Sunday Inbox Inspiration: October 24, 2021: Tuesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time, October 24, Cycle B

 Sunday Inbox Inspirations 

October 24, 2021

 

(This weekend, the deacon gave the homily. Therefore, today I am posting one of my recent weekday homilies.)

 

Tuesday of the 26^th Week in Ordinary Time 

September 28, 2021

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 8:30am

Readings:     Zechariah 8:20-23

                        Luke 9:51-56

 

You probably know that St. Luke wrote both a gospel and the book that is called the Acts of the Apostles.

The two books are actually a unit.

The Acts of the Apostles picks up where the gospel leaves off.

And if we look at the overall movement of the two books, we might summarize it as inward and outward.

Here is what I mean.

 

In today’s gospel passage, Luke says, “When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.”

That one sentence captures how Luke sees Jesus’ mission on this earth and it summarizes the theme of his gospel.

It is an inward movement.

Jesus journeys inward to the center of Israel, the political and religious center.

Then, in the Acts of the Apostles, the movement is outward.

The apostles journey outward from Jerusalem and bring the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth.

 

My idea is that this geographical movement in St. Luke’s writings mirrors the spiritual movement that is to happen in our lives.

We need to journey inward.

We do this through the sacraments, especially through the reception of the Eucharist.

We also journey inward through private prayer, perhaps here in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, or maybe at home reflecting on the Scripture.

And then we journey outward.

We live everyday life.

We make many decisions, say many words, and relate to many people.

We may even teach religion or work in one of the other ministries here at the parish.

That journey outward will bring Christ’s presence to this earth if we have first journeyed inward.

If we are grounded in the Lord through the inward journey, then our journey outward will be according to the Lord’s will and way.

 

 

Father Michael Schleupner

 

 

 

Sunday Inbox Inspiration: October 17, 2021: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 17, Cycle B

 Sunday Inbox Inspirations

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Cycle B

October 17, 2021

 

Taxi Driver and Preacher 

 

Have you ever heard the story about the taxi driver and the preacher?

 

The story goes that a preacher dies and goes to the pearly gates of heaven. Ahead of him in line is a guy dressed in a red print shirt, a leather jacket, blue jeans, and sunglasses.

 

Saint Peter asks the man, “What is your name, so I can see if you’re on the list to be admitted to heaven.” The guy says, “I’m Tony Stromboli and I was a taxi driver in New York.”

 

Saint Peter checks the list and says, “Oh yes! Here, take this fancy embroidered robe and gold staff and enter.”

 

With that, the preacher steps forward for his turn. “I’m Father Michael Schleupner and I was a preacher for forty-nine years.”

 

Saint Peter again checks the list and says, “Oh yes! Here, take this simple tan robe and wooden staff and enter.”

 

But the preacher interrupts, “Wait a minute! How come the taxi driver got an embroidered robe and a gold staff? Why does he get better stuff that I get?”

 

Saint Peter quickly answers, “Well, you see, up here, we go by results. When you preached, people slept. When he drove, people prayed.”    

 

Preaching This Weekend 

 

Well, this weekend, I am preaching at all three of our Masses, and I hope I will not put you to sleep.

 

I want to say a few things about our parish – about our mission and about our support for our mission. Most of what I want to say can be wrapped up in two very brief sentences.

 

1.We need to give. And: 2. We give to need.

 

We Need to Give

 

First, we need to give.

 

Giving something of ourselves fulfills who we are as persons. It brings us a sense of wholeness and satisfaction. 

 

I can still remember buying a little fifty-cent gift for my mother and father when I was five-years-old. The giving of the gift made me very happy. 

 

Just think of it this way. Genesis tells us that we are made in God’s image and likeness. 

 

Well, it is of the very nature of God to give of himself in the act of creation and in Jesus Christ. The result is that we who are made in God’s image and likeness have a built-in need to give something of ourselves. 

 

This expresses and fulfills who we are as persons. So, we need to give. 

 

We Give to Need

 

And second, we also give to need.

 

We as a parish have a need, and this need is based on the mission that Christ has entrusted us to do. Over the past year, the Parish Pastoral Council and Father Jim worked very hard to develop a mission statement and a plan for the parish.

 

It is very well done. It is a path forward for the parish for this year and the years to come.

 

This year especially, the plan focuses on our being a welcoming community of faith. We want to include everyone in the mission of Our Lady of Grace.

 

So, we want to reach out and be welcoming to all in the community – those currently participating, part-time members, past members, and potential new members. There are specifics for doing this in the plan.

 

The plan for this year also emphasizes music. We can be grateful for the good musicians that we have, and we want to continue and grow our program to reach all persons, especially our youth and young adults.

