5/22/22 - Peace I Leave With you

Let’s remember the setting. We are at the last supper.  Judas, washed feet and all, is on the way back to hand Him over. The cross looms just behind the foreground. Occupying soldiers are ready to flex their Roman muscle at any time, and the disciples are moments away from seeing their friend and leader arrested and running for dear life. So, what does Jesus speak to them about? Safety? Protection? Evil? Betrayal? Failure? Defeat?  No, He speaks to them of peace. His Peace.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  And He does not speak of a distant peace in a golden age gone by, nor does he speak of a future peace yet to be realized in days to come. Quite the contrary, Jesus speaks in the present tense: He speaks of Peace now. Jesus is doing much more than simply saying good-bye. He is affirming the gift of peace that is made real for the disciples because of His relationship with them. It is a peace that He can give to them now, even in the midst of their unbelievably precarious circumstance. Even in the midst of life’s trials and difficulties, Christ’s peace can be experienced. The challenge, of course, is to pay attention to our relationship with Christ in the midst of lives that are often hurried, harried, and hassled. In such a context, it is critical for us to engage our world with great energy and vigor, while at the same time carving out priority time for reflection and prayer. No relationship can be healthy if we do not invest time in it. Hence, our need to be intentional and proactive about making time for meditation and prayer in order to cultivate an inner stillness in the midst of busy living. In so doing, we become more able to sense how Christ is present in the midst of the world’s need, and thereby become more able to receive the peace of Christ, even in the presence of great turmoil. Also, we need to understand that His understanding of peace is radically different from ours. What we consider peace and what God considers peace are two different things.  For us, peace means not to have conflict.  But Christ calls us into conflict with

 the world.  Still, He gives us peace.  A different peace, a peace within ourselves, a peace that only comes through union with Him.  We are not to be troubled.  We are not to be afraid.  Rather we are called to embrace the Lord and His Way.  Then the Father and Son will be with us and make their dwelling with us.  But we are afraid.  We are afraid that if we abandon our pre-conceived notions of happiness we will be left with nothing.  So, we work frantically in order to obtain happiness.  But happiness cannot be bought obtained or acquired. It is a huge step for us to trust that only radical union with and surrender to God can bring us true happiness and true peace. An integral part of the struggle of our lives is to come to terms with and live in conformity with the truth that it is only in unity with God and His will that real happiness and peace can be ours. Once we take that step; once we realize that truth, the peace that Jesus gives can truly be ours no matter what turmoil surrounds us.

5/15/22 - Love Lives. Love Accepts. Love Challenges.

During this Holy Week and Easter Season, I have often said that the key message of the Easter Season is that “love lives.” Of course, I am referring to the fact that Jesus, who is the perfect personification of the love of God the Father, rose from the dead-on Easter Sunday and lives eternally. But Jesus is not only the embodiment of love.  He is the embodiment of love in action. Jesus is love in action.  He is perpetually acting in a loving way. He loves everyone exactly as they are, whether, it is the woman caught in adultery, the rich young man, Nicodemus, the man born blind, the ten lepers, etc. He accepts everyone, He accepts, us exactly as He finds us. But He does not stop there; love does not stop there.  He loves us as we are but then He calls us forth just as He called Lazarus forth from the tomb. He forgave the adulterous woman but then commanded her to sin no more. He looked at the rich young man with love but then challenged him to give his wealth to the poor. Love is accepting; but because love is love it is not satisfied with leaving us stagnant. Jesus loves us where we are and because He does He calls us, He challenges us to change, not to remain the same. Jesus calls to “Remain in His love,” and we cannot do this if we remain the same, we have to move, we have to grow and change if we are going to follow Him.  That is what the image of the vine and the branches is all about. He is the vine, we are the branches. Our challenge is to remain with Him, to stay connected with Him so that we might bear much fruit. This means that we have to change, that we have to be pruned so that we might become more like Him. If we do not change and grow with Him we will wither away.  Love lives. Love accepts. Love challenges.

5/08/22 - Good Shepherd Sunday

that Peter answered, Jesus responded by saying either “Feed my sheep,” or “Tend my lambs,” and finally by saying. “Follow me.”  He was calling Peter to follow Him out of a deep profound love and to lead His people in the same way that Jesus had done while He was on the earth. This call of Jesus to Peter very nicely sets the stage for us this week, on this Good Shepherd Sunday, to reflect upon the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd that Jesus gives us as the metaphor of the relationship that exists between Him and us. In Jesus’ time, sheep were the people’s main source of meat, milk and cheese.  They provided wool for clothing and were used for sacrifice in their liturgy.  The relationship of a shepherd to his sheep, resembles that of a mother to her several small children. 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. 

Each night, a number of shepherds would come together with their sheep and put them in a common pen.  As they slept one shepherd would stay awake to guard the sheep.  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.  They would ignore the calls of the other shepherds.  Remember, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me.  We may not like to admit this, but we are like sheep. We need God’s constant care at all times and not just when we are aware of our great need for Him.  Meanwhile, we live in a society in which it seems like everyone is trying to get our attention.  We are constantly bombarded with commercials on radio, social media, TV etc. as well with all kinds of signs, posters and billboards all over highways, streets and buildings trying to catch our eyes and ears.  Sometimes, we have a tendency to simply follow the latest message we’ve heard, or, because we hear so many, we might just follow the crowd.  But, if we want to follow Jesus, we have to be able to hear and to recognize His voice, from among the many others.  We have to make a conscious effort to shut out all kinds of noise so that we can listen to Him.  If we don’t, we can easily lose touch with Him.  We need to take time to be quiet, to be still, and to pray, so that we can stay in touch with our Good Shepherd.  Our Lord does not want to lose any of us.  He wants us to be with Him forever.  He leads us through the Mass.  He speaks to us in the Scriptures and feeds us with His own body and blood.   Sheep may not be the most intelligent of creatures, but they are smart enough to know that they need their shepherd and that they need to recognize his voice.  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 to the eternal pasture of Heaven.

5/01/22 - Do You Love Me?...Do You Love Me?...Do You Love Me?

