March 29, 2015

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord B

Isaiah 50: 4-7; Philippians 2: 6-11; Mark 14: 1 – 15: 47

On this Palm Sunday I spend time with God who is crazy in love with me and always has been.

Isaiah says “Morning after morning He opens my ear that I may hear.” Each day I spend time with the Lord in my prayers and praying the Divine Office. Am I alert…do I focus that with the psalmist I am listening to a new message from God to help me get through the day and realize His love and His grace is with me? I can spend more time in just focusing on this before I rush into my prayers. Isaiah continues, “The Lord God is my help…” I look at the number of times I go to the Lord and also the number of times I stay within myself absorbed in my daydreams or fantasies. Knowledge of God is the only thing I bring with me to heaven. I have to continue to lift up my voice in praise and gratitude and just in talking ordinary talk of what is happening to me and around me.

David says in Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have You abandoned me?” God never has left me, can I say the same for myself. I do this when I get on my own ‘pity-pot’.

Paul is writing to the Philippians and improves the image I have for God. Describing the Messiah, Paul says, “…He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave…He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross.” How much am I emptying myself of the ‘things’ and ‘toys’ that seem to occupy too much of my time…especially focused on the computer and TV? Again knowledge of God is the only ‘thing’ that I can bring with me to heaven.

Mark shares the Passion narrative and so many of his words strike a reflective cord in me. The chief priest and scribes wanted to “…arrest Him by treachery and put Him to death.” They were totally closed minded…they had their own agenda and always felt they were right. I fit into that mold far too often…I must live more as though God is in me…am I showing God or me?

When the woman came to anoint Jesus, “…there were some who were indignant. ‘Why has there been this waste of perfumed oil? It could have been sold…and the money given to the poor.” Indignant is such an interesting word…the thesaurus offers words that hit me point blank: irate, outraged, incensed, annoyed, angry, furious, offended, resentful…put out, in a huff. WOW how many times have this been the expression on my face and the attitude that I present to others. How can people be seeing Jesus in me?

Then Jesus directed the apostles to prepare for the Passover meal. He said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” All were furious...’why point Your finger at me?’ How many times have I directed guilt away from me? Even the times I have rationalized in looking at my sins and saying ‘they aren’t that bad.’ A sin is an offense against God…I am putting things, others, myself as being the be all and end all and not listening to God’s commands that lead to a better life for me: heaven. And Jesus said, “All of you will have your faith shaken.” I have this painting in my office I am looking at now with a youthful looking Jesus washing the feet of this older Peter who has such an arrogant look on his face. I reflect on it often especially with the arrogance that is a part of my life. Lord I must let You continue to grace me so I can be You.

And Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane. I have spent many hours in reflection in the Church of All Nations, right next to that Garden. He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to You. Take this cup away from Me, but not what I will but what You will.” Jesus’ life, crucifixion and death were total obedience to the Father. And I look at my life: God has a plan for it. He knows how I am going to get to heaven. He gives me all the grace and help needed to live and grow and get to heaven. Do I want it my way or His? Do I object when it doesn’t fit in with my plans? More importantly, do I spend time each day to see the Lord’s working in my life and where and how He is leading me? And then Jesus said, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” More often than not, these words identify my daily life…can I spend more time in just being with the Lord each day…this will help immensely?

Then Jesus said, “The hour has come. Behold, the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. Get up, let us go. See, my betrayer is at hand.” Sinners, I am a sinner. Peter was a sinner; Judas was a sinner; and they both betrayed Jesus. My life can be so fragile; I can so easily give in to temptation. The devil can so easily play on my moods and ‘push my button’ and I sin. Lord be merciful to me a sinner.

I have spent time reflecting on the Passion of Jesus; I have watched Mel Gibson’s The Passion many times. Like so many others I find the whipping at the stake so hideous, yet it occupied such a small amount of time, about five minutes. And Mark shares the remarks of those present: “those passing by reviled Him, shaking their heads…’save Yourself by coming down from the cross.’ Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked Him…’He saved others; He cannot save Himself’…those who were crucified with Him also kept abusing Him.” Finally a Roman soldier…a pagan in charge of many troops said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

And God loves me and sent Jesus to show the total extent of that love. A love that is unconditional because God has always loved me and needs me to love. I turn again to Fr. Henri Nouwen’s Here and Now Living in the Spirit. “GOD’S HEART: What does it mean to live in the world with a truly compassionate heart, a heart that remains open to all people at all times? It is very important to realize that compassion is more than sympathy or empathy. When we are asked to listen to the pains of people and empathize with their suffering, we soon reach our emotional limits. We can listen only for a short time and only to a few people. In our society we are bombarded with so much ‘news’ about human misery that our hearts easily get numbed simply because of overload.

