For Sunday, February 7, 2010

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11

Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL

The Super Bowl will be the big event this coming weekend. The NFL publicity machine has transformed the official NFL site (www.nfl.com) into a “Super Bowl only” production. Except for a few bits about other happenings in the league in the “Headlines” section, Web site content on the main page is exclusively Super Bowl. Marketers have used the event to sell everything from chips and salsa (coupons in last Sunday’s newspaper urging consumers to get these snacks for the big game) to satellite television subscriptions (call now to sign up and watch the big game in high definition). “Big game” has become the marketing euphemism of choice for those who don’t want to pay a licensing fee to the NFL for the use of their trade-marked name and logo. Of course, in the second half of January, it is commonly understood what the “big game” is. As everyone knows, it is not a reference to a basketball game between Skidmore and Rensselaer (no offense to them or any other NCAA division III schools).

Thirty-second advertising slots for the Super Bowl have sold out, with CBS reportedly garnering $2.5-3 million dollars for each spot (http://adage.com/superbowl10/article?article_id=141858). The game is always the biggest, most expensive advertising market of the year, far out-pacing events like the World Series, the NCAA championship game, the Academy Awards, and similar venues.

In an unusual stance, PepsiCo pulled out of advertising in this year’s Super Bowl. With the launch of its “Refresh” campaign that will distribute millions of dollars in grant money to non-profits selected by online voters, Pepsi executives felt that Super Bowl ads, with their exorbitant prices, might not fit the tone of the do-good theme of the campaign (See: http://www.refresheverything.com/).

The game this year will take place in south Florida. While Sun Life Stadium is home to the Miami Dolphins, the stadium itself is not in Miami-Dade County. It lies just across the county line in Broward County. But The Miami Herald is still the largest newspaper in the region. It’s touting special coverage every day this week including a regular “Super Bowl Section.” With an influx of tens of thousands of visitors for the week’s festivities leading up to the game, the Herald should see great sales of its daily print run-an outcome that can only bring smiles to the accountants of any print news operation these days.

What I found most interesting about Tuesday’s edition of the paper is that, just six days before the biggest sporting event of the year takes place in their city, with thousands upon thousands of visitors descending on the town to spend big money in partying, there was not a single Super Bowl story on page one above the fold-the prime real estate in newsprint. Instead stories about NASA cut-backs and a local murder-inheritance dispute bookended the lead three-column story about the disaster in Haiti. Three weeks after the devastating earthquake, Haiti’s misery is still front-page above-the-fold news. Even newspapers as disparate as the Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, the Duluth News Tribune, and The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) had front page articles on Tuesday about Haiti. That is pretty amazing for an event that happened a full three weeks ago now.

The Super Bowl will be a story for a brief interlude. A few days after the last play of the game most of the discussion about it will be over. More fateful is that the stories about Haiti will eventually fade from the front pages of newspapers as well, even as the incredible relief effort continues-a response that everyone could describe as extraordinary and super!

Sunday’s Gospel, in which Jesus tells Simon that from now on he will be catching men, is often interpreted as a vocation story. But think about what a fisherman does: he reaches into the chaotic deep and pulls out a catch, pretty much like anyone who reaches out to rescue another in their time of need.

We Christians have been fishermen (fisher-folk?) for a long time called to that task by the Master who once walked along the seashore of Galilee. Through our love and service, we reach down into the chaotic deep to rescue and save. We’ll do it through relief work in Haiti long after the headlines disappear. And that kind of love is really super!

Paul  Michaels

Prayer

Creator God,
your Spirit hovered over the chaos
at the moment of creation
and brought forth all that is.
Gives us wisdom to use all that you have given us
in accordance with your will.
May the blessings we have received from your hand
give strength to others in their need.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

Notices

OPERATION RICE BOWL FROM CRS
Catholic Relief Services’ Lenten program “Operation Rice Bowl” is ready to launch. Parish members can sign up for a weekly reflection e-mailed directly to them. This is a great opportunity for Catholics throughout the country to pray, fast, learn, and give throughout Lent. Publicize the ORB Website in your church bulletin throughout Lent: http://orb.crs.org/. Encourage parish members to visit the site often during the season.

