Who's to Say Who Can See? [03/22/20]

In the Gospel Jesus brings to the light how important it is to make sure that the physical is in line with the spiritual. The theme that runs throughout is that we human beings can suffer from both spiritual and physical blindness. Jesus’ point of course is that both are indeed very important but although we may not be physically blind, that doesn’t mean that we enjoy spiritual sight. Spiritual blindness means not being able to see clearly as Jesus sees, as God sees, for they see reality as it is. The Pharisees could not see what was right in front of their faces; that Jesus had healed a man who had been blind from birth. Jesus also makes it clear that both the physical and spiritual dimensions of a person are very important by the very fact that He heals this man. However, while Jesus heals the physical dimension the spiritual dimension is much more our domain because it involves our free will and ability to choose and Jesus will not impinge upon that. At the end of the story Jesus says to the Pharisees and to us, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind," but then they responded, "Surely we are not blind, are we?" Jesus goes on to say, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains." This is a sobering exchange, is it not? Basically He is saying to them and to us, that as long as we sin, we are blind.  If we could truly “see,” in the fullest sense of the word, we would never sin; sinfulness would have no place in our hearts. What’s worse is that many of us cannot see that we cannot see.  We have so lost a sense of what sin is that we don’t even realize when we commit sin. Many times in confession people will say that they really don’t have any sins, but they want the grace of the sacrament?  Really? The first step to sight, as Jesus speaks of it, is to be able to see that we are sinners who need the forgiveness of Jesus.  Beyond that, it is only when we truly stop sinning can we say that we can see.

"Lord, It's Hard to Be Humble" [03/08/20]

As we journey through this season of Lent, I think it is very important that we reflect on the virtue of humility.  Actually, I have come to see it as perhaps the most important one.   I believe that it stands before and provides a foundation for all the others. It comes from the Latin word “humilitas,” which means “ground”.  We can say that one who lives by this virtue is well “grounded”.  Being humble is very hard for us even when we want to be and are trying to be humble, and let’s face it, there are lots of times that being humble is the last thing we want to try to be. We see humility as presenting weakness or a low or even negative opinion of ourselves. We see it as a sign that we have very little or no ambition and therefore not much hope of achieving or accomplishing much in our lives.  But that is not what it means at all. To be humble does not mean to see ourselves negatively, it means to see ourselves clearly, to see ourselves as God sees us and for us to see God as He truly is. In the brief moment of the Transfiguration that is exactly what happened. Peter, James and John saw Jesus clearly, exactly as God the Father saw Him. If we truly live by the virtue of humility, we would see ourselves and others as God sees them, as His children, as we and others truly are. The humble person does not lack ambition or leadership ability. Indeed studies have shown that the most successful leaders are those who practice true and sincere humility but who are able to channel their great strength and ambition onto their mission or those they are leading. Please pray for me as I strive to learn, apply and live this virtue. We need to learn to channel our strength and our ambition onto something greater than ourselves. One of the major lessons of God’s relationship with the Israelites is that without God, they were nothing and nowhere. That needs to be our starting point. We need to see humility as a starting point to success and as strength because that is what it is. Scripture clearly teaches that success with God rests on humility. He exalts the humble and scatters the proud. It grounds us in the reality that there is a God and that we are not Him, that everything that we achieve and everything that we are, are gifts from Him. It also teaches us the reality that we need others; that we are made for relationships. It helps us to be kind, merciful, forgiving, and compassionate. It might be hard to be humble, but it is much harder to exercise these other wonderful virtues if we are not humble first. Humility makes us attractive to others. Just ask yourselves, who is it easier for you to be with, someone who is humble or someone who is proud? Yet we find ourselves moving away from humility so very often! The humble person recognizes as Peter did that when we see ourselves and God and others clearly, it is indeed “…good for us to be here.” Let’s strive to get and stay there.  Remember, it is not that humble people think less of themselves. They just think of God and others more.

Fighting Temptation...Is It Even Relevant Anymore? [03/01/20]

