To Labor, To Hope, To Share in His Victory [10-08-23]

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 [10-01-23]

Sincerity

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! [9-24-23]

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, then 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, then 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 [9-17-23]

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? [9-10-23]

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.

9-03-23 Jesus: Friend of Peter, Friend of Us All

If we put last Sunday’s Gospel together with today’s Gospel (which is very reasonable to do since today’s verses immediately follow 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 way 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.

[8/27/23] Who Do WE Say Jesus Is?

Who Do WE Say Jesus Is?

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 was the last time someone came up to you and asked you who they were?  Of course, what usually happens is that someone 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 lets 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 a long 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? [8-20-23]

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, then 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? [8-13-23]

Are You Afraid of the Quiet?

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. And if you’re not, 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, i.e. the TV, the radio, etc., etc.?  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.

To See as the Father Sees [8-6-23]

We are all very familiar with the story of the Transfiguration-and that could be a problem. The fact that it is so familiar might prevent us from hearing it anew as it is proclaimed over and over again.  We might tend to “click it off” and let our minds wander, since we feel like we know it through and through. We live in a world of sound bytes, text messaging, and web and channel surfing. Everything and everyone get about 3 seconds of our time, because, if someone or something is too familiar to us we feel like we have “been there” and “done that” and immediately want to move on because there are so many other people to see and things to do.  This extremely worldly pattern of behavior does not sit well with pondering Sacred Scripture. Scripture really does not lend itself to being packaged as a sound byte. It is meant to be studied, prayed and reflected upon. It is always new, but we have to spend time with it in order to realize that the insights it gives us are never ending and always fresh. For instance, with the story of the Transfiguration, if we spend time with it, we just might come to see that it is much more than a story explaining how one day Jesus’ clothes turned dazzlingly white one day.  We might come to see that it is as story that shows us that if we spend time with Jesus, as Peter, James and John did, we just might receive a wonderful gift. We might just be given the opportunity, if but for a brief moment, to see Jesus as His Father sees Him. Of course, to see Jesus as the Father sees Him is to see Him as He truly is. Now, wouldn’t that be something?  But there’s more. What if we could see everyone and everything with the Father’s eyes-our loved ones; and our not so loved ones?  Don’t you think your life would be different if you could see as the Father sees-if you could see God’s world and His people as they truly are?  The message of the Transfiguration is that you can do just that, that you can see as the Father sees, but in order to do so you have to go to the mountaintop with Jesus in prayer in order to do it. And you can’t be too fast with the clicker.

Fine Pearls [7-30-23]

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.

Wheats or Weeds; Them or Me? [7-23-23]

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.

The Sower, the Seed and the Soil [7-16-23]

Of course, we have heard this parable many times. (Note that I have lengthened the title a bit. I don’t want the soil to feel left out!). However, I wonder if we ever realized its unique characteristics. For instance, I don’t believe there is any parable that Jesus goes to such great lengths to make sure that he disciples understand its meaning. Therefore, it probably makes sense for us to spend some time with it. Jesus certainly did! Another unique characteristic of the parable is that each of the main ingredients (sower, seed, and soil) can stand for us. At times we are called to be the sower who lavishly throws the seed around indiscriminately on good soil and bad. Other times we may be called to be the seed itself-the seed which grows and develops as God would have it do. Still other times we are called to be the good soil that nourishes and provides for the seed so that it can grow. The point of it all is that the sower is going to sow the seed and a harvest is going to be reaped. The only question is how fruitful the har-vest will be. And that is determined by both the lavishness of God and our desire for the seed to be nourished.

My Yoke Fits You [07-09-23]

