Take His Hand

The young man in the front row proudly called out the correct answer to the questions and sat with a quite smile on his face. His fellow classmates acknowledged his success with shouts of 'nice job' when he correctly answered the simple question. A scene in a first grade classroom? Actually, a scene in a high school sophomore classroom. The special needs student giving the answers as he sat with students of the general population. The other students had gladly accepted this young man as one of their own. It was a beautiful example of how God's love should work through each of us.
  Too often, we encounter others who are different. Different color. Different beliefs. Different clothing. Different mannerisms. And as human being, these situations sometimes make us uncomfortable. But our faith calls us to overcome these feelings. Our faith asks us to go where Jesus would go.
   As the stormy waters overtook the small boat, the disciples looked across the waves and saw Jesus. They were all being called to Him, but only Peter attempted to walk on the water. Peter had the courage to take that step. To leap into the unknown and uncertain with confidence that Jesus would be there to help him. And even as he doubted, Jesus was there, touching Peter's hand and helping him through what appeared impossible.
  And Jesus is there for us. Always. Helping us through these times and opening our hearts so we can reach out to everyone, accept everyone, love everyone. So that person who looks downtrodden, who looks lost, who looks different may intimidate us, but we reach for Jesus' hand and step into the unknown and when we do the love those students showed will shine through us. And the person who receives it will experience the love of God in a whole new way....... through you.

A Living Faith Saves

As the man left the ATM after making a large withdrawal he was accosted by a thief wielding a knife. The criminal requested the mans money and wallet. As the man reached into his breast pocket the thief saw that his victim wore a roman collar, the sign of a priest. Immediately the thief had a change of heart. " Oh I am sorry father, I can't take your money."
  Relieved that he would not be harmed or robbed, the priest, in a sign of thanks, removed a cigar from his breast pocket and offered it in gratitude to the thief. The thief declined saying, " No thank you, father. I gave up smoking for lent."
  Sometimes our faith is just going through the motions. Like the thief, we follow the 'rules' of our faith,  but it does not really change our lives. There is a danger her of becoming like the hypocritical leaders of the Jews who were in a constant battler with Jesus, trying to discredit Him. These leaders preached the faith, but did not put the faith into practice. In the letter to James, this evening, we read:

READING James 2:14, 17, 18b

My brothers, what good is it to profess faith without practicing it? Such faith has no power to save one, has it? So it is with the faith that does nothing in practice. It is thoroughly lifeless. Show me faith without works, and I will show you the faith that underlies my works!

Faith that saves us, faith that heals us, faith that shares the Father's love is faith that is constantly at work building God's kingdom. This work can be done with words, with actions, with prayer. 

 Lent becomes this time for each of us to consider which faith we live. We ourselves: Do I live the life of faith without practice? If so, now is the time to learn ow to practice our faith. Do. Live a faith  without works? Now is the time to implement these works in our lives. Do I live a faith that will not save? Now is the time to save ourselves and others by living the faith we love to its fullest extent and sharing that faith with everyone we encounter.

The Art Of Forgiveness

How can we learn to forgive? Forgiveness is probably the hardest part of our journey on the road of Christ. It is something that our human nature seems to want to fight. We tend to hold on to these feelings of hurt, of anger, of revenge, of bitterness. Our souls may tell us to follow the footsteps of grace and forgive, but our emotions tend to pull us toward this other path. Sometimes we even reason that we have a right to hold a grudge.
   But these feelings that cause us to deny forgiveness really only hurt ourselves. If we do not forgive, the other people involved are not the ones losing, we are. This bitterness, anger and their fellow feelings ruin our lives, make us feel miserable and ill tempered toward not only those whom we should forgive, but also others who we come into contact with in our daily lives. These feelings slowly eat away at the peace of our soul, leaving us in unrest and actually causing our bodies to react in sickness. So how can we not forgive?
  Jesus taught forgiveness by offering it to people who were total outcasts from society. The unforgivable, if you will. And yet we can have a hard time forgiving loved ones, close friends, people who we really care about. This should be easier than forgiving strangers whom no one accepts. But we fail time and time again.
  I place my hope in a God of patience and compassion. A God that knows how hard it is for us. A God that is ready to forgive even when we are not. A God who experienced our humanness and is always there to guide us on the correct path. His path. The path of love. The path of compassion. The path of forgiveness. I accept the fact that I may try and fail and I know that God accepts that fact too. But I also accept the fact that through my baptism I made a commitment to continue to try and get it right. And I know that our God accepts that fact as well. All the baptized accept this role. And during lent, it can become very evident how short we have fallen in achieving this goal. But we can transform ourselves. And lent offers a special time to try and make that happen. And perhaps, as Easter Sunday approaches, we can find more peace, more love, because we have learned the art of forgiveness.

