From My Point of Pew

Readings for the 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, March 3, 2014.

Today the priest talked at length about how much we worry. He offered lots of personal stories today about how much his mom worries, about how his stress level has recently gotten so high as to cause chest pains even though his heart and body are in perfect health. He warned us to listen to this Gospel and take it to heart.

What I’ve been thinking about lately is how unknown heaven is. I worry so much. It’s such a part of my day. I work really hard not to get bogged down with worry but my mind is constantly turning something over and over trying to figure it out. It is hard to quiet this in my head. Do saints worry in heaven? Do they watch us and worry about the choices we are making? In heaven, what is my mind going to mull over if not worry? These questions kinda scare the bejeezus out of me. Which maybe is indicative how part of me worry is. I should probably work on that. Is worry the same as concern? Can we change anything without worry? Isn’t worry the first step to change? Or the precedent to action? The first step to making a difference? Is the opposite of worry, apathy? I’m sure God doesn’t want us to be apathetic but rather detached.  Perhaps worry means that we pull whatever that worry is too close to us. Close enough to block God. I guess this is God giving me a hint about what to work on during Lent.

What did you hear today? Join in the conversation and leave your point of pew in the comment section.

***************************************
What is “From My Point of Pew”? Read here.

Readings from the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 23, 2014.

I have been so absent from blogging. Our middle kiddo turned 3 at the beginning of the month and we still haven’t fully recovered. Mostly because I love parties and stop everything else in order to work on them. At the party I got several, “How you you find time for this?” I shrugged and said it’s my thing, I love doing it. But the truth is that I put off laundry and cleaning (except for the part people can see) and just about everything else to work on party decorations. I just really love doing it. But then we pay the price afterward. Long story short. We’re just about caught up but now a bunch of other projects we work on are starting to really pick up steam so blogging, while it is my escape and I love it, is the easiest to fall to the wayside. I’ll be back soon, I hope.

This Sunday, I honestly can’t remember a thing from the homily. I could blame it on the kiddos but they were uncharacteristically quiet and good. I could blame it on the priest but I know that…

“…in your wonderful, secret way, my God, you had already taught me that a statement is not necessarily true because it is wrapped in fine language or false because it is awkwardly expressed.” -Augustine

In reading back over the readings, whenever I hear “love your neighbor” I think of my good friend, L. She taught for many years and at the front of her classroom she had those words artfully cut out of construction paper that covered the length of the whole white board. I wish that could follow me around everywhere. It should be scrawled on walls and on chairs and tables. Especially where there are students. But also around our house. Maybe I’d remember to do it more often. I know the Gospel is deeper than that. I know the point is to love even our enemies. But sometimes it is more of a struggle for me to love those in my house then those out in the world.

Readings for February 16, 2014, the Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Vanessa’s Note: Today, we’re featuring a guest Point of Pew by my husband, Brandon.

Last night, we attended the Saturday evening Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral since today we ran a half-marathon during our normal Mass time. Deacon Ron Walker gave the homily, which I heard most of it :-). I took Teresa into the narthex at the beginning of the homily, mainly as a preventive measure since, if I was celebrating or preaching at a Mass, I’d probably be more thrown off by a kid erupting during the homily than during any other point during the service.

Deacon Ron’s point that stuck with me is one that I hadn’t heard described quite this way before.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus first expands the law. Previously, while adultery was outlawed before, Jesus tells that even just looking at someone lustfully is already adultery in our heart. He tells us that while killing was outlawed by the old law, the act of being angry with our brother makes us liable to judgement.

With that as a preface, Jesus tells us that if our eye causes us to sin, we should pluck it out. If our right hand causes us to sin, we should cut it off.

Deacon Ron pointed out that generally, that order from Jesus is read figuratively, but perhaps it could be read more literally.

Taking both of these aspects from the Gospel today, if we look at them together, Jesus is commanding us to not only see the end result as what we should avoid (adultery or killing another, in this case), but what is leading us toward those actions. Adultery beings with lust. Murder begins with anger. If we remove lust and anger from our lives, we fulfill the law above and beyond simply following it.

Should we cut off our arms and pluck out our eyes? No, because our eyes and arms don’t cause us to sin—we control our bodies and we cause ourselves to sin—but we should cast off what provides the temptation or near occasions of sin.

