God's Mercy

10-30-2022Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

It is difficult for us to comprehend God's mercy. We are constrained by own experience of and often-limited willingness to be patient and forgiving. God loves all of creation and desires that we fulfill our call, glorifying our Lord in all we do. Yet we often fall short of this great purpose. We get lost in the pursuit of worldly things and lose sight of what really matters. Then, when we realize our failings, we falter, uncertain that we can really be forgiven. Today's readings invite us to deepen our trust in God’s great kindness with the assurance that, as Jesus did with Zacchaeus, God waits with open arms when we turn away from our sinfulness. Let us grow in belief in Christ who came to seek and to save what was lost.

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God's Vision

10-23-2022Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

In these waning weeks of the liturgical year, our readings present us with God's vision for the world, in which the prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds and the humble are exalted in God's sight. It is not always easy to follow Jesus, to stand for justice, share love, and bring peace when there is so much division, poverty, loneliness, and pain in our homes, workplaces, cities, and world. We do not stand alone, however. We who are disciples and servants are assured that the Lord will hear our petitions, stand by us, and give us strength as we strive to bear witness to the good news of salvation.

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Sustaining Hope

10-16-2022Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

We all get weary sometimes. So often we face frustration, discouragement, and temptation to despair over what we can’t change in our lives, or in the world. Today's readings give us resources to persist in sustaining hope and trusting in God. The reading from Exodus shows us that when our arms get weary, we are not alone, that God provides us companions to sustain us. The letter to Timothy reminds us that we are rooted in scripture, the story of God’s past actions and promises for the future. The Gospel passage from Luke gives us the image of a persistent widow, who has a passion in her heart to sustain her relentless efforts to secure justice. This passion, this faith and hope, are God's gifts. But they require ongoing practices of prayer to stay alive and growing. Let us encourage each other in prayer when our arms get weary.

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Responding to our Blessings

10-09-2022Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

This Sunday's readings explore how we see and respond to blessing in our lives. We hear two stories of healing and of thanksgiving, of a powerful military leader Naaman, and of a powerless Samaritan leper. Both are examples of humility and gratitude that mark the presence of faith in God. We observe that both Naaman and the leper had their horizons expanded by their healing. Once healed, they did not simply attribute this to a stroke of luck, and then go on with their lives.

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Patience

10-02-2022Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

We live in a society of instant gratification. We download and stream and binge-watch at our convenience; we use drive-throughs or have our food and groceries delivered. Wonderful things are indeed coming, but we must learn patience and humility! The Lord encourages Habakkuk to quit being impatient and wait for the vision to mature. Anyone who has started a fire knows how patient you must be to, as Paul admonishes, “Stir into flame the gift of God you have,” and to guard it well. Even in their good zeal, Jesus slows down the apostles. He equates faith to a mustard seed and tells them to settle down. As it takes that little seed many years to become a great tree, the Apostles and disciples must spend their time in service and grow in learning and love, and faith will come with it.

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