Jesus: Friend of Peter; Friend of Us All [8/30/20]

If we put last Sunday’s Gospel together with today’s Gospel (which is very reasonable to do since today’s verses immediately follows last week’s), we see that we have quite a conversation going on between Jesus and Peter. Within the same conversation Jesus first says the following to Peter: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,” but then later He says: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."   We know of course, that the first statement was made after Peter had correctly identified Jesus as the Messiah, and that the second was made after Peter expressed his dismay at the thought of Jesus being crucified, so Jesus words are understandable.  However, I think there is something else going on here as well.  Jesus is being a true friend to Peter.  He affirms him when Peter makes a correct choice, but lovingly scolds him when he begins to head in the wrong direction.  That is what friends do.  Jesus loves Peter and He loves us too much to do anything but to tell us the truth with love.  Do we do this? With Jesus?  With our friends?   Are we totally honest with Jesus when we pray to Him?  Do we try to have a real heart to heart conversation?  Are we totally honest with our friends when we know they are going down a destructive path or do we shy away from saying the hard things?  Being a true friend means truly loving our friend, it means risking our friend’s love for us in order to demonstrate our love for him/her.  That’s what Jesus did in this conversation with Peter.  That’s what Jesus does for us.  The best ways for us to  thank Jesus for His friendship to us  is by being totally honest with Him in our prayer, and by being a true friend to those He gives to us.

Who Do We Say Jesus Is ? [8/23/20]

When you think about it, it is a very interesting question that Jesus asks, Peter, the apostles and us this weekend. I mean, really, when is the last time someone came up to you and asked you who they were?  Of course, what usually happens is that some one will tell us who they are, i.e. they will introduce themselves to us, and they will then ask who we are. We do not generally ask someone else to tell us who we are. So you see, Jesus' question, no doubt, took Peter by surprise. The more I think about it, what an amazing question. I mean, really, why on earth or in heaven for that matter, why would Jesus, the Lord, the Messiah ask the disciples who they say that He is?  Does He not know who He is?  Why does it matter who they say He is?  Does their answer to the question change who He is? Does their answer change anything at all? And, by the way, who else ever asks us who we say they are? Don’t people pretty much always make their best effort to tell us who they are and not the other way around?   Jesus, by asking this question, like He does in so many other ways as well, pretty much turns the tables around, doesn’t He? By asking the question, He let's us know that it matters to Him who we say He is. He actually allows us to define Him for ourselves. Jesus asks us who we say who He is because He knows that the way we answer that question will determine the kind of person we will become and ultimately go along way in determining whether or not salvation will be ours.  I may not know much but I know that Jesus would not work out well in today's advertising industry.  The last thing marketers want us to do is to define their products. They spend all kinds of money to define their products for us. But Jesus, the Lord of all, does things very differently. He spends no money. He runs no advertising campaign. He does not force us to accept who He says He is;   He asks us who we say He is. Why? Because He is confident of who He is, because the only question that matters is who we say He is, because the way we answer that question will determine how we live our lives. That's why.  So, who do you say that Jesus is? Try to answer it correctly; the way we answer it will very much determine, who we are, and, by the way Jesus is the only one asking.

Are We Willing to Fight for the Miracle? [8/16/20]

Jesus’ response to the Canaanite woman might, at least initially seem very cold and callous: “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” How could he say something like that to this poor woman who is pleading for mercy for her daughter?  What is she supposed to do after hearing those words?  What are we supposed to do when it seems like we are not getting the response that we think we should get from Jesus?  The woman does give us a couple lessons. First we should never give up.  If our plea is pure, if it is not selfish, than there is no reason to stop trying.  We should never forget what Jesus has done for us and that He is absolutely about our greater good; He is about our salvation.  We also should understand that we need to be willing to make our case, and that Jesus has the right to expect us to do so.  We also need to be able to see that Jesus will always provide an opening for us and give us the opportunity to take it.  The woman recognized her opening in the word that Jesus used for “dog.” He used the word that referred to a dog that was a household pet, not a stray that roamed the streets.  She knew then that she could say: “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters,” and perhaps get a favorable response.  The Lord always has a gift for us, but He wants us to fight for it, He wants us to have a sense that we earned it.  The Canaanite woman left Jesus, not only knowing that her daughter was healed, but also knowing that she had something to do with it.  She did not give up on her plea to the Lord, she made her case to Him, and walked away stronger because of it.  Jesus uses every opportunity He can to teach us and to empower us, and to enable us to grow.  We come to Him with our narrow pleas, but there is so much more that He wants to give us.  Only thing is; to get it we must be willing to fight for it. If not, it’s not happening.

Are You Afraid of the Quiet? [8/09/20]

It might sound like a strange question, but are you? I think that maybe, just maybe, you just might be. Afraid of the quiet, that is or at least uncomfortable with it.  We know that as we continue to engage these strange times in which we live that one of the strange, uncomfortable aspects of it is not being able to hear the noise of the nonexistent crowds at our sporting events. And if you’re not afraid of, or at least uncomfortable with the quiet, well then you are quite rare, and I am quite confident that so many of your human colleagues are. Oh, they might try to deny it, but how often do they let themselves truly become still and quiet?  How often, do we let ourselves truly become quiet?  Don’t we pretty much always want to have some background noise blaring ie. music, the TV, the radio, etc., etc.? Or maybe we are always occupied by our cell phones and social media; so our minds and hearts are certainly not still, even if they are not making a lot of noise. Isn’t it difficult to truly allow ourselves to become completely still?  Why?  Wouldn’t all the noise get to us at least once in a while? But it does not seem like that is the case.  Silence really can be much more frightening than thunder, can’t it?  Why? Because when we actually are able to hear ourselves think, we have to deal with issues from which we’d rather stay away.  Elijah, went to the mountain of the Lord, in search of the Lord’s voice but he discovered that the voice of the Lord was not in the noise but in the quiet. In order to hear the Lord, in order to get to know the Lord, in order to be in a real relationship with Him we must bring ourselves to stillness and quiet on a very regular basis. And that is much easier said than done in a world of so much noise. Couple that with the fact that the quiet makes us uncomfortable and we truly have a challenge on our hands.  Our best hope is that we know that we will never truly be at peace until we are able to hear that still small voice that is the Lord.  A very prudent prayer for us is that our fear of the quiet is not more powerful than our longing to hear the Lord. If that is the case, we should rejoice and be glad, because we will hear His voice.

