March 20

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Friday, March 20, Lent IV

JOHN 7:1-2,10,25-30

I truly am the Lord and should direct your life.

Prayerthoughts
a. There is no one out to kill me as his enemies wanted to do to Jesus. But there are people who do not like me and perhaps would hurt me. Do I think ill of the people who I consider "enemies"?

b. Jesus went to Jerusalem in secret. According to John the evangelist, Jesus chose when he was going to redeem us. A prayer of thanksgiving would be in order for Jesus's act of redemption.

c. The authorities or religious leaders knew what they were doing, trying to find something against Jesus. Do I accuse others wrongly without knowledge of why they are doing certain things?

d. They believed that they would not know where the Messiah was from. Do I accept the condemning words of others concerning a situation without knowing the facts?

e. Jesus says that he is from the Father, namely that he is divine. Do I truly believe that Jesus is God and that I must follow the direction that he gives, as shown in my actions, say, yesterday?

f. My prayerthoughts...

Today I will read Wisdom 2:1a,12-22 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

DO WE REALLY KNOW JESUS?


+ The Gospel brings up an interesting question for the person interested in the spiritual life:

- Jesus is reflecting on the questions of some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem

- and he responds basically with the question: “do you know me?”

- that is, Jesus saying, do you really know who I am?

- and the question for the spiritual person then becomes: do we really know Jesus as much as we should?

- as we consider that question, we run into a description of how we act from the Book of Wisdom—

- in our spiritual lives, there is the possibility of being blinded by wickedness, and therefore we won’t answer well to the question of who Jesus is,

- and at the other extreme, there is the possibility of the recompense of holiness, that is, we can be guided by holiness to answer the question


+ Our knowledge of Jesus is obviously blocked by wickedness

- our wickedness is not so much defined as terrible wickedness

- but what might be called “accepted wickedness”

- wickedness that good people fall into

- the minor revenges against others

- the words that we say about situations that we really don’t know anything about

- the thoughts that we don’t challenge in our own mind

- thoughts that are often filled with prejudice and judgment of others


+ On the other hand, our knowledge of Jesus is enhanced by the recompense of holiness

- that is, the reward of holiness

- holiness is defined in terms of an attitude of Jesus

- serious time for prayer, where we alter our schedule so that prayer time becomes a reality

- and extra times of prayer like making the Stations, etc.

- serious consideration of the way we interact with people

- meditation on ways that we can be better, given the things that we do every day

- use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation


+ We are called to know Jesus by overcoming the possibility of wickedness and adopting the way of holiness.








MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Pink Pony Club" – Chappell Roan

GROWING UP WITH ADVICE



 

The Gospel


JOHN 2:1-11


On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an interior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.   

Gospelthink: Jesus followed the advice of his mother.

“I know you wanted me to stay, but I can't ignore the crazy visions of me in LA. I heard that there's a special place. I'm having wicked dreams of leaving Tennessee. Oh, Santa Monica, I swear it's calling me. Won't make my mama proud. It's gonna cause a scene. She sees her baby girl, I know she's gonna scream--what have you done. You're a pink pony girl and you dance at the club. Oh mama, I'm just having fun on the stage in my heels. It's where I belong down at the Pink Pony Club.”

It is clear from the Scriptures that Jesus had a special relationship with his mother, and by extension, one would suppose, a similar relationship with his father, although his father is not present in his public ministry. His mother was present, and according to the Scriptures, was present during significant moments in Jesus’s life.

One of those moments is at the very beginning of his public ministry. As the evangelist John comments, "Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs...and so revealed his glory." Jesus’s love for his mother prompts him to begin the process of redemption, the process of saving humankind. It is no wonder that the Catholic Church has such a strong devotion honoring Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Jesus loved her with all of his heart.

Taking the situation into the twenty-first century, and in particular, Jesus’s relationship with his mother can inspire some serious thinking with any song that calls for the advice of people close to us. Take Chappell Roan’s song “Pink Pony Club.” The daughter is at a place in her life where she must make her own decisions, and her mother has some rather strong feelings about it. Her mother doesn’t want the daughter to waste away her life—as she sees it—as a dancer at a party club, especially when it would take the daughter a significant distance away from family.

Who is correct? Perhaps the daughter has a special gift as a dancer and is merely beginning a life that will involve dancing as a serious vocation. Certainly the mother knows her daughter and feels responsible as she makes a momentous decision. Whatever the case, the lesson we can learn from the song is two-fold. One, a young person will have to make a decision that will advance her life at some point in her life. And two, the mother is a person who can help the daughter make that decision.

If emotions are not involved, the daughter might be able to make a decision that is guided by her mother. The problem, as with most situations of doing something relatively momentous, emotions will run high, and the decision must be made together with how everyone feels. And that is never easy.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, our journey on earth together with the directions we could go are varied. Help us realize that we will always have advice from especially our parents, as we decide a future for ourselves. Be with us, we pray. 

 

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GUIDELINES FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We must move on in life, but we should take the advice of people close to us.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1.  What does the song “Pink Pony Club” teach young people today?

2. Should the devotion in honor of Mary the mother of Jesus be stronger than it is right now?

3. How much advice should parents of a young person give as the young person is deciding to leave from home?

4. Should parents “approve” their children’s marriages?

5. Should parents “approve” their children’s “life-style” when the child is 21? Yes or no and why?

6. In making a “momentous” decision, what should the child of a family keep in mind?

 

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America