God God’s compassionate heart does not have limits. God’s heart is greater, infinitely greater, than the human heart. It is that divine heart that God wants to give to us so that we can love all people without burning out or becoming numb.

It is for this compassionate heart that we pray when we say: ‘A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, nor deprive me of Your Holy Spirit.’ (Psalm 51).

The Holy Spirit of God is given to us so that we can become participants in God’s compassion and so reach out to all people at all times with God’s heart.”

I reflect on the words from Mark, A Devotional Commentary: “Mark wrote his narrative for a young church beleaguered by persecution, but his message remains a word of encouragement and challenge to us today. Will we let our faith be blunted by failure, loneliness, and setbacks? Or will we, like Jesus, place our trust in our ‘Abba’ in heaven? Will we see with the disciples’ eyes the revelation of God who is with us even amid the chaos of our struggle against sin and death? Mark’s narrative discloses the wonderful truth concisely summarized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: ‘By His passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to Him and unite us with His redemptive Passion.’” (1505)

March 22, 2015

5^th Sunday of Lent B

Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Hebrews 5: 7-9; John 12: 20-33

If it hasn’t happened already, this is the time one looks back at Lent and looks at all the resolutions, plans, dreams even of what this Lent would be about and where it would lead me. How much closer will I be to the Lord, was the hope when Lent began…now one says, I really goofed that up, or I certainly wasn’t as good as I had hoped to be. Where has God been?

It’s so interesting, I do it consistently myself, I look at my life, the world through my eyes and seldom do I look from God’s eyes. If I did, like the readings today, it would tell me much about my loving God and His plan and His love.

Jeremiah starts off, “The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” There were many covenants between God and His people, ‘I will be your God, you will be My people.’ The constant was that God’s people were unfaithful to every covenant from Noah through Moses. They always failed to keep their side of the bargain. And God was consistent…God adapted to every situation the people found themselves in and continued to offer new covenants, new opportunities to be His ‘faithful’ people. In fact the word ‘covenant’ is used more frequently in Jeremiah than in any of the other prophetic works. The old covenant, which was written on stone tablets and given to Moses is contrasted with a ‘new’ covenant that Jeremiah foresees will happen in the future. What makes this covenant new is that it will be written on the heart. God is setting the standard within the very core of each person. St. Anthony Messenger Press Sunday Homily Helps puts it this way, “God’s forgiveness will be the driving force of this new covenant. The people will be so moved by God’s compassion that they will find the motivation within themselves to be loyal to God. Such devotion to God will come naturally to them; it will no longer have to rely on the teaching of the externals which people must conform. One dramatic display of this divine grace was the restoration of the people after the Babylonian Exile.” The people will know that God loves them and has loved them first and always loves. Will the people be moved? Am I moved? God is willing once again to continue His plan for heaven for each person alive and make it reachable. So it’s up to me!

Jesus teaches this in the Gospel by showing that the ultimate act, His love, God’s love is the gift of His life. He loses His life out of love which ultimately results in preserving each person for eternal life. If I respond to God’s invitation…if each person responds to God’s invitation. “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.” What do I have to do: to live as Jesus and the Church teach me: loving God and loving each and every person, in my life and everywhere.

There is a story told about the meaning and depth of the sufferings of Jesus many years ago by a farmer in a remote Irish village. He was looking at the crucifix hanging behind the altar on Good Friday and exclaimed, “To think that the likes of Him would do the likes of that for the likes of me.”

It all comes down to the immense love that God has for me and each person in our good deeds and even in our horrible sinful ones…God just loves. And each person’s life is an opportunity to say ‘YES’ to that love. That’s what my life is all about and what it is for. Fr Henri Nouwen in Here and Now Living in the Spirit says, “Our death is a full coming home to that love. Do we desire to come home? It seems that most of our efforts are aimed at delaying this homecoming as long as possible.” I get so enamored with earth and the things of this world that I do not see that they are gifts to help me to be grateful and to bring others to the knowledge and the love of God. How am I doing…this is the reason for my Lenten time apart.

