It's No Secret

The chimes of time ring out the news,

Another day is through.

Someone slipped and fell.

Was that someone you?

You may have longed for added strength,

Your courage to renew.

Do not be disheartened,

For I have news for you.

It is no secret what God can do.

What He's done for others, He'll do for you.

With arms wide open, He'll pardon you.

It is no secret what God can do.

There is no night for in His light

You never walk alone.

Always feel at home,

Wherever you may go.

There is no power can conquer you

While God is on your side.

Take Him at His promise,

Don't run away and hide.

It is no secret what God can do.

What He's done for others, He'll do for you.

With arms wide open, He'll pardon you.

It is no secret what God can do.

Carl Stuart Hamblen 1950

Holy Shadow

There is an old story about a man who is so good that the angels ask God to give him the gift of miracles. God wisely tells them to ask him if that is what he would wish.

So the angels visit this good man and offer him first the gift of healing by hands, then the gift of conversion of souls, and lastly the gift of virtue. He refuses them all. They insist that he choose a gift or they will choose one for him. “Very well,” he replies. “I ask that I may do a great deal of good without ever knowing it.” The story ends this way:

The angels were perplexed. They took counsel and resolved upon the following plan: Every time the saint's shadow fell behind him it would have the power to cure disease, soothe pain, and comfort sorrow. As he walked, behind him the shadow made arid paths green, caused withered plants to bloom, gave clear water to dried up brooks, fresh color to pale children, and joy to unhappy men and women. The saint simply went about his daily life diffusing virtue as the stars diffuse light and the flowers scent, without ever being aware of it. The people respecting his humility followed him silently, never speaking to him about his miracles. Soon they even forgot his name and called him “the Holy Shadow.”

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today we hear the final three parables about the Kingdom of Heaven found in Matthew 13, the Treasure buried in a Field, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Net Full of Fish. Although they seem simple stories, each of these parables challenges us to consider what the Kingdom of Heaven means to us. They ask us to consider how much we are willing to sacrifice to gain entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. And they invite us to reflect on the priorities in our lives so we can get into the Kingdom of Heaven.

In Matthew 6:20-21, Jesus says, “store up treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” A little later in verse 33, Jesus says, “seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness,” then everything else will fall into place. Both the person who found the buried treasure and the merchant who found the pearl sacrificed everything that they had to obtain what they fervently desired. Jesus is telling us that the Kingdom of Heaven is the greatest treasure we can possibly obtain.

Contrary to what the folks at credit card companies would have us believe, we cannot purchase our way into the Kingdom of Heaven because it is far beyond priceless. St. Paul tells us what we have to do to get into the “good bucket” Jesus refers to in the Parable of the Dragnet in 1 Timothy 6:17-19. “Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share, thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life.”

God our father and protector,

without you nothing is holy,

nothing has value.

Guide us to everlasting life

by helping us to use wisely

the blessings you have given to the world.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

Amen

Blessed

Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves:
     they will have no end of fun.

Blessed are those who can tell a mountain from a molehill:
     they will be saved a lot of bother.

Blessed are those who know how to relax without looking for excuses:
     they are on the way to becoming wise.

Blessed are those who know when to be quiet and listen:
     they will learn a lot of new things.

Blessed are those who think before acting and pray before thinking:
     they will avoid many blunders.

Happy are you when you can take small things seriously and face serious things calmly:

     you will go far in life.

Happy are you if you can appreciate a smile and forget a frown:
     you will walk on the sunny side of the street.

Happy are you if you can be kind in understanding the attitudes of others, even when the signs are unfavorable:
     you may be taken for a fool, but this is the price of charity.

Happy are you if you know how to hold your tongue and smile, even when the people interrupt and contradict you or tread on your toes:
     the gospel has begun to seep into your heart.

Above all...

Blessed are you when you recognize the Lord in all whom you meet:
     the light of truth shines in your life and you have found true wisdom.

Paradoxes of Catholicism

Support

Just as there are people that support us, we are a supporter to many people extending the cycle and giving back.

Behind each of us stands at least one supporter. This was once thought to be the spouse who ran the home while leaving the other spouse free to work. While this is still one valid scenario, most of us will find that we have other kinds of supporters in our lives. In some cases, our supporters are the people whose help allows us to do the things we're best at, see to our obligations, or pursue or dreams. In other cases, our support may come from the people who are there to help us through life's challenges by offering us their strength and bolstering our spirit.

