March 27, 2016 Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord Acts 10: 34, 37-43; Colossians 3: 1-4; John 20: 1-9 I am reflecting on the readings today in light of my nephew’s cancer returning and he and his wife deciding not to go through another excruciating pain filled chemo treatment. His first treatment coupled with the constant vomiting left him bereft of strength. He is in hospice now and we are all praying and filling them with our love. In reviewing the readings,, I am struck at the people involved each of whom describes how they are ‘witnesses’ to Jesus. In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Luke’s narrative centers on the conversion of Cornelius, a Gentile, a Roman centurion who is described as a “devout and God-fearing along with his whole household, who used to give alms generously to the Jewish people and prays to God constantly.” Cornelius received a vision from an angel and told him to: “…send some men to Joppa and summon one Simon who is called Peter.” Peter the next day was praying when he had a vision of a large sheet filled with animals, reptiles and birds and he was told to Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.” Peter objected since he always kept the dietary laws of his Jewish faith. He was told; What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.” Peter was confused, then he was told that three men had arrived from Cornelius. So Peter went and had a long meeting where Cornelius explained his own vision. This is where todays reading starts. After this passage, Luke writes of Cornelius’ baptism. I’m reflecting on the people chosen to be witnesses in this reading: Luke, the author of Acts and the third Gospel was from Antioch, Syria in the Roman Empire. Paul refers to him as a physician and also one of his followers. Since the early years, the church regarded Luke as a saint and it is believed that he died a martyr. Luke spends a lengthy time on Cornelius admiring his life examples and how he led his own household to be people of prayer. Luke makes an effort to show how Cornelius witnessed, showed love and shared his faith. How well am I witnessing God’s love and how am I sharing my faith? Paul witnessed consistently and completely yet he never met Jesus. Paul is sharing today how each follower must be concerned with the things of heaven. Our life is about the call to be with Jesus in heaven. Jesus has brought salvation to every person by His resurrection. Our lives must be sustained and driven by our faith in Jesus. Each person is to be a witness…how…by the gifts each of us has been blessed with and by our love, in imitation of Jesus, to everyone. Then we have the witnesses in the gospel scene: Mary of Magdala, Peter and the ‘beloved disciple’. Who would ever think that this group of people would be highlighted this Easter for us. We have a Roman centurion, a gentile, a person who did not believe in the Jewish God yet he was a person of prayer. What was his prayer life like…it doesn’t matter, he was chosen. We have Peter, the one who denied knowing Jesus and following Him. Paul who was the first persecutor of the Christians and was the ‘one in charge’ at the first Christian to be martyred, Stephen. Then Paul was called to be a follower and witnesses. Mary Magdalen, a woman, not looked upon with any sort of ‘dignity’ by the people of her time. These people were chosen and called to be witnesses. They came to believe and I too have come to believe. And you who are reading this have come to believe. It was God’s plan. How blessed we are. I started this by mentioning my nephew. I sent him The Gift of Peace by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin. This tremendous witness shared his spiritual journey searching for inner peace as he faced pancreatic cancer. This is from the chapter entitled, Meditation, Suffering in Communion with the Lord. “Throughout my ministry I have focused on Jesus—his message, the events of His life, His relationship to the world. Now more than ever I focus on His cross, His suffering, which was not only real but also redemptive and life-giving. Jesus was human. He felt pain as we do. And in many ways He experience pain and suffering more deeply than we will ever know. Yet in the face of it all, He transformed human suffering into something greater: an ability to walk with the afflicted and to empty Himself so that His loving Father could work more fully through Him. As we look upon the cross and recall the specific ways by which people share in its mystery, there are many perspectives to be considered. I will highlight only one: The essential mystery of the cross is that it gives rise to a certain kind of loneliness, an inability to see clearly how things are unfolding, an inability to see that, ultimately, all things will work for our good, and that we are, indeed, not alone. This sense of being abandoned, this extreme experienced of loneliness, is evident in Jesus cry, ‘‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46) If the Lord experienced pain and suffering, can we, as His disciples, expect anything less? No! Like