I remember as a young boy I could not wait for the day when my father would let me finally take the lawn tractor all by myself and mow the lawn.  I’ll never forget the first time, during the spring of the year that he finally let me cut the grass on my own. I was so excited and so happy with myself.  But then just a few days later, as you might say, a real growing up moment took place.  My dad saw me and said, “Boy, get that tractor out; that lawn ain’t gonna cut itself!”  Well that’s when it really hit me. Just like that, something I had wanted to do for so long, suddenly became something I had to do. And not only did I have to cut my own lawn, I had to cut my grandmother’s lawn, which was right next door, as well.  I quickly learned that I better had cut my grandmother’s lawn when I was supposed to do so, or else there would be consequences. Unpleasant consequences! Eventually, I came to realize that I should mow her lawn not just to avoid punishment, but because it was the right and just thing to do.  Further down the road, I think I even matured beyond that. I think I can say that eventually I cut her lawn, not to avoid getting into trouble or even because it was justifiably and logically the right thing to do.  I believe I came to the point where I could honestly say that I cut my grandmother’s lawn because I loved my grandmother. I tell this story because it reminds me of a lesson which I believe comes from the Gospel story we just heard. 

 One (of the many lessons) that comes from this story is that Jesus needs Peter to do His will—so that His Kingdom might be built up on earth.  But He doesn’t want Peter to “feed His sheep” just because he fears the consequences of not doing so (Do you love me?). Nor does He want Peter to ‘feed His Sheep” even because he has realized that is the right thing to do (Do you love me?). Jesus wants Peter to follow Him because he (Peter) loved Jesus-just like I came finally to realize that the reason to mow my grandmother’s lawn was that I loved her.  And there it is folks: true discipleship is and always will be a matter of the heart.

4/17/22 - "Let Yourself be Moved..."

There is a story told of a third-grade teacher who worked very hard with her students to put on a Passion play for three consecutive nights.  She had tried so hard to include every one and to make sure that every part would be covered.  She even planned to have someone play the part of the stone that covered Jesus’ tomb.  But this did present her with a bit of a problem.  None of her students wanted to play that part, so she ended up having a different student assigned to that role each night.  It seemed as though everything was in order, at least relatively speaking, just hours before the first night of the play, the teacher learned that the little character who was supposed to play the stone that night was sick and could not participate at all.  Now she was in a spot.  Only after much coaxing, she was eventually able to convince another one of her students to play the part but only with the promise that this first night was the only night that he would have to do it.  All things considered, the first night went off very well.  Unbelievably, on the second night, the teacher ran into the same problem.  The next student assigned to play the part of the stone was sick and not able to participate.  Although she did not want to do this, after looking over her very limited options, she pleaded with the boy who had substituted the night before to play that part one more time.  He agreed, but only under the condition that no matter what, he would not have to play that part again on the last night.  All things considered the play went off very well once again.  Now it was the third night and everything was going well.  And this time nobody was sick!  However, as the teacher was happily about to tell her two-time substitute that he could finally play his original role, he came to her with a surprising request.  He asked if he could play the part of the stone again!  She was shocked and asked why?  He told her that it was the best part in the whole play.  “What do you mean?” she asked.  He said, “When I play the part of the stone, all I have to do is let myself be moved, and everyone knows that Jesus is alive.”  The play went off very well once again, but much more importantly the teacher and the little boy had learned a lesson that they would never forget.

Every Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  All we need to do is allow our hearts to be moved by that mystery and everyone will know that He is alive

4-24-22 - Are Your Doors Locked?

So here we are, celebrating the Second Sunday of Easter, the Sunday within the octave of Easter, the Sunday also known as “Mercy Sunday,” and as per usual, we hear the story of “Doubting Thomas” and we know how that story goes.  The Apostles were locked in the Upper Room for fear of the Jews, the Romans and whatever else might be “out there.” But I don’t think that’s all they were afraid of. I think they were also afraid of what was inside as well. I think they were afraid of what was in their hearts, of the future, of who they were, and how they would go on, even if what was currently “out there” was no longer out there.  Remember, each one of them, with the exception of John, had betrayed Jesus, they failed to stand beside Him in His hour of need. I am pretty sure that a lot of soul searching was going on. I am pretty sure that, yes, they were scared, but I bet they also were pretty remorseful, pretty sorry, pretty regretful, pretty down on themselves. And so the doors were locked. Do we ever do that? Do we ever lock the doors of our hearts, of our souls, perhaps because partially we are afraid of what’s “out there,” but maybe even more so because of the regret that’s already in our hearts to the point where we just can’t take any more?  I am pretty sure that we do, I am pretty sure that many of us have done this, that many of us are doing it right now, and that many of us will do it again. But that’s where the lesson of this Second, Sunday of Easter, this “Doubting Thomas” Sunday, this Mercy Sunday comes in. Although the doors were locked we are told that Jesus came and stood in their midst. That’s what He did for the disciples, and that’s what He does for us. Imagine their amazement, but also imagine their shame and their fear because of their guilt?  But what does He bring?  “Peace be with you,” He says to them. He brings mercy and forgiveness and gives them a mission- to forgive the sins of all. That’s what He brings to us, and to our locked hearts. Peace. Mercy. Forgiveness. New Purpose. Amazingly and Unbelievably… Are your doors locked?  That might be able to keep the bad guys out there, but take heart, they won’t be able to keep Jesus out, not if you long for Him.

4-10-22 - HOLY WEEK at Saint Aloysius! Do Not Miss It.

Believe it or not, it is Palm Sunday, 2022!  We are about, once again to enter into holiest of all weeks of the year, as we begin by commemorating the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and His Passion. Next Sunday of course, we will celebrate His Resurrection. But what about all the days in between-remember it is “Holy Week”; it is made up of seven days, not just one or two. Our invitation and challenge is to make sure that we do not miss it, that we accept the invitation and challenge of Jesus to walk with Him from the time of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, through His sorrowful passion to His joyful Resurrection.  I firmly believe that here at Saint Aloysius Parish you will have ample opportunity to do just that.  Of course, we will begin by participating in today’s celebration of the Mass of Palm Sunday. Note that we are invited to leave from Mass in silence as a sign of the fact that we are beginning the most solemn journey with Jesus through the holiest of weeks. Perhaps you would consider participating in our 8:30 AM Masses on Monday, Tuesday and/or Wednesday mornings so that you might continue walking with Jesus as He moves closer and closer to the Upper Room and Gethsemane. I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity on Tuesday evening at 6:30 PM for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Please note this is your last chance to receive the sacrament before Easter.  Then, on Holy Thursday we will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00 PM. Join us as we present the newly blessed sacramental oils, celebrate once again with Jesus the Last Supper, the First Mass, the institution of the Eucharist and of the Priesthood.  At the end of Mass we will process the Blessed Sacrament down Hanover Street and back into the Gather Center to the Altar of Repose which will be where the Sacred Heart statue now stands.  As the Triduum continues we will commemorate Christ’s passion and death with the celebration of Morning Prayer on Good Friday at 8:30 AM.  Adoration will continue throughout the day until our Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at 3:00 PM.  This is an absolutely moving service which includes the most powerful ritual of the veneration of the Cross.  On Holy Saturday morning at 8:30AM you may bring your Easter food to be blessed within the celebration of Morning Prayer.  Then we wait with heartfelt expectation for the blessing of the Easter Fire at 7:43 PM on the evening of Holy Saturday as we begin the Easter Vigil and celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus.  As you can see, this is indeed the holiest of weeks.  Do not miss it! 

