[00:00:05] Speaker A: This is Faith Break, a podcast about recognizing God, moments in our everyday lives.
This fall, join our faith formation team, Karen Luke and Anne Gallagher as we explore the Sunday Mass readings. With four weeks to Fruitfulness.
This four part reflection series will help you prepare to receive the Word of God at Mass and is a companion to our October Adult Fellowship Nights.
The journey will take us through the experiences of receiving God's abundant blessings, to being called to share those graces in love with God's people, and finally to becoming saints.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: Hi everybody. Welcome back to Faith Break. I am Karen Luke.
[00:00:57] Speaker C: And I'm Anne Gallagher.
[00:00:58] Speaker B: And we are here to open up the Word for the weekly scriptures with you, share a little bit about our insights and help you get ready to prepare yourself for Mass or listen to it after and compare what we say to the homilies.
[00:01:15] Speaker C: So what we're doing this season is something a little bit different.
We're coming to you today with a an abbreviated miniseries for the month of October. So we're gonna be looking at the Sunday Mass readings as we typically do or often do.
But what's special about this season too is that we are also doing this podcast as a companion resource to a live program we are running on Wednesday nights at St. Catherine's so our adult Fellowship nights are happening every Wednesday this month and we have a great group of people coming together to share a meal and some conversation around the scriptures in preparation for the Sunday liturgy. So yeah, so it's going to be a short little four part Faith Break series this time and we're calling it Four Weeks to Fruitfulness.
And that is because our readings in this four week time frame actually are really nice for this time of year because they have a lot of harvest imagery.
We're going to talk today about the beginning banquet that God spreads before us.
And if you follow the progression of the four weeks that we'll be exploring, we're kind of going to move from God blessing us with fruits to us imitating Jesus and sharing the fruits that God has given us and then ultimately to us becoming saints. We're going to end on All Saints day, which is November 1st.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: And I just want to shout out to you for putting all of our, the philosophical mindset of these readings together for the weeks because you're really good at that.
[00:02:56] Speaker C: It's funny, you know, I think Jeff said to us once that he heard every podcast has an Ernie and a Bert and like one of us always over prepares to a comical level and then one saves us and keeps us fresh. And that is you so we're gonna just see how this goes. But what we're. It's kind of funny because all the people who are gathered at our Wednesday nights are gonna be experiencing this live, right? They're gonna be having their own Bert
[00:03:25] Speaker B: and Ernie experience, their own little communities
[00:03:27] Speaker C: at their tables, and everyone's gonna have their own personality. And it's a blessing. It's a blessing to do faith together with our different gifts.
[00:03:35] Speaker B: And, you know, I just wanna shout out to our people in our parishes that are coming into our Catholic faith with our OCIA program.
We have. I think we're up to seven or
[00:03:49] Speaker C: eight or eight, something like that.
[00:03:51] Speaker B: And I'm so excited for this group to work with.
[00:03:55] Speaker C: Yes. This year, Karen and I are personally working with our adults who will be entering the church at the Easter vigil.
And so they are also part of our group that is meeting on Wednesday nights. So.
Yeah. So we hope this podcast will help you in these coming weeks to take some time in your schedule to have a few minutes of quiet and focus so that when you come to Mass on Sunday, you can be more presence and more able to receive the gifts that God is ready to give you. I have so many experiences and times on Sundays when if I don't read the Scriptures ahead of time, which, like this summer, I was really. I didn't do. I didn't look at the Scriptures at all before it came to Mass.
But I go and I sit down and it's like, you know, they start the first reading and then it's over. And I have absolutely no idea what has just happened. Like, I don't remember what book it's from. I don't. So if you can take a minute to just read these readings for me anyway, it makes a huge difference in my Sunday experience.
[00:05:01] Speaker B: Yeah, no, I totally get that. And also, what I've been trying to do, and it doesn't always work either is grab one of the books that I can follow along the reading with because I'm a visual learner, not an auditory learner. And so if I'm just hearing it like you said for the very first time and I don't have it in front of me, I'm like, do, do, do, do, do.
[00:05:21] Speaker C: I've seen people with their phones. You can actually, if you wanna take your phone out at Mass to read
[00:05:25] Speaker B: the readings, that is okay.
[00:05:26] Speaker C: To read the readings, not just to read the readings. You can.
Okay, so let's break this open. Let's break this open. So I love our first reading. Oh, interesting. The first reading is from Isaiah. We're not gonna read em. You guys gotta go read em on your own.
Maybe we'll put a link somewhere where you can find it. It's easy to find the Sunday mass
[00:05:45] Speaker B: readings online, just daily readings. And you'll find them.
