SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER – DIVINE MERCY I – They were of one heart and mind. Last Sunday we celebrated the great event of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead; it was the astounding confirmation of his entire life. Everything that ever happened to him, everything that he ever said – everything that he ever foretold and predicted – everything that he ever did to demonstrate the tremendous depth of the love of God for his people was AFFIRMED, VALIDATED AND GIVEN ABSOLUTE ENDORSEMENT – absolute sureness, certainty and believability. Had Jesus not risen from the dead he would have been a complete fraud, a phony and the greatest of all impostors! BUT HE DID RISE FROM THE DEAD! HE IS THE REAL DEAL! And now everything is DIFFERENT! It is good for us during this Easter Season to reflect upon the attributes or qualities of what it means for Jesus to exist now in a glorified, risen state; and what it will consequently mean for us who will share in his resurrection – his newness of life – if we live as though we want it. According to St. Thomas Aquinas in his great masterwork Summa Theologica, the glorified, resurrected body (which shares in the very risen life of Jesus) has seven characteristics:
Yes, the Resurrection of Jesus was not only important for him, but it is very important for us who will share that very “newness of life!” And so we can understand now what happened when Jesus suddenly appeared to the Eleven in the Upper Room on Easter Sunday night – even though the door was locked for fear of the Jews – the Apostles were afraid that they would be hunted down and killed too. With his new attribute of subtlety Jesus simply passed through the door without any problem at all and stood in their midst. Then he made an extraordinary four word statement!: In that very same room when three days before he gave them also an effect of his death, before it even happened: his presence in the Holy Eucharist (the transubstantiated bread and wine) telling them to do that in his memory; now in the same room he is telling them to forgive sins in his name, or to hold them (not to forgive them) (thus making them and their successors and helpers true and qualified judges in cases of faith and morality). A week later, they were gathered together again, and this time Thomas (who was absent when Jesus appeared on Easter Sunday) was with them. Thomas told the others that he would not believe that Jesus was raised, unless he touched his wounds with his own hand. And so Jesus again simply appeared, as before – and he told Thomas to come to him and touch his wounds; he also invited him to believe! Thomas did come to believe and made the simple, yet dramatic acclamation: MY LORD, AND MY GOD! This scene also demonstrates the palpable, touchable nature of a glorified, risen body! And so we have Jesus inaugurating the beginning of the sacramental system that came from the blood and water that flowed from his Most Sacred Pierced Heart as he hung dead on the Cross for us, and for our salvation! This is the Divine Heart of Jesus from which flows God’s eternal love, forgiveness and mercy! On this Mercy Sunday we are reminded that the grace of God’s mercy and forgiveness are always available now – simply for the believing, simply for the asking, simply for the willingness to in turn be merciful to others, simply in being willing to trust Jesus for absolutely everything we need in life! EVERYTHING! After Mass today we will honor the Divine Mercy Image, celebrate the day in its fullness and fulfill all the requirements of the Plenary Indulgence for those participating in that option. The Mercy Chaplet will be prayed after Mass as the Prayer for the Intention of the Holy Father. It does not take very long to pray. Everyone – is invited to stay and pray that short cycle of prayers! Our God is slow to anger; rich in mercy, and o so willingness to forgive our sins and cast them into the sea – if we but turn to him with all our hearts –and TRUST IN HIM ABSOLUTELY! EASTER SUNDAY I – We ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. Actually I wrote these lyrics to a musical piece that I composed shortly before Christmas. If you recall at our Christmas Eve Mass I related how closely the “Crib and the Cross” actually were. I told you then that – as Bishop Fulton Sheen tells us – Jesus was the only person born into the world to die, and this, from the very first moment of his life! The lyric, then, reads: Look and see what was done to my most beloved Friend! Look and see why my sins have done to him; Good Jesus, gentle Jesus, Friend of Mine: receive my prayer of thanks and praise: “Deo gratias! Deo gratias!” Alleluia! “Praise and thanks to God forever!” Alleluia! Alleluia! On Good Friday we saw how Jesus proved his love for us by being willing to lay down his life for us: while we were still enemies; in doing this he restored the Divine Friendship between us and himself, his Father and the Holy Spirit; the Divine Friendship that was seriously wounded by the sin of our first parents; the Divine Friendship that only he could do something about, being both man and God at the same time. God was so much offended when we, human beings, chose not to be his Friends any longer; only one who was also God could mend what needed mending. Today we celebrate his reward: the fact that, in his humanity, Jesus was raised from the dead by his Father, by the working of the Holy Spirit – because of his obedience to his Father’s will. And Jesus now lives nevermore to die again. He is the first-fruit of all those who would likewise never see death – if they believe in him and live like they believe it, here and now! This means very plainly that if we are incorporated into his very life by baptism, and are confirmed, strengthened and equipped by the same Holy Spirit that he was, and share the spiritual Eucharist Food he provided at the Last Supper, and we try to live each day like he taught us in the Sermon the Mount – then we too can expect to share his life of resurrection: a newness of human life that we can’t even imagine how wonderful it really is. He promised this to us! And he always keeps his promises! Yes, look and see what was done to Jesus on the Cross; but just as importantly look and see where Jesus resides very much alive right now – in the tabernacle; in the Scriptures; in the Eucharist as we share it each week, and in each other as we love and serve each other. Jesus becomes more really present the more we really love others like he did. If you want to truly experience the presence of the Risen Christ, then go out of your way, strengthened by the Eucharist you eat and drink, and become that Eucharist for others by your caring and loving concern and concrete help! This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad! GOOD FRIDAY No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for ones friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. Another piece of music that I recently composed says this: You are my friends if you do what I command! If you love as I have loved you! Lay down your life; lay down your life for your friends! The really amazing thing about Jesus’ death on the Cross was that he went through with it when we all were still technically his “enemies” – even though he told his Apostles that they were “clean thanks to the word that he had spoken to them.” He meant here that they were clean from any serious obstacles that would allow them one day to understand fully what all that he was doing would mean. And Jesus did die for us sinners, for us enemies, for us friends-turned-traitor; and at that moment the enormous forces of spiritual reconstruction, spiritual renovation, spiritual reconciliation began to happen – and the Divine Friendship between God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was reconnected, reestablished, resurrected from the dead! At that point however, no one really knew about it – except the centurion who said: “Truly this was the Son of God – truly everything he told us will be fulfilled!” And so, by dying, Jesus destroyed our death, and gained for us forgiveness of our sins – if we ask for it; and entrance into heaven – if we live our lives like we want to be there! The price that we have to pay Jesus made very clear: I carried my Cross and suffered death; you must carry your share, you must occasionally suffer and then die physically – in order to get the full fruits of Redemption! But be not afraid – what I have done, will make it all that much more easy for you! The second stanza of my composition reads: You are my friends if you do my Father’s will, if you do my father’s loving will! You are my friends if you follow after me! Pick up your cross, pick up your cross and follow! Follow me into everlasting life! This is the will of the Father that as many as possible will have life on high forever! Thank you Jesus so much for doing what you did not even have to do for us – thank you for transforming us once again into Divine Friends of yours; may we do our part so that the Friendship can last our whole lives long – and beyond! We carry our crosses best, when we forget about the pain and suffering and help others because we love God: this is how Jesus did it! We adore you O Christ, and we bless you; because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world! HOLY THURSDAY I – The law regarding the Passover meal. The lyric of a piece of music that I recently composed reads: The broken Bread of Life is the Holy Bread of Friendship! “This is my Body given for you; this is the Cup of your salvation!” Come, come and eat and drink! This piece is all about what we are doing here tonight: remembering and being present at the Institution of the Broken Bread of Life as the Holy Bread of Friendship: The Most Blessed Eucharist, as our spiritual food and drink for then, for now, and for all ages. The supreme act of reconciliation that Jesus came to this earth to accomplish was the reestablishment of the Divine Friendship between God and his people! God created Adam and Eve – he created the human family to be first of all friends of his, and then, friends of one another! When Adam and Eve freely chose to disobey God, they tragically and seriously wounded that Friendship – and they introduced sin and death into the world. Only one person could qualify to rejuvenate that Friendship – and that was a man who was also at the same time God: this, of course, is Jesus. The only way that Jesus could accomplish the reconciliation – the forgiveness of sins and the destruction of death – was to take sin upon himself, and to die so that we might be freed from sin and death forever! And so the broken bread of his life on Calvary became the Holy Bread of Friendship, broken and given bread at the Last Supper. This is my Body given for you; this is the Cup of your salvation! Come, come and eat and drink! When we eat and drink what was given to us, we eat and drink to the death and resurrection of the Lord, and our own! What an amazing thing the Eucharist is – and it is there for us every time we come to Mass. It is real spiritual food, real spiritual nourishment for all our spiritual needs. Now what guarantees that we, here, today have the exact same Presence of Christ in the Eucharist that has been there since the Last Supper is the Apostolic line of succession that transmits, from age to age, the spiritual power needed to really and truly change the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ – the line of succession of the priesthood – which began at this Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples. He told them “Do this in memory of me!” He wanted to be with us in this sacramental way until the end of time – and so he provided the sacramental means of the New Testament priesthood to make himself really present. Because the “ordination line” has been carefully preserved – you can trust that you really have Jesus here present today – I know, to the best of my knowledge, that I have been validly and licitly ordained. But none of this spiritual food would really even be necessary unless we took Jesus at his word in St. John’s accounting of the Last Supper: he leaves the narration of the “consecration” of the bread and wine to other writers, and focuses on spiritual action: having been spiritually nourished, it must lead to loving service or else the nourishment is simply selfish and ineffective. Our reception of Communion must lead us to be a better neighbor, a better husband, a better wife, a better son, a better daughter, a better worker; a better student – a better FRIEND to all people – or else we ought not even receive it. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples; we must wash each other with loving acts of kindness, forgiveness, healing and help! After this homily we will have our customary “hand-washing” ceremony – which will be our way of doing the “foot-washing rite of the gospel”; may this external act move us interiorly to BE A GOOD AND FAITHUL CATHOLIC FRIEND to any who need us! The broken Bread of Life is the Holy Bread of Friendship! “This is my Body given for you; this is the Cup of your salvation!” Come, come and eat and drink! PALM SUNDAY I – My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting knowing that I shall not be put to shame. We are now entering the most holy week of the Church’s calendar year. Perhaps we can quickly review how we got here during the preparatory season of Lent.
