DAILY REFLECTION

by: Louise Firsich

Reflection Archive
from November 27, 2005 forward

Together on the Journey

"Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words."

St. Francis of Assisi

  I love this message of Francis. It holds within it two essential truths: one, that we are always messengers of God and, two, that we are by our very nature the sign of the message we carry.  This message of Francis implies, or maybe it challenges us directly, that we be about the business of our personal transformation.  This message reminds me again and again that I must not only read the gospel, but I must listen to the stories with an open heart, willing to be changed by what I hear.

We walk together on this journey of transformation.  As a community we remind one another of the message by the way we live.  It is not the piety of our behavior that makes us signs of God’s presence but the depth of our love that is evident in every action, every choice, and every word.  We need each other’s help, support, and input to really hear and understand the message.  We also need to spend some time in personal reflection to let the message speak to us personally.  Since we need to always be open to new ways of hearing and seeing, we have decided to begin something new at the parish that we hope will be a useful tool for all of as we continue our journey.

On Sunday, November 27, 2005, the first Sunday of Advent, we began posting a daily reflection on the parish website. The reflections are thoughts that arise from the scripture readings of the day. We offer this merely as an aid for your faith journey. The reflection given is by no means the only way to view the readings. Our hope is that it stirs your own thoughts and feelings about how the scripture passage is speaking to you and becomes a starting point for your prayer.

Use this in any way that helps you to grow nearer to God.  You might begin with reading the scripture passages for the day.  The passages are from the daily readings of the Mass according to the current year of the liturgical calendar (Year B, Cycle II).  Then read the reflection.  Continue by meditating on the word or words that strike you or the message you hear in your heart about your life.  Then, sit in silence for a period of time simply letting yourself rest in God.  Sit in silence so that God might speak to you in the quiet of your heart.  You might also choose to journal with the thoughts or awareness that are stirred, or, it may merely serve as a launching pad for writing your own reflection.  There is no right or wrong way to pray with scripture.  The above is merely a suggestion that you may use, or not use.  The important thing is that we respond to scripture with our life actions, that we become the embodiment of the love of God, and it is in prayer that we begin to take the message into our heart and soul and allow it to transform us.  So we invite you into prayer with scripture and offer these reflections as a possible starting point for your prayer.

We began this new adventure at the start of Advent because it is the beginning of our liturgical year.  Yet, more significantly, because it is the time we await the coming of Jesus who, with every action, choice, and word, reflects to us the promise of God -- that we are God’s beloved and we will never be forsaken by God.

Let us use the scriptures during this season and the entire liturgical year to create an interior atmosphere that allows us to await the promise of God, to discover that promise in the midst of our everyday lives, to live in that promise everyday of our lives, and to become that promise for the world.  Let us, through prayer, come to know the invitation of God and allow ourselves to be transformed into the person God created us to be.

To quote a prayer from Renita Weems (paraphrased from John of the Cross):

“Lord I want what you want for me, Let us begin.”

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Phone: 317-842-6778, Fax: 317-576-1932