16th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year - C - 2013

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts

Today’s Gospel is very familiar we’ve all heard it over and over again.

Sometimes all of us have felt the same indignation that Martha felt when it seemed that we were:

doing all the work,
making all of the sacrifices,
or doing all the forgiving.

Jesus loved Martha and Mary
He seems to have enjoyed their company,

and when they needed Him the most he came, risking his life and the lives of his followers to raise their dear Brother Lazarus from the dead.

Let’s look a little more closely at Martha for a minute

Martha was a doer,

She was a get the job done kind of woman her whole life.

The only problem was that Martha was so worried about hospitality  that she didn’t really allow herself to realize who Jesus was.

The Messiah, The Son of God, had come into her house and she was worried about the potatoes.

She was probably so busy that she rarely took the time to sit still and reflect on anything.

So true to form, when Jesus came, She failed to realize the significance of the moment and she missed the better portion which her sister Mary had enjoyed.

When we heard that Jesus told Martha that she was worried about many things...

We understand that Martha must have been not only  busy also  anxious .

Being Busy and Anxious are two personality traits which make it difficult for us to open our heart to God’s word and God’s will.

If we are busy then we find it difficult to think and reflect about our lives.

If we are always anxious it makes us difficult for us to trust the loving providence of God.

I am sure that Jesus enjoyed Martha’s hospitality but he didn’t need it.

All he needed all he really wanted was to share the message of God’s love with Martha but he couldn’t get her to sit down and listen.

The Gospel calls us to look at ourselves:

Do we live reflective lives?

Do we take time to sit and think before we get busy doing something?

Do we hid in our busyness?

Do we take pride busyness and look down at others who are not as conscientious.

If God were to come into our lives today would we be worried about the dinner and the drinks and the potatoes or would chose the better portion that Mary found and Jesus spoke about.

Let’s try to worry a little less.. and trust a little more.

My Mom used to have a note on the door of her refrigerator it’s on my dresser now.

It said.

Good Morning this is God

I’ll be taking care of all of your problems today and I don’t need your help.

Truer words were never spoken.

Amen

15th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year C - 2013

Many of us going through life with questions like:

What do I need to do to be successful?

What do I need to do to be happy?
What should I do to be healthy ?

How much money do I need to send my kids to college ?

How much money do I need so that I can retire comfortably ?
These are all valid questions and frankly many of us live with them day in and day out.
But...all of these questions are about our life here on earth, which all of us know  is so very fragile and so very short.

The question that Scholar asked Jesus was very important.

What must I do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

Today’s Gospel and this questions remind us so poignantly  to raise our eyes and our thoughts and our worries beyond  the normal everyday challenges of this life.

The story of the good Samaritan reminds us to fix our eyes and our will and our efforts on ,life with God, eternal life, which is our true destiny and our only real hope.

There was a little old lady in my very first parish in a very poor violent neighborhood of Rome.  She had all kinds of challenges, she was desperately poor. She practically lived in Church. 

One day she spent the whole day in a park picking mushrooms and as I passed here walking home she was so excited that she would have mushrooms with her pasta that night. The next day when I saw her I asked how her pasta was. For the briefest of brief moments she looked sad and then she said.

I put them out in the garden to dry and someone climbed the wall and stole them.

But Father when you think about eternity what difference does it make?

Anytime there was a disappointment or a challenge or something to endure in this holy woman’s life, her refrain was always the same. When you think about eternity what difference does it make?

The Scholar asked Jesus 

Master what must I do to enter the Kingdom of heaven ?

And Jesus responded,

“What is written in the law?

How do you read it?”

The Scholar said in reply,

“You shall love the Lord, your God,

with all your heart,

with all your being,

with all your strength,

and with all your mind,

and your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly;

do this and you will live.”

Our purpose in this life no matter what challenges we face is to love God and love our neighbor always keeping our eyes raised to heaven.

Let us do so that we may live.

Amen

Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time Year - C - 2103

May the peace of Christ Reign in our hearts, today’s Gospel should give us all pause.

