Sunday, December 22, 2013
DignityUSA BOTS articles ( Note: I don't believe them but they are interesting)
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
FEBRUARY 10, 2013: FIFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
Isaiah 6:l-2a, 3-8
I Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:11-11
It's impossible to overemphasize the importance of biblical "call narratives." They're at the heart of what it means to be a follower of God. The original Scripture readers would have gone beyond the actual narrative and applied the individual aspects of each call to themselves, helping them understand their own personal calls.
Whether the call, like Isaiah's, is to a specific ministry, or, like Simon's, a generic call to be another Christ, all calls contain the same basic elements.
First, the person called is overcome with unworthiness. Isaiah, encountering Yahweh, exclaims, "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips. " Simon, after the miraculous catch, falls at the feet of Jesus and says, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." Left to our own devices, no one is capable of carrying out the task to which she or he is called.
Second, Yahweh or Jesus steps in and either removes or ignores the unworthiness. One of Yahweh's seraphs touches Isaiah's lips with a burning coal and tells him, "See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged." Jesus assures Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." Yahweh or Jesus supplies what the person called lacks.
Third, whoever is called makes a free, immediate decision to respond to the call. There's no force of fear involved. No one hesitates. Isaiah's response to Yahweh's question, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" is an instant, generous, "Here I am, send me!" In a parallel way, Simon and his fishing partners "... brought their boats to the shore, left everything and followed him." No excuses, no delays.
One need only read the last verses of Jeremiah 20 to discover how deeply some of God's "volunteers" eventually regret their decision to freely give themselves over to God's plan. Yet once that "ok" is given, it changes everything. One acquires a completely new value system. Isaiah's life now revolves around proclaiming Yahweh's word. Simon and his co-workers have relegated boats and fish to the background of their lives and are now focusing on people. They've done a 180 degree turn in what they formerly thought important.
That's why we must listen carefully to what Paul, in our I Corinthians passage, regards as "first importance" for people who follow Jesus. In one of our faith's earliest "kerygmas," the Apostle passes on a tradition which he himself received when he first converted to the faith of Jesus: "... That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared ...." No matter where we are, what we do, or who we are, a Christian's life revolves around the conviction that the risen Jesus is here, living and working among us.
As we hear in the gospels, the historical Jesus' ministry revolved around showing people how God was present, working effectively in their lives. But after his own death and resurrection, his followers were convinced that he also was alive and working in their midst.
Though Paul provides us with two different lists of people to whom the risen Jesus appeared, his most important point comes with the statement, "Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me."
I presume, if we daily respond to God and Jesus' calls in our lives, we should also be able to reflect on the times and places in which the risen Jesus has appeared to us.
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QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
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2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
FEBRUARY 17, 2013: FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT
Readings:
Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Romans 10:8-13
Luke 4:1-13
Serious readers of the Bible should always remember the late Dennis McCarthy's classic definition of biblical "canonicity." "These particular books are in our Bible," the Jesuit scripture scholar said, "because they've helped the most people over the longest period of time to understand their faith." Though it might surprise some, faith doesn't come from reading the Bible. Scripture kicks in only after we already believe. Our sacred authors presumed their readers shared the same faith they professed. Their goal in writing was not only to help their readers understand the implications of that faith, but also to let them know they weren't alone.
Experts in fear often remind us that the greatest fear humans experience is the fear of being alone. Research has shown that almost all our fears can ultimately be tracked down to that one basic fear. Most of us wouldn't fear death, for instance, if we knew we wouldn't have to go through it by ourselves. If we could be certain a loved one will one day walk us through the process, we wouldn't be near as fearful. That's why Ray Moody and Elizabeth Kubler Ross' research on the subject was so consoling. They assured us no one is alone at the moment of death.
Faith is also something we approach alone. It's an extremely unique experience. Though organized religion purports to be a community of believers, each believing member has not only taken a different road to reach faith, but also looks at faith's implications from a different perspective. That's why believing people eventually saved the specific writings which became our Scriptures. It assured them there were people out there who had traveled the same road and shared their perspective. They identified with the diverse sacred authors.
Notice, for instance, how smoothly Moses switches from the third person to the first in today's Deuteronomy reading. He instructs his people on what to say when they're offering the first fruits: "My father (Jacob) was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household…but there he became a nation great, strong ad numerous. When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing hard labor upon us, we cried out to Yahweh . . . ." What had once happened to their ancestors was happening to them. All followers of Yahweh needed liberation.
In a similar way, how would Luke know which specific temptations Jesus experienced in the wilderness? Mark, whose gospel he copied, didn't list any. We presume, because he was writing for second and third generation other Christs, he simply gave the gospel Jesus the temptations they were undergoing; tendencies to only take care of people's physical needs, to grasp after power, to do the spectacular. He reasoned that if his readers were experiencing these temptations, then Jesus also must have experienced them.
It's clear from our Romans pericope that Paul believed faith in Jesus was the great leveler. No matter your culture, race or gender, sharing the faith of Jesus unified all people. "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek," he writes, "the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him."
No one person of faith can identify with the experiences of all our sacred authors. If that were our quest, we'd not only have to possess a split personality, we'd have to have hundreds of personalities. The reason our Bible is so thick is because there's no one way to faith, no one way of looking at that faith. It's a shame our Sunday readings only cover a small part of our Scriptures. Perhaps the part and author with which we can most identify is never proclaimed during a liturgy. We might actually have to read the whole book.
