December 29, 2013

Bulletin December 29, 2013

Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3: 12-21; Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23.
I like so many, have celebrated Christmas with my family. I have been privileged that in all the Christmas’s of my life, I have always been with family. Its wonderful being with family, but at times, it’s trying. Today is the Feast of the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. In first century Israel they would have called this the family of Joseph or if they included all the names, a definite rarity, they would say the family of Joseph, his wife Mary and their child Jesus.
Donald Spoto in The Hidden Jesus, A New Life, puts it this way: “Jesus was really born; He was and is a real human being. He is also, once and forever, God’s ultimate self-disclosure. How this can be defies comprehension. But the words of the angel are as good as anyone’s: the struggling believer is promised, with Mary, that the power of the Most High will overshadow us, so that the one who is born in our lives may indeed be the Holy One of God.” And this Holy Family certainly had trying times. But they had each other; just as I am blessed to have ‘each other’ in my family and extended family. So how do I live in family, realizing that God is to be the center of the family?
This quote might sound strange coming from Mother Teresa but it is her meditation for the 1^st Sunday after Christmas; she entitles this No Time To Enjoy. “I think the world today is upside down, and is suffering so much, because there is so very little love in the homes and in family life. We have no time for our children, we have no time for each other; there is no time to enjoy each other. If we could only bring back into our lives the life that Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, it we could make our homes another Nazareth, I think that peace and joy would reign in the world.”
On this feast of the Holy Family the Church unrolls for us the beautiful tapestry on the worth and meaning of the family in the Old and New Testament. The author of the book of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus is Ben Sira. He shares the wisdom that he has gleaned from his family and personal experience on God’s action in everyday life. Now even though life at that time was patriarchal the author still emphasized values that are very important: reverence for parents, both father and mother (it was unusual to include the mother) and the obedience that children owe to their parents. The children he is referring to are the adult children; and they are to take care and show kindness to their father (mother included) in their old age. Being the youngest and watching both my parents in their last days...my dad with Alzheimer’s and my mom with congestive heart failure; also two sisters, their husbands and another brother-in-law and one sister-in-law, watching them in their frailty and suffering brought me even closer to family. Why? How?
Paul really describes this in writing to the Colossians; he calls Christians, “God’s chosen ones” and this brings responsibilities. He shares that realizing that each one is loved and forgiven by God demands that each follower of Jesus relate to the people who are in their lives and come into their lives in the same way. This was still the patriarchal ages yet Paul emphasized love, forgiveness and peacemaking within the intimate context of family. Each one of these words can be very easy and yet ridiculously hard living in family. So what do I have to do to ‘transform’ myself to do this; Paul says it is by love, gentleness and obedience which were a challenge in Paul’s time and today. It’s very important for me, sometimes before family gatherings to reflect on Paul’s message today. “Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, being with one another and forgiving one another. If one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so much you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful.” Yes it is very important that I reflect on these words when family is wonderful and when family is trying.
Now Matthew in recounting this scene in the Holy Family’s life, instead of giving a list of duties, recounts a harrowing tale of their escape from the murderous intent of Herod. Was everything nice and holy in this family? Well they were afraid, looking over the shoulders and running and hiding; not a pretty picture. They had each other. The shadows of the cross certainly hovered over the crib of Jesus. Living the Word says “The danger, in which the child Jesus finds Himself drives home for us the way in God, in the Incarnation, identifies with our human condition. Many families today live in precarious and dangerous situations, whether this as a result of political violence or economic deprivation. Many have to flee their homes, never knowing whether they will be able to return. Some are simply victims of circumstance; others are paying the price of one or more family members standing up for justice. Whatever the reason for their hardship, in Jesus Christ God becomes one with them. Matthew’s story of the trials of the Holy Family reminds us that holiness does not ensure that one’s life will never contain uncertainty. Indeed, if we take the Holy Family as our model, then it seems that holiness—whole-hearted dedication to God’s will for the world—is likely to make one’s life more uncertain, not less. Yet doing the will of God is of such surpassing worth that we should be willing to embrace such uncertainty for its sake.”
So I reflect on:

• Can I see the Holy Family in the homeless and the strangers I come across? How?
  
• Can I see the Holy Family in my own family? How?
  
• In what ways is my own life now, or the life of my family, uncertain or anxious?
  

I found this in The Gospel for Kids and it really applies:

“Are you filled with great joy? Are you happy because you know God loves you? Are you happy because you know the Baby born in Bethlehem lived for you and gave His life in your place so you could live forever with Him? Are you happy because you know Jesus is with you today?

If you are happy today because Jesus is your Savior, you have a clue from God. God’s angel promised joy to all people who heard the good news about the Savior. God knew that His gift to us was a good gift. He knew that Jesus could and would do what had to be done to save all people from their sin.

When you feel joy today because Christ is your Savior, you have a clue from God. You know the gift you have came from Him.”

Gratitude...gratitude...gratitude...if no gratitude, pride sets in!

December 22, 2013

Bulletin December 22, 2013

4^th Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24
These are the days of frenzied chaotic excitement. That’s a mouthful of words and emotions. I, just like all the Christmas believers, am trying to find a few moments of ‘peace’; a few precious moments when I can just sit, be still and reflect on this feast.
One of the great books on Jesus is The Lord written by Romano Guardini in 1954. Pope Benedict who was then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinzer wrote this, “Guardini’s book The Lord has not grown old, precisely because it still leads us to that which is essential, to that which is truly real, Jesus Christ Himself. That is why today this book still has a great mission.’ I have recommended this book for years and now am in my third reading of it; it is a priceless classic and still in print.
Msgr. Guardini has such beautiful words to get me to those areas of peace that this season is all about. He starts out Chapter 3 entitled The Incarnation in this way: “The Christmas liturgy includes these beautiful verses from the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Wisdom: ‘For while all things were in quiet silence and the night was in the midst of her course, thy almighty word leapt down from heaven from thy royal throne...’ The passage, brimming with the mystery of the Incarnation, is wonderfully expressive of the infinite stillness that hovered over Christ’s birth. For the greatest things are accomplished in silence—not in the clamor and display of superficial eventfulness, but in the deep clarity of inner vision; in the almost imperceptive start of decision, in quiet overcoming and hidden sacrifice. Spiritual conception happens when the heart is quickened by love, and the free will stirs to action. The silent forces are the strong forces. Let us turn now to the stillest event of all, stillest because it came from the remoteness beyond the noise of any possible intrusion –from God.”
It comes down to how I view God...and somehow I say that God is ‘up there’ and our faith says that God ‘came down’ to be with us; to be one of us; to show each of us how special we are; to die for us; so that we may forever be with God. This is God’s plan, always has been. How can I comprehend this...I can’t. How did God do this...I read the readings, but again, I have no way of comprehending this. Msgr. Guardini says this that seems to hit the nail right on the head: “...a friend gave me a clue that helped my understanding more than any measure of bare reason. He said: ‘But love does such things!’”
It’s all about God’s love...all the time...to every single person...in every situation that happens...and this is the love that is drawing each person to ‘Love’ Msgr. Guardini says, “None of the great things in human life springs from the intellect, every one of them issues from the heart and its love. If even human love has its own reasoning, comprehensible only to the heart that is open to it, how much truer must this be of God’s love! When it is the depth and power of God that stirs, is there anything of which love is incapable? The glory of it is so overwhelming that to all who do not accept love as an absolute point of departure, its manifestations must seem the most senseless folly.”
‘Love does such things.’ Yes it does. On 11/12/13, a simple day to remember, I was in Target and two very little kids eyed in the back of the store the Christmas decorations. And their faces were radiant: ‘Mommy Christmas...Christmas Mommy.’ I thought, ‘Oh I’m not so sure Mommy was ready for this.’ The kids were...and I reflected on where my excitement was? Am I preparing? Am I thinking about God’s love for me? Am I sharing God’s love of me? ‘But love does such things!’ And God’s love never stops. So where am I in my life and what am I doing?
Christmas is a time for me to focus my attention on this mystery of the Word made flesh, Emmanuel, God-with-us. Can people see God in me? Gerard Manley Hopkins stated it wonderfully, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God” because it is filled with the Spirit of Jesus. But do people see the Spirit of Jesus in me?
Paul gave me direction for my life when he said in the second Reading to the Romans, “Paul, (and I insert my name into these words...Peter) called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God...called to belong to Jesus Christ....called to be holy...” Do I have the eyes of faith of Joseph in the Gospel?
I am called to be Jesus; I am not called to be passive. The special little ones in Target recognized the season...hopefully were aware of Jesus in the crib...in their eyes they saw love. Well in my hectic schedule these next days and today...am I aware that love is happening all around me? Am I aware that many need just the type of love that I am capable of giving? I must take time to look at Christmas through the eyes of the little ones. I must take time to look at Christmas through the eyes of the people still recovering from the Typhoon Haiyan. I must take time to look at Christmas past in my own life and Christmas present too. To do this I must take some precious moments today and Monday and Tuesday, Christmas Eve, and even Wednesday, Christmas Day itself to reflect on God in my life...and...’But love does such things.’ AND BE GRATEFUL AND PRAISE GOD! ! !
So I reflect on:

• Since I know God loves me and needs me to love, do I believe that God will ask of me only what I can do?
  
