The Feast of All Saint - 2009

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2
Gospel

Today is the Feast of All Saints and the Church calls us to reflect on two simple important facts.

Our destiny, our ultimate happiness, and our joy is to be united with God.

If you are in this chapel right now I hope you have the consolation of knowing that this is not all there is.

I hope you know that God longs for you to live in his presence.
God longs to be united with you forever.

The second point is just as important as the first put simply there are many roads home.

All roads home go through Christ but there are still many ways home.

One day I was discussing happiness with a group of kids in the Pryz.

We all ventured opinions on it… I began…

Happiness is a tub of Chocolate Ice Cream with granola and or cherrios mixed in.

Happiness is a big baked potato smothered in butter and seasoned with a generous portion of salt.

Happiness is a perpetual Caribbean Cruise

To push my buttons one student ventured…
Happiness is that comfortable feeling a glass of beer can provide.
I added for those who are 21.

Happiness is working hard and being rewarded for your work.

Happiness is finding a note on your car after a long day from someone special to you.

All of these things bring a smile to a person’s face.

Yet all of these things are but a shadow of real happiness.

They are like a flash in a pan.
Yes, they satisfy and they can please a person but they don’t ever last long.

They are a tease, a moment, a glimpse of what is to come.

It’s as if someone opens a door and give you a quick glance at what happiness feels like.

Holy Ones real happiness can be found only in the presence of God,
and yes that is our destiny.

We were created to live and be in love with God forever.

Today the Church proposes the beatitudes as a meditation on how we can find true happiness.

A person who is happy a person who is peace filled is blessed.

At first glance the beatitudes seem contradictory.
How can one possibly find happiness in poverty, hunger, mourning, and persecution?

How can someone who is poor or in need be happy?
How can someone who mourns be happy?
How can someone who is persecuted be happy?

Think about it…

Poverty of spirit allows us to see God as the greatest treasure possible?

Poverty allows a person to empty themselves of all that distracts them and concentrate on God and their brothers and sisters.

When a person hungers for the spirit of righteousness they are really trying to conform their lives to God's Word and God’s Spirit.

When we hunger for God and the knowledge of God
He will not hesitate in providing it.

Sorrow and mourning over a wasted life or our sins and weaknesses can lead to repentance and a joyful freedom from the burden of guilt.

God reveals to a person with a humble heart the true source of abundant life and happiness.

In the Gospels Jesus promises his disciples that the joys of heaven will more than compensate for the troubles and hardships they can expect in this world.

St. Thomas Aquinas said: No one can live without joy.
That is why a person deprived of spiritual joy goes after carnal pleasures or cheap imitations.

Yes, the Feast of All Saints…. Reminds us of our destiny all of the Saints are in heaven and that’s where we all want to go.

But this important feast also provides us with good examples of the many ways to get there.

Fr. Brad who used to be stationed here and I used to fight over how to go the Beltway.
He liked New Hampshire Ave.
I liked Riggs Road
Both ways get you there.

I hated the signals on New Hampshire there are 47 signals from here to the beltway
He hated Riggs road because it is too narrow and windy

However they both go to the same place and help you get home…

Today on the Feast of all Saints the Saints the Church remind us that there are many ways to get to heaven.

Every age, every generation, has given new heroes who showed us the  way.

St. Ignatius of Antioch, would rather stand up to lions than bow before the statue of a pagan god.

St. Francis of Assisi gave away everything he had because he knew that all it did was get in the way.

St. Joan of Arc, a strong young girl listened to the voice of the Lord and refused to deny His presence in her life.  Her faithfulness cost her her life.

St. Thomas More would not or could not permit anyone or any legal nicety to alter his conscience.

St. Catherine of Siena taught kings and popes about the presence of the Lord among them and their responsibility to be Christian leaders.

St. Theresa of Liseaux sent flowers to God with her daily sacrifices of love.

There are thousands of saints.

Some of you know saints who have proceeded us to Home.

Each one of them shows another way to God

Each one of them had a gift they refused to surrender

Each one of them was would not compromise when it came to following God’s will no matter what the cost.

Let us never forget that our destiny is to be with God

Let us remember that we are not the first on this journey home.

There are many wonderful examples of people who have arrived.

Their example can show us the way on our journey.

Saints of God
Come to our aid

Amen

30th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year - B

May the peace of Christ Reign in our hearts.

As we know at this point in his ministry Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.

In Jerusalem he would institute the Eucharist,
he would be deserted by his friends,
and he would face the agony of the cross for our sins.

With this passage in the Gospel of Mark the journey is almost over.

Jericho is about 15 miles from Jerusalem, less than a ½ day’s journey.

He had travelled for so long.
He had preached to so many.
Along the way, moved by compassion, he healed people over and over again.

By now Jesus was famous as word spread that he was passing through a town often a crowd would gather.

When Jesus entered Jericho that seems to be what happened.

It was probably a crowd like the one that would greet him as he entered Jerusalem.

There were probably people in both crowds who would later call for his execution yet Jesus walked on.

Bartimaeus was a blind man he was forced to live by begging.

He knew that something different was happening that day but he didn’t know what.

Maybe he heard a different excitement in the crowd.
Maybe he could feel the vibration of the crowd’s feet as they passed by.

Bartimaeus had very few chances for a better life.
His future was not bright.

Unless there was a miracle he would probably spend the rest of his life begging on that road to Jerusalem.

When he asked what was going on and was told that Jesus was passing by his reaction shows
that he had heard of Jesus of Nazareth and believed in him.

He knew that he had a chance to be made whole.
It was a chance he had to take and could not squander.

He knew he had to seize the moment this incredible moment of grace.

He wasn’t sure exactly where Jesus was in the passing crowd, so he just started shouting, shouting as loud as he could in the hope of being in heard over the crowd.

“Son of David had mercy on me” “Son of David have mercy on me”

He yelled it over and over again.

By choosing those words he proclaimed to everyone who heard him that he believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

He publicly bet all his hopes on Jesus, he went completely in as they say in poker.

That was no small risk, remember he depended on the good will of the people of Jericho and many of the religious leaders did not believe Jesus.

Bartimaeus made so much desperate noise that the people around him yelled at him to be quiet, yet he persisted… he knew he had no other choice.

Bartimaeus knew that once Jesus was gone there would not be another chance to be healed.

His blindness, his weakness would not permit him to follow Jesus into Jerusalem.