Our support may come from our families and friends or from the people we hire--nannies, assistants, gardeners, healers, therapists, and advisors. Our supporters may be the mentors who help us express ourselves by listening to us as we share our thoughts and feelings. Our supporter can be the person sitting next to us at a networking meeting or the teacher from our childhood whose words still resonate in our minds. We have always had supporters around us whether we noticed them or not. No matter where the support comes from, few of us can make it through life without assistance.

As we take the time to acknowledge everyone that has every supported us, we can't help but feel grateful. Understanding our place in our human support system helps us see that just as there are people that support us, we are a supporter to many people. By gratefully accepting the expertise and assistance of our supporters, we can consciously and more easily build a life that we love. Thanks to our staff, groups, friends, and loved ones for all their support. We all need each other's support to thrive this world.

Chains

“Let us not go over the old ground, let us rather prepare for what is to come.” -Marcus Tullius Cicero

Sometimes we hang on to the oddest things. For instance, many of us go to a lot of trouble to hang on to old guilt, old mistakes, old loneliness, old hurts, and old crimes. We fight like crazy to keep these little darlings near and dear. If we make a mistake, we feel we don't deserve to let go of the self-punishment.

The healthy and sober thing to do is let go of the past. We can cut the chains and shackles of the past that keep us from moving forward. When we cut even one link of that chain, we begin to move more freely toward health and self-love.

Today let me understand that I'm not helping anyone by holding on to the past.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel, Matthew 13:24- 43, is a continuation of Jesus’ parables about the kingdom. Last week we heard the parable about the Sower. This week we hear Jesus comparing the kingdom of heaven to a field planted with wheat and weeds, a mustard seed and yeast. Just as he explained the parable of the Sower, Jesus explained the parable of the wheat and weeds to his disciples. We are left to work out for ourselves the parable of the mustard seed and the yeast.

When Jesus talked about the kingdom of heaven to his followers, he was not talking about some place where we will end up in the future. He was talking about the here and now. For us the kingdom is Peachtree City, Georgia in 2023. For others, it is wherever they are right now. The kingdom doesn’t have any boundaries or borders because it is made up of a collective of people who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to us to bring us salvation. It is where God’s values of love, truth, compassion, justice, mercy, forgiveness, trust and respect prevail.

The parables of the mustard seed and yeast are about tiny things that produce amazing results. The small mustard seed produces a huge plant that in turn produces thousands of seeds. And a small amount of yeast grows and transforms dough into multiple loaves of bread. Each of us is like a mustard seed or a pinch of yeast. We all have the potential to produce amazing results for the kingdom. If we allow our lives to be transformed by gospel values, we in turn can transform the lives of those around us by how we live those values.

Merciful and patient God, 

 Let your word, like a mustard seed,

bear rich fruit within us,

and like a little yeast,

produce its effects throughout the whole church.

Thus may we dare to hope

that a new humanity will blossom and grow

to shine like the sun in your kingdom

when the Lord of the harvest returns

at the end of the age.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

AMEN

Love is a Great Thing

Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good. By itself it makes that is heavy light; and it bears evenly all that is uneven.

It carries a burden which is no burden; it will not be kept back by anything low and mean; it desires to be free from all worldly affections, and not to be entangled by any outward prosperity, or by any adversity subdued.

Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility. It is therefore able to undertake all things, and it completes many things, and warrants them to take effect, where he who does not love would faint and lie down.

Though weary, it is not tired; though pressed it is not straitened; though alarmed, it is not confounded; but as a living flame it forces itself upwards and securely passes through all.

Love is active and sincere, courageous, patient, faithful, and prudent.
~ Thomas à Kempis

Our God is a Mighty God! Worthy to be Praised!

From the Book of Daniel, that beautiful hymn of praise echoes all creation in praising His might and beauty:

Dew and rain, bless the Lord.

Frost and chill, bless the Lord.

Ice and snow, bless the Lord.

Nights and days, bless the Lord.

Light and darkness, bless the Lord.

Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord.

Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever. Give glory and eternal praise to Him!

Psalm 145:10 echoes that sentiment: Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let your faithful ones bless you.

No matter where you are today, give thanks and praise to God, our almighty Father, and His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the glory of the Holy Spirit, both now and forever!  Amen.

