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This link will keep 'parishioners-at-large' in touch with current creative liturgy sources and resources that respect a variety of 'traditions' within the Church.

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Daily Scripture

+ 7th Week of Easter

We are to be consecrated in truth.

Readings: Acts 20:28-38 Psalm 88:29-30, 33-36 John 17:11b-19

Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they may also be consecrated in truth. [John 17:18-19]

Read the Gospel very slowly and if possible, out loud and if necessary, three times! Although John’s literary style is quite complex, the farewell prayer of Jesus is as powerful as is Paul’s farewell message in Acts.

It is not likely that these passages are the actual words of Paul and Jesus. They are compositions that Luke and John or whoever wrote in their name and are based on the oral tradition of the sayings of Jesus and the preaching of Paul. They were written in the style of farewell addresses of prominent leaders of their times in order to win the attention of early believers to whom the message of truth was entrusted.

The ‘truth’ that is being proclaimed is not from a catechism nor is it a defined doctrine or dogma. It is the core truth about the God who spoke through the prophets and then through Jesus about the universality of God’s love.

During this time of immediate preparation for Pentecost, we are invited to think about our own responsibility to pass on the ‘truth’ of God’s goodness entrusted to us in Christ and how we are to live that truth in our daily lives, each in our own unique way. No one of us can do this alone and so we much join hands literally and figuratively within the community of believers everywhere.

To live the ‘truth’ is to live in the Spirit of Jesus Christ the fruits of which are charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, moderation, self-control, reverence, etc. I’m sure you memorized these ‘fruits of the Holy Spirit.’

These are the true ‘marks’ of our authenticity as believers.

Something More for Advent

Thursday December 8, 2005

Living the Rhythm of God

I can’t imagine what life would be like without ‘table time.’ As a single celibate, retired priest, I still look forward to my time at table. In fact, I just don’t eat my feed; I ‘celebrate’ every morsel. Breakfast is my favorite time at table. I have read somewhere that it’s the most important meal of the day. The second and third most important meals are dinner and lunch in that order.

In any event, though I live alone, I never eat breakfast alone. I always have a book or two at my side and a few periodicals that provide just enough mental stimulation to get an inner conversation going to accompany my long savory coffee. Self-talk can be very healthy and there’s never any back talk.

Occasionally, I ‘celebrate’ breakfast with friends at a local diner or deli. Live talk is ordinarily more stimulating than conversation with oneself! We are social beings and as such we need the nourishment that healthy friendships provide. I always thank people who share their stories with me, hot off the press, as it were, in contrast to books and periodicals, which are always dated.

All this table talk notwithstanding, we do need alone time away from the table. I call it ‘chair time.’ Before I head for the breakfast table every morning, I spend a half hour in my ‘prayer chair.’ It’s a small rocking chair, a gift with a long history from a good friend and spiritual companion. After reading the Scriptures assigned for the day, I center and allow the Spirit to lead me below the water level into God’s space where I am known as God knows me. It’s a safe place, a safety zone, if you will. No one else is allowed in that space except God and me.

After breakfast, I’m ready to face the world where the challenges are many – great and small – the first of which is my move into cyberspace. I have my own website (www.fatherlasch.com) that enables me to carry on my work as an itinerant preacher of sorts, a pastor-at-large in a church without walls and a parish without boundaries. It’s where the conversation continues with people across the nation and occasionally across the globe. It’s a different kind of table talk but a genuine engagement with the realities of the day. It’s a doorway to ministry but not an end in itself. I still need physical contact with folks at the various tables of humanity – at the hospital, the nursing home, and at sundry stops along the way that prevent me from becoming isolated and self absorbed in my own petty problems.

But it all comes together at the Eucharist table. That’s where I connect with God’s rhythm.

Our ‘table time’ each Sunday at Eucharist has all the mixings and fixings of a balanced life in Christ – the inspired Word to feed the mind, the living bread to feel the soul, a bit of quiet time to get into our private space with God and of course, plenty of time for table talk after Mass to connect message with the tasks for the week.

Though it may appear that I have it all together, I’m still a seeker and a searcher and I’m looking forward to our ‘table time’ together during our annual Parish Advent Retreat on December 11th and 12th. We’ll be talking more about living God’s rhythm. I hope to learn as much from you as you from me.