Ephphatha!

We are loved.  If there was any message that Jesus wanted His disciples, and us, to hear and understand, it is that we are loved.  We are loved by God.  We are loved by Jesus, the Eternal Image of the Father.  Jesus healed the deaf man not just as a sign of the coming of the Messiah, as it certainly is, but as a sign of the love that God has for each of us.  He heals us.  The healing may be physical or psychological, but it certainly is spiritual.  He sees beneath what the world has proclaimed as success, as prosperity.  For true prosperity is found in the account of the soul, not in the bank account.  But none of His healings are an ending-they are a beginning.  Jesus heals us not only as a sign of the Kingdom to come, not only as a demonstration of His love for us, but also because of His great love for everyone.  We are called to spread His love to others.  Ultimately that is what justice is-the spreading of God’s love from ourselves to the rest of the world.  If we do not spread God’s love we are practicing injustice.  So Saint James tells the early Christians and us that we need to treat each other for who each of us is, not for what we have.  We need to extend to others the dignity that is their God-given right.  It is how we extend the healing love of the Lord.  God sees the goodness of every person.  He sees His image and likeness in every person.  He also sees how that image can be clouded, hidden behind a door of pain.  And Jesus came and said, ‘Ephphatha, be opened!”  He heals because He loves.  He heals because He wants us to be the vehicles of His healing for others. As my mother would say His healing love for us is “not for nothin,” we need to do something useful with it.  If His love ends with us, then our story will have a very sad ending.  

TRUE RELIGION

People of God, we are called to focus our energies on others, not on ourselves.  This was the problem with the Scribes and Pharisees in today’s gospel.  They focused their energies on themselves as an expression of religion while they ignored the needs of those around them.  As a result they became spiritually arrogant hypocrites.  The word hypocrite takes its origin from the Greek words, hyper meaning beyond, and crisis meaning criticism.  The Scribes and Pharisees thought that they were so good that they were beyond criticism.  Their focus was on themselves and their exact literal following of the Jewish laws.  They did not have love in their hearts for others.  They disdained the everyday people as worthless rabble.  Their method of following God could not bear fruit because they were more concerned with themselves than with finding God in others.  It is pretty easy for us to fall into that same hole.  Sometimes we forget that conversion is a process, not a static event.  The beauty of our Catholic faith is that it is profoundly realistic.  It recognizes that we are human beings tempted to make bad as well as good choices and in continual need of having our path to the Lord refined and even restored.  We believe that the Lord established the sacrament of penance for forgiveness, because of our tendency to fall into sin.  The problem with the Pharisees is that they gradually established and practiced their own religion – a religion that came from themselves and not from God; a religion that allowed them to give themselves positions of righteousness and to disdain anyone who did not meet their standards of practice.  They forgot what true religion is.  And what is true religion?  True religion is this: looking after widows and orphans in their distress and keeping ourselves free from the temptations of the world, etc.  People of God, let’s be sure that we faithfully practice our religion, but let’s first be sure that our religion is true.  

Because Jesus Said...

It was one of those moments that I will never forget, although I admit I do not remember many of the particulars.  It was January of 1990, and myself and my third theology classmates were taking our comprehensive examinations.  They were something we had to get through on the way to our greatly hoped for diaconate ordinations the following May.  There was a written component and an oral component.  For the oral exam we were allowed to choose an area of concentration.  Not surprisingly most of the fellows chose their particular areas based on their interests and where they felt most comfortable and knowledgeable, or which professors who would be questioning for the particular fields.  On that basis a number of men refused to concentrate on the area of moral theology because the department chair, who would be the lead questioner, was very intimidating to us.  But me?  Well, I chose to go against the grain; I was young and brash and cocky.  I told everyone that this professor did not scare me and that I was going the way of moral theology and that was that.  However, when the moment finally came when it was time for the oral exams I found myself re-evaluating my thought process.  I had been sitting in the waiting area for two hours, my scheduled exam time had passed by an hour and a half ago, and three very distraught classmates had come out of the exam room, basically saying that their experiences had been “brutal”.  Of course, at this point I was wondering why I ever put myself in this situation but there was nothing I could do.  Finally the door opened, I went in and sat down, and answered the first question.  I guess I did okay because there was no follow up.  Then came the second question, which I cannot remember at all, but I do remember that I swallowed hard and tried to form an adequate answer.  I began by saying, “Because Jesus said…,” but I was immediately stopped by the intimidating professor who said, “Excellent! You are absolutely correct.  So much of Catholic moral teaching comes down to the fact that it comes from the words of Jesus Himself.  We do not need any more of an explanation than that.  Well done have a wonderful afternoon.”  I couldn’t believe what had just happened but I was in and out in less than 3 minutes!  I guess they needed to make up for lost time.  So I was spared the “brutal” experience of a number of my peers for whatever reason—and I learned a valuable lesson, the same lesson that the disciples were trying to learn in the Gospel today.  They were learning that Jesus Himself was the Bread of Life and if they ate of this bread they would never die.  And the reason they were supposed to believe this was because, “Jesus said…”  They did not need any further explanation and neither do we.