Today we begin the celebration of the events that made all of these things possible: Jesus’ ability and power to make our daily lives different; Jesus’ ability and power to heal our wounds, our sicknesses, our diseases; Jesus’ ability and power to really and truly forgive our sins; Jesus’ ability and power to open the gates of heaven wide for us so that we can enter one day – if we choose to live a life close to the one he prescribed: simply a life of giving God glory and self-sacrificial loving service to all our brothers and sisters in the human family: we begin the celebration of Holy Week! I invite you all – as many as possible - to come celebrate the Holiest Days of the Year [not because you have to: 2 of 3 oddly enough are NOT Holy Days of Obligation; but come because you want to: to demonstrate how appreciative to God you really are for all that he did and still does for you] : Holy Thursday Mass (6PM) (The Commemoration of the Last Supper that Jesus ate with his disciples – which commemorates the Institution of the Eucharist as our Amazing Spiritual Food for Spiritual Action: loving service, for all time; and also the Institution of the Priesthood which allows for the real Eucharist to be present until the end of time); Good Friday Service (6PM) (The Commemoration of Jesus’ most awe-inspiring agony and death on the Cross for us and for our salvation – this is the most dramatic event of all time – nothing speaks love, mercy, forgiveness, life more than the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross); and of course, then, next Sunday Easter Sunday when Jesus’ entire incarnation; his entire coming to earth – and everything he said and did - is validated and confirmed by his magnificent and glorious resurrection from the dead! Sacramentally and prayerfully, we are so privileged to be able to actually “be there,” in a very real spiritual sense, while these events are actually happening! So “be here,” so that “you can ‘be there,’” and participate wholeheartedly in these amazing mysteries! Today, if you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts! FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT I – I will make a new covenant and remember their sin no more. “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit (in Jesus’ case it produced the forgiveness of our sins, and the possibility of everlasting life with him in heaven)” – this is from the gospel passage. “I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more,” – this from the first reading. “Create a clean heart in me, O God,”- this is from the responsorial psalm. Now all of these things would be absolutely useless if the car just sat there and never moved; if the car just sat there and never moved because I did not take care of it; if it just sat there because I never checked the air-pressure in the tires; if I never changed the oil; if I never had whatever minor problems like brakes and transmission and power steering taken care of early-on; and windshield wipers, windshield washer fluid, new tires; if I ignored the “check-engine” light: that infernal check-engine light! Sooner or later – it would all catch up to me – and the car would become next to useless – because I just didn’t bother to take care of it: to service it when it was recommended by those who know about cars. You know where I am driving to with this analogy today, don’t you?: our immortal souls are very much like our automobiles: if we service them properly, in the way recommended by the manufacturer (God), and do what needs to be done at the appointed times: then our souls will help us to cruise through life pretty much safe and sound and going in the right direction on a newly paved section of Interstate! He gave us a wonderful GPS system – it is called: conscience. It lets us know when we have gotten off the path we agreed to be on (the Catholic Christian path of life) and – if it’s like my auto GPS – it won’t stop yelling at me until I get back on the right path! Tonight at St. Mary’s Church we will have a combined Communal Penance Service with St. Mary’s Parish. It is a “scheduled “tune-up” /maintenance event” recommended by the manufacturer. I take my Lexus all the way to Portland twice a year – to have everything checked out – and to fix what needs to be fixed. The Church recommends at least twice a year as well – at its Advent and Lenten Penance Services – to make the astounding service of the concrete, actual, verbal, direct forgiveness of our sins available: (this is our direct contact with the “fallen grain of wheat which produced amazing fruit”: the very forgiveness of our sins! Dear friends in Christ – I exhort you – to consider coming tonight – especially if you have never been to such a service as this. Everything about what you are to do will be fully explained once you get there. Do not be afraid! Even if you don’t have grave or mortal sins, a regular rhythm of confession of even less serious sins will tune-up your whole life like you can’t even imagine! It is almost like “detailing” a car – where the whole vehicle is made to look brand new again! this, however, is an “inner-detailing” – it makes every working part of our spiritual lives as new as the day on which we were baptized! It really is an exhilarating event – which you ought not to miss! One day my Lexus will eventually sit in a junk yard as a pile of rusted out, twisted steel and shattered fiber-glass. That is the destiny of automobiles. But, one day, our immortal souls will end up living somewhere after our death – and after Jesus comes again as he promises! The way in which we care for and service our spiritual lives now will determine where we will be spending that eternity. Will it be in a heavenly place that is already prepared for us – or, will it be in another kind of place that is prepared for those who choose it: where there is no God, no light, no happiness, no hope, and no spiritual mechanic in sight – forever? Why not begin a regular semiannual spiritual service regimen tonight at St. Mary’s at 6:30pm? And, of course, I am always available any time you see me for Confession – before or after Mass – just think of me as you own personal “spiritual mechanic!” God bless you! Today, if you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts! FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT I – David is anointed as king of Israel. In our first reading today we heard about the selection and anointing of David, the shepherd boy, as King of Israel. The Lord knew who he wanted to be anointed, and he was anointed with oil as king! The same Lord truly selected each one of us and anointed us first at our Baptism – as a sign of our membership in the priestly, kingly, prophetic People of God. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David to help him carry out his duties. The same Spirit of the Lord rushed upon us on the day of our Confirmation – empowering us for active life as a Catholic Christian. On the day of his anointing, no doubt King David saw the light of God’s glory! On the day of our baptism we are presented with a lighted candle to represent the spiritual light of Christ that is now within us. Today’s gospel passage is about Jesus’ curing of the blind man. This is a very important thing to consider on this 4th Sunday of Lent. To be able to “see the spiritual realities as they unfold once again from Palm Sunday, through Holy Thursday, Good Friday into Easter Sunday;” TO REALLY SEE what is going on and to understand it – sometimes we need to be touched by God’s special grace – so that we can get fully into it; so that we can see the light! We too, along with the blind man of the gospel passage – need to see the reality of God’s amazing love and forgiveness for what they really are – as exemplified when Jesus hung on the Cross for our salvation! We read earlier in Lent that Jesus demonstrated equal power over sin and sickness (he cured the paralytic and forgave his sins at the same time). It was just as easy for him to cure illness and to forgive sin. Next Sunday we will concentrate on the second part of this: as we get ready for our Lenten Penance Service. Today, however, we wish to concentrate on the first part: Jesus’ power and intention to heal all those who come to him with faith, with hope, with charity in their hearts – the desire to help all brothers and sisters in need! God the Father always hears the prayers of Jesus his Son. God always hears the prayers of those who selflessly pray in faith. God always answers our prayers in varying degrees of immediacy! We will get the fullness of the answer in the way, and the time, that God knows is truly best for us and for everyone else involved in the healing. Jesus asked the man AFTER he healed him…”Do you believe that I am the Son of Man?” The man said: “Yes, Lord, I do believe! And so now I ask you BEFORE your anointing – you who are to be anointed – do you believe in the Son of God, Jesus: Savior, Healer? DO YOU BELIEVE?
We will now have the Anointing Service using the Oil of Sick that was blessed by the bishop at last year’s Chrism Mass during Holy Week. THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT I – The law was given through Moses. Did you ever see the commercial on TV where an employer is interviewing a prospective employee but does not really hear a word the young man is saying, in answer to his questions: it all comes out garbled: because there is a stain on the prospect’s shirt that occupies all the employer’s attention and it seems that the stain is doing all the talking rather than the man? This is a wonderful analogy to use for the readings of this Mass in Lent. The “Jews” in the gospel passage – most likely the “holier than thou” sect of them, comprised mostly of scribes and Pharisees – those who should have known better – are looking at Jesus, but see only the “stain of sin” that he voluntarily takes upon himself (because he has no personal sin of his own) in order to transform sin into forgiveness, and life! They look at him and see the stain talking: the stain of their own original sin, the stain of their own personal sins, the stain of their own corporate sins as the disobedient “people of God.” What gets garbled the most is the idea that this Jesus, this Messiah – and Jesus is the true Messiah – insists on being a lowly homeless man, who associates with sinners, and speaks of a spiritual kingdom of which he is King – rather than speaking of the political overthrow of the Roman government in their city and in their lands. This, after all, they have mistakenly come to believe – in their own garbled mentality – is what the Messiah is all about: political freedom and social reform. Jesus on the other hand keeps speaking about the fact that real freedom comes from surrender to God’s will in a spiritual kingdom – which could involve, especially in his case, the loss of one’s life for the good of others! These “Jews” – and among them, most of Jesus’ own disciples – even Peter – could not accept the fact that their Messiah would have to suffer greatly at the hands of his own people and then be put to death on the Cross! This was absurdity! How could the all powerful God reduce himself to such a state of helplessness and seeming defeat? He could reduce himself and did because therein lay the secret of true, real, authentic, genuine and lasting power, life and joy: through willing destruction of an earthly temple (Jesus tells us in the gospel passage) -one’s own willfulness and even one’s life – can come an entire newness of life, a new temple a new power, a new joy. Because Jesus experienced them first: for every “Good Friday” we endure, there will always be an “Easter Sunday!” [By the way, in this passage, Jesus was not angry that animals fit for sacrifice were being sold in the vicinity of the temple: people had to buy what they may not have been able to bring with them to offer as sacrifice: Jesus was angry because those who were doing the selling were unfairly gouging the poor people who came to them to do business! These merchants were simply thieves and Jesus simply could not tolerate them – so he threw them out of the temple! From this we ought to take the lesson that Jesus can still throw his weight around when all kinds of illegal and immoral things happen, especially the victimization of anyone, but especially the poor, the downtrodden and the most vulnerable. Yes, there is an objective standard by which we are to conduct our lives. Right and wrong is not simply what we think it is, or what we want it to be. In the Book of Exodus today we read of the giving of the Law – the moral / ethical law! This law was given so that the people could know exactly where they stood with God. They welcomed it. They lived it – although over and over again they fell short of practicing it, and over and over again God showed his mercy by forgiving them their sins. This process was only natural, though, due to the sluggishness of mind and heart that are the result of original sin. But these words of God, and other words of God – spoken through the Prophets throughout the ages – and confirmed and fulfilled to the limit in Jesus: Word of God made Flesh – all point to and will lead us to everlasting life. And we will have everlasting life IF we don’t, like the scribes and Pharisees – begin hearing only the lure of the “stain of sin” as it emanates more and more freely from a great many people’s “shirts” day by day! Then we will not be able to hear the Word and words of God clearly anymore – and we will be in very deep trouble – deep, sinful trouble! God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life. Let us believe in him – and – let us put our belief into action. I exhorted you last week to BE CATHOLIC – the best Catholic you can be during this Lent and Easter Season and beyond. But – be a Catholic with grace and wisdom and common sense. The events this past week concerning the Church (Diocese) of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where an errant, short-lived, bill was introduced into the state legislature “to overtake the structural operation of the Diocese and parishes of Bridgeport – was actually allegedly instigated by an overly zealous “devout Catholic” of the diocese, not using common sense – in order to save the diocese from what he considered to be unbearable decline. Be Catholic yes, defend the Church, yes – but within the boundaries of the Church and its working structure!
If we keep our eyes fixed on the Cross of Christ – we will not see it as a stumbling block, a stain on a clean white shirt – but as a rallying point for concerned, courageous, Catholic action – as courageous as the Catholic action of the one hanging on it! And his victory is, and shall continue to be ours. Today, if you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts! SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT I – The sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith. I suppose that it is human nature to want the good without the bad; the joy without the sorrow; the rainbow without the rain. But it is really not possible to have the one without the other, not since human nature took a tumble in the Garden so very long ago! It was Jesus’ job – that he took upon himself freely – to gather into himself all of the negative (the bad, the sorrowful, the rain) – including all of sin – all of original sin and all the personal sins that people would ever commit – and transform it by his Death on a Cross into something unimaginably positive (the good, the joyful, a perpetual rainbow) – a brand new kind of living that would erase death forever! And as I said last week, he would have done that if there were only one of us to be saved! But, there are actually more to be saved, a great many more. And again here is an amazing point: while the possibility of redemption will be won for all: not all will end up being saved: it will only be those who want to be saved: who want to be plugged into redemption; who want to be a part of the Church to one degree or another. There was a time when the Church proclaimed that: “outside of the Church (the Catholic Church, albeit the Roman Catholic Church) – there is no salvation!” It has taken many centuries to correct that faulty phraseology: and thanks to the Second Vatican Council of our own day in age the idea has been reformulated to say that: “Christ came to save all people, and that the Church touches all of those people, it is more than the Body of Christ as we know it, that there are true and legitimate degrees of communion with the Church, with Christ, that extend from our closest cousins in religion all the way to the atheist! The Holy Spirit of God can work through any and all of us to bring about the fullness of the Kingdom! One day we will see how it all fits together! Now we say simply that by the favor and grace of God, the Catholic Church contains the fullness of Christ and his presence on earth as the Way, the Truth and the Life; but others have a sure and certain, though to some degree incomplete, participation in the totality of Jesus: the Way and Truth and Life. Everyone is searching for God, for God’s love, for God’s friendship, for eternal life with brothers and sisters – even the atheist! On the mountain of the transfiguration – as we read in the gospel passage today – Jesus – who is preparing his disciples for his imminent death and resurrection – is in this instance emphasizing the resurrection! It would be by his acceptance of death (on the Cross) that resurrection and newness of life would be possible. And by doing this everything that came before him including the Law of Moses and the Prophecies about him would find fulfillment. They would converge in him as he hangs on the Cross and there he would become the New Law, the Final Prophet, and his blood would be the blood of the new and everlasting covenant shed for the forgiveness of sins! This Jesus would do for all of mankind – Catholics, non-Catholics, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, believers and non-believers alike. What Jesus tried to tell us all is that those subsisting in his own Church would have the benefit of having an amazing depth of his presence with them all the days of their lives – the life of resurrection, the life of heaven could begin for them even on this earth! And if they believed this with all their hearts and souls and truly lived like it – then people of others religions and faith persuasions might want to take part in the fullness they successfully live out in this Church. The brilliant white light of the transfiguration is the Light that is Christ – the Light we welcomed to earth at Christmas, the Light that shone on Jesus baptism in the Jordan, the Light that shines now in the darkness of these times – and the same voice of God the Father is heard saying: THIS IS MY BELOVED SON! LISTEN TO HIM! Listen to him! He has the words of life – words for life here and for hereafter! He will put his words into action and win your salvation! Listen to him! Follow him! Love him! Befriend him! Trust him as much as Abraham your father in faith trusted me by being willing to sacrifice his own son – and you will not be disappointed, as Abraham was not disappointed! You are children of Abraham, so BELIEVE! The disciples would remember this scene after Jesus was taken from the Cross and placed in the tomb – and then declared as “Risen” on Easter Morning. And with the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost they would actually feel the presence of the Risen Christ in a way that was amazing – and they would begin to transfer it sacramentally to all places and times – right down to here and now – so that we, with them, can BELIEVE and TRUST and COMMIT OURSELVES TO LIVING as true members of the Catholic Church: living the presence of Christ in its fullness, right here, right now! If the world as we find it today is ever to really be rescued from all that it needs to be rescued from, it can begin by Catholics being willing to be all that are meant to and are capable of being: witnesses to the fullness of Christ’s presence on earth! This is what it means to be Catholic! LET US, THEN, BE CATHOLIC TODAY and every day this week, this Lent, this Easter and from now on! And amazing, even miraculous things will happen – how could they not!
FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT I – God’s covenant with Noah when he was delivered from the flood. This year – this cycle of readings – year B of St. Mark – we have the very simple accounting of Jesus’ temptation in the desert. Mark simply says that the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained there for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. The Spirit stayed and was with him, the angels ministered to him, but they did not influence the outcome of the tempting: Jesus, all on his own, did not divert his attention away from his mission in life: he consciously chose to die on the Cross for us and for our salvation! This is what the temptation was all about: Satan offered Jesus three ways to be the center of attraction but without the use of the Cross. Jesus ends up by simply telling him to “go away!” “NO! I will not be diverted from my Father’s will!” “YES! I will resolutely go for the Cross!” “The Cross has always been a part of my life since the moment of my birth – and it will remain so until my last breath while on it!” Thank you Jesus for your purity of heart and intention – and your willingness to embrace defeat in order to gain victory! The first two readings today simply give more information about the process of our redemption and the way in which we participate in it. We are a part of the people that God promised never to destroy again – as he promised Noah and his family – after the flood. We are baptized into Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins – and as a participation in the new and everlasting covenant! The waters of the flood are likened to the waters of baptism that make an end of sin and a new beginning of life and grace and mercy! This first week of Lent let us reflect daily on the resoluteness of Jesus to keep focused on his task in life: our redemption! Let us thank him for not giving into the temptation to be steered away from it! Let us be so very grateful for our baptismal connection and life in him by which was participate in the effects of his suffering and Cross! Three practical things that you can do to observe Lent this year – as was mentioned at the Ash Wednesday Mass – are: Pray – Spend quiet time in silent prayer reflecting on Jesus’ amazing love for you! He would have done it all – went through his entire Passion and Death – if it were only you to be saved! Prayerfully thank him, and listen in the depths of your heart to what he has to say to you directly about the whole thing! You are very special and very much loved by him! Fast – “Giving up something to get something better later” – just makes sense. But, when it involves giving up something for the spiritual purpose of purifying mind and heart and motivation so that you can receive an overabundance of spiritual gifts at a later time: it makes even more sense! Give up the candy, give up the cokes, give up the donuts – but for a spiritual purpose and what you will get on Easter Sunday will be amazing! Jesus went into Galilee after his temptation proclaiming the gospel of God: the Kingdom of God is at hand: Repent and believe in the gospel! We can put our repenting and believing into action this Lent, by PRAYING, FASTING and GIVING ALMS! SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME I – It is I who wipe out, for my own sake, your offenses. The Season of Lent begins this coming Wednesday – Ash Wednesday. This Liturgical Year of Grace is moving right along! And in the light of the Advent and Christmas Season that we have just celebrated, and the Sundays in Ordinary Time that we will suspend for several weeks beginning today, with its practical applications of the coming to earth of Jesus – we will now enter into two seasons which highlight the main point, the main reason why Jesus came to us, from the right hand of the Father: to FORGIVE SIN and to CONQUER DEATH so that we might have everlasting life. Unless we are very clear about these two things then we have missed the whole point of the Incarnation: the Word of God becoming Flesh: God’s Friendship Becoming Man: Jesus coming to earth at Christmas. And so for the next weeks of Lent you will hear in the readings and in the homilies about SIN and DEATH; the FORGIVENESS of sin and the TRANSFORMATION of death into eternal life! This leading up to the events of Holy Week, but also, to a Communal Service of Penance (Confession) to be held in conjunction with St. Mary’s Parish in Bath at St. Mary’s on Sunday, March 29 at 6:30pm. Fr. Rice, myself, and the Marists Frs. Ed and Andy will be there to celebrate God’s immediate and direct forgiveness of your sins with you! By then, I am in hopes that many of you will find the need to attend. Some of you may have never even been to such a service – they are quite soothing and powerful indeed! As part of the “Friends Helping Friends” Program here at St. Ambrose there will be “carpooling” available on that night from here to St. Mary’s. Today, then, let our first lesson on the Lenten theme of Forgiveness and Life be this: sin is what we think and what we say and what we do that we ought not to have thought or said or done (both of serious and less serious matter); it is also thoughts and words and deeds that we don’t do; that we omit, that we writ- off as “does not apply to me,” – again both of serious and less serious content. We sin by doing and by not-doing! And understood properly everyone sins, everyday! In the Book of Job we read: “even a virtuous man sins seven times a day!” Now this is not to be morbid – or overly analytical – or pessimistic – but I relate this simply to encourage you to have your “sin radar” up and running at all times: so you can steer yourself back on to the middle of the highway of spiritual health and life if you should veer to the left or the right! With practice it can become easier and easier to stay on track! Now about sin: The “Alleluia” verse today reminds us that Jesus is the one whom the Lord (God the Father) sent to bring glad tiding to the poor, and to proclaim liberty to captives: those who were enslaved and captured by sin! This is great news! The second reading today from the Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians assures us that the promise God made to Noah – and indeed all the promises he made to mankind are always in effect! They are always “Yes.” God does not change his mind – he is not “Yes” one minute and “No” the next – he is always “Yes” – in fact Jesus is “God’s YES made Flesh!” When we see and hear Jesus we see and hear God keeping his word, his promise to have mercy on us, to forgive us our sins and to bring us to everlasting life! This is very hopeful and very comforting to know! God / Jesus is always on our side – always doing everything they can to refresh, renew and restore us in Divine Friendship with them! The gospel passage, of course is the classic story, of Jesus ability and power – his “Yes” which cures both disease and illness, and which also forgives sin! He told the paralytic to rise and walk – for his sins were forgiven! Thereby Jesus displayed a double power – over the natural world and the supernatural world! And everyone who saw and heard this was astounded that he could not only heal physically, but also spiritually! Jesus wants to be our “Yes” too – not only over our sins, but also over our diseases – and so on the 4th Sunday of Lent (March 22) – “Rejoice Sunday,” the first Sunday of Spring, we will have a healing service involving the anointing of the sick right here at Mass - with the “Oil of the Sick” blessed by the bishop! Keep this in mind so you can invite people to come and you can pray for an increase in faith – an increase of your “Yes” – so that those receiving that sacrament will get the full benefit of it. You will hear more about this at a later time. Those eligible to receive the sacrament are the elderly, the infirm, and those of any age suffering from any kind of illness of mind, body or spirit! Lord, our God, heal us – for we have sinned against you – but we come before you with minds full of “YES” and hearts full of faith and love! Have mercy on us! Amen! SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME I – The leper will dwell apart, making an abode outside the camp. It seems the Valentine’s Day Weekend is quite an appropriate time for our celebration today of World Marriage Day! Welcome, once again, to all married couple here today! Thank you for reflecting and mirroring the Love that is God the Father; thank you for reflecting and mirroring the grace and mercy that comes from God the Son; thank you for reflecting and mirroring the life of communion of the Holy Spirit. We thank you, and we look to you as a reliable and faithful sign of hope for us all in these difficult times that we find ourselves in as a nation among nations. Most everyone has felt and is feeling pressures in all aspects of life like never before – but we thank you, dear married couples, for your example and for your willingness to be like stars shining in a dark night! But some of you are looking at me and saying: “Who us?” “How can we be those things for you?” “It sounds so very difficult!” Actually, it’s very simple: Yes, the very real power of the Holy Spirit that is constantly available in any sacramental marriage enables the surrendering to God, and the happy outcome of rather difficult situations! The readings today – at first glance – seem to have little to do with marriage: they are about lepers and leprosy! But, on closer inspection – they may have something to do with marriage after all! They may have something to do with the “uninvited guest” that shows up at every wedding, and stays well into any couple’s marriage and family life; the guest that brings disease of sorts to the beauty, dignity and integrity of married life. This can happen internally in marriages and family life; or it can come from the outside as a general intrusion on married and family life as an institution, as a whole! There will always be tests of the freedom, totality, fidelity and fruitfulness that are of the essence of married life: God and you, if you stop to think about it, really would not want it to be any other way: married people have to consciously and generously give themselves to marriage again and again every day: say “I do” again and again every day– and thus earn their way to heaven. But in our day there is also a very large threat from the outside to the very stability and integrity of the institution of marriage and family life itself: the aggressive notion that the laws of God, the laws of marriage, the laws of family life can be arbitrarily modified, changed and rewritten because “God must have gotten it wrong!” God does not get things wrong, but we can! The good news – the gospel Good News – is that Jesus has the power to cure leprosy. He has the power to heal parts of a marriage that may have become infected with it; he has the preventative power to stop misguided notions of marriage from ever taking hold, taking root! But he can’t do it without you: without your faith and belief that he can do it; without your active prayer for it