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Breath of the Spirit

Pastoral, Liturgical, Teaching, and Social Justice Moments brought to you by www.DignityUSA.org.

Breath of the Spirit is DignityUSA’s electronic spiritual and liturgical resource for our members and potential members. Nothing can replace your chapter or other faith community, but we hope you will find further support here for integrating your spirituality with your sexuality and all the strands of your life.

We welcome relevant homilies, inspirational writings, social justice opportunities, or theological articles from other sources also — particularly from wise women and men who can help us grow as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) and allied Catholic/Christians. You may volunteer to help with this program or send your comments by e-mailing info@DignityUSA.org ATTN: Breath of the Spirit.

JUNE 29, 2008: Feast of Peter and Paul

Readings: 
Acts 12:1-4
II Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18
Matthew 16, 13-19

Though at times we can see the necessity for the axiom, "Ignorance is bliss!" there are occasions when ignorance might also stop us from appreciating things which could help us better understand ourselves and the situations we face in life. This is certainly the case with today's three readings.

JUNE 29, 2008: Thirteenth Sunday of the Year

Readings: 
II Kings 4:8-11, 14-16
Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
Matthew 10:37-42

Growing up Catholic in the 40s and50s, I don't remember being encouraged to imitate Jesus' dying and rising. I never thought of myself as another Christ. That title and ministry was reserved only for members of the hierarchy. We laity were simply expected to pick out a special saint or two and imitate their holy life-style.

JUNE 15, 2008: Eleventh Sunday of the Year

Readings: 
Exodus 19:2-6a
Romans 5:6-11
Matthew 9:36-10:8

Accustomed to thinking about our church's hierarchy when we hear lists of the Twelve, we often ignore what Scripture scholars have been telling us for a long time about this specific group. The historical Jesus traveled with the Twelve not to show his intention to divide his followers into clergy and laity, but to demonstrate his passion to include all Jews in the reform he was preaching. The Twelve are symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel. Each Jew descends from one of Jacob's twelve sons. (That's why no women are in the group.)

JUNE 1, 2008: NINTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Readings: 
Deuteronomy 11:18, 26-28, 32
Romans 3:2-25, 28
Matthew 7:21-27

We Christians have never quite recovered from the third basic change in our faith: the switch in the second century which transformed our church from a Semitic to a Greek thinking community. Most people today regard the other three fundamental changes as steps forward in our imitation of Jesus. Scholars and historians don't always look favorably on this change. It turned us into an analytical, either/or people, quite different from the synthesizing, both/and mentality of the historical Jesus and all the authors of our Christian Scriptures.

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