Reflecting with a Cup of Coffee

Letting go is an essential part of love...
Letting go... placing the other first
Deferring to their just wishes and desires...

Love is the gift of oneself to the other.
When we love we imitate the never ending surrender of a God who loves....
When we love we imitate a God who empties himself for us, who shares with us his only Son... who dies on the cross

John 3:16
God so loved the world that he sent his only Son that we might not perish but have eternal Life"

If love means dying
if love means emptying oneself
if love means surrendering our will and our desires to God and maybe someone else

Why would anyone choose to love ?

The answer is simple... when we love even in our imperfect way
There is nothing like it in the whole world.

Lucky, holy people have discovered that life is not about drawing things, possessions and people to ourselves

Life is about giving ourselves away.

Ask the Mom and Dad who watches their child grow up
Ask the Priest who is in awe of the holy loving people that God puts in his path everyday
Ask the young adult who feels safe to call his / her parents even when he has made a mistake, a big mistake. He/she might not be happy about calling them but he knows they will never stop loving him/her.

Thank you Lord for giving us in our small the ability way to be like you
Thank you for allowing us and even calling us to love.

Amen

Vantage Point.... YUCK YUCK YUCK

The trailer looked good so I was anxious to see it.... BUT
The Washington Post gave it horrible reviews... and THEY WERE RIGHT



THATS THREE YUCKS.... BABY.

The Third Sunday of Lent Year A 2008

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2
Gospel

He was tired and hot and hungry
He had traveled a long way
All he wanted to do was sit down and rest a moment

But there she was confidently carrying her bucket to the well.
He knew her.
He knew her story.
He knew her fears.
He knew that her confidence was a façade to cover and protect her.
He knew everything about her and he loved her
He loved her because he was God
Tired or not
Samaritan or not
Woman or not
Stranger or not
He reached out to her
He is God…

But he knew that if he approached her too quickly it would be another wound another hurt.
He knew that if he approached her too quickly she would run and hide that was her normal “modus operandi” when she was afraid
find someone else.
He knew that if he held up the mirror and showed her clearly who she had become it would be too painful

So even though he was tired and thirsty and just wanted to sit
He approached her
He took the first step
He broke all the rules…
don’t talk to samaritains
don’t talk to women.
Don’t take water from someone who is unclean

He approached her humbly asking a favor
He began to establish a simple relationship with her
He bantered with her
And she began to trust him

She began to trust him so much that she
even challenged him.

“How are you going to give me water you don’t even have a bucket”
She said with a little swagger
She has let her guard down

And when the moment was right
with a few simple words he showed her who she had become

There was no anger or self righteousness
There was no tone of disappointment in his voice
He didn’t say “Look how you let me down”
He simply listed her sins

He showed her all of the desperate compromises she had made
And she did not run away

She began to hope
Maybe she could start anew
Maybe she could be forgiven
Maybe she could offer sacrifice
That’s probably why she wanted a clarification.
Where should she go to make amends to offer sacrifice
in Jerusalem or on Mount Horeb?

She asks him what her next step should be
He doesn’t get pulled into the polemic between the Jews and the Samaritians

His answer is simple

“Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.”

You can find God where ever you want
He tells her
Where you are there God is.

The conversation continues and she tells him that she hopes for the Messiah
She longs to understand “He will tell us everything”
And now after all of that preparation
He reveals himself to her
“I am he the one who is speaking to you”

Jesus gently shows her who she has become and reveals himself to her.

When the disciples returned they begged him to eat something
And he responded I have food about which you do not know
What was this food
When did he eat..
His food was loving that woman at the well
His food was building up a relationship with her
His food was restoring her to hope

So moved by his compassion and his interest in her
she does not just go back to her daily life or keep thinking of her own needs

She goes back to her village, her people and she brings them to him
How did she get them there to walk out to the well ?
She must have begged them
She must have pleaded with them
She must have cajoled them,
Somehow she shook them out of their daily routine

Like he had done for her
They all came

And after a few days they also believed
No longer because of what she had said but
Because they too had met him.