In today’s Jesus does not send out only the Apostles, or his “professional followers” but rather he sends out the Church, His Church, in other words he sent out all those who followed Him then, and those who follow Him now.

Today’s Gospel reminds us that he sends out you into the world to preach the kingdom.

The Scripture scholars tell us that 70 is a symbolic number, a universal number, which many scholars believe was meant to include everyone.

This passage teaches us that evangelization (the sharing of the gospel the sharing of our faith) is not just the work of our priests or the religious leaders.

It is not just the work of those who wear a habit or a funny black shirt with a little white collar.

Today’s Gospel proclaims a universal call to ministry which will be repeated over and over again in the ministry of Jesus.

At the end of the Gospel of Matthew Jesus commands all of his followers  “go and make disciples of all men baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Sadly we all know that this universal call to evangelization often falls on deaf ears.

Especially when you sit in the pew of a Catholic Church.

For many of us our religious practice has become a private devotional thing rather than a radical witness to the love and truths of God.

I think this happens for a couple of reasons, here are just a few:

We all know that there have been moments in the life of the Church when the laity was encouraged to not get involved, or participate in the mission of the church.

Church leaders felt that the Gospel and the deposit of faith were safer and more secure in the hands of the priests and religious.

You guys were supposed to just come and listen  sit in the pews and do what you are told.

Hopefully this type of Clericalism is gone by the wayside... but truth be told it has not been gone for a long time.

Another reason that many just don’t get involved in the preaching of the Gospel is because for many years we just haven’t done a good job of giving the members of our Church the knowledge they need to know what to say and how to bring others to faith.

Many people just don't’ feel qualified or even more comfortable enought to share our faith, and yes it our fault, but it is also yours .

If a Catholic does not feel informed enough to share the gifts to the Gospel it is their job to get informed to read, to study to pray, to listen and to go deeper in their love and appreciation of the gift of our faith.

We’ve tried to help a little with fr. Peter’s build up faith seminars, we’ve concentrated more on giving meaningful homilies sometimes we succeed and sometimes we don’t. But it not for lack of trying I assure you.

Another reason that many do not take the step of sharing their faith is because they have filled up their lives with so many other things.

That’s what the Gospel is speaking about when Jesus tells the disciples to carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.

Sometimes, many times we fill our lives with so many things that we have no time for God. IIt just not convenient for us to become more active in our faith.

Some people are so consumed about the things that they posses that they don’t even have time for other people, people close to them, their own family, parents  or children.

In one of the commentaries I read, a scripture scholar toured a luxurious castle, and as he walked out he said “these are things that make it difficult to die.” When we find ourselves saying the same thing about our possessions and position, we have made a great mistake.  

Everything we own, everything we posses, should bring us closer to God no farther away from Him and the practice of our faith.

Nothing on earth

Nothing we posses

Nothing we long for  should block our view of heaven our home and our final destiny.

And so good people there is much to be done, The Gospel is clear the harvest is abundant but the labors are too few.

All anyone has to do is look around our country and our world and know that we all need God and something has to change.

In the seminary I had the privilege of have a professor who had survived a concentration camp.  

That experience had change his life

Even 40 years after the concentration camp he had a keen insight into what was really important and what was not.

One day in class he stopped his explanation of this passage we heard today and paused. It was a long pause and we all wondered what was going on.

When he finally spoke we were all very attentive.

And this is what he said.

We all sin.

We all have done things that we are ashamed

We have all failed to love as God called us to do.

These failings are all part of human weakness and God will forgive them.

Then he looked us all in the eye and continued

In the end we will be judged by how many people we brought to faith. Period.

Evangelization is so important because if even one generation drops the ball the message is lost and souls are lost.

Souls are lost.

We all of us, are the 70 Jesus sent out into the world

we are  all of us sent are called to proclaim the Good news by our lives and if necessary by our word.

Let us be about our work for by our witness it we will be judged.