REGIONAL WORKSHOPS ON THE NEW ROMAN MISSAL
The Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship and the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions are jointly sponsoring twenty regional workshops for priests and diocesan leadership on the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal from April through November. Information on the two-day workshops, including a list of sites, is on the FDLC Web site at: http://fdlc.org/Roman_Missal/RM_Workshops.htm.

INVITE A FRIEND FOR LENT
You can invite a friend to take a “reflection break” each week during Lent. Just forward your “Wednesday Morning Connection” e-mail or the blog Web page link, and encourage them to sign-up for themselves. Each week they’ll receive a reflection from Liturgical Publications Inc. (LPi) that connects the Scripture readings and current news headlines. The sign-up link is: http://www.4LPi.com/WMC.

For Sunday, January 31, 2010

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Luke 4:21-30

The average sixth and seventh grader sends 43 text messages a day. That’s almost 1,300 messages per month. It’s no wonder that many popular family plans for cell phones include unlimited texting.

Recent research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that almost half of all teens ages 12 to 17 say they’ve been a passenger while a driver has texted behind the wheel (November, 2009). And fifteen percent of teens indicate that they have been recipients of nude images in a practice known as “sexting” (December, 2009).

Such statistics can be worrisome to parents these days. Action on Tuesday by the Transportation Department to prohibit truck and bus drivers from sending text messages on hand-held devices can only add to that concern. The ban is effective immediately nation-wide, extending a prohibition that currently exists for all drivers in nineteen states to commercial vehicles anywhere in the country (). An additional ten states have restrictions for beginning drivers, most of whom are teens.

And, it’s not only drivers that are at risk. A recent article in the New York Times highlighted the dangers of walking while using electronic devices. It began with the story of a 25 year-old who was talking to her grandmother while walking down the street in San Francisco. She ran in a parked truck !

While parents may have concerns about cell phone and computer use by their children, the solution is not in becoming technical luddites, eschewing any modern communication device. Rather, it is to learn how to use such technology wisely and appropriately, a point that the pope made in his message for World Communications Day which was released on Sunday. In it, he particularly encouraged priests to make use of new media-the Web, texting, blogs, e-mail-as ways of communicating the Gospel. Paul’s words about love in his first letter to the Corinthians were communicated in what was for its day, innovative media-a letter to a community. Paul, who was undoubtedly one of the greatest communicators in the early Church, didn’t hold back from using what tools were at his disposal to get across the message of love.

And families can do the same.

The radio show “Here and Now” aired a segment on Tuesday about texting as a parenting tool. In it, they describe the valuable ways that parents can stay connected with their teens by texting. It’s worth listening to.

Even more touching is a wonderful 12-minute story told by Adam Gopnik on the “Moth Radio Hour” #3 [Register for free to listen to it. It's the second segment beginning at minute 13]. Gopnik describes how he enters into the life of his 12 year-old son, Luke, through instant messaging. Over time his son informs him of the meaning of various abbreviations like “brb” (be right back) and “gtg” (got to go). Gopnik continues the story, explaining how it was self-evident to him that “lol” meant “lots of love.” After six months of misunderstanding one of the classic texting/IM abbreviations, which really means “laughing out loud,” Gopnik’s son finally explains to his dad what “lol” really means. Gopnik concludes his story by describing how even the miscommunication is close enough to carry onward the relationship of parent and child, and how they still end each night with an IM concluding with “lol.”

Like Paul, Jesus too offered some new meaning for old words. Some people were not able to bear it. But others could see and understand the message being shared. Don’t be afraid to share lots of love.

