Archive for October, 2011

31st Sunday of Ordinary Time

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Malachi 1:14-2;2, 8-10       1 Thes. 2:7-9, 13       Matt. 23:1-12

The reading from the Prophet Malachi was certainly chosen to go along with the Gospel reading today. It is not very inspiring but it is a clear message to the religious leaders of the time. They had been remiss in their duties as religious leaders and they had violated the Covenant with God and with the people. The Prophet calls them “contemptible and base.” No mincing of words here!

On the other hand, in the second reading, Paul says how he has treated the people with gentleness and affection, sharing himself and the Gospel of Jesus with them. He has worked hard and not been a burden to them. He thanks God for their receiving the Word of God with such great faith. This passage reminds me that loving and gentle ways most often produce kindness and goodness and a return of love from others. “What goes around comes around” in positive ways as well as it does when negativity is sown.

This passage from Matthew’s Gospel can be a difficult one so I did a bit of research in William Barclay’s commentary. Jesus is not commending the Scribes and Pharisees for all their rules and regulations that burden the people. He is saying that in so far as they are teaching the great principles of the Law that came to us through Moses, they must be obeyed. The Ten Commandments are about reverence for God and respect for our others, their life, possessions, and good name. But as far as the hundreds and thousands of other miniscule rules and regulations imposed by the religious leaders of Israel, these are an intolerable burden for the people. The commentator says that “whenever religion becomes a depressing affair of burdens and prohibitions, it ceases to be true religion.” Interesting statement…

The second part of this reading has to do with being ostentatious, being “show offs.” Jesus says the Scribes and Pharisees are doing that by the way they dress, their taking the best seats and places, and demanding titles. Let this be a reminder to us. Let us do the right and the good because it is the right and the good, not to be seen, not to be appreciated or commended. Let us take the last places and be humble and more concerned with others than with ourselves.

Let us remember that Jesus is our teacher and a reflection of our heavenly Father who loves us tenderly. In our work, service, and healing ministry here in St. Mary’s Health System, we are invited to do the best we can, to give distinguished service for the good and well being of the people we serve. Let us do so in the name of Jesus who is the divine Healer and in whose steps we follow, just as St. Marguerite d’Youville did in her day.

Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin, SSCh
Director of Pastoral Care

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin, SSCh, The Scribes | No Comments »

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Matthew 23:34-40

In order to understand today’s Gospel reading, we need to say a few words about the social culture of Jesus’ time.

- A widow was a childless woman whose husband had died. She was reduced to begging.

- An orphan was a child who had no male guardian.

- Aliens were strangers who lived among people who were not relatives.

These were the “at risk” people in those times. Since they were most vulnerable and without personal or societal power, God’s love was clearly focused in their direction. God has always been attentive to the needy, defenseless, and oppressed. In fact, that’s how Israel got to “know” God – while they were aliens and strangers in Egypt. With this in mind, let’s now hear the Gospel for today.

Jesus lived a public life. People took notice of Him because he had complete internal freedom. He was a teacher and He taught what He had learned from His Abba. Jesus said what He wanted, when He wanted, with a self-assurance that “riled up” the graduates from Rabbinic Schools.

One day, a lawyer, who knew the laws and commandments in detail, confronted Jesus. (There were, at that time, 633 commandments to obey: 365, one for every day of the year; and 268, one for each bone in the human body.) The lawyer, knowing that Jesus did not attend “law school,” asked this question. “Which is the greatest commandment in the law?” With His usual aplomb, Jesus replied: “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” And before the lawyer could react, Jesus quickly added: “And the second commandment is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ The whole law of Moses depends on these two commandments.”

In Hebrew, the word for “love” is the word RAHAM, which is derived from the word RAHAMIN, which means the “womb where children are made.” So God’s love is the intimate love a mother has for her children. This describes God’s attachment to His people. The term was very bold and personal, but its meaning somehow got lost in the overwhelming numbers of commandments. Jesus cut through those numbers and reduced them to two easy to remember commandments. In Jesus’ mind and 5 through His words, Jesus simplified life for anyone listening.