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Preregister here
Upcoming QCF Programs
QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
JUNE 16, 2013: ELEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
II Samuel 12:7-10, 13
Galatians 2:16, 19-21
Luke 7:36-8:3
I often felt superior to my childhood Protestant friends and family members. As a Catholic, I was part of a system which guaranteed - if I minded my institutional "Ps and Qs" - to one day get me through the gates of heaven. They, on the other hand, seemed unable to come up with any concrete procedures which could assure them eternal glory. I worried about them. They sometimes spoke about "faith" in Jesus being the way they worked out their salvation; but I was certain such an amorphous experience was too "iffy" to guarantee anything. No one ever seemed able to exactly nail down what his or her faith was all about. Where were the concrete actions - things like no meat on Friday, or going to Mass on Sunday?
Then I began to study Scripture.
I quickly discovered some of the "Catholic things" on which I prided myself were actually condemned by our sacred authors, both in the Hebrew and the Christian Scriptures. Generally accepted practices like novenas or making the nine First Fridays would most certainly have been anathematized by the classic biblical prophets, who would automatically have put them into the category of "fertility cults:" special rituals employed to control God's actions in our lives.
As we hear in today's Galatians pericope, Paul clearly zeros in on our relationship with the risen Jesus, making him/her the source and goal of our salvation, reminding his community, "... By works of the law no one will be justified." Yet such an emphasis on Jesus rarely surfaces when we're "doing the church thing." I recently took part in a clergy meeting discussing plans for the institutional reorganization of our diocese. Tens of thousands of people will be affected by our decisions. But whenever the dialogue reached a problematic point, we priests instinctively turned to the "expert" in our midst to clarify the direction we should take: the canon lawyer. Except for an opening and closing prayer, Jesus was never mentioned. His gospel vision for his followers was never brought up. Laws obviously were more important than relationships.
Yet in both today's first and third readings we hear relationships trumping laws. David broke two basic Jewish laws: murder and adultery. But once he admits his guilt and falls back on his relationship with Yahweh, Nathan announces, "Yahweh ... has forgiven your sin; you shall not die.
Luke's Jesus imitates Yahweh's forgiveness in our well-known gospel passage. His Pharisee host would have had no problem with Jesus' forgiveness of the sinful woman as long as he'd insist she go through the institutional hoops set up to deal with such cases. But Jesus never demands she follow the accepted procedures. Instead, to the legal experts' amazement, he simply declares, ". . . Her many sins have been forgiven because she has shown great love."
I trust we won't omit the last verses of today's gospel - the ones which talk about the women "cured of evil spirits and infirmities" who are about to accompany Jesus on his classic journey to Jerusalem and who "provided for him (and the Twelve) out of their resources." St. Louis University's late Scripture scholar, Fr. Frank Cleary, often addressed the historical Jesus' exceptional relationship with women. Frank believed this Galilean carpenter accepted women for who they were, not for how they were categorized, pigeonholed or used by men. For the first time in many of their lives they encountered a man who looked at them as important individuals in themselves. They would do anything for such a person.
Given the evidence, I suspect our church might still be on the ground floor of understanding and practicing biblical relationships.
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DignityUSA envisions and works for a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society.
Preregister here
Upcoming QCF Programs
QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
SEPTEMBER 29, 2013: TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
Amos 6: 1a, 4-7
I Timothy 6:11-16
Luke 16:19-31
When the historical Jesus demanded repentance of his followers, he wasn't defining the term in the same way Sister Mary Mark did in my second grade first confession classes. As we old-time Catholics learned, in order for our sins to be confessionally forgiven, we had to be sorry for them, make a firm purpose of amendment and repent that we ever committed them. We not only had to confess our sins, we also had to make up our mind not to commit them again. Of course, it didn't take us long to realize that no matter how repentant we were, we usually went back to committing the same sins. A misunderstanding of repentance could still haunt many of us today who learned our faith as children.
Biblical repentance usually doesn't concern itself with our actions; it's more interested in the frame of mind which creates and supports our actions. Most of us remember the old axiom, "Give a person a fish and you feed him or her for a day; teach a person to fish and you feed him or her for a lifetime." Based on today's three readings, we could, "Teach a person to go to confession and take away her or his sins for a day; or teach a person to have a new value system, and take away her or his sins for a lifetime."
Following in the footsteps of the classic biblical prophets, like Amos, Jesus of Nazareth was in the business of changing mentalities. Like all prophets, he had to deal with individuals who looked at people and things from a different angle than God looked at them, especially when it came to dealing with the poor.
I frequently recall the villainous Calvera's reflection on the poor in the classic movie The Magnificent Seven: "If God didn't want them to be sheared, he wouldn't have made them sheep." Thankfully the seven men defending those poor Mexican compesinos didn't regard them as sheep.
The rich man in Jesus' story and the wealthy in Amos' audience might not couch their attitude toward the poor in Calvera's exact words, but they certainly share his basic orientation.
Jesus' rich man doesn't necessarily demonstrate any animosity toward Lazarus the beggar; he simply doesn't notice him. Dogs give him more attention. Neither do Amos' "complacent in Zion and the overconfident on the mount of Samaria" seem to "have it in" for the unfortunates in either Judah or Israel. They're just focused on people and things that can maintain their lavish lifestyles. They don't even notice the "collapse" of the country around them. Both Jesus and Amos simply have a different view of reality than people "dressed in purple garments" and those "lying on beds of ivory."
Unless individuals repent and change their value systems, their sins will always be the same.
The Pauline disciple responsible for I Timothy precisely describes the characteristics of a people-and-God-oriented mentality. They "pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness." Their life's goal is not to acquire wealth and prestige, but to "compete well for the faith," to build and maintain proper relations with God and those around them.
Did you notice Amos' complaint about the wealthy peoples' habit of eating "calves from the stall?" The meat they consume didn't come from pasture-grazing cattle; they ate the cuts with the special "marbling" which could only come from cattle which had been fed grain - the grain the poor would have eagerly eaten had it been made available to them instead of the cattle.
Have you checked lately on the source of most of our steaks? Maybe we even need a new mentality about some of the food we eat.