When Jesus heard his shouts,
when Jesus heard this poor blind man’s bold proclamation of faith, he and all his followers stopped.

He called to him and without hesitation Bartimaeus jumped up and threw off his cloak.

His cloak kept him warm,
he probably hid his food in it.
It served as his bed and his blanket as he faced the night’s cold.
It was probably one of his most valuable possessions but it was hard to run with so he threw it away.

He knew that he couldn’t let anything hold him back from meeting Jesus

He was willing to take the risk of losing this valuable possession for the chance to be healed, for the chance to see.

And when Jesus asked him what he needed, he knew right away.
There was only one thing he could possibly ask for.

He didn’t ask for riches or influence or power.
He didn’t ask for vengeance on all those who had tormented him as he begged along the road side..

He asked to see.
He asked to see so he could leave behind his life of dependency.
He asked to see so that he could have a chance to make his contribution in life.

He asked to see so that he could continue to follow Jesus as he went to Jerusalem.

If we were Bartimaeus here are some questions for us to ponder…

Would we have even noticed that Jesus was passing by or would we have been lost in our own problems and concerns?

How many times has Jesus walked by in our lives ?
How many times have we missed him?

Would we have persisted in our faith if people yelled at us to shut up?

Are we willing to publicly place all our hope in Jesus like Bartimaeus did?

If we were Bartimaeus would we have been willing to leave the security of our cloak or our possessions to run up to Christ.

If Jesus walked by today what would or what should we leave behind?

If Jesus came right now and asked us what do you want me to do for you?

Would we ask for the right thing ?
Would we know what to ask for?

Think about it if Jesus was here right now what would you ask for?

And once we received our wish would we go our separate way or would we remain faithful?

Would we follow Jesus even to Jerusalem and even to the cross?

The Gospels are filled with examples of people who dared to believe.

The example of Bartimaeus the blind man along the road in Jericho challenges us to do the same.

Are we brave enough to seize the moment like Bartimaeus.

I guess that’s the question of the week or maybe even most important question of our life.

Amen

29th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B October 18, 2009

Once when I was working in a Hospital a man was given bad news about his prognosis.

As we talked his children left the room and became involved in a very loud discussion in the hallway about who would get what when their Dad died.

It was heart wrenching to hear.
I shut the door but the damage was done.

All of us have heard people say inappropriate things
All or most of us have said inappropriate things….

It is so important to remember that words are  powerful and once they are spoken there is no way to take them back.

How do we respond when something inappropriate is said ?

What do we say ?
How do we act ?

Frustrated ?
Angry ?
Do we make fun of the person who speaks out of turn? How do we respond, how should we respond ?

In today's Gospel Jesus responded with love and perseverance.

The passage we heard today follows the third and final prediction of Jesus’ Passion and death on the cross.

Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem to face the cross
As they journeyed to Jerusalem Jesus had just finished pouring out his heart and soul to his closest friends.

He needed James and John to help him carry the terrible burden he would face in Jerusalem.

James and John and Peter were his inner circle (We don’t know where Peter was)

When Jesus finished James and John respond in the most inappropriate way.

They expressed no concern for Jesus and the cross he faced.

They promised no fidelity to their dear friend.
It is almost as if they weren’t listening at all.

When he was finished they directed the conversation toward  their own needs and their own wants.

Can you imagine if you poured out your heart to someone and even told them that you were going to die and they began to ask you for favors?

Or if you told some one that you were going to suffer and they responded, “listen before you suffer can you do this for us?”

It’s hard to fathom how anyone could be so self-absorbed but that seems to be exactly the case when it comes to James and John.

Some biblical scholars believe that Matthew was so ashamed of James and John and the inappropriateness of their comments that in his narrative he puts those words on the mouth of their mother in the hope of not making the apostles look so bad.

What does Jesus do?
What does Jesus say in response to their request.

Rather than yell or take offense he draws them in more deeply into the mystery of his passion and death.

He asks them if they will be willing to suffer like he will suffer
 
“can you drink from the cup that I will drink?” he asks them.

And he does not promise them places of honor but rather He makes them understand that following Him will not lead them to riches and treasures and power and influence. 

Rather, when we choose to follow Jesus  sooner or later it has to lead to the cross because that’s where Jesus walks and that’s where Jesus goes.

Jesus also used their faux pax  to teach them and the other apostles about greatness…

Greatness is not being able to sit at the right or the left of  leaders or “important people”.

Greatness is not being first in line but rather being last.

Greatness is not about having people do what you want them to do.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

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There are a number of things for each of us to consider here.
How do we act when people are inappropriate?
How do we act with people who just don’t get it?

As painful as it must have been Jesus to hear them worry about themselves when he needed them to support Him Jesus did not shun James and John.

He did not strike out at them.
He forgave them and he walked with them.

Do we walk with people?

Are we willing to work with them even when they don’t get it and they should?

Jesus did not throw up his hands in frustration he remained faithful.

How often have we just walked away from difficult people and difficult situations?

How often have we taken the easy way out and simply not confronted people who were inappropriate especially when the loving thing would have been to place ourselves at their service.

To help them understand how they should have responded appropriately instead of washing out hands of them.

So many people have never been loved enough to have someone correct them.

The Gospel also challenges us to examine what we consider greatness to be.

Sadly James and John wanted power and influence.
The other disciples wanted the same thing.
They were just angry because James and John got to Jesus first.

We should not leave this chapel today without examining our goals in life.

What are we working for ?
Do we want  to serve or to be served  ?

A good indication of where we are headed can be found in how we answer questions like…

How much is service a part of our lives now ?
How much of our time is spent thinking about ourselves ?

You know as I reflected on this Gospel I thought .

If a person graduates from CUA and never went on a food run or never took part in a service initiative or mission trip,
or never participated in project which benefited others…

Then we failed you and you and you failed yourself.

What a different world it would be is we all placed ourselves at the service of each others.

That’s what Jesus did… and that’ why he was on his way to Jerusalem to face the cross.

Would we do the same ?

Amen

28th Sunday Ordinary Time – Year B - 2009

Wisdom is the ability to understand our lives in the way that God would have us understand them.

When I was a young newly ordained priest I received a call from my Provincial.

When I answered the phone my heart skipped a beat because Provincials, just like bosses, never  or rarely call just to say hello.