We show we love God not so much by observing the numerous commandments, but by loving what God loves. And God favors the widow, the helpless, the oppressed, the powerless, the suffering, etc.

It sounds a lot like Health Care, doesn’t it, where we care for the sick, the feeble, the elderly, the suffering, the helpless, the depressed and the dying? That’s why working in Health Care is more than just a job. It’s a response to a calling. It’s loving and caring for the people God loves the most. It’s like being the hands of God’s love. That is one of the reasons I don’t retire. As long as I can serve the patients, I plan to keep doing it. It assures me that when I die, I’ll die alive!!!

Kenn Rancourt

Chaplain

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Kenn Rancourt, The Scribes | No Comments »

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Feast day of St. Marguerite d’Youville

Matthew 22:15-22

The Gospel reading from Matthew for this Sunday portrays the Pharisees trying to trap Jesus with a trick question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes?” If Jesus answers “Yes” he is in conflict with the Pharisees (and many others) who believe they shouldn’t pay taxes to the Roman Empire but if he answers “No” he will be in trouble with Rome. As usual Jesus very rarely answers a question directly-in fact in this instance he asks the crowd to look at a coin and tell whose head is on the coin. When they crowd answers, “Caesar”, Jesus says, “Then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar but give to God what belongs to God.”

With this response Jesus avoided sedition but he also made a much greater point about who/what ultimately belongs to God. As Jesuit priest John Foley writes, “What if, in spite of the voices within you saying that you are not worth much, in spite of the setbacks of life, the losses, the flatness, in spite of all these, what if God created you with room inside you where God, out of love for you, can be quietly present? I can hear all the objections to such an idea: ‘God would never be at home in me, not until I do a lot better with my life.’ Or, ‘You want me to be some kind of nut, running around acting holy?’ Or simply, ‘I don’t want to.’

But what if God were a great friend, a loving, faithful amigo who really does want to be with you, within you, as much as is possible? In fact, how would it be if God were a companion who truly and actually accepts you and forgives you completely whenever you need it? Wouldn’t it mean that God put you and me into the world to sanctify it, to befriend the things of Caesar? Could be that we ourselves are those ‘things that belong to God’ that Jesus spoke of? ‘Belong,’ not in a possessed way, but in the way felt by those who love and are loved…If this were so, why wouldn’t we want to give ourselves to God, and then also bring our God-filled selves to Caesar’s palaces and to the dirty roads outside them and show everyone what Jesus is all about?” (Center for Liturgy)

Sunday, October 16 is the feast day of St. Marguerite d’Youville and this week we presented the Marguerite d’Youville awards to employees who demonstrate our values of respect, excellence, compassion and stewardship. Respect is about acknowledging the dignity and worth of the human person and while it may be Caesar’s image on the coin in the Gospel, it is in God’s image that humans are created. In the Judeo-Christian tradition this is a foundational concept and this is why we are called to show respect. We are called to bring our God-filled selves to work every day to treat each person we encounter (patient, family, resident or colleague) with respect and with love in order to promote healing. We don’t have to wait to be holy enough or good enough; we already belong to God and to each other and we have a wonderful role model in the spirit of St. Marguerite d’Youville.

Elizabeth Keene
Mission Integration

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Elizabeth Keene, The Scribes | No Comments »

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Have you ever received an invitation to an event and wondered why you were invited? Perhaps you knew the person only casually. Or maybe the event was something you were only somewhat interested in attending. How did you respond? Did you send your regrets? Or maybe you forgot to respond at all. After the event was held, you heard from mutual friends that you had missed a wonderful time. There was terrific food, dancing, and a great time was had by all who attended. Had you not questioned the invitation or neglected it and simply replied, “Yes, will attend,” you would have been part of a wonderful celebration and had the time of your life.