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Vision Statement
DignityUSA envisions and works for a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society.
Preregister here
Upcoming QCF Programs
QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
Search form
Search
Join Our DignityUSA News List
DignityUSA
PO Box 376
Medford, MA 02155
tel: 800.877.8797
202.861.0017
fax: 781.397.0584
email: info@dignityusa.org
Leadership Team
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
OCTOBER 13, 2013: TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
II Kings 5:14-17
II Timothy 2:8-13
Luke 17:11-19
As I mentioned last week, biblical faith revolves around faith not in things, but in a person, and the vision that person has for changing this world. This week our readings continue that idea, but they also emphasize pushing the limits which restrict that vision from being realized.
The unknown author of II Timothy sets the theme. "... The word of God is not chained. Therefore I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory."
The disciple of the Apostle to the Gentiles who is responsible for this letter is gifted with his mentor's passion to spread the dream of the risen Jesus beyond Judaism to all people. Paul was convinced that non-Jews are just as called to be other Christs as Jews are. Of course, such a pushing of the envelope caused many problems for Paul, even, according to some scholars, leading to his martyrdom. Yet, both Paul and our writer were convinced that the suffering which came from pushing those limits was an essential part of the dying and rising which followers of Jesus should expect to experience. "If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him."
We especially see limits being pushed in today's II Kings pericope. Not only does the prophet Elisha go beyond "accepted religion" by healing a Gentile leper, Naaman, but once healed, this Syrian army officer pleads with the prophet to permit him to also be a devotee of Yahweh. There's just one problem: Naaman doesn't live in the Holy Land.
According to the theological limits of that day and age, all gods, including Yahweh, were "territorial." They were only gods of a specific piece of geography. Yahweh, for instance, was literally the God only of Israel. Take one step across the border and Yahweh was unable to help you.
Naaman pushes the limits by asking Elisha for "two mule-loads of earth." His plan: to take that Jewish dirt, spread it around his property back in Damascus, and create an "annex" of Israel miles away from Yahweh's territory. He reasons that if he prays to Yahweh on Israelite soil, Yahweh must listen to him, thereby creating a loophole in traditional theology.
It's also important that the sacred author mentions the prophet refuses to take a "stipend or stole fee" for healing Naaman's leprosy. According to biblical beliefs, had he accepted Naaman's gift, Elisha would have been saying, "I did it; not Yahweh." An outward sign God was present and working effectively in our world was that the salvation Yahweh provided came with "no charge." No one was permitted to make a living from channeling God's saving actions. As Elisha's servant Gehazi later tragically discovers, that envelope had no loopholes.
Jesus curing a Samaritan leper in today's gospel passage isn't quite as radical as Elisha's cure of Naaman. The Samaritan was at least a Jew, though a heretic. Luke is more concerned with the actions of the Samaritan after the healing. "Realizing he had been healed, he returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him;" something the other nine "orthodox" Jewish lepers forgot to do. One can never predict what will happen when the envelope is pushed.
Not since the short days of John Paul I and the brief reign of John XXIII have we had a pope who pushes those limits like Francis does today. The "faithful" never know what to expect. Perhaps the uncertainty his actions create is part of our dying with Jesus.
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QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
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Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
OCTOBER 6, 2013: TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
II Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
Luke 17:5-10
We often misunderstand what biblical faith is all about. We think of it as believing in specific doctrines or dogmas, in a certain package of "truths," like, "I believe in the Trinity," or "I believe the Catholic church is the one, true church." Frequently when asked what we believe, we instinctively recite the Nicene or the Apostles' Creed. Our sacred authors, on the other hand, encourage us not to believe in things, but to believe in a person, to share the hopes and dreams of a particular individual, even when it seems those hopes and dreams will never be realized.
That certainly seems to be the case with the late 7th century BCE prophet Habakkuk. We're not exactly certain about the precise "violence, destruction, strife and clamorous discord" he and his community were experiencing. But it was deeply disrupting their faith in Yahweh. How could God be tolerating such a drastic change in God's plan for the Chosen People?
Yahweh never provides the prophet with an exact end-time for this painful period. Habakkuk is only told to "hang in there." God's vision for the community hasn't changed; its implementation has simply been delayed. "The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late."
Active sometime in the last third of the first Christian century, the unknown author of II Timothy is facing a parallel problem. The earliest believers in Jesus expected him to return shortly after his death and resurrection. They hadn't counted on a long interval between those two events.
Writing in the name and tradition of Paul, our author is concerned that Jesus' delayed Parousia will cause the faithful to renege on carrying out all of Jesus' vision. Like Timothy, the readers of this letter are encouraged to "stir into flame the gift of God that you have ...." Being another Christ isn't for sissies. "God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.... Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God." The risen Jesus expects us to do what's necessary to carry out his/her dream, even though that dream isn't going to be fulfilled in the near future.
Luke's Jesus encourages us to do the same. Just a little faith in implementing Jesus' vision will symbolically help us to "uproot" trees in Jesus' name. Yet, at this point in salvation history, one of our main tasks is just keeping that faith alive.
The evangelist is convinced Jesus will eventually return, though it won't be in his or his readers' lifetime. But in the meantime, we, like good slaves, must be committed to carrying out whatever the "master" has commanded us to do. If we plan on one day eating at Jesus' table, we also must plan on doing what we're "obliged to do" between now and that glorious, heavenly banquet.
Over nineteen centuries later, we're still waiting for Jesus' return. The delay has bogged many of down in "churchy trivia." We've so concentrated our efforts on the small "things" of faith that we've forgotten Jesus' big picture: his dream for all people and all creation. It's much easier being Christians that way; doesn't take a lot of courage or effort.
