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This is from the
St. Vincent de Paul website, on the Gospel
of Luke 17:11-19, for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary
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Reflection:
Gratitude is an expression of discipleship and a
sign of God’s reign. This gospel presents a
foreign leper who asks for healing, obeys what
is commanded, experiences healing, and then
gives thanks to God. The faith that saves is the
recognition that God acts in many ways on our
behalf to bring us salvation. We are healed each
time we come to Eucharist to give praise and
thanks to God and in this act of worship we
become more perfect members of the body of
Christ. We are healed each time we put others
ahead of ourselves and in these simple acts we
strengthen our faith. We are healed each time we
pause to “give thanks to God” for the many
blessings of each day because by giving thanks
to God we acknowledge that God has acted in
Christ. By giving thanks we acknowledge our own
indebtedness—we are poor and everything we are
and are becoming is because God has raised us
up. (Living Liturgy, p. 224)
Vincentian Meditation:
If we have a grateful heart, we will see
everything as gifts of God. There is a beautiful
prayer of St. Thomas More who, when he was rich
and enjoyed much favor from King Henry VIII,
always kept his heart detached from the things
of life. The prayer goes:
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Thanks be to You, Lord Jesus Christ, for all
that you have given me.
Thanks be to You, Lord Jesus Christ, for all
that you have taken away from me.
Thanks be to You, Lord Jesus Christ, for all
that You have left me.
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May God give us the grace to be grateful for
everything He has given us and to show that
gratitude by generosity to others and to those
who are poor.
(McCullen, Deep Down Things: Selected Writing p.204)
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Attitude |
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Once in a while, my
better-half would nudge me to listen to certain
Christian speakers, which I have become leery
because some of them really have an axe to grind
against the Catholic Church and Catholic Beliefs.
Once in a while, I listen and move to the nudging.
Thankfully I did.
Dr. Wayne Dyer is different. Certainly there are
disagreements with our Catholic teachings, but Wayne Dyer's
very motivational work does not only give
us the reasons why we should do certain things a
different way, but also teaches us how to do it.
In his audio CD,
the
The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way
(we have the abridged
version), he relates a story about attitude. Here
is that story. |
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A 92-year old
petite, well-poised proud lady, who’s fully
dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her
hair fashionably quaffed, and make up perfectly
applied even though she is legally blind, had
moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of
seventy years recently had passed away making
the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the
lobby of this nursing home, she smiled sweetly
when I told her room was now ready. As she
maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I
provided a visual description of her tiny room,
including the eyelet sheets that had been hung
on the window.
“I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of
an eight-year old having just been presented
with a new puppy.
“But Mrs. Jones, you have not even seen the room
yet. Just wait.”
“That does not have anything to do with this,”
she said. “Happiness is something you decide on
ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not
doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged.
It depends on how I arrange my mind.”
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Awesome story! When
you change the way you look at things, even if
you’re legally blind, the things you look at
change. |
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For more of this,
you might want to checkout his audio CD on the
The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way
or the book version of
the The Power of Intention
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Nehemiah
Rebuilds
and Purifies the Second Temple |
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Inspired by the LORD
During the reign of King Artaxerxes,
Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah is at the
citadel of Susa when Hanani, one of his
brothers, comes with other men from
Judah. He asks them about the plight of
the Jews after the captivity, and about
Jerusalem. They tell him distressing
news about his people and about
Jerusalem, which lies in ruins and
gutted with fire.
Upon
hearing this, Nehemiah goes into
mourning for several days and prays
before the God of heaven., that although
they had sinned, for the LORD to deliver
them. He also asks the LORD to intervene
so he will find favor before the king,
whom he serves as the cup-bearer.
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Finding Favor with the King
When Nehemiah goes back to the royal
palace, he serves his king with wine. The
king notices how sad Nehemiah looks and asks
why. Nehemiah explains that he is sad
because the city where my ancestors are
buried lies in ruins, and its gates have
been eaten out by fire. |
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The king asks
him what he intends to do. Summoning
courage, Nehemiah asks that if his servant
is deserving of the king’s favor, to send
him to Judah to rebuild it. Then the king,
and the queen seated beside him, asks how
long his journey would take and when he
would return. Nehemiah sets a date that is
acceptable to him, and the king agrees that
he might go.
Nehemiah
asks the king further to send letters with
him: one for the governors of
West-of-Euphrates, that they may afford him
safe-conduct till he arrives in Judah; and
one letter for Asaph, the keeper of the
royal park, that he may give him wood for
timbering the gates of the temple-citadel
and for the city wall and the house that he
shall occupy.
The king
grants Nehemiah’s requests, for the favoring
hand of my God was upon him. |
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Rebuilding Judah |
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Thus Nehemiah proceeded to the governors of
West-of-Euphrates and presents the king's
letters to them. The king also sends with
him army officers and cavalry.
