Friday, January 31, 2014
Friday ...
.
Today is Friday, January 31, 2014.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.
The Church’s 1st reading for today: 2 Samuel chapter 11 verses 4a- 17
At the turn of the year, when kings go out on campaign,
David sent out Joab along with his officers
and the army of Israel,
and they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.
David, however, remained in Jerusalem.
One evening David rose from his siesta
and strolled about on the roof of the palace.
From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful.
David had inquiries made about the woman and was told,
“She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam,
and wife of Joab’s armor bearer Uriah the Hittite.”
Then David sent messengers and took her.
When she came to him, he had relations with her.
She then returned to her house.
But the woman had conceived,
and sent the information to David, “I am with child.”
David therefore sent a message to Joab,
“Send me Uriah the Hittite.”
So Joab sent Uriah to David.
When he came, David questioned him about Joab, the soldiers,
and how the war was going, and Uriah answered that all was well.
David then said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and bathe your feet.”
Uriah left the palace,
and a portion was sent out after him from the king’s table.
But Uriah slept at the entrance of the royal palace
with the other officers of his lord, and did not go down
to his own house.
David was told that Uriah had not gone home.
On the day following, David summoned him,
and he ate and drank with David, who made him drunk.
But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his bed
among his lord’s servants, and did not go down to his home.
The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab
which he sent by Uriah.
In it he directed:
“Place Uriah up front, where the fighting is fierce.
Then pull back and leave him to be struck down dead.”
So while Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah
to a place where he knew the defenders were strong.
When the men of the city made a sortie against Joab,
some officers of David’s army fell,
and among them Uriah the Hittite died.
*****
Of all the characters portrayed in Scripture, it is hard to find one more complex than King David. David is the great hero who rose to power from humble beginnings, a shepherd boy not even admired by his own brothers, who had become, by God's amazing grace, the king of Israel. He had replaced his flawed predecessor Saul and salvaged the monarchy from its less than stellar beginning. He became known as, not only Israel's greatest king, but also as a man after God's own heart. But scripture is painfully honest in never attempting to canonize David, disguise his flaws, or excuse his mistakes. It simply lets the story unfold - his life as a shepherd, his loyalty to Saul, spectacular victories on the battlefield and equally spectacular failures at home.
David.
“You blew it!
One commandment after another down the drain - it began with covetousness, then adultery, then murder. Will you suffer for it? You know you will!
You and your entire household.
Mea culpa!
God bless,
Father Pat
.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Thursday ....
Today is Thursday, January, 30, 2014.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
O God, when confronted by mystery, help us to remember that we do not have to explain all we know or understand or believe.
The Church’s 1st reading for today: 2 Samuel chapter 7 verses 18-19; 24-29
After Nathan had spoken to King David,
the king went in and sat before the LORD and said,
“Who am I, Lord GOD, and who are the members of my house,
that you have brought me to this point?
Yet even this you see as too little, Lord GOD;
you have also spoken of the house of your servant
for a long time to come:
this too you have shown to man, Lord GOD!
“You have established for yourself your people Israel as yours forever,
and you, LORD, have become their God.
And now, LORD God, confirm for all time the prophecy you have made
concerning your servant and his house,
and do as you have promised.
Your name will be forever great, when men say,
‘The LORD of hosts is God of Israel,’
and the house of your servant David stands firm before you.
It is you, LORD of hosts, God of Israel,
who said in a revelation to your servant,
‘I will build a house for you.’
Therefore your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer to you.
And now, Lord GOD, you are God and your words are truth;
you have made this generous promise to your servant.
Do, then, bless the house of your servant
that it may be before you forever;
for you, Lord GOD, have promised,
and by your blessing the house of your servant
shall be blessed forever.”
*****
David goes into the tent which housed the Ark of the Covenant and sat before the Lord. This attitude of devotion seems not to be mentioned elsewhere, but it is a characteristic posture of prayer in the ancient East.
Both David and his nation were "on a roll". The enemies of the past were crushed (especially the Philistines); the Israelite tribes were uniting and beginning to prosper; and now Jerusalem had become the religious center.
David now ponders it all. This portion of the text is referred to as "David's Prayer". It is a chance to reflect, a chance to pause for thought, a time to sort everything out. Good prayer - nourishing prayer - will do that. All of us need to take time to pause and reflect, to "center ourselves" and really listen to our lives.
