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Faith Sharing Fridays October 30, 2015

Gospel for Sunday, November 1st, 2015

“That woman’s a saint,” you might hear someone say. But what does it mean to be a saint? Our readings today present us with a “resume” of a saint in Matthew’s rendering of the Beatitudes, and with one of the possible paths to sainthood – persecution for being a disciple of Jesus – in the Revelation reading. But in the reading from the first letter of John, we hear something different about sainthood, something that I struggle to accept.

John exhorts us to “see what love the Father has bestowed on us,” a free gift, unsolicited, and undeserved. He tells us that this love allows us to “be called the children of God,” and then seems to anticipate our unbelief as he adds, “Yet so we are.” I sense that he might want to add, if he were our contemporary, “Can you believe it?!” Accepting my identity as a child of God can feel like an onerous responsibility. What happens if I do something “wrong” like ignoring the street person asking for money? Or like not making time for someone who needs to talk? Or even something worse, like betraying a dear friend? Am I no longer a child of God?

A sense of guilt for something we’ve done or failed to do can either make us feel too ashamed to face God and ourselves, or can compel us to run to God for mercy. Which path we choose seems to depend on our belief in the “love the Father has bestowed on us,” love that is limitless and not an outcome of what we do or don’t do. While saints were not perfect in their actions, I sense they became perfect in one thing: trust in the boundless love of God. May we draw inspiration from the saints we honor today as we open ourselves more and more to God’s loving embrace.

A Woman Parishioner

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Question for Reflection:

When you have done something you’ve regretted, how did you reconcile yourself to God and to yourself?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYCJ8EvkGCs

In 1 John 3:1-3 we are told that no matter how many times we feel that we have failed God, we will always be a child of God. His love will never fail, even when we do.

An Undergraduate Woman

Feed the Homeless in Ann Arbor

Sunday, November 8 at 5:00 PM
CLICK HERE to sign up!

Our Social Justice Ministry is seeking volunteers to help feed the homeless in Ann Arbor. We are committed to providing a Sunday meal quarterly for the former Camp Take Notice (CTN) residents that meet weekly at Mercy House for dinner.

Meal format is set and sign-up is done electronically. Other Sunday meal opportunities are scheduled for 1/24/16, 4/17/16 and 7/17/16.

How to Volunteer:
1. Provide a specific food donation such as an entree or dessert
2. Provide staple donations such as napkins, water bottles, etc.
3. Provide monetary support for the purchase of needed items
4. Provide transportation and/or serve food on the given day
5. Provide help in coordination of the donations

For more information or questions about this ministry, please contact Erin Telemaco, CTN Quarterly Sunday Meal coordinator at 5telemaco@comcast.net or 734-368-5826.

Faith Sharing Fridays October 23, 2015

Gospel for Sunday, October 25th, 2015

My sister Katie had the privilege of being asked to represent the United States at the Special Olympics World Games in LA this past summer. My heart burst with emotion listening to her interviews on local news outlets as she prepared to depart, watching her high five athletes from all over the world during the opening ceremonies and singing along with a stadium full of athletes and their loved ones the Game’s’ theme song, Reach Up LA.

Katie and folks with intellectual disabilities are often silenced in our society. Family members can be met with a patronizing pity.

“I didn’t know your sister had special needs. I’m so sorry.”
“Your sister doesn’t look retarded?”
“Wow, that must be so hard for your family.”

Thankfully, as was made abundantly clear this summer, there is no silencing these athletes, and there is much they have to teach the world about courage, unity, persistence and loving each person as they are.

Sunday’s gospel points to the crowd’s attempt to silence the blind beggar, the one banished to the edges of society. Refusing to allow the privileged to snuff out his voice, he ignores them and cries out the louder. There are relationships, past hurts and choices that cry out from the edges of my own life and demand to be paid attention to; however, I attempt to deaden the places where vulnerability is greatest. Too often I allow achievement, pride, ambition and busyness to dictate the pace and purpose of my day. Quieter evenings can be spent stifling the voice within with mind-numbing TV or scrolling through Facebook.

As he did for Bartimaeus, Jesus cuts through all the noise and hears our individual call for healing and wholeness.

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What is the part of me on the edge of the road demanding to be paid attention to?
How am I or have I been part of the crowd silencing or ignoring the cries of another?

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A Woman Campus Minister

Faith Sharing Fridays October 16, 2015

Gospel for Sunday, October 18th, 2015

How often do we hear the words “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first”? How often do we actually behave this way? I know I struggle with it. And yet, I don’t find myself making self-centered choices as a result of intentionally selfish decision-making, but rather, as a result of failing to actively think and live with an other-centered mindset.