Fr Nouwen continues, “We are challenged once again to look at our lives from above. When, indeed, Jesus came to offer us full communion with God, by making us partakers of His death and resurrection, what else can we desire but to leave our mortal bodies and so reach the final goal of our existence? The only reason for staying in this valley of tears can be to continue the mission of Jesus who has sent us into the world as His Father sent Him into the world. Looking from above, life is a short, often painful mission, full of occasions to do fruitful work for God’s kingdom, and death is the open door that leads into the hall of celebration where the King Himself will serve us.

It all seems such an upside-down way of being! But it’s the way of Jesus and the way for us to follow. There is nothing morbid about it. To the contrary, it’s a joyful vision of life and death. As long as we are in the body, let us care well for our bodies so that we can bring the joy and peace of God’s kingdom to those we meet on our journey. But when the time has come for our dying and death let us rejoice that we can go home and be united with the One who calls us the beloved.” And God calls me and each person His Beloved. How wonderful! Did I realize that in my Lenten journey so far God has called me His Beloved? Does this make a difference as I continue on to Palm Sunday and Holy Week in the coming weeks?

It is in dying to my own needs and wants, that I bring the new life of Christ’s resurrection into my life and the life of others. The symbol of the grain of wheat in the Gospel is God’s pledge that I can do great things and even powerful ‘miracles’ when I let go of myself…when I let go of my prejudices…when I let go of my fears and ambitions and BE JESUS…JESUS CRUCIFIED to others.

I reflect on:

• I look back on my life and see my sufferings…what have I learned from them? Now do I see the presence of God in them? Who were the ‘love people’ God sent to help me?
• How would I respond to the farmer who said, “To think that the likes of Him would do the likes of that for the likes of me.” What questions would I like to ask him? What does this teach me?
• Who has planted seeds of hope in my life? How have I shared my gratitude When have I found that my own ‘death’ has led to life? Do I fear death or moments of trial?

Sacred Space 2015 says:

“Jesus, in this time of prayer, I imagine you putting a grain of wheat into my hand. You and I chat about what it can mean.

When I next eat bread, it will have a deeper significance for me. When I share in the Eucharist, I will try to be aware that it means Your own life, which is blessed, broken, shared out, and consumed for the life of the world.”

March 15, 2015

4^th Sunday of Lent B

2 Chronicles 36: 14-16, 19-23; Ephesians 2: 4-10; John 3: 14-21

I can look at my life superficially or I can look at it in a much deeper fashion. I can read the Scriptures and say, ‘That’s a nice message’ or I can say, ‘That applies to me in a big way.’ I can say, ‘I’m living a pretty good life, I feel that I’m doing OK or I can say ‘You aren’t all that good, you haven’t begun to deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Jesus.’ Today’s readings are meant for me specifically. I going to look at them in two ways: 1] at first sight and 2] after much deeper reflection.

The two books of Chronicles mean ‘things omitted, or passed over (in the historical books of Samuel and Kings). They span in some detail the lengthy period from Saul to the return from the exile. So they cover the period from the rise of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, their subsequent destruction, the exiles and finally the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, a four hundred plus year time period.

The authors are giving the situation of the people’s unfaithfulness. I can insert my name so easily, ‘In those days, Pete Creed added infidelity to infidelity, just not paying the attention to the Lord that he should. Early and often did the Lord send messengers to me through family, friends, confessors, spiritual directors, the sacraments, the Church…FOR HE HAD COMPASSON ON Pete Creed. But Pete Creed didn’t often pay attention and even scoffed at these thinking he had plenty of time.’ There is so much truth in this when I look at the deceptions of the devil and his doing anything to make me ‘look good in my own eyes.’ Jesus stated it succinctly in the Sermon on the Mount, “You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” (Mt 7:5)

In the second reading, Paul is writing to the Ephesians. In fact scholars say that this is not so much a letter to the Ephesians as to the worldwide church. Living the Word states: “Attributed to Paul writing during one of his imprisonments, Ephesians is likely pseudonymous and served as a general summary of Paul’s genuine letters, which circulated among the churches in southwest Asia Minor.” Paul is saying to me that it is God’s grace, not anything that I can do, that brings about my salvation. Though dead in my disobedience, sins and all, God’s mercy and love bring me back to life and Christ. Paul says it perfectly and backs up the theme of Lent for me this year, “Brothers and sisters: God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ—by grace you have been saved--, raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” It is not about me, it’s about God’s love for me. Jesus wasn’t sent to condemn me, but to give me life and light. He is the light, He wants me to see this and to respond to His light and to be His light in my world. How wonderful this is, God is always seeking me out; it is His grace that enables me to see, hear and respond. Thanks Lord, help me!

