Lenten Retreat With Fr. Maurice Nutt ~ by Ronnie Archer
Fr. Andrew welcomed all who were in attendance. There were several churches represented: St. Paul's, St. Benedict's, as well as many from St. Elizabeth's.
Cathy read the background on Fr. Maurice, who was born in St. Louis and ordained a priest in 1989. He had pastored several churches before being appointed current pastor of Holy Names of Jesus and Mary Catholic Church in Memphis, Tennessee, where the membership has grown from about 30 families when he arrived about two years ago, to about 100 families currently.
Fr. Maurice told us that Lent means Spring and that "new life" is what the Lenten season is about. We will continue to go through the ups and downs of life, but we have another opportunity to begin fresh.
We were led in song by Fr. Maurice, with "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" and "We have Come into This House".
The first reading from Isaiah 55, and the second reading from St. Paul to the Ephesians were proclaimed by Barbara Williford and Frances Pope, respectively. After the readings, we sang "Victory is Mine".
We were asked by Fr. Maurice to quiet ourselves and bring into our spirit, whatever it is that we might be struggling with... something that we need to let go of, so as to receive God's blessing. After a few moments of silence, we sang "Clean Heart".
The Gospel was from Matthew 15... read by Fr. Maurice. The homily title was "When God Puts You on Hold". Realizing that we, as humans, do not like to wait, the woman in the Gospel had an "encounter" with Jesus. She yelled out to Jesus, addressing Him as "Lord, Son of David, have pity on me". The disciples wanted to "get rid of her"... but there was something about her that was different.
She was from the land of Canaan; she was bold and persistent. She had no knowledge of protocol, but she was respectful to Jesus, telling Him that her daughter was troubled by a demon. Jesus told her that His mission was only to the "lost sheep" of Israel, but she paid Him homage with the plea, "Help Me, Lord". He told her "it is not right to give the food that is meant for the children of Israel, to the dogs."
She replied to Him, "Lord, even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table." Jesus then told her "woman, you have great faith and that her wish would be granted." God had "put the woman on hold"...by not even answering her at first. Then her "waiting was rewarded."
Sometimes, God will make us wait, because we might not be ready to receive whatever it is that we have asked of Him. He knows that there are many other things that we might need to do before we can receive what we ask Him for. We need to be able to bare our hearts and confess what we need to confess to God, before He grants our wishes. We might need to forgive someone. We cannot have one hand outstretched to God, asking for a blessing, with the other hand in a clinched fist of unforgiveness.
The wonderful thing about Jesus is that "he might put us on hold", but He doesn't keep us on hold. We cannot be stuck in a place; we have to move on. The woman in the Gospel was bold enough to take Jesus on. She got what she wanted, her daughter's healing.
We can all get up and begin again.
Personal testimonies were shared at the end of the retreat and both priests invited participants to come to reconciliation.
Fr. Maurice reminded us of his revival at Holy Rosary Parish on Monday and Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m.
~ Graphic by Hermano Leon Clipart
Cathy read the background on Fr. Maurice, who was born in St. Louis and ordained a priest in 1989. He had pastored several churches before being appointed current pastor of Holy Names of Jesus and Mary Catholic Church in Memphis, Tennessee, where the membership has grown from about 30 families when he arrived about two years ago, to about 100 families currently.
Fr. Maurice told us that Lent means Spring and that "new life" is what the Lenten season is about. We will continue to go through the ups and downs of life, but we have another opportunity to begin fresh.
We were led in song by Fr. Maurice, with "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" and "We have Come into This House".
The first reading from Isaiah 55, and the second reading from St. Paul to the Ephesians were proclaimed by Barbara Williford and Frances Pope, respectively. After the readings, we sang "Victory is Mine".
We were asked by Fr. Maurice to quiet ourselves and bring into our spirit, whatever it is that we might be struggling with... something that we need to let go of, so as to receive God's blessing. After a few moments of silence, we sang "Clean Heart".
The Gospel was from Matthew 15... read by Fr. Maurice. The homily title was "When God Puts You on Hold". Realizing that we, as humans, do not like to wait, the woman in the Gospel had an "encounter" with Jesus. She yelled out to Jesus, addressing Him as "Lord, Son of David, have pity on me". The disciples wanted to "get rid of her"... but there was something about her that was different.
She was from the land of Canaan; she was bold and persistent. She had no knowledge of protocol, but she was respectful to Jesus, telling Him that her daughter was troubled by a demon. Jesus told her that His mission was only to the "lost sheep" of Israel, but she paid Him homage with the plea, "Help Me, Lord". He told her "it is not right to give the food that is meant for the children of Israel, to the dogs."
She replied to Him, "Lord, even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table." Jesus then told her "woman, you have great faith and that her wish would be granted." God had "put the woman on hold"...by not even answering her at first. Then her "waiting was rewarded."
Sometimes, God will make us wait, because we might not be ready to receive whatever it is that we have asked of Him. He knows that there are many other things that we might need to do before we can receive what we ask Him for. We need to be able to bare our hearts and confess what we need to confess to God, before He grants our wishes. We might need to forgive someone. We cannot have one hand outstretched to God, asking for a blessing, with the other hand in a clinched fist of unforgiveness.
The wonderful thing about Jesus is that "he might put us on hold", but He doesn't keep us on hold. We cannot be stuck in a place; we have to move on. The woman in the Gospel was bold enough to take Jesus on. She got what she wanted, her daughter's healing.
We can all get up and begin again.
Personal testimonies were shared at the end of the retreat and both priests invited participants to come to reconciliation.
Fr. Maurice reminded us of his revival at Holy Rosary Parish on Monday and Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m.
~ Graphic by Hermano Leon Clipart
posted by mary ann @ Monday, February 11, 2008
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