4/3/22 - Caught in the Act

They thought they had Him this time. Here was a woman caught in the act of adultery. The law demanded that she be stoned to death.  But what about Jesus’ message of mercy? Note how the Pharisees did not care at all about the woman or the sin. They only cared about putting an end to Him.   And this time they thought they had Him dead to rights. If He let her go, He was clearly breaking the Mosaic Law. But if He did not let her go, then what about all of His talk about mercy and forgiveness? They thought for sure there was no way out for Him. So, what does Jesus do? Well, basically He turned the law on them.  The law also called for two witnesses who were known to be free from any suspicion of wrong doing to make the official accusation. They did not have two such witnesses. Therefore, there was no one to cast the first stone at her.  They could not fulfill the prescriptions of their own law so the woman was not condemned; she was off the hook on a technicality.  But what about the law-it called for death.  Where was the justice? The woman would not die for her sin but the story was not over. Jesus knew that when He saved this woman’s life and let her go free that He had sealed His own fate. He knew He had not seen the last of the Pharisees. He knew that they would be back in force, especially after this latest humiliation and would not stop until He was gone. He knew that because of His action He would most definitely die. But He saved her life any way and upheld the Law by choosing to die in her place. What He did for her, He does for us.  We commit sin, and because of our sin He dies and sets us free, urging us to sin no more. We might wonder about the woman in this story. Did she turn away from her sin? But really, we should wonder about us. Will we ever turn away from ours?

3/27/22 - On the Outside, Looking In

We have all heard the story of the prodigal son countless times. I’ll bet that it’s probably one of the parables of which we are most familiar. That is good but, at the same time the fact that it is so familiar to us might prevent us from really listening to it and grasping the full meaning that Jesus and St. Luke are trying to get across to us. If you’re like me, there’s a chance that you might hear the first few words, and then your mind quickly identifies it and moves on because you’ve already “been there and done that” The problem with this rapid subconscious process is that it could prevent us from either reaffirming an understanding that needs to be reaffirmed or coming to a realization of an insight that we did not see before or both.  I am constantly amazed, even after nearly 30 years of scripture study, that I still come to new insights all the time, even though to my knowledge the scriptures have not been changed for nearly 2000 years. This pattern holds throughout the bible, and I find it to be particularly true of the more familiar passages, like the parable of the Prodigal Son, which are identified very quickly by our minds and kind of put to rest at the start, without allowing us to seek new insight or understanding.

So, let’s begin by trying to look at the core message of this parable. However, it needs to be made clear right at the outset, that it is impossible to discuss this parable completely in any one setting because it is so full of symbolism and has so many layers of meaning.  In order to understand this parable’s bottom-line lesson, we have to ask what Jesus is saying to the scribes and Pharisees.  It is to them that this parable is addressed, and it is to their complaint and concern that He is responding.  We can trust that whatever He is saying to them He is also saying to us.  That’s another one of those little tricks that our subconscious minds can play on us.  We might hear the words, “Pharisees and scribes” and quickly think, “OK they are the bad guys, I don’t really have to worry too much about them,” and lose at least part of Jesus’ message to us. What I try to do is train my brain to remember all the time that when Jesus speaks to the scribes and Pharisees, He is speaking to us. We know about Toys-R-Us-well the scribes and Pharisees are us too.

The scribes and the Pharisees make the charge against Jesus that he “eats with sinners and welcomes them.”  It is this charge that prompts Jesus to tell them this story.  And what happens in the story? Well a man not only welcomed a sinner and ate with him, he threw a tremendous banquet in his honor, had the fatted calf killed for him, dressed the sinner in fine robes, put a ring on his finger and embraced and kissed him as soon as he saw him.  Of course, the man who welcomed the sinner was the sinner’s father, and the sinful son had sinned against him in an unbelievable and unimaginable way. But not only did the father forgive him, he grieved, longed for, and searched for the lost son day and night and ran out to greet him when he saw him coming from a far off.  The father didn’t even let the son speak his sins. It was as if the Father didn’t even care that the son had sinned at all. All he cared about was that his son was back home and safe.

Jesus is saying to the scribes, the Pharisees, the older son and us:  My sons, and daughters you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But we must celebrate and rejoice, each time that any one confesses their sins because they are my children and your brothers and sisters. 

Jesus is saying that we are all invited to His heavenly banquet each and every day and that He so longs for us to join Him but the choice is ours.  There are two realities that keep us from joining the celebration.  The first is the inability or refusal to recognize and confess our own sinfulness.  The second is the inability or refusal to forgive.  These two realities usually go hand in hand.  The scribes, the Pharisees, and the older brother, either refused to or could not see their own sinfulness and refused to forgive their brothers and sisters even when they saw their father rejoicing in the opportunity to do just that.  To the extent that we behave in a similar way we will find ourselves just like the older brother at the end of the story: on the outside, looking in.

3/20/22 - The Burning Bush and the Barren Fig Tree

My guess is that most of us remember Simba, the little lion cub who grows up to be the Lion King in the movie of the same name.  He had found a pretty good life for himself after the murder of his father and the violent takeover of his homeland by evil forces. He very much enjoyed frolicking around in the jungle with his newfound friends Timone and Pumbaa, and all seemed to be good. But something was missing.  His homeland needed to be saved; his “people” needed to be set free. Unless he went back, his life would remain like that of the fig tree at the end of today’s Gospel; barren and fruitless.

