Compassionate Shepherd

Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle

~~~ 1 Peter 5:1-4 ~~~ Psalm 23 ~~~ Matthew 16:13-19 ~~~

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

A shepherd tending his flock 

does not need good people skills.

A shepherd tending his flock 

does need to have good leadership skills.

A shepherd must have compassion for his sheep.

A shepherd must listen for each of his sheep.

If one gets lost he must be willing to do 

whatever it takes to find him.

A shepherd will never abandon even one of his sheep.

Jesus offers himself as the model shepherd.

Peter answers the big question from Jesus,

"Who do you say that I am?"

Peter knows in his heart who Jesus really is...

Christ, the son of the living God.

God chose Peter with all of his shortcomings

 to be the foundation of the church.

God chose Peter to be the shepherd of his church on earth.

Peter, embodies all of what it means to be human.

Peter has strong leadership qualities.

Peter was a good provider for his family.

Peter was a faithful friend.

Peter crumbled under pressure...he denied Jesus.

Peter overcame his fears and his weaknesses.

Peter kept his focus on Jesus.

Peter became the rock upon which 

the church we love today was built.

Peter did not give up on himself

 because he was in relationship with Jesus.

You are Peter, and upon

 this rock I will build my Church...

The Chair of Peter is a visible reminder 

of how our church has survived 

with the guidance of compassionate shepherds.

Throughout the history of the church

 we have been blessed with good shepherds.

God watches over his church.

God gives us the Popes we need 

for the times we live in at the time.

Blessed that we are led by

 those who are shepherds of our church.

~~~Peace~~~

'Prickly' People

~~~ Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~ Exodus 22:20-26 ~~~ Psalm 18 ~~~ 1 Thessalonians 1:5C-10 ~~~
~~~ Matthew  22:34-40 ~~~

...for I am compassionate...
...model for all the believers...

 ...have no need to say anything...

Which one of the above verses best describes you?

Are you compassionate?
Are you a model of your faith?
Do your actions truly speak louder than your words?

These are all worthy to be practiced.
In the Gospel from Matthew today we hear Jesus
 'silenced' the Sadducees.

He silenced them...although they had witnessed
 his compassion toward others...
While his actions spoke much louder than his words;
they still remained hard headed.
They were determined to find some way
to justify their biased belief system.

Jesus silenced those who would resist him
 with emphasizing one thing...love.
The two greatest Commandments,
completely loving God and extending that same depth
of love to your neighbor.
We have no problem loving God
after all he is the Creator of heaven and earth.
But when it comes to loving our neighbor
with the same amount of fervor,
well that is a different story.

What needs to be 'silenced' in your heart?
Loving our neighbor happens in varying degrees.
Let's face it some people are just more loving than others.

God is challenging us to love the prickly people in our lives.
This is where we must model with compassion...
this is when our actions must overshadow
 the words we may want to speak.

 ...serve the living and true God...

If we want serve the living God with our whole heart,
our whole soul, our whole mind we must move
into the second commandment of loving our neighbor.

Jesus combined these two commandments
 so that we come to see our neighbor as he sees them.

We are surrounded with opportunities to be more compassionate...
to be better models...to live without speaking words.
We are invited to love even the 'prickly' people in our life.

Be mindful when you do not feel like loving someone
for that is precisely when you must call to mind
 the second commandment of love.

Let your actions speak above your feelings.
Who knows things may change.
Compassion  is powerful...for it targets the heart.

Blessed to be given Jesus,
 the perfect model of love and compassion.

~~~Peace~~~

Can You Hear with Your Heart?

~~~ Hosea 2:16, 17C-18, 21-22 ~~~ Psalm 145 ~~~ Matthew 9:18-26 ~~~

Thus says the LORD:
I will allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak to her heart.

Yesterday we were given the beautiful image
 of Jesus calling us to bring our burdens to him.
Today we see two vivid examples of what it means to come to Jesus.
Jesus knows our heart...Jesus speaks to our heart.
Jesus lures all goodness to himself and passes it on to us.

The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.

Jesus responds with love and compassion
to each person who approaches him.
He listens and acts according to the divine plan.
It does not matter who you are...young, old,
physically or mentally ill,
government official or poor widow...
Jesus takes action.
Jesus came to do the will of the Father.
Those who seek out the healing touch and words of Jesus
either have their existing faith increased or they are
blessed with the gift of faith.

Our very soul cries out and longs to know the Lord.
Speak to Jesus of your needs and concerns.
Bring your personal burdens to him.

“If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”

Even if your faith only moves you to touch the tip of his tassel
he knows you are there...he knows your fears.
He alone knows how best to answer your prayers.

