PAX ET BONUM: Fr david Berger

We look at Pope Francis exhortation that we should be facilitators of grace and not arbiters of grace. We find this in the gospel of MArk where john tries to prevent someone from casting out a demon in the name of JEsus. How do we recognize the action of faith in the life of others and in our life as well.

What is the cause of unhappiness? St James diagnosis the problem in today's reading from his letter chapter 4. Could really boil down to coveting? St James seems to think so.

deserve got nothing to do with it. how often do we make decisions based on whether someone deserves or does not deserve the said action? When do we let God judge?

Who do we chose to be part of our life? Who do we exclude? How do our prejudice effect us in the life of faith?

Are we on mission? Do we let the mission effect our lifestyle? How does being on mission relate to the gospel?

Count it all joy when you experience trials. THese are the words of St. James in this letter to the universal church. We all try to avoid testing, but maybe we shouldn't. Testing is a source of revelations. It reveals our deepest values as well as our truest self.

WE revisit this past Sunday. JEsus us invites us to no longer settle for mediocrity. He wants to maximize our goodness. How do we do such a thing?

Love is in the air. Folly is necessary for love to be true and deep. The folly of the cross reveals such a reality.

We reflect on a few words from Pope Francis on this wednesday and relate it to the words of Jesus. Both point us to what spiritual health looks like. They give us a recipe for spiritual health.

For those who believe no explanation is necessary; for those who do not believe, no explanation is possible. Miracles do happen. But they do not necessarily convince. We look back on the apparition of BLessed Mother in Lourdes.

We look into David's legacy. What is he remembered for? How can his legacy help give direction to our life? We let the author of SIrach give us a heads up as we let David's legacy lead us forth.

Take courage and be a man. These are the words of King David to his son Solomon as he assumes the role of king and sits upon the throne. What does it mean to be a man, especially in our society where men have become neutered. What about urgency? Are we urgent or complacent? Jesus gives us marching orders, what say you?

We continue our journey with the David as king. We catch David toward the end of his life wanting to get a head count, a census. His intentions and motivations seem to be the problem. God frowns upon David and punishment follows. What a role does our intentions play in life? How are we responsible to those around us? How does David save face?

Pride and humility has always been a struggle for humanity. Pride causes separation and disunity. Humility brings forth communion and unity. We these two realities played out in today's readings. Absalom presents to us pride. JEsus, the humility of God, brings forth communion. We investigate.

Preja vu? It is when something points to something that will happen in the future, in particular when something in the OT foreshadows something in the new testament especially in regards to Christ. We see this reality in today's first reading.Preja vu leads to deja vu for us.