Paul Michaels

Prayer

Creator God,
source of all life
and sustainer of all that is,
your Son revealed new meaning in the words of the prophets
and taught with authority the message of your truth.
Give us courage to spread your word
and zeal to share your love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

Notices

REGIONAL WORKSHOPS ON THE NEW ROMAN MISSAL
The Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship and the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions are jointly sponsoring twenty regional workshops for priests and diocesan leadership on the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal from April through November. Information on the two-day workshops, including a list of sites, is on the FDLC Web site at: http://fdlc.org/Roman_Missal/RM_Workshops.htm.

INVITE A FRIEND FOR LENT
You can invite a friend to take a “reflection break” each week during Lent. Just forward your “Wednesday Morning Connection” e-mail or the blog Web page link, and encourage them to sign-up for themselves. Each week they’ll receive a reflection from Liturgical Publications Inc. (LPi) that connects the Scripture readings and current news headlines. The sign-up link is: http://www.4LPi.com/WMC.

CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES HELPS HAITI
Catholic Relief Services continues to assist the Haitian people following the devastating earthquake. Go to their web site (http://crs.org/) for updates on how to contribute and get parishioners involved.

PRAYER AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
Diana Macalintal, from the Liturgy Office of the Diocese of San Jose, offers a prayer in English, Spanish, and French after the earthquake in Haiti. The prayer can be freely downloaded and reproduced for use in parishes. Find it at: http://dsj.org/being-catholic/worship/a-prayer-after-the-earthquake-in-haiti.

For Sunday, January 24, 2010

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
1 Corinthians 12:12-30
Luke1:1-4; 4:14-21

The popularity of television shows like “Criminal Minds,” “Cold Case,” or any of the episodes of the “CSI” franchise might have you thinking that I’m ready to discuss serial killers and their violent acts in this week’s reflection.

Hardly!

Nor am I interested in bringing up the assorted ghosts, demons, zombies, or vampires that inhabit various television shows either.

The title comes out of the second reading for this week from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Together, Christians throughout the entire world comprise the body of Christ. And, as Paul writes, we are “individually parts of it” (1 Cor. 12:27).

Paul entered into this description with the Christians at Corinth to help them understand that the gifts of the Spirit are to used in an integrated whole, forming a unity that would show the connection between each and every part. No one can be left out, and every member is valuable to the whole.

This past week has shown an out-pouring of concern from all over the world for the people of Haiti. Paul’s words, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it” have certainly found resonance in the days since the earthquake near Port-au-Prince. Thousands of people have contributed to assist the victims (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june10/haiti4_01-18.html). And, in the face of the devastation to the country’s infrastructure and economic capacity, international creditors have called for the cancellation of debts owed by Haiti (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/world/americas/20debt.html?hpw).

In the Gospel, Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah. He takes upon himself the mantle of the anointed of the Lord. He will be the one to bring glad tidings to the poor and liberty to captives, sight to the blind and freedom to the oppressed.

As baptized members of the body of Christ, we have our individual part to play in those very same tasks, because the Spirit of the Lord is upon us as well. We are “Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.” We are each needed as a part of Christ’s body. Have you done your part?

Paul Michaels

Prayer

God of us all,
unite us in Christ your Son,
and make of us one body
in one communion of spirit.
Help us bring glad tidings to the poor,
and sustain us in your love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

Notices

CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES HELPS HAITI
Catholic Relief Services has launched an all out effort to assist the Haitian people following last week’s devastating earthquake. Go to their web site (http://crs.org/) for updates on how to contribute and get parishioners involved.

PRAYER AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
Diana Macalintal, from the Liturgy Office of the Diocese of San Jose, offers a prayer in English, Spanish, and French after the earthquake in Haiti. The prayer can be freely downloaded and reproduced for use in parishes. Find it at: http://dsj.org/being-catholic/worship/a-prayer-after-the-earthquake-in-haiti.

USCCB ASKS PARISHES TO GET INVOLVED IN HEALTH CARE REFORM
Once again the U.S. bishops are seeking help from parishioners to ensure that Catholic values are included in current health care reform legislation. Bulletin inserts and pulpit announcements are available at: http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-006.shtml.