Once again, on this First Sunday of Lent, we hear the story of Jesus being tempted in the desert. Of course, we know He knows that He won a dramatic victory over Satan and that His victory is meant to inspire our own victory over temptation. However, I can’t help but wondering: does anyone ever fight temptation anymore?  I mean, really, does any one see any value in such an arcane struggle in the present day?  Perhaps I am seeing the glass as half empty, but I do think I have valid reasons to be concerned. We are so affected by the modern culture that I even wonder if we recognize sin any more -the value of trying to stay away from sin – and that is the very reason that Jesus died on the cross! Have we actually gotten to the point where we no longer value trying to stay away from the very thing (sin) from which Jesus came to save us?  Honestly, I am very worried. It would take many books to analyze the negative effects that modern culture has on us, but I can at least mention what I call “the four big lies” by which we are tremendously affected, whether we can admit it or not.  The first lie, or fallacy, is that any action is perfectly acceptable as long as no one gets hurt. This is the old “victimless crime” theory. The problem with this is that there is no such thing. If we commit sin, no matter how “private” someone always gets hurt. It is not okay to hurt ourselves, or God, or any one else and sin always hurts all three. The second lie is that it is psychologically to deny ourselves of anything that we want-and really, if we want something, we need it; don’t we? Therefore, if I want something, I am harming myself if I don’t act to get it. This kind of thinking is so pervasive that I actually know of multiple cases in which professional counselors tried to explain to the wives of their unfaithful clients, that they had to be unfaithful, or else they would be unhappy! The third lie is that human beings cannot overcome temptation. Therefore parents should supply their teen children with means of birth control, and provide them with “safe havens” to abuse alcohol because they would not be able to refrain from sex or beer etc.  This kind of thinking denies young people of the human dignity to which they, believe it or not, want to be held. Last, but certainly not least is the lie that because we are living in modern times we need a whole new set of moral guidelines. Because things have changed so much and because we are have learned so much and have become “enlightened,” we simply can no longer abide by the antiquated values of the past. Therefore, no one can be expected to refrain from sex before marriage, self-abuse etc. and certainly we now realize that same sex marriage is to be regarded in the same way as traditional marriage.  What is amazing about this one is that, while we think we are so enlightened, we are not quite enlightened enough to realize that countless cultures bought this lie before us. And guess where they are now?  Well they are exactly where we will be if we also buy it-on the ash heap of history just like the Romans at the hands of the barbarians. You see, the bottom line is this:  there is good, there is evil, there is right there is wrong, and they are here to stay. And human beings are always tempted to sin. But Jesus gives us the means to victory. His lesson is that we don’t have to be slaves to sin. All that we have to do is struggle to resist temptation, and when we fall we turn to Him and keep on striving-and the victory is ours. The only question is does any of this matter to us anymore?

"Before Man are Life and Death; Whatever He Chooses Shall be Give Him." [02/16/20]

These words, taken from today’s first reading from the book of Sirach, give me reason to pause.  They also remind me of similar verses that can be found in Scripture. For example, in Deuteronomy, chapter 30 verse 19 we find these words: “…I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live…”   In Joshua chapter 24 verse 15, we find these words:  “…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,…as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD…” (This verse is particularly meaningful to me, because it always reminds me of my father, and I chose this passage from Joshua to be proclaimed at his funeral Mass.) So, at least in my mind any way, there does seem to be a theme running through scripture which has found its way into our Sunday Lectionary today.  Within this theme are the ideas of free will, life and death, and serving the Lord.  And remember this, for the ancient Hebrews, life, by definition, was that precisely which proceeded from loving and obeying God.  Therefore, if we choose to serve God, we are choosing life.  Death was defined as the rejection of God.  Therefore, if we choose not to serve or obey the Lord, we choose death.  But we need to understand that our choices affect not only eternity-they affect today as well. If I want to live today, it means that I choose to serve the Lord today.  If I choose not to serve the Lord today, it means that for today I have not chosen life; I have chosen something else, and what follows from that choice will not be the life that comes from God but something else, i.e. isolation from Him- which is the same as death. Remember, what we choose will be given to us, so let’s be sure to choose to serve the Lord and not some other god, let’s be sure to choose life, so that we will live today and throughout all eternity with the Lord.

"You are the Salt of the Earth...You are the Light of the World." [02/09/20]

These words, of course, are part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. He spoke these words, remember, to the poor, the outcast, to those who were mourning, to the persecuted, etc. He told them that they were blessed and that the kingdom of heaven belonged to such as them. And then He told them that they were salt and light. Now even today, 2000 years after He spoke these words we still appreciate salt and light as valuable commodities. However, I think that we have no idea just how valuable salt and light were to the people of Jesus time.  To them, salt was not just something that improved the flavor of food. It also preserved it. Without salt, food would spoil and people would have nothing to eat. Salt was so valuable that it was used as salary for Roman soldiers.  Even today, we need to realize that we can survive without gold but we cannot survive without salt.  Today we have all kinds of light all around us and at our finger tips. In Jesus’ time people literally lived in darkness. Again, try to imagine, how these lowliest of people must have felt when they heard Jesus words-and know that He is saying them to us as well.  It is truly amazing that the Lord sees as blessed, as salt and as light. Notice that He does not say, “You are like salt and light,” or “You should strive to become, like salt and light.”  No, He says, “You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world.” He makes a definitive statement.  But, then, the more I think about it, the more it sounds like to me that He is giving us a command, more than He is making a statement.  He is commanding us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  He is charging us to be everything that salt and light was to the people of his time.  And this we must do during this season of Ordinary Time so that our light will shine brightly before others and that they may give glory to God.