It usually means that you messed something up or that they want a favor.

Fortunately it was the later and I was assigned to substitute for a hospital chaplain.

My third day there I was called to the emergency room to anoint a man who had a heart attack.

I was told that it was not critical and to come when I could.

When I arrived the nurse was walking down the hall and said he’s over there.

I entered the room I found a man in his late 50's sitting up right on an examination table.

When I greeted him he did not respond in fact he didn't seem to be breathing.

I quickly anointed him and then I found the nurse and begged her to check on him. She looked at me as if I was crazy and slowly walked into the room.

Suddenly people came running from all over the ER and through God's grace this man was given a second chance.

The next 2 weeks I had the privilege of visiting him everyday and all I did was listen.

He had 2 houses and a boat
His kids were demanding and distant
The workers of his company always wanting more
His wife was angry that he was never home
He worried constantly about finding new work for his company.
I have 18 workers and their families to worry about .. that is a lot of mouths to feed.

He was filled with anger and hurt and didn't feel appreciated and so he held on very tightly to his possessions... he thought they would give him comfort.

The young man in the gospel was a good person.
The Lord looked on him with Love.

His desire for virtue was not just a fad he was going through.

He had  tried to observe the God's law for years and was looking for the next step.

He did not come face to face with Jesus by chance but probably sought him out.

What do I need to do to inherit everlasting life he asked with a gleam in his eye? 

He was filled with hope and so sincere, yet like the man in the hospital he held on so very tightly to his possessions..

He was afraid to let go and when Jesus suggested he sell all he have and give to the poor he went away sad.

You see he trusted is riches, he trusted his possessions more than he trusted Jesus. 

A couple of years later a gentleman came up to me later in a shopping mall.

Do you remember me Father I'm your ER miracle.

In our conversation I came to find out that he had already had a second heart attack.

"I'm trying to let go Father it is just so hard."

Both the young man in the Gospel and the man in the hospital lacked wisdom.

They just couldn't seem to evaluate their choices in the light of what God wanted from them and what God wanted from them.

They had just stopped discerning and in a very real way became possessed by their possessions.

Did the Man own the houses and the business and the boat or did they own him?

Did the rich young man in the Gospel own his possession or did they own him?

Life just doesn't happen
Holiness just doesn't happen
Happiness just doesn't happen

All of us need the wisdom of God to make good life choices.

All of us need the courage to follow it.

Those of you who are still in college need wisdom to choose a major, that will use your God given talents, be fulfilling and contribute to the well being of others.

No small task indeed and that's why you drive the registrar crazy changing majors.

Those of you who are young need wisdom in choosing relationships, which bring out the best in you and enable you to experience the beauty of being in Love with someone.

Those of you who are about to graduate from college need the wisdom of God to know what you should be working for, what really is important.

Those of you who are parents need to examine yourselves continually adapting and changing your plans as your family changes and adapts. 

All us need to continually evaluate our goals, dreams and yes even our possessions so that we can know what we need to hold onto and what we can let go of.

What is holding us back
What keeps us from being happy
What is keeping us from growing closer to our family and close to God
Why haven't we made more progress spiritually?

As the book of wisdom says

"I prayed, I pleaded and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
And all good things together came to me in her company"

Lord grant us the gift of Wisdom as we journey home to you.

Amen

Sunday October 4th - The Feast of St. Francis

One day toward the end of his life Francis was huddled in a cave on Mt.  Alverna.

He was lost in contemplation, meditating on his own sins, the suffering of Christ and how much he was loved by God.

And slowly but surely a strange desire grew in his heart.
He longed to suffer in some small way like Christ suffered.
He longed in some small way to experience the wounds of Christ.
He longed in some small way to help Christ carry the cross.

He had finally fallen in love with God and this desire to suffer was motivated by his love.

Suddenly while lost in prayer Francis received an incredible gift a 6 winged angel appeared to him and in his hands and in his feet and in his side appeared the wounds of Christ.

They were not a figment of his imagination.
They could be seen and touched by others.
At times they hurt like the wounds of Christ and bled like the wounds of Christ.

Many believe that the stigmata was God’s final approbation of Francis, his life, his dreams and his brotherhood.

The stigmata was God’s final stamp of approval of the little man from Assisi  who had tried so hard to imitate Christ that many called him an “alter Christus” or like another Christ.

You know when I would explain this to the exhausted pilgrims who would come to the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi on their tours many would turn away or roll their eyes. Some would come right out and say… “That’s weird” or “Too weird for me.”

They could understand poverty and the importance of placing one’s trust in God.

They could understand the importance of not being owned by our possessions.

They could understand the importance of purifying their love through the virtue of chastity and the importance of trying to love without seeking anything in return.

They could understand obedience and how all of us are called to surrender our wills to God and to God’s plan for us.

But the Stigmata was just too much for them to take so I tried to  show them how much suffering love is already been a part of all of our lives.

How about our parents who would get up in the middle of the night when we were sick? (suffering love indeed)

You know I always had whatever I needed as a child not necessarily what I wanted but I always had whatever I needed often at great sacrifice to my parents. (Suffering Love)

Anyone in love,
anyone who loves,
anyone who has ever loved is willing to suffer.

Many years ago  a kid in my office who was being sent home.

I spent three days trying to convince him to call home.
When he did his father lost it and there was lots of screaming and yelling.

When the kid got home there was more yelling and fighting and they even shoved each other. It was horrible.

The next day the kid was sleeping
And all of a sudden the dad was standing there dressed in running clothes

This was not a very common site.
The kid could not remember the last time his Dad ran.

He said to his son get up we are going to run.
There was no explanation.
Rather than fight again the kid surrendered.

At first it was easy but then the kid noticed that his Dad was getting winded.

It started to bother the son when he looked over at his Dad and saw he “sucking air”.

After a while the young man began to worry about his father.

Not much farther the kid looked over and his Dad was covered in sweat
They ran on and ran on and ran on.

Finally when they came to the bottom of a huge hill the son just could not let his Dad run anymore.

He grabbed his father and said why are we doing this?
It took a minute for his Dad to speak.
When he caught his breath he said
“I was horrible to you last night, we were horrible to each other”

I couldn’t sleep last night.
I had to figure out a way that I could convince you that I loved you.

I knew the only way I could prove it to you was to suffer for you.
So I was going to keep running until you stopped me or I fell over.