What Would Jesus Do [08-02-20]

We have heard the story of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes many, many times. But do we know how it begins? Well, in the Gospel’s first verse, St. Matthew tells us that “when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by Himself.”  So, at the beginning of the story, it seems as though Jesus was planning His activities a little bit differently than what they actually turned out.  He was trying to have some time by Himself so that He could mourn the death of His friend. Can you imagine the heaviness of His heart at that moment? Not only because of the tragic and violent murder of John; He was probably also concerned that He would be Herod’s next victim. He needed at this moment a chance to collect Himself, pray and regain some sort of perspective. But it was not to be. He could not get away from the needy crowd. So what did He do?  We know what He did; He loved them-all day long. Matthew says that “His heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.”  And even at the end of the day He refused to send them away.  He fed them, you might say, from scratch.  In this Gospel story, we learn not only that Jesus miraculously fed the 5000, we learn about the unbelievable love that He has, for His people.  Not only did He feed them with virtually no food, He fed them with just about nothing left in His spiritual and physical tanks as well.  And isn’t that what love really is? Love is much more than doing kind things when everything is going well and in order.  Love is extending ourselves for the other when it seems like we have nothing left to offer.  It is something we do for others when it costs us. So what would Jesus do when He wants only to grieve for His lost friend?  He cares for the 5000 all day long and sends them home only after providing them with nourishment. That’s the example we are called to follow.

The Merchant, the Pearl and the Kingdom [07/26/20]

In the gospel parable today, Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls, and when he finds one pearl of great price, he goes and sells everything he has and buys it. Accordingly we think that we should be like the merchant who sacrifices everything in order to gain heaven. But then wait a minute; the parable does not say for us to be like the merchant. It says that the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant. In other words, it says that it is God, not us, who is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. At least for me, this perspective really changes things. The fine pearls are the people of earth. Like a merchant who loves pearls and wants as many as possible, God loves His people and wants to bring them all into His kingdom.  He finds a magnificent pearl, the pearl of great price, which is all of humanity and He buys it, but with what?  Of course He buys the pearls with His beloved Son, Jesus.  St. Paul says “You are not your own; you were bought for a price.”  And who is the one pearl that God would be willing to sell everything for?  That of course would be you!  And Me! God considers each and every one of us to be so much value that He gave up His only Son for us. So, brothers and sisters, we are God’s pearls of great price. Do we believe it? Do we live like we believe it? Do we live like we believe that we can make a difference in the world, like we can make the world a better place for our loved ones who are suffering and need some encouragement? Well we should, because we make a whole lot of difference to God. He sacrificed His Son for us. We are all meant to be a tremendous positive force in the world and we have everything we need to be that force. We are each one of God’s pearls of great price. So don’t worry about what people will think of you; you already know what God thinks of you and that’s all that matters. We need to be concerned with loving others, relieving their suffering, offering them our forgiveness and building them up.  When we truly realize that we are indeed a pearl of great price, that will be when Christ’s way becomes our way; when we can step out in faith and make a genuine difference in the lives of other people and in our own as well.

Wheat or Weeds; Them or Me? [07-19-20]

Many of those who listened to Jesus were farmers who could understand that it is difficult to distinguish weeds from wheat when the plants are small. It is only when they have grown taller that the difference becomes easier to see. But by then the roots are so intertwined that the weeds cannot be pulled out without harming the wheat. That can only happen at harvest time. Likewise, it is very difficult for us to accurately judge true and faithful disciples from the crowd because we all pretty much look the same (there, I said it!).  In Jesus' day, the Scribes and Pharisees seemed to be the most religious of all, yet He rejected them for lack of true conversion. They were convinced that they knew for sure who were "weeds" and who were "wheat." And they were also sure that the ones  they rejected were rejected by God also. However, Jesus did not see things the same way. Nothing is worse than for us to pass judgment on another’s relationship with God.  Even when we are absolutely convinced, there is undoubtedly something we don’t know. We are not God; and when we judge we take the place of God.  Often times we want a simple solution, so we simply ignore this kind of reasoning, but Jesus is saying that doing so will bring an even harsher judgment upon us.  We can’t let ourselves fall into the trap of being smug, like the Scribes and Pharisees. They were so confident that of course, they were the “wheat” but Jesus is saying that precisely because of their judgmental behavior they would be among the weeds thrown into the fire at harvest time.  The same is true for us today. We have no justification in passing judgment on another and if we do we may put ourselves into the same fire as all the other weeds. If we would only let God do the judging, as my mom would say, we would all be better off.

Whatever Happened to Hospitality? [6-28-20]

Hospitality was one of the great virtues of the Bible.  That’s what the story of Elisha in today’s first reading is about.  It wasn’t only a great virtue; it was something that was necessary for survival in biblical times as everyone at one time or another would have to travel.  The ancients believed that each person should be welcomed as though one were welcoming God himself.  Jesus moves this virtue into Christian times in today’s Gospel, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple--amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

The virtue of hospitality is far more than being a good host at a dinner party.  Hospitality means encountering the presence of God in others, usually in those whom we least expect.

Sometimes we, get so self-absorbed in our own expressions of spirituality, that we miss the presence of the Lord as He stands right before us in our family or as He knocks on the door of our homes and our lives through other people.  For example, we can make the mistake of thinking that our particular expressions of spirituality be they within the Catholic faith or within the general context of Christianity are exclusive.  If another person doesn’t pray as we pray, express the presence of the Almighty as we express His presence, we might miss the Lord as He is standing right before us in a person that we least expect to meet Him.  

