Daily Graces

Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Published on July 21, 2023July 20, 2023 by KateLeave a comment

In this week’s video I shared a bit about Vacation Bible School (VBS) and how it is both a great week and an exhausting week. This week’s Gospel passage reminded me of so many VBS’s in the past that have used the shorter parables Jesus shares in the long version of the Gospel reading. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like….” I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a number of mustard seeds make their way into our house only to be lost in couch cushions. The tiny seed that grows into a mighty tree is a simple, powerful image for how faith can grow.

As a VBS leader, this Gospel passage couldn’t be more perfect. Each element of VBS is intended to sow these little seeds of faith. The songs, the games, the stories, the lightsaber wielding Franciscan (yes, we have one of those here in Alabama!) – each interaction carries with it a hope that faith will deepen and grow in the hearts of the children in attendance. There is also the hope that the kids will bring their joy and enthusiasm home to inspire their parents. Just today, my kids were playing a board game and interspersed in the game they were singing a VBS song – “I am not forgotten, I am not forgotten, God knows my name.”

As it is the middle of July, many of you may not be aware that your parishes are beginning to gear up and think about ministry volunteers for the fall. Religious Education coordinators are starting to consider whom to ask to be a teacher this year. RCIA leaders are beginning to form teams to accompany individuals who wish to begin or complete their Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation). Lector, choir, and altar server schedules are being built for the fall months.

As the summer continues to unfold, and before you get too deep into the back to school craze, this is a great time to consider how you want to spend your fall. What activities will bring form and shape to your overall schedule? Where does God fit into your day to day, your week, your month? Do you have an ongoing ministry practice already? If yes, it is wise to discern if this is the ministry God is still calling you to. Perhaps the answer is yes, and what a joy to be able to continue serving your community in this way that you are familiar with. For some of you, the answer may be no. This is ok, though difficult. If God places it upon your heart that it is time to move on from a ministry, what could He be inviting you to explore in its place? If you don’t have a ministry, where do you see a need in your parish or community?

God is calling each one of us to be evangelists. An evangelist is someone who shares their faith with others. Participating in ministry is a great way to begin growing an evangelical spirit within you. So, before your schedule gets overwhelmed with activities, school events, fall festivals, and other events, think about how a ministry can play a role in your life.

God has given you specific and unique gifts. There is someone out there waiting to hear about the faith from you. Maybe it will be in a conversation, maybe it will be in a classroom, maybe it will be watching you serve on the altar. You get to help God plant seeds of faith, how incredible is that?!

Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Published on July 14, 2023July 13, 2023 by Kate2 Comments

This week’s Gospel reading is quite long. 23 verses is a lot to work with, especially when it includes one of the rare moments when Jesus explains more fully a parable. In this week’s video, I pulled the lens back some from solely the Gospel and took some cues from the Old Testament and Responsorial Psalm for guidance. I think it turned out really well! I also have learned that my headphones don’t actually talk to my camera app – fun fact! Good to know, because now that I know why the audio quality of my videos isn’t great. Not so good to know because now I’m discerning whether to invest in an actual microphone or not. We shall see. If you have an opinion on audio quality, I’m all ears (pun intended).

For this written reflection, I was drawn to the verses of Isaiah that Jesus quotes in the Gospel reading:

You shall indeed hear but not understand,

you shall indeed look but never see.

Gross is the heart of this people,

They will hardly hear with their ears,

they have closed their eyes,

lest they see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts and be converted,

and I heal them.
Matthew 13:14-15 – quoting Isaiah 6:9-10

These are hard words to hear, but we must hear them. The imagery is so vivid. When I read the passage the first time, it reminded me of my kids when they were little and how they played hide-and-seek. They would cover their eyes and with all the certainty in the world, were convinced I couldn’t see them because they couldn’t see me. As adults, we see the absurdity of the action and we chuckle at the sweet innocence of a child at play.

Too often, we do this same thing as adults. As we settle into our house, I’m already doing this.

“If I just don’t look in that corner, I won’t have to think about the boxes that still need to be gone through.”

“If I don’t read that email, I won’t have to worry about whether or not we have time for another activity.”

“I’ll just buy another bottle of ranch, if I look through the pantry to see if there’s another one I’ll find all sorts of things we didn’t actually need to move or save but did anyway because I didn’t take the time to properly sort through them before we left.”

In the short term, so often it’s easier to close our eyes, cover our ears, and go about our business. Until we run into a wall of course. I’ll end up re-boxing boxes that should have been sorted next summer, packing things we definitely don’t need or want. We will miss out on opportunities because I didn’t take the time to sort through my email properly and update it with new organizations in our new city. I’ll end up with 4 “back up” bottles of ranch (don’t worry, my girls will work through it in no time) but is that really being the best steward of our finances?