12 Rules

1. Do one thing at a time. No multi-tasking.

2. Do it slowly and deliberately.

3. Do it completely.

4. Do less.

5. Put space between things.

6. Develop rituals.

7. Designate time for certain things.

8. Devote time to sitting.

9. Smile and serve others.

10. Make cooking and cleaning become meditation.

11. Think about what is necessary.
12. Live simply.

Tools

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

~Abraham Maslow

When we can take a long view of our problems, we can sometimes see that we're using inappropriate tools to try to solve them. What's necessary for us to do is to move away, to detach. That may show us a whole new context into which our problem fits, and in which it may not even be a problem.

Detachment is hard to achieve when we're deeply hooked into a situation. When we send ourselves drastic messages like "now or never!" we're pressing our noses right up against the problem - a position in which it's difficult to maintain a balanced view. To stop and say, "If not now, then perhaps some other time," unhooks us and lets us remember that life is richer and more varied than we thought when we were hooked.

Crisis thinking can be like a hammer - it flattens everything. This can be our way of trying to control the outcome of our individual struggle. But when we remember that we make up only small parts of one grand and beautiful design. We can surrender our problems to it.

To be a competent worker, we need to seek out the tools that are best suited to the task.

Forgiveness

"I once picked up a woman from a garbage dump and she was burning with fever; she was in her last days and her only lament was: ‘My son did this to me.’ I begged her: You must forgive your son. In a moment of madness, when he was not himself, he did a thing he regrets. Be a mother to him, forgive him. It took me a long time to make her say: ‘I forgive my son.’ Just before she died in my arms, she was able to say that with a real forgiveness. She was not concerned that she was dying. The breaking of the heart was that her son did not want her. This is something you and I can understand."

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In Ireland, storytelling is an art form. For almost two thousand years, traditional storytellers called Seanchaí, passed on Irish history, culture and traditions to generation after generation of people. I come from a family of wonderful storytellers. Almost everything I know about my family history I learned from stories my mother and father told me. Even today, when I join my brothers and sisters at family gatherings we share stories as we pass our family history on to the next generation. Our stories evoke happy memories and sometime recall sad events. And when we share these stories, I can hear my mother's laugh and my father's brogue so clearly it is as if they are sitting with us in the room. Stories are powerful tools.

Jesus used stories, parables, to explain the kingdom of heaven. Beginning this Sunday and for the next two Sundays, we will hear Jesus tell several different parables describing the kingdom in common, everyday language using common, everyday images. Today we have the Parable of the Sower. Next Sunday we have the Parable of the Man Sowing Good Seed and the Parable of the Mustard Seed. And on July 24 we will hear Jesus presenting the Kingdom of Heaven as a treasure hidden in a field, a pearl of great price and a fisherman’s net.

When the disciples asked Jesus why he spoke in parables, he answered, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. ... they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand" (Matt. 13:11,13). Jesus was not trying to repress or hide the truth. He says, "Whoever has ears ought to hear" (Matt. 13:9). However, many who did look and hear, particularly the orthodox leaders of the day, chose not to see or understand. They rejected Jesus and threw him out of the synagogues. So, Jesus took his message to the people. He preached wherever people gathered, in market places, town squares, by the sea, in the fields and in people's homes. He brought a message of hope, telling stories in language he knew they would understand with concrete examples from their daily lives: farming, fishing, commerce, cooking and relationships.

No matter what imagery he used, Jesus' message was consistent, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 10:7). The kingdom is here, present, now and it is open to you. Turn your lives around and follow me. For the disciples, the devout followers and those of us who did and do open our eyes to see, our ears to hear and our hearts to understand, Jesus offers a blessing: “blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it” (Matt.13:16-17). When our eyes, ears and hearts are open to understand Jesus' message, when we accept the message and when we incorporate that message into the way we live, Jesus becomes a living presence in our world.

God of the heavens,

God of the earth,

all creation awaits your gift of new life.

Prepare our hearts to receive the word of your Son,

that we may hear it, understand it,

and bear fruit a hundredfold.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever. 

AMEN.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!​

Lead, Kindly Light

Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom,

Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!

Meantime, along the narrow rugged path,
Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Saviour, lead me home in childlike faith,
Home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life.

