<TW>Weekend of 09 and 10 August 2008
- From: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2008 12:51:52 -0500
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D :=.
from Father Pat Umberger
__________________________________________________
P I L G R I M A G E 2 0 0 8
Southern Italy, Assisi, Rome and the Vatican
10-22 November 2008
Now departing from 3 Cities: La Crosse, WI, Chicago (ORD) and New York
(JFK)
*** At least 18 of the 26 seats we're holding from La Crosse have already
been taken. More are leaving from other airports.
Use the on-line brochure now at www.frpat.com
__________________________________________________
.=: V O L U M E 2 0 0 8 , Number 08-10 :=.
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D ' S S C R I P T U R E S :=.
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A.
Weekend of 09 and 10 August 2008
"The Lord said to Elijah, "Go outside and stand on the mountain before the
Lord; the Lord will be passing by." How would we imagine the Lord would
look? How would we know the Lord was passing by.
"After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the
cave." The Lord wasn't in the wind, the earthquake or the fire. How can God
come to us in "tiny whispering" ways?
"Lord, let us see your kindness and grant us your salvation." How can we
experience the kindness of the Lord?
"I speak the truth in Christ: I do not lie. My conscience bears me witness
in the Holy Spirit that there is great grief and constant pain in my heart.
Indeed, I could even wish to be separated from Christ for the sake of my
brothers, my kinsmen the Israelites."" Where does this great love for
others come from? Is it in us?
Jesus hastened to reassure them: "Get hold of yourselves! It is I. Do not
be afraid.!" How can Jesus come to us in that way in the storms of our
lives? Can we remember these words of Jesus in times like that, rather than
getting anxious and panicky?
"How little faith you have! Why did you falter?" When have we tried to do
something remarkable because of our faith, then quickly abandoned that
pursuit out of fear?
How are these readings challenging? Comforting?
.=: S P I R I T U A L R E F L E C T I O N :=.
"The Lord said to Elijah, "Go outside and stand on the mountain before the
Lord; the Lord will be passing by." Elijah had looked for the Lord in an
earthquake, a great fire and a great wind. The Lord wasn't there. Elijah
was overwhelmed when he saw the Lord in a tiny whispering sound. He put his
cloak over his face and went and stood at the entrance to the cave.
Sometimes we can make ourselves to busy to see the Lord. The Lord would
truly have to shout in order to get through to us. Here's a story:
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street,
going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out
from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.
As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the
Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot
where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the
car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car
shouting, "What was that all about? Who are you? Just what the heck are you
doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of
money. Why did you do it?"
The young boy was apologetic. "Please, Mister ... please, I'm sorry ... I
didn't know what else to do," he pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one
else would stop ..." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the
youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.
"It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his
wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned
executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's
hurt and he's too heavy for me." Moved beyond words, the driver tried to
swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the
handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy
handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him
everything was going to be OK.
"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his
wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was along,
slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver
never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to
remind him of this message:
We don't have to go through life so fast that people have to throw a brick
in order to get our attention! God whispers in our souls and speaks to our
hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a
brick at us. We can either listen to the whisper ... or wait for the brick!
"Do not be afraid." In today's Gospel reading we see two examples of fear.
As a storm blows up on the sea, he boat is in danger of sinking. Jesus
appears to the terrified disciples, walking across the sea. In a calm voice
he says, "It is I, do not be afraid." Later, Peter begins to walk on the
water. He does fine until he feels the wind. Becoming frightened, he
falters and begins to sink." We can do just fine in our daily lives,
believing in the presence of God and doing all kinds of good things. When
the going gets tough though, we can easily falter as well. We can forget
everything we know, and just panic! We need to remember the help God has to
offer us. Fear is nothing but the absence of faith. When we are faced with
unexpected events, when our dreams don't seem to be turning out, when others
don't behave the way we'd like them to, when we fail, when illness and
tragedy enter our lives, when loved ones die, we need to take the time to
remember where our help comes from.
The secret of course, is maintaining a close relationship with God. We need
to pray often, with and for those we love. We need to know God is most
important in our lives. When help doesn't seem to come, when God seems far
away, it is most often because we aren't looking. When we try to handle
life situations on our own things don't turn out as well as if we let God
help, and try to do things God's way! Let this be the week for us to
establish closer ties with God, and offer our fears. We can spend some time
listening for that "tiny, whispering sound." Have a good week!
(c)MMVIII Fr. Pat Umberger. This Spiritual Reflection is found each week
at the Web Site www.frpat.com. Feel free to link to this page or reproduce
them for parish use as long as this credit remains.
__________________________________________________
<TW>This Weekend is free, and comes from:
Father Pat Umberger, a priest of the Diocese of La Crosse
in Wisconsin U.S.A.
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