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

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

El Buen Pastor

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Good Shepherd [5-03-20]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

USCCB Link to Daily and Sunday Readings

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

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

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

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

2020 Spanish Easter Homily

Algo Extraño Está Sucediendo 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Fr. Joseph L. Maloney, Pastor

Saint Aloysius Church

Beech & Hanover Streets

Pottstown, PA  19464

www.saintaloysius.net

2020 Easter Homily

Something Strange is Happening

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fr. Joseph L. Maloney, Pastor

Saint Aloysius Church

Beach & Hanover Streets

Pottstown, PA  19464

www.saintaloysius.net

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

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

"¡Lázaro, Sal de Ahí!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome to Ordinary Time [01/19/2020]

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

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

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

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

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

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