• Do I react when I feel God is asking me to do more than I can handle; or maybe am I not realizing how God is stretching me and already filling me with His grace to do these things?
  
• Do I trust that God is with me through everything?
  
• Joseph certainly was faced with much that he was unprepared to do, what does his faith and trust show me?
  

Sacred Space 2014 says:

“When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife.

• The humility of Joseph was not something weak or wilting. He followed the word of the Lord and became Mary’s husband. I allow the richness of that word to show me how Joseph was a disciple and see what I might learn from him.
• Attending to his dreams, Joseph took care not to ignore how God was communicating with him. I look to God for a way forward in my problems.” 
  

Bulletin December 15, 2013

3^rd Sunday in Advent A cycle

Isaiah 35:1-6, 10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11
It is ten days to Christmas. When I was young I counted every day and at the same time I knew that I had to be ready but also to be good. Being ready was all the preparation: helping with decorating, doing whatever shopping a little guy would do, paying attention to the Advent Tree and the necessary spiritual preparations especially with going to Confession, as it was known then. I did these but I also was highly charged up but there always was that ‘caveat’: don’t be too anxious, and too ‘rambunctious’ as my mom would say. Well needless to say a few times when the stockings were hung by the fireplace, I had some coal in mine, just a little reminder of my need for living within the moment, my huge need for patience. Today’s readings are about patience from the spiritual perspective which is a call for me to ‘pay attention.’
Isaiah uses patience through the gift of nature by showing the contrast between parched lands and fields blooming with abundant flowers. Carmel and Sharon were noted for their beautiful forest and gorgeous flowers. This contrasts with the desert sands and their exile experiences. Everything seemed bleak to them but Isaiah wants the people to look beyond the exile. One day they will be free, they will return to their homeland, one day they will again realize that they have been formed as God’s people and the experience of the deprivation will make them so much wiser. How many times when I look at what is happening in my life I have that same feeling of bleakness. Thoughts of: Is there any way out, will things change, why am I so negative come to mind. I push out hope and as a result I’m no ‘fun to be around’. I definitely am not exuding the joy of the Lord. Isaiah says God is always present, doesn’t that thought enliven me? I think I don’t want it to, but think if I allow it to be so.
James the author of the second reading today was not one of the two members of the Twelve. He is identified as a “slave of God and of the Lord Jesus.” This probably refers to the third New Testament personage name James, a relative of Jesus who is usually called “brother of the Lord and was a leader of the Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem. Paul said he was one of the “pillars” of the church and is seen in the Acts of the Apostles as the authorized spokesman for the Jewish Christian position in the early Church. Today he is advising ‘patience “until the coming of the Lord.” The newly-baptized Christians were anxiously anticipating Jesus’ return as a king. Five times he uses the word ‘patient’. It is interesting that the English word ‘patient’ comes for the Latin word for suffering. As a little kid waiting for Christmas, waiting for Santa, it was almost like I was suffering. James is urging the people and every Christian to have patience with one another. He is very astute for he recognizes that impatience leads to bad feelings, which jeopardize the very peace that people were working to establish. If I am looked at as being a person who brings Jesus, how can I do this if I come without peace in my life?
In the Gospel, John the Baptist is in prison. It is evident that his confidence has begun to fade. Why isn’t Jesus doing something? There is no evidence that John was a patient man. He spoke ‘point blank’, directly, telling people how to reform their lives. He told this to everyone, tax collectors, soldiers even Herod himself. When Jesus came to him, he declared that Jesus was the ‘Lamb of God.’ Now he was anxious. He was positive that he would soon be put to death. So was Jesus ‘the man’ or is another coming?
Jesus allows His deeds to speak for themselves: what He is doing is what Isaiah prophesized: Faith Catholic describes it in this way “Jesus is the face of God, allowing the blind to see the Father through Him, the deaf to hear God’s saving word through Jesus’ human lips, the lame can walk with our Lord along His way of the cross, the lepers are untouchable no more as Jesus reaches out to them, the Good News is preened and the hope of the Resurrection is strengthened.” What a message for me. Believing in Jesus means that God is accomplishing His work, however slowly it seems to me. Perhaps I am the one that is slowly being Jesus to people who come each day in my life in need of healing, compassion, forgiveness and love. So am I the impatient one like John the Baptist, or am I asking the Spirit for the grace to bring God’s gifts to others?

Fr. Henri Nouwen wrote this in Bread for the World, “Waiting is essential to the spiritual life. But waiting as a disciple of Jesus is not an empty waiting. It is a waiting with a promise in our hearts that makes already present what we are waiting for. We wait during Advent for the birth of Jesus. We wait after Easter for the coming of the Spirit, and after the ascension of Jesus we wait for His coming again in glory. We are always waiting, but it is a waiting in the conviction that we have already seen God’s footsteps.

Waiting for God is an active, alert—yes, joyful---waiting. As we wait we remember Him for whom we are waiting, and as we remember Him we create a community ready to welcome Him when He comes.” So if I am part of creating I must be active in building a body of believers to spread the Good News of God’s love. Am I doing this? So I reflect on:

• How patient am I? How do I develop patience?
  
• How do I encourage and reassure someone who comes to me all worn out?
  
• “Why does Jesus say that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist? Do we feel Jesus was speaking about us, as well?
  
• Am I as much a herald of Jesus’ coming as John was? Am I afraid of being too vocal and demonstrative about Jesus and His part in my life? Why? What might happen if I really announced His presence to my world?
  

Sacred Space 20134 summarizes the gospel so succinctly: “Great as John was, we see that he did not live with pure certainty. He followed in faith even as he allowed good questions to be asked. I pray that I may ask the right questions and, like John the Baptist, always direct them to Jesus.

Jesus does not answer with a statement of authority but points to His actions. I show who Jesus is to me by the way I live, by how I affirm and help the weak and poor.”

Bulletin December 8, 2013

2^nd Sunday of Advent A

Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3: 1-12
Today is the patronal feast of the United States that of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Because today is a Sunday in Advent, this feast of Mary is transferred to tomorrow, Monday. Today the readings are preparing each person for letting God through Jesus and the Spirit reign in each person’s heart. Am I letting this happen?
John the Baptist starts this off like a glass of ice water hitting me in the face or to the world, like a meteor slamming into earth. He shouts at me: ‘The Messiah is here! The Reign of God is at hand! Wake up! Change! Get moving! Do something!’ So in astonishment I ask, ‘What is happening?’ Why the hurry? Who is this Messiah?’ And if I was saying this to the Baptist he would say, ‘What world are you living in? Haven’t you been paying attention? Forever it has been promised us through the prophets that the Messiah, the Promised One, would come and the time in NOW.’ How would I respond to this? These same readings have been proclaimed every three years in cycle A. So that means that I have been hearing these readings about twenty times during my 70 + years. Am I taking them seriously? Let me look at these readings in a very serious tone that will help me this season.
The first reading from Isaiah is one of my favorite Old Testament Readings and one of the great messianic prophecies. Now the people were expecting the messiah who would be from the family of David. Now Isaiah’s experience with the kings of his day left much to be desired. King Ahaz didn’t trust what God said even when Isaiah offered to confirm what God was saying with any sign that the king suggested. King Hezekiah looked on the Bible favorably but he had a real problem in his loyalty to God. Knowing that these two kings certainly didn’t have any messianic qualities, Isaiah had to look to a brighter future which is what he does in prophesying the messiah, an ideal king rising within the dynasty of David. What makes this future king so ideal is that “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.” As the New Jerome Biblical Commentary says, “Yahweh’s spirit was a divine force given to individuals to enable them to fulfill missions otherwise beyond them, as in the case of Moses (Numbers 11:17), the judges (Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29), prophets (Micah 3:8), David (1 Samuel 16:13), and others this king would represent a return to the charismatic tradition so long an ideal in Israel.” AND WHAT gifts would the Spirit give...the same gifts that are bestowed in the Sacrament of Confirmation. They are mentioned in pairs in Isaiah: intellectual gifts – wisdom and understanding; practical gifts – counsel and strength; and religious gifts – spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord. The last gift is listed as piety but literally ‘fear of the Lord’, so this is listed twice. THIS IS THE ORIGIN OF THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
What is the importance of these to me? Well what makes this prophetic new king so ideal to Isaiah is his total cooperation with the Spirit of God, as seen in the acceptance of the gifts received from that Spirit. This king will not be swayed by appearances and hearsay. His decision will be guided by justice and righteousness. Now these gifts I have been given in Confirmation...the gifts are present...have I accepted them? Am I living like I am in possession of these gifts? Am I aware that as a result of my Baptism I have been called and chosen to use my Spirit gifts and all the other gifts that the Spirit has loaded on me through the years to be Jesus and draw people closer to God?