David's prayer is a natural response to the promises that had been made to him and to the success of his kingdom. His prayer includes many things. But these three most clearly: humility, praise, and acknowledgment.
Are these three elements found in your everyday prayer?
God bless,
Father Pat
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
O God, when confronted by mystery, help us to remember that we do not have to explain all we know or understand or believe.
The Church’s 1st reading for today: 2 Samuel chapter 7 verses 18-19; 24-29
After Nathan had spoken to King David,
the king went in and sat before the LORD and said,
“Who am I, Lord GOD, and who are the members of my house,
that you have brought me to this point?
Yet even this you see as too little, Lord GOD;
you have also spoken of the house of your servant
for a long time to come:
this too you have shown to man, Lord GOD!
“You have established for yourself your people Israel as yours forever,
and you, LORD, have become their God.
And now, LORD God, confirm for all time the prophecy you have made
concerning your servant and his house,
and do as you have promised.
Your name will be forever great, when men say,
‘The LORD of hosts is God of Israel,’
and the house of your servant David stands firm before you.
It is you, LORD of hosts, God of Israel,
who said in a revelation to your servant,
‘I will build a house for you.’
Therefore your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer to you.
And now, Lord GOD, you are God and your words are truth;
you have made this generous promise to your servant.
Do, then, bless the house of your servant
that it may be before you forever;
for you, Lord GOD, have promised,
and by your blessing the house of your servant
shall be blessed forever.”
*****
David goes into the tent which housed the Ark of the Covenant and sat before the Lord. This attitude of devotion seems not to be mentioned elsewhere, but it is a characteristic posture of prayer in the ancient East.
Both David and his nation were "on a roll". The enemies of the past were crushed (especially the Philistines); the Israelite tribes were uniting and beginning to prosper; and now Jerusalem had become the religious center.
David now ponders it all. This portion of the text is referred to as "David's Prayer". It is a chance to reflect, a chance to pause for thought, a time to sort everything out. Good prayer - nourishing prayer - will do that. All of us need to take time to pause and reflect, to "center ourselves" and really listen to our lives.
David's prayer is a natural response to the promises that had been made to him and to the success of his kingdom. His prayer includes many things. But these three most clearly: humility, praise, and acknowledgment.
Are these three elements found in your everyday prayer?
God bless,
Father Pat
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
A few more pics of the cold:
Still celebrated Mass this morning. At least my server showed up:
.
I-110 is closed to traffic:
.
St. Michael Church on the corner:
.
I-110 is closed to traffic:
St. Michael Church on the corner:
.
Morning Mass:
.
Yup, still going ahead with it. I know one person will be there, 2 if you count me.
.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Wednesday ......
Today is Wednesday, January 29, 2014.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
“If you build it, they will come.”
The Church’s 1 reading for today: 2 Samuel chapter 7 verses 4-17
That night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?
I have not dwelt in a house
from the day on which I led the children of Israel
out of Egypt to the present,
but I have been going about in a tent under cloth.
In all my wanderings everywhere among the children of Israel,
did I ever utter a word to any one of the judges
whom I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask:
Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’
“Now then, speak thus to my servant David,
‘The LORD of hosts has this to say:
It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his Kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
And if he does wrong,
I will correct him with the rod of men
and with human chastisements;
but I will not withdraw my favor from him
as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul,
whom I removed from my presence.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.’”
Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.
* * *
There is an old story about a beautiful Emperor moth. This Emperor moth was really not yet free, but was tucked away in a cocoon just waiting to be released. As this particular emperor moth was struggling to get through the narrow neck of the cocoon, a boy was intently observing it. As the moth struggled to release himself from the cocoon, the boy felt the moth would never make it out of the cocoon. As the struggle went on for several hours, the boy became increasingly impatient. He thought to himself, "maybe there is something wrong." He decided to take matters into his own hands, and with a pair of scissors the boy gently snipped the threads around the opening of the cocoon to make it easier for the moth to emerge. As soon as the threads were snipped, the moth crawled out; however, as it did, it dropped behind it an ugly, distended, shriveled wing which was useless. The exercise the moth would have gotten in the struggle would have animated its wings.
In the Old Testament Scripture for today, David is much like the little boy who snipped away at the Emperor moth's cocoon. For the first time since ascending the throne, David is in a position to snip the cocoon from which he had been emerging.