Yet, every weekend when our Eucharistic Scriptures are proclaimed, we don't hear about rosaries, novenas or perpetual adoration. We hear a vision proclaimed, a vision we commit ourselves to carry out every time we take from the Eucharistic cup; the vision of that person in whom we have faith.
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DignityUSA envisions and works for a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society.
Preregister here
Upcoming QCF Programs
QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
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Join Our DignityUSA News List
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
NOVEMBER 10, 2013: THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
II Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
II Thessalonians 2:16-3:5
Luke 20:27-38
Many readers of Scripture have no concept of the evolution of faith contained in those writings. They simply presume the faith motivating the first chapters of Genesis is the same faith motivating the last chapters of Revelation. Nothing could be further from reality. Biblical faith constantly evolves the more we understand our experiences with God and God working in our lives.
In the beginning of the biblical period - tenth or eleventh century BCE - for instance, our sacred authors presumed Yahweh was simply one God among many gods. Only in the sixth century BCE, during the Babylonian Exile, do Jews begin to understand that Yahweh is the one and only God. In a parallel way, until about a hundred years before Jesus' birth, our inspired writers took for granted this life is the only life we'll ever experience. Everything began with our birth and ended with our death.
As a Pharisee, the historical Jesus was a believer in that new-fangled notion of an afterlife. He presumed those who formed a relationship with Yahweh in this life, would continue that relationship with Yahweh in a life beyond our physical deaths.
Not all Jews of Jesus' day and age accepted such a liberal theology, as we hear in today's gospel pericope. "Some Sadducees, those who deny there is a resurrection came forward . . . ." They present Jesus with what could only be called a "smutty" example of the impossibility of an afterlife: a woman involved in multiple marriages. "At the resurrection," they demand to know, "whose wife will she be?"
Jesus' major argument for the woman's seven husbands not being an insurmountable eternal life dilemma revolves around what we're going to experience in that eternal life. It's not going to be just a simple Groundhog's Day rerun of this life. Those who continue their relationship with God into the next life are going to find themselves in a whole new existence. Just as our outside the womb existence is dramatically different from our fetal existence, so heaven will be dramatically different from this earthly existence. The Sadducees arguments against eternity are based on a false concept of eternity.
Of course, none of us, except for being confident we'll have a relationship with God, is certain about what eternity holds for us. The seven brothers in our II Maccabees reading are confident they'll continue to live after their martyrdom but no one says anything about the form that life will take. They're simply relying on" ... the hope God gives of being raised up by him ...."
Perhaps that's why the author of II Thessalonians encourages his readers to do the only thing which will determine whether they'll be part of a heavenly afterlife, or be left out in the cold (or heat). "May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ." After all, God". . . loves us ... and encourages (our) hearts and strengthens them in every good deed and word."
Most of us, like the writer's mentor Paul, or the seven brothers, or Jesus, aren't going to experience a martyr's death - the most certain way of getting into heaven. We're going to have to go through a natural lifetime of building relationships with God and those around us. And as anyone who works at building relationships knows, we're never certain where those relationships are ultimately going to take us. We simply have faith that not building relationships results in a hell of an existence, something which, no matter how many times we've been married, we'd like to avoid.
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Vision Statement
DignityUSA envisions and works for a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society.
Preregister here
Upcoming QCF Programs
QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
Search form
Search
Join Our DignityUSA News List
DignityUSA
PO Box 376
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tel: 800.877.8797
202.861.0017
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email: info@dignityusa.org
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
NOVEMBER 24, 2013: CHRIST THE KING
Readings:
II Samuel 5:1-3
Colossians 1:12-20
Luke 23:35-43
The late John McKenzie created quite a stir in the late 60s when he published what would become his most read book: Authority in the Church. This "pull-no-punches" Scripture scholar demonstrated that the vast majority of texts in the Christian Scriptures which deal with authority were triggered not by people ignoring or disrespecting the leadership in their various communities, but by the abusive ways in which that leadership was often exercised. Almost always, the communities' leaders, not the people, created the problems the sacred authors encountered and were forced to address.
That's why today's feast of Christ the King is significant... and touchy. Since all Christian leadership should mirror Jesus' leadership, once we label Jesus a king, we have to be extremely careful how we define the title.
It's the title King of the Jews above Jesus' cross which prompts the Jewish rulers' taunt in today's gospel pericope. Given the common idea of royalty, if Jesus is a king he should be looking out primarily for himself, and immediately come down from the cross. Yet, Luke's Jesus is more concerned with the fate of the person crucified next to him than he is with his own. Throughout the evangelist's passion narrative, Jesus is always focusing on the needs of others. Only in this gospel does Jesus heal the man's severed ear in the garden, speak sympathetically to the women mourning his death, look at Peter after his denial, and forgive his crucifiers.
It's good to note that David had already been king of the southern half of Palestine - Judah - when the elders of the northern tribes - Israel - came to him in Hebron and asked him to unite all twelve tribes into one nation under his leadership. David's ability to bring people together was one of his best personality traits, a trait all good leaders should possess.
The disciple of Paul responsible for the letter to the Colossians finds that same characteristic in the risen Jesus. Quoting an early Christian hymn, he reminds his community, "For in him (Jesus) all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven." There's no doubt the writer is well-versed in his mentor's insight into the Body of Christ. We can't be more one than to be part of the body of the person who unites us.
Mark gives us the clearest picture of Christian leadership in chapter 10 of his gospel. After Jesus tears into James and John for their insistence on one day being given the "glory seats," he clarifies what's at the heart of his kind of authority. "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Christian leaders are unique. The only leader they can compare themselves to is Jesus.
I find it interesting that we're celebrating this year's feast of Christ the King with Francis as pope. Just as the gospel Jesus redefined king, so Francis day by day is redefining the papacy. Though the title remains, the reality behind it is constantly changing.