Jesus said that you will ‘know a healthy tree by the fruit that it bears’. So in letting the Spirit work in me and in accepting the gifts so graciously given means that if I exercise these gifts, if I use these gifts people should be able to see in my life their FRUITS. So what are the fruits of the Holy Spirit? The Catholic Catechism says,

“The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: charity...joy...peace... patience...kindness...goodness...generosity...

gentleness...faithfulness...modesty...self-control...chastity.”
So what do I have to wake up and do? Live the gifts ... do I see their fruits in my life? Am I more charitable than I was five years ago? Am I more joyful in being alive and seeing that it is by God’s power and grace that life is worth living? Am I more at peace...if not, what am I allowing to take my peace away? Am I more patient or is in ‘my way or the highway’...I never saw this attitude in Jesus. Am I more kind to the ‘difficult people’; am I more understanding to them’? Do I see that I have gifts to help or do I close myself off? Do people see deep down goodness in me; which means that I have to be satisfied in what God has given me and grateful too. Am I gentle? It is very easy to ‘fly off the handle’ but what good does this do to the person who is watching? Am I faithful in my faith journey and to my religious obligations? Am I faithful to my God? Am I modest in my life style, in my attitude, in my working as ‘God’s helper’? Do I have control over those areas that ‘set me off’ or where I have a ‘thin skin’? What good does it do for people to see in me what they never have seen Jesus do in His life? Am I chaste?
Are these practical YES! Do they need my attention YES! Is this what John the Baptist means when he says, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” YES it is...I can say, ‘I’m, sorry’ but what good is that if I do not change what I was wrong in doing? Is this what Isaiah means when I am to “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths” Yes it is because the person in front of me is the person in need and if I am not preparing them then I’m not a follower of Jesus. I am negligent in loving.
Fr. David Knight in Living God’s Word says “St. Paul teaches that the source of our unity as a community is our common effort and encouragement of each other to live out what we believer. We will neither always agree on what we should do nor succeed in doing it; but if we have patience and encourage one another, we will be able to live in harmony ‘in accordance with Christ Jesus.’ To accept our humanness means accepting ourselves as imperfect and incomplete yet intended to grow toward perfection. Jesus, this shoot growing up from the ‘stump of Jesse,’ represents God’s power acting in human events; this gives us hope.’”

So I reflect on Sacred Space 2013:

• “I may feel uncomfortable when confronted with John’s call to repentance, but I let myself listen, acknowledging that I am a sinner in need of God’s mercy. If I cannot admit this, Advent is not for me.
• God does not want me to passively receive the Word. I work with God, preparing the way in my life, expectant and hopefully watching for God’s approach.”

Bulletin December 1, 2013

1^st Sunday of Advent Cycle A

Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44
I find it so amazing and awesome, how sheltered a life I live. In this age of modern communications I hear immediately what is happening all over the world and in my own community. I know where there are traffic jams via radio and phone if I want to ask. I know what the weather will be and the Weather Channel alerts me to all the impending storms. The five different doctors that I go to tell me everything that is going on inside of my body and tell me what I have to do to maintain good health. I, like so many others, live a secure life. And Jesus is telling me today that no matter what signs appear in my life, I do not know and will not know when the Lord will come and my death will come or when the Lord will come at the end of time to usher in the Parousia. So I ask: what am I putting off in my life that I just don’t want to tackle yet but I know I need to do to ‘be ready for the Lord?’
Now it is important for me to keep reminding myself that what I am preparing for are the joys of heaven, so why am I looking at my preparatory process as drudgery? There is an interesting part of St. Augustine’s life that parallel’s my journey, each person’s journey and the readings on this first Sunday of Advent. Augustine shares the story of his conversion in The Confessions. For a long time he totally occupied himself in a worldly and wild lifestyle. His mother, St Monica, prayed and prayed for his conversion. But a part of Augustine still kept him from giving himself completely to God. One day he heard a child playing a game that involved the constant repeating of these words in Latin, Tolle et lege...tolle et lege...which means ‘Take up and read’. Augustine opened Scriptures randomly to a page and put his finger on the verse from Paul today, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” Was this luck that he opened to this passage or what? I believe that there are no coincidences with God; He is always leading everyone closer to Himself and helps each in amazing ways.
Paul is encouraging each person to recognize that we are in the end-time. Who knows when each person will be called, so ‘be prepared.’ Jesus said the same in the Gospel, “Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” As I look at myself there is so much that I have to review:

• I am to put off the ‘deeds of darkness’ which Paul says are my evil deeds.
  
• I am to put off those acts, thoughts or feelings that are not consistent with me being Jesus to others.
  
• I am to put off those sins especially the ones of habit that I really don’t want to address, but which hinder my realizing the Lord’s love of me.
  
• I am to put off whatever robs me of peace and joy.
  
• I am to put off all that negativity that brings out bad things in my judging of others and me.
  
• I am to put off all those regrets and ‘should of’s that have long been forgiven by God and to live in the present by being Jesus.
  

• Am I to put on the ‘armor of light’ God’s armor to protect myself...this involves being truthful, honest, being ready to spread the Gospel of love and hope and be constant and consistent in my prayer life.
  
• Paul tells me to put on the virtues in Colossians 3:12-15, “...heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another, as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.”
  
• I must concentrate on being in the present, that’s the only time I really have, the gift of this present moment will never come again.
  

There is much to do and it starts with the now of this moment. For years I have been praying this prayer of St. Augustine each day, it helps me:
“Late have I loved You, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved You! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for You. In my unloveliness, I plunged into the lovely things which You created. You were with me, but I was not with You. Created things kept me from You; yet if they had not been in You they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and You broke through my deafness. You flashed, You shone, and You dispelled my blindness. You breathed Your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for You. I have tasted You, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for Your peace. When once I shall be united to You with my whole being, I shall at last be free of sorrow and toil. Then my life will be alive, filled entirely with You. When You fill someone, You relieve him of his burden, but because I am not yet filled with You, I am a burden to myself. My joy when I would be weeping struggles with my sorrows when I should be rejoicing. I know not where victory lies. Woe is me! Lord, have mercy on me! My evil sorrows and good joys are at war with one another. I know not where victory lies. Woe is me! Lord have mercy! Woe is me! I make no effort to conceal my wounds. You are my physician, I Your patient. You are merciful; I stand in need of mercy....All my hope lies in Your great mercy.” So I come to this Advent season and each day try to find a few moments in all the craziness and running around to be still and to let God be God to me and me to bring me to my loving God. So I reflect on:

• What will become most important in my life if I truly live as if I were preparing for the coming of God at my end time and/or the end time of the world?
  
• Are my priorities in line with Gospel based values?
  
• What unimportant or distracting elements of my life need to be left behind?
  

Sacred Space 2014 makes some practical points:

“Staying awake means noticing and being alert. As I take time to pray I allow the things I have been too busy to see to come to my notice.

Looking ahead, I consider what might help me remain alert.”

Lord increase my longing for You each day!