The people of Jesus’ day wasted their opportunity to experience the presence of God because they decided what this presence should be like.  So also, we often miss the presence of God in others because we decide what this presence should be like.  We need to let God be God and let God express Himself in others, even if this expression is new or even foreign to us. Jesus said, that whoever receives Him receives the Father. Let’s be sure we understand that Jesus has sent many to us who, though may not be just like us, are worthy of being warmly received by us.

The above was taken from a homily by Father Joseph Pellegrino

Pentecost: It's Why I Believe [5-31-20]

Father Maloney’s Pastor’s Corner, May 31, 2020

Well folks, I might as well come right out with and finally say it, and maybe you have already figured it out, but I tend to be a rather skeptical person. I definitely would fall into the “trust but verify” category.  It is not my normal way to just accept things, especially those things that seem to defy reason and logic without at least some kind of serious scrutinizing on my part.  In my late teens and young adulthood, which is probably at least somewhat typical, I did not know what I believed; I wasn’t even sure if I believed in God. I questioned pretty much everything. And I truly questioned the Resurrection; I was not impressed by the fact that the stone was rolled away or even that Jesus’ body was not there.  I mean, really, if you were Mary Magdalen, would those circumstances have led you to conclude that Jesus was alive? I don’t think so.  Then we get into the eyewitness accounts, and while they do give more substance, I probably would still remain a doubting Thomas. I mean, after all, like Thomas thought, if the other apostles had seen the risen Jesus, then why did they stay locked in the Upper room?  As a matter of fact, they stayed in that room until guess when?  Pentecost would be the answer.  I have no doubt something really big and really special happened on that day. And whatever it was that did happen put their hearts on fire and allowed them to change the world and literally bring us to the faith today.  I have no other explanation for what happened after Pentecost, except that the apostles were literally transformed on that day.  It is pretty clear that they were going nowhere before Pentecost happened. But after Pentecost there was no where they didn’t go. Furthermore, it only makes sense that what they proclaimed was the truth and the inspired Word.  For me, Pentecost, is what makes it all make sense. Just look at what didn’t happen before and what did happen after.  I challenge any one to come up with another explanation.  The long and the short of it is that because of Pentecost I believe, and it just might be why you believe as well.

Why Hope? [05-17-20]

Why live? Why laugh? Why love? Why hope?  We need to be ready to explain our reasons for living, our laughing, our loving and our hoping. Why? Because we are called to do so.  In today’s Second Reading from the first letter of St. Peter says: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.”  We can’t expect others to be hopeful if we can’t give them a reason to hope, so we have to be able to identify our reasons for hope. Now, let me say that while all of us may well be in many different places on the “hope spectrum,” I would argue that none of us is hopeless. Some of us are undoubtedly going through very difficult times and facing very difficult circumstances especially right now and may feel like they are desperately searching for hope; but even searching for hope is indeed a sign of hope.  Maybe you are tuning in right now precisely because you are searching for hope, you are hoping for hope. If you are hoping for hope, you do have hope. And you can become more hopeful and you can even convey your hope to others once you can identify your reasons for hope. But how do we do that? Well, Saint Peter gives us some wonderful clues. He says, “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.”  Folks, it always starts there. If Christ is not Lord of our hearts the troubles that we are bound to face will multiply and be compounded, but if He is Lord of our hearts, then we will always have hope and our crosses will be less and they will be more manageable. St. Peter goes on to say that we must keep our consciences clear so that “when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.”  If Christ is Lord of our hearts and we keep our consciences clear we do indeed provide ourselves with a firm basis for hope and we become examples of hope for others. So basically, if we do what we are supposed to do, we have a basis for hope. And this leads us directly to the Gospel in which Jesus says “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” For me, a very practical but stubborn Irishman, the converse of that statement is also true; if you keep His commandments, you will love Him.  Jesus goes on to say that if we keep His commandments, He will ask the Father, and the Father will send us the Spirit, who is of course, our truth and our hope.  So, to sum up today’s message, in order to receive the Spirit who is Hope, we must strive to make Jesus the Lord of our hearts and keep our consciences clear by loving Him through keeping His commandments. My guess is that although some of us may not have been able to articulate it in this way before now, this is at least part of the reason why many of you are watching and listening today. But now we can say it and share it with others as a means of explaining our reasons for hope. And you know what? Not only can we share this wonderful message with them, we can also help them to become messengers of Christ’s hope as well.

"Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled" [5-10-20]

When someone loses a job, Jesus says to them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”  When someone learns that he, she or someone they love has a serious illness, Jesus says to them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” When someone faces persecution, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” When someone we love dies, Jesus says to us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”  Whenever our hearts are troubled in any way, Jesus says to us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”  When we are in the midst of pain, sorrow, distress, injustice and grief, etc. it might seem odd that Jesus would say these words to us, but it is precisely at those times that He does so.  It is when we are in turmoil that we most need to hear those words from Him.  He speaks them to us when we are troubled not because He is out of touch with how we feel, but because He is very much in touch with our pain. Consider this: He spoke these words right after He told His apostles that one of them was going to betray Him; He spoke these words to them as He was about to be brutally tortured and crucified. His love and concern for them and for us was and is utterly astonishing. He never stopped trusting in the power and love of His Father. And He lives! Because He lives, He invites, enables and empowers us through these words to gradually move through and overcome our pain and suffering and walk with Him to a place of peace. Because He lives He offers Himself as the Way to eternal life with the Father. Because He lives we must never stop trusting in the power and love of the Father. Because He lives we can bear the crosses that come our way with the full knowledge that we are not alone and that Jesus is leading us to the house of His Father and our Father so that where Jesus is we also may be. Because He lives, we must never ever let our hearts be troubled.

El Buen Pastor

Si viviéramos en Israel en la época de Jesús, nos identificaríamos instantáneamente con lo que Jesús nos dijo hoy en el Evangelio. Las ovejas eran la principal fuente de carne, leche y queso para el pueblo. Proporcionaban lana para la ropa. Y eran utilizadas regularmente para el sacrificio en su liturgia.