[00:05:50] Speaker C: So we have this image in Isaiah of a beautiful high mountain where God is going to provide a gorgeous feast to bring all people together.
All, all people tearing down what divides us and destroy death forever. So that's the image in our first reading, a banquet for everybody.
In the second reading, which is from Philippians, Paul is talking about how he has been called to live in both humble and abundant circumstances.
How God supplies everything we need.
And this is where we get that famous line, I can do all things through God who strengthens me, through Christ who strengthens me.
And the gospel is the parable of the wedding feast. So this is the one where the invited guest, the fancy pants guests, ignore the invitation. He's like, oh, we have got our things.
And so the king goes out into the street to share the invitation with others who will listen and respond with joy. Okay, so that's kind of what we're dealing with this week. These are the readings for October 11th.
October, October, the biggest month.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: It is the best month because it's my birthday month and other stuff, and other stuff happens. But anyway, okay, let's get into the readings.
[00:07:09] Speaker C: Yeah. So we provided a bunch of reflection questions. I don't think we're going to have time to go through all of them. No, but what do you. Do you have a hot.
[00:07:16] Speaker B: Yeah. So one of the questions that you posed for our weeknight gathering. But the veil that veils all people and the web woven over all nations. And so you had posed the question, what do you think that the veil that veils all people, how does it manifest in the world today?
And I'm just like, okay, let me ponder this for a minute. And it keeps going back to what we've talked about before. There is so much distraction and noise and it's just keeping us from being still.
And then when we are still, it gives us anxiety.
Yeah, it's like, wait, I should be doing something. And you feel like, guilty for not.
[00:08:06] Speaker C: So the veil is like the busyness and it keeps us from seeing each other and seeing inside ourselves too.
[00:08:12] Speaker B: Have you seen on Facebook the pictures from like 1970, 1980 family dinners.
No, to like a picture of family dinners now. And it's like everyone's around, they're all eating together and all sharing. And then the Picture now is everyone's
[00:08:31] Speaker C: on their phone, just, like, eating, and
[00:08:34] Speaker B: it's all different food on the plate. Cause if you're anything like my family, my kids are like, oh, I don't like that. Oh, I don't like that. And I was like, well, I'm having
[00:08:45] Speaker C: a Mac and cheese. Yeah.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: I was like, you make your own meal? Cause I'm only making one. But it's just that I'm really hung up on that, you know? Cause I just. I loved growing up when I did, and I'm trying to give my kids that, but they have no concept of anything other than distraction.
[00:09:06] Speaker C: Yes. Yes. We still have a rule in our house about no phones at the dinner table, but it's.
Yeah, it's a challenge.
[00:09:14] Speaker B: So is their phone on somewhere else? So, like, if it dings, do they.
[00:09:19] Speaker C: Do you know what's worse in my family is the earbuds. Oh, the earbuds that are always in.
[00:09:24] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:09:24] Speaker C: And so they could be walking around the house, and I think they're listening to me, but they literally are not, because they have things in their actual ears and. Yeah. But sometimes if, like, I sit down with one of the kids at lunch or something, they'll have earbuds in and a phone. And, you know, and I might, too. But, like, it is. Yeah. But, I mean, it's just between us. Yeah.
[00:09:42] Speaker B: So I've just been thinking about that. The noise and the distraction.
But then also to go a step further with this, with everything that's happening in our world and the us versus them mentality. And if we were to take this veil off and understand that God created us in the image of God, all of us, all of us, we are all created in the image of God.
So if we take that from scripture and our faith, then there should never be an us versus them.
[00:10:16] Speaker C: Right.
[00:10:18] Speaker B: And I.
[00:10:19] Speaker C: One human family.
[00:10:20] Speaker B: One human. And it still hurts that there are people that have that. And I'm sure that there are situations. You know, I do it, too.
[00:10:32] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:10:33] Speaker B: You know, we have our biases and
[00:10:34] Speaker C: everything, tribalism and all that, but what
[00:10:37] Speaker B: would that look like if we all just had. And it's not that we put blinders on to what. The injustices.
[00:10:48] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:10:49] Speaker B: That's not what I'm saying. But, like, if we truly open our eyes and we see each other, everybody, as an image of Jesus, I think we would all treat each other differently.
[00:11:01] Speaker C: Right. So part of the invitation to the banquet is the invitation to sit at table with all sorts of people.
[00:11:08] Speaker B: Right.
[00:11:09] Speaker C: Not just the ones in your camp. Or your family or your echo chamber or whatever. Yeah.
