Inbox Inspiration: March 29, 2020: Special - 4 Fifth Sunday of Lent

Special – 4
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Gospel: John 11:1-45  
 

Grief – faith – hope.
These three words capture one of the core messages of todays’ long, but very human and beautiful gospel story.
Jesus restores to life a man named Lazarus.
Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha were very close friends of Jesus.
He often hung out at their home in Bethany and enjoyed their company.
Martha and Mary are now at their home, mourning the loss of their brother.
Jesus has not yet gone there but he too is grieving.
Our English says that he is “perturbed” – kind of a strange word in this context.
In the original language, this seems to be conveying that Jesus is profoundly moved and sad in the depths of his being, to the point of crying.
Eventually Jesus arrives in Bethany and talks with Martha and Mary.
In their conversation, the word “believe” is used eight times.
What emerges is that Martha and Mary believe.
They have faith not in an abstract teaching, but in the person of Jesus.
Martha explicitly declares her faith that he is the Christ, the Son of God.
And it is this faith that gives these two sisters hope.
They trust that even now, four days after Lazarus’ death, Jesus can do something.
Their hope opens the door to Jesus’ healing and restorative power.
With this hope, they allow the grave to be opened and their brother Lazarus walks out, restored to life.
So, in the midst of grief and loss, Mary and Martha have faith in Jesus and this faith leads them to hope in his power.
The result is life, restored life, new life.
Right now, we are all suffering loss –
maybe the death of loved ones to the Coronavirus or to some other illness,
maybe the loss of our job or the loss of income and financial security.
In this time of loss, let’s renew our faith in Jesus as Emmanuel, God-with-us.
And with that faith, let’s place our hope and trust in him –
in his power to heal and restore others and us, right now. 

Father Michael Schleupner

Inbox Inspiration: March 27, 2020: Special - 3 A Prayer for the Sick

Special – 3
A Prayer for the Sick  
 

Good and Gracious God,
I am praying for all persons who are sick –
but especially for those with the coronavirus.
I ask you for all the sick the healing power of your Son, our brother Jesus.
Dear God, it is so consoling to see Christ’s healing of the sick:
Peter’s mother-in-law, the ten lepers, the man born blind,
the son of the Roman official (not a believer and healing the son from a distance),
his friend Lazarus, the woman who dared just to touch his garment,
and on it goes.
Thank you for Jesus and his desire and power to heal –
this is so reassuring and comforting especially right now.
So, today, I ask the Lord Jesus to heal all those infected with the coronavirus –
whether with no symptoms or with mild symptoms,
whether lying sick at home or seriously sick in a hospital.
Heal them of anxiety and comfort them with your peace.
Heal them of loneliness and help them to feel your love.
Heal them physically and restore them to health.
Protect all of us at this time.
I know that we are not alone, dear God.
You, our heavenly Parent, are with us through the saving action of your Son
and the abiding presence of your Spirit.
That is why I now pray with trust –
in you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Father Michael Schleupner

Inbox Inspiration: March 25, 2020: Living Through This - 1

Living Through This – 1   
 

Dear Friends, 
In last week’s Inbox, I began a Lenten series.
I have decided to push that off until much later and instead, offer some thoughts on living through this coronavirus crisis.
At this time, some of us are still at our workplace and performing essential community services.
Most of us are confined to home.
Some of us are working at home and others are out of work, maybe out of a paycheck.
Some of us are tending children at home, maybe even doing some homeschooling.
Some of us are home alone.
Whatever our present situation, I want to make some recommendations:

• Pray. Use prayers that you know by heart, go online for a variety of sources of prayer, watch Sunday or even daily Mass being livestreamed. Drawing upon God for strength is important always and especially right now. 
• Establish a daily schedule. This is important so that we don’t just passively go through the day with no sense of purpose. A schedule will help us to stay engaged in life and use well the time God gives us.
• Stay connected. Be caring, patient, and forgiving with those in our household. Reach out by phone, email, text or other social media to family, friends, neighbors, business associates, or fellow parishioners.
• Exercise. Stay physically active at least by cleaning or doing laundry. Take a walk outside (observing physical distancing) or run or jog or whatever form of exercise can work for you in the present situation. 
• Limit news. Stay up on the news to know what is happening what you should be doing. But limit this to an hour a day and don’t let it become all-consuming and life-draining.