The Dad continued…
”We are going to come home.
We are going to get you evaluated to see if you have a drug problem.
You are going to get a job and pay the family back for the tuition you lost. “

And we are going to face all of this together.

I’m your Father, you are my son  and I should have never lost my temper.
I’m sorry.
I will never speak to you like that again.

When you hear the story like… it’s easy to understand how St. Francis love God and why St. Francis longed to suffer for Christ.

May all of us like St. Francis fall in love with God

May all of us spurred on by our love for God love each other more and more.

May the redemptive power of a love willing to suffer change our hearts.

May it change our families,
change our country
change our church
and may it change the world.

Happy Feast of St. Francis.

Amen

A Call On a Friday Night.

Last night I stopped over at A Simple House on T Street NW, There is a community there which includes three CUA Alumni. As the name implies it is a simple little community of good people trying to live the Gospel as best as they can. To be honest I’m kind of ashamed that it has taken me so long to get there.

Here is what I noticed….

As the name implies they live simply… They try to remove from their lives, or not invite into their lives, those things which get in the way of living the Gospel. Recently when one of the houses was broken into the perpetrators probably had a hard time finding something that they wanted to steal. I guess it’s one of the benefits of living simply.

They are normal people… I’ve known them since they were freshmen.. They are normal.. they are just like us. Sometimes we tend to excuse ourselves from the Gospel call to service and holiness by saying oh “those people are holy, they are different”  The residents of  A Simple House are like you and me and for a while God has called them to live their lives in community with each other and those in need and they said yes...

They genuinely love the people they serve. All over the house there are photos scotch taped to the walls, Pictures of families, of little kids of moments of community. Each photo shows a person they have had the privilege to know. The people of A Simple House’s community seem to be touched by the lives of the people they serve as much as much or more as they are of service to them. (Does that make sense?) In other words… as often is the case  with the Gospel, they seem to get as much or more as they give… in their service to the people in DC.

Sadly our culture always seems to put a treadmill of busyness and worries and challenges before us and says run.  Most of us do… I know I have run on that treadmill for years sometimes its so hard to get off. Then out of the blue God sends you an invitation to anOpen House at A Simple House and gently invites you to look again at what is important. That’s what happened to me last night.

Thanks Bianca Laura and Ryan… thanks for a great night… Proud of you … always have been.  Erin great meeting you and I’m proud of you too.

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PS. Click on their logo and it will take you to their website. They can explain their call and their dream a lot better than I can.

 

26 Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 2009

I’ve been walking a lot of lately and one day while I was walking from CUA to the National Cathedral along Porter Street I spied a group of children up ahead in a very lively discussion.

The discussion was heated and it seemed to be about some game they were playing certainly something important to them. It was a mixture with English and Spanish.

As I approached I thought I would just walk by but all of a sudden… one of the kids yelled “Mr. they aren’t being fair.” which led to a similar shout from the opposing side.

I didn’t know what to say and found myself in the middle of these kids fighting about something I didn’t understand.

The kids were clearly frustrated and their sentences all began with they…

They did this
They did that
They, they, they..

Thank God a woman with a baby came along and stepped in and the kids began to listen to her and ignore me because she obviously was a much more qualified arbiter.

She spoke in English and Spanish.

As I walked on I thought we are so quick to join groups and to label ourselves “us and them”

The kids were simply arguing about a game.. and probably when things were decided they went back to playing..

Thanks God kids don’t usually hold grudges, that little trick is somehow learned later on in life.

When adults label others
When adults begin sentences with “they”…

We often segregate ourselves from “them” or refuse to let “them” or “those people” be a part of our lives..

We refuse to recognize and good in “Them”

Once a person is labeled as part of Them it is really hard for many to open the door of their heart to “them” again.

When children begin every sentence with They….
it can be harmless when adults begin every sentence with they… it can be catastrophic.

Lumping people together with labels like
Lazy or
Illegal
or Ignorant
or worthless
or bad or whatever

Is one of the saddest things a human being can do.

Yet that’s exactly what the disciples did in today’s Gospel..

They saw people they didn’t know
They saw people who were not from their group
not a part of their circle of friends
expelling demons and they judged them or labeled them.

They didn’t consider that demons were indeed being expelled or good was being done

They didn’t see that “the others” were actually helping people.

Instead they judged that they were some how infringing on their turf.

They thought we are the disciples of Jesus, Only we are allowed to do good for others in his name..

Jesus … used it as another teaching moment in his final crash course on his way to Jerusalem.

He called on his disciples not to be scandalized by the good deeds of others but rather
to judge everyone not by the arbitrary groups we establish
but by the fruits of their lives.

In other words we should judge people by how they live and what they accomplish

And so the first message we need to take away from this Gospel is simply that.

We should rejoice in the good that others do rather than be jealous or envious because they are different than us.

In other words should not allow ourselves to be scandalized easily by the deeds of others.

The second message is in the same vein.

Jesus uses this occasion to teach the disciplies that It is of paramount importance that we do not scandalize others.

It is so important for us not to be a stumbling block which makes it harder for others believe in God and to live good lives.

The words of Jesus should not be taken lightly… and when I think about them seriously sometimes they frighten me.

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”

So how do you keep from scandalizing others ?

Jesus resorts to hyperbole to make his point when he says… If it caused you to sin cut it off or rip it out.

If the disciples took him literally it would have been really easy to tell his disciples from the non believers because every single one of them or us would have been missing some body part.

People would have been able to say… “Oh there’s a Christian and there’s another one…”
because all of us would have been bandaged up from head to toe.

What Jesus is saying is simply this..

We always have to strive to identify those things which things which hold us back and remove them from our lives.

And sometimes letting go of our pride
letting go of our anger or rage,
letting go resentfullness
letting go of our possessions or
letting go of our spiritual laziness or sloth
letting go of whatever
may seem as hard as cutting away a piece of ourselves, It may seem as hard as cutting off our hand or plucking out our eye.

Yet if we want to avoid ever giving scandal
and live good lives
live holy lives
Sometimes, actually almost always
its demands what might seem to be radical surgery or some kind of spiritual amputation.

And so….

Let us be slow to judge others or lump them in to groups… rather let us recognize their works and rejoice in their good deeds…

Let us examine our lives carefully, prayerfully, thoughtfully
and be quick to take from our lives those things which separate us from God and each other

Even if sometimes it seems that doing so will demand radical surgery on our personality and our lives

How we love your word oh lord.. help us understand how to put it into practice.

