February 26, 2017

 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 49: 14-15; 1 Corinthians 4: 1-5; Matthew 6: 24-34 Have you ever felt forgotten? Have you ever felt like you were being put down? Have you ever felt that people couldn’t possibly love you if they really knew what you were like on the inside? Have you ever felt that people make fun of you? If we carry these over to the religious realm…have you ever felt that God doesn’t care about you? With all the important people or all these really hurting people, that you were just not that important to God? We do have these feelings. And if we are ‘feeling low’ we really don’t spend time asking God about these or feeling that God really cares. But God cares all the time, in every circumstance for each and every one of His creatures. I am loved by God is the constant theme that Jesus taught us in the New Testament. We have to know this. When we do, it opens up a whole new way of being with God…of loving God because we are loved. In the first reading we hear from Isaiah the prophet. The book begins with God searching for lost children who wandered away from God’s love to pursue what they imagined would satisfy them and make them feel good. Over and over again through the prophet, God is pursuing the people urging and pleading with them to ‘come back home.’ God offers them the comfort of mercy and forgiveness. Unfortunately, the long years that they people lived in exile in Babylon have make it so much easier to give up on God. If He hasn’t helped them to this point, why would they think that He will save them now? God corrects their thinking in the absolutely beautiful passage today. Can they even imagine where a mother would forget her children? God’s ways are not like ours. God assures us that we will never be forgotten because God’s love is forever…all the time…in every situation. At the end of Isaiah’s book we see that Jerusalem is home to countless children. God always keeps His promises…God loves. Paul shifts this focus a little bit. Since every person is loved what are people to do? They must take this gift of being loved and live it out as servants of God who are not distracted. One of the ancient titles given to the pope is, ‘Servant, of the servants of God.’ This is used at the beginning of an edict issued by the pope. We are called to be this kind of model. The Gospel scene is so beautiful. To appreciate what Jesus is sharing with us, it is tremendously beneficial to sit with Jesus and imagine. He is on what is called the Mt. of Beatitudes overlooking the harp-shaped Sea of Galilee. We would call this a ‘hill’ whose slopes are filled with wild flowers so very frequently. Galilee has five growing seasons so there is always some blooming going on. I’ve had the honor of celebrating mass at the top gardens here six times. The birds are constantly singing; butterflies floating around; bees doing they're pollinating magic and the sweet odor of the various flower species. It is just so beautiful…just the way that God looks at each one of us. Just look at the images He uses…do not worry about your life …look at the birds…you're heavenly Father feeds them…and the clinching words…”are not you more important than they?” Jesus continues, “Look at the way the wild flowers grow…Will not God provide much more for you?” All these pale in comparison to the gifts that God provides for each of us…because He gives us the gift of Himself: in scripture…in the Eucharist…in the Sacraments…in each other. This reminds me of a wonder story that I have been trying to locate, unfortunately unsuccessfully. I hope I can give some justice to the original version: a very young girl was lost on the streets of large city. She cried for help and people stopped and the police came and all tried to help her find her mom. She described her mom as, ‘You can’t miss her, she’s the most beautiful person in the world.’ There was a crowd of people looking and looking all over…no success. Finally she was found and mother and daughter reunited. She was a very plain lady, dressed even more plainly and not very attractive to look at. Her daughter said, ‘Didn’t I tell you that she’s the most beautiful person in the world!’ That’s how God views each one of us. Each person is held in the utmost esteem by God. It seems that Jesus is telling us that God cares for all of His creatures. What is the value in worrying about all these ‘things’ that we think we ‘need?’ Jesus is referring to His disciples as people of little faith. This seems to be the real issue in the Gospel. Faith is what promotes confidence in God’s continual and total care. Where our faith is weak, anxiety is strong and gets stronger. Jesus was talking to people who were not down and out, but who were overly concerned with themselves and ‘things’. The value in life is not in pursuing ‘things’ but in seeking the kingdom of God. Being people of justice, peace and righteousness. So our highest value is in the living out of God’s kingdom of love, peace, forgiveness, mercy and compassion. This is more important than being preoccupied with food, clothing and the ‘things’ that we feel we need. So I reflect on: • When have I felt abandoned and forgotten by God? Why did I feel that way? • What does the Lord see hidden in my heart? • How much trust do I put in God to provide for my material needs? • What has worry or anxiety gained for me in life? • Have prayers and trust in God offered peace even in the midst of difficulty? How? • We begin the Season of Lent this week. What things occupy my life that I can ‘put in the background’ and concentrate on the ‘little things’ that God provides for me each day? Sacred Space 2017 says: “There are so many messages all around me telling me what I should wear, what I should eat. Jesus reminds me that I am more than a consumer. My identity lies in my relationship with God, who moves me and causes me to trust. This passage is one of great beauty. Let me savor it for a few moments and find peace and joy in it. Jesus promises us that God is generous. God can be trusted to provide what we need as we ‘strive first for the kingdom of God.’” A wonderful reflection is given in Faith Catholic today. “In closing, let’s remember that love is not something that can be proven, but instead must be accepted. And let’s make sure that we open ourselves to the many ways that God continually pours Himself out in love to us. So this day and every day, let us resolve to be vigilant in prayer so we might not only experience the many ways in which God loves us, but more importantly, know the inexplicable joy that comes from loving Him in return.