Much More Than Super Bowl Sunday [02/02/20]

Today is much more than Super Bowl Sunday dear people of God, and quite frankly I wonder how many of us realize what we celebrate today other than the last NFL game of the year.  It is very true that for all intents and purposes today has in effect become a national holiday filled with all kinds of traditions and rituals surrounding this singular football game. However, it is also true that our faith is filled with many feasts and celebrations that are also filled with ceremony, tradition and rituals.  The feast day that we celebrate today is called the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which is celebrated on the 40th day after the birth of Jesus. It was Jewish tradition that mother and child were kept in seclusion from the world for the child’s first 40 days and then the child would be “presented” in the Temple in the presence of the faithful, which of course would include family and friends. The ceremony included a candlelight procession and then of course a grand celebration followed.  Traditionally this day marked the end of the Christmas season, so if any of you still have decorations up you can justify yourself until today, but now they have to come down! The message of this Feast Day is to emphasize once again the message of the Christmas Season.  God the Father and Jesus have done and continue to do everything they can to show us that they accept us completely and totally as the imperfect human beings we are even to the point of immersing themselves in our rituals and traditions, although I must admit I don’t know where the Super Bowl fits into all this.  Any way for tonight as you are watching the game you can remind yourselves that you now know that today is not just Super Bowl Sunday; it is the Feast Day of the Presentation of the Lord. And whether your team wins or loses you will always know that you are a winner because you are totally accepted by God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. And finally, although you may have just learned about this feast today, you will remember it’s message throughout eternity and believe it or not there will come a day very shortly when you will not be concerned one iota with who won this game or even the names of the two teams that play tonight.  Just sayin’.  Happy feast Day!

Let Your (His) Light Shine [1-26-20]

As we said last week the conclusion of the Christmas Season was not an ending but a beginning; it prepared us to live the season of Ordinary Time, which we are now in and which I like to call the season of Real Life, extra-ordinarily well. And how do we live our real lives extraordinarily well?  We answer Jesus’ call to discipleship in all of its facets. Last week Isaiah taught us that God formed us to be His servants in the womb so that His glory would shine to the ends of the earth.  All throughout this new liturgical season Jesus will be calling people to be His disciples and to let their lights shine; hence the title of our new series. Today the wonderful prophet Isaiah says: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.  You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest.”  The people had seen a great light because they had answered God’s call to serve Him, and were now attracting others to do the same.   They were becoming disciples and calling disciples by their very action of becoming disciple.  In the Gospel today we find Jesus doing what He does, calling disciples.  He says to Peter, to Andrew, to James and to John, “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.”  And that’s what He continues to do today all over the world and right here at St. Aloysius Church in Pottstown, PA.  He is calling us to be His disciples, to follow Him, to learn from Him and to serve Him, so that His light will become our light and others will become disciples as well.  In today’s Gospel it seems as though Jesus might have been spurred into action by the arrest of John the Baptist. Perhaps He thought that He might soon be arrested as well. And today I believe that He continues to call us to be His disciples, to follow and to serve Him. We have been given many gifts and they are meant to be used in service of the Kingdom.  Our talents are not our own; they belong to Him and are meant to be shared. Truth be known, we have an innate yearning within our souls to answer His call and to serve Him. We will never feel completely at peace until we do. So as we move through this season of Ordinary Time, this season of “Real Life,” let’s live it extra-ordinarily well by allowing Jesus to spur us into action in His service. In this way our light; no, His light, will shine.

Welcome to Ordinary Time [01/19/2020]

We have just moved from the Christmas Season to the Season of Ordinary Time. That’s why the decorations are down and put away and it is why I’m wearing green. And you know, it’s not easy being Green and for reasons that we shall soon see, it should not be easy to do so. It’s not like we came to the end of the Christmas Season so that we can say “Whew, we made it,” and then coast into plain old ordinary life. No, that’s not it at all; and thank God it isn’t.  Actually, the whole purpose of the Christmas Season was to fortify us, energize us and prepare us to live the season of Ordinary Time extraordinarily well. It might be better for us to try to understand this season as the season of “Real Life;” not that the other seasons are not real, but that we need to understand that their purpose is to try to help us put our lives in a proper perspective and to live them in a good and holy way.  The purpose of the Christmas Season was to do just that.  The overwhelming message of the Christmas Season was that God the Father and God the Son accepted lowly humanity to the point where God Himself took on human form and became one of us.  Through Jesus’ Baptism last week we have all become adopted as brothers and sisters of Jesus and sons and daughters of God the Father.  But the story does not end there; that’s where it begins.  There is no “happily ever after,” and thank God there isn’t because that would be so boring, now wouldn’t it?  Come on now, you know it would be! What happens next is that God accepts us totally and completely as we are, warts and all, and then calls us to follow Him.  Today, in our First Reading, Isaiah tells us that the Lord said to him, “You are my servant…through whom I will show My glory.”  That certainly is one way of looking at what a disciple is, is it not?  We are called to be servants of God, through whom His glory will shine.  Isaiah goes on to say he was formed in the womb to be God’s servant so that the people of Israel might be brought back to God. Brothers and sisters, we were all formed in the womb to be servants of God so that others will be brought back to Him. I have to tell you, to me no other purpose in life makes sense, no other purpose has meaning and we cheat ourselves if we settle for less.  Nothing will be satisfactory to us, if we don’t realize this purpose. Not even coming to church every week will cut it. Something will be lacking, because God formed us to be his servants. And when we accept our role as His servants, God tells us that we will become a light to the nations, so that His Good News might reach the ends of the earth.  Jesus calls us forth literally from the womb to be His adopted sons and daughters, to enter into and to live out the sacrament of Baptism as His beloved disciples. That is what the season of Ordinary time is about. It is when we live out our baptismal call.  Welcome!