Transfigured by intimacy

On this day that we hear of the transfiguration of Jesus, one has to ask oneself what the message of the gospel must hold for us. It is a simple idea to say that since Christ was transformed before the watchful eyes of the disciples, that we are seeking to transform ourselves during the Lenten season. This is certainly a true statement, but I believe there is a deepness to the gospel message that is lost if we just consider the transfiguration of Jesus as a change. If we carefully look at the reading, the transfiguration occurs as Jesus talks about his coming death and resurrection with Moses and Elijah. And once the conversation is complete, and both prophets are no longer visible, Jesus once again looks the same as he did before this miraculous event.
  We may not realize how God has transformed us, simply because we look and feel no different. Yet a transformation has occurred. It took place at our baptism. It took place at our confirmation. It takes place each time we experience reconciliation. It takes place each time we receive the Eucharist. The sacraments are intimate experiences with our God. So intimate that they are life changing, redirecting, life shattering events, and we may not even realize it. Each sacrament brings us another step closer to the person God created us to be. Each sacrament transfigures us into the image of  Christ so others may experience His caring and love.
  The sacraments are our transfigurations. Each brings us to a place in our relationship with God that is so intimate, we may not want to leave it. We may want to build a tent for ourselves and God and stay in that moment forever. But just as Jesus was called to a ministry in the Father's plan, so also are we. So we continue to grow and develop into a more perfect embodiment of the risen Lord and builders of the kingdom. So we continue to journey, through lent, through life, being transformed.

Although it is not yet posted, today's Lenten reflection on The Long Island Catholic website is from me. It may be familiar to most of you since it is a rewrite of my most popular lenten post. please check it our and let me know what you think!

http://licatholic.org/lenten-blogs/

Stumble and Arise

READING 2 Corinthians 6:1-4a

We beg you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In an acceptable time I have heard you; on a day of salvation I have helped you.” Now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation! We avoid giving anyone offense, so that our ministry may not be blamed. On the contrary, in all that we do we strive to present ourselves as ministers of God.

In all that we do we strive to present ourselves as ministers of God. Now there is a scary thought. In all I do, I can only hope that I present myself as a minister of God because there are times, as I look back on my day, that I am ashamed that others my know I am a Christian. Case in point, the day I made sure someone could not get in front of my car as I was headed home from work. I made sure to squeeze home out since I needed to get over. It was then I realized that I still had my clergy plaque on my dashboard from the previous night's wake. Great way for a minister of God to act, and I had a billboard on my dashboard advertising who I was. 

  These are the failings we suffer as human beings. This is the result of the weakness of our own frailty. That as much as we try, we continue to fall short time and time again. And it becomes easy to get discouraged. But we must allow ourselves to be picked up. To be resurrected again and again by the risen Christ in an attempt to get it right. And we all carry that placard of our baptism, as the sign of who we are. It is not on our dashboard of our car, but it is emblazoned on our souls. It is the sign we should be proud to wear and proud to share.

As this Lenten journey continues, we experience our own stumblings under the weight of the crosses of life that we carry. And just as Jesus arose on the Via Dolorosa, so we to must rise up and continue the journey because glory awaits. Glory is at the end of the road. Glory is at the end of the journey. Glory is after that lowest point when we too shall rise as the risen Lord and shine in all our glory. Grow from your stumblings. Walk  a little further before the next stumble and glory shall be yours. Jesus has placed it within our reach. The true follower of His way will never give up until their own day of glory.

Gypsies, tramps, thieves. Bring all the message

“As I began to address them the Holy Spirit came upon them, just as it had upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If God was giving them the same gift he gave us when we first believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to interfere with him?”

Another aspect of our Lenten journey is not only to deal with our personal relationship with God, but also our relationship with God's people, the creations of His hands. This is a unique challenge of its own. It is a simple task to be loving and caring and unselfish toward those like ourselves, same race, same beliefs, same age, same, same, same. But the gospel calls us to a higher level. The gospel asks us to reach out to and accept those who may be very different than we are. The gospel calls us to accept those who may be at a different stage in their acceptance of the risen Christ than we are. And we are asked to be guiding, patient and helpful.
  In the early church, there was a problem in acceptance of the Gentiles. Since Jesus was a Jew, many believed that one needed to be a Jew first in order to be chosen to be saved. But  as we consider Jesus' life and His interactions with non Jews, we can see that this is untrue.
  If during lent you hear the story of the woman at the well, she was not a Jew. In fact, as a Samaritan she was hated and considered lowest of the low because she had forsaken her Jewish heritage by marrying a non Jew. But Jesus offers her a new life. Jesus allows her to leave her labors at the waters of life and be reborn as a follower of The Way.
  If we learn anything about how to develop our relationship with God this Lent, we must learn that this relationship is like the cross. Two parts. One part between ourselves and God, the trunk of the crossing reaching from earth to heaven,  and a second, like the arms of the cross, between ourselves and the rest of the world reaching out between us and our brothers and sisters created by The Lord.  And we need to recall that Jesus came for all, not just a chosen few. All that was asked is  that they accept this gift from Jesus. But they can not accept it if we do not offer it.

