Faith Montage: In Gratitude for the Fullness of Jesus #LetUsPray

Greetings all, from 100+ degree Pasadena, CA 🥵

I had the most random thought today: "Why do we like one shape of pasta over another?" I told you it was random. I used rigatoni this evening, thinking I was "branching out" in my pasta game. Silly boy. It's the same food item, just produced in different shapes. And yet, people have preferences. FTR, I love me a good al dente angel hair followed closely by mini-elbows if I can find them. I am sure someone somewhere has done a study on such things. Again, random.

This week, there has been some very serious discernment at the church I work with, as well as some personal decisions. I was thinking about how I make some of my most important decisions. Of course, I talk wth family – and more and more with my adult children. I also have a group of colleagues who have been meeting together for 25+ years. We have walked with one another through the joys and tragedies of life and have participated in discernment journeys about both personal and professional matters. So grateful for these saints in my life.

This week's #LetUsPray is basically what I believe about Jesus and why I am grateful for the fullness of his life, death, and resurrection. There is always a possibility that ideas change over time, but I am confident my beliefs about Jesus will not change much.

Faith Montage: In Gratitude for the Fullness of Jesus #LetUsPray

Let us pray —

I choose to believe in grace made real through Jesus Christ.

For the complete and complex humanity of Jesus,
and the mysterious and boundless divinity of the Christ,

I am GRATEFUL.

Grateful for the prophet, activist, and agitator,
who speaks God’s hopes, intentions, and truth into the world.

Grateful for the pastor, protector, and gatherer,
who curates space for curiosity, compassion, and kinship.

Grateful for the priest, steward, and guide,
who tends, grounds, and guides the spirits of those on the journey.

Grateful for the poet, artist, and creative,
who instigates, inspires, and invites exploration of divine possibility.

Grateful for the unpretentious life of Christ,
the teacher and friend.

Grateful for the revelatory death of Christ,
the offender and threat.

And grateful for the promised resurrection of Christ,
the seeker and solace.

For in the life, death, and resurrection of the one called Christ,
we are reconnected to God,
reunited with the saints,
loved for eternity,
and promised that one day there will be a new heaven
and new earth.

For this I am grateful.
For this we are grateful.

In all of this, we find mystery, meaning, and motivation.

— Amen.

Breath Prayer

Receive (inhale): May I know Christ.
Release (exhale): May Christ know me.

Peace,

LITURGY AND PREACHING PROMPTS

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 13, 2026

The Day's Readings (Year A): Exodus 14:19-31 | Psalm 114:1-8 | Romans 14:1-12 | Matthew 18:21-35
Readings for Year 1, Matthew: Genesis 6:5-22; 8:6-12; 9:8-17 (Noah, the flood, and the promise of the rainbow) and Matthew 8:24-27 (Jesus calms the storm)

For readings, I refer to the Vanderbilt Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) and The Narrative Lectionary (NL). For Bible translations, I turn to The Common English Bible (CEB) or New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE). For more liturgical inspiration, check out enfleshed or liturgylink.

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