I’m also pretty sure that we remember Jonah, who is one of my favorite biblical characters.  Jonah found peace in a rather strange place- the belly of a whale. But before we chuckle, we should take a moment to reflect on the rather odd places where we have either found or have attempted to find peace, albeit a peace that was at best only temporary.  You see Jonah had sinned against God.  God called him to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh, but he hopped onto the first boat going in the opposite direction instead. But then a great storm erupted, as storms do erupt when we try to run from God, and Jonah had himself, thrown overboard so that his shipmates might be saved.  That’s where the whale enters the scene and rescues him. Inside the whale, Jonah was basically able to go on retreat: he offered praise and thanksgiving to God and repented for his disobedience. He found a kind of peace, for a while.  But what about the Ninevites?  They were still there, and they still needed to be saved, they needed to be set free of their slavery to sin.  If his story ended here we would not be talking about Jonah, he would have been just like another barren fruitless fig tree.

And so, we come to Moses.  Moses had found a kind of peace as well.  He had gotten himself into trouble back in Egypt because he murdered an Egyptian who had struck one of his people, an enslaved Israelite.  So, he fled that land and found a home and solace tending the sheep of his father-in-law.  Isn’t that just a little bit ironic- I mean, Moses was indeed supposed to be tending sheep, just not the sheep of his father-in-law.  He was meant to tend to the Israelites, the sheep of his heavenly Father, who was indeed about to reveal Himself to him.  The Israelites, his Father’s sheep, his people, needed to be set free.  If Moses’ story ended here, not only would we not be talking about him today, we would not be here at all. He too would have remained as useless as a barren fruitless fig tree.

But we know that the stories of Simba, Jonah and Moses did not end where we have left them.  In the case of the soon-to-be Lion King, the messenger from his kingdom found him and called him back to fulfill his role and the kingdom was saved because of his positive response. After Jonah repented, the whale immediately spewed him out onto dry land and God once again called him to go to Nineveh.  This time he went and the Ninevites were saved.  And as for Moses, well he ran into this rather strange bush.  He noticed it not so much because it was on fire-as a shepherd he had seen many burning bushes before and probably had set many bushes on fire himself. Rows of bushes were often used as boundary lines to separate one flock of sheep from another, and were burned down at times when sheep needed to be moved to different pastures.  But this bush was different. It was burning, but it was not being consumed.  There probably was no smoke, no smell and no ashes. That’s what drew him to this bush.  Little did he know as he approached it that his life would be changed forever.  What did he find when he arrived at where the bush was?  Well, he found that he was on holy ground, that God, his God who calls himself “I AM,” not “I was,” or “I will be,” was calling him back to the place from where he was fleeing, the very epicenter of his fear to set God’s people and his people free. Simba was called back to his kingdom, back to the place of his fear so that it could be set free. Jonah was sent back in the direction that he did not want to go so that the Ninevites could be set free. But Simba and Jonah are fictional characters.  Moses is for real. And so are we. We can be sure that God calls us to do pretty much exactly what He calls Moses and the barren fig tree to do.  To bear fruit.

He calls us to face our fears, to conquer them, and thereby to fulfill the purpose for which we were created:  to set ourselves free and to become an agent of freedom for those around us. That is the fruit He wants us to bear.   And how do we do that?  For starters we can take a hint from the very name, “I AM,” that He gives Himself.   We are called not to live in the past-the place of regret, resentment, grievance, sadness, bitterness and all forms of non-forgiveness or to live in the future-the place of unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry and all forms of fear, but to live in the now, the present.

We are called to be here in the world now, to love now, to see things as they are now, to face our weaknesses now, to forgive now, to seek forgiveness now to heal ourselves now, to help others to heal now, to carry our crosses now, to live with full awareness and consciousness now, to see the burning bushes that are all around us now.  That’s how we free ourselves, from slavery to sin, from our slavery to fear and help others to do the same. We need to realize the presence of God in the present and respond to that presence- whether it comes to us in the form of a messenger from our past, the voice of God coming through our hearts and souls, the amazing form of a burning but unconsumed bush or the manure that was placed around a barren fig tree. 

You see, the difference between those who were either killed tragically by the falling tower in Siloam or the Galileans who were horribly and violently killed by Pontius Pilate and the fig tree and us at the end of the Gospel, is that, at least for the moment, we still live, we still stand.  Those people were cut down and no longer have a chance to repent or to bear fruit.  The fig tree still has a chance, and so do we.

In this Year of Mercy, we need to live in God’s healing presence now and bear fruit now.  We do not have the luxury of knowing if we will be cut down in an untimely manner or how or when we will be called from this life like the fig tree, our story will either end as barren and fruitless; or perhaps it is just about to begin.

[3-13-22] "Lord, It's Hard to Be Humble..."

As we journey through this season of Lent, I think it is very important that we reflect on what I have come to see as perhaps the most basic virtue.   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.”  The virtue that I am talking about is humility. 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, too 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 us, 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 is that we need others; that we are made for relationships. It helps us to be kind, merciful, forgiving, 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.

 “Señor, Es Difícil Ser

Humilde…”

A medida que avanzamos en esta temporada de Cuaresma, creo que es muy importante que reflexionemos sobre lo que he llegado a ver como quizás la virtud más básica. Creo que está antes y provee una base para todos los demás. Proviene de la palabra latina “humilitas”, que significa “tierra”. Podemos decir que quien vive de esta virtud está “firme en la tierra”. La virtud de la que hablo es la humildad. Ser humilde es muy difícil para nosotros incluso cuando queremos serlo y estamos tratando de serlo, y seamos realistas, hay muchas veces que ser humilde es lo último que queremos intentar ser. Vemos la humildad como una debilidad o una opinión baja o incluso negativa de nosotros mismos. Lo vemos como una señal de que tenemos muy poca o ninguna ambición y, por lo tanto, no tenemos muchas esperanzas de lograr o alcanzar mucho en nuestras vidas. Pero eso no es lo que significa en absoluto. Ser humilde no significa vernos a nosotros mismos negativamente, significa vernos a nosotros mismos claramente, también vernos como Dios nos ve y que nosotros veamos a Dios como realmente Él es. En el breve momento de la Transfiguración eso es exactamente lo que sucedió. Pedro, Santiago y Juan vieron claramente a Jesús, exactamente como lo vio Dios Padre. Si verdaderamente vivimos en la virtud de la humildad, nos veríamos a nosotros mismos y a los demás como Dios nos ve, como Sus hijos, como nosotros y los demás verdaderamente somos. A la persona humilde no le falta ambición ni capacidad de liderazgo. De hecho, los estudios han demostrado que los líderes más exitosos son aquellos que practican una humildad verdadera y sincera pero que son capaces de canalizar su gran fuerza y ​​ambición hacia su misión o hacia aquellos a quienes lideran. Por favor, oren por mí mientras me esfuerzo por aprender, aplicar y vivir esta virtud. Necesitamos aprender a canalizar nuestra fuerza y ​​nuestra ambición hacia algo más grande que nosotros mismos. Una de las principales lecciones de la relación de Dios con los israelitas es que sin Dios, no eran nada ni estaban en ninguna parte. Ese debe ser nuestro punto de partida. Necesitamos ver la humildad como un punto de partida para el éxito y como fuerza porque eso es lo que es. La Escritura claramente enseña que el éxito con Dios se basa en la humildad. Él enaltece a los humildes y dispersa a los soberbios. Nos asienta en la realidad de que hay un Dios y que no somos Él, que todo lo que logramos y todo lo que somos... son regalos de Él. También nos enseña que la realidad es que necesitamos a los demás; que estamos hechos para relacionarnos. Nos ayuda a ser amables, misericordiosos, indulgentes y compasivos. Puede ser difícil ser humilde, pero es mucho más difícil ejercer estas otras maravillosas virtudes si no somos humildes primero. La humildad nos hace atractivos para los demás. Solo pregúntense, ¿con quién es más fácil para ustedes estar, alguien que es humilde o alguien que es soberbio? ¡Sin embargo, nos encontramos alejándonos de la humildad muy a menudo! La persona humilde reconoce, como lo hizo Pedro, que cuando nos vemos a nosotros mismos, a Dios y a los demás con claridad, en verdad es “…bueno para nosotros estar aquí”. Esforcémonos por llegar y quedarnos allí. Recuerda, no es que las personas humildes piensen menos de sí mismas. Solo piensan más en Dios y en los demás.