to happen; without your active participation in a healthy marriage; without your active stance against those who oppose the original family concept! The second reading today tells us to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus thus giving glory to God the Father! If all you do in your married and family life is run through this simple filter: then your family life, your life in your parish, your life in society and your life in your country – will be that much stronger and that much more protected from uninvited guests – until we are all safe in the heavenly wedding feast of the Lamb to which we are all invited! And there, if you don’t have your wedding garment on you won’t get in! Yes, our goal, as church: as bride of Christ, is to be married one day to the Groom – the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! The Cross reminds us of the price he paid to marry us! What takes place on the altar is a very real sign of that heavenly banquet! and our response of gratitude, of love and of service to our fellow men and women – beginning with our spouses and our own families - will reach its fullness one day in the Kingdom! Yes, thank you, married couples, for being willing to be a sign of all of these mysterious things that are here now and are yet to come… FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME I – I am filled with restlessness until dawn. Last week we talked about “prophecy” and how God would always provide someone to speak directly, truthfully and honestly on his behalf – for the complete and total welfare – but most especially – the spiritual welfare of his own beloved People, his own beloved Friends. Today, St. Paul tells the Corinthians that, in a sense, he has been called to continue and extend the Prophecy of Jesus, the One, True, Full and Last Prophet. In this context, “God’s speaking through a man” is called “preaching the Gospel.” Paul tells them that preaching is an obligation imposed on him (directly by Jesus – when he made him an Apostle and sent him to the Gentiles), and there is nothing about the preaching that is a matter of boasting for him. He takes credit for nothing. He is not doing it for money. He has been entrusted with a stewardship – God’s precious gift of Truth-to-Tell! And woe to me if I do not preach as God intends!: these are Paul’s words. I, as an ordained priest, feel exactly as Paul does. Preaching is a primary duty imposed upon me by ordination itself. And woe to me if I do not preach as God intends. Now, God the Father apparently intends for you to hear TRUTH from me; that is why he sent Jesus, who sent Paul and the other Apostles who eventually sent Bishop Malone, who sent me to you! And if I carefully and prayerfully prepare my homilies – then you are hearing not my words, but rather TRUTH! I carefully and prayerfully prepare my homilies… The TRUTH in today’s gospel passage is that Jesus has power over demons: he can cast them out and help keep them out! In the world today there are many who are victims of these insidious varmints who crawl into the minds and hearts of innocent people and divert them from what they would otherwise know TRUTH and Goodness and Rightness to be! In the passage, Jesus went all over the region very easily and successfully driving out demons! Peace, calm, wholeness, balance – and right judgment, is restored for the healed people and they know that it is God who did the healing: through Jesus! Demons lurk today! And Jesus still has power to drive them away, and to help keep them away - if he is asked; and if the askers are willing to show their gratitude by helping him carry the blessing and the healing to others! It is hard to fathom that some or even great numbers could be “pro-death!” What seems more likely is that great numbers are “pro-choice” – “God gave me free-will – I ought to be able to choose to do anything at all that I want to do!” This is true – BUT, the one who gave the free-will also gave a written manual on how to use it: it is called the Stone Tablets of the Ten Commandments. And one of them says: Thou shall not kill! To further help us use our free-will he also wrote another version of the law deep within our hearts: do unto others as you would have them do unto you! And fear me, as you love me, for I wrote all the laws – and I am your final Judge and Jury! I, and Bishop Malone, along with all of the Bishops of our country ask all of you to freely choose to make your voice heard to those who represent you in public office – and tell them that freedom is not freedom if it takes away anyone’s freedom – especially the voice and freedom of an unborn child! Freedom is not freedom if it threatens to take away the rights of others to have affordable sectarian Catholic health care. Freedom is not freedom if it promotes a free-for-all mentality of “equality for death!” There is no equality for death! Freedom is God’s precious gift: FOR LIFE! always! and forever! world without end! Amen! TRUE FREEDOM ALWAYS CHOOSES LIFE! On the Judgment Day that is surely coming: Jesus – the one on the Cross – will ask each one of us directly: did you use your precious gift of free-will to do all you could for other people – to truly care for all their needs – most especially the tiniest and the smallest and the most defenseless of them all: my most favored and beloved brothers and sisters waiting in their mother’s wombs for a chance to make a difference in the world? Such potential they had, such gifts they had, such an opportunity we have to do something about it NOW! Join me, if you choose to, in signing a postcard FOR LIFE! NOW! FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME I – I will raise up a prophet and I will put my words into his mouth. Last week we heard about the Prophet Jonah standing up in front of the people of Nineveh and telling them that they ought to reform their lives – because God was not pleased with the way they were handling them! These people listened to Jonah and God did not punish them – as he had every right to do. What parent would not punish a child in some way for directly disobeying fair and reasonable rules? Today we hear again about prophecy! Prophecy, as we use it in church does not mean “fortunetelling” or “foretelling the future” – it means rather “speaking under the inspiration of God.” After Moses delivered the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel (Reading I) - that he got from God on Mt. Sinai - the people still needed God to speak to them as directly as he possibly could - so that they could listen to him and obey him the best they could. And so God promised Moses and the people that they would always have “prophets” (speakers who spoke what he wanted them to say) when they needed them to steer them the right direction – if they freely chose to listen! He would appoint several for them in the future (Jonah would be one of them, Jeremiah, Isaiah and many others) but the greatest and last of all would be Jesus Himself who would be God’s very words made into a human being – he would be the fulfillment of Prophecy! This is what Jesus is: “God’s-words-in-human form” – even having a human voice – so that He (God the Father) could be heard speaking! Yes, God the Father always wants to make sure we stay on the path that will one day lead us back home to him! The gospel passage tells us today of the power of Jesus’ presence and his words! The people of Capernaum were astounded by the way he taught (used words) with authority – and not as their teachers and scribes who did not speak out of truth and experience as Jesus could. And the unclean spirits lurking in people were also aware of his power and presence and they were caused to speak out – thus proclaiming their lack of power when he was near! He easily told them to be quiet and to come out of a man (III) – and they did, but not very quietly! Yes, Jesus was becoming known as one who had something to offer that no one else ever had! False prophets are more concerned about their own version of truth, their own life-style, their own way of doing everything. But Jesus had real Truth, a different kind of Life-style and the knowledge of how “to get people to there from here” – (to heaven from this temporary valley of tears). St. Paul always has a difficult time dealing with the Corinthians – they are such a contrary bunch! Today (II) he has to remind them to keep focused on Jesus – whether their vocation is to be a husband or a wife, or a single person – keep your eyes and ears fixed on Jesus’ speaking and loving you as your best of all possible Friend – and then do what he moves you to do for others! (Now Paul does say in the reading that since married life is so hectic, it is a bit more difficult to stay Jesus-focused – but he believes that is most assuredly possible – especially if the couple remembers that God is already a part of their sacramental marriage – the Holy Spirit is always there for them). And so – for you - this day – if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts! Let it have an effect on you! Let it change you into what God has in mind for you to be! And then do what he has in mind for you to do! And if you get the chance tell someone you know (who might not already know it) that Jesus really can make a difference in life – he can be like a light shining in a dark place; being his friend can be like moving from a land where everything seems dead – to a place where everything is alive and friendly and peaceful! If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts! THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME I – The Ninevites turned from their evil way. You would think that this is the First Sunday of Lent, rather than the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, with the heavy emphasis in our readings today about “repenting, and believing in the Gospel” because “this is the time of fulfillment, the Kingdom of God is at hand!” But it is not Lent, and we have begun the “counting” or “ordinary” Sundays that will eventually culminate in November with the Solemnity of Jesus Christ as King of the Universe. Maybe there is another reason why the Church gives us these readings now: maybe we need to hear them now: we need to hear the message that “it is always the time to turn away from what is not of God and his Kingdom; it is always time to turn to the Good News that he has proclaimed most eloquently by sending us Jesus: our Lord, our God, our Brother and our Friend; it is always the time to be a disciple and follower of Jesus; it is always the time to be taught by Jesus (in imitation of Simon Peter who became (III) Jesus’ first serious student/disciple/apostle.” Most human beings are a stubborn bunch! Once they get something in their minds, it is very difficult to get it back out again! One of the things that a lot of people get into their minds, that they can’t seem to get out again, is the fact that “evil is glamorous (“this thing or activity just doesn’t ‘look or seem evil’ at all” – actually, it “looks and seems pretty good”),” “the ways of the world ‘are not so bad’ after all,” “everyone else is saying and doing things (that even I realize are a bit) outlandish, but, hey, if they can do it, why can’t I?” The obvious Catholic Christian response is: the words and ways of the world are not the words and ways of God! They will not bring peace. They will not bring joy! They will not end in everlasting life in the bliss of heaven! But, he is very deceptive, the “prince of the world”: he makes his ware /his evil so appealing and attractive that it is very hard to resist – because he makes everything “feel so seductively good and right!” “Feeling good is one thing,” but experiencing the richness and depth of True Reality as it is meant to be experienced by the design of God who created it and which can produce immense joy - is quite something else! This is what God offers – the Real Joyful Deal! But with the Real Deal comes a decision – because free-will is involved. God wants us to freely choose him and the Deal! Such was the case with the Ninevites many centuries ago. They were “God’s people,” but they were “steeped in the words and ways of the world!” They used their free-will in inappropriate ways. But he wanted to save them from themselves, from their own spiritual blindsightedness: he wanted to give them deep and lasting joy and so he sent young Jonah to them to warn them to change their evil ways. And thanks to the very courageous preaching of Jonah the Ninevites did choose to turn from their evil thoughts, words and deeds and God did spare them and repented of the punishment that he had threatened – out of divine justice – to do to them: he did not carry it out! Jonah, then, as a very brave young person “stood in the breach” (a “go-between”) for the people of Nineveh, as a sign of Jesus who would “stand in the breach” for all of mankind (including you and me) so that God would hold back his just retribution / punishment on us! For those who, on the other hand try their best to follow the words and ways of Jesus as they are proclaimed to them – proclaimed here in Church, in the readings and the homily – in our Catholic Schools – by listening in our prayer at home, as he speaks to us through one another – divine retribution – divine punishment does not even enter into the picture! This is the GOOD NEWS that Jesus brought, in the person of Himself: if you keep your eyes fixed on me, if you listen to what I have to say, if you believe it, if you put it into practice the best you can, if you find that it leads you to help other people then you will be filled with real joy and have nothing to fear on any day of your life, but most especially the last one! Now, staying close to Jesus, following him and imitating him will also, at times, call on you to stand up for the Truth, just as he did, just as Jonah did before him! It may make you unpopular at times – but your work – with the help of the Holy Spirit will be as effective as Jonah’s and Jesus’ – you will “stand in the breach” for others – in ways small or even great: and you will be used by God to gather to him a Family of Friends that is purified and ready for an eternal wedding banquet unlike anything any one of us could ever imagine! Yes, this is our goal: Jesus, the Lamb of God – who “stood in the breach” for us – who took away our sins – will one day “marry his Bride” – the Church – “marry us” – in heaven – and we will “live happily ever after!” But first there is work to be done here on earth! May our belief in the GOOD NEWS and our cooperation with the Holy Spirit in living out our baptismal calling to be prophets for the Lord, young or old, be efficacious and fruitful for all eternity! God bless you! SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME I – Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. On the one hand there is “the way and the words of the world!” They have their own agenda, perspective and point of view!They have their own meter, rhyme, rhythm and alluring tone! The way and words of the world are truly the way and words of the Evil One himself: how could they be otherwise. The agenda, perspective and point of view that they tout are completely selfish, self-centered, self-seeking and self-contained. The meter, rhyme, rhythm and alluring tone of their word is that of intellectual double-talk and emotional mesmerizing. The “lie” is the basis of their promotion; “deception” is idolized as a desirable trait! On the other hand there is “the Way and Words of Jesus!” He too has his own agenda, perspective and point of view; he too has his own meter, rhyme, rhythm and persuasive tone! But the Way and Words are of Grace and Truth! The difference is unmistakable! The agenda, perspective and point of view is completely other-centered; self-less; self-giving; self-sacrificing; open to others, all others who are in need of release from spiritual and intellectual blindness, and emotional paralysis! TRUTH is the basis of his promotion; TRUTH-LIVING is touted as a most desirable trait – putting words and ideas of goodness, rightness, justice and peace into practice – everyday! The world in which we live, I am sure you notice, contains people who are committed to both camps! The “world camp”; and the “Jesus camp” – or as it is more commonly known as: “the Church.” We who are baptized into Jesus (his Church) are now dead to the world and to ourselves and alive in Jesus; we are truly the Body of Christ, the People of God, the Temple of the Holy Spirit. WE ARE NOT OF THE WORLD! Sometimes though the allurement of the world is so strong that it tries to persuade us to take up its faulty vision and practices again – and sometimes we do – this is called sinning! But, if we are true to our consciences, we know something is not right, and we have the desire to become fully engaged members of the Church again by reconciliation! The second reading today puts it very bluntly: Avoid immorality! Those who are fully members of the Body of Christ are moral persons! Those who are in the world may be moral to the extent that they live according to the dictates of a rightly formed conscience - the same as those in the Body of Christ! My dear friends, we are living in a very dangerous moral climate in the world today, including our own country. Immorality needs to be avoided at all costs at the national and international level - as well as personally! If we are with Christ the Light of the World, if we are Leaven that is meant to influence all aspects of daily life including the policy making arena of civil government – then we need to do what we have been called to do, as Jesus himself did! As a prophecy of the coming of Jesus, Samuel (I) was called by God to say and do many things for him, most of which did not make him popular at all (like Jesus)! But as the reading tells us “the Lord was with him” and his words (and ways) were always effective for God. Because we are baptized, confirmed and are communicants of Jesus “the Lord is with us too” and his words and ways can be effective for God as well. We can be Light and Leaven for God – our voices and our actions can proclaim his Truth and Grace and Peace in the world. Tuesday history will be made when an African-American will be inaugurated as President of the United States. May it be our prayer that God will give the new president all that he needs to carry out his office with courage, dignity and wisdom: the very Holy Wisdom of God itself, so that he can make decisions that are intrinsically Good, Right, Truthful, Moral and Just for all the citizens of our country – in all ages and stages, from the unborn to terminally ill and dying. And may Americans of every religious persuasion (but most especially us as Catholics) make our voices heard when it comes to blocking legislation that would comprise the dignity and life of any human being, whatsoever, in any way at all; and may we be instrumental in proposing ethically and morally sound solutions to some of the most vexing problems that have ever faced our country or any other country in modern times. Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus because they knew that he was the long awaited Messiah! They stayed with him and their lives were never the same. Our lives in Jesus are meant never to be the same as well: but we must “stay with him through thick and thin”, and then with the power of the Holy Spirit (Jesus’ Gift to us) working in us we can say and do what we never thought we could: things that are truly right and good and beautiful and just! May we live this day that way! And every day, so that we can make a big difference in the world which needs the Light and Leaven of Christ’s Way and Words so desperately! Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will! THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD I – Behold my servant with whom I am well pleased. Today, in the readings for this feast of the Baptism of Jesus, for those who were paying attention, we have two very interesting contrasting ideas: in the “alleluia verse” it says: “The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son, listen to him!” In the reading of the gospel itself, from the same gospel writer (St. Mark) it simply says: “A voice came from the heavens, you are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Why the discrepancy in tone? The first account of the Father’s voice actually took place on the Mountain of the Transfiguration a week before Jesus died on the Cross; the second was part of the baptismal ceremony that Jesus went through with John in the Jordan – the remembrance of which we are celebrating today! In both cases it is clear that God the Father is speaking about his Son; and in both cases it is clear that the Father wants us to LISTEN TO HIM!: at first, at this the beginning of his public life as an overall gentle encouragement; at the end of Jesus life so that we don’t miss the whole point of his life when his final actions would speak louder than all the words he had ever spoken! Yes, today we reflect on the beginning of Jesus’ “public life.” Jesus was aware of his “vocation” to be Messiah his whole life long: and now the time had come for him to “get to work” on our behalf. All he needed was three years of concentrated, intense work to do what he came on earth to do: to be our ransom to God the Father (because we needed to be ransomed), to be our salvation (because we needed to be saved), to be our door to heaven (because there is no other door or entry apart from him)! Today is also fittingly, then, Vocation Awareness Sunday in the Church: where we pause to reflect upon our “calling in life:” that work that God has in mind for each of us to do, because only we can do it best – in the particular time and place, and with the particular people that he has in mind. There are many vocations in life: among which are the vocation to married and family life! This is a magnificent vocation where husband, wife and children are called on to reflect God’s own life and love within Himself, and his love for all people, everywhere! It is a very sublime and honored vocation, and its dignity and integrity needs to be promoted and defended at all costs. There is also the vocation to religious family life. Life as a priest or a nun, a brother or a sister: either within a religious community or in a diocesan setting! This too is a sublime and honored vocation! Religious vocation now also includes the vocation to lay ministry (such as Pastoral Associate). The Church has been gifted in so many ways, and we are at the point where we need to rely on all the possibilities that the Holy Spirit provides for the present and future life of the Church. There is also the vocation to the single state – which precedes both marriage and religious life – and can honorably exist in its own right. Sometimes the single state leads to marriage, at other times it might lead to priesthood or religious life. Sometimes it is a calling unto itself. In all three cases being a chaste, holy and generously giving person is part of the lifestyle! God the Father sent Jesus into the world to bring a victory of justice, to be a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the spiritually blind, to bring out self-condemned prisoners to freedom, to bring out of darkness those who ignorantly choose to live with the lights out – if they would want it! And Jesus sends families and religious and single people into the world to help him! God already knows what he wants you to do with your life, whether you are already fully involved in it, or not yet engaged in it fully, or you do not yet know what it might be at all. All you need to do is to ask him to let you know what it is that he wants you to do more fully, or from the beginning! In the silence, if you ask, he will tell you - if you LISTEN – with the ears of your heart! He usually answers when you least expect, in ways you least expect. It could be a word from a stranger, a conversation with a friend, a song you hear on the radio; it could be a sign on the road, an intuition gotten while praying; it could be actually talking to a married person, a priest, a deacon, a lay minister, another single person about what its like to be them! If you feel the inkling: INVESTIGATE! QUESTION! DO NOT BE AFRAID! So whether you need to hear it softly and sweetly, or like the sound of roaring thunder: God the Father is telling you today: this is my beloved Son: LISTEN TO HIM! and you will hear what you need to hear about living the exact calling (vocation) that has your name on it! THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD I – The glory of the Lord shines upon you. Today we celebrate the Feast of Jesus the Messiah as True Light of the World – the whole world. He came to enlighten everyone, not just the people of his family heritage, the people of Israel, but all people everywhere – the “people-everywhere” were called “Gentiles!” What actually happened on that cold and starry night in Bethlehem was that an ENORMOUS LIGHT began to glow in that cradle! A light brighter than anyone could ever imagine seeing – a brightness greater than any bleacher could make a white garment – a light more brilliant than seven suns! The animals could sense it! No doubt Mary and Joseph could see it! But not only was it just a light – it was also at the same time a peaceful light! Everything that the Light touched also was filled with an amazing sense of Peace, Calm and Joy! That Light, that Peace, that Joy was the Christ-child, Emmanuel! the King of all Kings, the Lord of all Lords! His radiance filled the night! But this absolutely brilliant light capable of reaching and flooding the entire earth – right there from that crib in that stable – was a very peculiar kind of light – because even though it now existed on the earth, and it shone for all it was worth – not everyone could see it, or benefit from it! In fact most couldn’t! Or refused to! Some could see just dimly a few rays - and even that came and went! Why is this so? This Light (of Peace) can only be seen by those who use the “eyeglasses” or “filter” of “FAITH!” The Light began shining that night, and it is still shining – but only those with faith-glasses can see it and be affected by its peaceful glow! On the day of our Baptism the eyeglasses or filter of faith (if you will) are given to us – and the light is switched on! This is what happens when the water is poured and the words are said. In fact, this is the very same Light of the (Easter) Paschal Candle – and it is up to us to keep it lit always, to make sure that the light of God will be the light for the path of our life, and that it will be ours to share from our hearts with all with whom we come into contact – in our families, our schools, at our work, in our play! What can dim our light or even extinguish it and make it impossible to see God’s light at all, thus causing us to stumble around in darkness of spirit - is sin-after-baptism. We must at all costs avoid sin as much as we possibly can in order to keep the Light as bright and as strong as it is meant to be for us! Confession switches the light back on! But what nourishes our faith the best – in order to live a strong Catholic faith-life - is the reception, with open hearts, of the very Body and Blood of Christ (which he provided for this very purpose) - that we share at this table week after week! It is real spiritual food! It is real spiritual drink! It is a real spiritual recharging of the batteries of the Faith-Light that we need to live day by day – in a way that is pleasing to God and helpful to others! And forgives lesser sins – it wipes our faith-glasses clean! Active and enthusiastic life in the Church then is the remedy for the Un-life (the Death-wish) of the World. The death of worldly selfishness and self-centeredness will happen only when we live more fully and effectively our Catholic faith. Let this be our Spiritual New Year’s Resolution: “TO BE TRUE CATHOLICS, THROUGH AND THROUGH-OUT THE NEW YEAR!” The people in darkness – the people of Israel – saw a great light! It came to dwell in their midst! Most did not receive it or even notice it! But to those who did receive it – a new and glorious life was to be revealed! Today, the Magi represent all of us – the “rest of the world” – who come to the crib to offer gifts fit for a king, a priest, and a savior - to the very small but O so Radiant Light of this brand new and glorious Day! May we see his star always rising above us, and showing us they way; andlet us make our lives ones of homage to the one who left so much behind - in order to give up so much - to make our futures as brilliant as the stars. May the Light and Peace of the Christ Child be with you now and always! Amen! THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH I – Those who fear the Lord honor their parents. What made the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph holy was not that they were “perfect!” (What family would not be perfect who had a sinless mother and child as a part of it – and a foster father who was as sinless as one could possibly be – except for the original sin that he was born into the world with! What made this family holy was that each member was completely and totally open to all of the gifts that God the Father had to offer them to live their earthly lives in accordance with his will! And what made them holy and perfect was the fact that they each did their God-given duty solely because they loved God the Father from the depths of their hearts – and willed never to do anything apart from that love and that will! This is where our family life – whether we are children of parents (living or deceased) or parents of children – can resemble that of the holy family! We each can be open to all of the gifts God has to give us (this is the gift-giving time of the year – have we remembered to give God the gift of ourselves for Christmas, and to receive what he has specially chosen for us this year?); and we can resolve to do God’s will, live a holy family life because we love God the Father with all of our hearts. Thus will our family life be “holy and perfect in the sight of God” – while on the surface, and from a strangers point of view – it may look anything but holy and perfect! In the first reading today from the Book of Sirach we are reminded that family members ought to take care of one another – children by parents when they are young, parents by children when they are old. We ought always to honor and respect one another as family members! St. Paul tells the Colossians an amazing secret to successful family life: let it resemble the love that God the Father has for all his people: let it resemble the love that Christ the Bridegroom has for his Bride the Church (us). Jesus loved the Church (us) so much that he laid down his life for her. He sacrificed for her. He nurtured her tenderly. He took care of her. He, by baptism, bore new children with her. This is exactly how husbands are meant to love their wives, and the submission of which St. Paul speaks means nothing less than the wife, the bride, allowing the husband to love her thusly! To dote over her, to protect her, to give his life in many ways for her – even to the point of death – this is the duty of the husband, after the example of Christ! Both roles involve self-donation and mutual giving! Family life borne of mutual respect, mutual friendship, mutual love, mutual caring, mutual sacrifice will always - to be authentic and genuine - be a free gift of members to one another; it will be total and complete, needing no other source of compensation; it will be faithful and fruitful and creative of a variety of manifestations of more and more of God’s gifts – gifts to be used at the service of one another! It is never too late to begin to have a more pure, a more holy, a more perfect family life. It simply takes prayer to the Holy Spirit for guidance and power needed; the decision to do so, and then taking the first step of giving ourselves freely to those who are nearest and dearest to us – our families! Let the peace of Christ control our hearts; let the word of Christ dwell in us richly- and we will know what to do; we will always know what to do! THE SOLEMNITY OF CHRISTMAS There are two very important references to “time” in Scripture: It was “in the fullness of time” that Jesus was born, some 2000 years ago on this very day– it was the absolute perfect moment for him to be born! And he was born – the Word became Flesh, born True King of David’s royal line – and he began to dwell among us! But he (as Bishop Sheen told us so rightly) is the only person ever to be born to die – so that we might live and we might have the possibility of going to heaven when we die! Most people are born to live; Jesus was born to die! And so: the “hour” that Jesus kept referring to his whole life – would be that hour on Calvary when he would lay down his life for his friends – for us; and at the very moment that he and his Father had chosen – he would “hand over his Spirit” – he would die - so that we might live! Yes, the CRIB and the CROSS are very much related! Thank you, Jesus, for being born to die for us, thank you for coming & giving your life for your friends! May we prove our thanks and love for you by loving others and being a friend to others as you have been and continue to be for us!