[00:11:15] Speaker B: Like, when we go to a wedding and it's like a science eating.
[00:11:18] Speaker C: You're like, oh, who am I gonna sit with? I know.
[00:11:21] Speaker B: Who do I have to eat with for, like, two hours? But.
Or we could go in and be like, look at all the new people I get to meet. And I'm. I'm one to.
I need to start doing what I say as well.
[00:11:36] Speaker C: Practice what we preach.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: Practice what I preach. But that's kind of what I was.
[00:11:40] Speaker C: Yeah, I know. I was thinking about the invitation to the banquet, too, because. And especially, like, what's my. How have I responded to God's invitation to the banquet?
And I'm laughing. Cause we're doing a staff day where we took, like, a personality test. And it was reminding me that years ago, I did a different personality test. I did the Myers Briggs. And one of the things it told me was that I was an extrovert who needed a lot of alone time.
And I was like, Jeff is looking at me with, like, understanding. Like, yeah, it felt so right. I'm like, that's true.
I love relationships, and I love being with people. And if I go to a gathering, whether it's like a youth group meeting or, you know, out to dinner with friends or family or something, I feel up when I get home.
But at the same time, a lot of times, like, the idea of RSVPing yes to something or, like, accepting an invitation to do something, like, I don't know, it just. It feels, like, ominous and forbidding and, like, it's setting up all these expectations for more things I have to show up for. And, you know, I just.
I feel like I can feel boxed in. Okay. And so part of me is like, well, is it bad that if God invited me to a banquet, I might suggest, like, hey, do you wanna just, like, go to coffee, sit at home and chill instead? Like, and hang out at home? Like, would that be bad? And I don't know. Maybe it's. Cause it's this time of year now. We're still in the back to school, all the fall stuff is starting, and, you know, we're all anxious about the beginnings of all these activities and programs starting. And, you know, every year I have all these great ideas that at the beginning of summer, seem totally manageable. And by this point, it's just like, what did I do?
So I'm sure that's part of, like, why I'm responding to that now in this season. But, like, I don't know. That's like, kind of a challenge for me is like, yeah, I think sometimes it can be hard to be like, yep, I'm coming. I'm gonna do that thing. And. Yeah, but, like, I don't know. We think about the harvest and the banquet and just the abundance of the gifts that God has given us. We've talked a lot on this podcast about the season of life we're in and how we're in this, like, summer, late summer, early fall time in our lives where, like, it is harvest time. Like, there's a lot of work. We're bringing in those crops, and we're preparing them for winter, and we're doing all the jobs. And it's so full. And it's full of good things like family and work that's meaningful and friendship. It's full of great things. But man, is the pace, like, a lot. It's demanding. It's a very demanding time of life and a demanding time of year.
But, like, God is inviting us to go sit at a table that he's prepared.
Well, like, it's not a table. We have to. Like, he's. He's not calling us to prepare the banquet in this reading.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, that's true.
[00:14:59] Speaker C: He's calling us to just show up and relax. Right.
[00:15:03] Speaker B: But then, you know, also, do you find that there's a difference between being invited and being transformed?
[00:15:12] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh, yes.
[00:15:14] Speaker B: Say more about that.
We can be invited to things and show up and just be present and, you know, sit there and enjoy ourselves.
But then it's another thing to be invited and then transformed and inspired and wanting to go out and to participate, to participate in the graces and then share that.
And, you know, I was thinking about that, too. I was like, oh, my gosh, how many times do I just show up to show up because I'm invited, but I'm not really offering myself, or I'm not me and my present, or I'm thinking about all the stuff that I should be doing.
I was like, oh, wow, that is.
Yeah, like, that is totally different. So, like, we're all invited to come to mass.
We're all invited to come to the table and receive communion.
But if we're only coming to receive communion and that's it, maybe we do need a little more transformation and a little insight. And I'm one to.
We're busy on Sundays and working on Sundays. I was just talking to one of our staff members yesterday, and I was like, I don't really feel like I can participate. Like, I participate at Mass, but I don't really feel like I'm. And sometimes when I go up for communion, I was like, should I even go up? Because was I really present? Yeah.
[00:16:43] Speaker C: That's an occupational hazard.
[00:16:45] Speaker B: It is an occupational hazard, but, like, you know, we're all.
I should say I'm guilty of it. And it's like, okay, how can I just click that in my head to be a little more aware of the chaos going in my head to receive that calm and the grace that God is.
[00:17:06] Speaker C: It's funny, because this isn't one of the readings, but what we're sharing today is reminding me of the Martha and Mary.