Amen

Someone Sent Me this… and who knows why I am posting it on my blog? For some reason it just seems useful.

A lady got up very early one morning and went outside to pickup the Sunday paper, she noticed someone had prayed red paint all around the sides of the neighbors brand new beige truck. She went over and woke him up and gave him the bad news. He was, of course extremely upset.

And they stood there trying to figure out what could be done about the problem. They decided there wasn't much recourse but to wait until Monday, since nothing was open. Just then another neighbor came out of his house, surveyed the situation and immediately went to get hisWD-40 out and cleaned the red paint off with it. Guess What! It cleaned up that paint without harming the original paint on the truck! I'm impressed!!
W ater Displacement #40. The product began from a search for A rust preventative solvent and de greaser to protect Missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three Technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a'water displacement' compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts.
Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you...' IT IS MADE FROM FISH OIL' . When you read the 'shower door' part, try it. It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. It is a miracle! Then try it on your stovetop.. It is now shinier than it has ever been before.
1) Protects silver from tarnishing.
2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.
3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4) Gives floors that `just-waxed` sheen without making it slippery.
5) Keeps flies off cows.
6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7) Removes lipstick stains.
8) Loosens stubborn zippers.
9) Untangles jewelry chains.
10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12) Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on v ehicles and doors in homes
18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car. Removed quickly, with WD-40!
20) Gives a children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21) Lubricates gear shift on lawn mowers..
22) Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, well as vinyl bumpers.
26) Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
27 ) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.
29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31) Remove s splattered grease on stove.
32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35) Removes all traces of duct tape.
36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain
37)  Florida  's favorite use 'Cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers.'
38) Protects the Statue of  Liberty  from the elements. 
39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time.
40) Ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
42) If you've washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and Presto! Lipstick is gone!
43) If you spray WD-40 on the distributor cap, it will displace the moisture and allow the car to start.
Keep a can of WD-40 in your kitchen cabinet. It is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It takes the burned feeling away and heals with NO scarring.

Remember, the basic ingredient is FISH OIL

25th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year – B 2009

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts

In today’s Gospel Jesus has left the north and has begun his journey towards Jerusalem.

He knows that with each step forward he is in greater danger and there is also something else very difficult in this passage.

In this his second warning about his death Jesus hints at betrayal “The Son of Man will be handed over…It would appear that Jesus understands the struggle going on in the heart of Judas..

By speaking clearly about it he seems to be trying to help Judas see the error of his way.

Notice that he no longer waits for crowds to form or gather around him in fact from this passage it almost seems that he does not want the crowds

One could venture to guess that Jesus knows that his main task he is to concentrate on the training of the apostles.

Jesus is fully aware that if the message, the good news is to last it has to be written on the hearts of his closest followers.

Increased danger…
Betrayal fortold 
A crash course is needed

Yes this passage paints a pretty intense picture.

The next paragraph helps us understand just how important  this crash course really is.

While they were walking Jesus heard them arguing among themselves on who would be the greatest…

He didn’t stop them he let them keep talking
He knew he could turn it into a teaching moment later

Their discussion on who would be the greatest teaches us so much about how much they understood the kingdom of God and time was short.

1. It teaches us that they are in denial about the sacrifices, suffering and death which Jesus and eventually all of them will face

2. It shows that they are still dreaming of worldly power and prestige maybe even wealth

3. It helps us understand that their primary motivation is still self-seeking

4. Finally their silence when confronted about their discussion shows that in their hearts of hearts they knew what was right and what was wrong.

Jesus took their visions of grandeur and self interest very seriously

He sat down… and he called them around him

This was a signal to all of them that Jesus considered what he was going to say very seriously

And he challenged them to move from a ambition to rule to an ambition to service and power.

And with the example of a little child reminds them that service to the weak, the poor, those without influence those who can do little for themselves is what their ambition should be directed toward.

So much to think about so much for us to ponder today..

Why are we here…?

Why are we in this beautiful Church?

Why do we give God space in our crowded lives?

Are we here so that we can pass that test we didn’t prepare for?

Are we here so that we seem holy to others?

Or because if we don’t come we fear that God will punish us ?

In other words is our motivation like that of the apostles in today’s Gospel

Is our presence here fundamentally self seeking and self interested here?

Are we in denial about what it takes to be an apostle of Christ?

Are we in denial like the apostles who just can’t accept that being a follower of Christ entails sacrifice and suffering?

Do we continue to delude ourselves into thinking that some way we can avoid our cross whatever it may be, even though Jesus himself did not avoid the cross but rather embrassed it.?

Finally do we accept the fact that being of service to others… is an essential component in our life of faith.?

Can you imagine what world would be like if we all took to heart the call to service in today’s Gospel ?

Let us realize that the gift of the Gospel has been given to us and it is up to us to share it.

Just like Jesus needed the apostles to carry on his message, God needs our generations to continue to move hearts bring the message to those in need

Let us remind ourselves that just like Jesus needed the time to give the apostles a crash course…

We need time to develop and deepen our faith so that we may answer the Gospel’s call to service

One hour a week at Mass is not enough

Let us continually search our minds our hearts our actions our desires so that our motives for following Christ may be pure and holy not self seeking or selfish in any way

Finally every night let’s exam our day and see how much we have placed ourselves at the service of others and the Gospel ?

And if most of our efforts have been  directed towards our own  self interests let’s promise to do better.

We need to do better.

For paraphrasing…

Whoever receives the poor, the helpless, those who just don’t get it,

Whoever receives the socially awkward, those who can’t fend for themselves.

Whoever receives those who can’t possibly repay an act of kindness.

Those who are hopelessly entwined in self-interest.

If we receive these In the Name Jesus

We Receive him…

We have a lot of work to do

Amen

23 Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B

In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah the fullness of God’s love and God’s providence is prophesied.

“Be strong…. fear not
Here is your God…
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared”

They brought him to Jesus
He was their friend maybe even their brother or relative.

Whatever the case, he was someone important to them.

They cared enough about him to help him.

So they brought him to Jesus
and that in itself is surprising because the cities in the area called the Decapolis were not Jewish territory.

The people who brought the mute and deaf man to Jesus might not have even been Jewish.

However, they were so desperate that they put their hope in an itinerant Jewish Rabbi.

