Fourth Sunday of Lent

My Companions: As always, let us praise Our Creator for all the live that is given to us.  Let us seek forgiveness for our sins and experience the love that annihilates them. Let us thank the Lord for all good gifts.  And let us bring our petitions to the Giver of all good gifts: especially eternal life for Nancy Fitzgibbons who passed to the Lord's bosom this morning at about 6:00.  Lord, please console Fitz, John Fitzgibbons, and all Nancy's family and friends.  Also, Lord, please heal my grandson, Nathan, quickly (he fell and broke his collar bone). And please heal Fr. Ed quickly (blew-out knee).  Lord, comfort all who suffer in Japan, Libya and every place your people grieve and suffer injustice.

Birthdays: Adam Olson (4/3), Mark Schnitzer (4/3), and Dani Schnitzer (4/6)  (if you participate in our prayer and preparation for the weekly assembly, send me your birthday/anniversary and/or correct me if I'm mistaken. jwl)

Keeping In-touch: As you see, we're stricken with sadness with the passing of Marge's good friend Nancy Fitzgibbons (I will add a memorial post when I receive a picture).  Even when one believes in the resurrection, it's not easy to live as a "resurrection people."  We so enjoyed our time with the grand-children.  We're looking forward to (baseball) opening day!

Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent

Fr. Foley's Reflection: An Eye Witness
My Comments: So often we are blind.  We do not choose correctly those who should lead (sons of Jesse in the first reading).  We misjudge and rely on "common sense" (blind man in the Gospel).  Can we turn to the Lord to be our Shepherd?  Can we expect to live in "green pastures"?  I hope that in times of pain or times of wonderful celebration of life, all of us can experience the awesome Love that calls us to serve, to heal and to rest in the goodness of God.

May Christ's Peace be with us all,

John

Leave a comment... how have you been chosen?  How can you rest in God's goodness?  How do you see more clearly?

Third Sunday of Lent

Woman at the well

My Companions: Let us praise God: His glory we find in water... and all the life within us.  Let us seek forgiveness of our failure to share that water, and all good things with our brothers and sisters. Let us fill our hearts with gratitude for all good gifts.  And let us request all we need allow His Kingdom to come to fruition in us!  I have a special request for your prayers for Tim Brich who died March 18th and for his wife Jeanne and their daughters Abby and Allie and all their family and friends.  Also, our friend, Andy Ondish, lost his father and Andy had back surgery.  Continue to pray for all the people on our list especially Nancy Fitzgibbons who is now in the hospital with much pain.

Birthdays: Karen Carnegie (3/22), Rachel (Kobza) Varra (3/23), Sallie Dembeck (3/23), John Lay (3/24), Mark Ross (3/29), Michael Olson (3/29), Marty Sipos (3/30), Fran Kehoe (4/1).

Keeping-intouch: I'm late again but we have been celebrating my birthday all week... I'm basking in all the attention from family and friends.  I hope to live my 60s with greater gusto than I did my 50s.

Readings for Third Sunday of Lent

Fr. Foley's Reflection: Nothing Else
My Comments: This gospel reading has been one of my favorites since the 60s when Peter, Paul and Mary (singing group, not Saints) sang Jesus met the woman at the well and I began to reflect on Jesus' love and forgiveness; how he calls, even me, to "tell everyone I know" how "He told me everything I ever did!"  The woman asks "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"  Too often I wonder how Jesus can ask me, a sinful man, to be His hands and heart and mind...  I'm not worthy but the Lord makes me worthy!!!

May the Peace of Christ be with you all,

John

Leave a comment... maybe the Lord wishes to touch others through your insight today!!!

Second Sunday of Lent

My Companions: We have moved our clocks forward and I notice birds chirping away when I rise in the morning.  With new life budding around us we naturally adore our Creator when we pause and notice our Life-giver in all things. Of course, we still miss opportunities to bring life to others or make selfish decisions; but sorrow for these failings is met with the warmest reconciliation from Our Lord.  Hopefully the gratitude in our hearts for our blessings, and even trials, grows and enriches our days as we thank our Heavenly Father. And we continue to ask for "our daily bread" comfort for all those suffering in our world: "please Lord bless all the victims of natural and political disasters; and help our friend, Nancy, as she continues to again fight the cancer that has returned; help all of us to move closer to you this Lent."

