The Gospel is poignant.

The Gospel for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time is poignant:

Many turned away because they founfd Jesus sayings hard.

but Peter replies,"Lord to whom can we go?"

So the seeds planted by Jesus would grow, and Jesus word would fall on good ground, despite their abandonment.

Returning Friday from Flagstaff,the hills were a verdant green because of our Monsoon...and so a reflection on

Ordinary Time:

Bless our land from sea to sea.

Bless the fields giving life to me.

Bless the earth beneath my feet.

Bless the food we have to eat.

and yet Creator God,

this is not "ordinary" time.

This is extraordinary time,

when fertle earth lies supine...

Icebergs melted by global warming,

bringing chaos out of paradise.

What I do for the earth,

I do for the children.

Let the earth be for them,

not desert, but precious gem.

Bless the children,

Bless their future life.

Bless the earth,

the very womb of life.

Amen

from  A Contemporary North American Prayerbook.