In Baptism He/She/We Died With Christ [01/12/20]

At every Funeral Mass the priest prays in these or similar words: “In Baptism, N died with Christ. May he/she share with Him everlasting life.”  Indeed, it is an integral part of our faith that in the sacrament of Baptism, we do experience a spiritual death.  As the Father, in this same sacrament claims us as His beloved children, we accept the call to die to ourselves and our selfish wills so that we might live fully for Him as His true sons and daughters. Perhaps we know the story of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the priest who, while in a Nazi concentration camp, gave up his own life so that another man would live. When asked how he was able to make such a choice, he explained that he was a Catholic priest, and that in a very real way he had had already given up his own life-on the day of his ordination. Actually, all of us have already given up our own lives, if we are truly living out our baptismal calls.  So-what about the baptism of Jesus?  If we believe that in our own baptisms, we have died with Him, than isn’t it correct to say that it was at His own baptism, that He died with us-every bit as much as He died for us on the Cross?  Jesus’ Baptism is so significant because it marks the time of His decision to follow the will of His Father. It was on the day of His Baptism that He laid down His life for us. From the day of His Baptism, He never strayed from His journey to Jerusalem and the Cross. No wonder it was at this time that His Father proclaimed Him as His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased.  Now, what about us?  Have we truly died with Christ at our baptisms or have we strayed away from our baptismal callings and from our own personal Crosses?  Are we living for Christ, or for ourselves? We are doing either one or the other-which is it?  Do we believe that Christ is in fact the one who was pointed to by all the prophets, etc. during the Advent/Christmas Season and proclaimed as such by God the Father Himself as the season comes to its end today-or not?  The answer to these questions will become clear to us as we examine how we live out our baptismal calls during the days of Ordinary Time-which begin tomorrow.

Mr. Rose's Epiphany [1/05/20]

Over 25years ago I met a man named Mr. Rose who was a parishioner in the first parish to which I was assigned as a priest.  My guess was that he was about 45 years old but I never really knew for sure. I don’t think I ever learned his name until my second year in the parish but I had become familiar with his face almost as soon as I had arrived in the parish.   He came to Mass every Sunday and attended almost every parish activity by himself.  He sat in the middle of the center pew of the church, he wore one of two very similar looking suits every time I saw him, and although he was very polite I don’t know that I ever saw him engage any one in an actual conversation.  If I ever encountered him personally it was after Mass while I was greeting parishioners. He would simply nod as he went by.  He was intriguing because of his almost complete silence, his persistent presence and the sadness that always seemed to emanate from him. I wondered if I was ever going to get to know him and his story; and then one day he called the parish office for an appointment and wanted to see me.  We met several times over the next few months.  He was a single man who worked at a grocery store. He explained that he had been feeling sad ever since his mother died and he did not know how to shake it. At first I told him that it was very normal to feel sad after losing a parent and that at the very least it would probably take a full year before things would begin to feel somewhat normal again. But he explained that it had been several years and he still felt pretty much the same way. I asked him how long it was since his mother had passed and he said that it was now well over 10 years ago.  I have to say that this was very surprising to me. Here was a middle aged man who had been talking to me as if his mother had died in the very recent past but now I realized that he had been in this state of malaise for over a decade and saw no way to ever change his life situation. It was as if the life he had lived had simply been dealt to him and that he had no control or even influence over it. He was an only child who had lived in the same house from the

time he was born and was now living there by himself since his mother’s death. I saw, however, that he did want to rise above his sadness, and although, I did not know the answer, I hoped very much that I could help him. Then finally at one of our meetings I asked him the following question.  “Mr. Rose,” I said, “have you ever done anything for anyone?”  He kind of looked a bit puzzled at first, as if he wondered what my question had to do with his situation, but after a bit of a pause he said that he really could not remember any time that he extended himself to anyone.  I explained to him that helping other people always tended to lift my spirits and I thought maybe it would help him as well. The rest, as they say is history. Mr. Rose agreed to help out at a local soup kitchen and became a regular there. Eventually he became very involved in the parish, and especially in any service activities. He became much more socially outgoing and his spirits rose almost exponentially. He wrote to me a couple years after I had been transferred and thanked me for the time I had shared with him and that he come to see my question as an “epiphany,” that literally brought him to new life.  You know what, folks?  I think Mr. Rose’s epiphany can be an epiphany for each of us. If we ever feel like we are in a rut that we can’t get out of, there is nothing like asking ourselves what we can do for others to pick ourselves up. Isn’t that what the three wise men did?  They took themselves out of their own safe little comfort zones and ended up walking differently for the rest of their lives. That’s what happened with Mr. Rose. He brought himself to new life. I’m thinkin’ it could happen to us too.