 

The parish plan recognizes the need for good communications. We want to make sure that we communicate to all in a way that is clear, consistent, and accessible.

 

Of course, when we talk about giving to need, we have to remember that we as a parish also want to give to those in need. The plan specifically says this: “We believe we are called to serve those in need.”

 

Summary

 

I am asking each of you or each family to reflect on this in a prayerful way during the coming week. 

 

Consider your financial commitment to Our Lady of Grace Parish and also consider your personal commitment of time and talent. Try to decide on your commitment during this coming week. 

 

Next weekend, after each of the Masses, some members of the Pastoral Council and I will be in the gathering space. Commitment cards will be offered to you there, but, more important, we will have a chance to meet and talk with one another.

 

We are a community of faith. As our Mission Statement says: “Rooted, Living, Serving – in Love, Through Christ, by Grace.” 

 

Together we can do some great things and fulfill the mission Christ has given us. I thank you for all that you are and all that you do.

 

It is a pleasure for me to be here with you. And let’s remember: We Need to Give, and We Give to Need.   

 

 

 

 

Fr. Michael Schleupner

Inbox Inspiration: October 13, 2021: I'll Do Whatever I Want 1-4

                                                         I’ll Do Whatever I Want - 1  

 

Dear Friends, 

Am I always free to do as I want?

I don’t think so.

My actions and choices cannot always be what I want or prefer.

Why?

My parents raised me and my religious education formed me to realize that there are other people whom I have to consider.

For example, I couldn’t have the TV on as loud as I wanted it because my parents and brother were also in the house, maybe doing other things.

When I got my driver’s license, I learned that I couldn’t drive as fast as I wanted because of speed limit laws that were designed to protect people in general.

More recently, we have all had to accept non-smoking regulations out of consideration for those who do not smoke.

I think that from a rather young age, I was taught to balance my own individual freedom with respect for the common good of all.

It is that concept of the “common good” that strikes me as important for us to recall right now.

This concept seems to have originated with the ancient Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato and with the Roman philosopher Cicero.

It was embraced, “baptized” by the early Church as expressing some of the core moral teaching of Jesus.

It also found its place in the framers of our American constitution.

Our Church says this: “The common good comprises the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily.”    

In my own words, I think that the common good is the overall good of everyone. 

We need to think in terms of the common good of all in many dimensions of life, such as health care, environment, education, poverty, and on it goes.

In other words, it is not just what I want or prefer.

I have got to balance my own individual desires and freedom with a care for all.

More on this next week in the Inbox Inspirations of October 20. 

 

Father Michael Schleupner 

 

Quotation above from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 

 I’ll Do Whatever I Want - 2  

 

Dear Friends, 

I believe that the expression “It’s my personal choice” has got to be challenged a bit.

Yes, ultimately, all that I do is my choice.

But no, it is not just my thinking about what I want to do and then making a choice to do it or not based on just what I want.

It cannot always be that simple.  

I also need to consider the well-being of others in many choices that I make in my life.

It may be my family, my spouse or best friend, my community or neighborhood, my parish, my workplace, other diners in a restaurant, and for that matter, all the people in my country or all the people in the world.

If the issue is what color shirt to wear to a football game, that is my personal choice.

If the issue is whether to drink a dark roast or medium roast coffee, that is my personal choice. 

But, if the issue is whether to go to the bother of recycling paper, plastic, glass, and cardboard, then that is not just my personal choice.

It is not just what I want or what I prefer to do or what is easy for me to do.

Here, I have to think bigger, beyond myself, about the overall good of our world.

I believe that I need to consider the good of others or the common good of all in lots of my choices.

For me, this is a moral issue.

It expresses my following or failure to follow the way of Christ. 

I believe that this has become a critical issue for us at the present time and is something to which we as Christians and Catholics can make a real contribution.

"We face a choice between a society where people accept modest sacrifices for a common good or a more contentious society where groups selfishly protect their own benefits." 

More on this next week in the Inbox Inspirations of October 27. 

 

Father Michael Schleupner 

 

Quotation above from The Common Good by Claire Andre and Manuel Velasquez.

 I’ll Do Whatever I Want - 3  

 

Dear Friends, 

When I think of my individual freedom in relation to the common good of all, the word sacrifice comes to mind.

We can define sacrifice, in the context of everyday life, as giving up something good for the sake of something better or for the well-being of someone else. 

Parents make lots of sacrifices for their children.

We are all called to make sacrifices for one another.

Isn’t the paying of taxes a sacrifice for the common good of all?

We may dislike having to pay taxes or disagree with the tax rates.

But, at root, paying taxes is a sacrifice of some of my money for something greater.