There will probably be more on the above in my Inbox next week.
I want to acknowledge that I got inspiration for some of these thoughts from Father Michael White, the Pastor of the Church of the Nativity in Timonium.
I listened to his homily which was livestreamed with the entire Mass this past Sunday, with just musicians and two or three others present.

May the peace and healing action of Jesus Christ come upon us! Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner

Inbox Inspiration: March 22, 2020: Fourth Sunday of Lent

Special – 2
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Gospel: John 9:1-41  

This is a rather long, interesting, and beautiful story about Jesus giving sight to a man who had born blind.
Imagine: he had never been able to see.
We are not told this man’s name – maybe because the gospel writer wants us to realize that we, each of us is this man.
In giving sight to a man who is physically blind, Jesus conveys that he wants to give sight, spiritual sight to each of us.
At any rate, one of the features of this story that really takes my attention is Jesus’ initiative and what that says to us.
Jesus sees, notices, and takes the initiative in healing this blind man.
By the way, this is in sharp contrast to that memorable story in Luke’s Gospel (16:19-31) about an unnamed rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus.
That rich man never even noticed the homeless, hungry beggar sitting in front of his house.
God ends up welcoming that beggar into his home in heaven.
Well, in today’s story, Jesus’ noticing and taking the initiative is so significant.
That’s the way God is with us – taking the initiative in loving us, no matter what.
And God, Jesus, calls us to do the same.
I think this is a timely lesson right now.
Maybe there is someone who lives on our street or in our apartment/condo building who might need something from the supermarket or drug store.
I realize that physical distancing is important right now.
But, we could place a phone call, send a text or email, or ring the doorbell and ask if something is needed.
Maybe we can safely run into Safeway or CVS and get what that person needs and deliver it to them.
Or, maybe we can simply take the initiative in praying – for our elderly, for those who are sick, for those without shelter or without health insurance, for doctors and all health care workers, for all in our country and our world.
That’s an initiative we can all take.
Jesus’ example in this gospel story is very poignant for us, especially right now.

Father Michael Schleupner

Inbox Inspiration: March 20, 2020: Special - 1 A Coronavirus Prayer

Special - 1

A Coronavirus Prayer

Loving God,
right now, I really need you.
The truth is that I always need you, but at this moment, I really know that.
I’ve got lots of feelings inside me and the number one is anxiety.
I feel anxious:
about getting sick from this Coronavirus,
about my older family members and friends getting sick,
about how many of us will get sick,
about how long this threat will last,
about the well-being of our doctors and all health care providers,
about the future of our families and country and world.
So, dear God, with all of this anxiety, I turn to you.
Give your protection to all of us – to me, my family, friends, and co-workers,
my community, my country, and yes, to all persons in this world – in China, in Italy, wherever.
Protect us from all that could harm us –
physically, spiritually, and socially.
Keep us strong in you, in your caring hands.
And give us the peace of Christ –
peace in our hearts, in our lines at the supermarket,
in our relationships, and definitely with you.
I want to trust the words of Jesus: “I am with you always,”
and, “Do not be afraid.”
Remembering these words, I pray with trust
through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son and our brother,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Father Michael Schleupner

Inbox Inspiration: March 19, 2020: Special

Special

Dear Friends, 

In the midst of this Coronavirus crisis, I will offer some special issues of Inbox Inspirations. 
My plan right now is to offer these on Fridays and Sundays. 

On Fridays, beginning tomorrow, March 20, I will offer a prayer that we personally can pray. On some Fridays, I will share some thoughts on this crisis.

On Sundays, I will offer a reflection on the readings, probably on the gospel.

I hope these additional offerings will be helpful in this very trying time.

The standard Inbox Inspirations on Wednesdays will continue. I had composed the one you received yesterday and the upcoming Lenten Inboxes before Ash Wednesday – before the world changed right before our eyes. 