Nehemiah rests for three days after arriving
in Jerusalem. He has not yet disclosed to
anyone what the LORD has inspired him to do
for Jerusalem. Then he sets out by night
with only a few other men and with only own
mount. He goes out to inspect the ruined
city and its gates.
Upon coming back from his inspection, he
tells the magistrates, priests, and the
nobles that they must rebuild the wall of
Jerusalem. He explains that due to the favor
of God on him the king has told him to come
to Jerusalem and rebuild the city.
As one they
agree to start rebuilding, undertaking |
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the task with
vigor.
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When Sanballat the Horonite (the governor of
the province of Samaria) and Tobiah the
Ammonite slave (the governor of the province
of Ammon in Transjordan) hear of this, they
are very much displeased. They ask if they
Israelites are rebelling against the king.
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Nehemiah
answers that he has been authorized by
the king through the grace of God and
that they will neither share nor claim
memorial in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah leads the construction work on
the gates and walls of the city with the
sons of each family of Judah taking up a
section of the reconstruction of the
city, that gates and the wall of the
Aqueduct Pool near the king's garden as
far as the steps that lead down from the
City of David. The work proceeds in
counterclockwise direction, beginning
and ending at the Sheep Gate (to the
north of the temple).
When Sanballat hears that wall are going
up with vigor it angers him. He
ridicules the Jews, joined by Tobiah the
Ammonite saying that any fox that
attacked it would breach their wall of
stones. |
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Nehemiah prays
for the LORD to turn back their derision and
mockery upon their own heads and let them be
carried away to a land of captivity.
They, however, continue to build the wall,
which is soon filled in and completed up to
half its height.
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The Threat
to Attack |
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Unable to
control their hatred, Sanballat, Tobiah,
the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the
Ashdodites plot together to come and
fight against Jerusalem and thus to
throw them into confusion.
The Israelites pray to their God and
post a watch against them day and night
for fear of the attack that they
promised. Nehemiah stations guards down
below, behind the wall, near the exposed
points, assigning them by family groups
with their swords, their spears, and
their bows.
Nehemiah addresses the nobles, the
magistrates, and the rest of the people
to not be afraid because the LORD will
fight with them, and for them to fight
for their brethren, their sons and
daughters, their wives and their homes. |
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From that time
on, however, only half his able men take a
hand in the work, while the other half,
armed with spears, bucklers, bows, and
breastplates, stand guard behind the
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whole
house of Judah as they rebuilt the wall.
The load carriers, too, are armed; each
did his work with one hand and holds a
weapon with the other. Every builder,
while he worked, has his sword girt at
his side.
Also,
a trumpeter stands beside Nehemiah ready
to sound the alarm when there is an
attack so everyone will gather and fight
together.
Thus they go on with the work half of
the men with spears at the ready, from
daybreak till the stars come out,
spending the nights inside Jerusalem
with each man with his own attendant,
guarding each other.
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Complain
Against Usury
Then there rise a great outcry of the common
people and their wives against certain of
their fellow Jews. They tell Nehemiah that
they are forced to pawn their sons and
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daughters
and their fields, vineyards, and houses
so that they may have food to eat. They
tell Nehemiah that their own kinsmen
have imposed great tax burden on them.
Upon
hearing this Nehemiah becomes extremely
angry. So he calls the nobles and
magistrates and rebukes them severely
for their deeds. He asks them to put an
end to this usury and return to them
their fields, their vineyards, their
olive groves, and their houses, together
with the interest on the money, the
grain, the wine, and the oil that they
have lent them.
They all answer that they will do just
what he asked and that they will return
everything and exact nothing further
from them. They swear an oath to do just
what they promised before the priests.
Nehemiah tells them that if anyone of
them breaks his oath the LORD will shake
from his home his fortune. Then the
people do as they had promised.
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The Enemies
of Judah |
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When the
enemies of Judah learn that the walls of
the city are complete they send a
message to Nehemiah to hold council
together with them at Caphirim in the
plain of Ono, with the secret intent of
killing him.
However, Nehemiah refuses the
invitation. They invite him again and
again and Henemiah, aware of their evil
intentions, refuse them each time.
Then, on the fifth time, Sanballat sends
Nehemiah the same message by one of his
servants, who bore an unsealed letter
with lies and accusations, threatening
him that they are telling these to the
king.
Instead, Nehemiah redoubles his efforts
to complete the city and the gates.
Amidst the threat to take his life the
Israelites suggest that Nehemiah hide or
take flight, but he refuses. |
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The
Temple is Completed
When the walls of the city is completed,
their enemies lost much face in the eyes
of the nations, for they knew that it
was with God's help that this work had
been completed. Nehemiah has the doors
set up, and puts the gatekeepers (and
the singers and the Levites) in charge
of them.