*Photo of Father Maloney circa 1991

Are We Wise or Will We Be Deceived??

Once again, I am afraid I do not know the source of the following story but I was reminded of it by today’s First Reading: One day while walking down the street a highly successful person was tragically hit by a bus and she died. Her soul arrived up in heaven where she was met at the Gates of Heaven by St. Peter himself.  “Welcome to Heaven.  What we are going to do is let you have a day in hell and a day in Heaven and then you choose where you want to go.” And with that He put the executive in an elevator and it went down to hell.  The doors opened and she found herself stepping out onto the putting green of a beautiful golf course.  In the distance was the clubhouse and standing in front of here were all her friends—fellow executives that she had worked with and they were all dressed in evening gowns and cheering for her.  They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times.  They played an excellent round of golf and at night went to the clubhouse where she enjoyed an excellent steak and lobster dinner.  She met the Devil who was actually a really nice guy (kinda cute, as he always is) and she had a great time telling jokes and dancing.  She was having such a good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave.  Everybody shook her hand and waved goodbye as she got on the elevator.  The elevator went way, way up back to Heaven and she spent the next 24 hours there.  She lounged around on clouds playing the harp and singing.  She had a great time and before she knew it her 24 hours were up and St. Peter came and got her.  “So, now you must choose your eternity,” he said.  The woman paused for a second then replied, “Well, I never thought I’d say this, I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a better time in hell.” When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth.  She saw her friends were dressed in rags and were picking up the garbage and putting it in sacks.  The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her.  “I don’t understand,” stammered the woman, “yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a clubhouse and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time.  Now all that’s here is a wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable.” The Devil looked at her and smiled.  ‘Yesterday we were recruiting you, today...you’re staff.”  Wisdom is listening to whatever Jesus says, whether or not we can understand it and staying away from the Devil, no matter how attractive the spread he puts on for us might be.

Will We Ever Stop Complaining?

Jesus words to the Pharisees in today’s Gospel made me think of the following little reflection that I had come across some time ago.  To the best of my knowledge the author is unknown. “I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight.  I have responsibilities to fulfill today.  My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.  Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.  Today I can feel sad that I don’t have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.  Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.  Today I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.  Today I can cry because the roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.  Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.  Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.  I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new pieces of knowledge.  Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have housework to do or I can feel honored because the Lord has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.  Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped.  And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.  What the day will be like is up to me.  I get to choose what kind of day I will have!” 

As I see it the bottom line is this: we will always have the opportunity to complain but we really never have anything to complain about.  Why? Because every day of our lives we can receive the bread that Jesus gives us, the bread that gives us eternal life.  As long as we continue to choose to complain, it has to mean that we just don’t get it. 

Bread for the Soul...Want Some?

Beginning, last week we have been taking a five week break from the Gospel of Mark and spending time in the Gospel of John on the teachings of Jesus we call the Bread of Life.  Last week we read about the feeding of the 5,000 and what it could mean to us today.  Today’s Gospel is a continuation of the loaves and fishes story we began last week.  Jesus has fed the crowd and amazed them by His miracles.  After that miracle and a day of teaching, Jesus and the apostles went away across the lake to get a little rest and privacy, but the people who had witnessed the miracle went searching for Him and found Him on the other side of the lake.  Instead of being angry with them, Jesus continues to teach them.  He tells them first that it wasn’t the signs and miracles that attracted them, as much as the fact they were being fed.  He says that they should be less interested in filling their bellies with food  that quickly disappears, and instead, look for spiritual food, Jesus replies that all they must do is believe in the person God has sent.  It is in this context that Jesus is the bread of life.  God has sent Jesus with all the spiritual food that a person will need, so that Jesus Himself can be seen to be that food.  They then ask Him for signs so that they can believe in Him-even though He had just fed the 5,000! Jesus refers to the manna that God gave to the Israelites through Moses as a comparison but goes on to say that through Him , God is not only giving them bread for their bodies but bread for their souls as well.  And this is where I think it might be good for us to pause.  We, like those people who chased Jesus across the lake because of His wonderful miracles, have followed Him to Church today.  But do we know why?  Is it for something that will last or something that will fade away?  Actually, Jesus will give us both, but He longs for us to long for that which is eternal. 