Si tuviera que tratar de pensar en algo en nuestra cultura hoy que sería similar a la relación de un pastor con sus ovejas, la mejor comparación que se me ocurre es una madre que necesita cuidar a varios niños pequeños. Al igual que los niños pequeños dependen del cuidado de su madre, las ovejas dependen del cuidado de su pastor, y el pastor, que por lo general, tenía decenas de ovejas, se mantenía ocupado todas las horas de todos los días.

El Evangelio de hoy hace referencia a una actividad que era parte de la rutina diaria del pastor. Cada noche, varios pastores se juntaban con sus ovejas y las ponían en un corral común. Luego dormían mientras un sólo pastor permanecía despierto para protegerlas de ladrones o animales depredadores. Durante la mañana, cada pastor llamaba a sus propias ovejas para que lo siguieran a pastar. Las ovejas conocían la voz de su propio pastor y sólo seguían su voz cuando eran llamadas e ignoraban las llamadas de los otros pastores. Recuerde, Jesús dice: “Mis ovejas oyen mi voz; Yo las conozco y ellas me siguen”.

Algunas personas se ofenden cuando escuchan que son comparadas con ovejas. Tal vez sea porque no se dan cuenta de que necesitan el cuidado constante de Dios en todo momento y no sólo cuando se dan cuenta de que tienen problemas o necesitan algo.

Vivimos en una sociedad donde todos intentan obtener nuestra atención. Constantemente nos bombardean con comerciales, la información y la pseudo información en la radio, televisión, internet, las redes sociales, como así también con todo tipo de señales, carteles y vallas publicitarias en las autopistas, calles y edificios que tratan de captar nuestra atención. A veces, tenemos la tendencia de simplemente seguir el último mensaje que hemos escuchado, o, a veces, porque escuchamos tantos mensajes, podríamos sentir la tentación de seguir a la multitud. Sin embargo, si queremos seguir a Jesús, debemos poder escuchar y reconocer Su voz, de entre los muchos que compiten por lograr nuestra atención. Tenemos que hacer un esfuerzo consciente para eliminar todo tipo de otros ruidos para poder escucharle. Si no lo hacemos, fácilmente podemos perder el contacto con Él. Más que nunca, debemos ser intencionales y buscar Su voz de manera proactiva. Necesitamos tomar tiempo para estar callados, para estar quietos, para rezar, para que podamos estar en contacto con el Buen Pastor.

Nuestro Señor no quiere perder a ninguno de nosotros. Él quiere que estemos con Él para siempre. Él quiere secar toda lágrima de nuestros ojos. Nos guía a través de esta celebración cada día y cada semana. Las ovejas pueden no ser las criaturas más inteligentes, pero son lo suficientemente inteligentes como para saber que necesitan a su pastor y reconocer Su voz y buscarla. Que también seamos lo suficientemente inteligentes como para saber que necesitamos a Jesús y lo suficientemente inteligentes como para reconocer Su voz para que Él nos guíe a través del tiempo presente hacia el pasto eterno del Cielo.

The Good Shepherd [5-03-20]

If we lived in Israel at the time of Jesus, we would instantly relate to what Jesus told us today in the Gospel.  Sheep were the people’s main source of meat, milk and cheese.  They provided wool for clothing.  And they were regularly used for sacrifice in their liturgy.

If I were to try to think of something in our culture today that would be similar to the relationship of a shepherd to his sheep, the best comparison I can come up with is a mother who needs to care for several toddlers. Just as toddlers depend on their mother’s care, the sheep depend on the care of their shepherd, and the shepherd, who usually, had dozens of sheep, is kept busy all hours of every day.

Today’s Gospel makes reference to an activity that was part of the shepherd’s daily routine.  Each night, a number of shepherds would come together with their sheep and put them in a common pen.  Then they would sleep as one shepherd would stay awake to guard against thieves or predatory animals.  In the morning, each shepherd would call out for his own sheep to follow him to pasture.  The sheep knew the voice of their own shepherd and would follow only his voice when they were called and would ignore the calls of the other shepherds.  Remember, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me.

Some people are offended to hear themselves compared to sheep.  Maybe that’s because they don’t realize they need God’s constant care at all times and not just when they become aware that they have problems or are in need.

We live in a society where everyone is trying to get our attention.  We constantly are bombarded with commercials, information and pseudo information on radio, TV, internet, social media, as well with all kinds of signs, posters and billboards all over highways, streets and buildings trying to catch our eye.  Sometimes, we have a tendency to simply follow the latest message we’ve heard, or sometimes, because we hear so many messages, we might be tempted to just follow the crowd.  However, if we want to follow Jesus, we have to be able to hear and to recognize His voice, from among the many that are competing for our attention.  We have to make a conscious effort to shut out all kinds of other noises so that we can listen to Him.  If we don’t do so, we can easily lose touch with Him. More than ever, we must be intentional and proactively seek out His voice. We need to take time to be quiet, to be still, to pray, so that we can stay in touch with the Good Shepherd.

Our Lord does not want to lose any of us.  He wants us to be with Him forever.  He wants to wipe away every tear from our eyes.  He leads us through this very celebration each day and each week. Sheep may not be the most intelligent creatures, but they are smart enough to know that they need their shepherd and to recognize His voice and to seek it out.  May we also be intelligent enough to know that we need Jesus and smart enough to recognize His voice so that He might lead us through the present time to the eternal pasture of Heaven.

¿Están Nuestros Corazones Ardiendo Por Dentro? 4-26-20

"Él se dio a conocer a ellos al partir el pan".  Así es como concluye nuestro pasaje Evangélico de hoy. Durante este tiempo en el cual no podemos recibir la Sagrada Eucaristía físicamente, pero hay un gran número de personas sintonizando para ver y participar en la Misa diaria y dominical, que no puedo evitar pensar que estas palabras se han vuelto especialmente conmovedoras. Anhelamos reconocerlo a Él y Su presencia en nuestras vidas y tal vez, sólo tal vez, nosotros, como los dos discípulos en el Camino a Emaús, de hecho lo estamos reconociendo al partir el pan Eucarístico, el cual no podemos recibir en este momento. Ya que ellos eventualmente se dieron cuenta que sus corazones ardían por dentro cuando disfrutaban de su presencia física junto a ellos, quizás este tiempo de aparente separación nos esté ayudando a darnos cuenta de cuánto lo anhelamos, cuánto lo necesitamos y deseamos comunión con Él. Ahora que esta revelación se ha vuelto tan clara quizás cuando, con suerte, en un futuro muy cercano, cuando el Señor nos presente una vez más la oportunidad de recibirlo en la Eucaristía, no nos privemos. Que nuestros corazones siempre ardan por Él como lo están ahora. Que siempre lo reconozcamos a Él al partir el pan.

