26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C 2013

May the peace of Christ reign in our heart…

In Today’s Gospel

The rich man eats sumptuously, and dresses extravagantly.

It is obvious that he has everything he needs and everything he wants.

He is comfortable and satisfied.

For him Life is good.

Lazarus the poor man is so weak he simply lies in the street and he can’t even push away the dogs when they lick his wounds.

He is so hungry that he would have gladly eaten anything, even the scraps that fell from the rich man table. They didn’t have paper towels back then and they didn’t have silverware so they would eat with their hands and the rich used chunks of bread to wipe their hands clean.

They are both children of God in radically different places.

We really don’t know much more about them. /

There were always scraps of food and bread around the table of a rich person.

Jesus doesn’t give us much more detail because it really doesn’t matter.

We don’t know if Lazarus was lazy or just down on his luck.

We don’t’ know if he was smart or not smart.

We don’t know if he was addicted or not addicted.

We don’t know if his poverty was his fault or not.

We don’t know…. and like I said it really doesn’t matter.

Actually there are really only two things that we know about him.

He was poor and he was a good man because he made it into heaven

sadly being poor by itself is not a ticket into heaven.

Rich or poor to get into heaven you have to good person a loving person.

The rich man is not mean.

He doesn’t treat Lazarus disrespectfully.

He doesn’t kick him or taunt him when he passes by.  

So what is is sin?

Plain and simply put the rich man just didn’t seem to notice Lazarus.

You see he had grown so comfortable that he became self absorbed.

In fact, he had grown so self centered that he didn’t have any feelings for the poor or those in need, even those in desperate straits like Lazarus.

The rich man had squandered away or lost the ability to feel for others,

to pity others,

to have compassion on others.

In the eyes of the rich man,

the poor,

those less fortunate,

those who just couldn’t seem to get their act together,

just didn’t matter it was like they were invisible.

How sad, how tragic it is when a heart goes so cold that they no longer have compassion.

How sad indeed!

The rich man’s sin is a sin of omission,

and yet it is a serious sin, a sin that cost him eternal life.

He just did not notice Lazarus, and he did not act.

You know sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that the only time we sin is when we actually do something wrong.

So often we forget that we also sin when we fail to do something good.

It is so important for us to remember that

we sin when we fail to do what love calls us to do.

We sin when we don’t notice or just don’t care about others.

At the beginning of this mass we prayed the Confiteor or the “I confess prayer”

Please repeat it with me…

I confess to almighty God

and to you, my brothers and sisters,

that I have sinned through my own fault

in my thoughts and in my words,

in what I have done,

and in what I have failed to do;

We have prayed those words over and over again…

May their meaning sink into our hearts

May they change us and transform us…

May they transform our parish, and our town, our state, and our nation.

Loving our neighbor is not something we do when it’s convenient.

Being compassionate to those in need, anyone  in need, is not an option for a follower of Christ.

May our hearts never grow cold.

May we never lose our ability to feel for others,

to be kind to others and merciful to others no matter what.

May the needs of the poor and the weak always pull at our heartstrings and call us to service.

The Gospel this week calls us to examine ourselves,

and ask ourselves…

What have I done  for poor, and the outcast, the lonely, and the sick?

Am I able to look beyond my own world my own interests, my own concerns…

…Lest someday we stand before God and say I’m sorry Lord I simply didn’t notice.

Amen

25th Sunday of Ordinary Time–Year C - 2013

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts.

This week  when we read this Gospel at our youth group there were lots of questions…

At first glance its is confusing. It almost seems to be praising the deceitful steward who is about to fired for stealing money from his employer. When you look deeper it is actually the shady employer praising the shady steward.
 
Here are three simple points we can take from this complicated Gospel

1. The steward was desperate and so he worked hard to figure out a way to provide for himself.

If all of us worked as hard at being holy as we do trying to get ahead,

If all of us prayed with the same intensity that we watch our investments or bank account,

if we were concerned as much about the things of heaven as we are about the things of earth we would be incredibly different people,

and our homes, our town, our country and our world would be very different places indeed.   

That’s the lesson of the deceitful steward. Let’s think about that for a moment.

2. Material things in and of themselves are not important people are.

Material things our wealth our resources should be directed toward the good of others. We should use our material well being to help others. Even the shady or dishonest Steward understood that.

St. Ambrose said… The rich can indeed help the poor in this world..  but it is poor also help the rich by in next world. 

In other words, the rich man gives the poor bread, a poor man give the rich the ability to store up treasures in heaven.

After reading this Gospel all of us should ask ourselves where should our treasure be or where should we store our treasure, here on earth to be left behind or in heaven where we can enjoy our good works forever.

Just think about that for a minute

3. Many times in our lives it is hard to figure out who we can trust and who we can’t trust.

Jesus in this Gospel reminds us If a person is trustworthy in something small they can be trusted in something big. 

In other words, if you want to see if someone really loves you, don’t look for grand gestures, anyone can do grand gestures. Rather if you want to know if you can trust someone watch them day in and day out over time and you will find out if they care for you or not.

We should work hard for holiness

We should store up our treasure in heaven

and

You can find out who to trust by watching their actions.

Three simple lesson to ponder from today’s Gospel

Amen

23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C - 2013

Once when I was walking around my Residence halls to my surprise I found a group of students playing what they called “Bible Roulette”  It must have been a slow night.

They would think of a problem and then randomly open the bible and point at a phrase to see if it applied.

To their surprise many of their random selections seemed to answer their question.

But I cautioned them that  it would be better if they simply read the whole book and not random passages by chance.

Everyone knows that you can’t read one sentence randomly out of context and understand the message of a whole book.

The same thought came to mind this week as I read today’s Gospel because it never really sits well with me.

How could Jesus who calls us to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us,

How could Jesus who calls us to honor our Father and Mother,

How could Jesus who honored and loved his parents with all his heart,

in another breath seemingly command us to hate them.

Remember we have to read the whole book and understand the context and culture in which it is written to understand its message.

The scholars tell us that in this passage Jesus was using an idiomatic phrase and hyperbole to make his point.

Just like a grandma saying to her Grandson eat your supper or I will never buy you ice cream again.

Here is another example:

If in 2000 years someone finds a copy of the Hartford Currant, (God forbid) and on the first page reads that a gunman kills two in bank robbery,

then on the sports page they read, Berlin High School kills defending state champion Xavier HS in season opener,

and when they go to financial page they read Fr. Robert made a killing on the stock market this year.

From the literal meaning of the words without the cultural context in which they were written, They would think that there were murders all over the place

But from the context we would all understand that sadly on the first page there was indeed the tragic loss of life,

the sports page simply reporting that BHS beat Xavier and beat them well in football,

and on the financial page, Fr. Robert made a lot of money on the stock market.

To understand the meaning you have understand the context of the words and the meaning they express

The word Jesus used did not mean to literally hate with anger but rather to prefer or choose.

What Jesus is saying is that Christian discipleship asks that we put God and God’s plan first in our lives no matter what. 

And that’s what this whole Gospel is about.

Jesus wants us all to know that should we chose to follow Him it may very well cost us, and cost us dearly.

One need only to look over to the Middle East now to see how much discipleship is costing Christians, in Palestine, and Egypt, and Syria, most have been forced to flee Iraq.

The Gospel is also reminding us that to be the best Husband or Wife

to be the best Mom or Dad

to be the best priest.

We have to be the best disciples first. 

The best possible way for me to serve you is not attend tons of meetings though it seems I do, but rather to be a holy priest,

If you want to be a great Dad and a great Mom for your children or a great husband and wife for your spouse,  be a holy disciple first and you will be a great parent and a great spouse.

The Scriptures and the history of our church is full of examples of people who paid the price of our faith.

Sometimes Televangelists tell people that discipleship is easy and if you are a good disciple Jesus will make you rich.

Nothing could be farther from the truth

Being a Disciple means carrying your cross

As one commentary put it, bearing your cross means voluntarily exposing ourselves to ridicule and sacrifice in order to follow Jesus.

When we chose to follow Christ we will always carry the cross like he did.

We can never say that we didn’t know or understand the true cost of discipleship.

All we have to do is follow in his footsteps to Calvary.

Are we as a Church, as a parish and as individuals willing to pay the cost of discipleship and follow our Lord?

Our  world, our country, our families desperately need us to say yes!

Amen

22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C - 2013

Not to long ago I was vacuuming my car at the Car wash by Kensington Market. I was working pretty hard because it hadn’t been done for a while.

I was also rushing  because my minutes were clicking away.  All of a sudden someone started calling me repeatedly  Sir are you Robert from the St. Paul?

I looked up and the man was walking toward me .
Are you Robert from St. Paul’s he said again and I said yep that’s me…

He said I saw you at a funeral and I just want you to know that I used to go to St. Paul’s but I gave up on religion, however I like the pope.

I didn’t really understand the point he was making so I asked him...
You gave up your religion but you like the pope?

Yep, he said, I like him because he’s humble and sometimes I even listen to what he has to say.

I thanked him for saying hello and assured him the door was always open at St. Paul. Then I went to find more quarters.

When I was stationed in Assisi I walked out of the Church and there was a man there that looked really familiar.

I went up to him and said sir you look so familiar to me have we met before?  He said I’m Martin Sheen. and when I didn’t recognized the name he simply said I’ve done some acting maybe you saw a commercial or two that I made.

He was so simple and welcoming he had come to Assisi to learn about St. Francis and pray for peace..

He asked me lots of questions about St. Francis and the Basilica.

A couple of days later there was a rerun of  the West Wing in italian on television and I realized that I had been talking to President Bartlett.

If there ever was a virtue that is counter cultural it’s humility.

It is so counter cultural that sometimes people can’t believe their eyes when they see someone important being humble.

The world teaches us to always strive to be number one.

It teaches us to get all the recognition we can and then want more.

We are encouraged not only share our gifts with others butto  make sure everyone knows we’re are sharing our gifts.

When a proud person does something good, their love is not free they expect to get paid with recognition and honor.

When you think about it Our Holy Father hasn’t changed anything that we believe as Catholics.. rather, he simply speaks and lives in a gentle and humble way.

I can’t remember in recent history when the leader of our church has received more positive press and recognition.

All of us have a lot to learn from people like Pope Francis and Martin Sheen.

At this Liturgy we celebrate the most significant moment of all time because at this mass and every mass we enter into the mystery of God’s humility,

the all good, all loving, all powerful, all just God who entered into our lives through the incarnation and sacrificed himself on the Cross for our sins . Only radical love could be this humble.

A later on in this liturgy we will have the chance to receive our humble lord in the sacrament of his Body and Blood

God, the creator of the universe, will change some humble bread and wine into his very body and blood and share himself with all of us the good the bad and the indifferent.

The message of today’s Gospel is pure and simple

We, we as a church have to be more humble more loving more gentle, We can’t change the truths that God has give to us  but we can and must proclaim with generous and gentle and loving lives.

All of us should strive to be just a little bit more humble, never seeking the place of honor or recognition.

May we love love each other expecting nothing in return.
May our love always be free seeking nothing in return and may our lives be humble.

Amen

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C - 2013

I once heard a story about a very kind elderly woman who had one daughter.
She loved her daughter and always looked forward to seeing and being with her.

The daughter however was often busy and unable to come and visit.
Sometimes she could not even spare the time to talk on the phone with her Mom.

There was always some pressing issue that needed attention or she just had so much on her plate.

When she did come to visit she often arrived late, stayed a short time and left early.

The mother never got angry, she never held a grudge,  she always forgave her daughter even though she longed for more time and attention from her.

As the mom got older and more dependent on her daughter the visits became even less and less.

Finally, the Mom died but the daughter arrived late as usual and was unable to say goodbye.

The next day after her mother had died the daughter went to the funeral home to make the arrangements.
But to her surprise they had already been made by her Mom.

When the daughter tried to change some of the details but she was told that her mom had left that responsibility to someone .

Leaving the Funeral Home the daughter drove to her Mom’s home. To her surprise her key no longer worked in the door and she could not get into the house.

A neighbor saw the daughter trying to get and and came over.

Your Mom had us change the locks as soon as she passed away and she left me in charge of the house and the property…

The daughter was shocked and dismayed yet there was nothing she could do there was no way to make amends.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ time believed that because the Jews were God’s chosen people that their salvation was assured.

Because of this they took God’s love
and God’s mercy
and God’s forgiveness for granted, just like the daughter in the story to her mother for granted.

Today’s Gospel is not easy to hear but the message is clear Jesus was warning the religious leaders of his time and he is warning us that our salvation must earned, and that it is not assured.

He even goes so far to say that salvation is not necessarily easy to obtain.

““Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. “

Yes God loves us.
Yes God longs to be with us  in heaven forever.
Yes God is good and merciful.
Yes to all these things.

But God is also just.
God is and must be as just as he is loving,
as just as he is merciful,
as just as he is forgiving.

It is so important for us to remember that what we do and how we live our lives matters.

No one wants to be loved half heartedly.
No one wants a relationship which is really going through the motions.
Who wants a friend who views their relationship with us as a burden or obligation.

One day when our time comes our merciful and loving and just God will be forced to judge us justly and fairly
by how we have lived and how we have loved.

Sadly and tragically this Gospel seems to imply that there are some who will expect to enter through the door only to find themselves locked and their key no longer able to open them.

The Gospel today is not an easy one to listen to but it is important for each and everyone of us to take to heart.

Lest one day we be heard saying something like…

But I went to Mass on most Sundays at St. Paul’s
and I said my prayers
and I tried not to hurt anyone

And God respond depart from I don’t know where you come from.

The woman in the story neglected her Mom but when she realized it there was nothing she could do to fix it.

Pray we don’t find ourselves in the same situation when we knock on heaven’s door.

Let us one and all be attentive to these most sobering word and never stop trying to be the generous and loving and caring people God created us to be.

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C - 2013

Once I knew a young man who grew up on the streets in Newark. His family disintegrated when he was a little boy and he was shuttled from aunt to uncle to grandparents, never feeling really wanted or loved.

He was angry and always in trouble.  His only solace came from his friends whom he called “his brothers” He told me once that  he was willing to die for them.

After years of chaos through God’s grace he came to his senses in the back seat of a police squad car and decided to change his life around.

He got involved in his church and somehow got admitted to Catholic U. As graduation approached all he talked about was wanting to introduce me to his friends.

Truth be told no one came, none of his family and none of his so called brothers, not one.

I ran around and got some kids and we were the only ones screaming for him when he got his diploma.

His friends refused to come because they said he was different he had changed. Obviously he had changed, changed for the good.

and Jesus said...

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?

No, I tell you, but rather division.

There was a man I knew who worked in a marketing firm.

His whole office was excited about a conference they were all attending. They were especially excited about the evening activities they were planning.

When it came time to go to the “gentlemen’s club” and that’s an oxymoron if there there was one....

He simply said “I’m going to say back and relax tonight. His co-workers were not happy.

When he got back into the office he was called in by his boss who said that his co-workers were complaining about his work ethic at the conference and that he was not a team player.

All that man did was follow his conscience and refuse to join in the evening activities.

And Jesus said

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?

No, I tell you, but rather division.

There was a lady who worked in an office which was abuzz because the boss was going away.

The ladies all planned to go work as usual but spend the whole day shopping on the internet instead of working.  The woman who kept on task and chose to do the right thing was ostracized and made to feel so uncomfortable that she quit.

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?

No, I tell you, but rather division.

A young man was helping a contractor during the summer it seemed whenever they finished a job there were tons of materials left over and all of it was gathered up and taken to his co-workers house.

When inquired about all of the extra materials his co-worker said I always tell them I need almost double of what I do need and then I keep the excess.  Then he offered the kid some tools but when he refused the stolen tools and the rest of the summer was not pleasant.

Even though he was a great worker needless to say he didn’t get the job the next summer.

I could go on and on and on but you get the point.

All of these people chose to do the right thing.

All of these people followed their conscience and all of them suffered for it.

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?

No, I tell you, but rather division.

When we hear those words they just don’t make sense to us.

Jesus doesn’t want to create division but he wants us to clearly understand that when we follow him, when we try to realize God’s will in our lives, we can be pretty sure that there will be consequences and sometimes difficult consequences.

Because Jesus chose to follow His Father’s will,

because he refused to be the type of political messiah that Judas wanted him to be,

Judas betrayed him and he was executed on the cross.

Being ostracized, or shunned, being made fun of or not hired again are all painful experiences but they are all possibilities which we should realize can happen if we are true to ourselves and true to God’s will.

The Gospel today reminds us about the cost of discipleship.

I once had an old priest say to me Robert if you find being a Catholic and being a priest and being a friar easy, maybe you’re not doing a good job at any of them.

Let’s pray that we can be willing to pay the cost of discipleship even when it hurts.

Let’s pray that both we and our children and our grandchildren will have the courage to do the right thing even if it means being misunderstood or shoved away.

For Jesus said

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?

No, I tell you, but rather division. 

19th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year C - 2013

I have to admit I’m kind of surprised that my homily last week generated so many comments both positive and negative.

I don’t mind the comments at all, everyone who emailed me or spoke to me or facebooked me, was very considerate.. It is OK to have different opinions as long as we are respectful.

You know when your friars or deacon preach it is not our task to tickle your ears.

When we preach it is not always meant to make you or even ourselves feel good or comfortable.

Many things that Jesus said did not make his disciples feel good at all.
In fact some of his followers left after they heard him preach just read the Gospel of John Chapter 6 which we call the Bread of life discourse.

I can’t promise you that you will not be offended when I preach.
I can’t promise you that you will find it entertaining,
Some priests can be like a stand up comedian most cannot.
Is it really fair to expect us to entertain you like Jay Leno?

I can’t promise that my delivery will always be great, sometimes I have a lot on my mind or I’m just having a bad day. (Priest’s have those too)

What I can promise you is that I take this privilege I have of speaking to you,my ministry of preaching  very seriously.

I prepare my homilies and and trust me  my preparation for next week’s homily will begin tonight.

I will also promise you that I always try to find some way to bring the God’s word and our lived experience together .

I always want to  say something that relates to our lives and is not just a bunch of sweet nothings.
And finally I  promise you that my homilies will be the fruit of my prayer.

I will do my best to let God speak through me, we all know that I am far from perfect, a very broken vessel to be sure.

If what we say touches you then it a gift from God not a gift for me.

If what we say does not relate to your experience in anyway I assure you it’s not for lack of trying.

Now let’s take a quick look at today’s readings.

Once I heard a story about a little boy who was trapped on the second floor  balcony of his apartment building by a fire.  His Dad somehow got out and was on the the ground yelling for him to jump.

The little boy yelled back I can’t jump because I can’t see you. There was just too much smoke and fire for him to see his father.

The father yelled back It’s ok to jump I can see you I’ll catch you trust me and jump.

When he heard this the boy jumped safely into his father’s arms.

That little story speaks to today’s readings really well because all of them speak about faith, having faith.

Almost everyday God calls us to jump into his arms even when we are afraid and can't seem to see him.

Just like the little boy had to have faith in his father.

Abraham had to have faith when God called him to leave all that was familiar to him and go to a strange and foreign land.

Abraham and Sarah had to have faith when God promised them a child after years and years and years of disappointments. There are a number of young couples who find themselves in the very same situation.

Today’s Gospel also speaks about faith.
It calls us to have faith that this life is not all there is and reminds us to invest in our heavenly future.

It reminds us to store up our treasure for our journey home to heaven and place our trust in God not things or wealth or riches.

Sometimes we say to ourselves If I just had a little more in my retirement fund.
If only my nest egg could be just a little bigger....

So many of us worry and worry and worry.. about our  retirement investments.

We make a grave mistake if all we do is worry about balance  in our earthly 401ks.

We must never forget to build up our treasure in our heavenly retirement fund. 
We all know you can’t take our money with us.

The only thing that we can deposit in our heavenly investments are  good deeds and acts of love.

One day when we knock on the pearly gates may we present to God a beautiful treasure of generous lives well lived and well loved.

How much is in our heavenly Pension Fund.

That’s a very important question indeed.
Amen

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time–Year C

You know whenever I go to a new assignment I have a very strange ritual.

When I have free time I simply take my car and go out driving.

I don’t take a map, but just drive until I find a road that I recognize. Sometimes I end up going down the same street twice or three times and people begin to wonder.

When I came to Kensington I did the same thing. I drove all over the place and as I drove in New Britain I noticed that when the immigrants came they built three family houses.

We don’t have any of those in Buffalo most of our houses went up only two floors.

I talked to people I came to understand that extended families would move into those house in New Britain and it was not uncommon for Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents, and cousins would all live in the same house.

They were like apartment buildings for extended families and sometimes if there were more siblings your aunts and uncles and cousins would also live in buildings a couple of houses down the street.

New Britain is not a large city geographically and if people had to get someplace they would usually walk to the store or Church.

It seems that as these immigrant families got more settled and saved their pennies many eventually moved to Berlin and as I walk around town especially in this area there are lots of little Cape Cod houses where these families moved.  These little houses had a bathroom and two bedrooms on the first floor and sometimes a bedroom upstairs. Our neighborhood is full of them interspersed with old farm houses. I think the big influx was in the late 50s and early 60s. That’s when St. Paul’s exploded and they built the School and the new wing and expanded the friary to accommodate the influx.

When these families moved to Berlin. It was like moving up. Now each family had their own four walls and a yard. They could yell and not be heard by the in-laws but they also lost the regular presence of their extended family. You could not walk to places from their new homes so they got a car to go visit their extended family.

In the late 60’s and 70s places like Parish Drive were built they weren’t little Cape Cod homes any more they were split ranches with a family room and attached 2 car garages. People were livin large for sure.

If you keep walking around town it is easy to see that no one is building two bedroom cape cods with a single car garage anyone. 

Now the houses are much larger with bigger lots. There are two or three car garages , that’s a long way from the three story houses in New Britain or Hartford or wherever.

With each generation the houses seem to get bigger and bigger obviously making them more expensive.

This same process was repeated all over our country as the suburbs grew up.

Several years ago some of the kids in the Architecture School Catholic U gave me a lecture on the disaster of Suburbia, They felt very strongly that the suburbs contributed to the decay of our cities, a two class society, a lot more pollution and distressed our extended families. They went on and on and on. In fact right now there is a movement to move back into the cities.

Some of you are thinking Fr. Robert get to the point. Well here it is.

You know It seems the rich man in the Gospel could never get enough.

He worked harder and harder and got richer and richer but he never was satisfied. He always wanted more.

When he finally had enough it was too late for him to enjoy what he had worked so hard for.

This Gospel is very important for us.

It seems we are in the same situation. 

We as a nation and we as individuals always seem to want more.

Our houses and our expectations get bigger and bigger. Now we need Great rooms and multiple bathrooms, granite countertops and swimming pools in the back yard. There is not one TV but many and we don’t know how we could live without central air. (We have global warming you know)

Extended families don’t live on top of each other anymore.

They don’t live on the same street.

You can’t go to downstairs to your grandma’s house if you don’t like what your mom made for Supper.

Sometimes Mom isn’t even home for supper because now she has to work just to make end meet and keep up the payments on the big house.

How many baseball games and dance recitals have been missed because Mom and Dad had to work.

How many families are able to have common meals or quality time together.

Why do I hear so many times “Father at the end of the day I’m just too exhausted to pray”

This Gospel should cause us all to stop and think, yes our living standard has risen substantially but are we really better off?

With our personal debt and national debt will our kids and grandkids ever be able to reach our level of affluence ? Is it really fair to give them this expectation ? Are we leaving the world better off or worse ?

The Gospel today challenges us all to ask ourselves when is enough enough ?

When can we get off the treadmill of material well being and live?

Are we rich in worldly things or are we rich in the things of God ?

A very important question indeed.

Amen

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