February 19, 2017

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time A Leviticus 19: 1-2, 17-18; 1 Corinthians 3: 16-23; Matthew 5: 38-48 What does it mean to you ‘to be holy’? Way back in my Catholic school education, a good nun asked the class to write an essay on what it means to be holy. I’m thinking it was in or around fourth grade. Well, sister was upset with the essays so she told each of us to redo it and to make it very practical. I thought what I wrote about going to Church was practical but I had to turn in another essay. This was really a tough one for me…I couldn’t think of what to say. Finally I wrote a very short paper and said, “Well, I guess it means being nice to my brother more than a lot but most of the time. That would really be hard. My mom says that’s what I have to do and I have to be nice to my sisters too.” I got an A. Jesus is telling us today that we need to be holy. Actually He is commanding us to “Be perfect, just as Your heavenly Father is perfect.” Being holy because God is holy means each person is to love God. St. Francis de Sales in Introduction to the Devout Life taught that to love God we must love our neighbor, with no exceptions. So I must be like God in every aspect of my life. Am I? No! The next question is even blunter, and probably what my fourth grade teacher was trying to get out of her class: Am I trying? How hard am I trying? Or do I give up even before I try? Do I give up…or…do I try? Perhaps the ‘words’ get me ‘tied up’. ‘Being perfect’ is where part of the problem lies: I just can’t be perfect in everything. This was taught very early on in my Catholic education when I was being taught the Parker Penmanship. This is where signatures are not to be hasty, each stroke must be planned. Pencil practice is essential in learning this. One exercise was to continually draw circles between the lines of a lined paper so that at the end, it would look like you could put a finger through the circles. I could NEVER do this. So being perfect was never a problem that I had. Nor was making foul shots in basketball, I was terrible at this too. But being perfect is not a matter of doing everything perfectly, but of loving others in the same way that we love God. Each person will always have imperfections. But the more we let God’s love flow through us in our relationships with others the more God-like we will be. Am I trying? Today’s readings helps us to see this from God’s perspective. The first reading is taken from the Book of Leviticus. A good part of this book was devoted to the sacrificial and other ritual laws prescribed for the priests of the tribe of Levi. The commentary in the Catholic Study Bible says, “Generally speaking, the laws contained in this book serve to teach the Israelites that they should always keep themselves in a state of legal purity, or external sanctity, as a sign of their intimate union with the Lord. Accordingly, the central idea of Leviticus is contained in its oft-repeated injunction: ‘You shall be holy, Because I, the Lord, am holy.’” It is very interesting that Leviticus starts out with God addressing Moses for the very first time from the meeting tent. This is a huge change. Up to this time, Moses brought God’s word down from the mountain. This is a definite image showing God’s close relationship with the people. Today the Lord told the people ‘to be holy as God is.’ Then the reading skips several verses and shares how this can be accomplished: by not bearing hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. And who is my brother and sister? Jesus said, ‘Every person is your brother and sister.’ Do not take revenge…do not bear grudges… and You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” The people we're not to act as the communities they passed through, instead they were to distinguish themselves by being people of God. Paul is telling the Corinthians that their goal each and every day is to be dedicated to serving the kingdom of heaven. Am I a trustworthy servant of God. If I am living in God’s kingdom, whose kingdom am I promoting: Myself as being the be-all and end-all or God, my loving Father? In the end, I am being judged as being a ‘good and loyal servant.’ I am not being judged by how successful I am in business or in life. Matthew continues this theme as we continue our reflection on the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is telling us that everything is pointing to the Kingdom of God. This is why we were born and what our goal is, Heaven. To accomplish this goal, I have to be focused. I can’t be playing for two coaches or two teachers or two masters. If I do, then tension will arise and I will be forced to choose and so often that will mean I take the easier way. The easier way is always one where I’m loving me, not God. How do I love as God loves? How do I treat others? How do I treat those who are hurting? Suffering? In need? Do I have an attitude of superiority over them? Connections says “Do I feel that they don’t measure up to my standard of what is good and right and correct, it’s that lack of respect and empathy for the poor that Jesus condemns. The Kingdom of God is first realized when we can see ‘those people’ as our brothers and sisters, worthy not only of our help and understanding but of our respect; that in their perseverance and courage as they struggle to make lives for themselves and their families., the love of God dwells in their midst,as well as ours. The Kingdom of God begins when we realize that ‘those people’ are us.” I read this in A Call to Mercy, by Mother Teresa last night. “I remember last time when I was in Beirut and I brought those children —in terrible condition—hospital bombed—workers had run away—those thirty-seven children completely naked, one on top of another, nobody feeding them, taking care of them—they were like sucking each other. We brought these children and put them on nice clean beds. See the difference these sisters have made for these children. ‘Thank you, Mother’—doctors came and everyone said, ‘Every single child will die within one week.’ The most wonderful thing is that not one single child died, and the smile on their faces was beautiful.’ Let us not make the mistake that here in Europe and other places we do not have hungry people, we don’t have naked people There is not only hunger for bread, there is hunger of love. Maybe here there is no nakedness for lack of a piece of clothing but there is nakedness for lack of human dignity; there is no homeless for a room made of bricks but there is that rejection of being unwanted, unloved, uncared for. That is why we need to pray. Prayer will give us a clean heart, and with clean heart we can see God. And if we see God, we will love one another as God loves each one of us.’ If I am aware and can see as God sees, I love. So I reflect on: • When has someone recently gone an ‘extra mile’ for me? How did I feel? • Who is the most difficult person…the most difficult group for me to love now? • Some images: giving to those who ask…offering a job to someone willing to work for food…loaning money to a relative without expecting it to be paid back…giving a favorite sweater to a sibling and not holding a grudge when the sweater is returned damaged… Sacred Space 2017 says, “The principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth served to prevent excessive retaliation for an offense. But Jesus wants no retaliation at all. Instead He looks for a generosity of spirit that forgives the offender and returns good for evil. Take each of His examples into your prayer in turn and see how it might apply to you. Think about the world as you experience it: where do you notice attitudes that are defensive, reactive, and selfprotecting; where do you meet surprising generosity, graciousness, and hope? To which of these ways of seeing do you give the most attention?”

February 12, 2017

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Sirach 15: 15-20; 1 Corinthians 2: 6-10; Matthew 5: 17-37 From earliest memories a constant theme of our ‘growing up’ was our responding in a positive way to the questions: ‘What do I have to do?…Clean your room…be nice to your brother/sister…be polite…play fair…respect your elders…do what your teachers say…in short—follow the rules.’ We learned the rules, we learned how to operate within the rules. Sometimes we learned that we could do the ‘minimum’ and still avoid trouble. But did we really learn or was it just a matter of doing enough to avoid ‘punishment’? Life hasn’t changed, the same questions were asked of Jesus by people who wanted to get more in touch with the ‘rules’ that God laid down, the Ten Commandments. They wanted to know: Do I have to follow all of these all of the time…are these rules for non-believers as well as believers…since I am in the special class, i.e.. The Chosen People, a Christian, a Catholic, are their special exceptions for me? Simply put: God created all out of love and requires all to love in return: love God and love each other all of the time. How are we doing? Today’s theme is the realization that in being loved and gifted, Each day God calls us to bring some love into our world and in continuing in doing this we get better so that we can prepare ourselves for the heaven of love. Sirach is part of what is known as Wisdom literature. It includes the Books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom and Sirach. The purpose of these texts are very practical: How are we to live, love and prosper in the challenges of life? How do we live as God wants us to live?. The author of Sirach had a great deal of admission for the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Today’s passage seems to be a reflection on Moses’ instructions to the Israelites just before they enter the Promised Land. The Lord had freed them from the slavery of Egypt, led them through their wanderings in the desert. Moses had spent time with God on Mt. Sinai and came down with the Ten Commandments. Now they were ready to experience God’s promise and Sirach reflects on Moses’ instructions. Foremost is the respect that the people must have for the commandments of God. This will lead them to salvation and life. God’s laws are not unfair, but will help the people in making right choices, not harmful ones. God is constantly helping them to be focused on the values and standards of heaven. Each person has the right to choose for themselves. That’s where we get in trouble. We can choose for ourselves, or choose God’s ways. We can choose to be selfish or helpful. We can choose to be kind and considerate or we can choose to look out just for me. The choice is ours. One way leads to harm, and even death the other to eternal life. Sirach’s final words seems to be inspired by Moses’ memorable instruction in Deuteronomy 30: 15-20: “Here, then I have today set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I enjoin you today, loving Him, and walking in His ways, and keeping His commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish you will not have a long life on the land which you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy. I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding His voice, and holding fast to Him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land which the Lord swore He would give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Paul is urging the Corinthians that the world is constantly alluring them to its transitory riches. If the world is tops in my life, then God is not. God is preparing all for the life of heaven, it is our choice. In Romans 8: 37-39 he describes life with God as, ”For I am convinced that neither death or life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” We are to make the right choices: Do I follow God’s ways? Jesus is sharing in the Sermon on the Mount practical ways to live the Ten Commandments and His own triple commandments of Love. He presents five topics: law, anger, adultery, divorce, and oaths. The Pharisees kept on insisting on ‘what does the law say’. They urged total legalism: do what it says…period. Legalism can so easily degenerate into scrupulosity. We do this in Lent on day’s of Fast and Abstinence, ‘did my two earlier meals combined exceed my supper…did that tiny piece of beef in my vegetable soup break the lenten Friday abstinence? If I follow the law ‘to the letter’ then I feel very comfortable and feel I am ‘doing good’…but am I aware of those who are going hungry right around me? Am I conscious that I have the deeper obligation to expend my loving in endless charity? Jesus is constantly telling each of us that we have to move beyond the letter of the law through a deeper love of God and neighbor. Jesus certainly knows that if all had love in their hearts, there would be no need for laws against cruelty, assault and homicide. For Jesus a higher law amounts to a higher degree of love. In Matthew’s gospel, just before the section on the Passion and Resurrection, Jesus is concluding a series of parables on how to live the Gospel. The last ‘parable’ is the Judgment of the Nations. He depicts the Son of Man as a shepherd and the righteous and the wicked as sheep and goats respectively. Each person is judged on their deeds of mercy that have been done for the least of Jesus’ brothers and sisters. It is a checklist for each follower: When I saw a person hungry, thirsty, naked, ill, or in prison did I respond or give an excuse or avoid them totally? Jesus responded: “ Amen, I say to you whatever you did for one of these least brothers or sisters of mind, you did for me… Amen I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me. And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Jesus challenges each person to a higher righteousness of love. So I reflect on: • Which teachings of Jesus in the Gospel do I find most challenging? Which are most affirming to me at this point in my life? • I am challenged by Jesus today to see where I say one thing and do another? Why am I ‘two-faced’ in this? • Jesus challenges me not only in how I respond to God but how do I view and respond to others? Where is my drawback here? • There is nothing automatic about being a true Christian. And it entails facing our inner motivations, desires, and priorities, and holding them up to Jesus’ new standard of honesty and love. How am I doing? Sacred Space 2017 shares: “Jesus is not careless about the requirements of the law. He wants us, too, to be attentive and careful and asks us to bring all aspects of our lives before God. I pray that I might respect the voice of my conscience as I try to hear how God is speaking to me. I am often told who are the winners and losers; I hear about the great, I am taught to ignore the small. Jesu

February 5, 2017

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time A Isaiah 58: 7-10; 1 Corinthians 2: 1-5; Matthew 5: 13-16 Growing up, one of the things that my father emphasized was that I was to be ‘my own person’. Each person is different. Each person has a uniqueness that differentiates them from others. We are not robots, we are not programmed to be robots. This is how God created and creates. In school, I saw people who were better than I was in the different subjects, activities and sports. But I also saw people who came to me for help. What did they see in me that they liked? What did they see in me that made them comfortable enough to come and ask for assistance? These constitute some of the many gifts that the Holy Spirit showers on each of God’s creation. Do we take these and build on them? Do we share these with those who are hurting in some way? Do we just build ourselves up and use them for self and our own advancement and development? Do I hoard or develop? Am I selfish or am I giving? Do I care about others or do I care about myself? Am I a follower of Christ or do I care only about myself? The readings advance the theme of loyal service to God. They clarify what such service looks like. Isaiah is sharing that mere external worship does not mean anything to God if it is not joined with internal sincerity. Fasting is not genuine without reforming one’s way of life. Am I doing things for show or am I truly sincere? Isaiah echoes the Judgment of the Nations found in Matthew 25: 31-46 where Jesus is telling how God judges each person on their deeds of mercy done for their least brothers and sisters. If I am serving according to God’s way, I must reach out to the less fortunate. This means the hungry, the homeless and the naked. But do I ‘reach out’ to show how good I am for others to see, or do I reach out with love because I am loved by God? Isaiah concludes with the addition of evils that must be removed from society: oppression, false accusation and malicious speech. These have no place when I’m serving those in need. The Psalm response is taken from Psalm 112 which elaborates on the blessings received by those who remain close to God. It says, “The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.” It continues: “…they are gracious, merciful, and just.” If I am, I will realize God’s closeness and how He answers me when I call out for help. Do I let my light shine? Paul shares that when he came to the community at Corinth, “I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling…” He totally submitted to the Spirit of God within. He did not attempt to impress them with mere human words or argumentation. It was all about God. God who cares, God who loves, God who leads us each day to be His people if we allow His gifts to work within us. Last week, the Gospel began with the Beatitudes, the opening of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. For these next four weeks, until the beginning of Lent, we will be focusing on the subsequent passages from this sermon. Today Jesus describes the mission of His followers by using the metaphors of salt and light. The disciples have to be engaged with the world, not a non-committed observer. As Sunday Homily Helps says: “The time for hiding, quiet caution, and fear is over Now is the time to be bold, to shine bright, and to let everyone know what the disciples stand for.” The salt metaphor is interesting. Chemists say that technically salt cannot lose its taste or flavor, but it can become contaminated. Like the salt found around the Dead Sea which is considered useless. Or salt that is used to line cooking ovens which lose their effectiveness after a while from the smoke and grease. But good salt adds a special flavor and preserves. Do people feel my love and care after they leave my presence? Do they see my life or specific gifts as being examples for their faith in God? I am called to be a light to the world, God’s light. What am I to say, what am I to do? Look at the Gospels, Jesus’ words; He says it all. My job description is living the life of Jesus. I readily admit that just about all of the people who decided to come into the Church, came because of how certain lay people touched them. ‘I was met at the door and the greeters welcomed me and introduced themselves. When I left they thanked me for coming. The next week they remembered my name and thanked me for coming…My daughter was in a wheel chair and there was no handicap ramp. Two men from the church came out and lifted up the wheel chair and when we left they came right over and lifted my daughter and the chair back down. They seemed very honored to be doing that, they showed a love I just have not encountered before. I joined that parish…A Little League umpire was always kind to my children and gave words of encouragement even when they made errors or struck out. They like him. I liked him. I watched him for a few years and I wondered where he got the ‘message of life’ that was so evident on and off the field. He was a Catholic, and went to this particular church so I went to that Church. And I became a Catholic. Who would ever suspect that an umpire would bring me to be a Catholic.’ Being a light doesn’t mean preaching and proselytizing. It means reaching out and touching the lives of those around us through our actions. It is Jesus’ words that each and everyone is loved by God, but those words have to be seen. We take Jesus and put the crucifix up on the wall or hang pictures of the Sacred Heart or of Mary. But we are all called not just to look and reflect on these holy images but to realize that we are now partners in God’s plan for the world. As I look at my life I realize that the reason I am here in this place and this time…the reason that I am sharing these thoughts and insights weekly is that God wants me to. I have no idea who I touch, God knows. I have no idea how this leads people to know God’s love, God knows. But I do know that if I just write, people are not seeing how I am living. I have to walk the walk. People must see in me that God is present and that I love God. I do this only and completely with the Holy Spirit’s grace. I am grateful. I reflect on: • I look at the people whose lives have inspirited me. When I ask the Spirit to help me, I am amazed how a person from way back touched me. • In what ways do I bring God’s light to my world? • What gifts am I afraid to share or which ones am I hiding? Why am I not asking God for help? • There is an old saying that people who are called to be the greatest constitute the worst tragedy if they fail. Do they fail because they rely only on themselves and not God’s graces? • Paul was not a good speaker at all and he could have easily said, ‘I’m too small to speak of in grandiose terms of being the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and a city on a mountain.’ But he did…he totally opened himself to the Spirit’s graces. Sacred Space 2017 states: The two metaphors of salt and light can apply to the individual believer and to the church as a whole. The saltiness points to the need for passion and dynamism at the heart of faith. The brightness of light points to the witness quality of the believer’s life. Others are meant to sense the faith that motivates our good words and to be led to praise God. Faith is personal but not private. Is this true for me? People do not usually praise a meal for its saltiness, but many will miss salt if it is absent. How do I contribute something vital to the world—something that does not draw attention to me but what is needed?”