GETTING READY FOR LENT
Many parishes use Lent as a time for adult faith formation. A topical and award-winning booklet is available in English and Spanish from Liturgical Publications Inc. Reconciliation: The Unfolding Mystery of God’s Mercy and Love provides the perfect vehicle to lead adults into a deeper understanding of the sacrament of penance and the ongoing process of reconciliation. Visit www.CatholicFaithSharing.com to view sample pages and to order today.

For Sunday, January 17, 2010

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 62:1-5
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
John 2:1-11

The big news for the past few days in the entertainment industry is all about NBC and what they intend to do with Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. News started leaking on Thursday that after the February broadcast of the Winter Olympics NBC would change the late evening schedule to take Jay Leno out of the 10pm (Eastern) time slot and put him back after the local late evening news. Speculation was rife (and still is) about what would then happen to Conan O’Brien. Would Leno have a half-hour show and the tonight show with Conan move to midnight? Or would something else happen?

On Tuesday, O’Brien indicated that he wasn’t interested in hosting the “Tonight Show” after Leno (http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-says-he-wont-do-tonight-show-following-leno/?hp). And on the Web, tech savvy consumers are voting hands down for Conan (http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/on-the-web-a-wave-of-support-for-conan-obrien/) no matter where he ends up.

In the meantime, David Letterman has been piling up joke after joke at NBC’s expense. (Recall that Letterman left NBC in 1993 for CBS when he lost out on the “Tonight Show” gig to Jay Leno.) Letterman even joked that one way NBC could resolve the whole affair would be to bring him back to take over the “Tonight Show.”

Industry commentators’ speculation was finally confirmed on Sunday by NBC chairman Jeff Gaspin: Leno’s low ratings in his time slot had hurt affiliates ability to garner ratings for their late local news shows (http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=141405). While the network was fine, the affiliates were losing dollars-big time! And they were none too happy about it.

The problem NBC Universal is now facing is what to do with all their talent. On CBS, Letterman even joked that with the push back in NBC’s schedule, Carson Daly (who appears after Jimmy Fallon who is after Conan O’Brien) would now show up on the “Today” show, NBC’s morning program.

So much talent, so little time!

Isn’t that exactly the problem we face as a Christian community? So much talent, because the Spirit has blessed us with so many gifts, and all those gifts need to be ordered and used for the benefit of the community. Paul’s words to the Christians at Corinth which we will hear over the next few weeks will eventually point the way to make that happen (Read 1 Corinthians 13 if you need to know the answer right now.)

But for the moment, maybe we need to do for ourselves what we can bet the executives at NBC have been doing for the last few weeks: analyzing the talent. In the life of the individual Christian, that means discerning what gifts God has bestowed and seeking ways to use those gifts for the benefit of others.

So what is your gift?

Paul Michaels

Prayer

Good and gracious God,
you pour out your Spirit
and give your gifts in abundance
to those who believe in you.
May we come to a full understanding of the power of your love,
and use the gifts you have given us to build up the body of Christ
so that the community of faith may come to full stature.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

Notices

DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI
What Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S. calls “a catastrophe of major proportions” stuck the island nations late Tuesday as this week’s reflection was being prepared. Reports will come in over the next few hours and days, including requests for aid. Catholic Relief Services will be at the forefront of these efforts. Watch their web site (http://crs.org/) for updates on how to contribute and get parishioners involved.

USCCB ASKS PARISHES TO GET INVOLVED IN HEALTH CARE REFORM
Once again the U.S. bishops are seeking help from parishioners to ensure that Catholic values are included in current health care reform legislation. New bulletin inserts and pulpit announcements were made available this week. Visit http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-006.shtml for more information.

GETTING READY FOR LENT
Many parishes use Lent as a time for adult faith formation. A topical and award-winning booklet is available in English and Spanish from Liturgical Publications Inc. Reconciliation: The Unfolding Mystery of God’s Mercy and Love provides the perfect vehicle to lead adults into a deeper understanding of the sacrament of penance and the ongoing process of reconciliation. Visit www.CatholicFaithSharing.com to view sample pages and to order today.

