Sunday Scripture: Reflection for April 21, 2024Scripture Reflection: April 21, 2024 - Fourth Sunday of Easter John 10:11-18 “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me.” In Jesus’ time, sheep were kept together overnight in a communal paddock so one shepherd could keep all of them safe. Then, in the morning, all the shepherds would come to the gate and call their sheep to follow them. So, while shepherds had to recognize their sheep, it was also important that the sheep know the voice of their master. Today’s Gospel reading reminded me of a time when my husband and I had been married about 10 years. We were helping lead a retreat for engaged couples when the most amazing thing happened. We heard the voice of God. Let me explain. For quite a while, we’d been struggling with how to see our way through a difficult situation. Repeatedly, we’d pray for direction, but it seemed like all God was giving us was a whole lot of nothing. So, there we were at the retreat center sitting on our favorite wooden bench. We’d each spent some time praying separately and had returned to sit side-by-side. And that’s when it happened. One of us asked, “What if we give up trying to control the outcome and trust that God will provide for whatever we need?” That’s all it took. We’d been trying to control every possibility to ensure we’d get our way and that “nothing” we thought we were getting was actually a whispered, “No,” from the Good Shepherd. There, on our favorite bench, we understood that the answer to our prayer might not be what we’d pictured and it would still be okay—maybe even an outrageous blessing—because we knew the voice of the Good Shepherd when we heard it. And we listened. Heidi Clark Wildflowers Community League City, Texas
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Sunday Scripture - Reflection for April 14, 2024Scripture Reflection: April 14, 2024 – the 3rd Sunday of Easter Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 1 Jn 2:1-5a Lk 24:35-48 Generally, two of the Sunday readings share a similar theme. In today’s reading all three mention the word repent. And why not? Jesus just died for of our sins and we are called to repentance. The Catholic Church offers us the opportunity to receive the grace of God’s mercy in the sacrament of Reconciliation. However, a recent survey by RealClear Opinion Research showed that 37% of Catholics went to confession less than once per year, and 35% said they never do. Some believers, of all religions, will say that Jesus died to forgive our sins so we don’t need to confess our sins to a Priest. But why wouldn’t you want to? If you knew that you could talk to someone who is there “In Persona Christi” in the person of Christ, and he would never tell anyone else, not judge you, not laud it over you, forgive you unconditionally, and continue to love you as much as he always has, who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that special relationship? “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.” Acts 3:19 Martha Durio Ebbtide Community Sugar Land, TX Sunday Scripture - Reflection for April 7, 2024Scripture Reflection: April 7, 2024 – Divine Mercy Sunday Jn 20:19-31 Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!!!! Today is one of my favorite days of the year. It marks the end of the Divine Mercy Novena. This novena gave me peace last year as I watched the passing of three people whom I loved. Watching someone pass can be traumatic. As Thomas was human, he could not fathom Jesus being able to overcome his crucifixion. How many of us can be unbelievers like Thomas? We have to see for ourselves before we believe. But just like the wind, we cannot see it but we can feel it. I have been intrigued with Divine Mercy ever since my mom introduced it to me. I was with my mom and sisters when I told all of them together about my diagnosis. My mom stopped and said let’s pray. She said the Divine Mercy prayer. I can remember her saying “in difficult moments we might not despair – nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will which is love and mercy itself”. This left me speechless. Our crosses in life can bring us to our knees. It brings us closer to Christ who sacrificed it all for us. And we should “Give thanks to the Lord for his is good, his love is everlasting. I was hard pressed and was falling, but the Lord helped me. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior.” – Psalm 118 If I listen closely, I will use your words If I listen closely, I will use your thoughts If I listen closely, I will use your actions Lord, give me the words, thoughts and actions that I may help others see You, hear You, and love You with all of our hearts. Jane Dupuis Labbie Roses of Grace, Community in formation Breaux Bridge, LA Sunday Scripture - Reflection for March 31, 2024Scripture Reflection: March 31, 2024 - Easter Sunday John 20:1-9 He has risen! Yes, Christ is risen! He has risen indeed, Alleluia!! Come, let us all celebrate Jesus' resurrection in 2024 in a very special way. This is the day the Lord has made, so we will rejoice and be glad in it. Can we all visualize what went on in Mary of Magdala's mind about the events leading to what we celebrate today? Yes, with mournful hopes, she rushed to the tomb and saw the stone removed. I can only imagine how terrified she was, and I know we all would be, too, if we had been in her shoes. She went to inform the men, Simon Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved. "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him" (v 20:2). The men rushed to the tomb and saw everything as Mary of Magdala had said. Jesus' burial site was empty, with the burial cloths separated from those that covered His head, which was rolled up at a different place within the tomb. From my search, folding the cloth was a cultural sign that the user intended to return. It was especially used at meals to indicate to the servants that the dinner was not finished. Hence, Jesus was indicating that He would come again. What a miracle! A wonder never to be repeated because our risen Lord Jesus Christ lives and reigns forever! May love and mercy always rule and defeat everything in our world. Today, we are a new creation because death has been defeated; Freedom is here! So let us all embrace it to God's glory, Alleluia! Christ in His humility and self-emptying has given us a new dispensation and we need to be humble to benefit from the wonder of His resurrection. May our resurrected Lord transform us to be always merciful, humble and loving to enable us rise with Him on the last day. Just as the other disciple believed, let us all strive to also believe in our risen Lord! AMEN. Esi Ametoxe Banful Little Petals, KNUST, Kumasi Sunday Scripture - Reflection for March 24, 2024Scripture Reflection: March 24, 2024 - Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion Mark 14:1-15:47 We have heard this reading of the Passion and death and burial of Christ so many times. We tend to miss the impact of every word. My theology professor helped us understand this gospel writer. When St. Mark wrote the first gospel he gives us the essentials. There is no time to lose in telling the story of Jesus. He paints a picture of Jesus as a Man on a Mission. Literally. Jesus is Rambo-like because He is a man of few words, moving quickly from scene to scene with clarity, purpose, passion. No disrespect. I am just helping us follow through a lot of different events that are packed in these verses. We can easily miss the importance of the message. Jesus was a Man on a Mission. From before time began the Son knew that his purpose was to reach into our humanity at the right time and save us. In this gospel it is the final time he had on earth. He knew exactly what mattered and what did not. He moved with passion, purpose, clear focus, firm resolve, and no turning back. He shared his last meal with his apostles and gave them himself in the Eucharist. He suffered died and was buried. There is that awful final verse of the tomb and then the waiting for Easter. We finish up Lent and we need to be on mission, too. We must have that same type of determination. This Lent was an opportunity to look at what matters most to us. Did we get some clarity? We have met Christ in the Mass, received Him in the Eucharist, spent time with Him in prayer. He longs to have us continue reaching out, witnessing His life and Love. Let’s not zone out when we hear these words this Sunday. We continue His Mission. Wake up! Listen up! Let’s roll up our sleeves. We are on a Mission! Jet Booth Luminaries, Lake Jackson, Texas Sunday Scripture - Reflection for March 17, 2024Scripture Reflection: March 17, 2024 -- 5th Sunday of Lent John 12: 20-23 As I began to reflect on this Gospel passage, I struggled to understand its meaning, which is necessary for reflection. After some additional reading, I came to learn what Jesus meant by “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” The significance lies in “who” is asking to see him. It is the Gentiles. Jesus has learned that those He has preached to have indeed spread his word and that these Gentiles, non-Jews, have listened and now wish to come to know Him. Additionally, Jesus himself realizes that this event signals it is time for him to die so that others may gain life. He says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” This analogy I readily understood: By returning the wheat seed to the ground, it will multiply. It will allow others to live. Jesus is explaining that he must die to allow us to live and flourish by putting our trust in Him. We are called to be renewed and to flourish in our faith as we follow these Gospel truths. Carol Landry Journey Theresians Austin, TX Sunday Scripture - Reflection for March 10, 2024Scripture