never Alone

Today, as I walked the streets of the San Francisco Bay on our last evening here, I was texting with one of my deacon friends about the trip. As we chatted I sent him a picture of a sign that showed the street we were on was a tsunami evacuation route. After some conversation he made sure to tell me that God was with me. Interesting that he said that. As we walked  we saw a person collecting for the underprivileged  and made a donation. Then my phone rang.
  Those who know Mary and myself know that our lives underwent a major change last July. This change involved moving out of a house into an apartment due to the loss of a second income. While we are making this new life work, it became tight with the tax changes in January, so we have been trying to find some additional income.
  I answered the phone, and it was a response that was inviting me for an interview for a part time job. Just what we might need. Now I know I don't have the job, but the door was open. And I find it no coincidence that all of this took place as the words, 'God is with you' were said to me.
  Sometimes we lose sight of the fact the Jesus is always walking with us. And maybe we feel alone, like the footprints poem. But God is always carrying out His plan, in His way and we just need to open ourselves up to receive that plan. Sometimes that means redirecting our lives or thoughts and today that is exactly what my friend did for me.
  Later in the day I gave the last two dollars in my pocket to a homeless person. Hey, if God can open a door for possibly helping me, how can I not make an attempt to help another in some small way. So I needed to get more money. At least I had some to get, this poor soul had none. Maybe he will realize tonight that God is with him when he uses the few dollars he now has. Because no matter how low or high, how well off or empty, how holy or not so holy, Jesus is always there trying to help us along the way. His way.

Growing up in age and faith

Mary and I had dinner tonight with a high school friend and her partner who live here in California. It was a great evening, reminiscing about high school and sharing what has happened in our lives since those carefree youth filled days. As we recalled friends from our class, we agreed how facebook is a wonderful way of keeping in touch and renewing acquaintances. We also agreed who it was interesting that some people who request to be friends on facebook were never our friends in those days, and some we did not even recognize as being from our class. My friend said she keeps her old yearbook handy as a reference just in case she does not recognize the names.

  As we sat there I began to think of those days. Many fond memories, but also some that I am not so proud of. We all have them. Actions and events that took place in our past that now, looking back on them, we wonder what would have happened had we handled them differently. As my wife said this evening, people just grow up and understand life in a different way (not her words exactly, but that is the general idea).

  Our faith is like that. As we get older in faith, we see things differently. We begin to understand more of what is required of us to live the life as Christ and get a better idea of how to make that work in the context of who we are. For some this is a blessing, for others it creates problems. Some may even leave the faith as that gift of free choice makes them question whether the beliefs of our church are right or not. 

  As I have matured in my faith, I have been able to understand that the basis of what the Catholic Church believes and what the scriptures teach are extremely important to me. I have also come to understand that all of the leaders of our faith, ordained or not, are merely human beings trying their best to achieve the same goal as me, living a life that reflects the love of Jesus. As humans, they also will make mistakes. I have learned not to let these things sway me from the basis of what I believe and I pray that someday we find all the answers.

   My prayer tonight is that as all mature in faith. May we find that same balance of understanding. Of being able to look at our faith and love it even if we believe some of it may not be agreeable to our lives. Those things can be worked on, but what can never be changed is the love of Jesus for each of His creations. That love comes to us in the scriptures, in the Eucharist, and in the other sacraments and will provide each of us with the strength to help mature our love for all.

   Someone once said to me , 'the church will ever change.' If that were true, we would still have altar boys, not altar servers. There would be no Ministers of Holy Communion. There would be. Less permanent deacons. And mass would still be only in Latin. The church changes on its own time. It will continue to mature.

I Bet You Can't Hit Me

 Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.

Mary and I find ourselves in San Francisco this week. A five day get away from the regular work days we go through. We arrived in the city, picked up our rental car and headed for the hotel. The city is quite beautiful, and yet the trials of life still show. We passed several homeless and jobless people begin for handouts. One man even had a sign reading 'I bet you can't hit me with a quarter!' Inventive, but still a sorrow to the heart for his hardship. Down the block from our hotel, as we asked the streets of the neighborhood, more people with no where to go. Shopping carts full. Sleeping on the streets.

We in New York are very familiar with these sites, but it hits home when we realize that this suffering is all over. Mary and I experienced these same sites in Madrid during our trip there for world youth day.