November 24, 2013

Bulletin November 24, 2013 C

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

2 Samuel 5:1-3; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23: 35-43
Who is God to me? Who is Jesus to me? I find it way to easy to be so involved in my own ‘little world’ that I easily lose sight not only of God’s constant presence and interaction in the world but of the need God has for me to be Jesus. I find this to be the bottom line meaning of the readings on this feast of Christ the King.
In the first reading the tribes from Israel came to David wanting him to be their king. What had happened was that Saul was engaged in a war with the Philistines. The Philistines were soundly beating Saul and his troops and they fled to Mount Gilboa where the Philistines caught up with them and killed Saul and his sons, Jonathan included. David at the same time had a successful campaign against the Amalekites and heard of Saul’s death and went to Hebron where he was named king of that area and Ishbaal, a son of Saul, was named king over Israel. Two years later Ishbaal was killed in combat which led the tribes of Israel to come to David asking him to be their king. They used unusual words to say this: “In days past, when Saul our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.’” So even though it was the people who anointed David as their king, they believed that it was really God who had chosen him. Not only was he ‘kin’ to them but also they characterized his as a shepherd because shepherds were familiar with and personally concerned about their flocks. What does this tell me about Jesus and the Father? Jesus continued the shepherd theme continually by saying ‘I am the Good Shepherd’...’I know my sheep’...a good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.’ This is God...this is the love of the Father...this is the love of Jesus saying ‘yes’ to come and suffer and die for each and every person, to die for me, to redeem all from their sins. That’s why I and each person can say, ‘I am a sinner...I am a redeemed sinner...I am a loved, redeemed sinner. This is what God did, where is my gratitude?
And Jesus added that the ‘good shepherd’ left the 99 sheep to go out after one lost sheep and bring it back and St. Luke gave witness to this in describing the last moments of Jesus life on the cross. Even amid all the cruelty, rejection and hatred all around Him, one criminal calls on Jesus to save the three of them hanging there in death’s throws. But the other criminal recognizes that Jesus is the innocent one who is “passing over into His kingdom” and asks that Jesus take him there. In some of the most beautiful and tender words that I love to reflect on, Jesus says, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” This is what God’s love is all about...this is the proof of God’s love and Jesus’ love. Now what am I to do with this?
Paul takes this love and praises the divine character of Jesus rather than His human nature. Paul characterizes Christ in several ways; each reference adding a significant dimension to how each person can come to an understanding of Him. As Living the Word explains, “He is a visible manifestation of the invisible God. He enjoys priority in time and primacy in importance. He is the agent through whom all was created, and He is also the goal of all creation. He holds all things together. He is the agent of reconciliation. The sacrificial deal of the human Jesus becomes the means though which the cosmic Christ reconciles all of creation with God.” AND this is what it is all about...Jesus died for me...for every person...Jesus came to tell me and every person of God’s love and not only that but that He wants and needs each person through their gifts and love to be Jesus to each person, every day, all the time. This is the way, the only way that I and each and every person can obtain heaven and be with God. THIS IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT....

Alice Camille a wonderful spiritual writer writes this in her weekly column explaining the Weekly Readings, “’Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’ Paradise can seem a long way off, depending on where you’re sitting. Yet even from the cross, Jesus views Paradise as an event happening later today. Such faith is astonishment to us, so we want to brush it away by saying, ‘Well, of course, he’s Jesus.’ Then we have to take into account that Jesus is in conversation with another crucified man, a criminal not less. And it’s this poor schmuck—who has no reason to hope for anything at all—who’s initiated the talk of Paradise and is assured he’ll be there shortly.

This leaves us with no excuse but to admit that our lack of faith has no rationale to hide behind. Even when our prospects seem pretty dim, the fulfillment of every hope is a stone’s throw from here: from the midterm exam room and the college rejection notice, from the marital argument and the divorce filing, from the grueling job and the pink slip, from the courtroom and the prison cell, from the doctor’s office and the chemo waiting, from the confessional and the deathbed. Wherever we are, Paradise is within reach.” And she gives these three questions for reflection:

• “How many chapters has your life had so far? What do you carry from one episode of life to the next?
  
• How do you signal your acceptance of the divine invitation?
  
• How do you foster an attitude of hope in every circumstance?”
  

And I continue to reflect on:

• Do I sometimes deny my beliefs, as the first criminal did in this gospel passage?
  
• How do I act as the good criminal and realize the great gift given me through the death and resurrection of Jesus?
  
• Do I believe God is an all-merciful God all the time?
  
• Is there someone with whom I need to reach in reconciliation?
  

And Sacred Space 2013 continues:

“Glamour and splendor mark the presence of earthly royalty. Jesus is not recognizable as King to those expecting power or glory. We need to train ourselves to look for signs of Jesus’ reign. His real identity can be seen only by the humble.

The ‘good thief’ saw things as they were: he knew his own sinfulness; he recognized Jesus’ character; he asked for little yet was rewarded for his honesty. Humility brings a true perspective and is the ground for meeting God. I pray for humility.”

November 17, 2013

33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Malachi 3:19-20; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19
How am I living in the now? God has mapped out a plan for me...am I aware of my gifts and living my life in a way that my gifts are being shared? What will my life be like after I die? What am I going to do after I die? What are my obligations to God...to the people in my life...to myself? Do I feel that death is going to avoid me? Am I living in this way? These last Sundays in the Church year are times when the liturgies say, ‘Stop’...’Reflect on your life and your death; be in contact with God and the ‘End Time.’
When I was young I never thought that I would live to be 72; that is where I’m at now. I certainly never thought that God would bring me through all these priestly experiences and that I would be thinking of the afterlife a lot more. I had this ‘invincible feeling’ to some degree that ‘when I got old’ I could start being more realistic about my ‘future’ with God. I love the quote of Pope John XXIII from retreat when he was 76: ‘It is time to start simplifying my life.’
Michael Kent in Bringing the Word to Life states: “Where is your heart? Do your relationships with others help, or prevent, you from being a true disciple of Christ? How do you view the things you own? Are you so concerned about your possessions that little else matters in life, especially the state of your soul? What might you need to renounce to fulfill your Christian destiny and become a more loving person? Is it your vindictiveness, laziness, stubbornness; your need to have the last word or have things always go your way? Might you even need to renounce your depression, always feeling sorry for yourself, or thinking only of your own problems? Be willing to detach yourself from whatever restricts your loving spirit.”
Paul is giving his readers this example of himself: ‘his own conduct is beyond reproach...he has not presumed upon the hospitality of others...he is not a financial burden to people; he works hard and tells others to do so.’ Why is Paul saying this? It could be that since some people thought that Jesus’ final coming was imminent, why should they work, why not just wait for the Lord? Paul is saying that it’s good to be ready for the Lord, but that means obeying the Lord in every area of their lives: in their prayer life, in their work life and in their family life. That’s why he is putting himself up as an example.
In Luke’s gospel, which was written after Mark and Matthew’s, the expectation of the second coming had diminished. They still believed that the end was coming but it was clear that the Church would have to live in the present world for the foreseeable future. Jesus addresses this issue as He looks on the beauty of the temple. He tells each person that they must be attentive to the signs of the times. There will be persecutions how will each person: are they going to give up or give in to the pressures of the ruling countries? There will be betrayal by families and friends who give up on the way and teachings of Jesus; does that mean that people disregard what Jesus said?
Jesus says that there will be much evil in the world which will attempt to allure all Christians from the ‘Christian way. The way to live and react to this is to always be grounded in Jesus and in the faith. It comes down to how am I being a person of God?

I read this Anonymous tale: “There was once a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions. The servant returned a short time later, white and trembling.

‘Master,’ he cried, ‘just now when I was in the market place I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw that it was Death that jostled me! She looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Please, lend me your horse, so that I can ride away from this place and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra there Death will not find me.’

The merchant lent him his horse and the terrified servant mounted the animal, dug his spurs into its flanks and galloped away as fast as he could.

The merchant then went into the market place and saw, standing in the crowd, the woman who had terrified his servant.

‘Why did you make such a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?’

Death replied, ‘That was not a threatening gesture. It was a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.’”
Jay Cormier the editor of Connections says this: “We foolishly believe that somehow death does not apply to us, that we are invincible, that we will go on forever. But, as Jesus warns us in the terrifying images of today’s Gospel, the time we are given in this life is precious – God gives us this gift of life to embrace and be embraced by the love that is uniquely of God. Jesus calls us not to be obsessed with the ‘stones’ that will one day collapse and become dust but to seek instead the lasting things of the soul, the things of God. May love that never ends, compassion that never fades, forgiveness that never falters be the focus of our journey to the eternal dwelling place of God.” So I reflect on:

• Why do people seem to get caught up in following an errant person that leads people away from God? Does this ever attract me?
  
• I look back at the times that I have been challenged or threatened by others because of my belief in Christian values: some just wanted to start a fight...some wanted an approval for the contrary way of life they were living and thus wanted to make a ‘fool’ of me...some just enjoyed the ‘world, the flesh and the devil’. Did I rely on the Spirit’s grace and power or did I rely on myself?
  

In all of the craziness that exists in my life and in my world and in the world and in all the chaos that the devil distracts me with Jesus told me and each person to go to Him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” This will not always be clear or apparent. It doesn’t come without work. It really does require great perseverance. Jesus has said repeatedly that each person much continue to build their lives on the timeless things of God: compassion, forgiveness, generosity, reconciliation and love. The devil brings hopelessness, God brings life without end.

Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. Pope John XXIII 

November 10, 2013

Bulletin November 10, 2013
32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time C
2 Maccabees 7: 1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Luke 20: 27-38
During my priesthood I’ve encountered people who said there was no heaven and earth, but they said, ‘I try to live a good life.’ Knowing that you can never win an argument, I still asked them, ’could you explain to me what you mean by a good life. ‘ ‘Well, I try not to get in people’s way...I try to be nice to people...I try to respect people...I try and if it works, fine...if it doesn’t I just continue on in my life doing what I feel and generally keeping the laws of society.’ It was an honest answer, but to me it seemed like this person just went through the motions, and really wasn’t that concerned with others. I wondered if this man’s life was inspiring to people who lived and worked with him? Did he show care and compassion...did he go out of his way...did he feel that ‘I only walk this way once, and I can be an influence to help those who watch and follow me?’ It was hard for me to see that he lived for anyone else but himself. I certainly can be wrong...but his response made me think about the first reading from the Book of Maccabees.
The book recounts the efforts of a very religious family forced to go against the Jewish dietary laws. After the death of Alexander the Great, Syria controlled the East, yet the influences of the Greek culture and customs were still very strong. And very many of the Israelites ‘compromised’ their Jewish faith to go along with the new rulers. In today’s reading, royal officers attempted to bully a Jewish family to violate its dietary laws by eating pork. Even with the threat of torture and death, seven brothers bravely defended their faith. They said so eloquently that they put their faith in God. Even though they could be deprived of life on earth they would live on in the realm of God. There is no question that they were martyrs for their faith and are with God. Countless thousands, millions even with similar stories are a part of the history of Christianity.
In the Gospel the Sadducees are the ones challenging Jesus; this party is only mentioned in the New Testament. They were a group within Judaism that had members that belonged to the priestly aristocracy coupled with their dependents and supporters. They were more religious than political and were influential because of their wealth and contacts. Their faith was based on the Torah, the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). Since there is no mention of resurrection of the dead in these books, they rejected it. So they come to Jesus with their inane question. They certainly thought that this would make Jesus look foolish. And Jesus talks about false prophets...those who feel they know the ‘right way’, and their way is the right way not matter what...’my way right or wrong.’
Living the Word has a fascinating reflection: “To get the full impact of the first reading, I strongly suggest you go to your Bible and read Second Maccabees, Chapter 7 (where today’s first reading is from). You wonder what the mother of the Maccabees would have said to the Sadducees trying to trap Jesus over belief in the resurrection of the body. How would this woman, who watched the thugs of a sadistic king cruelly torture with whips and scourges her seven sons over their refusal to eat pork, ever have been able to encourage her sons to remain faithful to God’s law without a belief in the resurrection? This belief was her rock. It justified her taking the long view, that their death, in fidelity to God, gives way to a bodily resurrection.”
It’s also good to go back and to look at the different Creeds (Apostles and Nicene) which specify what faith in God is all about. It is good to reflect on Jesus telling us that He was sent to tell us that God loves every single person ever created and God wants every single person to be in heaven with Him. Jesus said this and proved God’s love by the sacrifice of His life which redeemed every person. Can we understand this? A spiritual classic which really should be read by everyone interested in getting to know God deeper is the Cloud of Unknowing. The author says, “...God can be loved, but not thought”...and he suggests that ‘we only begin to know God when we realize that we do not know Him and cannot know Him in any full way in this life.’ So God, by gifting us with faith and so many, many gifts, asks each, ‘Will you trust me in this?’
I find it so comforting that my life has a purpose...I find it very reassuring to know that I have a God who cares for me and for what I do for Him...I find it especially consoling to know that this God wants me to be in heaven with Him...I find it exceedingly encouraging that God has given me gifts so that in using them to touch others, and in believing in Jesus and living His way, I will be in heaven with Him. I find it awesome that I have a part to play and that I am not a ‘nothing’ but that I am loved. ‘Hope’ is the key word here. St Paul reminded the Romans in 8:22-25, “We were saved by this hope, and let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we do not yet see. For whoever hopes when he can see? But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience.” (The New Testament in Modern English, J.B. Phillips) AND our faith promises us that ‘we will be with God.’ For this reason the title of Bishops Fulton Sheen’s TV program is so apropos: Life is Worth Living! So I reflect on:
Living the Word asks:

• “What does belief in the resurrection of the body tell you about God?
  
• What does it tell you about your own body? Does it have any implications for how you treat your body?”
  

• I find it interesting to reflect on the people who are my friends. I had very different impressions of some when I first met them...I certainly misjudged them...now they are special. How can I learn to overcome my initial prejudicial behavior?
  
• Thanksgiving and Christmas are quickly coming on the scene...am I putting more value on my worldly concerns versus my preparing for the kingdom of God?
  
• Sacred Space 2013 tells me to “...pray with compassion for all those whose reason and intelligence is missing the humility to accept the truths that faith uncovers. I give thanks for the intuitions and insights that have been given to me.”
  

A good exercise today is to sit and make a list of my good and bad characteristics. How can I use the good ones to overcome the ones that are less desirable?

November 3, 2013

Bulletin
31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Wisdom 11:22-12:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10
This is a wonderful time of year in the Church’s readings and celebrations. All Saints day was celebrated on Friday. This is the day the every person in heaven is honored. God is praised for guiding them and sending people who enabled them to be people of faith. This allowed them to realize that they were gifted and loved by God and then they could live as Jesus taught them and then be ‘Jesus’ to people. This group is not only the ‘famous ones’ but the not so famous but famous, exemplary and inspiring to so many; people like our parents, grandparents, relatives, friends: all the holy people God has placed in our lives. I think when we pray to them we should use their title; like St. Mom, St. Dad, St. Grandma, St. Grandpa etc.
On Saturday, the feast of All Souls was celebrated; these are those people who will be in heaven, the time to be determined by God. They are now going through purification in love to be in heaven with the Lord. So many of these people touched each one of us and loved us. Both these groups and the people in them are the reason why I and each believer is the person we are: they were examples of self-sacrificing love and taught us to be the same. God be praised. The month continues with the celebration of Thanksgiving...and each person has so much to be thankful for: especially a God who is ‘crazy in love with ‘me’ individually and each of His creation. It’s a shame that I have to be reminded that I am to be thankful and to praise God for His love daily.
The readings today keep me focused on the reason why I am here, the reason why I was created: to be with God forever in all eternity with all God’s loved people. The first reading is from the Book of Wisdom; now previous traditions envisioned God’s creation and shared stories of its foundation and maybe God wasn’t involved. Today Solomon depicts the Creator as being personally present with every dimension of the world. God’s power is seen but also it is coupled with His love and mercy. As Living the Word shares, “Just as the power of the Creator is matched by the love of the Creator, so is this love manifested through mercy. God is merciful precisely because God is powerful. Finally the author claims that the imperishable sprit of God is in all things.” The author looks at the exodus to show signs of the ways of God. The overall theme is that God is gracious and merciful. For those who trust in God, His love and blessings are overflowing; for those who resist God or deny God, He withholds His blessings. And we cannot take anything for granted...just that God cares for each person, but does each person let God be God to them? Do I? How can I ‘let go and let God’?
Paul is writing to the Thessalonians and reminds them that God has called them, as God has called each person to Himself, and Paul is praying that each one remains faithful and worthy to this calling. Again, Living the Word expresses it in this way, “(Paul) states that thought they are obliged to live ethical lives, it is the prior grace of God and not their ethical behavior that saves them. He further teaches an ‘already-but-not-yet’ form of eschatology (teachings about the end-times). Thought the eschatological day of the Lord is imminent, it is not yet present. Believers must continue to live their lives in patient anticipation of Christ’s coming, realizing that they do so in His presence, for He has already come.” So I have to live my faith. I do this by showing my belief and trust in God; in my following all the commandments and the commands of love and in being Jesus. In concentrating on this I don’t have to worry about rumors or fearful times or events that try to tell me that God doesn’t care. He does, that’s why I am here and why each person has been created.
And the wonderful story of Zacchaeus; I remember on my first pilgrimage to Jericho, seeing the ‘tree’ that legend says Zacchaeus climbed. It doesn’t matter if this was the actual one, what mattered in my life was that Zaccheus was responding to the grace of the Spirit to come closer to Jesus. The Spirit does this to each person: come closer to Jesus...learn from Him...let Him love you and show you how to live and to love. The wonder of the story is that it doesn’t matter what has happened in my past or anyone’s past, God comes and is calling...so come. Tax collectors were known for their greed and their exploitation of the people in their ‘tax district’. They cared about themselves. Now Zacchaeus was very wealthy so he was very successful. Normally, Luke would have been very harsh with him as he is with other tax collectors, but he shows the curiosity of this man. Was this the Spirit gently urging Zacchaeus to come closer, to learn more about Jesus, I definitely think so? The Spirit does this to each person, do I, do we respond? OR am I, are we, more concerned with ourselves and our ‘riches’ as Zacchaeus? And Jesus does the shocking thing of inviting this man down because He wants to ‘come to his house.’ God wants to enter the ‘house’ of me and each person, do I let Him. I remember in my bedroom as a youngster was the painting of Jesus knocking at the door of a thatched hut and He was touching His Sacred Heart...there was not doorknob; it had to be opened from the inside. The symbolism was very clear to me then and now: I am reminded over and over; I have to open my heart to Jesus who always is knocking and wanting to enter and fill me and bring me closer.
Jesus wanted a change of heart from Zacchaeus and he changed his heart; Jesus wants a change in my heart and each person...this is what conversion is...converting to the ways of God, the ways of love. So I ask how I am doing. So I reflect on:

• Do I base my opinion of others on superficial appearances? Am I ready to let go of the stereotypes that cloud my judgment of others?
  