Reflection: March 10, 2024 - 4th Sunday of Lent 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23 Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 Eph 2: 4-10 Jn 3:14-21 Reading 1 History lesson – our sins continued mounting – we disgraced the temple. God was patient and warned us, and we disrespected the warnings. We ignored the warnings and our enemies destroyed the temple and took us captive until Persia came into power was charged to build God a house in Jerusalem and gave us back our freedom to be with our God. Responsorial Psalm Reflection on the history lesson when we were captive in a foreign land. We must not forget this lesson. Jerusalem is ahead of my joy. Reading 2 God gives us unending mercy and love despite our sins and transgressions. He has saved us through our faith. Let us gracefully accept our gift from God, the promise of Heaven. Gospel What a joy to read! Probably the first verse I learned as a child – God so loved the world… He gave us His Son, not to condemn us, but to bring us light and eternal life despite our sins and transgressions. This is our promise and our faith we must not ever lose. Remember the glorious Love we constantly receive for our Lord. Millie Foster Still Waters Community Fort Bend, Sugar Land, Texas Sunday Scripture - Reflection for March 3, 2024Scripture Reflection: March 3, 2024 - 3rd Sunday of Lent Ex 17:3-7 Jn 4:5-42 Our human bodies are comprised of sixty percent water. Doctors recommend that we drink six to eight glasses of water each day. It is no surprise that Scripture places such an emphasis on the necessity of water in both the first reading and in the gospel this Sunday. Stories of the Israelites complaining to Moses that they would die of thirst, and Jesus offering the Samaritan woman Living Water, reminded me of a recent sweet occurrence. Carson is the newest member of our family. His new parents sent out a video of one of his first baths. Carson was a bit fretful as his mom ever so gently lowered his head under warm tap water. An amazing thing happened next. As the warm liquid washed over his precious head, his body relaxed, and he smiled. There was complete trust and no fear. This ritual was a foreshadowing of his Baptism, where the Living Water of the Holy Spirit will initiate Carson into God’s family, where we find trust and no fear. Yes, water is crucial to life. The Israelites, the Samaritan woman, and Carson teach us that we cannot enter Eternity without Our Lord’s Living Water. Toni Hare Agape Garden Lafayette, LA Sunday Scripture - Reflection for February 25, 2024Scripture Reflection: February 25, 2024 - Second Sunday of Lent Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am!" he replied. "Here I am," Abraham answered to God's call. A test that he passed with flying colors. He trusted in the Lord and was willing to give his only son as a holocaust, and the Lord blessed him abundantly. As we go about our daily lives, we may not be sure if it is God's call that we are hearing. We usually don't know what is happening when important things happen in our lives. My awareness didn't come suddenly like it did for St Paul. It was a slow process of praying and being open to the Spirit before I realized that God was with me. Sometimes, I don't understand why things happen the way they do, but I trust that God is leading me the way I should go. Handing everything over to God does not mean that I stop trying. Trusting Him is trying to do all He says. I pray that I will continue to trust and have faith as Abraham did when my turn comes to obey his command. I hear his whispering in the silence of the Chapel, and I'm keeping my heart and ears open to His calling. Let us pray, "May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to his call" (Ephesians 1:18). Margarita Prinz Day Luminaries Community, Lake Jackson, TX Sunday Scripture - Reflection for February 18, 2024Scripture Reflection: February 18, 2024 – First Sunday of Lent Gn 9:8-15 1 Pt 3:18-22 Mk 1:12-15 God’s love story with His creation is long-lasting. For the love of us: He repeatedly guided us, protected us, and corrected us. He made covenants and expected obedience. He sent His Beloved and only Son to redeem us, to give us life, and to show us the way. He wants us close, so Jesus Christ teaches us to get to His kingdom of glory and peace. God tells us through Jesus: “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.” Eternal gratitude to our God and Lord. Thank you for always taking your beloved creation by hand! Thank you for keeping the covenants with Noah and Abraham! Thank you for Your unlimited mercy and love! Thank you for not hiding Your face from those who love you! Thank you always, The Holy, I am! My heart is full of joy and gratitude. Consuelo de Souza Silva East Valley and North Mountain Communities, Phoenix, Arizona |
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