Jesus has called us to help those in need. To offer shelter to those who have none, food to the hungry, clothes to the naked. Together, we need to make this effort. It is very apparent that there are just to many suffering from our ailing economy for only a select few to take care of. We must work together. From the widow who may only be able to offer a few cents, to the rich young men who can offer a new life by following Christ, we need to try to make a difference.

This lent. Let us pray we find that way, together.

Cleansing

We are at the beginning of these 40 days of lent. Lent has always been a time of cleansing and renewal. A time to reevaluate our lives and our relationship with God. It is no coincidence that lent lasts for forty days since forty is a highly significant number in scripture. Think about it. Forty days of rain to cleanse the earth, Jonah preached for forty days to turn the people of ninavah from their sins, the Israelites wandered the desert for forty years before reaching the promised land. Moses was on the mountain for forty days while receiving the commandments and again for forty days after the destruction of the golden calf. Elijah traveled forty days to Mount Horeb to here the voice of God. Jesus stayed forty days in the desert before starting His ministry and it was forty days after the crucifixion that Jesus was seen be followers of the Way.
   Each of these instances were life changing experiences. Each of these instances were times to see ones life in a new light and in a new relationship with God. And so this is what lent becomes for us. Lent becomes that chance to wander the desert of our souls and find God in the quiet of our hearts. To listen for His voice amid the roar of the storms of this world. And to respond.
  To respond with a resounding 'Here I am Lord!'

Changed, And Can't Help But Share It.

This week marked a new milestone in my ministry. In the third year of teaching at St Edmund Prep High School, this past Ash Wednesday marked the first time that I preached to the student body. Not to say that I have not preached to some of my classes, but to have all freshen and sophomores at a prayer service and speak to them in one setting is an event.
 I was a bit nervous. My good friend and fellow deacon was preaching at the earlier service for the upperclassmen. He has spoken to the students in a religious setting before, but I never had. I snuck in early to see what he was saying but missed the homily. I was on my own and, although I knew what I wanted to say, I was not sure how the Spirit would bring it out or if the students would respond.
  I should learn by now never to underestimate God's plan. He obviously wanted me there. As I spoke, the words just flowed out.This may sound like a stretch to some, but the Spirit really does move through me. I never really know what I will say until it is coming out of my mouth. Sometimes that does not even register. There have been times people have spoken to me about what I said in my homily about things I did not remember saying.
  The story I wrote yesterday opened my homily and, before I knew it, I was sharing life experiences I had along with how to live the faith.(And how hard it is to live it ).
  After the service and throughout the day today, fellow teachers and administrators kept telling me what a good job I did. I never let these compliments go to my head because I always wonder is they come out of habit. A pat on the back so to speak because it is required. but i have had many students approaching me telling me how they understood what I was saying and they were really moved by the ideas. One girl told me when she was listening she thought 'now this is what I'm talking about.' Another told me that when I did not speak about math, which is what she gets in the classroom, she could not stop from listening.
  It is events like these that make one realize once God has touched your life, called you to share the good news, there is no keeping quiet. There is only reward in knowing that you have done God's work, and there is great satisfaction in that.
  I had to share this experience and let you know that I am in a pretty amazing place right now. I place where I feel more alive in my ministry than I have in the past few years. St Joseph parish and St Edmund Prep have changed me. They have given my ministry and my relationship with Jesus new life in these past few months, and I can not help but share it.

Everyday, Let Others See The Cross

The little girl was at the church for the baptism of her new baby brother. She was intrigued by all the sites of the church but most especially with the 'big bowl' filled with water. Her mother told her that this water would be blessed making it holy water like the water at the doors of the church. " That was the special water that we used to make the cross on ourselves  when we entered," the mother continued. The little girl ran to the holy water, made the sign of the cross, ran back to her mother and asked, "Can you see the cross on me?"
   Today, every catholic received the sign of their faith in the form of a cross on their forehead. It was made with the black soot of burnt palms. It is a symbol of our weakness to sin and of our faith. Today as we walked the streets of the city, shopped in stores, worked at our jobs, there was no denying what we believe in. There was no question about whether we are followers of the way. Everyone who saw us knew who we were and what we believe. But what about tomorrow? What about the other 364 days of the year?
  When Ash Wednesday is complete and we have washed our foreheads, will others be able to see the cross that was placed there forever at our baptism? It can not be seen with the eye,but it can be seen with the heart. Will others feel our love, compassion, understanding, support and understand that it comes to them from Jesus through us? We sing that others will know we are Christians by our love, but will they? Do people who see us in stores, and on trains, and walking the streets see Jesus? Will they know who we are and what we believe even if they don't know our names?
   We pray tonight that every day we learn to live our lives so that all will see Jesus in us. All will know our faith. All will see our mark of God's love. Not one day,but every day.