David is established in his new house and is secure from his notorious Philistine enemies. No doubt David has become bored and wants to emerge from the cocoon in which God has placed him. In so doing, he focuses on himself and his own insecurities. In this mind set, David decides that he must build God a house. In his own mind he has already said, "Yes," to his idea.
But that is not what God desires for David.
You ever find your desires for yourself in contradiction to God’s desire for you?
God bless,
Father Pat
.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
“If you build it, they will come.”
The Church’s 1 reading for today: 2 Samuel chapter 7 verses 4-17
That night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?
I have not dwelt in a house
from the day on which I led the children of Israel
out of Egypt to the present,
but I have been going about in a tent under cloth.
In all my wanderings everywhere among the children of Israel,
did I ever utter a word to any one of the judges
whom I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask:
Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’
“Now then, speak thus to my servant David,
‘The LORD of hosts has this to say:
It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his Kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
And if he does wrong,
I will correct him with the rod of men
and with human chastisements;
but I will not withdraw my favor from him
as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul,
whom I removed from my presence.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.’”
Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.
* * *
There is an old story about a beautiful Emperor moth. This Emperor moth was really not yet free, but was tucked away in a cocoon just waiting to be released. As this particular emperor moth was struggling to get through the narrow neck of the cocoon, a boy was intently observing it. As the moth struggled to release himself from the cocoon, the boy felt the moth would never make it out of the cocoon. As the struggle went on for several hours, the boy became increasingly impatient. He thought to himself, "maybe there is something wrong." He decided to take matters into his own hands, and with a pair of scissors the boy gently snipped the threads around the opening of the cocoon to make it easier for the moth to emerge. As soon as the threads were snipped, the moth crawled out; however, as it did, it dropped behind it an ugly, distended, shriveled wing which was useless. The exercise the moth would have gotten in the struggle would have animated its wings.
In the Old Testament Scripture for today, David is much like the little boy who snipped away at the Emperor moth's cocoon. For the first time since ascending the throne, David is in a position to snip the cocoon from which he had been emerging.
David is established in his new house and is secure from his notorious Philistine enemies. No doubt David has become bored and wants to emerge from the cocoon in which God has placed him. In so doing, he focuses on himself and his own insecurities. In this mind set, David decides that he must build God a house. In his own mind he has already said, "Yes," to his idea.
But that is not what God desires for David.
You ever find your desires for yourself in contradiction to God’s desire for you?
God bless,
Father Pat
.
Tuesday ....
.
Today is Tuesday, January 28, 2013.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
We should all have our “Arks” to remind us of the presence of God.
The Church’s 1st reading for today: 2 Samuel chapter 6 verses 12b-15, 17-19
David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom
into the City of David amid festivities.
As soon as the bearers of the ark of the LORD had advanced six steps,
he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
Then David, girt with a linen apron,
came dancing before the LORD with abandon,
as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD
with shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn.
The ark of the LORD was brought in and set in its place
within the tent David had pitched for it.
Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
When he finished making these offerings,
he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
He then distributed among all the people,
to each man and each woman in the entire multitude of Israel,
a loaf of bread, a cut of roast meat, and a raisin cake.
With this, all the people left for their homes.
* * *
As creatures of time and space, we seem to need some sort of center for our faith. The local church building often serves this purpose for many of us, and our grand cathedrals attest to this as well. For David and the Israelites (in our Scripture passage this morning) the centering impulse was focused on the Ark of the Covenant. One of David's shrewdest acts was to rescue the Ark from the place of oblivion in which it had rested since the fall of the confederate sanctuary of Shiloh, and to bring it to Jerusalem.
The contents of the Ark are believed to have been the two tablets of stone on which were recorded the Law – the Ten Commandments (which was considered the basis of the covenant between God and Israel). This Ark was housed in the Holy of Holies, first in the Tabernacle, later in the Temple. After being kept in a tent-like sanctuary during David's time, it was finally installed in the holiest chamber of Solomon's Temple, beneath the cherubim. Nothing is known of what became of the Ark.
Today in many synagogues an ark is placed in the wall of the structure facing Jerusalem, toward which prayers are directed.
The richness of this symbolism is to be preserved, as is all symbolism that points to our Creator. In our Catholic Churches we have the Tabernacle located in or near the Sanctuary which houses the Sacramental presence of Christ, The beloved Son of God.
Our own presence, too, as a Christian, should reflect the divine within us so that those looking for God don’t have to look too far.
Does your person reflect the presence of God?
God bless,
Father Pat
.
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