 

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus shares a parable on the Kingdom of God. He compares the Kingdom of God to a wedding feast. We are all invited. For some, who share an intimate relationship with God, the response is swift: Will attend. For those who know God as an acquaintance, the response might be: I’ll see who else is going or I’ll think about it. And for others who still don’t know God or who don’t have a good relationship with Him, possible responses might be: Forget it. It’s not for me. I’m not worthy.

 

When we truly love someone, we love unconditionally. That doesn’t mean that we are blind to faults and shortcomings. We love the person and not necessarily their actions. When we fail the person we love, we ask for forgiveness. In the same way those who share a relationship with

God, need to ask for forgiveness when we have failed Him. Would you invite someone to your celebration with whom you have not reconciled? Likewise, we must be reconciled with God in order to answer his invitation.

 

The way we choose to live our lives is our answer to God’s invitation. Do you have a personal relationship with God? Is that relationship in good shape or is it in need of repair? How are our human relationships? Are those in good shape or do they need some forgiveness?

 

Being in relationship with someone is never easy. It is a lot of work and dedication. There are ups and downs. Good times and bad. However, the rewards of being in a good relationship generally outweigh the bad.

 

Bringing it closer to home, how are we in our relationships with one another here at work? How are we in our relationships with our clients, patients, and residents? Are those relationships worthy of an invitation to the banquet that awaits us? Hopefully we all choose to accept Jesus’ invitation every day and respond with an enthusiasm, “Yes, I will attend.”

 

 

Dan Doyon

Pastoral care

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Dan Doyon, The Scribes | No Comments »

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Esther:13: 9-11      Isaiah 5:1-7      Paul to Philippians 4: 6-9      Matthew 21: 33-43

“I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord, to go and bear fruit that will remain.” John 15-16

For those of us who plant gardens, grow indoor plants, or work at growing ourselves, the readings are ripe with messages about the need to cultivate, feed, trim, harvest, trust, share, and plan for rest.

Yes, everything that grows needs rest. This reflection will focus on the Gospel message of Jesus in his parable concerning the Vineyard. If you are able to access the readings that accompany this parable for this Sunday, you will see how the message is supported.


Jesus said to the people, “hear another parable.”

There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it and built a tower. He leased it to tenants. When vintage time came, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. However, the tenants abused the servants with beatings, stoning and death. Again the owner tried to obtain what was his by sending many more servants. The tenants treated them in the same way. Finally, the owner sent his son, believing the tenants would treat him with respect. But, the tenants verily abused him and put him to death. “What will the owner do to these tenants when he comes?” Jesus asked. The crowd responded, “He will put those wretched people to death and give the vineyard to those who will care for it and give the owner his due.” Jesus replied, “Have you never read in the scriptures: “the stone that the builders rejected has become the headstone of the corner?” That is why I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.

Before we turn away due to the harshness of this parable, we must remember it is centuries old, being shared with a generation and a culture of people who believed in a punishing God, a God of might who they also believed would come in power to overthrow their enemies. Jesus was not filling this bill!

God does not strong-arm us into submission. God calls each one of us from conception to a task and then trusts us with the ministry by leaving us to do it. God’s patience allows us mistakes and the
chance to learn from them. God’s judgment of us may be felt when we are called to a task and it is taken out of our hands because we refuse it. If we feel punished by God, perhaps it is time to ask if we may have created our own reality. But, keep in mind, we have the privilege of calling God, “Abba,” (Father). God not only calls us but gives us the means to fulfill the call.

We may have to look around, ask for help. The answers are not always obvious. I have found in my ministry, I am surrounded by good, smart people in all areas of work at St. Mary’s and D’Youville who are willing and able to share a thing or two about growing anything!

Wishing you plentiful harvest!

Elizabeth Lowe
Chaplain

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Elizabeth Lowe, The Scribes | No Comments »