[3-06-22] Fighting Temptation... Is it Even Relevant Anymore?

As it is the First Sunday of Lent we hear of Jesus’ temptation in the desert.  We know that Jesus faced the same kinds of temptation that the Israelites experienced as they wandered in the desert for forty years. And these temptations are also very similar to the temptations we face throughout our lives. 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 during this season of Lent. However, I can’t help but thinking, does anyone ever fight temptation anymore?  I mean, really, does anyone 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 modern culture that I even wonder if we recognize sin any more or the value of trying to stay away from it – and that is the very reason that Jesus died on the cross! Have we actually gotten to the point where we no longer really value trying to stay away from the very reality (sin) from which Jesus came to save us?  We are so very much affected by the world that I am truly very worried. The world teaches us 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 anyone else or to offend God and sin always involves all three. The world teaches us it is psychologically harmful 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.  We are also taught human beings cannot overcome temptation so there is no reason to try to overcome it or teach our children to do so. Therefore, parents should supply their teen children with means of birth control, and provide them with “safe havens” to abuse alcohol, etc. 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 the world teaches us that since 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 so “enlightened,” we simply can no longer be expected to abide by the antiquated values of the past. Therefore, no one can be expected to refrain from sex before marriage, and certainly we now realize that same sex marriage is to be regarded in the same way as traditional marriage and we certainly should not trap people into biological genders.  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? 

Luchar contra la tentación... ¿Sigue siendo relevante?

Dado que es el Primer Domingo de Cuaresma, escuchamos sobre la tentación de Jesús en el desierto. Sabemos que Jesús enfrentó los mismos tipos de tentación que experimentaron los israelitas mientras vagaban por el desierto durante cuarenta años. Y estas tentaciones también son muy similares a las tentaciones que enfrentamos a lo largo de nuestra vida. Por supuesto, sabemos que Él sabe que ganó una dramática victoria sobre Satanás y que Su victoria está destinada a inspirar nuestra propia victoria sobre la tentación durante esta temporada de Cuaresma. Sin embargo, no puedo evitar pensar, ¿todavía hay alguien que luche contra la tentación? Quiero decir, realmente, ¿alguien ve algún valor en una lucha tan arcaica en la actualidad? Tal vez estoy viendo el vaso medio vacío, pero creo que tengo motivos válidos para preocuparme. Estamos tan afectados por la cultura moderna que me pregunto si todavía reconocemos el pecado o el valor de tratar de mantenernos alejados de él - ¡y esa es la precisa razón por la que Jesús murió en la cruz! ¿Hemos llegado realmente al punto en el que ya no valoramos tratar de mantenernos alejados de la misma realidad (pecado) de la que Jesús vino a salvarnos? Estamos tan afectados por el mundo que estoy realmente muy preocupado. El mundo nos enseña que cualquier acción es perfectamente aceptable siempre y cuando nadie salga lastimado. Esta es la vieja teoría del “crimen sin víctimas”. El problema con esto es que no existe tal cosa. Si cometemos pecado, no importa cuán “privado”, siempre alguien sale lastimado. No está bien lastimarnos a nosotros mismos, ni a los demás, ni ofender a Dios y el pecado siempre involucra a los tres. El mundo nos enseña que es psicológicamente dañino negarnos a nosotros mismos todo lo que queremos, y realmente, si queremos algo, lo necesitamos; ¿No es así? Por lo tanto, si quiero algo, me estoy haciendo daño a mí mismo si no actúo para conseguirlo. También se nos enseña que los seres humanos no pueden vencer la tentación, por lo que no hay razón para tratar de vencerla o enseñar a nuestros hijos a hacerlo. Por lo tanto, los padres deben proporcionar a sus hijos adolescentes medios anticonceptivos y brindarles “refugios seguros” para abusar del alcohol, etc., porque no podrían abstenerse del sexo o la cerveza, etc. Este tipo de pensamiento niega a los jóvenes de la dignidad humana a la que, lo crean o no, quieren ser sujetos. Por último, pero ciertamente no menos importante, el mundo nos enseña que, dado que vivimos en tiempos modernos, necesitamos un conjunto completamente nuevo de pautas morales. Debido a que las cosas han cambiado tanto y debido a que hemos aprendido tanto y nos hemos vuelto tan “iluminados”, simplemente ya no se puede esperar que nos atengamos a los valores anticuados del pasado. Por lo tanto, no se puede esperar que nadie se abstenga de tener relaciones sexuales antes del matrimonio, y ciertamente ahora nos damos cuenta de que el matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo debe considerarse de la misma manera que el matrimonio tradicional y ciertamente no debemos categorizar a las personas en géneros biológicos. Lo sorprendente de esto es que, aunque pensamos que estamos tan iluminados, no estamos lo suficientemente iluminados como para darnos cuenta de que innumerables culturas creyeron esta mentira antes que nosotros. ¿Y adivina dónde están ahora? Bueno, están exactamente donde estaremos nosotros si también la creemos: en el montón de cenizas de la historia como los romanos a manos de los bárbaros. Ya ves, el resultado final es este: está el bien, está el mal, está lo correcto, está lo incorrecto, y están aquí para quedarse. Y los seres humanos siempre están.