I presume no one in heaven is more pleased with this unexpected development than John McKenzie.
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QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
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Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
FEBRUARY 3, 2013: FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
I Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Luke 4:21-30
Both Jesus and Jeremiah are depicted in today's first and third readings as fulfilling the second rule for distinguishing real prophets from fake prophets: real prophets suffer because of their ministry. But our second reading verifies the third rule: those who follow the words and example of real prophets also suffer.
Jeremiah's call leaves no doubt about the pain he'll have to endure. "Be not crushed," Yahweh commands, "on their account. . . . They will fight against you but not prevail over you . . . ." One need only turn to Jeremiah 20 - Scripture's most depressing chapter - to surface the pain the prophet endured every day of his ministry. He tells us exactly what the "word of Yahweh" meant for him.
Jesus suffers in a similar way in today's gospel pericope. Speaking in his hometown synagogue, he quickly discovers his message isn't very well received by his former friends and family members. "They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong." Though at this point of his ministry, Jesus escapes, he's not going to avoid death for long.
What did Jeremiah and Jesus say to cause otherwise good people to want to do them in?
Jeremiah's constant message revolves around "returning to Yahweh:" insisting people get rid of those peripheral aspects of their faith that they've turned into "essentials." The prophet points out, for instance, that they're more concerned with liturgical regulations than with loving of their neighbors; with the upkeep of shrines and discussing legal minutiae than with going one on one with their God. People don't like being told their cherished religious practices aren't cherished by God. If they could rid themselves of Jeremiah, they could once again return to their unchallenging beliefs.
Jesus' problem, on the other hand, springs from his conviction that Yahweh is just as much God of the Gentiles as of the Jews. His two examples of Yahweh helping Gentiles - the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian - aren't well received by his synagogue audience. They're uncomfortable with a God who pushes the religious envelope, and with anyone who forces them to relate to such a God. Once they eliminate Jesus, they eliminate their unease, and can return to the security blanket of organized religion.
Paul of Tarsus quickly discovered that those who followed real prophets also inherited their persecution. Though today's I Corinthians passage is one of the best-known in the Bible - it's proclaimed in at least half of the weddings I "perform" - few people of faith dare carry out its demands. We're afraid of what would happen if we actually made love an integral part of everything we do. Without doubt, if we became patient, kind, stopped being jealous, pompous, inflated and rude, refused to seek our own interests, got rid of our quick temper and brooding over injuries, and stopped rejoicing over wrongdoing, we'd relinquish all of our psychological defenses. People will run roughshod over us.
Yet only when we put love at the center of our lives will we be able to carry on the ministry of Jesus, and actually become the body of Christ.
Back in Genesis 3, the Yahwistic author of the Torah taught that we can't accomplish good unless we're willing to put up with the pain that accompanies our efforts to achieve it. Jeremiah and Jesus would agree. But in the long run, both were convinced that the good we bring about is always more pervasive and powerful than the evil it overcomes.
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Preregister here
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QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2013: TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
Amos 8:4-7
I Timothy 2:1-8
Luke 16:1-13
Spiritual author John Shea has often mentioned that the historical Jesus was concerned with answering just three questions: What do you want out of life? Where do you get it? How much does it cost?
I presume the answer to the last question is the one we'd most like to avoid. Like Hogan's Heroes Sergeant Schultz our alibi for sidestepping the cost is a simple, "I hear nothing!" Yet it's nigh impossible to claim deafness after hearing today's first and third readings. Both Amos and Jesus follow a God who demands full-time discipleship, not just a part-time carrying out of a few selected and convenient components of God's will.
We must never forget that Amos delivered most of his oracles to the good folk who frequented Israel's National Shrine at Bethel. Despite the priests' opposition, the prophet constantly interrupted the faithful's prayers and sacrifices, reminding them that real faith was to be practiced much more outside those sacred precincts than inside. Yahweh was more concerned with how people related to one another on Sunday morning in the market place than how they related with him/her during the shrine's new moon and Sabbath rituals.
"'When will the new moon be over,' you ask, 'that we may sell our grain and the Sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating!'" No doubt any shrine devotee would cringe when he heard Amos begin his prophecies with the accusation, "Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land." The shrine's priest-approved prophets had too much respect for the sanctuary's benefactors to condemn actions or people in a way that would affect their bottom line. They had good reason to ignore the crimes their wealthy patrons committed against the poor. The survival of the institution was more important that the survival of the people. Shrine religion worked best when faith was relegated to the periphery of one's life. It kept the costs down to a bare minimum.
Luke's Jesus deals with a parallel problem in today's gospel pericope. He clearly states his concern: "The children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light." His example of the dishonest, squandering steward is classic. Leaving nothing to chance, the man spends a lot of time and effort in assuring a rosy future for himself. Jesus points out the obvious, evil people are more ingenious in plotting evil than good people are in plotting good. Most of the time, the latter usually leave it up to chance. If the "spirit" moves us, and it doesn't cost too much, we'll do good for others.
Perhaps we should examine our consciences when we get up in the morning instead of when we go to sleep at night. It's then that we're actually planning our day, then that we can best embed some good for others into the other things we're going to be doing during that day, and not leave it up to chance.
Following up on our I Timothy author's belief that God "wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth," we have an obligation to make that belief a reality. That's a full-time job, not just an on again/off again pastime.
I can imagine how forcibly the historical Jesus delivered this famous warning: "No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Such a double allegiance reduces the cost of following Jesus, but it'll never give us what we want out of life.
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Vision Statement
DignityUSA envisions and works for a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society.
Preregister here
Upcoming QCF Programs
QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
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Search
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2013: TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
I Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-32
Our faith is rooted in the ability of people to change their value systems.
