A heart open to universal embrace (Fr. Ron Rolheiser)

Todos, todos, todos... 

--Pope Francis

    We cannot sit at the heavenly banquet table if we are still selective as to whom we can sit down with. If, in the next life, like here in this life, we are selective as to whom we love and embrace, then heaven would be the same as earth, with factions, bitterness, grudges, hurt, and every kind of racism, sexism, nationalism, and religious fundamentalism keeping us all in our separate silos. We can only sit at the heavenly banquet when our hearts are wide enough to embrace everyone else at the table. Heaven demands a heart open to universal embrace. 

--Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI 

Image source: https://parishableitems.com/2023/10/14/gods-invitation/
Quotation source

Sunday Gospel Reflection, August 16, 2026: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples...

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples…
Who are we to set limits on God’s love and mercy? 

    The Scriptures make it clear: God’s salvation is for all. Why is that so hard for us to accept? From the time of the prophet Isaiah to the Incarnation of Jesus, God has made it clear: even the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, ministering to him, loving the name of the Lord will be brought to God’s holy mountain. All are welcome! My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples, God insists. As the people of Israel return from exile, God wants them to understand that community will be restored and all will be welcome, so long as they are ready to participate in covenant and embrace God’s justice, which is about to be revealed. Psalm 67 reinforces this promise of inclusion: So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. 

    At first glance, Matthew’s account of Jesus’ visit to the region of Tyre and Sidon might seem to belie the promise of inclusion we see in Isaiah. When confronted with a Canaanite woman who persistently seeks to speak to Jesus, his disciples say, Send her away! And Jesus appears to confirm this desire to exclude her: I was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he says, not to the Gentiles of Canaan! The scene takes a disturbing turn when Jesus follows this up with, It is not right to take the food of children and throw it to the dogs. But in fact, Jesus wants to make this a lesson to the disciples, and so he recognizes the Canaanite woman in her need: O woman, great is your faith! Stop setting limits on my ministry, he is instructing the disciples. Don’t narrow my scope, for I will go beyond any boundaries you set and provide what you consider beyond the possible. 

    In his Letter to the Romans, Paul identifies himself as the apostle to the Gentiles, but this time, he’s reminding them that God sent Jesus for all: the Jewish people too may now receive mercy, Paul says, because the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. God does not take God’s covenants back. The unity we see is not an easy path, but so long as we don’t attempt to set restrictions on God’s mercy, so long as we embrace God’s all-inclusive promise, Jesus will provide what is beyond the possible… for all! 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Jesus stretches out his hand (Andrew Peterson / Suzanne)

The world is whispering -- listen, child! --

The world is telling a tale.

When the seafoam froths in the water wild

Or the fendril flies in the gale,

When the sky is made with the swirling storm

And thunder shakes the hall,

Child, keep watch for the passing form

Of the One who made it all.

--Armulyn, Royal Bard of the Shining Isle,

in The Wingfeather Saga

by Andrew Peterson

    So often, when we falter, it can be hard to imagine that God wants us back, that God’s infinite love remains available to us, if we are open to it. 

    Look at Peter in the boat: he falters, though perhaps excusably so. When the disciples see Jesus walking toward them on the sea, they are terrified; only Peter is brave enough challenge their fear: Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water… And when Jesus summons him, Peter does stand and leave the boat, walking on water himself! It is ostensibly a brave act, a courageous move. 

    But then Peter falters – why? Because the wind is strong? Because his faith is weak? Because he doubts? Does it matter? 

    Here’s the thing, though: Jesus put the disciples on that boat, to travel alone… Jesus had a plan! It’s almost as if Jesus sets this up so that he has the very opportunity Peter seizes on: the opportunity to call them to himself! 

    I think sometimes we don’t realize quite how close, how often God calls us, and how near God wants us to himself – not just in the intimacy of quiet prayer, but in true and regular contact. Notice that, when Peter begins to sink, Jesus stretches out his hand and catches him. He takes him by the hand! Can you imagine? It’s almost as if Jesus sends them out so that he can say: Take courage! It is I… Do not be afraid! 

    Like Peter, we have all been called by name by the Lord, invited into relationship, and restored, daily, when we fail. That invitation comes not just once in a lifetime, not even just once a day, but every minute, in every choice we make, in every smile we see, in every fear we face, in every voice we hear… 

    Will we falter? Perhaps. But if we do, we can rest assured, Jesus is there, waiting, ready to call us and draw us near... 