Don't Miss the Feb 24 Post

  I wanted to get the word out that I have been invited to write a Lenten reflection for the Long Island Catholic's website. Many of you know that I already write a reflection blog on facebook and on google blogspot. The new circulator of the LI Catholic website has been following it and she has invited me to write one of the Lenten reflections. My reflection will appear on Sunday February 24th. The site is http://nassau.catholic.org/. Please pass the word along. 

Attempt the intimate

As we prepare to celebrate Ash Wednesday this week, another Lenten season is upon us. I am reminded by the conversation of students in my school of my own school days and my first experiences with lent. Sr. Clara told us that we needed to give up something we liked to show our love for Jesus, and so we did. We gave up candy, cookies, cake, watching television, all kinds of things to show how much Jesus meant to us. The only problem was that we never caught on to the real meaning of this abstinence. The things we gave up never really changed our lives, but rather made us desire these things even more as lent's ending approached.
  Many years later, when I had become a deacon, I gave up my Friday evenings. Friday's were Stations of the Cross, and Mary and I volunteered to do stations every Friday night. This seemed fine to the priests since it was not a mass. That meant a priest was not required to preside. So every Friday, rain, snow, cold, Mary and I went to the church, sometimes with only a handful of people, but it became a big part of our lives. When lent ended, we missed it. This had truly changed us. We had found a way to move closer to Jesus than before we had begun and, after all, that is what the abstinence is all about. The new pastor changed back to sharing the stations and we never got that chance again. But we still were closer to Christ because of the experience.
  What is in the way of you experiencing Jesus in a more intimate way? Are you working so many hours to make ends meet that Jesus has been put in the back seat? Does going out with the gang seem more fun than spending an hour with The Lord?  Now is the time to change that. Now is the chance to try a life without these things and see what can be. You may not make it. You may go back to candy and cookies and TV...... And you may not. You may find Jesus is a bigger part of who you are and who you were made to be. But you will never know unless you make the attempt.

Love and acceptance

READING: 2 Thessalonians 3:10b-13

Anyone who would not work should not eat. We hear that some of you are unruly, not keeping busy but acting like busy-bodies. We enjoin all such, and we urge them strongly in the Lord Jesus Christ, to earn the food they eat by working quietly. You must never grow weary of doing what is right, brothers.

Sometimes it becomes hard to keep our minds on our own lives. Society breeds thinking about others. Just recently, the Steven Tyler act was before the state court in Hawaii. The lead singer of Aerosmith started the petition for this law that would bear his name. He claims that paparazzi, the media, and news services cross the line at points when covering the lives of celebrities. 

I used to think that if you were a celebrity, you were in the fish bowl and that was the price to pay. But having become somewhat in a small spotlight by being 'the deacon' I see things a bit differently. People expect different behavior. Behavior that they feel is correct. And they hold you to their standards. Again, society has changed to make us want to know if those presumed standards are being met. Many years ago, Babe Ruth was an icon of American sports. In reality he dran all the time and constantly chased (and caught) women. The media of the time knew this, but never printed it for fear of ruining the reputation. Today, that news would be all over the media.

Why are we concerned with others and their lives? If we live our own life as good, catholic Christians , how others live, what others believe, what others may do should mean nothing to us. We should love and accept them and pray for them. Yet we delve into. Their lives because we need to know. Remember that the Father who knows all will judge. Love and guide and leave the judging to God, lest we be judged in the same way when we stand before His throne.

Busy-bodies? There is no room. Sure we enjoy a good story, a chuckle, at another's expense, but this should never change our view of who the person is. A creation in God's image whose only real desire is to be loved and accepted. Keep busy with this, God's work.

O Comfort My People

READING 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Praised be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation! He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have received from him.

I had the privilege of presiding at a wake service this afternoon. I always view these events as a privilege. This is the time when people are most vulnerable. Many are dealing with questions and issues they will never have the answer to. Why did this happen? How could this happen? How can I go on? What about this sad and empty feeling, how do I deal with it? Our faith gives us hope, but that hope cannot be realized if we are not comforted first, and so there is the privilege. It is our role, as followers of Christ, to be His compassion. To comfort his people as best we can. 

Most times I do not know the family or the deceased, especially now in a new parish. I really have no way of knowing how this death is affecting the people I am speaking to. So I make sure to offer the prayer service as if I was speaking to my own family. After all, they are my family in Christ. I make sure not to try to take the hurt, the loneliness, the sadness, the trouble away. Only God can do that. What I can offer is the hope that the prayer service and my words have offered some comfort in this trying time. Since all I can really do is comfort His people.