Amen

This week in the bulletin

Vandalism

Last week someone rang the doorbell to the friary to tell me that every toilet in the church was overflowing.  Needless to say, I called Bill, our maintenance man, and headed over to the church. What  we found was that every toilet had been stuffed with toilet paper. There was graffiti in the bathroom and both the Peck Street doors in the church and the kitchen windows had been pried open.  Maybe they were planning to come back and finish what they started.  About a month ago, I was agonizing over spending the money for the security system in our Church.  Now I’m glad that we did. In the near future, if the vandals try anything like that, they will either be caught on camera or set off the alarm.  For now, I have no intention of locking our church during the day.  I am always so edified at the number of people who stop by during the day to visit our Lord.

KGS

Some parishioners are about to start fixing up the parking lot on the KGS property. They are also going to try to put in a sidewalk from the parking lot to Alling Street.  All of this will be done at no cost to the parish.  We are so lucky to have so many good, talented and generous parishioners who care about our parish. Thank you to all who are helping us with this important project for the future.

Kindergarten Graduation

This week we had Kindergarten Graduation. The gym was packed with families watching their little ones move on to first grade. Kim Pelzar, our Kindergarten teacher and a “Rock Star” in my book, did a great job. She even smiled when I had the little ones throw up their hats like they do in college. Did you know that every single one of our Kindergarteners were reading by the end of the year?  When they came in, some of them didn’t even know their letters.  When I was in Kindergarten, we learned colors, shapes and numbers... Wow!  What will these kids be when they graduate from college? We have so much to be proud of about St. Paul School.

Vacation

I will be away this week, so please go easy on  Fr. Peter.  I guess I’m kind of boring.  All I’m doing is going to Florida (yep, in the summer) to stay in a priest’s house.  I’m looking forward to not setting the alarm, reading, relaxing and hitting the beach.

Summer Camp starts this week

We have a good number of campers registered and a great group of young adult counselors, who are all from our parish. Our summer camp is a great opportunity for families. Cost wise, it is very competitive with neighboring programs, and Mrs. Scalora has very flexible options for registration.  Grandma and Grandpa, Babci, Nonna or Nonno, Meme or Pepe, would you like to have your grandchildren over but are afraid you won’t be able to entertain them all day?  Why not have them come to stay with you, send them to camp during the day and enjoy them at night?

Thanks, Thanks, Thanks for the compliments

Many have noticed that the gardens are all planted and growing well.  It takes us about two weeks to prepare the beds and plant all of the gardens. This year I goofed up and was unable to call for help.  I won’t make that mistake again.  Please compliment Bill and the boys, Alex and Anthony, who help him. They are doing a great job.  Now all we have to do is keep them weeded and watered.  God Bless You and thanks again for noticing.

11th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C - 2013

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts,

Today’s gospel is very moving...

A tired soul, a wounded soul, a sinful soul had finally had enough.

She realized that she needed to live a better life and she understood that the only way she could get a fresh start was by publicly atoning for her public sins.

And so in a very dramatic way she came to the house of the Pharisee to ask forgiveness of Jesus and begin a new.

No one told her what to do or how to say I’m sorry she chose the way.

You know people sometimes convince themselves that sin is glamorous, or fun, or pleasurable, and it may be for a moment,

but once sin takes hold of you heart, once sin  wraps itself around your soul,  it is often painful and humiliating and degrading and most of all lonely.

Whenever I’ve talked to a person who has danced with sin for a while I am always so saddened by how lonely they are.

It’s next to impossible to sustain relationships with a person who is dupped or taken by sin.

When you look at Jesus in the Gospel you notice that even though he didn’t tell the woman what to do he didn’t stop her either.

He knew that she wanted and desperately needed forgiveness.

He knew she had lived a sinful life and had made horrible choices

He knew that she needed to say I’m sorry in a very public way and so he let her anoint his feet.

He didn’t push her away or rebuke her even though he knew it might cause a scandal.

And when she had finished her gesture, her apology, he forgave her publicly.

This Gospel shows us that God is rich in mercy.

