Solemnity of Christ the King [11-22-20]

Solemnity of Christ the King

For a number of reasons I often say that this month presents us with a wonderful opportunity to move into a very reflective frame of mind. The change of the seasons, the colder weather, the shorter days, the celebrations of All Saints, All Souls and Thanksgiving all come together and call us to take a closer look at our relationships with the world, with those who have gone before us, with each other and with God.  Today’s Solemnity of Christ the King indeed provides us with a wonderful opportunity to bring these thoughts to a kind of conclusion.  As we ponder our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and King of the Universe we can focus on His purpose and ours.  Jesus was sent by God the Father to open the gates of Heaven so that we might spend eternity in Heaven with them. Indeed, we and all those who have gone before us are or will be defined by where we are on the path to Heaven. The souls in hell are those who have refused to accept the love the grace and the mercy of God and in so doing have rejected Heaven. You might argue that you don’t believe in hell because why would a loving God create it and why would He send anyone there?  The answer is that He didn’t and He doesn’t.  As far as the existence of hell I certainly believe in it and I can tell you why. It’s because you can see it on earth. Just look around. We don’t have to wait until we die to choose to get there. The saints (the Church Triumphant) are those souls who are in Heaven. The souls in Purgatory (the Church Suffering) are all those souls who are experiencing a purification in order to be prepared for Heaven and who depend upon our prayers to get them there. And, finally there are all of us (the Church Militant) who are striving to conform our hearts, minds and souls to the Lord so that we might share eternity in Heaven with Him.  And so, as we conclude this month and prepare to begin another liturgical year on this Christ the King Sunday, we once again ask the question, “So, how do we get to Heaven?”   Well, the short answer is that we can’t and that there is nothing that we can do to get us there.  Have a good day!  Just kidding; sort of.  But it is the truth; we can’t do any thing to get us into heaven, at least not by ourselves, and you might say that that is bad news. But there is good news. And the Good News is that we are not alone.  God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, to us to make it possible for us to get to Heaven. Through the sacraments (especially baptism) and through faith in Him the gates of Heaven are opened for us. What we do with our lives as we strive to live the virtuous life is all about developing our character which is the only thing about us that we can take to Heaven. That’s what this life and even Purgatory is about. What Jesus does for us is God the Father’s gift to us.  The development of our character is our gift to Him. Jesus Christ the King shows us how to do that and gives us the grace to make it possible. So, how do we get to Heaven? Well you might say it’s like this. I remember quite clearly that my Father was very much uncomfortable with the fact that as we grew up we could, well, leave the house. He could not sleep until we were all back from wherever we felt compelled to go.  I used to think that if he could he would build a fence around our property that would keep us in. Forever. Remember God is our Father. He wants all His kids to be home. Accordingly, He does everything He can, short of taking away our free will to get us there-including sending His only Son to die on a cross.  That is the message of the Solemnity of Christ the King and of the end of the Church’s year. And so, with the season of Advent we begin. Again.

November State of Mind (All Saints) [11/01/20]

Well folks, we have arrived at the month of November. Already. I know it’s hard to believe, but here we are. November 1, 2020, the feast of All Saints; this means, of course,  over the last several years I have come to see this month as special gift, as a very real opportunity for reflection, for meditation, for growing in our relationship with the Lord.  So much about November lends itself to a receptive way of being. The coming of the month of November signifies for me that it is time to turn the page, a time for me to enter into what I call my November State of Mind. In November, we celebrate the great saints who have gone before us to urge us on the victory. We pray for our beloved souls who have gone before us that they might soon fully realize eternal unity with the Lord. We experience the change in the time, the change in the weather, the increase of dark over light, the barrenness of nature. In the coming weeks in our liturgies we will be called to reflect on our need for sacred space with next week’s celebration of the Feast of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. The following week we will hear once again the Parable of the Talents with its exhortation to share the gifts God has given us. The following week brings us to the end of our Liturgical year with the recognition that Christ is the King of the universe. Then with the last week of the month we celebrate the national holiday of Thanksgiving which calls us to realize all the gifts God has given us and to express our gratefulness to Him. But that is not the end; it is only the beginning because November leads us into the Church’s New Year with the Season of Advent, which beckons us to prepare for the birth of Jesus, and so begin the cycle of life and holy living once again. That’s what I mean by the November State of mind. And central to the very essence of the month is this commemoration of the Saints and Holy Souls which we celebrate today and tomorrow. These celebrations make this month and this time of year so very very personal and real to each of us.  It is largely because of the saints and our beloved who have gone before us we all have a stake in salvation history.  As we move into November, I begin to very much think of my own father, who passed away on December 2, 1999 and was buried on December 6.  I see this time of year as moving toward a very graced period which I like to call my “Dad’s time.”  I find myself being for whatever reason more aware of His presence during this time of year and simply expecting miracles to be accomplished though his intercession. I do think that this is what November is all about. It’s about the Lord reminding us that our loved ones who have passed are still very much with us, both depending on our prayers and praying for us in real tangible ways.  But I think it’s even about more than that. I think that this month of All Souls is very practically the advent of Advent. It is a time for us to get ready to prepare; to prepare as it were, for the birth of the Lord, along with all of our loved ones with whom we are walking the earth; and with those who have gone before us. And so we begin.  Again.