Literally, the spirit of God's word

Many years ago, before my discovery of satellite radio, I would listen to Famly Radio on an FM station. The program was Christian oriented with some Christian music. The music was not modern, but the message was there. There were also talk radio shows that callers would ring in and ask questions, and bible shows where passages of the bible would be read so all would hear the entire book. Not all of this was for me, but the choices were slim, so here I was.
   I remember coming home late one night and turning on the radio and hearing one of the talk shows. The question that was asked stunned me. The caller inquired, "Why are Catholics going to hell?" Now I could not change the station because I needed to hear the answer. The host, not a catholic and I won't reveal his name because they still play his shows, proceeded to speak about how Catholics had changed the word of God and added books to the bible, thus changing God's word and so they were condemned.

Deuteronomy 4:2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you. 

 The following caller asked about the passage where Jesus says that it is better to remove your eye than sin and the host proceeded to say that this should not be taken literally.

   Now I questioned. If we are to understand God's word, who interprets the bible and decides what is literal and what is not? It seems to me that God created us as thinking beings to learn as we age . We understand right from wrong. We may not admit it, but we all know that we feel it in ourselves even if on the outside we may claim it is correct. If we follow the teachings of Jesus, along with the life stories, we know that God would never condemn anyone to hell. That the word of God is not just the written word but rather the spirit of the written word. If we follow the spirit of Jesus' teachings, then we always find the true interpretation of what God wants us to know. Be careful of those who twist the teachings of the bible to suit their own needs. 

   I have found my station on satellite radio. No talk, just modern (rock, pop) Christian music. And they all contain the spirit of God's message.

  

 
 

Raised so we can continue

READING 1 Romans 8:1-2,10-11

There is no condemnation now for those who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the spirit, the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, has freed you from the law of sin and death. If Christ is in you the body is dead because of sin, while the spirit lives because of justice. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will bring your mortal bodies to life also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.

  What exactly does it mean to be raised by the Spirit? How can we be raised when we have not yet fallen? But we have fallen. We stumble every day. We constantly do our best to live our lives as good disciples of Christ. But we all have our limitations. It is our humanness that makes us fall short. Yet the Spirit lifts us up. The Spirit feels us with the strength to move on. To pick our selves up and brush the dust from our sandals and move onto the next step.

  The hardest thing about moving on is forgiveness. Not the forgiveness of others.  Not the forgiveness we receive from God. It is the ability to forgive ourselves. It is the ability to understand that our humanness makes us prone to failures, and yet God still loves us, still walks with us, still supports us, and still has faith in us. Jesus taught forgiveness of others, but He also taught sinners that they needed to move on with their lives. They needed to forgive themselves in order to truly experience the forgiveness of God. Ad we need to learn to forgive ourselves in order to experience the raising up the Spirit offers.

Firm Ground

You must hold fast to faith, be firmly grounded and steadfast in it, unshaken in the hope promised you by the gospel you have received. It is the gospel which has been announced to every creature under heaven.

Many things in this world will try to shake us from our faith. Society does its best by dangling false idols before us. Money, cars, large homes, fancy clothes, better looks. All these things bring the promise of a happier, more fulfilled life. These are empty promises. There is o fullness without the love of God, for then life is lifeless. When society is not at work, life's experiences open that door of doubt. A sudden death, a bad situation, a freak accident. These life events may cause us to 
lose faith as well. And of course, the actions of others. Neglect of the poor and homeless, weak and broken, may cause us to become disheartened in humankind and thus in ourselves and our faith.
   We can not waiver. Jesus took us by the hand and lifted us up as He rose. We can never deny that. The saying goes that we should live every day as if it is our last, and many say that goes along the same idea as eat, drink and be merry. But the saying is really a biblical one. It warns us to live each day as if it is our last before keeling before the throne of God for judgement. It asks us to be careful about how we act and interact with others for the sake of our own souls. It is a misinterpretation to think that it refers to carefree living since life may be over in an instant.
  Now this doesn't mean we can not enjoy life, since God certainly wants us to be happy. As Ben Franklin said, " Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." What parent wouldn't want the best for the children? So nice cars and big houses are certainly nice and comfortable things. But they are not the way to true peace and contentment. That lies only in God's awesome love and mercy.

Sharing

   This Sunday I will be performing my first baptisms here at St Joseph parish. I have performed many baptisms, but since this is the first in my new parish, I embrace it as yet another chance to touch new lives with God's word. I never realized howinvigorating   it could be to be able to take the message to new people. I was very comfortable at my former parish and enjoyed preaching and presiding, but now I understand more fully what spurred the followers of Jesus to put their fears aside and leave their homes to spread the good news.
   This should be every baptized person roles. In living our lives, in interacting with the people we meet, in the day to day, same old same old grind, the message of Christ resurrected should be conveyed in some way. That could be sharing our beliefs at the proper moment, so something as simple as helping someone, known to us or a stranger, pick up things they have dropped. Always, Jesus at the forefront of everything we do.
   In my teaching career, this is what I try to convey. Yes I am restricted by the rules of learning. No matter how much I may want every studentt to pass, they must still pass on their own, but I will always try to offer a way for the hard workers to get their reward. And I will always have an encouraging word, even if that is a harsh word of encouragement. Always strive for sharing the message. Remember St Francis of Assisi. "Continually spread the gospel using words of necessary." We sing that they will know we are Christians by our love. They will never know unless they feel it, see it, experience it.