You know it seems like a simple story at first glance
It seems like normal moment in a normal day
A thirsty tired man asks for some water
Yet it is so much more

God is always looking for a way in.
Every single soul is precious in his sight
He is never scandalized by our wrongs
He really does long for us to have life, life to the full in Him

The characters in this Gospel are simple
God who loves
Broken humanity who dares to hope in that love again
And once healed brings others to it

All of us go to the well
All of us go through life doing the things we have to do
Some are tedious and monotonous like drawing water
Study
Laundry
Cleaning your room (Some of you don’t do that too offen)
Going to class

At different times in our lives
All of need to be forgiven
Actually almost all of us need to be forgiven constantly

Do we ever look at who we have become
Or What compromises we have made

Hope needs restored
No matter what our sins might be.
Will we, do we, dare to hope again
Do we dare to believe in God love

When God revealed himself to the woman
She was so much in awe that she brought others to him

Who have we brought to God
Who have we helped accept the mercy and forgiveness that God so longs to give

Where should we pray on this mountain or in Jerusalem

“You can find God anywhere”
Where you are there he is….

Most of the time He finds you..
ask the woman at the well

ONLY AT THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

Thank You Lord!!!

Second Sunday of Lent Year A

Second Sunday of Lent Year A
February 17, 2008
St. Vincent’s Chapel 11:00 AM
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

May the Peace of Christ Reign in our hearts..

The contemporaries of Jesus longed to be free.
For centuries they had been a pawn of different Empires.
They were occupied, exiled and exploited over and over again.

And deep in the heart of every Israelite there was the dream to be free.
They longed to be the guardians of their own destiny.
The desired to be respected and the masters of their own fate.

And so deep in their psyche was the dream
the hope,
that a Messiah king would return
to throw out the Romans
and restore them to their rightful place in the world

That whenever anyone said the word Messiah,
that dream, that hope,
stirred in their hearts

There are those who even say that Jesus must have held that dream for a while.

The Baptism confirmed his mission and special relationship with God
The temptations in the dessert helped him discern how he would see it through
They helped him let go of the dream of the Messiah King and embrace the cross.

And so you see after the Apostles had been with him for a while.
After they had come to know him and trust him and believe in him
Jesus had to bring them to a new understanding of his role in the salvation of humanity...
No easy task to be sure.

Just before this passage of the transfiguration he announces for the first time that he would have to die and give his life for many.
It must have been quite a shock to them.

The depth of their conviction
and belief in the contemporary understanding of the Messiah
can be seen in Peter’s response to the prophecy of the cross.
He began to argue with Jesus

He was so far off base that it even seems that he almost inadvertently tempted Jesus….
Jesus responded "Get behind me Satan you are a burden
an obstacle to me."
It would have been so easy to walk away from the cross even Jesus was tempted

So what was Jesus to do?
How could he win over the hearts of his disciples to this deeper more profound understanding of God’s plan?

With the transfiguration he shows them his glory…

With the transfiguration he shows them his special relationship with God…
“This is my beloved Son listen to Him”

With the transfiguration he shows that he is the fulfillment law and the prophets.

With the transfiguration he gives Peter James and John something to hold on to
Something to remember when all seems lost.

It is not easy to let go of things
It is not easy to divest oneself of mistaken ideas and dreams
It is not easy to leave behind all those things which hold us back from becoming the people God called us to be.

In the first reading God calls Abraham to leave all of his possessions
all that was familiar to him
all his friend and relatives
and follow him to a strange and foreign land.

Only after he took this risk was did God bless and “make his name great”
It seems that part and parcel of following God’s will is letting go of our own

We have to be willing to surrender ourselves
Empty ourselves
and step out into the void with trust and faith

In the second reading St. Paul promises that God will give us the strength we need to surrender ourselves to His plan.

Beloved:
“Bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.”

The transfiguration was Jesus’ way of proving to those whom he loved
That he was indeed right when he prophesied about the cross.

Moses was the giver of the law…
He appeared on the Mountain to give his authority
The authority of the law over to Jesus

Elijah was supposed to be the last prophet to come before the Messiah
By appearing on the mountain with Jesus he shows the Apostles
that Jesus is indeed the Messiah for whom everyone had waited so long

Did the transfiguration work ?
Where the hearts of James and John and Peter changed?
Did they let go of their old dream of a Messiah king
and accept that Jesus was indeed called to be a suffering servant ?

Peter continued to make mistakes
He refused to get his feet washed
He arrogantly promised to remain faithful
and eventually just like Judas betrayed Jesus

The only difference between he and Judas was that he refused to give up on Jesus
He refused to despair to loose hope
Why
Was it the transfiguration?

Of all the disciples only John the youngest was brave enough to stand at the foot of the Cross.
Jesus was so grateful that he entrusted his mother to John
His willingness to risk his own life to be with Mary and Jesus
was a huge step for a man who a short while before
wanted to sit with James in the places of honor on the right and left of Jesus
What made the difference was it the transfiguration?

The Book of Acts reports that James was one of the first apostles to give his live for his faith. He never even left Jerusalem he died around 44 AD
How did this man willingly give his life for Christ ?
Did he remember his time on the mountain.