Subtle Messages

It is interesting to reflect on the Scripture readings which follow after Easter. In these readings, it is noted that those closest to Jesus while he was alive were not able to easily recognize him after the Resurrection. Surely those who knew and walked and talked and ate with Jesus should be able to see him more clearly.

I wonder what this says about the rest of us who sometimes struggle to see God in our daily lives. Perhaps we have to look with different eyes if we are to see God’s hand working in our lives. Perhaps the messages are more subtle than a Hollywood production of Seas parting and trumpets blaring.

Maybe there’s hope for us!!

In Times of Need

A Love Story

John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort, he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.

The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month, the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7pm at the Grand Central Station in New York. "You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel."

At 7pm he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen. I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened: A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit, she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, sailor?" she murmured. Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own.

And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful.

I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. "I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?" The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"

It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. As someone once said: "Tell me whom you love and I will tell you who you are."

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Meekness is not a value to which many of us aspire.   Even though Jesus told us in the Beatitudes that the meek will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5), do we believe it? The poet Sylvia Plath commented, “I don't believe that the meek will inherit the earth; The meek get ignored and trampled.”  I suspect that Sylvia Plath’s view of meekness is the most prevalent one.   The Oxford Dictionary definition for meek is straightforward, “humble and submissive; suffering injury etc. tamely” and “piously gentle in nature.”  

However Biblically, meekness has a completely different meaning.  In seminary, we were taught that “meekness is not weakness.”  When Zechariah wrote the verses in our first reading today, “See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass,” he was not referring to a weak and wishy-washy person.  This king will banish the instruments of violence and establish peace.  And, “His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth” (Zec 9:10).  This king is strong.  When Jesus describes himself in today’s Gospel from Matthew 11:25-30 as “meek and humble of heart,” he is not insinuating that he is a doormat. 

My favorite simple definition of meekness is strength under control.    What solidifies this definition for me is the image of the yoke that Jesus uses.  He says “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  A yoke in those days was a curved piece of wood fitted on the neck of two oxen teaming them together so they could pull a plow.  There isn’t anything much stronger than an ox which is why we say he/she “is as strong as on ox.”  With the yoke attached the oxen are strength under control.  Which bring me to another definition of meekness that really resonates with me. 

Michael Krauszer writes in Patheos: Hosting the Conversation on Faith, an ecumenical blog, that, “Meekness, according to the Bible, is being humble and gentle towards others and willingly being submissive and obedient to the Lord. It is not being selfish and arrogant, loud or obnoxious. Rather, it’s having a quiet but confident trust in the Lord and being willing and able to do whatever it is He commands” (October 7, 2015).   

Citizenship in the Kingdom of God requires meekness, strength under control.  We are asked to put our egos aside, consolidate our strengths and put them into the hands of God our Father so that together we can build a world of peace and justice. 

To the childlike, O God, you reveal yourself,
and on those who are meek and humble of heart
you promise the inheritance of your kingdom.

Refresh our weary spirits
with the teaching of Christ,
that with him we may shoulder the gentle yoke of the cross,
and proclaim to everyone
the joy that comes from you alone.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.

  AMEN.

Prayer:  Copyright © 2016 Bibleclaret. All Rights Reserved

Jesus and His Disicples

Jesus took his disciples up on the mountain and gathered them around him. And he taught them, saying “Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who are persecuted. Blessed are those who suffer. When these things happen, rejoice, for your reward will be great in heaven.”

And Simon Peter said, “Do we have to write this down?”
And Phillip said “Is this going to be on the test?”
And John said, “Would you repeat that, slower?”
And Andrew said, “John the Baptist’s disciples don’t have to learn this stuff.”
And Matthew said, “Huh?”
And Judas said, “What’s this got to do with real life?”

And then one of the Pharisees said, an expert in law, said, “I don’t see any of this in your syllabus. Do you have a lesson plan? Where’s the student guide? Will there be a follow-up assignment?”

And Thomas, who had missed the sermon, came to Jesus privately and said, “Did we do anything important today?”

And Jesus wept.

The Tiger and the Fox

A fox who lived in the deep forest of long ago had lost its front legs. No one knew how: perhaps escaping from a trap. A man who lived on the edge of the forest, seeing the fox from time to time, wondered how in the world it managed to get its food. One day when the fox was not far from him he had to hide himself quickly because a tiger was approaching. The tiger had fresh game in its claws. Lying down on the ground, it ate its fill, leaving the rest for the fox.