Birthdays: Suzie Perry (3/16), Charlie Stevens (3/17), Lindsay Smith (3/17), Rick Dunn (3/17), Trish Buckley (3/17), Bob Weed (3/18), Chris DeBaar (3/19)

Keeping In-touch: It's Wednesday already! The week flew by.  I had good news about potential accounts in Illinois and Michigan, enjoyed a couple lunches with friends and even sneaked away to drowned a couple worms in a local pond a couple times (I went fishin' not catchin').  We were on Spring Break for the traditional college students but I started an online class.  You know, no rest for the....

Readings: Second Sunday of Lent

Fr. Foley's Reflections: Brilliant Suffering


My comments & the invitation to share your insights
Once again I was struck by St. Peter's reaction in the Gospel reading for Sunday.  The apostles experience Jesus in the fullness of His humanity and divinity and Peter wants to build a monument.  I guess that I'm a lot like St.Peter: I always want to do something rather than revel in the glory God presents to me in all the blessings I enjoy.  Likewise, Fr. Foley hit the nail on the head today when he calls us to see the glory through suffering.  There is so much suffering with earthquakes and political dishevelment; it's really a challenge to see God through all of it... a challenge we can arise to in Christ.


May the peace of Christ be with you all,


John

First Sunday of Lent

My Companions: I haven't kept-up with our blog this year and, since Lent begins this week, I'll get back to my encouraging words.  We have so many reasons to pray: to adore the Lord who brings us life each minute, to seek forgiveness from our sisters and brothers and the Lord for poor choices of action and/or inaction, to express all the gratitude in our hearts, and to "seek our daily bread."  I'm so thankful that niece, Molly, is recovering from her blood clot, that niece, Katie, will bring new life to our world and nephew, Tim, will study for priesthood with the Holy Cross Fathers.

Birthdays: (some catch-up here & always appreciate help for those I miss) Alan Kobza (1/1), Sue Ross (1/1), Rebecca Muniz (1/3), Jack Parise (1/7), Cullen Stevens (1/11), Kathy Schaefer (1/15), Mary D. Norton (1/15), Barry Martin (1/17), Pete Rogers (1/17), Marty Munos (1/19), Gary Smith (1/21), Julia Brumbaugh (1/22), Molly Komon (1/23), Michael Sheeran (1/24), Ed Lay (1/27), Karen Adkins (1/28), Mary Olson (1/29), Colleen Weed (1/30), Paul Alexander (1/31), Vicki Schnitzer (1/31), John Kane (2/1), Mike DePriest (2/1), Ed Luckett (2/2), Mohamed Lofty (2/10), Jim Makin (2/11), Lori Beth Gulmantovicz (2/14), Matthew Lay (2/16), Byron Plumley (2/18), Tony Gulmantovicz (2/22), Michele Lay (2/23), Mitch Ross (2/23), Tom Leininger (2/24), Tom Duggan (2/26), John Lay (the younger 3/10)

Keeping In-touch: Marge and I began the year on a business/vacation trip to California and I was able to take second trip to Chicagoland.  I'm busy with my traditional college students and now an online CPS course.  Marge has begun to do her Stevens Ministry Work and funeral lunches.  Otherwise it's "same-old, same-old."  I have lost over thirty pounds and even though I "cheated" for the first part of the year, more carbs and less exercise, I'm getting back in the routine.

Readings: 1st Sunday of Lent
     (also, here are the Ash Wednesday Readings)

Fr. John Foley's reflections: Traps

My comments (and invitation for your post)
We're going to try to go to the Stations of the Cross weekly this year.  And since I've "given-up" all kinds of good food and drink to "loose my fat," there's not much there to "give-up," I will write this blog each Sunday evening... and get back into the habit.  Lent is a time set aside "to get in shape."  These little things may help us tune-into the Lord and live in the glory He wishes for us.

The story of the woman, the serpent, the husband and the forbidden fruit presents an icon of our experience of deceiving ourselves and deceiving others.  Hopefully our Lenten practice will help us see through that which keeps us from living with the utmost integrity.  And, like Jesus, we can see through the false promises presented to us and live as a people filled with the Unconditional Love of Abba.  That love fulfills more than all fortune, fame or power.  Let's find it in all things.