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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

 

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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

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Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Ezekiel 18:25-28    Philippians 2:1-11    Matthew 21:28-32

The reading from St. Paul to the Philippians is a powerful one.  It invites us to be of one mind and one heart.  This means to get along with one another and to try to put others first. It invites us to true humility.  All this sounds like compassion, mercy and love which are actually what Jesus taught us by the way he lived. St. Paul encourages us to be selfless as Jesus was selfless. You may say to yourself that these are all very nice words and beautiful virtues, but it is not easy to live this way. That is very true! That’s why we need to turn to Jesus for help to be like him in our dealings with others.  We need to be mindful, that is, attentive to how we treat others and how we work at living in peace and love with our family, friends and colleagues.  Not easy, but certainly something to consider and to live out.

The Gospel presents a parable about two sons.  The father tells the first son to go out and work in the vineyard.  The son says “I will not” but reconsiders and does go.  The father tells the other son to go work in the vineyard.  This second son says “Yes, sir” but he never does go. The meaning of the parable was crystal clear at the time. The religious leaders of the Jews were the people who say they will obey God but then do not.  The tax collectors and the prostitutes are those who were going their own way, but then began to follow God’s way by getting to know Jesus.

Which group is better?  Neither set of people is great.  But surely one is better than the other.  The point to be made is there are two kinds of people.  There are people whose profession is much better than their practice.  They say they believe, love and follow God and maybe even go to church services, but their practice of God’s ways is very mediocre and even very poor.  The second
group of people would be those who claim to be tough, hard-hearted materialists, but somehow they do kind and generous things, almost in secret sometimes. They might or might not show interest in church or religion, yet in some ways they seem to be living more Christian lives than many professing Christianity.  Neither group really has it together…  The really good person is the one whose profession and Christian practice meet and match.

I might ask myself in which group I belong?  We need to note that promises can never take the place of performance, and fine words are never a substitute for fine deeds.  Here in St. Mary’s Health System, hopefully our promises and our deeds match up.  We say we give quality service and that patients and families come first.  Let us do our utmost to make it so in practice, in deeds of compassion and excellence.

Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin, SSCh
Director of Pastoral Care

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Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Matthew 16:13-20

This is an interesting Gospel reading. Though it is not long I will divide my reflection into two parts. Jesus asks the disciples two questions: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” and “But who do you say that I am?” As a human being, I believe that Jesus needed some affirmation and some encouragement just as we do. The extroverted Peter was always ready with an answer. He tells Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Quite an answer! Jesus is impressed, saying that this couldn’t have come only from Peter, but from a revelation from God his Father to Peter’s mind and heart.

I also believe that Jesus continues to ask each one of us that very same question about who he is for each of us. As post Resurrection Christians, we might have many different answers. Some might answer that Jesus is the Christ, Savior of the world. We may be feeling saved by his mercy and by his death and resurrection, from our sins and from fear of death since he overpowered death. Others who read the Scriptures often, may answer that Jesus is the Master Teacher. He teaches us how to live, how to love and serve others and even how to die. Other persons who have a very close relationship with Jesus might see him as their Friend or Brother, always there with loving support and constant companionship. People who have dealt with a lot of illness among their loved ones, in their own life or in their work might see Jesus as the Healer. We realize that Jesus heals minds, hearts and/or bodies and can use the instruments of modern medicine to do so. Jesus is all of these and much more…

In the second part of the reading today we hear Jesus giving the keys of the kingdom to Peter, making him the visible head of the Church on earth, the first Pope. Too often we think of the Pope and other Church leaders as being the ones in authority. It is in fact true. However, Jesus called them above all to be shepherds of his people. In the Gospel of John after the resurrection Jesus says to Peter: “Feed my sheep.” Elsewhere in the Gospel, Jesus reminds the apostles not to lord it over others but to be servants. In fact at the Last Supper when Jesus said “Do this in memory of me,” it was about giving us the Eucharist but also about service. Jesus had just given the Apostles the example by washing their feet, the work characteristic of servants at that time.

Often some people are put out and even scandalized by the ceremonial regalia of gold and red worn by the hierarchy, by the riches of the Vatican or by the numerous rules and regulations that come from authority. At those times, let us remember that the true mission of the Church is to teach the commandment to love one another as Jesus loves us. Its mission is to manifest the tender love of God for each human being. Since we are the Church, the people of God, it is our mission as well. Let us not be afraid to kneel and “wash feet.” As healthcare workers in St. Mary’s Health System we have daily opportunities to show respect, compassion and kindness and to serve others in so many ways as signs of God’s tenderness and love for every human being.

Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin, SSCh
Director of Pastoral Care

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20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Monday, August 15th, 2011

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Isaiah 56:1,6-7      Romans 11:13-32       Matthew 15:21-28

I have always thought that mothers are more powerful than God. In nature a mother animal is more ferocious in protecting her little ones than the fathers. That’s one of the reasons that I deplore the fact that we know very little about God’s feminine side. For centuries we have diminished our perception of God by calling God a “HIM.” We have, in fact, created a god in our own image and that’s not right.

In today’s gospel story, Jesus meets up with a loving, worried, and even panicked strong mother. She is a Canaanite woman who wants to “save” her daughter. (At that time, the gospel story tells us that Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. People who lived in these places were non-believers. But in this case, it was Jesus who crossed those boundaries and who went to Tyre and Sidon. But Jesus is known to cross boundaries and barriers that no one else dared to.)

As Jesus and his disciples were walking and minding their own business, this woman kept yelling: “Have pity on me, Son of David.” At first Jesus does not acknowledge her, so the woman keeps yelling: “Have pity on me, Son of David!” The disciples are getting annoyed and say: “She won’t stop yelling. She’s a real pain. Please make her stop.” Jesus says to her: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But “mom” keeps on yelling. Then Jesus says to her: “It’s not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs!” Mom should have been insulted but motherhood pre-empted her personal feelings, and she got in Jesus’ face and said: “Please, Lord, even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters!” Mom would not take no for an answer, and she challenged Jesus. She got the best of that argument!!! To Jesus’ credit, he bowed before motherhood. (I wonder if this intense mother reminded Him of His own mother?) Jesus looked at her and said: “Great is your faith!” (He was probably thinking to himself “ . . . and you’ll keep yelling until you get what you want!”) Her daughter was healed from that hour. Mom wins again! Yay!!!

Those of you who are reading this reflection and who are mothers know what I’m talking about. To you, this way of acting is not unusual or outrageous at all! For mothers, this way of acting is everyday “normal”! Isn’t it?

Motherhood is a direct sharing of how God loves us. It’s not rational. It doesn’t have to make sense. We are loved by God because God loves us. Period. We had nothing to do with it. God loves us first as only a mother can.

If we personally realize and accept this, we will forever be secure and safe and God’s love will never let go!!!

Yay for us!

Kenn Rancourt
Chaplain

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Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Isaiah 55: 1-3     Romans 8: 35, 37-39     Matthew 14: 13-21

An Invitation

Recently my wife and I received an invitation to a retirement party out of state for a very good friend of ours. The invitation simply said, “Please come and help us celebrate Jane’s retirement. It is our mom’s wishes that there be no gifts. Your presence is gift enough.” When we arrived, the celebration was in full swing and our friends were so glad to see us. We were given food and beverages while we enjoyed the company of good friends which fed our spirits.

In the first reading this weekend God invites into a personal relationship with him. If we are hungering/thirsting for a meaningful relationship, he says, “Come.” He tells us that it costs nothing. He promises to feed us well. God says that we simply need to come as we are and he promises to renew the everlasting covenant with us. Are we prepared to say, “Yes” to this invitation?

In the second reading, St. Paul asks the question: “What will separate us from the love of Christ?” For each of us, the answer could vary at different times in our lives. Perhaps it could be our inability to say YES to his invitation? It might be that we fall to the temptations of this world. Or perhaps our faith might be shaken during a particularly difficult period in our lives. Being human, there are many personal situations that might drive a wedge between God and us. However, because Jesus died for our sins, redemption is always possible if we desire it. We can always be reunited with the love of Christ.

In the gospel, we again see how Jesus took care of those who followed him. He nourished their spirits with his words. He cured them of their ills. Even late in the day, Jesus made sure that their physical needs were met. Whenever I read this gospel of the five loaves and two fish, it reminds me of times when we received unexpected company and we extended an invitation to our guests to eat with us. The soup or stew was extended with a little more water and a few more ingredients. Or perhaps we added some leftovers and made the meal look like a smorgasbord. We did this gladly so we could spend more time with our visitors. Likewise, Jesus had just spent a wonderful afternoon with all his followers in relationship and he wanted to feed their bodies. In doing so, he was able to spend a little more time with them.