The Pauline disciple responsible for I Timothy perfectly sums up the Christian situation: ''Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these, I am the foremost." Those committed to becoming other Christs are not only expected to go through constant periods of repentance, they're also expected to encourage and rejoice over that same repentance in others.
This obviously is the reason Luke's Jesus tells three parables about finding the "lost" in today's gospel pericope. The first two - the lost sheep and coin - are generic enough that most in the evangelist's community can nod and say, "Yep! That makes sense." But the third is so concrete that it must have created some problems. When it comes to actually welcoming a specific, lost person back into the community, we might have to stop and talk about it. It has a lot of challenging implications.
Of course, the "prodigal" person in the story isn't the younger son; it's the father. He goes completely overboard in receiving his wasteful son back into his good graces. So overboard that the older son instinctively starts to calculate what his father's generosity is costing him.
Once the boy demanded his father give him his half of the inheritance, the remainder of the inheritance belonged to his brother. That means the finest robe and ring his father had so quickly bestowed on this recently returned scoundrel was actually his, not to mention the fatted calf that was being quickly devoured. His father's only excuse for giving away part of his inheritance was a simple, "... Your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found."
I presume Luke was aware of some resentment in his gospel community over how easily and generously it reinstated repentant sinners. We don't have that exact problem today. Once the "confessional" stipulations with which we're all familiar came into existence, the sinner is expected to go through specific institutional hoops before we kill the fatted calf. It makes us good folk feel a little better to know that we who've never left the farm have an easier, less complicated path to salvation.
Scripture scholars frequently remind us that the triggering device for today's Exodus golden calf passage wasn't the behavior of recently freed slaves in the Sinai during their 13th century BCE exodus. Rather it was the behavior of 8th century BCE Israelites toward the cherub statues set up in their Yahweh shrines. These mythological creatures usually sported the body of a bull, the wings of an eagle and the head of a human. (The well-known Egyptian Sphinx is a variant, having a lion's body.) It was believed that the gods employed them for transportation and enthronement. Priests put them in Jewish shrines (and on the top of the Ark of the Covenant) to assure the faithful that Yahweh was really present in those places. The problem is that, after a while, some people thought these "bulls" actually were Yahweh, and began to worship them, believing the "calf," not Yahweh, had brought them out of Egypt.
Each of today's three sacred authors is insistent that we cut through the "institutional accretions" that are part of any organized religion, and return to the basics of faith. Yahweh's offer of freedom is at the center of Jewish faith; Jesus' offer of forgiveness is at the center of Christian faith. Any cries of "injustice" by those who don't think they need to repent is simply a sign they should be the first sinners in line to receive God and the church's forgiveness.
Share
Vision Statement
DignityUSA envisions and works for a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society.
Preregister here
Upcoming QCF Programs
QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
Search form
Search
Join Our DignityUSA News List
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Dec
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The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2013: TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
Wisdom 9:13-18b
Philemon 9-10, 12-17
Luke 14:25-33
Biblical people of faith are expected to commit themselves to the unknown, to give themselves over for an entire lifetime to something and someone they can't totally understand.
The Wisdom author supplies us with the obvious reason for this unique commitment. "Who can know God's counsel, or who can conceive what Yahweh intends? For the deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans." Those who give themselves over to God are in for a wild ride. That's why we should be certain we understand what we're buying into before we ever enter into such an agreement.
The gospel Jesus certainly didn't want his followers to blindly imitate his commitment to Yahweh, and then politely bow out once they discovered all its implications. "Which of you," he asks, "wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost...? Or what king, marching into battle, would not first sit down and decide...?"
This Galilean carpenter isn't interested in construction techniques or military strategies. He's simply concerned with how dedicated his followers are to becoming other Christs. As today's passage states, neither family relations nor possessions can block the road he and his disciples travel to Jerusalem: the place where both he and his followers will die and rise.
None of Luke's readers could be certain where his or her personal Jerusalem would be, or what exact death they would have to endure. That was part of the suffering they were expected to experience. They were to say, "Yes!" before they knew the price.
It's clear from our Philemon pericope that this Christian slave owner had no idea of all the implications of his commitment to the risen Jesus. Paul was expecting him to go down a road he'd never before traveled.
This shortest of Paul's seven authentic letters deals with a touchy subject. Onesimus, one of Philemon's slaves had not only escaped and sought protection from Paul, he had "wreaked some havoc" in fleeing from his master's house. Philemon obviously expects the slave's immediate return and payment for the damages.
But the Apostle reminds his former convert that, because of his unique relationship with the risen Christ, he now has a unique relationship with everyone around him, even Onesimus. He's "no longer a slave, but more than a slave, a brother ...." I seriously wonder if, before now, Philemon understood this exact implication of being another Christ. Though Paul's in no way a 19th century abolitionist, he's certainly laying the groundwork for those who believed all slavery should be abolished.
Yet Paul doesn't want to force Philemon's hand. He expects him to freely release the slave and permit him to become his servant. If one freely commits oneself to God's will, then all the other actions which are a daily part of that commitment must also be free. Paul has a unique way of guaranteeing that freedom for both the slave owner and the slave. The letter carrier doesn't have to ask for directions to Philemon's house. Onesimus himself will deliver the letter requesting his freedom!
If Onesimus is free enough to put himself back into Philemon's hands, will Philemon freely hand him over to Paul? We presume he did - else this letter wouldn't have been saved.
But at the same time, we can't but notice the new areas in which both the slave and master have been led because of their faith in the risen Jesus. Each could have echoed the Wisdom author's rhetorical question, "Who knows what God intends?"
Perhaps all people of faith, especially we Catholics, should still be asking that same question today.