It is obvious that there is something different about the way the man was healed.

Last week Jesus simply prayed and demons were expelled and people were healed.

All of this happened in a group setting…

This week Jesus healed the man privately.

Mark wants to make sure that we understand this completely so he mentions it three times

He took him off
by himself
away from the crowd

Jesus could have healed him without saying a word

Jesus could have said “be opened” in front of everyone in the crowd

Jesus could have chosen so many other ways to restore this man to health like he had done so many times before.

And yet
He took him off…
by himself…
away from the crowd.

Holy ones…
The man who could not hear and could not speak must have had a special need.

Maybe the years of isolation had taken their toll

Maybe he had come to doubt God’s mercy
and doubt God’s love.

Maybe he was approaching despair or had lost hope.

There was something different going on here because Jesus acted differently

This wounded man,
this soul,
this special soul
needed special attention and that is what he got.

We don’t really know what his special need was.

We do know that he was mute and deaf when he came and he returned singing shouting God’s praises.

Whatever his burden or burdens were they were gone.

Whatever had happened
Whatever was said between them… he was healed.

We know that
Jesus healed him in a special way
that he was healed with his touch and with his spittle.

Maybe he did so because the man could not have heard a prayer of healing.

That’s all we know about that encounter between God and man.

So great was their joy at seeing God’s love in their lives.

So great was their joy at seeing the hand of God in action that they all gave glory
and the more he begged them to be quiet
the more they shouted…

You know God didn’t just heal deaf and mute man…
he had touched the lives of everyone in that Crowd.

“Be strong…. fear not
Here is your God,
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared”

-------

The deaf and mute man’s friends or relatives..
loved him.

It was their love and their hope and their faith that began the process.

If it were not for them he would have spent his life alone and isolated unable to communicate..

They loved him enough even to bring him to the Jewish Rabbi.

They refused to give up on him.

Who do we love?
Who do we care enough about to bring to God.

Who is not healed because we have not followed their example ?

So often we are reluctant to talk
about God
or about our faith
or about anything faith related with others.

We are uncomfortable and we don’t want to talk about it.
with the people we live with and work with.

So often we think “I don’t want to impose my religious views on anyone else.”

We think thoughts like,
”My faith is a private matter it for me. It is between me and God.”

How many people that we live and work with know that we are Catholic and that we go to Church on Sunday and that our faith is important to us ?

We are so quick to talk about people we love and show their pictures and share their stories… but we run and hide at the thought of sharing our relationship with God

We kind expect people find faith on their own,
or we expect other people who know nothing about God’s love or God’s mercy or God’s revelation to make the first move..

If they don’t they we let them stay where their are.

We might even talk about them behind their back.

Can you believe him
Can you believe her… what a mess ?

That’s a huge mistake…

If that man’s friends and relatives had not brought him he would have never been made whole.

This private personal understanding of our faith is so contrary to the Gospel mandate at the end of Matthew’s Gospel.

“Go and make disciple of all nations….”

If everyone thought that their faith were a personal private matter the story of God’s love and our hope for salvation would have died with the first generation of disciples.

The Gospel also teaches us that…

God’s love is not one size fits all…
Jesus demonstrates so poignantly today that God touches our lives
that God heals us
in the way each one of us needs them to be touched.

He relates to some one way and others in another way.

His special attention to the man in the Gospel show the reverence that God has for each one of us and our unique needs.

He loves us all differently
but he loves us all completely…

As St. Theresa once said…
our glasses are all different sizes and shapes but they are all filled to the brim with God’s love.

God goes the extra mile

The deaf man the mute man
needed something special
and that’s what he got…

So will we…
We will be loved by God in the way we need to be loved for as long as we need it.
Love can do nothing else.

As we go about our week let us pray for direction and guidance.

Let us ask God to help us learn how to be like the people in the Gospel who brought someone to Jesus.

Let us look around us at all the people that God will place in our lives and let us imitate God
by finding the way to love , in the unique manner they need to be loved and bring them to him

“Be strong…. fear not
Here is your God,
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared”

Amen

Penetrating Words..

Someone sent me this on the occasion of my 26th Anniversary to Priesthood. While reading it I became painfully aware of just how far I fall from the ideal.. Please pray for your priests.We count on your prayers...

A Priest

To live in the midst of the world without wishing its pleasures;
to be a member of each family, yet belonging to none;
to share all sufferings;
to penetrate all secrets;
to heal all wounds;
to go from men to God and offer Him their prayers;
to return from God to men to bring pardon and hope;
to have a heart of fire for charity
and
a heart of bronze for chastity;
to teach
and
to pardon;
console and bless always.

My God, what a life!
And it is yours,
O Priest of Jesus Christ!

Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire, O.P.

A Prayer for our Graduates

Let us Pray..
On this day of new beginnings Lord
We place our class of 2009 in your hands
We know Lord that you love them
We know that you will always be close to them
We know that you will continue to inspire them to do great things.

They are ready Lord
They are ready to take the next step
They will teach, and heal, and inspire by their art,
They will counsel and invest and explore your wonders of nature.
They will design and engineer great structures.
They will work for the common good in politics and government service and all kinds of community service

All of them will love
Some will marry and have children
Some will serve your people as Priests and religious.

Their parting from CUA is bittersweet
But we all know it is time and they are ready.

Bless them
Bless their families
Bless their parents
May this day of celebration remain always in our hearts
And serve to remind us all of your loving divine providence.

We ask all of these things through Christ our Lord

Amen

Blessings and inspiration.... here is a day in the life of a priest...

Today was a beautiful day.

8:30 I went to buy donuts for the kids who were coming to work.

The morning and afternoon was spent cataloging books for Tanzania and moving them to the storage container. Here's some pics. It got so hot I ordered Rita's Ice for the volunteers. In the afternoon when the books were all cataloged and placed in the container we started packing and moving the computers. The computer volunteers finished all of the updates and we switched all the power supplies to 230 volts (what they use in Kigoma).. It is amazing how this project is coming together. We have collected cataloged and boxed 5641 books and I am so pleased with the quality of the donations. Here is the online catalog of what we are sending. Library thing is a really great website check it out. You type in the ISBN number and it pull the complete record for book with all of the subject headings.

Around two I went to see the group of students who were going to the Invisible Children Rally by the National Mall. The purpose of this event was to bring attention to the plight of the thousands of children in Dafur who are forced to join militias. We sent a really good group of students both in quality and quantity.

Around 3:00 I took what was left of the Rita's Ice Buckets to the South Side Showdown. There were lots of kids their and lots of water fun. Someone dumped a whole bucket of ice water on me. I have to admit it felt good.

This evening I went to the Annual Red line Invitational which is a benefit concert by area acapella (how do you spell that) groups to benefit the missions where our students will volunteer this year. (Sorry no pictures.












While we were working on the container another group of students took all of my garden stuff to the roof. It's that time again. Here are some pictures from last year...


Our students are generous, committed, passionate and very willing to put in a good day's work for a worthy cause. It is a privilege for me to be a part of their lives... even though I can't remember their names to save my life... somethings never change.

Coming up...

The Luau will be this Friday May 1st, from 5 to 10 Rain or Shine...

The final shipment day for the container to Kigoma will be on May 4th.. we will only have two hours to transfer everything to the new container... Yicks... HELP and PRAYERS NEEDED.

I'm still tired and inspired.

Protect us Lord as we stay awake
Watch over us as we sleep
That awake we may keep watch with Christ
And asleep rest in his peace.

Amen

Third Sunday of Easter Year – B 2009

From today’s Gospel.

We learn that God doesn’t give up easy…
When Jesus appears to his apostles
He appears to a broken, disillusioned, and even frightened group of men.

Even when they see him they are incredulous,
they can’t believe what they see.

He has to repeatedly engage them, calm them, and coax them to belief.

“Look at my hands and my feet,
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.”

It took the disciples a while to come to believe and Jesus was persistent he didn’t give up.

Once they dared to believe,

“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

The Cross was part of God’s plan it was not something he was forced to do.

He helped them understand that being willing to suffer, is part of love.

Jesus, the Messiah willingly suffered and died to bring us to redemption because he loved us.

Finally with the last line of the Gospel Jesus gave the apostles their mission.

“You are witnesses of these things”.

A witness is only a witness if he speaks, if he testifes.
A witness who says nothing is no witness at all.

And so you see holy one…

Today’s world like the Apostles gathered in that room is broken, disillusioned, and frightened.

Today’s Gospel should inspire us to have patience the same patience that Jesus showed to the Apostles.

Remember after all the time he spent with them he he still had to coax them to belief.

We must be patient

Patient with our friends
Patient with our families
Patient even with those who refuse to believe who remain incredulous.

I know its hard not to get fed up or give up when someone just won’t change
but that’s what the Gospel calls us to do.

Today’s Gospel should inspire, challenge us to sacrificial love, it should challenge us not only to face the cross but to willingly embrace it..

Only when we are willing to look beyond our own needs
only when we are willing to suffer, for someone else
can we dare to say that we are capable of loving.

To chose to love is also to be willing to suffer

Finally our one of our greatest failures is to accept our mission to be witnesses.

The message of the Gospel is meant for everyone
but
because.. we fail to live it credibly
Because we fail to speak
Because we fail to testify

Quite often we are very poor witnesses indeed.

If all of us on this campus who attend Mass lived our faith credibly what a different campus and a different world it would be indeed.

Amen

Good Friday Year B 2009

Good Friday is not like any other day of the year.
It is not necessarily a day of comfort.
It is a somber day.
It is a day which should cause us to stop and reflect.

Good Friday is a day which often leaves us with a strange feeling as we walk out of church,
a feeling that something is not yet finished,
a feeling that something is not complete.

I feel always feel an emptiness on Good Friday when I see the door of the tabernacle left open and the tabernacle light out.
The empty tabernacle reminds, us all of the power of the real presence which we so often take for granted.

And all of these feelings do not happen by chance.
The church goes to great lengths to set mood and create these feelings.

The altar is stripped
Many times the statues are covered or removed
The holy water fonts are dry
Here at catholic we always take things a little farther, the sacristans even roll up the carpets in the sanctuary.
You see my dear friends the rituals and traditions of Good Friday
are meant to teach us a lot about ourselves,
and they also teach us a lot about God.

Good Friday puts before our eyes the reality of our sin.
It reminds us that all of us are sinners,
all of us are broken.

It reminds us that sin is a part of our lives,
it reminds us that our sins cause pain and cause hurt,
Not only in our own lives but in the lives of everyone we meet.

Good Friday teaches us that our sins are so serious
That, God Himself has to intervene..

Good Friday teaches that God is just not willing to give up on us.
It shows us just how far God is willing to go for us.
On Good Friday we see the ultimate proof of God’s love.

And from the tree of life, from the cross,
we learn how we can and how should respond to the sin in our own life
and the sin in lives of those around us.

When creation strayed from God,
God did not break off His relationship with us
he doesn’t give up on us.

When we sin God does not move farther away,
instead he came closer.

In fact He came very close.
He sent his Son

So often in our lives when people hurt us when we feel the effects of our sins and the sins of others,
our first inclination is to run and hide,
to get away  to distance ourselves.

When things get messy, when things go bad,
God does not run and hide,

A second thing we learn on Good Friday is that God did not pretend that our sin was not present
he didn’t look the other way rather he acknowledged our sin.
He faced it and he calls us to do the same.

So often when we come in contact with sin or when we sin ourselves we pretend that it really doesn’t  matter.

We say things like,
I’m not hurt, or I haven’t hurt anyone,
as if we somehow we have the ability to wish power of sin away.

On the cross Jesus teaches us that sin is real and it matters and it can’t be taken lightly.
On the cross Jesus teaches us that sin demands a radical response from God and a radical response from us.

On Good Friday we see how God responds to our sin
Compelled by love for each one of us
God responds to our sin by taking it upon himself.
By paying the price of our sin Himself on the cross
He allows Himself to feel it’s pain.

We too must be willing to take on the pain of the cross.
We too must be willing to carry the cross.

By lovingly taking our sins upon his shoulders God transforms the
When he forgives them He redeems them.

God shows us how we can change evil into good.
He shows us that love even has the power to redeem sin

So often we respond to sin, and pain, with sin and pain
So often we allow the evil we experience to take root in our hearts
To distort us.

It is so easy for us to allow evil to breed evil
And pain to cause pain.

It is so easy for us to allow anger and resentment to make us angry and resentful

When that happens evil and anger and sin wins…

Jesus did not allow our sins to make him become angry or bitter.
Rather he heals them with this love.

