<TW>Weekend of 27 and 28 October 2007
- From: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:24:11 -0500
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D :=.
from Father Pat Umberger
___________________________________________________
S E N D Y O U R P R A Y E R I N T E N T I O N S
We'll pray for your Intentions in the Holy Land!
We'll be happy to take your prayer intentions with us on our Holy Land
Pilgrimage from 04-15 November, and pray for you and your intentions at our
daily Masses and at the many Churches and Holy Site's we'll visit. Just
follow the link from www.frpat.com to send your Intention with us!
S U R G E R Y
I had surgery on my eye at Mayo Clinic in Rochester last Wednesday. The
outlook was bleak, but after the surgery my doctor told my family, "Before
surgery the eye was rolling off the edge of the cliff, but now it's about a
foot away." That sounds like more hopeful news. Keep me in your prayers
that it can continue to heal and not resume bleeding!
F A M I L Y A N D F R I E N D S
Encourage them to Subscribe to Morning Prayer!
If you enjoy the NEW Morning Prayer, why not forward a copy to family
members and friends. Many seem to enjoy the new format. Some say that they
like to attend Daily Mass, but cannot always do so. Morning Prayer keeps
them in touch with the daily Scriptures and Saint of the day. Not all
priests preach on all weekdays. Morning Prayer provides a short reflection
and a concrete way to apply Scriptures to our lives. Clergy too, appreciate
the simple ideas found in both Morning Prayer and This Weekend. Family
members and friends can learn more by following the banner link from:
www.frpat.com
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.=: V O L U M E 2 0 0 7 , Number 10-28 :=.
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D ' S S C R I P T U R E S :=.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C.
Weekend of 27 and 28 October 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 :=.
"The LORD is a God of justice, who knows no favorites." Who are the
"favorites" in this world? Who are the ones who are the most likely to seek
and listen to the Lord? How can we build a world of justice?
"The Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan, nor to the widow when she
pours out her complaint." Who, in this world, listens to such cries? How are
we called to be the ones who listen? How can we best do that?
"I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith." How
do these words of Paul describe us? In what ways would we have to do better
in order to honestly speak them.
"The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to
his heavenly kingdom." What are the threats around us? How can the Lord
rescue us?
"Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own
righteousness and despised everyone else." Who are the people we could call
"self-righteous?" Do we ever fit that description ourselves? In what ways?
"The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God,
I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity.'" Who have we heard
speak in this way? Have we done so ourselves?
"But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his
eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a
sinner.'" Who is more likely to draw near to God, the Pharisee or the tax
collector? Why is this so?
"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself
will be exalted." When do we brag? How do we feel when we hear others do
the same? Who are the best friends, the proud or the humble? How can we
cultivate the kind of humility we need? How can our weakness help us in
doing this?
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 :=.
As humans it is tempting for us to arrange things for our own convenience.
We like others to respect us. We like them to admire us as well. Sometimes
we can put on an act in order to get this attention. We can try to
exaggerate in our speech. We can brag about what we have and what we can
do. We can live with a certain smugness, wanting others to see that we're
not subject to the weaknesses of those around us.
Do we like people who do that? It may be true that such people are good
talkers. As long as we want to listen to them speak of themselves and their
accomplishments, we'll be happy to be their friends. In times of trouble
though, they're not likely to be there for us. In their self-satisfaction,
they may notice our difficulty and simply thank God that they don't have
those difficulties themselves. In the long run, it's hard to share true
friendship with people who live in this way.
Most of us are not always competent and right. We do many good things, but
also make mistakes from time to time. If we live in the way God calls us to
live, we don't have to hide or deny our human weakness.
That weakness can help us be much more compassionate toward others.
When a friend or family member fails or gets in trouble, we're the ones who
will be there with them. The self-righteous are more likely to spread the
news to others. It would be rare if they would lift a finger to help.
Jesus didn't have a lot of luck in dealing with the self-righteous. He
didn't have time to listen to their puffed up speech. They weren't likely
to listen to the things he said. Their world didn't revolve around God and
others. They were at center stage and wanted to stay that way.
There were others who had nowhere else to go. The widows and orphans, the
sick and the sinners, God heard their prayers. They were prayers of
humility and honesty. They did their best to care for themselves and those
around them. They certainly didn't judge others. They were just the kind
of folks that would accept God's help. The left the door open for God to
come in. And that's what God did. It wasn't that he didn't care for the
self-righteous. Their doors were simply closed!
In our lives we can be happy with our accomplishments. We can be satisfied
with those accomplishments without inflicting others with endless stories
about how good we are. We can humble ourselves and give God the credit for
those accomplishments. We can have a good notion of our weaknesses as well.
We can keep the door open and seek the healing strength that only God can
provide.
This week we can look at our stance before God and before others. We can
spend some time in thankful prayer for the gifts and talents we have
received from God. We can give God the credit for those accomplishments. We
can try to listen just a little more than we speak. We can "humble
ourselves" rather than "exalting" ourselves. We can see more clearly our
oneness with those around us. We can reach out with compassion and tender
hands to offer God's healing strength. Have a good week!
(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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