Are Our Hearts Burning Inside? [4-26-20]

“He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” This is how our Gospel passage for today concludes. During this time in which we are not able to receive the Holy Eucharist physically but are in such large numbers tuning in to view and participate in daily and Sunday Mass, I cannot help but to think that these words have become especially poignant. We long to recognize Him and His presence in our lives and maybe, just maybe, we, like the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, are in fact recognizing Him in the breaking of the Eucharistic bread which we cannot at this time receive. As they eventually realized that their hearts burned inside when they did enjoy His physical presence with them, perhaps this time of seeming separation is helping us to realize how much we indeed long for Him-how much we need Him and desire communion with Him. Now that this revelation has become so clear perhaps when, hopefully in the very near future, when the Lord once again presents us with the opportunity to receive Him in the Eucharist, we will not deprive ourselves. May our hearts always burn for Him as they are right now. May we always recognize Him in the breaking of the bread.

USCCB Link to Daily and Sunday Readings

¡Qué Dios Te Dé Todos Los Mejores Bienes! [4-19-20]

¿Alguna vez te preguntaste qué podría decirte o hacerte Jesús si le hubieses hecho lo que 11 de los 12 Apóstoles le hicieron el Viernes Santo? Bueno, como diría mi madre, creo que todos deberíamos hacer eso porque todos hemos hecho exactamente eso. Todos lo hemos abandonado quizás en el Viernes Santo, quizás ayer o probablemente en cualquier día. ¿Alguna vez nos preguntamos qué podría decirnos o hacernos Jesús debido a las veces que nos fuimos sin él? ¿Nos hemos preguntado qué estaría justificado al decir o hacer debido a nuestros pecados contra Él? Ok, dejémoslo ahí; puede ser demasiado para nosotros. ¿O qué tal si alguna vez hicimos lo que hizo Tomás, diciendo que no podía creer lo que todos los demás Apóstoles le dijeron a menos que él pudiera ver y tocar a Jesús mismo? Y hemos hecho eso mismo muchas veces también, ¿no lo hemos hecho? Innumerables veces hemos dicho algo como "Lo creeré cuando lo vea" o "Lo creeré cuando pueda sostenerlo o tocarlo con mis propias manos", ¿verdad?   ¿Qué esperaríamos que Jesús nos dijera o hiciera en esa situación? Bueno, esto es lo que Jesús dijo e hizo: se apareció a los Apóstoles, a pesar de las puertas cerradas, y dijo: "Qué Dios les dé todos los mejores bienes". En realidad, como sabemos, Él dijo: La Paz sea con ustedes, pero el significado es el mismo. Deseaba que Dios pudiera otorgar los mejores dones a los 10 Apóstoles. Después de eso, Él dijo: “Recibe el Espíritu Santo. A quienes sus pecados perdonas, serán  perdonados.”  Sabemos que los Apóstoles tenían miedo de las autoridades judías, pero no puedo evitar pensar que también tenían miedo de Jesús después de lo que habían hecho. ¡Imagínense cuanto asombro en cuanto a cómo Él los perdonó e incluso los hizo ministros de Su perdón! Pero hay más. Jesús hizo un segundo viaje de regreso para ver al pesimista dudoso de Tomás. ¿Te acuerdas de Tomás? Él fue quien, hace tres semanas, cuando Jesús se dirigía de regreso a Jerusalén para levantar a Lázaro de entre los muertos, dijo: "Volvamos también a morir con Él". Entonces, Jesús hizo un viaje especial de regreso al Aposento Alto donde todavía se estaban escondiendo y le concedió a Tomás su deseo de ver y tocar Sus heridas y también expresó Su deseo a Tomás de que Dios pudiera darle un mejor bien, es decir, Él le dijo a Tomás: "La Paz sea contigo." No es de extrañar que hoy se celebre como el Domingo de la Divina Misericordia. No importa lo que le demos, Él nos da Su Misericordia, Su paz y Su amor. Él desea todos los mejores bienes para nosotros. Somos llamados por Él a hacer lo mismo por el mundo.

May God Give You Every Wonderful Good. [4-19-20]

Did you ever wonder what Jesus might say or do to you if you did to Him what 11 of the 12 Apostles did to Him on Good Friday? Well as my mother might say, I guess we all should do just that because we have all done just that. We have all abandoned Him perhaps on Good Friday, perhaps yesterday, or probably any number of days. Do we ever wonder what Jesus might say or do to us because of the times we ran out on Him? Have we wondered what He would be justified in saying or doing because of our sins against Him-ok let’s not go there; it may be just too much for us. Or how about if we ever did like Thomas did, saying that He could not believe what all of the other apostles told Him unless he could see and touch Jesus himself? And we have done just that also many times, haven’t we? Countless times we have said something like “I’ll believe it when I see it,” or “I’ll believe it when I can hold or touch it with my own two hands,” haven’t we?  What would we expect Jesus to say or do to us in that situation? Well, this is what Jesus said and did: He appeared to the Apostles, despite the locked doors, and said, “May God give you every wonderful good.” Actually, as we know, He said, Peace be with you, but the meaning is the same. He wished that God may bestow every good gift upon the 10 Apostles. After that He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.” We know that the apostles were afraid of the Jewish Authorities, but I can’t help but think that they were also afraid of Jesus after what they had done. Imagine there amazement as to how He forgave them-and even made them ministers of His forgiveness! But there is more. Jesus made a second trip back to see the pessimistic doubting Thomas. You remember Thomas? He is the one who three weeks ago when Jesus was heading back toward Jerusalem to raise Lazarus from the dead said, “Let us also go back to die with Him.” So, Jesus made a special trip back to the Upper Room where they were still hiding and granted Thomas his desire to see and touch His wounds and also expressed His desire to Thomas that God might give him ever wonderful good i.e. He said to Thomas, “Peace be with you.” No wonder that today is celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. No matter what we give Him, He gives us His Mercy, His peace and His love. He wishes every wonderful good upon us. We are called by Him to do the same for the world.

2020 Spanish Easter Homily

Algo Extraño Está Sucediendo 

"Algo extraño está sucediendo: hay un gran silencio en la tierra hoy, un gran silencio y quietud. Toda la tierra guarda silencio porque el Rey está dormido.

Estas oraciones son las primeras líneas de una antigua homilía del Sábado Santo que todavía se usa en las oraciones de Sacerdotes y religiosos para el Sábado Santo. Es bueno para nosotros ahora, incluso mientras celebramos el Domingo de Pascua para reflexionar sobre el día que es el Sábado Santo, para que podamos apreciar aún más lo que celebramos mientras pasamos a este día de Pascua que sigue. El Sábado Santo, como ningún otro día, estamos llamados a reflexionar sobre lo que significa vivir entre lo ya y lo todavía no, entre "Cristo ha muerto" y "Cristo ha resucitado”, sin saber ni esperar que Cristo va a resucitar ¿Cómo vivimos cuando todo lo que tiene sentido para nosotros desaparece, cuando todo lo que conocemos está al revés? ¿Qué hacemos cuando mueren amigos y seres queridos, cuando no podemos vernos cuando estamos quebrantados, y cuando Dios parece estar tan lejos y parece que no nos queda nada más que quedarnos en silencio y contemplar ese quebranto? ¿Hacemos como Judas, quien se ahorcó con gran pena y desesperación, o hacemos como María Magdalena que se dispuso en su gran pena a visitar el sepulcro de Jesús y presenciar la Resurrección? Esa es la pregunta del Sábado Santo.

Y sin embargo, también nos damos cuenta cuando reflexionamos sobre el Sábado Santo, que es el grandioso "día después del día anterior", es el hecho de que nunca tenemos que experimentar lo que los apóstoles experimentaron, lo que María experimentó, lo que Judas experimentó, y lo que María Magdalena experimentó, aún en estos tiempos en los que estamos viviendo ahora con toda su incertidumbre. De hecho, es imposible para nosotros hacerlo. ¿Por qué? Porque cuando todo parecía perdido, cuando todo estaba perdido, Dios nos devolvió al Salvador que creíamos derrotado y vencido. María Magdalena fue al sepulcro de Jesús y descubrió que estaba vacío; que la piedra había sido rodada. Necesitamos que Él nos ayude a vaciarnos de nuestra propia preocupación para que podamos ver Su mano en cada fracaso y Su victoria en cada derrota. 

Siempre recordaremos la Pasión, pero no somos personas de sufrimiento, tortura y muerte. Somos personas de vida y de esperanza. Jesucristo resucitó de entre los muertos. 

El 22 de octubre del 1978, el Papa Juan Pablo II comenzó su ministerio pontificio con estas palabras: “No tengas miedo. No tengas miedo de recibir a Cristo y aceptar su poder". El mundo, Él reflejó, tenía miedo de sí mismo y de su futuro. A todos los que tenían miedo, a todos los que quedaron atrapados en la gran soledad del mundo moderno, el Santo Padre les dijo: “Les ruego, dejen que Cristo les hable.  Sólo Él tiene las palabras de vida, vida real; vida eterna." 

Celebramos la Pascua este año llena de miedo e incertidumbre. Pero mientras llegamos a este día de Pascua con gran miedo a dar la vuelta, también venimos en busca de esperanza y hay que buscarla. Y la esperanza está aquí. Jesucristo resucitó de entre los muertos. No todo está perdido. Todo está gano. Él ha ganado. Hemos ganado. La muerte ha sido vencida. El nuevo mundo ha comenzado. Unidos con Cristo, nada puede destruirnos. Los peores dolores e incertidumbres de la vida no pueden privarnos de la esperanza de Su vida. Ya no puede ser el primer Sábado Santo. La celebración de la Resurrección del Señor es la celebración de nuestra esperanza, nuestra alegría, nuestra participación en la Nueva Vida de Cristo. 

No podemos permitirnos ser derrotados por la oscuridad actual que une al mundo. Necesitamos celebrar y darnos cuenta plenamente de que la única realidad que realmente importa es lo que celebramos hoy. Jesucristo resucitó de entre los muertos.

¡Él ha resucitado y nosotros también!  La carta de San Pablo a los Romanos proclama nuestra esperanza. “¿No sabes que nosotros, los que fuimos bautizados en Cristo Jesús, fuimos bautizados en su muerte? De hecho, fuimos sepultados con Él a través del bautismo en la muerte, de modo que, así como Cristo resucitó de entre los muertos por la gloria del Padre, podríamos vivir en una vida nueva; por si nos hemos convertido en unión con Él a través de una muerte como la Suya, también estaremos unidos con Él en la resurrección”. 

A través de nuestro Bautismo, Jesús nos ha llamado a salir de esta oscuridad y muerte y nos ha dado a cada uno la capacidad de hacer que su presencia sea real para los demás. Si sólo permitimos que Dios trabaje a través de nosotros, si sólo nos esforzamos por ser el único reflejo de Su amor por el cual  Él nos creó, entonces saldremos del sepulcro con Él y viviremos eternamente. Nuestras vidas tienen significado, propósito y belleza cuando se unen a Su vida. 

El sepulcro está vacío, pero el mundo está lleno. El Salvador Vive. Podemos dejar que Su Vida cambie el mundo.   