May God grant to each of us and to all of God’s children on this earth the peace, the strength, and the healing of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner
 

Inbox Inspiration: March 18, 2020: Sin

Sin – 1

Dear Friends, 
During this Season of Lent, I have decided to share some reflections about sin.
Especially in my younger years, our Church put a lot of emphasis on sin.
We were regularly reminded in sermons of our sinfulness.
We were told to make an examination of conscience and an act of contrition every day and to go to confession frequently.
As I look back, I think that this emphasis had several effects.
On the one hand, it made us aware of our human weakness and sinfulness.
That awareness was and is a good thing.
It can lead us to spiritual and personal growth.
On the other hand, that heavy emphasis on sin had some negative effects.
It was connected with an image of God as the divine judge and punisher.
There was little sense of God’s love and mercy.
This heavy emphasis on sin also led us to unnecessary and even unhealthy guilt.
We were led to feel unworthy in the eyes of God.
Those feelings got coupled with a fear of God – being afraid of God and being preoccupied with eternal punishment if we sinned or did not repent.
And those feelings in turn often led to a poor self-image and low self-esteem.
Let me be clear: I am not denying sin or personal responsibility for our behavior.
I am pointing out the deficiencies of the exaggerated emphasis on sin in the past.
For more reflections on Sin, see the Inbox Inspirations for the next three weeks, March 25, April 1 and 8.    

“Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as ‘an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law.’” 
From Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1849.

May God’s love for us move us to a greater love for God. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner

Inbox Inspiration: March 4, 2020 - March 11, 2020: Fasting

Fasting – 1

Dear Friends,
Fasting, along with prayer and charitable giving, has long been one of our core Lenten practices.
As I say this, it is important to recognize that fasting is not an end in itself.
Fasting in itself does not make us closer to God.
Still, fasting or some kind of physical self-denial can be a powerful practice.
It can be simple – like making sure we don’t eat meat on the Fridays of Lent even though we would love to have a hamburger or pepperoni on our pizza.
Or it could be more sweeping – like giving up all desserts for all days of Lent.
Whatever it is, fasting, some kind of physical self-denial, has a place in our spiritual life.
For one thing, it makes us look inside ourselves.
It makes us aware that nothing physical or material can satisfy our deepest hunger.
Only God can satisfy this.
In this way, fasting may lead us to prayer, another of the traditional Lenten practices.
It may lead us to make sure we have some kind of prayer in our lives each day.
For more reflections on fasting, see the Inbox Inspirations for next week, March 11.

“When we acknowledge through fasting that we need God to live, and to live more abundantly, we can begin to desire God in a new way. When we realize we need God more than we need food, we can start to understand what the Psalmist meant when he wrote, ‘Like the deer that pants after water, my soul longs for You.’ God, the sustainer of all life, wants nothing more than a closer connection with us, and through fasting we can quench that new desire for more of Him in our lives.”
From 5 Spiritual Benefits of Fasting in Guideposts (a Web Exclusive) by Brooke C. Obie, JD, MFA. (American, lawyer, novelist, spiritual writer.)

May God be with us and guide us in our journey to fuller life in Christ. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner

*************

Fasting – 2

Dear Friends, 
As I said last week, fasting, some form of physical self-denial or “hunger,” helps us to be aware that our deepest hunger can only be satisfied by God.
This awareness can lead us to be more prayerful – another of our core Lenten practices.
Additionally, fasting from food can put us in touch with behaviors from which we need to fast.
For example, we may need to “fast” from making the negative points of someone the topic of conversation.
Or we may need to fast from going onto demeaning and offensive Internet sites.
In this way, fasting may lead us to the Sacrament of Reconciliation – something that the Church lifts up for us to consider during the Season of Lent.
Finally, fasting is our free choice of some modest physical hunger.
That may lead us to be aware of those who have no choice but to be physically hungry a lot of the time.
Our fasting may make us more sensitive to those who starve from lack of food or die from contaminated water supplies or flee from oppressive governments.
It may lead us at least to pray for these persons and maybe to contribute something to assist them.
It may lead us to charitable giving – another of our core Lenten practices.
For more reflections on fasting, see the Inbox Inspirations from last week, March 4.

““Fasting is an important discipline because it teaches us to say ‘no’ to our impulses. Feasting is an important discipline because it teaches us to say ‘yes’ to life.”
From The Sacred In-Between by Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B. (b.1936. American. Benedictine Sister and member of monastery in Erie, Pennsylvania. Author and speaker.)

May God be with us and guide us in our journey to fuller life in Christ. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner