Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 2015

In the 2nd reading today St. Paul reminds us that each and every one of us was chosen by God before the foundation of the world.

It is a beautiful thing to be chosen or to be loved by someone

Can your remember the first time someone other than your Mom said I love you and meant it? I’m sure it was a powerful moment.

Being chosen and loved by God is wonderful a gift beyond our understanding.

Sadly we all know that there are many so people in the world who just don’t feel loved.

They don’t feel lovable.

They don’t feel appreciated.

Today’s Gospel reminds us that being a disciple of Jesus is not only about us.

With discipleship comes the obligation not the option but the obligation to help people understand that they too are loved by God.

Being a disciple isn’t only about getting your own house in order before God.

No, when we chose to follow Christ, in addition to living a righteous life we are also called to share the Good News and bring others to discipleship.

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us how to do just that.

The first thing you notice is that Jesus sends his followers out two by two or in a little community.

He sends them out two by two so they could care for eachother

He sends them out two by two  so that if one got discouraged or tired the other could encourage him and carry the heavy load for a while.  

They go two by two  so that the care and concern they showed for each other is the very first homily they preached even before they open their mouths. (You will know they are Christians by their love)

He also told them not to bring any food, or money or even a second tunic.

At first glance it seems almost foolhardy to leave without any resources.

Jesus tells his disciples and us to travel through life lightly so that we can wholly dependent on God and on the generousity of others. God will provide.

When they arrived in a town Jesus told them to take the first invitation that they received, and stay there so that they would not shop around and see if someone offered them more gracious hospitality.

Proclaiming the good news can never be about personal profit, getting compensated or taking the best offer.  

When he sent them out he sent them out with authority, his authority to speak in his name and heal the sick in his name.

Yes Jesus founded a missionary Church and gave each of us the task of bring people to faith in Him

And it would be naive for any one of us to think  the question… “Who did you bring to faith will not be on our final final exam in front the pearly gates?

All of us are sent

Sent to the people we love

Sent to the people we meet along life’s journey

Like the early disciples let’s try to travel light. So that we can God where God needs us to go and not grow too comfortable or complacent. This is no easy task

Travelling Light is not easy. When I entered the seminary

We were given a list of things we could bring right down to the number of underwear

Two days before I left my Mom bought me new socks and underwear because she didn't want me going to the seminary with anything that had rips stains or holes.

Everything I had everything fit into one  suitcase.

When I moved here it took the back of a pickup truck and a car loaded to the roof

One of the wisenheimers kids who was helping me load the truck said.

If all this stuff you have is poverty… I can’t wait for chastity.

Brothers and Sisters…

The world is not very friendly to religion these days especially Christian and Catholics

Yes it’s easier and safer to stay home,

to keep our mouths shut in conversations, and be concerned about our own well being rather than share the Good News.

Last week we heard how Jesus was not accepted in his own town.

That great disappointment didn’t stop him, didn’t hold him back.

Almost immediately Jesus sent out the disciple to try again.

Yes Jesus compels us and love compels us to go out into our communities, into our neighborhoods, our families, our places of work, and find a way to make disciples of all nations…

We need to go out into the hworld with others that’s why Jesus us gave us the church

We need to travel lightly not bogged down with lots of stuff

We should never preach the Gospel for our own profit or benefit.

and when we go we should not be afraid because Jesus has given us the authority to speak in his name.

Let us tell  have been loved and chosen by God from the beginning of the world.

14th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B - 2015

We are so blest here at St. Paul. On the average, 2000 people come to church every week. (Maybe not on the 4th of July weekend, but on the average).

Some come out of habit.

Some come because they are forced to come.

Some come because they are afraid not to.

Some come because it makes them feel good.

Some come because they believe that God wants them to come or needs them to come.

Some come because they  know that it is good for them to be here.

Some come for all of the above, depending on the day.

Every time we come to Church, God’s Word is proclaimed and the priest does his best to relate it to our lives.

When the sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated, we participate in that moment when Jesus offered himself up for our sins.

When Jesus began his public mission, wherever he went he was a big hit.

He taught with authority, He healed their sick and gave them hope;

and people from far and wide came to listen to him.

Then one day Jesus went home, and he stood up in the synagogue where He and Joseph had prayed together for years.

He stood up to explain the Torah amidst the people who knew his family and had watched him grow up from a little boy.

He proclaimed the same message he proclaimed in every town, but “His own” were not ready to accept Him or his message.

Their hearts were closed..

Who knows why?

Was it was their pride?

Was it because they were jealous at his success?

Was it because they came to see the show and be entertained?

Maybe they expected to see a how a hometown kid made it big and how it would benefit them.

Whatever the case, their closed hearts pained him; and hence, Jesus’ lament, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”

And because their hearts were closed, the seeds which Jesus sowed fell on hard dry soil and were unable to germinate or bear fruit.

A question that this Gospel asks each of us to ponder is simply this:

Are we like the people in that synagogue that day in Capernaum?

What are our expectations when we come to Mass?

Why did we come to Mass today?

Sometimes we priests hear comments like:

Mass is boring.

Why don’t they shake it up a little and get with the times?

I don’t get anything out of going to Mass.

Let me tell you, we’ve heard these comments for years and years.

Good meaning priests have tried all kinds of things to address them.

Those of us who lived through the 60’s and 70’s can remember clown Masses, Polka Masses and even rock Masses.

I was at a Mass once and when I elevated Our Lord after the consecration, the most sacred moment of the Mass, I heard a drum roll; and when I got to the top of the elevation, the drummer hit the cymbal!  Imagine ….!!!

There were even balloon Masses where everyone went out after Mass and let go of a balloon. Who knows what that was about?

On the internet I saw one priest dressed up like Barney at a children’s Mass to give the final blessing so that the kids could relate to him.

Some people have come to expect the priest to tell jokes and deliver monologues like David Letterman.

At the same time, they ask us to offer a meaningful, life-changing message. Normally some will listen for 10 minutes, but 5 minutes would be better.

All of these attempts to make the Mass more relevant failed.

None of these things worked.

None of these expectations made us holy,

and none of these things brought us closer to God or each other.

We come to church to worship God and share our lives with Him.

We come to hear God’s Word and allow it to penetrate our hearts and change us.

We come here to be inspired to pour out our lives in loving service of God’s Kingdom.

We come to receive Holy Communion and be in Holy communion with Jesus Christ our Lord and our savior

These things are so much more important than a chuckle at a one liner well delivered.

And if the Priest's homily didn’t inspire us, we have to ask ourselves,

“Is the soil of our heart ready to accept God’s Word and bear fruit?”

How did I prepare for Mass? Did I read the readings before hand and think about them during the week?

Did I calm my mind and my heart before Mass began or do I try to catch up on the Berlin gossip?

If a farmer just went out into the field and simply threw some seed on the ground without first tilling or opening up the soil and making sure that it was fertile and moist, he and his family would go hungry.

The seed could not produce anything because the soil was not ready to receive it.

It was the same for the people in Jesus’ home town.

They simply were not ready to listen; and if we are not careful, it will be the same for us.

Unless we open our hearts and are willing to accept God’s Word, it will fall on barren soil like that tragic day in Capernaum when Jesus went home.

Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B  2015

When I was stationed in Fort Pierce Florida teaching High School whenever I would return to the Friary at night I would pause for a moment and smell the night blooming Jasmine which grew up the wall by the front door.

Bro Valentine Jablonski lived with us in Florida.  

Even though the was retired he still wanted to help out so he gave himself the job of gardner.

The only problem was he did everything he could to make our friary in Florida look  like a house in New Jersey.

We used to call him Machete Val. He was merciless when wheeled his machete

One evening when I came home there was no scent of Jasmine by our front door the vine was still there but the flowers were not open.

In the morning I discovered that Machete Val had struck again by cutting off branches from the vine and It never grew back.

Today’s Gospel makes a point of reminding us that we need God in our lives. It makes it crystal clear that it dangerous when we or our world separate ourselves from God’s love or God’s plan.

Jesus said.

“I am the vine, you are the branches.

Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,

because without me you can do nothing.

