Daily Retreat 10/04/09

2009 Oct 4 SUN:TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Gn 2:18-24/ Ps 127(128):1-2. 3. 4-5. 6/ Heb 2:9-11/ Mk 10:2-16

From today’s readings:  “The LORD God said: ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.’...    May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives....  He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin....  But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh....”

The Two of Them Become One Flesh

Clearly, the Bible espouses a sublime teaching about the matrimonial union of man and woman. Jesus Himself quotes chapter 2 of Genesis, reminding His followers that our conception of marriage must begin with God’s intention, not just human experience, for better or for worse.

But hardness of hearts has led to separating what God has united. In Holy Matrimony, God unites man and woman, but divorce separates. God unites the unitive and procreative dimensions of marital intercourse, but contraception separates. God unites the sexual and spiritual aspects of human life, but hedonism separates. God creates and unites male and female as partners, but chauvinism and militant feminism separate them as antagonists.

Those who abort and thwart God’s conception of marital unity, rebuking and rejecting the divine biblical and magisterial teaching, ultimately bear nothing in their lives but the sterile hardness of their own hearts. But those who embrace God’s design and are open to His will all the days of their lives bring forth the fertile fruits of Christ’s blessing which lead to the Kingdom of God!


As is already known, since 2002, these virtual retreat reflections have been an outreach of Immaculate Heart Retreat Center in Spokane, WA.   Originally, Msgr. William Van Ommeren, in residence at IHRC, wrote the daily meditations with characteristic gentle wisdom  arising from his pastoral and spiritual experience of many years.  Then in August of 2003, IHRC director Deacon John Ruscheinsky asked me to take up this ministry, and so it has been my privilege to share my humble scriptural insights in this forum for the past 6 years.  For the many blessings that I have shared from this work, I am grateful to God, I am grateful to Deacon Ruscheinsky and the supportive staff at IHRC, and I am grateful to all the many readers who have been a part of this ministry with prayers, donations to IHRC, and all kinds of encouragement.

Tomorrow, a new chapter in this series begins, for I will be passing on this apostolate to Deacon Ruscheinsky himself, who will start posting reflections drawn from his inspiring work as the director at IHRC.  I will certainly appreciate continued prayers, both for me, as I focus on my teaching at Mt. Angel Seminary,  and for Deacon John Ruscheinsky.  I’ve treasured his friendship and spiritual insights - how wonderful that he will now be sharing that with more people through this e-evangelization!

Daily Retreat 10/03/09

2009 Oct 3 Sat:Ordinary Weekday/ BVM
Bar 4: 5-12. 27-29/ Ps 68(69): 33-35. 36-37/ Lk 10: 17-24

From today’s readings:  “As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, turn now ten times the more to seek him....  The Lord listens to the poor....  I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it....”

Jerusalem, Our Mother

Hardly anything in the Bible comes across as impersonal in any way. On the contrary, Sacred Scripture is essentially intimate and personal, so that even events that happened so long ago and words uttered so long ago seem so close and connected to us (this is one of the reasons that the God’s Word appeals even to non- believers).

In this section of the book of Baruch, Jerusalem is personified as a mother bewailing yet also consoling and encouraging her captive children.  She insists that her children understand the nature and awful gravity of their sins, but she also implores that her children realize where their hope for salvation lies - in turning back to God ten times the more!

Read the entire 4th and 5th chapters to appreciate the poignancy of this "mother’s" message, and realize how much God’s Word is intimate and personal for YOU!

Daily Retreat 10/02/09

2009 Oct 2 Fri:The Guardian Angels M
Bar 1:15-22/ Ps 78(79):1b-2. 3-5. 8. 9/ Mt 18:1-5. 10

From today’s readings:  “We did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom He sent us, but each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God....  For the glory of Your Name, O Lord, deliver us....  See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in Heaven always look upon the face of My heavenly Father.”

Uncle Sarge and Angels

My Uncle Sarge was one of the persons I most looked forward to meeting when I was young.  For a long time, my parents had told me about him, mentioning, for instance, that he played the violin.  Since I had recently started lessons myself, I was glad to learn that we already had something in common, so I was all the more eager to meet him!

But I was even more intrigued when I found out that Uncle Sarge only had one leg!  I later learned that the other one had been lost to cancer, but at the time, all that was pretty much beyond my understanding.   At my age, I could hardly imagine how there could even be a person without such an essential part of his body - in that aspect, my uncle and I were certainly quite different!  In fact, as time past, I even started to wonder if I really had such a strange uncle, and I began to suspect that my parents perhaps had made up those stories about him.

But in due time, my Uncle Sarge did come for a visit, bringing his violin, and yes, hopping along on his one leg!  He instantly became one of my favorite relatives, so we were loyal pen pals until he died a few years later.

“That’s very interesting, ” you’re probably thinking, “but what does your Uncle Sarge have to do with today’s feast of the Guardian Angels?”  Well, aren’t our protective angels likewise relatives whom we all look forward to seeing some day?  And we already have some things in common - for instance, we’re both created by God with free will.  But in other aspects, we’re quite different:  angels have a superior intellect, and they are pure spirits, without any body at all!  Because these differences are so beyond our understanding, some people even suggest that perhaps the Bible just makes up all those stories about angels.

But in due time, God’s trusting children will have a splendid reunion with their guardian angels, and then we’ll discover how they’ve always been our most loyal soulmates!