Are We Smarter than a Little Jewish Boy?

Sunday Readings here.

The hero of today's Gospel is a little Jewish boy. 

He proved himself not only to be smart enough to pack a lunch but also to be among the rarest of individuals. He was willing, after packing his lunch, to give it away.  However, in doing so he once again proved his intelligence because he gave it to Jesus.

You might say that he made a very shrewd investment. He went home with 12 baskets of leftovers after the huge crowd had had their fill.  Because he gave the little he had, we are talking about this miracle to this day.  Let us not forget of course that it was Jesus who mentions that this exhausted mob must be hungry, showing once again that He is interested not only in life after death but also life before death.  He looks towards His disciples to be problem solvers and that’s how this little fellow was found.

Jesus did not embarrass the little boy and his meager offering. He accepted his gifts with ceremony and gratitude. Can you imagine the look on the boy’s face as Jesus starts to share his food with the crowd, and especially as he saw that his lunch never ran out? Maybe Jesus held him up in His arms for the crowd to see. Somehow or other, I think there are some lessons to be learned here.

The next time you are asked for something you feel you cannot give, remember this Jewish boy and think again. Even if your gift is small, know that Christ will receive you and your gift with open arms and do amazing things with it. He will literally use it to feed the world.  But if we hoard the little that we have, we just might prevent Christ from performing one more amazing miracle.  If we find ourselves worrying about whether we have enough money perhaps we should remember this child, and ask ourselves if maybe our worry is a sign that we need to give more away and see what God might do with it. The psalmist says “a child will lead us,” but I leave you with this question, “Are you smarter than a little Jewish boy?”

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 

Christian Leadership

Sunday Readings here. 

It seems to me that the readings for this weekend reflect on leadership and the fact that we human beings are very much in need of it.

We may not like to admit it, but if we are without leadership we will tend to pretty much flounder around like sheep without a shepherd. We have a great need to come together and to unite around someone who can articulate a unified vision or purpose.  The trouble is that not all visions, even though they may be passionately and clearly articulated, are good for us.  History is filled with examples of people flocking to leaders who are far less than perfect. So the question than becomes what are the qualities that we should look for in a leader. 

Of course, my answer is going to be that first and foremost we should look to Jesus and the type of leadership that He employed. We don’t have to look too closely before we easily conclude that Jesus is among the greatest leaders of all times, but was very different from Adolf Hitler, who is indeed also an example of a powerful leader.  Of course, Jesus is different than Hitler in many ways- perhaps primarily in his example of Christian Leadership. 

Christian leadership is different than any other kind of leadership. It is not based on power; it is based on invitation.  It does not feed off propaganda; it thrives on truth.  It does not oppress or place burdens on people; it sets them free and calls them to rest.  Christian leadership is based on truth, love, freedom, caring, and service.  The Christian leader puts people first, and is willing to sacrifice himself for them. Other leaders do exactly the opposite.  And the bottom line, and for me this is what it’s all about, is that Christian leadership is the most effective kind of leadership.  Don’t think so? Well then let me ask you two questions. Where is Adolf Hitler?  Where is Jesus?  The trouble is that Christian leadership is rarely ever practiced. And it is something to which we are all called by virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation. Yes. We are all called to be leaders. Christian leaders. So how about if we try it sometime?  Let’s live a life that is based on truth, freedom, service, love, and caring, and see what happens.

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 

Evangelism Yesterday and Today

Sunday readings here.

If you ask me, evangelism today should be just like the evangelism that we hear about in today’s Gospel.

First, as followers of Christ, we need to understand that we are sent out. We can't simply sit comfortably in our pews, we are called to go work in the field. Second, we need to be humble. The disciples took nothing with them: no bread, no bags and no money. We need to leave our baggage behind and simply invite people to the banquet.  Third, we need to understand that evangelism is all about invitation, and not at all about coercion. Jesus says, "If people don't accept you, shake the dust off your feet and leave." He didn't say to stand and argue with them. He didn't say to condemn them to hell.  He told them to spread the Gospel, sow the seed, and let God do the rest.  Finally, we are to evangelize with compassion. We are not to threaten people with an eternity in hell, or look for reasons why they are bad people and back it up with selected biblical verses.  It is wrong to bash people over the heads with the scriptures and hope for conversion through osmosis. Rather, we are to kindly meet people where they are. We are to use only words that heal and never words that hurt. 

