Daily HOMILY for November 28, 2012: Wednesday of 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

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Wednesday of the 34^th Week in Ordinary Time

November 28, 2012

JESUS’ BATTLE PLAN +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  In today’s Gospel Jesus assures us that in the life of a disciple there are sure to be conflicts, challenges, feelings of inadequacy, and stumbling blocks of all sorts

Ø  These turbulent times will, as he says, “Lead to your giving testimony”

Ø  That’s quite a promise!

Ø  He quickly adds that we should not prepare for this testimony, for this response

Ø  Why? Because he himself will give us what we are to say…and what we say will leave those involved in the conflict powerless

Ø  So it’s clear: conflicts à unprepared testimony à disarmed adversaries

PREPARING FOR BATTLE +++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  What might be the best way to implement Jesus’ words?

Ø  Step 1: Acknowledge the turmoil, upset, sadness. Don’t deny it

Ø  Step 2: Prayerfully Listen. Relax, be still, put all thinking out of your head and in the silence allow the Lord to speak. After all silence is God’s language

Ø  Step 3: Wait in the silence for the words, the response, to take form in your heart. Notice I said your heart, not in your head.

Ø  Step 4: As the words come from up from your heart, speak them. TESTIFY  

Ø  ACKNOWLEDGE / LISTEN / WAIT / TESTIFY

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

Ø  Now the last line of the Gospel makes sense: “By your perseverance you will secure your lives”

Ø  Not by your perseverance in the conflict

Ø  Not by your lofty assaults

Ø  Not by being stronger than your adversaries

Ø  But by your perseverance to ACKNOWLEDGING / LISTENING / WAITING / TESTIFYING

Ø  The locus of power has moved from us to God working in and through us

Ø  The victory is God’s

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

Daily HOMILY for November 27, 2012: Tuesday of 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

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Tuesday of 34^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 27, 2012

JESUS’ ADVICE +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  We really can’t say that Jesus didn’t warn us ahead of time

Ø  Warned not to be deceived, that many would come in his name saying, “I am he,” or “The time has come”

Ø  For the most part we ignore the warnings and have to learn for ourselves and after many deceptions we eventually do

AND WE GET CAUGHT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Think of the advertizing industry

Ø  It carefully monitors our choices, knows our weaknesses and them markets directly to us as individuals

Ø  “Now is the time to save…last chance!”

Ø  “The discriminating gentleman drinks…”

Ø  “The woman of elegance wears…”

Ø  “You’re out of touch if you don’t have this technology

Ø  Bingo! We’ve bought and they have their sale

HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? +++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  What makes us pay attention to them and get snookered?

Ø  Advertisers know that we have an insatiable desire for wholeness, satisfaction, completion

Ø  It’s the appetite that God planted within us to get us back to him

Ø  Thus advertisers market to these deepest longings we have for intimacy and completion in God

Ø  That’s why they use words like: glory, satisfaction, completion, joy, bliss, all new, revolutionary

Ø  But in our deepest selves we know we’re restless till we rest in God

Ø  Augustine told us that long ago

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

Ø  Being aware of how we get snookered into buying something can not only make us savvy shoppers,

Ø  It can also teach us something about proper objects for our deepest longings and desires

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

Daily HOMILY for November 26, 2012: 34th Monday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

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Daily Homily for November 26, 2012

St. Luke’s Institute

DROPPING OF THE COIN +++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Imagine Jesus, after strenuous debates with members of the Sanhedrin and the Sadducees, is tired and takes a seat on a bench in the temple’s Court of the Women, head in his hands

Ø  He looks up and sees a number of folks dropping large amounts of coins in the 13 inverted-trumpet-like receptacles

Ø  The coins echo: “tsch, tsch, tsch” and then a small bent over elderly widow drops two tiny coins – pling, pling – into the receptacle and humbly walks away

Ø  He then rises and announces to all that, “What this poor widow has done out values all your offerings!”