Jesus, we too must expect pain. There is, however, a decisive difference between our pain as disciples and that experienced by those who are not the Lord’s disciples. The difference stems from the fact that, as disciples, we suffer in communion with the Lord. And that makes all the difference in the world! Nevertheless, even this communion does not totally extinguish the loneliness, the sense of abandonment, no more than it did for Jesus. Our understanding of suffering—not merely it inevitability but also its purpose and redemptive value—greatly impacts our ministry of presence. As a matter of fact, suffering severely test us in this regard, and the reason is quite simple Whenever we are with people who suffer, it frequently becomes evident that there is very little we can do to help them other than be present to them, walk with them as the Lord walks with us. The reason this is so frustrating is that we like to be ‘fixers’. We want not only to control our own destiny but also that of others So we are frustrated when all we can do for suffering persons is be present to them, pray with them—become, in effect, a silent sign of God’s presence and love. And yet, the ability to offer that kind of prayerful response is the key that unlocks the mystery of suffering. For, in the final analysis, our participation in the pascal mystery—in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus—brings a certain freedom: the freedom to let go, to surrender ourselves to the living God, to place ourselves completely in His hands, knowing that ultimately He will win out! The more we cling to ourselves and others, the more we try to control our destiny—the more we lose the true sense of our lives, the more we are impacted by the futility of it all. It’s precisely in letting go, in entering into complete union with the Lord, in letting Him take over, that we discover our true selves. It’s in the act of abandonment that we experience redemption, that we find life, peace, and joy in the midst of physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. This is the lesson we must first learn from Jesus before we can teach it to others. We must let the mystery, the tranquillity, and the purposefulness of Jesus’ suffering become part of our own life before we can become effective instruments in the hands of the Lord for the sake of others. As Christians, if we are to love as Jesus loved, we must first come to terms with suffering. Like Jesus, we simply cannot be cool and detached from our fellow human beings. Our years of living as Christians will be years of suffering for and with other people. Like Jesus, we will love others only if we walk with them in the valley of darkness, the dark valley of sickness, the dark valley of moral dilemmas, the dark valley of oppressive structures and diminished rights.”(pp 45-49) As followers and witnesses of Christ, we are loved. Cardinal Bernadine wrote these words a week before his passing, “Ultimately, we will all be together, intimately united with the Lord Jesus whom we love so much.” “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” Today’s psalm response (Psalm 118:24)

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Isaiah 50: 4-7; Philippians 2: 6-11; Luke 22: 14 - 23:56 I have been honored to go to the Holy Land six times. In celebrating Palm Sunday, the question has arisen in my mind many times: would I have been in the reception line welcoming and praising Jesus as He came into Jerusalem? Then I ask: Would I have been in another crowd four days later calling for Jesus’ execution by crucifixion? If accosted by the soldiers would I have said that I was a follower of Jesus or would I have denied even knowing Him? Would I hide after Jesus’ death in fear of my own life or would I have ‘gotten out of Dodge’ as fast as possible’ and tried to start my life over? What would I think when I saw Jesus on the Via Dolorosa… being nailed to the cross…hanging there while the spectators mocked Him out…watching Him die? Where would my hope be? Where would my faith be? Would I continue to carry with me the love that Jesus preached and always showed? I’m sure I am not alone in imagining these situations and in thinking how I would feel and how would I act. I start my reflection on what God has already done for me in my life. That is where Jesus said my story begins: God loved me FIRST! As a result of that love…love has always continued in my life. I think of the love of my parents; the prayers they offered endlessly when I stayed in the hospital for one month after my birth. I think of how they taught me and my other four siblings how to respect others; do good and live the importance of our faith each and every day. Then I think of how this love and faith has been continually reinforced by the teachings of the Sisters of St. Joseph in my elementary and high school years. I think of the pastors and parish priests who impressed me so much that the seeds of my vocation and service came from God through them to me. And here I am now celebrating almost forty-nine years of priesthood. Today’s first reading from