Still, even if we follow all these pointers, our efforts will fall short if we don’t fully understand who we are and what we are about when we set out to evangelize. Why do we come to church? Why do we call ourselves Catholic? Why do we believe that our faith is better than any other? Yes, we need to be evangelists; but we need to understand why we are here in the first place. That doesn't mean we have all the answers, but it does mean that we have better answers than, "Because I've always gone to church, etc." We need to know what draws us, what excites us, what comforts us. And when we know that, and when we truly live the faith in which we profess belief, then and only then, will we be ready to invite others to join us.

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 

Keep the Faith

Sunday Readings here. 

There is a story told of a new preacher who came to town, who very quickly developed a reputation for being a very inspiring, enthusiastic preacher who shared his faith joyfully each week. Soon his Church was bulging with new worshipers. Many came back after lengthy absences, many who had never worshiped before were received into the Church, and some even came from other churches. 

There was something so real about his preaching. It was very lively and upbeat, and it was also very solid, authentic, and never watered down. He shared with his congregation that he had a dream of converting everyone in town, and then in the county, and then in the state and beyond. For a time it all seemed so possible. People even talked about the need for a new larger church building. But then, gradually, after a while, things changed.

People changed. Their practice of the faith changed; their beliefs changed. Many of them stopped going to church; after a while it seemed as though everything had changed; but there was something that had not, and that was the preacher. He did not change at all.

He continuously preached the same content in the same way with the same fervor and enthusiasm even though his congregation had now dwindled to just a handful of people. One of his helpers finally began to ask him, how he could keep it up, how he could still so enthusiastically preach about converting the world when there was hardly anyone left in his church.  For quite some time the preacher ignored the question, but one day he did respond.  He said that of course he noticed that his congregation had diminished almost to the point of nonexistence, and that some time ago, he began to realize that maybe he wasn’t going to convert the world.  He said, “Maybe it is true I will never convert the world, but I am going to continue to preach God’s message with the same fervor and the same zeal as ever. Just because I am not converting the world does not mean that I will ever let the world convert me.”

And he continued preaching in the same way until he died.  Some people who used to listen to him preach, out of respect did come to his funeral. They acknowledged that although they eventually went a different way, they never doubted that when they were in his church, that a prophet was among them. So what about us?  We are all called to be prophets, to be witnesses to the truths that come to us from God. Ultimately, we cannot control what other people do with the message we present to them with our lives. All we can do is to make sure that we keep the faith. Therein lies the victory.

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 

Our Compassionate Savior

Sunday Readings here. 

There are two ways that we can consider today’s gospel reading.

We can and should look at these healings from the viewpoint of our own needs and those of our family and ask the Lord for healing. That is certainly valid. “Ask, and you shall receive,” the Lord said. We can ask the Lord and receive His care.

The second way we can and should also look on these healings from the viewpoint of the Lord. We are called to be followers of Christ. We are called to love as He loves. We are called to have compassion for the hurting. We are not called to judge the cause of their pain. We are called to care for them. And yet, sadly, some of us will say that a person’s condition is his or her own fault and then move on and away from them.

So many see the cause of the sickness and not the sick people. Do those sick due to their own sinfulness merit less care from us than other people? Of course not. At least, not if we are followers of Christ. Some people may now be sick, but have always been difficult. These are the relatives, neighbors or business associates we are required to see and to endure. And now they need our help. It is not easy putting up with their comments. It is easy to ignore them. Yes, they may be a pain, but they also may be in pain.

Jesus didn’t care if the woman had a situation which would have caused the temple priests to call Him defiled. He didn’t care if curing a person would get Him in trouble with the authorities if that cure was on the Sabbath. He didn’t care of He had to drop everything and rush to the bedside of what the world would see as an insignificant little girl, enduring mockery in the process.

So, what we have in our Gospel today is defiled lady, a dead child, and a Compassionate Savior. His care, love and healing were far more powerful than the prohibitions of Jewish law, far more powerful than the forces of nature, and far more powerful than the forces of death. Jesus is only concerned about those who hurt and who need His healing. How can we be any different and still call ourselves His followers?