My Yoke Fits You

I remember what a circus it was when my parents would take us shopping for shoes. I trust that they are going to heaven for that experience alone.  As you might imagine, shoe shopping with the Maloneys was not a very organized affair.  Of course, whether or not it was us shopping for shoes or anyone else, the key to shoe shopping is making sure that at the end of the day, the customer(s) are able to acquire shoes that fit (perhaps in more ways than one!).  However, another element that is integral to successful shoe shopping (at least it was for our clan) was who determined whether or not a particular shoe did in fact, fit. I remember often debating my mother about whether or not a shoe fit me and thinking it was not quite right that she would be contesting my thoughts on that matter at all.  Inevitably, I would tell her that a certain pair fit me and she would tell me that means they must be too big. Then she would practically force another pair of shoes on my feet and I would say that they hurt me.  One time she finally responded to my complaints in a way that she must have wanted to do many times before. She said, “Well, new shoes are supposed to hurt.” Now that did not seem to make any sense to me; not at first anyway.  But then she explained that new shoes have to be broken in and that after a day or so, they should feel much more comfortable.  On the other hand, she knew from experience that a shoe that her children described to her as comfortable in the store, would probably be proven to be too big after the “breaking in” period.  In the time of Jesus, people would know the “yoke” as a harness that was put around the shoulders of oxen so that they could pull the “burdens” or loads that their masters needed them to pull. The yokes had to be custom made for each ox, they could not be too tight or too loose, they had to “fit” or the job simply would not get done.  Jesus is trying to tell us today that the burdens, the crosses, the challenges, that He gives us are ones that He has specially fitted for us because they will give us the best opportunity for us to grow closer to Him. This means a couple of things.  It means that we need to allow Him to determine which burden fits us, just like the Maloney children needed to allow their Mom to determine which were the best fitting shoes. It also means that we need to remember that our burdens need to be broken in.  They probably are not going to feel very comfortable right away. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we should not be bearing any burdens that were not given to us by Jesus, although we do try to do this all the time.  Other people’s burdens are not our burdens.  Jesus tells us to come to Him to because His yoke is easy. It’s the one that fits.

Whatever Happened to Hospitality? [7-02-23]

Hospitality was one of the great virtues of the Bible.  That’s what the story of Elisha in today’s first reading is about. 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. 

This is what the people of Jesus’ time did.  The scribes and Pharisees were so self-absorbed with their ways of practicing the faith that they missed God speaking through John the Baptist, saying that he was a fanatic, and they missed God’s presence in Jesus, saying that He was just common every day man, eating and drinking like all others. There is a wonderful parable about this in Luke.  Jesus says, “These people are like children in the marketplace.”  Their Moms dragged them there and normally the kids would play, but instead they argued saying, “we played the flute and you wouldn’t dance, we sang a dirge and you wouldn’t weep.” The girls were playing the flute and boys would do the wedding dance of the groomsmen. They would play wedding.  Or the boys would sing a sad song, and the girls were supposed to wail like professional mourners. They would play funeral.  Only the children in the parable wasted time arguing.

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 the 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

What is Fear Preventing You From Doing? [6/25/23]

It is something to think about isn’t it, although we probably don’t want to go there. And here it must be acknowledged that a little bit of fear is a good thing-it can help to keep us safe and even alive. Fear can be a very logical reaction to a situation at hand. But a point that St. Matthew is making is although fear may be a reasonable response and is indeed something to which we should pay attention, we must not let fear by itself control us. We should not let fear prevent us from living as the disciple that Jesus calls us to be. Ultimately, he makes the point that fear can actually lead us to hell. He urged the disciples of 2000 years ago to not let fear prevent them from living their faith in the daylight, even in the face of persecution. He urges us to do the same. He tells us that there truly is no reason to prevent us from living as Jesus commands because He is always there with us and will be through the end of time as long as we keep His commands. And Matthew’s teaching goes farther even than that. He basically tells us that when it comes to the time of our judgment we will not be able to use even our legitimate fears as an excuse for not fulfilling the will of God. Jesus says that if we acknowledge Him before others, He will acknowledge us before God, but if we deny Him before others, He will deny us before God.  Very sobering, indeed, isn’t it? Fear might keep us from doing a lot of things, getting on planes, public speaking, going over bridges, going through tunnels etc. and all this can be very sad indeed. But the ultimate tragedy would be if we let our fear keep us from getting to heaven.

Forty Hours Devotions 2023/ Saint Aloysius Feast Day/Farewell Father Francesco [6-18-23]

Dear Saint Aloysius Parishioners,

We have arrived at a very special moment of grace.  It is time for us to celebrate and proclaim our love for the Eucharist.  It is time to reconcile with the Lord.  It is time to celebrate our parish feast.  It is time for us to celebrate and bid farewell to Father Francesco. 

As has been announced our Forty Hours devotions began on Friday evening.  As I am writing someone has already signed up for all of the half hour adoration time slots through all of Friday night and most of the half hour slots through Saturday and Saturday night.

Father Francesco is giving us his final message as Parochial Vicar and also offering us his farewell blessing throughout the day.  After the 12:30 PM Mass we will process with our Saint Aloysius statue through the streets of Pottstown.  Then we will celebrate with a wonderful luncheon in the Gathering center!  Really it is all about acknowledging the wonderful gifts the Lord has given us; Himself in the Eucharist, our patron, Saint Aloysius, our parish and our dear Father Francesco.