For me, this reminded me that when finding areas of my life that I’m falling short—through actual sins or simply failing to do the right thing— that I should not only strive to do that particular thing, but should look at the bigger picture. I should find the logical beginning and change that.

What did you hear today? Join in the conversation and leave your point of pew in the comment section.

***************************************
What is “From My Point of Pew”? Read here.

Readings from Sunday, February 9, 2014, the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Fr. Mike had a great homily today. When he was little there was a kid in his neighborhood whose dad worked at the ice cream factory. The boy’s dad would bring home a new ice cream everyday. He was so jealous. But then one day the little boy invited him over to play at his house. The little boy’s dad showed him the freezer and told him that he could eat any ice cream and as much as he wanted. Fr. Mike said he dug in and ate four or five different kinds of ice cream: Drumsticks, etc. He was in heaven. He couldn’t think of anything he wanted more. Then his stomach started to feel funny. You can imagine the rest. He was so sick. In the middle of being sick Fr. Mike said he learned the lesson that sometimes what we think is going to make us happy ends up doing the opposite. Much later in his life, Fr. Mike was visiting his brother’s widow. It had just snowed so he went outside and shoveled her driveway and the sidewalk in front of her house. He thought about it and realized there were several other widows that lived on that street and he went and shoveled the snow off their driveways, too. When he was done, he said he felt like he was on top of the world. He gave thanks God for sending us His wisdom. God’s wisdom is always good and right. Sometimes we want to think what we’re doing is the good and right thing and will make us happy but if it doesn’t come from God than it won’t. As it said in the Gospel, we must allow God’s light and wisdom to work through us. We can’t hide from it or push it away but instead embrace it and glorify it in our lives.

What did you hear today? Join in the conversation and leave your point of pew in the comment section.

***************************************
What is “From My Point of Pew”? Read here.

Readings for Sunday, February 2nd.

As I read through the psalm, this is the first thing I thought…

Today the Holy Cross Vocations Director presided over Mass so his homily had more to do with vocations than with the Presentation of the Lord. But he did emphasize that it is important to discern our true vocation. When he entered the seminary, he thought that if he wanted to be holy, the seminary was the fast track there. But as he was working on a paper reflecting on the vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity, he realized the best examples he had of those vows were his parents who were not consecrated religious. Becoming a priest was his way to holiness but for others it may be the single life, it may be consecrated religious life, it may be married life. But we must be open to God’s call whatever our calling may be.

Whenever I hear this Gospel, I remember the phone call I got when my friend, R, told me she was pregnant. Her and her husband are wonderful and live out their faith so beautifully. When she told me they were going to have a baby the first thing that popped into my head was Simeon’s words:

Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.

No, the baby born wasn’t Jesus, but with every baby we have no idea what that baby is going to do in his/her life. There is so much potential. They could be the next Dorothy Day, the next Francis, the next Juan Diego. They are placed on this earth to free the enslaved, to counsel the doubtful, to shelter the homeless, to live their lives for God in service of others. And while what Simeon said to Mary was forboding, he also proclaimed that Jesus would be the savior of his people. May every baby be met with as much hope.

What did you hear today? Join in the conversation and leave your point of pew in the comment section.

***************************************
What is “From My Point of Pew”? Read here.

Readings for Sunday, January 26

In today’s homily, Fr. Bill talked to us about how there are people who believe that Pope Francis is changing the Church but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In actuality, he said, Pope Francis is trying to get us back to the roots of our faith. Back to the prophet Isaiah who said that the darkness would be dispelled, the enslaved would be free, and the burdened would rejoice all because of the light of Christ. This is why we are called to the New Evangelization. I’m embarrassed to admit, even though I’m a theology major, I’ve never quite understood what the New Evangelization is and while I can take a good guess at what it means, I’ve never heard someone explain it. I know the term has been around since JPII but I don’t remember hearing it enter the popular lexicon until after I had kids and being that, at the moment at least, I have just enough brain cells to keep three little ones alive each day, I just haven’t had the energy or desire to look into it. I just hear the term tossed around all the time. But the way Fr. Bill explained it made it seem like a non-“stuffy” term but rather one that is accessible (which in doing that I’m pretty sure he was living the New Evangelization). I can’t even really remember what he said about it, but at least it planted a desire in me to read more about it and actually figure it out.

What did you hear today? Join in the conversation and leave your point of pew in the comment section.

***************************************
What is “From My Point of Pew”? Read here.