COLLECTION FOR THE CHURCH IN LATIN AMERICA
Many dioceses will take up this collection the weekend of January 23-24. For more information and collection resources visit: http://www.usccb.org/latinamerica/.

For Sunday, January 10, 2010

The Baptism of the Lord
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Titus 3:11-14; 3:4-7
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Since Christmas Day, lawlessness has been on the mind of a lot of public officials in the United States and around the world. It was on that day that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is alleged to have attempted to bring down a Northwest airliner over Detroit as it approached the airport on its flight from Amsterdam. For the past week-and-a-half security personnel and government ministers have spent their days and nights investigating, explaining, examining, and working to prevent another such incident. How a Nigerian like Mr. Abdulmutallab came to be involved in such a plot is now often explained in the news media by the lawless state in which much of Yemen finds itself (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/us/politics/03address.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8442212.stm). Al-Qaeda has a foothold in the country; tribes along the Saudi border are beholden to no government; the country is running out of water; the president surrounds himself with members of his own clan to the exclusion of other voices. The country is on the precipice of lawlessness.

A professor of political science at Sanaa [Yemen's capital] University described it this way, “The country’s going to hell. The crises are converging with each other.”

Yemen isn’t the only place with problems.

Just across the border from El Paso in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, nearly 2,600 people were killed in 2009, making it the murder capital of the western hemisphere. At an average of almost 50 people killed per week that is a per capita homicide rate more than 17 times greater than that of Los Angeles. Tuesday evening’s report on the violence in Juarez was heard on National Public Radio (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122249253).

A second story described the murder of a well-liked public official from El Monte, California, who was kidnapped and killed while vacationing with his wife in her home village in Mexico (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122250846). Bobby Salcedo, an educator, inspired many in the community, and thousands mourned for him at a Monday night vigil held at the Mountain View High School football stadium in El Monte (http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_14122999). Lawless people took his life but they could not take the hopes of community members in El Monte. Eddie Zuniga, the principal of South El Monte High School said of Bobby, “He taught in the community and he was one of our most important leaders who was changing our community for the better.”

The writer of the letter to Titus in a the selection for this weekend says, “We await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good” (2:13-14).

The author’s concern in writing about lawlessness was not about airline safety and security or murder rates and kidnappings. He was referring to the lawlessness of sin in our hearts, in which the other kinds of lawlessness are rooted. Through his coming among us, through his manifestation, and through his death and resurrection, Jesus delivers us from sin. He cleanses us and opens our hearts to the ability to do good.

His baptism at the Jordan was the very beginning of his public ministry, a ministry during which he taught his disciples to forgive, to love, to be faithful to God, to work for justice. We’ll hear all of these things in the year ahead as the stories from Luke’s Gospel are proclaimed Sunday after Sunday.

We may not be able to easily defeat lawlessness in Yemen or Mexico or any other place where it may reign, but we can work on the lawlessness in our own hearts, and try to conform ourselves to be more like Christ.

Paul Michaels

Prayer

God,
source of every blessing and hope,
you revealed your only begotten Son
by signs and wonders at the Jordan.
May we who are baptized in his name
also be pleasing to you.
Give us the grace to walk by your light
and the generosity to show your love
to all who are in need of comfort.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

Notices

NATIONAL VOCATION AWARENESS WEEK
January 10-16, 2010 is National Vocation Awareness Week. For information and resources visit: http://www.usccb.org/vocations/.

GETTING READY FOR LENT
Many parishes use Lent as a time for adult faith formation. A topical and award-winning booklet is available in English and Spanish from Liturgical Publications Inc. Reconciliation: The Unfolding Mystery of God’s Mercy and Love provides the perfect vehicle to lead adults into a deeper understanding of the sacrament of penance and the ongoing process of reconciliation. Visit www.CatholicFaithSharing.com to view sample pages and to order today.

COLLECTION FOR THE CHURCH IN LATIN AMERICA
Many dioceses will take up this collection the weekend of January 23-24. For more information and collection resources visit: http://www.usccb.org/latinamerica/.

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