Much, Much, More Than a Feeling [10/25/20]

We often associate the word “love” with some pleasant feelings, or intense and delightful emotions.  But the word Jesus used for love means something much deeper.  It is the word "agape" [AH-gah-pay], and it refers to the love that means desiring communion with something that is good in itself.  If we say that we “love” ice cream, of course, we mean that we very much enjoy eating it.  We probably do not mean that we want to enter into a spiritual communion with ice cream. If we love a person, (using Jesus’ word “agape”) it means we love spending time with them, getting to know them, and sharing the experiences of life with them.  But when it comes to loving God, Jesus wants to make sure that we understand that even the word agape is not enough to completely convey the type of love we are to have for God, ourselves and our neighbor.  He says that we must love God with all of our hearts, our minds and our souls.  We must love Him with all our hearts; this means we must desire what God desires.  We must love God with all our minds; this means we must value and understand things in the same way that He values and understands them.  We must love Him with our whole souls; this means we must choose to actively live in accordance with the desires and understanding of His mind and heart.  If we love God as Jesus commands us to do, than loving our neighbor as ourselves will pretty much become second nature to us.  I believe in fact that if we truly do love God with all of our hearts, minds and souls it would be virtually impossible for us to do any thing but love our neighbors in the way that Jesus envisions us doing.  And always remember, the love of Jesus, i.e. Christian love, is much, much more than a feeling.

They Thought They Had Him [10-18-20]

“Should we pay the tax or not?” The Pharisees and scribes really thought they had Him this time. What was He going to say?  (Not that they really cared about the answer He would give; all they cared about was trapping Him.)  If He said that they should pay the tax, than surely the crowds that were hanging on His every word and deed would turn against Him and He would cease to have any kind of following and they wouldn’t have to worry about Him any more. If He said that the tax should not be paid, than all they had to do was hand Him over to the Romans.  Either way, or so they thought, there simply was no way out for Jesus.  But look what happened; Jesus asked for a coin because He didn’t have one. He didn’t have one because He did not rely on money; He was not part of the Roman system.  The Roman coinage, the Roman tax had little or no bearing on Him. But who showed Him the coin with Caesar’s insignia?  Of course the Scribes and Pharisees did, and in so doing they exposed themselves. They exposed themselves as participating in the Roman economic system.  Jesus was basically saying to them, “If you are going to play the game with the Romans, than you have to play by their rules.” In other words, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.”  The problem with the Pharisees and scribes, once again, is that they were hypocrites, and they were easily exposed as such by Jesus.  Their question was insincere; they did not care about it at all. They were obsessed with defeating Jesus, and because their motive was not pure, they did not stand a chance up against the pure light of Jesus.  They exposed themselves as being part and parcel of the Roman system.  That’s why we need to make sure that our motives are pure, that we give to God what is His. If our motives are not pure we can be sure that we will expose something about ourselves that we do not want the world (or ourselves) to know.  Remember, they thought they had Jesus dead to rights.  Instead they trapped themselves.