2 THINGS DETERMINE VALUE +++++++++++++++++++++

Ø   2 things determine the value of a gift

Ø  1^st the spirit in which it is given

Ø  When we give from our mind, the gift can be given with a grudge, for the sake of prestige, or self-display

Ø  It’s said that in such cases, it loses half its value

Ø  2^nd a gift’s value is judged by the sacrifice which it involves

Ø  The gifts of the well-to-do in the temple didn’t cost them much personally, but for the widow, it is all she had to live on

Ø  They reckoned with the heads, she gave from her heart with seeming reckless abandon

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

Ø  How are we with giving out of our need: giving time or monetary gifts, giving of our talents or insights?

Ø  Jesus confronts us with two models today and asks us to judge ourselves and what we need to change

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

Weekly HOMILY for November 18, 2012: 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B -- A Second Chance

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33^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

November 18, 2012

Terra Nuova Hermitage

 

A Second Chance

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

 

 

Experience of Dying

There is famous short story written over a hundred years ago by an author named Ambrose Bierce.

The story is titled Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and it is about a man who is about to be hanged.  Enemy soldiers march this man out to the bridge over Owl Creek. 

His wrists and ankles are tied and a noose is put around his neck.  When everything is ready, the commanding officer barks the order and the condemned man plunges downward. 

As he falls however, the rope breaks and the man plunges into the river below.  He sinks down into the rushing water and miraculously is able to free his hands and his feet. 

He realizes that he now has a second chance at life and he begins to swim with all that is in him down the river.  Far out of reach from his executioners, he alternates swim and floating.

He is struck by the beauty of the leaves on the trees and he notices the blueness of the sky.  Never has the world looked so beautiful to him and he senses how great it is to be alive. 

Finally, he swims ashore and begins to walk.  Soon he comes to a house and to his amazement he is back home. His wife comes running out to greet him. 

And then, just as they are embracing, the story flips back to the bridge over Owl Creek. 

Shockingly, the body of the very condemned man is hanging there.  The man had only imagined in the split second that he fell to his death that he had gotten a second chance at life. 

And in that split second, he had seen life for what it is – a precious gift to be appreciated.  He had realized how differently he would have lived if only he had been … given a second chance.

The Author and Jesus

That is the story of Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.

It seems to me that the author has the same lesson in mind that the Scriptures are conveying today.  Ambrose Bierce is saying that the condemned man did not get a second chance at life, but we, the readers are given a second chance because we have witnessed this man’s experience.

In the same way, the Prophet Daniel in the first reading and Jesus in the Gospel focus our attention on the end of the world or the end of our life on earth.  Jesus wants us to live with an awareness of this.

And out of this awareness, he wants us to appreciate life right now for the precious gift that it is.  In effect, he gives us a second chance.

Priorities: Service and Love

Doctors, priests and family learn from being at the side of dying loved ones as they looked back on their lives that, in the final analysis only two things really matter: the love you show and the service you render. 

All the other things that at one time seemed so important pale in comparison.

That insight is at the heart of Jesus’ message and it raises important questions for us.

First, are we in our own unique way expressing the love that we feel in our hearts?  Do we show affection and warmth to those who really matter to us – our spouse, children, parents, or a dear friend?

And what of our love for God?  Do we express that through heartfelt prayer, especially with prayers and thoughts of gratitude for our blessings?

And second, are we giving of ourselves in some way for the wellbeing of others?  Are we willing to go out of our way in doing something for them and at times placing those actions above our own preferences?

Are we willing to give the time of our presence or our listening ear to whomever it might be?  Willing to give of ourselves personally though we will receive nothing in return save the satisfaction of what we have done?

Conclusion

The Scriptures today invite us to ask: How satisfied will we be as we lay dying with the expression of our love and the quality of our giving of ourselves? 

Unlike the man on the bridge at Owl Creek, beginning right now we have a second chance to prepare for that time which will come for each of us.

Weekly HOMILY for November 11, 2012: 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B -- To Become Christ-Like

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32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Terrnuova Hermitage

November 11, 2012

 

To Become Christ-Like

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

The Consulate in Libya

We remember well that this past September some Islamic militants stormed our American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Four Americans, including our United States Ambassador, were killed.    Since that attack, our journalists have given us some insight into the challenging and sometimes dangerous work of diplomacy.

