by Joe Esposito on February 25th, 2013
0“We all have a hunger for certitude, and the problem is that the Gospel is not about certitude, it’s about fidelity. So what we all want to do if we can is immediately transpose fidelity into certitude, because fidelity is a relational category and certitude is flat, mechanical category. So we have to acknowledge our thirst for certitude and then recognize that if you had all the certitudes in the world it would not make the quality of your life any better because what we must have is fidelity.” -Walter Brueggemann
by Joe Esposito on February 24th, 2013
A lenten prayer
Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ indwelling in them.
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life.
Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on trust.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility; feast on nonviolence.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.
Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on truths that uplift.
Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
Gentle God, during this season of fasting and feasting, gift us with your presence
so we can be a gift to others in carrying out your work.
Amen.
William Arthur Ward (1921-1994)
by Joe Esposito on February 5th, 2013
An article about a Catholic Church that allows homeless folks a sanctuary away from craziness of the streets. It's worth the read, not solely for the content of what they are doing, but even more for the *reason* they are.
Here is an excerpt: “Homeless people, in addition to needing housing, have primary needs of calm, safety, beauty, and a sense of belonging. We are providing these things,” Slattery told HuffPost, “These are our daily successes.”
Check it out here
Here is an excerpt: “Homeless people, in addition to needing housing, have primary needs of calm, safety, beauty, and a sense of belonging. We are providing these things,” Slattery told HuffPost, “These are our daily successes.”
Check it out here
by Greg Stevens on November 20th, 2012
We live in a world today where we constantly question our spiritual beliefs and motives. More and more we wonder who Christ is, and what He would do if he was in our shoes. We define and redefine charity in the most personal terms. In our very core we struggle with if we are doing enough and what more would look like and how it would effect the people we serve.
We at Missio Dei seek a world where one would have to look long and hard to see differences between themselves and their sisters and brothers. At work, in recreation and at the table. Imagine a situation where everyone was invited, no matter what their status in society is. In this world the homeless man sits down at the table with the student, the professor, the school child, the successful businesswoman, the failed businessman, the ex convict, the goody two shoes, the married couple, the unwed mother, the straight edger and the dope addict. All are always welcome at the same table. No questions, no judgements, just good food and drink, conversation (good and bad but real) and the sense that everyone is the same in God's Eyes and God extends his Grace and Blessings to us all, and doesn't measure us by class, mentality, wealth or lack of it.
The situation we see as Equality, Jesus sees in the Lord's Prayer as "God's will be(ing) done, on Earth as well as in Heaven". Left to view things through our human eyes, we can only imagine or maybe re imagine what God's Table would like. Our puny aims to emulate the Divine are made somewhat more amenable, by our quest to be the hands and feet of Christ. Christ is worthy and capable of being emulated. I think that's the main point of Christ coming- to be the Truth and the Way. We follow Christ as closely as we can, falling of the path sometimes, but regaining our footing -sometimes with help from those around us and continuing along the Way. Jesus calls this Way, "the narrow path".
For us, we are left with a desire to live out a life which is one we would like to pass down to a generation which is younger and to one yet to come. Although it is certainly about leaving material which will generate comfort to our children, we should concern ourselves with spiritual inheritance. We should put love and inclusion in our wills when we leave this world and concern for others and their welfare. We should use a portion of our days to imagine what God's "Kingdom come on Earth..." looks like. We should make Love, Equality, Justice and Inclusion part of the gifts that we leave in our passing
What can we do to live into this "on earth as it is in heaven"? Just show up. That's all you have to do. Show up and do what is natural - eat, talk, and fellowship. In that manner, you are extending the table. In that way, you are being the hands and feet of Christ. If someone wants to help, their help won't be discouraged. But beyond help, passing along the peace of Jesus looks like sitting next to a person who is different from you on the surface, and not imagining a difference on the inside. We are all sisters and brothers.
Please join us on Thursday November 22, 2012 (Thanksgiving) at Trinity Lutheran Church – 401 5th St N, St Pete. @ 2pm for a veritable Thanksgiving Feast.
We at Missio Dei seek a world where one would have to look long and hard to see differences between themselves and their sisters and brothers. At work, in recreation and at the table. Imagine a situation where everyone was invited, no matter what their status in society is. In this world the homeless man sits down at the table with the student, the professor, the school child, the successful businesswoman, the failed businessman, the ex convict, the goody two shoes, the married couple, the unwed mother, the straight edger and the dope addict. All are always welcome at the same table. No questions, no judgements, just good food and drink, conversation (good and bad but real) and the sense that everyone is the same in God's Eyes and God extends his Grace and Blessings to us all, and doesn't measure us by class, mentality, wealth or lack of it.
The situation we see as Equality, Jesus sees in the Lord's Prayer as "God's will be(ing) done, on Earth as well as in Heaven". Left to view things through our human eyes, we can only imagine or maybe re imagine what God's Table would like. Our puny aims to emulate the Divine are made somewhat more amenable, by our quest to be the hands and feet of Christ. Christ is worthy and capable of being emulated. I think that's the main point of Christ coming- to be the Truth and the Way. We follow Christ as closely as we can, falling of the path sometimes, but regaining our footing -sometimes with help from those around us and continuing along the Way. Jesus calls this Way, "the narrow path".
For us, we are left with a desire to live out a life which is one we would like to pass down to a generation which is younger and to one yet to come. Although it is certainly about leaving material which will generate comfort to our children, we should concern ourselves with spiritual inheritance. We should put love and inclusion in our wills when we leave this world and concern for others and their welfare. We should use a portion of our days to imagine what God's "Kingdom come on Earth..." looks like. We should make Love, Equality, Justice and Inclusion part of the gifts that we leave in our passing
What can we do to live into this "on earth as it is in heaven"? Just show up. That's all you have to do. Show up and do what is natural - eat, talk, and fellowship. In that manner, you are extending the table. In that way, you are being the hands and feet of Christ. If someone wants to help, their help won't be discouraged. But beyond help, passing along the peace of Jesus looks like sitting next to a person who is different from you on the surface, and not imagining a difference on the inside. We are all sisters and brothers.
Please join us on Thursday November 22, 2012 (Thanksgiving) at Trinity Lutheran Church – 401 5th St N, St Pete. @ 2pm for a veritable Thanksgiving Feast.
by Joe Esposito on November 19th, 2012
Nuff Said
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