2-22-22 Which Speck Do You Spot?

Spanish Translation at the bottom

We find ourselves in a rather unusual spot this Sunday as we usually do not observe the Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time because we are usually into the Season of Lent before it comes our way. So here we are and here we go. I suggest we pay attention because I am not sure when we will be able to meet here again.  I remember when I was driving a Prius, it seems as though I saw a lot of other Prius(es) on the road. I never really noticed them before, but I suppose they were always there. Then when I began driving a Sonata, it all of a sudden seemed like all these other Sonatas made themselves known. Have you ever noticed that kind of thing? When I need a haircut, as I very much do right now, I become keenly aware of other folks who just had their hair cut, and it reminds me of my dire need. (I certainly hope that my hair is cut before I give this homily, because if not I will be very self-conscious indeed!)  But then I noticed something that is very troublesome to me to this day, but I know now to be on the lookout for it. I am now very much aware that if I notice a fault in someone else, there is actually a very good chance that I also am victimized by that same fault. If I notice something about someone else that is annoying to me, it could very well mean that I have first noticed it about myself. It’s actually a pretty good way of keeping myself in check. So what about you? What about the speck that you spot? Do you think that just maybe I might not be the only one afflicted in this way? Check it out next time. The next time you spot a speck in someone else, check out whether or not you can spot pretty much the same speck in yourself. And if you do, take care of your own speck, before you help them with theirs.

¿Qué Defecto Ves?

Nos encontramos en un lugar bastante inusual este Domingo, ya que generalmente no celebramos el  Octavo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario porque generalmente estamos en la Temporada de Cuaresma antes de que se nos presente. Así que aquí estamos y aquí vamos. Sugiero que prestemos atención porque no estoy seguro de cuándo podremos encontrarnos aquí nuevamente. Recuerdo cuando conducía un Prius, parece que vi muchos otros Prius en la carretera. Realmente nunca los había notado antes, pero supongo que siempre estuvieron ahí. Luego, cuando comencé a conducir un Sonata, de repente pareció que todos estos otros Sonatas salieron a relucir. ¿Alguna vez has notado ese tipo de cosas? Cuando necesito un corte de pelo, como lo necesito ahora, me doy cuenta de otras personas que acaban de cortarse el pelo, y me recuerda mi extrema necesidad. (¡Ciertamente espero que me corten el cabello antes de dar esta homilía, porque si no, me sentiré muy avergonzado!) Pero luego noté algo que me preocupa mucho hasta el día de hoy, pero ahora sé cómo estar al pendiente de eso. Ahora soy muy consciente de que, si noto una falla en otra persona, en realidad hay una gran posibilidad de que yo también sea víctima de esa misma falla. Si noto algo sobre otra persona que me molesta, podría significar que primero lo noté sobre mí mismo. En realidad, es una muy buena manera de mantenerme bajo control. ¿Y qué me dices de ti? ¿Qué pasa con el defecto que ves? ¿Crees que tal vez yo no sea el único afligido de esta manera? Compruébalo la próxima vez. La próxima vez que veas un defecto en otra persona, verifique si puede o no detectar más o menos el mismo defecto en usted mismo. Y si lo haces, cuida tu propio defecto, antes de ayudarlos con el de ellos.

2-20-22 The Hardest Part

The Hardest Part

Today’s Gospel, I believe, brings many of us to the most difficult part of Jesus’ teaching; at least I know it is for me. Jesus says “Love your enemies, do good to those who hurt you, bless those who curse you…” He tells us to turn the other cheek!   It is easier for us to avoid sexual immorality than to avoid hating someone who has hurt us, but that is what He is calling us to do.  It is easier for us to make tremendous sacrifices for the needs of others than to avoid lashing out at someone who has hurt us or our families, but that is what He is calling us to do. Following Jesus means fighting off the hatred that is in the world-and destroying it-by beginning with the anger that is in our hearts and souls. Jesus says that we must be compassionate as our Heavenly Father is compassionate. We need to be concerned with the needs of others by being charitable, sympathetic and forgiving. Just as we are dependent on His care, we need to offer the same to others and especially to those who are the most difficult for us to love. By holding grudges we are allowing God’s love and mercy to be limited-who gives us the right to do that? Who gives us the right to add to the sum total of hatred in the world? By returning anger and hatred with anger and hatred, all we are doing is becoming like the ones to whom our anger and hatred is aimed and we only hurt ourselves. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We are called by the Father to participate in the transformation of the world into the Kingdom of God and our major opportunity to do so is by changing ourselves with His grace. This may be the hardest part of Jesus teaching, but it also is the best part.  It enables us to live and to die in His love.

2-13-22 Blessed are Those Who KNow That They are in Need of God...For the Kingdom of Heaven is Theirs

It is good for us, while we are still in the early weeks of the season of Ordinary time (or, as I like to call it, the “season of real life”) to contemplate and reflect on the Beatitudes, which we hear today from the Gospel of St. Luke, since of course they are the centerpiece of Jesus’ teaching for us and for all people of all time.  If we read them with fresh eyes, listen to them, with fresh ears, and receive them with a newly opened mind and heart, we will indeed be better able to live these days of Ordinary Time in an extraordinarily good way.  First, it is probably good for us to remember the context in which they were given and to whom they were spoken.  The crowd to which Jesus spoke was made up precisely of those who were poor, who were suffering, who were mourning, who were persecuted, who were hungering and thirsting for justice, etc. and He told them that they were blessed for heaven would be theirs. Imagine what His words must have felt like to people who were seen and treated as the outcasts of society and realize that in hearing them we should feel the same way.  However, He is not saying that we should strive to be financially poor, or to be in a state of mourning or that we should want to be persecuted.  He is saying that if we are wealthy by worldly standards, if we are not  hungering for Him, if it does not sadden us if our loved ones are not following Him, and if the world thinks well of us, than we face the ominous peril of being cursed to an eternity without Him because we perceive no need of Him. However, if we recognize our dependence on Him, and not for the things of the world, if we hunger for His justice and mercy, if we mourn for those who do not realize their dependence on the Lord or hunger for His kingdom, and if we stand up for the kingdom in the face of persecution than we are truly blessed. Why?  Because if we live as people who are fully aware of our need for Him, of our true poverty, than the kingdom of heaven is indeed ours.