Newspaper articles have focused on our Ambassador in Benghazi, J. Christopher Stevens.  They portray him as personifying the best of our diplomatic corps.

Traits of Ambassador Stevens

Ambassador Stevens is remembered as a person who really gave of himself to his work, wherever he was.

He is described as a street-smart, low-key negotiator.  He knew how to get things done by building personal relationships.

Those who served with him in other diplomatic posts say that wherever he was living, he would let go of everything else and live that culture completely.  He gave of himself to the people and the tasks that were present.

Ambassador Stevens had a passion for Arab culture and politics.  This began when he was a Peace Corps volunteer and taught English in Morocco.

He spoke Arabic and would go out of his way to use it.  He would do this whether he was with government officials or with ordinary shopkeepers in Libya, as a way to show respect for their language and culture.

One quality that both his American and Libyan colleagues recall was his ability to listen.  He never felt the need to monopolize a meeting or a conversation.

Ambassador Stevens sought out local merchants, farmers and students, as well as diplomats, activists, and journalists.  He had a deep desire to listen and understand their perspective.

Our Secretary of State said that with his ability to listen and his personal humility, he won many friends for our country and he did that because,“he made these peoples’ hopes his own.”

Traits of the Kingdom

It is not my goal to make a saint of Ambassador Stevens. I imagine he was as human as you and I are.  But I do think that his personal and professional traits help to highlight what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel.

Jesus lifts up the humility and generosity of the poor widow in the temple.  He also puts down the self-absorption and self-importance of the Scribes.

He is teaching that we are like him when we embrace the spirit of a servant.  He moves us to respect everyone as a son and daughter of God.

Jesus calls us to find our fulfillment in the empathy and assistance we can extend to others.  He calls us to place the human needs of others who are less fortunate than ourselves above our own wants and narrow interests.

He wants us to give of ourselves with the inner, heartfelt, sincere generosity of the widow in the gospel.  And, like that widow, he wants us to humbly be with God in personal prayer and in worship here in church.

A Needed Message

Jesus’ message in this little story is important for us to hear.

Yes, it is a bit counter-cultural and perhaps counter-intuitive, but it is so important.

If we try to embrace these qualities and live in this way, our human self-centeredness will be kept in check.  The prejudice or hostility we may have will be softened.

We will find a satisfaction and completeness that we can find in no other way.  And most of all, in the process we will become most God-like, most Jesus-like, and that is our long-term mission in life.

Weekly HOMILY for November 4, 2012: 31th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B -- Self-Betrayal

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31^st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Parish Mission at St. Michael, Poplar Springs

November 4 2012

Self-Betrayal

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

 

Bud and Nancy

Bud and Nancy have been married six years and they have three children, ages 10, 6 and 4.

One night a little after 1:00am Bud is awakened by the crying of their four-year-old son David.  Bud thinks to himself, “I should get up and tend to David and let Nancy sleep.”

However, as he lies there very still, other thoughts begin to fill his mind, thoughts about Nancy lying right next to him. “She must hear him too,” he says to himself. He continues to lie perfectly still.

What then begins is a little dialogue in his head: “Why doesn’t she get up and take care of the baby?  he wonders. “Why should I have to do this?”   

Leadership and Self-Deception

That is just the beginning of a true story, a story you may find very familiar from your own child-rearing days.

I read it in this book – Leadership and Self-Deception.  And, while this work never refers to the Bible, it has many of the same important points to make about transforming our lives.

The book makes no reference to the two great commandments of love in today’s Gospel.  In fact, it never uses the word “love.”

But, when I read the book this past summer, I realized that it gives some excellent insights into human behavior and into our becoming loving persons. 

Let’s go back to the book and I think you’ll see what I have in mind.

Two Significant Mistakes

Bud himself tells this story about caring for his crying baby.

He says that first he was seeing things only from his own perspective.  He was thinking that Nancy was awake even though he didn’t know whether she was or not.