Isaiah shows God challenging any nation to come up with witnesses who could say that their gods can really do anything. Isaiah shows God declaring that the people of Israel can certainly bear witness to all that He has done for them. I look at all God has done for me and all I can say is WOW…have I been blessed. And I ask what Have I done with these blessings? Isaiah shares the most prominent of God’s miracles: the exodus from Egypt and passing through the waters to freedom on the other side of the Red Sea. Today Isaiah announces that the people can forget about that great miracle because God is about to so something even more spectacular. I think back through my life and see that God has continued to do grander, greater and more loved filled events and the people who have led me closer to Him. How blessed I am. Now what is left for me to do….Paul shares that His present life is still in process. God needs me this day and these moments. Why? Because He does…I have been chosen…I have been called in my world to testify and to bring God to the people I encounter. This is a continual, never ending assignment. If people do not see God in me, where are they going to find God? Is this too awesome for me to envision? No I have learned and believe that it is all about God. God fills me with whatever I need to be Him and to show Him and to love as He taught me. Paul shares that when he competes his life on earth will be when God takes total possession of his life and Paul will be with God forever. It is the same for all believers. It is not about me….it is about me being Jesus. It is about God’s plan for me and me saying YES, I am here, help me be You! Luke weaves five different episodes into Jesus final days: 1) the Last Supper and Jesus’ farewell talk to His disciples, 2) Jesus’ arrest at the Mt of Olives, 3) the denial, mockery and trial of Jesus, 4) Jesus before Pilate and Herod and 5) Jesus’ crucifixion and death. The commentary in Sunday Homily Helps shows other unique elements of Luke’s Passion narrative. “On the surface, Luke’s passion narrative seems similar to what we are familiar with from other Gospel accounts. However, a careful reading of Luke’s account reveals a series of unique emphases that give it a special character. First, the suffering and death of Jesus are not random acts of fate. They are clearly Jesus’ destiny and are understood to be motivated by divine necessity. Second, the passion of Jesus is presented in such a way as to be a model for discipleship. This will be exemplified in the Acts of the Apostles with the death of Stephen (ch 7). Third, throughout the passion, Jesus is rejected as God’s innocent prophet. Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent and declares Him as such three times At the death of Jesus, the centurion standing guard over Him declares, ‘Certainly, this man was innocent’. Fourth and finally, at His death, Jesus dies as God’s royal Son. Many commentators point out that Luke goes out of his way in his passion narrative to present Jesus as a model of patient selfless suffering, God’s innocent martyr. While that affirmation is correct, it does not present the full picture. Clearly, Luke presents Jesus as more than a martyr. Jesus is God’s prophet, He’s the Savior, a King, the Messiah, and the Son of God. All of this is reflected throughout Luke’s story of the passion. This is all part of God’s faithful plan implemented through divine necessity.” What can I take away from this day…that God is always with me. He hasn’t ever left me. He is constantly filling me with what I need. And probably most importantly, God has a plan. The life of Jesus continually shows God’s plan. Jesus acceptance and obedience of God’s plan shows me that God cares and God loves me and has a plan for me. The plan is not negative; His plan is about being promised and given all the grace and gifts necessary for me to be in heaven with Him and all the saints. So I reflect on the commentary in Connections, The newsletter of ideas, resources and information for homilists and preachers: “Today — every day — can be a day of hope, of healing, of transformation. Today, Jesus promises the good thief. Today, Jesus promises all of us. In imitating Christ’s mercy, in taking up His work of reconciliation, in struggling to be salt for the earth and the light for the world, we profess our belief that Paradise not only exists in the future but exists now, hidden in the present - and Jesus promises to be with us in Paradise, not just after our own deaths, but today, in the very moment, in the Paradise we open up in own time and place. Despite the hopelessness of our own crosses, despite the suffocating weight we bear, Christ still enables us to find our place int he Kingdom of His Father where justice and love rule. In Christ present in the love and support of generous family and friends and community, may you make your way to the promise of Paradise. Today.” Sacred Space 2016 in it’s introduction says, “Your death on the cross has set me free. I can live joyously and freely without fear of death. Your mercy knows no bounds.”