Yes, Your Family is Holy [12/29/19]

Every time I am about to celebrate Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family, I always very carefully scan the congregation. Why, you may ask?  Well to make sure that none of my immediate family members are there in Church, of course!  You see, almost twenty years ago now, as I came to the center of the sanctuary to preach the homily, this little two year old young lady came running up the aisle and stopped short about two pews away from me gleaming at me with a big smile on her face. Sure enough, it was my niece Katie and I quickly saw that my brother, his wife and family were there a little ways back; they had come up to pay me a surprise visit. Looking down at her, I said  “Well hello there little Miss Katie, it certainly is wonderful to see you, your Mom, your Dad and your two brothers, Donny and baby David here today! But now I am in a bit of a tight spot; do you know why? Because since today is the Feast of the Holy Family, I was, and still am, going to spend the next few minutes talking about you and them.  Family. You never know when they are going to turn up, do you?  It’s no wonder that we celebrate the Feast of the Holy family just a few days after Christmas. It’s right around this time of course that so many of us had a chance to see them again and spend time with them again. And therefore it’s also right around now that so many of us are also thanking God for already doing so or begging Him to send them home.  Yes this time of year reconnects us with our families, warts and all; the good, the great, the bad and the ugly.  For me it reminds me of so many things, and perhaps most of all of how important forgiveness is in a family. Forgiveness that I must humbly seek.  Forgiveness that I must readily give.  And why is it so important?  Because a major part of the Christmas message is that the Father chose to send His son into the world as part of a family. A specific family-Jesus’ family was not chosen randomly, but handpicked by the Father.  The same is true with each and everyone of us. God chose us to be part of His creation, but He didn’t just do so randomly. He handpicked our family, just like He handpicked Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  Yes. As Jesus’ family is holy, so your family is Holy. Happy Feast everyone!

Be Not Afraid [12/22/19]

In today’s Gospel, the angel commands Joseph to “Be not afraid” to take Mary into his home as his wife because it was through the Holy Spirit that the child had conceived.  An angel told Mary to “Be not afraid” as she was about to become the mother of Jesus. God told Abraham to not be afraid as he left the land of his forefathers to go to “a land that the Lord would show him.”  He told Moses to not be afraid as He was sending him to speak to Pharaoh on behalf of the enslaved Israelites.  He told Joshua to not be afraid to lead his people into the Promised Land. Throughout the Old Testament, there are countless examples of the Lord exhorting prophets, heroes and heroines, and the people as a whole to “Be not afraid,” as they faced all kinds of obstacles and challenges.  In the New Testament, we find Jesus pretty much doing the same thing.  Time and time again, He commanded the people to whom He was ministering to “Be not afraid.” As a matter fact, the phrase “be not afraid” is the most common phrase found in the Old Testament. It is also the most common phrase found in the New Testament.  We are commanded to “be not afraid,” many more times than we are commanded to love one another.  Certainly we need to consider this fact as we ponder the Lord’s message to us.  He understands us as beings who are very much fearful of the unknown.  He knows that we must overcome our fear if we are to fulfill the mission He has given us and find true peace. He knows that if we do not face our fears we will not be able to truly love ourselves, others or Him.  We might say that He understands that living in fear is not living at all.  And so, at least partially in order to help us conquer fear once and for all, He sends to us His son as a babe in swaddling clothes in a manger. So my dear friends, “Be not afraid!” That is the message of this Fourth Sunday of Advent and of the Lord throughout salvation history.

Guadete Sunday-Fighting for Hope [12/15/19]

That’s what John the Baptist is doing in today’s Gospel. He is fighting for hope. He finds himself in a position not all that different from positions we have found ourselves in before and will find ourselves in again, or in which we may find ourselves right now. Just, like the song says, “flyin’ high in April; shot down in May,” John was just last week doing what he was called to do and this week he is in prison.  He is now fighting off depression and fighting for hope. Now, if this can happen to this man, who Jesus calls the greatest who ever lived up to that point in time, we should not be surprised when it happens to us. And how does Jesus respond? He gives John a challenge and an invitation to hope. Through his disciples, Jesus asks John what he hears and what he sees. That’s what Jesus always does with us as well. He challenges us to see the miracles that He provides for us. If we fight to see them, than we have hope. But we have to desire it and we have to fight for it. We have to act on that desire.  In the movie the “Shawshank Redemption” the two main characters, who just like John the Baptist found themselves in prison, fought for hope throughout the entire movie. Actually what they did was follow a three step program that kept hope alive for them throughout their struggle.  First of all, they clearly identified their desire.  We must do that.  Secondly, they approached their desire with confidence. We must do that also.  We must answer God’s call in our life with confidence and the faith that He is with us always. Finally, they worked on it incessantly. They were not surprised by opposition or obstacles. They expected them and fought and persevered through them. They lived as if freedom would be theirs. They knew that freedom would not just happen. At the very end of the movie Morgan Freeman’s character says this: “I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head…” Folks, with these words couldn’t he be describing a child hoping for Christmas Day? That’s the way we should be in hoping for our miracles. He goes on, “…I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel, a man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope I can see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”  We must hope. And we must fight for it.

