<TW>Weekend of 14 and 15 July 2007
- From: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2007 19:59:56 -0500
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D :=.
from Father Pat Umberger
___________________________________________________
J O I N M E
A great Pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
04-15 November 2007
Early Sign-Up Deadline ends on 27 July.
Sign up now and save $100!
$2599 from Minneapolis or $2499 from JFK in New York!
Our trips are very single-friendly as well. Pentecost Tours will make an
effort to pair single travelers looking for roommates.
We'll renew our Baptismal Promises at the Jordan River, where Jesus was
Baptized by John. We'll renew our marriage vows and pray for any deceased
husbands and wives at Cana in Galilee where Jesus attended a wedding with
his Mother and turned water into wine. We'll take a boat ride on the Sea of
Galilee. We'll even have a chance to visit Masada and to swim in the Dead
Sea. We'll visit the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem too, and see the Dead Sea
Scrolls. You'll never read Scripture in the same way after this wonderful
Pilgrimage!
In this weekend's Scriptures we hear a great deal about John the Baptist.
He is the one who Baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. We'll visit that holy
River and so many other holy sites. We'll renew our own Baptism Vows in the
same river where John baptized Jesus himself!
Now is a great time to sign up! The brochure and full information, including
hotel links, is on-line.
Follow the link from: www.frpat.com
If you think you may be joining us, let me know as soon as you can so I can
keep track of the group!
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.=: V O L U M E 2 0 0 7 , Number 07-15 :=.
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D ' S S C R I P T U R E S :=.
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C.
Weekend of 14 and 15 July 2007
Follow this link for this weekend's Scriptures:
www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
.=: R E F L E C T I O N Q U E S T I O N S :=.
"No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your
hearts; you have only to carry it out." How are God's commands this close
to us? Why is it so hard to love God above all things?
"Turn to the Lord in your need and you shall live." When is it the easiest
to respond to the refrain from this weekend's Psalm? Why do we find it more
difficult to turn to the Lord when things are going fine in our lives?
"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your
being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as
yourself." How would our lives change if we consistently did this? How
would the world around us change if everybody did?
"And who is my neighbor?" Who are the people we find it difficult to see as
our neighbor? Is it acceptable to dismiss them and their needs as being
different from ourselves? How would God have us treat everybody around us?
Jesus said, "Go and do likewise." When we leave Church how are we called to
treat those around us? How can we be more aware of the needs of others and
our responsibility to pitch in and help out this week?
How are these readings challenging? Comforting?
(c)MMVII Fr. Pat Umberger. These Reflection Questions are 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.
.=: S P I R I T U A L R E F L E C T I O N :=.
"Won't you be my neighbor?" Many of us are very familiar with this phrase as
it is sung at the beginning of "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" on TV. He has
certainly been a favorite of more than one generation of children. We can be
struck by his gentleness and simplicity, by his plain way of stating complex
truths and by his respect for those who come into his neighborhood. When Mr.
Rogers is on our kids often feel peaceful, safe and secure.
Is it possible for things to be as wonderful in the world around us as they
seem in Mr. Roger's neighborhood? We can look at this weekend's scriptures
and try to find out!
In our first reading we hear Moses' call to the people to heed the voice of
the Lord and to follow his commandments and statutes. He reminds the people
that these are not complicated matters. They are not something arcane or far
away. They are very near, in the mouths and hearts of the people. The simply
need to carry it out.
In our Gospel we hear the story of the Good Samaritan. We are struck by how
the foreigner, the person from Samaria, is the one who truly helps the man
who is in need. That Samaritan understood better than the "religious"
people around him what it meant to follow God. His neighbor, even if he
seemed more like a stranger or even an enemy, was in need. He saw it is his
part to step in and help.
God's law is close to us as well. We know that we are to love God above all
things. That can seem quite easy to do. We can have a vague attitude of
gratefulness to God for all the things we have received. We can turn to God
in our times of need, as we're asked to do in our Psalm this weekend. We can
"behave" ourselves well in Church and truly appear to be someone who loves
God. The test though, comes when we go home again.
The Good Samaritan story helps us realize that everybody is our neighbor.
We're called to treat all people with courtesy, gentleness and respect. The
color of a person's skin, their age, social status or intelligence make no
difference. They are part of our own family. We're called to extend a
helping hand. As we hear in the Gospel, "You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with
all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Our love for God must be
lived out in the love we have for our neighbor.
Imagine how our lives would change if we consistently lived that way. We'd
have very few problems in the world we live in. We could probably reduce or
eliminate the military, the police force and the court system. We wouldn't
need burglar alarms or security systems. We would be living together as the
sisters and brothers God calls us to be.
We might feel a little overwhelmed by God's command to love our neighbor as
ourselves. We might even wonder what impact it would have on the world if we
tried to do things God's way. Mother Theresa was once asked why she
continued to serve the needs of the poorest of the poor in India. They
reminded her that the work of one person couldn't make a difference when so
many are suffering and helpless. Mother Theresa simply stated, "It makes a
difference to this one."
So we do our best to love God through our love for others. This week we can
take another look at who our neighbors are. We can also ask ourselves about
those we don't see as our neighbors at all. Like the young man in this
weekend's Gospel, our awareness can be expanded. He had to admit that the
one who treated a stranger was neighbor to the robbers victim. The words
spoken to the young man are spoken to us as well. "Go and do likewise."
(c)MMVII 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.
Web Site: www.frpat.com
Evangelization (reaching out): www.cmonback.com
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