Jesus reminds us in Sunday’s Gospel that “whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” In order to be the great disciple that I hope to become, my lens in life must be focused on the other instead of the self. Obviously, this isn’t easy. What does it really mean to be “slave of all”? What kind of time commitment are we talking about? I can’t just quit work, or school, and go around Ann Arbor asking people if I can help them with something, that’s just not… real life.

Or am I being selfish again?

I think messages like this get scary, really easily. It feels like I’m being asked to do something pretty extreme, and I’m not really comfortable with it. Oftentimes, that’s kind of the point though, right? We grow by experiencing things that we aren’t familiar with, that might make us uncomfortable.

I think this Gospel calls us to take a step back and think about our day-to-day behavior. How could I better act as a servant to those I see every day at work, or in classes? What are the ways in which I tend to think of myself, that I could instead shift to focus on others first? In a society that heavily emphasizes the importance of the self, I challenge you and myself to instead strive to be the slave of all we are called to be.

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As the cartoon above points out, in contrast to the rich man in last week’s gospel, James and John gave up everything to follow Jesus. I can clearly envision them thinking, “Look, we’ve given up everything, our reward better be great when this man comes to power.” Admittedly, I would probably respond in the very same way. Nevertheless, this is not the response Jesus was looking for. James and John’s question originated from their selfish desires and inability to comprehend Jesus teachings. Jesus’ primary lesson was for us to be selfless and to love and serve each other.

I invite you to spend time with these readings and to reflect on the areas in your life that are driven by selfish ambition and those driven by love. Peace.

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A Male Young Professional

Student Office Assistant Needed

We are seeking a student to work in our busy parish office.  Responsibilities include greeting and assisting visitors, answering phones, assisting campus ministers with general office work, creating simple Excel spreadsheets, flyers, brochures, preparing certificates and recording sacraments in church records. Must be able to prioritize as well as pay close attention to detail and be flexible.  Strong computer skills, including experience with Microsoft Word, Publisher and Excel are desired. Spanish speaking helpful.  8 – 10 hours per week, evenings and weekends.  Please send cover letter and resume outlining your work and volunteer experience as well as your experience with the Catholic Church to Lanette Mele.

Faith Sharing Fridays October 9, 2015

Readings for Sunday, October 11th, 2015

If I met Jesus on the streets of Ann Arbor today, longed to follow Him, yet was asked to radically change my life before taking one more step, would I be dejected? Stopped in my tracks, certainly. Would I turn away? Or be prepared to make room in my heart for Christ?

At first thought, I wouldn’t consider myself materialistic. But if I’m honest, I’m pretty weighed down sometimes. Taking up room in my heart are emotional possessions; human attachments and fears; anxieties of succeeding as a Ph.D. student while being present to myself, my community, and my relationship with God.

At the end of a long day, do I have the strength to take another deep, longing breath toward Christ? Too often, the answer is “I sure hope so.”

Yet Jesus, looking at the man, loved him—loves me. I imagine a gentle touch on my shoulder as He recognizes the gravity of what He’s asking me to do. In His humanity Jesus knows the pressures and pull of this life. Indeed, He’s on the same path that I am in this very moment. 

Still, I hear Jesus kindly and lovingly prodding me to realize that I lack the same thing the man did: Space. Openness in each relationship, each task, each prayer for the work of the Spirit.

I’m sure the disciples were anxious and frustrated when confronted with the reality of such deep, all-encompassing change. And I’m sure that, like me, they stumbled along the way.

Yet, while fearful, I am in total awe that I’ve been met today with the very grace that makes salvation possible. Jesus reminds me not only of God’s power, but that I walk the path of this human life with His breath inside me. He will touch every piece of my life, shake it up, and transform it. But the first challenge is mine: Make space for His work.

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I return over and over to St. Ignatius’s Suscipe as I pray for the strength to let go of those things that take up space in my life and in my heart. This musical setting beautifully captures the release and trust that I long for, and that Jesus reminds me I must work toward on today’s journey.

“I surrender, Lord, all I have and hold.
I return to you your gifts untold.
Give me nothing more than your love and grace—
These alone, O God, are enough for me.”

What do you need to let go of in order to turn and follow Jesus on His journey? What scares you about doing so? Where do you need Jesus’s gentle prodding in your life?

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Colleen McClain is a Ph.D. student in the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology and a member of the GRAD/YP and Small Church Community lead teams at SMSP.