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 

Saint Aloysius…Pray for Us!

Sunday readings here. 
 
Alright folks, we have arrived at this most significant week; this most important week in our life as a parish- the week of the Feast day of our patron saint, Saint Aloysius himself.  

If you don’t mind my saying, I remember five short years ago, when I first arrived here at Saint Aloysius Parish, and I did just happen to move in on June 21 (which is Saint Aloysius’ feast day, and I do not believe in coincidences!), I instantly made up my mind that we were going to mark our parish feast day with a novena, with Forty Hours and a parish feast day celebration.

I am very happy to say that at the end of my fifth year, because of the tremendous support of all of you, we now have a wonderful, at least “mini tradition,” of celebrating our Feast Day with Forty Hours devotions and a parish festival. We begin today with our annual novena to Saint Aloysius. On Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, June 20 and 21, we will be holding our parish Feast Day Food Festival in Begley Hall.  I humbly ask that you participate in our Festival. Please stop in and enjoy our ethnic cuisine or hamburgers/hotdogs etc.  

Also, our Forty Hours celebration will take place on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evening, June 21-23 at 7 PM.  The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed after the morning Masses on Monday and Tuesday until the evening services at 7 PM. Please find time to come and adore the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and pray for our parish through the intercession of Saint Aloysius!  On Tuesday evening we will venerate the relic of Saint Aloysius and process down Hanover Street toward King Street with the relic, our Saint Aloysius statue and the Blessed Sacrament before returning to church for the closing Benediction. After the Benediction there will be a light reception in our Gathering Center.  

Our preacher this year will be Father Christopher Moriconi, who just celebrated the first anniversary of his ordination and who serves as parochial vicar at St. Eleanor’s Parish in Collegeville. Fr. Moriconi will preach at all the Masses, including the Vigil Mass next weekend. Every one, and especially our First Communicants, and Altar Servers (dressed in their communion attire, and their albs) are strongly encouraged to participate and walk in the procession. Of course, it promises to be a tremendous celebration of who we are….SAINT ALOYSIUS!  Do not miss it!

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 
 

We Are Not Alone

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) 

Sunday readings here.

My guess is that many of us have found ourselves at one time or another in our lives facing very difficult circumstances, obstacles, or challenges. 

Maybe you are in the midst of one of those chapters in your lives right now.   Maybe you’ve felt like, or you feel right now that there is no way you can ever see yourself coming through whatever it is you were or are facing. Maybe during those times you have had people say something to you, something that you know was meant to be a word of consolation, but those words did not do much consoling. Maybe you have heard those words from close friends, family members or even from priests or religious, and maybe you’ve even said those words to others yourselves because you did not know what else to say. 

The words that I am talking about are certainly well intentioned, but they ring hollow, and they probably accomplish more for the one speaking them than they do for the one hearing them.  What are those words? “God does not give you anything that you can’t handle.”  A lot of us have heard those words, haven’t we?  Probably a lot of us have spoken those words as well.  I know that I have spoken them, as a priest to people who were in need of consolation, but not for many years now.

Why? Because my life experience has taught me that they are simply not true, or at least they are not completely accurate.  I have learned over and over again that God does indeed present me with challenges, with situations, with problems etc. etc. that I cannot handle by myself.  He does so all the time. And why does He do this? Well, I cannot say that I have the absolute answer to this question, but I will offer two of my best thoughts.

First, let’s honestly look at things in our lives that we have handled completely by ourselves. How did they turn out?  Did they turn out the way we wanted them to? More importantly, did they turn out the way God wanted them to?   Secondly, and I think this is an even better explanation, God wants to be our strength.  He wants us to come to Him always and especially in times of great pain, distress and confusion, because He knows that is what is best for us.

To make those words true we need to say something like this: God does indeed give us challenges that we cannot handle by ourselves, but we are never by ourselves.  He is always there, ready to walk with us side by side, hand in hand to share our pain and burdens with us and even to provide us with Himself as nourishment along the way. That’s what we celebrate today, on this Solemnity of Corpus Christi: that Jesus is always there for us, as close to us and essential to us as food and drink. “Take and eat, this is my body; take and drink, this is my blood which will be shed for many.”  He does indeed give us challenges that we cannot handle alone, but we are never alone.

-Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 

Three is Not A Crowd.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Sunday Readings here.

