TGIMMPompeii

October 8

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, October 8

LUKE 10:38-42
I want people to spend time thinking about things that matter.

Prayerthoughts
a. The Gospel story concerns family. In my own family right now, are there relationships that I should work on to make them better?

b. Mary listened to Jesus speak. Do I truly listen to the Lord, that is, concentrate on the words of Scripture?

c. Martha knew Jesus well enough, and Jesus was close enough to the family that she could complain to him. In my prayer to the Lord, am I as open about my situations in life as I should be?

d. As Martha, we have a tendency to worry or be too concerned about what goes on in our lives. Am I too anxious about anything in my life right now, and if so, perhaps I should "hand it over" to the Lord, and let God take care of it.

e. The better part in life is to spend time with the Lord as Mary did. Do I have a prayer schedule set up in my life, and do I try to follow it as best I can.

f. My prayerthoughts….

Today, I will read the letter to the Galatians, chapter 1:1-12,

and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

LISTENING TO JESUS

+ In the first reading, Paul feels that he must justify himself to the Galatians

- and so, he recalls all the things that have happened to him, especially with respect to the other Apostles

- saying in effect that he may not have been an original Apostle, but he is an Apostle now so that he can have an effect on the Galatians and the agitators who were speaking against him

- during the recitation, he brought up the fact that he went away to Arabia for a time probably of retreat after his conversion

+ That retreat was necessary so that he could listen to the Lord’s words which is the topic of the Gospel passage

- his words to Martha are significant for the person interested in a deeper spiritual life

- the spiritual life begins with listening to the words of God through Jesus

+ Once again here in the Scriptures, we run across the idea that the spiritual person must listen to the words of Jesus

- there has to be time spent with those words

- Mary spent a significant amount of time listening

- and applying it to ourselves, a significant amount of time must be spent in our day

- perhaps reading/listening for 10-15 minutes, and then thinking about a personal application for 10-15 minutes

- we know that it is possible to find a half-hour a day if we want to

- it’s a matter of planning and scheduling

- what a significant thing this could be for a parish or a Christian community, and sometimes to do it in front of the Blessed Sacrament during Adoration

+ Also, there must be the effect of putting the words into practice

- not mentioned in the Gospel here, but one is led to believe from the Scriptures that Mary did well with following through with Jesus’ words

- much of this will be automatic since if we expose ourselves to something like Jesus’ words long enough, they will affect us

+ Listening is a difficult virtue in many ways

- because we spend too much time with the “background noise” of the world

- Jesus words are important, and we must make them so in our lives.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "A Bar Song” (Shaboozey)

THE IMPORTANCE OF RELAXATION

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’s first miracle was worked so that some people could relax better.

“Someone, pour me up a double shot of whiskey. They know me and Jack Daniel's got a history. There's a party downtown, near 5th Street. Everybody at the bar gettin' tipsy. I've been boozey since I left, I ain't changin' for a check. Woke up drunk at 10 am, we gon'[na] do this stuff again. Tell your girl to bring a friend.”

John the evangelist presents the setting of a marriage to be the place of Jesus' first miracle. Often cited by Christian authors as a miracle enacted at Jesus' mother's request, the setting of the miracle is important as well. Jesus and his apostles were celebrating the wedding of some people that they probably knew. As Jesus blessed the marriage with his presence, he was also blessing the marital activity, and therefore, Jesus in a sense, is blessing the fun that people were having, and in particular blessing the fact that the people were drinking alcohol, since he provided more of it. And, maybe to excess.

Many modern songs speak of having fun and in particular by using alcohol. Shaboozey’s song “A Bar Song” is just that—a song that can easily be part of a raucous group of people gathered around an alcoholic bar while partaking of the drink that is present in abundance at that bar.

The question must be asked by the Christian: did Jesus want what happens to a group of people as they consume large amounts of alcohol? Did he want the drunkenness and the sexual interaction that often takes place when people are having fun with alcohol? Did he want people to allow the effects of alcohol to cause the pain that often happens because of the misspoken words and misguided actions that happen when people have too much alcohol to drink?

Obviously, the answer must be in the negative. No, Jesus did not want that. First of all, Scripture scholars speak of wedding celebrations in Jesus’s day as being totally different from the type of celebrations when modern people typically speak of parties with too much alcohol. Secondly, the same evangelist who reported the miracle at Cana also says to a sinful woman, “Go, and from now on, do not sin any more” (John 8:11). Jesus did not bless the wine so that people would sin. He blessed the wine because he wanted a married couple to enjoy a time with their friends.

Jesus knew about human nature. And therefore he knew the importance of relaxation. He knew that it was important because it helps us deal with stress and therefore it improves our health. He knew that we reduce the risk of stress-related health problems such as heart disease and dementia. Likewise, he knew that relaxing could be easy and enjoyable. Believers know that Jesus was divine, but they also know that as a human being, he understood our needs, not only in a spiritual way, but materially as well.

Jesus called us to be responsible people. Yes, it is good to relax, but we must also know that too much of a good thing is no longer good.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we know the importance of following you through Your Son. As we learn to help our human bodies with relaxation in our lives here on earth, give us the grace to truly understand our personal responsibilities as well. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: There are times to relax, but we must remember to relax in a mature manner.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "A Bar Song" teach young people?

2. How can we help an alcoholic friend in our world today?

3. Do songs like “A Bar Song” cause more drinking in our world today? Yes or no and why?

4. The meditation makes the point that we should drink alcohol responsibly. Exactly what does that mean?

5. Is drinking alcohol a problem among the young people under 18 today? Yes or no and why?

6. In general, what is the best way for people to relax in our world?