Finally the pharisee considered himself a righteous before God and man yet He immediately jumped to conclusions...

He was sure that Jesus was a false a prophet because he allowed the sinful woman to anoint his feet.

He was sure that the woman was a public sinner not worthy of mercy and forgiveness.

He was wrong in all his judgements.

He was wrong about Jesus because by allowing the woman to say she was sorry and by forgiving the woman Jesus proved that God was merciful and that God loved sinners.

He showed us all that forgiveness is possible no matter what the sin or transgression.

He was wrong about the woman because while she may have been a sinner at one time God’s grace and God’s mercy had inspired her to change and ask forgiveness in a very public way.

With God’s forgiveness with God’s mercy she was a new creation. What was in the past was in the past.

And finally He was wrong about himself.

He was not righteous before God or man

He judged others. He put them in a box and he knew nothing of God’s mercy and God’s love which all of us are called to imitate.

There a lot in this gospel for all of us to ponder

How often do we put people in a box and judge them even when we don’t know the whole story.

How often do we fool ourselves into thinking that we are righteous.  

How often do we say I’m sorry, or make amends for our poor choice and angry words, and selfish actions ?

Many of us fly off the handle and then cool off and act if nothing happened.

Never saying I’m sorry and never admitting that we are wrong.

I think we all know in our hearts that to be forgiven you have to ask for it.

The woman in the story was a great sinner who became a great saint.. because she asked for forgiveness

What’s holding us back?

In the Bulletin Week of June 16th

Confirmation Program Enhancements
This summer, we have begun to look at our Confirmation program.  As many of you know, we are one of the largest programs in the state. If everyone who was in 8th grade last year follows through, we will have over 120 in the class. I promise to keep you posted on our progress, but here are some of the things we are looking at: Increased preparation for our catechists, a new sylabus patterned to the needs and skill set of our students, the possibility of a service day to help our students get their service hours in, keeping the program fresh by using a variety of teaching methods, increased accountability for both catechists and staff with weekly online quizzes and a final assessment before allowing a young person to proceed to the 10th grade program.  This is all in the development stage, but it looks good and I am most grateful to the people who have stepped up and are willing to be the catechists for this most important ministry.

KGS - Committee
We continue to work toward coming up with a comprehensive campus plan for our parish, including the KGS property. As I said before, we are developing the site plan so that we can immediately make better use of the KGS property and keep our options open for the future.  At  the last meeting, the KGS Committee felt that it would be good to have some informational meetings to get input from the parish at large. Keep your eyes on the bulletin for the dates and the times of these future meetings.

Marriage Convalidations
We are happy when a couple asks to have their marriage “blessed” by the Church. When a person asks to have their marriage blessed, they are actually asking to have their marriage convalidated, or recognized by the Church. To have your marriage convalidated, the couple must have no previous marriages recognized by the church. For example: If you and your spouse are both Catholic and  were married by a Justice of the Peace, it is indeed possible for your marriage to be convalidated. If you or your spouse were married previously and divorced, and  if that previous marriage was annulled or if your previous spouse died, there is a good possibility that your current marriage could be blessed or convalidated.  A convalidation ceremony is usually private in the company of two witnesses. If you have any questions please feel free to call the Parish Office and we’d be happy to discuss the possibility of having your marriage convalidated here at St. Paul’s.

Church Security Enhancements
Maximum Security is in the final design stages of the fire/security enhancements we have planned for our Church. These projects were paid for by the End of the Year Appeal. We are making sure the design is exactly what we need and we are in discussion with the Fire Marshall to make sure he is in agreement. The whole project should start in the next month or so. The project includes,  a new fire and security alarm, access control on key doors, and CTV to catch anyone who might vandalize the Church. We are very fortunate that we can keep our church opened all day. I have discussed this project with members of the Berlin Fire and Police Departments and they feel that we are being very proactive and making a great move to keep everyone safe in our beautiful little Church.

Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C - 2013

The readings today leave us three important lessons.

The first is simply that God has power over death.

Yes God is stronger than death.