The Christmas Present [12/25/19]

It was the evening of December 24, 1966. Christmas Eve. And it was snowing. Really hard. They called it a blizzard. It was the last time we had a truly white Christmas in these parts. You can look it up.

There was a six year old boy who spent most of the night either with his hands and face pressed against the window beside his top bunk bed anxiously hoping to see Santa and his sleigh flying through the wildly swirling snow flakes and running to the bedroom of his Mom and Dad with one concern after another.

His concern began a few days earlier when he realized that his home did not have a fireplace or a chimney. This fact did not usually present him with much of a problem, but all of a sudden it became very problematic two days before Christmas. Without a fireplace, without a chimney, how on earth was Santa going to get into the house and put all those wonderful toys under the Christmas tree?  He asked his father about this and good dad that he was, he had just the right answer. His father explained that on Christmas he would leave the above ground outside basement door unlocked so that Santa could come in through the basement and right up the stairs to the living room where the tree was located.  The little boy was greatly relieved. He even thought that Santa would like this method much better than trying to squeeze up and down a dirty old chimney.  His Dad had showed him earlier in the day on Christmas Eve that he had in fact unlocked the basement door which, was about at a thirty degree angle from the ground to the house and closed. He explained that Santa would know that it was unlocked from previous years. Everything seemed to be in place. Soon it was time for him and his five brothers and sisters to go to bed.

But, it was snowing.  And it was Christmas Eve. And Santa was coming! And everyone else was soon asleep. And this little fellow from his window by his bed could see that basement door! He thought sure that if he could only stay awake; he would see Santa and the reindeer and be able to actually watch him come into. Sleep for him was not something that was going to happen any time soon. Or for his Mom and Dad either, for that matter.

Then it occurred to him.  The basement door was unlocked. Any body could get into the house. Robbers could get in. They could steal the toys. His toys!  That was the occasion of his first trip to his parents’ room. His mother calmed his fears very quickly. She explained that it was snowing too hard. It was would be too difficult for anyone to get around that night. There was no need to worry about robbers that night. It made good sense to the young man. He went back to his room, climbed to his top bunk and re-pressed his face to the window pane.

He was peaceful for a while. It was snowing too hard for robbers.  They could never get around in that kind of weather. No one could. But soon it occurred to him that it might be too hard for Santa and his reindeer to fly in this kind of weather as well.  What if Santa could not make it this year? Every one had been saying that they could not remember a storm like this around here, especially on Christmas Eve. It was now time for his second trip to see Mom and Dad.

Again, Mom was able to bring him some peace.  She told him that Santa was used to weather like that. It was always snowing really hard at the North Pole. In fact he probably liked it better that way. That seemed to make sense to him, so back he went to the window pane.

He was sure that Santa would be there soon. But as he looked down at that basement door, he became filled with worry again.  The snow was piling up very quickly on top of the door. He could barely even see it He thought that if Santa did not get there soon he would not be able to open it up because it would be too heavy. Somebody had to do something. Fast.

He ran back again to his Mom and Dad. They assured him that everything would be alright, if he would just go to sleep. They sent him back to his room.

This time he went back to his post on his top bunk in a very concerned state of mind. But he kept his nose pressed to the glass and, before too long, he saw something that he would never forget.  No, it was not Santa Claus. It was not a sleigh. It was not reindeer that he saw. What he did see was his father who had donned his winter gear and was now shoveling the snow off of that basement door so that Santa could get in. His dad looked up at him and waved. Then he opened the door so that his son could see that everything was going to in order for Santa’s arrival.

The next thing I remember is that it was Christmas morning and I was under the tree with all of my brothers and sisters surrounded by Christmas presents. But I don’t remember anything that Santa brought me that night. And if the truth be told, I would be hard pressed to give an accounting of any gift that Santa ever brought me over the years. I do, however, very much remember the gift that my Mom and Dad gave me that night.  (I kind of think that my Mom might have suggested to my Dad that he clear the snow off that basement door.)

To me, this story is as simple as it gets and it is transcendent; it is not limited by time or space. As we make our final preparations for Christmas, let’s make sure that we give our loved ones true gifts. Gifts that they will always remember. Gifts that truly show how much we care.  Remember, it is your loving and caring present that is the most wonderful present. Merry Christmas to all!!

~Father Maloney

Enter the Baptist [12/08/19]