The practical lesson of the doctrine of the Trinity is that since we are made in the image and likeness of God, the more we understand God the more we understand ourselves. Therefore, the question for us to ask today is: What does the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity tell us about the kind of God we worship and what does this say about the kind of people we should be?

On this, I have two points to share with you. (1) God does not exist as a solitary individual but in a community of love and sharing. God is not a loner. This means that a Christian in search of Godliness (Matthew 5:48) must shun every tendency to isolationism. The ideal Christian spirituality is not that of flight from the world like that of certain Buddhist monastic traditions, where the quest for holiness means permanent withdrawal away from contact and involvement with people and society. 

(2)   Three is not a crowd. You remember the old saying “Two is company, three is a crowd.” The Trinity shows us that three is community, three is love at its best; three is not a crowd. Taking an example from the human condition we see that when  man A is in love with a woman B they seal the loving by producing baby C. Father, mother and child -- love when it is perfected becomes a trinity. 

We are made in God’s image and likeness. Just as God is God only in a Trinitarian relationship, so we can be fully human only in a relationship of three persons. The self needs to be in a horizontal relationship with others and a vertical relationship with God. In that way our life becomes Trinitarian like that of God. Then we discover that the so-called “I-and-I” principle of unbridled individualism which is acceptable in modern society leaves so much to be desired. The doctrine of the Blessed Trinity challenges us to adopt rather an I-and-God-and-neighbor principle. I am a Christian insofar as I live in a relationship of love with God and other people. May the grace of the Holy Trinity help us to banish all traces of self-centeredness in our lives and to live in love of God and of neighbor.

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 

Pentecost: It’s Why I Believe

Sunday of Pentecost 

Sunday readings here.  

Well folks, I might as well come right out with it 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 every thing. And I truly questioned the Resurrection; I was not impressed by the fact that the stone was rolled away or 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 our pews 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 nowhere 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.

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 

When You Get Caught Between the Ascension and Pentecost

The Seventh Sunday of Easter 

Sunday readings here. 

With today’s celebration of the Seventh Sunday of Easter, we find ourselves between the time when Jesus has left His mission completely up to His Apostles, and before they were fully empowered by the Spirit to accomplish that mission.  That will not come until Pentecost.

For now, it is good for us to reflect on what Jesus says to us today:  “Holy Father, I pray not only for my disciples, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.” It seems to me as if what the Lord is saying is that if His teaching and presence to us on this earth are to be of any enduring value, they must be put at the service of the Lord’s will to bring all people together in faith in God the Father, so that the world may know that the Father has sent the Son, and that the Father loves all of us just as He loves His own Son. 

Right here, right now, we need to ask ourselves in a very practical way how the Lord’s gift to us can help us to accomplish the mission that the Lord has put before us. To help us to answer this question we need to look no further than the Words that Jesus will speak to us next week on Pentecost Sunday: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you always. “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Those who do not love me do not keep my words.”

Yes, it always comes down to this: loving Jesus means keeping His commandments. Any accomplishment that we achieve through the grace of God is fulfilled when we give to it the purpose of helping us to better keep His commandments and love Him, which by definition means to love all people as one in union with the Father and the Son.  We do need to ponder this truth, and even be awestruck by it, but at the same time we need to understand one of the lessons of the Ascension. 

Of course, the apostles were completely dazzled and utterly speechless as they saw Jesus ascend into heaven, but they were soon brought back to earth by the words of the angels who said to them:  “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking up at the sky?”  While we must reflect on the awesomeness of God and His message and His commands and how they relate directly to our accomplishments, we must not fall into the trap of admiring and marveling at Jesus so much that we forget to follow Him, that we forget that we must do what He does.  As Jesus forgives, we must forgive; as Jesus heals, we must be agents of healing; as He loves, we must love. When we get caught between the Ascension and Pentecost, we cannot allow ourselves to become so awestruck by the glory of God that it prevents us from doing His will.  Instead of just “standing there” we need to do His will, in the faith that the Spirit of Pentecost is right around the corner.

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor

Invited Into Eternity Part VI

The Sixth Sunday of Easter 

Sunday Readings here. 

On this Mother’s Day we arrive at the sixth and concluding week of our homiletic series entitled “Invited into Eternity”, which we began on Easter Sunday.  

