Dear Friends,
Mass on Sunday, August 6, 2017 at 10:00 A.M.
72nd anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.
The question to ponder this week, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Or maybe, we need to ask ourselves if we believe in fact that “God is for us?!”
Come; friends, ponder this question with us on Sunday!
Peace and love,
Pastor Kathy
Readings:
My friends, today’s gospel about the pearl of great price calls each of us to consider what is most important in our lives and of how much we would give for this most important item. Our consideration of what is most important to us no doubt includes more than one thing; more than likely, the consideration includes several things, persons among the list. Solomon in today’s first reading; asks for something outside of himself, for the good of others—that he would be wise ruler. Would we do the same—ask for the good of others or would “the great pearl seeking” be all about us?
The story that Jesus tells today says that the merchant gave everything because the treasure he found was so great that he was willing to give it all to have that prize. If we think about who we consider our most treasured persons, perhaps our values in life, would we indeed give it all? I think we have an example of this in the person of Senator John McCain, a long-time Republican senator from Arizona. Recently, as you all know, Senator McCain was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of brain cancer. I think this life-changing moment encouraged him to go after the “great pearl” placed before him, truth and justice, concerning health care and finally, “work across the aisle” with the opposing party, to do the right thing.
Jesus tells us that the kin-dom of heaven is like that—and the pearl of great price is the Word and way of God. God has first loved us and asks merely that we love God in return. God loves each of us with an understanding heart, the gift that Solomon asked for in the first reading, to judge his people well and “do the right thing.” John McCain’s significant vote in the early hours of Friday morning, added to the women’s Collins and Murkowski’s steadfast votes of earlier in the week, stopping a bad health care bill, that would serve so few very poorly, came from an understanding heart, a heart that was finally prompted to rise up, finally, finally, before it was too late, to do the right thing.
Paul tells us today in his letter to the Romans, “God makes all things work together for good”—sometimes it takes a while, but our hope is truly in our good God to change hearts!
Is our love merely something on our tongues or do our hearts become engaged too? Can we say, “I would give it all for the pearls of great price in my life?” Are we willing to so conform our lives to God’s ways so as to make the changes necessary to truly be followers of our brother, Jesus? How much would we be willing to give—our reputations, our livelihoods, our very lives? As we see in the person of John McCain, our ability to make these great decisions to be who God has called each of us to be changes as we grow and change.
We are told in Psalm 119 today to “glorify the law of God,” but that doesn’t mean to take it in a legalistic way. Instead; we should remember God’s covenant with the people of Israel and by extension, with us. God’s covenant with all of us is about God loving us first. Let me repeat that as it is most important that we get this one idea—God, my friends, loved us first! The covenant continues from there—it’s all about following God’s lead, about us then, showing lovingkindness and compassion in our world.
In this, I am speaking of the Cosmic Christ, that life-force moving in our world that is bigger than any religion, ideology, or way of life. The goodness that planet earth represents continually calls each of us to good, to make the wise decisions as did Solomon to give back to our world and its people the good each of us is capable of. Our free wills allow us to choose solely for what is best for us as individuals and a country, but the life-force of the Cosmic Christ calls us, pulls us, strains within this universe and its people to choose wisely, being our best, not only for ourselves, but for everyone.
John McCain spoke eloquently these past days about doing the right thing for everyone and passing a health care bill that truly serves people. And this will mean working with others, doing the truly hard work of listening to each other. This doesn’t mean that everyone gets everything that they want, but that each side gets an equal amount and the two sides find a place where they can agree, while not stopping progress because they can’t have it all—deciding which “pearls” can be let go of, which cannot.
Paul words that, “Everything works unto good for those who love God” isn’t the same as saying that everything will work out in the end—it is part of the human condition—we live imperfectly, now. God walks with us extending lovingkindness and compassion. I think we don’t always believe that God is this good, because we don’t spend enough time in regular communication with the One who loves us above all others.
We are God’s pearls of great, great price. If we are truly to believe this and act upon it in our lives, we will have to take time in our days to come to know this God of Love better. God isn’t some being far off, unconnected to us and our lives, but with us, here and now, in the faces of our own “pearls of great price,” spouses, children, good friends—each can show us glimpses of our loving God if we can look with eyes of love, understanding and care. The “pearl of great price” is always there, it is just for us to become wiser, see more clearly, love more deeply.
My friends, to repeat, in other words, our God always wants good and not bad for us, is our cheerleader, our best friend—wants us to choose what is best for us and ultimately for others, because our lives are not just for ourselves, but for all that we touch in this world.
We may sometimes think that God doesn’t hear or doesn’t care when we pray for something that doesn’t happen. God’s walk with us in this life is not about rescuing us, but about giving us the strength to be whom we were called to be. Again, John McCain and the Republican women senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski are models in this now.
The misfortunes that happen to each of us in life are part of what it means to be human and prepare us for all that comes next. But whatever it is that befalls us or graces us in this life; we can be sure that our God is there to share it with us—we just have to remember to not keep God far off, but front and center.