All of us have things to let go of…
Dreams
Desires
Possession
Sometimes we have to let go of things we want so that we can be free to accept God’s plan

All of us struggle with God’s call to empty ourselves
Few of us long to face the cross
if given a choice most of us would run from it.

Yet following the example of Peter, James and John
We to have to trust God and we have to step up.

Like the Apostles God has given many of us
moments on the mountain.

Maybe it was a retreat
Maybe it was a moment when we really felt God’s presence
Maybe it was a grace filled confession when we really felt forgiven and whole

Like the Apostles
We have to hold on to those moments of prayer and consolation
We have to ponder and remember
these moments on the mountain with God

And fed by their memory
we will be better able to follow God’s call to discipleship
wherever it takes us
No matter what the cost.

The path of discipleship invariably leads to the cross
not priviledge
God needs heroic men and women to follow it.


Amen

Atonement !!!

I really enjoyed the movie Atonement..

I went begrudgingly because there were no good science fiction of spy movies out. I was not disappointed... check it out.

Almost a week...

It's been almost a week since I blogged.... and there was no Sunday Homily this week. (Sorry). I went on Retreat with some of our Seniors. It was a good weekend with lots of fellowship and reminiscing. Those present really love CUA and are definately leaving with fond memories, What a blessing.

We've been talking a lot about assesment lately. How do we assess how we are doing? How do we calmly, and charitably study the fruits of our labors and efforts and adjust our pastoral plan? What exactly is the measure of a good Catholic campus ministry at a good Catholic University?

Certainly religious practice is a component in such any assessment, a key component. I think though any study of our religious practice has to include some kind of before and after criteria. Where was the religious practice of our students before they came to Catholic and where is it now? We also have to look at what usually happens to religious practice in the lives of young adults nation wide after they leave home. (I really don't know where to begin with this. If anyone knows of studies in this regard please pass them on to me.)

Religious practicie should include:

• Mass Attendance
• Devotions
• Personal prayer....

all of those things are essential in the life of the Church and our own personal spiritual lives.

I think we also have to ask ourselves if we have helped our students get beyond their own interests and their own world? Have we helped our students see a broader perspective than their own lived experience. Have given them opportunities to examine our culture and our values in the light of Gospel? Have we inspired them to service, but service not for service sake rather service inspired by and imbued with Gospel values? .... a very important question indeed.

Have we in some way tried to evangelize (bring young people to faith) or have we only worked with those who come to us. Have we thrown the net out wide? How and when and where have we reached out to those who don't practice their faith or have any faith at all. This is often a very frustrating exercise for our staff. It is not always well received and if one looks at evangelization on a college campus this can be a huge effort for what seems like a small result. I don't think we can allow the world to discourage us but rather we have to press forward without fear.

Obviously levels of participation have to be considered in all of this, but I'm not sure that there is any way to benchmark our statistics with anyone else. I have not found other tools or instruments around that have look at these questions.

I put all of this our there just in case anyone has any ideas on how we might begin or where I can go to get more information.

Peace Prayers and assess well
fb

Maybe the best assessment is the old faithful examination of conscience before you go to bed, who knows. ;)

Ash Wednesday

Our lives are filled with special days
Days which call us to stop and reflect on where we are
and where we are going

The church gives us Ash Wednesday for just that purpose

The phrase "Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return"
Should give us all pause and remind us so clearly that our destiny
is to be with God
To be with God forever

Our home is with God
and how we live
and how we love
really matters

Ash Wednesday should be very sobering
it should cause us to stop and ask ourselves what is really important to me

It should remind us that
all of us will be dust
no matter how handsome or beautifu
or influential or

all of our possessions will be dust
our big houses
our cars
our computers
everything
so what are we working for
and what kind of person have I become

Ash Wednesday should be for all of us a kind of examination of conscience

Am I forgiving
Remember that you are dust and until dust you shall return

Am I loving
Remember that you are dust and until dust you shall return

Am I generous
Remember that you are dust and until dust you shall return

Am I prayerful
Remember that you are dust and until dust you shall return

Am I chaste and sober
Remember that you are dust and until dust you shall return

What am I commited to
Remember that you are dust and until dust you shall return

What difference have I made in someone's life
Remember that you are dust and until dust you shall return

How often do I look beyond my own needs and wants
Remember that you are dust and until dust you shall return

These questions could go on and on and on and they should
Our days are numbered .... how are we using them.
for what purpose will we take our next breath

Let us be about our business being the women and men that God called us to be

We can't afford to waste a day

Time is fleathing
Tempus Fugit,

Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return

Amen

MOP Mopping have you Mopped today ?

So often I hear people say...
I can't preach,
I don't know how to bring people to Christ
I'm not holy enough
I'm a mess how can I invite anyone to be holy

All of the people who say these things are sincere and well meaning
I've said them myself sometimes
I just don't have what it takes

Truth be told....
You don't need to be eloquent or articulate or learned
everyone has different gifts...

The one essential caracteristic of a follower of Christ has to be that we are present
When we are present
we give people time
we listen to people's thought
we laugh with people and cry with people
we move out of our normal sphere of relationships
we don't lecture we discuss
and we do it over and over again.

MINSTRY OF PRESENCE
MOP (Noun)
Mopping (Present Participle)
Mopped (Past Participle)
I MOP
you MOP
He she or it? MOPS
We MOP
You MOP
they MOP

A regular English verb
with incredible power.

You can mop at home
you can mop while shopping
you can mop at church
you can mop at work
get the picture...

What holds us back from mopping ?
Why are we afraid just to be involved in other peoples lives
How healthy
How Christian
is it to sit in our little worlds and just fixate about our lives and our problems and our desires?

Jesus gave me to you and you to me
He gave him to her and her to him and us to them

We are brothers and sisters

Have you mopped today.

4th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts..

Today’s readings are important because they all speak about discipleship
How do we bring people to Christ ?
How do we help someone grow in their faith ?

In the first reading the Prophet Zephaniah speaks of humility
To be a disciple of God we have to be humble

The word disciple means one who follows
If we are following someone it means that someone is leading
Someone is up in front and someone is behind.

In our role as disciples we have to follow Christ and his Church.
We all can’t do our own thing or march to the beat of our own drummer

So the first characteristic of discipleship is simply knowing
who leads and who follows

Christ leads
The shepherds of our Church lead
And we their collaborators follow.

Humility for a disciple however goes beyond realizing who is leading and who is following.
We are also called to be humble with those who we shepherd.

Bringing a person to faith means finding away into their heart.
A disciple is called to be humble in his/her relationship with God
But a disciple must also be humble when dealing with those he would lead.

Only love changes hearts
And while love is not always something mushy and gushy
Sometimes a person needs tough love…
Love has to be present just the same.

Only when a person knows that you really care about him/her
will they begin to seriously examine and consider what you say to them.

Yes there are times for correction
Yes there are times when a person has to be challenged
and maybe even pushed a little

But these moments will only be fruitful if the person being pushed or challenged or “motivated” knows without a shadow of a doubt that the person doing the pushing or shoving or motivating humbly cares about them.

Humility is an essential component of discipleship
and because the remnant of Israel was humble in their relationship with God
they were blessed.

The second reading from St. Paul reminds us
that we shouldn’t judge the success or failure of our discipleship by worldly standards

God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise,
and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,
and God chose the lowly and despised of the world,
those who count for nothing,
to reduce to nothing those who are something,

The kingdom of God is not about numbers or percentages
Jesus only had twelve Apostles all of whom ran and hid when things went south.

The kingdom of God is not about power or influence
Anyone would have thought that Jesus was a failure.
If you look at his live and ministry he had very little of either power or influence

The crowds turned on him
He died on a cross, his disciples scattered,
He is only a footnote in contemporary history books of his time
there was not this huge visible success

God can still use us if we are weak or lowly or despised or even appear foolish

All we accomplish we accomplish in Christ.
As the reading said
If we are going to boast let us boast in the Lord

Finally on this Sunday when we contemplate discipleship
the Church give us what one author calls the Ordination homily of the Apostles

The beatitudes.

One Holy Priest I know kind of compared it to Lederman’s top ten list.

Today, in the Gospel of St. Matthew, we have a “list” --- not the “top ten” but, rather, the “top eight” things that the Lord tells us are the keys to happiness in the Kingdom of God.

They are presented in the form of a sermon and appear early in St. Matthew’s Gospel, before all the Gospel action.

These eight principles are presented in a positive way ---
they are not a list of prohibitions but, rather, they are goals for Christian living in this world.

They do not simply “deliver us from evil” but, rather, they lead us to truth.

Pope Benedict XVI has spoken of Christianity and Catholicism in much the same way.
He refers to our faith as a “positive choice.”

Although when he became Pope, people expected him to be a harsh teacher,
he has offered to the Church and the world something to believe in:

his first encyclical was about love; his second,
about hope; his entire ministry about the role that faith plays in our lives

The beatitudes teach us as disciples
to trust in God’s providence
To persevere (blessed are the meek)
To be steadfast in persecution Blest are you when they insult you
To be merciful
To be peace makers.

We share in this very important mission with Christ
He needs us and he calls us

Let us follow him
Let us shepherd gently humbly
Let us not worry about worldly impressions.
So often what appears a failure will really be a success in the kingdom

Let us lead positively like the beatitude challenge us to.
You know I can’t remember the last of Letterman’s top ten list
But the beatitudes have lasted for 2000 years.

If we meditate on them and create our life around the values they present
They will lead us to eternal life

Amen

Your Love is Extravagant

Isn't that the Truth

The Students Sang this at Adoration Tonight...

I give you my life

I give you my life
I give you my dreams
I give you my sadness
I give you my joy
I give you my next breath
I give you fears
I give you my life

I've been preparing couples for marriage of late
Tis the season

I've always been in awe of the sacrament of marriage
and while doing the pre-marital inventory

I am always struck how the communion of life which the couple is striving for
is so contingent on the couple's ability to give their lives to each other.

Not only the good stuff but also the less than good stuff

If they don't share their dreams
If they don't create them together then they risk ending up in different places
looking for their spouse who has followed his or her own dream

If they don't give each other their saddness if they don't feel safe sharing what is broken in their lives. The communion of life which they are striving to create is more of a facade it doesn't penetrate deep into their souls

If they don't share their joy - or are not willing to share each other's joy pride or a subtle narcissism might be showing its ugly head.

If they don't give each other their next breath and the next one and the next one
If they don't face the challenges that come their way as easily as taking their next breath
If each breath is not a gift, a surrender to the other it may mean that one or both of them is holding back is keeping certain parts of their live and love for themselves.

If they can't share their fears with each other who can they share their fears with.

The promise of engagement is both simple and profound
I give you my life completely

BTW no one is exempt from giving away their life

Priests and Religious make the very same promise

We are called to give our lives completely to God and to God's People.

So much to think about with my cup of coffee this morning..

I give you my life

Blest Indeed...

Last night was one of those moments when I was able to see through all of the fog and count our blessings at CUA. At 7:00 PM the CM Lounge filled with the Women of Gratia Plena.... there were tons of them and the room was filled to capacity. Their demeanor and spirit was relaxed and happy. Of late I have been dealing with some of my daughters who just aren't adjusting to college life in a healthy way. When I talk with them the walls are think and the bravado is often in your face. Their demeanor compared to those in women in the CM Lounge is striking and motivates me more to reach out to my "Party Daughters" in whatever way I can.

St. Vincent's was packed packed packed solid with people. My lively ones always populate the back wall. That's because they come late. For them it is the 9:05 Mass. However they are there and I'll take them and so will God. You know often in life you vote with your feet. Those kids on the back wall have.

Following Mass and usual chaos outside "St. Vinnie's" I went to the Esto Vir meeting. There were 62 young men there and a couple who weren't emailed their explanations. Kevin Bein spoke about the book "Wild at Heart" and the stages of Manhood. The book and his talk made an impression on many in the room.

When the fog clears, it's important to take the time to reflect and see where you really are. We are in a good place a holy place, surrounded by holy kids and wanna be holy kids and holy kids in potential. This calls me (us) to help change as many as possible of the later to the former. (Did I get that right ? You know what I mean). It is a good task a noble task a holy mission or commision given to us by God.

Let's face the week with the confidence of God's disciples.

Follow me and I will make you fishers of men and women...:)

Some of CUA's Incredible Alumni

Julia Struckley '03 (blue) is a postulant for the Daughters of St Paul, Liz Sondag (black) '06 is a postulant for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George. Br Daniel Dougherty, OP '01 aRonny O'Dwyer '05. We also got a picture with the Archbishop Burke who graduated BA in '70 and license in '71.

Please keep them in your prayers...

Bump...

A post from the past that fits right into this week's Sunday readings

Fishers of Men Part One

Fishers of Men Part Two

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

January 27, 2008
CUA Campus Ministry Liturgy - 4:00 PM Mass Crypt Church

When John the Baptist was arrested his movement or ministry faded away.
That’s no surprise
After Jesus’ Baptism
John had done everything in his power to direct people to Him
“I must decrease he must increase”

Jesus moves from the Jordan River to the Sea of Galilee which was located on major trade routes and had lots of commerce.

By doing so it would be much easier for Him to spread His message.
People traveling along these trade routes would routinely stop along the journey and spend the night
many were happy to listen to the Rabbis as they spent their evenings in the towns by the sea.