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Preregister here
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QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
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Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
AUGUST 18, 2013: TWENTIETH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
Jeremiah 30:4-6, 8-10
Hebrews 12:1-4
Luke 12:49-53
I'd rather Jesus hadn't said the things in today's gospel pericope. I have enough trouble carrying through on the late Dale Carnegie's advice to make friends and influence people without looking forward to turning people against one another and especially against me. There are some aspects of being another Christ which aren't too enjoyable. Yet we can never forget that when the gospel Jesus asks his followers about the buzz surrounding his ministry, they respond, "People are saying you're a prophet." That answer presumes any imitator of Jesus is also expected to imitate the prophetic parts of his personality.
Biblical prophets aren't simply predictors of the future. As the great Hans Walter Wolff always reminded his students, "A prophet is the person in the community who reminds us of the future implications of our present actions." Or as Bruce Vawter stressed in his well-known book on the subject, a prophet is the "conscience of the people."
Both scholars also emphasized that one of the traditional five ways of distinguishing a real prophet from his or her fake counterpart is to find out which of the two is suffering. Not only can't authentic prophets profit from prophesying, they also have to endure persecution for the word of God they proclaim.
Jeremiah provides us with a classic example in today's first reading. The prophet was convinced that the Judaism of his day and age was so corrupt that the only way true faith could be restored was to totally destroy the existing institution and start from scratch. He relied on the Babylonian army to accomplish the first step in this process. No wonder he was accused of "demoralizing the soldiers ... and all the people." He was telling them to stop defending Jerusalem and surrender to their besieging enemies.
If Ebed-melech hadn't pleaded his case, Jeremiah would certainly have died in the cistern, following in the suffering footsteps of many of his prophetic predecessors.
But, as the unknown author of Hebrews reminds his readers, Jesus, the prophet, also had to endure not only the cross, but also opposition from sinners. He didn't accomplish what he did for us without suffering.
I presume that's why Jesus also expected his disciples to imitate his pyromaniac lifestyle. "Do you think I have come to establish peace on earth?" the great peacemaker asks. "No, I tell you, but rather division." It seems obvious to the historical Jesus that real peace can only be truly accomplished by pointing out the hurtful divisions among people, not by pretending they don't exist.
In some ways, Luke's Jesus is simply referring to what many in the gospel community have already experienced. Once they gave themselves over to becoming other Christs, tensions began to surface among their families and friends. Imitating the prophetic aspect of Jesus created problems.
More than anything else, the prophetic dimension of the risen Christ revolves around making people, not rules and regulations, the center of our lives. More than 500 years before, Jeremiah got into trouble for zeroing in on the same aspect of faith. God's true, prophetic word is that relations are always more important than institutions and the laws the institutions create and expect us to obey. Through the centuries, those who have engaged in relational ministries have traditionally had problems with the "good folk" and the organizations they've created.
Of course, another trademark of real prophets is that they always take us back to the beginnings of our faith, to a time when there were no formal religious structures, when it was just our faith-ancestors relating with God and one another; the kind of world God still expects us to create, in spite of institutions.
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Preregister here
Upcoming QCF Programs
QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2013: TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a
Luke 14:1, 7-14
The worst label the gospel Jesus ever gave anyone was "hypocrite." Certainly wasn't a bad title in itself. Even today many of us anxiously await the yearly ceremony in which commemorative statues are given to the prior year's best movie hypocrites: the Academy Awards. The word simply describes an actor or actress: technically, someone who makes a living pretending to be someone they're not.
Jesus wants those committed to imitating him to be real, honest people, individuals comfortable in their own God-made skin, men and women who could symbolically shed the masks worn by actors in the first third of the first century CE to hide their actual identity. This seems to be one of the reasons Matthew's chapter 23 Jesus was so uptight about his followers accepting honorary titles or putting on distinctive clothes. Nothing should get in the way of another Christ being his or her real self. It's in our real self that the real risen Jesus is embedded - not in the false selves we've created for our performances.
The unknown author of the letter to the Hebrews wants his readers to appreciate the special perks they have as followers of Jesus. They don't have to have participated in the Exodus or been present at the foot of Mt. Sinai when Yahweh covenanted with the Chosen People. They've symbolically made a new covenant with Yahweh through Jesus, an agreement which tops anything their faith ancestors experienced. Yet they've done this not in a sacred place or during a sacred time. Their everyday lives have become sacred - "other." The risen Jesus has transformed them into a sacred people, just as they are. No need to pretend they're someone they're not. Their actual identity is much more significant than any hypocritical personality they assume.
Centuries before Jesus' birth, the author of Sirach already understood the value of simply being oneself, especially in our relations with others, and in particular in our relations with God. "My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God." The writer presumed that when we look in a mirror, what we see is what we get, and God gave it to us.
Of course, in today's gospel passage, Jesus presumes what we see in others also comes from God, even when we regard those others as inferior to ourselves. He warns, "Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, but those who humble themselves will be exalted." The way we serve others will always be an outward sign we've taken off our masks.
I'll never forget December 17, 1964: the day of my "first Mass." But one of the reasons I most remember isn't because of what I did, but because of something Bob Burton, my classmate, did. He rented a bus, rounded up all the beggars in the vicinity of Rome's Janiculum hill, and treated them to a terrific meal after his own first Mass. Unlike most of us priests on that special day, he made others the focus of attention, not himself. Besides never again having to pay the "hill tax" when he walked from and to the North American College, Bob also helped the rest of us look at those "unfortunate" individuals in a new light. They were important because Bob showed us their importance.
Some of us later remarked, "Wish I'd thought of that. No one will ever forget his first Mass." We'd all encountered the same beggars every day, but only he treated them like friends, not beggars.
I wonder where he got such a strange idea.
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DignityUSA envisions and works for a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society.