March 13, 2016

March 13, 2016  5th Sunday of Lent C Isaiah 43: 16-21; Philippians 3: 8-14; John 8: 1-11 One week from today is Palm Sunday…Jesus enters Jerusalem ‘in glory’. The people acclaim Him as special…hopefully their Messiah. They have been waiting for God to intervene in their ‘horrible, persecuted life’. Their ‘Promised Land’ has been taken over for centuries by hostile powers. Today it is Rome. Rome cares only for itself and what they can ‘get’ from their enslaved territories. Do they care about the people? No! They care about their own pockets…their own dominance among world powers… they care about their pleasurable lives and more and more of this. God doesn’t matter….Does God even exist for them? Who cares! The first reading from Isaiah looks back at an earlier day when the Israelites impending return from their exile in Babylon is being looked at as a ‘New Exodus.’ The “…things of long ago…” was the first Exodus. “…see, I am doing something new”…is the return from their present exile. The strong prophecy is that what they had experienced was God’s total care for them. But that was ‘nothing’ as compared to what was going to happen. Isaiah talks about these ‘new things’ … this is the promise of the Messiah, who will die and rise and provide for His people the helps, the sacraments of the new covenant. This will totally overshadow their memory of the Exodus. Now all the promises of God will be present and they will discover the God who is ‘totally in love with them’ and will lead them to the Promised Land of heaven. The crossing of the Dead Sea… surviving the forty years wandering in the desert…these were wonderful miracles…but ‘they haven’t seen anything yet.’ There will be plenty of reason to sing God’s praises and the Responsorial Psalm sets the joyous mood: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.” Paul is looking at what has happened and he is not dwelling on that because what lies ahead is of utmost importance. Alice Camille in Exploring the Sunday Readings shares her insight into Paul’s letter today: “Paul says he cheerfully lost everything for Jesus. He tossed his perfect track record and threw himself on the mercy of the cross. He viewed his former righteousness as rubbish, which is not something we might wish to say about the seasons (however few) when we actually fulfilled all our religious obligations to the letter. We’re proud of logging those faithful Sundays, those meticulous Lenten observances. Paul advises us to forget all that. The goal ahead deserves our focus. Christ Jesus, and He alone, saves.” And this leads me to a very important reflection, ‘What does Jesus think of me?’ If we look at Jesus’ constant interaction with people, we have to conclude that everything is based on love. So I continue does Jesus love me when I am good? Yes! Does Jesus love me when I am thinking of Him? Yes! Does Jesus love me when I am sinning? Yes! That’s what today’s Gospel is telling us. Here we have a woman who is brought…probably dragged to Jesus was more accurate. So many different groups, especially the Pharisees had it in for Jesus. They wanted Him out of the picture. To them, He was not the Messiah…He was a rebel, an upstart. They were the religious experts. They had judged this woman as one who Moses had said was to be put to death by stoning because of her sin…no pardon…no mercy…she was a sinner! NOW this woman could be their ‘ULTIMATE PROOF’ in showing the people Jesus was no way a Messiah…just a charlatan at best. So we look at the scene in John’s Gospel…this woman was brought in front of Jesus and she was GUILTY…she was “caught in adultery.” NOTICE…Jesus never asked her if she did this. Isn’t that interesting to reflect on: As Alice Camille says, “To Jesus, what this woman did or failed to do, what the extenuating circumstances may have been that led her to be taken or mistaken for an adulteress, are beside the point. What consumes His attention is the morality lesson being enacted all around her, with her alleged sin as the bait and her life in the balance. Self-righteous men are judging her, salivating at the thought of her condemnation. The crowds around Jesus are here for the spectacle. Stone her, free her, makes no difference. Once Jesus makes His decision, either way, scandal will result. Then the self-righteous ones will immediately begin judging and condemning Jesus.” Why is this important? Why is this important for me? How many times ‘I have been caught’ guilty. My parents…teachers…friends…co-workers…asked, ‘Did you do this?’ I have said ‘NO’ too many times. When this happened I continued in my ‘lies’ to try and get out of the situations. Did I…no not really. The times this didn’t happen, I was filled with my own self-deprecation. ‘I’m no good…why do I continue to ‘use’ people? Why do I hurt people important to me? Why am I concerned with myself? Why can’t I be a person of love as Jesus continually shows me?’ AND SO I ASK, ‘What does Jesus think of me?’ Today He answers me…! “Jesus, bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger.” John continues immediately: “But when they continued asking Him, He straightened up and said to them, ‘Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again He bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders.” This ‘writing on the ground’ always interested me. Was Jesus writing their sins….Or writing something about the ones trying to trap Him? While I was on Sabbatical at Notre Dame University in the early 90’s I was privileged to have some great scripture scholars as teachers. I asked one ‘what did Jesus write’. He smiled and said…the ‘original word used is very interesting…I believe from all my study that the word means ‘doodle’…Jesus doodled in the dirt. ‘Doodled, I asked…what does this mean? He smiled again and said, ‘Jesus was totally concerned with the woman. She needed love…she needed compassion…she needed to know that God loves her and wants her with Him for all eternity in heaven…she needed to know that God is best at His mercy. God forgives…when we ask for it!’ He cares that much about this woman and me, I asked? He said, Yes! Jesus treated this woman in such a way that it made her want to reform her life. Jesus treats me the same. She came before Jesus, guilty…she left the presence of Jesus innocent. So I reflect on: • Do I realize I am ALWAYS in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness? • Do I realize that God always loves me? • Do I realize that God always is leading me closer to Himself? • Do I realize that none of my sins are ‘too big’ for God…He is waiting and wanting to love me and forgive me? • WHY AM I HESITANT TO GO TO GOD? Sacred Space 2016: “Where do I stand in this scene? Like the woman standing before he accusers? Like a silent sympathizer hoping that something will happen to save her? Like the skulking male adulterer who got her into this trouble? Like the bystanders already collecting the best stones with a view to a killing? Like one of the elders who slinks away, unable to cast the first stone? What goes though my head as Jesus is doodling in the sand? Sometimes we are overwhelmed by a sense of our own guilt. The voices of accusation roar in our ears Frozen with fear, we wait for condemnation. Lord, like the woman in the reading, may we hear the damning voices fade until there is only Your voice left, telling us to move on and sin no more.” You love me that much!

March 6, 2016

4th Sunday of Lent C Joshua 5: 9-12; 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21; Luke 15: 1-3, 11-31 We need to be reconciled to God. Over and over again this is the message that kept on returning to me as I reflected on today’s Readings. We need to be reconciled to God We read in Joshua how the Israelites, after forty years of wandering in the desert, have finally arrived at God’s destination. They have crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land. No one who was born during these years had been circumcised so God orders them to do this so they are safe. Egypt was a land that could never satisfy their spiritual needs, the Promised Land will. They no longer need to be nourished by the Manna, now they have God’s covenant with Mose “I will be your God, you will be my people. I reflect on how I am doing this Lent in being a part of God’s people? Do I realize the responsibility that is involved? Do I realize that this is not a part-time job; it’s 24/7? Am I aware that I cannot do this on my own? Do I realize that Jesus told each of us that He sends the Holy Spirit upon us to be with us and to help us over ALL the stumbling blocks that we encounter? These stumbling blocks are external or internal even including the viciousness of the devil’s attacks. So the question is, ‘Do I ask for help?’ Or do I figure that that I’m a big boy now, I can do it on my own. This is exactly the constant temptation that these new Israelites faced in the Promised Land…and they had a great record of failure in this. Can I learn from this and LISTEN to the Prophets and especially Jesus? The bottom line point is that, We need to be reconciled to God. Paul is telling the Corinthians that they and each one of us is a ‘new creation.’ We know about the story of our ancestors in faith and how God developed them into His people. We know most especially that Jesus came for each of us. He came from the Father to tell us that we are loved all the time and at every moment and it doesn’t depend on how we are: good or bad, tolerant or intolerant, helpful or selfish, caring or jealous…it doesn’t matter, God just plain loves us. Paul tells the Corinthians that we are united to Christ by the gift of faith and baptism. We are new persons. Our lives are transformed and we see everything from God’s viewpoint. Now do I walk around with this being visible? Is my life transformed or only the part that I want others to see? Do I look at things that happen in my life from God’s viewpoint? Can people see God’s love in me? Can they see it all the time? This is why we have this season of Lent…it’s a time to take our spiritual and moral compass and see that we need to ask God’s help for so that we can get back on the right direction. The last sentence in Paul’s letter is talking about Christ, it says, ““We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” There is an interesting translation of this in the Way Bible that says, For God took the sinless Christ and poured into Him our sins. Then, in exchange, He poured God’s goodness into us.” Again I reflect on how much do people who come to me, those who observe me see Christ in me? Do they see Christ’s goodness in me? Then I reflect, as often as possible, perhaps each day in my review of the day, why didn’t they…why did I hold my goodness/love back? What do I need from the Spirit in helping me be more of Christ? The powerful Gospel of the Prodigal Son is one of my favorites. Many years ago I came across Rembrandt’s painting of the ‘The Return of the Prodigal Son’ which today is located in The Hermitage in St Petersburg, Russia. Later on I read Fr. Henri Nouwen’s book, The Return of the Prodigal Son, A story of Homecoming. I have read and re-read this book many times and have given many copies away. It is about how We need to be reconciled to God. The Story really is about God’s love. It is so interesting when we examine Luke’s account that the emphasis throughout focuses on the extreme behavior of the father who is totally committed to do whatever it takes to get both his sons back. He loves each that much, He loves me that much. It is interesting that we call this son the ‘Prodigal Son’ yet this word is not found anywhere in the New Testament. The Son is really lost, in fact both sons and I look at myself…wow…I have been lost so many times…this story is about me. The father ‘runs’ to the son…what really rich person anywhere in time have I seen ‘run’. Just another point on how much the Father loves….How much the Father loves me. The father never mentions repentance, and the son gets no opportunity at all of offer any…he’s home…that’s all that counts. The ‘stuck-up…’poor me’ older son’ felt that he deserved the father’s love…he has earned it. How often that thought comes to my mind, ‘Look at all I have done for God…shouldn’t I get this prayer answered?’ Do I ever take time and look at God’s love for me all the time in every crazy situation of my life? And exactly how grateful have I been? It just seems that the bottom line of Jesus’ story is that His father is just too loving and too accepting. This is the Father that Jesus came to tell you and me about…isn’t that the greatest thing we’ve heard today? And we are in constant need of affirming and loving this God who is always in our lives. We need to be reconciled to God. I would like to conclude this reflection with a few quotes from Fr. Nouwen’s last chapter, Epilogue: Living the Painting. —“When I saw the Rembrandt poster for the first time in the fall of 1983, all my attention was drawn to the hands of the old father pressing his returning boy to his chest. I saw forgiveness, reconciliation, healing; I also saw safety, rest, being at home. I was so deeply touched by this image of the life-giving embrace of father and son because everything in me yearned to be received in the way the prodigal son was received. That encounter turned out to be the beginning of my own return. — There is not only the light-filled reconciliation between the father and the younger son, but also the dark, resentful distance of the elder son. There is repentance, but also anger. There is communion, but also alienation. There is the warm glow of healing, but also the coolness of the critical eye, there is the offer of mercy, but also the enormous resistance against receiving it. It didn’t take long before I encountered the elder son in me. —And still, after a long life as son, I know for sure that the true call is to become a father who only blesses in endless compassion, asking no questions, always giving and forgiving, never expecting anything in return. —When, fours years ago, I went to Saint Petersburg to see Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son, I had little idea how much I would have to live what I then saw. I stand with awe at the place where Rembrandt brought me He led me from the kneeling, disheveled young son to the standing, bent-over old father, from the place of being blessed to the place of blessing. As I look at my own aging hands, I know that they have been given to me to stretch out toward all who suffer, to rest upon the shoulders of all who come, and to offer the blessing that emerges from the immensity of God’s love.” And I know that We need to be reconciled to God.