Meditations for the Year of Mercy: The Fire Inside

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fire burning

By AswiniKP (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

by Fr. Joe Nassal, C.PP.S., Provincial Director
Several years ago at a retreat, a woman described how the death of her brother burned a hole in her soul. When he died, she thought she would find comfort and consolation in her faith but just the opposite happened. Her faith died inside of her and she left the church for several years. She wasn’t pushed away. She didn’t say anything negative about the church or the priest or the people at the time her brother died. She just felt numb inside.
It was confusing for her and she didn’t understand her reaction until she heard the reading from Isaiah that we read this Sunday (Isaiah 6, 1-8). Notice the imagery: the altar is on fire. She imaged God as a living fire and when her brother died, she did not want to stand too close to the fire. Rather than experiencing the fire of God’s love as a comforting presence, her brother’s death was like a raging fire that burned her to the core, consuming her hope and leaving her faith in ashes.
She had to walk away from the altar, from the church, and from her faith for a while. She returned to church a few years before I met her, but Isaiah’s experience at the altar gave her a language to speak about her brother’s death. “The advice we learn as children, ‘Don’t stand too close to the fire,’ is wise and good,” she said. “But when what is on fire is God, then we are to get as close to the fire as we possibly can.”
But this is dangerous because when we get close to God, we may get burned.
In both our first reading and gospel this weekend, Isaiah and Peter get burned from getting too close to the fire of God’s love. Both have similar responses. When the prophet Isaiah experiences God’s revealing presence in the blazing altar, he says, “Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips!” He recognizes his sin, his unworthiness. Peter’s response is the same after the miraculous catch of fish, “Depart from me, O God, for I am a sinful man.” Jesus does not depart, of course, but rather invites Peter into a deeper relationship as he calls him to follow him.
Pope Francis calls Jesus the mercy of God: “In Jesus of Nazareth, mercy has become living and visible. Jesus’ entire life and his person is nothing but love, a love given gratuitously.” That woman I met at the mission was afraid to get too close to the fire of God’s love and mercy because she was afraid she might get burned. Each of us deals with fears great and small as we seek to live out our call to follow Jesus. Our readings on this last Sunday before Ash Wednesday remind us that Isaiah and Peter had reservations and fears about answering God’s call because of their sin. But because their encounter with the fire of God’s mercy and love, they were able to embrace their prophetic call and warm the world with truth, justice, and grace.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

MIRA 2016 Advocacy Day

Campaigners for citizenshipBr. Daryl Charron invites you to MIRA 2016 Advocacy Day to speak to Missouri lawmakers on behalf of immigrants and refugees in our state. Missionaries of the Precious Blood KC Province will sponsor a bus that will leave from Sacred Heart/Guadalupe Parish parking lot at 6am. Contact Br. Daryl if you are interested in attending.
March 9th, 2016
9am-3pm
Truman State Building, Room 490
301 W. High Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101
Join us for MIRA’s 2016 Advocacy Day in Jefferson City, MO.  This is your chance to come face-to-face with Missouri lawmakers to discuss what’s important for immigrants and refugees in your community.
The legislative session has convened, and politicians statewide are determining laws and budgets that will directly impact immigrants and refugees.  With anti-immigrant and refugee rhetoric dominating political speeches and debates, now more than ever is the time to assure that hateful politics has no place in our state.  There are many ways to get involved, and MIRA will provide all the materials you need, teach you how to get a meeting with legislators, how to talk about legislation, and provide a brief orientation to the Capitol.  This is a free event open to anyone who is interested, and carpools will be organized throughout the state to provide transportation.  You don’t have to be a policy expert to have your voices heard.  Come advocate for a Missouri that is fair and welcoming to all!

Lectionary Catechesis: OT Lent 1C, February 14, 2016

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By William Hole [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

By William Hole [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Ash Wednesday proclamation focused on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, each the opposite of money, power, and fame. The gospel makes us consider the ways of the world as opposed to the ways of God. All God’s blessings belong to God; we return our money, power, fame and praise God alone. How do these readings mature us in our faith in Jesus Christ and help us get out into the desert with Jesus?
Lent 1 C Lectionary Catechesis
Lent 1 A Lectionary Catechesis (for use with RCIA)[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]