V2 - 4/20/08 (A)

Volume II Archive

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Contents: Volume 2: Easter 5A 04-20-2008

1. -- Lanie LeBlanc OP

2. Musings: -- Fr. Michael Kennedy

3. -- Fr. Paul O'Reilly, SJ

4.

5. (Your reflection can be here!)

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1.

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Subject: 5th Sunday of Easter

I love the Gospel stories where Jesus displays a tinge of frustration at the denseness of His apostles. This week's Gospel selection is one of those, one in which Jesus seemingly tires of saying things over and over, in lots of different ways, and still one of the apostles, this time Phillip, seems to miss not only the point, but so very much else. I am a mom of two just barely grown children who remind me that they are legally adults. Their actions and inactions often frustrate me and I am sure, I frustrate them and the Lord in some of my dealings with them. I can relate !

Jesus brings us out of repeated frustration though by the words that He spoke in the earlier part of the passage. He says "Let not your hearts be troubled" and "I am the way and the truth and the life." These are some of the key messages that Jesus spoke to the apostles, over and over, in many different ways, and also to us, over and over, in many different ways. His words are the key messages to cling to when we are frustrated at ourselves or at those we love or at whatever is troubling us about our lives or the world in which we live.

God alone knows the end of the story of life. Our job is to pray and listen before we act as we go through life. Our job is to try to follow the way, the truth, and the life. We need not become too very frustrated along the way when there is a huge roadblock, detour, or even a gaping hole (of our doing or someone else's) and our hearts become heavy. Remaining focused on the way out or around the problem just doesn't do it most of the time: focusing on Jesus Who can help us through it, whichever way, is the only Way to relieve the burden of a heavy heart. Jesus carried the heavy Cross so we did not need to carry the burden of a heavy heart.

In the first letter of St. Peter, he reminds us to "let yourselves be built into a spiritual house". I think there is a modern equivalent, though far less elegant and polished, that can serve as a reminder to us who live in 2008 when we have veered away from the way, the truth, and the life and suddenly have that moment of awareness. In several versions of the same basic TV commercial message, someone hits the side of his or her head with his/her palm (or someone else provides the attention-getting jolt) and says " I could've had a V-8 !" Having a V-8 now or allowing oneself to be built into a spiritual house now seems to be a far better remedy for both guilt or frustration than making the journey harder by carrying a perpetual heavy heart. God provides many opportunities. Our choices are His version of a V-8 or a heavy heart .

Maybe one of my kids, oops, young adult children, can come up with something clever about V- 8 that might help diffuse some left-over tension and add some levity to the problems of life we face as a family orindividually. God must surely laugh at us lovingly for the times we miss the point or so much else about His Message and remain heavy -hearted instead of becoming joyful at His abundant surprises.

Blessings,

Dr. Lanie LeBlanc OP

Dominican Laity

lanieleblanc@mindspring..com

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2.

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MUSINGS AND OTHER ARTICLES AVAILABLE ON WEB SITE LINK LISTED AT BOTTOM Musings from Michael©

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JPS-The GPS Replacement

(5th Sunday of Easter)

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It has been

Said many times that

Thomas is a God-send for

He always seems to ask the

Questions we might have or to

Have the doubts that live in us

And his comment that the disciples

Do not know where Jesus is going

So they could not know the way

Prompts the Master to point

Out that Jesus Himself is

Not only the way but

Also the truth

And the life

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And then Philip

Joins the God-send list

As he tells the Master to show

Them the Father He had been

Talking about and like with Thomas

Jesus answers the question with a

Question that seems to be wrapped

In an attitude as He reminds the

Disciples that the answers were

Right in front of them all the

Time as He hints at what

Another generation down

The line will richly name

Sacramental Presence

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But that first group

Of disciples just needed to

Understand that everything was

Centered on Jesus so the trip to

The Kingdom is not done with

A Global Positioning System

But rather with a Jesus

Positioning System for

Now it is JPS the GPS

Replacement

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MJK

©Michael J. Kennedy 2008

https://home.comcast.net/~michaeljkennedy/

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3.

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Year A: 5th Sunday in Easter

"There are many rooms in my father 's house. " [John 14.2]

A long time ago, when I was young and foolish, I decided that I wanted to be a Jesuit. And so with a number of other similarly foolish young men, I went on a retreat for seven days to pray and reflect about whether or not the Lord was actually calling me to be a Jesuit. And - we went - about 15 of us in fact, come to think of it, there were exactly 15 of us - to a house near the sea where we were to stay for the retreat. And the trouble started just as soon as we got there. We found that for the 15 of us, there were just 8 narrow single beds.

So the first 8 people to arrive had got all the beds. Then the other seven complained that this was unfair and they thought we should draw lots so that everyone would have a chance. So some of us agreed to this. But then some people decided that they had serious back problems and they definitely had to have a bed. But then nearly everybody suddenly seemed to have a back problem. And at this stage, you could just see tempers beginning to rise. So we thought: "OK, just hold for a moment, before this all gets seriously out of hand, let's just go and ask the Novice-Master in charge of the retreat what we should do."

So we went. And he listened to us very carefully until everyone had spoken who had something to say. And then he said: "But there's plenty of room for everyone - I made sure of that. Have you checked the other side of the house? There was a long puzzled silence. And so he led us through a door and showed us that there were two sides to the house - eight beds in one and 8 beds in the other, making a total of 16 in all. And at that moment, we all looked at ourselves for a moment and felt about one inch tall. Here we were coming to follow Jesus poor, humble and giving away everything of himself including his life. And we had failed the first basic test. None of us who were there remember anything else that happened in the whole week but we all remember that!

Most times when people fight whether as individuals, groups or naations - they do so because they believe that their only chance to get what they need is to grab it quick to prevent the other lot from getting it first. Sometimes - in fact I think quite often - we are so quick to want to fight to get what we think is our fair share that we forget even to count up how much there is to share. As a holy man once said - our world provides enough for everyone's need, but not for every one's greed.

There are many rooms in our father's house. So the next time - before we fight over money, or politics, or religion, or whatever - let's just check both sides of the house, because you never know, there just might be room for everybody.

Let us stand and profess our Faith in the God of Peace.

Fr. Paul O'Reilly, SJ <fatbaldnproud@yahoo.co.uk>

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Volume 2 is for you. Your thoughts, reflections, and insights on the next Sundays readings can influence the preaching you hear. Send them to jboll@preacherexchange.org.  Deadline is Wednesday Noon. Include your Name, and Email Address.

-- Fr. John

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