The Gospel passage is one of my favorite passages and has been so for years. When I started teaching in Catholic High Schools, I somehow discovered a LP Record which was entitled, ‘Don Lonie Speaks to Teenagers.’ Don Lonie was a Christian humorist and went to countless schools, public and private, delivering his message of God’s total and complete love for every person. He based his talk on John 3:16, from today’s gospel. It reads: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” Now Mr. Lonie inserted his own name in this quote as I continue to do and try to remind myself to do this every day. Now it becomes: God so loved Pete Creed that He gave His only Son, so that if Pete Creed believes in Him, Pete Creed might not perish but might have eternal life.” God’s actions are for salvation not for condemnation…am I listening?

God is also challenging me to see God beyond my limited and narrow perspective. God is challenging me to see His love around me: in the love of family and friends, in His creation; and in every act of love and mercy I witness. Fr. Henri Nouwen in Here and Now, Living in the Spirit helps me so much when he says, “All human relationships, be they between parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends, or between members of a community, are meant to be signs of God’s love for humanity as a whole and each person in particular. This is a very uncommon viewpoint, but it is the viewpoint of Jesus. Jesus says: ‘You must love one another just as I have loved you. It is by your love for one another that everyone will recognize you as My disciples’ (Jn 13:34-35). And how does Jesus love us? He says: ‘I have loved you just as the Father has loved me’ (Jn 15:9). Jesus’ love for us is the full expression of God’s love for us, because Jesus and the Father are one. ‘What I say to you,’ Jesus says, I do not speak of my own accord: it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His words. You must believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me’ (Jn 14:10-11).

These words may at first sound very unreal and mystifying, but they have a direct and radical implications for how we live our relationship on a day-to-day basis. Jesus reveals to us that we are called by God to be living witnesses of God’s love. We become such witnesses by following Jesus and loving one another as He loves us. What does this say about marriage, friendship and community? It says that the source of the love that sustains these relationships is not the partners themselves but God who calls the partners together. Loving one another is not clinging to one another so as to be safe in a hostile world, but living together in such a way that everyone will recognize us as people who make God’s love visible to the world. Not only does all fatherhood and motherhood come from God, but also all friendship, partnership in marriage, and true intimacy and community. When we live as if human relationship are ‘human made’ and therefore subject to the shifting and changing of human regulations and customs, we cannot expect anything but the immense fragmentation and alienation that characterize our society. But when we claim and constantly reclaim God as the source of all love, we will discover love as God’s gift to God’s people.” I am loved…all are loved…all the time. Period!

I reflect on the words of Sacred Space 2015:

“’God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.’ Someone has said that if all the scriptures had been lost except these eleven words, we would have enough to give us hope. God, I thank You for this statement of Your love for us all.

Jesus, the Light of the World, enlightens everyone, often in mysterious ways that others cannot understand. An early-Church writer says: ‘Sinners, deprived of the light, worship in the dark.’ Lord, let me live in the light that streams from You.”

March 8, 2015

Bulletin

3^rd Sunday of Lent B

Exodus 20: 1-17; 1 Corinthians 1: 22-25; John 2: 13-25

The Lenten journey continues and I continue to concentrate on how I am loved by God. Thoughts creep into my head … ‘what am I doing to get closer to God this Lent.’ Actually I have to enlarge this question: What do I do…what am I…and what am I aware of? Switching these questions around, I now reflect on: what am I aware of…what is this telling me about what I am and as a result of this what am I doing?

