Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Sunday is the great feast of Pentecost - the birthday of the Church. The formerly frightened Apostles are on fire. Now they can speak clearly, so everyone can understand them. Jesus gives his peace to his disciples and breathes his Spirit upon them, giving them the mission to forgive and sending them to carry out his desire that we all be one.

Lord, send out your Spirit,
and renew the face of the earth.

Monday is the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.

The return to “Ordinary Time” doesn't mean we forget about the good news of the Resurrection or the gift of the Spirit Jesus promised us. It simply means that we return to a season of reflecting upon the scriptures with “numbers” (ordinal) until Advent begins on December 2.

During the week, we resume reading Mark's Gospel where we left it when Lent began. It offers us stories about sacrificing part of ourselves. We hear of the Rich Young Man: “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At that statement, his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Peter tells Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus responds, “there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more.” When the disciples squabble over who will sit in glory with Jesus, he tells them, “the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Bartimaeus, a blind man recognizes Jesus as “Son of David” and is healed. Bartimaeus follows Jesus. He drives money changers out of the Temple saying, “My house shall be called a house of prayer ... but you have made it a den of thieves.” We end the week with Jesus evading the trickery of the chief priests who ask him “by what authority are you doing these things?”

The week closes with Trinity Sunday, which always follows Pentecost. It celebrates the un-knowable relationship between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit - and their loving support for us in our lives.

“When he comes, the Spirit of truth will guide you to all truth...”

Daily Prayer This Week

This is a week we can look at letting go -- of riches, honors, pride. In these Ordinary Time days we can hand it all over to Jesus and ask for the trust we need in our lives. We can hand over our fears and jealousy, our titles and our possessions - anything that has become too important in our lives can get in the way of how close we allow ourselves to be with Jesus.

As we go through our week, in the smallest moments of the day, we can beg Jesus for the strength of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As we awaken in the morning, and in the everyday moments of our lives, an awareness of our desires before Jesus can change our attitudes toward these chores and see them as sacred moments of invitation from the God who loves us with such fire and compassion.

Letting go, releasing, giving things up: it's a struggle for all of us. Perhaps we can sit for a moment with the rich young man. When he returned to Jesus looking for the easy way out, Jesus “looked at him and loved him” before he said anything else to him.

Jesus understands our deepest fears and our motivations. But despite or maybe because of that, he looks at us and loves us, endlessly - not restricted in any way by our own selfishness or unwillingness to change.

Dear Lord, you know how filled I am with fears. Let each moment of anxiety today be a reminder to open my life, my heart and my soul to the love and courage you offer me. I know that if only I could trust in you more, it would change my life.

“He went away sad, for he had many possessions!” Let me turn these apprehensions over to you. I beg you to give me the wisdom and strength I need to trust more and to fear less. Teach me that it's OK to stop clinging to the fears I have known for so long and that I can embrace the freedom you offer me. Let me be less fear-full and more generous.