Hearing the call: To be Christ's disciple

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Laura Stuczysnki

Every week the Mass celebration ends with the priest saying, "Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord."

I respond, "thanks be to God," but do I respond to this Christian mission outside of Mass? Am I really responding in thanksgiving?

Sometimes the repetitiveness of the Mass allows me to respond without heartfelt words. As I reflected on Luke's Gospel, I saw a parallel between the priest's sending forth of the parishioners and Jesus' sending forth of the 72. I came to understand the importance of sending Christians to be Christ in the world.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 4, 2004) Is 66:10-14c Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20 Gal 6:14-18 Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 or 10:1-9

When Christ sent forth the 72, he sent them ahead of him to the places that he was to visit. They needed to prepare the people, let them hear the message of Christ, and then trust that with Christ's visit the harvest will be brought to completion.

This is still the Christian mission today. As a Christian, I need to sow the seeds and prepare the harvest for Christ's second coming.

God places responsibility on me to carry out His mission, and He also gives me power. Christ gives His apostles "the power to 'tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy" (Luke 10:19).

Many times in my life I heard the final sending forth at Mass and immediately I saw how my daily actions served the Lord. Maybe it was being Christ's hands as I prepared food for the homeless people in Chicago or showing Christ's patience and love to people with disabilities.

Other times I have left thinking, "What is my purpose this week?" or "How did I go forth to love and serve the Lord this past week?" In these times, I need to remind myself that those questions can be answered in countless ways, because as Christ says, "the harvest is abundant but the laborers are few."

I realize that I am called to be a laborer in Christ's field and I need not look far to serve the Lord. Whether I am teaching teenagers religious education or sharing how God is working in my life with my family, I am able to bring the light of Christ to others. It brings me such joy to see God working in people's lives, and I rejoice when God uses me as His instrument.

	Reflection questions • How has God used you as His instrument to bring Christ to others? • Where is God calling you to love and serve the Lord in this next week?

Similar to the 72 apostles who rejoiced as they returned from their mission, I am thankful for being chosen and given this power to be Christ to the world. I am cautioned by this week's Gospel, though, because Christ concludes his message with, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

I rejoice that God has chosen me. "Thanks be to God!"

Laura Stuczysnki graduated from UW-Madison in December 2003. While at UW-Madison, she attended St. Paul University Catholic Center, where she was involved in undergraduate activities.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Law of love: Written in our hearts

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Sr. Myra Lambert

Growing up in rural Illinois, I witnessed in a unique way the actions of the Good Samaritan.

A neighbor, Mr. Dubay, died of cancer. It was early in the month of May and his oldest son was only in high school at the time. After the wake and funeral, the reality of their situation became apparent to everyone.

I thought it was a miracle to one day see all the tractors and plows and planters arrive to prepare the ground and to plant for the Dubay family. Even more striking for me was overhearing my dad tell my brothers where they were working, knowing that the planting of Dad's fields wasn't finished. At noon the neighbor women brought food and drink for those working in the fields.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 11, 2004) Dt 30:10-14 Ps 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37 or Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11 Col 1:15-20 Lk 10:25-37

An even further statement to the presence of God in this experience was the fact that the Dubay family were one of the few non-Catholic families in an overwhelmingly Catholic community.

In the Gospel we hear Jesus referring to the book of Deuteronomy as he answers the lawyer's question, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit everlasting life?"

Jesus responds, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" Jesus is really saying that he didn't have any new revelation, nor any clever insights to share. Jesus tells the lawyer that the answer to his question is already there written centuries ago.

But Jesus, in responding to the lawyer's next question, "Who is my neighbor?" makes it very new by means of one of his most famous parables, that of the Good Samaritan.

Our first question might easily be "Who is a Samaritan?" The Samaritans were a group of people who were half-Jew and half-pagan. When the northern tribes were removed into exile in 732 and again in 721 BC, some were left behind and these intermarried with foreigners brought into the central part of Palestine by the Assyrian conquerors.

The Samaritans venerated only the first five books of the Bible and rejected the prophetical books and the other writings. In several Jewish revolts for freedom, the Samaritans sided with the conquerors. Hatred was a mild word for describing the relation between the Jews and the Samaritans.

Because the Samaritan was moved with compassion for the injured Jewish man, the Samaritan exemplified the Jewish law more perfectly than the priest who had passed by the injured man without offering any help.

We might ask ourselves again, Who is the Samaritan? as we attempt to make the ancient law "new" in our own daily lives. The Samaritan is the person whom we dislike, against whom we are prejudiced, whom we are afraid of, who comes from another race or religion.

	Reflection questions • Who are the Good Samaritans in my life? • How am I living out being the Good Samaritan to others.

The Samaritan, like the law, is "not remote in the skies nor distant across the sea." The Samaritan may reside deep within us and speak to us, asking us to be more helpful to strangers and to do what we think is too demanding of our time, our energy, and financial resources. The Samaritan is our voice of conscience: it is God's voice within us.

Overcoming the difficulties of neighborly love should be second nature, for the law is written in our hearts. Yet, it is so difficult that it cost Jesus his life.

Sr. Myra Lambert, a Servant of the Holy Heart of Mary, travels to St. Paul University Catholic Center once a month to offer spiritual companioning to students there. She is a vocation minister for her province.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Faith Alive!

In a Nutshell Two types of guilt exist among people of faith: artificial guilt, which detracts from spiritual growth, and true guilt, which leads the person closer to God. The sacrament of penance is intended to deal with guilt, offering an experience of God's forgiveness. To acknowledge appropriate guilt consistently, one needs a well-formed conscience. Catholic News Service 3211 Fourth St NE Washington DC 20017 202.541.3250 cns@catholicnews.com	Food for Thought   "Getting things right" about God is part of the challenge of being a Christian. In the process, we might also "get things right" about ourselves. Thus, if we ask forgiveness from God for our own wrongdoing, we make a big statement about what God is like -- that God is merciful, a forgiver. Recognizing this is part of "getting things right" about God. To recognize this, however, is also to recognize something about ourselves, that we ought to become merciful forgivers -- if, that is, we believe we should follow God's lead and be his imitators. Pope John Paul II said in his Jan. 1, 2002, World Day of Peace message that Christ's followers, "baptized into his redeeming death and resurrection, must always be men and women of mercy and forgiveness." full story   What Are They Saying About Guilt? By Father Herbert Weber Catholic News Service On the Friday after Sept. 11, 2001, I conducted a wedding rehearsal. The bride and groom had prepared for their marriage for months. We also had detailed the plans for the wedding ceremony. However, none of us ever expected that the celebration would take place during those dark days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As the rehearsal progressed, one readily could see a heaviness in the church. So I took the couple aside for a private chat. Their words were simple, "We feel guilty being happy when so many people are suffering or scared." That summed up the emotions of the entire wedding party. full story  How Penance Tackles Guilt By Father Lawrence E. Mick Catholic News Service Many people, I suspect, confuse the terms "guilt" and "shame." Of course, they sometimes go together. We are rightly ashamed of our actions when we are guilty of sin. But sometimes we feel shame when we are not guilty, and sometimes we are guilty but feel no shame. The sacrament of penance is intended to deal with guilt. It offers an experience of God's forgiveness, and we need forgiveness if we are guilty. full story  Listening to the Person Weighed Down By Guilt By Patricia Kobielus Thompson Catholic News Service The art of "being with" another takes practice. My former pastor once told the story of an elderly man who was nearing death and whose family called upon the priest to visit. The man had been away from the church for years over a misunderstanding about a long-ago incident. Burdened by tremendous guilt, he told his family that "God doesn't want me." full story
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