If they were moved by what they heard they would gladly recount it to the people of their own towns or regions.

The scholars tell us that Jesus was probably preaching regularly along the Sea of Galilee and that it might have been possible that James John Simon and Andrew might have heard him previously.

When you read the account it seems like some stranger walked up to them and said come follow me and they did… Maybe maybe not.

And it is really not important if they had heard Jesus or not

What is important is that they followed him.
What do we know about this event and the men Jesus called ?

Obviously it shows us that Jesus made the first move.
This was rather odd because the Rabbis of his time usually waited for disciples to come and find them.
Our God does not just sit by and wait for us to find Him
He actively seeks us out,
hunts us down as you will.
Always respecting our free will God continually knocks

We know that Jesus didn’t pick the holiest people
He did not choose from the priestly class or the religious leaders of his time

Jesus did not pick the smartest people
They were not scholars of the law.

He picked normal people for an extraordinary task

They were fishermen
They were used to a hard days’ work
They had unique skills for the tasks of discipleship
William Barclay reflected on the traits of fishermen
and I was amazed at how they fits with discipleship.

A fisherman is Patience – he is used to waiting, he knows that if he moves too quickly and pulls on the line he may lose the fish, so he waits

A fisherman preservers he doesn’t give up,
he keeps trying if not here then there.
If he gave up he would never eat or enjoy the fruit of his labor.

A fisherman is Courageous… the boat is always small and the sea is so large.
You have to be courageous to fish
The Sea of Galilee was very shallow and below sea level so it was prone to quick storms as we saw in the Gospel they could be very frightening.

A fisherman has the Eye for right moment he knows when to pull up the net for the maximum catch. Jesus had an eye for the right moment because he discerned the exact moment to call Peter Andrew James and John.

A fisherman has to know the right bait, in other words the type of fish that he is fishing for and what they are looking for, what they like to eat. If you put the wrong bait on the line you will go home with no bait and no fish

A fisherman has to keep himself out of sight he can’t be the attraction the focus of attention. If the fish see him they will swim away.

I think it is also important to note that Jesus didn’t call perfect people

Peter would deny him three times and inadvertently tempt him against the cross.
Jesus was so desperate during that temptation that he said to Peter “Get behind me Satan”

James and John had dreams of grandeur and wanted to sit one thrones next to Jesus in Heaven. Even though Jesus had repeatedly taught that this type of scheming and pridefulness would lead to nothing good.

We hear next to nothing about Andrew author said maybe that is because he always took the safer course and was afraid to risk

Even with all of their faults Jesus did not revoke their call,
He refused to give up on them.

Every last one of them except John (The beloved disciple) would later give his life for Christ.

Peter the screwup would beg his excecutioners to be crucified upside down because he was not worth to die like Christ.

They were happy to comply

What does this all say to us..

God is active in our lives.
If we don’t feel it or see it
Then we are not looking or listening
Just like Jesus fished out his disciples God is desperately trying to fish us out
He uses anything he can our successes our failures our dreams our hopes our feelings our challenges.
Some of my most beautiful moments with God were when I was discouraged or sick or fed up
Or
When I was happy and excited and moved.
God uses everything

If we claim to know Christ and follow him then we must live and act like his disciples.
By choosing fishermen Jesus teaches us that we must be

Patient and wait for the right moment in a person’s life to fish them out,
to call them to more

We have to persevere
No matter how lost they appear we can never give up on a person

We have to be Courageous… Our boat is small and the sea is so large

The world can be harsh and mean spirited.
We can be mocked and laughed at or even shunned one of the most painful human experiences

Do we have an eye for right moment?
If we would bring people to Christ we have to know when to pull the string when
We have to see when a person is ready for the good news.
Many times a person hears the Good News over and over and over again but they only are able or willing to accept it when the moment is right. Find the right moment.

Can we fit bait to fish?
What is the right bait for a kid in college or a senior citizen or a Mom who is exhausted caring for her children..
We can’t use the same bait for everyone.
That means we have to know the message and know people we are trying to bring it to.

Finally when we share the Good news we have to be so careful to keep ourselves out of the picture. I
t is so easy to fall into the trap of preaching ourselves rather than Christ.

Are we aware that God needs us
Are we aware that He is active in our lives
Are people better people because they know us
Are people better people because we were brave enough to call them to more

And our faults and failures are no excuse from the call of discipleship
the Apostles were also a mess and Jesus didn’t give up on them.