So, to the Lord, we say, “Thank you” from our hearts, souls and very being and to Father Francesco we say with hearts full of love “you are and with God’s grace ever will be…Saint Aloysius!!!!”

We Are Not Alone [06-11-23]

My guess is that many of us have found ourselves at one time or another in our lives facing very difficult circumstances, obstacles or challenges.  Maybe you are in the midst of one of those chapters in your lives right now.   Maybe you’ve felt like, or you feel right now that there is no way you can ever see yourself coming through whatever it is you were or are facing. Maybe during those times, you have had people say something to you, something that you know was meant to be a word of consolation, but those words did not do much consoling. Maybe you have heard those words from close friends, family members or even from priests or religious, and maybe you’ve even said those words to others yourselves because you did not know what else to say.  The words that I am talking about are certainly well intentioned, but they ring hollow, and they probably accomplish more for the one speaking them than they do for the one hearing them.  What are those words? “God does not give you anything that you can’t handle.”  A lot of us have heard those words, haven’t we?  Probably a lot of us have spoken those words as well.  I know that I have spoken them, as a priest to people who were in need of consolation but not for many years now. Why? Because my life experience has taught me that they are simply not true, or at least they are not completely accurate.  I have learned over and over again that God does indeed present me with challenges, with situations, with problems etc. etc. that I cannot handle by myself.  He does so all the time. And why does He do this? Well, I cannot say that I have the absolute answer to this question, but I will offer two of my best thoughts. First, let’s honestly look at things in our lives that we have handled completely by ourselves. How did they turn out?  Did they turn out the way we wanted them to? More importantly, did they turn out the way God wanted them to?   Secondly, and I think this an even better explanation, God wants to be our strength. He wants to be our strength. He wants us to come to Him always and especially in times of great pain, distress and confusion, because He knows that’s what’s best for us. To make those words true we need to say something like this: God does indeed give us challenges that we cannot handle by ourselves, but we are never by ourselves. He is always there, ready to walk with us side by side, hand in hand to share our pain and burdens with us and even to provide us with Himself as nourishment along the way. That’s what we celebrate today, on this solemnity of Corpus Christi; that Jesus is always there for us, as close to us and essential to us as food and drink. “Take and eat, this is my body; take and drink, this is my blood which will be shed for many.”  He does indeed give us challenges that we cannot handle alone, but we are never alone.

The Most Holy Trinity: Some Lessons We Can Learn [06-04-23]

The following is largely a paraphrasing of some reflections and comments from Fr. Anthony Kadavil. There are several lessons we can learn from the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. One is that we are called to respect ourselves and others. We are made in the image and likeness of and are called to live lives that are worthy of being in His presences. We are called to lead lives that are pure and holy and to practice justice and charity. Likewise, we are called to encourage and respect others as “Temples of the Holy Spirit,” who are also called to dwell in the presence of God. Another lesson is that God is the source of our strength and courage. Our trust and faith that God is within us is what gives us the courage to face the difficulties and challenges of our lives. It is His presence in us that enables us to face the persecution that we will experience because of our faith in Him. Thirdly, the Trinity is meant to be the model for our Christian families. The love, unity and joy that is so very much present among the Father, Son and Spirit is an example for us to mirror within our own families. Finally, we are called to become more like the Holy Trinity though all of our relationships. Each of us are called to be in a relationship with others and in a relationship with God. We need to pull ourselves away from the individualism to which society calls us and think in terms of “God, others and me” rather than “me, myself and I.” Like God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we are called to be builders of love in our families and communities, to reconcile and make peace and to teach the truth. In the end, we can call ourselves Catholic Christians, only insofar as we are in relationship with God and with others.

Pentecost: It's Why I Believe [05-28-23]

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 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. Than we get into the eyewitness accounts, and while they do give more substance, I probably would still remain a doubting Thomas. I mean, after all, like Thomas thought, if the other apostles had seen the risen Jesus, then why did they stay locked in the Upper room? As a matter of fact, they stayed in that room until guess when? Pentecost would be the answer. I have no doubt something really big and really special happened on that day. And whatever it was that did happen put their hearts on fire and allowed them to change the world and literally bring us to our pews today. I have no other explanation for what happened after Pentecost, except that the apostles were literally transformed on that day. They were not going anywhere, that is pretty clear, before Pentecost. But after Pentecost there is nowhere they didn’t go. Furthermore, it only makes sense that what they proclaimed was the truth and the inspired Word. For me, Pentecost is what makes it all make sense. Just look at what didn’t happen before and what did happen after. I challenge any one to come up with another explanation. The long and the short of it is that because of Pentecost I believe, and so do you.