Bienaventurados Los Que  Saben Que Tienen Necesidad de Dios…

...Porque De Ellos Es El Reino De Los Cielos

Es bueno para nosotros, mientras todavía estamos en las primeras semanas de la temporada del Tiempo Ordinario (o, como me gusta llamarle, la “temporada de la vida real”) para contemplar y reflexionar sobre las Bienaventuranzas, que escuchamos hoy en el Evangelio de San Lucas, ya que por supuesto son la pieza central de la enseñanza de Jesús para nosotros y para todas las personas de todos los tiempos. Si las leemos y las escuchamos con ojos y oídos abiertos y las recibimos con una mente y un corazón recién abiertos, estaremos en mejores condiciones de vivir estos días del Tiempo Ordinario de una manera extraordinariamente buena. En primer lugar, probablemente sea bueno que recordemos el contexto en el que fueron dadas y a quiénes fueron dirigidas. La multitud a la que Jesús se dirigió estaba formada precisamente por los pobres, los que sufrían, los que lloraban, los perseguidos, los que tenían hambre y sed de justicia, etc. y les dijo que eran bienaventurados porque el cielo sería de ellos. Imagínese cómo se deben haber sentido Sus palabras para las personas que fueron vistas y tratadas como marginadas de la sociedad y dese cuenta de que al escucharlas debemos sentirnos de la misma manera. Sin embargo, Él no está diciendo que debamos esforzarnos por ser económicamente pobres, o estar en un estado de duelo o que debamos querer ser perseguidos. Él está diciendo que, si somos ricos según los estándares mundanos, si no tenemos hambre de Él, si no nos entristece que nuestros seres queridos no lo sigan, y si el mundo piensa bien de nosotros, entonces enfrentamos el abominable peligro de estar condenados por una eternidad sin Él porque no percibimos ninguna necesidad de Él. Sin embargo, si reconocemos nuestra dependencia de Él, y no de las cosas del mundo, si tenemos hambre de Su justicia y misericordia, si lloramos por aquellos que no se dan cuenta de su dependencia del Señor o tienen hambre de Su reino, y si defendemos el reino frente a la persecución, entonces somos verdaderamente bendecidos. ¿Por qué? Porque si vivimos como personas plenamente conscientes de nuestra necesidad de Él, de nuestra verdadera pobreza, entonces el reino de los cielos es verdaderamente nuestro.

2-06-22 "Here I am Lord, Send Me"

“Here I am Lord, Send Me”

Those words from Isaiah haunt me till this very day. I remember when I first felt the call to the priesthood, I could not get the words of the hymn “Here I am, Lord” out of my mind. What I remember so clearly during that time was the sobering realization that I/we only have one shot at life.  We only get one life.  We need to make the very best of it- we need to get our vocation right.  We need to serve God in every aspect of our lives. Some of you might be asking yourselves, as I often ask myself, “Am I good enough to serve God in the way that He wants me to serve Him?” All three readings this week answer that question.   Isaiah was not good enough at first.  Then an angel touched Isaiah’s mouth with the ember from the fire.  He was made clean.  In the second reading Paul reminds us that he started off by persecuting Christians. He was brutal to those who were living according to the new way. He would round up men, women and children and bring them to the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem.  He watched and approved as an innocent and meek Stephen was stoned to death by a mob.  Paul was a spectator at the lynching, but he cheered on the mob and left excited to find the mob’s next victims. But despite all this Jesus transformed Paul into an apostle.  “I am who I am,” St. Paul says, “through the Grace of God.”  In the Gospel, Peter wants Jesus to leave him because he is so aware of his own sin.  Jesus basically says, “No way.  I have work for you, you will be catching men.” And Jesus says to you and to me, “Stop hiding behind your human failures.  How dare you say that I cannot send you?  I am God.  I have work for you to do.  I will cleanse you.  I will send you.”  I remember when I left home to go to the seminary, my pastor, the priest who inspired me said to me that the priesthood is the life. I do believe that over the years I have come to a deeper understanding of what he meant when he spoke those words but I have also learned something else: when it comes right down to it the only life worth living is the life into which the Lord sends us. Therefore, our response to Him should always be, “Here I am Lord, send me.

Aquí Estoy Señor, Envíame Esas palabras de Isaías me persiguen hasta el día de hoy. Recuerdo que cuando sentí por primera vez el llamado al sacerdocio, no podía quitarme de la cabeza las palabras del cántico “Aquí estoy, Señor”. Lo que recuerdo tan claramente durante ese tiempo fue la realización edificante de que yo/nosotros solo tenemos una oportunidad en la vida. Solo tenemos una vida. Tenemos que aprovecharla al máximo, tenemos que acertar con nuestra vocación. Necesitamos servir a Dios en cada aspecto de nuestras vidas. Algunos de ustedes se estarán preguntando, como me pregunto a menudo, "¿Soy lo suficientemente bueno para servir a Dios en la forma en que Él quiere que le sirva?" Las tres lecturas de esta semana responden a esa pregunta. Isaías no era lo suficientemente bueno al principio. Entonces un ángel tocó la boca de Isaías con la brasa del fuego. Él fue hecho limpio. En la segunda lectura, Pablo nos recuerda que comenzó persiguiendo a los cristianos. Él era cruel con aquellos que vivían de acuerdo a la nueva ley. Él era malo. Él apresaba hombres, mujeres y niños y los llevaba ante las autoridades judías en Jerusalén. Observó y aprobó cómo un inocente y manso Esteban era apedreado por una multitud. Pablo fue un espectador del linchamiento, pero él animó a la multitud y se fue emocionado por encontrar a las próximas víctimas de la multitud. Pero a pesar de todo esto, Jesús transformó a Pablo en apóstol. “Soy quien soy”, dice San Pablo, “por la Gracia de Dios”. En el Evangelio, Pedro quiere que Jesús lo deje porque es muy consciente de su propio pecado. Jesús básicamente dice: “De ninguna manera. Tengo trabajo para ti, serás pescador de hombres”. Y Jesús te dice a ti y a mí: “Dejen de esconderse detrás de sus fracasos humanos. ¿Cómo te atreves a decir que no puedo enviarte? Yo soy Dios. Tengo trabajo para ti. Te limpiaré. Te enviaré." Recuerdo cuando salí de casa para ir al seminario, mi párroco, el sacerdote que me inspiró me dijo que el sacerdocio es la vida. Creo que a lo largo de los años he llegado a una comprensión más profunda de lo que quiso decir cuando pronunció esas palabras, pero también he aprendido algo más: cuando se trata de eso, la única vida que vale la pena vivir es la vida en la que el Señor nos envía. Por lo tanto, nuestra respuesta a Él siempre debe ser: “Aquí estoy, Señor, envíame”.