Who have we fished out of materialism?
Who have we fished out of narcissism?
Who have we fished out of despair

Who have we fished into hope, into love , into faith

Every day we should try to name them in our hearts
We should keep them close in prayer

And if we can’t name anyone
What are we waiting for ?
What is holding us back?
What are we afraid of?

Jesus said
Come follow me and I will make you fishers of Men.

Let’s trust Him and
Let’s follow Him

There are so many fish in the sea.

Beautiful

Our students sang this song at Adoration tonight and it was really moving

By the way they sounded better than this recording...

Everything hurts but...

It was worth it....

The annual March for life is always a very intense period of time for us at CUA. Not only do we March. But our campus welcomes the "Marchers for Life" and even offers hospitality. This year we welcomed over 1200 people to stay in the Dufour Center. Lots of sleeping bags, hundreds of cell phones charging in almost every socket in the place (That's something new we have to figure out). There is Adoration and lots of priests hearing confessions, there are 70o suppers to serve and 700 breakfasts (All you can eat and let me tell you they can.) There are showers, and the Rosary when the lights go out. Somehow our Lady puts them all to sleep. You know I often say to our students "those kids could take over whenever they wanted.. You could find me tied up in a corner someplace." Shhh ! Don't tell them. We have been doing this for so many years that it all seems to work out well. Our students volunteer like crazy. There are over 250 hospitality volunteers to keep everyone safe and protected. Many of them stay up all night. Amazing! What can compare with the heroic generosity and energy of young people.

THE MARCH FOR LIFE

Hey Hey Ho Ho... Roe V Wade has got to go
Your Mom.... chose life.
Somos Pro Vida sin exceptiones
(We were taped by Telemundo again this year a bunch of gringos chanting in Spanish)
Pro choice it's a lie..... babies never choose to die.
Los Bebes amamos y las madres apoyamos...
(that's new this year and we don't really have it down yet)
CUA... is pro-life
The Catholic University of America ... is prolife da..... fo sho fo sho...

Those are some of the chants which echo down Constitution Ave when we march for life.
This year we had over 350 Marchers. I can remember the days when I used to pray to get to 100. Our campus is so transformed so different. The passion and the convictions of our students can't help but inspire. The chapels are full and there is a wonderful spiritual life for those who choose to particpate

There is still so much to be done so many hearts to change. I've thought and prayed about it a lot and it is so clear to me that the only way to restore respect for life in our country is to change hearts. We can't give up in the political venue to be sure, but only by changing hearts will we ever stop the slaughter of the innocents.

I know that wherever I go this mission, this desire will be close to my heart.
Thanks be to God..



VERY INTERESTING VIDEO SENT TO MY BY A CUA ALUMNA

PS. The excused absence list will be one the Web ASAP at Ministry.cua.edu

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 20, 2008

The Catholic University of America

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2
Gospel

May the Peace of Christ Reign in our hearts.

When the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear God’s Son
the first thing she did was run to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist promptly proclaimed
“The baby in my womb jumped for joy.”
If you think about it
maybe John the Baptist was really the first person to recognize Jesus

Tradition has it that John and Jesus were somehow related.
They had probably known each other for years.

So in today’s Gospel it almost seems strange
when John the Baptist says did didn’t know Jesus.

They must have known each other because they were from the same family.
What we have to conclude is that he wasn’t sure who Jesus was in God’s plan.

He had his suspicions because he almost refused to baptize Jesus
but he wasn’t sure until he saw the Epiphany.

When he saw the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus in the Jordan
John began a process of discipleship which every follower of Christ
and every human being is called to follow.

When John was sure
he began surrender himself,
his will,
his plan, even his friends and his disciples
to Jesus and God’s will.

The first step in his discipleship was to announce to the world
who Jesus was and how he would accomplish his task.

To do this he used a simple but profound phrase
“Behold the Lamb of God”

The phrase Lamb of God was very rich for the people of his time and for the early Church

When John’s disciples or the people along the Jordan heard that phrase
they would have thought many things.

First of all they would have remembered the Passover,
when the Hebrews sprinkled the blood of a lamb on the door of their houses
to escape the Angel of Death.

By proclaiming Jesus as the Lamb of God
John is reminding that only through Jesus
only through His words
and his actions can we escape death.

Only Jesus can deliver us from a life of frustration and fear and failure.
Only in Jesus can we find the real way home.

The second thing that would have popped into the heads of the people hearing that phrase
was the sacrificial lambs which were offered as sin offerings every day in the temple.

Some days there were thousands of them.
By calling Jesus the Lamb of God
John was teaching his followers that the ministry of Jesus would include suffering.

That just as the lambs are slain in the temple to atone for sin
the Lamb of God would lay down his life for our salvation.