I think we're both kind of getting at that, because it's like we're both
[00:17:16] Speaker B: Martha and Mary at the same time, right?
[00:17:18] Speaker C: But like this. When God calls us to the banquet, I mean, he is. We're gonna be laborers in the vineyard. This is where the. You know, over these next few weeks, we're going to. To be talking about how we can share the gifts and stuff. But today in these readings, we're not being called to work. We're being called to rest in community and to feast on what God provides. Right. And so we're not just workers in the vineyard in these readings. We're honored guests at the table.
And, like, that is like a.
[00:17:49] Speaker B: Are we worthy to be honored guests?
[00:17:51] Speaker C: It's a flip. And, you know, I need to flip that switch in my brain to, like, be in that role. To be in the role of the guest that sits at the table, not. Not the Martha who's getting everything ready.
There's that bit at the end of the gospel about the.
The dude who showed up with the wrong clothes.
[00:18:08] Speaker B: I feel so bad for that guy.
Like, I don't like that last part of the Gospel.
[00:18:13] Speaker C: It is. It's one of those times when you're like. You're reading the scripture and you're listening, like, oh, yeah, I get it. And then you're like, wait, what? Yeah, what's that about?
[00:18:20] Speaker B: So this guy, he was invited, like, come as you are. So he came as he was, and the king saw him, and he's like, why are you not in a wedding garment?
[00:18:30] Speaker C: But maybe he came in his clothes from the field. Like, maybe this is what we're talking about. I'm trying to look at this in a positive light. So maybe instead of asking God, like Paul does, to strengthen me for the work, I can do all things through God who strengthens me. Maybe we're not being asked to be strengthened in these readings. Today, maybe we need to ask God for a makeover because we've showed up dressed for the field or for the kitchen. And we should be showing up dressed for the party. Like God wants to buy us a new outfit. Let's go.
[00:19:00] Speaker B: Sign me up.
Yeah.
[00:19:02] Speaker C: Shopping spree.
Even if I just wanna see. Right?
So, like, for me, it wouldn't be that. Maybe it's like wanting to stay. My PJ's on the couch.
[00:19:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:14] Speaker C: How does that work? Get dressed up and show up for God and for each other.
[00:19:17] Speaker B: How does that coincide with the idea of, like, come as you are.
[00:19:23] Speaker C: Yeah, but you don't. Stay as you are. Okay. Come as you are. But don't.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: But then transform.
[00:19:28] Speaker C: Maybe let's.
[00:19:29] Speaker B: Okay, listen.
[00:19:30] Speaker C: We're learning just as much as we don't have answers. We're just exploring like everyone else.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: Come as you are. But then being transformed and open to a makeover.
[00:19:40] Speaker C: Come be a guest.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:19:43] Speaker C: Because the work is coming.
[00:19:45] Speaker B: The work is coming. Yeah.
[00:19:46] Speaker C: But today we celebrate.
[00:19:47] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:19:47] Speaker C: Today we celebrate.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
That was fun.
[00:19:52] Speaker C: Okay. I think that's it for me today.
I mean, there's so much in all these readings.
[00:19:59] Speaker B: We did unpack a lot of this
[00:20:01] Speaker C: and we have lots of reflection questions too, which we will put somewhere where people can find them. I'm not sure where yet.
[00:20:10] Speaker B: I'd love to hear what other people are thinking too.
[00:20:13] Speaker C: Me too.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: Maybe we could do like a Google form and then they could all come to me. So they're not coming to you, but we tell you guys, everybody, that we want to hear from you, but we don't really give you an avenue.
[00:20:28] Speaker C: We have some things to think about on the technological end.
[00:20:31] Speaker B: I think we'll figure that out. But just come up to us and share your thoughts or send an email or whatever. But I'm really excited to hear what other people are thinking too.
[00:20:43] Speaker C: So we hope this has been helpful to you. We hope you get a chance to look at the readings and think about them for yourself.
And we'll see you at Mass on Sunday, hopefully. And we'll see you here next week for our next episode. Bye.
[00:20:55] Speaker B: God bless.
[00:20:56] Speaker C: Have a great one.
[00:20:58] Speaker A: Thanks for taking a faith break with us today.
Karen, Luke and Anne Gallagher are lay ministers with the parishes of St. Catherine of Siena in Mendon, New York, and Church of the Transfiguration in Pittsford, New York.
More about our parishes, including weekly live streamed Sunday Mass, can be
[email protected] Faith Break is engineered by Jeff Beckett.
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