Pero para que podamos ser los reflejos únicos e individuales de Su amor al cual estamos llamados a ser, para que podamos ver que el sepulcro está vacío, necesitamos rodar la piedra, tal como fue rodada ese primer Día de Resurrección. Rodamos la piedra en este tiempo de Pascua tomándonos tiempo para reflexionar-reflexionar es la fuente de la perspectiva. Necesitamos tomar tiempo para aprender; el aprendizaje es la fuente de la sabiduría. Debemos tomar tiempo para rezar; la oración es el mayor poder en la tierra.  Necesitamos tomar tiempo para amar y ser amados; el amor es un regalo de Dios para nosotros. Necesitamos ser amigables; esto nos hará felices. Necesitamos reírnos; la risa es música para el alma. Necesitamos tomar tiempo para dar; la vida es demasiado corta para ser egoísta. Necesitamos trabajar duro; el trabajo duro conduce al éxito. Debemos servir a los pobres entre nosotros; la Caridad abre nuestra puerta al Cielo. El Papa Francisco nos está llamando a servir de maneras nuevas y creativas y estamos aprendiendo a hacer precisamente eso. Debemos tomar tiempo para escuchar; Dios nos está hablando. 

Y lo que Dios nos está diciendo es muy parecido a lo que el Papa Juan Pablo nos dijo en octubre del 1978: "No tengas miedo". Hay muchas razones para tener esperanza. Jesucristo resucitó de entre los muertos. 

En la conclusión de esa antigua homilía que comenzó ésta, Jesús le dice a Adán, el primer hombre y a nosotros: “El trono formado por los querubines te espera, con sus portadores listos y ansiosos. La cámara nupcial está adornada, el banquete está listo, las moradas eternas están preparadas, las casas del tesoro de todas las cosas buenas permanecen abiertas. El reino de los cielos ha sido preparado para ti desde toda la eternidad. Pueblo de Dios, retira la piedra; Ya no es Sábado Santo. ¡Es el Día de la Resurrección!

 Fr. Joseph L. Maloney, Pastor

Saint Aloysius Church

Beech & Hanover Streets

Pottstown, PA  19464

www.saintaloysius.net

2020 Easter Homily

Something Strange is Happening

“Something strange is happening- there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness.  The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep.”

These sentences are the first lines of an ancient homily on Holy Saturday that is still used in the prayers of priests and religious for Holy Saturday. It is good for us now, even as we celebrate Easter Sunday to reflect on the day that Holy Saturday is, so that we can appreciate even more fully what we celebrate as we move through this Easter day that follows it.  On Holy Saturday, like no other day,  we are called to reflect on what it means to live between the already and the not yet, between “Christ has died” and “Christ is risen,” without yet knowing or even hoping that Christ is going to rise. How do we live when everything that makes sense to us disappears, when everything we know is turned upside down? What do we do, when friends and loved ones die, when we cannot see each other, when we are broken, and when God seems so far away, and it seems as though we are left with nothing but to sit in silence and contemplate that brokenness?  Do we do as Judas, who hanged himself in great sorrow and despair, or do we do as Mary Magdalen who set out in her great sorrow to visit the grave of Jesus and witness the Resurrection?  That is the question of Holy Saturday.

And yet what we also realize when we reflect upon on Holy Saturday, which is the ultimate “day after the day before,” is the very fact that we never ever really have to experience what the apostles experienced, what Mary experienced, what Judas experienced, and what Mary Magdalene experienced even in this time in which we are living now with all of its uncertainty. It is in fact, impossible for us to do so. Why? Because when all seemed lost, when all was lost God restored to us the Savior we thought was defeated and conquered.  Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus and found that it was empty; that the stone had been rolled away. We need Him to help us empty ourselves of our self concern that we might see His hand in every failure and His victory in every defeat.

We will always remember the Passion, but we are not people of suffering, and torture and death.  We are people of life and of hope.  Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

On October 22, 1978, Pope John Paul II began his pontifical ministry with these words: “Be not afraid.  Be not afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power.”  The world, he reflected, was afraid of itself and its future.  To all those who were afraid, to all those who were caught up in the great loneliness of the modern world, the Holy Father said, “I beg you, let Christ speak to you.  He alone has the words of life, real life; eternal life.”

We celebrate Easter this year full of fear and uncertainty.  But while we do come to this Easter Day with plenty of fear to go around, we also come seeking hope and we must seek it. And hope is here. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.  All is not lost.  All is won.  He has won.  We have won.  Death has been conquered.  The new world has begun. United with Christ, nothing can destroy us.  The worst pains and uncertainties of life cannot rob us of the hope of His life. It can no longer be the first Holy Saturday.  The celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord is the celebration of our hope, our joy, our sharing in the New Life of Christ.

We cannot allow ourselves to be defeated by the present darkness which unites the world. We need to celebrate and fully realize the only reality that truly matters is that which we celebrate today. Jesus Christ is Risen from the dead. 

He is Risen and so are we!  St. Paul’s letter to the Romans proclaims our hope. “Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life; for if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.”

Through our Baptism, Jesus has called us out of this darkness and death and given us each the ability to make his presence real for others.  If we just allow God to work through us, if we just strive to be the unique reflection of his love which he created us to be, then we will come out of the tomb with Him and live eternally. Our lives have meaning, and purpose and beauty when they are united to His Life.

The tomb is empty, but the world is full.  The Savior Lives.  May we let His Life change the world.

But in order for us to be the unique and individual reflections of His love that we are called to be, in order for us to see that the tomb is empty we need to roll the stone away, just as it was rolled away that first Resurrection Day. We roll the stone away this Easter time by taking time to reflect, reflecting is the source of perspective. We need to take time to learn; learning is the source of wisdom. We must take time to pray, prayer is the greatest power on earth. We need to take time to love and be loved; love is God's gift to us.  We need to be friendly; this will make us happy. We need to laugh; laughter is music for the soul. We need to take time to give; life is too short to be selfish. We need to work hard; hard work leads to success. We must serve the poor among us; Charity opens our door to Heaven. Pope Francis is calling us to serve in new and creative ways and we are learning to do just that. We must take time to listen; God is speaking to us.