Anyone who does not remain in me

will be thrown out like a branch and wither.”

You know Sometimes I watch the evening news with a tear in my eye. There is so much violence so much suffering.

In our own country there seems to be an anti religious bias.

As if what we believe and hold dear has no place in the public forum or discourse.

More and more the religious conscience exemption is being done away with.

There is violence and anger in our cities and in an almost cavalier way we seem willing to throw away traditions which have been a part of our world for thousands of years just because we want to.

It’s as if God’s plan and God’s vision don’t matter.

This process of removing ourselves and our culture from God’s vine has a name.

We call it secularization, the separating of our world from the practice of any religion and belief in God.

This process is much more advanced in Europe but we are on the same track going in the same direction.

The more our culture and our world separates itself from God’s vine the more we, me and you and the entire Church, will find ourselves on the margins.

Listen Carefully

As we become a more secularized society

First people of faith will be ignored (that’s already happening), then we will be laughed at, then we will be prosecuted or worse.

The Bishops in the United States used to call Cardinal George from Chicago the smartest man in the room.

One day a couple of years ago he was chatting with a group of his priests about the secularization of our culture from God.

He predicted.

One day I will die in my bed

My successor or his successor will die in prison.

His successor or the bishop who follows him will be executed in the public square.

Then his successor will begin to put the world back together again like the Church has done so many times in history when everything seems to collapse.

The time frame for this process is yet to be determined but that’s the road we are on if something doesn’t change.

It’s easy to blame all of these problems on someone else.

Those darn Republicans, those darn or democrats, those darn straight people, or gay people. It’s gotta the socialists or the capitalists or the blacks or the whites….whoever…..

They're the ones who are taking God out of our culture.

It serves no purpose to blame someone else as our society and culture more farther and farther away from God.

The only way we can fight the secularization of our country and the world is by giving God His rightful place in our own hearts not matter what the cost to us.

We all have to ask ourselves...

Are we willing to publically witness to our faith?

Are we willing to stand up for what we believe?

Are we willing to dedicate our time and efforts to growing in the knowledge and practice of our faith?

Are we will willing to be misunderstood or pushed aside or even laughed at because we choose to be part of the living vine of Christ which we call the Church?

Here's one small example...

You know when I go out to a restaurant I rarely if ever see anyone make the sign of the cross or say a quiet prayer before they eat their meal.

If we can’t even bring ourselves to do something simple like that we have a long way to go in bringing Christ back into a world which seems intent on pushing Him aside.

May the effort to bring fight secularization and bring God back into our culture begin with you and me.

And Jesus said.

“I am the vine, you are the branches.

Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,

because without me you can do nothing.

Anyone who does not remain in me

will be thrown out like a branch and wither.”

29th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A - 2014

After hearing passage from the Gospel all of us have to ask ourselves

what in our lives belongs to God and what belongs to Caesar?

Yes everything we have comes from God.

In God we find our origin, our reason to live, and our ultimate goal.

In everything we do we should try to live our lives as God would have us live them.

God obviously comes first … and God’s will comes first.

And when we put God’s Word and God’s will first in our lives,  then we will be the best husband or wife, the best dad or mom, the best person, and the best citizen we can, be no matter what our calling in life.

But the parable clearly teaches that we also owe something to our Brothers and Sisters and to our society… “give to Ceasar what is Caesar's”

Because we benefit from many things in our country we are obligated to contribute to the common Good.

We share the benefit of the roads and the infrastructure and we are obligated to share in their expense. Obviously Giving to Caesar means being willing to pay our fair share of taxes.

But being a responsible Catholic citizen demands more.

The Gospel teaches us that we are all brothers and sisters.

Therefore we need to live lives of service.

We should be involved in our communities.

We should go beyond the bare minimum in helping those in need.

We should coach little league teams,

and camp out with scouts.

We should wash cars for the next band trip and donate food to the food bank.

We should share with those in need and those who go without.

For followers of Christ living lives of service and sharing with those in need are are not a pious extras.

They are part and parcel of the Gospel’s call to love one another has God has loved us.

Very Sadly we all fall short on this and our Holy Father Pope Francis is challenging us to change this.

