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Showing posts from July, 2015

THE MEANING OF THE STORY IS WHAT'S LITERALLY TRUE

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME July 26, 2015 Saint Cecilia Catholic Community Rev. Dcn. David Justin Lynch 2 K Kings 4:42-44 Psalm 145:10-11;15-18 Ephesians 4:1-6 John 6:1-15 + In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.                 We have all been hungry at one time or another. Every living being has experienced hunger. I am usually very hungry after Mass.  Those of us with dogs and cats as part of our families, are acutely aware that when they are hungry; they let us know it.  Jesus, just as human as we are, experienced hunger, as did those who came to hear Him speak. Jesus, the good shepherd that He is, responded to the hunger of his flock of people by feeding them, just as we respond to the hungry members of our family by shopping and cooking for them.           Last week’s Gospel ended just as Jesus approached an area where a crowd had gathered to hear Him speak, to which he reacted by saying they were, “like sheep without

LESSONS FROM JESUS IN LEADERSHIP

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B July 19, 2015 Saint Cecilia Catholic Community Rev. Dcn. David Justin Lynch Jeremiah 23:1-6 Psalm 23 Ephesians 2:13-18 Mark 6:30-34 + In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.         We’ve heard relentlessly from preachers, sociologists and psychologists that humans are social animals, that we are meant to live in communities, and that aloneness is pathological. People who’ve been single for many years past the usual age for marriage, are often viewed as oddities by well-meaning relatives and friends urging them to find a mate. But aloneness, in and of itself, is sometimes a necessary part of being human, particularly if one is in leadership position such as a manager or supervisor in a place of employment, a public official, or the pastor of a church.  Leadership positions are inherently social, requiring ongoing interaction with others. Leaders are in the business of meeting the expectations o

LEAVE YOUR EXCESS BAGGAGE BEHIND

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B July 12, 2015 Saint Cecilia Catholic Community Palm Springs, California Rev. Dcn. David Justin Lynch Amos 7:12-15 Psalm 85:9-14 Ephesians 1:3-14 Mark 6:7-13 + In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.         Beeper and I recently got back from a vacation that took us to Emeryville, California, Denver, Colorado, Keystone, South Dakota (where we saw Mount Rushmore), Chicago, Illinois, and Saint Louis, Missouri. This vacation taught us some important lessons about hospitality, excess baggage (yes, Beeper is going to take only 2 bags in the future), and who we are as people. We learned that in encountering this world, we are received with varying degrees of welcome, that we often carry more stuff with us than we really need, and that God works through us through what we do, rather than who we are. I have been in a few situations where I was not received as expected, most recently in Saint Louis,