Many hearing John’s words still believed that the messiah would be a great earthly king.
It would take a while for the true nature of Jesus’ ministry to sink in.

If Jesus was the Lamb of God then John believed
it followed that Jesus would have to suffer.

Lastly the phrase Lamb of God would take another meaning for the followers of Jesus long after his death.

When the Book of Revelation was written in the first years of the Church during the great persecution the author of the book refers to Jesus as the victorious lamb.

In the vision which was shared with the author of the Book of Revelation
The lamb stands before the thrown victorious.
The Lamb once slain will live forever.

The message to the infant Church going through great trial and the message to us is that just as the lamb won in the end good wins, good triumphs even when it doesn’t seem possible.

Now over almost 2000 years later the title Lamb of God should invoke in us the same kind of excitement and wonder.

Only the message of Jesus, can save us from destruction
only the blood of the lamb can keep us safe.

Can you imagine a world with our Jesus
without the word of God
without the values that he shared with us by his word and his life?
What would a world be like were people were not called to love each other
and care for each other?

What would the world be like where truth and justice
and hope were not woven in the very fabric of our culture
which springs from our faith.

Sometimes we are so imbued with the message of Christ
that sometime we just don’t even realize it how much it affects and shapes us.

Without Christ without the foundation our faith gives us,
we are doomed like the Egyptians
who did not sprinkle their doors with the blood of the lamb.

The phrase lamb of God should also give us great comfort
because in it we understand that through his obedience
to God our sins can be forgiven,

There is always hope because we can always start anew.
Mistakes will be made and sins will be committed
because we are human
but, because of the Lamb of God,
because he paid the price of our sins.
We can be free from
Our mistakes,
Our selfishness
From our pridefulness
From our lust
Our laziness
Our untruth.

All of these can be forgiven because of the lamb of God
who hung on the cross for us and paid the price of our sins.

And finally in our world it is so easy to get discouraged
It is so easy to believe that evil wins.
The early church was also prone to discouragement.

There were great persecutions
and there was immense suffering.
Entire families were torn apart or suffered horrible suffering

The Book of Revelation circulated at the time of the great persecutions
tried to reassure those who believed that in the end good and God would win.

This type of fear is also present in our own lives
So much of our lives are run by fear and apprehension.
Will we have enough money?
Will people like us?
Will anyone ever love us enough to marry us?
Will I ever graduate from college?
Will I ever overcome this sin?

When we hear the phrase Lamb of God we should remind ourselves
that good and God will win

We should remind ourselves
That there is hope, there is always hope,
even in the most difficult of circumstances

We should also remind ourselves that there are many ways for good to triumph
sometimes it is in a miraculous healing
Sometimes salvation comes to us through an illness
that is not healed but endured and offered up lovingly

Only Jesus can we avoid disaster and find our way home
only in the sacrifice of the lamb can we our sins be forgiven

Only in Jesus can we hold on to the hope of the victorious lamb in the book of revelation

If I can I would like to tack on a forth point to my usual three point homily.
The life of John the Baptist also calls us to ministry
The life of John the Baptist calls us to ask ourselves are we really disciples of Christ?

When John had discovered the truth about Jesus his whole life was changed
It no longer centered on his mission or his ministry or his wants and desires
but rather on following the lamb of God

That famous line uttered by John is so compelling
“I must decrease he must increase”

You know we are so blessed on this campus
with an abundance of people
who are willing to step up and serve the spiritual needs of our students and the community.

Yet there is still so much to be done.

I would ask all of us who believe in Jesus
and his important work to ponder that phrase of John

We all need to ask ourselves what are we doing to build up the kingdom on our campus
What difference are we making in the lives of our peers
In the lives who live without the consolation of faith?

We all need to ask ourselves how much of my life is about what I want and what I need.

Following the example of John the Baptist are we willing to decrease
so the Christ may increase in our lives?

Are we willing to put God and our brothers and sisters first?

Sometimes that means getting involved in ministry positions
or participating in the life of the Church on Campus in a formal way

Other times it means simply calling each other to more.
Inspiring and challenging each other to be better people
More faithful people
Holier people.

One of the saddest things I experience on campus is
when I see someone fail out or be asked to leave

I always ask myself what did I do enough to try and keep that from happening?

So often you guys know so much more than us
and are in a position to do so much more

Holy ones
The failure of anyone here
Is actually be the failure of all of us
Something to think about for sure
Let’s try and follow the example of John the Baptist
who slowly but surely surrendered his entire life to Christ and his call

Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us
Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us
Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world
grant us peace




AMEN