Do We Allow God to Change Our Plans? [10-11-20]

Ingratitude is the substance of many sins, and all sin separates us from God and from the meaningful life that comes from living close to God - it keeps us from accepting God's invitations.  And so, a healthy sense of gratitude is one of the best ways to combat sin and stay close to the Lord.  Today's parable shows us exactly how to grow this rare and powerful virtue: by letting Him change our plans.  If the invited guests in the parable had truly respected their king, they would have adjusted their plans for his sake, putting aside their personal preferences for a little while to show their gratitude to Him.  God asks us to change our plans in many ways. Let’s talk about two of them.  First, when He allows tragedy or suffering in our life.  For instance, when a young married couple discovers that they can't have children, God is most definitely asking them to change their plans.  This is an invitation to follow God more closely, to join Jesus on the cross, so that they can later join Him in the banquet of the resurrection.  He also asks us to change our plans when it becomes risky to act like true Christians in a non-Christian world. Standing up for the rights of the unborn is not always the popular or easy thing to do. Simply striving to live the life of a faithful Catholic in today’s world can require a lot of courage and self-sacrifice.  There is a fair chance that in the week to come God will ask each of us to change our plans in some way or other for the sake of His Kingdom - maybe in something big, maybe in something small.  When He does, let's be generous. Let’s show Him that we truly belong to Him, that we truly do believe, as today's Psalm reminds us, that He is our shepherd, and that He will lead us to the fullness of life? Will we; can we, change our plans for Him?

To Labor, To Hope, To Share in His Victory [10-04-20]

Jesus’ audience could easily identify with the story about an absentee landlord and his not-so-good tenants. It was quite common for the owners to let out their estates to tenants. Their wealth allowed them to travel and own houses in other places. Jesus' story, however, was unsettling to some. Why did the scribes and Pharisees in particular feel offended? Jesus' parable contained both a prophetic message and a warning to the religious community and its leaders. Isaiah had spoken of the house of Israel as "the vineyard of the Lord.” Isaiah warned his people that their unfaithfulness would yield bad fruit if they did not repent and change. Jesus' listeners understood this parable as a reminder that God will in due time root out those who produce bad fruit and put an end to rebellion. What does Jesus' parable tell us about God? First, it tells us of His generosity and trust. The vineyard is well equipped with everything the tenants need. The owner went away and left the vineyard in the hands of the tenants. God, likewise trusts us enough to give us freedom to live our lives as we choose. It also tells us of God's patience and justice. Not once, but many times He forgives the tenants their debts.  But while the tenants take advantage of the owner's patience, His judgment and justice prevail in the end. Jesus foretold both His death and His ultimate triumph. He knew He would be rejected by His own people and be killed, but He also knew that would not be the end. After rejection would come the glory of resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father. The Lord continues to bless us with the gift of His kingdom. And He promises that we will bear much fruit if we abide in Him and remain faithful. He entrusts us with His gifts and grace and gives us a particular work to do in His vineyard. He promises that our labor will not be in vain if we persevere with faith to the end. We can expect trials and difficulties as we labor for the Lord, and even persecution from those who oppose His kingdom. But in the end we will see triumph. Do you labor for the Lord with joyful hope and with confidence in His victory?

Sincerity [9-27-20]

Sincerity is the virtue of one who communicates and acts in accordance with the entirety of their feelings, beliefs thoughts and desires in a manner that is honest and genuine. While we look for it in other people, we may find it hard to live ourselves.  Hypocrisy makes us blind to God's presence in our lives. We need to be sincere especially in three key areas of our lives.  First of all, we need to build up sincerity in our relationship with God.  We should never try to impress Him or put on a show for Him.  We need to open our hearts to Him completely (He knows them thoroughly already), like little children, so that He can touch our hearts with His transforming grace. Secondly, we must be sincere in our relationship with ourselves.  We sometimes are less than honest with ourselves about the reasons we do things, making excuses or falling into the habit of quick rationalization. We must take responsibility for our actions, good and bad, confident that God can fix whatever we may break. As Christ said, the truth will set us free.  Last but not least, we need to develop sincerity in our words. Sometimes we distort the truth when we talk, we like to flatter people, or make them admire us, so we say things that aren't really true. While we don't have an obligation to tell everyone everything we do have an obligation to be truthful in what we choose to say. Of course, we know that we have the opportunity to receive Holy Communion virtually every day of our lives. The Eucharist can serve to strengthen our resolve to be people of sincerity with hearts open to God's grace.  The pure, white, unleavened bread that is transformed into Christ's body can be an image of sincerity for us.  The host itself is indeed beautiful in its simplicity – in its sincerity.  As we walk up to receive the Eucharist and return to our pews, let’s pray that we might strive to truly become more sincere.  That indeed would be simply beautiful.

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.