Belief in the resurrection is one of  cornerstones on which everything rests.

If you don’t believe that God has power of death,

if you don’t believe that all of us will rise again,

then your time would be better spent elsewhere.

Stand up right now and head over to Josie’s for Breakfast and have some of their great homemade bread or go over to the Timberlin Golf course and play a round of golf.

The fact that God’s power over death puts our life in perspective.

In the first reading Eliajh raises a widow’s son from the dead.

In the Gospel Jesus does the same.

Most of the time our resurrection happens in the next world but these scriptures remind us that God can certainly raise a person from the dead even in this world.

I’ve been thinking a lot about death these last few months and of course there have been moments when I simply forgot that God is stronger than death,

Of course there have been moments of saddness as I mourn the my Mom’s loss.

The other day I walked into my Office saw my Mother’s purse laying there and the tears began to flow.

Yet, I know without a shadow of a doubt that Mom is in a better place. God loves her and she no longer has to struggle to breath.

She is no longer struggles to speak to us on the phone.

I understand that my tears are often more about me than about her.

And I believe that that’s ok

Time will heal.

love will endure, life will go one for me, and life has gone on for her an new and more beautiful life.

Holy Fr. Raymond drove this point home to me the day before his surgery.

I was with him in his hospital room and I was getting all emotional worried sick about him. He looked me in the eye without fear and without any trace of regret and simply said...

Robert if you gotta go you gotta go.

Yesterday he told me when he opened his eyes in the recovery room he said... "Oh I'm still here" and he started to laugh.

These scriptures and our eyes of faith teach us that Death has no real power over us.

It has no power...

Death is simply a door from one life to the next, a door through which all of us will one day pass.

The second lesson is as simple as the first.

Not only does God have power over death but He also has power over life if we let him in

St. Paul hated the followers of Jesus

He made it his mission to seek them out and prosecute them.

He did everything in his power to stomp out the little community of believers that was blossoming all over Palestine

and yet God reached down and and changed Paul’s hardened heart.

Just like God changed Pauls heart,

I have the consolation of knowing that

God can change my heart or God can change your heart.

God can free us from our prejudices.

He can help us save our marriages

He can challenge us to be better people.

He can free us from our addictions and our shame.

God can open our eyes to the needs of others.

God can forgive our sins.

He may have to knock us off our high horse like he did for Paul but He can change us for sure.

Yes, God is indeed powerful, powerful over death, and powerful over life.

Finally, the first reading and the Gospel illustrate so clearly for us the loving compassion of God.

Elijah and Jesus could just not bear to see those two widows mourn the loss of their sons.

During the time of Jesus a widow was the poorest of the poor with no rights and no way to sustain themselves.

Jesus and Elijah didn’t just say oh I’m sorry I’ll say a prayer for you.

The sprang into action and they turned to God for help.

We all need to be more compassionate people.

So often when we see a need we cop out and say oh that’s none of my business,who am I to get involved>

So often when poverty or suffering or hunger or whatever show their faces in our community we say to ourselves and our friends something like what a shame but what can I do?.

Yesterday as I was going to see Fr. Raymond during the driving rain there was a lady with a flat tire standing on the side 84 looking distraught.

By the time I could get off and get back on and get off again and get going in the right direction, there was already a man hunched over a jack changing the tire in the driving rain.

The lady told me he was just someone who stopped, she didn’t have a clue who he was, but there he was drenched to the bone changing her tire.

He was a compassionate man indeed.

With the incarnation our compassionate God jumped into all of our messes.

He didn’t just look on and say what a shame I’ll just stand by and see when they get it right.

No God pulled up His sleeves and started to help and for his efforts he was crucified.

The world would be such a different place if everyone showed  more compassion

Jesus did and so must we.

Let us begin to look at death confidently with the eyes of faith.

Let us trust that God can change our lives if we let him.

Like Jesus and Elijah let us be compassionate people willing to get involved in the lives of those who need.

Thanks you Lord for the gift and challenge of faith.

Amen