--Suzanne T.,
OLMC Communion Service Reflection,
August 2, 2016

Image source: François Boucher, St. Peter Attempts to Walk on Water, Versailles (ca. 1764),  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Pierre_tentant_de_marcher_sur_les_eaux_by_Fran%C3%A7ois_Boucher.jpg
Quotation source

Our windy, earthquaking, fiery lives (Henri Nouwen)

    I am not saying there is an easy solution to our ambivalent relationship with God. Solitude is not a solution. It is a direction. The direction is pointed to by the prophet Elijah, who did not find Yahweh in the mighty wind, the earthquake, the fire, but in the still, small voice; this direction, too, is indicated by Jesus, who chose solitude as the place to be with his Father. 

    Every time we enter into solitude we withdraw from our windy, earthquaking, fiery lives and open ourselves to the great encounter. The first thing we often discover in solitude is our own restlessness, our drivenness, and compulsiveness, our urge to act quickly, to make an impact, and to have influence; and often we find it very hard to withstand the temptation to return as quickly as possible to the world of “relevance.” 

    But when we persevere with the help of a gentle discipline, we slowly come to hear the still, small voice and to feel the gentle breeze, and so come to know the Lord of our heart, soul, and mind, the Lord who makes us see who we really are. 

--Henri Nouwen 

Image source: https://theconversation.com/being-alone-has-its-benefits-a-psychologist-flips-the-script-on-the-loneliness-epidemic-250742 
Quotation source

Fear can feel immense (Fr. Patrick van der Vorst)

    There is something in all of us that longs for “the other side.” We think the grass is greener on the other side. We want to explore new shores... and it can make us restless. Like the disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee, we sense we are not meant to stay where we are; we are drawn forward, called onward, invited to a new shore. And yet, the moment we set out, the waters are rarely calm. Winds rise. The sea grows restless. Darkness gathers. Every new step, every new calling, every new job, every new house we move into, every change seems to bring with it resistance, uncertainty, even fear. we are excited on one hand, but on the other hand we are afraid. 

    It is precisely there, in the middle of the struggle, in the middle of the changes that Christ comes. Not when all is calm, but when the waves are high. Not in the brightness of certainty, but in the obscurity of night. He comes towards us and speaks those same quiet words: “It is I. Do not be afraid.” And somehow, when we recognise His presence and when we realise He is already in the storm with us, the whole journey changes. The distance shortens. The far shore no longer feels unreachable. Maybe the goal of the storms was never simply to arrive… but to discover that He is with us every step of the way. 

    Gustave Doré’s hand-coloured engraving, circa 1870, imagines the scene from Christ’s own vantage point: from close to the shore. He sees the small boat of the disciples tossed in the distance, and he sets off walking on the waters. And yet, having stood myself by the Sea of Galilee, only about 21 km long and 13 km wide, you realise how slightly odd today's reading is. The Sea of Galilee is not an ocean. At no point are you ever truly far from land. And still… the disciples truly panicked. This tells us maybe something interesting: even on a small lake, fear can feel immense. Even when the shore is near, it can seem out of reach. Even the smallest events in our lives can unsettle us, making us feel as though we are caught in a storm at sea, when in reality, the shore is closer than we think. The disciples were close to safety, and yet overwhelmed. And it is precisely there, in that gap between reality and fear, that Christ sees them… and comes towards them... and towards us. 

--Fr. Patrick van der Vorst 

Image & quotation source: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-6-16-21-2026/comment-page-1/

Wrapped in awe and reverence (Sara Fairbanks)

Elijah pours out his story, and God listens with loving kindness. 

Elijah is told to wait on the mountain for God to “pass by.” 

On the mountain’s edge, he experiences 

a ferocious wind, an earthquake, and a fire; 

God is not present there but in a “gentle whisper.” 

Wrapped in awe and reverence, 

Elijah enters divine communion. 

God asks him again: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 

Recalling his scrape with death, this one question 

provokes an avalanche of questions for Elijah: 

What do you value most? 

What gives you meaning and purpose? 

Who are you, and whose are you? 

What larger story are you a part of? 

God poses the most vital spiritual question 

every human being must answer: What are you doing here? 

Can you hear God asking you this question? 

What are you doing here? 

What supreme reality can claim your whole heart and 

free you to live for one another, to love at any cost? 

Elijah answers these questions not with words but with his life. 

He has rested in the warmth of God’s loving arms.

With spirit renewed, liberated from fear, 

he rededicates himself to participate in God’s saving plan for Israel. 

--Sara Fairbanks, OP 

Image source: https://bible.art/p/FJLjksPKg8BtiMZtqWAP
Quotation source & complete article

To hear the voice of God (Anna J. Cooper)

         One needs occasionally to stand aside from the hum and rush of human interests and passions to hear the voice of God. 

--Anna J. Cooper 

Image source: https://www.classycareergirl.com/peace-midst-chaos-find-6-ways/ 

Quotation source