The world would be so different if we like God could respond to sin with love.

This is such an important lesson for all us to learn.

Finally, despite our transgressions,
despite our sin, from the pulpit of the cross,
Jesus he prayed for us.

He took our sin upon himself and he offered up his suffering for us
the very people who had sinned against him.
Forgive them Father they know not what they are doing.

How often do we pray for those who hurt us?
How often do we offer up our pain and hurt for the very people who cause them?

Yes Good Friday teaches us so much.
We learn so much from powerful witness of the cross.

Let us not run from sin
let us not fear evil.
Let us look sin in the eye
let us face it and acknowledge is.
Let us willingly carry our cross.
When someone sins against us let us not respond in kind
Let us not allow evil to take root in our hearts.
Instead of letting sin change us let us change it.
Let us love the sinner and redeem the sin.

In a few moments when kneel before the cross
When we venerate it.

Let us all pray God that we learn its lessons well.

We adore you or Christ and we praise you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world
Amen

Palm Sunday Year B – 2009

They had been with Him for years.

They had seen Him transfigured on a mountain top with Moses and Elijah.

They had seen Him walk on water and calm the winds and waves of a storm.

They had watched Him compassionately heal the sick sometimes even at great personal risk to Himself.

We don’t even know about all of the private  little personal conversations that he shared with each one of the apostles as they walked down the dusty roads or warmed themselves by the fire at night,

Jesus listening to them,
talking with them,
laughing with them,
and even crying with them.

And yet after they had experienced all of these incredibly powerful things…
they could not even stay awake with Him for an hour in the garden of Gethsemane.
they betrayed him,
they ran away and abandoned Him,
they denied Him,

Yet don’t be fooled  the story of the passion of Jesus Christ,
is not about betrayal,
it is not about abandonment,
It is not about denial…

It is rather is about being loyal,
about being loyal even unto death.

The passion teaches us just how far God will go..
The passion teaches us how strong God’s love is for each and everyone of us…
…no matter what our sins are,
no matter how cold our hearts have become.

Holy ones sadly we are not much different than the apostles.

All of our lives are filled with incredible moments of grace.

Our families
Our friends
Our talents our gifts
The chance to be here and study and learn.
The chance to prepare ourselves well to make a difference in a world so much in need of love and healing.

We have all received
grace after grace after grace after grace after grace,
sadly sometimes we just don’t seem them.

We like the apostles run and hide.
We like the apostles fail to be loyal to our friends,
and we like the apostles often only stick around when things are going well.

We like the apostles live  as though we are not loved or that God does not care for us…

As we meditate on the Passion of our Lord Jesus

Let strive to imitate God’s faithfulness,

Let us try to follow the example of Jesus who loved us all with reckless abandon ,a loving reckless abandon which led him to His death on the cross the price of His love.

Remember when he died on the cross the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

That which had separated the holy of Holies That which had separated God from us and His creation was gone.

Nothing now separates us
Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

We adore you O Christ and we praise you
Because by your holy Cross you have Redeemed the World.

  

 

5th Sunday of Lent Year B 2009

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2
Gospel

In the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah it becomes so clear that God longs to be a part of our lives.

God is not just some powerful force to be reckoned with.

He is not some vengeful God waiting for us to screw up,
rather He longs for a relationship with us.

And in this relationship…
He doesn’t want us to do the right thing just because we are afraid of being punished.

He doesn’t want us to do the right thing just because it’s the rule or the law.

In this beautiful passage we learn that God wants us to do the right thing because we love Him.

He longs for us write his name on our hearts … just like to two young lovers carve their initials in a tree.

As Jeremiah said so beautifully

I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

When a person is in love… they are never satisfied with giving the bare minimum, rather they willingly and happily pour out their lives for the other.

People in love often pour out their lives until there is nothing left to give.

Love, real love allows us to do heroic things.

Look at loving parents who make sacrifice after sacrifice for their children.

Look at saints whose heroic lives could only be motivated by love not fear.

Look at the martyrs who heroic deaths clearly testify to the incredible power of love. No one gives their life away just because of a law.

The Catechism says that this new covenant…this new relationship that God longs to have with us
begins on Calvary.

It begins on Calvary with the death of Jesus God’s Son.

With this cross God shows us just how far he is willing to go.

With the cross he shows how much he is willing to give.

With the cross he proves how much he is willing to pay for the price of each and everyone of our souls.

With the cross God teaches us how we should love.

“Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains a simple grain”

When we hear that all of us should ask ourselves am I willing to fall to the ground and die ?

Do I love anyone enough to fall to the ground and die for them?

St. Thomas More Parish – Boynton Beach FL

They were always late for Church they usually made it in the front pew for the handicapped around the opening prayer.

He would hold her with his hand around her waist and guide her into the front pew…

Her shuffle and her absent gaze spoke volumes.

When communion time came he would guide her up the communion line and he would always say the same thing to the priest..

Please Father just give her a little piece just a little piece.

Then he would beg her
Come on honey… open your mouth open your mouth sweetheart and I would place a tiny piece of the Body of Christ on her tongue.

Then from somewhere he would produce a sippy cup with water and he would place it at her lips and she would almost instinctively drink from it.

Then he would guide her back to the pew.

One day after Mass everyone was standing outside talking …

It was too early for the early bird specials in the local restaurants that all the senior citizens loved.

The man and his wife were there… a woman came up to the man began to talk…

After a while she said to the man

You are a “young” man and you still have your health
you should put your wife in a home and enjoy life.

There was an audible gasp from the people standing around her.

We were all trying to figure out how someone could say something so inappropriate.

The man looked angry for a second and then he responded to her very gently.

This is my wife and I love her
I love her when she is sick and I love her when she is healthy
and as long as I can manage, as long as it is good for he,. she is going to live with me in her home.

Then he looked the woman right in the eye and he said.
Even now as sick as she is she is God’s greatest gift to me.

That man’s heroic care for his wife was not motivated by any law or rule.

Rather it was motivate by a covenant of love.
His witness was so powerful to everyone present.

Holy Ones…

God longs for us to love Him

And he wants our actions and lives to be motivated by love.

St. Augustine understood that he said..
Love God and do whatever you want.

On the Cross God teaches us what love is
and He shows us how much He loves us.

How much do we love each other?
How much do we love God?

Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies….

Amen