Bud says that he was treating Nancy as an object and not as a person.  In effect, he was thinking of her and treating her as a foe or as an object to be used for his own purposes.

Second, Bud admitted that he betrayed himself.  He betrayed and did not respond to his inner sense of what he should do – namely, get up and take care of David.

Bud assumes – and I might add correctly so – that we have this inner sense of what we ought to do.  We Christians call this inner sense our conscience.

The Results

In the book, Bud then talks about the unfortunate results of (1) Treating Nancy as an object and (2) Of betraying his sense of what he ought to do.

He says that this objectifying of her and betraying of himself led him to self-deception.  In other words, it led him into a distorted idea both of Nancy and of himself.

He started seeing his wife as lazy, irresponsible and selfish.  He started blaming her for everything that wasn’t just right.

And, on the other hand, Bud started justifying himself and his decision not to get up and care for David.  He saw himself as hardworking, responsible and doing everything to make the marriage and family work.

He saw himself as deserving of a full night’s sleep without any interruptions. 

So, (1) Treating Nancy as an object and (2) Betraying his inner sense of what he should do, led Bud into a lot of self-deception.

And, of course, one thought, one idea gives rise to another.  The self-deception begins to snowball and starts to make serious inroads on the relationship.

Two Remedies

The conclusions that Bud and the book make are probably obvious.

First, we need to see each other as persons and not as objects.  We need to treat others as persons like ourselves – with needs for rest and sleep, for affirmation and love, for accomplishment and fulfillment.

Think about how this might affect the way you see your spouse, a friend, an employee or your employer.  Think about how this might affect the way we see Jews or Muslims, Hispanic immigrants or African Americans.

And second, we need to respond out of our inner sense of what’s the right thing to do.  In other words, we need to be true to our conscience.

Conclusion

Here’s a great application of what I’ve shared. The next time you get into an elevator at a hospital, your place of work, or doctor’s office and you hear someone walking down the hallway.

Do you hit the “open door” button or the “close door” button? 

Or think of what I’ve shared with you means when you feel the call to bury the hatchet, but still try to justify your refusal to talk to someone.

These insights have a lot to say about our relationships – one on one.

Weekly HOMILY for September 23, 2012: 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B -- How High Can You Swing?

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25^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Men’s Retreat at Retreat and Conference Center at Bon Secours

September 23, 2012

How High Can You Swing?

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

“…keeping up with myself”

A father named George Durrant recalls a wonderful little memory of his children.

One day George took his three children to the playground at the nearby park.  All three of them were on the swings.

The two older children – Devon and Katherine – had learned how to pump and swing on their own.  They were going higher and higher.

Devon said, “I’m keeping up with Katherine,” and Katherine said, “And I’m keeping up with Devon.”  Little Miranda was waiting for her father to push her and on her own, she was barely moving.

Miranda of course heard Devon and Katherine announcing how they were keeping up with each other.  In response, she simply said, “I’m just keeping up with myself.” 

 

Getting Ahead of Others

Little Miranda’s words help us to appreciate a core lesson in today’s gospel.

The apostles are arguing about which one of them is the greatest.  Each of them is trying to be above the other eleven. 

Underneath all of this energy, I would say that each of them wants to feel valuable and worthwhile.  What they really want is a sense of self-worth or self-esteem. 

They try to attain this by comparing themselves to others and in doing this, they are doing exactly what little Miranda does not do on the swings.  She just keeps up with herself and feels contented with that.

Jesus’ Response

How does Jesus respond to this?

Apparently, there is a child standing nearby.  Jesus gently brings this child right into the group and with this child, Jesus gives two powerful lessons.

1. The Value of Each Person

First, Jesus is teaching that each person, each of us is already valuable just in being ourselves.

In Jesus’ culture, children were at the bottom of the ladder.  For example, if a family did not have enough food, the father would eat first, then the mother, and only then would the children get what was left over.

This sounds backwards to us.  I bet some of you parents or maybe our parents held back on eating or on buying something so that the children could have enough.