This behavior can extend to all areas of life and believe me, it’s not a comfortable topic. We do this with politics, poverty, racism, extremism, hunger, violence, and so many other challenging topics. We think if we can’t see it, we don’t have to worry about it. If we don’t know about it, we don’t have to deal with it. I know I am guilty of this. I am speaking about it from a place of humility and, honestly, some shame. I know I could do better, open my eyes wider. It’s not that we are called to solve all of the world’s problems. But we should know what’s happening around us, we should be able to speak to what we know and be honest about what we don’t know. We should be able to pray for local, national and global issues that God places on our hearts.

An example. We want our children to know and be able to speak confidently about their heritage. Both mine and Ben’s families have been in the United States for quite some time. Ben’s family, however, has been in the US since before it was a country. He has ancestors that fought in the Revolutionary War, which is pretty cool to know. What is more challenging to know is that later in US history, his family also owned slaves and fought for the Confederacy which wanted to split the US into two countries.

We could chose not to share this with them. We could say, “Well, they will find out eventually if they want to.” Instead, we’ve chosen to share with them, as they show interest and maturity, the fullness of their family story. We want their eyes to be open. Slavery was and is a horrible thing that never should have happened. Yes, our family was part of that problem at that time in history. This does not mean we, or our kids are bad people. It does mean that today, everyone has a responsibility to uphold the rights and dignity of all people regardless of who they are, where they come from, or what their family has done in the past. We want them to embrace their family history, to be proud of the good things and to recognize the faults of the wrong things. Only with open eyes and open ears do we ensure the wrongs of history aren’t repeated.

Jesus tells us that we will bear good fruit if we hear His Word and obey. Jesus is Truth. We need to keep our eyes and ears open to what Jesus reveals to us. Little by little, Jesus will heal our brokenness. Through our commitment to Jesus’ Truth, the world will be transformed by love and forgiveness into the Kingdom of God.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Published on July 7, 2023July 6, 2023 by Kate1 Comment

I can’t remember if I’ve shared this here, but we are going to be a homeschooling family again in the fall. Actually, given the nature of homeschooling, we are already starting in small ways (shh, don’t tell my kids). As part of getting my brain back into full time “homeschooler” mode, I’ve been catching up with Sarah Mackenzie at the Read Aloud Revival. While originally a podcast about how enriching and life-giving reading aloud as a family can be, the podcast has grown and evolved to also include homeschool coaching and community. It is full of such good content, if you are a homeschooler or thinking about it I highly recommend Sarah’s stuff. Even if you aren’t, consider listening to an episode or two about the benefits and joys of reading aloud as a family. We love it!

In a recent episode (disclaimer, I am a premium member, meaning I pay a yearly fee for additional content, and the episode I’m referring to comes from that content so I cannot link it for you) Sarah talked about this week’s Gospel passage. She highlighted the section where Jesus says:

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

In the context of homeschooling, it can be very hard to decide when the school year is officially “done.” As the parent and teacher, you get the freedom and burden of deciding when enough is enough. This is a tricky thing and it can be so easy to get lost in the doubts of, “Have we done enough?” What if the math book wasn’t finished? What if we never got to these planned projects? Have we worked hard enough to earn our summer break, our time of rest?

Sarah nips these ideas in the bud with the above passage. Homeschooling considerations aside and thinking about the larger context of our lives as God has given them to us, Jesus is saying that rest is a gift. He doesn’t say, “After you’ve completed your work you can rest.” He doesn’t even say, “In exchange for a certain amount of work, you can rest.” Quite the opposite. Jesus recognizes how labored people are as we struggle with daily life. Many of the struggles we have come as a result of sin in the world. We are a burdened people. In compassion, Jesus extends the gift of rest.

The thing is, the rest Jesus offers doesn’t necessarily line up with how the world views rest. Jesus’ rest doesn’t necessarily include sleeping until 11am, a round of golf, vegging in front of the tv, being about to watch a full YouTube video without being interrupted, or a vacation to a resort in the Bahamas.

When God created the world, He concluded by establishing the Sabbath. The Sabbath was to be a day of rest. It was a day of refraining from daily work so that the most important thing could be tended to – the Israelite people’s relationship with God. The Sabbath was set aside as a day of prayer and worship. Contrary to many sporting schedules, Sunday continues to be a day of rest, the day we come together as a community to worship and praise God. We find true rest for our souls when we rest in God. Jesus says this today. “Come to me…and I will give you rest.”

Here are a few examples of how to rest with God that I have found rejuvenating at various points in my life:

Taking a walk, even if it isn’t by yourself.
Adoration (even 5 minutes, even if you have a toddler with you)
Daily Mass
Listening to Christian or uplifting music, especially during a chore you don’t enjoy
Making food for others
Sharing with someone how God spoke to you today
Driving without the radio or a podcast on

To rest well with God doesn’t necessarily mean ceasing all activity. It is about how you approach that activity. Are you cooking/cleaning/working because of your desire to love God and the people He has placed in your life? Are you intentionally making time for quiet? God desires to be part of each moment of our day. Are you inviting Him into them so He can share your burden and lighten your load? Jesus promised He would if we unite ourselves to Him.

If you’d like to learn more about resting in God, check out this article by Fr. Billy Swan from Word on Fire Ministries. He references today’s passage, as well as others, while exploring how to rest well in God’s presence.