<TW>Weekend of 20 and 21 January 2006
- From: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2007 16:53:29 -0600
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D :=.
from Father Pat Umberger
___________________________________________________
.=: V O L U M E 2 0 0 7 , Number 01-21 :=.
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D ' S S C R I P T U R E S :=.
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C.
Weekend of 20 and 21 January 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 :=.
"Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate, he
read out of the book from daybreak till midday, in the presence of the men,
the women, and those children old enough to understand; and all the people
listened attentively to the book of the law." Would we have this kind of
interest and patience in listening to the word of God? Why not? What could
increase our interest and craving to hear more of God's Word?
"Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep"-- for
all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. What kind
of emotions does the Word of God elicit in us? What could help us take
God's Word to heart?
"Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life." How are God's words spirit and
life? "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or
Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one
Spirit." How are we all part of the body of Christ? Who are the ones we
tend to exclude from belonging to us? How can we be more open to those we
exclude, or even those we don't notice?
"Jesus unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad
tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to
proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord." How are we called to bring glad
tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, etc.? Who are the
captives, blind and oppressed among us?
"He said to them, 'Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your
hearing.'" What does it mean ... that the Scripture passage is fulfilled in
our hearing? What power does the Word of God have?
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 :=.
All day long we hear words. The radio turns itself on in the morning. We
hear the news and weather, and perhaps some humor to get our day started. We
might listen to family members as they get up. As the day goes on, we may
hear some discouraging words. We might participate in a little gossip. At
times unworthy words might come out of our mouths. We might also speak and
hear words of love. Words have power!
When we listen to the same kinds of words over and over, they become normal
and acceptable to us. When we hear others use profanity, those words can
become part of our own language. Gossip and judgment too, can become second
nature to us. It can be good for us to stop from time to time and consider
the words we hear, and the words we speak as well.
Some of us continue to suffer low self-esteem because of the names we have
been called by others. Sometimes criticism from our parents and words
spoken in haste and impatience make a long-lasting mark on us. Our words
can have the same kind of power over others. If we are children and have
little brothers and sisters we can wonder what they'd believe about
themselves if they took to heart everything we told them about themselves.
God's word has great power as well. We need to measure our own words
against God's Word from time to time. This weekend's readings talk about
the power of God's Word. In the first reading we hear of people listening
to the law being read from dawn until mid-morning. They seem to have been
transfixed by God's Word. We hear too, that God's words are spirit and
life. They are always life-giving. When we listen to God's words and try
to live them, we participate in God's effort to give life!
In our second reading we hear that we are all members of one body. Our
bodies need eyes and ears, feet and hands, brains and voices to function
well. The body of Christ is complete only when we encourage everybody to
belong, and when we participate as well. When our words judge or condemn,
when they exclude, then we are tearing down rather than building up the body
of Christ. We can make a special effort to look at the effect of our words
in that area.
In our Gospel, Jesus gets up in the Synagogue to do the reading. He says,
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad
tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to
proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord." Those words are fulfilled in our
hearing when we strive to do the same.
This week we can take a look at the words we listen to, and the words we
speak. We can become humble enough to apologize to those who hear judgment,
condemnation or profanity come out of our mouths. We can humble ourselves
too, to approach our children and those we've hurt by name-calling and try
to heal the damage we've done. Words can build up or tear down. May we use
this week to undo the damage we've done. May our words be those of spirit
and life. May they lead us and others ever closer to God. 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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