Well, here Jesus says, “Whoever receives a child such as this, receives me.”  What he’s saying is that a child and, very importantly, who that child symbolizes – anyone who is seen as the last and least in society – even these persons are valuable.

We all have value in ourselves.  It is inherent in our very being.

So we can be like little Miranda on the swing.  We don’t have to compare ourselves with anyone and we don’t have to be above others as the apostles are trying to do to attain the value we already have.

Each of us is unconditionally valuable.  This is why our Church teaches the value of human life from conception right through to natural death.

There is an inherent value and worth in each person and in the life of each person.  We are to protect and respect this life and also find our self-worth right here, not in comparing ourselves to others or in being above others.     

    

2. Care for the Least

Then Jesus teaches a second pointed lesson with this child.

Jesus calls us to care for the least and last among us.  He’s calling for a new attitude that will issue forth into a new behavior.

Once gain, we are not to compare ourselves and see ourselves as better than those whose income is at poverty level or those in need of financial assistance.  We are not to view them or speak of these people as a drain on society.

This attitude or approach is inconsistent with Jesus’ way.  Instead, we are to view those in need – like the child in the story – as valuable as we ourselves are.

I sometimes think of it this way.  In a hospital, the health care professionals simply treat a person who is sick.

They don’t ask if their intestinal or coronary trouble is their own fault because of eating all kinds of fatty foods and, if that’s the case, refuse to treat them.  They simply treat them, help them to get better, and then advise them on how to care for themselves from that point.

Well, in the same way, we are to value the last and the least in our society.  We are to care for them without comparing ourselves or seeing them as below us or ourselves as above them.  

And Jesus is saying that again, in doing this, we ourselves will find self-worth.  Our sense of self will be strengthened and enhanced in the doing of this.

Conclusion

So, a simple passage today, with lessons that are powerful and helpful, and maybe also challenging and discomforting.

Weekly HOMILY for September 16, 2012: 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B -- Pieces of a Mirror

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24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Terranuova Hermitage

September 16, 2012

Pieces of a Mirror

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

The Challenge of the Mirror

I read a story recently about a Greek professor at a conference who had survived the atrocities committed by the Nazis in his homeland during World War II. As a result he had dedicated his life to establishing an institute to heal the wounds of war among his countrymen and women.

The professor ended his presentation by taking from his worn leather billfold a very small round mirror.

He explained: “One day as a small child, during World War II, I found the broken pieces of a mirror on the road near our home. A German motorcycle had been wrecked in that place.

“I kept the largest piece and by scratching it on a stone I made it round.

“I became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine – in deep holes and crevices and dark closets.

“It became a game to get light into the most inaccessible places. I kept the little mirror, and I would take out from time to time and continue the challenge.

“I grew to understand that this was not just a child’s game, but a metaphor for what I might do with my life.

“I came to understand that I am not the light or even the source of light. But light – as truth, understanding, and knowledge – is there, and it will only shine in many dark places if I reflect it.

“Yes, I can be the reflected light that changes people.”

The Challenge of James

In today’s second reading, the author of the Epistle to James realizes that the members of the newly formed Christian communities need concrete guidance about how to make ethical decisions in real-life situations.

Even today, James’ very practical advice continues to challenge believers to have integrity and not to tolerate a dichotomy between the faith that is professed with our lips and what is professed by our choices in life.

James addresses that dichotomy and says, in effect, “Put your money where your mouth is.” James is calling upon believers to translate their words of good will into actions that extend that goodwill to others in practical and helpful ways.

In essence he’s challenging us to be, like the little round mirror I made,“a fragment reflecting light into dark places; a light that changes people.”

In a well-balanced life, there must be both good thoughts and decisive actions grounded in those thoughts.

Therefore, for a person of authentic faith, it isn’t enough to simply think of helping another. Rather, thoughts and prayers bring faith to life in concrete actions and efforts that tend to the needs of others with generosity and love.

The Challenge of Our Baptism

At baptism we are given a small candle lighted from the Paschal candle. The light symbolized the faith we had just embraced.