Every day, sincerely ask Jesus to be part of your day, allowing you to live a life of profound wisdom and always to make choices from the heart, not the head—the heart is a truer, more profound starting place.
Solomon, in the first reading today from Kings is a wonderful model for each of us in this quest to be our best selves. He could have asked God for anything, riches of all kinds, money, a fine life; but instead he asks for wisdom and understanding that he might rule the People of Israel well—a nation so vast, they couldn’t be counted. History shows us that indeed he did become a ruler like no other before or since, known for his wise and understanding heart.
What are the choices, my friends, that each of us will make? Who do we ultimately serve in our lives? What is the great pearl that we strive after and how much are we willing to give to have it? May we each be blessed with all we need to choose wisely. Amen? Amen!
Dear Friends,
Mass on Sunday, July 30, 2017 at 10:00 A. M.
Last Sunday to bring groceries for Winona Food Shelf this month–remember, if you have extra garden produce, you can take it directly to Winona Volunteer Services, designate that it is from All Are One Catholic church and have them weigh it–simply for the purposes of looking back and remembering the generosity of our parish.
We are called this week to consider the “great pearl or pearls” in our lives–what would we give to own this great prize? Sometimes it will be about, what people think of us in deciding how much this prize means to us.
Come; discern our brother Jesus’ call to us this week.
Peace and love,
Pastor Kathy
Readings:
My friends, we have talked many times of who Mary of Magdala truly was, not a prostitute, but a priest and a prophet and an evangelist and in lifting her up, we lift all women to their true status. Women and men alike have always been called by our brother Jesus and always will be—that is what we are here to celebrate today!
A woman of our times, Sr. Joan Chittister, a prophet in her own right, in 2010 said well of Mary that she is “an icon for our Century.” From her writings in, A Passion for Life,” she wrote in length about Mary and for my homily today, I would like to include her words which say so well, and better than I can who Mary of Magdala was and why we should look up to her in our day.
Her feast day was actually, yesterday, July 22—Sr. Joan has this to say: “It is Mary Magdalene, the evangelist John details, to whom Jesus first appears after the resurrection. It is Mary Magdalene who is instructed to proclaim the Easter message to the others. It is Mary Magdalene whom Jesus commissions to ‘tell Peter and the others that I have gone before them into Galilee.’
And then, the Scripture says pathetically, ‘But Peter and John and the others did not believe her and they went to the tomb to see for themselves.’
It is two thousand years later and little or nothing has changed. The voice of women proclaiming the presence of Christ goes largely unconfirmed. The call of women to minister goes largely unnoted. The commission of women to the church goes largely disdained.
Mary Magdalene is, no doubt about it, an important icon for the twenty-first century.
She calls women to listen to the call of the Christ over the call of the church.
She calls men to listen for the call of the Christ in the messages of women.
She calls women to courage and men to humility.
She calls all of us to faith and fortitude, to unity and universalism, to a Christianity that rises above sexism, a religion that transcends the idolatry of maleness, a commitment to the things of God that surmount every obstacle and surpasses every system.
Mary Magdalene is a shining light of hope, a disciple of Christ, a model of the wholeness of life, in a world whose name is despair and in a church whose vision is yet, still, even now, partial.”
So my friends, the challenge is clear to all of us—women’s voices in this Church will only be heard when we demand that they be heard, when we do not stand idly by in the face of discrimination, sexism, clericalism—when we no longer worship priests, bishops, the pope, but demand that they be the servants that Jesus, our brother called them to be; when we demand truth from them and accept no less.
And you might ask, who are we doing all this for? Is it so that women can have power over men instead of the other way around? No, it is all about seeing to it that women in this world are respected, accepted for who they are, what they believe, what God has called them to. If this is not done in our churches, it will not be done in the rest of the world. The world is right in looking to religious bodies for an example of how to be with each other—we must not let them down—for Mary of Magdala that she would have her rightful place in our Church, for our mothers and all women who went before us, for our daughters, nieces, women and girlfriends, we must not stop demanding equality, because we will only be richer, better served, both men and women. Amen? Amen!
Dear Friends,
Mass on the Redig Family Farm-July 23, 2017, 10 A.M.–Celebration of Mary of Magdala and of all women
This Sunday we will gather for our annual celebration of Mary of Magdala and ultimately, a celebration of all women and of their God-given calls to serve the Church in many and wonderful ways, including as, priests!
As we will discuss in this Sunday’s liturgy, if the Churches do not model inclusivity and respect for women, it gives the rest of society permission not to treat them with justice either.
If you have not indicated yet that you will join us on Sunday, be in touch with me soon! We will be meeting at the Redig Family Farm for an outdoor Mass (weather permitting) and a pot-luck lunch to follow.
Hoping to see you on Sunday!
Peace and love,
Pastor Kathy
Readings:
All Are One Church 
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