A story is told of a soldier who asked a monk, "Teach me the difference between heaven and hell." The monk said, "You are an obvious coward, not a warrior. Furthermore, I believe you do not know how to use that gun." The soldier was so enraged that he drew his revolver from his holster to shoot the monk. As he prepared to squeeze the trigger, the monk said calmly, "That's hell." The abashed soldier immediately came to his senses and placed his gun back in its holster. And the monk said quietly, "That's heaven." In seventeen days we will celebrate the feast when heaven came to earth as a Child. As a fitting preparation for Christmas maybe each one of us could try in our own way to reproduce heaven on earth in the here and now? Why do we need to wait for Christmas day itself? In today’s Gospel, Matthew tells us John appeared in the desert of Judea preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins. We like to think that the Baptizer was speaking to hardened sinners. But, actually, he was doing nothing of the sort. The record shows he was preaching not to criminals but to the Pharisees, Scribes, and Publicans. These were, as we like to say, good church-going folk. What he was doing was taking people just like us to task. Basically, although it might be hard for us to imagine, when John speaks about the “brood of vipers” we are on his “vipers list.” John, who is our decidedly unamused mentor this season, commands, "...prove your repentance by the fruit it bears." So what can we do to get off the list? Make friends with someone you're at odds with.  Go to confession. Pick up the phone and talk to somebody you haven't talked to in months or years. Be the first to hold out the hand of reconciliation even though it might get slapped or rejected. Don't turn your head at shady dealings. Be willing to put some of your possessions on the line. Tithe, not out of your excess, but out of your substance. Add up your Christmas spending bills that you chalked up for presents and then slice off 10 percent and give it to the poor. Give evidence that you mean to repent." Great opportunities to help others seldom come but small ones surround us every day. It takes only a minute to be kind, but the prophet reminds us the end result can remain forever and a day.  This Advent let’s put a big smile on the face of John the Baptist and those around us. He sounds as though he just might need it.

Happy Advent Everyone [12/01/19]

When I was about 6 years old my Mom and Dad traveled to Connecticut for the wedding one of my mom’s cousins. They took my youngest three brothers with them but they brought me and my oldest two sisters to stay with my Aunt Helen while they were away. I really enjoyed my time with my Aunt Helen and fondly remember that weekend as a very special one.  Although I had visited her many times before and many times after that particular visit, all of my encounters with her after that one seemed always to point back to that one. I can remember even looking forward to some special time in the future when she and I could again share a time that was as special as that one. My memory of my relationship with my Aunt Helen causes me to reflect on our collective relationship with Jesus. We, as the human race, shared a special time with Him in which He actually walked the earth with us.  Ever since then all of our encounters with Him both point us back to that special time and at the same time cause us to look forward to that special time in the future in which we, collectively and individually, will be with Him once again.  That’s what Advent is all about. During this special Season we are called to reflect on the three “comings” of Christ: His coming to us as our Savior in the past, His coming to us in prayer, word and sacrament in the present, and ultimately, His Second Coming at the end of the world.  With this mindset, let’s “dive” into this joyful season knowing that Jesus, out of His great love for us, came to us in the past, comes to us each and every day, and will come to us again.

Solemnity of Christ the King [11/24/19]

For a number of reasons I often say that this month presents us with a wonderful opportunity to move into a very reflective frame of mind. The change of the seasons, the colder weather, the shorter days, the celebrations of All Saints, All Souls and Thanksgiving all come together and call us to take a closer look at our relationships with the world, with those who have gone before us, with each other and with God.  Today’s Solemnity of Christ the King indeed provides us with a wonderful opportunity to bring these thoughts to a kind of conclusion.  As we ponder our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and King of the Universe we can focus on His purpose and ours.  Jesus was sent by God the Father to open the gates of Heaven so that we might spend eternity in Heaven with them. Indeed, we and all those who have gone before us are or will be defined by where we are on the path to Heaven. The souls in hell are those who have refused to accept the love, the grace and the mercy of God and in so doing have rejected Heaven. You might argue that you don’t believe in hell because why would a loving God create it and why would He send anyone there?  The answer is that He didn’t and He doesn’t.  As far as the existence of hell I certainly believe in it and I can tell you why. It’s because you can see it on earth. Just look around. We don’t have to wait until we die to choose to get there. The saints (the Church Triumphant) are those souls who are in Heaven. The souls in Purgatory (the Church Suffering) are all those souls who are experiencing a purification in order to be prepared for Heaven and who depend upon our prayers to get them there. And, finally there are all of us (the Church Militant) who are striving to conform our hearts, minds and souls to the Lord so that we might share eternity in Heaven with Him.  And so, as we conclude this month and prepare to begin the beginning of another liturgical year on this Christ the King Sunday, we once again ask the question, “So, how do we get to Heaven?”   Well, the short answer is that we can’t and that there is nothing that we can do to get us there.  Have a good day!  Just kidding; sort of.  But it is the truth; we can’t do any thing to get us into heaven, at least not by ourselves, and you might say that that is bad news. But there is good news. And the Good News is that we are not alone.  God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, to us to make it possible for us to get into Heaven.  Through the sacraments (especially baptism) and through faith in Him the gates of heaven are opened for us.  What we do with our lives as we strive to live the virtuous life is all about developing our character which is the only thing about us that we can take to Heaven.  That’s what this life and even Purgatory is about.  What Jesus does for us is God the Father’s gift to us.  The development of our character is our gift to Him.  Jesus Christ the King shows us how to do that and gives us the grace to make it possible.  So, how do we get to Heaven?  Well you might say it’s like this.  I remember quite clearly that my Father was very much uncomfortable with the fact that as we grew up we could, well leave the house.  He could not sleep until we were all back from wherever we felt compelled to go.  I used to think that if he could he would build a fence around our property that would keep us in.  Forever.  Remember God is our Father.  He wants all His kids to be home.  Accordingly, He does everything He can, short of taking away our free will to get us there-including sending His only Son to die on a cross.  That is the message of the Solemnity of Christ the King and the end of the Church’s year.  And so, with the season of Advent we begin.  Again.