Empty

I woke up this morning and went off to work. There was an empty feeling this morning. Not really sure what caused it. Sometimes our lives get that emptiness to them. Not the good emptiness of opening ourselves up to Christ, but the feeling that something is missing, that we are alone, that we have been abandoned. I tried to understand the feeling, but the answer never came. The feeling left as I had the chance to interact with others. My wife started the day off right and the feeling abated, then the people I work with and the students I teach continued to fill that empty feeling. This was truly the body   of Christ at work and, by days end, I felt normal again.
  Sometimes this life sucks our energy from us. We really live in chaos most of the time, just trying to muddle through and get something out of it. The only real life, is Jesus.  My morning prayer routine includes listening to modern Christian worhp music on the way to work. And God let me know that He understood where I was in this day. The song was STARS by switch foot. The song spoke what I was somehow feeling, and gave me the same hope I look for every day, that God is present, with me, supporting me, helping me.
   The world can get to us, but there is more than this life. We need to keep this in mind as we try to do our best to follow in the footsteps of grace. We stumble. We fall. We feel lost. But the Father's love is always calling us back. Always filling our lives. Always mending the broken, comforting the lonely and sorrowful. His love is beyond understanding.
   His love touches us everyday. Even when we feel empty.

Consolation

READING 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Praised be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation! He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have received from him. As we have shared much in the sufferings of Christ, so through Christ do we share abundantly in his consolation.

A kind word. A helping hand. A silent prayer. Any of these is consolation. In times of stress and despair and sorrow, and even anger, we all look for this. Our human nature requires us to lean on others. We may think we are strong enough to handle things alone, and many may be, but these events are so much easier with the help of others. We have all been on the receiving end of consolation, which is the easier part of this equation. Offering consolation can be difficult. To offer consolation, we need to open our heart. We make ourselves vulnerable and hope for the best. This is true consolation.

One of the most rewarding ministries I experience is to lead a wake service. Family and friends have suffered loss and many times do not know how to deal with it, if they can, or why their loved one has died. I think my advantage is having truly experienced all of these feelings when my own loved ones have died and through these experiences and ministry training together I have come to understand not only the need for consolation, but also how to offer such a great gift. It truly is a gift. It can not be forced on a person and the person need not except it immediately, but it is offered. After the wake service, when we have prayed together, I make sure to speak with the family and, instead of the expected 'I'm sorry for your loss,' I just tell them my prayer, 'I hope that our prayers together this evening have provided you a little bit of comfort in your time of loss.' Because that is really all we can offer. We may want to take away the pain, anger, loneliness. But the reality is, only the person can do that for themselves.

An Upside Down World

READING Judith 8:25-27

We should be grateful to the Lord our God, for putting us to the test, as he did our forefathers. Recall how he dealt with Abraham, and how he tried Isaac, and all that happened to Jacob in Syrian Mesopotamia while he was tending the flocks of Laban, his mother’s brother. Not for vengeance did the Lord put them in the crucible to try their hearts, nor has he done so with us. It is by way of admonition that he chastises those who are close to him.

Too often people turn from God because of life situations that test their belief, or make life hard. The sickness or loss of a loved one, the loss of income and trying to cope, accusations or wrong decisions. Many times, these instances cause one to question God's existence or just ponder, why bother. But God is a merciful God. God allows us to grow on our own letting us work our way through the sickness and trials and deaths of this world. Just as a good parent lets a child learn through mistakes, even though the desire to rescue or help the child is there, God allows us to grow from these events. 

  The easy response is to shut down. There is no God. Life is not worth living. How will I go on?

But we must go on. If we just give up and dwell in our sadness, insecurity, fear and doubt, then life does become worthless. I spoke at mass this weekend and told the children to turn the me in our life upside down and make it we. If one dwells in the me, then one will only have the me as support, but when one lives in the we, support, friendship, love and life abounds. The desire to go on exists and the want to continue bears more fruit. 

I have been striving to post twice each day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Unfortunately, being slightly under the weather, this has not been easy for me this weekend. I have been trying to keep my prayer life at the forefront, since I have noticed for myself, that when I am not well, my prayer life suffers. I think we all go through this from time to time. Life has a way of constantly trying to draw us away from our faith despite our best efforts and intentions. 
  I think the best thing we can have is our God who experienced our life. I am sure Jesus understands this, after all, He lived as we do. He saw our life firsthand. He experienced us.
  So the best we can offer is to experience Him.