• I can so easily condemn or be very critical of others for their actions. Can I see in the power of prayer for them a way to see them as God sees them, people to be loved?
  
• God sees everything, He sees the good and the bad and respects and loves all. Am I ready to offer others the care, concern and love that Jesus gives me each day?
  
• How do I invite Jesus into my life? How do I express my thankfulness for His gifts and love?
  
• Do I allow myself to let Jesus point out the gifts and talents He has given me and how I might best use them in His service?
  

October 27, 2013

Bulletin October 27, 2013
30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Sirach 35: 12-14, 16-18; 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18; Luke 18: 9-14
So what does the Lord think of me? I’ve been asked this question numerous times over the years; I’ve asked it of myself too. When I hear this I ask, ‘How do you feel about yourself?’ For the most part the response is ‘Not so good.’ And my hunch is that the person, I too, want the Lord to agree with the way that I feel about myself. Yet I say so often, ‘The Lord is absolutely crazy about you every single moment.’ How hard it is for me to say that the Lord is crazy in love with me every single moment.’ The readings today help me so much to see how God sees me and each individual.
The Book of Sirach was formerly called Ecclesiasticus which was a title reflecting its popularity as a source of practical wisdom for people wanting to advance in the spiritual life. The present title is the name of the author who wrote this book in Hebrew in the early part of the second century BC. A grandson of the author translated the work into Greek. What they both maintained was that “the law which Moses commanded us” (the Ten Commandments) was the best summary of wisdom, of advancing in the spiritual life. It tells how God thinks of me and each person: God is not influenced by earthly standards. God shows no partiality at all; God judges each person by ‘his or her character as a loyal servant of heaven.’ The author says that God has no favorites, as I do, as everyone has, but treats each person the same...the author doesn’t include love in this...but it certainly is very strongly implied. So I reduce the passage in my words to this: God just plain loves me and asks, ‘How are you keeping MY commandments?’ He says that God hears every one of my prayers but am I allowing God to change my heart in prayer? Am I listening to God leading me each day to be more a person of love and care for all? I celebrate Mass very often, it is a deep privilege, but do I come out the same way I went in? Am I living what God is gently filling me with: His love and concern for each person or is my life dominated by myself?
Paul shares how his conversion or change of heart brought him to see that God cared for him as God cares for each person, and that God is changing us to be His people. There will be sufferings but these can partner each person in the suffering of Christ that brought salvation to Paul and me and every person of all time. Am I allowing God to be God in me?
Luke gives us Jesus’ wonderful example of two people at prayer. Both came into the temple and left the temple and looked the same to anyone watching. But which one allowed God to change them? The tax collector realized God is the God of love, mercy and justice; the Pharisee did not. The Pharisee directed his prayer at himself and his accomplishments rather than his awe and humility and gratitude in being in the presence of God and acknowledging His care for him. I remember listening in rapt attention to Fr. Raymond Brown, an eminent Scripture scholar, who said that ‘if no change occurs as a result of prayer, then one has not really prayed.’ I have reflected on this often and still need to do so.
Everything the Pharisee said in his prayer was true: he fasted twice a week, yet one only had to fast once a year on the Day of Atonement. He did tithe on everything he owned, yet the law required that he only had to tithe on the products of crops and flocks. Yet this Pharisee never addressed how God has led him; how God has been present to him and how belief and love of God had made him a better person. He stands in prayer before God in gratitude but shifts pretty quickly to “I”...he was the one who did it all...God did nothing. And Jesus responds to this: “I tell you, the latter (the tax collector) went home justified, not the former (Pharisee); for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Living the Word states: “To be justified is to be in right relationship with God; it is a gift of God. Asking that God be merciful puts us in a right relationship with God.”
So how does God judge me? It comes down to ‘how am I showing love?’ In the gospel I see the proud and demanding face of the Pharisee and the humble, grateful face of the tax collector. I can so easily have both those faces unless I take time to reflect on how I am doing in loving God, others and myself. I can easily wear a mask and hide who I am and what I should be; I can avoid using my talents and gifts and tell people all about ‘me’. I can easily ‘look away’ at the needs of those around me which puts me in a ‘class ahead’ or over them. Jay Cormier in Connections gives this challenging assessment of the Gospel message: “In our own time and place, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is played out not so much as a lack of humility before God but as a lack of awareness of the needs, hopes and cries for help of those around us whom we have dismissed as ‘lesser’ creatures because they do not meet some dubious standard that society or culture has deemed critical to one’s success or status. Worse, perhaps, we sometimes patronize others as objects of charity, vehicles for making us feel good about ourselves; we fail to realize that they are our brothers and sisters who deserve our help for no other reason that they are, like us, children of God. That is Gospel humility: to realize that all the blessings we have received are the result of the depth of God’s love and not because of anything we have done to deserve it. Faced with such a realization, all we can do is to try and return that love to those around us, to care for this world we all share and for one another as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the same loving God.” So I reflect on:

• Does God really want me bowing my head and beating my breast?
  
• Where is the line in me between self-acceptance, self-esteem and self absorption?
  
• Can humility be learned? Or has God already shown me this and I have not listened?
  
• How are humility and forgiveness related?
  
• There is a great phrase, “Live simply so others my simply live.” Is this a part of my life?
  

Sacred Space 2013 sums up, “I allow my prayer to be, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ I identify myself without excuses, and I address myself to God, confident of being met with love and mercy.

Jesus cautions me against anything that elevates me or sets me apart from others. I ask God to help me to be aware of any attitudes or words that demean other people.”

October 20, 2013

Bulletin October 20, 2013
29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Exodus 17: 8-13; 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:2; Luke 18:1-8
I do not know when God will respond to my prayers, my pleas, my urgent petitions, my normal and continual prayers so I must continue forever, if it takes that long. So why am I upset that God doesn’t answer me immediately? Jesus responded by giving this parable to His disciples, those who already believed in Him and He told them to “pray always without becoming weary.”
It is interesting that Luke tells the point of the parable before he tells the parable. He does this not to give the story away but to reiterate the importance of the message. The story brings out what can be called the irresistible force meeting the immovable object and who will win...the bottom line is that God does hear me, loves me and constantly is helping me, but am I listening and am I seeing what God is doing for me? And this is true of every single person.
Now the people listening to Jesus were mostly ‘country folk’...farmers, fishermen and the like. They knew the stories about cities. They are “impersonal places where hard and cynical people take advantage of the weak.” So enters the story of the judge who doesn’t care about people...would he care about me...absolutely not, no matter what my plight was. It seems that God isn’t in his life since he “doesn’t fear God” nor does he respect people for their accomplishments, hard work or their sufferings. He cares about himself and ‘he is the boss.’ He certainly is the immovable object and it certainly seems that he prides himself in this. No one can do anything to change his mind. Now enters the irresistible force, this poor widow who was a member of one of the most oppressed classes in Israelite society. She needs help and it is urgent. No member of her family is there to help; her friends have no means to help and she is reduced to begging at best. Help! She does have one thing in her favor and that is she is asking for justice; she is in the right and the judge certainly would be the one to help her. But her odds are not good. Incidentally the Hebrew word for widow means ‘one who has no voice.’ Yet that’s all she has and she keeps on coming. She is not shy nor can she be put off.
John Shea in Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers says this, “The justice that should be given because he is a judge is only given because the widow is relentless. However, more than sheer nagging may be at work. Scholars say ‘wear me out’ is literally translated, ‘give me a black eye,’ ‘Giving a black eye’ is an image for tarnishing a reputation. A judge is supposed to give justice and he does not want to be known for not giving justice. This woman’s persistence will show him up as an unjust judge. He does not want this. He wants the pretense of justice on the outside even though he is not committed to justice on the inside. He wants to be known as just. This hypocrisy is a key piece of information.”
Now Jesus steps in and compares God not to the ‘judge’ who does not want to listen to the ‘just’ concerns of the widow making him an “dishonest judge” but to the God of love and care and concern. Jesus describes God “Will not God then secure the rights of His chosen ones who call out to Him day and night? Will He be slow to answer them? I tell you, He will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.” God brings the justice and love and compassion that the world does not give. So the question is why does it seem that God sometimes takes such a long time? And Jesus asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” So He wants me to check out my faith in God: how deep is my faith...does my faith depend on ‘speed’...does my faith depend on ‘having it my way’...does my faith mean ‘me, me, and me’ or is it about ‘not my way but God’s way’?
Msgr. Eugene Lauer, my teacher at Notre Dame Sabbatical gives an interesting approach to this by way of a riddle: “At what point does every prayer go unanswered?” I had to really think about this. The fact is that every prayer goes unanswered when I decide to stop praying. If I decided that I gave God enough time and evidentially He doesn’t care or is not concerned about me and my concern, then ‘forget it’. But if I continue to pray then my prayers will never go unanswered. The bigger question is: why do I give up? Do I feel that God doesn’t care? Do I feel that He is punishing me because I’m not the person I should be? Does He play favorites and I’m certainly not one? Msgr. Lauer concludes in this way, “In a sophisticated modern society there is a tendency to call people who never give up, who keep on struggling even when there seems to be no reasonable hope of success, fools. ‘Be realistic. Why waste your time and energy that way?’ Many fine people in the racial justice movement, the women’s movement, the Third World liberation movement, seem to be ‘foolish’ in this way. Perhaps they are fools, ‘fools for the sake of the kingdom of God.’ And they know the answer to the riddle.”
I say it is about faith and I ask how deep my faith is. I look at the struggles I had just to get where I am today...God did this...it is His grace and love. So many, many people have inspired me because they continued and each ‘tough step’ made their commitment and its dream idyllic and an inspiration. So it is with our ‘journey of faith’, God tests us to purify us and bring us to the ‘end of our journey’...heaven. And I need these tests to be stronger and more faith filled and definitely more loving. Looking at it in this way, persistence in prayer is the only way, or the way to realize God’s closeness and love. So I reflect on:

• What areas of injustice do I see in the world...in my world? Am I doing anything about it with the gifts I have been given?
  
• Do I pray that God’s justice, meaning the grace to be in right relationship with God, others, oneself, and my world, more a part of my prayer life?
  
• How do I discern what needs I should take to God in prayer, and which needs are unhealthy or selfish or not good for me?
  
• Do I continually reflect on my needs and which of these are really important and bring them to God?
  

Sacred Space 2013 asks me “As I pray, listen for the deeper note that may underlie what I say and hear how God responds to me. Jesus tells the parable so we may not lose heart. I listen for the voice of Jesus.” speaking to me, urging me to persist.”

October 13, 2013

Bulletin: October 13, 2013
28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
2 Kings 5: 14-17; 2 Timothy 2: 8-13; Luke 17: 11-19
It seems that every year the Gospel reading a month or so before Thanksgiving is an account of the ten lepers that Jesus healed and one, the Samaritan, the only one that returned and thanked Jesus. Why does the Church give us the same gospel on Thanksgiving Day? For myself, I can never be reminded enough of my need to say ‘Thanks’ to God. If I said thank you every minute of every day from now till the day I die, I would still never have said ‘thank you’ enough for God’s gifts and love in my life. So I need to hear these gospels and need to pass on some reflections on them.
I love the story of the cure of Naaman, but we only hear three verses of the story, the whole version is the whole fifth chapter of 2 Kings, verses 1-27...I need to read the whole story over and over. Please read the whole story...it is filled with gratitude, but also filled with the power of God’s word to heal...and a surprising end when one tries to ‘take advantage’ of God’s goodness. I do not think that the ‘rest of the story’ of Naaman is ever read in the Sunday or daily readings. It’s better to read this, my own interpretation would limp. Another point I love about the story of Naaman is the role of the ‘little ones’, the unimportant people, insignificant people, who delivered the message of healing. It was the servants who convinced Naaman to listen to Elisha and stop being so huffy about washing in the Jordan instead of the beautiful rivers back home. Who am I to be the determinant of the person God ‘really sends’ with His message...do I feel it has to be this person, from this social strata or importance? Then I ‘program’ God and make Him the God that I want Him to be...how bold can I be? How bold the devil wants me to be. This creeps into my prayer when I ask God to ‘help this person’ or myself and ‘tell Him, now this is the way I want You to do this.’ Msgr. Chet Michael says, “Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude....If I’m not grateful pride sets in.” Another constant reminder I need in front of me every day; .Lord help me with this.
In the Gospel is the cure of leprosy. This was a disease that completely alienated the person from society. The Dictionary of the Bible describes it in this way: “The disease now called leprosy, the scourge of medieval Europe and still common in hot, humid climates, is always fatal unless it is treated. It is a bacterial disease, distinguished according to its prevailing symptom into nodular, anesthetic, and mixed. There is a long period of incubation, perhaps some years. In nodular leprosy the patient exhibits eruptions which develop into nodules which in turn become ulcerated. Anesthetic leprosy exhibits a degeneration of the nerves, loss of sensation and muscular movement, and progressive paralysis with loss of extremities. The mixed type exhibits both sets of symptoms.” Yet in the OT and NT leprosy may designate a wide variety of mild skin infections but all were isolated from the community.
But the disease can also be a reflection for me on alienation. What alienates me from God?...certainly my sins. I feel, more accurately, the devil wants me to feel, that I am unloved, that God can’t possibly love me the way that I am. I beat myself up so much that I cannot hear the call of God’s love: ‘Come, let me love you in your hurt...let Me bring My healing to you...let Me show you how important, special and valuable you are to Me in My plan of salvation.’ The devil never wants me to hear these gentle words of God. As Living the Word states, “Leprosy is a stand-in for the condition of sin that alienates us from God and each other. God’s greatest desire is that we know divine, saving grace, a desire often brought home to us by the surprising messengers God sends us—including the prophet from Nazareth who continues to surprise us after two thousand years. So be on the lookout for how God is working to draw you closer and deepen your faith.”
I needed to be reminded that gratitude isn’t just nice, but it’s a necessity. I need to be reminded that gratitude needs to be a part of every moment of every day. I need to be reminded that God has given His life to me for no other reason than love so that my only fitting response is to stand before God in humble gratitude. And I have to then love. Too often I let my worries and fears of life get in the way; too often I let the hurts and disappointments bring me away from gratitude. God’s gifts far outnumber the sum total of my struggles. God’s constant and consistent love given from so many sources and through so many different people have breathed so much life into me and have enabled me to be a bit of the person God needs me to be. And I am grateful...now when I reflect on it...but what about the times I just don’t say ‘thanks’?
So gratitude, gratitude, gratitude...Fr. Anthony Kadavil in Teaching and Preaching Resources helps me with these words, “I don’t mean to suggest that we should minimize the problems we face, or disregard them, or not work toward solutions to those which are in our control. No, I’m not saying that at all. But I believe that part of the ‘solution’ to our problems (if I can use that word) is to open ourselves up to real healing on the inside by realizing just how good our God has been to us and continues to be. When we are able to do that, when we are able to see life as something that doesn’t just have to be endured, when we can still have grateful hearts even though there may be much pain, sorrow, or disappointment in our lives, so much will change --- our pessimism will turn into hope, our fears will turn into trust, and our sorrow may begin to turn into joy --- a joy that comes not from having the externals in our lives work out as we would like, but which comes from us knowing on the inside that God loves us, understand us what we are going through, and continues to bless us each and every day. Now that’s something to be thankful for.” So I reflect on:

• Can I think of the ‘surprising’ messengers God has sent to ‘get through’ to me? Have I ever thanked God for them? Do I pray for them?
  
• The lepers ‘kept their distance’ from Jesus...is there anything that keeps me away from Jesus? Don’t I need His love? What am I afraid of?
  
• Do I give thanks to Jesus for what He did for me through His death and resurrection?
  
• The lepers considered themselves outcasts; yet if they not been lepers they might never have had an encounter with Jesus. Is there a message in this for me?
  

Sacred Space 2013 says:

“Something is missing when it does not involve a humble return to Jesus to give thanks. We come back to Jesus, not just to give thanks, but ready to receive our mission. Jesus’ healing is a gift in itself, but it may be given to us for others. We listen in prayer to hear His plans for us.”