Preregister here
Upcoming QCF Programs
QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
Search form
Search
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
22
2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
AUGUST 4, 2013: EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
Colossians 3:1-5,9-11
Luke 12:13-21
This weekend we're introduced to Scripture's classic curmudgeon, Qoheleth. Though this author of Ecclesiastes is a believing Jew, he isn't a fan of some of the other authors of the Hebrew Scriptures. He's especially critical of any writer who claims that Yahweh always rewards the good and punishes the evil in this life. According to his observations, such a naive theological statement simply isn't backed up by the facts.
As an example of this false reward/punishment reasoning he presents "... one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another who has not labored over it, he must leave his property……What profit comes to us from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which we have labored under the sun?" No wonder he concludes, "All things are vanity!" In other words, since there's little value to anything we do in life, we might as well enjoy it while we can.
In many ways the historical Jesus could have identified with Qoheleth. He also wanted his followers to truthfully reflect on the world around them. Like the author of Ecclesiastes, he points out in today's gospel pericope how ridiculous it is to spend one's whole life acquiring wealth when, in a split second, all your money and all your possessions could be ripped out of your hands by death.
As a first step in surfacing God's kingdom around us, Jesus warns his imitators, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." We should never "... store up treasures for (ourselves), but (should become) rich in what matters to God."
Just what makes us "rich in what matters to God?" The author of our Colossians passage provides us with at least an entry level answer to that question.
Following the insights of Paul, his mentor, the writer reminds his community, "... You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory."
What parts of us are to die? Those that are "earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry." Among other things, we're to "... stop lying to one another." We should never be ashamed to let people see us as we are, especially since we've "... taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed for knowledge, in the image of its creator."
Instead of trying to amass material wealth, we're, as followers of the risen Jesus, now expected to amass relationships; relationships which help us become one with all around us. In the new world we're creating, "... There is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythians, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all." (Too bad he left out Paul's Galatians 3 further sign of unity: "neither male nor female." We then would have more than one text to fall back on when we insist on the equality between men and women.)
Other Christs would agree that Qoheleth's pessimistic observation of the world was right on - as far as it went. Yet, they dare to go one step further. If one looks only at this world without a vision of what this world can become, then life is useless. But if, as Jesus taught and lived, one looks at this world as a place in which God is embedded in everything and everyone, not only people and things around us, but also our own lives are transformed into the most terrific experience a person could have.
Share
Vision Statement
DignityUSA envisions and works for a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society.
Preregister here
Upcoming QCF Programs
QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
QCF with Nikki Young
Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
Search form
Search
Join Our DignityUSA News List
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PO Box 376
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tel: 800.877.8797
202.861.0017
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email: info@dignityusa.org
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DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. -- DignityUSA Mission Statement
Dec
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2013
The work of DignityUSA on December 22, 2013 could have been sponsored by you. Click here for more information.
JULY 28, 2013: SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Readings:
Genesis 18: 20-32
Colossians 2:12-14
Luke 11: 1-13
In many ways, today's first reading is just a continuation of last week's message on hospitality. Scripture scholars are convinced the "outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah" concerns, not the practice of same sex actions, but the community's refusal to offer hospitality to strangers, epitomized by the inhospitable treatment of Yahweh's two "messengers." (Actually, as we saw last week, the divine pair is simply Yahweh in human form.) The townsfolk's demand to have "intimacies" with Lot's visitors simply points out their desire to engage even strangers in forbidden fertility cults. We know they're not homosexuals in our sense of the term, else Lot wouldn't have suggested sending his two daughters out to them.
But, besides being hospitable to strangers, Abraham and his extended family are also known to possess other characteristics which the Genesis author's community should try to emulate, especially the ability to negotiate prices. In a world in which modern stores and modern pricing systems didn't exist, almost every daily purchase involved some kind of haggling. Jews, proud of their ability to pull this off better than anyone else, could always fall back on the example of Abraham, the first Jew. No one but this greatest of patriarchs could get Yahweh to drop a price of fifty down to ten. Whenever later Israelites got the upper hand in making a purchase, they were just following in his humongous footsteps.
Yet, there's much more to this pericope that just Abraham's ability to barter with God. The verses which immediately precede today's liturgical passage speak about Yahweh's unique relationship with Abraham. Because of that, God can't hide things from him which can be kept from others.
This special relationship between us and God is also the theme of our other two readings. In some sense, it's so special that we don't even have to negotiate with God about the things we want.
Luke's Jesus assures us, "... Everyone who asks receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Though most of us know how to pester friends until they eventually give us what we want, we don't have to use such tactics with God.
In this shorter - but more original - form of the "Lord's Prayer," Jesus tells his followers to look at God as their Father. Yet he/she's not a normal parent. This caring person is "hallowed:" so "other" that we can't ever surface any metaphors to adequately describe her/him. Father simply highlights just one part of God's unique personality: God relating to us as loved children. This implies God gives us what we need, forgives our failings, and doesn't "put us to the test." The best way we show we're actually children of such a God is by treating others in the same way.
If we have any doubt we're God's children, we need only reflect on our relationship with Jesus, God's son. Just how close are the two of us? The author of Colossians perfectly sums it up. "You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." Lest any of us think we're not worthy to be one with the risen Jesus, the writer reminds us, "Even when you were dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions...."
Not only is the risen Jesus a new creation, so are those who imitate him/her. We'll never be that "old person" again. How are we to relate to a God who never looks at us as strangers?
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DignityUSA envisions and works for a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society.
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QCF with author and Dignity member, Joe Gentilini
Jan 21, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
Joe recently published a poignant, deeply personal account of what it means to be Catholic and gay. He came into his own and came out in a time when the risks were immense, and he lives to write and tell about it. Beautiful story, beautiful man.
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Feb 18, 2014 9:00 PM Eastern
This woman stole hearts and minds with her presence at our 2013 Dignity Convention in Minneapolis. Join us in this interview where Nikki will tell her stories of justice and transformation, and guide us to do the same.
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