Again the next day the great Provider of this world sent provisions to the fox by this same tiger. The man began to think: "If this fox is taken care of in this mysterious way, its food sent by some unseen Higher Power, why don't I just rest in a corner and have my daily meal provided for me?"

Because he had a lot of faith, he let the days pass, waiting for food. Nothing happened. He just went on losing weight and strength until he was nearly a skeleton. Close to losing consciousness, he heard a Voice which said: "O you, who have mistaken the way, see now the Truth! You should have followed the example of that tiger instead of imitating the disabled fox."

~ Anthony De Mello, SJ

Contributions

We need to take note, today, of all the opportunities we have to offer a helping hand to another person. We can notice too the many times a friend, or even a stranger, reaches out to us in a helpful way. The opportunities to contribute to life's flow are unending.

Our own vibrancy comes from involvement with others, from contributing our talents, our hearts, to one another's daily travels. The program helps us to know that God lives in us, among us. When we close ourselves off from our friends, our fellow travelers, we block God's path to us and through us.

To live means sharing one another's space, dreams, sorrows; contributing our ears to hear, our eyes to see, our arms to hold, our hearts to love. When we close ourselves off from each other, we have destroyed the vital contribution we each need to make and to receive in order to nurture life.

We each need only what the other can give. Each person we meet today needs our special contribution.

What a wonderful collection of invitations awaits me today!

Saying Thank You

Saying thank you from the heart makes us feel full. Perhaps we don't really know we have something until we express our thanks for it.

There are different levels of gratitude. There is the polite, automatic response when someone opens a door for us or the bank teller tells us to have a nice day. Simple, almost perfunctory, these acts of courtesy nevertheless add an element of grace to our daily transactions.

On a more personal level, saying thank you often and sincerely to those we love keeps us from taking each other for granted. We all like to feel appreciated - how many relationships dry up because the people involved don't realize what they have?

Then there is the gratitude we feel toward the God of our understanding, the source of all the blessings we enjoy but do not create for ourselves. This thankfulness can be a part of every breath we take. As often as we remember the many gifts of every day, our emptiness is filled.

Today, I will replenish my supply of gratitude.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Over and over again in the Old Testament we read about the importance of hospitality. Abraham was the model of a generous host when he invited the Lord and two angels home for dinner. In Genesis 18:1-10 we read that he washed their feet, gave them the best seats in his tent and had a feast prepared for them; he did all this even though he did not know who or what they were. Another great Biblical story about hospitality is found in 1 Kings 17:7-24 when a poor widow gives Elijah the last of her flour and oil. The Lord rewarded her with a jar of flour that never became empty and a jug of oil that never ran dry. And in today’s first reading from 2 Kings 4, we hear about a woman from Shunem who offered Elisha hospitality. In return for her graciousness Elisha promised her a son.

Hospitality is one of the greatest virtues of the Bible. The eminent twentieth century scripture scholar William Barclay observed that: “If a man is a true man of God, to receive him is to receive the God who sent him.” Jesus carries this virtue into New Testament duty in today’s Gospel from Matthew 10:40-42, “whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple--amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."

Today the Hospitaller Order of St John of God continues the practice of hospitality throughout the world. They understand hospitality as “A heart that sees where love [is] needed and acts accordingly.” They allow “the heart to command.” The virtue of hospitality is recognizing the presence of God in other people and nourishing that presence. We cannot all be prophets, and preach and proclaim the word of God, but we can all practice the simple virtue of hospitality. By practicing hospitality each of us can bring the Kingdom of God into our hearts, homes, communities and the world.

On Tuesday, we celebrate Independence Day. As we enter into the festivities with picnics, parades and fireworks please remember to give thanks for the freedom we celebrate and to pray for our religious and political leaders, to pray for Christians who are persecuted in other countries and to pray that the right of universal religious freedom is provided everywhere for all people.

Gracious and loving God, 

 let your Spirit be with us today. 

 Hear our prayers 

 and increase in us the will to follow your Son Jesus. 

 Help us to draw on the resources of our faith 

 as we use the opportunities of our democracy 

 to shape a society more respectful of the life, dignity, 

 and rights of the human person, 

especially the poor and vulnerable. 

 We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, 

 who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

 one God forever and ever.

Amen.