October 6, 2013

Bulletin October 6, 2013
27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; 2 I Timothy 1: 6-8, 13-14; Luke 17: 5-10
It seems that today’s readings are beautifully fit together for me when I’m upset with what is going on around me especially with the condition of the larger picture, whether that be the parish, the state, the world or the church. So often things are fine, I seem to be able to ‘go along with the flow’ and to be in relative peace. But then there are the shocking catastrophes that come up: they start on the TV news programs or in the newspaper. Special editions come out or special programs examine in detail the horribleness of the event in question. So many questions arise within myself and are asked by others: ‘Why is God allowing this to happen?’...’where is God in all of this?’...’are people ever going to listen to Jesus’ teachings and God’s love for every single person?’ Why, why, why; and it seems with each ‘why’, more discouragement shows itself and I wonder what am I to do? I go and spend time with the Lord and go to His word in Scripture and especially to the Gospels. Today’s readings help me immensely.
A little background on Habakkuk: he is one of the twelve “Minor Prophets”; this doesn’t mean that his prophesies were unimportant but that they were very short. In fact the prophecies of these twelve were once recorded on one scroll. His concern, most likely, was the great empire of Babylon. The king of Babylon had completely destroyed Jerusalem and forced its citizens into years of exile as he ‘raped’ the country. The country was in dire straits coupled within political intrigue and idolatry. The first two chapters are a dialogue between the prophet and the Lord. What is interesting about this is that it may be the first time in Israelite literature, that a person questions the ways of God. Habakkuk calls God to ‘account for His actions’ and is filled with questions. He wants to know how long God is going to ignore his pleas for help. He wonders why he is witnessing so much misery among God’s people. He seems to fear that God has abandoned His people entirely. I’ve wondered the same down through the years many times.
God doesn’t answer Habakkuk but he tells him to write down the vision he sees from God. God doesn’t say how long this will last but the vision instructs him that the righteous wait in faith. This vision inspires Habakkuk to utter a prayer of great confidence and includes a vivid description of God’s saving power. His final words proclaim that one day, in spite of all the negativity, he will rejoice in Gods’ life-giving powers. God is in control; I need to know this. Can I understand God’s plan for me, for the world...no. But can I ask God to help me in my faith...yes. Paul and Luke help me with this.
In the second reading, Paul is telling Timothy to be courageous: just continue to do what you are doing...continue to be the person that you are gifted to be...continue to share that God is love and loves each person and wants each one with Him forever. With this in mind, there will be pain and suffering in life...accept it...get over it...How can I expect to live always in ‘a bed of roses’ and look at the cross of Jesus? He suffered and died for me and to show me the way of the cross, which He fills with His presence. Have faith in His love.
This is the message of Jesus in Luke’s gospel passage. The apostles wanted their faith in Jesus and God to be stronger. Jesus avoids answering and shifts the topic. Jesus is concerned with what I am doing with what I have been given. He is not concerned about quantity, but about quality. Living the Word says it this way: “Using the image of a household staff, He insists that though it is relatively small, it is still expected to perform several tasks—plowing, tending sheep preparing food, and serving at table. The householder might appear unreasonable, but the story is not about being considerate. This is a teaching about the obligations of the one serving not of the one being served.” I am the server, God is the giver. Jesus is asking if I want to increase my faith what I am doing about it. Faith is not sitting down and reflecting; faith is showing that I have faith. Faith is showing that I believe in Jesus by living as Jesus showed me and told me. Faith is taking care of the world I live in by making it a better place. I do this by sharing my gifts, my faith, my hope, my love. Faith without works is no faith. I can give love but people have to see my love; that shows my faith that God is in control and that I am of God.
The Psalm response today puts it all together for me, “If today you hear His voice, harden no your hearts.” It means that God is present every single moment to me and He is leading me to be Jesus, do I listen or do I pout and wish that God would do something. If this is the case, then why did He place me here? This leads me to ask all sorts of questions:

• “What do we do when we are I need?
  
• How do we handle it when things happen that are beyond our control?
  
• Do we tend to cling to Jesus?
  
• Or do we shy away from Him and close ourselves off from His graces?
  
• Am I softening my heart to hear God?”
  

With this in mind I can reflect on so much more:

• How do I come to know God’s will for me? It has to do with gifts and love, am I paying attention?
  
• How much effort do I put into trying to live God’s will?
  
• Why does ‘society’ find it so easy to turn away from God and justify such things as violence, greed, disregarding the poor and needy, not paying attention to the mentally ill?
  
• Can following the will of God for me result in changes in my world? How and why?
  

Sacred Space 2013...sets the tone for my progress:
“Jesus warns us against seeking credit for our good deeds. Saying ‘I have done only what I ought to have done’ tests our humility.



As I spend time in prayer, God draws my attention to my life and hopes, and my faith becomes stronger as I learn to trust in God and in myself.”

September 29, 2013

Bulletin: September 29, 2013 26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Amos 6: 1, 4-7; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31
Amos sets the table for a very strong message in the readings today for my spiritual life journey and for each person. He starts is off with a warning to the complacent. Webster says that complacency is satisfaction; especially self-satisfaction; another description is to be pleased with yourself. When this happens I turn off God, or turn away from God and gratitude and stay within myself. Msgr. Chet Michael says so often: “Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude...and more gratitude; if you are not grateful pride sets in and there is no room for God.”
Amos preached in well-to-do times. But the people were so concerned with prosperity that their spiritual richness left much to be desired. Amos describes some of the ‘creature comforts’: their furniture was decorated with inlaid ivory; their cushions were plush and comfortable; they enjoyed the finest foods and had wine in abundance. Did this affluence reach out to the less fortunate? No, instead they grew complacent, dismissing God and the poor. Even more condemning is that they refused to see that the things they enjoyed are gifts from God and this should have made them more insistent upon gratitude and sharing with the poor. The prophet tells them they will learn their lesson the hard way. So often when I look at what I have, I see what I don’t have. This leads to acquiring and acquiring ‘so much stuff’. The more I have or want to have hinders my detachment from ‘earthly things’ and definitely my attraction to ‘heavenly things’.
Paul in his writing to Timothy keeps me on track as to ‘spiritual...heavenly things.’ His advice is fourfold: to pursue virtue, to fight for the faith, to grasp eternal life, and to keep the commandments. What value do I put on the importance of working on my spiritual life? It is always good for me to ask each day, ‘Now what is important in my life today? Is it accomplishing tasks or doing things or what? So many ‘tasks’ are necessary, some have no import, but am I doing them with God and bringing God and His love and commandments with me?’ Mother Teresa says, “I always say that love starts at my home: family first, then your town or city. It’s easy to love people who are far away, but not so easy to love those who live with us or who are next door to us. I don’t agree with the big way of doing things – love needs to start with an individual. To love a person, you must make contact with that person, become close. You have to let people come in contact with the poor. When you do that you cross this enormous divide. It’s no longer these ’millions’ of people, but somebody you’ve actually touched.” And Jesus commands me to be love in whatever I do each day.
Jesus shows us the importance of the ‘each day’. Every time I read this gospel I am struck by the first sentences, “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man/s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.” AND THE RICH MAN GAVE LAZARUS NOTHING...why not? How could he turn his head and make Lazarus ‘invisible’? How can one be so oblivious? How can I be so oblivious? Where do I fail to see? Fail to hear? Fail to touch? Fail to comfort? Fail to care? Each day there is an opportunity for me to make a difference. I can make a difference but I need God’s grace to do this. Grace is freely given but is enhanced by my prayers and meditations and time with God and scripture. So what holds me back?
In Teaching and Preaching Resources, Fr. Anthony Kadavil wrote these direct, poignant words that help. “First, there are many, many more opportunities to do something good, positive, and life-giving than there are temptations to do something wrong. I firmly believe that. It may not always seem that way, but that’s probably just because the temptations in our lives often get our attention in ways that other things simply don’t. And because there seems to be endless opportunities to help people by being kind to them or supporting them financially or doing favors for them --- it may seem a little overwhelming. It’s almost as if we say to ourselves (convincingly), ‘Since I can’t take on everything, I won’t take on anything.’ The sheer numbers of opportunities to do something good can actually paralyze us into doing very little.
Secondly --- and this might be the most important reason of all --- maybe we don’t think that the good we do can really make much of a difference. Or maybe we think that immoral action actually causes more harm than immoral inaction. I sincerely believe that would be an unfortunate way to think about what it means to live a good life --- unfortunate in that it can cause us to live ‘reactive’ lives rather than ‘proactive’ ones. To me, that’s kind of living our lives in fear --- cautiously, tentatively, reluctantly.” And he gives this great conclusion, “My friends, ‘I didn’t do it’ is rarely a valid excuse in the spiritual life...The rich man in the story ‘didn’t do it’. That much is true. In fact, he didn’t do anything. And that may be the greatest sin of all. May we be guilty of one thing – of trying to love as often as possible.”
So I reflect on:

• Sin is not only about doing wrong. It is also about not doing good – the sin of inactivity, of doing nothing, and even worse, of indifference. This is a shocking parable...am I listening?
  

Will I let the Spirit lead me?

• There is a spiritual axiom: The richer a person’s inner life is, the simpler becomes their outer life---the less they are their needs or wants. Where am I at in this? Do I bring this to the Lord frequently?
  
• Where do I act like the rich man in the gospel and ignore?
  
• What are my priorities when it comes to building a comfortable life for me?
  

Sacred Space 2013 gives a great conclusion for me: “
“Amos saw that too much concern with security and pleasure made people complacent and careless bout the needs of the poor. I bring to mind all those people whose work provides the comforts I enjoy.
I pray in gratitude for them and in appreciation of the good things I enjoy. I ask for the detachment I need to enjoy them without becoming enslaved by them.”



Lord, I need Your help and mercy every day.