The theme of this series is that God the Father, from the dawn of creation has not only been inviting us to an eternal life in Heaven with Him but that He has  done everything in His power to lure us, to coax us, and to entice into accepting His invitation and continues to do so to this very day. That’s why He never gave up on Adam and Eve. It’s why He saved the world after the great flood. It’s why He called Abraham and started the nation of Israel. It’s why He continually had mercy on them after their ongoing rejection of His love. It’s why He sent Jesus and it’s why Jesus suffered and died for us, pouring out every last drop of His precious blood and it’s why He raised Jesus from the dead. 

But His coaxing, His luring, His enticing didn’t stop there.  Even after Jesus, rose from the dead, humanity still did not understand and so Jesus came back to try finally once and for all to get them to understand.  That’s what the stories we’ve been hearing during this Easter season are all about. He appeared to Mary Magdalen. He appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He appeared to the Apostles while those disciples were explaining to them what they saw, and then He appeared to the Apostles again because Thomas wasn’t there when He appeared the first time.  Even after that the Apostles still headed back to their old livelihood of fishing and Jesus appeared yet again, this time with breakfast prepared for them on the beach.

But He is not just inviting into eternity, He is inviting us into eternity with Him. He is inviting us to a life of the very best kind.  We looked at the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, and we said that just as the Shepherd leads his sheep to the very best kind of life they can have on earth, so Jesus leads us to the very best kind of life that we can have both here on earth and into eternity. 

Last week we discussed another image, the image of the vine and the branches which we said was yet another way of Jesus leading us into eternity; to a life of the very best kind.  Today, on this Mother’s Day, as we honor our Moms and bring our series to a conclusion, we hear, for me at least, what is one of the most beautiful verses of all of scripture: “All this I tell you that my joy may be yours and your joy may be complete.”  I know I often speak of scripture as among my favorites but this one truly is and I can demonstrate it as this is the verse I chose for my ordination card.

To me these words indeed confirm for us that everything Jesus says and does is so that we might be able to once and for all accept His invitation to an eternal life of the very best kind. But these words also give us pause to think of our Moms, don’t they? Isn’t that why she does and says everything that she does and says?  I know it certainly is true of my Mom and I also know that there were enough times because of me that she wasn’t always pretty in saying or doing it, but she was and is relentless in getting her message across.  One thing I know for sure, is that I will one day accept Jesus’ invitation to heaven because if I don’t she will kill me and I also know that I will in fact I will get into Heaven because there is no way that Jesus is ever going to say “no” to her.

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 

Invited Into Eternity Part V

Fifth Week of Easter, 2015

May 3, 2015

Readings here. 

We are now into the Fifth week of our homiletic series entitled “Invited into Eternity”, which we began on Easter Sunday. 

The theme of this series is that God the Father, from the dawn of creation, has not only been inviting us to an eternal life in Heaven with Him, but that He has done everything in His power to lure us, to coax us, and to entice into accepting His invitation, and continues to do so to this very day. That’s why He never gave up on Adam and Eve. It’s why He saved the world after the great flood. It’s why He called Abraham and started the nation of Israel. It’s why He continually had mercy on them after their ongoing rejection of His love.  It’s why He sent Jesus and it’s why Jesus suffered and died for us, pouring out every last drop of His precious blood and it’s why He raised Jesus from the dead. 

But His coaxing, His luring, His enticing didn't stop there. Even after Jesus rose from the dead, humanity still did not understand, and so Jesus came back to try finally once and for all to get them to understand.  That’s what the stories we've been hearing during this Easter season are all about. He appeared to Mary Magdalen. He appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He appeared to the Apostles while those disciples were explaining to them what they saw, and then He appeared to the Apostles again because Thomas wasn't there when He appeared the first time.  Even after that the Apostles still headed back to their old livelihood of fishing and Jesus appeared yet again, this time with breakfast prepared for them on the beach. But He is not just inviting into eternity, He is inviting us into eternity with Him. He is inviting us to a life of the very best kind. 

Last week we looked at the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, and we said that just as the Shepherd leads his sheep to the very best kind of life they can have on earth, so Jesus leads us to the very best kind of life that we can have both here on earth and into eternity.  This week, Jesus gives us another image. He says that His Father is the vine grower, He is the vine, and we are the branches.  This indeed is another way to invite us to an eternal life of the very best kind. 

