God is Not Fair; and Thank God He Isn’t! [9/20/20]

When I was 12 years old and my youngest brother was 8, I was quite sure that he was making out like a bandit when it came to our weekly allowance. We both received the same amount, although I knew that I did at least twice as much work as he did around the farm.  Although, I did this very rarely, I felt compelled to approach my father about this terrible injustice and after I managed to gather together enough courage I did so. I told him that I did not think it was right that I did more than twice as much work as my brother did and got paid the same amount.  My father’s reaction surprised me very much. He said something to the effect of “So, you do not think I am being fair, and you want me to be fair, is that correct?”  I responded that I did, in fact, want him to be fair.  Than he told me that he would think about it, and that he wanted me to think about it some more and we would talk again the next night.  I left our meeting in high spirits. It went way better than I ever thought it would. He did not seem upset at all, I had successfully made my case, he listened, and I was about to reap a monetary reward for my brave efforts.  But then I could not sleep. It was too easy; my dad did not seem concerned in the slightest. If I had won my case, than why did we have to meet again the next night?  I knew that something must be up. Things never went that easily where my father was concerned. I basically fretted all night.  The next day I tried to figure out what might be going on. Just as I contended, I was easily doing at least twice as much work as my younger brother. But I also realized that the chores he had actually required more effort for him than the chores I had required of me.  Then I knew I was in trouble!  I just knew that my dad was going to say that if I truly wanted him to be fair, than my brother should receive more than me!  I realized for the first time that the definition of “fair” was a very subjective one indeed.  I concluded that I wanted no part of another meeting with my father; I prayed that he would forget about it.  But he did not. Just as I was getting into bed, he came to my room and said, “Don’t we need to talk?”  I said that we did not; I had thought about it and was now OK with everything.   He said, “But you said I was not being fair, isn’t that right?”  I said that it was, to which he responded, “Are you saying, then, that you do not want me to be fair?”  And I told him that he was correct, that I did not want him to be fair-and so we left well enough alone.  The question that remains for us today after listening to the parable of the workers in the vineyard, is whether or not we actually want God to be “fair” with us.  As for me, I can tell you with certainty since this incident when I was 12 years old that when God judges me I beg that He be anything but fair.

I Think It's About Forgiveness [9/13/20]

Cheryl McGuinness learned this secret of mercy at the foot of a strange and terrible cross. She is the widow of the co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, which was hijacked and smashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. That morning, she and her two teenage children cried and suffered at the horrible loss of Tom, her husband. In the midst of her tears, she remembered something that her husband, knowing that a pilot's job is risky, had told her long before: "If anything ever happens to me, you have to trust God. God will get you through it...” She took that to heart, but it wasn't easy. A turning point in the process came almost a year after the attack, when she went to Ground Zero to participate in the Victim Compensation Fund. When she arrived to Ground Zero, emotionally stunned, she looked into the pit where the buildings had once stood. As she looked at the remains, her eyes fixed on the only steel structure left standing. It was in the shape of a cross. She kept looking from the pit to the cross and her eyes focused on the cross. She prayed in the silence of her heart, "Lord, they killed my husband." Then she seemed to see herself at the foot of Cross, Christ's cross, on Calvary. She heard God in her heart, inviting her to forgive the terrorists who had committed this atrocity. She asked Him why, and the answer that came into her soul was: "Because I forgave you." It was a moment of grace and of spiritual clarity for Cheryl, in which she saw that although she had never committed horrible acts of terrorism, she had indeed committed sins - she had done evil. And Jesus had forgiven her. It was that she felt the inner strength she hadn't felt before, the strength to forgive her husband's murderers, and it changed the direction of her life. She realized she had a choice to forgive or remain in hatred.  She chose to forgive and that is what it is all about.

[Information for this Illustration was garnered from https://www1.cbn.com/700club/cheryl-mcguinness-widow-9-11-co-pilot-shares-her-inspired-mission]

What's the Problem, and Whose is It? [9/06/20]

The Gospel reading we have for today is a very interesting one indeed, especially if we truly listen to what Jesus is saying to us. Of course, we know that what He is doing in this passage is explaining to us a set of procedures we should follow if someone sins against us.  At first glance it might seem like He is about to explain to us how we are to go about the process of getting retribution and justice for the wrong that was done to us.  But that’s not what Jesus does at all. The end goal of the instructions He gives to us today, is not aimed at the injured party receiving any kind of retribution at all. Jesus’ primary goal when any kind of sin has been committed is that the sinner who committed the sin be restored to the community.  Everything He tells us to do has to do with reconciling the sinner with the faith community once again. To Him, the problem that is created when a sin has been committed is that now the sinner has separated himself/herself from the faith community. To Him it is the problem of the one who has been sinned against and the faith community as a whole to do everything that can be done to try to bring the sinner back into right relationship with the community.  Basically, we are called to treat the sinner as the Good Shepherd would treat a lost sheep.  That’s a little bit different than how we think isn’t it?  When some one wrongs us, do we find ourselves concerned with the poor soul who has now separated himself from the community, or do we find ourselves concerned with ourselves?  Yet Jesus says that’s the way it’s supposed to be.  Part of following His command of loving one another as He loves us means that our utmost concern has to be with doing everything we can to make sure that all members of the community are reconciled with each other-even when we are the one who has been wronged by another. It means realizing, understanding and living out the truth that even when someone wrongs us, the biggest problem is that the one who has sinned is now faced with the possibility of living a life outside of the faith community, and that this problem is ours.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What Would Jesus Do [08-02-20]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The above was taken from a homily by Father Joseph Pellegrino

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

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

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

Why Hope? [05-17-20]

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

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

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

El Buen Pastor

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Good Shepherd [5-03-20]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

USCCB Link to Daily and Sunday Readings

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

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

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

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