Jesus is the Bread of Life. He will provide for us and give us what we need, which is different than what we want. He will continue to feed us with his word and his

Body and Blood. All we have to do is say, “Yes” to his invitation.

Dan Doyon
Pastoral Care

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Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

Sunday, july 24, 2011

1 Kings 3:5 7-12     Romans 8:28-30      Matthew 13:44-52

Our scripture readings for this Sunday’s week-long opportunity for reflection are amazing proof of God’s constant desire to fill us with what we need to sustain ourselves in order to sustain others.

1 Kings 3:5 7-12 The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” Solomon who, scripture tells us, was a “mere youth”, responds as I believe so many of us do as ministers to the sick and dying, no matter in what capacity we serve:

“Give your servant an understanding heart, to judge {serve} your people, and to distinguish right from wrong.”

And God, who shows pleasure in the petitions made in the name of others rather than for self, praises young Solomon and grants him those gifts. Was Solomon in fact a “mere youth” of simply young in the ways of how to pray and for what? Many of us may feel young and unschooled in the way of prayer. However, it is really not difficult to grow up in the school of God’s ways. As we look around at our partners in care giving here at St. Mary’s Hospital/d’Youville Pavilion and Rehabilitation Centers, we see countless examples of faith-centered service to others.

The second reading for this Sunday, Romans 8:28-30, is from St. Paul to the Romans. Paul, as we may know, was once a man who scorned Jesus and persecuted any person who claimed loyalty to Christ. God wanted Paul on His team and to make that point one day as Paul was on his way to persecute more of Jesus’ followers. God knocked Paul off his horse and blinded him in order to wake him up. I believe that as you take the time to read this passage, you will recognize that it is a story of calling; of being called by God into your job, your way of life, your ministry! Take a moment and experience the joy!

Paul states: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called together for his purpose.”

In the Gospel lesson, Matthew 13:44-52, Jesus, our brother and teacher, speaks of the kingdom of heaven in being similar to a treasure buried in a field, or a pearl of great price or a vast net full of valuable fish. When found, we tend to hide the treasure again until we are more sure of how to use it to our good and that of others. Many who do great work of any type in our health care center have worked and studied hard; have made many sacrifices to honor their calling to serve.

Finding and fulfilling our purpose can come at a cost. However, the rewards soon outweigh!

Mother Teresa, a “Shero” for many of us, once said, “I know God will not give me anything I cannot handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”

Go well into a new week. Enjoy the joy in each other’s eyes!

Elizabeth Lowe
Chaplain

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Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19        Romans 8:26-27       Matthew 12:24-43

In the first passage from Wisdom, we hear of God’s power and justice with the reminder that these are tempered by clemency and kindness. This is another way of naming God’s mercy. God gives us reason for hope in spite of our weakness and God asks us to be kind and forgiving as well.

The second reading from Romans is very brief but is one of my favorite passages about the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes with inexpressible groanings.” So often I hear people say they don’t know how to pray and sometimes I feel that way myself. This passage is consoling. We need only let the Spirit within us pray. We don’t necessarily need words, just a thought or a desire can be a prayer. The “groanings” may be our call for help, a struggle for clarity, a hope for forgiveness, a yearning for faith and love or a desire for healing for ourselves or for a loved one. Allowing the Holy Spirit to pray within us is the key and a very powerful grace.

The Gospel this week speaks about the Kingdom of God, Kingdom of faith and love. Jesus makes three interesting comparisons to get our attention. He compares the Kingdom to a mustard seed, something extremely small that can grow into a huge bush. He compares it also to yeast that a woman puts into a mixture of flour, again something rather small but with the power to make the bread rise. That is what faith in God and love of God can do in our life if we welcome them. They can empower us for a life worth living and fill our hearts with hope and gratitude.

The third comparison is about a farmer sowing seeds in his field, but weeds begin to grow side by side with the wheat. What to do? Wait it out until harvest time. It’s an image of our world, I think. There are both plenty of good and lots of evil in the world. God in due time will sort it all out with justice and with mercy. We can be sure of that.

As we do our work and ministry in St. Mary’s Health system, let us be like the yeast and the mustard seed and the wheat. Let us be elements of faith, of love and of good, always trusting that God is present and will touch people’s lives through our efforts to be compassionate and kind.

Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin, SSCh
Director of Pastoral Care

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15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Isaiah 55:10-11      Romans 8:18-23       Matthew 13:1-23

My mom was the oldest of 18 children. She was the first to marry and I became the first grandchild. When I was about 7 years old, I knew my aunts and uncles as teenagers. In fact, my uncle Roger, the youngest of the 18, was only 1½ years older than me. Every summer I’d go spend 2 weeks at my grandparents and was part of the “Tribe” of my extended family. I remember my grandfather coming home from work in Augusta’s Edward Mill every day around 3:30pm. He would change clothes and always go to work in his garden. With 18 children to support, he always had a 5-acre garden about 2 blocks from his home. The family went to the store mostly for bread, cereal and milk. My grandmother would can hundreds of jars of vegetables in the fall and it would last them until the following harvest.

I could help in the garden only when my grandpa was present. His garden was not just a hobby, but it was survival. I also remember him bartering his vegetables for chickens and pigs from his neighbors.

The gospel reading this Sunday is about a gardener who planted his garden. Jesus seems to speak from personal experience as he compares the Word of God to seeds. A farmer went out to sow his garden seed. Some seeds fell on the path and the birds came and ate them up. Some seeds fell on rocky ground and they sprouted but quickly withered for lack of roots. Some seeds fell on rich soil and produced fruit a hundred, or sixty, or thirty fold. The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” So Jesus took a deep breath and said: “hear the parable of the Sower.” The seeds are the Word of God…Seeds that fall on the path are like the Word of God received by people who don’t “get it.” Seeds that fall on rocky ground are like the Word of God received by people who receive the Word but have no lasting power. Finally, seeds that fall on fertile ground are like the Word of God that is accepted and understood and produces a hundred or sixty or thirty fold fruits.

Jesus’ patience is truly astounding. He cannot be clearer than he’s just been. The Word of God comes from God, but the ground it falls upon is us. We are challenged to be rich soil. And in order to be rich soil, we need to develop our characters and personalities and translate our words into productive actions. The Word of God is growing in us and is meant to grow in others through us.

When we care for others, we share ourselves as well as God’s living word. We are more than healthcare professionals; we are God’s living gardens. The sole purpose for gardens is to feed us and keep us living. Today, it gets to be difficult to tell the difference between curing and healing . . . but both make patients feel better . . . and that’s what hospitals are for.

P.S. St. Francis said: “We need to preach the goodness constantly…and sometimes we can use words!”

Kenn Rancourt
Chaplain

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Feast of Pentecost

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

Sunday, June 12

When my parents traveled to Italy on their honeymoon they took time out to visit my grandfather’s family in Rome. My grandfather was a quiet, patient, kind man of few words. My grandmother was a very passionate, expressive woman who usually dominated the conversation. She was from Calabria, in southern Italy and the Italian spoken in that region is a very different dialect than in Rome. So while my mother spoke and understood Italian, it was from hearing my grandmother’s Calabrian dialect. She had difficulty communicating with her aunt in Rome but kept trying to find different ways to say the words. At one point my father said to her, “Grace, I don’t really know Italian but I know at this point you’re speaking French, not Italian!” Finally her aunt simply said, “We don’t need to talk; just to have you here with me and see your face is enough.”

At the feast of Pentecost (celebrated 50 days after Easter) Jesus’ followers were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the Good News. Amazingly those gathered could understand the apostles even though the crowd spoke many different languages and were from many different cultures. They gathered as one to hear the mighty acts of God.

Paul’s letter in the second reading emphasizes that while the Holy Spirit is sent to confer different gifts, it is into the one Spirit that we are all baptized. And when Jesus breathes on the disciples to give them the Holy Spirit in John’s Gospel, his message is one of peace and forgiveness. How do we welcome people of different cultures and people who bring different gifts? How do we extend peace and forgiveness at home, school, work, or church?

Spiritual writer Henri Nouwen notes that throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, God is revealed more fully. In the Exodus story, the revelation is of God-for-us as the Israelites are led out of slavery into freedom. In the person of Jesus, God is revealed as God-with-us, the God who takes on flesh to stand in solidarity with us. And at Pentecost, God is revealed as God-within-us because, as Nouwen writes in The Fullness of the Divine Life, through the sending of the Holy Spirit, we are “enabled to breathe the divine life ourselves.” That is the grace that makes peace and forgiveness possible.

It’s a wonderful image for the feast of Pentecost and for our healing mission at St. Mary’s. All people gathered as one body. One Spirit to bring peace, forgiveness and healing. And sometimes no words are necessary; just being present is enough.

Elizabeth Keene
VP, Mission Effectiveness

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