He says “Remain in me as I remain in you…because without me you can do nothing.”  With Him there is love, joy, peace, gentleness, self-control and success.  What Jesus is doing here is not only inviting us to life of the best kind but He is telling us how to receive it and how to live it; by remaining with Him and by allowing Him to stay with us.  We must spend time with Him and His word every day of our lives with a goal of allowing Him to achieve a pervasive presence throughout our lives.  That’s how we achieve success- His success. That’s how we achieve peace and joy and contentment.  It’s how our hearts and minds are conformed to His and it is how His desires become the desires of our hearts. It is then that we can ask for whatever we want and it will be done for us, because our desires and His desires are one.  It is then that we will bear much fruit and glorify the Father. That is a life of the very best kind and we are invited to live it from here through eternity.

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 

Invited Into Eternity - Part IV

Sunday readings here. 

We are now into the fourth week of our homiletic series entitled “Invited into Eternity”, which we began on Easter Sunday.  The theme of this series is that God the Father, from the dawn of creation has not only been inviting us to an eternal life in Heaven with Him but that He has done everything in His power to lure us, to coax us, and to entice us into accepting His invitation and continues to do so to this very day. That’s why He never gave up on Adam and Eve. It’s why He saved the world after the great flood. It’s why He called Abraham and started the nation of Israel. It’s why He continually had mercy on them after their ongoing rejection of His love. It’s why He sent Jesus and it’s why Jesus suffered and died for us, pouring out every last drop of His precious blood and it’s why He raised Jesus from the dead. 

But His coaxing, His luring, His enticing didn’t stop there. Even after Jesus rose from the dead, humanity still did not understand, and so Jesus came back to try finally once and for all to get them to understand.  That’s what the stories we’ve been hearing during this Easter season are all about.

He appeared to Mary Magdalen. He appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He appeared to the Apostles while those disciples were explaining to them what they saw, and then He appeared to the Apostles again because Thomas wasn’t there when He appeared the first time.  Even after that the Apostles still headed back to their old livelihood of fishing, and Jesus appeared yet again, this time with breakfast prepared for them on the beach. But He is not just inviting us into eternity, He is inviting us into eternity with Him.

He is inviting us to a life of the very best kind.  Now at this point there are two very obvious questions in my mind.  Why does God do all this for us; why are we so important to Him; why does He put up with us?  The second question is the flip side:  Why don’t we just with absolutely positively with grateful hearts and open arms accept His invitation? I mean really, wouldn’t you think that if we were invited to live life of the very best kind we would sign up immediately? But we don’t. I think we can find one possible explanation in our Gospel today.

Of course we know that Jesus in this Gospel depicts Himself as the Good Shepherd who does what; who lays down His life for the sheep so that they might have life of the very best kind. But the problem for us might be that this means we need to see ourselves as sheep and we just might have a problem with that.  I remember once in High School I gave a homily about the sheep and the goats, and a teacher came up to me and said something like, “Well Father, your homily would have worked quite well, accept that I am not a dumb sheep.”  You know what? I think that teacher’s statement pretty well sums it up.  If we are going to able to accept Jesus’s invitation to an eternal life of the very best kind, we need to be able to see ourselves as sheep in relation to Jesus the Good Shepherd.  Actually, we need to be humble enough to be as smart as sheep who both can recognize who they are and who their shepherd is. And then maybe we can accept God’s invitation to an eternity with Him which is indeed the very best kind of life for us.

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor 

Invited Into Eternity - Part III

Sunday Readings here.

On this third week of Easter we continue with the third installment of our homiletic series which we are calling “Invited into Eternity”.

The basic point of this series is that ever since the creation of the first human beings, the Father has been doing everything He can do to coax us into a positive response to His invitation for us to spend eternity with Him; to enjoy a life of the very best kind. As we know, He went so far as to sending His only son to die for us so that the gates of Heaven could be unlocked for us. And that is what He does: He coaxes, He lures us, He entices us; He woos us.

The readings for today bear this out very well. In the first reading, St. Peter speaks to the people about their terrible sin of cooperating in the death of Jesus, but instead of condemning them, he urges them to repent and be converted so that their sins might be wiped away. In the second reading, St. Paul says that if we sin, Jesus Christ is our Advocate with the Father. In our Gospel, Jesus Himself appears in the flesh to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus so that He might invite them to life with Him and the Father. He opened their minds to the understanding of the Scriptures and invited them to life of the very best kind. He told them, “You are witnesses of these things.” That’s what eternal life with God is all about: witnessing to Him and being incredulous for sheer joy in doing so.

No matter what we are doing, no matter who we are, no matter where we are, we are being invited into eternity by the Father; to accept is to begin living, at that very moment, a life of the very best kind. 

- Rev. Joseph Maloney, Pastor