I spend time on my experiences and what I see and what I react to because these help to shape me into the person God has called me to be. In The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis shares that at the very heart of the Gospel is life in community and engagement with others. Jesus said that we have been created to love God, to love all those in our life and all people, and to love ourselves. So if I am to love each person then I have to realize that each person has an infinite dignity. Pope Francis says: “To believe that the Son of God assumed our human flesh means that each human person has been taken up into the very heart of God.” Since I have been created in the image and likeness of God as each and every person has, I have the sacred duty to treat each person with love. Jesus said in Matthew’s account on the last judgment, “As you did it to one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it to me.” (Mt 25:30)

Pope Francis continues, The Gospel is about the kingdom of God (cf Lk 4:43); it is about loving God who reigns in our world. To the extent that He reigns within us, the life of society will be a setting for universal fraternity, justice, peace and dignity.” It’s good for me to ask how I am living up to this. One checkpoint I use is to examine my life and see what disturbs me. I feel that the key point in Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation is: “An authentic faith—which is never comfortable or completely personal-always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better than we found it.” So if something concerns me, is that because there is some evil, harm, disrespect, abuse or worse that is not building a better world. The Pope then calls to mind various situations and conditions that cause me to stop and to reflect.

I have been honored to do a bit of travelling and some sights have changed my life. I went to Haiti in 2000 and saw the condition of the country and people in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. I spent two days in ‘City of Sole’ which has 200,000 people in absolute total poverty. One Haitian told me that a ‘poor person is one who has no change of clothes. No one in City of Sole has. I spent part of a day serving rice in a soup kitchen and the ‘containers’ they brought to be filled with rice with totally appalling. Yet their smile ‘lit up the world.’ This has left an indelible mark on me about poverty.

The Pope calls my attention to new forms of poverty and vulnerability where I can recognize the suffering of Christ. He spells out the homeless, and I’ve been very conscious of their plight this winter with the chilling cold and they live under overpasses in a spot that can protect them from the elements. And I am warm and comfortable.

He talks about the addicted and refugees and indigenous peoples and the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned. While I was still in the seminary I worked during the summer with migrants around Syracuse, they have so many needs and are pushed into the background. Human trafficking is so blatant a disregard to the dignity of all people; and this is present big time in Richmond, and around Williamsburg too. He talks about the women who endure situations of exclusion, mistreatment and violence since they are frequently less able to defend their rights. The vulnerability of the unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us. Example after example gives me shudders as to why this is happening. These are God’s people, my sisters and brothers what am I doing?

What I appreciated about this reflection is that these societal situations abhor me and even though I am pleased with my compassion I must be much more a person of action in loving. I AM AWARE, but I have miles to go. I am aware and it hurts me that others are hurt. THIS is getting me in touch with the awareness of how God loves. What am I…a loved creature of God as each person is? NOW what am I going to do?

This is the point of the readings today. Moses gives the people the Ten Commandments, regulations that foster the life of the community and its relationship with God. I remember one of my moral teachers in the seminary describing these as GOAL commandments. I keep REACHING toward the GOAL, knowing that some days I take two steps back and only one forward. Jesus reiterates these and goes deeper into His Command of Love: that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength; and to love each and every person and to love ourselves.

Now IF I spend time on the ‘anger of Jesus’ in the Gospel, I am missing the point. Jesus is overturning all religions. As John, A Devotional Commentary says, “When we read the account of Jesus cleansing the temple, we can be distracted by what seems to be a fiery anger released against those who were using the temple for their own purposes. In fact, Jesus was performing a prophetic gesture in which He demonstrated His power and authority over the effects of spiritual darkness in our lives. Scripture reminds us that we are the ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 6:19) and that we should ‘cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit’ (2 Corinthians 7:1). In His death and resurrection, Jesus opened the way for our cleansing, and it is Jesus Himself who personally accomplishes this in our lives—moment by moment—as we allow Him into our hearts.” The bottom line is that God cherishes my love and the love of each person. He sees how each person can be distracted by the lures of the world and by self-centeredness. He wants to open mine and every person’s mind and heart each day to the true purpose of His commandments. They are meant to bring us joy and refreshment as we allow Him to cleanse us and fill us more deeply with His love and love for all. That’s what my lent is about so I reflect on:

• What ideas and attitudes about God do I need overturned this Lent?
• Am I facing my own sinfulness? What sin or injustice makes me angry? It is so easy to shirk my accountability and refuse to see that I have a big role to play. Why?
• The only way to deal with sin is to admit doing wrong, ask forgiveness, and then try to live differently. Do I do this?
• I have to ask myself each day: Am I aware of the NEEDS of the people around me…those in my life…those I see? AM I RESPONDING? Not to respond is not to love.
• Am I aware that I am Christ today…am I aware that for the people in my life today I may be the only Christ they see?
• Am I aware that the reason I am loved is so that I can treasure this love and to love? e demonstratged His power and authority