Turn Me Upside Down Lord

READING 2 Timothy 2:8, 11-13

Remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of David,
was raised from the dead. You can depend on this:
If we have died with him
we shall also live with him;
If we hold out to the end
we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful
he will still remain faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

Today, as I prepare to preach for the families at the family mass, I can see in the Sunday readings and in this morning's reading, that we must lose ourselves to gain Christ. For one to die with Christ, one's life must change once Jesus has entered. But like that day in the temple, the danger is there of worrying about me, my life, my needs, my desires. The people in the synagogue heard about healings and miracles and wanted to see these in their own town for their own people. They became enraged that they had not received their fair share. 

  If we deny Jesus, we deny that Jesus died to give us life. If we do not allow Jesus to stay in our lives, we become unchanged and similar to the Pharisees, talking a good game but living another. Jesus made the cross, a sign of death and oppression used by the Romans, something different. Jesus turned it upside down to become a symbol of life and salvation for us. We must strive to turn our lives upside down as well, and turn the me belief into the we belief. To turn our concerns away from our needs and wants and comforts in to sharing God's love with others.

Preaching dates

Preaching 

TONIGHT 5:00 PM MASS

TOMORROW 10:00 AM FAMILY MASS

Suddenly, Jesus

READING Malachi 3:1

Lo, I am sending my messenger
to prepare the way before me;
And suddenly there will come to the temple
the Lord whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.

Malachi reminds us of how suddenly we may feel God's presence. We need to always be alert to God being present in our lives at any time in any way. Sunday's gospel shows what happens when we are not aware of God stepping into our lives. We allow Him to pass through and never recognize his love, support, strength. Sunday also celebrates the feast of the presentation of the child Jesus at the temple. As the holy family enter, Simeon, who was awaiting the messiah because God had promised he would not die until he had seen the messiah, came forward and declared Jesus as the savior of Israel. Simeon had awaited The Lord entering his life. Simeon represents each of us. Do we recognize Jesus in others? Do we recognize Jesus in our lives? Are we open to God's divine plan? 

   Malachi reminds us to be ready. Like the virgins awaiting the bridegroom, we must keep the light of our faith burning until The Lord calls us, or returns. 

Loss Of Self

When I was first dating my wife, her oldest brother was in medical school on the verge of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. He told stories of the surgeries he participated in and what went on at the hospitals where he operated. On Thanksgiving day, I assumed he would be the person to carve the turkey. But my future mother-in-law would have none of that. She insisted that he would not carve the turkey correctly and instead had my father-in-law carve it.
   I guess there is some truth to the idea that a prophet is not recognized in his own land. How could he be a surgeon, he was just my little boy. How can he be the savior, he was the one making our tables and chairs. There is a certain amount of pride involved in those statements. In some way we don't admit that the other person is more than we want them to be and this is exactly how the crowd reacted to Jesus' statements in Sundays gospel. And because these feelings took over, they lost the message. They never heard the good news. They were too wrapped up n themselves.
   The evil in this world wants us to care more about ourselves. To let our pride take over so we lose focus of God. It is the same pride that overtook Adam and Eve in the garden, because they wanted to be like God and not themselves. Pride is dangerous. Pride is our downfall.
    I believe that pride is at the heart of every sin because any sin can be reduced to putting our own wants, needs and desires before anything else. It is pride that blocked the message then, and it is pride that continues to block the message. This is the reason we must die to ourselves. So that we can truly lose ourselves (pride) and follow Jesus.

Prayers

Please pray today for a young family who recently had a set of beautiful twins. At 24 weeks old, one died last night and the other is in critical condition. May our prayers give them strength to accept God's plan and perhaps, in the Lord's mercy, the other child will be saved.

Weak? I Think Not!

READING 2 Corinthians 12:9b-10

I willingly boast of my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I am content with weakness, with mistreatment, with distress, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ; for when I am powerless, it is then that I am strong.

When I got up this morning, I was sick as a dog. Stuffed and coughing, I felt so weak that I just crawled right back into bed. And yet it is at those times that I clearly understand what God asks me to do. I have just gotten out of bed and in that weakness, when I felt I could just do nothing, I processed the final ideas for tomorrow's homilies. God seems to work that way. When we are at our lowest point we can really hear God and respond. I think because we are so busy and so wrapped up in the world and our selves that we never give a chance to really hear what God has to offer to us. And when these moments hit, when we are forced to shut down and shut out the would because we just can't do it, that is when God's whisper becomes loud and clear. Remember that Elijah heard God's voice, but in the whisper of a gentle breeze, not booming storms and thunderous roars. Use what quiet time you have. Do not wait for your body to force these on you by fatigue or sickness. And as you have more of these times when you hear Him, you will have more time to love Him.