Daily HOMILY for February 16, 2015: Tuesday of the 1st Week of Lent

PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to listen   

or click here if there is no triangle

Tuesday of the 1^st week of Lent

The Institute

February 16, 2016

1 Side of Lord’s Prayer ++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  In Gospel J frames teaching of the Lord’s Prayer and kind of sandwiches it between two lessons

Ø  Prior to teaching the Prayer itself, he warns against thinking that R prayer has 2B lots of words

Ø  I love his expression, “Do not babble like the pagans”

Ø  So, he wants R prayer 2B sincere, direct, & from heart

Ø  Even praying set prayers, as at Mass or Office or rosary, even there, cautions us 2 make sure we’re into praying & that it’s coming from w/i 

Ø  That’s what counts, not number of words we recite

OTHER SIDE OF LORD’S PRAYER +++++++++++++++++

Ø  Then, right after teaching his Prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, he gives us lesson on importance of forgiveness

Ø  And this lesson seems to underline the part of the Lord’s Prayer where we ask God 2 forgive us as we forgive 1 another

Ø  The thought is that we cannot pray for a closer union with God when we are responsible for a lack of union with someone else, particularly someone who’s sinned

Ø  Prayer cannot be genuine when we are isolated or cut off from others and when there is something we could do to remedy the situation

Ø  Another way of putting it is that there must be a consistency between our praying and our relating to others

CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  So, even the Lord’s Prayer, as important as it is:

Ø  Is prepared for it by our making it heartfelt

Ø  And is followed up by forgiving everyone from our heart

Ø  Think of it as a sandwich comprised of the filling, bounded by two slices of bread

Ø  All three parts are essential

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Daily HOMILY for February 9, 2015: Tuesday of the 5th Week of Ordinary Time

PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to listen   

or click here if there is no triangle

Tuesday of the 5^th Week OT

The Institute

February 9, 2016

STUDY ON HAPPINESS +++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  I’m preparing to give a retreat on happiness and came across a study that has caught my attention

Ø  It was of college students and done by two psychologists, Eileen Kennedy-Moore and Mark Lowenthal

Ø  Shows that by identifying their own acts of kindness 4 1 week, students experienced a significant increase in their feelings of happiness

Ø  From this the authors make a recommendation

Ø  They propose a family dinnertime ritual of going around the table and having each person name one act of kindness they performed that day

Ø  The authors write, “There are many standards in the world that your child may or may not meet.

Ø  “But kindness is always within one’s reach and there are numerous opportunities every day to demonstrate it.”

JESUS ON HAPPINESS +++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Beneath today’s Gospel J is reminding us that heart of his teaching is his commandment 2 love 1 another as he’s loved us

Ø  Our faith cannot simply remain in head or on R lips, but needs to be expressed in concrete acts of kindness and charity

Ø  Today Jesus challenges rituals and actions that have become empty of meaning

Ø  They lack connection to head and heart

Ø  On the one hand, He calls us, “To do this in memory of me”

Ø  He calls us to remember and celebrate and receive him in the celebration of the Eucharist…

Ø  But on other hand, calls us 2 live what we do in ritual, & that means 2 live as he lived, giving of selves in simple, unrecognized acts of kindness & charity & self-sacrifice 4 the good of others

CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  We return to where we began, to the study of college students

Ø  They tell us where true, deep, enduring happiness can be found

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++