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT I – The kingdom of David shall endure for ever before the Lord. Did you know that God the Father has a “secret name” for all of us! Just as you who are fathers know – each child is unique and special and deserving of its own “secret name!” – a name that just perfectly fits the individual! God the Father’s “secret name” for a humble maiden of Nazareth called Mary was: “full of grace!” Mary always was completely filled with God’s love, his grace and his friendship! The lost love, the lost grace and the lost friendship caused by Adam’s sin – Original Sin – never touched Mary – because God the Father had a “special task” for Mary – should she accept it – to be the Mother of his Son! [God the Father also has a “special task” for each of us – something to do in life (our “vacation”) which can only be done in just the way we do it – should we accept the job! Mary, in this regard, then, was no different from us!] And so we see one of the most dramatic scenes in all of the Scriptures in the gospel passage today: the angel Gabriel comes to Mary, calls her by her “secret name” “Hail, full of grace!” and delivers a message from God – the proposal of her “special task” – to be the Mother of his Son! And how dramatic it truly was: heaven and earth stood still while Mary thought about it, gathered some more information about how it would happen, and then immediately agreed to do it! YES! I will be the Mother of God’s Son! Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word! And the Holy Spirit overshadowed her – the power of the Most High came upon her and EMMANUEL began to exist in her womb! Her joy became ecstatic – and she later cries out in Elizabeth’s presence! MY SOUL PROCLAIMS THE GREATNESS OF THE LORD! MY SPIRIT FINDS JOY IN GOD MY SAVIOR! Jesus is Mary’s Savior, he is our Savior! He has come to restore lost love, lost grace and lost friendship! May we find that love, that grace and that joy always – as it emanates and radiates from the Holy Scriptures and from the Eucharistic Bread of Friendship Restored! For ever we will sing the goodness of the Lord. THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT I – I rejoice heartily in the Lord. We spoke last week of John the Baptist crying out in the desert: PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD! MAKE STRAIGHT THE PATHS that will lead us to him and him to us! We also said that those who are on the high mountains of their own self-importance ought to “come down” to the flat-plain to meet “face-to-face and eye-to-eye” the One who rules over them; and the ones who are sunk low in the valley of poverty and humiliation ought to “come up” to level ground to meet “straightaway” the One who promised to come to them to be their redeemer. In short: all ought to prepare themselves to meet their SAVIOR! The gospel passage today tells us more about this Savior, this Messiah, this LIGHT who has come into the world so that people could find their way home to God the Father! Now, John the Baptist was so charismatic that people thought he might be the long-awaited Savior, Messiah, LIGHT! But John tells those who inquire: “NO! I am NOT the Light! But I CAN testify that the Light is among you and that he will do amazing and powerful things to bring about your salvation – (which will include a spectacular show of Light on the Morning of the Resurrection)! My “baptism” is only a preparatory kind of ceremony to clear the mind and heart internally to receive the Messiah when at last he will make himself known! When he does come, it would behoove you all to pay very close and strict attention to him! THE LIGHT OF HIS LIFE WILL CHANGE THE WORLD FOREVER! As was prophesied in Isaiah in the first reading today: LIGHT will mean: glad tidings preached to the poor, healing for the brokenhearted, liberty for captives, release for prisoners! LIGHT will mean that a time of REJOICING has come! [REJOICING IS THE THEME OF THIS THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT!] As St. Paul says to the Thessalonians today: with rejoicing always in your hearts may you pray without ceasing: in all circumstances giving thanks to God, not quenching the Spirit, so that you may both receive the Light of Christ more fully this day and every day, and be more willing to share that Light with others: as your hearts are enflamed with the same Light in your reception of Holy Communion! [I wrote this part of the homily before the ice storm:] [Now having experienced the ice storm I can say that it is a perfect example of what I am saying today: those living in spiritual cold and darkness are there by their own choice: and what is still seen on the news reports about the ice storm is symbolic of what insisting to live away from the Light of Christ can be like! But it need not be that way: come fully near the warmth and the experience of Christ our Light – and bring others with you!] Our souls rejoice in our God! SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT – ST. AMBROSE I – Prepare the way of the Lord. Our Scripture readings today, on this Second Sunday of Advent, tell us of the great coming of the long awaited Messiah – as we go back to the beginning - to tell the story of Jesus all over again this new liturgical year. The theme today is: HE IS COMING! HE IS COMING! MAKE STRAIGHT THE PATHS BEFORE HIM! This is the cry of the greatest and the last of the Old Testament Prophets, St. John the Baptist. The Messiah Himself would be the One, True and Only Prophet from then on – in the New Testament! All flesh needs to see the salvation of God! And to see, all flesh needs to be able to look him straight in the eye; and so make straight the paths, so to be able to see! Those who are proud and arrogant – come down to the plain, to the flat land – come down and meet the great King who rules over you! Those who are lowly and poor – come up, come up from the valley of poverty and see that your Savior is here, he has not forgotten you! May all – who even this day need to hear this cry hear it: come down, come up – he is coming straight ahead to meet you – with his kindness, with his gifts, with your salvation! Today, since it is December 7th we also celebrate the feast of St. Ambrose (whose feast day it is on the Church Calendar). He is one, who, born in the 4th century cried out to the people of Milan in his eloquent and persuasive way: YES! HE ISHERE! HE IS HERE FOR ALL TO SEE AND TO EXPERIENCE AS REDEEMER, SAVIOR AND FRIEND! He is here in the Church (which he founded on the person of St. Peter) that is growing and developing by leaps and bounds since the day of his Ascension, and the day of the sending of the Spirit! In the late 300’s when Ambrose lived, in Milan, Italy – he had the important task as Bishop to enforce the findings of the Council of Nicea which was held earlier in the 300’s. There was a big discussion at the Council about the divinity of Jesus. A man named Arius said that Jesus came from God the Father, but was made as a creation of his – he was not truly divine as the Father was. This was an erroneous idea (a heresy) and the Council made it very clear that Jesus was GOD FROM GOD, LIGHT FROM LIGHT, TRUE GOD FROM TRUE GOD, BEGOTTEN - NOT MADE, ONE IN BEING WITH THE FATHER. This you will recognize as a part of the Nicene Creed that we proclaim each Sunday (which was written at that very Council of Nicea). Each line of that creed was carefully thought out and came from some need to clarify who we are in relation to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and the Church. And so, St. Ambrose did much to squelch the Arian heresy in the city and diocese of Milan! Ambrose was a very brilliant man, with a great gift for preaching and teaching. He could simplify things so clearly and so well that he was named later as one of the four Latin Doctors of the Church along with St. Augustine, St. Jerome and St. Gregory the Great: (a doctor one who clearly and concisely states what already exists regarding sometimes confusing doctrines of the Church). Ambrose had great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary; and he was very much interested in preserving and also developing the sacred beauty of church buildings, and church music: he had a chant –similar to Gregorian – named after him! [We are fortunate to have right in this altar a relic – a piece of bone of St. Ambrose himself; just before I proclaim the gospel and preach to you I always ask St. Ambrose to help me!] This leads us to here – now! St. Ambrose Parish, Richmond, Maine! – It has been here, as you know, now, for 120 years – under the spiritual guidance of 10 popes, 10 bishops and 18 pastors. It has been a consistent and faithful part of the Diocese of Portland for that entire time. The same Jesus is here, too (as was there in the time of St. Ambrose himself)! – in one another as we gather each week, in the Scriptures we read, on the altar of Sacrifice during Mass – and in the tabernacle afterwards – and in our hearts (after receiving him in Holy Communion) as we go out from each Mass to love and serve his brothers and sisters (and ours) as he asked us to do! And while we wait for the him to come again, like its founders, this parish is asked to take what was passed on to them from the time of Jesus, through the time of St. Ambrose, up to today – to affirm and confirm it by the purity and holiness of the Catholic Christian lives they embrace and try to lead; and to pass it on to others “at the font” – inviting any who want to join them! In doing this St. Ambrose Parish is doing its part to ensure the people of this part of Maine that the Messiah and Christ remains here and will be here for as long as God would have it! Today then we have a happy convergence of three sources: The Message of St. John the Baptist; the message of St. Ambrose and the message that you, the people of St. Ambrose Parish, are called to proclaim! HE IS HERE! May the anniversary year find you hungering and thirsting for more and more of the spiritual realities: truths and nourishment that will strengthen you to accept the challenge to lift high the cross of Christ / which has as its counterpart the Paschal Candle and the Light of the Resurrection – and to show them to all you meet – and indeed, by rippling effect, to the whole world! God bless you! FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT I – Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down! The word “watch” was just used four times in the nine lines of this gospel passage: watch, watch, watch, watch! Today we begin a new liturgical year with the Season of Advent in a “watchful” mode – the same mode as we ended the old liturgical year last Sunday. What we are watching for on this Sunday is the same object as last Sunday – Christ the King who is to come at the end of the world – as Judge. If anything that we learned from the Scripture readings and homilies last year made any impact on us – we will understand how important it is to be in a “watchful, alert” kind of mode! For if we believe what Jesus said and did, then we will also believe it when he says that he will come suddenly – and those who are “watchful and alert” will be the ones who will find eternal reward with him! We watch by prayer! We watch by studying the documents of the church! We watch by reading and listening to Scripture! We watch by going to church and receiving the sacraments: especially the greatest gift of all: Holy Communion! We watch by going to confession to keep the channels of grace flowing freely! We watch by going out from Mass to love one another in our own life settings – but also by reaching out to as many others as we possibly can – Catholics, non-Catholics – anyone and everyone! We watch by keeping our eyes fixed on the Cross of Christ Jesus – and by willingly and joyfully carrying our own! While we continue to wait for the full revelation of the Lord this day let us turn our face to God and pray that he show us his face – and we shall be safe today and in the days to come: including the Last One! Show us O Lord, your love;
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