We are in a moment in American society when we have to remember this.

I do not believe that my individualism and my individual freedom is unlimited.

There are appropriate limits that I need to accept and even embrace as a member of a society and community.

“Our historical traditions place a high value on individual freedom, on personal rights, and on allowing each person to ‘do her own thing.’ 

Our culture views society as comprised of separate independent individuals who are free to pursue their own individual goals and interests without interference from others. 

In this individualistic culture it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to convince people that they should sacrifice some of their freedom, some of their personal goals, and some of their self-interest, for the sake of the ‘common good.’ 

Our cultural traditions, in fact, reinforce the individual who thinks that she should not have to contribute to the community's common good, but should be left free to pursue her own personal ends.”

I believe that God created us to be a people, a community, sons and daughters of God, sisters and brothers to one another.

Existentially and morally, we are called to live with this awareness.

I will continue and conclude this series next week in the Inbox Inspirations of November 3.  

 

Father Michael Schleupner 

 

Quotation above from The Common Good by Claire Andre and Manuel Velasquez.

 I’ll Do Whatever I Want - 4  

 

Dear Friends, 

Today I am concluding a series of reflections (see the Inbox Inspirations of October 13, 20, and 27) on our individual freedom and its limitation for the sake of the common good.

As I said last week, my individual freedom is not unlimited.

Sometimes we are not even aware of how we let go of what we really want to do for the sake of the well-being of others.

Parents do this a lot.

Let’s think about our traffic laws. 

We allow our government to regulate traffic.

So, we have traffic signals.

If 99% of us obey them, things go very well.

If a lot  of people ignore traffic lights, chaos results.

We will have many accidents and injuries.

Red lights can be an irritant.

Do they limit our individual freedom each time we have to stop at a red light?

Yes!

But at the same time, do they really increase our overall freedom?

Yes again!

They free us from anxiety, from injury, from hospitalization, and maybe even from death.

They free us to cross intersections while driving or walking with confidence in our safety.

They free society, all of us to function together more harmoniously.

The traffic signal system is not flawless; sometimes accidents happen.

But generally, our accepting this limitation on our freedom is a positive thing.

“The same is true of vaccines; they aren’t perfect, but they do increase freedom overall by preventing death and serious disease. Yet they only do this if everyone, or nearly everyone, gets vaccinated. Imagine a city where more than a third of the population feel free to run red lights; that is where we are now with the pandemic.”

  

Father Michael Schleupner 

 

Analogy of traffic signals and quotation above from Persuading Anti-vaxxers in Commonweal, October 2021 edition, by Michael Peppard. 

 

Sunday Inbox Inspiration: October 10, 2021: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 10, Cycle B

Sunday Inbox Inspirations

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Cycle B

October 10, 2021

 

Disconnect 

 

So, you are a good person.

 

You don’t steal or cheat or use lots of four-letter words. You don’t hurt anyone, and you work pretty hard.

 

And yet, you are not quite sure. Something feels incomplete, and so you ask Jesus, “Am I doing okay?”  

 

This is what the man in today’s gospel is feeling and doing. And then Jesus answers you, “Well, as a matter of fact, there is one more thing.”   

 

You anxiously ask, “Uh, what’s that?” And Jesus responds to you or me with a 2021 answer – different from what he says to the man in the gospel, but just as unsettling.

 

He says, “Power off your cell phone and shut down your tablet and your laptop. And just be there for your family or friends or for the people you work with and definitely for anyone who is in need.”

 

You and I are really put off, much like the man in the gospel. “Power off my Smartphone and shut down my tablet and my laptop?

 

“Are you kidding?  I might miss out on something.”

FOMO

 

And that is the issue, maybe the problem.

 

Some professionals are studying this fear of missing out on something as an addiction. They refer to it by the acronym – F-O-M-O – FOMO – Fear of Missing Out.

 

It is the fear of missing out on something or someone more important, more interesting, or more exciting than the thing we are now doing or the person we are now with. It is the anxiety that others are having a better time or doing something better.

 

This other something or someone may be better or worse. We don’t know, so we just have to check it out.

 

We interrupt one call to take another. We’re constantly checking Facebook, LinkedIn, emails, texts, tweets, Instagram, and everything else to make sure we are not out of the loop, and we do this regardless of whom we are with or what else we are doing.

 

We are connected and available 24/7. This is what we are holding on to, much as the man in the gospel was holding on to his wealth. 

 

Shocking Us

 

Now, Jesus is not telling us to throw away our cell phones and tablets and laptops.

 

In fact, the man in today’s gospel is the only person that Jesus ever tells to sell all that he has and give the money to the poor. He never tells Peter to sell his boat, and he never tells Martha and Mary to sell their Sears kitchen appliances!

