December Birthdays at St. E's ~ Provided by Ethel Cooley

12/06/12 ~ Christyna Ford

12/11/12 ~ Burton Robinson

12/12/12 ~ Archie Thompson and Kiyoko Timmons

12/13/12 ~ Jannie Allen

12/14/12 ~ R'chell Jones and Katherine Lamb

12/18/12 ~ Mieya Timmons

12/19/12 ~ James Thompson

12/22/12 ~ Sr. Elena Henderson and Frances Pope

12/24/12 ~ Lula Lamb

12/29/12 ~ Laila (Sharee) Miller

12/30/12 ~ Rita Hatchett

A Kingdom not of this World ~ A Reflection on the Feast of Christ the King

Feast of Christ the King (B)

Dn 7:13-14

Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5 (1a)

Rev 1:5-8

Jn 18:33b-37

Today, the last Sunday of the church year, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King.

As we look around our world today, one could wonder, "Where is this King?  Where is his Kingdom?"  But as we read in John's Gospel, Jesus specifically said that his Kingdom did not belong in this world.

John implies that Pilate couldn't understand why Jesus had been handed over to him by the chief priests when Jesus did not claim to be King of the Jews.  Pilate may not have realized that Jesus was a threat to the authority of the temple leadership and the priestly power structure of his time.  That priestly authority was placing impossible burdens on the people whereas, Jesus' ministry among the people brought hope and healing to even the least of them.  Jesus' ministry brought fear to the hearts of the chief priests and their minions.  Jesus spoke about Truth, explaining to Pilate that "(f)or this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

Daniel's visions of the end of time, in the First Reading, describes the victory of Jesus as King of the Universe, as he is given "dominion, glory and kingship" by the Ancient One.  All peoples, nations and languages would serve him and his kingship would never be destroyed.  Here we see a little better what Jesus meant when he said that his Kingdom was not of this world.  His kingship would be timeless and everlasting and his Kingdom would include all of us.  And because it is timeless, his people (including us) are to live out his Kingdom in our lives.

The reading from Revelation describes how Jesus freed us from our sins by his blood; and through his love, he has made us into a kingdom, "priests for his God and Father..."  all for the glory of his Father.

The psalmist expresses his joy for the Lord, his king:

"Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O Lord.... Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed; holiness befits your house."   (Ps 93:1ff) 




~ Detail from a mosaic by Bon Chandiyamba at the Christ the King Church in Sophiatown, Johannesburg, South Africa

"You will show me the path to life" ~ A reflection on the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Homecoming Sunday

Dn 12:1-3

Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11 (1)

Heb 10:11-14, 18

Mk 13:24-32

Since we are coming to the end of the Liturgical Year, the readings this Sunday speak about the endtimes. People have always been fascinated and frightened about the predictions in Scripture concerning those days; and in every generation, one finds individuals certain that the end would come on a specific date.  People seem to forget that Jesus said:  "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Mk 13:32)  So even Jesus did not know when it would happen, though it appears he thought it might occur  before his generation died.

It would do well to listen to the messages of hope that are contained in the Scripture readings of this weekend instead of concentrating on the many tribulations that are expected.  The prophet Daniel assures us that the archangel Michael, the guardian of God's people, will arise and protect us.  That even though there will be a time of great distress, those whose names are written in the Lord's book will escape.  The wise will shine like the splendor of the firmament and those who lead others to justice will be like the stars.

The psalmist writes beautifully about the trust he has in the Lord, who will protect him because he belongs to the Lord:

"Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices... because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption..."  Instead, the Lord:  "will show me the path to life..."  (Ps 16:9 ff)

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Today was also Homecoming Sunday.  We had a nice crowd of former and present members of St. Elizabeth, including several people who had attended old St. Elizabeth School.  After the Mass, we gathered in the parish hall for a delicious feast!  Many thanks to all who made this celebration such a success!

It was awesome!


 ~ Image Source:  GambarRohani's Gallery

Giving from one's poverty ~ A reflection on the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

1 Kgs 17:10-16

Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10, (1b)

Heb 9:24-28

Mk 12:38-44

In today's readings, we hear of two instances about the generosity of the poor.  Despite their poverty, two widows were willing to give away what little they had, knowing that by doing so, they would have no way of buying food for themselves or their families.

In the first reading from the 1st Book of Kings, the prophet Elijah comes upon a widow and her son who are ready to prepare their last meal before they starve, for they will have no flour or oil left.  There is drought and famine in the land, so you can imagine how the widow must have felt when Elijah asked her for water and food to eat.  But Elijah reassured her that there would be enough for all of them to eat and placing her trust in his words, the widow prepared his food.  Indeed, God blessed her generosity and trust.  Her jar of flour and her jug of oil did not go empty until the rains finally came the following year, just as Elijah had told them.

In the Gospel reading, we hear Jesus condemning the hypocritical behavior of the scribes who were using their temple positions to dress elaborately and to appear more important than everyone else by taking the seats of honor at banquets.  But even more wickedly, they took over the homes of widows.  Throughout Scripture, we find that one of the important duties of the Jewish community was to take care of their widows and orphans.  Some scribes apparently cared nothing about that duty.

Continuing in the reading, we see Jesus watching people giving to the temple treasury and noted that the rich were donating large sums of money.  Again, we have a poor widow placing her small coin there also. Jesus seeing this as another teaching moment, called his disciples to himself and told them that the widow's mite was more valuable a gift to God than all the riches of the wealthy, because the widow had given from her poverty, not knowing whether she would have enough money for her future needs.

In both of these instances, we see that the widows and orphans were the ones with the greater generosity...  We also see that they weren't necessarily being taken care of properly by the community, who had a duty to do so.  The widows' reward would be greater in heaven.

The psalmist's trust and love of God is evident in how he portrays the Lord's blessing of the widows and orphans:

"The fatherless and the widow he sustains, but the way of the wicked he thwarts." (vs 9) 


 ~ Image Source:  Seattle First Church of the Nazarene

"Good Neighbors" ~ Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) ~ by Ronnie Archer

Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Deu 6:2-6

Ps 18:2-4, 47, 51

Heb 7:23-28

Mk 12:28b-34

On this Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, we were blessed to have Malcolm Whitfield, (Frances Pope's grandson) read the biography of Blessed Isidore Bakanja of the Congo.  Malcolm's 3rd grade class at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School chose Blessed Isidore as their "saint" for All Saints Day, and Malcolm was asked to "represent" him and read the bio at Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes on November 1st.

In the homily today, we were told how appropriate it was to have that read, because Blessed Isidore showed love and forgiveness to the person who beat him beyond medical help.  Before he died, he told the missionaries that he forgave his assailant and promised to pray for him.

The theme of today's scriptures was love of Jesus and our neighbor as ourselves.  We each have our own struggles in life, and at times it is difficult to keep in mind that, which Jesus calls us to do.

We sometimes have a hard time reaching out to others, but God wants us to push aside our doubts and fears and recognize that He is always with us, to help us along our way in providing help to our neighbor in need.

We have to die to ourselves and rise to Christ.  Recognize the Lord calls us to lift each other up in good times and bad.

The Sacraments continue to challenge us as to who we are.  If we believe, then it needs to be shown to others.  If we stumble along the way... we cannot give up.  The Responsorial today from Psalm 18 describes God as our STRENGTH, our ROCK, our FORTRESS.  He will be with us always to help us as we lift each other up.



 ~ Photo credit: A Christian's Journey