Priestly Blessing for the Community

LECTIO: NM 6:22-27

The LORD said to Moses:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them."

STUDIUM:

These are well-known blessings, used often.  They are the specific words of God's blessing that the priests are to say over the congregation. I like the last line best, "I will bless them."  Get that.  The priest says the words and God Himself does the blessing.

   This sums up God's design for the people--holiness and well-being.

MEDITATIO:

May God, the source and origin of all blessing, grant you grace, pour out his blessing in abundance, and keep you safe from harm throughout the year. 

ORATIO:

I pray to start and continue walking closer to Thee, my Beloved.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Shalom

RESOLUTIO:

Once again!!!  Try to do the nine first Fridays.

Divine Adoption

LECTIO: GAL 4:4-7

Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.

STUDIUM:

The "fullness of time" was Jesus' birth.  And He was born under the law emphasizes Jewish law.  Yet, this Messiah will free us from Original Sin.  We, although not Jewish are adopted. Paul uses "adopted" five times in the New Testament.  We are children through faith and Baptism. And we are so close to the Father that He gave us permission to call Him, "Abba, Father".  That's not all; we can now inherit the promises God gave to Israel.

MEDITATIO:

...God sent his Son, born of a woman... makes Mary, the Mother of God!  How awesome is that!  Mary, a human being was God's instrument, considered the spouse of the Holy Spirit.  And remember in the Old Testament, it was the mother of the king who sat in the queen's chair.  It was the mother and not the wives of the king who was called "Queen."  Thus it is fitting to call Mary, Queen of Heaven."

ORATIO:

Mary, Queen of Heaven, intercede for us.  Thank your King for our many blessings.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Hail Mary, full of grace, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

RESOLUTIO:

I still, once again, will try to pray my rosary with more intentional focus.

Brother Tonto's Nine Ways of Prayer

Brother Tonto has two pets: a cat named Cappa and a dog named Canis.  Here they are demonstrating Brother Tonto's nine ways of prayer.

The Password is Peace

Lectio:
COL 3:12-21

Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.  

Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged.

Studium:

Paul probably never visited, nor started, the church in Colossae. A native Colossian, Epaphras,  brought the Gospel to Colossae.  Somewhere, maybe Rome, Epaphras met Paul. There were many Jews in Colossae but the Colossian Church was mostly uncircumcised Gentiles.

Paul writes this letter to remind the church of their heritage.  Paul reiterates their friendship with God and accordingly, with each other.  The harmonious relationships within the family are stressed.  The pagan family held the father up as a tyrant.  The Christian family is different; it is tied together in peace and love.

Meditatio:

May my prayers be as thankful and full of peaceful love as Paul's. 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through him.  

Oratio:

Lord, I pray that the world will be in true reconciliation with You. This is Your Will.

Contemplatio:

Shalom, Lord.  Shalom.

Resolutio:

Take a deep breath and think peace before I talk.

Killing v. Murdering

Trailer for Open Range

This morning I watched Open Range.  This is a good cowboy movie made in 2003.  Kevin Costner is the impetus behind it.  There is violence, but how do you make a cowboy movie without a gunfight?

It's good guys against the bad guys.  The good guys are Boss, Charley, Mose, and Button.  The action begins when Mose is beaten up while in town.  Mose is a big guy and I have observed from my volunteering with "my cloistered brothers" that there's an inordinate number of big guys in prison. Another observation is that these big men are very gentle.  My theory is that small men (and I mean small self-esteem) deliberately pick on big guys to see if they can "take them."  Unfortunately, some end up dead and the big guy goes to prison.

Anyway, back on topic: to avenge Mose's assault, Boss and Charley go after the bad guys.  While they are away, more bad guys come and kill Mose, and leave Button for dead.

After burying Mose, Boss and Charley bring Button to a doctor in town.  This is where the action takes place.  There's the usual romance but that's not my subject.  During the inevitable "show down," Charley wounds one of the bad guys.  The bad guy tries to crawl away.  He has no weapon and is just an open target, lying on the ground.  Charley goes over to him and raises his gun to shoot him.  Boss says "Don't".

"Don't, because you're not a murderer."  Charley looks around at the carnage he caused in the shoot out.  Charley wonders what Boss is getting at.  He just killed all these bad guys.  Boss explains that the gunfight was kill or be killed--like war, but shooting a wounded unarmed man lying stretched out before you would be murder.

And Charley is not a murderer.  He turns around.

Interestingly, Boss is faced with the same situation.  However, while he also chooses not to be a murderer, he does so for maleficent reasons.  His opponent is also helpless in front of him, shot multiple times.  Boss takes out his gun and places it on the man's forehead.  But then he raises it and says, "No, I don't want to put you out of your misery.  I want you to suffer.  Bleed out."

What's the difference?  Intent.  Who's more culpable?

LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT: A TSW CHRISTMAS CARD

Father Gordon Macrae's latest post on TSW is his Christmas card to us. LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT: A TSW CHRISTMAS CARD   This is my favorite part:

I am forced by circumstance to live in a place with men who are banished, not just from home and family and freedom, but too often also from hope. Some with even the darkest pasts have come into the light to thrill us with their stories of grace and true repentance and conversion. You have read of several in these pages and there are other stories yet to come. For some of these wounded men become saints, I am not fit to fasten their sandals.

We live East of Eden, a place from which the Magi of the Gospel saw a star and heard good news, the very best of news: Freedom can be found in only one place, and the way there is to follow the Star they followed. If you follow These Stone Walls, never follow me. Follow only Christ.

My Christmas card to you is this message, a tradition of sorts behind These Stone Walls. My small, barred cell window faces due West so my gaze is always out of the East. On this cold and gray December day, the sun will soon be setting behind the high prison wall, glistening upon its razor wire like tinsel. I sit in this spot every Christmas eve to watch its final descent behind the wall that is my view of the world at Christmas for the 21st time.

I offer this moment for you, for TSW readers the world over, and I offer for you this prayer, “Lead, Kindly Light,” my favorite verse from the newly canonized Saint John Henry Newman:

• Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
  Lead Thou me on;
  The night is dark, and I am far from home;
  Lead Thou me on.
• I was not ever thus,
  Nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on;
  I loved to choose and see my path,
  but now, Lead Thou me on.
• I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
  Pride ruled my will: Remember not past years.
  So long Thy power hath blessed me,
  Sure it still will lead me on,
• O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent,
  Til the night is gone,
  And with the morn those Angel faces smile,
  Which I have loved long since,
  and lost awhile.

Tabernacling

Is tabernacling a word?  Bishop Robert Barron uses it in his last reflection, in his book, Advent Gospel Reflections:

...The Word becoming flesh is God coming to dwell definitely in his world, undoing the effects of sin, and turning it into what it was always meant to be.  Notice, too, what we see in the wake of this tabernacling: "and we saw his glory, the glory of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth."

Tabernacling begins with the Incarnation.  The Incarnation is when Jesus was conceived as man. The Incarnation is when He became One with us, mankind.  We are conceived within our mothers' wombs, as was He.  Jesus' Mother Mary became His tabernacle.  As a human being, Jesus what  all the scriptures said.  All those words became Jesus.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.

This is the tabernacling of Jesus.  His life among us. His saving us.  His redeeming us.  His glory.  Not only is this wondrous; it is life forever for us.

From His fullness we have all received, grace, life fulfilling grace.