Over Jerusalem Nehemiah places his
brother Hanani and Hananiah, the
commander of the citadel, who is a more
trustworthy and God-fearing man than
most. He instructs them to keep the
gates closed until the sun is hot, and
while the sun is still shining for them
to shut and bar the doors. He tells them
to appoint as watchmen the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, some at their watch posts,
and others before their own houses. |
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The second
temple is completed and the people of Israel
have a great celebration of thanksgiving.
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After the
rebuilding Nehemiah returns to
Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, as he
promised. However, in due time, he asks
leave of the king again and goes back to
Jerusalem. On his arrival back in
Jerusalem he discovers that the priest
Eliashib, who had been placed in charge
of the chambers of the house of our God,
had set aside a chamber in the courts of
the house of God for Tobiah.
This displeases Nehemiah so much that he
has all of Tobiah's household goods
thrown outside the chamber. Then he
orders to purify the chambers, and has
them replace there the utensils of the
house of God, the cereal offerings, and
the incense.
Nehemiah also learns that the portions
due the Levites are no longer being
given, so that the Levites and the
singers who should have been carrying
out the services deserted, each man to
his own field. |
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Nehemiah
rebukes the magistrates for abandoning the
house of God. Then he brings back the
Levites together and has them resume their
stations. All Judah once resumes bringing in
the tithes of grain, wine, and oil to the
storerooms. |
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In
Jerusalem Nehemiah learns that the
Tyrians who live there are importing
fish and every other kind of merchandise
and selling it to the Judahites on the
Sabbath. He gathers the nobles and
rebukes them for profaning the Sabbath
day.
Then he orders for the gates to be
closed when the shadows were falling on
the gates of Jerusalem before the
Sabbath and forbids them to be reopened
till after the Sabbath. He posts some of
his own men at the gates so that no
burden might enter on the Sabbath day.
He also drives the merchants and sellers
from outside the walls. From that time
on, they do not return on the Sabbath.
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Then Nehemiah
orders the Levites to purify themselves and
to go and watch the gates, so that the
Sabbath day might be kept holy.
Also Nehemiah sees Jews marry foreign women.
Enforcing the laws of Moses, Nehemiah takes
them to task and curses them. He warns them
by force to not betray the commandments, and
forces the Jews to cast their foreign wives
away.
Thus Nehemiah cleanses them of all foreign
contamination and establishes the various
functions for the priests and Levites, so
that each had his appointed task.
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The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way
By Dr. Wayne W.
Dyer
From Amazon:
After years of spiritual study and reflection,
inspirational speaker and |
|
bestselling
author Wayne Dyer has emerged a highly esteemed
teacher. His current message about tapping into
the power of intention may sound like good old
positive thinking: just stay focused on what you
want, rather than focusing on the lack of having
what you want. But the teaching here goes deeper
than just controlling thoughts (although he does
acknowledge that thought control is a
surprisingly challenging and significant
endeavor).
This book might
help readers land a better job, but it's more
relevant for those who are ready to detach from
an ego-driven life filled with quick fixes of
happiness and step into a more authentic,
joyful, and spiritually fulfilling life. His
core teachings speak to tapping into a universal
source of energy that can also be called the
"power of intention." |
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For further
reading on the heroes of the Old Testament: |
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The Chariot of Israel: Exploits of the Prophet of Elijah
THE CHARIOT OF ISRAEL: When Elijah was caught up
to heaven, his disciple Elisha cried out, "the
chariot of Israel, and its horsemen." Elisha was
referring not to the chariot but to the prophet.
This study of Elijah’s life will captivate you
as it walks you through a pivotal period in
Israel’s history, and illustrative maps will
give you a better picture of the physical
geography of this ancient land. |
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The First Book of Kings (Cambridge Bible Commentaries on the Old Testament) This
volume of commentary on the New English Bible text of the First Book of Kings
follows the pattern of the now well-established series on the Old and New
Testaments. The main divisions of the text are those provided by the New English
Bible itself, but these are further subdivided for the purposes of the
commentary, which is printed in short sections following the relevant portion of
the text. |
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Canon Robinson suggests that the editors of I
Kings compiled their history in order to teach
the Hebrews that their existence as Israel, the
covenant people of God, depended upon their
continuing loyalty to their own religious
traditions, and their refusal to exchange them
for the very different traditions of the
Canaanites among whom they lived.
