In our culture, September is the season of return. Children and youth return to school; workers return from vacation; worshippers return to their pews; and here on the Hill, Congress returns from its August recess. (You may have noticed that they have spent the last month reconnecting with their constituents.) As we reestablish connections, we are reminded of the challenges of living in community, a theme that Sister Christine Vladimiroff finds in the lectionary readings for the month.
May God bless you in your efforts to guide your returned community in exploring what Christine calls the paradoxes of gospel living.
Grace and peace,
Rev. Gary R. Cook
Director of Church Relations
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Lectionary Reflections
From Hunger for the Word, Year B
This month, Sister Christine Vladimiroff, O.S.B. leads us through scripture where we find the Disciples struggling to live as a community. We are reminded that it can be difficult to live together, but Jesus demands it. He speaks of a world that has a zero-tolerance policy against injustice, and we are called to implement it.
September 6, 2009 Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Where do I place my hope? With what confidence do I live my life so that it conveys to others that God alone is my refuge and my hope? How willing am I to do the audacious to bring goodness and healing to another? Can a community’s faith bring goodness into the world of violence? Read more »
September 13, 2009 Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
As a citizen, I must raise my voice on behalf of those whom society barely notices. I must speak the wisdom of the Gospel as our leaders make laws that keep people hungry or without shelter…I too must cry out in the streets, at congressional hearings, at public meetings on local issues that affect poor and hungry people. Read more »
September 20, 2009 Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus is clear that in the community of disciples at that time and now, the first is the last and the servant of all. There is no sophisticated philosophical argument, just a statement that stands in stark contrast to what our world esteems. Read more »
September 27, 2009 Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
We have the same struggle as the disciples—living on God’s terms or living on human terms. We settle in most instances for being “reasonable” Christians. We go through life marked neither by great holiness nor by profound sinfulness, and thus we keep a certain peace of mind. That was not Jesus’ intent in today’s gospel. Read more »
Praying Together
Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly,
that our lives may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through us, and be so in us,
that every person we should come in contact with
may feel your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see no longer us, but only Jesus.
Stay with us, and then we shall begin to shine as you shine;
so to shine as to be a light to others;
the light, Jesus, will be all from you.
None of it will be ours.
It will be you shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise you in the way you love best,
by shining on those around us.
Let us preach you without preaching:
not by words, but by our example,
by the catching force,
the sympathetic influence of what we do,
the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear for you.
Amen.
- Mother Teresa
Bulletin Announcement
Bread for the World Offering of Letters Update — Churches around the country are joining Bread for the World in urging Congress to make U.S. foreign assistance more effective in combating hunger and poverty A new bill (S. 1524) has been introduced in the Senate that would move in that direction. Bread is requesting that we write or call our Senators and urge them to cosponsor this legislation. You can learn more about “Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act” and find instructions for contacting your senators at Bread's Web site.
Resources for Your Ministry
Bread for the World Sunday is an opportunity for churches to renew their commitment to ending hunger and poverty in God’s world. Worshipping communities across the country will join together in lifting up their voices on behalf of hungry people. On October 18 or another Sunday before Thanksgiving churches from many faith traditions will observe Bread for the World Sunday. To facilitate this focus on hunger, Bread for the World provides prayers, a theological reflection, a bulletin insert and suggestions on ways to engage your congregation. Learn more and order free resources by visiting Bread's Web site.
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