If we all did a little more the world would be such a better place.

Our country and our culture

needs our participation in our common life.

We do this in several ways:

The first is obviously by voting.

When we go to vote it is our right and our duty to take with us all of our values and ideas.

We have a right and an obligation to vote according to our conscience

weighing carefully what every candidate clearly stands for and comparing them to the gospel values which should mold and shape our lives.

But our call to participate goes beyond simply voting in elections.

All of us are also called to participate in our culture by helping to form it.  This is really important.

We are called to contribute to the discussion which shapes our culture and its values.

Our culture needs our values,

Our culture needs our ideas our hopes and our dreams

Our culture needs our witness.

Our culture needs us.

And don’t let anyone tell you that our values can’t be part of the public discussion because they are rooted in our religious faith.

That’s not what the constitution meant by separation of church and state.

When our forefathers wrote about the separation of Church and State they were wisely forbidding a formal state religion not the exclusion of religious values from public life.

The constitution itself was formed in part by the religious beliefs and values of those who wrote it.

We have a right to share our beliefs no matter where they come from.

Let’s participate, let’s discuss, let’s debate let’s listen to the ideas of others and engage them.

So How do we give to Caesar what is Caesar's then?

By living lives of service and sharing with those less fortunate.

By voting with our conscience and our values.

By participating in the formation of our culture.

And doing all these things with a gentle and loving heart.

This is what giving to Caesar what is Caesar's is all about.

Today’s second collection is for World Mission Sunday… a perfect chance to share with those who are less fortunate in the world.

It’s a perfect chance to give to God what is God’s and give to Caesar what is Caesar's.

Amen

Twenty Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A - 2014

All of humanity, every single person who ever was and ever will be,

is called to the heavenly banquet.

The Heavenly Banquet, also so known as, eternal communion with God.

God calls or invites us in so many ways.

He calls in the quiet of a star filled night.

He calls in the glance of two people in love.

God calls when you hold your child with wonder and awe for the first time.

He calls at the glance of a majestic mountain range or the gentle sound of a stream making its way to the sea.

He calls in prayer and the quiet prompting of our conscience.

The clearest way that God calls is through His Word Jesus.

Jesus God’s son reveals so much about God and about us.

God also calls us through His words in the sacred scriptures and the living tradition of the Church.

God doesn’t call us once to the banquet. He calls us over and over and over again, day in our day out, whether we listen or not.

God just keeps calling.

Sadly as the Gospel explained today many who are called or invited simply refuse to come.

They refuse or we refuse for lots of reasons:

Some think they have a better offer here and now.

Many are so preoccupied, so worried, about the now of their lives, that they can’t even think about forever.

And so the first lesson of this Gospel is that simply that everyone is called over and over again to the banquet but sadly tragically many can’t seem to say yes to God’s invitation.

When many refuse the invitation the master sends out his servants to invite those who at first glance wouldn’t seem to fit into a heavenly banquet or any banquet for that matter.

The servants go out and invite sinners, the poor, the addicted, the angry, the lonely, you know people who never seem to fit in or those we are quick to judge.

They accept the invitation because through all their hard knocks they have come to understand that the path they are on and the world in which we live just can’t seem satisfy.

Sometimes when a person hits their head hard enough they can figure out that they are on the wrong road and change the path they are they are on and the choices that they make.

The second lesson of the Gospel is just as important as the first.

For some reason there was a man who accepted the invitation  was thrown out because he was not properly attired.

You see It is simply not enough to say yes to God’s invitation without changing our heart.

That’s what the man who was not properly attired tried to do.

In order to attend the heavenly banquet we have to clothe ourselves in a wedding garment made of acts of kindness and charity and virtue.

Accepting God’s call necessitates a change of heart and a change in what we value and how we live.

The man said yes to the invitation but did not change.

Let us listen to God’s Call.

Let us accept the invitation to the heavenly banquet.

Let us change our hearts and minds.

Let us cloth ourselves with acts of kindness and generosity, mercy, and forgiveness

And one day may we be welcomed wholeheartedly into the heavenly banquet which God so desperately wants us to attend.

Amen