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I & II Samuel: A Commentary (Old Testament
Library)
First sentence in
the book:
""THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL contain that
part of the history of Israel which describes
the foundation of the State, running from the
close of the period of the Judges to the
establishment of the united kingdom." |
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The Sunday Readings |
October 14,
2007:
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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First Reading From
the Second Book of Kings: |
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2 Kgs 5:14-17 |
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Naaman went down and
plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of
Elisha, the man of God. His flesh became again
like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean
of his leprosy.
Naaman returned with his whole retinue to the man
of God. On his arrival he stood before Elisha and
said,
"Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your
servant."
Elisha replied,
"As the LORD lives whom I serve, I
will not take it;"
and despite Naaman's urging, he still refused.
Naaman said:
"If you will not accept,
please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads
of earth,
for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice
to any other god except to the LORD." |
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Responsorial From the Book of Psalms:
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Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4 |
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R. The Lord
has revealed to the nations his saving
power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations
his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed
his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his
faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations
his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands:
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations
his saving power.
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Second Reading from
the Letter to Timothy |
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2 Tm 2:8-13 |
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Beloved:
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a
descendant of David:
such is my gospel, for which I am suffering, even
to the point of chains, like a criminal.
But the word of God
is not chained. Therefore, I bear with everything
for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they
too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ
Jesus, together with eternal glory.
This saying is
trustworthy:
If we have died with him we shall also live with
him;
if we persevere
we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny
him he will deny us.
If we are
unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny
himself. |
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Reading From
the Gospel of Luke:
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Lk 17:11-19 |
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As Jesus continued
his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through
Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a
village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a
distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw
them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were
going they were cleansed. And one of them,
realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he
fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was
a Samaritan.
Jesus said in
reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the
other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned
to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to
him,
"Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you." |
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References |
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The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way
From Amazon:
After years of spiritual study and reflection,
inspirational speaker and |
|
bestselling
author Wayne Dyer has emerged a highly esteemed
teacher. His current message about tapping into
the power of intention may sound like good old
positive thinking: just stay focused on what you
want, rather than focusing on the lack of having
what you want. But the teaching here goes deeper
than just controlling thoughts (although he does
acknowledge that thought control is a
surprisingly challenging and significant
endeavor).
This book might
help readers land a better job, but it's more
relevant for those who are ready to detach from
an ego-driven life filled with quick fixes of
happiness and step into a more authentic,
joyful, and spiritually fulfilling life. His
core teachings speak to tapping into a universal
source of energy that can also be called the
"power of intention." |
|
|
|
|
|
The Chariot of Israel: Exploits of the Prophet of Elijah
THE CHARIOT OF ISRAEL: When Elijah was caught up
to heaven, his disciple Elisha cried out, "the
chariot of Israel, and its horsemen." Elisha was
referring not to the chariot but to the prophet.
This study of Elijah’s life will captivate you
as it walks you through a pivotal period in
Israel’s history, and illustrative maps will
give you a better picture of the physical
geography of this ancient land. |
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Read more about the Liturgical Year |
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The Origins of the Liturgical Year (Pueblo
Books)
by
Thomas J. Talley (Author) The Rev. Dr.
Thomas J. Talley, Professor of Liturgics
at the General Theological Seminary in New
York, is one of the leading liturgists in
the country. He gives us a fresh
examination of the complex history of the
Liturgical Year. |
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The Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday, Cycle C. (Bestseller! the Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday)
by
John J. Pilch (Author)
Reader
Review: The book by Pilch provides
those who not only fill the pulpits across
this country but also all interested in
the cultural world in which Jesus lived
with a lot of pertinent information that
sheds light on a lot of areas that have
been "muddled" in the past. Yes, I highly
recommend this book. - James Mauldin |
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Learn more and read the Old Testament. |
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Preaching from the Old Testament
by Elizabeth Achtemeier (Author) Reader
Review: The author of these
thirty-two short chapters begins and ends
with the assumption that problems we
experience with the Old Testament are our
problem, not the Bible's. This
subordinating of the Bible reader to the
well-weathered book he holds in his hand
opens doors, not to forced harmonisations
of problematic passages, but to fresh
reappraisal of difficult texts on their
own terms. -
David A. Baer |
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The Navarre Bible: Pentateuch (The Navarre Bible: Old Testament)
This volume helps you make the first five
books of the Old Testament a vital part of
your spiritual reading and practical
growth in the Christian life. It contains
the full English and Latin texts of these
books, along with extensive and faithfully
Catholic commentaries. Like other volumes
in the world-renowned Navarre Bible
series, these commentaries draw on Church
documents, the exegesis of Fathers and
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Doctors of the Church, and the works of contemporary
spiritual writers — particularly St. Josemaría
Escrivá, who initiated the Navarre Bible
project. |
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Comments and
Suggestions are Most Welcome.
If you have any
comments or contributions, please
use the form in this link.
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