The priest then charged us to reflect the light of Easter faith to others.

Again, in baptism we became a piece of the broken mirror that is the light and face of Christ.

We were called to reflect the light of Christ that is within us into dark places:

Ø  They may be the downcast hearts of people who come to worship needing to hear a hopeful word

Ø  Or the minds of children and youth in our cul-de-sac

Ø  Or the empty stomachs of the hungry

Ø  Or those with whom we work

The good works that flow from our faith that support and nourish others are how we become “pieces of the mirror” in which we reflect the healing and reconciling light of the Risen Christ.

Conclusion

Are you ready for that challenge?

Weekly HOMILY for September 9, 2012: 23th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B -- Be Opened Inwardly and Outwardly

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23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Terranuova Hermitage

September 9, 2012

 

Be Opened Inwardly and Outwardly

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

Heidi’s Parents

Three months ago, at the beginning of June, a friend of mine flew to Denver to officiate at his nephew David’s wedding.

David married a young woman named Heidi.  My friend had met Heidi for the first time on another visit to Denver last October.

Heidi’s mother and father are both deaf.  And their serious hearing impairment also makes it impossible for them to speak clearly.

As I understand it, if we cannot hear ourselves speaking, we cannot speak clearly.  The speech impairment flows from the hearing impairment. If you don’t hear it right you can’t speak it right.

All that said, Heidi’s parents are absolutely delightful people.  They are friendly, jovial, and a pleasure to be with. 

The Deaf and Mute Man

I thought of Heidi’s parents when I read today’s gospel.

In it we find a man who is both deaf and mute.  And notice: Jesus first enables the man to hear and then, after that, to speak. 

If he can hear, then his speaking will flow from what he hears.  And notice also: Jesus heals the man by using, in the English translation, just two words: “Be opened!”

“Be opened!” In opening the man’s ears and mouth, Jesus heals the man physically.

But, as wonderful as this is, the healing is even more than simply a physical healing.  In Jesus’ time, unlike my nephew’s in-laws today, those who were deaf and mute were really cut off from the rest of society.

They were shunned and became very isolated from society.  They were treated as incapable of holding a job or of being with others in any way at all.

They were socially isolated.  And on top of that, they were also perceived as being alienated from God.

Their disability was seen as a punishment for sin.  So Jesus’ healing of this man today is not just physical, but also social and spiritual – that’s how great the healing is!  

“Be Opened!”

Now let’s take this one step farther.

Jesus’ words – “Be opened!” – are also intended for the disciples and for us.  Jesus calls us to “Be opened!”

Recently, I came across a very simple morning prayer.  It is easy to remember.

“Lord, open me: inward to you, outward to others.”  “Lord, open me: inward to you, outward to others.”

Jesus wants us to “Be opened!”   And for that to happen, we need to desire it and ask him to open us.

“Open Us: Inward”

First, we pray: “Lord, open me: inward to you.”

Open me to your presence that is already within me.  You are here, within me, removing my isolation and being my constant companion on my journey of life.

Open me to your strength within me.  You are my empowerment to deal with the everyday stuff of life and you are my refuge when times are really tough.

Open us to your love within me.  You are the outreaching, unconditional love of God for me and the grounding of my self-worth and self-esteem.

And open me to your healing within me.  You, little by little, put together my loose ends, remove my alienation from God and make me a whole and holy person.

    

“Open Us: Outward”

And then, we pray: “Lord, open me: outward to others.”

First open my ears.  Help me to hear the happiness or sadness, the self-confidence or self-doubt of those closest to me.

And then Lord, open my eyes.  Help me to see my spouse’s need for a caring intervention about alcohol or an aging parent’s need for help around the house.

Also Lord, open my mouth.  Help me to speak words of comfort to a neighbor who is grieving or words of challenge to a society in the grip of consumerism.

And Lord, even open my mind.  Help me to examine my judgments about people who look different from me or my prejudice toward immigrants, gays, or whomever. 

Conclusion

Jesus says: “Be opened!”

And we pray: “Lord, open me: inward to you, outward to others.”