteed and defended through strict legislation and the implementation of the relevant international agreements.

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

 Short Reflection on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Readings: Isaiah 42: 1-4. 6-7; Acts 10: 34-38; Mark 1: 7-11

Selected Passage: “I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mk. 1: 8)

Reflection: In our lives, we always try to discover the meaning being baptized by the Holy Spirit.  In our own Baptism, this reality is better understood in our being anointed by the Spirit as PRIEST, PROPHET and KING. Priest symbolizes the worship of God in our lives; Prophet tells of our commitment to Justice and Truth; and King speaks of our life of service to others, especially those in need.

www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

 DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD...

Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:

1.  Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ…

2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 

3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…!

It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

 

New Year's Resolutions Testify to our Faith in God

 

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS TESTIFY TO FAITH

It is a sign of health that we keep making new resolutions, despite a history of failure. In striving to renew ourselves in the face of our own falling we are making an important act of faith.

In making new resolutions we are saying: “I believe in a God who continues to love me, even when I can’t live up to it.” Every time I pick myself off the floor after a fall and begin again with some hope in my heart looking for a new start, I am saying the creed in a way that is considerably more radical, in terms of expressing actual belief in God, than is my too-easy Sunday recital of it. To make a new resolution is to believe in God.

But to make new resolutions is to express faith in the God of the resurrection. To try for new life, for a fresh start, precisely when bad habit has kept me so long in a certain helplessness, is to say: “I believe in the resurrection and the life!”

Martin Luther once put it this way: “Just as God in the beginning of creation made the world out of nothing, so his manner of working continues unchanged.” For anything to really change, including our capacity to live beyond our own wounds and selfishness, God still had to defy the impossible.

That is where faith and the resurrection enter in. As the angel Gabriel tells Mary: “For with God nothing is impossible.” Somewhere, deep inside of us, in that place where we want to make New Year’s resolutions, we still carry that faith. In that place we still say the creed and still believe in the resurrection.

Because of that belief, because of new year’s resolutions, God can still make something out of nothing!

Happy New Year and many blessings in 2021

To read more click here or copy this address into your browser
http://ronrolheiser.com/new-years-resolutions-testify-to-faith/#.X-30_eBME_8
www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser

The Feast of the Epiphany

Short Reflection for the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord

 Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Ephesians 3: 2-3a. 5-6; Matthew 2: 1-12

 Selected Passage: “They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.  Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  (Matthew 2: 10-11)

 Meditation: This feast celebrates the manifestation of the Lord to the Magi. They saw his star and followed it until they saw the child, the Savior.  We need to see, too, his star, today, and follow it in our daily journey through life. Yes, his star continues to shine, but we need discerning eyes and a heart attune to God so that we, too, one day, find him and pay him homage. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

 DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

 1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) 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 Feast of the Holy Family

 Short Reflection for the Feast of the Holy Family (B)

 Readings: Sirach 3: 2-7, 12-14; Colossians 3: 12-21; Luke 2: 22-40

 Selected Passage:  “Simon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted, and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed’.”(Luke 2: 34-35)

 Meditation:  It will NOT be all bed of roses for this child born in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes… NO! This child is the NEW face of God destined for the fall and rise of many. He is the face of God that is MERCY and COMPASSION and by his words and deeds all hearts, thoughts and actions would be measured! Cuidate!

www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

 1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) 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.

Chastity and Christmas

 

CHASTITY AND CHRISTMAS

Chastity needs to be properly understood. For too long we have had an overly narrow and mostly false concept of chastity. Chastity is too commonly identified with sexual abstinence and sexuality is then seen as something that in itself, militates against chastity and spirituality. But chastity is not the same thing as celibacy; indeed, it is not even, first and foremost, a sexual concept. Someone can be chaste but not celibate, just as someone can be celibate but not chaste. My parents were not celibate, they gave birth to a large family, but they were wonderfully chaste persons. The reverse can also be true. Someone can be celibate but far from chaste.

What is chastity? We are chaste when we stand before the world, others, and God in a way which allows them to be fully themselves without letting our own impatience, selfishness, or unwillingness to remain in tension violate their reality and their natural unfolding.

Here is an image to explain this.

In her book, Holy the Firm, Annie Dillard shares this story: One evening, alone in her cabin, she was watching a moth slowly emerge from its cocoon. The process was fascinating but interminably slow. At a point she lost patience and needed to get on to other things, so she picked up a candle and applied a little heat to the process. It worked. The added heat sped up the process and the moth emerged more quickly from its cocoon, but, since a natural process had been interfered with and unnaturally rushed, the moth emerged with ill-formed wings which didn’t allow it to fly properly. A fault in chastity led to stunted growth.

Chastity is the virtue that invites us to live in patience, to wait, to respect what’s other, and to carry tension long enough so that the other can truly be other and gift can unfold precisely as gift.

That is why the Messiah can only be born from a chaste womb and come to life fully only inside of a chaste heart. Christmas allows for no shortcuts.

To read more click here or copy this address into your browser
http://ronrolheiser.com/chastity-and-christmas/#.X85mgOlKg_8
www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser

4th Sunday of Advent (B)

 Short Reflection for the 4th Week of Advent (B)

Readings: 2 Samuel 7: 1-5. 8-12; Romans 16: 25-27; Luke 1: 26-38

Selected Gospel Passage: And the angel said to Mary in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God”. (Luke 1: 35)

Reflection: Jesus comes to us anew through the power of the Holy Spirit and like Mary, our mother, in events we least expect. What is important is our generosity and readiness to respond, like Mary, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your Word’. Cf. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

 DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD...

Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:

1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ…

2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 

3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…!

It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

 

Make Space for Jesus Christ

 MAKE SPACE FOR CHRIST

The story doesn’t suggest that the innkeeper was malicious or inhospitable. It says only that “there was no room in the inn.” In short, the man was booked up, full, there was no room for further guests, he already had all he could handle.

No room! No place for more guests! Booked up! No space for hospitality!

In these expressions, I see the reason why there is so little of Christ left in Christmas. It is not so much, I believe, our excesses in shopping, decorating, or partying that deprive Christ of a place, as it is our busyness, preoccupations, hurriedness, and agenda which fill the inn and leave no place for him. Our hearts and lives are too full for Christ to have a place.

That sounds like a harsh judgment, and it is. Looked at from the outside, our lives often do look selfish, inhospitable, idiosyncratic, and un-Christian. However, we are not bad people, nor are we, deep down, inhospitable. Beneath all the hurry, pressure, and preoccupations, our hearts are warm, unselfish and welcoming.

Then why aren’t we warmer and more hospitable? In brief, because we haven’t the time. There is not enough space within our lives for Christ.

Love and hospitality are not abstract.  To have Christ in our lives involves something much more than creating time for him, time for the poor, time for hospitality, time for celebration, time for prayer, time for the itinerant couple who show up unannounced on a busy night.

We must create some room in the inn!

(Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI()

2nd Sunday of Advent (B)

Short Reflection for the 2nd Sunday of Advent (B)

 Readings - Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8

 Selected Gospel Passage: A voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'" John (the) Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1: 3-4)

 Reflection: Like John the Baptizer we prepare for the coming of the Lord.  He comes in events and moments we least expect.  And how do we prepare for his coming into our lives? We celebrate Advent through good deeds and actions on behalf of the poor and the needy. By these good deeds our many sins are forgiven. Visit www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

 DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD...

 Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:

 1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ…

2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 

3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…!

 It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…