1-30-22 Louie Knew

Louie Knew

Although it is very hard for me to believe this, it has been over 30 years now, that I, while as a seminarian on break, can remember visiting with parishioners one Sunday after Mass at my home parish, Sacred Heart in Oxford, PA.  As I was greeting many people whom I had not seen for a while, a young man of about 13 or 14 who I knew from the parish CYO came up to me to say “Hi” I said “Louie, it’s great to see you, how are you?” He said “OK” in a less than an enthusiastic manner to which I responded, “Are you sure; is there something wrong?” “No,” he said, “it’s just that I have to go to CCD class.” (CCD is what we in Oxford used to call religious education classes for children who did not attend Catholic School). “That’s not so bad is it?” I asked. “I guess not,” he said,” except for the fact that they keep on talking about the same old things, things I already know all about.” “Oh,” I said, “can you give me an example of something that they keep on talking about of which you already know?” He said “you know, Love.” Now, it is very true that I am not so sure that young Louie’s understanding of love would match that which is displayed in the words of St. Paul in our second reading which are as follows: “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.” However, it did show me that there was something very valuable that he did understand; there was a connection that he had made. He may not have known all about Catholic Education, but he definitely had a sense that it always pointed to love.  As we begin Catholic Schools Week that is indeed a connection of which we need to be aware. All the wonderful learning that we experience in all of the different grade levels and all of the different subjects and activities is always about helping us to know, to understand, to experience and to share the love of God. That is what it is always about. We learn about the truths of God’s universe so that we can better receive and share His love.  And this education does not stop. We never ever get to the point, even though Louie thought he had done so, where we can say that we know all about love. And that is what makes our lives so adventurous and exciting. So, my young friend Louie does have a lesson that remains valid and valuable to each and every one of us to the present day and throughout eternity: Catholic Education is indeed always meant to be all about love. That’s what Louie knew.

1-23-22 "rejoicing in the Lord Must Be Your Strength"

What is your strength?  We all have strengths; they have been given to us by God. Do we know what they are?  I bet if you were asked what your weaknesses were, you would have an easier time identifying and listing them then you have identifying your strengths. But really folks, we should know our strengths at least as much as we know our weaknesses. Why?  Well not so that we can become proud and brag about them but so that we know that we have them at our disposal to help us overcome our weaknesses and so that we can put them at the Lord’s disposal in building up His Kingdom. And there is another reason, which we will come back to after looking at our scripture readings for a bit.  Our first reading gives us a snapshot of the story of Ezrah and Nehemiah. Their story in the scripture captures that part of the Jewish history from the end of the Babylonian Captivity to the restoration of Jerusalem, including the rebuilding of its walls.  Today’s reading describes the historic scene of the priest Ezra reading the sacred Law to the people for the first time in generations. Imagine the emotions that must have been present in the hearts of the faithful that were present there.  Now fast forward to the Gospel scene in which Jesus, still very much at the beginning of His public ministry unrolls the scroll of Isaiah and reads these words: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” My guess is that the emotions of the people hearing these words of Jesus were very similar to those who heard Ezra reading the words of the Law hundreds of years before. Both were occasions that were marked by feelings of freedom, joy, heeling and restoration. Yet we are told that many were brought to tears as they heard the words of the Law being read Why- were they tears of joy? Perhaps, but maybe as people heard the words of the Law, they realized how much they feel short from it in living their lives. I bet there were the same kinds of tears in the synagogue when Jesus read those words from Isaiah as well. Those words reminded them that in their lives they experienced many imperfections, many weaknesses. They were enslaved, they were oppressed, they were afflicted. They needed to be healed, to be freed, to be restored. But Nehemiah and Jesus reminded them that despite their many weaknesses they were strong. And the same is true with us. We need to be able to see our strengths up against our weaknesses as we said before. But even more than that, we need to see our strengths, so that we can begin to see our greatest strength-who is the Lord Himself. And rejoicing in the Lord, must be our greatest strength.

1-16-22 Do Whatever He Tells You

There are many lessons in the story of the Wedding Feast of Cana. Today I will mention a few of them.  First Jesus needs to be invited into our lives just like He was invited to the wedding feast. He would not have gone if He were not invited. He will not come into our lives, our minds, our hearts, or souls if we don’t invite Him in. He simply does not force Himself upon us. So, do we want Him in our lives? Do we invite Him in? How so? If we want to be open to miracles in our lives, it would be best if we do our best to clearly let Him know that we want Him to be part of them. Second, we should be sensitive to the needs of others. Mary’s sensitivity to the needs of others is the reason why this miracle happened. If she was oblivious Jesus would never have been called upon.  Our sensitivity to the needs of others creates the possibility for miracles to happen. Third, we need to bring our needs to Jesus. I bet there are a lot of needs that we have of which we aren’t aware, or that we simply haven’t brought them to Him. Jesus is especially open to prayers that place the needs of others ahead of ourselves and, yes, He is particularly moved when His mother intercedes for us. Fourth, it is indeed when we obey His commands that miracles happen. I actually wonder if it isn’t our obedience to Him that is in fact the greatest miracle of all. Remember, scripture, continually reminds us that the Lord looks for obedience much more than He looks for sacrifice. Fifth, we need to give Him something or do something that shows Him that we are cooperating with Him if we hope that He will provide a miracle for us. Remember the five loaves and two fish that the young boy brought to Jesus that fed over 5000 people?  In this story, the people brought Him the six water jars that He transformed into approximately 900 bottles of wine! We must be active participants in the miracles we seek. We need to bring Him something, we need to act, we need to do something so that Jesus has “stuff” from us to perform the miracle. We can’t simply be a bystander, nor can we throw up our hands and say we don’t have anything to offer, we need to give Him what we have and show that we have a stake in what we are asking for. Jesus can do amazing things with just a little bit of faith but we have to show it to Him. Lastly the wedding feast of Cana reminds us that our whole faith journey is about a union, indeed a wedding, between God and us that begins with us inviting Him into our lives, being sensitive to the needs of others, bringing our needs to Him, doing whatever He tells us and ends with us actively demonstrating our faith in Him.

1-09-22 In Baptism He/She/We Died with Christ

In Baptism He/She/We Died with Christ

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, then 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.