It's What It's All About [11/17/19]

“By patient endurance you will save your lives.”  That’s the strategy Jesus gives us for life on the penultimate Sunday of the Church’s year. He makes it clear that we will face wars, insurrection, death, destruction, persecution, etc., etc. and through it all, the way to secure our lives is through perseverance. It’s how to win the prize. It’s how to win.  It’s how to be successful.  It’s how to save our souls. It’s what Jesus did when He came to earth. It’s what He did throughout His public ministry. It’s what He did while He was being scourged at the pillar and while He struggled on the way of the Cross. Finally, it’s what He did on the Cross. He persevered and thus saved His life and our lives too. It is the hope and the example He gives to us. It means that we might witness the crashing down of our places of worship, our societal value structure, of our very way of life. It means that we will be persecuted for our faith, that there will be times that we will have to stand alone for our faith, that those closest to us may be the ones ridiculing us. It means that we may have to endure every hardship we can imagine and even those we cannot.  And that we do so in order to remain true to Him and to ourselves. That’s what patient endurance is, it’s always remaining who we are and preserving ourselves because of it. That’s what Jesus did on the Cross; He saved us through His perseverance. He gave us the secret.  It means being ready to accept martyrdom if being true calls for it. Patient endurance-it’s what it’s all about.

Don’t be a “Sad You See” [11/10/19]

This week Jesus is challenged by the Sadducees, who did not believe in eternal life, so they were “sad, you see!” You see, if we don’t believe in God, if we don’t believe in His message, if we don’t believe in the Resurrection, if we are not living out our discipleship in a day in/day out fashion we can really be nothing else but, well, sad; whether we know it or believe it or not.  Doing what God wants us to do is how we find peace.  Disciples will give priority to those tasks which are of God and will proceed to do those things in a resolutely determined way. In doing so, he/she will experience a sense of accomplishment and peace because he/she will discover that the things that are supposed to be getting done are getting done.  All these things, the poor Sadducees were not doing. Their goal was not the cross, they did not believe in Jesus, they did not believe in the Resurrection, and they were not faithful to the moment in which they found themselves.  Here they were in the presence of Christ and what did they do?  They asked a stupid, inane question.  Now of course none of us would ever do that, right? None of us would ever come into Church and have a question or a concern that has nothing to do with our path to the Cross, now would we?  But in any event, we always should give our questions and concerns that test. Are they keeping us on the path, or are they taking us off?  And we should make sure that our questions, comments and remarks do not cause others in any way to veer off their paths. We all should be helping each other to live in a way that keeps us focused on our path to Jesus and we should not allow anyone else to pull us off our paths either.  No one can rob us of our peace unless we let them do so. Do not let the small stuff hinder us, and remember like the book says, it is almost all small stuff.  If we let the small silly stuff get us off track, then we are going to hear the same answer that Jesus gave to the poor Sadducees.  They were trying to trap him, they were trying to get him off His path, but one of their many problems was that their agenda was different than His. Jesus says to them, “God is a God of the living and not of the dead.”  In other words, “If you are not in moving towards me, you are not really living. If you want to live, then come and follow Me down the path.”  He is saying that for us to be truly alive we need to be disciples of Him who follow Him to the Cross. Remember, the path to the Cross is the path to life. When we step off that path we are not living. So, let’s stay on the path and let’s not be a “Sad You See.”

Out on a Limb [11/03/19]

Out on a Limb

The more I think about Zacchaeus, the more I am convinced that Zacchaeus is us.  I know that I’ve also said similar things about the Pharisees and Sadducees- whenever an evangelist tells us that Jesus was talking to them, we need to understand that He is also talking to us. I believe that the same is true with Zacchaeus. We should see ourselves as Zacchaeus and apply all the words that Jesus says to, and everything He does for Zacchaeus to us.  Indeed Jesus does want to have dinner with us-at the eternal banquet in Heaven. And we are so much like Zacchaeus.  We all have our baggage; we all have something-our sins, our history, the unfriendly crowds-that we allow to hold us back. But there will come a time when Jesus will be passing through; there will be opportunities for grace like the one experienced by Zacchaeus in which we will realize that Jesus has been there all along, waiting to share His life with us.  What would we do right now, if Jesus told us He wanted to have dinner at our house, how would we prepare?  Would we do what Zacchaeus did, would we make a spectacle of ourselves would we put ourselves on a limb, for Jesus sake?  Would we beg forgiveness, would we make up for our sins four times over, would we give the Lord a tithe of our possessions? How will we prepare for our eternal banquet with Jesus? Whatever it might be we can be sure of this: there is something that we have to do for Jesus in order to fully experience that wonderful transformation, that new birth that Zacchaeus experienced in today’s Gospel.  We have to do what Zacchaeus did.  We have to put ourselves out on a limb. And we can be sure that if we do just that, He will not leave us hanging there, He will welcome us with open arms.