 

Jesus apparently says this here to shock this man – to shake him into looking more deeply at his life. And I think it is the same thing with us and all of our electronic and social communications.

 

Communicating or being connected is a wonderful thing, Jesus would say. But the kingdom of God is not just digital and real caring is not just a virtual experience.  

 

Disconnect to Connect

 

I think Jesus would say: “Disconnect in order to connect.”

 

Disconnect from your electronic devices for a while and do this to connect with those around you. We have to remember that the purpose of communication is not just communication of stuff but communion – communion with others and with God too.

 

The persons around us are the “poor” to whom Jesus tells the man in the gospel to give his money. Those around us may not be financially poor or any more emotionally or socially or spiritually in need than we are.

 

But they are the persons we are with right now – your family at home, your classmates, your friend with whom you are having a beer, the guy or woman who live next door. Jesus is saying: let go of what you are afraid you are going to miss – FOMO – the Fear of Missing Out.  

 

Disconnect in order to connect. Make sure your communications are for communion with others.

 

If you do this, then you are really with the other person or with God or even with God by being with that person. And then you will experience more inner peace and no so much FOMO – the Fear of Missing Out.

 

 

 

 

Fr. Michael Schleupner 

Sunday Inbox Inspiration: October 3, 2021: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 3, Cycle B

 Sunday Inbox Inspirations

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Cycle B

October 3, 2021

 

The Healing of Our Inner Self 

 

Over the last two years, I have been participating in several Internet Zoom groups.

 

One of these is especially interesting. There are eight of us in this group, three women and five men: two from Texas, a surgeon and a businessman; two from Washington, D.C., a professor at Georgetown and a lobbyist; one from Pennsylvania, a psychologist; and three from Maryland, a C.P.A., another priest and me. 

 

The one thing that brought us together is that we have all been on a retreat at Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist Monastery in South Carolina. So, this is a prayerful, reflective group. 

 

We meet once a month on Zoom and we always focus on some podcast that we agreed to listen to in advance. In the past year, we listened to a presentation by an author named Don Bisson. 

 

Bisson is a Christian, a Catholic, and a PhD psychologist. The topic of his presentation was the healing of our inner self. 

 

In one section, Don Bisson was talking about love, especially love in marriage. He makes the point that love is not primarily a feeling. 

 

Naturally, we like to have warm feelings of love, and it’s great when we have these, but love is not always a feeling. Instead, Bisson says: it is essentially a choice – a choice that we make. 

 

The Choice of Love

 

So, especially in marriage, love is a choice to take the first step – to show affection or do something affirming. It is a choice to remember the good or endearing traits of the other person.

 

Love is a choice to be happy about the accomplishments of the other. It is also a choice to be there for the other in times of disappointment.

 

Love is a choice to share both my successes and my failures. It is a choice to be vulnerable.

 

Love is a choice to apologize and ask for forgiveness. It is also a choice to be forgiving and to try to move on together. 

 

Love is a choice to be patient with idiosyncrasies. It is also a choice to remain aware that I have my own stuff that may get on the nerves of the other person.

 

Love is a choice to listen. It is a choice to take in the words and also the feelings that are underneath the words of the other person. 

 

And very importantly, love is a choice to live with the big picture of life in mind. It is a choice to let bumps in the road that will be meaningless a year from now just be bumps in the road. 

 

Why Choice Is Important 

 

So, this idea of love as a choice is important.

 

One reason I say this is that we live in a culture of instant gratification. We are used to getting what we want fast.

 

I can do a Google search on my iPhone and learn who was President in 1880 within seconds. I can heat a dinner in a microwave in a minute. 

 

So, wonderful advances have led us to get used to quick or instant gratification. But, we all know that life isn’t always that way.

 

In relationships and especially in marriage, certain tough times will not be fixed or healed that quickly. We need to choose to hang in there “in good times and in bad, in sickness and health.”   

 

These are my thoughts in response to Jesus’ teaching in the gospel about the permanence of marriage. The insight about love as being a choice helps us to live Jesus’ teaching. 

 

God’s Choice to Love

 

I want to conclude with just one more quick thought.

 

God chooses to love us even when there is the break-up of a marriage. I want to be clear about this because all of us know someone whose marriage has ended.

 

This is humanity; it is human life, and God chooses to love us when this happens. Our Church has some ways of our coming to peace and moving on when this happens. 

 

They are imperfect, but they are better than they used to be in expressing God’s choice to love us no matter what. Today, let’s just remember the importance of choosing to love.

 

 

 

 

Fr. Michael Schleupner