And what God is saying to us is much like what Pope John Paul said to us back in October of 1978: “Do not be afraid.”   There is every reason to hope.  Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. 

At the conclusion of that ancient homily that began this one, Jesus says to Adam, the first man and to us: “The throne formed by the cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager.  The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

People of God roll the stone away; it is no longer Holy Saturday. It’s Resurrection Day!

Fr. Joseph L. Maloney, Pastor

Saint Aloysius Church

Beach & Hanover Streets

Pottstown, PA  19464

www.saintaloysius.net

"Lazarus, Come Forth!" [3-29-20]

Today on this, Fifth Sunday of Lent we reflect on the story of the Raising of Lazarus. We are so familiar with this story that many times when it comes up for Sunday Mass we don’t listen to it. Our minds wander because we’ve heard it before and we think there’s nothing more for us to learn from it. Even the fact that Jesus raises someone from the dead, does not stir us because well, that’s what Jesus does and every body knows that. That is so very sad because in this Gospel passage Jesus reveals so much to us about who He is, how much He cares about all of us and what He wants for each of us.  Jesus wept at the death of His friend. And we have to realize this:  we are Lazarus. We are in the tomb; in many ways we are spiritually dead. If we are not going to confession on regular basis, we are in the tomb. If we don’t realize that we are sinners, we are spiritually dead. If we think we are better than others and look down on them we are in the tomb. If we fail to forgive others or refuse to seek forgiveness we are in the tomb. If we continue to allow past hurts to victimize us we are spiritually dead. When Jesus sees us in this condition He becomes perturbed; He weeps for us. When we are bound by sin He comes to rescue us, to command that the “stone’ that is locking us in be taken away, to use us to glorify God, to make us whole, to give us new life and to “untie” us so that we might be set free. But there is something that we must do; we must answer His call to “Come forth!” And that’s where the stumbling block might be, because it can get rather, comfortable, it can make us feel safe and we can come to like it in there and it might be pretty scary for us to come out of the tomb. At this point you might say, “But how do I come out, how do I respond to Jesus’ call to come out of the tomb?”  That’s what all the disciplines of Lent, are all about; that is what our prayer fasting and almsgiving is all about.  Our growth in prayer is about freeing us to be in a relationship of such love and such trust with the Lord that we know that He will never leave us and that we never need to cling to any one else or anything else in this world and that His desire for us and are own desires are truly the same. Through increased prayer we strive to gradually bring ourselves to pray that God’s will be done, and not our own.  Fasting is about freeing ourselves from any one or any thing that is not God. It is about making us strong and setting us free. Almsgiving is about setting us free from money and thereby truly making ourselves free to put God first and giving Him our hearts so that we can be His disciples. Lent is about making us ready to “Come forth” at Jesus’ call, so that He can set us free and give us new life in Him.

"¡Lázaro, Sal de Ahí!"

Hoy, en este, Quinto domingo de Cuaresma, reflexionamos sobre la historia de la Resurrección de Lázaro.  Estamos tan familiarizados con esta historia que muchas veces cuando se trata en la Misa Dominical no la escuchamos.  Nuestras mentes divagan porque lo hemos escuchado antes y creemos que no hay nada más que podamos aprender de esto.  Incluso el hecho de que Jesús resucita a alguien de la muerte, no nos conmueve porque bueno, eso es lo que Jesús hace y todos sabemos eso.  Eso es muy triste porque en este pasaje del Evangelio Jesús nos revela mucho sobre quién es Él, cuánto Él se preocupa por todos nosotros y lo que Él quiere para cada uno de nosotros.  Jesús lloró por la muerte de Su amigo.  Y tenemos que darnos cuenta de esto: somos Lázaro.  Estamos en la tumba; en muchos sentidos estamos espiritualmente muertos.  Si no vamos a confesarnos regularmente, estamos en la tumba.  Si no nos damos cuenta de que somos pecadores, estamos espiritualmente muertos.  Si pensamos que somos mejores que otros y los menospreciamos, estamos en la tumba.  Si no podemos perdonar a los demás o nos negamos a buscar el perdón, estamos en la tumba.  Si continuamos permitiendo que las heridas del pasado nos victimicen, estamos espiritualmente muertos.  Cuando Jesús nos ve en esta condición, se perturba; Él llora por nosotros.  Cuando estamos atados por el pecado, Él viene a rescatarnos, a ordenar que la "piedra" que nos está encerrando sea removida, a usarnos para glorificar a Dios, a completarnos, a darnos nueva vida y a "desatarnos" para que podamos ser liberados.  Pero hay algo que debemos hacer; debemos responder a Su llamado a "¡Salir de ahí!"  Y ahí es donde podríamos tropezar, porque puede ser bastante cómodo, puede hacernos sentir seguros y nos puede gustar estar allí y puede ser bastante aterrador para nosotros salir de la tumba.  En este punto, usted podría decir: "¿Pero cómo salgo, cómo respondo al llamado de Jesús de salir de la tumba?"  De eso se tratan todas las disciplinas de la Cuaresma; de eso se trata nuestra oración, ayuno y limosna.  Nuestro crecimiento en la oración se trata de liberarnos para tener una relación de amor y confianza con el Señor que sabemos que Él nunca nos dejará y que no necesitamos aferrarnos a nadie más o a cualquier otra cosa en este mundo y que sus deseos para nosotros y nuestros propios deseos son realmente los mismos.  A través de  la oración, nos esforzamos por rezar gradualmente para que se haga la voluntad de Dios, y no la nuestra.  El ayuno consiste en liberarnos de cualquiera o cualquier cosa que no sea Dios.  Se trata de hacernos fuertes y libres.  La limosna se trata de liberarnos del dinero y, por lo tanto, de hacernos libres para poner a Dios en primer lugar y darle nuestros corazones para que podamos ser sus discípulos.  La Cuaresma se trata de prepararnos para "Salir" hacia el llamado de Jesús, para que Él pueda liberarnos y darnos una nueva vida en Él.