The Lord is gracious and merciful.
Always in all ways.
He blesses us with his compassionate heart.
He blesses us with his healing touch.
He blesses us with his words of encouragement.

“Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.”

Such beautiful words to carry in your heart
through out your whole life.

~~~Peace~~~

The Two Shall Be One Flesh

~~~ James 5:9-12 ~~~ Psalm 103 ~~~ Mark 10:1-12 ~~~

All things are passing...there is no time
to waste on petty things such as...

complaining and judging others.

Have perseverance like that of Job, never tire
 of returning to the Lord.

The Lord is kind and merciful.

God is more kind, compassionate, merciful, and just
than any one person is capable of being.
He does not hold grudges against us.
He looks to see how we are doing well.
He is waiting with words of encouragement when we fail.

Not sure what Jesus was teaching about the day the Pharisees
decided to bring up the whole issue of divorce.

Clearly it was just another attempt on their part to trip Jesus up.
They have tried several times before to get him
to openly contradict the existing laws;
today it is concerning whether
or not a man is allowed to divorce his wife.

Divorce then simply meant
the husband was tired of his wife or unhappy with her.
He simply signed a paper releasing her from her union with him.

They were both free to go about their merry ways.

But Jesus goes back to the beginning of creation.
He quotes the book of Genesis...
God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.

Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate.”

Marriage is the joining of a man and a woman;
becoming one flesh.
God has brought them together to live as one.

Divorce even today is a very touchy situation.
No one can say two people should never get a divorce,
but on the other hand should it be so easy to get divorced.

Adultery tied so closely to divorce seems very
 counter-cultural in society today.

Remaining in a marriage requires a great deal
 of selfless love on the part of each party.

The traditional marriage sums it up...
until death do us part...
in sickness and in health...
for richer or poor...
until death.
Be kind and merciful as the Lord;
you will be able to persevere in your marriage.
Blessed to receive daily the grace to
 gladly honor my wedding vows.

Peace.

The Palm of His Hand

~~~ Isaiah 49: 8-15 ~~~Psalm 145 ~~~ John 5: 17-30 ~~~

'...Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you...'

Time after time God proves his love for us.

He shows this love in his words and his actions.

He brings water forth from a rock...parts seas allowing for safe passage...

Effortlessly, He cuts a road through a mountain.

Time after time he shows his love and yet

we still experience times of doubts.

God says even if your own mother were to abandon you

he would still be there.

There is no human love that compares with the love of God.

'...The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.'

He has written each of our names on the palm of his hand.

This same hand that healed and fed hundreds if not thousands of people

during the public ministry of Jesus.

Jesus does only the work of his Father.

The Father is extending himself through the person of Jesus.

If you love Jesus then it follows that you also love the Father.

The Son and the Father are one in the same.

You cannot have one without the other.

Jesus humbled himself to become one of us.

He came to do the will of the Father.

The will of the Father is filled love, compassion, and mercy.

Our Triune God is kind and merciful...

slow to anger...rich in kindness.

We are so blessed!

At least one drop of his precious blood from his nail pierced hand

fell to the ground for you.

'...See, upon the palms of my hands I have engraved you...'

How Do You Measure?

~~~ Daniel 9:4b-10 ~~~ Psalm 79 ~~~ Luke 6:36-38 ~~~

 

 

O LORD, we are shamefaced...
for having sinned against you.

But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!

 

The prophet Daniel writes words appropriate for us today.

We are shamefaced for the many offenses we have committed against God.

We face our weaknesses and short comings.

We must admit where we need to improve for the future.

The main reason we are able to face our sinfulness is because we believe

our God is compassionate and forgiving. 

 

Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.

 

In addition to the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God,

Jesus is consistently giving us little kernels of advice.

Keeping the commandments is important, but there is more we can be doing.

He gave us the perfect prayer...the Our Father.

Now he is speaking to us about how we should live our lives.

 

If we live according to these simple phrases

we will find keeping the commandments to be much easier.

 

When I was young there was a children's program called Romper Room.

Mr. 'Do Bee' was regular character.

Today Jesus is giving us some simple 'Do Bees' and 'Don't Bees'.

Jesus knew that that the more often he could give us

 these nuggets of guidance the more likely

we would be to remember them later.

Just as the creators of Romper Room were delivering

little reminders for proper behavior.

 

 

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be merciful...
Stop judging...
Stop condemning...
Forgive...
Give...
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”

How would you characterize your ability to measure goodness out to others?

There is never a time when you have given enough goodness.

You can always extend a greater abundance of goodness to others.

Practice just for today...

challenge yourself to give more goodness to those you meet.

You are Loved beyond measure!